《Fog of War》
-Prologue-
[Military research vessel Bai Ze: 13:27 UTC +11, Mid Level Dorms]
Warning sirens blared; both the lights and the markings on the walls changed from their respective white and blue to an ominous orange. In that instant, Jun and his twin sister Ai stood up from their desks and reached out for their weapons. They felt comfort in the distinctive hiss they heard as their armour exploded out of its concealment and locked into position around their bodies. It had them in protective isolation suits before their hands made contact with their guns, and they were out of the room in less than a second.
"No time to complain," Ai called out, as much to herself as to her brother, "We need to get to our lab."
Perfectly in step, the two flew through the corridors of the Bai Ze, passed below the familiar sign of an illuminated R&D underlined by the silhouette of an assault rifle, and took up posts on either side of the door. Jun stood to the left of the entrance as he consulted with the on duty AI for the nature of the unknown entity that had been detected in the atmosphere while Ai ensured that the influx of staff directed themselves to the correct positions in the room.
The doors slid shut, exhaling softly as the sealant found its purchase, locking all within the room. Silence weighed down the dimmed, inactive machinery; its silhouette an ominous skyline of black and amber. Separate columns of engineers and doctors spread out before the statuesque security officers, stoic in their anticipation of a worst case scenario. Seconds seemed like hours, but relief seeped into the room, heralded by the near inaudible blip, and small green indicator of a clean atmosphere that appeared in the upper right corner of their heads up displays. The lab was safe.
One of the doctors adjusted his lab coat. An engineer wiped the faceplate of her gas mask with a gloved hand. Movement returned and the various rustlings crescendoed as workers began heading towards various glowing monitors for an update on the situation.
The green light flashed red.
A single unidentified microorganism was detected in one of the test chambers.
"Seals intact," an engineer disclosed, "How the hell..."
"Torch it."
"No good."
"Radiation?"
"Ineffective."
Red zones spread in Jun''s HUD, the bio-lab had produced a targeted antibody nanobot, but it would take time to produce, and the effects of the invading organism were currently unknown.
"Something is wrong here," Ai mumbled the obvious as she leaned over an information panel, "I''m detecting gravitational distortions."
"Too much mass?" Jun suggested, thinking that any teleporting microorganism would cause gravity some trouble.
"Not enough." she replied.
One of the doctors kicked a wall in frustration when the red zone had encompassed the entire facility. Suddenly, illumination poured from the ceiling, warning lights deactivated, red zones receded, doors unsealed, and the ventilation system pumped the bio-lab''s remedy into the air. All would have seemed calm if the room hadn''t shaken with the minuscule tremor that accompanied the firing of the Bai Ze''s main cannons.
[Military research vessel Bai Ze: 13:40 Ship Time, Meeting Room 825b]
Jun, Ai, and a communications overseer sat, waiting to be debriefed. The meeting room was standard fair aboard the Bai Ze: small, but not cramped. A black, single legged table that seated all three comfortably sat in the center of the room. The misty, marble patterned floor could swallow a man whole, and the walls were two toned: ash below slate, separated by a band of alabaster that illuminated the room. Overhung by a gently sloped, vaulted ceiling, the trio awaited the filling of the fourth seat in silence.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The man interrupted Jun''s admiration of the architecture, "We''re fucked."
"Look," the overseer responded to the disapproval emanating from the twins, "Only five minuets after the bio-hazard incident," he preformed a textbook shoulder check, "We lost contact with Earth."
"The signals were jammed?" questioned a skeptical Ai, "Or was it sabotage?"
"No," he was beginning to sound desperate, "Earth went silent, not us. Do you understand?"
Discouraged by the lack of a response he continued, "I''m telling you right now. Earth is gone, we''re harbouring an unknown biological weapon, and nobody even seems to care!"
"So things aren''t looking especially good right now," Jun attempted to calm the man down, "But, we were trained for unexpected setbacks. This is nothing."
"Unexpected setbacks!?" the overseer slammed his fist onto the table for emphasis, "Shit didn''t just hit the fan. That would be too easy, no, WE ARE ONE, GODDAMN MILLIMETER AWAY FROM RUNNING OUT OF SHIT TO THROW AT THE FUCKER!!!"
The man would have been forcefully pacified had not Dung Qi, from the Bai Ze Intelligence Corps, strode into the room, ushering silence. He observed the three as they stood at attention while the door slid shut behind him; the curtain at the final act of a play. He motioned for them to sit down and maintained his position in the corner. With a gesture the wall behind him became a display screen for his presentation.
The footage was shot on a helmet cam, and it showed the soldier taking the space elevator up for a patrol when her squad was alerted to the mysterious organism. Not allowed to abandon their patrol, the guards could only wait until the elevator reached a platform. When it did, they raised their weapons and began a sweep of the lower observation deck. The atmosphere was below them as they worked, the void of space contrasted against the blue that was their home. The cam captured a view beyond the horizon, a view of eternity, a view of the black from whence humanity came.
The soldier noticed a green incandescence from below, and the footage slowed as she proceeded to investigate. Inverted raindrops of radiance rose steadily from below, in their wake a slowly tightening, all encompassing web. They spilled towards eternity until only white brilliance remained. Ultraviolet, infrared, it didn''t matter; in that instant, the only thing visible on screen was an elegant brilliance as gentle as it was blinding. Finally, its splendor fading, the mysterious cocoon that had enveloped the Bai Ze faded back to a familiar black.
What the camera managed to refocus on was not, however, the eternity beyond horizons, but the glory of unexpected discovery. A cavalry charge, depicted in an ethereal blossom of vermillion and mauve created the sight of a prodigious nebula. Below, tendrils of clouds snaked away from the Bai Ze, revealing a new world, as yet undiscovered by humanity.
Chapter 1: Shattered Skies
[1st Fleet of the United Continent''s Shield: The 8th Hour, Aboard the VI Emperor''s Abstinens]
"I was wondering how they intended to pay us," one of the mercenaries grumbled.
"Don''t worry about getting paid," Artemis grit her teeth as she spoke, "The alliance won''t break a deal with the living."
Those around her either grunted or nodded in agreement, but no more words were said. Waves broke before the bow of the galley, and the beat of drums synchronized with the pulling of oars in an oceanic dirge. The shade below the canopy that overhung the forecastle darkened beneath a floating fortress that advanced at a slightly faster pace than the fleet. No national military worked aboard the many monoremes sent forth, instead, their soldiers laid amidst the charred husk of a once great city, waiting for a weakened enemy to besiege them.
Artemis herself was aboard a bireme on the left flank. There were triremes in the center of the diamond, but even the elite aboard them would do little but buy time against the fully mobilized demon army. The better decision would have been to concentrate all their forces on defence, forcing the enemy to fight at a disadvantage, but politicians never understood warfare outside of gaining three Ps: profit, prestige, and power. This particular decision was made with the first P in mind, the idea being that mercenaries won''t ask for money if they are dead; a method that allowed a costless reduction of potential threats both near and far.
An elf walked beside Artemis, her gaze flitted over the winged crest embossed upon her chest plate before returning to her eyes.
"Demon subjugation, repelling invasion, or..." the elf prompted Artemis to fill in what her clan, Valkyrie''s Fist, had been officially contracted for, "Administrative aid?"
"Elimination of the Demon Lord," Artemis saw no reason to withhold any information, "The entire clan is spread amongst the formation to ensure success."
The elf smiled to herself, turned to face her head on, beaming luminously as she replied, "Try not to take 300 years this time, okay?"
All unease faltered,
distress could only decay;
her eyes heaven''s gift.
Artemis barely concealed her unexpected levity by forcing herself to reply.
"We never fail."
"Then I''ll be in your ca..."
The sky blazed with concentrated mana. Blinded for only an instant, there wasn''t a single living member of the assault that didn''t doubt their eyes as what pulled into focus was not the one sky they knew all their lives, but a bifurcated heaven, divided by an impossible tower. Overhead, the floating island accelerated.
The demons'' summon had insulted the Angelic race that dominated the skies. No one present had expected them to be so easily provoked, but as their towers, even without the advantage of a floating continent, had outclassed history''s mightiest stronghold in height, there was no precedent. That fortress was their best defence against the enemy''s dark magic; the orders to row harder echoed across the rolling waves.
Not allowed to hear the comforting sounds of their own defencive barriers, an unnatural tone shook the fleet. It began low, rose steadily higher, held, and lowered again. It seemed to repeat with no end; a herald of unknown threats. Artemis overheard that the base of the tower was just becoming visible on the horizon, and estimated it would be a maximum of 20 minuets before the fleet could engage, although the floating fortress would arrive long before then.
An aura of death began to emanate from area beyond the tower which grew by the second. The Demon Lord had probably sacrificed his entire army in order to gain control of that tower, perhaps to counter the floating fortress that rapidly approached. As if to confirm that the tower had, in fact, pierced the very heavens; staccato, thunderous roars echoed across the expanse, and meteors rained down upon its base. Stone, ice, lighting, and fire rained upon it from above. Great waves clawed and pulled at its base, and for an instant it was encased in thick ice before quickly shedding the cover under the heat of the sun, all the while, bellowing its mournful song.
An unknown voice could suddenly be heard, male, baying, it spoke briefly, changed language and began again. A voice called out to turn back, not from the tower, but from their own. Similar pleas began on the other boats around the same time, all claiming the tower wasn''t the enemy, and that they needed to turn back. An alliance inquisitor revealed himself, beheaded the speaker from behind, and demanded the galley advance. His head exploded not even a second after he finished gesticulating, as if the defencive barriers had not even existed.
The Demon Lord''s mana imprint vanished before anyone had time to react to the sudden deaths aboard their galleys. They had been lured into a trap. The barrage of sound crescendoed into a deafening roar that seemed to shake the world by its very foundations. Artemis had no idea what kind of tricks the demons had pulled for this to happen, but it had worked. Unfortunately, her job was to kill a Demon Lord that was no longer present, and she had to survive to harbour any hopes of completing the request.
Seeking, at least an acknowledging nod from the elf beside her, Artemis turned to find the elf staring into the sky, her visage twisted in terror and disbelief. What lay in her view was the sight of the floating fortress, shattered in the sky, raining down from overhead.
A powerful blast of wind magic knocked Artemis back to her senses, as well as off the bireme. A warm, misty sensation was the last thing she felt from her savior as she plunged into the disturbed waters.
[??? : ??? , ???]
Artemis rocked so gently she almost fell back to sleep. Light seemed to form oddly soothing blobs, and she embraced a warm comfort, and pressed it against her chest. Damp warmth kept her safely aloft as the smell of rot, dried blood, and salt conjured up images of a congested galley, the sound of thunder ominous in the distant skies.
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"Halt!"
Alerted by the nervous shout, Artemis tightened her grasp on the warm thing as her eyes slowly focused. A near inaudible grunt of complaint emerged from the one carrying her, before she was set on her own two feet. It was only then that she was able to confirm that she had been carried out of the water by other survivors. Normally, Artemis could confirm the presence of living beings nearby by their mana concentrations, but the two who saved her possessed less mana combined than a single grain of sand. Their hair, darkened by the waters to a shade more grim than a reaper''s shrouds, unsettled all. Artemis unconsciously edged away from the two.
"Who are you?" called a male elf with gold trim on his green uniform as he cautiously stepped forward, bow raised, "Are you with the 1st Fleet?"
Artemis opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it when the elf stepped past her without a second glance. The male and female with black hair held their hands out in a gesture of surrender. Other elves that were guarding the area encircled the two, uncertain of how to deal with the unnatural pair.
"Speak," the first elf gestured with his bow, "Or I shoot."
The two shared a quick glance to the sound of bowstrings tightening, only for the male to sigh, and the female to smile confusedly at the elf before her. Neither spoke, their hands devoid of weaponry, water dripped from their soaked forms; lit by magelight against the nighttime winds.
"Human survivors are to be taken care of by the Tectus faith," a woman clad in simple robes had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, "I hope you understand what that means."
If the elf wanted to be more obvious in his disdain for the woman he would have had to spit, "These ''things'' are not human."
"How are they not?" the Tectus follower tilted her head to emphasize her question, "Do they not have heartbeats? Are they not standing? Does not the cold make them shiver?"
Artemis took a closer look at the two, and indeed, they appeared to be normal humans, humans whom the cold affected. If she had been looking at them on a good day, and if they had a more natural hair colour, Artemis would have seen the two as a normal couple with a military background. She began to wonder what relationship the two shared, but didn''t get far in her musings as she was interrupted by the elf''s justification.
"You didn''t ask if they were alive. They aren''t, so I''ll stop their walking for them."
He re-aimed his bow.
"Did you claim them to be undead?" the Tectus follower began, "We can check the bodies for traces of necromancy if you really think so, but if you happen to be wrong, I''m afraid the alliance will have to execute all elves involved for betraying us to the demons."
All but the three elves closest to the one with the gold trimmings lowered their bows, and stood back since none of them wanted to risk their posthumous reputations. Gold trim turned to face the Tectus follower, in that instant, the black haired duo surged forth. 300+ years of training against magically empowered opponents had done nothing for the elves that found themselves assaulted by the world¡¯s least powerful lifeforms. They were the opposite of ghosts: all physical movement and no malice. Their movements were almost double the expected speed without using mana, and the complete lack of killing intent had them practically invisible as they drew knives and closed on the elves. If Artemis hadn''t been watching them closely, she too would have missed the movement.
The male one positioned himself so that gold trim was between him and the other archers, and the female one did the same with the unsuspecting elf girl on the far side of the follower of Tectus.
"They are allowed to fight back." the follower of Tectus smirked from under her hood, "And I can assist them."
Had the elves been paying attention they would have only been subdued by the fastest of warriors, but it was too late, and the humiliation had already taken place. Red faced with rage, the elf with the gold trim cast his bow to the sand, and stomped away with his entourage in tow. The strange pair concealed their knives, and Artemis decided to thank them for pulling her out of the water before they left.
"Half-elf," the Tectus follower barked, stopping both Artemis, and the duo from turning away, "Come with me."
The Tectus follower then gesticulated at the two with black hair, wanting them to come as well.
The woman led them beyond burnt walls and into one of the old fortifications that had done so little against the first demon invasion. Simple beds lay in neat rows, staffed by many women in simple Tectus robes. A few hand signals later, and Artemis was alone with the woman in a separate room.
"So," she began, "Runa, I''m not too aware of your clan''s history so I apologize for not knowing your... number."
"I''m surprised you even know about our renaming traditions, but Runa is only for...", Artemis'' voice caught in her throat.
"... for last survivors, I know," the woman removed her hood, revealing her gentle, green hair, "My name is Esmeralda."
Artemis was not as speechless as she felt, "I''m the fifth."
Esmeralda let out a low whistle, "Runa V it is."
Artem... Runa (she refused to be numbered in her own thoughts) was unused to her new name. Runa would not die. Runa would not fail. Runa was the head of Valkyrie''s Fist. Valkyrie''s Fist was to kill the Demon Lord. Runa couldn''t kill such a powerful being by herself.
Runa needed a plan.
"I didn''t ask you here to so we could discuss names," Esmeralda returned her hood to its previous position, "I''d like to offer you a job."
Chapter 2: Based on Deception
Author''s Note
I sincerely apologize for the delay on this chapter, I had some difficulties with health and work, but once again have access to both the free time and the willpower to continue to write. I''m not sure if this section should be at the top or bottom, does it matter? For now it is at the top.
m(_ _)m
[BZE-110234 "Colonial": 22:06 ???, Upper Deck] - Day 012
Rose extended and retracted the combat blades from her prosthetic arm as she contemplated how much heavier it felt than her human arm had. All of the surplus materials in the Bai Ze had been used to create the protective mist that turned the tables during the ambush, halting the production of ammunition in favour of medical supplies to treat the injured, and new training programs for the children on board.
Satellites, a defensive perimeter, and research stations all had to be built if the Bai Ze could even hope to stand a chance against the superior technology of its enemies. Just remembering the unnatural ways in which the assault had been carried out caused shivers to run down her spine. The hospitals were full, and the only ships that remained operable were heading out of the safe zone, and directly towards the land from which the temporarily named demons had come from.
An ethereal being that was mimicking the form of a young girl sneered as she spoke her native tongue, "Do you really think this storm will disguise your approach?"
"This is a show of force," Rose rebutted, "Your ships would have capsized in this weather."
Of course, since her helmet was doing the translation, Rose could never know how censored her words were when speaking to the traitorous thing. It claimed to be helping, and even cooperated with the learning of its language, in return for it being granted leadership of its home continent. Keeping it as far from the Bai Ze as possible was actually the main goal of the expeditionary force as it was unknown how much information it would have been able to glean.
"Even without leadership the demon continent has never been successfully invaded before. The majority of the demonic army is stationed in coastal fortifications, we won''t be able to take and hold any significant land, even with your weaponry..."
Rose didn''t let it finish, "The goal is peacefully setting up an embassy." Along with secret mining operations, research facilities, factories, and prisons. She thought.
The ghostly former general seemed satisfied with the response, though it clearly understood that an embassy wasn''t the only thing about to be imposed upon its fellow demons. If all of its claims could be trusted, it was the lord of the port city the demonic fleet had set out from. Theoretically, permissions for the demolishing of old buildings, and the construction of new buildings had already been granted to the expeditionary force. Obviously nothing would go smoothly once the operation actually began.
Not a single recon drone had been interfered with as they recorded life in the city about to be occupied. Thankfully, their detection system was tailored to only discover encroachments made by ''mana'' powered devices. The city was being run by the humanoid type demons with red eyes, and all the other races were trod upon like dirt beneath the boots of a power crazed despot. It seemed the populace was contained beneath the wealthy by having the mana they generated absorbed into the walls to power farms, lights, and the automatons that prevented their escape. As the poor had no walls, and the automated security didn''t detect threats from non-mana powered entities, gaining entry would be easier than initially planned.
Fully dressed in the masked and hooded parade uniforms to prevent contamination, orderly formations stood picturesque as the loudspeakers broadcast a bearing of gifts to the glorious city leaders who, in turn, lined up to greet their guests along a harbour filled with docks too small for any of the incoming vessels. Red and black dust seemed to be piled along every alley as Rose approached in her landing craft laden with gold that wasn''t 100% pure because it had been enchanted by the ghost general to appear extra shiny, and less suspicious. Dilapidated medieval-looking buildings leaned out over the alleys creating a sea of blackness and poverty behind a foreground of empty shipyards beneath a floating platform upon which the wealthy placed their estates. The downtrodden peered from glassless windows while city officials, and guards in fancy dress appeared irritated that their guests had chosen to dock at the industrial port instead of the luxurious one. Several freshly polished automatic guards patrolled behind the welcoming party to keep the riffraff away.
The city skyline was slanted as an artificial hill of greenery and pleasant estates rose from the elaborate port, and mysteriously suspended itself over the the housing of the poor. Seeing it in person, Rose had mixed feelings about how a seemingly medieval society had become able to utilize the technology to build such a thing without understanding how it really worked due to passing it off as magic. In fact, the more things appeared to be similar to the fantasy literature, and games she had grown up with, the less she could bring herself to relax. Rose''s orders were to have generosity as visible to the lower class as possible, so she made sure to have the extra shiny gold displayed marvelously on the platform she was directed to place it on. It floated straight upwards without being magnetic, and there were neither cables nor detectable propellants used to raise it aside from the mysterious omnipresent microorganism referred to by the indigenous populace as mana. Rose marked the time of her mask''s camera as important to ensure the footage was a higher priority for analyzation.
More landing crafts began to arrive with their gifts of gold and gems, and Rose moved aside to pose as an overseeing officer while the real ones moved cargo in slightly less fancy uniforms. Turning up the volume of the music channel to a barely audible level, she enjoyed the spectacle of well-drilled soldiers stepping in sync with orchestral music fit for an epic. Much of the usually awe inspiring impact was lost due to the fact that the soldiers were in the white, light blue, and silver peacekeeping colours instead of the usual red, black, and gold. As she stood there, the floating platforms that continued to raise treasure without ever coming back down proved to be a distraction. While she was hypothesizing about mana''s true form being a highly advanced utility fog that happened to outlive its creators, a young guard with rams horns and a thin tail stepped up behind her and cleared his throat. It took her a second to remember that beings from other nations couldn''t know she was watching them through hidden cameras, and turned to face him.
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"W-whfmm ffm," he seemed too embarrassed to speak, so Rose had her mask to display her face, and gave her best reassuring smile while slightly tilting her head questioningly to bid him continue.
Coughing once more, he began again, slightly blushing, "What race might you be?"
"Undead," Rose almost cut him off with how quickly her answer came. It had been decided to claim such when in the demon continent as humans were greatly detested, and an otherworldy undead aura was the easiest way to explain the feelings of unease mana based organisms felt when encountering something containing none of their most common bacteria. It was also true that all of the staff aboard the Bai Ze had their hearts stopped, and restarted during an operation.
After he hummed to himself as though it helped with thinking, the guard raised an eyebrow and questioned, "I had been led to believe that the undead were prone to corrupting things. How did you keep the gifts you bestow upon us so pure?"
"The uniform is sealed."
"Rather business like answers you give."
"This is business."
He moved to stand beside Rose as she turned to continue observing the processions, "As we shall shortly be sharing an employer, formalities don''t need to be so strictly upheld."
He continued, "May I inquire as to what you are named?"
"Rose."
"R~oa~se?"
It seemed the translator didn''t change the pronunciation of her name to match its meaning, so she displayed a rose on white on her mask, and turned to show him, "A flower," and then curious as to what the translator would do with his name she returned the question after returning the mask display to peacekeeper.
"Northern Trail is what I am called."
The translation program hadn''t focused much on name recognition, and while Rose found some amusement in it, Northern Trail continued his introduction, "It means path to the north."
"Nice to meet you, Northern Trail."
He froze for a split second before taking a deep breath, "Could it be that you are able to understand the tongue of the ancients?"
Rose noted to her translator that when using Northern Trail, and imagining a horned, tailed, purple haired, red eyed, male to use the ''tongue of the ancients''.
"Did I say something in it?"
"No, you just," he diverted his eyes to the position a human''s would be during an internal dialogue, but with his species it may not have meant that, "It was a misunderstanding on my part. I apologize if I had made you uncomfortable in any way."
"We are going to be unloading all night at this rate, so if you want, you can leave with the politicians."
"Would you appreciate it if I showed you some of the finer places in this town?"
"The official tour will suffice," although she had intended to end the conversation, Rose decided that it was a good idea to collect additional data, "What race are you from?"
Seemingly pleased that she asked a question of him he puffed up his chest in pride and proclaimed himself to be a succubus.
"Age?"
"..."
Rose, again displaying her face, showcased the most unimpressed expression that a succubus had ever seen from a member of the opposite sex, even from an undead.
Northern Trail laughed for a short while and attempted to change the subject, "You don''t need to be worried, I''m not sure what succubi were like in your old world, but on this demon continent, we are hardly intrusive."
"Age," the caution indicator flashed in her HUD, "Tell me, and I''ll go on the tour you offered."
He whispered the number, before backing away sheepishly. He was younger than Rose. Northern Trail''s actions drew the attention of one of the other guards, who promptly distanced Northern Trail from her, and assumed a position in between the two of them. Standing at attention in a newfound silence, all Rose had to do was wait. Security had been successfully focused on the loading of treasures, the only ships noticed were above the surface.
As the last of the treasures were lifted up, the soldiers began to take the lift as well. In small groups, people were loaded on, and taken to the noble¡¯s district. Rose, and the guards were to go up last and ensure that none of the lower class would be able to get past the automatons and sully the pristine environment of above. Last to ascend, Rose felt a combination of pride, and nervousness at a job completed, as well as all the further challenges that its outcome had created.
[Demon Continent: The 5th Hour: Undercity]
InSun had lived his entire life beneath the shadow of magic users. His parents had hoped, no, they had barely dared to dream that one day he might stand below the sun in the sky, and bask in its warmth. All the inhabitants of the undercity only existed as living batteries. Power sources to only be kept alive until they reproduced successfully while being constantly drained of energy by oppressive magical formulas engraved into the stones upon which they walked. There was no education, there was no food surplus, no amount of training could be had, and as such, there was no hope of escape. Insun had only ever seen a tired gait in others, an aimless wandering that moved soulless eyes from place to place as if searching for something they had yet to realize they had passed by a thousand times.
One day, Insun stumbled across a blur. The blur of swift movements. He knew at once what it was that he saw, though he had never seen it before. He saw strength, he saw power, but most of all he saw a man who had not yet succumbed to the draining existence Insun had lived all his life. He followed the white figure has fast as he could, but his clumsy legs could not hurtle him quite as fast as he needed to. It didn''t matter any more. Insun wasn''t the only one, he only needed to follow the crowd. He stumbled forwards, suddenly a single wave in a surging river, Insun felt something he thought had died with his parents. Insun felt hope, and the ones clad in white would bring it to him.
Chapter 1.5: Codex
As I''ve been away from the project for a while, I seem to have skipped ahead somewhat with the second chapter. The next several releases will be events taking place between the two major events. I apologize for the confusion that any of this will cause, and shall strive to make my writing more comprehensive in the future.
English was my first language, I still don''t know if I love or hate it.
[Military research vessel Bai Ze: 00:00 Ship Time, Central Dorms] - Day 02
Ai-Shi had thought that when she awoke from cryogenic stasis, she would be in the pod that had sustained her. Her assumptions proved to be incorrect, as upon opening her eyes the sight that greeted her was not that of scientific equipment, future historians, or a desecrated wasteland, but that what appeared to be a simple brushed steel sleeping compartment. She sat up quite comfortably atop her grey mattress and was relieved upon identifying an inlaid rectangle in the wall to her right that was clearly the handle of a sliding door.
Whether or not it could be opened was another question entirely, and when her hand hovered over it, an information window appeared which read:
Subject 938821 "Ai-Shi" has been awoken ahead of schedule. For clarification of any information pertaining to the current situation, please refer to the subject''s assigned guardian. The assigned guardian is identifiable by a codex emblem displayed on the left shoulder containing the subject''s designation number.
Ignoring the way her name was written, she had no idea what a codex emblem looked like. Sliding open the panel, Ai-Shi took a first look into the world of the future. It struck her how colourless everything had become. As though the entirety of the small room she bore witness to was a well polished stone, its smooth perfection, especially the floor, exuded an unearthly atmosphere that left her awestruck despite its simplicity.
A man in a lab coat sat at his computer off to one side of the door, and he turned to face her upon hearing the gentle hiss of the panel. Considering the fact that only one other person was present, knowledge of what a codex looked like wasn''t entirely necessary.
"It''s a book?" the question which unintentionally slipped out was rhetorical. Clearly displayed on the left shoulder of the man was a book. A simple icon with numbers across it that she assumed to be identical to her subject ID.
"You mean this?" he pointed to his shoulder before continuing, "The codex format is one in which pages are bound together, and have a cover. While it was used only to describe manuscripts for some time, it began to include all things printed in its style when the term ''book'' predominantly referred to digital content."
It made sense that linguistic changes would occur during the years in which Ai-Shi was unconscious, but considering how understandable the scientist across from her was, she must have woken up considerably before the thousand years she was supposed to be preserved for. The difference in terms didn''t seem to affect grammar much, so it might have only been a few generations between her and the scientists who woke her up.
"How long have I been in stasis then?"
"Around 300 years."
That amount of time did not match up with how similar the scientist''s dialect was to her own. 300 years spelled the difference between Shakespeare and HG Wells. While mutual understandings shouldn''t have required a translator yet, the cultural and grammatical changes ought to have been easily distinguishable, and instantly apparent. It was also possible that the man was accommodating her by speaking in an archaic manner. Regardless of how polite she intended to be, the skepticism displayed on her face wouldn''t go away.
"What''s wrong? Do you feel any sense of discomfort?"
"No," Ai-Shi''s voice trailed off, and only returned softly with, "Your dialect..."
"Ah, well, the dialect spoken universally aboard the Bai Ze, which is the military research vessel you are currently aboard, does happen to be relatively archaic when compared to what the average civilian population would be speaking."
"Why is that?"
"Firstly, the Bai Ze is intended to be entirely self sufficient, so strictly enforcing a formal style of speech prevents the creation of new dialects to ensure communication aboard the ship remains standardized over long periods of time. Halting the evolution of a language also helps minimize time spent updating the computers'' language processing, allowing them to focus on research more efficiently than any other existing system. Finally, it makes life easier for the senior crew members, some of whom are over 200 years old, and don''t yet have a known life expectancy. It also minimizes the generation gap, making an internal conflict, or misunderstanding less likely to happen between the upper and lower ranks."
"It wasn''t just people enjoying the esoteric, then?"
"The accent is considered highly attractive in friendly territory, and intimidating to those outside of it, so your reasoning wasn''t entirely incorrect."
It seemed that the future was more complicated than anticipated. Ai-Shi didn''t intend ask many more questions, as the information she was currently digesting seemed to be enough for the day, but she still wanted to know why they woke her up.
"We used your pod as ammunition."
When she returned to her senses, the man was doubled over with laughter. The blood that had previously drained came back to her face in a single rush. Change from pale to bright red in combination with the mixed expressions of confusion, embarrassment, and anger in rapid succession seemed to turn her face into the universe''s single most hilarious entity as the man rather unprofessionally slid out of his chair, and continued his laughter even as he lay partially on the floor. Ai-Shi wanted to crawl right back into the bunk she had emerged from; preferably without having to return. Unfortunately, she felt that running away would only be admitting defeat. How it was a defeat happened to be entirely lost to her, but all that mattered now was a regaining of dignity; something which a few deep breaths went a long way towards achieving.
Everything settled down, and with the man back to sitting in his chair, she got to questioning. His name was Shen. Her pod had been recycled due to an unforeseen lack of materials on board. Rather than a scientist, (an occupation requiring extreme specialization and AI assistance) she had been placed under the supervision of a public relations officer. All personnel aboard the Bai Ze were special forces, but when not used as active combatants, played cultural roles aboard the station to maintain order, stave off boredom, and ensure the powerful on-board AI didn''t waste any effort on things other than military advancements.
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"So, what happened that caused the resource drain?"
"Only the worst 20 minutes in human history."
"How so?"
Shen slid his chair back, and gestured to his monitor. A roughly circular city map was displayed along with a timeline. Scrubbing through, Ai-Shi expected some kind of indication of whatever went wrong, and wasn''t surprised in any way when yellow dots appeared and quickly engulfed the entire screen. She was surprised however, when the entire area surrounding the city instantaneously became bright red, followed by (in what seemed to be an entirely pattern-less manner) blotches appearing within the city itself. The zones didn''t universally expand, some grew, others shrunk, and more still seemed to wriggle across the map like amoebas in a maze. After some time the red cleared up, followed by the yellow, creating a buffer of all clear between the city, and what Ai-Shi assumed to be the rest of the world.
"Each red spot marks the location of a known hostile caught on camera," he scrubbed back and forth so the growing and receding blotches would be easily visible while he explained, "It''s my job to ensure we appear heroic to posterity, so I have to choose some of the footage to save in the public archives."
"Oh, but don''t worry," he was now scrolling through a list of files, "I only have to watch 2 281 years of combat footage before I''m up to date with what I''m allowed to see, so you don''t have to concern yourself with little things like supervision, or leaving the room, okay?"
Ai-Shi was getting the feeling that the Bai Ze was slightly larger than she initially thought, and Shen explained how fifty-nine million nine-hundred eighty-five thousand seven-hundred thirty-eight...
"That''s too many cameras!"
"Redundant footage is sorted by area, and I can watch it at 5x speed, so the important information isn''t hard to find. It''s just that in order to optimize how heroic it all looks, every angle is necessary."
Ai-Shi hoped it was more necessary than the pose he just struck.
"So how long until you start editing?"
"17 days, 19 hours, 12 minutes."
"Including sleep?"
Ai-Shi wanted her sense of awe back. How many days would she be stuck in a room with this guy, and where did the food even come from anyways? All these things swirled in her mind as she flopped herself into the desk mirroring Shen''s. Judging from the fact that hostiles appeared within the Bai Ze, Ai-Shi assumed it was some kind of rebellion, betrayal, or mass infiltration. Basically, her safety wasn''t assured, and nothing from the PR department would be able to convince her otherwise.
"What does the casualty count look like?"
"Already worse than WWI, and closing in on the Taiping and WWII," Ai-Shi was moderately surprised at how forthright he was about the level of disaster that had occurred, "It would only take a few more confrontations on this scale before the cult wars are topped, and those lasted decades."
Maybe it was good she''d missed that.
Not wanting to ask Shen, who would probably tell her something horribly misleading, Ai-Shi utilized the monitor at her desk to look it up. The cult wars were a series of conflicts around the time of the first human augmentation, genetic modification, and truly intelligent AI systems. Fossil fuels essentially ran out, as did fresh water, and antibiotics mostly lost their effectiveness due to their ceased development (the cost of new antibiotics had been too high, and other, more profitable products were prioritized). Cult membership shot up dramatically as those who resented technology formed terrorist organizations that lashed out with great frequency, and low predictability. Many satellites were destroyed, and in response, several technologically equipped cults began to appear. Data on how so many cults formed in such a short period of time had yet to be collected, and the social phenomena had remained a mystery. The leading theory was that in a push for brand loyalty spanning several generations, companies'' marketing strategies had created a culture of extreme emotional reactions that allowed cults to easily instill hatred in an out-group with little effort. Few primary sources remained, none of them accessible from the Bai Ze.
It was definitely good she''d missed that. Or rather, there was almost no way any of her friends or family died in peace.
If ignorance is bliss, and knowledge is power, which one is better?
Ai-Shi couldn''t access any specific information about anything that happened after her own time, and she couldn''t hold back her complaint.
"Does the Bai Ze have no books?"
"Ghost stories are classified, if that''s what you wanted to find."
"If you look them up, can I read over your shoulder?"
"All is vanity."
"A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels."
Shen looked over his shoulder, and raised an eyebrow, "Did people have useful memories back then, or did you always admire Confucian scholars?"
Ai-Shi had always wondered if she was a civil servant of the Song dynasty in her previous life, with the knack she had for memorizing texts, and quoting them back to people. She could feel herself puffing up in her chair as she proclaimed, "I''d have made the ultimate 12th century bureaucrat," while patting her chest for emphasis.
[Military research vessel Bai Ze: 04:47 Ship Time, Central Dorms] - Day 02
"Fiction! Fiction! Fiction!"
"My headphones have muted you."
"Fiction! Fiction! Fiction!" he was clearly being irritated, so Ai-Shi continued her plan to retain her sanity, by threatening his.
"F~i~c~tion~!"
Shen was muttering something about murdering useless animators who wasted everyone''s memory with wavy subtitles when Ai-Shi upped the pressure by sliding up next to him at his desk. Turning to face her, but only for a brief instant, he smiled and informed her that her permissions had probably already updated, "since they had the time for a custom font."
"I want you to do it."
"No."
"I won''t move you know."
"I enjoy the sensation."
"It''s not like you''re even doing your job right now," on the monitor was clearly displayed future-level CGI running at 5x speed, "Don''t think I don''t know what that tentacle monster is about to do." Ai-Shi placed a comfortable distance between the two of them.