Episode 4: Dancing Shadows Hidden in Mist and Storm

The gods have awoke.

Dancing Shadows Hidden in Mist and Storm.

(From the Space Opera serial “Androids’ do indeed Dream about Heaven, Hell, Dragons and other things”)

 

 

Prologue

 

     The wheel forever turns, forwards, backwards, it stops it goes, it turns right, left, it spins and rolls, where it goes nobody knows, except for those who guide, steer, and push it, and even they can get lost along the way. There are many strings and a myriad of different things that exploded and imploded on a universe that was once whole but now has split into billions of mini universes, bubbles upon bubbles struggling to pop out of their cocoons and make whole again on that which was shattered. But outside each bubble is the void--- the graves and resting place of the Gods. Many dream the dreams of oblivion but there are those that made the wheel and set it along its current path--- that refused to wither into oblivion.

 

     One bubble shines the brightest and like bugs to the light those shattered and broken down gods weave and spin themselves into the bubble universe where Androids’ Dream about Heaven, Hell and Dragons.

 

……….

 

I

 

“Keep on digging; we’re almost there, just few more feet to riches and fame,” said Delfropos Dillard, an antiquities broker. He rarely went on these digs but just the thought of being the first, in over thousands of years, to lay eyes upon the “Pandorian Book of Shadows” made it impossible for him not to. 

 

“Sir, we’ve uncovered the box that holds the book inside. It’s covered in runes that we cannot decipher. What should we do?”

 

“Don’t try to open it, just get it out of that hole and get it on the ship. We need to get out of here before we’re detected by Sardiorian authorities. When we get back to the university on earth prime, I’ll have one of those new breed of androids decipher it. I’ve waited fifty years for this; I think I can’t wait a few more days to look upon its pages. Hurry up! Let’s get the hell out of here.” yelled the old cyborg.

 

………

 

II

 

     Keleif Fin, Prime Lord of the Solaris Consortium that oversaw the Solaris Federation and all its subsidiaries, was on the verge of exhaustion. For the last 48 hours he was pulled this way, that way, and every which way that you can imagine. His head was ready to explode.  The Council was in turmoil. They just lost primary control of their 6^th Jewel. The Topaz System just announced their secession from the federation. They allied themselves with that super-android rebel faction, known as the Angerobota Republic.

 

     Things were unraveling at a rapid pace; those metal heads infiltrated and co-opted key government positions in the jeweled worlds and in less than five years turned the federation on its head. Close to half of their holdings were in the Republics control. To make matters worse their hold on the Outworlds was evaporating. A rival Consortium, the Cyhuriod Nation of Angerdean, which boasted a powerful navy, now had control of eight of the thirteen planets in that far sector of the galaxy. It appeared that they were closely aligned with the Republic.

 

     Drastic action needed to be taken. The metal heads and their allies needed to be put in their place. Keleif rubbed his head; he had one hell of a headache, he called for his Minster of Cybernetic and Human research, time to fight fire with fire.

 

………

 

III

 

     Pinkerton Linkhorn, former governor of Paladin, now ambassador of the Angerdean Nation and the first hudroid, soon to become the first cydroid (Pinkerton’s liver and kidneys needed to be replaced, the old sod, when fully human, really abused his body¹),sat  in his office going over transmission logs and reports. Things in the Outworlds seemed to be going well. They now controlled over half of the Outworlds and it was just a matter of time before they controlled all of them. He was also pleased with their progress in the jeweled worlds. Revolution was spreading throughout the federation. The republic was gaining a significant foothold in the Jewels. His large and opulent office in the capitol building of the Topaz Systems home world of Telefor attested to that fact.

 

     He was however concerned with a report coming out of the Emerald system. The university on Earth Prime had in its possession an ancient book attributed to be written by none other than the Goddess Pandora herself. Normally he would have laughed at the idea that a being such as Pandora existed at all, let alone a book full of magic spells and whatnot. But with the discovery that one of the mining asteroids in the Outworld calling itself the “Entity”² was from legend as well, made this quite a important find. His artificial brain quivered with excitement. This was a Book of Power, a magic spell-book of sorts, one hell of a paradox to be sure. That living beings made from the cloth of science, due to its advances in science and technology, would be delving into the areas of the fantastic.  One thing was for sure, this must be kept out of the hands of the Federation. There were rumors that there were humans and cyborgs calling themselves Sorcerers. He felt like laughing but he knew he should really be crying. Things were getting freaky and this discovery was just the tip of the iceberg.

 

…………

 

  IV

 

“Don’t force it, you look constipated, “The knife floated in the air, wobbling, “just let the energy flow within you and push.” it slowly started to take aim, “That’s it, that’s it, there you go, you got it,” it sailed through the air searching for it target, “easy now, easy,” the knife hit the bull’s-eye straight center, “good, well done, do it again”

 

     Kelzon Niff was pleased with Caldelia’s progress. She was a natural; soon she’ll advance to MageMistress. Her telepathic and telekinetic powers were both strong; she just had to work on her manipulation of energy sources. Her main weakness was her lack of patience. She tried to force things, rather than ease into them. She just needed a little more guidance, but that was why he was here, to make her reach her full potential.

She was marked for greatness.

 

     The Primus Magus, Lucibane Starborne, summoned Kelzon Niff to his chambers and waved a report in his face, He said,

 

“If the information in this report is true than it is some very bad news indeed. Those metal heads and their traitorous allies have no idea what they have in their possession. This is “Thee” instruction manual of magics of all kinds. Those fools don’t have the means or the know-how to properly unleash its power. I’m sending you, your youngling apprentice, Caldelia Oz, and a company of the magicorp to Earth Prime to retrieve it. It must be secured at all costs, no matter the consequences. Hurry, you must leave by daybreak, time is of the essence. If they send the ‘Book’ to the Outlands than it may be lost to us forever.”

 

     Kelzon was quite surprised by this news. This was a monumental discovery. What bad luck having a Republican sympathizer being the one to discover it? The knowledge and wonders one would find in that book would make the lowest of initiates’ a powerful Mage of the 1^st rank. For someone of his and even Caldelia’s position, it would make them no less than demigods. He licked his lips, his body trembled with excitement. He stood and saluted his liege and left to prepare for one of the most important assignments of his life. Failure was not an option.

 

………

 

V

 

     Yolanda Forrester, dean of Capitol University of Earth Prime, was beside herself. She grabbed Delfropos by the collar and said, “This is pure lunacy. Do you mean to tell me that this box is none other than Pandora’s Box of myth and legend, and once opened powerful magics beyond our understanding will be released upon the world? Are you serious? And if what you tell me is true than why the hell do you want to open it.”

 

“You know I’ve been searching for this for the past fifty years.” Delfropos gently removed her hands off his collar and kissed them. “This is the real deal; it was just confirmed by one of those super androids. They want it for themselves, they’re sending

some Ambassador from the Outlands to retrieve it. They’ll offer us some pittance and keep it and its knowledge for themselves. I need to unlock some of it secrets before that happens. If this is truly Pandora’s Box and her book of magic, wouldn’t you want to be the first to witness whats inside it? Trust me! I assure you, it’s safe. We’ll record every page in the book as well as any runes that may be etched inside the Box. That information will rock the scientific community on its ears as well as reaping us a fortune.”

 

 A small smile appeared on Yolanda’s face. “What the hell, let’s open this damn box and see what pops out”

 

.........

 

VI

 

“We’re surrounded by what appears to be a small fleet of Federation ships. They’re hailing us to stand down. What are your orders Ambassador,” stated Caption Hornrod.

 

“Hail their commander, Captain, let me speak with him,” said the Ambassador. Within seconds their Commander came into view on their screens. He was a large dangerous looking man. He wasn’t dressed in the traditional uniform of the federation. He was decked out in black with red and gold trimmings. He looked quite ominous. Ambassador

Linkhorn addressed the man glaring at him behind the screen.

 

“Sir, I am a Signatory Ambassador representing the Angerdean Nation that now oversees the majority of the Outworlds. It would be in your best interests to let our

Envoy pass. I have urgent business on Earth Prime and any delays would be looked unkindly by my government and may even be considered an act of war.”

 

     The Man let out a mirthless laugh upon hearing Linkhorn’s words. He said, “You must be the famous Human with the metal brain, a hydroid if I recall, science run amuck in a soulless world. Your kind and everything you represent is an affront to Humanity proper. But I digress, I’m not here to block you from entering Earth Prime space, I’m here to ride along beside you. It seems we’re both here to collect the same artifact. This artifact was stolen from the Sapphire System which is still under our protection and jurisdiction. We look quite unkindly on this act of piracy. We’ll meet on the ground and discuss this in greater detail, in the meantime either follow us to Earth Prime or go back to your little rat-hole in Paladin.”

 

Linkhorn only sighed and said, “Who are you? You don’t look like regular Federation. By the way, you need to brush up on your diplomacy, your insults and petulant manner has no effect on me. My metal brain, as you call it, is immune to your emotional verbiage. Be that as it may, we will follow you to Earth Prime and upon landing will discuss the validity of your claims. I must admit you do have balls entering into the Republic’s air space with just a small fleet of ships.” 

 

     The commander barked another mirthless laugh and said, “I’m Kelzon Niff, Magus Commander of the Ancient Order of the Holy Root. This fleet is part of the Magicorp, an elite group of the Federation that practices the Ancient Arts of Body, Mind and Spirit. Your allies have stolen a Holy Relic of ours. We will do whatever it takes to retrieve it.

I suggest you notify the Republics defense fleet to stand down. Believe me they are no match for us. We come in peace or war it’s up to you.”

 

“I will notify the Republic Defense Fleet to stand down for now,” said the Ambassador. “Make no mistake all guns will be pointed at you, ready to annihilate you and your fleet on a seconds notice. I’m not looking forward to meeting with you, but meet you I will.”  Pinkerton ended the transmission raised his eyes to the captain and said, “Holy S**t, that son of a b***h just said he was a Sorcerer. It appears the rumors may be true.  Let’s hope they are exaggerated. He sure looked like one powerful mother f****r.

 

...........

 

VII

 

     The Governor’s aide-de-camp barged into the Governor’s office and without preamble said, “Madame Governor, we have a dire situation on our hands. There are reports of rioting at the Capitol University; it’s total mayhem down there. We’ve sent in a security team to gain control of the situation but we just lost contact with them. I suggest we declare a State of Emergency as outbreaks are now occurring outside University grounds as well.” 

 

“Declare it now!” snapped Marvena Neutron. The university was the Intellectual and scientific center of Earth Prime. Earth’s greatest minds were to be found there. Whatever was happening she was sure it had something to do with that damned artifact. She just received word from Pinkerton that he was on his way to retrieve this Pandora’s Box. To make matters worse a fleet of goddamn sorcerers from the federation were on their way to retrieve it as well. Was the world going Mad! Sorcerers, magic; people spouting nonsense about the return of the gods, her head was spinning. She closed her eyes hoping that this was just a bad dream.

 

     Kelzon gave an accusing glance at Linkhorn and said, “The Box has been opened; I can feel its energy in the air. It needs to be closed, soon, if not, this entire world will be swallowed up in its magic. Someone must have opened it without reciting the proper incantation. The box released what is called bane magic. This is what happens when a band of fools toys with things they have no understanding of.”

 

“I agree with you on that. All those who were involved with studying the artifact were under strict orders to make no attempts at opening it. For the time being I suggest we work together, once we retrieve it and close it down, than we can dispute its ownership. Since you and your female companion seem familiar with this anomaly, we’ll let you have point on this,” said the Ambassador of the Outlands.

 

“How magnanimous of you,” said Caldelia Oz, MageMistress of the Order of the Holy Root.  

 

...........

 

VIII

 

     Her head was on fire. Visions of the impossible swirled through her mind; Paradise Lost, Gods, Goddess’s, Angels, Demons, Death, Wars of the Apocalypse, The Horseman, the Final Battle, vision upon vision popping in, popping out, voices screaming, wailing, pleading, laughing, weeping, her senses were overloaded, her eyes were bleeding as say laid on the ground screaming. Pain, agony, anger and despair seeped through every part of her being, and one voice through the cacophony of voices that shouted in her mind took center stage. She demanded primary possession of her body and mind with the promise that she could live in the Dreams of her choosing. Yolanda Forrester eagerly accepted, what choice did she have, it was either living a life steeped in madness or forever living in a dream filled with fairies and pixie dust.

 

     She was weak and disorientated, but grateful to be out of the Box. She needed time to remember, familiarize herself with this fractured universe and gather up any of her kind that chose continued existence over the sleep of oblivion. Pandora took out the Book that was in the Box and closed it shut. Life! Ah, it felt good to be alive again and to feel blood coursing through what were now her veins. She sighed and broke into a smile, things were about to get interesting... 

 

......

 

IX

 

     A young girl between ten or twelve, materialized out of thin air on the command deck of Captain Zachariah Zestabar’s ship. To say that he was startled was an understatement, having someone appear before your eyes while you blinked was a little unnerving. He didn’t realize that the Entity, now revealed as Gaia, could take on human form.  What a strange and wonderful world this was becoming when the impossible was staring at you in the eye. He gave her a slight bow and said,

 

“This is indeed a great honor and quite a pleasant surprise to finally meet you in a form that I can relate to, as well as finally meeting you in the flesh, face to face.  Forgive me if I appear flustered, but it’s not every day that a goddess just pops in on me unannounced. So, how may I be of service to you, Great Lady?”

 

“I will appear to you in human form from now on. My strength is slowly coming back enabling me to project or create specific avatars, like the one you’re seeing now. I will never again be what I once was, or control events the way I once did, but a fraction of what I was still exists, and is speaking to you now. I cannot now move between dimensions or time streams or even across vast areas of space, and that is why I appear to you now. I need transport to Earth prime. One of my Kindred has broken the chains of stasis and walks again amongst the living. She needs my guidance and support and most of all my protection against those who want to use her for their own means. Will you help me? Will you lend me your ships and support? Will you and your nation ally yourself with me and my kind?”

 

     The captain’s head was spinning. Here was this Goddess asking for his allegiance and help. The real mindblower was that there was more of her Kind in this galaxy. Holy S**t! He needed to make a command decision fast. He’d notify Juliana and Barabbas as soon as he was done with this conversation, but he knew it was in the nation’s best interest to ally themselves with the returning gods. He smiled and said,

 

“We are at your service. We will assist you with whatever you need. You have proven to be a friend and a benevolent presence, but I’m a little confused. Will we be transporting you in your avatar form, and if that’s the case, what will become of the world you inhabit?”

 

The little girl clapped her hands and laughed. She stroked Zestabar’s face and said,

 

“Do not worry about such things; I can function on multi-levels, for in a certain sense I am legion. Now go talk to your leadership and prepare them for what lies ahead. Hurry we have lots of work to do...

 

..........

 

Epilogue

 

     The wheel forever turns, forwards, backwards, it stops it goes, it turns right, left, it spins and rolls, where it goes nobody knows, except for those who guide, steer, and push it, and even they can get lost along the way. There are many strings and a myriad of different things that exploded and imploded on a universe that was once whole but now has split into billions of mini universes, bubbles upon bubbles struggling to pop out of their cocoons and make whole again on that which was shattered. But outside each bubble is the void--- the graves and resting place of the Gods. Many dream the dreams of oblivion but there are those that made the wheel and set it along its current path--- that refuses to wither into oblivion.

 

     One bubble shines the brightest and like bugs to the light those shattered and broken down gods weave and spin themselves into the bubble universe where Androids’ Dream about Heaven, Hell and Dragons.

 

 

The End

 

Stay tuned for “The Gaia Mysteries and Juliana’s Dilemma”

 

 

Footnotes:

 

(1)     From the mini-short “the Glass Box”

(2)     From the short story “Space Pirates of Angerdean” chapter 4 and 7

Author's Note

Episode 4-- stay tuned for more adventures in the world where the robots dream...coming to cafe near you...