“Where were you?” Solse is irate and collecting himself. His horns hit against the side of the polycarbonate plastic of the helmet on his head that provides oxygen. He is in full astronaut gear, it is life support where he is now on some planet, if you can call it that, that can only be inhabited in full body protection with life support. It is like most other planetary type bodies in the banned regions. A very long time ago, when the ancient civilization that eventually fractured into the three societies now known as the Rhasdwiis, the Hafjeris, and the Bromeris was still intact, the asteroids and small planets in the present day banned region were mined for minerals and other resources, but over time, as the politics of the universe have evolved, the region has become a no go zone. Many of the mineral rich bodies are guarded by criminal organizations that have formed over time as various civilizations have banned what they deem to be the worse of their society to the region.
Solse has been in the banned regions for some time; his banishment was executed shortly after the conclusion of the Prab debates. Since that time, he has drifted around the banned regions avoiding danger and making friends when possible. He spends most of his time in the safe zone that was established by those who were banned from their home worlds for political reasons and he is able to find reliable food and shelter there. When he is not in the safe zone, he’s scouring the banned regions for a safe place to keep the device known as the Aeternus Machina. He and his friend Joel, a Druinte who is not banned from his home world, have completed the device in secrecy and now in order to protect it, they constantly move it to avoid anyone happening on it by chance.
“I followed your coordinates exactly, but it led me to this place. I don’t see anything.” Solse communicates with Joel via a microphone in his helmet. Solse is fluent in the Druinte language and speaks it easily. Joel can hardly form his mouth to speak the standard Bromeran vernacular. Like his sister, Solse is fluent in many of the languages of the Known Universe. The two received a particularly rigorous education as children on Bromeran because their father was an assistant of a former Nexus and he wanted his children to rise to prominent positions in the society. Solse’s banishment has been very hard on the Prab family that still inhabits the planet Bromeran.
“I hear you, but I am in the exact spot of those coordinates and I don’t see…” Solse is interrupted by the sound of someone shuffling along the dusty and rocky surface of the planet. He turns to see an enthusiastic Joel bounding toward him in steps that are more like exaggerated jumps in the low gravity of the planet.
“I’m here!” Joel says enthusiastically.
“Great. I don’t see the machine.”
“Thanks, I think I picked a great hiding place.” Joel’s whole face smiles at Solse who is not impressed.
“Right, but we’re here now to move it, so where is it?”
Joel takes off toward a rocky formation that is close by, and Solse begrudgingly follows. He doesn’t like walking in low gravity as much as Joel does.
Joel ducks underneath the rocky formation and before long, produces what appears to be a laptop computer. The screen is glowing brighter than anything else on the planet, it is almost a beacon that Joel carefully aims away from Solse who smiles at the magnificence of their creation. Activating it had been like a page from a Kazi Holy Book on the planet Eel that detailed the awesome feats of the magical Kazi who could bend the laws of physics at will; Solse vividly remembers feeling a jolt of something indescribable on that 99th attempt when Joel finally got the perpetual power source to start. The power source was designed solely by Joel because s/his skills as an engineer far outpaced Solse’s, and both knew that a machine like the Aeternus would require a near infinite source of energy. Joel’s final design was completely theoretical and utilized physics that alluded Solse. Joel never believed it possible, the design had been s/his first ever attempt to create something with the intention of actually making it – of course s/his education had included extremely advanced physical theory, but as a trainee for the Druinte Hall of Foreign Planet Relations or DHFPR, s/he mostly spent time learning to socialize with other beings of the universe and s/he never got the time to practically apply the physics s/he was so familiar with. The DHFPR serves as emissaries to all allies of Druinte civilization in the universe and they are responsible for spreading Druinte culture and bringing information from other cultures of the universe to the planet Druont. Joel first met Solse in s/his capacities as a trainee for the DHFPR, when they visited the planet Brom on a routine goodwill mission. And after many conversations where Solse intrigued Joel with his theories about computer codes and algorithms that could be used to gather all available information from any electronic device in the universe, and how satellites could be made to receive wavelengths of energy from any corner of the universe to provide data that can be used to produce replications of all matter and objects and their movements and actions, Solse and Joel were conceiving what would eventually become the Aeternus. Theoretically, it could work, but Joel would point out the practical problems to Solse and they would discuss possible solutions over lunch or via video communication when they were on different planets. And before long, they were testing prototypes in secret on the planet Bromeran.
“We should go before the light attracts something.” Joel says as s/he closes the screen and kills the bright light
“Do we already have a new place for it?” Solse asks. “I should really do some diagnostics soon, make sure things are collecting and storing properly.”
Joel smiles as s/he packs the device into a heavily padded bag. “You just want to check on your love from across the galaxy.”
Solse chuckles. “I can’t deny that, but the diagnostic thing is true too.”
Solse has navigated his banishment well. He hadn’t felt at home on Bromeran for many years because he thinks of his home planet as a world of docile frauds who are just waiting for death and hoping that their lives will have meaning. He hates that his family is so entrenched in Bromeris politics that they are unable to use their extensive intellect to identify and help correct the deficiencies in Bromeran society. Joel has been Solse’s only friend for many years because Joel listened and helped him work through the solutions that swirled around his mind as he scoured the literature of the universe. Solse has managed to find another being in the universe that intrigues him, thanks to the Aeternus. Its proof to Solse that his banishment is just the beginning of his story.
PRL Serials 