Chapter 9: The dimension wars

The dimension wars

Before we go on some of you might want to know a little more of those. You can probably skip it if you like but as they are what made the Count and his bride one of the most influential families in the ten spheres, well, under the shadow of the Kansler then, it might hold some value for you.

It all started in the year of the ox. The portals that had made it possible, not only to trade inside SpaceTime, but at times also outside, wasn’t humanity’s invention. And as there existed no blueprints, or even knowledge of those that built them they became more or less destined to became the Monarchy’s own dark secret. By a long running tradition it was presented as if the King and his closest retinue could control and use them. A lot of people that otherwise might have tried for a coup were held in line just by this simple fact. Only the King, and his closest had access, or so it was believed, to the originals cradle. Nobody influential wanted to rock that boat, they all made too much money from those portals.

Then again, not all portals went to human space. Some of them opened into vistas impossible to survive in for a carbon based species. It was also so that even though you could open a portal, there was no guarantee that you would be able to come back the same way, or even time. At least that was the suspicion.

Now, time travel into the future is no problem for any of us. We all do it constantly, but to travel as it might be called ‘backwards’ in time? No, too many problems with it, the splits and bifurcations impossible to count as each one would create a new universe, that by necessity wouldn’t be able to connect to the one you left. Or so it was thought at least.

Then again, nobody had ever proved this theory to wrong, although there actually was several people that by using exotic materials, coating so called wormholes, had tried. There were even rumors of people trying to catch and control cosmic strings which, by all practical means, should be impossible.

“Spladerdash and hogbog” as one of the late Kings advisers proudly pronounced it

“There is no way to prove if such a possibility exist your Majesty” he said

“Theory tells us that even if it worked there would be no possibility ever to communicate a success.”

“And no way to trade either I presume? Or war?.” commented the King, stroking his beard thoughtfully. He was rather proud of it, it had taken a great many years to grow, and he liked the feel of it. He said it helped him thinking.

“No Sire”

Well, even if so the portals brought their own message to the King. One of menace. Every time one was found, then opened, there existed this risk of opening it into the wrong vista. If now there was one Monarchy existing, and the King knew that his was one, why shouldn’t there be another?

“Well Sire, civilized societies knows that trade is worth more than a war” as one councilor put it, asked what he thought about that.