by Grant Fausey
"Perhaps your neck is out a little too far this time," he answered, directing the conversation with the Governor. "You should watch it or someone might just chop off that fool head of yours."
The Senator crossed the expanse of the office, facing off his adversary with anger in his eyes. "I will find out why, Governor," he barked like a dog on the edge throwing a fit. "You're not the only one with connections in high places. If I were you and I'm not, I'd be careful of my own neck; someone may take a liking to your scalp as well; especially, if something should happen to me." The Governor Colonel stared at Senator Clarion Starr, considering the implication. He slammed his fist against the wall, leaving the royal seal of his hands imprint embedded in its surface. "The anger is getting the best of you, old man!"
He had him for no good reason. The threat had to be controlled, manipulated and readdressed to suit his needs.
Senator Clarion Starr stepped back, moving across the room toward the door. The Governor Colonel motioned to his guards as they closed the path, blocking the Senator's means of retreat. The exits to the office were blocked. "Not so fast," commanded the Governor Colonel. "No one…”
Senator Starr looked at the guards then backed away keeping an eye on his back. He stood tall and redirected his attention to the Governor Colonel. "You wouldn't dare; my absence from the computer council would...."
"Would be nothing," smacked the Governor Colonel.
"Go ahead," shouted the Senator. "Do what you will, or have your toy soldiers get out of here, so we can settle this like men."
The Governor took the hint and ordered the guards from the room, but they didn't move. "Go on," he said with a stout voice, and gestures fitting of any large, round–bellied fisherman. "My safety isn't at stake here, but your lives will be."
Clarion smiled an embarrassed smile; his opponent laughed, shaking his friend's hand. "A wise decision, Governor! You're still as good a cuss as you ever been! It's good to see you haven't changed!"
"You either!"
The guards glanced at one another then exited the room reluctantly. The door sealed shut behind them and the two companions smiled at one another.
"Well," he said to Senator Clarion Starr. "What have you found out?"
The Senator placed both his hands on the back of the Governor Colonel's chair and patted his fingers until the public official was seated. He turned away from him and walked. "There's unrest in the empire. Every civilized planet has something to gain from its demise. Even the council is beginning to suspect what's going on. It's only a matter of time. Once they compute the proper equations, they'll know the figures on probability. Clarion sat on the edge of the desk. "For all intents and purposes we're still ahead of them," he continued. "However, and this is a big however; we must stay that way or we're liable to loose the course we've created thus far."
"This game of altering futures is dangerous, Clarion,” said the Governor Colonel. He pushed his chair back with a shove of his foot and turned it so he could face the Senator. “Not only to ourselves, but also to the structure of everything we know as reality. If we fail, it could change everything for the worse."
"Yes Governor," said the Senator as he walked away from the desk. "If we fail!"
Clarion placed his hands on the forearms of the chair and leaned in to face the Governor Colonel nose to nose. His eyes widened. The Governor could almost smell his desire. "But the probabilities of failure have been computed too. The alternative is unthinkable."
The Governor pushed him away and crossed the room again, stopping in front of his desk. "A galaxy ruled by the Industries would be intolerable," said the Senator. "We must alter it now, before the Industries become indestructible. That's why I came as soon as I received word of the Robotoid deployment, but why the Eden Sector?"
The Governor Colonel didn't answer. Instead, he stepped to the windows overlooking the ocean. Oceanna's thick atmosphere was beginning to take a toll on him. "Organic mechanicals," whispered the Governor. "The Industries is developing a new life form: Some sort of new human replicant. A doppelganger of some kind: know as an Acreen."
"I've heard the rumors," answered the Senator. "Cloning on Singus III. It was all over Trithen about the possible replacement of individuals. They call it regeneration or second generation or something."
"Think man! Replicas and replication wars."
"Not replicants, Clarion," snapped the Governor Colonel. "But genetically created replacement beings ... slaves to the Industries."
"Are we talking about a controlled rebellion? Do you know what that means? A war initiated by the Industries themselves?" The Governor Colonel leaned back against the wall and looked up at the Senator blankly; his eyes open wide.
"When––" snapped Clarion? The Governor didn't have time to answer. Clarion had too many questions. "In what time period? Which dimension ... which universe? Again the Governor Colonel waited. "For what purpose?" Clarion was full of questions that didn't have answers.
"We're not sure, Senator. But the answers seem to lie in the Eden sector."
"All right," snarled Senator Clarion Starr. "Then I'm on my way to the Eden sector. We'll find answers."
The Senator headed for the door, stopped and turned back to the Governor Colonel. "If the Industries are creating some new race of super beings I want to know about it." The Governor trailed him a few steps, and hesitated. "If they've selected a new world as a breading ground, then I want to know that too."
"I understand," said the Governor.
"Good luck," ushered Clarion. "We must survive whatever it is the Industries are creating. We can't let them win."
"Agreed," said the Governor. He had the best people for the job: The best tact for success.
"Keep an eye on your back," said the Governor concerned about the aspects of the situation. It was beginning to affect him, directly. His world was at stake, pitted against the Industries was a poor place to be with little choice. There wasn't time to make decisions, especially ones that could alter the future of his race. The only course of action seemed to be one that led to a war with the Industries itself. The outcome would be anyone's guess.
The Senator stepped through the door, and paused. The guards outside his office were gone. The corridor was empty and if it wasn't for Clarion, he would have been completely alone. The governor felt a chill race through his bones. He was frightened for his life, for everyone's life. He didn't dare show it in front of the Senator. Instead, he stepped out into the hallway, patting his guest on the shoulder. They were partners in a sense, defending the universe, life, love and the pursuit of happiness. He smiled and said:
"I'll keep you informed."
–– 12 ––
SUNRISE
Like a voice in the wind, the howl of a herder coursed through the blizzard air on Rampia. Its voice echoed from the top of the fortress, bouncing down to where I stood as Maccon. We stepped away from the alcove's high fence ridge, watching the cloudy sky above the Athinian plain, awaiting the arrival of the visiting adversary who would come from the sky, not by a confrontation of strength, but rather a battle of timing. The mission was part of our dreams––a hundred dreams. We were ready for the newcomers. There was a commodity of greater value on Rampia other than self-indulgence. I felt awed by it, even threatened by it. Man was only a pawn in this game of chess and my adversary was very good. These Industries had sent me to destroy.
A single flare lit the horizon, signaling the vessel's arrival: The beginning of the game. Maccon and I didn't know from where the starship would come, only that the Omar fit the description in the mind of the Source, like a great sea going vessel among icebergs.
The sound of powerful thrusters marked the hiss of the motors above the jagged rock formations. The sun cut through openings in the rock, sending rays of sunshine through the chunks of the mismatched planet. If only we could forsake this new adversary with challenge so strong he would fall by the wayside and remain unmitigated. However, he knew no possibility; noth
ing more than an old man's folly was. A beam of light descended from the bow of the ship, gracefully touching the top of the mountains. The platform splintered, the edges of the field wedging into smaller waves of radiant electromagnetic energy, which like a wind from a coarse fan, encircled the top of the jagged rock formations awaiting the arrival of the two figures as they materialized within the shallow frequency of the transporter's beam. In a microsecond, their arrival affirmed the fate of a universe.
"This is the place my ancestors spoke me of, Rena. This entire planet was once a world of beauty until the Industries destroyed it." Rena on-the-other-hand wasn't interested in destiny, hers, his, or anyone else's for that matter. No, she was concerned with staying alive. Titann’s heritage was sketchy at best. What came before no longer had any meaning to the events of the day. "Watch for them, Rena,” said the officer. “The warriors of Rampia will come to us; to our cause, to our freedom. It is our destiny!"
The feline woman wrapped herself around the Admiral waist, clinging for her life; the wind pressing against her in a gale force, tugging, as if to sweep her away to the horizon; to the place that terrified her most. The beasts assembled in a battle to the death that was taking place inside of her own being, all around her, ripping at her like some giant tyrant attacking her soul. Titann glared at her, seeing fear in her eyes as it boiled to the surface. She felt the waves of despair, along with the static arcing through the air like some unseen force attached to the stone pillars of his heart.
The arches clashed, cracking of thunder, which spindle into a column of light. A bolt of lightning melded into a rod as if alive. "Behold the staff of Raa," yelled Titann, trying to be heard above the roar of the wind. "It appears as it did in the legends of my ancestors.
“The warriors come, Rena. There...." he said, pointing to the horizon, "On the edge of the great plain, the dust of the migration."
Rena latched on to his waist tighter, huddling sheepishly beneath his flowing robes, in the shadows of his body supported by his strength. There was no fascination in the approaching beasts, no her interest in what the Admiral had to say. Her fears gripped her by the throat and force her to withdrawal, but Titann grabbed the staff. His fingers burned from the glow of the ancient device. Yet, there was peace with the mystical assonance hummed by the rod. Rena screamed; her delicate ears pounding at the sound of each hoof's beat. The towering, six-legged creatures lumbered toward the jagged rocks, uncertain of the need to answer the calling in their mind.
"Greetings warrior," proclaimed Titann. "We have travelled great distances to find the kind and gentle herders who are true warriors." The beast voice broke the roar of the wind in a high-pitched squeal.
"So..." said the beast, "We meet again, Titann; of what importance do you speak of to Raa?”
"I have come to enlist your help in a matter of grave importance," answered the soldier, hearing the cry of the warrior. "The conquest of the planet Trithen, and downfall of the Industries."
The huge spider moved closer, stood erect next to the edge of the cliff; his head only inches from Titann's face; his breath throbbing in the Admiral’s head like some telepathic jackhammer.
"Ah ... a time of rebellion," commanded the beast. "Nothing would please us more than to see the destruction of the Industries. For we too are living machines, manufactured and cast out from Trithen."
"Then you will join us?"
"We will join your legions, Titann. Prepare your forces against the Industries. We accent at dawn." A moment passed; the words lingered in the wind. Titann bowed, allowing the bright light of the transporter beam to fill the rear compartments of the Omar's bridge. Rena materialized with her master and stepped off the pad onto the aft deck. Titann smiled, addressing Captain.
"Have all Rampian warriors brought aboard immediately, Captain Relnar," he said sharply. "Once loading is complete, set course for the Departure Ring Station, Phoenix! Best speed. We do battle before sunrise of another day."
Relnar acknowledged the Admiral, acknowledging his command. He turned to his crew and gave the command to his ship's compliment. "Ship wide intercommunication, Arrat," he announced with pride. The bridge hummed around him, filled with excitement. The controller hovered just above the floor.
"Ship-wide intercom, Captain Relnar."
"My fellow Del-fians," commanded the Captain's husky voice. "Admiral Titann's mission on Rampia has been a success. Please bring the warriors aboard."
Titann crossed the bridge in front of him, paying attention to the superimposed information and tactical readouts that changed over the image of the planet. "Navigator," continued the Captain. "Plot a course to the ring station, Phoenix. We will be joining the main body."
The image of the planet crystallized, shifting to become a mere point of light. The Omar was gone.
– 13 –
AWAKENINGS
The howling wind continued to creep across the canyon with the morning light, engulfing the treetop fortress in blowing snow until the black pillars submerged under a sheet of ice: The mammoth doors hinged open, forced inward by the bitter wind that struck the walls of the innermost fortresses. Maccon's ghostly body lay perfectly still, face up on a slab of marble stone. His face chiseled and drawn almost caved with the memories of a lifetime. His eyelids no longer quivered. Only despair covered them for all eternity. But he was not dead. My mind was active, wheeling around as it had done for years. The life giving essence was thriving in the new environment in what appeared to be a mindless body. I sat up on the edge of the marble slab, next to the shell of this ghostly human body I had once possessed. Silent, it lay beside me, forever entombed in an aura of his father's white light: A death glow of eternal life.
Now things were different, Alvericon's brilliant image stood before me, bathing both the slab with Maccon's ghostly image and the light of his aura. The biomechanical wizard descended through the confines of the throne room toward the glow, coming face to face with Alvericon. He slowed, hovering just above the slab, gazing upon Maccon's motionless body through lifeless black pools at his embodiment and the fathomless depth of his eyes. "Well …” he said, cocking his head as he looked on at the illuminated being. "What will become of your son now, Alvericon? He's no longer in need of a body."
"Evolution stands before him, but first he must stand the test of time. He's a survivor, perhaps a warrior, time will tell. Once again, he must become that which he truly is; a knight of the Ronna-Kaa." Rallumn floated down to embrace the limbs on the marble slab, attentive to the silence of the body. "Return him to the dust of life, Alvericon so that he may live again."
Alvericon smiled. "Not even I am that powerful, Rallumn. Many futures have been touched, so it is with my son. The path of his destiny lies within his own being, Trigennian. One day your paths will cross again, and on that day the future course of mankind will be decided. The Source has seen to that."
"He will always be a musing, Alvericon."
"Not just a memory, wizard, but a power that resides within the soul. He lives in other times, in other realms as he has in this… It is his time of awakening?”
Rallumn straightened his branches, retracting to keep them away from Maccon's glowing body. The radiance expanded around him, covering his body with a light brighter than any sun; his eyes set aglow in a blinding essence absorbed within the luminance, into the existence of eternal white light.
I stood within the ghostly image of Maccon, at the foot of the table lifted by the light from the body. Only a moment had passed, but to Rallumn it seemed like an eternity. "Trigennian," I said calmly within the voice of Alvericon. "It is important to understand that I will continue as before, summoned together as all that I am; all that I have been and all that I must be, so we may become one...."
The brilliance touched deep inside Rallumn's heart; his image moving like vapor then he was gone, absorbed into father's essence of awareness. I could still the mere image of what I was. A child caught in a whirlwind, traveling forward and backward in t
ime; turning and moving, changing and growing; alive yet more than alive. My companions perished, only to be absorbed in bondage from the Source: Our journey amidst the threads of a different past; an altered universe, left only Rune Linka and Travis Creed nearer to my heart. The image of a young boy surrounded me like a hollowed shell; its contents and persona that of another drawing me closer, summoning my being to its side as a part of me. I reached out with my mind, searching for another part of myself: A former incarnation; a connection of awareness, where the journey gave us meaning. I called out to the others, their names in my mind, formulating a mind-bridge to a future existence, where I could ascertain an old friend who stood beside me throughout eternity.
• • •
Sara Jolland knew all the stories; how man created simple machines for common use and how they became more complex, faster, and even more accurate. When the computer was born, man learned to use its machines, to work along side of it, and finally, to work for it. But the stories didn't recaptured the era when the machines grew, changing size and shape in mathematical form. Man used these new machines to improve his skills, to help prepare his foods, conserve his energy and monitor his health. These computers, along with the machines, became his silent partner, his companion, even his entertainment. They evolved with man's help, unnoticed. Uncontrolled. They worked to understand him, to control his finances and to develop his worlds.
Jolland's mind was racing with her father's stories of computers and their machines; the treacherous company created in secrecy. She was caught up in a galaxy under the rule of an empire owned by the Industries: A corporation hidden on the most crowded planets of the infinite universe. They flourished among the unsuspecting populations. Entire worlds were secretly created to house an organization that linked the galaxy together in an iron–fisted grip, until the machines, directed by the computers created an artificial life form––a being of thought and living tissue. They named him Trithen, after the Industries from which he came. Keeping him in the privacy provided by the Ziethen machines, the young founder of the Industries enter the society of the planet Kellnar taking the world's name as his own, before becoming Trithen Kellnar.