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The Cardships -- Chapter
14
1. The President had delegated operation
"off-the-record" to Bri, and it took five years to complete.
2. That lonely secret, was in fact, the only 'kept'
secret on
Vejhon -- it had been carefully designed and implemented somewhere
else.
3. 90%
of Vejhons
monetary reserves were transferred to Theos in order to pay for the
largest
ship construction feat in history. The remaining 10% was used to
mask
the whereabouts of the larger 90%. Theos had such an
incomprehensible financial infrastructure that hiding the shell reserve
was effortless.
4.
Since the interstellar credit system was fully automated,
the concept of misappropriating exorbitant
sums of
money
was like tracking a loose gallon of air. Unaccountability was a
government trademark. There were only three shellans who knew the
story from start to finish. All other subject-matter experts were
recruited from off-world, sworn to secrecy, threatened and then
lavishly retired at different off-world
locations.
5.
False trails had been concocted should anyone find out something they
weren't supposed to know. Decoys were in place just in
case. A ficticious war was ready to be waged if necessary.
Shell concerns about rising
psionic anxiety was the best smokescreen of all. If Kor hadn't of
instigated shell-wide unrest, operation "off-the-record" would have
been detected in the planning stages and probably
halted.
6.
Vejhonians that were directly involved in the project were given
ambassadorships
to remote consulates and embassies; ordered to discuss
only those skills that had been inflated on their resumes. They
would be
retrived in due course.
7. On Theos, a CFA-PFS was required to perform intergalactic
State-to-State financial transactions and only 12 individuals held that
credential. They were relocated to the Director's tower on the
Psionic Guard campus. The very few who understood hyper finance
had always assumed that the twelve were housed on the Psionic Guard
compound anyway. Large sums of money constantly flowed through
Balipor's commercial quarter, but not whole State treasuries.
8. It was leaked to the intelligencia that Vejhon had loaned money to
Theos. Then it was leaked to the media that a minor skirmish had
broke out between the Outlands and Jol over straying colonized
debris. What do you with with colonies that stray into
another system? The intrigue fueled the tabloids and the
Prolitariat
with enough disinformation to keep them perpetually in error.
Disinformation mixed with psionic fear creates a nightmare more
colorful and goulish than the instigator could
imagine.
9. All of the decoys, false leads,
erroneous tips, alternate
timelines, buck passing and the fanciful theatrics worked. The
very notion that Vejhon would have loaned money to Theos for anything
was outright dismissed.
10. To make Cacci Dai inaccessible, the Badlands-Jolvian conflict was
escalated to infringe upon Cacci Dai by design. It was already
known that Cacci Dai did not negeotiate -- either they liked you or
they didn't. Theite and Jolvian accounts in Cacci Dai were
settled and all visiting personnel ejected. Vejhon's diplomatic
corps complained to Conscious who accused Vejhon of facilitating
foreign expansionism into Cacci Dai.
11. Vejhonian interests in Cacci Dai were settled and the
Vejhonian diplomatic corps ejected. Theos and Jol echoed Vejhon's
travel restrictions. It was all theatre and Cacci Dai was
in on it. The political play that followed was scripted.
Cacci Dai was now off limits to its three neighboring systems.
12.
The 487U upgrades legislated an
isolationist policy to ensure safer beta tests without chaotic
interference. Biologicals found anywhere within the Cacci Dai system
would
be terminated after the deadline except for expatriated biologicals,
annexed biologicals and biologicals seeking
asylum.
13.
To short-circuit the fear of interstellar hostilities, Cacci Dai
released a statement that interstellar trade would resume after the
A-series burn-ins was completed. The reopening was projected in
5 years. To ensure a sterile environment, "chaos must be absent
during the evaluation period." The prevailing conspiracy theory
was that the Cacci Dai had expansionist plans of their own and used the
Badlands-Jolvian infringement to justify sterilizing the
system.
14.
The nationalist element on Vejhon used Cacci Dai's unfriendliness to
force the Prolitariat to increase Vejhon's defense
spending. That was exactly what the President expected. Now
the media was gridlocked in a war over defense spending: "Is
Vejhon getting ready for war?" "Are the Cacci Dai preparing to
attack?" "Who created the machines?" There was so much
disinformation that nobody would ever discover the truth, and the truth
had already been dismissed. The war of disinformation had
already been won.
15. With the quiet consent of The Psionic Guard Director, Balipor
facilitated this new nationalism as a silent partner. The liberal
media, true to form, accused Balipor of exploiting the misfortune of
foreign States' to pacify disgruntled citizens at home.
News shows invited high-profile guests to answer scripted
contradictions, "Unity against what? War against who?" Even
though "The
Elite" officially didn't exist -- the media marched lock-step to their
drummer.
CACCI DAI
CONSTRUCTION
16. The
Cacci Dai were
known for superior barge construction and for state-of-the-art
shipbuilding.
A Cacci Dai label meant that the product was virtually faultless
in every imaginable way. Cacci Dai locking mechanisms were known
across the Universe, to
include
areas that had never seen a Cacci Dai up close. You could find
non-biometric Cacci Dai locks at a swap meets because only a Cacci Dai
locksmith could unlock them.
17.
Today, the Cacci Dai shipyards were buzzing with 321M assembly units
reaching beyond the vanishing point in all directions. 321M's
could work around the clock without fatigue. The shipyard was
planetary in scale and a testament to what machines
are capable of. Materials of all shapes and sizes was organized
in geometric symmetry for easy access. Various smaller
debris free floated unobtrusively in less trafficked areas.
18. The zero-G environment provided optimal structural stability for
the mammoth barges being built. Skyscraper-sized pieces could
simply float on-hand until needed for
installation.
19.
321Ms were networked and contained the accessories needed for
seamless-weld synchronization. Because computers communicate
simultaneously, they can work at an accelerated pace, impossible for
chaos to imitate or comprehend. 321Ms work 10,000 times faster
than biologicals or 1,000 times faster than biologicals operating
machines. They could zip to and fro without colliding; work
together or independently in any capacity.
20. The result was a faultlessly crafted,
magnificent work of
art aptly named: Cardship. The
entire keel-to-masthead process took about 40 days and roughly 100,000
321Ms to complete.
21.
The Caddi Dai value system was peculiar: Biologicals lust for
precious metals -- machines lust for chaotic biomass. Biologicals
like to
adorn themselves with rings and neclaces. Machines like to
engineer sustainable ecological environments for cellular
division. The Cacci Dai were in Section 8 of the ellipsis and
could tweek biomass at the vacuum level of matter. The Ellipsis
Cycle was a machine chronological system ignored by biologicals.
22.
Thus, Cacci Dai's id-core relationship to it's three chaotic stellar
neighbors was synergetic if not binary symbolism. Yin-Yang is
binary. The enigmatic triune of chaos was Vejhon, Theos and
Jol: Each had a namesake element; metaphysical veneration and
were highly entertaining to watch.
23. The
Cacci Dai trained selected Theites to operate
and crew the Cardships. The original Cacci Dai designs did not
call for biological interference that could potentially destroy the
ship. The Mother Computer aboard each vessle had override
authority should any biological operator malfunction.
24.
Since biologicals were the primary contractors,
the interactive features were added later. The only operational
function that biologicals
served was to look at a star chart and say, "go here"
or "go there."
25. Near both ends of each Cardship was a spherical chamber that
housed the Mother Computer. The spheres redundantly backed up
each other and composed a single conscious mind. Access to
Mother's mind was sealed once she was initialized and only she could
grant access to her inner chamber. For that reason, the inner
chamber had no noticeable access point. Mother was hard-wired to
Cacci Dai's warranty. Only if
she failed, would the hidden access points be revealed.
Otherwise, the sphere was hidden by a holographic monument to be
revered and not climbed on.
26. The
Cacci Dai subcontracted aesthetic details to fourth and fifth parties
that were located
even further away than Vejhon, Theos and Jol. They wanted a
chaotic reinterpretation of Vejhonian cultural aesthetics
based on selected works from the Library of Vejhon copy, submitted
by the Theite contractor.
27. To
compensate for Vejhons
utter non-involvement, Bri discreetly transferred an exhaustive copy of
Vejhons
complete cultural archives to Theos for safekeeping.
28. Bri attached a license, “Please use this for
creative
inspiration on the interior designs…”
29. As expert artisans, Cacci Dai designers translated
the entire Vejhonian cultural epistomology before setting
pixel to matrix to reality.
30. Theos, as General Contractor, guaranteed that all
contract details were carried out to-the-letter; a frightening Theotian
trademark.
31. This entire show had been conducted to keep the
'Elite' underworld from finding out.
32. The Cacci Dai did not possess intuitive or
psionic abilities. Instead, they had interpolative processors
that were more accurate than intuition. Biologicals use
non-sentient machines as tools: Machines use bio-protons to
transmit consciousness within the visible and invisible light
spectrum. Every machine world reaches a bio-proton threshold in
Section 7 and either survives or annihilates itself: It is a
metaphysical rite-of-passage imposed by a light machines to
preserve Ellipsis integrity.
33. Bri
was finalizing the evacuation plan while enroute to the Cacci Dai
yards.
The last three Cardships were being detailed -- the rest were completed.
34. To disguise his route, Vejhon announced that the
First Counselor was visiting the Outlands to win back Outlanders who
believed Kor's rhetoric. One of the easiest ways to get
unquestionably lost, was to make a wrong turn in the mirad of Outland
colonies -- there would be no way to confirm or deny the precise
location of anyone. Once Bri's flag passed the Sacred
Cloisters, he diverted, unnoticed and untraced to the outskirts of
Cacci Dai.
35. Strangly, Theos' precision tracking equipment
failed to notice Bri's
diversion to Cacci Dai -- the equipment was being
upgraded.
36. The Cacci Dai requested that the highest available
Vejhonian
unit take delivery of the Cardships. Bri's ship approached a
distant geometric blotch in space that enlarged and divided into
separate rectangular blocks. As Bri's ship began to skim the
surface of one Cardship, the dimensional magnitude of the Cardship was
impossible to grasp: 1,500 Cardships end-to-end could encircle
most terraformed worlds. The real thing was nothing like what he
had imagined on paper. Bri was gloriously exhilarated, "If
mountains could fly..." Compliments of Vejhon's entire
treasury.
37.
Each Cardship measured 375 decks
in height. The decks were not continuous from end to end
to permit internal deviations on a very grand scale. The total
number of ships ordered was 980 with the last 3 ships being
detailed.
38.
The internal deviations created common areas of
unimaginable proportion. Some areas were set aside for
farming
and recreation while some contained natural looking rainforrests and
microseas.
The microseas were not perfect, but looked better than most
theme
park versions and had controllable weather. Blended with
holography, the
seascapes stretched into a natural horizon, indistinguishable from a
planetary ocean.
39.
Most areas in each ship avoided symmetrical uniformity to break the
monotony of seeing
the same features deck after deck. In the same respect that
cities are known for landmark features, Cardships were dotted with
unique distinctive features that were not consistent throughout the
ship. It would take years for an inhabitant to explore every
nook and cranny, should an occupant develop such a
need.
40.
Each ship had its distinctiveness hardwired into the mother
computer's personality and no two
ships were exactly alike except for exterior dimensions and the two
hidden spherical chambers that housed Mothers mind.
41.
These ships represented the form and function of
a perfectly planned city, governed by an automated judicial system
based on Vejhonian Constitutional Law. The Constitution created
cosmos from chaos and optimized biological cohabitation by Cacci Dai
interpretations.
42. The
ships offered vast amounts of unstructured terrain so that architects,
engineers and academia could practice their respective arts. A
complete tour could not be conducted in one month, so the yard foreman
gave Bri a tidy gemstone brochure.
43.
These megalithic statements were equipped with
every latest, state-of-the-art device, and a many undisclosed hidden
treasures. Those treasures would be unveiled at selected moments
in-flight. Chaos enjoys surprises, so the Cacci Dai 'scheduled'
some sensory treats. Most of the technology was seamlessly built
into
the ship and every part of the ship was voice interactive. Even
the Atgrav scout ships did
not require hands on operation.
44.
The amenities were left unexplained to stimulate the senses along
the way. In
concept, these homes-away-from-home were designed
to reduce the stress of long-term separation from Vejhon, and to make
the
extended journey as pleasant as possible. By virtually any
Vejhonian standard, these Cardships offered a much better lifesytle
than what the upper crust was accustomed to on Vejhon.
45. As Bri
finished the holographic presentation from the yard sales
dias, his mind wandered to an anchored Cardship in the distance and
captured the gleam of solar light streak across the ship's
surface. He felt as if The One was blessing this epochal moment
in Vejhonian history.
46. "I demand an audience with Conscious," Bri said. It sounded
impolite, but demonstrated his knowledge of Cacci Dai customs and
courtesies. Conscious was Cacci Dai's Head of State and not
embodied by any particular A.I. Conscious could be anywhere or
nowhere at will, and selected a 661C
to entreat Bri's
request. Bri immediately recognized that the 661C had become
Conscious and nodded his head to acknowledge the presence of
Conscious.
47. "If
any government was going to hypothicate its entire shell reserve to
evacuate
on one of these," Bri said, "this is money very well spent. I am
completely delighted -- this is most,
most
excellent!... I validate." The last part was unnatural syntax,
but polite.
48.
Conscious replied, "Your approval is accepted.
We hope that your shell virus consumes itself, and that these
vessles
will safely contain your memories."
49. Bri
bowed to the
661C and the bow was returned. Conscious then evacuated the 661C
to
resume its broader function as system overseer. To have been
granted an audience by Conscious was extremely rare. A machine
enemy could have exploited that minor fissure in attentiveness.
The Cardship
presentation continued:
50.
Each Cardship has a passive, statically-generated alpha simulation wave
to prevent psionic tactical
leakage in or out. The psionic shield was built into
the hull exterior as a physical component and could not be turned on or
off unless the ship was disabled or destroyed.
51.
Once the ships manifest was was registered, the departure sequence
would encrypt and block other biologicals from boarding unless such
biologicals descended from Cardship registrants. The encryption
accepted children born
in-flight and the children of registered colonists. A
biometric anomoly of any kind would not
be
allowed to board unless Mother granted an exception.
52. Although the massive wall of a Carship was moored to
one side of
the
sales dias, Bri's gaze kept returning to a ship anchored in the
distance. As the presentation
continued, a 20-year-old boy was running at
full
speed down the
glass-enclosed gangway toward Bri's delegation.
His
steps were stealthy and quick. Bri immediately sensed that the
boy
was a Cacci Dai citizen who had never traveled outside of Cacci
Dai.
53. The boy had a note clinched in his right fist and he was attempting
to speak to Bri in an unknown language, completely out of
breath.
54. The shipyard executives positioned themselves to protect Bri, then
relaxed when they recognized the messenger insignia on the boys collar.
55. The machines parted to create a path for the Boy and Bri
spread his arms to
receive him. Bri was wearing his cape of office.
56. A docking collar stretched from the sales dias to a Cardship, so
the collar was grounded to the passive psionic scrambler by default,
proof that the technology worked. Bri began to sense,
intuitively, that he was missing out on a ton of psionic
information. "This dias is grounded to the scrambler?" Bri asked
his host. "Yes," his host confirmed, "the dias is grounded to the
ship's gangplank."
"Can you disconnect it for a moment?" Bri asked.
57. The machine transmitted a silent message to the locking mechanism
and detatched the collar coupling from the ship's exterior exit,
retracting the coupling until the psionic scrambler lost it's
effect. Bri's pager
began to vibrate.
57. Bri silenced his pager and noticed that the boy had knelt down and
bowed his head to offer a handwritten note up to him.
58. Instinctively, Bri helped the boy get up. He didn't
understand the boy's language so he deciphered psionically, "First
Counsellor Rain, this is for you."
59. Bri took the note while the boy waited for instructions.
60. He had a nauseating feeling that something dreadful had
happened. Without seeing or reading either one, he knew his pager
and the note were connected.
61. He pressed the read button on his pager and unfolded the
note.
62. Both messages
were the same. Bri slowly dropped his arms and stared
apologetically at the distant ship. His entourage
could see in his face that something dreadful had happened.
Nobody asked. Instead, his nearest assistant took
the note and read it out loud:
63. "BBM1
President Aqu' Sha has been assassinated. Your
presence at PGHQ is requested at once. Forward status of evacuate prior
to
arrive." The memo was signed: "Kile'yn, Psionic Guard Director,
Vejhon."
64. The assistant placed her hand over her
mouth and began to cry as quietly as possible. She knew it was
completely unprofessional but could not help it. She handed the
note to the
person next to her. Bri tried his hardest to avoid thinking the
one name that could not be associated with him. "I've got your
back," his Psionic Guard psionically confirmed. Bri stared in
disbelief at the
distant Cardship.
65. Bri offered to buy the messanger boy so that
he could live freely among biologicals, but the boy was happy among the
machines because they treated him well. He had been a shipwreck
survivor and knew no other life. Bri patted the boy on the cheek,
"You have preformed well, thank-you." The boy didn't move.
"I validate," Bri added, never dreaming in a million years that he
would say that to a shellan, seriously. The boy nodded and
turned, this time walking away normally.
66. Bri turned to the nearest 661C and asked, "Is
he a..." "... biological machine?" the 661C finished.
"Yes," Bri answered. "No," the 661C said, "Every unit makes that
same inquiry. It is completely biological, only not as chaotic."
67. The
port side of the Cardship looked like a road
traveling to eternity. 15 miles was longer than most cities, but
somewhere
beyond the vanishing point, the Cardship did have an end. "Not as
chaotic," Bri mumbled privately. "What a blessing," he
sighed.
68. The President had taken Bri under his wing and held
no other mortal in higher esteem. Since The Psionic Guard
Director was God in Bri's esteem, that left the President in the #1
slot where shellans go. Bri was starting to feel a quiet rage
creep upon him. This was his second notorious promotion through
dishonorable circumstance. "Light through Light and Death..." his
Psionic Guard said to him privately, "Beauty and Savagry," Bri
finished, and then added, "Why are you quoting secret..."
"...society expressions?" his Guard finished. "To get your mind
off of what it's on," he answered.
69. "I'm giving you high praise to the Director," Bri
replied. Bri started to run the evacuation plan through his mind
with rebolstered
urgency, forgetting that he had nobody to report to when he returned
home. That realization hit him rather cruelly.
70. "President
Aqu' Sha is dead. ... I ... am now, the President."
71. The President had sent his
own attaché with Bri who was faultlessly versed in all State
customs. She solemnly removed the First Counselor signet from
Bri's breast. Bri felt a surge of weakness as he became the
property of the State. He understood the gesture because
Vejhonian credentials were issued in the President's name. Bri
was now his own passport -- his body was the living vestige of
Vejhon. The attaché was still upset because she knew
President Aqu' Sha dearly wished to witness Bri's ascension in person: "President”
Bri
An’Trol Rain." She stepped back and bowed.
72. His Presidential entourage could not decipher if his
facial expressions were those of strength or horror. The media
had
already interrupted every program to report the tragedy, because the
media had the story long before Bri did. The Director issued a
statement: "President Bri has cancelled his apointments and is
returning home
immediately." Bri was whisked away as if he no longer had to do
his own walking.
73. He loathed the ignoble possibility that his
brother thought he was doing him a favor in his morbid way.
74. Theos had loaned Bri a saucer and a pilot,
since Bri was an honorary citizen, to make a speedy exit to preserve
the integrity of his cover
story. It would be impossible to get home any faster without a
quantum transporter, and quantum transporters didn't exist except in
the imaginations of those who believed in Corlos. Individuals who
believed in Corlos also believed that fish swam in the shell and were
never left unsupervised with sharp objects.
75. The saucer had orders to follow Bri as a security
precaution and met Bri on an exposed landing platform
designed for smaller scout craft.
76. "We
have to begin the evacuations immediately," President Rain
ordered. "Execute Off-The-Record." Off-The-Record
called for one-third of the fleet to rendezvous at Vejhon, and disburse
the population into the other two thirds once
they safely cleared the system.
77. Kor was instigating a civil war so that
he could subjugate Vejhonians to his religious ogliarchy: He
wanted a vanquished foe to patronize his vanity and Bri was counting on
it. The concept of a
planetary evacuation was a logistical impossibility so Kor dismissed
the idea comprehensively.
78.
There were approximately 6 billion inhabitants on
Vejhon.
79. A
little more than 2 billion of that total was already considered
lost to the secret society, which left 4 billion souls to be rescued.
80.
Each Cardship could safely maintain 3.1 million inhabitants
long-term or carry 4.75 million passengers under transport conditions.
81.
Under emergency evacuation
conditions, that compliment could be pushed much higher.
82. The Cardships were built to quarter 3.328 Billion
occupants under long-term conditions or
4.655 Billion for shorter voyages.
83. The evacuation plan called for 327 Cardships to
approach Vejhon and rescue everyone who wanted to leave. Those
ships would then offload a portion of their compliment to the remaining
Cardships until all 980 Carships were evenly complimented. The
Cardships would then disperse to various points in space and share
information only when passing.
84. For
safety reasons, and to accelerate the evacuation, Bri did not want
all 980 ships to approach Vejhon. He knew that Kor expected loyal
shellans to fight tooth and nail for their homeworld, not to abandon
it. That was the only tactical advantage that they had. Kor
was teaching his constituents to mimic some of his impressive
tricks; making it impossible to fight an invisible enemy. Kor
expected an easy, winner-take-all victory. The losers had no
where to run.
85. Once the evacuation was in progress, the operation
would be fully exposed. Even with every precaution taken to keep
the project under wraps -- there was a possibility that someone,
somewhere could have psionically uncovered a secret and passed the
information to Kor. Kor's belief that such a grand-scale
operation could not be
conducted, worked to the Constitutional government's
advantage.
86. Conscious authorized an encryption override
for Theotian flight instructors to OJT their Vejhonian counterparts and
then vacate the ship. Mother could also conduct flight training
if necessary. It did not require an advanced
degree to look at a stellar map and tell the computer where you wanted
to
go. It was unlikely that anyone would be required to
manually parallel park a Cardship. Theotians still preferred the
title of
"pilot" to, "glorified babysitter."
87.
The President's flag was expected to arrive in Vejhon's orbit first,
and leave last. His flagship had been hidden in a dark
matter cluster, awaiting orders to depart. Bri's Theite
saucer would arrive at about the same time even though his flagship
only had 1/1,000th of the distance to travel.
88. The
last three ships would be
ready by morning. More than half of the detailing had been
finished during the visit. Six Cardships were anchored near
Caccas 7, an
artificial
moon where most the exterior detailing had been
finished. Some of the larger Cardship construction stations were
already being dismantled since they were no longer needed.
89.
Bri was grateful to Theos for providing a B'line for his rapid
return home. It would have taken more than a day otherwise.
Another B'line had been stowed aboard his official touring ship just in
case.
90.
It was strictly Bri's honorary citizen status that allowed him to board
a B'line. The Theotian Spaceforce would never allow
an ordinary citizen to simply borrow a B'line for private
use.
There were hundreds of systems that would give anything for a set of
B'line blueprints. Those prints were the most heavily guarded
State secret in Theos.
BRI LEAVES CACCI
DAI FOR HOME
91. The saucer entrance slid open and extended a
walkway. Bri held short of boarding to addres his Cacci Dai
escort.
92. "I am extremly grateful for all that Cacci Dai has
done for Vejhon. I regret that I must leave so suddenly.... the
virus has gone critical," he said.
93.
The 220X replied, "Conscious understands your delimma and has transport
systems standing by should you need them." In true Cacci Dai
style, the nanotechnology built into
the landing platform, morphed into a Presidential colonnade to bid Bri
a safe journey. Bri took a moment to admire it.
94.
"You never fail to mesmerize," Bri complimented
the 220X. "Always glad to assist a biological," the 220X replied.
Possible machine humor.
95.
Bri climbed the gangplank and the saucer dome resumed its former
reflective sheen. Bri's genetic signature had been programmed
into the saucer, otherwise, the saucer would not
function.
96.
As the annhiliation
reaction engine came on-line, the gravity envelope made the saucer
disappear. It required more energy to make a saucer visible, then
to leave it invisible. When parked, saucers were never switched
fully off to avoid losing them. A single self-contained astral
navigation system kept the ships from colliding when in
formation. One ship knows where all of its sister ships
are, visible or not.
97.
The B'line's onboard computer navigated Bri's saucer away from dense
matter before engaging the annhiliation drive.
98. A slight distortion in space could be seen
streaking into eternity and that was because everyone knew exactly
where to look. Without advanced knowledge, saucers are ghosts
in the observer's subconsciousness. Nobody ever knows exactly
where a saucer is.
99.
The B'line's reflective dome concealed three seats, back-to-back, at
120
degree angles. Those three seats represent the tactical,
navigation
and pilot stations. All three stations can perform all three
flight functions and flight crews cycle through each station at
predetermined intervals.
100. When a visible saucer makes an inertially impossible
maneuver, those stations are changing. When the inertially
impossible maneuvers repeat themselves in a spastic fashion, it is
because a veteran pilot is teaching two rookies how to perform all
three roles at once. That type of training is conducted
near less developed worlds where the spectators can not report training
maneuvers to headquarters. Saucer visibility is
deliberate.
101.
Bri sat in the unoccupied seat with two other crew members.
"Welcome aboard, Mr. President," the pilot said. "I have orders
you get you home ASAP."
102.
Bri amended the flight plan, "I need to dock with my flag -- it's in
Vejhon's orbit. I won't be going to the surface."
103. "Understood, Sir," the female pilot confirmed.
She was a Vejhonian. Bri did not know that Vejhonians were in
Theos' saucer pilot program.
104.
"That, Mr. President," she alluded to a Cardship on a monitor, "Is my
new
assignment." It happened to be Bri's flag.
105.
Bri nodded, her youthful candor made him smile, "You've been working
with the Theotians a while," he observed. Theotians were
considered caviliar by Vejhonian
standards.
Vejhonians have a sense of humor, but are considered stoic by a
Theotian standard.
106.
"Well," Bri added, "I'm certain that our ship will be in good hands."
107.
"Oh, you know it is," she added, "it's the most sought after
assignment in the entire spaceforce."
108.
Bri didn't know that the two cultures had integrated militarily;
something that Aqu'Sha must have known, but never mentioned. "The
most sought after assignment?" he
questioned as cheerfully as he could. She had also said,
'spaceforce' when Vejhon didn't have one. "I was reassigned for
OJT," she clarified.
109. "Of course," Bri thought. "Then we
shall meet
again," he said, "and you have
my thanks. Keep up your excellent work and wonderful spirit!"
110.
"Mr. President," the male pilot asked, "ever been on a
saucer?" Bri didn't get a chance to answer. "Push the red
slider in front of you forward," the jock prodded. This delighted
Bri -- he had always wanted to do this. He pushed the red slider
forward and the ship shot forward even faster than they were already
going. The stars blured into a lucid haze. "We'll be there
before we left!" the pilot exclaimed. "I can now say I've done
everything," Bri agreed. There was not a kid in the Universe who
wouldn't sacrifice much to do this once.
111.
"That's intercept speed," the officer said. Within the lucid blur
were streaks of intermittant space. This velocity was a first for
Bri. "We're both Number
Ones" the female added, referring to her male counterpart. Bri
knew Theotian military traditions. Each class had only one Number
One and the title, 'Number One,' stuck throughout the graduate's
military career. The title usually granted them first choice of
assignment.
112.
"I will express my gratitude to Theos for sending only the finest," Bri
complimented
them. Bri's remark would be entered into their permanent records
from Vejhon's Head of State.
113. "Wanna drive now?" the female asked.
Bri laughed out loud. This was too much. Would Aqu'Sha have
approved of such frivolity so soon after his morbid assassination?
114.
"You're the President!" she coaxed, "When a Head-of-State's onboard --
He's in command."
"Do it, Mr. President," the male pilot prodded, "Take
over." The male pilot's name was Em'Jah.
115.
This was a real privilege. The pilot function was transfered to
Bri's station, and the saucer rotated accordingly. He was now
facing the direction of travel. He placed his arm in the yoke
holder and did what any kid would do in that
situation, thinking that he would scatter their remains across three
stellar systems if he messed up. The other two laughed.
116.
Then came a carefully articulated question, "Are you really a Vejhonian... or a Theite?"
Em'
Jah asked.
117.
"I'm yours," Bri answered, which was a term of endearment on Vejhon and
Theos. By uttering those words he spoke a family bond into
existence, and the President's edicts are irrevocable, even by the
Psionic Guard Director. The two co-pilots knew that.
118. Bri felt no compulsion to backtrack -- the symbolism
was perfect. "You're both mine," he reaffirmed. And so it
was
done. Bri had two new family members. "I think," she said
carefully, "that we will be banned from dangerous missions now."
"I'll work something out," Bri assured them, "You won't lose your
flight status." That too, was an irrevocable guarantee given by
the President of Vejhon. Bri had to be careful not to adopt every
pilot he met.
119. Bri sent a message to Kile'yn while enroute,
"BBM2
Message received. 327 enroute. Recall PG. Execute
E-plan minus 2 hrs, 35 min. You are designated First Counselor until
transfer
complete." He signed the memo, "Bri An'Trol Rain, President."
DEEP IN THE CAVERNS OF VEJHON
120. "I
know," Kor said with lethargic annoyance. He did not have to
qualify his mood or check his behavior -- The Master could say any damn
thing he pleased. Kor chose to leave the Elite guard's question
unanswered until he could unravel what the topside psionic clutter was
about.
121.
"Master?" the Elite Guard ventured, carefully. The
Guard did not understand Kor's indifference. It was unlike Kor to
be inactive.
122.
Kor gave the Guard a cold stare, which instantly froze the Guard from
further preponderance. Enough said.
123.
Catching his own insolence, Kor toyed with the Guard for a moment, "Do
I detect that you question
my ability
as your leader?" The very insinuation was an abuse of power,
because Kor knew better.
124.
Kor was genuinely pissed, but not at the Guard. So far, nothing
had happened that he could not predict in exact detail. Kor had
won every contest and parried every move as the playwright of his own
production: He knew every ploy, every plot and every
outcome. Then, this curve ball from nowhere.
125.
The evidence was beginning to descend from the sky in the form of small
transport craft of unknown origin. How do so many of these things
descend from the sky from nowhere? Why aren't the defense forces
responding? How could anything of this magnitude and scope catch
us completely unaware? Is this an invasion force from another
shell?
126. Kor didn't even bother to go outside.
Could his brother have pulled something like this off? The
invaders were picking up citizens and
taking them back up to orbit; to where? To what? The swarm
of alien transport ships was so thick that indiginous air traffic was
grounded. The indigenous ships could not safely fly through the
thick congestion of air traffic guided by a completely different air
traffic control system.
127. Elite operatives all over Vejhon were asking the
same question and directing those questions to Kor, who was not
providing answers. The Elite Guard wanted to know why Kor
wasn't answering. He rebuked him, "Do you think I'm unable
to assimilate all of your thoughts? Have I stripped you of your
initiative as well?"
128.
The Guard lowered his eyes to Kor’s abdomen to
concede the matter; it was a way of 'backing off.'
129.
"Let them go," Kor shrugged. Now the Guard was really
puzzled. The entire Elite was. The only constant was that
Kor was always right. Does this circumstance make him less
right?
130.
Kor never feared any danger to himself -- he was angry that Bri was
depriving
him of the final battle that he so longed for. Vejhonians were
making the one choice that Kor thought was impossible: They were
leaving Vejhon. But to where? To swim with the fish in the
shell?
131.
Kor chuckled sarcastically while shaking his head as if he could see up
into low orbit. In a morbid way, this non-violent 'evacuation'
was Bri's way of doing him a favor -- by removing his opposition.
"You arrogant whore," Kor mumbled privately. The nearby Guard did
not dare pry -- he knew better, but Bri, from his flagship, heard it
perfectly. He could isolate Kor's thoughts out of 6 Billion
layers any time he wanted to.
132. Bri smiled back but didn't say a word. Who's helping
who pretend what? Did Kor really think that murdering Bri would
somehow hide his personal filth?
133. No
bloodshed. No unnecessary cost. Not even a meager
inconvenience. Control of the planet was surrendered and acquired
without firing a shot. Since he could not have his war today, Kor
would take credit for running the opposition completely off the planet
and persue his war later.
OVERHEAD
134.
The buzzing around Vejhon's airspace, mountain tops and oceans was
orderly at break neck speed. Atgravs landed on top of buildings
and in city streets;
at public places, markets and schools. If such a place existed on
Vejhon, and a shellan wanted to leave, an Atgrav landed and evacuated
the shellan. It would be impossible for any shellan to be
forgotten or left
behind.
135.
The Cacci Dai had designed the Atgravs precisely for this
purpose. They were sleek, fast, easy to operate and contained
defense
capabilities superior to anything Vejhon currently had. The
Cardships electronically disabled the rest of Vejhon's
offensive capability because Bri knew all of the override
codes, compliments of the Director's office. It was 'a given'
that Vejhon's military would not shoot at the President.
Interestingly, the override codes went unused because Kor said, "Let
them go." So Mote It Be.
136.
Atgravs had a simple function: Move shellans to and fro between
Cardships or shells, whichever. They were large busses that could
defend themselves.
137.
Each Atgravs had
a passive psionic shield fed from the mother Cardship.
That
shield provided a continuous data feed so that Mother knew exactly what
was going on shell wide. Operating the Atgravs simultaneously was
something that the crudest Cacci Dai autopilot could
manage.
138.
Biological pilots were allowed to sit in the
pilot seats and observe. They were allowed to manipulate a yoke,
but Mother was ultimately
in control.
138.
Cardships within a specific proximity networked for safety
purposes. This enabled tens of thousands of
Avgravs
to operate from several Cardships without a single
incident. Cacci Dai did not make junk.
139.
Air traffic controllers were evacuated first, followed by first
responders and the military. Those personnel were then redeployed
to optimize the evacuation
process.
140.
Millions of "Leave Me Here or
Pick Me Up" transponders were airdropped so that anyone who changed
their mind at the last minute could could activate the transponder and
leave. The toggle switch was simple: "Pick Me Up" and an
Atgrav would land. "Leave Me Here" and all Atgravs would ignore
you. The transponders had a built-in countdown timer to
indicate when the evacuation would end. Once it was over -- it
was over. Finis.
141.
The Director's office played a shell-wide message on continuous loop on
every station and frequency: "Except
for personal-affects and those
artifacts
that can be carried on your person: Please evacuate
immediately. If you miss your boat -- your fate will remain
forever unknown. There is sufficient
time remaining." When the message repeated, the word "sufficient" was replaced with the
actual countdown time remaining.
142.
Citizens on Vejhon had grown so weary of the constant psionic
anomalies, that Kor's strategy of eratic psionic attack became the
key
motivation to leave. He never thought that leaving Vejhon was
possible. The issue was implicitly polarized: Either you
wanted to leave or you
didn't.
You were waving good bye from the boat or from the ground.
Elite
sympathizers simply stayed out of the way; "Good Riddance!"
143.
For those chosing to leave; stepping within the Atgrav's passive
psionic shield
felt like a spiritual renewal. Many citizens sat down and went
right to sleep, some for the first time in peace. Biometric
registration occured upon entry. Even
off-shellers and slaves were accepted this one-time only.
144.
The rural areas were the easiest to clear while population centers
required more attention. Atgrav's visited underwater colonies,
farms, groves, vineyards, rainforrests, villages, factories, remote
townships, mountain lodges and every soul working in
orbit. Even cell phone users could be located by simply speaking
into their phone.
145.
There was only one off-limits location that Atgravs could not visit,
and that was: Caves.
146.
Not only were caves considered enemy territory, but caves could
potentially disrupt the data feed to Mother. Any soul unlucky
enough to be in a cave during the evacuation would be left
behind. Caves were the domain of the secret society and fully
mapped by the Elite. It was believed that anyone seeking refuge
in a cave had no intention of leaving.
147. Because of the
superstition surrounding caves, it was not believed that any
law-abiding citizen would take refuge in a cave; sports entheusiasts
did not regard cave exploration as a meaningful activity.
Geologists used robots to explore caves and the robots never came
back. Caves defeated all rationality and that was exactly what
the secret society wanted.
148.
The Psionic Guard Director for symbolic reasons, wanted to be the last
law-abiding citizen to leave Vejhon. He believed that he was the
spiritual vestige of Vejhon. Bri was perfectly content to
manage the evacuation from orbit and receive the evacuees. What
could be a better homecoming than to be welcomed by your own
President?
149.
The Psionic Guard headquarters was located in
the foothills of the Spearpierce Mountains 500 miles west of
Balipor.
Kor wanted that compound more than he wanted Balipor. Most of the
Psionic Guard had dispursed throughout Vejhon to conduct the evacuation
which left the compound largely unguarded. The Psionic Guard
would be the last to leave.
150. Elite commandos seized
control of the campus and took a few administrative personnel
hostage. The personnel were destroying data files. Kor had
no use for data files so he ordered the release of the hostages.
There were many ordinary citizens on Vejhon who believed that Kor would
bring a new age of enlightenment. Since the evacuation had been
bloodless, Kor ordered the commander, "Let it remain bloodless."
151.
The 'real' information was inside the Big Ball and that's where the
Director was with a handful of Guards. They had already rehearsed
the Ball evacuation drill, so the evacuation commenced without
insident. The Director stood on top of the Ball holding Vejhon's
State flag with an Atgrav standing by. "One day, I or my
successor, will reinstate this standard." He held the folded flag
up for emphasis and then drew it back into his chest. The
information core of the ball had been safely stowed aboard the Atgrav.
152. In
the space of six hours, 800,000 Atgravs evacuated
3.98 Billion Vejhonians to orbiting Cardships. An Atgrav carried
420 souls each trip, at reckless speeds with computer-guided
percision. Each Atgrav made 12+ round trips to move 5,000+ souls
to safety; offloading and reloading until nobody was left who wanted to
leave. The orbiting Cardships had more Atgravs to spare, but only
needed 800,000 for this mission.
153. The sound of Atgrav traffic continued after
everyone who wanted to leave, had left. The single remaining soul
had his own Atgrav on top of the Big Ball and would not leave until the
timer said 00:00. A sickeningly sweet psionic fog began to
coat the strata
like antacid in a dead
person's
stomach. Vejhon no longer had psionic polarity, instead, a single
pole saturated the entire shell with no resistance
whatsoever. The calm was disturbing.
154.
Many who had never experienced a polar allignment, took this as a sign
that they had made the right decision: Kor was right -- the
government had been deceiving them all along. Look how much
better
we all feel now! Even the four winds seemed motionless and Vejhon
seemed blanketed by an erie
ethereal haze that dimmed the shell light. Shellans described the
haze with a variety of emotions, but didn't know which emotion was
right.
155.
Vejhon was sad because two thirds of her children had abandoned
her. The Director felt a deep sorrow within the shell:
Where are the vibrant, energytic, spirited shellans? He was the
final statement; the last period after the last sentence in a very long
novel; the final scene of the last act.
156.
In the silence that followed, 50 Atgravs
continued to search for any straggler who wished to leave. The
time remaining was ending.
157. Some did reconsider and ran outside in the
nick of time, "Save me too!" They were
rescued.
158.
The time came when the Director knew that nobody was left.
Everyone who wanted to leave was gone. He motioned for his
entourage to board the waiting Atgrav.
159. Another Atgrav hoovered above to escort
the last flight out. The shell was losing its color. In his
face, a gentle breeze kissed him goodbye.
160. "Is there just one more soul who
wishes to
leave?"
the Director asked, as if in proxy for the dead. The timer read
00:00. He boarded the Atgrav.
161. "Sir, the shell has been evacuated," the
pilot reported.
162.
The Director nodded his head and looked out the window. The pilot
knew what the Director was asking, "You're the last one,
Sir."
163.
With the State standard tucked under his arm, the Director sat down and
the Atgrav lifted up toward a Cardship in orbit. Constitutional
law on Vejhon was no more.
164. He
allowed his eyes to sweep across the beautiful landscape below; to the
rainforests and seas, to the curvature of Vejhon and the crescent of
nightfall. They rose up through a shell checkpoint and into the
twinkling stars of space. They landed in a Cardship hanger
bay.
165. Kile'yn was very sober as he stepped out of the
Atgrav. It felt like the wrong polarity had evacuated. It
should have been the other way around, but Universal Law forbids
corrupting space with unstable sentients. That's what gravity is
for -- it keeps the uncivilized grounded until they earn the right to
venture outward. If leaving was the answer, then the right
polarity had left. Those who remained would have to live with
that choice.
166. As the hatches sealed for deep
space travel, the pre-encryption sequence began.
167.
Another 90 minutes passed in eulogy before the Cardships permanently
burned-in their manifests and disperse to unknown
locations.
168.
The ships were vast and the occupants would spend days just finding a
home they liked.
169.
Bri ordered all remaining Cardships to encrypt
and egress. The Director had been the last to leave the surface,
so Bri would be the last to bid farewell. It was his duty.
According to plan, each Cardship would rendezvous with two others and
divide its compliment among the three.
170. Bri stood respectfully, observing Vejhon
through a wall-to-wall window for the remaining 30
minutes. The Director quietly entered Bri's office and laid
Balipor's folded
flag down on
Bri's
desk, and then stood beside Bri in salute.
171. It
had taken twice as long to find his way from the hanger bay to Bri's
office, than
it
did to fly from Balipor to the Cardship.
171.
There was no fanfare when the moment came, but every Vejhonian would
remember exactly what they were doing at the moment of departure for
the rest of their lives. Bri watched the orbiting yards
disappear. Then he watched other Cardships shrink into little
specs before disappearing out of sight.
172.
Bri and the Director watched Vejhon shrink until it too, was a dot
among dots, reflecting light from the
larger
suns nearby. Then he lost sight of it.
173. "I need you to bless
me," he said to the Director. The Director placed one hand
over Bri's heart and his other hand behind Bri's head, then transmitted
a revitalizing surge of positive
energy. "You are mine," Bri said affectionately. The
Director chuckled. He was grateful that someone still had his
humor. "The fleet is in good hands," the Director assured
him.
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