Endless Sky (An Island in the Universe Trilogy Book 1)

by Greg Remy

  “In addition, during our investigations, we have obtained evidence which directly implicates an Enemy of the Galaxy, Dr. Earl Saknussemm, as an unwilling accomplice of the Grandeur’s plans.

  “Dr. Saknussemm, a brilliant physicist, had been selected by the Grandeur so that he could learn more about higher-resonant space and how to impress upon massive select media within it. Upon the Doctor’s discovery of the Grandeur’s impending course of action to utilize this information to distress intelligent life within it to the point of likely dissociation, he refused to continue research and was subsequently forced into hiding. He was hunted by proxies of the Grandeur and Pantheon Industries.

  “For many years, Dr. Saknussemm has been categorized by the CF as an ‘Enemy of the Galaxy.’ Stories about his extremist ideals and terrorist actions are just that, ‘stories,’ invented by these parties and maliciously inserted into government archives. From deep-field probes, the CF has found no actual evidence of the Doctor’s alleged treachery. Unfortunately, we are too late to protect Dr. Saknussemm.

  “Dr. Saknussemm is henceforth innocent of all charges. In fact,” Admiral Vere straightened his stance, “Dr. Saknussemm is a hero and I am here to announce that the CF formally awards him the Medal of Galactic Honor. A statue is to be erected in the Cassiopeian System in honor of the late Doctor.” He saluted. “We, at the Copper Force, thank you, Dr. Saknussemm, for your efforts to which you have made the ultimate sacrifice.

  “We must also thank Dr. Saknussemm for his work in reaching beyond what was once thought to be the limits of our existence to another. From his work, the Grandeur could have annihilated an entire species, yet it is also from this work that a deeper understanding of higher-resonant space has come to be. It is due to his efforts and the efforts of those two brave explorers that we have been introduced to our new galactic allies.”

  The news feed cut back to the reporter. “Admiral Vere went on to thank Ms. Zoe Halloconst and Mr. Darious Designate 1-Alpha-011-.2.2, who overcame great odds, and at the risk of their own lives, to expose the corruption and bring to light the Watchers. During an earlier interview with the two, when asked what prompted them to go on such a daring scientific journey, Ms. Zoe said, ‘verve, nerve, and adventure.’ Back to you Tom.”

  The camera flicked over to a genial man in a suit sitting behind a desk. “Thanks Stacie. Coming after the break: where and when can you meet our new neighbors; and later, does the Tune Squad have what it takes to win it all? Stay with us to find out.”

  Chapter 52

  Endless Sky

  Zoe turned off the galactic report from her screen. Subtle music resumed in the background—a tranquil, bass-infused melody. Darious was lounging with her, hand in hand, in the captain’s seat.

  “Well,” said Zoe stretching, “no longer just a ‘clone,’ eh Mr. Darious?” She smiled.

  “Indeed. Out of many, I am now conveyed as an individual. An honor,” stated Darious.

  Zoe stared out at space. The stars gleamed, and the band of the Milky Way seemed to shine brighter than she had remembered. Zoe was glad the last few days of interviews and being paraded around the galaxy were over. Finally, she and Darious could just relax with one another. As she held his hand and settled back, her mind replayed all the recent happenings.

  When she had sent out Dr. Saknussemm’s signal, Vasherasnew—Watcher—ships had arisen not only within the region, but simultaneously all throughout the galaxy. It must have been quite the shock for everyone. For the most part, it was a peaceful emergence. She was glad for that. Now humans were not alone. As the news report had stated, already joint efforts were underway to expand each’s understanding of the universe. For people everywhere, the discovery that the space they occupied contained another corporeal island of stability opened up the possibility of others, perhaps even more far flung; perhaps there was an infinity of overlapping realities. Fantasies of the unknown were once more at the forefront of mankind’s thoughts. From here on out, the terms ‘explorer,’ ‘adventurer,’ and ‘mad scientist’ might not even be as rare as they once were. Zoe smiled at the thought.

  “You know, Hot Sauce,” she said, “turns out starry Vere wasn’t so bad after all. The CF just took a bit longer than I would have liked to figure things out for themselves.”

  “Indeed,” said Darious, staring lazily through the window. He held up her hand and gave it a soft kiss. “What is next for us, Captain?”

  “Ha. Well, I’m not sure. Lunch on Ganymede? Or a tour of Earth-1? Oh! How about a delectable Carnegie Cosmo while we watch the sun set on Luna-9?”

  “Yes, yes, and yes,” said Darious.

  Zoe sat up and began typing on her console. However, she stopped before engaging the thrusters. Taking Darious’ hand in her own again, she leaned toward him and rested her head on his shoulder. Together, they silently gazed out at the endless sky.

  Chapter 53

  Epilogue: The Imperial Bower

  A streak of cosmic lightning arced across the bow, causing both Zoe and Darious to jump simultaneously. Instantly, alerts rang out and red text flashed across the projection screen. As Zoe scanned through the readout, her ship was suddenly jerked aside from its anchored position, as if it had just been struck by a shockwave. The computer indicated that an immense energy fluctuation had just occurred, the nature of which was unknown. Zoe diminished the data and pivoted her ship to realign the cockpit with the unidentified celestial disturbance. To her complete amazement, a ship came into view. It was a small spacecraft with a sleek profile.

  “Zoe,” said Darious, likewise awestruck. “That vessel has a very similar appearance to your ship.”

  She continued to stare at it. The ship was very similar to hers, except for some obvious minor differences to the primary thruster array, some sort of antenna system atop it, and scarring along the starboard side, like it had recently come in close contact with another vessel.

  “What the—,” Zoe began.

  Just then, they were hailed by the ship. Before answering, Zoe did a quick scan of the vessel. To her somewhat surprise, her ship’s computer registered it as her own and looped the information back to her own ship’s characteristics.

  “Hmmph,” she grumbled. “It seems to be blocking our scans.”

  They were hailed again and this time she picked up.

  “Zoe?” a woman’s voice crackled through a low-quality microphone.

  “Yes, ma’am,” said Zoe. “And to whom am I speaking to?”

  “Allow me to come aboard your vessel.”

  Zoe looked over at Darious and he reciprocated her skeptical expression.

  “T’sk t’sk. Introductions first.”

  “Zoe, I swear sometimes I am just the worst.” The call abruptly ended.

  “Curiouser and curiouser,” said Zoe.

  A sudden tinny popping sound came from behind Zoe and Darious. Startled, they spun around. Standing at the entryway to the cockpit was a woman in sable combat gear, approximately Zoe’s height and with long dark hair covering half her face.

  Darious was quick to place himself in front of Zoe and held up his fists. “Stay back!” he shouted.

  “Darious. Oh Darious!” the woman chirped in a happy, longing tone. She took a step forward with arms out, as if to embrace him, but withdrew and instead stayed at the entryway with her hands fixed to either side of it. A serious expression grew upon her face as she looked past Darious to Zoe.

  “Well, missy,” the woman said in a condescending tone. “Here I am, invited or not.”

  Zoe stepped up next to Darious. “And just who are you?” she asked.

  “The one person you would never expect to meet in the entire universe: yourself.”

  “Myself…,” repeated Zoe, eyeing the woman. She could not yet guesstimate the amount of craziness of the militarized person standing before her, but obviously this woman did possess some sort of remarkable space-leaping technology to be able to teleport onboard ships. This was new technology, at least to Zo
e’s knowledge, and thus her ‘guest’ probably had some advanced know-how to go along with it. Zoe put a hand over Darious’ raised fists. He lowered them, but kept a hard stance. “Please, go on.”

  “Thank you.” The woman brushed her hair back and Zoe saw her cheek was scarred and her neck had deep-tissue bruising. “I am you, from the future.” Zoe felt an unexpected eerie sensation arise within her. “You are to go there. The tools you require will be at the coordinates found on your ‘lightcard’—as you call it—within subsection B, the tilting parameters of your False Gamma Routine. They should become available right about now.”

  Just then, Zoe’s lightcard dinged. She pulled it out and a string of text appeared across the screen.

  Time delayed FG module loading. Coordinates available. FG executable available.

  Zoe reread the words in astonishment, gulping back down her nerves. “Okay. Okay. That was odd.” She looked at the woman. “When and how did you put that in there? I always have my lightcard on me.”

  The woman smiled. It was somehow familiar to Zoe.

  “Let’s back up a bit by going forward.”

  “No, no,” said Zoe. “No tricky jargon and no funny ‘time travel’ shenanigans.” Zoe had put up air quotes to the term ‘time travel.’ Of all her years in college and all her subsequent education, time travel had always been, at most, an abstract idea used mostly by professors to teach students about metaphysics. Untestable, unverifiable, and unstable concepts were the best that had come about from the theoretical community. No realistic experiment had ever even been conceived to assess such notions. But then again, thought Zoe, if you were from the future, you’d have time to figure out those things. She shook her head. “No.”

  “Your lightcard,” said the woman, pointing to the device in Zoe’s hands.

  “What about it?” Zoe looked down at it.

  “It’s a piece of future tech, manufactured from the fiftieth century onward and utilized to operate ancient computer technology—the technology of today. I gave it to you.”

  “You... what?” asked Zoe.

  “I snuck it to you in a trash pile on Gamma-9 when you were first building your ship.” That uncanny feeling within Zoe swirled in her stomach. “There have been others though—other aions from us—lost in time. I know this because the CF has acquired some, no doubt from those of us who have traveled far back and have unfortunately left theirs there. Smart for the Coppers to keep those devices locked away in vaults.”

  Zoe opened her mouth. “The Grandeur,” she near whispered.

  “Yes,” said the woman. “He had taken one of our aions.”

  Zoe spoke slowly. “In what future would I have the need for such a program as he had—to be able to wirelessly torture a person with the touch of a button?”

  The woman grimaced. “There are dark days ahead, Zoe, know that. However, also understand that you are intertwined with the universe’s past, present, and future far more than you can imagine. Your influence upon it is of many intertwining paths, much like the artifact gifted to you from the Watchers.”

  Zoe thought of the halo statue which she had bestowed upon her old university just yesterday. “And why can’t you just do it then, eh?” she asked dubiously.

  “I cannot. I have been mortally wounded and cannot continue.”

  “You don’t seem to be,” said Zoe, again looking the woman up and down.

  “I assure you I am, even though I do not appear to be. I have failed. I knew I would come here to tell you all this, to begin the circles. In 36 hours I will be dead. I also know this because I have already seen the outcome. There is nowhere for me to go, no time I can try. My path is at its end.”

  Zoe thought for a moment. “‘Begin the circles?’”

  “Yes. I am the first, but I know I am not the last. You will try many attempts... with many failures.”

  “How many?”

  The woman took in a long breath. “I have recorded direct signatures of over 140.”

  Zoe nearly chocked on her own saliva. “You mean I am going to die 140 times?” She snickered. “You are positively insane!”

  “No,” said the woman in an austere tone. The air in the ship suddenly seemed to become quite cold and still. “I anticipate we will die many more. These are just the ones I have been able to identify and like I said, this is my first go at it. I do not know how many attempts have led to this moment now of our meeting—to you. There may be hundreds, even thousands of failed attempts by us. The problem is obviously not yet solved and even now we are continuously spreading amongst time; each new iteration of us thinking of new ways to stop that man, with new circles and new casualties. Our ashes are spread all across the galaxy; all throughout time.”

  “This is a lot to take in,” said Zoe. “And I’m no time travel expert. Wouldn’t all of this have already happened then? I don’t get it.”

  “You certainly have much to learn about traveling through time, but in the end, it boils down to harmonic physics. And who better than me?” The woman gave a small, held-back smile. “Do I have your attention now?”

  Zoe gave a half-hearted nod. She was taking in the information in strides. It was slowly being processed through her logical parts and from what had been articulated and witnessed in the last five minutes, Zoe could see a potential, albeit far-fetched, possibility of truth to what the mysterious woman was saying.

  Her self-proclaimed future-self looked over at Darious and a sad smile came upon her lips. “You, however, will be sitting this one out. Oh, how I’ve missed you.” She looked as though she wanted so badly to wrap her arms around him.

  “What do you mean?” asked Zoe.

  The woman turned to Zoe and nearly snarled. “One hundred and forty-three deaths,” she said with such anger and such pain. “I would not wish that upon my worst enemy. You know what is right.” Her expression eased as she turned back to Darious and her demeanor was once more soothed. The woman then stared straight at Zoe and all evidence of her cheerfulness vanished.

  “In the future, specifically the 53rd century, an evil man, a truly evil man,” the woman hissed the words, “cracks the longstanding hyperbole of time-dimensional travel. He is the Imperial Bower. He threatens to alter the entire galaxy to his twisted liking with this technology. Moreover, as you will see, connected to this threat further in the future, there are machine men—disengaged creatures which threaten all life. If they get their metallic claws on this technology, it will be all over for mankind. It will be over for everyone and everything in every corner of time. You must stop him before this happens and before further damage can be done. Right now, you are the only other one that unlocks this ability—the ability to time travel.”

  “How is this so?” Zoe asked.

  That familiar smile edged upon the woman’s face. “Oh, you know, a bit of your own resonance ingenuity and a bit of ‘borrowing.’”

  Zoe internally reflected on the information presented. “How about using the CF? I mean, I assume this is a job for them?”

  “No,” replied the woman. “There has been enough damage already. Can you imagine what the CF would do with the ability to time travel?”

  “Good point,” said Zoe.

  “We must keep this particular circle small. The only people I trust are currently aboard this ship. Listen, Zoe, you must do this. Look to your aion; it will lead you where you need to go. You must save them all.”

  Before Zoe could think of a response, the woman pulled out a small rectangular device, much like her own lightcard, yet slightly modified and more impressive looking. The woman keyed a command and the sound of a bursting hollow canister immediately followed. In the moment Zoe had blinked, the woman was gone. She looked over at Darious and then ran to the cockpit. Zoe looked out; there was nothing there. She did a scan of the region; she and Darious were alone.

  Sitting in her captain’s seat, Zoe soon became mentally enthralled by the singular event. For many minutes, she was consumed by hypothetical what-i
fs before regaining an awareness of her surroundings. She cleared her mind, taking in a deep breath and turned to Darious, who had appropriated a seat on the arm of her chair. Zoe smirked.

  “That look,” she said waving a finger at him. “I know that look.”

  “Then you already know what I am thinking,” he said.

  “Could be dangerous.”

  “Indeed,” he replied.

  “Well then, shall we?”

  He gave her a single nod.

  Zoe loaded the coordinates from the ‘aion’ and plotted their course. “Let’s see what all this hubbub is about.”

  Zoe engaged thrusters and the bantam ship rocketed forward. She looked ahead with Darious, their journey etched in the stars.

  About the Author

  Greg Remy is a physicist and science fiction enthusiast. He lives in New Mexico among the coyotes and radio interferometers. When he’s not soaking in the desert sun or a local brew, he’s busy providing technical services to clients nationwide. At night, Greg’s mind often wanders, leading him to imagine absurd and extraordinary solutions for the unknowns all around us.

  gr.endlesssky@gmail.com