Microstory 2496: Spydome Network

< > Table of Contents

Generated by Google Flow text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 3

This is one of those long-term domes, where you can’t quite get the full experience unless you immerse yourself in the setting, and really forget about your old life. You have to shed your past, and become your character, or you’re playing someone else’s game. The premise is that you are a member of a spy agency in one of eleven nations. Your task is to complete missions for your agency, according to whatever your superiors demand of you. Like I said, this is long-term, so you won’t just instantly become a spy. You will start as a trainee, and work your way up. Or you won’t. There’s every chance that you’ll fail. You have to pass the physical and written exams. I’m pretty sure that they’re easier to take than the real ones on Earth, but I’ve never been a real spy before, so I don’t really know. How well you do is entirely up to your own, natural skills. There is no way to know how far any other player gets, because we’re not technically meant to out ourselves to each other, but my boss may be another visitor. I really don’t know. It really doesn’t matter. What you do is up to you as well. Even though you have superiors, you are not a robot, and you are capable of making your own decisions. If you just wanna lounge about your apartment all day everyday, you’ll probably get fired for that, but you won’t get killed. Unless you’ve done enough spying to put you in danger. You’ll probably only get killed if you go out in the field, or as I was saying, if you’re attacked at home by an enemy. Each nation exists under its own dome, and its backstory is as rich and complex as they are in real life. The relationships between these fictional countries are complicated, and ever-changing. If you were to leave and come back 100 years from now, I’m sure alliances will have shifted. One of them might have been blown up in a nuclear war; I dunno. I couldn’t tell you exactly how far the program will let you take this, but it seems like a pretty decent free-for-all. Each might be one of the eleven most heavily populated domes on the planet, as most don’t need to feel quite as lived in as somewhere in the network. But here, you can go anywhere within your bounds, and if you secure a passport to another country, you can go there too. It’s a really interesting experience, and I’ve only been doing it for about a year and a half at this point. Obviously, I’m writing this anonymously, because there’s no reason a competing agency couldn’t use this information against my own. The android intelligences might not understand where a visitor spy got their intel if it came from an out-of-universe source, but they might act on it anyway. There’s a lot you can learn about the countries, and international affairs, from the comfort of your tablet using the prospectus, but to really grasp what it’s like to live here, you’ll have to sign up, and integrate yourself into this new society. You choose your own adventure. I don’t know the psychological ramifications of starting a new life that could potentially be as long as a standard lifetime, but perhaps that’s part of what they’re studying here. I’m sure the results will be fascinating.

Microstory 2492: Mythodome

< > Table of Contents

Generated by Google Gemini Pro text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 3

This is a very complex dome, and it’s due to the interconnectedness of world mythology. As I’m sure you’re aware, Earth is home to many a myth, which people once believed, or at least found value in the stories that described them. Since there have been so many cultures in our history, these myths often contradict each other. Lots of them, for instance, came up with a god of the sun, but they could never all be true. That’s where this dome takes liberties, because they are all “true” insomuch as they coexist here. There are indeed multiple sun gods, and they operate as a sort of council. Don’t ask me what they do, though, because as I’m sure you’re also aware, this is all made up. In real life, God doesn’t exist, elves don’t exist, trolls don’t exist. This is an immersive world where such creatures and beings have been engineered out of the specifications presented in the various source materials. It can be hard to track. Some myths even contradict themselves, as told by different authors, and diverging translations. So, Mythodome does its best, but the interesting result—which I’ve been trying to drive at this whole time—is that it is more than the sum of its parts. It has spawned a new mythology, which includes that sun-god council I mentioned, and various factional alliances that never existed in the original stories, because they weren’t culturally related. Part of the experience is learning the new story that has come out of this, which could have hypothetically been its own franchise in traditional media, if someone had thought to be quite this comprehensive before. There are different kinds of elves, for instance, because there have been different interpretations in the stories, and these elves are aware of each other, and have developed complicated relationships with each other naturally. That’s my understanding anyway, which is that their dynamics have taken on a life of their own to form this fresh society, and I think they were doing it before any Earthans came to visit. That alone is interesting enough, not just that these mythical creatures can be genetically engineered, but that we end up with unpredictable consequences as a result of so many variables. I’m rambling now, but suffice it to say that it would not be difficult to spend years here. You could even spend an entire lifetime, making your own way, and finding your purpose. Because very little about this place was prewritten. It’s all been developing on its own, and who knows where it will take us next?

Microstory 2467: Tagdome

< > Table of Contents

Generated by Google Gemini Pro text-to-video AI software, powered by Veo 3

This is a funny one. It’s several giant games of tag, each one made up of a lot of other subdivisions of tag. You can come in here with just about any substrate you want, but you’ll be grouped according to strength and speed. We can’t have superstrong mechs barreling through normal organics, now can we? There aren’t too many of what they generally call weight classes, but you stay in your respective sectors, and don’t interact with the others. But you do interact with everyone else in your sector. That sector is further divided into regions, zones, districts, territories, and neighborhoods. I honestly couldn’t tell you how they decide where you’re assigned beyond the weight class for fairness. But whatever it is, the divisions are based upon the modern standardized Dunbar grouping system. Your neighborhood will have 21 people total, which is a fairly normal and manageable number of contestants to contend with. You will ultimately compete with other neighborhoods. Seven neighborhoods makes a territory of 147 people. There are three territories in a district of 441 people, then four districts in each zone of 1,764, and four zones in each region of 7,056 players. Finally, there are seven regions in the whole sector. Sorry if that was confusing, but this game is confusing, by its nature. The best players are the ones who can figure it out. How about gameplay? You play a simple game of tag in your neighborhood for some period of time, based on your sector’s weight class. Higher classes theoretically have more stamina, and can go for longer. Don’t worry about those. Only consider your own. We’ll use the example of a normal organic human sector, which is only expected to play for half an hour. As you play against each other, your points start racking up. The longer you avoid becoming a Pursuer, the more points you end up with, and the longer you are the Pursuer, the more points you lose. At the end of your neighborhood’s allotted time, your points will be tallied up. It’s entirely possible that the entire game only ever had one Pursuer who never managed to catch anybody. That’s okay. They’re always watching you. Some people got closer to being caught than others. There will be leaders on the leaderboard, who will move on to compete at the territory level. The top seven will represent their neighborhood in a game of 49 players and begin to run as a team. Things start getting more complicated here as you can work together to build enough points to open gates to other territories. If you invade them, you can get in on their game as an opposing force, and start taking away their points while making some more of your own. The games get progressively more complicated, with more intricate environments, obstacles, and even vehicles like bikes and cars. Everyone wears special clothing, which color-coordinates the teams and alliances in realtime, but it’s not uncommon to get lost and confused. That’s part of the game, and your intelligence is factored into those weight classes I was telling you about. I know this was less of a review, and more of an overview, but I don’t really want to give you my opinion. I want you to see it for yourself. If you’re not much of a runner, or you don’t feel ready for the competition, there is a spectator component, so you can just check it out to get a better sense of what I’ve been talking about.

Microstory 1760: Ouruana

< > Table of Contents

Depending on who you ask, Orion and his accessories are composed of eighteen major star systems. These are the ones that make up the shape of the constellation, and aren’t just in the vicinity somewhere. His belt is the most famous component, but he also has a sword, a shield, and a club. As my ancestors were looking up at the stars, they saw these images, and used them to help navigate the world; in particular, the oceans. Their movements were predictable, and reliable. Way back then, they believed that the stars in any given constellation were close to one another, but of course, we now know that they aren’t. Some of  them are a couple hundred light years from our point of origin, which is Earth, and some are well over a thousand. Still, my peoples were reportedly mesmerized by Orion, and saw no reason to not create a relationship amongst the individual stars that are not there naturally. When the Earthans began to spread out to the stars, a special group of colonists decided to focus exclusively on the stars in this one constellation. Now, centuries later, every one of the major systems has been settled, and falls under the rule of the Ouruanan Empire. Not all systems came with terrestrial planets, so in those cases, we built them ourselves. That has been my job for my entire adult life, to help construct an entirely artificial world orbiting π6 Orionis. As a planetscaper—as we’re called—my reward will be my own home on the colony, free of charge, and a steady income for the rest of my life. It won’t be glamorous, but I can find a new job if I want to, and upgrade later. I’m not sure about that yet. I’m a simple man, so I don’t need much, and just the excitement of knowing that I’m partially responsible for the land beneath my feet may be enough for me.

I’m in a stadium of thousands. Our leaders are about to announce if we’re considered done yet. Of course, we’ll continue to build as our population grows, but at some point, they have to decide that we’re officially on a real planet, and not still in the main phase of the process. “Thank you all for coming,” the Foreman begins. “I know you have all been eagerly awaiting the results of our assessment. Can we call this a finished planet, or is there more work to be done? Obviously, the work is never over, so what you’re really asking is, can you retire? I’m pleased to announce that your efforts have not been in vain, and that the main phase is indeed complete.” The crowd cheers, grateful to finally live their lives on a fully constructed world. Most of us probably won’t set one more foot on a spacecraft or space station. We’re ready to breathe an atmosphere held in place by gravity, and swim in the lakes. The Foreman holds up his hand, instructing us to quiet down. “Unfortunately, I’m not sure you’ll want to live here anymore. You can, if you want—it’s your choice—but it’s not going to last you very long. As you know, we are at war with the Taurans. The Emperor is interested in testing a new weapon that his top researchers have devised that is capable of destroying an entire planet in a matter of minutes. Due to the interstellar rules of engagement, we are only allowed to test weapons in our own territory, lest we want to incur the wrath of the Constellation Alliance. They’ve chosen our humble planet as their target. Destruction is scheduled for two years from now. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Two years, huh? That’s more than enough time for me to perfect my orbital defense satellites. If they want to test that weapon, they’ll have to go against me. The Ouranans may be going to war with itself.

Microstory 1672: The Last Wars

< > Table of Contents

After the two surviving Ochivari left the first universe they went to—or rather after one of them escaped, and the other was killed in the attempt—things started to get worse for the humans. They were devastated to learn that aliens were bad. Of course, they had only encountered three individuals, which is hardly a decent sample size, but they were convinced. Each country started bolstering its military might. Some allies tried to form joint militaries, but for the most part, they stayed separate. In other universes I’ve witnessed, when a culture encounters some kind of massive external threat, the people generally come together. They set aside their differences, and focus on defeating the enemy together. This did not happen here, but if it had, it may have saved their lives. For years, they sat like this. People were conscripted into the various branches of their respective military forces, but didn’t have anything to do. Unlike other versions of Earth, this one had never experienced a world war before, but it wasn’t really because they were more peaceful than anyone else. They usually tried to settle their issues diplomatically, but if that didn’t work, two civilizations might have resorted to war. If that happened, if they wanted to fight against each other, everyone else stayed out of it most of the time. The boredom and frustration was really getting to them now, though. All global conflicts were put on hold in order to prepare for the return of the aliens, but nothing happened. The Ochivari had never come on purpose, and they had no reason to show up now, especially not since they knew where the timeline was headed. They knew that the humans were destined to destroy themselves, without a sterility virus. After eight years, the signs of the apocalypse were beginning to present themselves.

For no apparent reason but they didn’t feel like they had anything better to do, the nations started fighting each other. It wasn’t the leadership so much as it was the conscripts, who felt cheated out of the time they could have spent with their families. If these former civilians had to put so much effort into learning warfare skills, then goddammit, they were going to use them. It was like a global barfight, where some people started fighting just because someone carelessly bumped into them. Country A was trying to get to Country B when Country C got in the way, so Country C fought back, but accidentally hit Country D instead. It was a huge mess, and obviously, no one won in the end. Fortunately, they had never developed nuclear weapons, because history didn’t suggest there would be any need to bomb more than one enemy at the same time, so it just seemed like a waste of resources, when nuclear power was a far more useful pursuit. They kept killing though. It turned out to be one of the bloodiest wars I have ever seen. No, it probably is indeed the bloodiest. Internal conflicts started springing up when soldiers found themselves unable to get to someone from another country. Literal neighbors started killing each other when the supply chain broke down, and there wasn’t enough food to go around. Where once they numbered in the billions, over the course of the next two decades the population dwindled to the thousands. They pretty much only stopped killing each other, because survivors were so few and far between, and they were composed mostly of people who had always tried to stay out of it, and had succeeded. Civilization never recovered from this. Those survivors eked out a living amongst the ruins, but could not significantly grow from there. Many didn’t even bother trying to propagate the species, and after several decades more, the human species went extinct.

Microstory 1670: Diplomacy First

< > Table of Contents

I’m going to be honest with you. I was very wrong when I made the claim that there was nothing interesting about Limerick Hawthorne’s universe, except for Limerick Hawthorne. Imagine looking at a painting. In the bottom left corner, the first thing you see is a creature made of fire, fighting against his water foes. Keep staring at that fire creature, and that’s kind of all you’ll see. You don’t notice at first how vast the canvas is, and how many other things are happening in that painting. You might eventually, but that’s you seeing in three dimensions. I see in four dimensions, which is more like looking at an infinite number of paintings, and trying to decipher a full story from them. When I saw Limerick, the metaphorical fire creature, he took all focus. As I told you, people who travel the bulkverse are more clear to me than other events across the branes. What I didn’t realize then was just how fascinating Limerick’s universe was, and what it would become after he left. All I could see was him, but I see a bigger picture now. This is another story about aliens. They evolved from source variants all over this version of the Milky Way galaxy. They’re based on human DNA, but they developed independently and spontaneously for reasons I don’t understand. Some universes just have aliens, I guess. When Limerick disappeared, he left behind a tear in the spacetime continuum that didn’t close completely. It wouldn’t cause anyone to become lost in the outer bulkverse, fortunately, but it was still there, and still dangerous. Scientists from all over the world showed up, hoping to figure out what it was, and what, if anything, they could do with it. As it turned out, quite a bit. The rift ultimately sent a group of volunteers to another world, where they came face to face with their first alien race.

These aliens would end up becoming the real threat, but they weren’t the only ones in the galaxy, and it was only a matter of time before they met some new allies. Things seemed okay at first on the alien planet, but the volunteers learned some things they didn’t like, and it sparked a philosophical divide with the natives. Both sides tried to keep the peace, but they failed. That was when the humans knew they had to escape. The natives weren’t evil, but they felt dishonored, and in their minds, the only response was war. In their culture, once diplomatic discussions passed what they considered to be a point of no return, domination was the only way forward. Someone had to win, and prove the other side wrong. I’m simplifying all this, of course, but you get the idea. The explorers managed to get out of there when they found that planet’s Nexus machine, but the conflict was not over. The good thing about how Nexa work is that you can block travel from any one machine, so Earth was safe for the time being. But there were other Nexa in the network, and the aliens would keep looking for a way to continue the war. The scientists knew that they couldn’t just leave it at that. What followed was a series of missions from Earth designed to establish relations with other cultures, determine which others could pose a threat to them, procure useful technology and knowledge, and generally protect the galaxy from these warmongers. The aliens, meanwhile, went on their own missions, now that they had a working Nexus. They couldn’t go to Earth, but they went to other planets first, and tried to gain some kind of advantage. This proved to be more difficult than they thought it would, and it eventually made them start seeing everyone as just as much of a threat to their honor as they thought Earth was.

Microstory 1634: Fighting Back

< > Table of Contents

The Ochivari don’t want a real war. They’re not worried about their own people dying, or having to use up resources to arm them. They just don’t want to destroy the planets that they’re trying to save. Plus, it takes all this time, and it’s this whole thing. They go to great lengths to keep their presence on a new world a secret, which is why it was such a boon for them when they met a group of humans who wanted in on the action. Still, the missions were rough-going at first. As it turned out, these human confederates weren’t as passionate about their crusade as they just liked killing people. They actually wouldn’t have minded going into battle against their targets, because it almost sounded like fun. The Ochivari had to spend a lot of time training them to be more like them, and to take the cause seriously. Even after this, there were hiccups. One of these issues came up on a version of Earth that should have been a no-brainer. The local population was destined to keep ruining the environment, and had little hope of changing their ways. As I’ve said, the Ochivari have no interest in teaching the people they encounter to do better. All they do is look to the future, and hold it against their past. It’s all very black and white to them, and they won’t listen to any concessions or compromises. The confederates, though better than previous missions, were reckless here. They made a lot of mistakes, and while the mission itself technically was completed, their exit was far more problematic. The locals discovered the virus that was going to result in their demise, and as you would expect, they were not happy about it. With nothing left to lose, they decided to fight back, and unlike other times when a planet realizes what happened, they stood a chance.

Most worlds can’t fight back, though many would like to try. Once the virus is released, the Ochivari and their confederates bug out, and their victims have no way to follow. This time, though, the infiltrators didn’t escape fast enough, and they were caught. The locals interrogated their prisoners of war, and managed to get quite a bit of information out of them. All the Ochivari were gone by then, but that didn’t mean it was over. The confederates knew how to contact their masters, in order to be retrieved and returned to safety. The locals used this trick to lure a Worlon ship back to them, so the fighting could begin. As true warfare was not ever part of their plans, the Ochivari were surprised, and completely unprepared. Their ship was destroyed, but the people themselves were kept alive, so they could serve a purpose. The locals forced them to do what they evolved to do, which was to travel to other worlds. They sent their own ship through the portal instead, and started firing upon the Ochivari homebase in Efilverse. Of course, they were severely outmatched, and barely made a dent in their population, but the spark was lit, and that little bit of hope was enough to change things. Their harrowing attempt to fight back was recorded, and before the ship exploded, two survivors managed to leave with the data. From there, it was distributed to as many universes as possible, in time periods before the Ochivari was fated to attack them. A resistance formed from this unwinnable battle that was vital to the future of all evolved life. The Transit was great. It was a cool space train that could also travel to other branes, but it wasn’t at all useful without people to run it, and believe in it. These fallen heroes inspired the army that actually could fight back, and make a huge difference.

Microstory 1632: Second Chance

< > Table of Contents

It is not often that the Ochivari give second chances. In fact, in all the universes that I’ve witnessed, I have only seen it happen the one time. This version of Earth was about where Earth Prime ends up by the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. The environment is not doing well, and it’s not looking good. There is some hope, but progress won’t be realized without a drastic shift in behavior, and for leadership to follow scientific consensus. On this other Earth, before the Ochivari arrived, most people were convinced that climate breakdown was a real existential threat. They were working very hard to alter their policies by removing those from office who denied the truth, or otherwise acted against global prosperity. Unfortunately, the human infiltrators did not see it this way. When they ran their report for the Ochivari to analyze, they left out a lot of pertinent information, leading them to believe that this planet was hopeless. There was even evidence that their mere presence was holding back progress, and contaminating the data. Luckily, some of the Ochivari representatives were not so convinced. Perhaps their human confederates were too hasty, and maybe a little too interested in wiping out an entire planet? They looked back over the results, and determined that this Earth was indeed worth leaving alone. The problem was that the sterility virus was already dispatched by the time this appeal went through, and the only reason it hadn’t spread all over the world was because one Ochivar blew the whistle, and warned the Earthans what they had done. If not for this renegade, the Earthans would not have had enough time to place all those already infected in isolation, and quarantine people who might have come into contact with them.

This is the only known case where the virus was stopped in this manner, at least as far as I’ve ever seen. It’s airborne, and as long as even one host remains alive, they can infect someone else. It won’t die out until everyone dies out. It’s otherwise impossible to stop, and the recovery rate is zero. The world was given a second chance, but they would have to take care of it themselves. The Ochivari wanted no part of it, but promised to return if they didn’t wise up. It didn’t make them wonder if there was a better way. They only figured that all they had to do was tweak the investigative aspect. They just needed to better understand how and when people can change. They didn’t consider helping them change, though. They simply left that universe, and then reentered it at a later date to check on their progress. Once they did, they found that they had done more damage than if they had just left these damn people alone. The environment was fine. They invested in renewables, and worked really hard to clean up their mess. They planted trees, and filtered their polluted waterways. Socially, however, there were many problems that weren’t there before. Huge debates raged about what to do with the infected people. Should they keep their small nation in isolation? Should they try to relocate them to a remote island? Should they provide resources, or not? Should they just euthanize them, and get it over with? This raised other related issues, and threw the whole world into chaos. War covered the lands, and at some point, the sterility virus escaped, and made its way into the general population, dooming the few surface survivors to being the last generation, no matter what they did now.

Microstory 1631: Confederates

< > Table of Contents

In the early days of the Ochivari’s crusade—from their perspective—finding out whether a planet was suited for sterilization was a difficult task. They had spaceships, but transporting these to other universes was problematic. Each individual, with exceptions, will be born with the ability to travel the bulkverse, but they can only transport so much mass. A ship requires a lot of sacrifices, extremely precise timing, and can only happen on the surface of a world with a breathable atmosphere. Basically what they do is gather a bunch of Ochivari who they are willing to let die, and they will all die. While only half of them need to die to open the portal, the destructive force of sending a ship through it will kill the other half as well. The ship, meanwhile, has to essentially fly towards the planet’s surface, and risk simply crashing into it. Many have indeed crashed while trying to figure out this timing. Even a portal large enough to accommodate something so massive will evaporate quickly, so it’s not like they can open one, and wait for the ship to be ready. Once the vessel does manage to get through a portal, and begin exploring the new universe, gathering information takes a lot of finesse. They have to watch any given planet from afar, hoping to understand their history, and predict their future, well enough to determine if they should let them live, or not. They’ve tried to infiltrate the native population, but most people in the bulkverse are human, and not enough cosmetic surgery can make an Ochivar look human. So they walk around in hoods, and hope that no one notices them. They often do, and it causes problems. Fortunately for them, infiltration got easier when they found a group of humans willing to help.

In one universe, the human population of a version of Earth was intentionally primitive. Their technology progressed just as it usually does, but they halted it, and went backwards, in order to protect both themselves, and their environment. Progress seemed to be creating more problems than it solved, including an untenable barrage of wars. The survivors of these wars collectively decided that it was not worth it. Their main drive to come up with new inventions was to make life easier, and even prolong life, but if fighting over resources killed too many people, then it didn’t really make much sense. Without modern medicine, and other life-supporting advancements, the death rate went back to where it was before the world wars. So too did the infant mortality rate. Now, normally, a species such as human will compensate for this decline by increasing the birthrate. They may not even be conscious of it, but a couple will have more children, knowing that some will die. That’s not what happened here. Parents will have relatively few children, and if all of them die, and they can’t pass on their legacy, then so be it. They will die themselves when it’s time—which could happen rather soon without the proper medical treatments—and their bloodline will just end. By the time the Ochivari found them, the population was at about a billion, leaving them well spread out across the globe, and impacting their environment to a minimal degree. Within two centuries, they would have probably become extinct, and they were perfectly content with this. So they understood the logic behind antinatalism, and were eager to help the Ochivari in their cause. They were a lot better at infiltrating other human planets, which led to better intelligence, which honestly, actually probably saved a few worlds from being unduly sterilized when they didn’t truly fit the parameters.

Microstory 1246: Kayetan Glaston

< > Table of Contents

Kayetan Glaston wasn’t the best person in the world, but he wasn’t the worst either. His alliances would shift constantly, not according to the highest bidder, or anything, but based on whoever asked him last. He didn’t really have an agenda, or any goals, of his own. He was given the nickname of The Merger, but he didn’t ask people to call him that. Merging was an ambiguous word, which required contextual specificity, and he was only a spatio-temporal merger, so he didn’t feel it properly distinguished him. He had the ability to bring together two different locations, across time and space. If he concentrated hard enough, he could merge more than two, and he was one time able to summon an entire Colosseum full of people from all over spacetime, but it required a special booster, and he was in a coma for over a week because of it. Anyone close enough to one of these merge points would be able to cross from one location to the other as if turning down a new street. He was often called to action by other choosing ones who either weren’t capable of traveling themselves, or had some special reason for wanting to do it his way. He didn’t care who was doing the asking, but if he didn’t feel like responding, then he wouldn’t. He didn’t care about money, or payment of any kind. He could go anywhere and anywhen he wanted, so like many other temporal manipulators, static worldly possessions seemed mostly pointless to him. People like him understood better than anyone just how temporary any given object was, and how foolish it was to covet anything. He was particularly disinterested in gathering things, though. He spent his days wandering around time and space, and when there was nowhere he wanted to go, he was watching TV, or reading a book. Apathetic was probably the most common word used to describe him, though it wasn’t accurate. Neutral would be a better one. He did care what happened to people, but he wasn’t always good at choosing the right side, and that got him into trouble. Still, there was no one instance where he switched from sometimes working with bad people, to working exclusively with those with good intentions. He just slowly phased out the unsavory clients in favor of the more benevolent ones. However, this is time travel we’re talking about, so exactly when he did anything was simply a matter of perspective. If contacted, there was no telling where in his personal timeline Kayetan happened to be, or what he had been through up until that point. At no point in his history, however, was he evil, so there was at least that.

Microstory 833: Cold War

< > Table of Contents

Long-distance skiing isn’t exactly my forte, and I positively hate the bitter cold, but it’s not like I have any choice. There aren’t any roads way out here, but something up ahead is luring me towards it. So I continue, stopping only when I need to pee, or melt drinking water. After hours of trekking, I see a wooden building of some kind, peeking out from the snow. As I move nearer, I realize it’s actually a few little cabins clumped together. If I didn’t have this intense feeling of accomplishment, I would think to stop and rest here, but this is it. This is where I’ve been trying to go this whole time. I keep trudging into it, and recognize it as a ski resort. The world no longer has any need for a ski resort, so this place has been completely abandoned, left to provide shelter for the birds, and other animals. I’m alone. At least no one responds when I call out. As I approach the bottom of the hills, I can see a giant red crystalline structure, floating a couple meters over the ground, slowly turning counter clockwise on a vertical axis. I get as close as I feel comfortable with, worried about disturbing its position, and causing it to fall on top of me. It looks like I’m supposed to see through the crystal, but smoke is billowing around inside, like an oversized lava lamp. I’ve never seen anything like it, in this new world, or in the time before the fall. “Here, boss!” I hear on the other side of the resort. A man with nicer equipment than I have has spotted me, and the crystal. He’s waving to someone I can’t see yet, to come and check out this magnificent technological mystery. I see a head appear from behind one of the cabins, then another, and another. Nearly a dozen men and women appear, some on skis, but most just with snowshoes. They walk towards me, defensively, but not with a great deal of fear, and I quickly see why. It’s the Dowder Gang, and they’re afraid of nothing. They were once my rivals, but since they killed my entire survival group, they don’t consider me much of a threat anymore.

The leader, Shabel Dowder grins when she sees that it’s me, and promises not to kill me. I’m neither surprised, nor concerned that she’s lying. The Dowders always leave one alive, to tell the tale of their misdeeds. They don’t kill for no reason, mind you, and they don’t torture people. They come in with purpose, and get it over with quickly and painlessly. They’ve done a lot of good in this world too—I give them that—about as good as good gets, since the bombs dropped. We were even allied for a time, but a personal quarrel led to an accidental death, and the Dowders couldn’t let that go unpunished. I don’t know why we’re all here now, but once we’ve all gathered around the crystal, it begins to speak, glowing brighter according to the speaker’s volume. “Survivors of Earth, herein lies the souls of your fallen comrades. Inside Oakleaf Cabin, you will find a reserve of replacement substrates. You must bring the bodies here to transfer your friends’ consciousnesses. But be warned, if any one of them dies at the hands of each other, or one of you, you will all die. In order to continue living, you must find peace amongst you. You must learn to work together.” Shabel and I look at each other. The others in her gang might not agree with her choices, but their opinions are irrelevant. The only two people whose positions had any impact on what would happen today were her, and me. She asks me if I can set aside my animosity, and I say it’s possible, if we break the country in three; our third, their third, and a neutral zone. The crystal voice informs us that no individual may be beyond ten meters of someone from the other gang. We discuss terms for a few more minutes, but the voice urges us to finalize a deal. So we agree to form a new gang, proud of one undeniable certainty: the Sherlee-Dowder Family will be an unstoppable force.

Microstory 726: Credos, Convention Two: Collaboration, Chapter Two

< > Table of Contents

After the countries of the world were brought into one, the original leaders were imprisoned together in a special penal colony built just for them. There were no cells, or guards, just a high wall that no one could scale, and no way to communicate with anyone on the other side. They were forced to figure out how to live together, planting the few seeds their angry former citizens let them have to get them started. They divvied up these seeds, and the other few resources, breaking apart into alliances, and building their own sections on the grounds. The strongest and most brutish took the most of these resources for themselves, but wasted them, for they were interested in short term satisfaction, rather than long term gains. The most intelligent of them had little, for they were feeble and easily manipulated. What they had they used well, but it was still not enough for them. The most manipulative of them let the others fight over the seeds, then bargained for what they wanted with false claims and empty promises. But all they had they traded away for things they believed to be more valuable, until they suffered diminishing returns, and too had little. Everyone was near starvation, and a new war was brewing amongst them. Their former citizens watched them from the other side of the walls and laughed joyously. “Finally, it is the rich who will know what it is to die just to protect what is theirs.” “They will know what true pain is; how the rest of us felt during the wars that they commanded from the safety of their wealth and power.” But no one died in the prison as a result of violence. A group of them who had been known to treat their civilians far more justly than the others appointed themselves as mediators, opening up negotiations amongst the others. They asked the smart ones to teach gardening to the strong ones. In turn, the strong ones built shelters, and protection from aerial predators. The mediators guided the manipulative ones into developing a stable economy, so free trade could begin. Over time, a microcosm of a society grew from nearly nothing, and over the years, it became a true society. Decades later, only the descendants of the great war remained. The penal colonists built structures so high, eventually they were able to cross over the wall, and travel to the great nation that had thrived without them. What they found there was a bustling isolated civilization, free from the resentment of their forefathers. The two cultures were absorbed into one, and all lived in peace from then on. When the wandering child removed his second hand from the canister, he discovered it to be covered in the same brilliant light as his first. It was time to learn from the third canister.

Microstory 725: Credos, Convention Two: Collaboration, Chapter One

< > Table of Contents

The wandering child lifted his hand from the canister and admired it. The water of light inside had left a film over his skin that glimmered and shone brightly. He could use this light like a torch. He did not know how long it would last, but it was a lovely gift. He opened the second canister, and then placed his other hand inside of it, excited to watch another story unfold before his eyes. It began like this. There once was a world of great strife. Other planets had experienced world wars that soaked the land in blood, and tore it apart, and many more would have such conflicts, but this was unlike any other. There were dozens of countries, and each one was fighting all of the others. Long before this time, a summit was held in a neutral zone. Hoping to prevent all future war, alliances were deemed criminal. This meant that any nation wishing to wage war against another would have to do so by their own resources. All imports would have to cease immediately. The hope was that leaving them so defenseless would cause them to think twice about what they wanted, and ultimately choose to let their grievance go. For many years, this worked, and the world saw peace. But something happened, and a chain reaction of hatred boiled over upon the hearts of all nations, leading to a crisis that threatened to destroy all life. As a small miracle, however, this major conflict did end before everyone died, though the population was diminished significantly. Where once there were billions, there now were only hundreds of thousands. Not all nations survived with more than a few individuals, in fact. The world was all but dead, but these survivors thought up a plan. Instead of multiple countries, they would converge into one. There would be one nation; one peoples; one world. And a second great peace began. In order to maintain this peace, they imprisoned the former leaders of their respective original nations. All of them had survived, for they were greedy aristocrats living safely in bunkers and fortified towers. And ye, the story of collaboration is not over.

Microstory 644: Reclaim the Sword of Assimilation

< > Table of Contents

The next taikon marks the beginning of the Week in One Day. During the course of a standard twenty-hour day, ten taikon were fulfilled in succession, overlapping each other as necessary. Earlier taikon shared days with others, and more later will do the same, but this is special for being a harrowing journey involving a small number of people. The first involves the most powerful weapon known to man. Sacred Savior, Sotiren Zahir, along with his followers, first witnessed the power of the Sword of Assimilation while our ancestors were still trapped on Earth. A ruthless and charming man suddenly appeared in their midsts. With him came the Sword, as well as a handful of supposed former friends who were trying to keep him from having it. We know very little about how the Sword was created, but this mysterious visitor revealed that it comes from a different universe entirely. He was hoping to procure it for Sotiren as a gift of friendship. Having been living in advanced civilization for centuries, humans have encountered just about every phenomenon the universe has to offer. Why, our ultimate origins are sourced from another universe, so even that isn’t unusual. But we have not seen anything like what the visitor described. The other universe is right next to ours, and it follows the exact same physical laws as this one. Travel between them is, though not the easiest thing ever, quite trivial to us now. We regularly traverse the kasma when we need something from the other side, careful to avoid our oppressors of days past. Prior to the completion of any of the exodus ships that would finally take us home to this galaxy, the idea of parallel universes was even more fantastical than it is now. At least outside of a virtual simulated environment, that is. And these more distant universes sounded far more interesting than we can see here.

The visitor and Sotiren took to each other, and immediately developed an unbreakable friendship, and an unshakeable alliance. They both knew that the visitor—and newest eido—would one day be forced to continue his journey across the kasmic void, so he wanted to help while he was still around. He fought at Sotiren’s side, against his once-comrades, hoping to garner the Sword of Assimilation from them. As the eido was struggling with his former lover for the weapon, the blade slipped, impaling both her, and another man who was merely caught in the crossfire. Unfortunately, the other travelers eventually escaped with the sword, taking the eido with them. None of them has been seen since. The man who was accidentally stabbed with the Sword, however, was rushed to medical treatment, and spent the next couple of weeks recovering. As if his body were waiting for him to be well enough, he one day disappeared, and didn’t reappear for another year. He spent the whole day then trying to figure out what was happening, only to find himself jumping a year once more come the stroke of midnight. He has been doing that for the last several centuries. To him, only a few years have passed since that fateful day on the field of battle. Seeing this, Sotiren realized that what the visitor had said of the Sword of Assimilation was true. It could transfer great power from one person to another. He predicted that the Sword would one day return to our universe, and that is exactly what happened. Its return heralded not only the beginning of the Week in One Day, but also specifically Eido Mateo’s return to this universe. But he came back different.

Microstory 581: World Leaders Debate Universal Identity

< > Table of Contents

Every sovereign nation in the world has some way to manage and track their citizenry. In the past, we’ve used ledgers, and other analog means, but now all of this information is kept in a central location. Some nations even share this information amongst each other, for ease of transportation. Others, however, do not. Travel between two countries can become problematic depending on the relationship between those two countries. Who hasn’t experienced a delay at the airport due to customs procedures. And it can get even more complicated if the traveler in question needs to first stop in a third country. One young man born and bred in Bellevue, Kansas believes that he has the solution to this problem, but it’s going to require a lot of cooperation between a lot of countries. “The variables are nearly incalculable for an endeavor like this. There are so many moving parts that no one person could accomplish this, which is why I need so much help. Unicards (working name) can help increase the efficiency of every nation, but it works best if everyone accepts it,” says Ikodo Murdoch, inventor of the new technology. Unicards would be a singular form of universal identity, with room for no competitor. Murdoch envisions a world where literally every person on the planet either carries one of these, or agrees on a subcutaneous implant. It would be used for identity verification, seamless purchasing transactions, and perhaps even tax purposes. Instead of carrying around credit cards, cash, and passports, one would need only this one thing. Murdoch believes that this would make everyday life much easier. Instead of worrying about having enough money, or whether a particular location accepts particular kind of card, everything would just be in one place. World leaders from seventy-three countries are currently debating such a program. Murdoch acknowledges that if only a fraction of countries agree to use the unicards, it might be worth it, but still hopes for growth beyond this. “It’s not an all or nothing thing,” Murdoch says, “but the technology serves the populace better if there’s only one. Now it doesn’t have to be my unicards, it could be something else. But I truly feel that this is the future. We must become one peoples...of one world. Most of our issues can be ultimately traced back to our own fragmentation.” The seventy-three countries that belong to the Wesmandian Alliance will be assembling in Iceland for the annual Northery Summit. The question of universal identity, in whatever form, is expected to be the primary topic of discussion.

Microstory 516: Dasha Sinclair Interview Transcript

< > Table of Contents

This is the initial interview with Dasha Sinclair, the woman who tore a planet in half with nothing more than her own telekinetic power. We hope to speak with her in more detail at a later date. Click here for the main story...

Diederich Jäger (interviewer): When did you first come up with the idea to tear a planet in half?

Dasha Sinclair: Well, believe it or not, it came from a very short story I read from Earth. I was at a cloud party over Arion when I noticed a crowd huddled around a halo, reading something together. Apparently there’s some prophet, or refugee, or hacker there who knows about what’s going on in the rest of the universe. He writes stories about our history, but he also writes entirely fictional stories, and posts them online. I wouldn’t call him my favorite writer, or anything, but some of his content is kind of interesting. One story in particular caught my eye. Honestly, I don’t remember the details all that well; mostly just what happened at the end. The planet is torn in half, leaving two separate Earths to orbit the sun next to each other. Of course, this would screw up the gravitational pull of each of the halves, and they would probably decay and burn up in the sun, but I was never looking to do this to a habitable planet. I just thought...why not? As it turns out the Martians is why not. It took me forever to get permission.

Jäger: Tell me more about that.

Sinclair: Back in the old days, if you were living on a deveiled planet, all you had to do was put in a simple request with the Masco police. Each request would be run up the chain, and either be rejected, or reviewed. It might take a long time, but it didn’t require a bunch of extra work on the requester’s end. But now that we’ve all come together to form a single community, a whole lot of different people have to approve illegal exceptions. I didn’t send in my proposal once; I sent it in dozens of time, constantly tweaking the language to accommodate all these different divisions’ needs. Fortunately, I had a lot of help.

Jäger: So the Palomino Temple was heavily involved, or just in support of your dream?

Sinclair: Oh, they were completely on board. Yeah, they put me in touch with the right people to actually make the dream a reality. There are so many different facets of our government, and so much compartmentalization. You can’t get anything done if you don’t know who to talk to, when to talk to them, and what to say. The Temple made sure I didn’t make any mistakes.

Jäger: I’ve heard Palomino Shore is kind of your family now, but how is your relationship with your birth family?

Sinclair: We’re okay. They’re not thrilled about what I do. I mean, to them religion is this backwards concept. I can’t blame them. It’s been the root cause of countless wars for single-planet, and even single-system, civilizations. Aitchai is different, though, as there is proof in the power. We’re not just making this up and going on blind faith. Telekinesis is a real thing, and so I guess, if I were going to belong to any religion, they’re glad it’s at least this one.

Jäger: I’ve heard that your youngest brother is interested in telekinesis as well.

Sinclair: He is, yes, but not the germ. He wants to be a pilot. He was inspired by the renegades who saved all those stranded people during the invasion.

Jäger: That’s great. Speaking of non sequiturs, could you tell me real quick about the trench? You first tore it all around the equator. Why was that?

Sinclair: That wasn’t technically necessary, but I had two practical choices. Either I could do the whole thing myself, and start with a trench, or I could use augmented reality technology. I didn’t want any assistance, except for a space suit, of course. What the trench did was allow for a cleaner cut. If I flew back in space and then tried to just start tearing Malcomicron apart, it would be jagged. At least that’s how I understand it. A bunch of geologists told me to start with what they called a pilot cut.

Jäger: I see. So what’s next for Dasha Sinclair? Are you going to keep tearing apart planets, or what?

Sinclair: Well, one thing some people may not know, is that Aitchai is about more than just moving things with your mind. That’s just what people use for it on a regular basis. Something that germ TK users are hypothetically capable of is more fundamental molecular manipulation. I would like to explore what other things I can do with this power. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll even put Malcomicron back together.

Jäger: Now that is something that I would like to see.

Sinclair: Yeah, if we can learn to harness matter on a subatomic scale, nanotechnology will seem as ancient as machines that you have to plug into a grid. We would be able to do anything with that kind of technology. We might even learn where the Aitchai comes from. That’s going to take a long time, though, and lots of people will have to be interested in exploring it. Right now, though, I’m going to be taking a sabbatical. I might even ask permission to visit Earth

Jäger: How long would that be for?

Sinclair: I’m thinking just around a decade, which means don’t expect any results on my new endeavor tomorrow [laughs].

Jäger: Wow, well we’re excited about the next chapter in the Dasha Sinclair story. I know you have to get back to meeting your fans, but is there anything else you’d like to say about this latest adventure?

Sinclair: I do need to make sure I remember to thank everyone who turned this into a reality. I feel so grateful for everyone involved. Many people had to come together to make this thing even possible. I especially want to thank the representatives from Exile for advocating for me so vehemently. They didn’t have to do that, but they showed me a kindness that I can only hope to somehow repay them someday. I would like to thank the Core leaders, my fans, and of course, the Palomino Shore Aitchai Temple, which became part of my family.

Jäger: Thank you, Dasha.

Sinclair: Thank you.

Microstory 515: Woman Uses Telekinesis to Tear Planet in Half

< > Table of Contents

There comes a time in everyone’s life, in this system, when they must decide what kind of power they’re going to wield, if any. There are many variants of telekinesis. Some are designed for heavy lifting, others for microprecision. Some allow the user to create self-sustaining fields, and some for flying. There is one type, however, that is unlike the others. Most TK can be removed, and even switched out. This is not so when it comes to germ telekinesis. It requires proclivity, and practice...thus patience. It’s also theoretically limitless. Philosophers have long questioned whether there was anything a telekinetic individual may be unable to accomplish given enough time and talent. Of course, this question is impossible to answer, but what we can answer is the most impressive feat that has ever been accomplished. Dasha Sinclair is a 176 year-long virgat from the planet of Regnia, and is now listed as the most powerful telekinetic in the system.

Sinclair grew up normal, was a self-proclaimed ‘middling’ student, and was leaning towards working as a technician on one of the gravis stations. One day, when she was 14 standard years old, her class went on a field trip to visit Palomino Shore on Arion. She found herself drawn to the Aitchai Temple that rests on the south end. Sinclair says of this experience, “my family and I have never been religious. We believe in science and hard work. In fact, I was the first in generations to even accept telekinesis at all. I was already planning to do it, but I didn’t know until that moment that I would dedicate my life to it.” She was granted permission to witness one of the meditation rooms, and instantly admired them for their commitment to an alternative lifestyle. Spiritual devotion is one of only two paths that allow a citizen to be exempt from obligatory vocational contribution. The other is physical or psychological handicap, which is rare in present day, due to medical advancements. Anyone wishing to join a religious institution must prove their faith, and once becoming a member, must continue to prove it every day. And boy did Sinclair deliver. She was infrequently seen eating, sleeping, or doing anything else besides meditating. After receiving the germ telekinesis treatment, she did not once attempt to move anything with her mind for a whole ten years. Once she did begin to actually practice, she started out with nothing more than a small candle. Oh, but she held it in place for an entire week. Ever since, she’s been honing her skills, learning everything she can about the art of telekinesis...little by little. Only within the last thirty years or so did she even leave the temple for extended periods of time, and use her ability under practical conditions.

A few years ago, Sinclair petitioned the Greater Lactean Alliance for a planet of her own. Very few individuals have control over their own planets, and those who do are generally researchers who are interested in conducting in-depth surveys of their worlds. They measure literally ever square deam of the surface, and record their findings. One such  these of was a small rocky planet on the outer edge of the galaxy named Malcomicron by its previous owner. What the scientist discovered was that the planet showed absolutely no signs of life, either past or present. Not did it exhibit any evidence that it may support life in the future. His research had been recently completed, and he was currently on sabbatical. He, the alliance, and Sinclair all agreed that Malcomicron would be the perfect testing ground, as it were, for Sinclair’s experiment. Yesterday, millions of spectators boarded observation ships that are usually used for nebula and pulsar shows. They circled Malcomicron and waited for the first ever performance of its kind. Sinclair began by flying around the entire equator, cutting a trench that was only a quarter nayko wide. She then flew outside of its orbit and began the real work. Experts were stunned as she achieved exactly what she set out to. She managed to cleanly split Malcomicron into two equal halves. Each half-sphere sports an extraordinarily smooth surface. They are both currently on their way to succumbing to the gravitational pull of original planet’s sun. Policy-makers, and many others, are already rushing around to expedite a secondary proposal that would allow Malcomicron I and II to be moved into interstellar space to protect it from orbital decay. Tertiary plans are even being considered to convert it into a destination spot, complete with restaurants, resorts, museums, and more. She had the following words to express her feelings regarding the amazing endeavor.

I feel so grateful for everyone involved. Many people had to come together to make this thing even possible. I especially want to thank the representatives from Exile for advocating for me so vehemently. They didn’t have to do that, but they showed me a kindness that I can only hope to somehow repay them someday. I would like to thank the Core leaders, my fans, and of course, the Palomino Shore Aitchai Temple, which became part of my family.

Click here for the long-form interview with Dasha Sinclair.