The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3
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Knudnik: A slang term used on the Rings of Orbis to describe an indentured servant.
Linkians: Sleek, velvety-coated, purple aliens with four long tentacles that live in the cooling tank with the Samirans.
Nagools: Mystical creatures who study and protect the teachings of the Ancients.
Neewalkers: An amphibious mammal race that walks on the land with the use of mechanical stilts. Neewalkers are cold-blooded mercenaries. They are loyal to no one except the highest bidder.
Original Architects: Another name for the Ancients.
Samirans: Enormous, elephant-like amphibious creatures who were once hunted to extinction. Two of the remaining Samirans were transported to the Rings of Orbis, where they work as knudniks, cooling the crystals harvested from the moons. The Samiran language is too complicated for normal translation codecs.
Scallit: A small alien creature eaten live by Neewalkers as a treat.
Slopcrawler: A race of creature from the planet Palk who voluntarily live within the body of a Trefaldoor, allowing the host to breath. The slopcrawler is freed upon the death of the Trefaldoor but retains the host’s memory.
Softwire: The name given to any creature who demonstrates the extremely rare ability to enter a computer using only his or her mind.
Solinn: A dominant species on the Rings of Orbis. These aliens can be identified by the large fleshy bubble found on their forehead called a vello. This organ changes color according to the emotions of the Solinn. At least one Solinn is found in most negotiations on Orbis.
Space Jumpers: An elite class of beings that have the unique ability to bend space and time at will. Space Jumpers were the sole protectors of the Keepers before the Citizens had them banished from the rings. All Space Jumpers are softwires. This allows them to control the quantum molecular belts known as barka. Space Jumpers come from many races and are controlled by a group known only as the Trust.
Telepath: A being that has the ability to read the minds of others.
Tonat: The protector of the Scion.
Trading Council: The governing body of Citizens who control the economy on the Rings of Orbis.
Trefaldoor: A dominant species on the rings and one of the First Families. These immense aliens believe that lying is worse than murder, so they do well in business with other Citizens. Trefaldoors use a memory storage device that is hardwired to their brains. This device floats above their heads.
The Trust: A powerful group of five individuals who rule an army of Space Jumpers and search the universe for Scions.
Wiicerian: A First Family species. A Wiicerian at the Illuminate on Orbis 3 mentors JT and the other kids.
Wormhole Pirates: A group of criminals who hide within the wormhole, attacking and robbing traveling Citizens.
Zzxyx: Aliens from the Theta system. All Zzxyx must be quarantined at least three phases before being allowed to roam Orbis.
TERMS
The Ancients’ Treasure: Believed to be an enormous sum of money, the Ancients’ Treasure is simply a device that holds the genetic code of the Scion. When a Scion comes into contact with the device, the Scion’s process of Enlightenment is initiated.
Bio-Bots: Heat-consuming micro-bots used to cool the water in the crystal-cooling tank.
Birth Day: A cycle celebrating the “hatching” of the embryos on the Renaissance.
Bubble Shield: A security device used to subdue criminals. The device can also be used to transport the individual to the Center for Science and Research.
Burnin’: A slang terms that means “cool.”
Cart Bot: A floating robot used to carry items.
Central Computer: The single, all-encompassing computer that runs everything on the Rings of Orbis.
Chits: A commonly used credit on the Rings of Orbis. First established as a worthless payment system for knudniks and created to appease the demands of the Keepers, chits are now used by everyone on the rings.
Codec: A specific parcel of information that can be uploaded directly to the brain through a neural port.
Cycle: A measure of time on the rings equivalent to an Earth day.
Contest Tank: A recreational sector on the Renaissance where the children played Quest-Nest.
Copper Bombs: Extremely toxic bombs used by the Sea Dragons to kill all life in the crystal-cooling tank, but not the structure itself.
Diam: A measure of time. Four diams equal one spoke; four spokes equal one cycle.
Digi: A photograph.
Crystal of Life: Energy crucial to the economy of the rings that is harvested from the moons once every seventy years.
Enabler: An electronic punishment device like a cattle prod.
Festival of the Harvest: A celebration marking the rotation when the Crystal of Life is harvested from the moon Ki and transported to the Rings of Orbis.
F.O.R.M.: Forbidden Off-Ring Materials. These items are forbidden by Keeper decree. Citizen caught with these devices face punishment. F.O.R.M. items are still available from Neewalkers or on the black market.
Jump the Ring: A term used by knudniks meaning “escape.”
Light Chute: An expensive means of transportation on the Rings of Orbis for traveling short distances.
Lyld-den-oo: A game on Orbis 3 played in a labyrinth. Also know as Quest-Nest.
O-dat: A computer terminal.
OIO (O-yo): The art and science of cosmic energy. The Ancients believed that everything you do and even your thoughts enter the cosmic soup that flows through our universe and has the potential to affect everyone else.
Phase: A measure of time on the rings. Similar to an Earth week. Four cycles make a phase.
Glowglobes: A set of toy balls that bounce erratically.
Golden: A term used by the children to mean awesome or “cool.”
Quest-Nest: A multidimensional obstacle course in which teams of two or four compete against each other. Each team assigns a tracker and a bait. Trackers search the fourteen levels of the nest to release their bait and race back to the start before the other team does.
R5: A robot used to surgically implant neural ports and the translation codec used on the Rings of Orbis to interpret the different alien languages. The implant eventually connects with the optic nerve and can even translate signs that are connected to the central computer. The R stands for Refurbish.
Riding: The term used for scoping another person using the tetrascope.
Rotation: A measure of time on the rings equivalent to an Earth year.
Screen Scrolls: An electronic mail system on the Rings of Orbis used for private communications.
Sea Dragons: Computerized, dragonlike machines released into the Cooling Tank to prevent the escape of the Samirans by lethal means.
Sepius: A deadly plant parasite.
Set: A unit of time on the rings. Four phases equal one set.
Skin: An electronically programmed garment to monitor a knudnik’s whereabouts and to open certain doors.
Spoke: A unit of time on the rings. Four spokes equal a cycle.
Staining: An irreversible and permanent “tagging” of someone’s genetic signature that enables the central computer to track this individual.
Tetrascope: A virtual-reality device used to experience the life of another. Both individuals must wear the device attached to their neural ports.
Toonbas: A Trefaldoorian delicacy enjoyed by many other species including humans. Synthetically made on the Rings of Orbis, it originally was made from the secretions of a snail-like insect.
Yornaling Crystal: A large unit of money. Harvested from the crystal moons, Ki and Ta, they are much harder to come by and carry much prestige. A yornaling crystal is worth one million chits.
The War of Ten Thousand Rotations: The First Families battled with the Keepers for ten thousand rotations to control the wealth from the moons of the Rings of Orbis. While Space Jumpers protected the Keepers, the Citizens paid armies of Neewalkers to fight for them. Until the war, the Keepers lived in relati
ve obscurity, spreading the resources from Ki and Ta in a benevolent fashion. The First Families changed all that once they had control of the economy on the Rings of Orbis. They turned the rings into an opulent and profitable “energy factory” built on the backs of knudniks. Historians have often questioned the motives of the Keepers, since the general perception was that the Keepers were winning the War of Ten Thousand Rotations.
Adapted from a class project created by
Basha High School in Chandler, Arizona.
“Please,” I begged. “I was hoping for a little more time.”
“I am sorry. I have done everything I could just to let you stay this phase,” Theylor said.
“I’ve been here a whole phase?”
Reluctantly, I turned from my frozen vigil and followed Theylor out of the room, entrusting my sister to the Nagools. When I thought about waking up the next cycle not knowing a thing about my sister’s condition, I felt as if a Neewalker had clamped his hands around my throat, trapping the air inside me. It scared me and I hated it.
A small domed craft waited on a rail of shorter pillars next to a platform. I followed Theylor aboard, and we sat in silence during the short trip to the surface. It gave me time to think. What had happened? Why Ketheria? No one had any answers for me, but that didn’t mean no one knew. I had heard stories of other Scions and the horrible fates they met. No matter what part of the universe they came from, new Scions were always persecuted by one group or another, tested until they broke. I had also heard tales of the Tonat, the guardian entrusted to protect the Scion once the awakening was complete. That’s who they wanted me to be. But if the Tonat was so important, why was I leaving my sister behind? It didn’t make sense, but then, when had my life on the rings ever made sense? No one ever explained anything here. Three rotations had taught me that most people on the Rings of Orbis protected their knowledge more than they did an Orodi Orb.
Once we disembarked from the small craft, I followed Theylor up a wide staircase that led to two metal doors, scuffed and marred by eons of use. At the top of the stairs, Theylor paused and turned to me. “Others may have come to see the Scion,” he said, as if it were a warning.
“I thought no one knew where Magna was located.”
“Idolatry has a unique way of bringing light to the blind,” he replied.
When Theylor pushed back the thick doors, the glassy glow from a distant star burnished my eyes, and faster than my pupils could contract, a throng of aliens burst upon us.
“Who are these people, Theylor?”
“Worshippers,” he replied, holding up his hand to the crowd. The effect seemed to push the people back, which allowed us to move forward. “I did not expect to see so many. I am afraid news of the Scion has spread quickly. This is not good.”
“Why is the Scion so important to them?”
“It has been a very long time since a Scion has been discovered. In fact, most people thought it was no longer possible. Your sister is their last hope.”
There must have been thousands of people gathered there. Every one of them seemed to be whispering something at me. Hushed pleas called to me from every side as we pushed through the crowds.
“They worship my sister?”
“They worship the Scion,” he said, as if Ketheria was a separate entity entirely. “And some even worship the Tonat.”
“I’m not the Tonat, Theylor. The Trust said I have to make that choice, and I don’t want to be a Space Jumper. In order to be the Tonat, I have to be a Space Jumper.”
“I believe the Trust merely presented you with that choice as a gesture.”
“A gesture of what?”
“To appease your fierce need to control your own existence. I wonder how much choice you actually have in this matter.”
“What does that mean, Theylor? It is my choice.”
But Theylor did not respond. It frustrated me to be fed these cryptic answers all the time.
“If this is so important, why won’t you tell me anything else?” I shouted as more people pushed in on us, but Theylor did not answer. His attention was now on the crowd. More and more people rushed toward us, and the crush was beginning to smother me. One alien tugged at my vest, another simply rubbed her hands over me, while another squawked in my face. Theylor tried to force them back, but that only created an opening for more to pour into.
“Theylor!”
“I’m trying,” he grunted.
The crowd now engulfed me. I could no longer see the sky and had lost sight of Theylor in a sea of wanting hands.
“I have nothing to give you!” I shouted. “I can’t help you.”
Then someone struck me. It was a quick blow to my forehead, but still painful.
PJ HAARSMA has always been transfixed by what lies beyond our solar system. He says, “When the mother ship finally arrives and they ask if there are any humans who want to go for a spin, I’ll be the first to sign up.” When he’s not gazing at the stars waiting for his ride, you can find him on the Rings of Orbis, the online universe that he created for the Softwire series, which has spawned a legion of loyal fans. He has a degree in science and lives in southern California with his wife and daughter. To learn more about PJ Haarsma, visit his website at www.pjhaarsma.com.
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author