Sacrifice of Angels: A Pax Aeterna Novel (Pax Aeterna Universe Book 6)

by Trevor Wyatt

  Though the distant stars—excepting Titawin itself—were only occasionally visible through rifts in the clouds enveloping their world, nearby Veddash was a constant presence in Irivan’s night skies. The moon’s forests returned slowly, but by the time they had returned to their original glory, the Irivani no longer wished to return to their primitive beginnings, although their mythology is full of pastoral tales. Instead, they established a thriving metropolitan culture in the trees, with outposts and settlements linked by a system of aerial roads and paths.

  Fascinated by the flying abilities of the forests’ abundant avian organisms, the Irivani pursued their dream of flight until they perfected balloons, gliders and later, powered heavier-than-air flying machines. The moon’s thick atmosphere assisted in their efforts. Once able to rise into the relatively clear upper reaches of their atmosphere, Irivanian astronomy and cosmology began in earnest.

  There had been clashes among the faithful for many years because fundamentalist Veddists would not relinquish their view of the stars. Even after the first expedition to Arrikiden returned to Irivan bearing rocks with strange devices embedded in their matrices, as well as the fossilized remains of alien creatures, the fundamentalists insisted that the fossils were fake, and that all reports of an ancient culture on the exoplanet were hoaxes. All members of the expedition were put to death.

  This provoked a furious uprising of the Reformers, who massacred fundamentalist leaders and worshippers in their temples. A religious war exploded across Irivan, that did not burn itself out for nearly twenty standard years. When at last hostilities ceased, the Reformers were triumphant. From that time on, science and liberal thinking drove Irivanian life. However, the near-total extermination of irimales had lasting effects; the population plummeted, and the recovery to its vitality was slow. Irimale children were cosseted and protected, and often hidden away from public view by fearful parents. Regarded as chattels, a family’s irimales were forbidden to mix with greater society, and were jealously guarded and forced to procreate only with mates specifically chosen for them by family patriarchs.

  Conservative forces have made great strides in the past century, however, with heads of state across Irivan becoming more beholden to Veddists ostensibly working for change but secretly working to return the entire planet to theocratic rule.

  Science & Technology

  Though there were no planets in the Titawinian system capable of supporting life like theirs, the Irivani were soon able to voyage to the binary system’s smaller component—an M-type red dwarf about 750 AU from Titawin itself. It is much farther than the distance from Sol to Uranus (just over 19 AU), but considerably less than the distance from Sol to Alpha Centauri (273,196.8 AU).

  The first expedition found no intelligent life on the small, rocky worlds of Upsilon Andromedae B. But there were, to the astonishment of the expedition’s scientists, buried traces of an ancient civilization that had once flourished on one world—a now-lifeless rock named Arrikiden. This discovery energized the Irivanian scientific establishment, and spurred the development of technology that would enable explorers to journey to other, more distant, stars.

  Moreover, the revelation that there had been other forms of intelligence in the universe, even if none existed now, provoked a backlash among faithful followers of the Great Ved, known as Veddists, many of whom were irimales. They believed that the Irivani alone were the pinnacle of creation. There could be no other advanced races; to suggest as much was heresy. Even to admit that there were other worlds beyond Irivan and Majriti was to invite scorn and approbation among the stricter Veddidts.

  The holy writings of Ved—which were collected before the piercing of their atmosphere’s thick veil—taught that Majriti and its attendant satellites were the only other worlds in creation. The stars, glimpsed on rare occasions through rifts in the eternal cloud cover, were thought to be the sparks raised by the sacrificial fires lit by Ved on Majriti, as he slew his enemies by casting them into the flames. Soon, this belief was abandoned; the upper reaches of the atmosphere were explored by intrepid Irivanian aeronauts, systematically investigated by scientists and the true nature of the lights in the night skies were revealed.

  Nonetheless, a schism developed between hardline fundamentalists and a more liberal group of scientifically minded Reformers, who were prepared to reconsider their position on the superiority of Irivani to all other life. Clearly, the fact that other intelligent life forms had developed a technological civilization hundreds of thousands of years before the Irivani even discovered fire meant that there could be other such races elsewhere in space. It was thought that there might even be beings whose cultures were far more advanced than the Irivani, and that these beings, could be receptive to evangelical efforts on the part of the Irivani.

  Seyshallian Nation

  Seyshall closely circles a non-variable red dwarf star, and has a year that measures less than a tenth of Earth’s. There are seven other planets in the Seyshallian system, none of which are capable of supporting life.

  Physical Appearance

  The Seyshallians are descended from cephalopod-like creatures. They resemble four-foot-tall lizards with four tentacle-like upper limbs. In form, they are similar to the Drupadi, though smaller. Some scientists speculate that the two races spring from a common ancestor, perhaps brought to both worlds as pets by the semi-mythical Precursors in ages past. Due to the low ambient light, their huge, tarsier-like eyes are particularly sensitive. On worlds with larger suns, they must wear protective lenses.

  Anatomy/Physiology

  The Sayshallians are cold-blooded egg-layers. The females are physically indistinguishable from males, save for the females’ ability to change their appearance through the use of specialized cells. Females have retained their ancestors’ ability to adjust the color, opacity, or reflectivity of their skin. They are prized as spies and scouts in battle.

  Home World Geography & History

  The Seyshallians’ ancestors were forced onto land when the oceans on their native world shrank drastically in the wake of a stellar cataclysm. The pressure to survive also kicked their intellectual development into high gear, intelligence being the key to their survival. Over a period of several thousand years the Seyshallians went from seaside-dwelling primitives, reliant on the ocean for their food, to sophisticated builders of monuments and tillers of the soil.

  Politics & Government

  Their primary form of government is feudalism. Each nation or state is ruled by a single powerful lord or king to whom lesser nobles swear fealty. These royal families are dynastic and can last for many centuries unless overcome from without or overcome from within. Many kingdoms are stable, while others are constantly under threat because of changing accords, often as a result of kinship or marriage. The line of descent is through the female.

  Society

  Seyshallians are naturally aggressive. After several disastrous early attempts to come together in large cities as their population expanded, their settlements never grew any larger than two or three hundred individuals. They have remained this size throughout their history. Consequently, their planet is dotted with many small villages and towns, in regions analogous to duchies. These duchies or principalities are overseen by rulers (see above) who scheme and strive and engage with each other in ever-shifting pragmatic alliances. Great lovers of ceremony, Seyshallians put on many festivals and have numerous holidays.

  Having evolved into their current amphibious form, the Seyshallians live a partially land-based existence, with considerable time spent underwater. On land, they engage in mercantile and scientific pursuits, whereas beneath the oceans they hunt and grow their crops.

  A Seyshallian rite of passage entails a young male venturing into the deeper oceanic rifts in search of a ferocious, sightless predator that lurks there. Many of these eager hunters never return. Those who do are rewarded with the girl of their choice from their native village. The females have nothing to say about this, and some a
re not happy to be thus chosen by the triumphant youth, who often comes back maimed from his trial and may need to be cared for. As a result, spousal homicide is not unknown, and the wild lands outside of some settlements have become a haven for females fleeing vengeful families. Determined males (or their families) will sometimes pursue the females even there.

  They are also fanatical traders, and a Seyshallian is never happier than when he thinks he has wrangled a deal for himself.

  Science & Technology

  Masters of the biological sciences, Seyshallian sometimes attack enemy territory by means of engineered sea life, including flying jellyfish and specially grown carnivorous algae.

  The Seyshallians, from the early days of their civilization, were fascinated by the possibilities of powered flight. Seyshallian scientists, through the pressures of war, developed powered rockets relatively early, when their overall culture was about on the same level as Earth’s in the Middle Ages. Though they never discovered the transistor, the Seyshallian nevertheless managed to claw their way into space using the computational power of a vacuum-tube-based technology.

  A favorite saying among Seyshallian scientists is that their first great leap was on to dry land, and their second was into space. They discovered other star-faring species almost at once, through contact with the Children of Zorm and, through them, the Reznak Empire. Warned by the Children of possible negative effects on their psyche by Reznakian telepathy, the Seyshallians were prepared for withdrawal from contact but the oppressive mental emanations of the Reznakians had no effect whatsoever on the Seyshallians’ minds. Intrigued by the problem, the Seyshallians are conducting research into the effect.

  Culture

  Seyshallian are known to be skilled physicians and many find employment in the life and medical sciences. Some exiled females (see above) have even managed to win berths on starships, often at great peril to themselves, because it is not unknown for vengeful male relatives to follow them and even infiltrate a starship’s crew in order to kill the wayward female. These killings are regarded by the Seyshallians as purely family affairs.

  Children of Zorm

  This race of gentle bipeds is not based on a planet. The entire species--over two million individuals—live in a flotilla of ships and a swarm of hollowed-out asteroids circling 18 Scorpii, a main sequence G2 star about 45 light years from Earth. Zorm is one of only two worlds circling 18 Scorpii.

  The Children of Zorm have resided in space for over a thousand years, while their planet, Zorm, a Mercury-sized planet with a thick atmosphere, undergoes an ice age. They plan to return to Zorm, however, when the ice recedes. In the meantime, they established themselves firmly in the asteroid belt, mining the rocks for metals and ice.

  Physical Appearance

  In appearance, Zormians are humanoid, with a small round head bearing a prehensile trunk, two gentle black eyes, a pair of huge ears; relatively thick, elephant-like legs, and long sensory whiskers, like those of Terran cats. Their bodies are covered with short, greyish-brown fur. They have long tails. Their stubby hands possess two fingers and a thumb

  Anatomy/Physiology

  The Children of Zorm are oviparous (egg-laying), warm-blooded oxygen breathers. Their skeletons are less bone than cartilage, and because Zorm’s gravity is only about a third that of Earth, they require physical augmentation such as mechanical exoskeletons on higher-gravity worlds. All Zormians are vegetarian.

  Home World Geography & History

  Physically delicate, the Children of Zorm achieved intelligence, as do many species, as a result of being preyed upon by larger, more savage foes. Before its ice age, jungle-like Zorm was home to a flourishing fauna of giant dinosaurian creatures. The Children of Zorm evolved intelligence to escape the marauding monsters. (See Science & Technology, below, for details.)

  Politics & Government

  The Children of Zorm practice basic democracy: one Child, one vote. Overall rule is vested in the captains of their ships and in the governors of the asteroid colonies. All Children participate in debates and law-making. Sitting out an election is frowned upon. Their economy is based on precious metals and organic compounds that they mine from the asteroids.

  Society

  The Children have two sexes, male and female. They are strongly family-oriented. The young is raised by their parents and extended families. The female lays one egg at a time, and can remain fertile for up to twenty years. Even so, small families are the norm, given the relatively limited space available on their flotilla and in their asteroid colonies. Certain families may be allowed to have additional children as a mark of respect or as a reward for service above and beyond the call of duty. Otherwise, reproduction is limited, with potential parents being chosen in a lottery on a yearly basis.

  Science & Technology

  They discovered steam power when their main civilization was technologically equivalent to ancient Greece on Earth. Using steam-propelled projectiles the Children were able at last to drive the dinosaur-like creatures menacing them into near-extinction. The use of these projectiles, as well as simultaneous advances in electromagnetic theory, soon led the Children to experiments in heavier-than-air flight—relatively easy to accomplish on Zorm, whose thick atmosphere is the result of constant outgassing from the planet’s interior.

  The rate of outgassing, however, was found to be declining; the air was slowly beginning to leak away because the planet’s gravity was not strong enough to retain it. The Children are working to establish experimental domed cities on Zorm’s equator, and plan to move into similar cities when they return from space.

  Strong believers in democracy, the Children have long had a love of political debate. Other forms of government rarely took hold in their society, though this may not always have been to their benefit; the discussion of whether or not to abandon their threatened world went on for nearly two (Earth Standard) centuries before they decided to collectively take up residence in the asteroids.

  The Children of Zorm originally had little interest in trying to reach other stars, though they had successfully launched probes to the only other world in their star system, Haddi, further in toward 18 Scorpii. Haddi possesses plant and animal life but is too hot for the Children; they prefer their climate-controlled asteroid cities and space vessels. Although Zorm and Haddi both have moons, none are capable of supporting life.

  The Children experienced First Contact when their system was visited by an expedition of astronauts from the Reznak Empire. The two races were similar enough in development, worldview and technology to have a great deal in common. The Children had long supposed that there must be intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, and were hugely excited by the visiting Imperial representatives. An exchange of information provided the Children with a great deal of knowledge and stimulated a belated debate among them concerning the practicality of visiting other star systems.

  However, before the debate could proceed further, catastrophe struck. The contact between the Empire and the Children resulted to a sudden uptick in psychological disturbances among the Zormians. It was revealed, eventually, that the disturbance originated from the flood of telepathic energy from the Reznak. Mild though it was, this flow, which was involuntary on the part of the Reznak, triggered mental stress in the Children, and led to a wave of aggressive behavior and an increase in suicides. Shocked and dismayed that their mere thoughts could cause such a negative reaction, the Reznak withdrew from all physical contact They have, however, maintained electronic communication from a safe distance. Researchers on both sides continue to search for a way to solve the problem.

  The Zormian fleet is larger than that of most other known space-faring culture, but their vessels are generally less of an offensive/defensive nature, and are oriented towards simple maintenance of the population. When the situation calls for fighting, though, The Children of Zorm have proven themselves to be formidable foes.

  Kurta Colonies

  Physical Description

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nbsp; Kurta are felinoid mammals. In height, the female averages up to six feet, and the males slightly over five. Their bodies are covered with short fur in one of several uniform colors. There are no splotches of additional color/patterns, as with Terran cats. Their hands have three fingers and an opposed thumb. Fingers, as well as toes, possess retractable claws. The Kurtan tail is slightly prehensile. The face looks pushed-in, as with a pug dog, but still has an obvious muzzle.

  Anatomy/Physiology

  The Kurta have an internal bony skeleton. Their teeth reflect their carnivore ancestry, but the dentition is somewhat adapted for chewing as opposed to simple biting and tearing. Being mammalian, they are warm-blooded oxygen breathers who give birth to and nurse their young.

  The Kurta are more or less nocturnal in their habits.

  Home World Geography & History

  Lomagon has two moons, Keda and Pondak, and this fact had a great impact on their development as a species. Primitive Kurta believed that the universe was dominated by two warring sister goddesses, Haeia and Beloria, who lived on the moons. Both goddesses sought to destroy Lomagon because it blocked their view of the stars, but were kept from doing so by their mutual jealousy and enmity. Kurta mythology is filled with tales of mortals who were victimized or assisted in one way or another by the scheming goddesses or their underlings as they strove to gain ascendency over each other. The Kurta regard the enmity of Haeia and Beloria as the source of all earthly misery and woe.

  Lomagon is an arid world with no oceans and only a few seas which are a bit bigger than large lakes—scattered here and there across its face. Even so, with two moons, the tides on these bodies of water can be sizeable. Kurta dwelling on their coastlines developed sailing in their prehistory, and soon established trading routes and thriving coastal port cities. Land-based caravans also spread Kurta cultures.