His change in tone clearly brought Lugh down momentarily from his panic. Lugh snatched the square from Vili’s hand and let it dissolve in his mouth.
Satisfied, Vili relaxed again and turned his focus to what Lugh had previously referred to as a ‘television.’ “You’ll want to sit or lay down. Not sure how long the process will take, or if it will hurt.”
Lugh, already clutching his stomach, went to his room and fell onto his bed.
Vili glanced over his shoulder as he left. Eh. He’ll thank me later.
* * *
Vili continued watching the live COPUOS session from New York City as it was coming to a close.
“Let’s summarize the agreed upon global rules. As a reminder, penalties for breaking the following rules will end in severe punishment for the individual offender, as well as a negative strike against his or her harboring nation as a whole.
We must assume the worst case scenario—that the extraterrestrial message is completely and entirely true—and in doing so we must work to establish order once again across the world and stand unfaltering in the face of Earth’s enemies:
One: All lines of communication with the alien on Earth—or any alien that contacts Earth—must come through this council until further notice. If an alien initiates contact with anyone outside of this council, that person must do his or her best to contact us so that we can handle the conversation. It is now the duty of all citizens of Earth to memorize the COPOUS contact phone number that has been assigned to their respective country, and save it to your mobile device. Each country will have their own way to verify callers’ identity. Anyone caught providing misinformation to these lines will face severe consequences. The penalties will vary in degree based on the country, but those found guilty will be considered to have committed treason.
Two: Countries must do their best to keep their nation, and the people living therein, functioning as usual. We can’t defend ourselves if our economies break down and we lose the ability to organize across countries to build weapons, vehicles, and armies.
Three: All advanced weapons research will now be overseen by this council. Each country must submit a summary of all classified weapons and vehicle research, development, and design to this council no later than 48 hours from now. If a country is found to have intentionally withheld vital research then their leaders will be subject to immediate termination. Anyone attempting to hide them will face the same fate. Continued resistance will be met with lethal force for the country in question.
Four: Similar to point three, all national space agencies will report to this council. Representatives from NASA, Roscosmos, and CNSA will triage country integration and reach out separately to all necessary organizations.
Five: All citizens, in each country, must tune into a one-hour nightly broadcast that will periodically provide instructions on, as well as summarize significant developments of, the ongoing extraterrestrial situation on Earth. Each country will be responsible for producing their network, but all networks will be monitored by COPUOS and will only broadcast material COPUOS distributes. Spreading false or misleading information, or information not approved by this body, will result in COPUOS acquiring the station and potentially removing the leadership of the country in question.
Each country’s station is required to be streamed live at all times, notifying the public of warnings, alerts, news, or other relevant information passed through COPUOS. We encourage all people of Earth to stay tuned in as often as possible. Each country’s individual representative will provide more details to their country at the end of this meeting.
Six: All countries need to organize free, basic military training at a local level to as many of their citizens as possible. We must find a way to make our citizenry prepared for the worst.
Additionally, countries must provide their citizenry with cellular phones. We need to give every person on Earth the ability to immediately contact COPUOS, as well as capture photos or videos of anything peculiar.
Seven: All people of Earth are encouraged to prepare themselves for an impending war with an unknown alien force, however they think is necessary.
Now, your local representative will address your country…”
Vili turned back to look at the still-passed-out Lugh. I wonder if he’ll contact the COPUOS body.
* * *
Lugh continued to toss and turn in his sleep, occasionally wailing out in pain. At one point he jumped out of his bed and ran to the bathroom to vomit. After finishing, he collapsed and slept by the toilet. Vili felt sorry for the helpless human. He picked him up and tossed him back into bed. How long is this process going to take? We have an army to build.
Act II, Chapter 2
Olympians
Location: Bellum System
Athena’s initial message to Bellum over the aion network is the linchpin to my plan. Without her precise wording, it may be impossible to quell the coming storm.
—In Vino Veritas, page 149, note 2.
* * *
Notus had arrived at the Bellum system the prior day. Of the two planets in the system, he was stationed on Coeus for a week-long monitoring session of the aion network. He had a partner for the week—a pilot he never met named Zetes—but Notus knew he’d be of little help. As the scientist, Notus was tasked with monitoring for urgent messages coming through from the four personnel with access to the long-range communication network, as well as ferreting out any unknown interference. According to what he was told, the latter would signify another civilization was tapping into the aion web. Due to the lack of foreign interference, Notus, like all other Olympian scientists, was confident that no other race knew about the second time dimension.
Notus preferred to be the one doing the heavy lifting, dodging what would otherwise be unrelenting boredom. The pilot, Zetes, was there only in the event a message came through, which, to his knowledge, had never happened. If such an historic event were to occur on Notus’ watch, Zetes would take a physical readout of the message to the highest ranking officer on the other planet in the system: Bellum.
Notus awoke to a bloody haze creeping in from his window, reminding him of the profound security of Coeus and Bellum. The Bellum system was dominated by a mid-sized red dwarf. The small, cool star made the system hard to find and, even if found, the composition of the system made it appear of little importance. Additionally, Bellum, the only other celestial body in the system, was Olympia’s military headquarters; it provided additional safety to the scientists performing their research on Coeus. If all else failed and Bellum was targeted, the system was small enough for the Olympians to quickly move it.
Currently, the system sat in the center of Olympia’s territory: orbiting dead center between the supermassive black hole at the nexus of the galaxy and the outer edge.
Notus took a relaxing sigh before getting out of his bed. He always enjoyed his time in the Bellum system. As an expert in meteorology, with a working understanding of very general physics and agriculture, he frequented Coeus to conduct his research. Beyond the security of the system, he relished in the feeling of optimization that met him at every location.
The dwarf-star allowed less electromagnetic interference when scanning the broader galaxy, ideal for both the military and researchers. It wasn’t just that the star was tailor-suited for the base, though; more importantly, the two planets in the system were seemingly customized for their respective purposes.
Both planets were eminently habitable, providing the military and scientists with various types of weather, terrain, and raw materials. Bellum was slightly larger than the average rocky planet within Olympia and harbored no natural satellites. The planet was 60 percent water, with one giant ocean and two large land masses separated by a wide river that ran over an entire hemisphere. Both continents lay on only one half of Bellum and an archipelago dotted a fifth of the planet on the opposite hemisphere.
It was dense with heavy metallic elements in its crust, allowing for the efficient buildi
ng of solid defense structures for both protection and target practice. The lack of fauna on Bellum gave the military free reign over the planet without having to first eradicate local beasts. The planet also had a thin atmosphere, providing less interference with ground to air communication. The weather was extreme in a few parts of the world, allowing for intense military training, but mild everywhere else.
The military found the various types of terrain and the large ocean on Bellum useful for concealing important buildings and conducting specific types of training. They could find natural structures to mimic conditions on various planets and utilize them accordingly. The added layer of the weather allowed them to practice anything from extractions in hurricanes to hand-to-hand combat after days of marching through the desert.
Notus moved across his apartment floor to the bathroom, feeling a spring in his step. As a thin and aging man—over-the-hill at ten thousand years old—he was accustomed to the slow deterioration of his body. Every year his muscles strained a fraction more to carry him throughout the day, but being on Coeus was different. The planet was small, providing less gravitational force on its inhabitants.
The lower gravity also made it easier to build and test mammoth machines, while a low concentration of oxygen made fire-hazards essentially non-existent. Additionally, beyond the lack of oxygen and low gravity, construction was quicker on a planet that lacked significant rainfall. Only 15 percent of Coeus was covered in water, enough to feed sentient life, but not more.
After getting dressed, but before starting his shift, Notus went to the food hall for breakfast. Keeping with the theme of efficiency, most laboratory buildings on Coeus housed apartments, kitchens, and labs in the same building. It was great for someone like Notus who was known for his patience. There was no pressure or consideration on when to leave his lab because both his room and food were always a floor or two away. On this particular visit to the system, it was unlikely Notus would spend much time outside his stationed building, if at all. He didn’t need to, though; he knew what the planet offered.
Flora and harmless fauna were plentiful, giving scientists’ access to not just food, but an abundance of natural chemistry. The ground was dense with elements of carbon, yttrium, gold, scandium, phosphorus, and aluminum. The elements made Coeus rich in the resources necessary to build circuits, ships, armor, screens, and any other advanced tech. It also provided a beautiful opalescent sheen across vast swaths of land.
After breakfast, Notus entered a secure elevator that took him directly to the lowest level of the non-descript building he was tucked away in. It was where the aion monitoring took place.
As his elevator approached, the current pair monitoring would be notified and required to leave the room before Notus arrived. Due to the extremely classified nature of the work, the two teams that were in rotation for a given week weren’t allowed to interact. In fact, Notus and Zetes would never be told who they were sharing time with. That didn’t bother Notus. As he waited for the elevator to open his only wish was the Zetes wouldn’t be talkative; well, and that Zetes hadn’t beat him to their shift. The last time he was here one of the chair’s padding was wearing down and he didn’t want to get stuck with it.
The doors slid open and he was greeted by an empty room. Notus breathed a sigh of relief—Zetes hadn’t arrived yet. Notus settled in to his preferred spot and took note of the familiar white room: two chairs that sat in front of a large, curved screen and several controls. Within a few minutes, the elevator slid open, revealing Zetes.
As anticipated, a look of surprise momentarily crossed Zetes face when he saw Notus. Unlike most Olympians his age, Notus was clean-shaven. It gave him the look of a much younger man. Clean-shaven men were somewhat rare in Olympia as growing a beard was considered a sign of the separation from boyhood and young adulthood.
Notus stood and nodded to greet Zetes. He was a young, fit pilot with short cropped black hair and a small beard.
“I’m Notus. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He sat back down while Zetes responded.
“Zetes. So, are you a linguist?”
“No. I’ve been trained to monitor the aion network—as it is required for any scientist that wants to conduct research in this system—but I mainly function as a meteorologist. Why are you in the Bellum system? Besides this monitoring, of course.” Be polite, but don’t invite a long conversation.
“I’m finishing training geared toward surviving a crash on an unfriendly planet while also caring for injured personnel. It’s required if I ever want to pilot rescue missions for injured soldiers.”
Notus nodded and let out a short hum in response. I’ve established friendly contact. No need to continue the conversation.
Satisfied the discourse had ceased, Notus shifted his full attention to the state of the aion network. He needed to stay fixed on the monitor for 12 hours. After which, his shift would end and he and Zetes would get a 12-hour break before returning.
* * *
Zetes was reading a recently released tract on theoretical advancements to superluminal engines—as the pilot staff never had much to do during monitoring sessions—when a tone he never heard leapt out of the equipment in front of him. It sounded like a series of frantic shocks of varying lengths. He looked over at Notus with an eyebrow cocked. “Is something actually happening?”
Notus was already intensely studying the screen. “Someone is sending a message…this may be the first official, non-test communication through the channel.” Notus’ voice cracked and Zetes could see a subtle tremor vibrating through the scientist’s hands. He was clearly in awe over being the first Olympian—at least that they were aware of—to record one of these messages.
Zetes swallowed back the pang of exhilaration before asking his question. “Who is it from?”
“We don’t have the clearance for that, remember? Both the sender and message are anonymous and encrypted.”
They both waited in silence until the network returned back to its undisturbed state.
“It’s finished. I’ll notify central command on Bellum to be expecting you,” Notus removed a hard storage file from the monitoring equipment and locked it in a pre-specified container. Only the sitting commander on Bellum would have the combination to open it. “Take this with you.”
Zetes grabbed the package and ran to the private elevator built specifically for quickly delivering messages over the aion network to Bellum. It led to the top of the building where a ship was waiting for him. Per protocol, two private Olympus Council guards were waiting for him as well. The guards worked for Cerberus, a private organization employed solely on the Council’s behalf. They were there as a failsafe in case the military officer carrying the message had a change of heart. The only individuals who could access the ion network were high-ranking military and government operatives with the authority to deploy entire fleets of starships. Theoretically, a message sent over the aion network could start a chain of events resulting in the deaths of millions.
Each guard wore white armor from head to toe—not a single portion of their body exposed—and carried a Council Trident. The tridents were modified: the center spike was missing and the two other “prongs” were actually curved, flat sword-like blades. Running down the inside of the staff of the weapon was technology that allowed the guards to release charged particles. The particles exited from the opening where the third prong would normally be, and, when the guards chose, they could use those particles to discharge large bolts of lightning. The weapon’s firing battery recharged naturally as it was moved and swung in battle.
What made these weapons particularly fearsome in close-combat was that they were long enough to create separation with an opponent while rapidly or slowly releasing charged particles. This allowed the guards to keep distance with their attackers and fill the air around them with ionized particles; then, they could take a step back and discharge their weapon. Instead of a single lightning bolt, the effect would be an entire cloud of lightning engulfin
g their opponent.
Neither guard said a word to Zetes as they escorted him to a standard Scapha ship designed to hop between planets. Scapha’s were rectangular and stocky, with fuel that burned powerfully and quickly. They were constructed to take heavy damage for a short period of time, but that window was wide enough to ensure safe transport to an adjacent planet.
One Cerberus guard followed Zetes to the cockpit while the other sealed the door. Zetes was admittedly a little uneasy. There’s a difference between proper security measures and creepiness…I’m not even sure why the Council needs non-military guards anyway.
He launched the vessel and was soon in orbit to intercept Bellum. The guards remained silent on the trip. Within an hour, Zetes landed near the Central Office of Military Command. It was a large, impressive building, with giant columns lining the front center and intricate domes covering various parts of the roof. It was a pure white structure, measuring nearly a kilometer on all sides and stretching almost half that distance into the air.
Zetes and the Cerberus guards approached the entrance and were promptly ushered through various halls—layers of entry points requiring top secret clearance—and finally stood before the door to the office of the highest ranking individual stationed in Bellum. Zetes knew it was the legendary Poseidon that sat on the other side of the door.
Poseidon was famous among Olympians for his bravery and victories during the Fracturing. Even before that, Poseidon was a well-known military leader because of how often he interfaced with the public and the Council. He was currently the head of the Galactic Navy, one of three branches of the Olympia Military Forces.
The door slid open and Poseidon, without taking his eyes off what he was reading, waved for them to enter. Zetes was overflowing with pride as stepped forward; he had never even spoken to someone who had seen the inside of this military hero’s office. His legs felt lighter and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.
The Gods Who Chose Us Page 15
