I. NOVA
(...) Ahlane and Mlane Loh Zelhane were sisters and nieces of the Emperor Kytel Voh
Zelhane. Unfortunately, the Emperor died in a terrible Accident which not only ended his life, but it ended
the imperial ruling as well! Many said the Accident had been a punishment, because the Imperial House had
departed far away from poor people's needs; others said that it was a lesson, and too much scientific
development was not good.
The immediate and tragic results of the catastrophic Accident were a widespread
economic recession, the fracture of the Empire1 into more than three hundred independent Administrations
and, of course, few isolated civil wars and fights. The Accident happened three i-std.2 years before,
precisely when Emperor Kytel and all his relatives were celebrating in a large Family Reunion the tenth
birthday of little Prince Nassary. One of the smaller stars of the ternary System Lioth went Nova without
any warning, and it ended five hundred sixty-four i-std. years of peaceful and prosperous development for a
cluster of two hundred
thirty-six Planetary Systems.
Ahlane had managed to obtain a special permission to absent the Reunion, therefore
she was in Korwatan City, on planet Batlan, at the time of the Accident. It happened that her sister
Mlane-who was a student at the famous Korwatan University-was sick with an epidemic influenza.
The two Ladies had lost their parents when Mlane was very young, and they grew up
in the family of their uncle, Emperor Kytel, whom they loved like their own father. They cried for many days
following the tragic Accident, then they started being very scared of their own future.
The Batlan planet belonged to the Herral Planetary System, and it was the capital
of the Batlan Federation-a commercial and political group of thirty-two prosperous Systems. After the
Accident, the Batlan Federation was considered the strongest remaining power in the Imperial Worlds3. The
only pressing need they had was a Military Fleet to protect their Federation, because the Imperial System
Lioth had been the only System allowed to have Military Forces, and most of them had disappeared within the
Nova. Following the Accident, the few surviving Units of the Imperial Fleet became overnight a greatly
prized commodity. The Batlan Federation managed to acquire, with great sacrifices, fourteen Super
Destroyers4 and thirty-seven Destroyers5, each equipped with the necessary number of Interceptor-Proctor
ships6.
The truth was, those impressive warships were not much of a Military Force, but the true power of the Batlan
Federation resided in their economic strength and political stability. Almost all Systems of the past Empire
were looking towards the Batlan Federation as to a future political leader.
At the time of the Accident the Zelhane Ladies lived in Imperial Palace, in
Korwatan City. Nine Batlan days later, they had been officially asked to leave the premises with their
personal possessions only. Their private Imperial-House Spaceship had left without warning, three Batlan
days after the Accident, then their Guards and Companion-Ladies went away without notice, though taking
almost everything that had any value.
The two Zelhane Ladies had to sell few personal possessions they were left with,
then they moved into a modest, one bedroom rented apartment. They began waiting at many closed, official
doors, in order to obtain their Batlan Federation Citizenship7-it took them one and a half Batlan years to
become citizens of the Batlan Federation. Following, the Ladies started receiving a small, regular stipend
for support, and that allowed them to plan modest goals for their immediate future (...)
*
It was a beautiful morning with a golden sky in Korwatan City. Ghethe Dakka enjoyed
more than anything else to wake up early, and to walk for a couple of local hours the gently sloped alleys
of the "Morning Dew" Park. During those early hours, he knew he was almost the only one savoring
the first, warm, soothing rays of the Herral star, and the wonderful aromas of the seasonal flowers, except
for two strange Ladies he had noticed few times before. The Ladies were dressed in cheap-although very
decent-dark-blue Halem dresses which covered all parts of their bodies, though allowing for the scarce,
ultraviolet radiations of the Herral star to penetrate the fabric.
In that morning it happened they met face to face when he turned abruptly the
corner of an alley. Somewhat surprised, Ghethe said the usual, "Good morning, Ladies," with a
slight bow.
The Ladies appeared to be a lot more surprised: one of them cried, then they drew closer to each another.
"Please, excuse me if I frightened you, Ladies. It was totally
unintentional," tried Ghethe to calm them, and he smiled politely while departing.
"It is all right, Sir," replied one of the Ladies.
Ghethe ceased his motion. He said, "Excuse me please, Ladies, but I couldn't
help noticing you have a strong Nottam8 accent. I lived most of my life in the Lioth System, and I am very
pleased whenever I meet survivors of the terrible Accident."
"On what planet did you live in the Lioth System, Sir?" asked the taller
Lady. She had a bit drawling musical voice which sounded incredibly pleasing to Ghethe.
He answered, "I lived on Naxel, My Lady," and then he felt a strong
desire to find out more about those unknown Ladies.
Vaguely intrigued, the same Lady inquired, "Are you a Scientist, Sir?"
"Yes, My Lady. Please, excuse my insistence, but there are so few survivors
left, and most of them are struggling so hard to live in these alien Worlds, that I would like to offer my
assistance. My name is Ghethe Dakka."
Both of them remained silent, and Ghethe understood they were afraid to reveal
their identity.
"Did you hold an Imperial position, Sir?" asked again the Lady with the
wonderful voice.
Ghethe looked around, then he sent a mental scan: there was no curious mental
presence in their proximity. He answered in a lower tone, "I was Prime Assistant at the Imperial
Neurophysics Department on Naxel, My Lady," then, after a short hesitation, he added, "and ...
Imperial Chief Investigator of the Science Division." Ghethe regretted the words he had said almost as
soon as he ended them, but he was driven by a strong subconscious tendency to be particularly sincere with
those unknown Ladies.
"Oh! Then, you have already read our thoughts, Sir," replied the musical
voice surprised, and a little bit accusing, appearing to be not quite pleased with the news.
He rushed to assure her, "Oh no, My Lady, I would never do such thing. We
have-I have a strong ethical education, and few good manners left."
The Ladies remained silent for a while, not knowing what to do and holding hands,
then the shorter Lady said in a girlish, crystalline voice, also slightly drawling, "We are Ahlane and
Mlane Loh Zelhane."
"Mlane!" protested the taller Lady worriedly, then she dragged the other
one away.
When he heard those names Ghethe' brain froze numb, and his heart stopped working
for a good while. He recovered and rushed after them. "My Ladies! Your Highnesses! Please, wait!"
cried Ghethe desperately. They stopped, and he asked deeply troubled, "Where is your escort? Where are
your
Companion-Ladies?"
"They left long time ago, Sir. Please, leave us alone," explained the
taller Lady in a sad tone. It was obvious she disliked continuing the dialog with a strange person.
"No, I am sorry, but cannot leave you, Ladies. Please, allow me: I am your
loyal servant and I want to help you!" Ghethe was very scared he could lose them, and he was well aware
of the begging tone of his voice; his humiliation, however, was totally not important.
"The Empire is gone, Sir, and you owe us nothing!" replied the taller
Lady in a firm tone.
Ghethe's heart was beating very hard, and it had an erratic pace. He said
imploringly: "For me it will never be gone, My Lady. Please, allow me to help you!"
"We do not know you, Sir!" replied nervously the same Lady.
He insisted, "You do not necessarily need to know me, Ladies. Please, I am
just your faithful servant."
"Don't you think we should know you even if you were a servant?" asked
the taller Lady again.
Her tone was a bit more considerate, therefore Ghethe collected himself. He said,
"Yes, you are right, My Lady. Please excuse me for this. I have been too shocked when I heard your
names ... Even now, it is so hard-I thought nobody from the Imperial Family has survived! Please, allow me
to escort you, Ladies, because I want only to offer my help."
Ahlane studied the man in front of her. He was tall and athletic built,(...)
***
II. MASTERS OF THE EMPIRE
(...) When dinner was over, Ahlane invited him to take a seat at a low table, in a nice area surrounded by
relaxing, decorative plants, and close to the crystal window wall. There was a storm running outside, and
the wind was blowing hard over the tips of the trees in the Park. They were having dessert, fruit liquors,
and were waiting for Mlane to finish cleaning the dining area.
Soon Mlane joined them, and Ahlane asked, "Do you actually have a plan for
your Imperial restoration, Ghethe?"
"Oh, no, Ahlane. We just met and I had no time to think of one. Important,
however, is our intention, not the plan itself."
"I do not follow you, Ghethe; please explain," said Mlane looking
seriously at him.
"You see, My Dear, each plan starts with an intention which is also the force
that drives later, when the plan is in full action. As long as our intention-drive is strong, we will be
able to overcome any obstacle; if the intention-drive is weak, we could abandon the plan when the first
difficult moments come. That is why I said the intention is more important than the plan itself."
Ahlane replied, "I do agree with you, Ghethe, but I still think we need at least a general
direction."
"You are right, Ahlane. For the time being, we should monitor carefully
political events in most important Systems. On the other hand, from my past experience I know that destiny
will lend us a little help if something important has to be done."
"Soo, you believe in fate, Ghethe!" remarked Mlane smiling ironically
suspicious.
He smiled back, then he replied with confidence, "Fate is there for everybody, Mlane. We are all born
with it, and we fulfill it while living."
"Are you a fatalist?" asked Mlane smiling even more.
"Not in the bad way, My Dear; meaning, I do not consider that, no matter what
I do, the end result is going to be the same-so, why bother to fight. On the contrary, I believe we have to
work very hard to discover the path that was meant for us, and to accomplish our predestined tasks."
"Meant by whom, Ghethe?" asked Ahlane with relaxation and little
curiosity.
"I would use the words 'by what', Ahlane, not 'by whom', because I refer to
fate, or destiny. However, destiny is such a strong driving force that it may very well be regarded as a
true entity."
"Do you say, we would have met later, anyway, if we did not meet the day
before?"
"I am confident about that, Ahlane. However, please note something very
interesting there: the meeting itself; the way our destiny helped us find each other."
"Was that strange?" asked Mlane with doubt.
"It is very strange, My Dear. However, the importance of our meeting goes way
beyond its strangeness. It is more like the drive of the destiny itself, or it is a message directly from
our destiny, if you prefer."
"What is that message telling to you, Ghethe?" asked Ahlane beginning to
display sparkles of curiosity in her charismatic eyes.
"The message says something similar to this, Ladies: 'I, the Destiny, have
brought you together; now, it is your turn to fulfill the tasks'."
"Ha, ha! I must admit you made it sound so ... authentic!" remarked Mlane
ironically.
"The way I see it, Ladies, is this: although our lives seem to mix into total
chaos at society level, I believe each of us has a certain, important task to perform during our lives. For
many, that task could be something insignificant, such as a single word without any particular meanings or,
simply, the physical presence related to a certain place or to a particular moment in time. For others, very
few this time, destiny has complex and very important plans."
"I suspect you are referring to us, when you think of the second category of
people," speculated Ahlane.
The discussion with the Zelhane sisters was friendly and dynamic. The Ladies
appeared to be genuinely interested in philosophical concepts, and that pleased Ghethe a lot. He explained,
"Yes, Ahlane, because our meeting goes far beyond an accidental one in the park. You are the only
persons left, representing official power of the past Empire, and I am the only person who could rebuild the
Empire if I have your legal and moral support."
Mlane declared with the intention to provoke Ghethe to detail his thoughts further,
"To me, our meeting seems to be very strange."
Ghethe replied amused, "Ha, ha! Of course it is very strange, My Dear, but the
importance of the meeting makes its strangeness totally insignificant. Think, Mlane, the destiny of our
Civilization needs to go on a special path-a very important one. Now, in order to fulfill itself, destiny
does something unusual and strange, by bringing us in contact, because our natural chances of meeting were
practically zero. We see that our meeting is strange, but we should also note the efforts the destiny made
in bringing us together; we should understand there is an important task waiting for us, and we have to
fulfill it, together."
"Ghethe, you talk about destiny as if it were an intelligent entity,"
concluded Mlane.
"Please, My Dear, consider the word I use in a lot more general form. I use
the word 'destiny', because I want to differentiate it from a logic force, but also from an abstract
definition. I studied lots of histories of Civilizations, and of great people, and I noticed few specific
trends in what appears to be general, chaotic behavior. Those trends are repetitive, and they follow an
improbable path towards a necessary purpose, although they are very well hidden, as I mentioned, into
apparent chaos.
Now, I need a term for those trends, and I use the word 'destiny', meaning, there
is a certain degree of logic, order, and intention in it."
Ahlane replied with an ironic smile, "Ghethe, you have some theories ... quite
impressive! Although ... I am not certain I totally agree with you."
He assured her, "It is natural that you don't, Ahlane, because what I tell you
now is so vague, and so general that, even if I hear these concepts from someone else, I wouldn't
necessarily concur to them. In order to agree with me we need to talk about minute details, and to build
upon them logically, step by step."
"What is this 'destiny' to you, Ghethe?" asked Ahlane with the intention
to clarify the subject. (...)
(...) "Now, allow me to explain my inner motivations for helping you, Ladies. My first one was, once
the Empire has disappeared I lost all my previous life, therefore I had to start a new one-not much
appealing to me. In contrast, by helping you rebuild the Empire, I can restart with my old way of life. The
second motivation was, the intention to restore the Empire is within my powers, and it is a great purpose
for my life. The third motivation, and possibly the strongest one, was the good friends I lost in the
Accident: by restoring the Empire, it is something I can do, so that they did not just simply vanish and
nobody will ever know anything about them.
In order to understand these motivations, I think I have to explain the History of the Empire from a side
you have no idea about."
Ahlane replied with surprise and doubt, "I do not believe there is a History
of the Empire of which I am not aware."
"Please, listen to my story, Ahlane, and you will tell me later if you knew
about it or not, although I am certain you don't, because only few did.
Initially, about six hundred i-std. years ago, a great Scientist named Ergol Belon from planet Dene invented
the 'E-fields Glide Drive' engine, which further led to the beginning of the first colonies outside the
Lioth System, and to contacts with alien Civilizations. That Scientist became incredibly rich-he was the
founder of the Subatomic Research Laboratories. His son, Dr. Viren Belon, decided that it was better to
unite all known Worlds at that time, about thirty, under the Imperial political management. Consequently, he
helped the House Zelhane on Nottam to get the leadership due to the unique genetic characteristics of the
Zelhane Ladies."
At that moment, both Zelhane Ladies began adding blue color tones on their cheeks
and to avoid his looks.
He continued, "His intention was to hide the Scientists from the public eye,
while being the true owners of the Empire.
Things were this way, and I am certain you do not know about them, Ladies: the True
Masters of the Empire had been, all the time, the Scientists from the Imperial Subatomic Research Department
on Dene, together with the Imperial Neurophysics Department on Naxel. If you had checked the accounting
records of the Empire, you would have noticed the Empire paid eighty parts out of ninety of total income to
the two Scientists' Worlds. Each Emperor knew the true Emperor was in fact the Imperial Chief Scientist-in
our particular case the late Dr. Dembran Mitcon-together with the Imperial Council of the Scientists of the
two scientific Departments.
There has been along the centuries only one exception: the Enlightened Emperor. His previous name was Dr.
Corlet Duvart, before he changed it according to the rules of the House Zelhane, and he was, before becoming
Emperor, the Imperial Chief Scientist. It happened he fell in love with Emperor's daughter, and that
determined Dr. Duvart to break the tradition and to become an Emperor himself, while remaining Imperial
Chief Scientist and taking completely over the Council of the Scientists.
Later, he personally limited the powers of the Chief Scientist, and he enhanced the
powers of the Council-"
Ahlane interrupted him appearing to be bothered, "Are you absolutely confident
about that, Mr. Dakka? I never heard the Enlightened Emperor had been such a great Scientist."
"Yes, Ahlane. Everything I tell you is exactly the way things happened,"
replied Ghethe with genuine sincerity in his eyes.
"Then, in that case, Mr. Dakka, you are the True Master of the Empire and we
are your subjects!" concluded Ahlane with surprise in her voice.
He explained in a kind tone, "It depends on how you relate to it, My Dear. For everybody, your Dynasty
represents legal power; among us, as friends, the true power is in the hands of the Scientists."
"Why all that twisted arrangement? Why don't you just simply take legal power
and that's it?" asked Ahlane with indignation.
"Ahlane, Dr. Viren Belon was exceptionally intelligent: he understood that
legal power in the hands of the Scientists is a very bad thing. By dividing the powers; better said, by
taking legal power away from the already too powerful hands of the Scientists, he managed to build a social
structure that was viable and accepted by everybody.
You see, Ladies, things are this way: I am powerful enough to make myself Emperor now, but this will create
many tensions and disagreements within the New Empire. Sooner or later, a civil war will start which could
destroy everything. On the contrary, if I raise one of you Ladies as legal heiress to power, nobody would be
able to claim your throne in the future, because IT DOES BELONG TO YOU, LEGALLY," explained Ghethe, and
he pronounced the last words a bit more distinctly, in order to accentuate their importance.
"I see ... but, do we have to follow the previous agreement with the
Scientists?" asked Ahlane not quite pleased with the idea.
He pleaded, "Ahlane, that is the way the system worked from the very beginning. You NEED the
Scientists, because they are the power that protects you; they made your people, in fact, the most advanced
and the most respected Civilizations of the Empire."
She objected nervously, "Yes, they did, but everything is gone now! Do you really believe you are able
to rebuild the entire Empire from ground up again?"
"Rebuilding is not very difficult, Ahlane. What is harder is to prevent
historical Accidents, as the previous one."
"What do you know about the Accident?" asked Mlane in a timid voice.
"Nothing, and that bothers me a lot. What I suspect is the Scientists on Dene,
the ones who worked at the Subatomic Research Department; they made, probably, a mistake in their
experiments."
"If that is the case, it may not be wise to keep the Scientists and the Empire
together in the future," suggested Ahlane.
"It cannot be the other way, My Dear, because the Scientists need to feel they
belong to the same World; otherwise ..." said Ghethe, and he stopped looking with expectation at Ahlane
and waiting for her to continue.
"I see ... we could lose the control over the Scientists," ended Ahlane
Ghethe's words.
He approved with satisfaction, "Right!"
"That is too complicated, Ghethe," complained Mlane appearing to be
confused.
"No, My Dear, it is a simplification. The Scientists mind their work, only,
and the Empire rules with the power of the Law. This is all," concluded Ghethe.
"Yes, but what about the True Masters?" asked Mlane troubled.
He explained, "The system worked very well for almost six hundred i-std.
years, Mlane, because only the Emperor and a handful of trusted Scientists knew about it. Besides, the
Scientists were very well organized within a logic structure. I mentioned there were two planets having
different research specializations: the Subatomic and Neurophysics. Both of them selected the Council of the
Scientists which, in turn, helped with the election of a Chief Scientist from outside the Council. Now, the
Chief Scientist was, again, only the legal power, because the true power was the Council which had a
specific structure itself-"
"Ghethe, why must everything be that complex and structured? "
interrupted Ahlane appearing to be upset.
He answered in a sad tone, "My Dear, you have no idea of how powerful and
dangerous the Scientists could be."
"I have the Accident as an example," replied Ahlane quickly, with caustic
irony.
He sensed her inner revolt, and he said only, "Yeah ... What a disaster!"
All of them remained silent for a while thinking of the terrible loss.
"Can you think of something that would prevent the Accident from happening
again, Ghethe?" asked Mlane shyly.
"I do not know, My Dear. The problem is, regardless of how careful we are,
accidents will always happen."
"Do you think the Accident had also been predestined to happen?" asked
Ahlane in a sad tone.
Ghethe replied after a deep sigh, "Yes, Ahlane. We have no idea why it had to
happen, now, but one day we will discover the need for such a terrible sacrifice ... Well, it is rather
late, Ladies, and I would like to thank you very much for your charming company." (...)
***
III. LAXA CUBE
(...) He took the Laxa Cube and studied it carefully. It was an old model built by
the old Laxa manufacturers who had been famous for implementations of commercial neurocontrol applications.
The Cube appeared to be a one-piece metallic construction, a little smaller than half the size of Ghethe's
fist, having lots of enigmatic symbols engraved on the surface but no visible component demarcation lines.
He decided to take it for further analysis to Nolla, the spaceship assigned to assist him as Imperial Chief
Investigator of the Science Division.
Nolla was parked in a rented hangar outside the City, and it took Ghethe almost one
local14 hour of driving his new transport vehicle to reach it. The ship was an exceptional design built to
deceive any curious look. The exterior was of a three hundred i-std. years old model, bent and oxidized,
with the general shape of a bulky, small interstellar cargo transporter. The interior, however, was a
completely different story, since it had so many highly advanced, specialized features that Ghethe knew as
true fact no other spaceship in Imperial Worlds had.
When he entered the ship Ghethe asked Nolla for report, and he was pleased to hear
that nobody had been interested in the apparent pile of rusting metal. He went to the Laboratory. Ghethe
decided to explore all possibilities: to start with the simplest means of investigation, and then to use the
more sophisticated, intrusive ones. First on his list was visual scanning under high magnification, then at
maximum magnification-very close to molecular level-but he couldn't find what he was looking for: a
"molecular zip"15. He tried different frequencies for surface illumination, until he decided to
measure the surface absorption of a particular infrared frequency which he knew it would give some results.
Next, he discovered the zip.
Up to that point there was nothing unusual, because the zip was in the middle of
the Cube, where it should have been. Ghethe thought for sometime, then he continued scanning. Soon, he
discovered the second zip, close to one edge, and he was confident it was an addition to the original
design. The first zip was a normal layer of roughly forty-five thousand molecules thick, while the second
one was a very strange construction of only eighteen hundred molecules!
Ghethe used a "Molecular Bonds Disruptor"16 probe to open the zip. He had
to increase the frequency, and then the intensity-almost close to dismembering the metallic alloy encasing
the Cube-until he managed to separate the two sections. Next, he discovered in a tight-fitting slot a small,
flat, blue synthetic crystal of a type used two hundred i-std. years before for storing data. He adjusted a
data reader unit to match physical dimensions of the crystal, then he asked Nolla to analyze it.
It took Nolla more than fifteen i-std. minutes of processing time-and Ghethe was
thinking, what could be wrong with that crystal-before she reported, "Ghethe, the data crystal has an
old data format, and it is encrypted with a key using a specific genetic code sequence. I cannot read it
now, Ghethe."
"Can you identify the genetic sequence used, Nolla?"
"No, Ghethe. It has vague traces of the basic genetic code usually found in
the Lioth System, though most of it is particular to a family of individuals. I do not have a match for it
in my database, Ghethe. I tried to extrapolate, but the bulk of the message is doubly encoded with a
randomizing algorithm which has a 'seed'17 and a 'pattern'18 based on the same genetic sequence. It will
take me over nine i-std. days to test all possible cases and to break the encryption, although it may be
possible I will discover additional encoding. I estimate over eighteen i-std. days of work at eighty-five
parts per unit19 of my processing capacity to read the data. Do you want me to start, Ghethe?"
"No, Nolla. I think I know where we can find that particular genetic code
sequence." He went to a comnode console and entered Ahlane's code. After a short while she appeared on
the screen. "Good morning, Ahlane. Did you sleep well?" asked Ghethe. Ahlane was very beautiful,
and he felt pure delight in admiring her delicate face.
"Good morning, Ghethe. Thank you. We both slept as never before,"
answered Ahlane, then she gratified him with one of her brain-twisting smiles.
"Ah, hmm ... what would you Ladies say about a ... a short flight
travel?" asked Ghethe hesitantly, while making hard efforts to re-focus on reality.
"You have a spaceship, Ghethe?" asked Mlane excitedly from an additional
comnode interface which forced both Ghethe's and Ahlane's screens to divide the image in two.
He answered smiling kindly at her, "Good morning, Mlane. Yes, I have an old,
rusty ship."
"How long do you estimate the travel will take?" inquired Ahlane with
serious looks.
"Few i-std. hours, and I will get something good for lunch. We should be back
for dinner, at most."
"Oh, yes, it would be wonderful!" assured Mlane eagerly, and then Ahlane
agreed smiling caringly, because seeing Mlane happy and enthusiastic was everything she ever wanted.
He explained, "Your transporter, Ladies, has the location-code 'Nolla': when
you are ready, just select it. The drive should take about one local hour up to here."
"It is going to take some time-" started Ahlane cautiously.
Ghethe interrupted her with consideration, "It is all right, Ahlane. Please,
take your time, Ladies."
He drove to a nearby shopping center and bought fruits, refreshing drinks, and few
fast dishes, then he returned to Nolla and asked her to exit the hangar. Ghethe used the remaining time to
go over the supplies inventory with Nolla's assistance. It came out he had neglected her for sometime, and
he needed at least three local days of work to restore her stores to full capacity.
The Ladies arrived when it was almost lunchtime. Mlane had her eyes filled with
sparkles of anticipated pleasures. "Oh, it is so beautiful!" she said admiring the ship which
appeared to be just ready to disintegrate.
"It looks rather old, Ghethe," remarked Ahlane with concern. "Are
you confident it is safe?"
He replied, "It is very safe, Ahlane. Please come aboard, Ladies. I want to
present you Nolla." (...)
(FEW) FOOTNOTES |
