Friday, September 23, 2011

Humanities' future history

In the not too distant future, it could be sooner than you think, a war will breakout. This is not divine providence, no foreshadowing of things to come. I am not using a crystal ball and no time traveler has come to call. This is just the history as I know it. A time when children’s laughter will be replaced with sirens warning of an attack, when travel will be made impossible because of the lack of resources due to government appropriations, and when trade will become impossible leaving many to starve who have no idea how to produce their own foods. Economy will die and so will millions who are not even holding a gun. All the while the militaries of this world will reign terror on the civilians they believe they are fighting for.

After decades of fighting and many leaders dead, the reasons the war was started will become remote and forgotten. The fight will be just a fight. The new leaders and generals will have known no peace in their lives. They will have only known war and the desire to continue it. Each country left standing on this world will have lost its culture, constitutions, ideals, religions, and cities. Farming resources will become the last ground to protect and that will become military run. The world will be left with only military and wanderers.

Wanderers will be those who took to ground or ran to the hills in the beginning of the war. These few will create a civilization of survivors who know a little of farming, animal husbandry, eating off the land. They will create camps and colonies in the mountains and caves. They will create tribes in the plains and deserts. They will be the forefathers of humanities future. It will be these survivors who being to repopulate the areas of the world where the military is not raging war and dropping bombs.

It is in this time several decades possibly a century or more from now, when one of the military powers will do it. They will unleash what they believe to be the weapon that will end the war. With the loss of reason due to generations of war, this weapon will have more devastating effect than any weapon used to that time. The power behind this weapon will have been gleaned from the nuclear war heads which lay in dust and had never been used by previous generations who were aware of the after affects and finality these weapons would bring. This weapon will lay waste the plains, hills, farms, and even the lakes and oceans. This global killer will destroy all things standing leaving dust and desert. The air will become un-breathable and there will be nowhere to run.

What would be the rebirth of new generations will be destroyed. But a few will survive. A few always survive; a few military, a few wanderers. The military will continue to do as it has always done and the wanderers will do again what they have always done. This time however, instead of going to ground they will go to space.



The wanderers would have already spent generations learning how to grow crops with no earth to plant them in and recycled air and water to feed them. They would have learned how to keep flocks and herds alive in the caves using filters to breath. They would have already been planning for the day when they would have to make the greatest move of all human history and take the greatest risk for their survive. They may not be large in numbers but they were not small either and their planning would be a global joint effort with some of the other wandering tribes who also had skills and assets of their own. It was believed that moving the human race to space was the only way to keep it from its own extinction.

With the final bombs fall on the last of the known military bases, the wanderers made their final preparations to move to space. Ships which had been prepped and waiting for this day were loaded with the livestock, machinery, and crops. The tribes of the earth who had wandered the surface in search of a habitable corner, all launched together and left the military that remained behind to continue the war they could not finish.

Living in space brought many trials and much advancement in technology. Once the shipped united to create one large ship in the shape of a large ring, the massive ship was put into motion. The ship was named the Itinerant. It circulated on its own perimeter creating an artificial gravity and it moved forward out of the galaxy. Had anyone been there to see this massive ship from a far, it would have looked like a halo around an absent moon. The reason for leaving was not in hopes of find a planet to inhabit, though that was in the backs of every wanderer’s mind. The reason was simply to wander and explore. This is all they knew.

Generations lead the way for new generations to exist and survive in space. The scientist continued to experiment and develop new ways to improve their ship, to expand without the need for more metal or plastic materials to protect them from space. They found ways to use crops and other vegetation to creating a biologic filtering system which would produce breathable air. They mad discoveries in technology which made life in space comfortable. They also discovered new power sources using plasma and water. This was the most exciting discovery because the byproduct produced nothing but water and air and was such a powerful energy source that it could propel the ship faster than ever thought possible and be used in handheld weapons for defense. The later was kept secret from the leaders and travelers.

These generation lead to more generations and the population began to stretch the bounds of the world they had created to live in. The ship was already 3 times it original size and would stretch no more. It was at this time that the wanderers started seeking out a planet to inhabit. The datalink showed many galaxies and solar systems that they had passed and had records of many worlds, though none were thought to be livable. They then turned their attention ahead. The great search began.



Engineers created small ships out of pieces of the larger ones. Then a group was created and trained for exploration and evaluation of living planets and possible dangers that may exist. These agents were sworn into service for the greater good. These few were prepared to keep up their search even to the end of their lives knowing that they may not find their way back, that they would forever be removed from the society of their race. These few were honored and celebrated and many wanted to be in the service.

After several hundred more years and many generations again passing in to history, a message came. Ma’tris had found a planet. In fact he had found three planets in one system.

One planet was lush and rotated in a pattern similar to the records they had of the planet their ancestors left. The size was adequate to not only inhabit but to grow on. It has oceans of drinkable water, mountains, ice, and some life did already exist there. The life was vegetative mostly, but Ma’tris had found some animal and water life. The animal life was primitive, no true intelligence. The climate was temperate, somewhat warm in places for a human who has spent his whole life in a spaceship, but there were much colder areas also.

This system had two other planets which are inhabitable as well. The closest was also inhabitable but would need some terraforming. There was a breathable atmosphere and some vegetation, but very little life. There were oceans, lakes, and rivers, but not all of it was drinkable.

The last of the three planets which would support human life was much colder. There was plenty of all that the first and most ideal planet had, but it was much colder and ice covered in many areas, leaving a smaller area to begin the human settlement. The tribe of space traveling humans would settle on the first of the three planets for its size and resources which were indeed more than they ever thought they would find.

Because Ma’tris had found this system of planets, it was named by him. He honored his family by calling the system Ma’tris. His honored his grandmother who died before arriving and was the first human buried on any planet in over a hundred generations by naming the first planet after her, Tarre. He honored his mother by naming the second planet Clari, after her. And he named the third planet with its harsh climate after his dad, Mundi. This was his privilege for his years of service and his profound discovery.

His position of service would be well remembered and it would be his honored duty to continue his service by leaving Ma’tris and seeking out those others in service who search the stars and bring them to their new home. He would do this even unto his death, but he would not come home with them.



Life and humanity flourished on Tarre. They did not want for food; they were well trained in farming and animal husbandry. They spread out and created towns and cities. New generations were born and many more after that. Those new generations spread out even farther until the human race again dominated a planet. They developed subcultures and trade between regions and cities. The laws that ruled the wanderers in space were the foundation for the constitution developed to help rule on Tarre.

The council of elders established on the Itinerant which brought them from the dead planet became the ruling force on Tarre and was called the Quorum. The Quorum was charged with deciding on legal issues and helping to maintain the human ideals. They were the architects of the cities, they were the mediators of trade, and they were the creators of the culture on Tarre. So powerful was the Quorum that many thought of it as a parent. The Quorum grew so intimate in the knowledge of each person that it had to create a way of housing and tracking that data. Datapads and c-tags were created to track movement, trade, purchases, and even education. Marriages needed the Quorum blessing, a practice adopted from the space traveling days when the elders had to make sure that children would not be produced from parents who may be more closely related then is genetically ideal. Homes were assigned by the Quorum based on the production and participation of the citizen. Moving from one city to the next was rare and only approved if the population was diminished and needed revitalizing.

The Quorum also continued to select men and woman to a life of service. It was still an honored position and a position very few citizens knew anything about. What was known was that the Quorum began recruited young, they began each year or so to select from a younger and younger group. After still more generations, it was expected that by the age of nine you would either be selected or released to be a free citizen. The honor that the accompanied this position was forgotten. Once selected to service that person would never be seen again. Parents and children alike feared selection and small groups began to become dissatisfied with life on Tarre.

The uprising that was eminent could not have been controlled without a civil war. The Quorum had enough service agents trained to use all the weapons it had created to mount a military attack to subdue the groups of rebels or it could have sent just a few specially trained assassins to eliminate the trouble makers, but they knew that public opinion was waning. Any attack on the Quorum’s part could push those who sympathize with the rebels to their side dividing further the society the Quorum created. However, the Quorum knew that dissatisfaction was like a virus. People, who would never be disposed to feel it, would catch it like a cold and then spread it on to the next person. The spread of this rebellious disease had to be stopped. That is when negotiation began.



When this group of usurps demanded the ability to build ships and travel the stars to Clari or Mundi, the Quorum considered the advantages of allowing this group to leave. With the rebels off Tarre, the Quorum could again gain peaceful control of its cities. They would colonize, terraform, establish new trade, and perhaps find something useful to further promote the Quorum. If these bands of usurps were allowed to go with the blessing of the Quorum, it could be promoted as the Quorum’s idea for explanation. The propaganda would promote the move and invite others to join. They would imply that the expansion to the outer planets was the idea of the Quorum. They could then make suggestions and offer assistance in setting up camps and deliver supplies at regular intervals. The even made plans to establish trade facilities so that they could sell their surplus goods back to Tarre. The Quorum was now in full agreement of the proposed exodus. The Quorum was confident that it could preserve some control over these citizens and that their departure would not only solidify control on Tarre but also provide new income and territory to develop for the betterment of Tarre.

An agreement was reached between the Quorum and the rebel leaders and the planning began. It was proposed that to better help the rebels in their preparations for leaving, they should be moved to a location which would provide them the space to build ships and gather supplies. It would be remote enough that they would not be hindered by the cities design and would not intrude on the day-to-day workings of the citizens of Tarre who did not wish to leave. This suited the rebels. The Quorum offered labors and scientist to assist in the construction of the ships and temporary buildings they would need for storage and shelter before the move and after they arrive on Clari. These labors were citizens who wished to journey with the rebels and start fresh on a new planet. The rebels agreed to the numbers, though they were ignorant of the fact that these laborers were in fact the rare criminal element kept isolated from the cities and general population who were offered the opportunity to leave. The Quorum offered material and supplies and only asked that for every ship they made to transport their group, they may one for Tarre that they may be able to bring those promised supplies. All this the rebels agreed to.

While the rebels prepared, so did the Quorum. The Quorum’s half truths were celebrated. The Tarre citizens were proud of their government and of the brave citizens who were to venture to Clari to build begin colonization of that harsh planet. Most citizens wonder who would want to leave and if the people departing were not those citizens who were brought into service. Merchants began to get excited of the possibility of new materials for trade and began to save credits to be able to purchase then first. Building designers began making plans for small rule buildings in the hopes of being named on some of the first buildings on this yet to be populated planet. All citizens were excited; none remembered this exodus came about because a few rebels were dissatisfied.



The rebels took with them to the new world all that they could carry on the ships that they built. They brought plants and hydroponic equipment, they brought herds and flocks, and they brought tools and building materials. The brought all those who wanted to start a new life away from Quorum control. They also brought those people the quorum had sent; the unsavory, unlawful, derelict, and spies.

They settled and populated the plant Clari. They built towns and elected councils, developed agriculture and trade, and they also discovered the planet’s resources. Deep mines of ibinium were found in almost all ocean-side mountains. Scientist on Clari discovered the dense properties and usefulness in the construction of shields for ships, armor, and transport vehicles. They were amazed that a sheet of this material as thick as a man’s arm and as wide and long as the gathering table could be easily picked up by even the smallest child. Ibinium was found to be pliable in its raw state and unbreakable once heated and formed. They also discovered the explosive nature of ibinium.

The population on Clari grew quickly spreading out over the entire livable surface. Counsels created their own laws and constitutions. Though the laws differed in some ways, they all were founded on a basic premise of freedom from Quorum control. The Clari citizens were united in this idea and were careful in their trade with Tarre. No Tarre official or Quorum agent was welcome on Clari and any attempt to establish governmental or trade representative building ended in arsine or outright explosion.

The Clari people maintained their independence and even expanded their colony to Mundi. These two planets developed a culture of freedom and exploration. They developed their own class structure. The counsel was largely made up of the wealthy. There were independent farmers whose worth was not great in currency, but who never wanted for anything. There was also those whose fortunes were not great and whose lack of success in farming, trade, or mining reduced this lot to working for scraps from the wealthy. The Book of Faith emerged from the remnants of a bible which had been passed down hundreds of generations, and with this a religion and religious class was born.

Clari was not without its criminal element. This group was made up of the men and woman the Quorum had sent and those unfortunates who could not carve out a life and found theft a better source of credit. The laws did address this and when caught, the criminal was treated harshly, but the crime still existed and thrived. It was this group who began to smuggle goods from Tarre to Clari and back. Many of this element found life in space more preferable. It even became organized. Leaders emerged and took control of the types and amount of smuggling. These leaders even positioned themselves on counsels in the interest of Clari freedom. It is because of these councilmen that stations were built in space for trading black-market items and for keeping a closer eye on Tarre.

In the years that followed the rebels’ exodus from Tarre, a feeling of apprehension had developed. The Quorum is now frustrated by its lack of control of its citizens and wants control of the resource discovered on Clari. The settlers of Clari and Mundi frightened by the possibility of falling under Quorum control yet again, know that the key to keeping independence is keeping control of the ibinium. Spies, intrigue, and political volleying fuel the hostilities and it is only a matter of time before the struggle erupts into a war that could destroy all worlds.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

In the beginning...

Twelve children sat quietly at their stations awaiting the next lesson. This is not out of the ordinary for on any given day these children would be at their stations receiving the education prescribed by the instructors. However, today is the exception to the ordinary because today they are being reviewed and decisions on their futures are being made by the group of representatives who show up each year. Some of these children will be allowed to continue their general education and lead peaceful lives as citizens. These children will never know violence, famine, illness, or want. Their children will be sent to the best schools and most of them would be given the choices that all parents want for their child. Some children, however, will never have a choice. They will never know that they were not given a choice. The parents of those select children will be told what an honor it is for their child to have been chosen for public service. They may be told this, but they knew it meant that their child would never be the same and may never be seen again.
Sitting quietly in class was one such child. He was being examined closely. His test scores and personality definitions were exactly what they were looking for. The child did not seem any different than any of the other children to his instructors. In fact to the instructors, no child seems more likely to be selected than any other. This was the reason a team of investigators was selected for this job rather than leaving it up to the school or the instructors.
This child was 9 years old and played skeef just like the rest of the boys. He had begun to become interested in the girls in the class, but was still too shy to have any real contact. He was starting to dream of his future. However; unlike the other children in the class room, he was beginning to think about being selected. He was not really sure he wanted this, but he was not thinking much about his other options. No one knew of this, not even his friends. As far as his instructors and family were concerned, he was just like the other boys dreaming of the future his parent’s wanted for him; a future where he would peacefully perform the same service as his father as a citizen of Tarre. If his parents had their wish, he would work on space carriers. He had even spent his summer on one such carrier with his father learning about the hydroplasmic engines. This was fun for him as an adventure would be, but it was not what he wanted to do.
His parents were very clear in their distaste of the possibility of public service for him. On the one occasion when he brought the subject up with his parents, they became anxious, actively checking windows and doors, and proceeded in whispering voices to tell him that it was not safe to say such things. They told him that public service changed you, took you away from your family, and you would never be allowed back into the society when the term of service was completed if they offered a term with a definite end and if he lived that long. From that time forward, he never mentioned it again, but he never stopped thinking about it.
On this day he was being examined for just such a life. The investigators were even going so far as to decide in what form of public service he would serve. In whispered voices they were chattering excitedly. They believed they may have found one, the one in a thousand who would suit the Quorum’s purpose. That purpose being one of the most well kept secrets. So well kept, that most in public service did not even know about it.
Of course, he would need training to prepare for this future. His first stop would be to the academy. He would need some conditioning to ensure his cooperation and desire to server in the capacity chosen for him. Then there would a period of time when he would actually put some of his training to use in a visible-to-society manner to keep appearances and questions at bay. Then after this training, when his prime and ready, he would disappear and no one would remember he ever existed. This future would essentially whip clean the existence of this child, his past, present, and any future he may have had. If selected now, his training would start immediately, he would not been here tomorrow.
After some more excited whispers, there was silence. The men standing in the corner of the room like the 5 pillars of Palnith, tall, formidable, unshaken, and fearsome, commanded attention. Everyone feared the entrance to Palnith, the depths of that cavern have not been reached and many who have entered have never returned. The similarity to the vision in front of them and the reputation of Palnith was not lost on the entire class and everyone knew why they were there. Many of the children sat nervously, fearing to their small depths that they were being reviewed, evaluated, or selected. With some sigh of relief from both the class and the instructor, only one of the pillars lifted his long shroud covered arm and pointed to the boy. “Gil Wayt.”

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Lets try this again...

I know I am meant for something more than what I am. Don't get me wrong, I am happy being a mother, wife, and MT, but I want to give my ideas life in print. There are worlds and futures, pasts and fables, romance and intrigue just waiting to be shared.

This blog site is title appropriately. It is meant to be a beginning. I hope that one day, many years from now, I can sit back and look on this site and remember how it started. How my ideas took form. How the worlds in my imagination developed, and how my characters came to life. It will be a source of history for my stories, a base and outline for the epics I hope to write and see published.

When I tried this before, I was in a different place. Now I have come through my trials, and I am ready to begin again. Wish me luck.