The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles

by E J Gilmour

  ‘You might find you know much more about the Emperor than you think you do,’ said Cynthia as she turned to leave and walked back toward the cargo bay.

  ‘What did she mean by that?’ asked Sara, glancing curiously across at Michael.

  ‘I’m not entirely sure,’ he replied.

  ‘I think you know more than you are prepared to say,’ she said, her eyes narrowing. ‘What has the Epherian Emperor got to do with our mission to save the Magnifier? Tell me; where does the Emperor fit in?’

  ‘The reason the Emperor doesn’t show his face in public is because he was sent into exile when the End Machine attacked Epheria Prime.’

  ‘Obviously you are planning to rescue him from exile.’

  Michael smiled warmly. ‘No, it’s not necessary because he is actually planning to save the Magnifier from Epheria Prime. He has a good crew and a solid ship. He just has to complete one last mission to Moros Gamma. I think he’s in with a good chance.’ He glanced at Sara to see her reaction. Her face became stony and pale. The Out Drifter suddenly veered to the left. Michael nearly fell out of his seat as the ship spiralled out of control. Sara took a few moments to regain focus and retake control of the ship.

  ‘What!’ she yelled, her unblinking eyes staring intensely at him. ‘It’s you, Captain. You must be joking!’

  ‘I’m not joking,’ he said calmly.

  ‘Why haven’t you ever mentioned this?’

  ‘There was never a need to say a word about my past, and it was dangerous to tell anyone. I have been in hiding for many years. I kept my origins secret from everyone so I could remain hidden. You have to understand that the End Machine has been searching for me since I was very young. It is only necessary to tell you now because you have agreed to help save the galaxy. I have to return to the Epheria Prime. The minds of my people have been enslaved by the End Machine. Once we destroy the End Machine I will take control of the Epherian fleet and banish the aliens from the Triangulum Galaxy forever.’

  Sara leaned back in her seat. She lifted her eyes and stared at the ceiling. ‘I can’t believe I work for the Epherian Emperor. I hate the Epherian Emperor; everyone in the Outer Worlds hates him.’

  ‘That’s even more reason to keep my identity secret, and to be clear, they don’t hate me; they hate the fact that the Epherian Empire hasn’t helped fight the aliens.’

  ‘I think this will change the way I see you.’

  ‘I’m exactly the same man you know.’

  Sara raised an eyebrow and smiled.

  **

  Ajax groaned as he looked down at the sleeping pod containing Gopher. ‘We forgot to drop the thief off on Bodach Delta,’ he grumbled. ‘What the hell are we going to do with him now?’

  Michael walked over. ‘We’ll have to let him out of the sleeping pod.’

  ‘It’s not a good idea, Cap. I think we should just leave him in there and let him off on Moros Gamma.’

  ‘Leaving him in the middle of the war wouldn’t be very nice. He won’t like that.’

  ‘Who cares what he likes,’ said Ajax gruffly. ‘We didn’t ask him to come aboard in the first place. Everyone knows you’re asking for trouble if you sneak aboard a ship. He admitted he’s a thief. Thieves are bad news, Cap.’

  ‘You know from experience?’

  Ajax lowered his eyes. ‘I left those days behind a long time ago, but yeah, I know from experience.’

  Acacius stepped into the room. He approached them and glanced down at Gopher. ‘I believe this thief has a purpose.’

  ‘A purpose?’ questioned Ajax flatly. ‘I think his purpose is to be thrown off the ship. We can still get rid of him. We don’t have to aim the pod at an alien world; we could send him to a neutral world.’

  ‘As I said, he has a purpose,’ said Acacius sternly. ‘He should remain with us.’

  ‘What if you’re wrong?’ asked Ajax. Acacius stared at Ajax and didn’t answer.

  ‘Open the pod and let him out, Ajax,’ said Michael.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Acacius and Michael were sitting at the table in the living room.

  ‘The End Machine’s power is far beyond what the ancients expected. The shadow is darker than the darkest night. Your powers may not be enough to defeat the machine, even if we find the Magnifier.’

  ‘Is there hope?’ asked Michael.

  ‘To understand the answer to your question we must again discuss the structure of the cosmos. You have already learned a lot, and you know how to travel between spacial dimensions and how to convert matter into energy, but you do not yet understanding of the subtleties of the universe.’

  ‘I’m happy to learn.’

  ‘Indeed you are. I will tell you how the universe is structured. From a single cause arose a single point, which was the first of all things to appear in the spacial universe. The universe we experience is the result of a geometric cascade from that single point. As you know; it is obvious that a single point has little meaning by itself; it exists in relation to nothing; it is not larger or smaller, further or closer, brighter or darker than anything else. Therefore the laws underlying the cosmos gave rise to a second point, which led to the arrival of one-dimensional space, which is a line between two distinct points.’

  ‘The distance between the two points is unknown unless there is a third point. The third point gives perspective to the first and second, thus two-dimensional space arrived in the archaic universe in the shape of what we would recognise as a triangle without depth. Obviously, three-dimensional space requires a fourth point. Initially three-dimensional space took the shape of a tetrahedron, a three-dimensional triangle, by virtue of the fact that four points are the minimum value for three-dimensional space to exist.’

  Acacius paused to take a breath before continuing. ‘Three-dimensional space is not either a cube or cylindrical as some of our ancient ancestors wrongly believed. The universe does not add points, sides and edges unless such points, sides and edges are an absolute necessity resulting from the underlying laws. As I have stated, the laws underlying the universe compel three-dimensional space to arise from the previous two-dimensional and one-dimensional realities. This leads to an obvious conclusion: there are three additional tetrahedron spacial dimensions available beyond the primal tetrahedron universe. The reason is because the three unused two-dimensional sides of the original three-dimensional tetrahedron are subject to the same underlying laws which earlier caused three-dimensional space to arise from the previous two-dimensional reality. The three unused two-dimensional sides are compelled to form their own tetrahedron spacial dimensions. The result is four spacial dimensions which oscillate side by side. Because the four tetrahedron dimensions share two-dimensional sides the presence of an object in one dimension causes a gravitational effect on objects in the other three spacial dimensions; this is because every object in the universe exists in one, two and three-dimensional space simultaneously. The End Machine was built to exist across the four spacial dimensions. It has power unlike any other machine.’ Acacius sat back in his seat.

  ‘I understand the End Machine can move between the four dimensions,’ said Michael. ‘I also understand that it has power over gravity, electromagnetic forces, energy and matter. How can I possibly face the machine by only being able to control photonic molecules and move between the dimensions? The End Machine actually exists in all four dimensions at once. I only exist in a single dimension.’

  ‘What you say is true. Human beings have an awareness of the other three spacial dimensions, and a part of us exists in those dimensions, like a reflection of ourselves. This is how we have the potential to move between the dimensions. In ancient times it was discovered that our cells have a certain awareness of what is occurring in the additional spacial dimensions. Nonetheless, the machine was constructed across the four spacial dimensions. It can conceal its central mechanism in any spacial dimension it chooses. The original hope was that the Lore of the Ancients would allow us to jump between dimension
s to locate the central mechanism and provide us with an opportunity to destroy or deactivate the machine. The End Machine destroyed humanity in our former galaxy because our ancestors could not shut down the central mechanism after the machine turned against us. The machine hid its central mechanism beyond reach and used its awesome power to destroy anyone who attempted to shut it down.’

  ‘Surely even getting close to the central mechanism will be difficult,’ said Michael.

  ‘Difficult is an understatement,’ said Acacius. ‘I have been pondering these challenges for many years. When I encountered the End Machine on Epheria Prime I was shocked by how much space the machine was occupying in the additional three spacial dimensions. The End Machine is larger than we could have ever imagined. It has increased its power over thousands of years. The Magnifier will increase your power and help you fight the machine; however, I doubt your skills will be enough to destroy the central mechanism even if you do get close to it.’

  ‘What can we do?’ asked Michael.

  ‘There could possibly be another way. The Lore of the Ancients speaks of a mysterious place beyond the four spacial dimensions. Little was known about the place beyond, but the men and women who wrote the Lore of the Ancients are said to have encountered the boundary at the edge of space and time whilst they were exploring the spacial dimensions. They hoped to go beyond the boundaries of the spacial universe to find a way to defeat the End Machine, but they did not have time to investigate the possibility before the End Machine destroyed them, ending their quest for knowledge. We have the Lore of the Ancients because their documented knowledge was handed to the pilots of the Cradle Ship which brought humanity to the Triangulum Galaxy. We have to do our best with what they left us. The Lore of the Ancients is our only chance.’

  **

  Ajax was sitting with Cynthia and Gopher in the living room. He was watching Gopher with a fierce look in his dark eyes. Gopher was trying to avoid eye contact.

  ‘Yes, it is true, my dear; professional thieves do have a secret guild,’ said Gopher. ‘The guild provides us with a platform for locating jobs and contracts. Sometimes jobs are too large for a single thief and the guild connects us with other professionals.’

  ‘You’re a pack of scoundrels if you ask me; rotten to the core,’ growled Ajax.

  Gopher averted his eyes and wouldn’t meet Ajax’s aggressive stare. ‘I agree, Ajax; often thieves are unsavoury people. In many ways I regret entering the industry in the first place,’ he said in a trembling voice.

  ‘That’s ridiculous,’ stated Cynthia. ‘Why don’t you just leave the industry if you feel that way?’

  Gopher scratched his chin and gave the question some thought before answering. ‘Well, I guess the chief reason is that I am just not very good at anything else,’ he said in a matter-of-fact way.

  Ajax rolled his eyes and banged the table with his open hand. ‘That’s a load of space rot! There are plenty of jobs you could do. You’re only a thief for the money. Greed, nothing but greed! I know what you’re about, Gopher. You can’t fool me.’

  Gopher’s eyes widened as he melted back into his chair. ‘You seem to know a lot about thieves. I would guess from experience,’ he said in a very low voice.

  Ajax kicked his chair back and stood up. ‘That’s it! I’ve had enough of you already!’ He clenched his fists and started to move around the table. Gopher leapt up and attempted to keep Ajax on the opposite side of the table.

  ‘I’m going to break your face!’ growled Ajax.

  ‘Ajax, stop it!’ yelled Cynthia. For a moment Ajax was conflicted. His face was red and his eyes were bulging, but he found he couldn’t go against Cynthia’s command. He took a deep breath and lowered his fists. ‘Leave him alone. You’re ten times his size and beating him won’t solve anything,’ she said firmly.

  Ajax gave a curt nod and conceded the point. ‘Watch what you say around me, Gopher. I’ll let you off this time, but only because Cynthia asked me to.’ Ajax turned and walked out of the room.

  **

  Michael sat in the co-pilot’s seat beside Sara.

  ‘We are entering the danger zone,’ she said as she checked some of the navigation control configuration settings. ‘You should get some sleep. I’ll wake you up when we arrive.’

  ‘What about you, Sara?’

  Sara shook her head. ‘Not me, Captain. I’m not going under. I wasn’t joking when I said how dangerous alien controlled space is. It’s not like travelling through the war zone. The aliens completely occupy this whole region. They control every habitable world. If we get into trouble there will be nowhere to turn. We are probably the only human ship out here, so that means we will stand out like a firework. I will attempt to carve a path and avoid the known occupied systems. I’ll try to stay out in deep space as much as I can. If we are detected then you can kiss goodbye any hope of reaching Moros Gamma.’

  ‘Make sure you wake me at the first sign of trouble.’

  ‘I’ve set the sleep pods to autowake via the main computer. You will be awake within seconds if we detect an alien ship.’

  ‘Well done.’

  She peered through the viewing panel into the darkness of space, and for a moment she seemed like she was drifting off into a trance. Michael studied her face, and he could see she looked very tired. The strain of the last few weeks had taken its toll on her.

  ‘Are you all right, Sara?’

  She turned to look at him. ‘No other captain in the galaxy would do this. You know it’s completely crazy. You can still change your mind.’

  ‘It’s not as crazy as you think, and I’ll explain why. The answer is exactly in the words you just used: no other captain in the galaxy would do this. Therefore the aliens won’t expect it. You’re worried about them finding us, but I think they won’t be looking. What ship would willingly travel through alien occupied space? The answer is that no ship would be willing. Why would the aliens commit resources to scanning empty space? They wouldn’t.’

  She didn’t say anything for at least twenty seconds. Michael stared into her blue eyes and was waiting for a response. She leaned back in her chair. ‘Captain, you should get some sleep; you will need it,’ she said coolly.

  ‘Most of the time you’re right, Sara, but just maybe I’m right this time,’ he said as he stood up.

  ‘Time will tell, Captain.’

  ‘Goodnight, Sara.’

  ‘Sleep well, Captain.’

  **

  Michael woke as the glass cover of his sleeping pod slid away. He opened his eyes. Sara was standing beside his pod.

  ‘You were right; they didn’t detect us. I kept to deep space and avoided the known space routes. We haven’t sighted a single alien ship. We are four hours out of Moros Gamma,’ she said, a sense of relief evident in her voice.

  Michael sat up and felt the blood returning to his extremities. His fingers and the palms of his hands felt numb from the extended length of time spent sleeping. ‘That’s good news. I’m glad to hear I’m not completely ignorant,’ he said drowsily.

  ‘The only thing we have to consider now is the siege. There will probably be a substantial fleet of alien ships surrounding the planet. We might be able to blast our way past, especially as they won’t expect anyone to be coming from the opposite direction, but getting away from the planet, that is another question. The Morosians will have to deactivate the EPHX cannons for us to pass through their defences.’

  ‘Can you open a secure line of communication?’

  ‘I’ll wait until we get closer. There is a high probability the aliens will intercept any signal we try to send. The less time they have to prepare for our arrival the better our chances of survival.’

  Michael stepped out of his sleeping pod and walked with Sara back to the control room. Ivan was sitting in the co-pilot’s seat and looked up as they entered the confined room.

  ‘Good morning, Captain,’ said Ivan, his voice sounded even more robotic than usual and completely lacked
any tone.

  ‘Good morning, Ivan,’ replied Michael. ‘What happened to your voice?’

  ‘The fault in my damaged internal vocal chip is degrading. There is a high probability the chip will fail, and in such a case I will be left without a voice.’

  ‘I will have to do something about that when we get back to human controlled space,’ said Michael.

  ‘I would appreciate that, Captain.’

  Michael felt guilty about not getting the repair done when he had Ivan repaired back at X5126. ‘I’m sorry, Ivan. I should have had your voice repaired a long time ago.’

  ‘It is quite all right, Captain.’

  ‘I’ll make it a priority.’

  Sara took the pilot’s seat and flicked the switch on the holographic projector panel. A transparent and glowing image of Moros Gamma appeared before them. The most obvious feature was the number of mountain ranges.

  ‘When the Epherians first discovered the planet it was uninhabitable,’ said Sara. ‘A group of ancient colonists set about terraforming about two and a half thousand years ago. It’s still not considered a prime world, but it does have an oxygen rich atmosphere and the gravity is rated at 1.13. Before the aliens attacked the valleys were teaming with flora and fauna. The aliens destroyed almost everything on the surface in the initial attack. They dropped heavy conventional bombs on the human cities. Every city on the surface was completely flattened.’

  ‘How did Morosians survive the invasion?’ asked Michael.

  ‘They managed to push back the first wave, even though their fleet was vastly outnumbered. They sacrificed a lot to hold back the aliens. From what I can gather the aliens underestimated the Morosian response and didn’t send enough ships to complete their first assault. By the time the second alien fleet arrived the Morosians had constructed the EPHX cannons from secret blueprints based on the Epherian frontier defences. The EPHX cannons are extremely advanced and evasive satellites which automatically fire at any ship or conventional projectile approaching the planet, and it seems the aliens don’t have an answer to this method of defence, yet. The only option the aliens had was to attack the surface from a distance with long range lasers, but the Morosians moved their entire population underground, so the laser attacks cause little damage.’