Microstory 1641: Moderation

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Not unlike the Cythereans of Universe Prime, the humans of Moderaverse chose a very different technological path, and it has kept them off of the Ochivari’s radar. Instead of developing more powerful computers, or faster spaceships, they internalized everything. They figured that the only point to technology was to make their lives better, easier, and infinite. They didn’t much care to learn about the universe, unless it directly impacted them. They didn’t even feel the need to research animals, because they believed it best to simply leave wildlife alone. This gave them time to focus on their main goal. They called it biological optimization, and it involved genetically engineering themselves to be able to survive in a multitude of environments, all without the aid of external tech. No implants, no wearables, not even any handheld devices. Different people have different optimizations, so I won’t get into the details, but there are a few commonalities. They can extract energy from any number of environments. They can communicate with each other telepathically. They can go for long periods of time without stopping, and they don’t have to sleep, though they quite often do as a natural component of relaxing. Relaxation is the most important aspect of their lives. They don’t perform work unless they have to. Their ancestors put so much effort into perfecting their bodies that they don’t have to work anymore. This is not because automation takes care of everything, like it does in other advanced cultures. They don’t work, because little needs to get done. They don’t need to eat a lot, and they don’t generally value the culinary arts, so people just consume what they find in nature, during the rare occasion that it’s necessary. Most of them are solar powered, so they only need to eat to gain certain chemical nutrients.

The Moderaversals do not limit themselves to a single planet, and in fact, their way of life would not be conducive to such a thing. While other environmentally-conscious civilizations build great megastructures to lower the amount of space they take up, the Moderaversals stay on one story, but live quite sparsely. They separate themselves into small villages, which restricts their impact on any one area just as well as—if not better than—an arcology-based society. Instead of using ships to travel to other worlds, they harness the power of natural wormholes. In their universe, wormholes open and close all the time, even on the surface of planets. They’re microscopic, and just as unstable as they are anywhere else, but there’s a fix for that. There are pretty much only two types of advanced tech that these people use. One is a series of artificial satellites that look like nanomoons, and ground arrays that look like trees, to predict, detect, and map the wormholes on any inhabited world. The other is a wormhole stabilizer that will allow a traveler to pass into the wormhole’s event horizon, and slide to their destination. These wormholes are not rare, but the right wormhole is. They pop up constantly, but if you’re trying to go to a specific location, you’ll have to wait until one that satisfies your needs appears. This could happen tomorrow, or in a few years. There’s no way to know, as the predictive models can only guess a day or two in advance. Fortunately for the immortal Moderaversals, time ain’t nothin’ but a thang. It’s perfectly reasonable to schedule an event with others for whenever, sometime in the future, and just wait until everybody finds the right wormhole, and makes it there at some point. The Moderaversals live easy, and they live free. We could all probably learn a thing or two from them.

Microstory 611: Proper Burial of the Sacred Savior

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Before the Lyons family took in the Dam of Cerelune as a pet, scientists first wanted some time to investigate its ability to spontaneously open wormholes. Their experiments were not as controlled as they thought, however, and they ended up opening wormholes in unplanned locations. One such location was Lake Wurveol on the Roepl moon where the water turned red unprompted. By now, this was being referred to as the Bloodwater, but it was not destined to remain as it was. The wormhole opened in the middle of the lake, quickly draining it in its entirety. After it was done, the wormhole closed back up, as if planned that way. The scientists experimenting with these wormholes promised that they did not do this intentionally, and in fact admitted that they did not understand the process well enough to be that precise. The most miraculous part of this occurrence, however, was neither the wormhole, nor the water draining. That was yet to come. Once the water was all gone, those there were able to see its topography. Quite literally in the middle of the lake bed was a rectangular hole. It appeared natural, but was also surprisingly structured...to the approximate specifications of a standard human grave. That’s right, somehow the lake contained a natural grave, which was perfect, because they were in need of one. The eleventh taikon mandates that the Sacred Savior be properly buried in a “new location of newly great significance”. This seemed to qualify better than anywhere else. It was the newest following professional confirmation that all study on the Savior’s body had been completed. And so after centuries, Sacred Savior Sotiren Zahir was finally put to rest within the natural grave, which was filled in with fine rubble taken from the recently destroyed infidel worshiphouse. Everything was fitting into place perfectly, but even this wasn’t the most miraculous part. Once the burial ceremony was finished, the bloodwater suddenly returned from another wormhole to symbolically protect him from outside forces. The wormhole scientists were shown to not only have not done this on purpose, but also not at all. The wormhole somehow opened up on its own, proving to even the hardest of skeptics that the takion were very real, and forthcoming...and totally beyond the control of man.

Microstory 607: Trap the Dam of Cerelune

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In order to travel to other star systems within any practical period of time, you have to use the simplex dimensions. These are filled with energy, matter, and compressed space. They allow faster-than-light travel, while normal three-dimensional space will not. They are natural, conquered, but still mysterious. We do not yet know where all of their energy comes from, for the origins of the universe do not adequately account for it. But we accept it, because these dimensions are useful. You can even accelerate the speed of travel by dematerializing passengers and cargo with machines known as Nexa. No one knows exactly where these machines first came from, but they have been found in every galaxy thus far, and replication is fairly straightforward. And they still use simplex dimensions, for they are the only things capable of interstellar travel...except for one other thing. Spacetime phenomena known as wormholes can do the same thing. Unfortunately, wormholes are microscopic at best, flash and burn out in seconds at most, and are always unstable. The only practical use for them took place thousands of years ago. When man was first trying to seek out life on other planets, data bursts were sent through wormholes, which would open randomly on the other end, hopefully near another civilization. This actually worked a couple of times before galactic mapping became a more realistic means of outreach. Still, no one has managed to find a way to enlarge, stabilize, and maintain a wormhole long enough to transport matter. The endeavor has been largely abandoned. Yet, even through these limitations, life finds a way. It has been hypothesized that the Dam of Cerelune’s species somehow evolved the ability to make use of wormholes to escape massive numbers of predators. She seems to be the last of her kind, and all attempts at capture have been futile, until now. While recovering from her impregnation, Sacred Mother of Light, Marilesse Lyons was sitting by the Yulven Ice Fields when the Dam of Cerelune suddenly appeared from a wormhole. With one touch, Marilesse managed to break the dam’s ability to escape. She remains on Lyon’s home planet of Yrosfulh today, as a family pet, ready to welcome the arrival of the child of Sacred Savior.

Microstory 38: The Sock

“When I was eight years old, I lost a sock in the dryer. It had a green, then blue, then another green stripe at the top. The sole was red, and the base of it had a print of soccer balls. I loved all of my socks, and had one pair for every major sport. My older brother told me that dryers operate at a particular frequency; one that opens up wormholes to other dimensions, and that socks are just the right size to slip through on occasion. He wasn’t being mean. He used a fictional story to validate my overdramatic reaction to something so innocuous. Since then, I’ve been through a few dryers, and lived in several places. When I moved here to Japan, I brought with me very few of my possessions. Somehow, though, when I was doing laundry a few months ago, I found my soccer sock in the dryer. I blinked and shook my head, trying to rationalize it. It probably wasn’t the same sock. It couldn’t be. But it is. It’s the exact design that I remember. There’s even a small hole on a part of the sole that doesn’t usually tear. It’s the same sock, I’m telling you. How did it get here? Had my brother been right? Did dryers open up wormholes? That’s ridiculous, of course. But I’ve always been open to believing in miracles, and I’m not sure that this one doesn’t apply. I wasn’t in a great place when it showed up, and maybe that’s why it came back.”

“That’s an interesting story. But you should probably consider removing your framed sock from the wall for the next party your host.”

“Fair point.”