Chapter 52: Chapter 43

Star People

Chapter 43

Endings and New Beginnings

Andromeda City, Free Land, March 19^th, 13 AE, 1200 hours…

Mark smiled as he sat with his family in the living room of his home and watched the Zedan surrender ceremony on the main holo-viewer. Sitting beside him on the couch was his wife Reelan and their two daughters, Rachel and Rebecca. In a separate armchair was their live-in Velor housekeeper and friend, Kisar.

The three-dimensional image depicted a scene of the Zedan delegates sitting at a large conference table, as they signed the Articles of Surrender. Opposite to them, was the Council of Prime Directors, the envoys from Atlans and Naran and representatives from the Merdov continent. The entire event was being televised throughout Free Land, Bisra, Excra, Vados and Merdov, though technological and magical viewers.  Once the final documents were signed by the former general, now Prime Chancellor Himro, there was a huge round of applause as the Zedan War had officially ended.

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Sept 14^th, 14 AE…

The Council of Prime Directors…

“I hereby call this session to order.” Benjamin said as he addressed the other five individuals at the newly-refurbished conference table, which now sported an extra seat and control panel.

Sitting in a modified seat that could raise and lower its height, was the newest member of the Council, Prime Director Sierg Motiz of the Dwarf Nations. He was a stout fellow with a solid, muscular build and a thick beard of reddish-brown hair. He was nearing elderly status by the standards of his race as he was over 270 years old. He had a long history of working at the forges and mines, as well as through several bureaucracies. He had a keen mind and had been elected by nearly all of the dwarf rulers to serve as their representative to the Star Alliance.

It had been a long and arduous journey for the dwarves to become a member race of the Star Alliance. A few weeks after the surrender of Zedan, the Council announced, to the disappointment of the dwarf nations, that they would be turned down for membership. The Neo-Psion reactor had been a great achievement by itself, but it was not enough to sway the Council to vote in favor for them to become part of the Star Alliance. However, the dwarves persisted and soon revealed another secret.

They had been the creators of the Divine Gate of Naran.

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Flashback…

Polaris City, May 26^th, 13 AE…

“I see… “ Clurke said as he and his son were informed by Benjamin, of the Council’s decision concerning the dwarf petition to join the Star Alliance. They were currently walking through the corridors of one of the research and development facilities. “That is most… regrettable.”

“I understand your disappointment.” The Terran Director said. “Though the Neo-Psion reactor was quite an achievement, we came to the decision that a single advancement in the field of magic isn’t enough to benefit the Star Alliance as a whole. Furthermore, since we already have multiple sources of alternative energy, the reactor doesn’t really add anything substantial. Magic by itself is not widely-used by Free Land due to its inefficiency and preparation time. Your reactor solves that major obstacle but again, since magic isn’t of much use here, we really do not have a need for it.”

“I can understand the reasons behind your decision. What a pity.”

“Hey, what are they doing over there?” Vulkar asked as he pointed towards a lab.

The three of them stopped in front of a large, observation window as a group of scientists and engineers tinkered with a large apparatus that looked like the frame of a spherical door. Connected to it was a large, cylindrical device. Within the frame was a field of energy that swirled about. On the other side of the lab was an identical, technological frame. One technician picked up a rubber sphere that was the size of a baseball and threw it at the energy field within one of the frames. For a moment, the ball disappeared within the frame. However, an instant later, the ball shot out of the field and back towards the thrower. The technician was knocked down as the ball bounced off his forehead. He let off a stream of curses as he rubbed the spot where the ball had hit him. His associates ran up to him, with one carrying a first-aid kit.

“So what was that all about?” Clurke asked.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you.” Benjamin said while shrugging his shoulders. “We’ve been trying to create a teleportation device, but as you can see, we still haven’t worked out all the kinks.”

“I’m not familiar with that word. What is… tele… por… tation?”

“Well, basically we’re trying to move objects from one place to another, without having to actually… you know, move it? That ball was supposed to go through that portal,” He pointed to the first apparatus. “And come out the other portal. As you can see, we can throw stuff into the field, but it keeps on coming back out the same field instead of moving through to the other side.”

Clurke snapped his fingers while nodding in comprehension. “Oh, is that what you call it? Back where we come from, we call that Gate Magic.”

This caught the Terran Director off-guard. “I’m sorry, but are you saying that you’re familiar with the process?”

Clurke’s son nodded. “Certainly! We use Gate Magic all the time in the mines. When the mine gets too deep, it’s a real pain to carry the ores back to the surface, so we use Gate Magic portals to shorten the distance. And it doesn’t hurt to have a couple of emergency exits in case the mine ever collapses.”

“Hold on a minute.” Benjamin interrupted. “Are you telling me that the dwarves have the same kind of teleportation technology as the Divine Gate in Naran?”

“I don’t see what’s so surprising about that, considering that we dwarves built that thing.” Vulkar’s father answered.

“You did?”

“Yeah, the Kingdom of Naran doesn’t want to admit it, but that Divine Gate wasn’t a product of the First Ones. It was actually a project that was commissioned some 5,000 years ago, by the First Ones, who hired our best engineers and scribes to create it. You can read about it at the Merin Hall of Records. Of course, the First Ones and Naran claimed all the credit for creating it.”

“And your people didn’t object to the false claim for over 5,000 years?”

“We decided not to press the issue, especially after they ruined it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you ever seen the Divine Gate up close?”

“I’ve seen pictures and images of it.”

“Yeah, well if you look at the runes on that stone, you’ll see that those aren’t dwarf runes. Those are cheap-ass elf and imp runes.”

“Are you saying that it is because of the change of runes, that the Divine Gate is so inefficient?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Before those First Ones messed with the Gate, it only took about ten minutes to charge it up. Those fools tried to figure out how the dwarf runes worked and extended the distance far beyond the runes’ capabilities. They ended up corrupting the runes so badly, that they stopped working altogether. So they had to substitute flimsy elf and imp runes, and even then they don’t last long. And it now takes so many magical gems to power the thing that it’s not worth the price.”

“Did they not ask your ancestors to re-draw the runes?”

“Asking them to do so would be admitting that the First Ones didn’t create the Divine Gate. In any case, my people were highly insulted when they found out Naran had messed up the runes, especially when we told them not to. You can see why the dwarf nations don’t get along very well with Naran.”

“And what about the Gate Magic portals in your nation?”

“Oh, they work fine. We only use them to transport stuff no more than half a kilometer, so they don’t drain much on magic gems and need only a short incantation every now and then.”

The Terran Prime Director was silent for a full minute before addressing the two dwarves.

“Clurke… Vulkar… I think you might have made a valid appeal to the Council’s decision.”

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Once it was revealed that it was the dwarves’ ancestors who had created the Divine Gate, the petition for Star Alliance membership was seen in a new light. The Divine Gate and dwarf runes meant that the dwarves had already laid down the basic foundation for a technology that Free Land had just started experimenting with.

Teleportation.

Due to its high-energy consumption and need for lengthy magical preparation, the Divine Gate’s usefulness was extremely limited, especially with low-quality elf and imp runes. The proposed warp-field generator was meant to solve those issues, but the engineers still had not figured out how to warp space efficiently and safely. Nor had they figured out how to direct objects through without resorting to a hyperdrive engine. Then it was realized that dwarf runes could act as the control medium. And what better way to convert the energy of the warp-field generator than by using the runes of the Neo-Psion reactor?

Researchers and technicians were sent to the Kingdom of Merrin to study the Gate Magic portals in the mines. As Clurke had stated, they were short-distance portals and were at key points in the mines to make transport of ore easier as well as give the miners easy access to and from the mines. Since the dwarves had very short legs, it made sense that they could cut down the task of physically traversing long distances by using these portals. The Free Land scientists were quite amazed at how easy it was to move from one level to another, simply by stepping through a gate. One did not need to bother ascending or descending a series of ladders or flights of stairs. Mine carts loaded with ores were simply pushed through a few portals and soon ended up at the refinery to be processed.

Of course, the dwarves would not reveal the process of how they created their runes, but they were willing to integrate them into Star Alliance technology in order to build a longer-ranged, more efficient teleportation system. Now that they had access to nanotech lasers, the dwarves were able to inscribe their runes at the microscopic level, making them the magical equivalent of quantum circuit relays.

After months of experimentation as well as trial-and-error, the first viable, long-distance teleportation gate was created. Thanks to the perfected warp-field generator, in conjunction with an updated Neo-Psion reactor and new Dwarf Rune Circuits or DRCs, the Star Alliance was able to instantly transport objects and even people up to a distance of 100 kilometers. That distance was later doubled with some minor modifications. Afterwards, the new technology was integrated into all Free Land capital and transport ships, with the Missouri being the first. Now it was possible to transfer cargo and people between vessels and other locations, simply by matching teleportation frequencies between portals.

And then the day that all dwarves were waiting for came…

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Kingdom of Merrin, Dec 14^th, 13 AE…

“What did you just say?” King Verso Crede asked as he leaned forward on his throne. In front of him was a holographic projector with communicator which depicted the Council of Prime Directors.

“I’m saying that the new teleportation portals have greatly increased cargo and personal transportation.” Benjamin stated.

“Military logistics and civilian shipping have taken a quantum leap forward.” Nasaak added. “We’re only regretful that you didn’t tell us about these Gate Magic portals sooner.”

Anida nodded. “By combining Free Land technology with the Gate Magic, Dwarf Runes, and the Neo-Psion reactor, we are now able to teleport objects and people up to 200 kilometers or just under 125 miles. That’s still considered short-range overall, but the system is now more practical with a greater range of uses. It can even be used in orbit.”

“As Director Rodera had stated before, a member race must greatly contribute something to the advancement and well-being of the Star Alliance as a whole.” Nerto continued. “The dwarf kingdoms have now achieved this by developing Free Land’s Teleportation Portal System or TPS. It’s thanks to your Gate Magic, runes and the Neo-Psion reactor that has made it all possible.”

“As a result,” Viska said, “after much deliberation and discussion, the Council of Prime Directors, with the overall consent of Free Land’s population, have approved the petition for membership by the Dwarf Nations. In other words, welcome to the Star Alliance!”

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End of flashback…

After it was announced that all dwarf kingdoms and territories were now recognized as part of the Star Alliance, the political balance of the world changed dramatically. The dwarves became ecstatic over having greater access to Free Land technology and being protected by the might of the Missouri and the Star Alliance Battle Fleet. New ideas and new ways of thinking began to emerge among the population as the Neo-Psion reactor and the TPS took center stage in improving the overall quality of life among the dwarves.

With Free Land technology now enhancing their Gate Magic portals, transportation and refinement of ores increased a thousand fold. The dwarf economies skyrocketed as production quotas were met in increasing numbers. And with dwarf engineers now learning the basics of Free Land scientific principles and methods, one could only imagine the industrial revolution they would experience once they began applying those principles.

Although the future seemed bright for the diminutive people, it wasn’t as bright in several other nations as high-ranking officials and politicians looked upon the dwarves’ success with jealousy.

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The Kingdom of Atlans…

“So what was the result?” Captain Lenns Hodder asked.

“They turned us down again for membership.” Third Lieutenant Akar Jans replied as he received the latest report. “The appeal also didn’t go through. We just don’t have anything that interests Free Land.”

“How did those dwarves do it? It wasn’t that long ago that they were behind us in terms of technology.”

“I think it has something to do with that Neo-Psion reactor they developed.”

“I’ve read about it. According to the reports, this device is able to convert any kind of fuel into energy that is similar to magic. The magical energy is what Free Land refers to as psions. So what does that have to do with anything?”

“Remember our little space race with Naran?”

“What about it? Oh wait, now I get what you mean. The Naran engineers and their emperor were pretty angry to find out that magic doesn’t work in space, so the entire space race was pointless. So if this Neo-Psion reactor can make psions in places like outer space, then that would really give magic users a boost.”

“Not only that, but having a device that can create psions for immediate usage also cuts down on preparation time and eliminates the need to gather psions in the first place. That’s what all those incantations are for, to gather psions. If you have a steady supply of newly-created psions on hand, then reload times are reduced and you’re able to cast a spell more frequently or even continuously, so long as the fuel is on hand to convert into psions. You can imagine what an advantage that would be on the battlefield.”

“Additionally, I can now understand why the dwarves were admitted into the Star Alliance. Before the Neo-Psion reactor was invented, even those short-range and limited Gate Magic portals weren’t very practical, except for transport in the dwarf mines. Adding the reactor, plus Free Land enhancements, has given both the dwarves and Free Land a viable, longer-distance, instant transport method. I believe they called it a Teleportation Portal System or TPS.”

“Well it certainly puts Naran’s Divine Gate to shame. Speaking of which, how did Naran react to the dwarves being accepted into the Star Alliance?”

“As you might have imagined, not very well. As soon as the TPS was announced and demonstrated to be successful, the Kingdom of Naran began protesting. They accused Free Land and the dwarves of stealing the technology of the Divine Gate and demanded reparations, including the plans of the TPS and the Neo-Psion reactor.”

“And what was Free Land’s response?”

“Basically they said to Naran, you’ll get nothing and like it.” Lenns said with a shrug. “I guess they’re still a bit annoyed with how Naran acted during the Zedan war.”

“Isn’t that unwise to blow off Naran like that?”

“And what can Naran do against Free Land?”

“Hmmm… point taken. So what about Atlans?”

“For now, we can only build on what Free Land has given to us. The new Sabre jet fighter prototype will soon be making its initial test flights. And our space program is about to attempt launching a satellite into near-planetary orbit.”

“Do you think we should investigate how that Neo-Psion reactor operates? I mean, previously Free Land wasn’t interested much in the workings of magic. If that device is able to change their minds about learning magic, then it might be beneficial to us to learn how it works.”

“That might be the case. However there’s one big problem with that idea.”

“What’s that?”

“The same problem we always have trying to study and reverse-engineer dwarf artifacts and magic-based dwarf technology.”

“The dwarven runes…”

“Exactly! We’ve spent decades trying to decipher those markings and we’re no closer than Naran is. And they’ve had over 5,000 years of trying! The dwarves refuse to explain how those runes work and they won’t teach any outsider the secret of how to create those markings. We’ve even seen dwarves etch those runes right in front of us! When we tried to copy them, all we get is magic-less gibberish.”

“We’ve managed to decipher elf and imp runes. I don’t know why dwarven runes are giving us so much trouble. Even though they’re now part of the Star Alliance, they still won’t teach Free Land the secret to those runes.”

“I don’t want to sound racist or insulting, but… lucky little bastards!”

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The Council of Prime Directors…

“And that just about concludes this session.” Director Rodera stated. “Are there any other points or issues anyone would like to bring up?”

Prime Director Sierg raised his hand.

“And what would you like to say, Director Sierg?” Anida asked.

The dwarf cleared his throat and replied in a low but gentle tone. “I’m guessing that you’re all probably aware of this, but the Kingdom of Naran has made another official protest and accusation over the TPS.”

“Yes, we’ve heard their claims that the Divine Gate was their technology and they’re accusing the dwarves and Free Land of blatantly stealing their creation. This is all nonsense, since the Divine Gate was built by dwarves, and the TPS uses no Naran technology whatsoever. So what of it?” Nasaak said with a slight growl. He was beginning to have flashbacks with the former idiot rulers of Euracon.

“At this point, Naran is threatening to cut all ties with the dwarf nations and impose trade embargoes, if they are not given the plans to the TPS.”

“That’s going to hurt them more than it will hurt you.” Nerto pointed out. “Especially since Naran exports have been steadily dropping for over a year now.”

“I believe it’s all a matter of pride.” The diminutive Director stated. “Naran is so used to being the topmost nation in the world with all the latest technology, that they simply cannot accept the fact that Free Land is leagues above them. And the Council’s decision to decline Naran’s petition for Star Alliance membership probably hurt their egos as well. At this point, they’ve become quite hostile towards other countries, especially those of Free Land and the dwarf nations.”

“So a former ally is now starting to become an enemy.” Benjamin remarked as he remembered back in Earth’s history of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War 2. “We’re going to need to watch this matter closely from now on.”

To be continued…

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