The Madman's Bridge: FireWall Book 1

by Mark Johnson

  Atabham [at-AHB-hm] – The holy book of Polis Sumad, delivered in the closing years of the Founders’ War. Delivers religious instruction through the parables detai-ling the life and learnings of the fictional wise man, Soki.

  Cadvers – Dead, mobile remains of human beings. Mindless, possibly soul-less beings, motivated by the search for the chaos energy that permeates their body. Cannot exist in large groups. Cadverism is a disease whose cause remains unknown.

  Ceneph, Polis – Fallen and dying Polis, located on the coast of its continent. Was fatally injured by the Enemy in year 4939.

  Center – The residence of the royalty, inaccessible to non-royals and tens of miles wide. Located at the geographical center of each Polis.

  Cestin Rortiin – A young man from Armer. Born within a religious clan, he has an ability to construct matter from energy.

  Chaos energy – The energy of the Enemy, found in trace amounts in all human beings. The amount of chaos energy is not indicative of the likelihood of cadverism. Used to create dark mechanisms, though the method of manufacture of these mechanisms remains unknown.

  Currency energy – Used as the primary medium of exchange in all Polis world-wide. Generated and distributed by the royalty, it has a set timespan before it fades away or ‘expires’.

  Domnic Dantet – A young man from Armer. He can communicate silently.

  Enemy, the – The unidentified origin of evil on earth, possibly singular or many. Antagonist of the Founders’ War, It created minions on earth to do its bidding and worsen the state of humanity and their relations with one another. Its motives are unknown.

  Energies – There are five known energies: Chaos, currency, electricity, suppression, and vibrations.

  Electric energy – Used to power simple devices such as wave receivers, fans, cooking hot plates and glowbulbs.

  Escapers – Found in every Polis, this group are convinced that Polis is the root of all evils and the Polis must be abandoned if humanity are to find their true dignity and destiny.

  Founders’ War – Began on the first day of the present calendar. The Enemy incepted and designed a war on all Polis in the world, crippling all. There was no clear date of victory over the Enemy in the war. Each Polis individually crushed the Enemy forces in their own way. Cadvers are thought to have developed at this time.

  Gods – Deities who created the earth and walked upon it for a time, before returning to the heavens for safety. Some elected to remain on earth and became Polis. The number of gods and their names are unknown.

  Golem – Rare, animatronic creatures made and used exclusively by the royalty. They possess the ability to understand commands and carry out orders according to the parameters set for their own judgement.

  Harient Rendon – Fifth TowerMiss of HopeWall. Seventy-two years old. Born and raised in Polis Ceneph, she arrived at HopeWall in the year 5065.

  HopeWall – Effectively the capital Wall cluster of the Refugee Territories, though it does not claim the title. The vibration-weaving training center of the highest caliber in the Refugee Territories. A cluster encompassing four BarracksWalls for men, HopeWall for women, and the Tower for vibration training. Capable of holding 20,000 people at capacity.

  Inspectors – The Polis Armer police force.

  Immersion Chamber – The underground chamber found beneath Polis Armer, where hundreds were massacred. ‘Scientists’ from Polis Sumad contacted Seekers within Polis Armer with a proposal to isolate and study chaos energy, as extracted from living, unconscious human subjects. The study came to an abrupt end, when Polis Armer became aware of the Immersion Chamber’s high concentration of chaos energy and Swallowed it.

  Mechanisms – Simplistic devices used to distribute vibration weaves or streams.

  Patzer – Leader of a band of Escapers hiding in the boundary lands between the Refugee Territories and the official districts of Polis Sumad. He is likely suffering from an imposed mental impairment.

  Polis – Earth-bound gods, who decided to remain on earth to support human progress. Their active sentience is a matter of some debate — whether they operate at an entirely subconscious level and respond to stimuli, or if they actively withhold interaction with humanity, to allow them to implement free will.

  Refugee Territories – Upon their arrival in Polis Sumad, the refugees from Polis Ceneph were given five areas at the outskirts of Polis Sumad, instead of being integrated into Sumadan society. These five areas, Serenity, Humility, Chastity, Austerity, and Sufferance, were mostly uninhabited due to sporadic hexagon and pipe functionality in most of the areas.

  Repaan Lethrien – A young man from Armer. Orphaned at a young age, he is able to store and disperse energy.

  Royals – Long-lived maintainers of all Polis, residing exclusively at the Center. They claim credit for the defeat of the Enemy in the Founders’ War. They are seldom seen without their masks when they meet with public. Their technology is advanced beyond the level of the outside territories.

  Sarra Rendon – Initiate of the Tower, and adopted daughter of TowerMiss Harient. She suffers amnesia, and her origins and family are unknown. She is approximately seventeen years old.

  Seekers – An order whose origins are unclear, even to its members. Their existence is at least five thousand years old, and thought to be older, though it is not known in what form they existed before the Founders’ War. Their purpose is to wipe out chaos energy and cadverism wherever it is found. They interact often with the royalty, who alert them to the existence of emergent pockets of chaos energy. Their ranks, in order, are student, apprentice, assistant, missionary, head, keeper, holder, and governor.

  Seeker Sense – The Seeker ability to sense nearby pockets of chaos energy and cadvers. The acuity of the sense varies from Seeker to Seeker.

  Suppression energy – Discovered under one thousand years ago, it is an addictive energy form produced by suppression generators. Those addicted to it are named ‘power heads’. Although the energy brings euphoria to those despairing, it also inhibits mental function and emotional range. It can also substitute for food, though with adverse effects on mental health.

  Swallowing – The most visible manifestation of Polis. When too much chaos energy is detected within its boundaries, Polis comes to ‘swallow’, or take down into the earth, the affected area. Swallowings are only minutes in duration, though they can be presaged by tremors for hours, or even days. A Swallowing is accompanied by ‘the Roar’, an indescribable sound that is thought to be the movement of the Polis Himself. The actual instrument that does the Swallowing is unknown.

  Terese Saarg – A Head Seeker from Polis Armer, who is involved with the Immersion Chamber program.

  Terlent – A Tower Elder with a conservative outlook and approach.

  Tokkus – An immigrant from within Sumad, serving as a sergeant at HopeWall. Not much is known of him, other than that he left his family to come to the Territories as a young man.

  Tower, the – The foremost vibration weaving academy in Polis Sumad’s Refugee Territories. Established by Mother Farrah upon her arrival from Polus Ceneph in 4950.

  Vibration energy – Used by weavers to create sophisticated tools of detection, healing and communication, among other uses. Weave purposes are shaped by the density, knots, and patterns, in which the weaves are arranged. Vibrations are opposed to chaos energy, and are considered the energy of life itself.

  Wall – Fortress structures unique to the Refugee Territories of Polis Sumad. Large, circular or square domestic structures capable of containing growth hexagons, though not all have hexagons within them. Usually at least four storeys high and constructed with stone and mortar. Their primary design function is to discourage and withstand cadver assaults. Walls are usually grouped in ‘clusters’, analogous to small towns. A singular Wall in isolation is considered similar to a village. HopeWall cluster is considered the design pinna
cle of Wall clusters.

  Zalaran Morgenheth – A young man from Armer with extraordinary eyesight.

  Acknowledgements

  There are many to thank for bringing this book into existence. The following is neither a complete list, nor one that reflects the level of individual contribution, nor the type. But all these people’s help has proven invaluable, and without them this book would not be what it is.

  Thanks to: Alana Cooke, Suzanne Day, Chad Dick, James George, Schery Girvan, Jan Goldie, Annabelle Grierson, Thalia Henry, Gerry Huntman, Doug Johnson, Jasmine Johnson, Mike Johnson (no relation), Dione Jones, Coover Kasad, Meher Kasad, Anne Kayes, Phillip Mann, Paul Mountfort, Lee Murray, Greg Simpson, Brendan Were.