Editing 6 Billion A.D./Chapter 2
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The news never sank in completely. I couldn't die. Not now. As the weeks passed on the ship I became further detached. I had convinced my father to let me board a ship heading outside of League territory. He reluctantly agreed. To him this was goodbye. | The news never sank in completely. I couldn't die. Not now. As the weeks passed on the ship I became further detached. I had convinced my father to let me board a ship heading outside of League territory. He reluctantly agreed. To him this was goodbye. | ||
− | + | [insert description of departure here] | |
By the third day of the journey, I had experienced an amazing series of worries. Such a long boring trip… why was it necessary to leave the security of the League realm? When would I start noticing actual symptoms of my disease? How much did other passengers know about me and what did they think? | By the third day of the journey, I had experienced an amazing series of worries. Such a long boring trip… why was it necessary to leave the security of the League realm? When would I start noticing actual symptoms of my disease? How much did other passengers know about me and what did they think? | ||
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I didn't see those other passengers much as I usually took meals in my suite. I knew there was a family group of Jalars quartered near me; I had seen them when I went out once to look through the large port in the viewing lounge. Most of the other passengers I'd seen were solitary travelers like myself. | I didn't see those other passengers much as I usually took meals in my suite. I knew there was a family group of Jalars quartered near me; I had seen them when I went out once to look through the large port in the viewing lounge. Most of the other passengers I'd seen were solitary travelers like myself. | ||
− | I came out of sleep state the next day with a feeling that I had toured all of time and space, but I could not remember any details. All I had was a memory of a female | + | I came out of sleep state the next day with a feeling that I had toured all of time and space, but I could not remember any details. All I had was a memory of a female (race?) saying, “Rigel? Your name is not always Rigel.” I knew her from somewhere but it was all hazy. Strangely, just about everything I did that day reminded me of the dream, as if I had already done it while sleeping. |
− | Though I could not access the information nets of my destination, Barneth (?), I had spent much time drifting through the ship | + | Though I could not access the information nets of my destination, Barneth (?), I had spent much time drifting through the ship AI’s data storage. The League just didn’t pay much attention to fringe worlds. No doubt there were scholars who studied them, but I hadn’t had thought of that before I left and there was no way to look into that now. |
::: From the ''League Star Catalogue'' | ::: From the ''League Star Catalogue'' | ||
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Climate: Having minimal axial tilt (2.6 degrees), Barneth has barely discernable seasonal variations, so climate is determined by distance from the poles, which have small ice caps. Ocean currents also play a small role in climate but the oceans are relatively shallow. Temperatures are Standard Tropical at the equator. | Climate: Having minimal axial tilt (2.6 degrees), Barneth has barely discernable seasonal variations, so climate is determined by distance from the poles, which have small ice caps. Ocean currents also play a small role in climate but the oceans are relatively shallow. Temperatures are Standard Tropical at the equator. | ||
− | Settlement: There are several large cities on Barneth | + | Settlement: There are several large cities on Barneth and 2 spaceports. Most inhabitants live in small towns or rural homesteads. There is not a great deal of manufacturing. Barneth's major industry may be smuggling, but that has not been verified. League regulations are not in force and there is a chance visitors may encounter criminals. |
That was all I could find on Barneth in ''that'' database. Still, it was an improvement over my initial description: 'There's a place out there in the Fringe where they do some questionable research', basically. At least the ship's memory provided plenty of other educational material and entertainment to keep me occupied during the ''easy'' part of the trip. I thought things might be a bit more challenging when we reached the edge of League space and I had to change ships. | That was all I could find on Barneth in ''that'' database. Still, it was an improvement over my initial description: 'There's a place out there in the Fringe where they do some questionable research', basically. At least the ship's memory provided plenty of other educational material and entertainment to keep me occupied during the ''easy'' part of the trip. I thought things might be a bit more challenging when we reached the edge of League space and I had to change ships. | ||
It turned out that it ''was'' the easy part of the trip. The ship put in at the main station orbiting Trantaz, which was where I was supposed to transfer to a passenger ship heading out to Barneth and other worlds. Upon arrival at the terminal (so called), I found that my ship had already left. | It turned out that it ''was'' the easy part of the trip. The ship put in at the main station orbiting Trantaz, which was where I was supposed to transfer to a passenger ship heading out to Barneth and other worlds. Upon arrival at the terminal (so called), I found that my ship had already left. | ||
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==2.2== | ==2.2== | ||
The planet (...) was... I found myself among low characters as the months passed, following the rumor. But finally I got a lead from an arms dealer. A nearby moon supposedly held a facility that performed risky experiments... The men surrounded me. One swung his pipe at me. I rolled out the way, and positioned myself against a wall. I couldn't give them my credit chips. This was the only hope I had to live. So I did what any cornered animal would do and rushed the man closest to me tackling him to the ground. I picked up the pipe. Rage overcame me. I swung the pipe at the man over and over again until there was nothing left of him. The other men ran away. I felt awful, but also had a guilty satisfaction. I was alive. | The planet (...) was... I found myself among low characters as the months passed, following the rumor. But finally I got a lead from an arms dealer. A nearby moon supposedly held a facility that performed risky experiments... The men surrounded me. One swung his pipe at me. I rolled out the way, and positioned myself against a wall. I couldn't give them my credit chips. This was the only hope I had to live. So I did what any cornered animal would do and rushed the man closest to me tackling him to the ground. I picked up the pipe. Rage overcame me. I swung the pipe at the man over and over again until there was nothing left of him. The other men ran away. I felt awful, but also had a guilty satisfaction. I was alive. | ||
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==2.3== | ==2.3== | ||
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looking me up and down then gestures me to get in.I had no other chance to live thru this landscape the pressure from the high waves crashing in the near distance causing winds that make the landscape near the vast ocean nearly uninhabitable.So I walked out to the jeep and got in. | looking me up and down then gestures me to get in.I had no other chance to live thru this landscape the pressure from the high waves crashing in the near distance causing winds that make the landscape near the vast ocean nearly uninhabitable.So I walked out to the jeep and got in. | ||
− | ==2.4== | + | ==2.4== |
− | + | The guard opened the doors. The room was filled with lush furniture and paintings. A man sitting in a chair greeted me. He wore a very ill fitting robe despite this decadence that surrounded him. | |
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==2.5== | ==2.5== |