History of the Galaxy II

[capnq]

CEO Cunsi Davdi watched the vidfeed with mixed emotions. I really should be celebrating, he thought to himself. The initial public offering for Pilda Shipyards had broken several records; the "New World, New Life" promotional campaign had drawn over two hundred and fifty-five million entries; speculators had sold their berths on the _Consumer Confidence_ for as much as eight times what they'd paid for them. It had been the Eifralo Conglomerate's most successful project so far during his tenure as CEO.

Yet all Davdi could think about as the hulking colony ship prepared to break orbit was that the woman he loved was leaving with it. Talro hadn't even told him that she'd entered the sweepstakes, and when she announced that she'd won one of the non-specialist slots, he was stunned that she actually intended to go, rather than resell her ticket. They'd never actually discussed a household merger, but Davdi had assumed that they'd spend the rest of their lives together. If that was going to happen at all now, it wouldn't be until he retired; he couldn't run the Conglomerate from a frontier branch office, and the Conglomerate needed him more than Talro did.

And that was the crux of it. Talro didn't need him at all. How much did he need her?

"There you are," his thoughts were interrupted. Retla Gurse, Vice President of Construction, bounced into the room. Besides being in charge of Pilda Shipyards' day-to-day operations, Gurse was also Davdi's closest friend. "Public Relations has been looking for you for a soundbite about the launch."

"I know, that's why I ducked in here," Davdi grinned. "Needed some time alone to compose something catchy enough to make the early newsfeed."

"Better get out there, then, before you get upstaged. The drive flare when all five engines throttle up is pretty impressive. And stop worrying about Talro; you know as well as I do that she'll be fine."

"You know me too well, old friend. Let's go give the customers the show that they came for."

[Unknown_Enemy]

2400.4

Cardinal Pytralia was sweating. Raising from his chair, he saluted the inner council of Cardinals, His Holiness Vixen VIII, then started to speak.

“Your Holiness, brothers, sisters,
I have asked for this session of the inner council to bring you some dire news. As you all know, our former homeworld's states send our ancestors here from 6 to 8 centuries ago, but only after undergoing the bio modifications that enabled them to survive on an ice world. We all know that these modifications were only partially successful, resulting in a climate adaptation of our body to the dreadful cold that lies here, but resulting also in the shortening of our life span to 80 years and what is commonly called the Small Death. The Small Death is a reVersion of our genetical code which results in weakening our Ice adaptation, while not allowing a Tyrean to sustain high temperatures of 30°C or more. Following the release of the Genetical Commission's archives, the biological Department made the following discoveries : people not afflicted with Small Death in their families see their life span reducing quickly. Should the present tendencies be confirmed, our life expectancies should top around 30 years in just 7 centuries from now. Considering the time a Tyrian needs to grow-up and learn, we will not be able to maintain an advanced civilization based on technology. At the moment, all our people seem be subject to this, except those infected by Small Death for unknown reasons. But worse, this finding lead us to investigations which proved that some of the flora we brought here mutated with the local bio-stock and has strengthened the shortening life span process. It appears that ....”
His Holiness raised from his chair and interrupted the cardinal,
“Brothers, sisters,
Please remember the cult back on Tyrian III, 6 centuries ago. Remember them hunted and condemned. Remember them banished here to be forgotten by all. That was only 2 years before the Armageddon. Remember that what may appears today as a disaster may result tomorrow in our salvation. You may resume Cardinal Pytralia.”
.....
3 hours later
.....

“... Therefore, it is the decision of the inner council that domed colony shall be created as soon as possible on other worlds, and that full priority will be given to the families presenting the more important risks of Small Death....”

I am his Holiness Vixen VIII, elected by the inner council to lead the Tyrean. I am the leader of a dying specie.

“... Exploration ships shall be built and sent to other systems to find suitable worlds....”

I am fully aware of what we are, we are an unachieved social experiment. Send a bunch of criminals to a harsh world, where they will have to work hard just to barely survive, and in a few centuries they should have evolved in a small and honest agricultural world. That was the goal of our presence here.

“... full priority to massive transport system will be given once a valuable new homeworld has been discovered....”

The experiment was a success, almost a miracle. But they betrayed us by committing mass suicide. They betrayed us by messing the bio modifications. They betrayed us by destroying our homeworld. May they freeze in hell.

“... complete evacuation of this world shall be set as main goal of the Churches....”

The Churches. What a joke. Is there really some Gods somewhere ? I wonder. The Churches are no more than convenient tools. They were the easiest tool which allowed our group to escape the soon to be dead Tyrian III. They are the most convenient tool to control the population, to have them unknowingly concentrated on the Long Road.

“... the main goal of leaving the planet shall be kept secret as long as we are not ready to migrate....”

Our people are not strong enough to accept the hidden truth. They are not strong enough to accept what they are. They are not strong enough to accept what they could be.

“...research in terra-formation shall begin immediately to ensure no new colonies will meet the problems we face now....”

I will not betray my people. I will not fail them.

[ October 01, 2002, 13:27: Message edited by: Unknown_Enemy ]

[sachmo]

Invexus Corporation

Mike Leetch took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, and then allowed himself time for a yawn and a stretch. He and his staff had been pouring over the mounds data that Invexus Explorer had beamed back after surviving the trip thru the wormhole. Leetch admitted that while he had been cautiously optimistic that the engineering of the ship would allow it to survive the trip thru hyperspace, he was as surprised as everyone else when Captain Bromley beamed his greetings back from the Kornephoros system. Since that day, Bromley and his crew had broadcast back to Cherek all sorts of readings, pictures, and data. While every bit of this information would be put to good use, it was quickly discovered that Leetch’s staff would need more resources just to sift thru it all and put it to the most efficient use possible. Word came down directly from Board Chairman Hartnell himself that the Space Research Division was to have access to anything and everything that they needed to get the job done. The next day, every wish Leetch had ever asked for had been granted. The department’s staff grew to twice its original size virtually overnight. They were given every piece of equipment he had ever requested. They were getting a brand new complex built for them, and the best news of all was the Mike Leetch was going to be project lead. That meant a huge raise and a chance in the spotlight. If they preformed well, who knew how high he could rise? However, being the golden boy for the company was a two edged sword. The Board Chairman wanted to begin remote mining asteroids as soon as possible. Leetch gathered his best men with him and began preliminary work on the issue. Projections had the project being completed in just over five years. Leetch knew better than to go to the Board Chairman with this estimate, and so he began the unenviable task of begging, borrowing and stealing resource he could to cut down the research time. In the meantime some useful discoveries had already been made. The stability of the hull of the Explorer had allowed an ingenious young scientist to design a dome that would fit over a colony, allowing Cherekians to colonize rock planets with atmospheres that would normally be toxic to them. This little gem bought Leetch and his people a little more time to figure out how to deliver a five year project in half the time.

Board Chairman Hartnell sat down at the head of the conference table. Gathered in this room were his closest advisors and department heads. The discovery of the domed colonies had been a huge boost to Hartnell’s plans. Initially, he had been a bit disappointed when Captain Bromley had failed to find a world with an Oxygen atmosphere in Kornephoros. The domed communities would allow quick colonization of a number of previously unusable worlds, including two in their own system. Already, a colony ship had been constructed, and was making ready to depart for Aecupus IV, the closest planet in the universe to Cherek. The planet would be used as a research colony. However, the long-term goals of the corporation, and of the Cherek people, needed to be discussed. That is what this meeting was about.

“Good afternoon, everyone” Hartnell said.
Everyone returned his salutation. They all seemed eager to get into the meeting.
“Alright people, here is where we stand. Mister Kilibreu has his Research and Development division working on interpreting the data we have gathered from Invexus Explorer. As most of you know, it has already paid off in the development of domed habitats, and we are well on our way to putting the first Cherek community on another world!”
Mike Kilibreu smiled as applause broke out in the conference room.
“Also, Fleet Services has done an excellent job of getting our first colony ship put together in three months. The hard work by Dana Wallace and her people has made our first colonization efforts a reality.”
Again applause broke out. Dana smiled shyly, then blushed when Hartnell gave her a quick wink.
“Every one of you should be proud of the work they have done. Because of you, Invexus is reaching out and spanning the galaxy. Your hard work and dedication is helping to secure the future for the Cherek people.”
More applause.
Hartnell held up his hands.
“This is only the beginning. We cannot harvest these new fruits of prosperity without fear of consequence. There are…others whom we may have to compete with.”
Gasps ran around the table, except for the few who had been privy to this information already.
“Captain Bromley recovered a bit of data that has been kept secret until now. During the first week of their stay in Kornephoros, Invexus Explorer picked up a very faint transmission from parts unknown. We still do not know much about this transmission, but we do know it was created by a sentient race.”
After a few moments of silence, everyone tried to speak at once. Hartnell asked for silence, and it was given, but he could see the uncertainty in their eyes.
“We have taken steps to deal with anyone, or anything, we come into contact with. To protect the interests of the Invexus Corporation, and to protect the Cherek race, we have created the Invexus Security Fleet. We will begin construction of armed capital ships that will be used to protect our facilities and people around the galaxy. Hopefully, it will be a force we will not need to use, but I gather everyone will feel better knowing that it exists.”
That brought some nervous laughter.
“I can’t say when, or even if, we will encounter this race, or any other race for that matter. If and when we do, my feeling is that we will be able to get along peacefully with them, and hopefully learn and grow as a people from the experience. We are standing on the brink of a new era, everyone, and Invexus will lead the way into the light.”

[Captain Kwok]

Juprup Federation News

2400.4

The second of five orbital stations, Construp B, was completed in orbit ahead of schedule much to the delight of the Juprup Space Agency. Administrator Poodak of the Agency commented "We've learned a great deal of information from the construction of the first station and it has really allowed us to improve the process. I believe the increasingly modular design of the orbital stations will continue to push this project faster than anticipated."

The first colony ship, Colorup 0001, is nearing completion. Speaker Kwok has announced plans to officially launch the ship next month to its destination, New Juprup. With the announcement, the first colonists began to be placed into their stasis chambers that will sustain them for the next few months.

2400.5

The launch of the Colorup 0001 was watched by over one billion Juprup citizens today. Speaker Kwok set the ship in motion toward it's destination New Juprup, approximately 5 sectors away. The colony ship is expected to arrive next month where preparations to construct the first Juprup habitation on another world will begin immediately. The small blue planet which shares much of the same characteristics as Juprup Prime has been the centre of much study over the Last sixty years. It is believed the planet will become the home to over a billion Juprup over the next ten years.

[geoschmo]

2400.0

One of the stars is falling.

That was the first thought that flashed through the Hive mind at the streak of light that cut through the night sky on the dark side of the planet. A star was falling. This was quickly dismissed as illogical as the Hive knew full well that the stars were light years away and couldn’t fall to the ground. And the stars were much larger than the planet on which the Hive lived, and would have consumed it had it been that close. The Hive also knew that if the streak of light it had seen had been a result of some far away star it would have been traveling at tremendous speeds. Speeds that were beyond the laws of physics that the hive was just recently learning from its hosts memories.

No, this was not a star, but a meteor. The Hive studied a great many memories over the next few moments and learned all it could about meteors. They were small bits of rock and ice that entered the atmosphere many times every day. But most of these were too small or too fast to see, or fell on the day side of the planet and were washed out by the bright light of the nearby star the hosts called Laxes.

Every few months the Hive learned one of these meteors fell that was large enough to survive the heat of reentry and actually crashed to the ground and became a meteorite. And every few hundred years the Hive learned one came to ground that was very large indeed and left a noticeable crater in the ground.

And the Hive kept learning from the hosts. For this was a very interesting topic, and the Hive was very curious. The hosts had also been very curious. One of the things they had been the most curious about was their own origins. And one of the things they learned, and in turn taught to the Hive was that every few million years a meteorite landed that was very large indeed. Large enough to change the climate around the entire planet. And large enough to cause widespread extinction of species.

For the first time the Hive felt concerned for it’s safety. This planet may not be a safe place for the entire hive to exist. If a single large rock could cause the end of the Hive. This could not be allowed the Hive thought.

The hosts had this concern as well the Hive learned. But they were many separate beings, and not all of them agreed that the problem was a serious one. Most of them were more concerned with there own personal comfort then they were for the existence of their entire race. So they thought much about the problem, and they talked much about the problem, but had done little to plan for it other than to build some telescopes and attempt to count the millions of rocks that were sharing their planets orbit around the star Laxes.

The Hive did not share their concern for the comfort of the individual hosts bodies. At least not to the extent that it would risk the death of the entire Hive. So it decided to do something. It decided that some of the Hive would leave the planet. There were several planets also orbiting Laxes on which structures could be built that would support the host bodies that the Hive needed to survive. The hosts had actually begun the process of designing these structures or “domes” as they called them looking towards the far distant future when they would finally agree amongst themselves enough to go there. So the Hive began to build a ship. A ship that would carry some host bodies and go to one of these worlds. The hosts had a name for it. They called it a colony.

The Hive decided to build a colony.

[capnq]

"That was a fine meal," Davdi commented, licking a stray splash of itega sauce from the corner of his mouth.

"I knew you'd like this place," Gurse replied. "They've only been open for a few weeks, so word of mouth hasn't driven up the reservations fee yet."

"I don't know how you manage to find the time to check out so many new restaurants, Retla. Especially with the second colony ship due to launch in a month."

"We learned a lot building the prototype; the work is going a lot more smoothly on this one. I wish I could say the same about ticket sales."

"That's understandable," Davdi agreed. "We never expected the 'Second Chance' campaign to draw as many entries as 'New World, New Life' did, but it's still on pace to fill the available berths. People simply aren't as eager to colonize a planet that they can't breathe the air on."

"That's exactly what I wanted to discuss with you," Gurse grinned. "I've got a proposal to deal with that."

"I knew this wasn't just a friendly dinner invitation!" Davdi laughed. "What's your pitch?"

"Have you heard anything about Soctu Timho's latest research results?" Gurse asked.

"Can't say that I have. I leave R&D work to the people who have the patience for it."

"Well, Doctor Timho has gotten some intriguing results from his deep space probes. They picked up an unusual gravitational anomaly near the edge of the system. He's convinced that it's an opening into some kind of hyperdimensional tunnel that will allow interstellar travel!"

Davdi's eyes bulged in surprise. "Interstellar? If he's right, there could be other colonizable planets out there!"

"Exactly! And some of them could even have breathable atmospheres! But we'll need to design and build an exploration ship to verify that they're there, first. And for that, I need your authorization to reallocate part of the construction budget."

"You'll have the paperwork on your desk by tomorrow. Have the waiter bring another round of BLARG, and we'll drink a toast to the future."

[Gimboid]

"Kurasa o houyousuru" [Translation - Embrace the darkness]
Old saying of the Mahatsuhito clan

Several months had past since the first vanguard of the Imperium had left the shelter of the homeworld and travelled to distant planets to form new colonies and outPosts under the direction of the best agents of the Mahatsuhito clan.

The unexpected find of interspacial rifts that allowed inter-system travel had been a boon for the Imperium and what had initially been a minor expedition had become an all consuming passion for the Katana Imperium. Only those at the highest ranks of the shogunates and in the palace had been informed of the vast opportunities that were up for the taking out in the vastness of space, yet even those who knew little were willing to join in the grand drama that was unfolding.

______________________________________________
==============================================

Her resolve had not wavered in this new era, and Kaneko had been satisfied that the reigns of power were still firmly in her grasp. The new colonies would be as all the other territories, mere extensions of the power that flowed through the palace, as it should be.

Still, the concept of warp points leading to totally unexplored areas of space had excited Kaneko like never before. New realms to control, new planets to exploit and untold power flowing back to the Imperium. Her name would be forever remembered in the clan for bringing this wealth to her race. A smirk appeared on her face for just a moment as that thought struck her. It was quickly washed away by the serious look that adorned her visage like a suit of armor. Noone must be able to understand her motives she reminded herself, the only person that could be trusted was Kaneko. Her power came from living in the shadows, to shroud the truth was to stay alive.