The Book of Ominiue: Starborn

by D. M. Barnham

  ‘The Eye of Creation!’ Níurthan pointed into the darkness.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ the UeVarda said. He looked outside but could not see anything except when a lightning bolt lit up the clouds around them.

  ‘I see the form of a dragon. The great Galafus flies with us!’ He pointed again, now further in front of them.

  ‘I do not see anything,’ a guard said, trying hard to look through the cloud.

  The communications droid then came to the window and looked out, ‘What is a Galafus?’

  ‘She is one of the four Dragon Gods,’ Kíe’arathorne answered. ‘It is a good omen.’ The android appeared almost disappointed at this, Hanniver also frowned.

  ‘Do you see anything Metal Ta’Orian?’ the king asked the robot. ‘Perhaps your machine eyes can see more than a Fa’Orian’s?’

  ‘I do see something in the infrared and ultraviolet, but that could be nothing more than denser cloud layers.’

  ‘What shape do you see?’ Níurthan asked. Just then they broke through the clouds and lifted up into the bright blue skies, the turbulence ceased and the hovercraft moved smoothly through the emptiness. They all cried out in astonishment as they covered their eyes from the glare. When their eyesight adjusted to the change they marvelled at the beautiful white forms below them and the calm blueness that engulfed everything else; stretching in all directions. The moon sat above the horizon waning from the first quarter, its great form dominating the east.

  ‘That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,’ Kíe’arathorne commented, forgetting the claims in the clouds as he leaned upon the windowsill looking out at the sky around him.

  ‘Oh, Tau’hatashual, I should not have come with you.’ Níurthan softly spoke, tears streaking from under his mask, betraying the raw emotion within him.

  The king placed his hand gently upon the monk’s shoulder, ‘I am sorry old friend, I should never have insisted upon you coming.’

  ‘Do not be, it is beautiful as well as sad. And Galafus journeys with us. Long have I desired to see the patron god of the Afradians.’ The monk remained where he stood, watching the swirl of clouds below them, admiring the beauty and patterns they made. Occasionally there was a break in the clouds allowing them a view of the land below.

  As they neared the Cohra-Rhí the clouds seemed to part; guided by the mountains away from the desert wastelands. The turbulence gave one final thrust upwards as they crossed into the cloudless desert and a few minutes later the pilot informed them to sit back down and prepare for landing.

  The lionmen disembarked the hoverplane to face the colony of the Western Front Empire in full parade. Shayne stood with the star rank officers; in his modified Special Forces uniform, Danto protested at first but yielded to his superior officer over the continuation of the Starborn’s false position. The Town was still not complete with tents still erected, but that did not stop the colony from greeting them with a formal entry. They had an honour guard of special operation officers in their black uniforms. The civilian component was much more relaxed with an extension of mutuality between the two cities; even though the Earthmen colony was far from a city at that stage.

  The UeVarda was greeted by Canoth Eastman and General Thorn Hendingson. Kíe’arathorne disembarked the transporter with a smile embedded onto his face from the flight. One of the shytarda’s helped him with his belongings; including his two guitars, a Fa’Orian longbow and Bohanese horse bow.

  The native king was guided by the star officers towards a transport vehicle, the general was at his most charismatic speaking of their grand plans for the dusty settlement. The UeVarda could not help but feel some level of disappointment as he followed his hosts. He had expected something grand and beautiful, full of mysterious machines and odd inventions, but he silently conceded that the sky humans could not perform all their miracles straight away. The king and his guard were soon loaded into the ground-transport and making their way to the medical facility, leaving Kíe’arathorne behind with Shayne.

  When they reached the clinic the UeVarda and as many shytardas they could fit walked straight in, they crouched and crammed their way into the waiting room to the shock of the receptionist. The same room was spacious and luxurious only moments ago, before they came and squeezed their great hulking armoured bodies inside. Their halberds were too long to fit in the room but they brought them in anyway; angling them so they did not scratch the roof. Those who could not fit stayed outside with the Earthmen military and the acting Prime Minister.

  The king was expected to stay in the waiting room just as everyone else, with no special treatment for any one person. Two Earthmen patients were already in the room waiting; they were shocked by the sudden appearance and glanced across at each other with amused and curious looks. Most of the lionmen sat down in the chairs provided; looking uncomfortable in what was clearly designed for the smaller human frame. The monk and many of the others remained standing with not enough seating for them. The colonists tried to return to their gadgets, pretending the strange guests were no different from anyone else, but it was hard when there were curious lion-like faces peering down at them.

  At one stage the doctor stepped into the waiting room and called the name of a patient. He momentarily faltered at the site of several lionmen, especially the sight of the armoured guards with poleaxes held at precarious angles.

  ‘Put those damn spears down!’ the doctor boomed angrily to the surprised guards, ‘before you stab someone!’ He then took the Earthling patient into a room, shaking his head. The guards looked at each other in confusion before the king ordered them to put them somewhere safe.

  As the king waited he picked up one of the computer tablets, a digital magazine appeared on the screen; he almost dropped the device, fumbling with it. He glanced across at the human next to him as she slid the pages with the flick of her wrist and fingers. He copied the movements and watched amused as the pages changed, but then he touched the screen and the magazine disappeared displaying an index, as he touched things he kept moving about the computer without knowing what he was doing until the screen went black and he could not get it back. He shook the device a few times but stopped when the colonist looked oddly up at him. He then placed the small flat device carefully back upon the table, its screen ominously blank to him.

  After a little while the doctor came out with his last patient, he then called the UeVarda. The entire entourage rose to follow before the doctor raised his hands in alarm.

  ‘No!’ he called out. ‘Only one other!’ he enforced and pointed one finger in the air to emphasis it. The king turned to Níurthan who stepped forward without hesitation.

  ‘Well UeVarda,’ the doctor directed him to one of the seats while he took his own chair and interacted with a screen as a medical droid translated. The lionman fidgeted in the small seat, it was not wide enough for him and his knees and legs were scrunched up as if they were at a table made for children.

  ‘Your health looks much improved,’ the doctor regarded the lionman from behind his computerised glasses, his professional manner never faulting as he spoke with the king.

  The UeVarda smiled, ‘I feel better than ever.’

  ‘When I’m finished with you, you will feel even better,’ the doctor casually remarked, flicking through some holofiles. ‘The samples prove interesting. I’ve manufactured the regrowth of your lung tissue, within a month your emphysema will completely disappear,’ the translation took a while; the robot was having difficulty conveying words that did not exist in the native vocabulary. ‘This can be easily administered via the same process as your inhaler, but we require more tests and scans to make sure that your cancer has been eradicated, and still other tests to make sure you are not in danger from other forms.’

  ‘But I feel much better now,’ the king’s head twisted. ‘There is no pain except for the shortness of breath.’

  ‘Some cancers do not cause pain,’ the doctor informed. ‘Follow me, I have a machine that
can look at you in far greater detail than the one used in your palace, and I’m pretty sure you’ll appreciate this one.’ They were then taken into another room, with a very large bed and circular machine. The king was made to change his clothes; he was given the largest size in patient clothing, which only just fitted him. He received an injection before he lay down upon the white bed. The medibot stayed in the room with the king and instructed him while the doctor and Níurthan walked into the control room. The doctor talked to the king while he inspected the three dimensional image growing before him. The monk stepped over to the projection and examined it with great interest, his eyes danced behind his metal mask as he marvelled at the complex image of his king’s internal structure.

  ***

  Kíe’arathorne, Shayne and an android allocated to the scholar as his personal communicator made their way to the university allotment by a military ground vehicle. They loaded the car and their driver activated the engine with the I-tag implanted in his hand, which brought the engine to life. Most vehicles were machine-run and no driver was required, but the military had exceptions, organic driven machines were not often used in public but most of the other transporters were in use and the colony’s high demand had them helping the civilians until normal stability was achieved. On the way to the university the journeyman was given an earpiece, he had trouble placing it over his ear, it was moulded for human use and the different curve of the lionman ear meant that he was constantly adjusting it. Eventually he took it out and only put it back on when they were in the company of other Earthmen. Ten minutes later they were parked at the entrance of the new university; it stood on the borders of the town where three modest buildings were constructed and plenty of room for more in the future.

  ‘Is that it?’ the lionman said, his voice ringing with disappointment.

  ‘We’ve only been here two weeks. Give us time journeyman and we will give you a university to rival your own.’ Kíe’arathorne stepped out and grabbed his belongings, walking on with a thoughtful smile printed upon his face. Shayne took him through the buildings, showing him classrooms and a large lecture room. Back in the Wayel-Éaa settlement Shayne had spent time in some of the smaller rooms, but this was the very first time he had seen the new construction, and was also the first time he walked the lecture halls. Kíe’arathorne marvelled at their largest room; slanting down a little like the Grand Council Hall in the palace, with ample seating and foldable desk space.

  ‘Will we be in this room?’ Kíe’arathorne turned to Shayne, a glint of hope in his eyes.

  ‘If we get many to teach, yes, if not then it will probably not be used for its intended purpose until more of our kind come. At this point in a colony the university grounds are almost purely research and cataloguing. The other stuff tends to come later.’ Just then the university Vice-Chancellor came into the room. The reception had called her and she instantly set out to find them.

  ‘Starborn Shayne,’ Shayne’s physics successor Professor Emilie Rabolin greeted. She was a friendly personality, with the relaxed and impersonal nature that many in the science world had, though her attitude completely changed when she was immersed within her work. She had taken over Captain Arnahell’s position as his main teacher and had given him a research project, though he spent so much time with the military since landing they had not achieved much and on top of that his journey with the natives disrupted the little time he was given.

  ‘I see Kíe has returned to us,’ she smiled as the lionman placed the communicator earpiece back into his ear, frowning at the awkward thing.

  ‘His name is Kíe’arathorne now,’ Shayne corrected. ‘Their people are given names when they’ve earned them. It’s considered an insult to call them simply by their old name.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ her smile faded as she looked across at the lionman.

  ‘There is no need for an apology,’ the journeyman bowed slightly to the woman. ‘No offence can be taken when one does not know they are offending.’ He then smiled at her, reassuring that he was not upset.

  ‘So, is one of the locals taking up our course?’ she looked across to Shayne.

  ‘Yes he is. He also seeks extracurricular.’ Her eyebrows rose when he said that. ‘He wants to learn some physics.’ She let out a single laugh as she looked admirably up at the lionman’s green eyes.

  ‘Well, it’s a tough ask,’ she commented. ‘Very few make it, but there’s no harm in attempting it. There’s also the problem that the course won’t be officially opened until after the Gate-link, unless there is a high interest.’

  ‘There could be,’ Shayne added. ‘They seem to have a basic grasp already, though from what I can see they follow the ancient Greek thought experiment process with no actual experimentation to compliment it.’

  ‘If they’re a physics-based society but only use the thought experiment philosophy it may account for their stunted growth,’ she mused. ‘Shall we determine how much they know?’ She gestured the seats around her and they unfolded them and sat down to talk, with the robot standing to the side converting the conversation silently into their earpieces. The lionman’s knowledge was complexing to say the least. Kíe’arathorne had not taught Shayne any of their written characters, though he did pick up on some here and there, he was not entirely sure if they were correct but he recognised them. The journeyman wrote on a computer book screen; with his pen he created figures and images and he described them. After a while both the Earthmen followed him along with only the occasional misunderstanding.

  ‘But this here is bordering on the basic principles of Quantum Mechanics!’ she looked up at the smiling lionish face with surprise. ‘I just don’t understand how you can know this but have absolutely no scenario you can possibly witness to derive it. Can one thought experiment Quantum?’ she asked herself as she began to contemplate the possibility.

  Kíe’arathorne conceded, ‘It is possible that we have lost or forgotten some things. It was a long time since the magic weavers walked the lands.’ She sat back and thought for a moment; looking long at the scattered and seemingly disjointed equations and ideas before her.

  ‘Do you think we’re magicians?’ she finally asked the lionman.

  ‘No,’ Kíe’arathorne simply and honestly said. ‘The masters of science could do things no other could.’

  ‘But we do stuff all the time that your people cannot comprehend!’

  ‘That is incorrect. The Star Ta’Orians build things and those things in turn do what we cannot comprehend. You do not do it yourself, you do not change the temperature of the room, or make light, or push one aside, or jump in time with nothing but your mind and your wizards staff. You require other things to do it for you.’

  ‘Ignoring the time jumping, which is rubbish outside of quantum fluctuation,’ the physicist said. ‘What’s the staff for?’

  ‘We are not completely sure, but we believe it was to store energy.’ The lionman said. ‘We have the remains of some of the old spell casters staffs’ in our artefacts rooms within the Teaching Halls.’

  ‘And why did they need staffs? Why not just blast with their minds?’ she asked as she tapped the side of her head.

  ‘The energy used to perform their deeds was too great for the body to hold. One who casts a spell with their body would burn and freeze. A Shingah staff is made from many things: all so that the Wizards grasp would not burn their hands. That is what we believe.’

  ‘They bring energy to them? How?’ the physicist asked which caused Kíe’arathorne to laugh.

  ‘If I knew that then I would be a student of the law myself,’ he reasoned with a grin.

  ‘We can’t cast spells,’ Emilie said and continued with her brutal and innocent honesty, ‘and I doubt your people did either. It’s probably mixed in half-truths, history usually is, even our modern history!’ she stated, knowing how corrupted facts could become when expressed at the end of someone’s opinion.

  ‘Us teaching you this field of science won’t turn
you into a magician, but we can fill in the gaps that seem to be present and expand greatly upon your people’s knowledge and understanding.’ Kíe’arathorne paused while he tried to understand the meaning.

  ‘I do not expect to become one,’ he replied. ‘The Fa’Orian did not become wizards. I do not think we could, but it does not stop my curiosity. I want to learn.’ The physicists appeared very happy and content with this, smiling and nodding slightly.

  ‘Well I guess we could sacrifice time providing you with an undergraduate’s education. Colonial Forrester can help you with that.’

  ‘That is what I want,’ the lionman looked fondly across at Shayne. Afterwards Shayne took the journeyman to the university lodgings, built for their new guests. Each room was a standard twin share with a study area. There was also a common dining room and recreation area on the lower floors. Kíe’arathorne choose a room fitted with a larger bed, built for the lionmen students.

  ‘Where do you sleep, Afra’hama?’ Kíe’arathorne asked.

  ‘With the soldiers. I am in a tent at the moment, but I will have quarters to myself, as all high ranked officers do, but not much bigger than this here.’

  ‘Can I visit you?’

  ‘Not yet. Military areas are restricted. Visiting will not be available until construction is complete.’

  ‘Then you will have to visit me,’ the young lionman pushed.

  ‘I will, to teach you.’

  ‘And I to teach you!’ Kíe’arathorne returned. ‘What do I do about our horses?’

  ‘Ulossa has been taken back to Bohaníde. Your horse will have to wait until it can be housed and fed.’

  ‘I will miss her,’ he sighed, ‘but if she would be unhappy on the rocky bare ground then we must wait until the grass grows.’ He looked up at Shayne, imagining the transformation of the desert into a paradise flowing through his mind.