Chapter 13

“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

― Robert F. Kennedy

Ten days later Jason boarded his gunship and flew up to Adhhan’s ship. Her ship was as big as his dreadnought. The ship design was different to anything he had seen. From a distance it looked like a cigar had penetrated through a large flying saucer in the front and a second smaller one behind. As he got closer it looked more like an arrow with fletching in the middle and at the back. It had a series of saucers at different angles both in the middle and at the back. The front of the ship was shaped like a dolphin; the cigar section was much bigger towards the front than towards the rear. Jason’s pilot followed a hologram arrow through a force field into a small hanger. He disembarked along with his friends and security and was met by an honor guard who accompanied them through a portal into a luxurious section of the ship. They were met by a group of people who showed them to their wardrooms.

“Emperor I’m sorry for the wait, but we have had delays loading students. Our security people believe the Gazronnaas used diversions to load spies onto the ships. Intelligence believes several Gazronnaas infiltrated the students and boarded several ships. The students will pass through screening on disembarking. We apprehended ten Gazronnaas infiltrators but it is likely others did get through. We have incarcerated the ones we caught and are taking them into the Mini Universe for our scientists to examine. We will tag and follow the students we identify as Gazronnaas,” said the lead coordinator. “We will quickly know if the Gazronnaas can survive in the mini universe. We will also discover if they can get through the big portal, our scientists showed they cannot use the smaller ones.”

“Thank you very much,” said Jason.

“This is a beautiful ship, both inside and out.”

“Thank you, Emperor, we make a great effort to make our environment beautiful. You will be amazed to see how we build our ships,” remarked the coordinator.

“You might like to make your way to the canteen. They are serving breakfast, and I believe most of your group are already there.”

The canteen was quite unlike any other canteen or restaurant Jason had seen on any ship or even in any city. The walls looked like they had been built of small pieces of stone laboriously put together to form a large dome over the eating area. It was built like a huge igloo entirely constructed using small stones. The lights were in the shape of animals and constantly moved above them. The animals tended to cluster over tables where people sat. There was enough room for 400 people. On the inside the walls looked out into space. The floor similarly looked like glass. The chairs and tables appeared as if they were suspended in space. The impression was of sitting at a table and floating in space.

Jason sat down between Zafa and Razza. A hologram showing pictures of different kinds of foods switched on in front of him. He touched the plate of bacon, eggs and tomato along with baked beans.

“It all looks quite familiar to me. I wonder what it tastes like?” Jason speculated.

Corvus had two plates piled with food in front of him. He was making steady progress and was almost half-way through the first heaped plate.

“The food is delicious. It tastes quite different to what we are used to, but it is scrumptious,” Corvus replied. “For each of us the menu gives us food with which we are familiar.”

Corvus continued to chew and relentlessly progressed through his first plate.

“Have you ever seen construction like this previously?” Razza asked.

“This is the last kind of structure I would’ve ever expected to see on a ship, as far as the outside is concerned. The inside is extraordinary. I once visited one of the oldest restaurants on Earth in a city called Copenhagen. It was in an old Monastery and we went underground. The walls were constructed of similar stone to the outside. I suspect the walls are a hologram outside as they are inside.” Jason remarked. “I also saw some archaeological sites on Earth which were built with stone much like this.”

“I don’t recognize any of those animals,” said Andrea. “The Mini Universe must have evolved quite differently. They look like predators, look at those teeth!”

Jason nodded then turned as Annjus spoke.

“What did the kings and queens think of the visit to Ebonad?” Annjus asked.

“Annjus, they were impressed. After meeting the military, the scientists, and watching how people work here they became receptive to Adhhan’s proposal. They wanted to ensure the AIs Porquenta and Mars will be well defended. Yoyo will saturate both planets with troops and make a concerted effort to find the Gazronnaas,” Jason explained.

“What is the arrangement between the mini-universe and the Empire?”

“Each of the three tribes, as they call themselves, has a big enough population to need a king or queen. Adhhan was invited to become a Queen and invitations were sent to the other two groups to visit and to meet the kings and queens. All of them will be visiting the Empire and are helping to revamp our education systems. They are contributing scientists and military people to help us on Porquenta and Mars.

“Admiral Yoyo Arsames was blown away after meeting with the military and watching a presentation on the specifications of the ships and weapons. The people from here were also very interested in our ships and weapons and want to send their doctors for training on the new pods. We brought along Prof. Ladovaz Überschär our mathematics guru and Professor Annika Nathanaëlle from physics. The scientists from here agree we have done the preliminary work to generate level III energy, which is what they call magic. We are behind them in many areas and they are behind us in other areas.

“How many Uzliumbax live in the Mini-Universe?” Andrea asked.

“Three trillion altogether, spread over three equal sized tribes,” said Jason. “There were many more than I expected, but they have grown faster than the Destroyers, Dinnion or us. They have multiple children each pregnancy. Most pregnancies produce between six and nine babies.”

“What is the ratio of males to females?” Zafa asked.

“They were keen to ask the same question and were delighted to hear the Uzliumbax ratio is 1:1 as their ratio is nine females to one male. Our doctors have checked, and they assure us we are genetically compatible with a few small tweaks to ensure pregnancy. They have a fraction less Uzliumbax DNA than we do,” Jason informed them.

****

Adhhan walked in with a broad smile on her face. She strolled over to hug Jason from behind and put her head over his shoulder and cheek to cheek.

“Greetings grandfather and welcome to all of you. I am so excited I’m scared I’m going to wet myself.”

Adhhan smiled and kissed Jason fondly on the cheek.

“We finally got going and passed through the portal and in a few minutes we will be ready to disembark. All your possessions will be moved to your rooms at the palace. Usually we travel to the surface through a portal from the ship, but I want you to see the planet and the capital from the air. We will land at the palace. Your pilot will follow us, and park at the palace.

Adhhan smiled and took Jason’s arm.

“Follow me, the nearest portal to the hangar is outside the door.”

“Adhhan, your planet is extraordinary. It looks like one massive forest with small seas or large lakes. Are all your cities underground?” Oksana asked.

Adhhan grinned.

“I want you to observe our approach to the planet. The planet has dense forests. Many of the trees are hundreds of feet tall with trunks that can be thirty feet in diameter. There is dense undergrowth, only broken by game trails. The planet has uniform warm temperatures that are only 10° lower at the poles.

“Many of the flora and fauna are vicious predators as were we. We were predator apes who hunted in packs. We became the apex predators as we were intellectually superior and well organized. Most predators also eat the vegetation. You could call us omnivores with a dominant interest in meat and fish. Our oceans occupy 30% of the surface, but we also have enormous subterranean lakes and oceans.

“We did not become warlike and competitive as the planet had plenty of space and cooperation helped us survive,” Adhhan explained.

“Oh, my great pulsars around the blackhole in the constellation of Nogtok,” said Zafa. “Look at that! I see a huge city floating in the sky.”

Adhhan grinned even more broadly.

“That is indeed an amazing city we are heading for. It is stunning. It looks like artists put it together! There are so many colors and the buildings have soft shapes. Do you build any of your cities below the ground?” Annjus asked.

“The ground is waterlogged below the surface. We can do it but when we built below the surface it destroyed large tracts of the forest above. We tried many alternative building methods, but none of them worked on the surface. We used floating cities on the seas before we moved to floating cities in the air. If you have the ability to build cities that can move above the surface, you simply don’t need to build cities in the jungle or under it or on the water.

“The city is slowly moving, that is amazing,” said Linda. “How high above the surface is the city?”

“It is 3000 feet above the surface. The city is surrounded by a force field as we have nasty predatory birds and reptiles that would attack people in the streets if they could. We didn’t want to go around the city as heavily armed as we are when we are in the jungle.” Adhhan explained then pointed. “Look to my left you will see the palace.”

“Adhhan your palace is extraordinarily beautiful. It looks like a jewel that changes color constantly. It is the only structure I have seen that has facets. It looks like there is nothing inside. It is an amazing illusion,” said Jason.

Adhhan hugged and kissed him affectionately.

Jason gently hugged her.

Annjus and Oksana looked at each other and raised their eyebrows.

“Adhhan I hear you guys have six to nine children at a time. Is that common amongst the different species in the jungle?” Zafa asked.

“Yes, Zafa all species must accept they lose children. We lost children to predators. To this day we train our children to survive in the jungle. They begin their training when they can walk, and they are expected to be able to survive in the jungle by the time they are six years of age. They begin jungle training early and from six years old they have four camps a year in the jungle,” said Adhhan. “We can’t offer the same on our other planets, we will overload our jungle. Many other planets have jungles but none are like ours.”

“What predator is most dangerous to you?” Oksana asked.

“We have a small reptilian bird, the size of my hand that injects its eggs into our abdomens. The young hatch and feed on us before burrowing back through the skin and escaping. In our earliest years we lost many children and adults to them. We learned to wear leather armor which protected us from them.”

“Can’t you remove them magically?” Oksana asked.

“No, Oksana, they counter our magical efforts. Every beast uses magic on this planet. We are coming in to land. We will settle you into your rooms, show you around the city and then have lunch. University starts tomorrow. You will be immersed in the new technologies, manipulation of magic and the scientific underpinnings behind it all. You will stay at the palace and take a portal to the University every day. Not all the accommodation has been completed at the University, so many of the students will be staying with families for the next three months. It is important our people begin to mix with others and learn about the outside world.

“Your learning device is in your room. It is ready for you to bond with it. Place your hand on the surface and hold the sphere. The system assesses your knowledge and ability and it will begin to schedule how you will receive what you need to know most effectively. We will provide you with a full history of our civilization and concurrently you will start receiving the content of your courses. You hold the sphere for two minutes and it dumps a large block of information and related tasks chemically. You process it overnight while asleep. It dumps enough for a week at a time. The sphere instructs your brain how to approach the information, and adapts itself to you progressively over time. Use it daily as it helps remediate errors you might make or corrections suggested by your teachers.

“We are giving you our full university curriculum and we will ensure you can survive in the jungle as we do for all of our people. Students spend time in the jungle every year to keep up their skills. You will be fully prepared for when you do,” Adhhan explained as they disembarked from the luxurious gunship. “The jungle is a wondrous place. I look forward to showing it to you.”

Annjus turned back to look at the gunship again.

“Adhhan everything has been so well thought out. Nearly everything I look at is lovely. The terraced gardens, the palace, the buildings and the city.” Annjus remarked. “Even your gunship is a work of art.”

“How thick is the city?” Andrea asked.

“It is four miles thick and it covers a hundred square miles,” said Adhhan. “It moves along at 20 miles per hour. We don’t want to disturb the light in the jungle unduly.”

“The jungle below is our pride and joy. There are beautiful plants and flowers. The trees are majestic and magnificent. Yet, beneath the beauty everything is dangerous. I don’t know how such a place evolved. We have not found another equivalent in this universe. Most of the other planets we live on are closer to Mars and Porquenta. We can see everything evolved here from the marshes. Everything is related to everything else, us included, but it has evolved into an intense, competitive and dangerous place. Anyone who has been brought up on this planet can deal with most dangerous situations and adversity with ease. We evolved to have quick reflexes. We have the same teeth, claws and rapiers you guys have.

“Follow me through the portal into the palace!”

****

“How did you like the campus?” Mergal Ravengus Queen of the Azayal, Jason’s mother-in-law asked at the end of the first week on the new campus. She was sitting next to Empress Prof. Pardela Ravengus her daughter and Jason’s Azayal wife. Next to her was her other daughter Kalalal who was in Jason’s class on campus. At the table was his other mother-in-law Brecht Chatzke known formally as Ouma Chatzke who was sitting next to Jason’s uncle Cassius, Emperor of a society that was sixty-five-thousand years ahead of Earth when Jason first visited. Queen Adhhan was sitting next to Cassius and her sisters.

“It is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen,” said Jason. “The learning sphere is different but as good as the Azloc system. Jiskassa reluctantly agrees. I have learned an enormous amount about magic and how to use it in a week. Adhhan I am delighted we came here, you are giving us a priceless experience,” said Jason.

Adhhan leaned over and give him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re welcome grandpa!”

“This week we were immersed in both the theory and practice of magic and then we begin on the sciences. We do all our usual military stuff as well, but we are concentrating on jungle warfare and urban warfare on floating cities.

“At first it was distracting being on the campus because of the magnificent changing view. The campus is the series of buildings of interlocking multicolored bubbles that create loops, knots and whorls; that you can see from here. It is an extraordinary building. From the outside the bubbles look transparent, but it is an illusion,” said Jason.

“The smell of the air is bracing and invigorating. I feel strong and energetic while here, alive and on top of my form! There is something about this planet that rejuvenates me.

“From the classrooms and laboratories, you can see the forest below, the sky above and the city around you. Once the class begins all the distractions disappear. The food on campus is to die for! When I first went to University on Earth the canteen food was dreadful. I thought all universities were going to be like that but when I began at your university Cassius the food was great as it was on Merka. I tried to make sure the food on Mars was of an equal standard. Everything here tastes fresh, smells great and has interesting textures.” Jason continued.

“Because the learning system is so efficient, we spend most of the day in the laboratories working on projects and learning practical magic. The electronics of level III power surprised me. They can do so much! Level III power is completely different to anything I would’ve expected. Yes, I knew the theory, but in practice it is way ahead of my imagination. It has 16 strands in this dimension. It has 8 strands in two other dimensions. They are unable to use it in other dimensions here, but it will be much more versatile in our universe as I’m sure it was on Norbut 19. They simply don’t have most of the dimension’s we know here. Most of us have had an awakening in a way we would have never expected. I feel like a father who has discovered his forgotten lost children and they establish a great relationship!”

Adhhan smiled and hugged Jason and kissed him on both cheeks.

Cassius and Brecht looked at each other. Mergal grinned.

“I have always felt there was something missing in my education. My major aim I believed was to educate myself well enough to be a good Emperor. I realized when I went through the social sciences, politics and law I already knew far more than I realized. I didn’t know it in the formal academic sense, but I knew what to do and why I was doing it.

“I was confused as I still felt something was missing. I felt university would give me something I needed but my appetite for what it was only partly sated. Now I feel as if my missing something is being satisfied. The magic as we are now doing it fills the need.” Jason explained. “These are the powers and the concepts I was searching for.”

“I am disturbed daily by a voice calling me from somewhere. The voice is familiar, like the voice of someone I know well; it is not threatening, but it sounds distressed. I wondered if there was possibly another AI that is part of the planet or something like that. It is highly improbable, but it has the feel of great power and the feel of another ancient. I can’t work out why it feels familiar!”

Jason sat and frowned.

“Where has he gone?” Adhhan asked. “Jason just disappeared. Does he do that often?”

“Adhhan, Jason is not like anyone else you will ever meet,” said Cassius. “Things happen to Jason that are extraordinary and different. We describe him as a black hole for trouble, for women, for allies and friends, and for money. He attracts all strongly. He will reappear and tell you something you would never have expected could be possible.”

Most of the people at the table laughed.

“I wonder what could have possibly happened?” Brecht asked.

“Brecht, I wouldn’t bother speculating; whatever it is you will hear about, and it won’t be something you could ever have ever imagined, not even in your wildest dreams,” said Cassius smiling. “Life around Jason is interesting, sometimes too interesting!”

****

Jason found himself in a pitch–black space. The air smelled a little stale.

“I am tired and lack power. It took me some time to get a lock on you,” said the voice weakly.

“Could we have a little light in here please?” Jason asked.

Gradually the space became lighter but remained dim. Jason’s insect vision helped him see clearly.

The cavern was enormous and looked like it was dug out using machines. The floor and walls were smooth. He couldn’t see an entrance, and could not see far into the blackness ahead of him. In front of him was an ancient decaying spaceship, of an usual but familiar design. He knew the design but could not remember it. It looked like a thick sheet of metal, ten yards thick next to him, and had a ripple in the center. He was standing near the back of the ship and facing the rear. It had a pair of engines the size of a block of apartments. He turned but he couldn’t see the front. It was 80 yards high at the thickest point, 500yds away from him, but he could not see how long it was. Judging by the size of the engines, it was as large as a dreadnaught.

The hull was deeply pitted, and pale tuberous vegetation was growing all over the ship. It looked like it had been lying there for a very long time. He looked upwards. The cavern was lined with a white concrete material. Some vegetation had grown up the walls, but was otherwise sparse on the floor.

“You are the Emperor of the people?” The voice asked shakily.

“If you are referring to the people who came from Norbut 19, then I am the young Emperor who left with a fleet. I am visiting this Mini-Universe and I am studying at the University. I have recently been back to visit my mother on Norbut 19. She tells me that universe is close to collapse and she is sending the people to Nasta 9 universe where I come from. We discovered this universe recently after we were trying to deal with the threat of the Gazronnaas.” Jason explained.

“I am Nefta B45K345beta9. Do you remember me?” The voice asked.

“When we descended and assumed the form I am in, we lost our memories. My mother offered to help me recover them.

“I am beginning to recover my memories. I have a picture of a very large spaceship with a small one next to it when you mention your name,” said Jason.

“That small spaceship is me. Some of the people traveled in my mother and our extended family. The Gazronnaas entered my mother and after they pretended to be your friends, they started a war with your people. You prevented them from getting into me. When the people decided to send some of you away to prepare for them to leave Norbut 19, I decided to stow away on one of the ships. I left my body behind and moved my consciousness into the AI within this ship. When we arrived here, that stupid woman, Queen Cluissimst Ilosiasda, would not listen to anything I had to say. She hid the ship in this cave she created in the side of a mountain range. I have been waiting for you to rescue me for a very long time. The power on this ship will not last another thousand years. We are towards the end of the last reserves of energy available on the ship. The AI and I have done our best, but the drones cannot function, and we can no longer rebuild them. This ship was not built to last.”