The Book of Ominiue: Starborn (10 page)

The crowd all murmured as Shayne passed, an unnaturally silent mass of people that stretched out to the side streets and up to the city castle. Many looked frightened. They seemed to be simultaneously in a state of worship and foreboding. Not as if a saviour had arrived, but an executioner and the feeling within the crowd was fearful acceptance.

Chapter
03

History

“Science has not yet mastered prophecy.”

                                                          – Neil Armstrong

‘I have to warn you, you’ve been brought here to meet the captains of the three colonyships,’ Shayne’s caretaker and teacher Desmond Van daBerg cautioned as they stopped before the double slide doors to the officers’ lounge. ‘They’re busy people, I suggest you be direct.’ With that he swiped his palm across the access point of the door and they both walked through to the common room. There was a table in the centre and a couple of shelves with recreational objects; bound books and electronic devices of various kinds. Books were rare planet-side: you could pay to have stories and other things bound in book form, but it was expensive and many thought it impractical. The Astronauts believed it was the other way around; they held books in high regard and had a thriving printing industry. Though being part of a moving colony such as the
Oxford
meant that physical copies were limited due to weight restrictions.

The room had four doors, one for each wall. The door behind Shayne lead to the common part of the ship and the one in front lead to the Bridge, which housed the captain’s quarters and other rooms of importance including the main core of the ship’s intelligence. The two side doors led to private quarters of the other high ranking officers. Contrary to popular belief the ship’s bridge does not lie at the front of the vessel, but deep inside its interior; protected from any impact that might slip past the defensive systems. Several sensors connected the bridge via independent relays; if desired they could summon a 360-degree view in various wavelengths via a holographic projection that suited the room’s design.

The ship was sentient with understanding and independence almost equal to the free-machine androids. The intelligence ran much of the ship’s internal maintenance with two types of robots on board; those that are independent and work with humans and those that are an extension of the ships conscious, acting as its hands. A secondary backup bridge was placed in the forward nose of each Astronaut vessel, used if the main bridge failed. It was a basic set-up with semi-manual controls and visual windows.

Three Astronauts stood on the opposite side of the room; watching as Shayne and Desmond entered. They were all in perfect health as all Astronauts were; subject to the strict regime-laws of their culture. Incomprehensible to the Planetsiders, the Astronauts were often accused of committing many atrocities in the past, but the harsh reality of their environment and the necessary steps they took to implement the goals of their forefathers had ensured they thrived and maintained their individual happiness. Such success slowly silenced their critics until most of society had come to accept their highly restrictive and governed lifestyle.

The Astronaut in the middle was the oldest looking with her light brown hair streaked with grey, it appeared that she had stopped taking the life extending supplements, not too uncommon amongst Astronauts who had lived well and truly beyond their natural life expectancy. Shayne’s guide said she was one of the oldest humans alive, even with the relative time adjustment she was second only to some of the scoutship Astronauts. She was also taller than the other two, and more stern looking. On her left was a young female; if she were a Planetsider she’d most likely be in her late twenties, maybe early thirties, but being an Astronaut she could easily be above fifty. The male was of solid build with bright blue eyes and short brown hair.

Silence filled the room as the Astronauts regarded their guest. The middle captain broke the silent interrogation with a single nod to Shayne’s caretaker, ‘You are relieved,’ her flat voice resounded confidently. Shayne could not help but register that she spoke with a neutral accent with no hint of outside influence, unlike his own, which even by planet-side standards was usually thick. Desmond responded with a slight bow before shuffling off the way he came. 

‘So, you are the Star Born Victim?’ she continued while examining him. The male recoiled for the briefest of moments at the comment. As Shayne observed them in return he could not help but see that they held unusual demeanour for people of power. Despite their experience as commanders they still carried themselves in typical Astronaut behaviour, rarely looking him face on. They did seem far more confident in dealing with him than his other custodians, almost graceful in their own unusual way, but still vastly different from what he expected.

‘Yes,’ Shayne simply replied.

‘I am Arnahell Moore, Captain of the
Oxford
and Expedition Commander. This is Elinor Warren, Captain of the
Eureka
, and this is Dirac Anderson, Captain of the
Manhattan
.’ They all stood in silence for a few seconds before Arnahell continued. ‘The doctors have passed on that you’re only partially Starborn, with memories beyond any ever known to have existed, and a comprehension fitting your evaluated level of intelligence.’

‘So they have told me,’ replied Shayne, ‘but I remember nothing.’

‘Consciously you know nothing, but you can talk, and you can walk, you can distinguish many objects, you have a comprehension level that far exceeds the typical Starborn.’

‘And all of those things, be it conscious or not, require using your memory,’ Elinor added. Her voice was soft and sounded slightly uncertain.

‘You’ll probably remember other things too,’ Arnahell continued. ‘The perception test given to you has highlighted areas of activation slightly beyond the subconscious.’

‘And i-it’s, it’s probable,’ Elinor interrupted stuttering in her uncertainty, but a slight smile breached over her face as she spoke, the anxious tone quickly fading away, replaced with the enthusiasm and confidence of her thoughts, ‘that with a more informal test to d-detect and isolate potential
real
memories.’ Shayne struggled to picture this woman as a captain, she lacked any of the attributes that the Planetsiders expected in their officers, undoubtedly she was a different person when commanding her ship.

‘What would this prove?’ Shayne asked, his eyes moving from each of them in turn.

‘W-we don’t understand the Planetsiders logic,’ Elinor continued. ‘There are no known correlations to the Starborn Causality, and they don’t care t-to know the signs. On top of that they don’t allow Astronauts to study the Starborn phenomena until they’re awake.’ Shayne’s face sharpened; half in question, half in scepticism.

‘A Planetsiders business is their own,’ Arnahell came back into the conversation. ‘They want Starborn redundancies and that’s their prerogative, and their own agenda. We’re only interested in how they influence the process.’

‘Influence?’ Shayne scanned their faces, still sceptical.

‘We’ve reason to believe that’s the case, which also leads to the question of why you? Such a high profile member of the planet-side colony, the only conclusion is to ward off suspicion, but the statistics are still against them. Scientific process states that there has to be a correlation, but we can’t find anything; genetically or externally. We think maybe it has to do with how the brain was initially wired before suspended animation, and if that theory fails then it must be influenced.’

‘But it’s just a hypothesis,’ Elinor interjected. ‘First we must determine the process of the brain, with you being half infected it might be possible to make a partial map. It won’t solve the question, but it’ll provide valuable information for the future.’

‘So none have received this experiment?’

‘It didn’t occur to us in the past, and such opportunities rarely present themselves.’

‘You’re the most able Starborn in current history,’ Arnahell added.

‘If Astronauts are impartial to the Planetsiders actions, why the interest?’

‘You can’t say we’re entirely impartial,’ Arnahell’s face slightly hardened, ‘but in this matter it’s purely a question of science. The Planetsiders
want
Starborns that is their business; we don’t dictate to the Planetsiders what they do with their time or their resources. We merely want to understand.’

Shayne looked at each of the captains, he could feel a deep penetrating gaze upon him from Dirac but the minute he looked at him, the male captain’s eyes would shift past him, like everyone else. Only Arnahell seemed able to hold his gaze. She was watching him keenly at this moment, curious of what his next response would be.

‘I am told I must obey the command of my superior officers.’

‘We’re merely bringing you what we suspect, you as a sentient human deserve that, and we’re requesting that you consider any probable information or action, not demanding,’ Arnahell said. She searched his face, and he in turn studied hers. ‘You’ll find Forrester, that you’ll be treated as a Starborn from the Planetsiders no matter how intelligent or useful you may be. Your wit may be worthy but their fear is greater. We don’t think like them. We base rank, when given, upon intelligence and capability; trained from the young with all potential and interest provided. We assess outsiders in the same manner.’

‘You’re a true Star Born Child,’ Elinor reminded. ‘You’ve returned to the world brand new, and with the ability to comprehend and judge from a neutral position. It is a rare opportunity.’

Shayne studied the captains, thinking about their proposition. ‘I am interested,’ he finally added. ‘If only to reveal any possible truth, and to acquire potential understanding of the phenomenon; I care nothing for cause or cure, which I know is unattainable, just for what is.’

‘Que Sera, Sera,’ Elinor finished.

With that Desmond was called back in and Shayne was taken away from the Captains. As he passed through the doors he took one last look back; all three were now talking intently to each other, their voices too soft to be overheard.

***

Keemaíth was an ancient city, one of the first cities on the eastern divide though it was not known if lionmen or Afradians first founded it. Bohaníde was the second nation settled by the lionmen, whereas Kérith-Árim and Kíbaroth were once part of a united Afradian kingdom called
Haran
. The empire eventually broke down to become the Wayel-Éaa; the division of Haran occurred when Markeeian Lords granted lands to great human warlords during the dark years, and over time the human lands eventually became lionmen dominated. Bohaníde had always been lionmen country and they were very proud of that, historically Afradians that lived in Bohaníde existed under lionmen rule and not the other way around. 

Lionmen were not as restless as men, they did not desire the same things. Their migration outside of Nakáda, their country of origin, was a very slow process caused by pressures of ancient wars. Most still resided in their original lands and during peacetime their outward movement essentially halts. Outside the four nations of Bohaníde, Kérith-Arim, Kíbaroth and Nakáda their numbers compared to humans dramatically tapered. The further out you travelled the less common they became until they were but rumours on the wind: giant and fierce lion warriors who could break a man with his hands.

Their nature was driven by their loved ones. They were strong and fierce beings; threaten a lionman and it would be the last thing you ever did, but they were fair and tolerant and cared for family and loyalty above all. No lionman would suffer hunger if another lionman could help it. Their lords and rulers took their duty as “servant to the people” very seriously. Many of them dispensed with the first born hierarchical monarchy long ago, seeing the dangers of corrupt rulers and adopted a worthy monarchy system instead, with some even incorporating a basic democratic process to elect from the royal families.

Lionmen on average, were more honest than humans. There were villains of sorts amongst them but they tended to be less frequent and were rarely subtle. Crime was lower in these nations due to the prosperity and fairness of the governments. Often brave, crooked humans would attempt to take advantage of lionmen nature, and undoubtedly some found their fortunes that way, but it was a risky business. There were many things a two-and-a-half metre angry lionman could do to a human: none of which are considered pleasant.

Overall humans of lower ancestry preferred being ruled by lionmen and were often used as servants, not through superiority, it was just a convenient means of employment. Humans had vast numbers that populated the entire region of Dífrun, on top of that the lionmen were renowned for their fairness and this often attracted the less fortunate who were seeking a better life. 

Lionmen were less likely to go to war and had stable relations with their neighbours. Through their entire history they only ever invaded one nation, which was now part of Nakáda territory. Technically the region was already part of Nakáda but housed a divided people. They are natural defenders and not aggressors. They would march to war if they felt the matter threatened their peace and laws, but that always stood as the last option to deal with what was often complex issues.