Chapter 6: Marionette Crown

The sympathizer walked among the elite of the galaxy, unheard and unseen. These members of the High Assembly thronged along the hall of The Gallery, an antechamber that led to the high chamber where Ruler Lee met with various crowns and royals.

Large, stone pillars inlaid with marble and trimmings of gold held up the arched domed ceiling. Myriad pairs of feet clicked on the floor which shone with an almost reflective sheen. Crowns adorned in state dress of richly woven cloth and fabrics milled about, congregating in small groups as they awaited the arrival of Ruler Lee.

How many worlds’ fate was decided right here in The Gallery? Amid the luxurious opulence and the decadence of great power, planets which were flung far across the galaxy could meet here and strike agreements to benefit citizens millions of light years away.

“Do you really suppose Crown Turner will approve the treaty between—”

“Crown Balark intends to fully back Ruler Lee in—”

“Preyida has certainly done well for itself with this marriage to Earth. But don’t you think it’s rather peculiar that—”

On and on the conversations and speculations went. The sympathizer listened to them, storing nuggets of information as he saw fit. Everywhere, the members of the High Assembly bustled about in their agendas and intrigues.

A well of sorrow attacked the sympathizer with a suddenness that halted him in his tracks. Had Htara’s fate been decided amidst all of these royals?

Pushing away his morose thought, he collected his bearings. He stood alongside a large mural, one of many that had been painted by artisans of Earth, thus the name The Gallery. Each painting added in some way the origin story of the Milky Way Planetary Alliance.

The artist’s rendering of the first space train that traveled along the dark matter railway from Earth. Here, in this artist conception, the train, named Explorer, traveled away from the blue planet in a horizontal line, fully encapsulated by early protective sheathing.

The backdrop of the universe loomed like an ominous creature, portraying the unknown, dangerous quality of space travel with darkness. Yet, the bright, silver train sped away, marking the beginning of Earth’s rule.

Passing through the bodies of a pair of crowns, he studied another mural. Here, the painting detailed the network of railways as the creator of the piece interpreted it. No one could see dark matter but most understood it in mathematical form.

Gray, wispy lines surrounded a quartet of depicted planets of some distant solar system. Trains traveled on those loose, fluid tracks which arced around the spheres, illustrating how the dark matter railways encompassed each world, giving rise to the connectivity of the galaxy at large.

How could Htara know that such access would spell their doom?

“Earthlings have such talent,” a crown, dressed in a deep, green gown stated as she walked with another royal. The woman had highly ornate eyebrow paint and jewelry in a face dark with reddish hues. “They express themselves so well in the medium of art. No other race in the Alliance has such an aptitude for manifestations as they do.”

“True.” The royal beside Green-gown wore a gold, conical shaped umbrella hat gestured to the painting as they sat on the bench before it, his skin pale as silk. “See how this artist illustrates the Engineer’s hand creating the railways with just the tips of the finger hold the writing implement?”

These foreign royals had no idea the writing instrument held in the hand of the Engineer, the deity many of the Alliance worshipped and paid homage. Those of a devout nature referred to themselves as ‘beacons’ or ‘beaconess’, depending on sex.

“Must Earth have so much claim to the galaxy?” Green-gown asked under her breath.

“Of course,” Gold-hat responded. “They’re the ones whom the Engineer gave the wherewithal to discover and travel the railways. They’ve enlarged their territory by absorbing worlds into the Alliance.”

“But there are thousands of galaxies,” Green-gown argued. “Surely they can’t rule them all.”