Dr. Chrome waved Ryo Gunn into his lab. "Come, come. This
is quite important."
The Vigilant was less than a day from the Sol system. Ever
since the lose of Eridani, the entire Imperial Fleet had been on
full alert. The crew was busy with repairs, and the science
teams worked around the clock on the new psi-amp system. Ryo
thought for sure that neither Dr. Chrome nor his assistant, Dr.
Gernt, would have had the time to work on restoring the data from
his holodisk. Apparently, he was wrong.
"Have you recovered any data?" asked Ryo.
"Yes," said Dr. Chrome excitedly. "However, I fear most of
the data was too damaged to be recovered."
"I see," sighed Ryo.
"But please, take a seat."
Ryo nodded and sat down next to Dr. Chrome at the data
analysis terminal.
"We recovered about forty percent of the data, and what we
found is extremely interesting. It seems the data crystal was
packed with technical information on various experimental
technologies."
"Yeah, experimental twelve years ago," said Ryo.
"Indeed, but still completely unheard of today. Most
technology was based on a system called the transient energy
quantum state alteration controller, or TEQSAC. As you do not
have a doctoral in quantum mechanics, it will be sufficient to
say that TEQSAC basically allows for the complete control of
matter and energy, as energy and matter are interchangeable. The
crystal held information on eight new experimental systems using
TEQSAC technology. Also on the crystal were two other
technologies not related to TEQSAC."
"Great," said Ryo. "Did you recover any of it?"
"Some. We recovered information on an improved, almost
totally impenetrable force shield system, a holofield shadow
projection system, a perfected gravitic propulsion systems, and
some sort of thermodynamic energy pile armor. In the non-TEQSAC
area, we recovered data on a feasible nanotech repair system.
There was also a some data on a new biotech human/machine
interface system, I would guess that it is superior to our neural
interface system. All that was mentioned was that the interface
was successfully implemented with a test subject."
Ryo nodded, listening intently to the ship's chief
scientist.
"We also have the main index and know only the names of the
systems we were unable to recover. Related to TEQSAC, there was
something called an energy reflection system, an electro-optical
cloaking system, a phased electro-optical cloaking system, and
some sort of energy missile technology. In non-TEQSAC
technology, the missing category was on microtechnologies for
diverdrives, small enough for mecha and fighters."
"Was there anything else? Can you elaborate a little on
what was actually recovered?"
"Not really. We are struggling to understand it ourselves.
I may have the nanotech system and the improved shields available
soon. Possibly even the holofield system, which projects a false
image of your mecha to confuse enemies. Judging by what the
cloaking system could do, I'd suppose that these two systems were
meant to be combined, thus enabling you to project a false image
of your mecha while cloaked, fooling the enemy greatly."
"Well, I can't wait to check it out."
"One other thing," said Chrome as he squirmed in his chair.
"The signature file on the disk was labeled and dated: July 25th,
2368, Arcturus Research Station, Terminal Isgrad, Doctor Kei
Gunn, Special Projects Division."
"What? That's my mother!" exclaimed Ryo.
"Apparently, your parents were scientists on an Arcturus
research base, working for the ITR..."
"No way!" exclaimed Ryo. He stood up and glanced around the
room. "They were Frontier explorers, murdered by pirates."
"Actually, I have consulted Imperial Intelligence. They
have confirmed that both your parents were scientists on a top-
secret project under the official guise of an exploration
mission. As we know, Briggs was well aware of your holodisk and
the Arcturus project. It seems likely he might have been on the
project himself, as a GSC double agent."
"Then the base must have fallen into GSC hands," said Ryo.
"My father attempted to get the research information back to the
empire, but why send it to me? Why didn't he just send it to
Imperial Intelligence?"
"Perhaps they didn't even want us to have this technology,"
suggested Dr. Chrome.
Ryo nodded. "Obviously, the GSC doesn't have this
technology yet. They must have failed to steal it twelve years
ago. I'll bet anything Briggs is plotting his second attempt to
get a hold of this technology."
"There is a good chance of that," said Chrome. "It could be
that he was one of the few people to know of the base's
existence. Now that he is in power, he may be planning to send
an expedition back to Arcturus. The Victorious was not in the
invasion force to Eridani. He could already be en route to
Arcturus, though it would take him at least eighteen days to get
there from Tau Ceti."
"We must to get there first," stated Ryo.
"We do indeed," agreed Dr. Chrome.
* * *
"Admiral Steele," said Taeon. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yes, Lieutenant Toshio," answered Admiral Sylvia Steele.
"Please take a seat."
Taeon sat down in front of the Admiral's desk.
Admiral Steele smiled. "Taeon, I want you to begin training
exercises with Dr. Palovich."
"Training?" asked Taeon. "But Dr. Palovich is the ship's
chief divologist..."
"Lieutenant Toshio," said Sylvia. "It seems you were once a
latent diver, but no more. I do not know how or why but
something has awakened your powers. By your aura, I sense that
you have a high potential."
The divologist at Anchorage Academy had told him that
psychological trauma, exposure to another diver for long
duration, or being psionically attacked could all trigger his
powers. The death of his father, being in the presence of
Xandra, Xandra's terror crazed attack on him... That must have
been the trigger. He close his eyes and remembered the
pychokinetic outburst that blasted from his mind during that
terrible clash of cosmic powers in Castle Toshio, only a few days
ago. "I understand," said Taeon. "I'll begin training as soon
as possible, ma'am."
"Good. Starting today you will meet with him from 1400 to
1500 and then from 2000 to 2100."
"Today?" asked Taeon. "Uh, yes, ma'am." He stood up and
headed toward the door.
Admiral Steele nodded and turned back to a tactical display
on her desk. "One more thing."
"Yes, ma'am?" asked Taeon, turning back around.
"I have recently foreseen, as have many powerful divers,
that a great mishap is about to befall our government. This is a
recent revelation, leading many to conclude that there is an
instability in the space-time of diverspace. Furthermore, a
great diver anomaly or cataclysm has been foreseen about half a
year from now, and nothing beyond this cataclysm has been seen by
any precog. It is a disturbing situation. I am telling you this
now so that you may better prepare yourself for the unknown."
"Yes, ma'am," said Taeon. But he wondered how anyone could
prepare for the unknown.
* * *
JT put her clipboard down as Ryo approached. She smiled.
"Hi, Ryo."
Ryo nodded and tried to force a smile. He couldn't muster a
good one. Thoughts of Kyle Suavarre still plagued his mind. He
didn't even want to think about what JT might be doing with Kyle
behind his back. "JT," said Ryo. "I had hoped that you would
bring this up on your own, but..." He hesitated for a moment,
then swallowed hard. "What is your relationship with Kyle?"
She looked surprised for a moment, then laughed. "We were
close friends, well maybe more than close, but that was years
ago! I knew him back at Space Force Technical. I'll admit, we
were lovers then, and yes, Kyle wants to rekindled that
relationship. But, I'm not so sure."
At least she was as torn up inside as he was, thought Ryo.
"Kyle went to Space Force Technical with you?"
"He was going into the ITR navy as an engineer. He's a
natural with theory but never was very good with hands on
applications. He dropped out and went to join the OFM. He felt
their cause was noble and just. I guess it was his way of
striking a blow to the GSC from behind the battle lines on their
own turf."
"I understand." Ryo stepped up to her and wrapped his arms
around her waist. "I love you JT. I don't want to lose you."
"Ryo," she said softly, squirming in his arms. "I'm on
duty!"
Ryo dropped his arms and took a step back. He glanced at
the tech crews who were busying themselves with the difficult
task of watching the two of them, without actually starring at
them. "Sorry."
"It's all right," she assured. "Anyway, I noticed you
placed a request for a new mecha."
"That's right," he replied, glad he could change the
subject. "A new style mecha, preferably."
JT nodded and looked down at her clipboard. "When we return
to Earth, we'll be taking on a large number of replacement mecha.
There are several orders for various Raptor types, Storm Giants,
and Dragonflies. However, you might be interested in the new
Maelstrom class mecha. I think it's just the mecha you've been
looking for."
"The Maelstrom is finally out of the prototype phase?"
"Fresh out of prototype testing. The armor is about as
thick as a Storm Giant's, and mounts a superb flight system
augmented by dual booster packs and thruster wings. It has a
powerful antimatter reactor, a reflex control system, and an
energy deflector system. It's main weapon is an electro-gravitic
mass driver with both cone-blast and depleted-uranium ammo."
"Sound's cool," said Ryo.
JT nodded. "It also has two hailstorm cannons, one mounted
on either shoulder, which can pepper out hundreds of flechette
rounds per second."
"Pepper guns?" asked Ryo. "What good would those be?"
"Well, they can really grind off a mecha's armor."
"Excellent," said Ryo, smiling. "I'll take one."
"I can probably pull a few strings here and there and get
you one. Looks like you have sufficient clearance."
"Great," said Ryo. He leaned forward and pecked a kiss on
her cheek. "I'd like to have my energy scythe from the
Dragonfly, too. And if you can, I want that mass drive equipped
with some tangeler ammo as well."
"Tangeler?" asked JT.
"Yeah," replied Ryo. "That way I can plaster a mecha with
super-plast quick-freeze goo, then take them out at my leisure."
"I'll see what I can do," said JT.
"Great," repeated Ryo. He kissed her again and happily left
the mecha bay.
* * *
It was a rather slow day in the ship's security office. No
intruders, no spies, no murders, no saboteurs -- nothing. Not
even a single incident in the perilous Computer Room.
Taeon drummed his fingers against the base of the security
alert boards. He sighed and looked up at the wall-mounted
chronometer. One minute until his 1300 shift break. Of course,
a third of his three hour off shift would be spent on his first
diver training session. That wouldn't be too bad. He was really
looking forward to meeting with Dr. Palovich.
The numbers on the clock switched to a one, a three, and
pair of zeros. Taeon stood and marched out of the security
monitor room and into the main security office.
"I'll see you at 1600," stated Major Danon.
"Yes, sir," muttered Taeon on his way out the door.
He had an hour to kill and planned to kill it in the pilots'
lounge. It would be worthwhile for him to get to know the new
members of his squadron. Maybe he would even have a chance to
speak to Lynn. She no doubt needed someone to talk to; she was
taking the lose of Michael pretty hard.
The lounge wasn't busy. Nearly half the ship's mecha pilot
compliment was gone. Gone, thought Taeon. Dead. He swallowed
and closed his eyes, pushing aside thoughts of death and war.
Death was not something he had really considered. Death had
never been so close to him before. Yet nearly everyone he knew
was dead. Someday he would join that ghostly legions of those
who'd died for this terrible, unending War for Empire.
At a table near the back, next to the panoramic windows, sat
the three newly assigned veteran pilots of Guardian squadron.
Outside the window fluttered the chaotic colors of diverspace.
Taeon smiled as he approached the table. Diverspace. He almost
felt at home looking at the energies of dancing light.
"Hey!" said Allen Mercer. "Taeon Toshio, isn't it?"
"That's right," replied Taeon as he took a seat at their
table. "What's up?"
"We were discussing the strategic implications of the GSC's
latest victory," explained Vista Juno.
"I find it strange that they were able to win," said David
Pollux. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind
his head. "There hasn't been a full-fledged invasion into Eridani
since... Hell, since before I joined up."
"The year was 2370," said Vista. "And that invasion force
was only a quarter of what the GSC threw at us three days ago."
"How could they have mustered such strength from Tau Ceti?"
asked Allen.
"They probably didn't," said Taeon. "When was the last time
Capella was invaded? Twenty-five years ago, right? It has no
significant strategic value whatsoever, and the GSC knows it.
I'll bet they diverted the Capellan Guard to the Eridani invasion
fleet."
Most everyone at the table nodded their heads in agreement.
Vista took a sip of her drink and narrowed her eyes, apparently
doubtful of Taeon's theory. "Those Coalies fought ten times
better than the lax Capellan Guard. Besides, with only forty
ships in the Capella system, by our last intelligence update,
they would have had to pull most of their ships from Tau Ceti.
Still, I could see them sending about forty percent of their
forces from Capella and sixty percent from Tau Ceti."
"Now that the GSC forces are stretched out across four star
systems and several minor Frontier worlds, I'd say their local
strength per system is much lower," stated Allen. "We could
probably muster a direct stab against Tau Ceti. It'd be costly,
but we'd probably win in the end."
Taeon shook his head. "No. Briggs isn't stupid enough to
let that happen. He's played chess with us taking out our queen
with one of his pawns. All his good pieces are still in the GSC
core systems."
"Or maybe not," said someone from behind.
Taeon glanced behind him and watched Ryo step up to their
table. He grabbed a nearby chair and took a seat with his
comrades.
"What do you mean?" asked Taeon.
"I just talked with old Dr. Chrome. It's the Doc's
diagnosis that the Victorious, and maybe some other ships, are
headed straight for Arcturus."
"Not good!" exclaimed Taeon.
"No kidding," added Allen. "But if that's true, he'd have
to take a round about path, looping past 61 Cygni and Barnard to
avoid being spotted."
"That would take about sixteen to eighteen days," informed
Ryo. "With any luck, the ITR will be sending a full expedition
to Arcturus soon."
"Don't we have ships or outposts in Arcturus?" asked Taeon.
"I don't think so," said David Pollux. "It's a pretty far
flung system. Defending it would be almost impossible. If I'm
not mistaken, the last Imperial occupation of Arcturus was about
twelve years ago. Since then there have been a few pirate hunts
into that system, but nothing major. The main world of Arcturus
is a alien jungle world. Very primitive. It was never colonized
due to the extreme dangers and its distance from the core worlds.
Scientific study of the planet came to halt once the War began."
Out of the corner of his eye, Taeon spotted Lynn as she
entered the lounge. She took a seat at a corner table, and
turned her back to the rest of the lounge's occupants. From what
he could tell, she seemed quite depressed.
"Excuse me," stated Taeon. He stood up and headed off in
her direction.
Allen said something, but Taeon didn't hear him. A thought
was eating away at the back of his mind. A thought, just on the
verge of coming forth. It wasn't a positive emotion, nor even a
negative one. But he could feel it was actually the burning
anticipation of fear. He didn't know why he felt fear now; maybe
he felt the actual fear that raged in Lynn's heart.
He sat down at the table across from Lynn. "Can I get you a
drink?" he asked.
When she looked up, Taeon nearly fell back in start. Her
face was emotionally blank and pale white as snow. Her blood
shot eyes looked past him, as if starring at something far
beyond. Yet what truly frightened Taeon was what he saw in those
frozen eyes. Perhaps it was his newfound psychic insight,
perhaps it was simple human empathy, but whatever it was, he knew
her soul was already dead -- torn apart by the terrible emotional
turmoil that screamed in her heart.
She had only known Michael for a few months and Taeon had no
idea their relationship had been so deep. Perhaps, as strange as
it might seem, their relationship was one of true love, something
Taeon had thought was impossible for someone as outwardly
immature and superficial as Michael. But, inwardly, Michael may
have been much different. To Lynn he must have been quite
special. Lynn's past was tragic enough as it was, being from the
war-blasted world of Siria; an orphan created by the destruction
of war. Now war had taken the last thing she held dear. It must
have been the final blow...
"Lynn," said Taeon softly. "I know your heart must be
deeply torn by this sudden tragedy. If it helps..."
"You know nothing!" she shot out. "You treated him like a
kid! You never even tried to make friends with him. No one did.
He tried to fit in the only way he knew how, and you mocked him;
you pushed him aside. He was a great pilot, and he had a heart
of gold. You never gave him a chance, and now all his chances
are gone!"
Taeon didn't know what to say. He knew she was right, he
had treated Michael like a child. At eighteen years, Michael had
been the youngest member of the Guardian Squadron. He had always
assumed Michael was in their squadron because his father was a
general. Maybe that wasn't the case at all. Maybe Michael had
earned his position and should have been treated with equal
respect. But it was far too late to dwell on such things now.
"We all miss him," said Taeon. "He died a hero. He died to
preserve the integrity of our team."
"But he died all the same! And nothing can bring him back
to me!"
It would be impossible to comfort her now. She had imposed
this grief upon herself. If she chose not to overcome it, it
would destroy her. There was nothing he could do. Nothing but
wait and hope that she could conquer her own heart-shattering
pain.
* * *
Dr. Palovich was a small man, probably no more than five
foot two. But he stood like a giant, and radiated such power and
confidence that almost anyone in his presence was reduced to the
merest speck of insignificance.
When Taeon entered Palovich's office the elderly man was
waiting patiently by the room's window gazing solemnly off into
the mystical regions of diverspace. As he turned around and
looked at Taeon, he could feel a thousand eyes of pure thought
peering into his very soul. He felt naked; vulnerable to the
awesome powers the man possessed powers that were seconded only
by the Admiral's. But then, thought Taeon, not even the
Admiral's powers were comparable to his sister's.
"So," said Palovich. "I was correct."
"Sir?" asked Taeon.
"I had felt a great presence on this vessel recently, one of
the Eridanian's we took on-board no doubt. Neither Admiral
Steele nor I were able to localize the source of the power that
was aboard this vessel, but we knew it posed little threat to us.
It was a wild, free power, untrained and untapped." He paused,
considering something Taeon was thinking. "Do not jump to
conclusions. I do not speak of you and your new found abilities.
I speak of your sister. Your thoughts are loud. I will have to
correct that. You must learn the art of thinking soft."
"Sir?" asked Taeon, totally confused.
Palovich cleared his throat. "Forgive me, Lieutenant
Toshio. Your family, on your mother's side, had a strong psi
potential. Your elder brother and elder sister have no diver
power's correct?"
"Uh, yes," said Taeon, wondering how Palovich was so
familiar with his family. Then again, House Toshio was an
Imperial Royal Household.
"You are the second youngest and had latent powers until
recently. Your psychic aura shows you have great potential.
Though pale to my own, this places you among the top ten percent
of all divers." Palovich furrowed his brow. "But the thought
crossed your mind when you stepped through the threshold to my
office that your younger sister was a greater diver than even
Admiral Steele. As you know, the Admiral is one of the greatest
divers alive. This new presence on-board this ship is still
unaccounted for, and thus it must be your sister. Generation-
wise, it is logical, as with each new generation greater divers
emerge. I find it odd, though, that word of your little sister's
powers have not been made known to us."
"We kept it quiet," said Taeon. "She is somewhat
disturbed."
"Disturbed?" asked Palovich. "Do you mean psychologically
unstable?"
"Yes, sir."
"No matter." Dr. Palovich walked across his office and sat
down at his desk. "It would be wise to begin training her in the
psionic arts. Mental conditioning could put her back in her
right mind. We can't have insane divers with abilities of
astronomical proportion running around the galaxy now can we?"
"I guess not."
"Good. Bring her with you next time you come. As for
today, let us begin with something simple. What do you think of
chance?"
Taeon shrugged. "It just happens."
Palovich smiled. He pulled out a small coin and flipped it
around between his fingers. "Could you tell me the outcome,
heads or tail, without error, for every time that I flip this
coin?"
"I doubt it," said Taeon. "But there is a possibility that
I could."
Palovich laughed. "It is a simple trick; as soon as you can
do it, you will have mastered the forces of fate itself. I
cannot do it. Admiral Steele cannot even do it. As far as I
know, no one can. Perhaps I can predict the outcome at ninety-
nine percent certainty, as can the Admiral, but neither of us can
with absolute certainty." He flipped the coin in the air.
"Heads or tails?"
"Tails," blurted Taeon.
The coin landed on the table, on its side, and stayed in
that precarious position. "You have much to learn," said
Palovich as the coin floated gracefully back into the air
seemingly of its own accord. "Perhaps fate cannot be predicted,
but perhaps it can be manipulated as easily as this coin."
Taeon swallowed. Such a small demonstration of TK power,
yet it carried such awesome meaning. "I do not think I
understand, sir, but I look forward to finding out."
"If we every do understand," said Palovich, "we will be
gods."
* * *
Ryo left the pilots' lounge and headed back to the sim-room.
They had downloaded the sim-specs on several new mecha, including
the Maelstrom class. He couldn't wait to test run the Maelstrom
in the sim-pods.
As he rounded a corner, he came face to face with a rather
cheerful Kyle Suavarre. There was surprise in Kyle's eyes for a
second, but it vanished almost instantly. "Hello my good man,"
he said, calmly.
Ryo narrowed his eyes. As far as he knew, Kyle was still
oblivious to his relationship with JT. "Kyle Suavarre, right?"
"Yes," said Kyle. "And you must be Lieutenant Ryo Gunn.
Jane spoke highly of you. You are in the Guardian Squadron,
yes?"
"Right," said Ryo. "So you're an acquaintance of JT, eh?"
Kyle nodded. "Our paths crossed once, several years ago.
She is a most remarkable woman."
"Uh, huh," said Ryo. "I'm heading back to work now. Looks
like you're going down to the mecha bays, if I'm not mistaken."
"Indeed. Is Jane back there?"
"I don't think so," lied Ryo. "She could be off duty, down
in one of this ship's many lounges. You could start checking the
lounges if you're looking for her."
Kyle smiled and nodded. "Thank you for your help. But if
it's all the same, I'll check the Third Wing's mecha bay first."
Ryo nodded and turned away. He headed down the hall. It
was worth a try, he thought, shaking his head in distress.
* * *
It was probably a mistake; there were no alternatives.
Taeon entered his sisters' quarters and after a short, friendly
chat with Sara, he turned his attention to the seemingly
distracted Xandra.
"Xandra," said Taeon. "Can you come with me to diver
training classes?"
Xandra diverted her attention from the empty corner of the
room she had been staring at and looked at her brother. "It is
essential, now, that I learn the Way. The cycle of the future
must be completed; from chaos comes order; from order comes
chaos. Soon, the cycle shall end, and a greater cycle shall
begin."
"What are you talking about?" asked Taeon.
Xandra closed her eyes. "I must learn the unlearnable; must
know the unknowable. Palovich cannot show me this, but he can
lead me to the Way."
She was sounding less and less like the little girl she was,
thought Taeon. Though she was only eleven, she had a grammatical
knowledge beyond most adults. Probably had something to do with
the temporal displacement of her mind; she was a powerful precog.
"How do you know about Dr. Palovich?"
"I sensed him." She closed her eyes. "He sensed me, as did
Admiral Steele. I hid from their thoughts; a shadow in the
darkness."
A shadow in the darkness, thought Taeon. That phrase did
not rest easy with him. "Dr. Palovich is going to train me in
the psionic arts. He also wishes to teach you mental discipline
and stability. I'm sure your skills are..."
"Insufficient," interrupted Xandra. Her eyes shot open. "A
great calamity is coming. I cannot see it, the future has been
blocked."
"Blocked?" asked Taeon.
"As of November 18th, 2380, the future is gone. A great
cloud of darkness and obscurity conceals the events that
perpetuate this catastrophe, and I have seen nothing beyond.
Nothing but darkness. Cold foreboding emptiness."
Taeon felt a terrible chill run up his spine. He looked up
at Sara who was staring at Xandra with a pale, grave expression.
"The universe itself may end," continued Xandra. "Our
reality, all that is known and unknown, and all reality upon the
planes of diverspace are unseeable. A barrier of insurmountable
power blocks the future from the dream-visions." Xandra paused
and glared into Taeon's eyes. He could feel the tremendous
psychic energy radiating from her, like a mad river of
electricity. "And all that I can see is it is I, my future self,
who is blotting it all away."
Terror blasted into Taeon's soul. At that instant he
realized the true extent of Xandra's powers, and for a brief
moment his mind touched the edge of infinity. He felt his
stomach knot, and his head swam with nauseating dizziness. A
sick, muddy darkness closed in around him and he collapsed to the
floor. A second later, the merciful grip of unconsciousness had
him in its full, tranquil grasp.
* * *
There was little to do once the Vigilant had arrived in the
Sol system. The flagship took orbit around Earth and most of the
ship's crew was busied with the task of taking on new equipment
and supplies. The pilots, on the other hand, had very little to
do.
Taeon occupied two hours a day cultivating his diver powers
under the guidance of Dr. Palovich. He spent another three
reading on diver theory and the philosophies of the Way -- the
path to psychic enlightenment.
Terribly reluctant to do so in light of her most recent
revelation, he brought Xandra to see Dr. Palovich as well. But
he never mentioned her revelation to Palovich, and she never
spoke of it again. Apparently, she was as terrified as he was.
Dr. Palovich must have sensed something was emotionally wrong
with both of them, but he never asked. Taeon was glad he didn't.
Xandra was quite cooperative and learned fast. She was able
to comprehend the philosophy of the Way with unprecedented speed.
As Dr. Palovich pointed out, she must have already held the given
beliefs based on her previous diver experiences. Through her
personal explorations of her powers, she had undoubtedly
formulated a vague concept of the Way on her own. The new
teachings only enforced what she inherently knew.
Dr. Palovich always spoke with a calm voice. He never once
showed any outward signs of nervousness or dismay in the presence
of Xandra, but Taeon knew that she frightened him, frightened him
greatly. Taeon could tell. Palovich never looked into her eyes.
As the days moved on, Taeon was quick to pick up temporal
cognition skills, such as retrocognition and precognition. It
was during his precognition training when Dr. Palovich himself
brought up the subject Taeon had so desperately avoided.
"Though your skill at controlling your powers is still weak
and you have only received vague impressions and emotions from
the future, it is time that I reveal one of the greatest
mysteries of psychic phenomenon."
Palovich paused, and Taeon leaned forward, listening
attentively.
"This subject has received great attention twice. Once
forty years ago when the problem was discovered and once again
more recently. The scientific community has shrugged the
phenomenon both times. The public knows nothing about what I am
preparing to tell you. Its implications could cause a panic."
Based on Palovich's concerned expression, and possibly
subliminal psychic influence, Taeon knew instantly that he was
referring to the 'absence of the future'. The effect was not
localized to Xandra or Admiral Steele. It must be effecting the
entirety of the space-time continuum.
"No diver has seen a future event, natural or artificial,
beyond the year 2380. Little concern was give to this when the
phenomenon was discovered in 2340. It was assumed the limit of
precognition was forty years. It is also true that precog is a
tricky subject. Over the years this strange event was explained
away repeatedly, and the public heard little of it. This year
the by-now-worrisome divological community perked up interest in
the subject again. No event following the last month of this
year has been seen. Nothing. It is possible that a fold or
ripple in the space-time is responsible. Scientific and
mathematical experimentation shows that this is a distinct
possibility though it has not been explained how it could have
occurred. If this is the case, we have little to worry about.
Once we pass the fold, we will be able to glimpse into the misty
realms of the future once more."
Taeon tried to say something, but couldn't. He was afraid
to even think at the moment.
Palovich squinted his eyes. "Admiral Steele, one of the
most powerful divers in the ITR, has estimated that this fold, or
whatever it is, comes into effect near the end of November. It
is possibly that it may last for a long span of time, but
hopefully it is a mere wall which only blocks our precognitive
sight."
"What if there is no future?" asked Taeon.
"Oh, there must be," said Palovich. "Unless, of course, the
universe ends on November 18th, 2380. The divological community
has decided to take this event at a stride. When 2381 comes, we
will know one way or the other. After that, we can take measures
to remedy any problems."
"The problem is," said Taeon, "you divers have never been
without the ability to forecast the future. Now that you can't,
you're stuck in nonaction."
"Sometimes the best action is nonaction."
Taeon shook his head. For once he knew Dr. Palovich was
wrong. "Nonaction is never the best action. It causes no effect
and counters no crisis. It is a fatal flaw that has taken
thousands of lives. Cities have burned for it. Empires have
fallen from it. And now, the universe may end because of it."
"If so," said Palovich, "that is our fate."
Taeon stood up and smiled. He glanced at the door to the
next room where Xandra was meditating. "Perhaps the Fates may be
more merciful than we think."
Written and Directed By
Mark Chase
http://www.meta-earth.com
Copyright 1998. All rights reserved.
Casting By
Mark Chase
Starring
Ryo Gunn - Mathias Russ
Taeon Toshio - Jonathan Fuller
Other Characters - Mark Chase
Allen Mercer
Sara Toshio
Xandra Toshio
Dr. Chrome
Kyle Suavarre
JT
Dr. Palovich
Katana Falcon
Admiral Steele
Lynn Firewolf
Vista Juno
David Pollux
And Everyone Else
(all mecha were constructed under
the Mekton Zeta© RPG system, by
R. Talsorian Games, Inc)