- Oct 9, 2005
- 4,767
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Someone please please evaluate it for me! :awe:
Here are the links to the first and second chapter
First Chapter:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=290924&highlight=story
Second Chapter :
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2021722&highlight=chapter
Here is the third chapter :
========================================================
[FONT="]Chapter 3: [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherins consciousness was at the locus of three great chains. The first was the corpus, composing his physical self made of cells. The next was continuum, the awakened part of the memory chain spanning the breadth of ancestral and prescient experiences. The last was the most special one.[/FONT]
[FONT="]It is the most misunderstood of all. To understand the third chain, one must see evolution and beyond the manifestation of its so called finest product: the human being. The sheer incredulousness of the human mind even deluded almost all scientists of the twenty fourth century into believing the human mind was the pinnacle of mental evolution. They were wrong. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This would beget the question, if there are beings higher than human beings in a power pyramid, where are such beings and more importantly what are they? [/FONT]
[FONT="]The answer is both around and within us. Just as the seat of the individual consciousness lies divided amongst the quantum activity of neurons, so is a greater consciousness lies divided amongst the masses of human beings, consciousness transcending space and time, guiding human history in form of faiths, nations and enterprises. [/FONT]
[FONT="]But are such beings truly alive beyond a social construct? Can they possess free will? Yes, under certain conditions and circumstances, in dimensions more extended beyond our own. They affect us in many ways at our own level, performing super-factoring wave function collapse, choosing avatars to guide us through coarse timelines, giving them prescient visions of critical points, steering their destiny even beyond their deaths to achieve a higher equilibrium. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Ironically the third chain can be thought of as the first chain at a higher level, a focal point of information synthesis and action through multiple seemingly independent organisms, in this case human beings instead of specialized single cells. Man was never intended to become another deadend of evolution, instead turn into a template for a new, higher form of life. Evolution had marched beyond mankinds understanding of what life was and could be achieved.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin was the avatar of a particularly strong third chain, his corpus would be the vessel of the great Nemata, the spirit of the higher being. He was the anointed one, the chosen amongst the masses, it what elevated him to a deity amongst his peers, it what made him god [/FONT]
[FONT="] - Navigator Obiwana Janus, excerpts from Deliberations on the Deliverer. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonns spaceship lifted itself out of the asteroid colonys hanger like a bird of the night, unseen and unheard. Around fifty meters in length and shaped like a cigar, unlike other ships it was designed to coast in stealth, its thrusters emitting only the thinnest trail of fused helium ions from the rear. Clearly it was far more advanced than anything else flying around it and this fact was well concealed too with a deliberate coat of rust giving the ship an appearance of a mere resource collector.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Onboard the ship, Cherin stared out of the rear porthole until the asteroid field he called home was, but a distant speck. Bonn stood behind him and said. Someday you would get back there, you know? All of us could someday [/FONT]
[FONT="]The starlight made half of Cherins face aglow, the doctor replied slowly. That day would come Bonn, but not for us, not for you and me, my friend. [/FONT]
[FONT="]But such a day will surely come for others, for humanity? A day when the world doesnt have to fear tyranny anymore? Wouldnt it be worth it? Bonn asked, his voice grim and tense. Cherin smiled and replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, but not in the way we think.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn turned his attention to a console on the wall and questioned Not in the way we think? How so then?[/FONT]
[FONT="]I dont know. All I can say is what I have seen makes no sense at all, not to me anyway.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You mentioned the eye, your father mentioned it too and he said it represented the pinnacle of his continuums struggle against the tyranny and beginning of paradise [/FONT]
[FONT="]Whatever it is, its supposed to be the end of me. My corpus doesnt extend beyond that. said Cherin, finally moving away from the porthole towards a recliner strapped to the bay floor. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn gazed back at Cherin, suddenly unsure of his position in the scheme of things as he once was, a rare occasion indeed for Ruben Stuart Bonn to shake a little from within. [/FONT]
[FONT="]A sudden tone of defiance erupted from the captain, it was in his will to challenge the gods themselves.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So you die! But you have a wife, you have a stillborn child! Your continuum will last through it. Wont it not? As your fathers will once we awaken his memories in you?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin shrugged. Somehow all these things do not seem to happen where we are heading [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn fell silent, his mind calculating furiously, he asked So what happens then? What happens to your family?[/FONT]
[FONT="]I never learn. My prescience just doesnt show an opening through which I live through my child, atleast the one I left behind [/FONT]
[FONT="]But you live on nevertheless, your continuum lasts on? asked Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I think so, but only in a sense I cannot understand replied Cherin Also, I keep sensing a presence in my future, a malevolent presence.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Soviets? [/FONT]
[FONT="]No, not the Soviets, I can identify them elsewhere. Unlike them, this malevolence seemed far greater, its not even human in terms we can understand, Bonn![/FONT]
[FONT="]A new enemy or perhaps an ally! [/FONT]
[FONT="]I doubt the ally part, though I wonder from where it could come from? Its certainly not amongst us now. said Cherin. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perhaps another nation on Earth builds a secret counteracting force [/FONT]
[FONT="]No, the source wasnt human. It was nothing like I ever known, in power or evil. Cherin shoke his head.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Then could it be something from outside the system, an alien race Bonn mused.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I dont know again. Whatever it is, its worse than the soviets [/FONT]
[FONT="]How do you say that? Bonn inquired.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Well, I felt empathy for the Soviet, empathy we cannot justify now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Empathy for them? After all they have done? Bonn exclaimed in surprise.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, it does sound insane, Bonn. But the events along our future will clear it all up. It should [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded Lets hope so, we need you with us whatever is up ahead [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin nodded his head in deference with the captains feelings. The captain sensing the young doctors turmoil advised him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin, there comes a time for everyone to doubt themselves. At this either they end proving up or become ghosts of their past selves. You are beyond this now. Trust yourself, lad. Trust your father within you, for once his memories have been awakened, it will be him acting through you.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The doctor forced a smile on his face and replied. Of course Bonn, But there is one thing I must make very clear to you [/FONT]
[FONT="]What is it, Cherin? [/FONT]
[FONT="] Before this begins you must understand that people are going to die, many people are going to die. Their deaths wouldnt be on our conscience, yet remember somehow somewhere our actions now will change lives and destiny of billions.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded slowly and asked What if this is the only way? The path to paradise is paved through hell [/FONT]
[FONT="]Then its hell where we must suffer, I suppose. replied Cherin resigning himself to his fate and the destiny of everyone around him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Its at this moment the bulkhead to the ships bayroom rose open and in stepped a young man dressed in blue creases bearing the eagle crest of the insurrection. Moderately built with olive skin and sharp brown eyes, he exclaimed to Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]There is a problem [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn didnt bother to ask the new arrival any questions and instead made straight for the bridge. Cherin followed him and soon they found themselves in a domed chamber located at the front of the ship, the centre of which a holographic display rendered a detailed image of the void around them. There were many small dots scattered across the volume of the display describing ship positions, asteroids, their vectors and so on. Many of the bridge crew hovered around it, for it was the nerve center of the vessel. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The same foresaid man pointed a finger at a dot distantly tailing their own and said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]This ship has just entered the same trajectory as us. Initially we werent sure the craft was the reds, but she has given herself away with her power trail, holds nothing less than four peta-newts in that core.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Well, we cant shake her off in this part of the void, not when we are so alone . said Bonn turned towards the navigator, a woman in a long flowing blue robe and said. Alter course Perth, go to Vostok, I want you to this without alerting them to the fact our cover is blown.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth Dost Artois bowed slightly with her head and her hands swiftly flew over the console. Twenty six and already the chief navigator, her aquiline face remained focused on the controls as she traced their route through the void towards her destination.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin asked the captain Why go there?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Vostok is the largest transit center in this sector. It should be easy to give them the slip there. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Do you know how the Soviets traced us?[/FONT]
[FONT="]No. But I intend to find out. I cannot overlook that said Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]We were betrayed, Bonn. replied Cherin, turning his head to him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn accepted the doctors explanation with a grim nod and asked. You have any idea how?[/FONT]
[FONT="]No, but I sense plans, plans within plans. Bonn, we are being played along, we are pawns [/FONT]
[FONT="]The answer stunned Bonn. The captain said. For whom?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Whoever sent you on the mission we were going on said Cherin. The doctor suddenly gestured in panic. Quick, turn back![/FONT]
[FONT="]Back?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Back to my colony, something terrible is about to happen! shouted back Cherin as he breathlessly stared at the holo display at the centre of the chamber.[/FONT]
[FONT="]He could sense the prescient emotions, the experience of the moments yet to pass. He tried to make sense of them, the awareness and the feeling coming together to inspire a sensation of extreme danger within him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Danger not to himself, but to those dear to him. More precisely, that part which is but an extension of his continuum, the unborn child in the womb of his wife. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn commanded the navigator. Perth, turn back where we came from [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth Dost, the young woman in flowing robes and pleated hair answered. But Bonn, we alert the soviets to the colony ...[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cant help that. Head back to it. Make it as fast as you can.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Affirmative. said the woman having given the command to the vessel. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn tried to reassure Cherin. Well be there in an hour.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin stared silently ahead, his thoughts focused on experiencing the moments beyond the present. He sensed the terror ahead, the trial of fire as it was laid out for him, as it has begun now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Strangely, the trial has intensified his power, his depth and breadth of perception in both physical and temporal terms. But just as he was all the more aware of his position in the timeline as ordained by his father, he was even more horrified as the way it will unravel further.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The emptiness of the void seemed an ominous sign for the events ahead. The stars stayed motionless as ship veered off its course, reversed itself and made for the asteroid colony again. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It was the young man who pointed out to them. Look! The soviet craft isnt following us [/FONT]
[FONT="]The bridge crew immediately crowed around the display, only to find their purser was pulling away from them.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The young man questioned. Supposing it wasnt a pursuing craft?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth rebuked him from her post, Janus, you are easily fooled. Of course they wouldnt follow us. Sooner or later another craft will take its place. Isnt it an obvious soviet ploy, I know it [/FONT]
[FONT="]Miffed by the rebuke, Janus Obiwana replied as he gestured with his arms towards the display. Speculation, Perth. Anyway it doesnt matter anymore. The fact is there is three million kilometers between us and that ship now and its climbing. At this rate, she or anything could possibly not catch us up .[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin asked him. Are you certain of that?[/FONT]
[FONT="]The tactical officer turned towards the doctor in surprise. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, but why?[/FONT]
[FONT="]We wont be alone, not for long.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus exclaimed. I can assure you sir, thats impossible. We are alone here as display indicates it, there are no crafts in a radius of 3 million kilometers around us [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin asked. What about cloaked ships? [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus insisted. The Soviets have no reason to hide. Our sensors would detect them nevertheless. We have the most advanced probers in the system. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Something else is wrong then, I sense danger coming here any moment. warned Cherin.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus snapped Just how do you say that? Im sorry but you really dont make sense. Look Bonn, Is this how you want to run the bridge?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn pointed without leaving the captains chair. Explanations later, Janus. He got every right to be heard. First we got ships to find [/FONT]
[FONT="]There are no ships here! I tell you shot back a very tense Janus. its either that or you need a new sensor. The words came a bit bitterly, the tactical officer hated nothing more than his judgment or equipment being put to question.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn wiped his jaw with his hand and said. Then we continue what we were doing before. We will head to the asteroid colony full speed. Engineering, divert power to the drives.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus accepted the suggestion with a nod, in his mind the very notion of his sensor being wrong was impossible. Built by the rebels in the void with the very latest in technology betrayed from the soviet archives, it was designed for monitoring any phenomenon within a very broad range of space. [/FONT]
[FONT="]How far away is my colony now? asked Cherin.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth replied. Five million kilometers away, we will arrive in another twenty minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin said. Then we are too late [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus asked Too late for what? There are no ships between us and your asteroid base.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A beep alerted them to the hologram display. Janus interpreted the event for them. Something popped up ahead. Its hard to say what The display rendered round blue dots to account for the phenomena pointed by him. As witnessed by them through the bay window on the bridge deck, the anomaly itself was a whirlpool of brilliant energetic plumes pulsating with flashes of lightening. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Whats that?, there was nothing there a minute ago said Perth studying her instruments. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus responded after studying another part of the hologram. I dont know. Whatever it is, it is emitting intense radiation [/FONT]
[FONT="]The ship shuddered as it drew closer to the anomaly, so Bonn instructed Perth.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth, move the ship portside. I dont want us to pass too close to this thing [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth nodded as her palms operated a lever. Boosting starboard thrusters, wait one moment, we are being diverted into the anomaly. said Perth. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Forward thrusters fire. ordered Bonn to make the vessel reverse away from the grip of the anomaly.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The ship rocked even more violently as it was caught between the tide of forces generated by its own acceleration and its proximity to the anomaly. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Its working, we are pulling away. Maintain thrust. Janus said. He continued. Our sensors indicate the anomaly is actually a space time distortion [/FONT]
[FONT="]A rupture in space? Is that what we are seeing? asked Perth in surprise. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It should be, Perth. Wait, something happening again, the radiation fading out [/FONT]
[FONT="]I can make out outlines of things inside the anomaly said Perth.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Run a scan on whatever is inside those ruptures while we still have the time. I have a feeling its going to be a nasty surprise. commanded Bonn to the bridge. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Running pattern scan, could take an hour said Janus keying the controls on the console. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Abort then. We may not have that long. replied Bonn wryly as he issued commands to the system through the console on his chair. Responding to them, the ship acted accordingly; increasing shield threshold, arming torpedoes, preparing the crew for the accelerating g-force and so on.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Janus said again. Wait, the radiation faded out, I can make out the objects inside. They appear to be ships![/FONT]
[FONT="] Ships! Out of nowhere? exclaimed Bonn in disbelief at the phenomena.[/FONT]
[FONT="]We just watched that happen! Im identifying the vessels. They have Soviet markings on them. said Janus.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sure, enough the display system gradually focused out the blue round hologram of the spatial anomaly and instead left with red ones in the viewfield, the color of which was very well known to them. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn announced through the intercom. This is your captain speaking. We have a Soviet Fleet ahead of us. All crew prepare for acceleration. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The old warrior waited to hear the acknowledgment from his personnel across the ship. In the meantime, the bridge had become a hive of frenzied activity in order to deal with the new threat. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus asked Bonn in surprise. We are staying for a fight? Sorry Bonn, but that fleet outnumbers us fifty to one [/FONT]
[FONT="]Not fight it, but we are making for the asteroid colony no matter whats in our way! said Bonn pointing his arm at the Soviet fleet in the hologram. He continued giving orders Perth, have engineering give you full power to the drives, speed is the only way we beat them to the colony and fast [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth said. Arrival time, five minutes, we will fly around to avoid crossing their flightpath, they will never catch us [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded at her estimation and said. The soviet is growing more powerful by the day. He has even managed to jump space, something I thought was impossible.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth corrected him. Its going faster than light thats impossible. Using anything in the book to break that rule, warping space, teleportation is fairgame. There were rumors of breakthrough in teleporting complex matter intact, but never thought they were so far ahead.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus said. Well, they have the means to do so now. That changes the rules for us. Very badly I might add.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth agreed with the tactical aide. We have to find a new way to fight. With their ability to jump anywhere, we can no longer consider any soviet target isolated enough for our strikes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn, never the one to give up consoled them. Yet it will do nothing to aid their offense. To strike us they must know where we are and to guess that would be impossible. All this would do is force us to adapt to greater pressure. Where once mere stealth was enough, now we need to be ghosts. Where we were once ghosts, now we must rely on the forces of circumstances to act on our behalf. Thats what calls for us, our duty.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus turned towards Cherin. I dont know how you knew the reds were coming, but you were right after all. I guess there can be a lot I dont know or understand, about you, your abilities, what you can do for the resistance. Things I can never be. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin replied with a sardonic smile at the trace of jealously in the tactical officers words. That knowledge can be a terrible thing. The prescient has to accept the fate he has locked himself to, he has to accept the price to be paid even before it has become due, bleed even before being cut. A man loses himself this way [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus protested. Can you not avoid fate using your power?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin answered. Perhaps, but remember while there are multiple paths I can choose to act on as alternatives, there is only one path I can be forced to follow to seek what we all desire, the end of this tyranny with the least suffering.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus asked. So this is the one? What we are experiencing now is that path?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin did not reply back, instead he turned towards the ceramic window and looked at the stars, they would never seem the same again for him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth called from her post, a console desk in aft of the command deck. The Soviet fleet has completely entered into normal space-time, they are reorganizing themselves.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn commanded. Perth, they are right between us and the colony. Draw their attention, I want to put some distance between them and the colony. Will need the time to dock and get his wife out.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth asked the captain. So who is he? One of those prescient?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn replied. In a way, yes. He is what we need now. I will tell you all later [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth nodded and glanced at the doctor as he stood by the baywindow all alone, watching at the stars as they shone without twinkling. [/FONT]
[FONT="]His home was out there, that was thought plaguing Cherin as he gazed through the transparent ceramic at the void beyond. Somewhere out there is an asteroid colony, in that colony there was a woman with a baby on the way all alone. [/FONT]
[FONT="]His wife, his unborn child all alone in the void. A family he had abandoned in the call of duty. Cherin stood silently with an anguish burning within him with a vehemence he didnt expect from himself. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus studied the hologram and exclaimed with surprise. The soviet ships have no interest in following us. They are making their way to.. uhm... He looked towards Cherin. towards the colony [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn stiffened. Could we outpace them?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth offered her advice. Doubtful, they are just a million kilos away colony and we are five. Even at our maximum speed, we wont be in time to rescue the doctors wife from their clutches.[/FONT]
[FONT="]She turned towards the doctor who still was silent and gazing outside the window. She was surprised to see her words making no impact on him. The doctor remained unmoved at the news.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth said. Im giving her all the juice we got, we will arrive there soon, but not before them. Perhaps we can bluff our way through.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn said. Well find a way somehow. Thing is we beat that fleet on that colony. [/FONT]
[FONT="]A short time later, Bonn announced to the crew. Everyone, prepare for deceleration. The hologram showing their growing proximity to the asteroid colony interlocked the three trajectories together: their ships, the Soviet fleet and the colony itself. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin numbly strapped himself to a recliner on the bridge deck as the ship rapidly fired its reverse thrusters, decelerating it to speed more suited for docking with an asteroid colony. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Soviets havent boarded the colony yet, odd, they are engaged in maneuvers just outside the asteroid belt. reported Janus who has by now let himself out of his own recliner seat. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Maneuvers? asked an alarmed Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, fifty seven ships in that fleet, the fourteen cruisers have the rear and the reminder corvettes are massing in the front [/FONT]
[FONT="]He looked up again from the hologram. They are arming weapons [/FONT]
[FONT="]We are still too far away said Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Not for us! They are locking on the colony! replied Janus alarmed. [/FONT]
[FONT="]They cant mean to massacre innocents! cried Perth.[/FONT]
[FONT="]No one replied, but all stared breathlessly at a display portrayed an enhanced visual of the horror, all except Cherin who was facing into the inky blackness of the void. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The doctor knew the outcome beforehand. It was the trial of fire of which the flames were consuming him already, scorching his experience lattice with the terror of the moment. Yet he remained almost numb having already paid the price before, a million times in his mind alone. The actual passing of the event was merely one more of the experience.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus interpreted the event for them. The corvettes are moving closer to the colony, weapons hot... uhm...the lead corvette is discharging torpedoes, the rest are following suit .[/FONT]
[FONT="]The image sensor focused on the small pulses of light as they rammed on to the frame of the asteroid colony. The first torpedo scored a direct hit on the colonys generator and the station shuddered and blacked out of power.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth could only imagine the terrible spectacle on board the colony. The screams of the children, the alarmed voices of the adults, the desperate pleas for negotiations from the colony administrators. It will all prove futile, for there was only one price to be paid for defying the state, death. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The remaining wave of torpedoes crashed into the colonys superstructure, causing massive explosions through the breadth of the station. They could see sections of it being blown outward, the vacuum sucking out people to their deaths in the void. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It all ended with a final shockwave disintegrating the asteroid into several pieces with dust encircling in orbit. It was a silent explosion in the void, stifling several thousand voices for eternity in a moment of merciless judgment. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin stared into the volume of space where the asteroid colony once orbited. His wife was dead, so was his unborn child, never having being given a chance to awaken from the womb. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The trial of fire, with one stroke a major part of what he knew had life had ended. Cherin found it shocking that he was benumb of any emotion at the event. On one part his mind was engaged in accepting the deaths of his wife and child, in another it was already calculating the morbid significance of this event.[/FONT]
[FONT="]What was happening to his world? What was happening to him? It was almost as if some other force was in control of him, of his mind.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Why couldnt he grieve? Why the calm acceptance of their fate within him, almost as if his subconscious had rationaled the factors out? Was there any meaning to his familys demise? Perhaps an ulterior purpose beyond the barbarous Soviet retribution? Cherin stood dazed at the happening of the events, yet a part of his mind still struggled to separate answers for these questions using his clairvoyance. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn was the first to speak. Cherin, there is no way such tyranny of the soviet remains unanswered. Well hunt them down. Well make them pay [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin said calmly. Their time will come too, but in ways we wouldnt want to [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded and said. Im sorry, Cherin. We should have bought your wife along. Pity this wasnt revealed despite your foresight.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin nodded and excused himself to retire in private. Bonn said. Janus, escort him to my cabin. Get Cheka to get him tranquilizers for sleep if he wants [/FONT]
[FONT="]The walk towards the captain quarters was brief, but memorable. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus walked ahead of Cherin as they made their way through the elevator and the corridor of the topmost deck of the ship. The doctor paused as the tactical aide opened the door for him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Just about to let himself inside, Cherin paused at door. He remarked to Janus. You have a question to ask [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus stared back at him and said No [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin said. Propriety holds you back, let go of it. Ask.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The tactical aide swallowed slightly and asked. Im sorry for your family. But could you not have saved your wife? Can your prescience not revealed to you her death?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin answered. Not the path I have chosen on. Her death was no mystery, but the manner was hidden, unrevealed until too late...[/FONT]
[FONT="]You always known of her death?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin inhaled deeply. He still remained benumbed to the events that had come to pass. The question still haunted one corner of his mind.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Why was he unable to grieve? [/FONT]
[FONT="]What was within him made him that made him so calm, so accepting of his familys cruel fate? Januss words broke this train of thought of his. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The tactical aide shaken at the revelation said. Im sorry, I cannot possibly imagine the burden you have on your mind. I will leave you alone now [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin nodded and was just about to close the door when Janus spoke again. Janus said. And doctor, about what you said before, you were right, that knowledge can be a terrible thing [/FONT]
[FONT="]Saying so, he turned around and made for the bridge leaving Cherin all alone in the captains quarters. The doctor rested himself on a couch in the middle of the cabin, cushioned with blue satin upholstery. [/FONT]
[FONT="]His wife, his child was dead. Almost everything dear to him in this universe was no more. These words begin to loop in his mind emptying it all prior threads of thoughts. His mind was at last his own now. [/FONT]
[FONT="]He felt within him the first sliver of sorrow, the first wave of the tide to follow. A sudden rush of contentment warmed him as the tears began gushing down his face.[/FONT]
[FONT="]His wife and child were dead and at last he could grieve them now. [/FONT]
Here are the links to the first and second chapter
First Chapter:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=290924&highlight=story
Second Chapter :
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2021722&highlight=chapter
Here is the third chapter :
========================================================
[FONT="]Chapter 3: [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherins consciousness was at the locus of three great chains. The first was the corpus, composing his physical self made of cells. The next was continuum, the awakened part of the memory chain spanning the breadth of ancestral and prescient experiences. The last was the most special one.[/FONT]
[FONT="]It is the most misunderstood of all. To understand the third chain, one must see evolution and beyond the manifestation of its so called finest product: the human being. The sheer incredulousness of the human mind even deluded almost all scientists of the twenty fourth century into believing the human mind was the pinnacle of mental evolution. They were wrong. [/FONT]
[FONT="]This would beget the question, if there are beings higher than human beings in a power pyramid, where are such beings and more importantly what are they? [/FONT]
[FONT="]The answer is both around and within us. Just as the seat of the individual consciousness lies divided amongst the quantum activity of neurons, so is a greater consciousness lies divided amongst the masses of human beings, consciousness transcending space and time, guiding human history in form of faiths, nations and enterprises. [/FONT]
[FONT="]But are such beings truly alive beyond a social construct? Can they possess free will? Yes, under certain conditions and circumstances, in dimensions more extended beyond our own. They affect us in many ways at our own level, performing super-factoring wave function collapse, choosing avatars to guide us through coarse timelines, giving them prescient visions of critical points, steering their destiny even beyond their deaths to achieve a higher equilibrium. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Ironically the third chain can be thought of as the first chain at a higher level, a focal point of information synthesis and action through multiple seemingly independent organisms, in this case human beings instead of specialized single cells. Man was never intended to become another deadend of evolution, instead turn into a template for a new, higher form of life. Evolution had marched beyond mankinds understanding of what life was and could be achieved.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin was the avatar of a particularly strong third chain, his corpus would be the vessel of the great Nemata, the spirit of the higher being. He was the anointed one, the chosen amongst the masses, it what elevated him to a deity amongst his peers, it what made him god [/FONT]
[FONT="] - Navigator Obiwana Janus, excerpts from Deliberations on the Deliverer. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonns spaceship lifted itself out of the asteroid colonys hanger like a bird of the night, unseen and unheard. Around fifty meters in length and shaped like a cigar, unlike other ships it was designed to coast in stealth, its thrusters emitting only the thinnest trail of fused helium ions from the rear. Clearly it was far more advanced than anything else flying around it and this fact was well concealed too with a deliberate coat of rust giving the ship an appearance of a mere resource collector.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Onboard the ship, Cherin stared out of the rear porthole until the asteroid field he called home was, but a distant speck. Bonn stood behind him and said. Someday you would get back there, you know? All of us could someday [/FONT]
[FONT="]The starlight made half of Cherins face aglow, the doctor replied slowly. That day would come Bonn, but not for us, not for you and me, my friend. [/FONT]
[FONT="]But such a day will surely come for others, for humanity? A day when the world doesnt have to fear tyranny anymore? Wouldnt it be worth it? Bonn asked, his voice grim and tense. Cherin smiled and replied.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, but not in the way we think.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn turned his attention to a console on the wall and questioned Not in the way we think? How so then?[/FONT]
[FONT="]I dont know. All I can say is what I have seen makes no sense at all, not to me anyway.[/FONT]
[FONT="]You mentioned the eye, your father mentioned it too and he said it represented the pinnacle of his continuums struggle against the tyranny and beginning of paradise [/FONT]
[FONT="]Whatever it is, its supposed to be the end of me. My corpus doesnt extend beyond that. said Cherin, finally moving away from the porthole towards a recliner strapped to the bay floor. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn gazed back at Cherin, suddenly unsure of his position in the scheme of things as he once was, a rare occasion indeed for Ruben Stuart Bonn to shake a little from within. [/FONT]
[FONT="]A sudden tone of defiance erupted from the captain, it was in his will to challenge the gods themselves.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So you die! But you have a wife, you have a stillborn child! Your continuum will last through it. Wont it not? As your fathers will once we awaken his memories in you?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin shrugged. Somehow all these things do not seem to happen where we are heading [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn fell silent, his mind calculating furiously, he asked So what happens then? What happens to your family?[/FONT]
[FONT="]I never learn. My prescience just doesnt show an opening through which I live through my child, atleast the one I left behind [/FONT]
[FONT="]But you live on nevertheless, your continuum lasts on? asked Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I think so, but only in a sense I cannot understand replied Cherin Also, I keep sensing a presence in my future, a malevolent presence.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Soviets? [/FONT]
[FONT="]No, not the Soviets, I can identify them elsewhere. Unlike them, this malevolence seemed far greater, its not even human in terms we can understand, Bonn![/FONT]
[FONT="]A new enemy or perhaps an ally! [/FONT]
[FONT="]I doubt the ally part, though I wonder from where it could come from? Its certainly not amongst us now. said Cherin. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perhaps another nation on Earth builds a secret counteracting force [/FONT]
[FONT="]No, the source wasnt human. It was nothing like I ever known, in power or evil. Cherin shoke his head.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Then could it be something from outside the system, an alien race Bonn mused.[/FONT]
[FONT="]I dont know again. Whatever it is, its worse than the soviets [/FONT]
[FONT="]How do you say that? Bonn inquired.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Well, I felt empathy for the Soviet, empathy we cannot justify now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Empathy for them? After all they have done? Bonn exclaimed in surprise.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, it does sound insane, Bonn. But the events along our future will clear it all up. It should [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded Lets hope so, we need you with us whatever is up ahead [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin nodded his head in deference with the captains feelings. The captain sensing the young doctors turmoil advised him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin, there comes a time for everyone to doubt themselves. At this either they end proving up or become ghosts of their past selves. You are beyond this now. Trust yourself, lad. Trust your father within you, for once his memories have been awakened, it will be him acting through you.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The doctor forced a smile on his face and replied. Of course Bonn, But there is one thing I must make very clear to you [/FONT]
[FONT="]What is it, Cherin? [/FONT]
[FONT="] Before this begins you must understand that people are going to die, many people are going to die. Their deaths wouldnt be on our conscience, yet remember somehow somewhere our actions now will change lives and destiny of billions.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded slowly and asked What if this is the only way? The path to paradise is paved through hell [/FONT]
[FONT="]Then its hell where we must suffer, I suppose. replied Cherin resigning himself to his fate and the destiny of everyone around him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Its at this moment the bulkhead to the ships bayroom rose open and in stepped a young man dressed in blue creases bearing the eagle crest of the insurrection. Moderately built with olive skin and sharp brown eyes, he exclaimed to Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]There is a problem [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn didnt bother to ask the new arrival any questions and instead made straight for the bridge. Cherin followed him and soon they found themselves in a domed chamber located at the front of the ship, the centre of which a holographic display rendered a detailed image of the void around them. There were many small dots scattered across the volume of the display describing ship positions, asteroids, their vectors and so on. Many of the bridge crew hovered around it, for it was the nerve center of the vessel. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The same foresaid man pointed a finger at a dot distantly tailing their own and said.[/FONT]
[FONT="]This ship has just entered the same trajectory as us. Initially we werent sure the craft was the reds, but she has given herself away with her power trail, holds nothing less than four peta-newts in that core.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Well, we cant shake her off in this part of the void, not when we are so alone . said Bonn turned towards the navigator, a woman in a long flowing blue robe and said. Alter course Perth, go to Vostok, I want you to this without alerting them to the fact our cover is blown.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth Dost Artois bowed slightly with her head and her hands swiftly flew over the console. Twenty six and already the chief navigator, her aquiline face remained focused on the controls as she traced their route through the void towards her destination.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin asked the captain Why go there?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Vostok is the largest transit center in this sector. It should be easy to give them the slip there. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Do you know how the Soviets traced us?[/FONT]
[FONT="]No. But I intend to find out. I cannot overlook that said Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]We were betrayed, Bonn. replied Cherin, turning his head to him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn accepted the doctors explanation with a grim nod and asked. You have any idea how?[/FONT]
[FONT="]No, but I sense plans, plans within plans. Bonn, we are being played along, we are pawns [/FONT]
[FONT="]The answer stunned Bonn. The captain said. For whom?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Whoever sent you on the mission we were going on said Cherin. The doctor suddenly gestured in panic. Quick, turn back![/FONT]
[FONT="]Back?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Back to my colony, something terrible is about to happen! shouted back Cherin as he breathlessly stared at the holo display at the centre of the chamber.[/FONT]
[FONT="]He could sense the prescient emotions, the experience of the moments yet to pass. He tried to make sense of them, the awareness and the feeling coming together to inspire a sensation of extreme danger within him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Danger not to himself, but to those dear to him. More precisely, that part which is but an extension of his continuum, the unborn child in the womb of his wife. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn commanded the navigator. Perth, turn back where we came from [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth Dost, the young woman in flowing robes and pleated hair answered. But Bonn, we alert the soviets to the colony ...[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cant help that. Head back to it. Make it as fast as you can.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Affirmative. said the woman having given the command to the vessel. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn tried to reassure Cherin. Well be there in an hour.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin stared silently ahead, his thoughts focused on experiencing the moments beyond the present. He sensed the terror ahead, the trial of fire as it was laid out for him, as it has begun now.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Strangely, the trial has intensified his power, his depth and breadth of perception in both physical and temporal terms. But just as he was all the more aware of his position in the timeline as ordained by his father, he was even more horrified as the way it will unravel further.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The emptiness of the void seemed an ominous sign for the events ahead. The stars stayed motionless as ship veered off its course, reversed itself and made for the asteroid colony again. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It was the young man who pointed out to them. Look! The soviet craft isnt following us [/FONT]
[FONT="]The bridge crew immediately crowed around the display, only to find their purser was pulling away from them.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The young man questioned. Supposing it wasnt a pursuing craft?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth rebuked him from her post, Janus, you are easily fooled. Of course they wouldnt follow us. Sooner or later another craft will take its place. Isnt it an obvious soviet ploy, I know it [/FONT]
[FONT="]Miffed by the rebuke, Janus Obiwana replied as he gestured with his arms towards the display. Speculation, Perth. Anyway it doesnt matter anymore. The fact is there is three million kilometers between us and that ship now and its climbing. At this rate, she or anything could possibly not catch us up .[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin asked him. Are you certain of that?[/FONT]
[FONT="]The tactical officer turned towards the doctor in surprise. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, but why?[/FONT]
[FONT="]We wont be alone, not for long.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus exclaimed. I can assure you sir, thats impossible. We are alone here as display indicates it, there are no crafts in a radius of 3 million kilometers around us [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin asked. What about cloaked ships? [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus insisted. The Soviets have no reason to hide. Our sensors would detect them nevertheless. We have the most advanced probers in the system. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Something else is wrong then, I sense danger coming here any moment. warned Cherin.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus snapped Just how do you say that? Im sorry but you really dont make sense. Look Bonn, Is this how you want to run the bridge?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn pointed without leaving the captains chair. Explanations later, Janus. He got every right to be heard. First we got ships to find [/FONT]
[FONT="]There are no ships here! I tell you shot back a very tense Janus. its either that or you need a new sensor. The words came a bit bitterly, the tactical officer hated nothing more than his judgment or equipment being put to question.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn wiped his jaw with his hand and said. Then we continue what we were doing before. We will head to the asteroid colony full speed. Engineering, divert power to the drives.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus accepted the suggestion with a nod, in his mind the very notion of his sensor being wrong was impossible. Built by the rebels in the void with the very latest in technology betrayed from the soviet archives, it was designed for monitoring any phenomenon within a very broad range of space. [/FONT]
[FONT="]How far away is my colony now? asked Cherin.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth replied. Five million kilometers away, we will arrive in another twenty minutes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin said. Then we are too late [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus asked Too late for what? There are no ships between us and your asteroid base.[/FONT]
[FONT="]A beep alerted them to the hologram display. Janus interpreted the event for them. Something popped up ahead. Its hard to say what The display rendered round blue dots to account for the phenomena pointed by him. As witnessed by them through the bay window on the bridge deck, the anomaly itself was a whirlpool of brilliant energetic plumes pulsating with flashes of lightening. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Whats that?, there was nothing there a minute ago said Perth studying her instruments. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus responded after studying another part of the hologram. I dont know. Whatever it is, it is emitting intense radiation [/FONT]
[FONT="]The ship shuddered as it drew closer to the anomaly, so Bonn instructed Perth.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth, move the ship portside. I dont want us to pass too close to this thing [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth nodded as her palms operated a lever. Boosting starboard thrusters, wait one moment, we are being diverted into the anomaly. said Perth. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Forward thrusters fire. ordered Bonn to make the vessel reverse away from the grip of the anomaly.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The ship rocked even more violently as it was caught between the tide of forces generated by its own acceleration and its proximity to the anomaly. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Its working, we are pulling away. Maintain thrust. Janus said. He continued. Our sensors indicate the anomaly is actually a space time distortion [/FONT]
[FONT="]A rupture in space? Is that what we are seeing? asked Perth in surprise. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It should be, Perth. Wait, something happening again, the radiation fading out [/FONT]
[FONT="]I can make out outlines of things inside the anomaly said Perth.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Run a scan on whatever is inside those ruptures while we still have the time. I have a feeling its going to be a nasty surprise. commanded Bonn to the bridge. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Running pattern scan, could take an hour said Janus keying the controls on the console. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Abort then. We may not have that long. replied Bonn wryly as he issued commands to the system through the console on his chair. Responding to them, the ship acted accordingly; increasing shield threshold, arming torpedoes, preparing the crew for the accelerating g-force and so on.[/FONT]
[FONT="] Janus said again. Wait, the radiation faded out, I can make out the objects inside. They appear to be ships![/FONT]
[FONT="] Ships! Out of nowhere? exclaimed Bonn in disbelief at the phenomena.[/FONT]
[FONT="]We just watched that happen! Im identifying the vessels. They have Soviet markings on them. said Janus.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Sure, enough the display system gradually focused out the blue round hologram of the spatial anomaly and instead left with red ones in the viewfield, the color of which was very well known to them. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn announced through the intercom. This is your captain speaking. We have a Soviet Fleet ahead of us. All crew prepare for acceleration. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The old warrior waited to hear the acknowledgment from his personnel across the ship. In the meantime, the bridge had become a hive of frenzied activity in order to deal with the new threat. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus asked Bonn in surprise. We are staying for a fight? Sorry Bonn, but that fleet outnumbers us fifty to one [/FONT]
[FONT="]Not fight it, but we are making for the asteroid colony no matter whats in our way! said Bonn pointing his arm at the Soviet fleet in the hologram. He continued giving orders Perth, have engineering give you full power to the drives, speed is the only way we beat them to the colony and fast [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth said. Arrival time, five minutes, we will fly around to avoid crossing their flightpath, they will never catch us [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded at her estimation and said. The soviet is growing more powerful by the day. He has even managed to jump space, something I thought was impossible.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth corrected him. Its going faster than light thats impossible. Using anything in the book to break that rule, warping space, teleportation is fairgame. There were rumors of breakthrough in teleporting complex matter intact, but never thought they were so far ahead.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus said. Well, they have the means to do so now. That changes the rules for us. Very badly I might add.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth agreed with the tactical aide. We have to find a new way to fight. With their ability to jump anywhere, we can no longer consider any soviet target isolated enough for our strikes.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn, never the one to give up consoled them. Yet it will do nothing to aid their offense. To strike us they must know where we are and to guess that would be impossible. All this would do is force us to adapt to greater pressure. Where once mere stealth was enough, now we need to be ghosts. Where we were once ghosts, now we must rely on the forces of circumstances to act on our behalf. Thats what calls for us, our duty.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus turned towards Cherin. I dont know how you knew the reds were coming, but you were right after all. I guess there can be a lot I dont know or understand, about you, your abilities, what you can do for the resistance. Things I can never be. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin replied with a sardonic smile at the trace of jealously in the tactical officers words. That knowledge can be a terrible thing. The prescient has to accept the fate he has locked himself to, he has to accept the price to be paid even before it has become due, bleed even before being cut. A man loses himself this way [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus protested. Can you not avoid fate using your power?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin answered. Perhaps, but remember while there are multiple paths I can choose to act on as alternatives, there is only one path I can be forced to follow to seek what we all desire, the end of this tyranny with the least suffering.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus asked. So this is the one? What we are experiencing now is that path?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin did not reply back, instead he turned towards the ceramic window and looked at the stars, they would never seem the same again for him. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth called from her post, a console desk in aft of the command deck. The Soviet fleet has completely entered into normal space-time, they are reorganizing themselves.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn commanded. Perth, they are right between us and the colony. Draw their attention, I want to put some distance between them and the colony. Will need the time to dock and get his wife out.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth asked the captain. So who is he? One of those prescient?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn replied. In a way, yes. He is what we need now. I will tell you all later [/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth nodded and glanced at the doctor as he stood by the baywindow all alone, watching at the stars as they shone without twinkling. [/FONT]
[FONT="]His home was out there, that was thought plaguing Cherin as he gazed through the transparent ceramic at the void beyond. Somewhere out there is an asteroid colony, in that colony there was a woman with a baby on the way all alone. [/FONT]
[FONT="]His wife, his unborn child all alone in the void. A family he had abandoned in the call of duty. Cherin stood silently with an anguish burning within him with a vehemence he didnt expect from himself. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus studied the hologram and exclaimed with surprise. The soviet ships have no interest in following us. They are making their way to.. uhm... He looked towards Cherin. towards the colony [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn stiffened. Could we outpace them?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth offered her advice. Doubtful, they are just a million kilos away colony and we are five. Even at our maximum speed, we wont be in time to rescue the doctors wife from their clutches.[/FONT]
[FONT="]She turned towards the doctor who still was silent and gazing outside the window. She was surprised to see her words making no impact on him. The doctor remained unmoved at the news.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth said. Im giving her all the juice we got, we will arrive there soon, but not before them. Perhaps we can bluff our way through.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn said. Well find a way somehow. Thing is we beat that fleet on that colony. [/FONT]
[FONT="]A short time later, Bonn announced to the crew. Everyone, prepare for deceleration. The hologram showing their growing proximity to the asteroid colony interlocked the three trajectories together: their ships, the Soviet fleet and the colony itself. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin numbly strapped himself to a recliner on the bridge deck as the ship rapidly fired its reverse thrusters, decelerating it to speed more suited for docking with an asteroid colony. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Soviets havent boarded the colony yet, odd, they are engaged in maneuvers just outside the asteroid belt. reported Janus who has by now let himself out of his own recliner seat. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Maneuvers? asked an alarmed Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Yes, fifty seven ships in that fleet, the fourteen cruisers have the rear and the reminder corvettes are massing in the front [/FONT]
[FONT="]He looked up again from the hologram. They are arming weapons [/FONT]
[FONT="]We are still too far away said Bonn.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Not for us! They are locking on the colony! replied Janus alarmed. [/FONT]
[FONT="]They cant mean to massacre innocents! cried Perth.[/FONT]
[FONT="]No one replied, but all stared breathlessly at a display portrayed an enhanced visual of the horror, all except Cherin who was facing into the inky blackness of the void. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The doctor knew the outcome beforehand. It was the trial of fire of which the flames were consuming him already, scorching his experience lattice with the terror of the moment. Yet he remained almost numb having already paid the price before, a million times in his mind alone. The actual passing of the event was merely one more of the experience.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus interpreted the event for them. The corvettes are moving closer to the colony, weapons hot... uhm...the lead corvette is discharging torpedoes, the rest are following suit .[/FONT]
[FONT="]The image sensor focused on the small pulses of light as they rammed on to the frame of the asteroid colony. The first torpedo scored a direct hit on the colonys generator and the station shuddered and blacked out of power.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Perth could only imagine the terrible spectacle on board the colony. The screams of the children, the alarmed voices of the adults, the desperate pleas for negotiations from the colony administrators. It will all prove futile, for there was only one price to be paid for defying the state, death. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The remaining wave of torpedoes crashed into the colonys superstructure, causing massive explosions through the breadth of the station. They could see sections of it being blown outward, the vacuum sucking out people to their deaths in the void. [/FONT]
[FONT="]It all ended with a final shockwave disintegrating the asteroid into several pieces with dust encircling in orbit. It was a silent explosion in the void, stifling several thousand voices for eternity in a moment of merciless judgment. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin stared into the volume of space where the asteroid colony once orbited. His wife was dead, so was his unborn child, never having being given a chance to awaken from the womb. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The trial of fire, with one stroke a major part of what he knew had life had ended. Cherin found it shocking that he was benumb of any emotion at the event. On one part his mind was engaged in accepting the deaths of his wife and child, in another it was already calculating the morbid significance of this event.[/FONT]
[FONT="]What was happening to his world? What was happening to him? It was almost as if some other force was in control of him, of his mind.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Why couldnt he grieve? Why the calm acceptance of their fate within him, almost as if his subconscious had rationaled the factors out? Was there any meaning to his familys demise? Perhaps an ulterior purpose beyond the barbarous Soviet retribution? Cherin stood dazed at the happening of the events, yet a part of his mind still struggled to separate answers for these questions using his clairvoyance. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn was the first to speak. Cherin, there is no way such tyranny of the soviet remains unanswered. Well hunt them down. Well make them pay [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin said calmly. Their time will come too, but in ways we wouldnt want to [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bonn nodded and said. Im sorry, Cherin. We should have bought your wife along. Pity this wasnt revealed despite your foresight.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin nodded and excused himself to retire in private. Bonn said. Janus, escort him to my cabin. Get Cheka to get him tranquilizers for sleep if he wants [/FONT]
[FONT="]The walk towards the captain quarters was brief, but memorable. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus walked ahead of Cherin as they made their way through the elevator and the corridor of the topmost deck of the ship. The doctor paused as the tactical aide opened the door for him.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Just about to let himself inside, Cherin paused at door. He remarked to Janus. You have a question to ask [/FONT]
[FONT="]Janus stared back at him and said No [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin said. Propriety holds you back, let go of it. Ask.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The tactical aide swallowed slightly and asked. Im sorry for your family. But could you not have saved your wife? Can your prescience not revealed to you her death?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin answered. Not the path I have chosen on. Her death was no mystery, but the manner was hidden, unrevealed until too late...[/FONT]
[FONT="]You always known of her death?[/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin inhaled deeply. He still remained benumbed to the events that had come to pass. The question still haunted one corner of his mind.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Why was he unable to grieve? [/FONT]
[FONT="]What was within him made him that made him so calm, so accepting of his familys cruel fate? Januss words broke this train of thought of his. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The tactical aide shaken at the revelation said. Im sorry, I cannot possibly imagine the burden you have on your mind. I will leave you alone now [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cherin nodded and was just about to close the door when Janus spoke again. Janus said. And doctor, about what you said before, you were right, that knowledge can be a terrible thing [/FONT]
[FONT="]Saying so, he turned around and made for the bridge leaving Cherin all alone in the captains quarters. The doctor rested himself on a couch in the middle of the cabin, cushioned with blue satin upholstery. [/FONT]
[FONT="]His wife, his child was dead. Almost everything dear to him in this universe was no more. These words begin to loop in his mind emptying it all prior threads of thoughts. His mind was at last his own now. [/FONT]
[FONT="]He felt within him the first sliver of sorrow, the first wave of the tide to follow. A sudden rush of contentment warmed him as the tears began gushing down his face.[/FONT]
[FONT="]His wife and child were dead and at last he could grieve them now. [/FONT]
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