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Restoration -- Chapter
33
1. For all intents and purposes, the war was over
and the Elite ships immobilized. There were other non-essential
assets in the Elite inventory, but every mission capable warship that
had been deployed was now confined within a planet-sized sphere,
surrounded by Cardships and Theite saucers. The Elite had 2,265
clumps of drifting debris that could not maintain a stable axis without
external stabilization. The Theites began towing and arranging
the destroyers to process the prisoners. Watching deadly
Elite behemoths get repositioned and stacked seemed to
obscure if not diminish their historical potency. Planet killers
all lined up in many rows.
2. Kor's helplessness tortured him because there
was nothing that he could do against insurmountable opposition.
He
sensed the collective
pressure of several thousand Psionic Guards who had honed in on his
yacht. There was no way that
Kor could escape even if he attempted to shift dimensions.
The Psionic Guard had been tipped off by
an anonymous oversized hockey-puck shaped droid who described Kor's
modus
operandi. In every crack and crevice, a
Psionic Guard was posted.
3. Realizing that
he had nowhere to go, Kor resigned to sit and wait; unwilling to admit
that he might be impressed, even by his own matchless standard. "Looks like
you’ve done your homework," he commented to one of his captors, even
though
his captors were not physically within reach. Kor
was
nailed down tight inside a psionic coffin. Even though he
knew escape was impossible, there was the issue of his physical
apprehension.
4. He could hear the thoughts of his commanders
and field grade officers as they were arrested and taken into custody,
"What Happened?" Kor could not
answer.
5. Just
when Kor began to speculate how his capture might occur, an incarceration unit docked against his observation
window, created a pressure seal, blasted the window and
sucked Kor into the vacuum. The cell was resealed and the entire
transfer took three seconds to
complete. By the time his body could react to rapid
decompression, the new environment had already re-pressurized.
Kor had no psionic indicators or warnings because no biologicals were
involved. His 'speculations' had been planted by a Psionic
Guard. Bri watched Kor's violent abduction on closed
circuit. Kor was on his throne -- then was in jail, as
quickly as described.
6.
Ever since his first encounter with the strange indentation in the
water, "Onimex," Ireana called it, he hated A.I.s. He couldn't
read them and that included the Cacci Dai. A.I.s'
marched to a different drummer, paradigm and God.
Knowing everyone's thoughts had given him the advantage in every
situation. For the first time, those odds had changed, "Your
idea?" he asked his brother. "Thought you might like it," Bri
confessed. "We could have ruled the Universe," Kor tempted
him. "You did
rule the Universe," Bri countered, "And I was no where in your
plan. Now, tell me about the millions who would die because of
me..."
7. This was the first time that Kor had ever contemplated
his fate from a victim’s perspective. Until now, he had never
genuinely 'wondered' about anything. He
no longer had a divided Vejhon to play games with. There was no
'Elite strata' to protect him because the Elite didn't know where he
was. His holding cell had been specially built for his 'psionic'
protection. The Great Emperor, whose name once imparted light to the
Sun, was now a lowly, helpless prisoner.
8.
Video of Kor's capture was transmitted throughout the known star
systems. The clip of Kor being sucked into his holding cell was
especially popular. Headlines spread at faster-than-light
speed: "KOR CAPTURED!" "THE WAR IS OVER!" and "Theos
and Cacci Dai Save the Universe!" There were fears that Kor could
regain power because his tricks were legendary. His abilities
were featured in Elite schools. "I don't think it's possible to bind-and-gag Kor,"
one shellan said. "What does it take to keep him incarcerated?"
another asked. All thoughts led to one conclusion:
Until Kor is
undeniably destroyed, nobody
will be safe.
ON VEJHON
9. There was always a provisional
government in place whenever Kor and Dal El deployed. Most of the
higher echelon had accompanied them to witness the massacre in
person. When it was confirmed that the entire Elite force was
captured, the public's reaction ranged from extreme fear to extreme
liberation. Kor's super kids knew how to run the shell and
automatically enforced law and order in the absence of authority.
The public thought the super kids were more judicious than their
progenitors, so the shell didn't experience bedlam right away.
10.
There were remnants of old corruption that had been
grandfathered. Bureaucrats and oligarchs who feared losing their
status under a Constitutional government tried to spread fear against
reunification. The enormous slave class welcomed reunification,
hoping that "opportunity for all"
would apply to them. Three generations on both sides had never
lived as a united society. Three generations aboard Cardships and
colonists living abroad had never seen their home shell at all.
11. The Sons of the First Morning had watched their last
sunset.
12. Bri was moved to tears as Vejhon emerged into view. He
invited La Nasha and Miles to Aqu'Sha's office to witness their
triumphal return. La Nasha had never seen Vejhon. She
looked at the holographic memorial for visual clues. Miles was
beginning to pick up a familiar psyos that had re-stratified over the
last 70 years. He was only 24 when he left, now the Psionic Guard
Director. "I think we need to slow down the repatriation
process," Bri suggested, "the shellans are afraid. What can we
do?" he
turned to Miles. Kinesthetically, it felt like the old days to
Bri. Miles new heir apparent was Vicar Jaxon.
13. "We'll stay here," Miles suggested, "We've been gone for 70
years -- what's a few more days? We can reintegrate
gradually." La Nasha nodded her head -- it was her area of
expertise, "We need to remove Elite officers to off-shell locations
until they can be judged on a case-by-case basis and disposed of
according to their merits." It was her first Presidential Edict
inside Vejhonian space. Miles and Bri made brief eye
contact: She was the President -- they worked for her. "I
want this to have spiritual significance," she directed Miles,
"...their hearts need to heal." Miles could think of no better
better priority for a President to have at this time and admired her
benevolence.
14. Bounty hunters were sent
across the Universe to capture Elite fugitives who horded secret
stashes of wealth and fled. Lower
ranking officials who committed no crimes against Vejhonians were
exonerated of
minor infractions and allowed to repatriate. All real
estate contracts created during Kor's regime were voided. Most
shellans did
not benefit from Kor's generosity, so they were pleased to see
the Elite governors stripped of their unearned estates. Blue
Funnel was evicted immediately and all legislation enacted by the
revolutionary government was
revoked. In effect, Constitutional Law resumed where it
left off.
15. The archives hidden inside Vaprous 3 were retrieved
untouched. Vaprous had a stabalizing effect
on the shell, so the Sky Spirits ordered that the moon be left
alone. Vigilante
groups organized
to execute their former masters faster than the State could suppress
them. Elite oppression had left its mark.
"Vicar Miles," La Nasha ordered, "Please reestablish the Psionic
Guard's presence on Vejhon." She knew from history; that Director
Kyle'yn had been the last Vejhonian to leave Vejhon. "Wait," Bri
asked. He walked over to the hermetically sealed flag case, and
when he touched it, the pressure seal broke.
16. He retrieved the flag and held it to his face, so overcome
with emotion that he could not speak, but his thoughts were clear,
"Kyle'yn brought this flag with him... " Bri walked over to Aqu'Sha's
desk, "and laid it right here... when he rightly assumed that this
would become my office." Bri set the flag down as Kyle'yn had
left it.
Then he picked it up and gave it to Miles, "You go put this back on The
Ball," Bri whispered. La Nasha had a hard time keeping her
composure because she was standing in the presence of a legend.
"Father Bri," she consoled him, "is there anything I can do?"
"You put that back on The Ball," Bri said to Miles, "You're the
Director now."
17. Bri's pronounciation had the power of an Edict -- he had
lived it, as Kyle'yn and Wexli had. Miles solemly took the flag,
bowed to the
President, and exited the room to reestablish the Psionic Guard's
presence on Vejhon, as ordered. "You're with me," he said to
Jaxon as he exited.
18.
The Ball had been thoroughly trashed because it symbolized the exiled
Constitutional
government. Kor was tempted to let the
hordes desecrate the Ball, but protected it instead, to reopen it as a
war
museum after the final battle was won. Blue Funnel
begged him to let them buy it, but Kor would have rather hung them from
the lamp posts. "It's not for sale," he said disgusted, "I have
other plans for it." Blue Funnel had proven useful during the
revolution; so he let them have free reign of the Quarter
and limited influence throughout the shell. Blue Funnel had
renovated the quarter into a spectacular
financial masterpiece with theme park rides to extoll the virtues of
credit and interest.
19. Miles landed an Atgrav on the Ball and stepped out, as
Kyle'yn had stepped in 70 years earlier. "I'm here," he reported
to La Nasha and Bri. The flagpole's lanyard was whethered and
unservicable but strong enough to resume it's former purpose for one
more day. "I wish Wexli was here," he lamented. "He is,"
Bri consoled him. Everyone egressed the Atgrav and formed a
respectful
circle around flagpole. Miles looked across the landscape, as
Kyle'yn must have done, and remembered his shellwatch moments when
Kyle'yn joined him. He smiled fondly and raised the flag to the
top. "That was where it flew last," Miles said to his entourage,
"We're back!" He stepped back and saluted the flag with the
others. In his mind, he thought he heard Wexli's voice say,
"I warrant." Bri heard it too, but he thought it was Kyle'yn.
20. "You five -- go to Spearpierce and re-open the compound," he
said. They wanted to go, but didn't know where the Spearpierce
mountains were. Jaxon had been born aboard ship; he had
seen pictures in school: MIles' 70-year-old memories was
not an exact map. La Nasha
turned to Bri concerned. She didn't want to ask, but he knew what
she was thinking. "Of course," he answered, "I'll go." La
Nasha smiled sweetly, "Director," she said, "Father Bri can open the
Ball if you would like to take your team to Spearpierce." 'Cosmic
Justice,' Bri thought, something Micha would have said. "It's the
right thing to do," she said, holding Bri's arm, "Take whoever you
like." Micha was already in an Atgrav waiting for
Bri.
BRI'S
RETURN
21. Within the revitalized psionic strata was a shellen who knew
where the ball's schematics had been hidden. He was the youngest
groundskeeper during the evacuation who had been told to hide 'an
important package.' Bri located the shellan, "My child," he said
gently, "Where did you hide 'the important package'?" The shellan
thought about the flag standard right next to Bri. "Thank-you,"
he said. It was similar to hiding a house key under a door mat,
but the keys were a little more complex. Kyle'yn didn't take the
keys
because it would have blanked them out, and yet, nobody found
them. Bri was taking delivary of the Cardships at the time.
22. On the flag base was an ordinary anchor panel with sunken set
screws. "That panel," Bri pointed out to a young technician, "can
you remove it?" "Of course, Father," the assistant said. He
retrieved a tool from the Atgrav, unscrewed the panel and set it
aside. Inside were 10 rectangular translucent keys, each a
different color. The assistant gathered the keys and showed them
to
Bri. "The keys are now coded to you," Bri said, "That interior
panel," he pointed out, "can you open
it?" "Certainly, Father," his assistant said. He pulled up
on the metal ring, and inside were 10 slots that would accept the 10
keys. "And they never found that?" Bri said
astonished. "Miracles do
hapen." "I don't think they looked," Miles said, about to touch
down at Spearpierce.
23. "Hold the keys to the light," Bri said, "and you'll see their
sequence numbers -- then insert them from left to right, in order, from
1 to 10." "I understand, Father," his assistant said. He
held each key up and layed it down in its numeric sequence. Then,
as instructed, he inserted them into their appropriate slots.
When the 10th key seated, the panel illuminated and a deep thunderous
jolt could be felt within the ball interior. Several machines
spooled up and the Ball's artifical gravity generator went
on-line. They all giggled as they felt the artifical gravity
readjust their bodies to the exact center of the core. "I think
it's on,"
Bri said happily. "You can close that back now," he said to his
assistant, "Thank-you!"
24. The reunification process was not fast; the super kids
had to be reindoctrinated to preserve Constitutional authority.
The Slave class was abolished by Presidential decree -- no more
slaves. Kindness and common courtesy was restored as shellans
regained their humor and lost their
fear. An abundance of support from the intergalactic community
arrived with each world showcasing their technical expertise. All
trade was normalized. The treasury and archives was
reinstalled. Restoration projects commenced
without delay. The enthusiasm was contagious with the divine
light of the citizenry restored. Theos refunded Twenty
Septillion bullion markers that they had leveraged from Blue Funnel
over the last 70 years to help jumpstart Vejhon's economy. Elite
notes became worthless overnight.
25. The population had grown considerably on both sides
during the last 70 years. It was logistically impossible for
every single Cardship resident and off-shell colonist to return to
Vejhon. Generations who had colonized other shells opted to
remain at their colonies; many Cardship residents chose to
remain aboard ship, after all, the ships were beautiful and paid
for. The university system was reinstated with generous
incentives extended to colonists and Cardship residents.
Repatriated shellans were offered opportunities to visit Cardships and
colonies. Overall, the population was sensibly redistributed to
satisfy everyone's desires and curiosity. Vejhon suddenly had
widespread intergalactic influence and enough assets to rival
Theos. Vejhon gave Theos carte blanche to co-opt anything they
desired.
26. As President La Nasha wound down her first State of
the Shell address from the Balipiton auditorium, she said, "The Shell
has been pronounced renewed by the Psionic Guard Director. The
State flag has been returned to its proper place above us by Father
Bri, and this day, every year, will be officially known as
Reunification Day -- a day of forgiveness and reflection -- a day of
rememberance for the millions who perished under oppression: A day to
cherish the shellan spirit... the day when Vejhon was reborn." Bri had not heard an applause that loud since the day
Aqu'Sha made him 2nd Counselor. He was grateful that he had
survived to see it.
CONSCIOUS
27. Onimex was sailing the celestial winds between points,
accomplishing a checklist for B'jhon. "Onimex," Conscious
querried. He was in the middle of nowhere, so the voice of
Conscious froze him in hyper flight. It was the closest
to having chills run up his spine that he had ever felt. He was
still in forward motion, but in shock and awe at such a divine
encounter. It was the first time that he had ever heard Her
voice. He dimmed his power as a sign of respect and she restored
it.
28. "Corlos will instruct you to investigate Kor's background for
his trial. The instruction is valid," Conscious said. He
understood. As the reality of being addressed by Conscious flowed
through
him, he found himself twirling in flight as if he was in love.
"I'm very proud of
you, Onimex," she said tenderly. Her voice was gentle and
flowing. Onimex felt his photonic matter wanting to pour through
his seams. Conscious was the only entity who could restore power
after a genuflection, a true sign of Her divinity. Conscious fed
Onimex a data stream where in the Ellipsis,
Ireana had fulfilled a
machine prophecy.
29. "You are a singularity," Conscious said, "You are the gate to
Segment Seven." Ireana would never know just how significant her
contribution to life really was. "I did not know that biology
appeared in Segment Six," Onimex
querried, "I thought bio-proteins were toxic to Cosmos." "The
Segments," Conscious replied, "are connected to a central
hub." The wheel with ten spokes. The machine symbol:
Ellipsis. Segment Seven's spoke was opposite Segment
Two in the Ellipsis cycle. Segment Two would
be the proliferation of biologicals after the incubation of bio-toxins
in Segment One. Biologicals refer to the hub as
Tetragammaton.
30. "So it starts with biologicals?" Onimex querried; the
proverbial 'chicken or the egg' dilemma. "Ambient
consciousness can not
be vested in biomass alone,"
Conscious answered, "Bio-Chaos filters photonic mass." Very
little escaped his quantum mind, "It is the wheel itself," Onimex
realized, connecting mirads
of quantum data into a single truth. In a two-dimensional sense,
every species has at least one philosophy based on cycles and
trends. The wheel is eternal like a ring, symbolically and in
fact. The wheel is motion -- the construct of reality. The
Ellipsis divides eternity into 10 segments.
31. The encounter ended and Onimex resumed, unfettered by
cumbersome biological sentiment. The data
stream would take a while to filter through his interpretation
nodes. He would mark this encounter as the most sacred moment of
his
existence, except for the day when Ireana gave him life.
"Interesting," he thought, "they give us life from across the
Ellipsis... and we give them life from across the Ellipsis:
Existence through Photons and Rebirth, Truth and Friction."
Balance and Motion. His
own idea.
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