“I don’t know, your majesty?” he said.
“I thought she loved me. I thought she was the one. I gave her the world. I gave her Crystal Metropolis. What would make her act that way? Haven’t I done enough for her?”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
Ichiamo cleared his throat.“You know, before she came into my life, I was married to a disappointment. Zola practically ripped my heart out and slept with the last men I ever thought she would go for. I guess that's why I fell hard for Katharina. She was my inspiration for the future. And with one order I kill it. I kill my future. Who’s going to love me now?”
He got up and went to his bed; the same bed he and his wife at one point slept together during better and more blissful years.
"Now I have to finish this!"
Lucius was caught off-guard. "Finish what?"
"Her father will never forgive me for this no matter if it was justified. It's his daughter. And we will do anything for our children. Baptista Lysander has to go."
Ichiamo rubbed his forehead, trying to keep his composure. But Lucius knew that the king he knew during the Force of Arms war as gone. Left in its place was a conflicted king being punished for letting emotions take over intelligence.
Lucius could see that this was the king’s darkest hour. There was nothing more he could do for him. So without making any noise, he left the room and the king to his grievances...
SIXTEEN: HALLOW POINTS
88 B.E.
Savil Nassar typed swiftly on his laptop at 65 words per minute, trying to finish his manuscript that he had been working on for years. He spent most of his days on Tier in his penthouse alone with his research and ideas. Putting the final words to his manuscript, he went back to the beginning to backtrack everything he wrote.
"I am very proud of myself," Savil said in front of his computer screen. "I've found my place in this world."
It had been a long time since he became the mouthpiece for the Unknown Byzants of Troyuvant. He was instrumental in making two appointed traders vied for power to benefit the Byzants. Meanwhile, they were enjoying their newfound power in downtown Troy until the day the Nova Bomb dropped. Luckily, Nassar was gone long before the plan was made to bomb the planet, but the crew he was with were not so lucky. It also did not help that the two traders in question, Gavson and Zantrapa, also escaped, surviving the day and wiping their hands clean of everything.
This ended the Force of Arms War for the ATM. But for the followers of the Second Renaissance, it was the opening salvo for what would had been years of internal disputes and bloody warfare.
Savil Nassar investigated and recorded every piece of news he had about the ongoing war between the House of Latium and the Byzants. The Nova Bomb drop on Troyuvant was a claimed victory for Latium. Sadly, it was a partial victory because the Unknown Byzants were only one of many crews that splintered among the major army. Because there was no amount of stable leaders, anyone could have become a leader and make a crew.
While the Byzants tried to fix their fractured organization, the House of Latium gained the support from two major sources: Baptista Lysander of Solaria and King Ichiamo Santos of Crystal Metropolis. In ending the war, Ichiamo sent money through Lysander, who in turn sent it to the House of Latium to reorganize and rebuild their army. From there, the House of Latium became the most powerful sect in the Second Renaissance again and peace reigned for a while in the religion.
New technologies formed during this new age of reconstruction. The Dreamweaver, one of the best inventions to come out of the religion, went through changes as it got upgraded four different times in 81, 82, 84, and 86 B.E. This mind-altering device shaped like a spider with eight metallic legs to hook around the head takes someone into a dream-like state in which they could either go into their past to figure out what they went wrong with their lives or make a future for themselves by creating one through mind-boggling antics.
The Dreamweaver was the core of the belief of the Second Renaissance: life was simply a game created by technology that is constantly creating and recreating the stage to perfect the level of play by making simplistic actions in someone's life.
However, just as the Dreamweaver was becoming popular again, one crew the Byzants, an array of scientists and inventors, turned around and made their own dream-weaving invention called the Focus. Most of the same qualities were put into place with two exceptions. One was the shape, a snake-like figure instead of spider. The second was a new feature introduced into the world of mind-altering: storing files. While Dreamweaver only let a player enter or alter a dream once, the Focus not only lets you enter or alter a fantasy, but keep storage of it in case you want to play it over and over again or change the fantasy around.
This hidden secret of storage gave the Focus an edge. It would be the battle between the upgraded Dreamweaver and the hype machine Focus that would start hostilities between the two sects once again.
Nassar kept tabs on the business war as the upgraded Dreamweaver and the new Focus made its way around the ATM for people to buy it. So much money was put into the devices to perfect it, but even more was put in the spread it out to other merchants to sell. The Dreamweaver had the advantage because of history while the Focus had luck because of the youth who recognized the Byzants as something new and cool. Time was passing by and the generation that grew up in the Force of Arms war were becoming teenagers and young adults were looking for fun in their lives.
Two universal events outside of the dispute will cause more friction within the Second Renaissance sects: the emergence of new party drugs and the sudden death of a bonafide leader.
There was a time when Troyuvant used to be the drug hub of the ATM. With its destruction and most gangs dead and gone, the scene changed dramatically. Around 86 B.E., an elixir drug were made and pushed out around the ATM: the DVX. Its history became synonymous with eradicating one of the greatest calamities to hit the ATM.
The Gonora Plague of 84-87 B.E.
Starting in Solaria, people had turned up dead suddenly. It was found out that it came from sexual contact. Everyone thought that the Gonora Plague was mostly Solaria's problem since they were the most populated and it had always been a pest to the ATM; so much that it was dubbed Solararhea, meaning the solar bug.
Then, Syra and Tier received deaths due to sexual contact. After finishing a war, they went right back to war battling the disease that literally stopped a new generation from forming.
Enter the DVX.
The creation was made by a couple of former nurses by accident. When they made it, it was supposed to test to see if could spark sexual fire back into couple's lives. What they did not know was that the DVX would do more than change lives. It became the miracle drug that stop the plague in its tracks. Of course it would not be until the last resurgence of the plague when it was realized what the female nurses had done.
Sylvia Lavatch and Diana Cartier became stars in the medical world and the most sought out in Solaria. They became known as the DVX Sisters. They never knew that their drug would leave Solaria and spread out to cause another stir in the fabric of the universe.
Unfortunately, the DVX could not save an important figure when it was needed.
In 88 B.E., Aimens, one of the most colorful figures in the Second Renaissance and the spearhead of the House of Latium, became a victim of the Gonora Plague. Surrounded by other traders, Aimens suffered the worst pain below his waist he ever felt and after weeks of torment, he died in his sleep.
It was bad news for the House of Latium. This meant they lost the royal power beyond the sect, but good news for the Byzants. If they wanted to, they could fight the House of Latium and possibly become the dominant sect.
Savil Nassar ended up satisfied with his final product. Going to the top of the document, he typed in the title he came up with that summed up what he was trying to push.
The Code of Byzantium!
He took a deep breath and used his printer-like ma
chine to print the entire document on paper. He took the first page and glared at it carefully. His mind drifted to a future in which his book was going to bring the Second Renaissance full circle, which he showed by splitting the book into two parts: the Code of the Cypher and the Byzantium Testament. One was about the Code and its principles while the other told of the history of its sects, with the ending telling of ideas for the futures as they were heading into the end of the century.
Little did Savil knew that The Code of Byzantium would not only closed the book on a bloody chapter once and for all, but also opened up a new book to define Second Renaissance going into the new century...
****
91 B.E.
Cassio Ramirez took a taste of the strange green elixir in a small vial. The minute it touched his lips, he could feel its potency. His eyes stretched out, trying not to touch his body in a blissful manner as the male sitting across from him at a bar on the planet Vyes, Issac Arius, watched with glee.
“It's called metine," Issac said. "They could be found in the other planets around the Hallow Points.”
“Do you know the specifics?”
“I could, but if I tell you that, then I need a piece of the action.”
“A piece of the action. Why?”
“Because anyone who possess this kind of DVX could be rich.”
“How rich?”
“Richer than even the Santos king.”
Cassio touched his stomach. “All that for some green liquid?"
“This is the new drug now. Forget Jove and all those Troyuvant scrubs in the past. This green liquid carries punching power, as I’m sure you figured out.”
The thought of possessing the liquid known as metine, a party form of the Gonora killer drug DVX, made Cassio crazy with envy.
“Okay, fine!” Cassio said. “If you can tell me where I can find them, then I’ll give you a piece of the action.”
In that instant, Cassio gave up the indulgence of the wine and got his head together. He smiled, wondering how he found someone as cool and tranquil like Issac Arius.
After the Force of Arms War, Cassio's life went through a downward spiral. His family was losing money. His friends had moved on to making families and respected professions. He had nowhere to go and he was starting to be ashamed of himself. He flew to different moons and planets, trying to find a way out of his slump. He made calls to his friends, but no one called him back. From there, he developed a nasty drinking habit with the taste sticking to him like a plague.
He spent all the money he had on hard liquor. It was this urge for more drink that he ended up at the Hallow Points Sector, another mixture of planets like the Cyprun Valley System, where he knew no one could understand anything, which suited him fine. He even sold the plane he traveled.
Life meant nothing to him anymore. All he wanted to do was die.
That was when Issac Arius entered into his life to end with Cassio sitting across from him at a bar in Vyes taking about a green liquid counterpart of a cure for one of the most widespread venereal diseases in the ATM.
He and his new partner Issac made their plans. He told Cassio everything that he knew about the shadow planets.
“There are two places where you can find this stuff,” Issac said. “One place is the planet Zestir. The other place is Victoza. Now, if you want an easier time or just a starting point, the place to be is Victoza. It’s the smaller planet. Just know that all these planets have tribes, which means we’re going to need some soldiers if we’re going to take it over.”
“You think we can take over this racket?”
“Anyone can take over it. No one tried to, which means it’s going to be a rough road. Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Look, I’ve already fought a major war. What’s another one going to matter?”
"Then I can get the old crew together and we can make this work for the both of us."
Issac brought out his hand and Cassio stretched out his. When they came together, the partnership was secured. Cassio had a new lease on life.
They knew that it would take a while before anyone knew who they were. They needed to make a name. Little did Cassio know, the new friend he made two years ago when he was at the lowest point in his life were a part of a crew that became the most numerous sect in the Second Renaissance...
****
93 B.E.
A plane touched down to planet Syra; his first time there since the end of the Force of Arms War. It seemed foreign to him, just like most of his surroundings.
Fortunately, he was only on business.
With only a suitcase, he went to an apartment in one of the busiest neighborhoods on the planet. It was a good thing because it had a great view of the other side of the great white ocean. He was sure that when it was over, he would get some time to go to the beach to swim in it.
When he went inside, he was greeted with pats on the back and the offering of wine from old friends in the Traveling Byzants. He passed on the wine since he stopped drinking for good.
Plus, he had no idea what they were planning. They were still some animosity between the different Byzants crew after the death of Tortila Suntoris. He made it his point to have a clear mind.
At the start, numbers were already being thrown at him.
“I’m asking for five hundred-thousand," Issac said. "I need it to make war with a couple of tribes in the Hallow Points."
Sitting across from him was a familiar face: Processor Chosen Toshio.
"I thought you was done with the life," Chosen said. "Why all of a sudden you waging war on planets?"
It was here that he brought out the suitcase and opened it. Inside were packets of metine vials.
"For this," Issac answered as he picked up one of them.
Chosen took the vial and took a sip. Just like it did for Cassio, it only took seconds before a hardened warrior like Chosen began to feel tingling inside. There was no way to hide it and Chosen had to shake his head wildly to get back focused.
"Good, isn't it?" Issac asked. "It a new form of the DVX. Sweeter and more potent than its original. I need the money and the men to make more bases to make more of this. I'm taking about a substantial return on your investment."
Chose cleared his throat. "We're supposed to be cleaning our image. I don't see how this does it?"
"Well, it's hard to really make a new image when the old one still lingers. There's another reason why I want this."
Then, from his suit pocket, he took out two pictures of former traders of Second Renaissance. Chosen took the pictures and viewed it closely.
"I don't have to tell who those men are," Issac said. "They're the same men that left most of my crew to die in Troyuvant when that Nova Bomb hit."
Chosen shook his head. "Troyuvant will always remain a touchy subject to the rest of the processors. However, if there's a solution to this problem, I would like for violence to not be that answer." He shrugged. "But if this problem was to be fixed, the rest of the traders would be pleased and we can really move on from this."
Issac grinned. "Give me what I need and I'll make it happen."
"You'll have your men," Chosen said. "As for this...drug... We'll discuss that at a different time."
Once again, another business deal was made. However, it was more of a relief for Issac. For one, he was gambling with fate. For another, he was going back to a book he thought he closed for good.
The Troyuvant Bombing still caused nightmares for Issac. Although the Unknown Byzants were careless in trying to achieve control, they were his closest friends and the reason he became the man he was. With the support of the Traveling Byzants, he could hopefully close it once and for all...
****
The Hallow Points had always been known as the unknown variable cluster of planets no one wanted to venture into for very long. For its inhabitants, it was a rough life of old traditions and continuous warfare. While the rest of the ATM dealt with changes in the culture and society, the cyc
le of change never occurred in the Hallow Points.
The cluster had been known for two reasons. One, to most historians, the Hallow Points hold the key to unlocking the origin the ATM's original warlords and the prehistory of the entire Aventine Monarch Galaxy.
The second was that it became a testing ground to unleash the technology of the Second Renaissance.
The Hallow Points was known for their diverse, scattered tribes at war with one another. That was part of the reason why they denied being a part of the Force of Arms War Pact. As far as they were concerned, they never saw themselves a part of the ATM, let alone preserve the sanctity of the Santos legacy. They were only worried about their present scuffles.
INIQUITOUS DOMINION: The Galactic Classic Page 32