STARWEB 1-5

by M. Modak

  There was a similar looking square on her uniform and he pressed it but nothing happened. She said, “I’m the captain of this ship.” She gave a sly smile, “Whatever I touch turns on.” She reached up and pressed her own square…

  Chapter 5 Histories

  During the month after the spacecraft left the exile’s world, Drahca studied. He learned about Emyeu’s past, every nuance of the Orcelan culture…and mating rituals. He could now speak fluent Orcelan, which was the common galactic language. With it, he explored the activities of the United Worlds Governments.

  Emyeu and Drahca sat on the sofa in her quarters and discussed politics. “We have a Constitutional Democracy,” she said, “with a President, Senate and a People’s Veto that is supreme over all laws.”

  He said, “The concept of a federal government and representatives is hard for me to grasp. My world has no formal government.”

  Emyeu’s eyes went wide, “That’s incredible?”

  Drahca looked away, still having some trouble with many of the phrases of her language, “I am credible. I lived for a long time on TOL. I’ve seen everything there is to see. Although there have been disagreements, which required deeper involvement from the majority, our differences were well communicated and resolved.”

  She laid her hand on his thigh, “Sweetheart, I mean that what you guys have done is a great accomplishment. Your world must be filled with angels.”

  “We are not just spirits…well, most of us are not just spirits. We have ferries, and some non-corporal beings… I’m having a hard time with this.” He shifted in his seat and looked away as he spoke to himself. “Angels are those who come and go from Elohim’s presence. They can pass through the dimensions of the multi-universe at will...”

  “That’s right, and…that’s exactly what you did,” she said. “You said that the last Protector of the Tree of Life, named by Elohim, sent you here from another time and universe. You were a Dragon? I can’t even imagine that. Nearly every world I know of has myths of dragons. I’m not sure what an elf is but we have many different sentient species that are non-humanoid but we’re all basically in need of governing. Now you say there are ferries…How do you keep peace between all those different peoples?”

  He smiled, “I’m a dragon. That means I’m capable of talking for days without rest or water. Are you sure you want the whole story?”

  She said, “You are not a dragon, my love. You are a very large, wonderful man. But yes, give it all to me.”

  He took her hand and kissed it then placed it back on his knee. “The law is contained within two words, love and reason. Those laws are evident in the heart of every living being. It is reason, which must be taught to balance the passions of the heart. Once the heart is fully understood by the individual, little reason is needed. Doing what is right comes natural. That’s why education is freely given from the earliest age, it’s our highest priority. Many devote their whole lives to educating the young.

  “Do good to yourself and consider all others a-part of that self,” is not just a saying we have, it is a way of life. Besides, as you pointed out, who can control the collective wills of Dragons, Elves, Men, Dwarves, Bird and Sea Peoples. Not to mention all the other life forms that has no concept of higher reason. On my world everyone represents themselves and everything else. We are all one.” He looked her in the eyes, “In your government, who represents the insects, bacteria and minerals.”

  Emyeu shook her head and shrugged.

  He continued, “TOL does have elders who watch and advise but education is their highest priority, not governance. TOL is a global garden. She needs to be maintained by those who benefits from her abundance. The task of her husbandry is so large it takes everyone’s participation to maintain. It is every ones passion and duty.”

  She asked, “What do you do when someone isn’t a good husband or doesn’t want to do anything?”

  “In most cases we don’t do anything to them. Where needed, we point out mistakes and make it evident to the individual or group that they are causing harm. No one on TOL wants to cause harm... We then ask them to find something else to do and work to repair the damage they caused. Some are not good with trees but are geniuses with rocks. Moreover, those who don’t want to do anything for TOL, or for their fellow residents, eventually change their minds. Falling in love with Elohim’s creation is a natural state of being.” His face grew darker, “But now that the end of my universe was drawing near, as Lavar had prophesied, things have started to change, some have forgotten basic truths. I’ve only met one group who didn’t care that they were causing harm.”

  She said, “Please explain to me, again, all about the Red Dragons and how they became human.”

  “It’s a long story.”

  “We have time.”

  “TOL was just another planet circling a sun when about a hundred thousand years ago a fleet of ships, led by the only immortal known of in those times, landed bringing with them the survivors from many different worlds. Our holy books say that Elohim had told several of their leaders that their sun was going to go nova. The scientist of that world spent many years trying to confirm their conclusions, and all the while, they were building a great ship. A year before they were scheduled to leave it was finally confirmed that their sun would be destroyed taking all the solar system with it, but it would take several thousand years for it to happen. Nevertheless, when the spaceship was ready all those who were prepared to go boarded the vessel and they left.

  “They traveled through a hole in space. It took hundreds of years for the light from their home world to reached them. When it arrived, it confirmed what they had predicted generations ago. Their sun had gone nova three hundred years after they had left. They prayed that others had followed their lead but no other project, on the scale they had undertaken was being planned.

  “The Dragons had always lived on TOL, though, their wings were more like flippers back then and their world had no name. At the time Dragons didn’t have real concepts, they didn’t have language or any complex form of communication.

  “When the spaceship arrived, full of species new to the environment, many soon died. The creatures of ancient TOL were wild and most of the plant life ate meat. However, that was the least of their problems. Our world had many kinds of diseases back then that the founder’s bodies could not easily processed. A third of them died with-in the first twenty years.

  Simply growing fruits and vegetables, the majority of the people were vegetarian, seemed impossible. The seeds they had were products of their home world’s soil contents. The nutrient levels were all wrong. But the people were smart and strong and kept trying until they found a tuber that would take root. They ate tuber soup for two seasons before they had adapted parts of the land for their stock of seeds.

  Shortly after the first full harvest the Elves, Dwarves and Men formed a council and made 11 declarations.

  All life forms are created equal.

  We are all one united under the love of Elohim.

  No one race would dominate this world.

  Every view and way of life would be allowed to grow freely as long as it didn’t infringe upon the free growth of the other lives that shared this world.

  Education is the right and responsibility of all living creatures.

  After a thousand years passed, there would be a self-imposed limit on child bearing. The limit of offspring would be decided by those living at that future time; though most were still alive when the time arrived. Breeding would be based upon life expectancy though rare defects in some of the newborns, and other exceptions, would allow families to try again without shame.

  There would be no governments or police to enforce any of the declarations though actions could be taken by anyone or the group as a whole to preserve freedom and life. This was only to be considered under the most sacred circumstances.

  Their advanced technologies would be used to help them feed and heal themselves, build shelter, and for basic de
fense against the wildlife.

  War was banished as a means to resolve all conflicts accept for the protection of freedom and the existence of life itself.

  They all agreed to reduce their energy use to match the simple lives they intended to live. A practice they had gotten use to on the long journey across space.

  And last, survey teams would be formed and allowed free access to all places on this world.

  As soon as the colony settled, survey teams gathered from the families of each race and the hybrids. They agreed to watch and report the changing conditions of TOL and identify who was respecting the agreements.

  Over the next 5,000 years, TOL was terraformed. After each of the old plants had finished its lifecycle they changed the land, one scoop of soil at a time, one seed at a time; re-growing entire forests from the native trees down to the smallest blades of grass. High quality tools, education, farming insights, wildlife management, global news and bragging rights became a type of currency. They taught all the animals, which could learn from their limited methods of instruction at the time, a way of living that included benefits for all rather than just eating thy neighbor. It was a worldwide, conscience effort to allow equal opportunity for all life forms to flourish. Those who could not grow and produce had their Earth replaced. Then time for the roots and leaves to do their magic was set aside. Still, some could not grow, so when their life cycle was finished, a new kind of seed was introduced and the process started over again.

  The dragons were among the first to be recognized as highly intelligent. One of the first speaking dragons was a very, great ancestor of mine. It took a while for the appetites of the larger…animals to change. Whole farming communities were set up solely for the subsidy of wildlife diet. Meet to fruit. This took several more thousand years and many-many generations, but soon the old world began to take on a shape that is close to what it is today.

  It was then that our holy scriptures say Elohim appeared on a mountain and called a gathering of all those who had ears to hear. Most of the world’s inhabitants made the journey. Impressed by their self-determination and their ability to get along, they were asked to become the stewards of the greatest treasure in all the multi-universe. The responsibility would be enormous but the benefits would eventually make them all immortal, immensely powerful and their labors light.

  Twelve years after they all agreed to the responsibility of the tree’s stewardship a bright white light flashed, enveloping the globe. The next day the pattern of stars that had shined the night before had changed. After lengthy investigations it was determined that, they had been transported several billion years into the future and into another universe.

  “Then a tree, no bigger than a man, was found shining on top of the same mountain that Elohim had summoned everyone to. Hundreds of thousands gathered around it, and they found that many new species of sentient beings had…mysteriously joined them.

  “Some started to worship the tree but the elders explained that this was not Elohim or a god any more than they were. It is, in fact, a gift from Elohim and therefore should be praised but not worshiped. So they held great banquets and dances to honor Elohim’s gift, not yet understanding what its true nature really was.

  “The tree grew undisturbed on that mountain for ten thousand years until the rise of the Dark foe,” He paused and said, “Am I boring you yet…we can stop here and just skip to the end?”

  “No!” she lowered her voice as she smiled. “No, I want to know more about the Dark Foe.”

  Drahca nodded and said, “I will come back to her later, it’s a story for another time. If I tell you the full history it could take several years.”

  Emyeu frowned, I thought you could, talk for days without rest or water?”

  He laughed at that, “Okay but I will have to skip many details.”

  She gave a reluctant smile and he continued, “By now the tree had grown very large and many of its wonders were beginning to be discovered. Those who were within close proximity to him or his roots lived longer, healthier lives. The tree produced fruit in all seasons, and other metaphysical changes began to affect the inhabitants of the world. The dragons grew wings and their conversations took on deeper meanings. Some of the birds began to speak as fluently as the rest of us, which changed them entirely. They found that every creature on TOL had increased cognitive abilities. The education of the young progressed exponentially as more and more creatures developed.

  Well, around this time, there was a dragon called Saise. She was the leader, something like a President, of all dragons. It was a position we had never allowed anyone before her to have or after. This was during the dragons time as the great stewards to The Holy Tree; a duty each species could enjoy for a set period.

  Saise had a big problem. She had disregarded the ancient agreements and had born many children. She was also an ancestor of mine. She soon found herself overwhelmed by all her children and out of shame she refused to go to the dragon elders or any of the other races for help. Instead she tried to cut a branch off the now, Great Tree, thinking it could be used to feed and discipline her offspring, but she could only bend the wood not break it.

  At the same time Elohim appeared to the elders in a dream and told them that the Tree of Life was in danger from the current stewards and their term was to end. All, but a few of the Red Dragons, agreed that they did not have the patience of the elves, the steadfastness of the dwarves or the endurance of the humans to take care of such a delicate thing.

  Then she became the Dark Foe and resisted her deposition mightily. At that time she was the most powerful creature in the world due to her close proximity to the Great Tree. There was a battle, many were killed before she was slain. After that, TOL was up rooted by The Protector and moved its present location. Too much blood had been spilled on the mountain. The Great Tree was moved and the top of the mountain was cut clean off by a combined energy pulse generated by a thousand elders. That place is now called the Plateau of the Crimson Dragons.

  TOL had never seen such violence and most were confused. So they did the one thing they should never have done. A mistake that only acts of hate can claim to be more harmful. They turned their eyes away from the problem and left Saise’s orphaned children to fend for themselves deep inside the plateau.

  Those children lived long lives in isolation, without education or love and then they had children. Those children grew up and banded together, in hatred, under the domination of the eldest among them. That dragon, The Red Dragon, secretly torchered and killed thousands as they occupied the former home of TOL.

  They lived this way for three thousand years, all the time smaller dragons, people and animals began to go missing. It took the courage of one brave elf, appointed by Elohim as the last protector of TOL to discover what they had been doing.

  The Red Dragons resisted Lavar’s encouragements to change. Again, Lavar, and his best friends defeated their leader, even killing him. Then, years ago, after many of his followers still refused to change he switched their spirits and minds with a group of brave humans. Then he transported the last of them to this baron world in another universe, far away from any people they could cause harm to,” He pursed his lips then took a deep breath and said, “This third generation of Red Dragons are the very people you have as passengers on this ship, right now.”

  Emyeu’s eyes went wide. She had heard most of the story already but it hadn’t lost its punch. She spoke before she could catch herself, “They’ve been here the whole time and you’ve done nothing to stop them.”

  “My love,” He took her hand again, “I have a plan, but it involves capturing all the exiles without killing you.” His voice caught at the thought of her being hurt. “I must stop them all and you must live. Here’s my plan. When we land you’re going to…

  Chapter 6-Governor Fael

  The dark side of the large moon-base grew in size as they approached. Strips of glow-panels methodically blinked, outlining the deep craters scattered acros
s the surface. Bulky tractors moved robotically across the planes carrying ore and other precious materials to processing plants that dotted the landscape. Many of those craters held deposits of space’s greatest commodity, ice that would become water, air and fuel.

  Emyeu landed the spacecraft at an empty dock next to the Mining Transportation Complex. The moon seemed too quiet. Normally, it would be operated by drilling fluid engineers and communication managers. However, Scientist and representatives from most of the Galactic World’s Governments temporarily populated it. They would all attend a meeting tomorrow for her scheduled arrival. They were here to see a demonstration of the new energy crystals made by Sleven’s team.

  Drahca spoke to Emyeu through a transmitter at his collar, “All of the exiles could have made those crystals anywhere in this universe. I suspect Sleven sent them all away to that barren planet you found us on for some darker reason than to hide the crystal’s true origins.”