“Drowsy?”
The response was a loud yawn that muffled whatever word she uttered.
“Scowl?”
“I hate that nickname.”
“Then try smiling once in a while; it won’t hurt. Well . . . maybe just a little the first time. Feather?”
“Reporting for duty, sir.”
“That’s the spirit. Twist?”
“Sir. Yes, sir.”
“Your father told you to say that, didn’t he?”
“Sir. Yes, sir.”
“Crash?”
“All body parts accounted for . . . and most are functional.”
“That’s a first. And that takes us to last . . . but certainly not least, T.K.?” The boy was the youngest and the smallest of the group. His wings had only reached full maturation in the past few months. The others just referred to him as The Kid – or T.K. for short.
“How come you always call my name last?”
“It’s a Sky’lord tradition. We always save the best for last.”
“Really?”
“He’s messing with you, runt,” said Feather. She was his older sister.
“Oh.”
Actually, brother and sister were the two best flyers of the group but Kon’dor kept that to himself. He was their flight instructor and was teaching them all they needed to know to become masters of the sky. Those lessons were about to come to an end. Today, they would all go to the Sanctum of Reverie – passing into the Reverie Glass to begin their final test.
*****
The Sky’lords had built five edifices – each serving a core belief of, or a societal need for, the people of Splendora.
The Temple of Appreciation was a house of worship. It was the place to contemplate one’s life and give thanks for all the gifts for which the individual had received. It was also the place to plead your case for those desires that had yet to be fulfilled.
The Gateway to Perpetual Tomorrows was where all births and marriages were attended to.
The Sanctuary of Everlasting Yesterdays administered to the needs of the terminally ill and the very old. It was a place to celebrate all that these individuals had accomplished, to relive those experiences that were most precious to them, and to ease their journey into the Unknowable Beyond.
The Archive of Achievement housed a wide array of artifacts and documents considered milestones in the evolution of Sky’lord society.
And then there was the Sanctum of Reverie, which housed the Reverie Glass, where an individual would lose themselves in an alternate dream reality woven from the fabric of their subconscious mind’s own desires or fears. Each person’s inviolable experience was unique unto themselves and seldom did a visit provide the same challenges or pleasures as the previous one.
The Reverie Glass was not of Splendora; it had been discovered fifty years before in the ruins of a nameless civilization on a distant planet. Why it had been created was not known.
Serendipitously, it came with an owner’s manual. To be more precise, it was a very thick treatise – probably written by the scientists who invented it – that had also been recovered from the rubble. The bad news was that it was written in a language unknown to the Sky’lords (hundreds of years later it would be referred to as Galactic Standard). It took many years to decipher just a small portion of it. However, the snippet of science that it did reveal was so advanced that it was never completely understood.
Besides the alternate reality that it created, there were two other aspects that were incomprehensible – intellectually and emotionally unfathomable - to Sky’lord scientists.
First, once inside the Glass, time ceased to flow. It wasn’t suspended animation as we might assume. The Glass literally stopped the River of Time for anyone in it.
Even more inexplicable, one did not pass through the Reverie Glass – one entered into it. There was ‘no other side’.
*****
Through trial and error, it took more than ten years for the Sky’lord scientists to figure out how the Glass actually functioned. After another five years to refine that knowledge, it was ultimately decided to gift this strange and wondrous device to the people. It didn’t take long before the Reverie Glass became an integral part of Sky’lord culture. Because of its popularity, it became obvious that access had to be limited because of the sheer number of individuals requesting to use it.
Highest priority was eventually given to two groups. First, the terminally ill (whether from disease or old age) were allowed to use the ‘highest pleasure settings’ of the Glass to make their final time in this world as enjoyable as possible.
Fittingly, the other group was the young Sky’lords who were about to ‘earn their wings’ – a rite of passage from childhood to young adult – by experiencing the challenge settings of the Glass (though at a low intensity level).
“First, I want to congratulate you all for making it to the final test. As you know, we will be entering the Reverie Glass on each of the next five days. The degree of difficulty in each challenge will be greater than the day before. However, . . .” and he drew that out. “It really isn’t that difficult. You’ll face situations that you now have the training to handle. You all have the mental and physical skills and I expect that you will actually be disappointed that it wasn’t as hard as you had imagined.”
“How did you survive?” asked Twist.
“I presume you’re referring to level nine?” Of course they were – the kids always did.
The Glass had positive and negative settings depending on whether you were looking for pleasure or a challenge. The scale for each went from one to ten.
These young people would test on the lowest five levels of difficulty. The higher settings were exponentially more dangerous. No one had ever survived above a setting of eight . . . except Kon’dor himself who had made it – though just barely – through level nine.
His question was answered by a chorus of “Yes’s.”
“It’s actually pretty simple. Concentrate on the challenge in front of you while ignoring the consequences of failure. Let your mind find the resolution to the problem and trust your body to react as required.”
The kids were silent as they ‘chewed’ on that answer. A few moments later TK asked the question that they were all thinking. “What does that even mean?”
“Feather, answer your brother.”
She was about to argue that she didn’t know – but instead she applied some of her extraordinary brainpower to the question. “Fear is too powerful an emotion – it stops you from thinking clearly. If you’re worried about the price you pay for failure, then you’re not thinking about the solution.”
All of them looked at Kon’dor who nodded approvingly. “Exactly.”
Too-thin Min wasn’t buying it. “Then why didn’t you get to level ten?”
Kon’dor laughed. “First, not all problems have an obvious answer. Second, you need to recognize when a problem is greater than your personal ability to resolve. And third, there may come a time when fear wins out. When that happens, turn around and get the heck away. As L’elle would say – it’s better to live to fight another day then to die for a lost cause.” L’elle was his girlfriend and also a flight instructor – but for the Sky’lord space force.
“So were you scared?” asked Twist semi-sarcastically.
“I actually wet myself,” he replied with a dead-serious straight face.
They all reacted the same – eyes went wide, mouth flopping open. Then he smiled and they all laughed at the absurdity of that statement. Kon’dor was the bravest Sky’lord ever . . . a living legend.
“Okay. Has anyone ever been in the Glass?”
They looked from one to another – each shaking their head no. That wasn’t unusual.
“So let me tell you how this is going to work. The Glass will use each of your individual fears to create an alternate reality specifically for you. I will set the intensity control,” and he pointed to the device around his neck, “to on
e.”
“And you’re going to have the Proctor Pendant I hope?” asked Feather. This was a device created by Sky’lord scientists that served multiple purposes. First, the Glass would not create an alternate reality for the wearer. Instead, it would allow the individual to share what another was experiencing if they wore the paired Apprentice Bracelet. It also allowed the wearer to communicate outside the Glass in case of unforeseen emergencies.
“Of course, and he reached into a pocket and pulled out . . .
Since it was already programmed for Kon’dor, his image was captured in the device. On the flip side was the interface to the complicated technology. It also had one other feature – it showed how much time had elapsed outside the Glass.
“Okay, any more questions?”
“Kon’dor?”
“Yes, Fog?”
“How long is each test?”
“As long as it takes. But remember – and this is very important – to voluntarily exit the Glass, all you need to do is picture yourself leaving. Don’t do that unless I tell you it is okay otherwise I’ll have to send you back in. Anything else?” There were no more questions – just a lot of nervous fidgeting. “Okay then, let’s get into formation and follow me.” They did . . . and he flapped his beautiful pink wings and took to the sky.
*****
HQ, Space Command
She entered the conference room, which was filled with both military and civilian personnel. At the far end of the large table sat the man in charge of Space Command.
“Prime Kommander, I am . . .”
“I know who you are, Captain. Get on with it.” The man was all business and very brusque. He was also adored by everyone who served under him. The fact that he knew L’elle came as no surprise. He made it his business to know.
“Yes, sir. My squadron was on a training patrol in the Ty’con Expanse. We were returning via the Tor’tuka Sluice . . .”
The Prime Kommander interrupted. “Who gave you permission to enter the Sluice with a squadron of untrained pilots?” It was asked politely – but his eyes belied his feelings. The Tor’tuka Sluice was a notorious section of space filled with black holes, dark matter and gamma ray bursts from dying stars. No one in their right mind would take that route if for no other reason than it was under strict quarantine from Space Command.
“Permission to speak freely, sir?”
“Granted.”
“First, my squadron is well trained and this was their final mission before being certified as flight ready. Second . . .” and she hesitated. “I felt a disturbance” (but not in the force, after all she wasn’t a Jedi).
L’elle had a reputation for these unscientific feelings – disturbances, as she liked to refer to them. They were inexplicable, and just like Egg’s goosebumps, they were never wrong. Her commanding officers had long ago stopped trying to second-guess her. In fact, they had given her written orders allowing her to follow up on these feelings even if it meant violating previously issued orders.
The Kommander was well aware of this strange ability and had to suppress a smile. “I see. Continue.”
“Sir. About an hour into the Expanse, we came across a swarm of meteors. To be more precise, they appeared to be meteors. A visual and spectral analysis confirmed that they conformed to lifeless space rocks. That is until they altered course to avoid a mini black hole.”
“I believe you have a photograph?”
“Sir,” and she handed him a document.
The man examined it closely then slid it along the tabletop to one of his assistants. “Continue.”
“When the swarm altered course, it became obvious that they weren’t what they appeared to be. I sent out a probe that landed on the closest one. The telemetry it sent back indicated that it was hollow. There was also a distinct electromagnetic radiation signature that was artificially produced, indicating a not too advanced propulsion system. However, no life signs could be detected.”
“Then you left to return to Splendora?” It was almost an accusation.
“No Sir. We followed for another day to observe their behavior. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I launched another probe to keep pace with the swarm and to send back any anomalous readings. We then headed for home at high warp to report our findings. While we were in transit, the swarm altered course a second time to avoid a gamma ray burst . . . but like the first maneuver, it soon returned to its original heading.”
“Which is?”
“Splendora.”
“How long before they rendezvous with us?”
“They do not seem capable of high warp. At their present speed, approximately five days”.
“Recommendations?” It was a signature question from the Prime Kommander. He wanted his people to think for themselves and to feel comfortable expressing those thoughts. He also wanted input from ‘foot soldiers’ so to speak and not just from his experts. Sometimes the ‘little guy’ had pretty good ideas.
“Intercept them in deep space and attempt to make contact. If that fails, endeavor to board one. We should assume they’re hostile and be prepared to destroy them if necessary.”
“If they are hostile, why didn’t they fire on your squadron?”
She hesitated, took a deep breath then said, “The most likely answer is that they either have no weapons or didn’t perceive us as a threat.”
“You seem to be contradicting yourself, Captain.” He sensed that she had more to say but wasn’t sure how it would be received. “I value whatever theory . . . or feelings . . . that you have.” Her reputation was impeccable.
“Thank you, Sir. My instincts tell me that these rocks are not ships in the conventional sense. They are more akin to seedpods. Even though they have their own power and guidance system, that is a secondary function. Every fiber of my being is screaming danger. If we do nothing, this will be an extinction-level event for our people.”
And with that outlandish statement, the rigid decorum of a military meeting dissolved into a cacophony of excited babble.
The Kommander cleared his throat loudly and the room immediately fell silent. “That’s quite a leap of logic.”
“With respect, logic has nothing to do with my conclusion. Perhaps you are unaware that when I get a premonition of trouble, I can also get an equal but opposite feeling if I . . . if I stumble across a solution.” She was being modest.
“I am aware.”
“Yes, Sir. Destroying these objects in deep space is the only scenario out of hundreds that I considered that gave me that feeling. The sense of urgency I felt leads me to believe that our people will pay a heavy price should we fail.”
“I take it that you have never experienced anything of this magnitude in the past?”
“Not even remotely.”
“Anything else you wish to offer this committee?”
“If we assume that these space rocks took a direct route from their point of origin to Splendora and extrapolate that backwards through the Tor’tuka Sluice, they would have originated from Pri’ori Minor. As you are aware, that is the star system where the Reverie Glass was found.”
This time the Prime Kommander couldn’t resist a smile. None of his experts had uncovered that incredibly important fact. “Are you assuming that this swarm also destroyed that world? If so, why?”
“I do believe that. They were probably trying to recover the Glass which was theirs to begin with, or they knew of it, found it dangerous and wanted it destroyed.” Again, the silence was broken by a wave of murmurs.
The Kommander raised a hand for silence. “I will take your analysis and recommendations under advisement. However, since time may be of the essence, please get with Tactical and devise a battle plan. They are expecting you . . . Tertiary Kommander.”
“Sir?”
“You have been awarded a field promotion. Congratulations.”
L’elle realized her mouth was hanging open and she forced herself to close it. “Thank you, Sir.”
“My com
pliments to you and your squadron on a job well done. You are dismissed.”
“Sir.”
Chapter 6 – The Reverie Glass
To accomplish all that it did, the Reverie Glass required massive power. Whatever the source used on that distant planet was never determined. So one ingenious scientist came up with a unique solution. It was cleverly known as One Eye Peek . . . an enormous magnetic lens built inside the throat of an extinct volcano. It captured atmospheric radiation, amplified it millions of times and transmitted it through now defunct lava tubes to the Sanctum of Reverie. What gave it the appearance of an eye was the metal iris that could be opened and closed to moderate the amount of power the lens produced. In fact, the only way to turn off the power to the Glass was to close the iris completely.
Kon’dor and his class landed on the volcanic rim. “Before we go down, I wanted all of you to get the chance to see the power source.” He waited while they all leaned over to get a good look. “So, tell me what are we looking at? Anyone?”
TK answered. “It’s a magnetic lens that amplifies ambient atmospheric radiation.”
“Correct. Why is it black?”
Fog replied, “Any other color would reflect more energy than it absorbed.”
“Very good. Does anyone know what would happen if you were inside the Glass and the power was turned off?”
“Trick question,” responded Drowsy with a yawn.
“You really need to get more sleep,” teased Kon’dor. “So why is it a trick question?”
“First, the Glass would eventually spit you out if the power got too low, which could take weeks even if the iris was closed. However, once the external power was cut, the Glass could be moved. If you were inside, you’d go with it.”
“Well done. But why can’t the Glass be moved when the power is on?”
And now back to TK. “It bonds with the specific space-time continuum that it’s located in when it was powered up. And before you ask, no one has any idea why.”
“Not quite true. There are lots of ideas – none of which can be proved or disproved.”
The Reverie Glass [Book 5 of Ever After, an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Page 5
