THE RIFT E-Book

Robert Stetson

• Herausgeber: BookRix
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Based on a true concept, Quantum Entanglement. The galaxy has evolved into a technocracy resulting in a utopian society. Quantum Entanglement disturbs dark matter and aliens come through the rift to annihilate humankind. We create a military regime to Battle the aliens. Will the aliens be defeated? Will the military regime surrender their rule back to the people when it’s over as promised, or will we have to fight to get it back?

Leseprobe

Robert Stetson

THE RIFT

BookRix GmbH & Co. KG81371 Munich

Chapter 1 THE LENS

My name is Lord Emaris.

I am told that to look upon me, one would never know that I acquired four advanced degrees and have also been awarded the Ring of Noble Prize, the Star Chalice of Wisdom and the Nebula Award.

It’s been said that I am a genius, but I sometimes wonder. It’s true that I have managed to create that simple and yet wondrous matrix we now know as Star Link using Bell’s Law as a foundation.

I’ve been told that I am a mild mannered man. I’m of moderate age. At 412 years of age I am now only slightly beyond mid life.

Time and tide have done much to modify the human form as it ages and I am no exception. Just as with all humans, I have suffered the mutations inflicted upon me by father time where the stature shrinks, the ears and nose continue to grow; and the body has become wrinkled, spotted, and riddled with lumps and knobs.

By now I resemble a gnome, a leprechaun, a troll. I might have become a legacy and fathered ten generations by now, but I have been too busy for that. I am a Dark Matter Engineer and strive to be a great leader.

I chair the Council of Governance.

There are four Council members that are very special to me. These are Froe, Reiner, Amos and Graham.

My dear friend and Vice-Chair is named Froe. Froe is a Dolman from the planet Dole. Coincidentally enough, “Dolman” is also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, or quoit. The name originates from the megalithic culture of Korea. As I have already said, it’s only a coincidental.

Froe is a small four foot tall gnome-like creature with small round ears and large eyes. I understand he mastered English in five weeks and learned to read in another two days.

Froe is the kindest creature I have ever known. He is an empath, having close emotional ties with anyone or anything he encounters.

Our Public Relations person is Reiner. Reiner has a special talent for predicting how various marketing strategies will be perceived. I care a great deal for Reiner who seems to have an uncommon loyalty to me. She is a taller than average woman at six foot two inches tall.

Amos is a medium man in every way except one. Amos is the wisest person I have ever met. He just seems to know a lot about everything and his logic is solid. Amos is elderly at six hundred and eighty years of age.

Graham is rather young to be on the Council, but at seventy years of age, he is a historian specializing in ancient battle techniques. Being in a technocracy and not having ever known of a battle makes communicating with him on the subject difficult if not impossible.

In Graham’s words, “How sad that it took fourteen Thousand years for humans to realize that the only stable government would have to be a technocracy.”

He would speak at length saying, “In the barbarian governments of centuries past leaders troubled themselves with matters of finance and turf. Leaders were measured on how well they drove matters concerning war. Governments would boldly confront each other rattling their proverbial sabers and shouting threats.

“The secrets, the lies and the betrayals forged a foundation that would be dressed in a superficial shroud of loyalty called patriotism. It was all highly emotional stuff.

“We were once like bands of cavemen shaking our spears and bearing our teeth at the other tribes. Suffering and death were the norm.

“Now we have a technocracy where our leaders are elected for their potential. Our leader’s performance faces the metric of achievement, not of conflict resolution.”

I say, “In my opinion leader derives glory from discovery, not from promises of relief from taxation. A leader derives glory from innovation, not from posturing on empty promises surrounding legislation. A great leader brings improvement to the lives of the people, and a higher quality of life.”

Reiner says, “That is exactly where Lord Emaris has earned his stripes.”

Meanwhile, at an outpost located on a small Class M planet surrounding the star Ursa Major, life is progressing normally with children playing in each of the several settlement courtyards. Parents are working at a variety of tasks. Life has become sweet after decades of hard work and terraforming.

Clouds are forming and begin to drench the ground with a driving rain. Without warning, small dark ships devoid of any markings emerge through the clouds. The ships converge on the population center destroying everything in their path.

Everyone is bewildered, standing in shock as they witness mass destruction with no rhyme or reason. You can see what looks like a shockwave emanating from the front of the ships and traveling outward. The shockwaves destroy everything they contact. Devastation is complete, meaningless, and abrupt.

Were it not for the centuries of peaceful coexistence, the people might have been able to launch a counter attack, but as it is, they are unable to respond. Distress signals are transmitted automatically. The beacons run continuously and then they fall silent as their power sources are destroyed.

Not everyone is killed. Ships in transit near the settlements are undiscovered, managing to escape the deluge of destruction. Telemetry regarding the attackers is gathered, but there is no clearly defined center to process and compile the collected information. Law enforcement, such as it is, is not equipped to function as a military force.

We are sitting in the Council Chamber sipping fine spirits and engaging in small talk.

Froe cries out, “By the waters of Aare, oh the agony, oh, the pain!”

Froe begins to sob. He is in grief, but it isn’t clear why.

I ask, “What is it, Froe?”

Froe looks up with tears in his big dark eyes and says, “Millions of people have just died a horrible and unnatural death”.

I ask, “Where?”

Froe responds with, “I don’t know where. I just know it was terrible, swift and unexpected.”

Reiner says, “I feel it too, Froe. It’s at the hand of some unknown enemy. They mean us harm, but the logic escapes me.”

Froe says, “The thoughts of the attackers are vague to me. The thinking process seems to be veiled from my perception somehow. I can’t feel any of what they are feeling. They are either without emotion or I just can’t feel what they’re feeling.”

An utiliton rushed into the chamber and softly speaks to me. The others are straining to hear, but protocol says I must be the first to know of any urgent information.

I speak to the others without delay saying, “An outpost located on the Ursa Major star system was just attacked and destroyed by unknown forces. We will have to get to work and consider our response.”

Graham wisely suggests we all retire to our quarters upon receiving the news of the tragic attack to gather our thoughts.

Graham says, “History has shown that the most tragic mistakes have been made by reacting too soon after a tragic event. We must not respond in hast.”

I stand pensively alone and silent in the large suite that is my living quarters.

The time for change has not yet come.

I stand before windows 12 feet tall and look out at the city scape at night, the sparkling lights play across my care worn face.

Just inside the shadows a humanoid figure having stood silent for hours moves into the light and then speaks, “Does Lord Emaris require anything of me?”

I do not speak, but remain silent waving my hand so as to dismiss the intrusion.

The intruder nods and sinks back into the shadows. This humanoid could never be mistaken for a human because of the deliberate differences in dimensions, features and skin.

Humans have stopped short of treating utilitons as though they have feelings, but still assign names to them. This utiliton is named Harvey, for no special reason. It all goes back to the question, “What is in a name? A rose by any other name is still a rose.”

Graham calls to say, “It’s time to meet with the people and inform them of the situation.”

I say, “Thank you my friend. I hastily move to the news room where the talk is going to take place.”

Once again while waiting I seek refuge gazing at the stars through the window. When I am sad or need to think, the view helps me to retain my objectivity. I can’t explain why.

For a long time in our distant past we made remarkable replicates also known as androids. Some were for warfare. We may have to revive these skills to survive. Our utilitons are not aesthetically pleasing, but they are rugged.”

There is an overwhelming wave of morality that forbids outright cloning of humans. Now the utiliton is created, being an android or robotic device of sorts. It was our vanity that made the manufactured human identical to a real person. Yes, for a while the artificial life forms looked and acted remarkably human. You couldn’t tell the difference.

Now with our form of government being a Technocracy we look at what we are doing along with the reason behind it. The need to emulate the human form is diminished in favor of engineering efficiency.

Between our industrial needs, domestic requirements and the functional needs of our off world centers, the basic engineering requirements for intelligent utilitons makes the cranium larger.

Other utiliton features become more or less pronounced. Larger joints give a greater range of movement to perform more difficult tasks with greater efficiency. The grey skin is impervious to acid while being highly heat resistant.

Utiliton features are an approximation of the human face with brows less pronounced. Larger almond shaped eyes without whites and a small ornamental jaw line with a token mouth make the face seems almost featureless. Utilitons don’t consume food in any solid form. These artificial creatures are purely electrical in every way.

I move from the window to the podium standing before the cameras. The Lord Elgin Studio in the Crystal Palace is occupied only by utilitons who are programmed for the task at hand.

Off site, Bathard Crossly anchors the news which is broadcast galaxy wide by the Spans Network.

Bathard Speaks, “Lord Emaris, Chair of the Council of Governance, speaks from the Crystal Palace on a matter of urgent galactic serenity.”

At the Crystal Palace, the red warning lights light to signal that I am transmitting live and on the air. Cameras spring to life and viewers are greeted by that familiar warm smile that they have come to know and love. The smile fades and my expression becomes one of great concern.

I say, “Our outpost on a small Class M planet called Dryden surrounding the star Ursa Major has been attacked and destroyed by forces unknown to the Council of Governance.

“For the first time in centuries we are in a state of war and want all of you to know that we are responding to the situation.

“Steps are being taken to protect our citizens. More information will be forthcoming as it becomes available.”

Videos are shown of the unmarked space craft attacking Dryden Outpost.

I say, “The time for change has come.

“For centuries we have enjoyed peace. This long lasting peace has been an easy one because we had no other governments to wage war with.

“I repeat we are being attacked by a species of creatures whose origins are a mystery. Anyone sighting these alien ships is urged to contact their local government offices or law enforcement.”

Harvey steps from the post in the shadows and makes an appearance at my side with a pitcher of ice water and a glass.

I take the pitcher and pour half a glass, raising it to my lips, I drink it all down. There are no words of thanks for Harvey. Utilitons are never thanked. It would be like saying thank you to your toaster when the task is done.

I return my attention to the cameras and continue, “We have a theory as to the origin of the invading forces. Stay with me now, because the connection is somewhat vague. One of the major problems plaguing star travel has been one of communications.

“The implications of star travel and communications go far beyond the exchange of verbal or video information exchange. The need for long distance telemetry is vital to exploring the galaxy and beyond.”

I continue on, “with Bell’s theorem having become Bell’s Law, it dictates that a bonded pair of subatomic particles will have their polarity in opposition to one another.

“If the polarity of one particle flips, the other bonded particle will flip in response.

“The magic occurs when you take one of the bonded pair and moved it to another location.

“With the two bonded particles at a distance from one another, one particles polarity flips and the other bonded particle will still flip it’s polarity in response.

“We have taken Bell’s Law, also known as Einstein’s principle known as ‘spooky action at a distance’ and harnessed it as a communications medium.”

I pause to clear my throat and take another drink of water. I look at the cameras and continue, “This phenomenon is also known as quantum entanglement.

“The communication medium is actually carried by dark matter which, coined by Bell, accomplishes the quantum entanglement. Because humanity has long known of the principles, we have set about using it for our benefit. We modulate the electron at one end and demodulate the distant quantum particle’s polar pair at the other end. It’s how we link up with one another.

“What we never understood until recently is the connection between Bell’s Law, dark matter and the relationship between time and parallel dimensions.

“Disrupting the dark matter via the communication stream has caused our dimension to extend beyond its boundaries and open a window. It is through this window that the enemy has injected themselves.

“While we have no military, no munitions and no weaponry, I want to introduce General Graham.

“We created his position this week based on strategic aptitude testing and determined that he had the highest likelihood for leading a defensive force against the Sand People.”

General Graham steps up to the podium and addresses the Galaxy, “Now we find ourselves in the company of others. For thousands of years we wondered why there are no intelligent radio signals in space.

“Advanced civilizations don’t use primitive radio signals because they are too slow. They use quantum entanglement and enjoy an infinite number of private communication links just as we do.

“While advanced civilizations have learned to avoid creating a rift, we never realized we were. Now there is a tear, or rift, in the fabric of space and time.

“The Sand People came through this rift just when we thought we were the masters of the universe.”

I ask, “What are the odds of reclaiming our space?”

General Graham says, “The universe will be ours again, but at what cost? As for our options, we either fight or die.

“The Sand People seem to arrive from nowhere.

“All we know of the Sand People is that they are silicon based.

“We have theorized that their first emergence is in the vicinity of the star Ursa Major which is a type G1 Star about 46 light years distant from Earth’s Crystal Palace.

“The fissure, or rift, looks like a wormhole, not to be confused with a black hole. We expect more fissures will erupt.

“If we stop communicating through this medium all of our remote settlements will perish.

“As we expand outward, the area of our population increases exponentially. Today ninety percent of our population exists in the outermost settlements. We need their products and materials to survive and they need our products and materials just as desperately.

“Without the Spans Network the entire civilized universe would fall apart.

“As for the Sand People, our options are crystal clear, to coin an ironic phrase.”

I look at the General with a surprised expression and ask, “Having been briefed on the Sand People, I don’t recall much about their psychological makeup. What are their motives? How do they perceive us?”

The General pauses and clears his throat, “We do not discuss this aspect of the problem for fear they will be monitoring our broadcast. I can answer your questions, since you ask.

“They have the same social grace as insect swarms.

“We can’t determine how they reproduce, but suspect it’s a central process, much like a beehive.

“As for their motive we suspect that their dimension has a problem so all encompassing that they have to exit their universe. We theorize that they have neared the end of their universes life.

“Either the expanding universe has become a problem, of it has either neared the anticipated implosion that results when the expansion has reversed itself and nears a phenomenon known as the big crunch, or its expansion has reached runaway proportions and is going dark. We just don’t know.

“As to how they perceive us, we don’t think they do perceive us as being important as a sentient civilization. We don’t think they look outside of their species and regard any other life forms as being relevant. They don’t hate us, but they would never coexist in our universe as long as we populate it. They just don’t tolerate our presence.”

I become somber and speak with deliberation, “It is with a heavy heart that I relinquish command of the Galaxy. If we are to survive as a species, we must convert our government from a technocracy to a military regime. This change is only temporary.

“In the meanwhile, General Graham will assume command under martial law. General?”

The General speaks again, “Beginning immediately all manufacturing capacity will be under the control of the newly established Star Command.

“We will need to recruit Star Troopers to defend the Galactic settlements, establish new laws and control the resources of each settlement. Since each settlement is different, many of the new laws will be more local than global.