Correspondent to the chronicle that unfolded, Archon Ood projected imagesacross her screen; some lingered, some passed by quickly; all were arresting inthe scope of their beauty or magnitude of dread. “It was a time like noother… The Osserians were of the Firstborn, created by the Celestials at the start ofthe Golden Age at the dawn of Skyriver’s Vernal Splendour. Known also as thePrecursors, Progenitors, Forefathers, Ancients, and First Ones, they were endowedwith exceptional gifts. The particular gift of the Osserians was their ability toterraform. The Elder Races worked together then, travelling the galaxy through themany gates, aiding one another in friendship and love…”

“You mentioned some kind of conflict,” Cuenyne asked when she lapsed intosilence. “Was this the reason your people and others fled or went into hiding?”

(资料图片)

“The Cosmic Wars, or the Great Madness as some called it, were the three terriblewars that marked the end of a great and glorious period. Long years had passed sincethe Second Shadow, known as the War of Temporal Planes. Wonders had beenachieved during that time to restore much of the broken galaxy. We had naïvelybelieved it had been an aberration, but that was no more true than a wish, a dreamthat better days were upon us, that the Restoration long ago promised had come topass or, profanely, was no longer required. Then, as the eyes of the Ecothom blazed inthe black night sky, heralding doom, we received warning that the Old Ones hadreturned and were searching for the Firstborn. Others were stirring too, oppressiveraces overcome by the mad promise of dominion. We who had seen the horrors thatviolence, slavery, and destruction wrought knew better than to again take part inthem. So it was that many of the First Ones began preparations to depart our belovedhomeworlds. The Osserians left behind the Keeper and her champions to protect ourworld, while I was created to protect the Osserians until we could safely return oneday. Several chose a similar course; some made their systems difficult to find ordangerous to enter; and some charted unknown stars, such as the Zeffonians, to findthe Transdimensional Gates to cross into the Unseen Realm of the Celestials…”

“Pardon me,” I interrupted. “I don’t process information quite as quickly asCuenyne dœs. Transdimensional Gates?”

“The Watcher has an organic adapter,” Cuenyne noted. “Assuming she’d permit it,I suspect you could download her memories and knowledge directly.”

“Uh, that sounds dangerous,” I blurted.

“It was designed for our sister races. I’m afraid that in your present form, yourbrain would be unable to handle the influx of information; your mind would… crack.I’ve seen it happen to one would-be usurper.”

“I see,” I replied, aghast. “Best we avoid that, then!”

“How is it that we haven’t taken over the universe?” Cuenyne scoffed.

“There were three basic kinds of transportation portals at the beginning,” theWatcher explained, “The first is the rarest; they are the Transdimensional Gates.These were first made for the Celestials, allowing the Whills, Diathim, and Ones toenter into our realm at the beginning, providing passage between the Primary,Secondary, and Unseen Realms. Lesser ones permit passage between two or moredifferent Secondary Realms. Skyriver is one such realm…”

“So I can’t just fly my ship out of the galaxy?” I asked.

“Dimensions are generally self-contained; vortices and eddies surround them. Onlythrough a Transdimensional Portal could you fly out.”

Dr. Insmot Bowen had postulated the idea of a Hyperspace Barrier.

“The second of the gates,” she continued, “and the most common, are theinterstellar gates. Some are organic, like the wormhole through which you arrived inIllathurion. The oldest constructed Jumpgates were the World Gates, or Wells of theWorlds, but the Gree Hypergates were the most ubiquitous throughout the galaxy, anetwork stretching across the cosmos. Later came the Grand Hypergates, MolecularTransporters, Infinity Gates, Ark portals, Warp stations, and others. In the beginning,all of the inhabited worlds had one or another. They provided a holographic map ofthe galaxy, with which travelers could choose regions, sectors, systems, and worlds.Once a world was selected, you could simply pass through to the other gate on theother side. To ensure the users’ atmospheric requirements existed, Types weredesignated for this purpose and marked so as to prevent accidents and so thatprovisions could be acquired to allow one to breathe in such environments.”

“And these Gree Hypergates, they’re similar to the Kwa’s Infinity Gates?”

“Only in that both are interstellar gates. Hypergates create a temporary wormholeto allow safe passage across the galaxy. Infinity Gates utilize a small pocketdimension within a Star Chamber, which sends a burst of enclosed energy to anotherStar Chamber. Several of the variants built later were engineered on the designs ofthese, with some placed in space to allow the passage of larger vessels. Yet, there is agate more powerful still, the third and most interesting, unlike all others. It is calledthe Steward’s Gate. It is the least known and yet most significant, referred to only inmyths, legends, and sacred texts. It cannot be accessed save by one’s choices.”

“Ok…” I said, a hundred questions popping into my mind, “but just so we’re on thesame page, you earlier mentioned the Whills, Diathim, and Ones. There’sconsiderable mystery surrounding their identities. How do you define them?”

“These are concepts that are not so easy for modern sapients to comprehend,having limited your interactions to the workings of the material plane.”

That was another odd statement, and one I couldn’t let go of. “Pardon me, but thatseems somewhat ironic of you to say, given that you’re a product of that.”

“That is where you are wrong, Arhul Hextrophon.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Had she, during all these millennia, come tobelieve she was alive? Droid insanity was not unheard of. “I don’t quite understand.”

“Good! Then you are on the path to enlightenment. My sister and I were notmerely the products of science and technology—as you assume. We were the products of love and wisdom as implemented by the tools of science and technology… andwhat some might call magic but is more accurately understood as the manifestationof the Force, for that is what the Progenitors’ powers were. Ever since the end of theCosmic Wars they’ve become further separated. Suffice it to say that science andmagic were intended to serve love and wisdom—not work in opposition to them oreach other!”

“I think I understand,” I acknowledged.

“No, you do not,” she said. “Due to your cultural limitations, centuries ofindoctrination, and dogma masquerading as reason, it will be difficult to comprehendmuch of what I am saying from a single conversation alone. But I believe Cuenynewill come to aid you in this…”

With that cue, Cuenyne reminded them of the topic at hand… “You were going totell us about the Whills, Diathim, and Ones.”

“All life comes from the Supreme Maker, what the Jedi have at times portrayed asthe Cosmic Force, whom the Sunesi call Mungul, the Tuhgri call the Great Creator,and the Lurmen Katurrans call Fossah, which means “Father.” I speak of the Father ofLights, the One Above All, the Supreme Maker, the Weaver at the Loom—He, in turn,serves and is served by the flourishing of life and love…” When I did not interrupt,astounded and deeply dubious of what she was saying, she continued. “Part of theImperishable Fire created by the Cosmic Force, the Whills are advanced microscopiclifeforms who direct the Midichlorians in each living cell to split. This brings forth theenergy field known as the Living Force, which, in turn, generates more life, sustainingthe Whills who communicate a beneficent purpose to each living being through thewhisperings of the Midichlorians within. It is this cooperative symbiosis—what onewould call love—that is at the heart of life and the universe. As organisms die, theyreturn to the Cosmic Force…”

“So you’re saying there’s this all-powerful Maker who made everything, but atdeath our personalities cease to be and our energy carries on!?” I argued, soundingmore caustic than I’d intended. “That’s rubbish!”

Cuenyne whistled but otherwise stayed silent. I’d been taught to respect the beliefsof others, but I hadn’t come all this way to hear exasperating clichés and selfrighteous Solomonite creeds from some dusty, glorified calculator that had beensitting in a hole for thousands of years.

“That is not what I said,” she corrected, as annoyed with me as I was with her,“Though it is what the Jedi taught, they did not have the full picture nor comprehendthe mind and heart of the Cosmic Force. We do not cease to be, Arhul Hextrophon.”

“Oh, alright, fine…” I sighed, realizing I’d jumped to a wrong conclusion and beenuncharacteristically harsh. It didn’t matter. Hoary religious beliefs, like philosophy,had their place but shouldn’t be confused with science and fact.

“So, how do the Celestials fit into all this?” Cuenyne asked. I glared at him, but heignored me. Of course, I had to get stuck with a droid who had distinctly contrarianviews to mine.

The Watcher’s voice took on a tone like that of my old teachers who seemedperpetually choleric over the poor state of education in the galaxy. “It is troubling to hear that your people have fallen so far down the same pit of ignorance and confusionthat your predecessors fell into. I suppose you are not to blame. When the EmpyreanWars erupted, truth was the first fatality. The Celestials are the Celestials. No words inBasic quite convey the meaning. They are the Gardeners and the true Builders andArchitects of this realm—though they are not known as such, save by a few. As theearliest servants of the Cosmic Force in this realm, some have called them the Beings ofUnimaginable Light, Quantum Mechanics, Astral Deities, or Elder Gods, though theyshun worship. In the most ancient tongues, the Celestials were known at various timesas the Eryn, the Malak’im, the Bene-elyon, the Ággelos, Those Who Dwell Beyond theVeil…They are divided into two groups. The Osiarch are the four who first conceivedof Skyriver, or Samûnaru as it was called in their tongue. The Valdilar are their helpers,and they are sometimes called Agioiy when contrasted to the fallen Malevoiy.”

“This dœsn’t help much, I’m afraid.” I concealed my grimace, uncertain if the oldsupercomputer was going out of its way to make me feel foolish or had just beenprogrammed for superstition.

“They are beings of spirit, Messengers of the One, Guardians of the Dawn, referredto in times past as the Suns of Light, the First Stars, and the Council of the Divine…”

“Angels?” I scoffed, unable to help myself, and annoyed that this was the best shecould do. The most advanced artificial intelligence ever created until the BRT lineand she was exhorting the hoariest of fables.

“You may balk at the old names, but they accurately serve as shorthand forcomplex concepts. Since they offend your sensibilities, let us speak in scientific terms.We will say that they are what you might call ‘powerful and benevolentextradimensional entities.’ Knowing they could better serve the galaxy andcommunicate the will of ‘the Most Advanced Mind,’ the Valdilar became theDiathim and Fāta. This was done in order to interact with physical beings on a lowerplane of existence, to better serve as caretakers and guides—a task that became farmore crucial after the arrival of your kind to this plane. The first of the Valdilarbecame the Ones, but this came about much later, for they were intended to restorethe balance that was lost during the early Cosmic Wars…”

“You mentioned Old Ones?” Cuenyne asked.

“They and the monstrosities they spawned are the profane monarchs of this realm.The Architects foolishly brought them forth in the Empyrean Wars.”

“I suppose I know who the Architects are…” I started.

“You don’t. Great stores of knowledge were lost or destroyed during the long wars,replaced by facsimiles of truth. Those who adopted that title stood in opposition tothe Celestials. Many worshipped them as gods… but there were other forces at workat this time, diabolic entities with many names who operated from the shadows of acounterworld that breached the transdimensional walls.”

“It is times like these that I’m glad I don’t dream,” Cuenyne said.

“To be perfectly frank, I’m less interested in the myths of your people than theiractual history,” I suggested, trying to be diplomatic. “All this business of gods anddemons is really beside the matter at hand.”

“You are incorrect,” she declared. “They are the matter at hand!”

“She may have a point about Human comprehension, Hex,” teased Cuenyne,causing even Areana to bark a mirthless laugh.

“Very amusing, picking on the sole Human in the room,” I groused. “It’s just thatthese ideas sound very similar to the Solomonite beliefs of the Srrors’tok.”

“Not just the Srrors’tok,” Archon Ood amended. “Before polytheism took hold,those beliefs were shared by many of the great Grimalkin races: the Agasami,B’trillan, Cantrosian, Aaroun, Catumen (and their Schenor offshoot), Palmien,Horansi, Pursian, Moorjhoni, F'krrrer, Orryxian, Ventrexian, Souma, Tinnell (andtheir Khajiit offshoot), Togorians, Trianii (and their Ronso offshoot), and the Felin,who are also known as the Felinid and Felinian.”

“Now, that’s just showing off,” I griped.

“Only some of these are offspring races of the Firstborn Cathar, but most were sofascinated by the other, they formed a loose collective. As to the Fras, Farghul, andZygerrian, they were re-engineered by the arcane powers of the Enemy. But felinoidsare just the tip of the iceberg. Jedi Consular Ovair is one of the more famous members ofhis order who helped resurrect the old Solomonite beliefs. So was Syas Broji—”

“Saint Syas, the crank? Didn’t he set up a religious retreat on… Zota?” I asked.

“Zotakh,” Cuenyne corrected. “The vanished Zendar said their world was a—”

“A locus for the Force,” the Watcher finished, “and so it is, one of several.”

None of this was adding up, and it was time for some clarification: “Given that youand your people have been hidden here for… well, a long time, I don’t understandhow it is you know modern galactic history. The Godform Assumption is a Sithgrimoire based on the older Epic of Solomon, written by… Ho Jinn Molt, I believe.”

“And is itself but a pœtic retelling of a Cathar religious work,” she returned as if toremind me never to play chess with an AI. “Yes, I am getting to your question,” sheretorted with a dizzying array of polychrome lights.

“Please don’t take offence, Mistress Ood,” I said deferentially, taking a deepbreath. “It’s just that we’ve come across numerous ancient histories in our travels,most of which are complex, contradictory, and often confused with fact.”

“What Hex is trying to say,” Cuenyne decoded, “is that you may be, withoutrealizing it, conflating your people’s religious beliefs with historical events.”

The Watcher sighed as her panel and screen lights pulsed with shades of blue, grey,and white. “Understand that the Cathar and the Osserians were not as the Asogians,brilliant but lost in reverie; nor as the Killiks, damaged by the ancient Dark Nest; noras the Sharu, terrified and guilt-ridden. Nor were they as the El’gusclar-fal’Mörtilspí,who became known as the Cocytans of Cocytus, a name bestowed on them by theHumans who rescued them, for they had rejected their past after the deaths of theirelders. The Osserians kept their knowledge untainted by the cultural myths that arosein the universe after the coming of Man. This noble and tragic history has beendeemed legends by they who have forgotten, reviled, or distorted the ancient past, butthat dœs not make it so!”

“If I understand you correctly, you’re saying that there were all these godlikespirit-beings running around…” Since they insisted on discussing it, I might as wellinject some reason into the conversation. “So, where are they all? I mean, if they made all this—as you claim—and are as powerful as you say they are, why has thegalaxy fallen into war time and again? Why would they just sit back and watch whenthey’re needed the most?”

“Because most would not impose their will on others or take a life.”

“Most… So some did?”

“Yes, fallen to shadow or drowned in darkness. Valdilar became Malevoiy andYvala; Diathim became the Mælibi; Son became the Malevolum, in opposition toDaughter, who became Morai. The Titans faltered. Even some of the Fāta turned,manifesting as the Fairfolk. And a few went native… such as the Transuranæ, benignbut no longer entirely sane. Of those who remained true, they did not just ‘sit backand watch,’ as you say. Some could not remain in a galaxy that had rejected them formalevolent gods, repudiated wise laws for cruel customs, peaceable kingdoms for darkempires, truth for falsehoods. This period was called the Grieving. The galaxysplintered over the decisions the Precursors and their offspring made, the choices thatplaced them in a constant clash of violence. And many remained, reaching out tothose who might listen and learn, for the Celestials were not without hope, andcontingency plans were brought forth to ensure the continuance of life andpreservation of compassion and truth until the time came for the prophecy to come topass… That is very likely why you are here!”

“Yeah, I don’t know about that,” I returned. “It’s a lot to take in and without hardfacts is little more than a pious overlay of history.” I didn’t want to be close-minded,but I was feeling overwhelmed by the pervasiveness of the concepts and theirimplications, though it struck me that they were not too dissimilar to my earlierhypothesis about patterns. “You said, ‘Primary World?’ So, assuming you heard usearlier, our interpretation of the four pillars was correct…”

“Partly. You tend to assume that one thing is either fully literal or fully symbolicand fail to see how a thing can be both. Understanding this will help you betterdiscern matters.”

“In our line of work, we’ve found that the former is often forgotten entirely andturned into the latter,” Cuenyne countered, “as when the Naboo transformed Ashla,the personification of Light and Wisdom, into the moon goddess, Shiraya.”

“Ah, but even in this a kernel of truth can be found,” the Watcher replied.“Shiraya’s aspect is borrowed from Ashla, but her form was taken from the Wing’dGoddess, who is based on Niphal, the ancient Celestial, who should not be conflatedwith the Winged Goddess of the Nightsisters, who is Harla, the Cloaked Goddess andDread Mother… There is much I would teach you but little time to do so. Thisdimension and the galaxy you know are but one of many unique realms that springlike branches off a single enormous tree. The experience of one is not the sameexperience as that of another or of the parent tree, nor do they grow at the same rate.Time dœs not run the same here as it dœs in other realms or in the PrimaryDimension. Your people have never had a great understanding of these matters, butwhen factoring in the existence of great or inverse time dilation due to naturallyoccurring phenomena or Celestial artifacts, it is no surprise that most have made erroneous conclusions regarding dates and times. Suffice to say that you are faryounger and less advanced than you’ve envisioned yourselves to be!”

“I suppose this might explain your time-travel theory, Hex,” stated Cuenyne.

“Or a multiverse,” I added.

The Watcher made a sound equivalent to a harrumph. “Is it not enough for thelearned men of your world to see billions suffering that they must imagine infinitesufferers? It is not enough to have one or two Palpatines that they must conjure up anendless variety with endless ways of tormenting the galaxy? To explain a universe toofine-tuned on too many dials, they envision a grand universe-making machine thatsets infinite dials for infinite worlds. Ah, the folly of lesser minds paraded as intellect,disguising fantasy as fact!”

“You would get along well with Mistress Mnemos,” I said with a smirk. “Wait!What do you mean, ‘one or two Palpatines?”

“Mere hyperbole to make a point…”

“Archon-Ood,” Cuenyne said stiffly. “In the short time in which we’ve known oneanother, I have never heard you resort to exaggeration. What aren’t you telling us?”

“Very well. Perhaps the galaxy has matured enough to know the truth… Insecondary dimensions, such as ours, things are more malleable and elastic, allowingthat which would normally not be possible to come into being. Nevertheless, theCelestials wisely placed mechanisms outside of time and space in which to maintainstability. They appear different in different places and times; some are asobservatories with windows into the past; some are as woods between and beyondrealms, with pools that act as portals to different spheres. From these worlds betweenworlds, time and space might be breached, but it is a gravely unsound course; eventhe Celestials do not embark upon it. Of course, Humans seem to be continuallytrying!”

“It’s our nature to explore,” I defended, somewhat irrationally since I knew fromexperience there was no winning an argument with one who saw herself as smarterthan all other lifeforms.

“To explore without knowledge or wisdom is the way one gets lost,” she rebutted.

“It’s not much of an exploration if you know where you’re going,” I snapped back.

Archon-Ood flashed in rutilant shades. Even Areana bristled and stood up as ifgearing for battle. “Obstinate and obdurate as are all your kind! It is not merestarvation or dehydration of which I speak! To find oneself lost in the unlit spaces is afate worse than privation and death!”

“You mean, like where we are now…”

Her colors muted and returned to twinkling shades of yellow, chrysoprase, andblue. Areana relaxed again, visibily disappointed. “You are not lost, ArhulHextrophon, but found! The Otherworlds can be realms of good or evil. Here are pathsto places strange beyond imagining and, yes, even some that are not governed entirelyby iniquity. Fortunately for most, the loathsome entities that roam this dimensionare at odds with one another, else the galaxy would have been snuffed out longbefore. But should that inspire you to explore further, know that there are beings even worse than they—black minds of the netherworld who seek only to snuff out all lightand life… and the eyes of their emissaries are ever roaming!”

“So, these otherworlds are accessible from our galaxy?” Cuenyne asked, moreconcerned with cosmology than demonology.

“Some… through portals. The largest of these is an analogue of Skyriver that isknown by its caretakers as Hyperion, the cognomen given to the Echo Dimension. Itwas first fashioned by one of the Architects who also crafted Apeiron, which is theInfinity Realm, formed to test out temporal turbulences in a containment ofuncharted spheres that are, but are not, and yet are no more.”

“Well, that’s not too confusing!” I remarked.

“The Otherworlds also include Aenir, created by another of the Architects,Oneirichor, and Frivoli, which are connected. Then there are the Hidden Worlds ofVitæ, Mortis, Corundum, and Katurrah. These should not be conflated with theSacred Worlds of Isorropía, Angorathea, Ravaath, and Andowyne. The Unseen Realmpredates all of these, situated deep within the Circle of the Spirit, bordering thePrimary Dimension.”

“Sacred worlds, hidden realms… Next, you’ll be saying there are EnchantedLands,” I remarked caustically, shaking my head.

“All the worlds in Skyriver were enchanted in the Earliest Days…”

“Well, I suppose that makes some kind of sense… But how is what you’re telling usnot a multiverse?”

“As there are many Celestials, there are many universes; they are not infiniteduplicates of the same thing but are as different and unique as stories in a library. Ifeach living being is unique, how much more so would a galaxy be? Even if a being iscloned, and the clone bears all the marks of the original, he is yet a separate andunique being.”

“I hadn’t thought of it that way. But you just spoke of an Infinity Realm and somesort of parallel dimension.”

“Whether by intent or accident, it matters not; they are each unique; the claimthat all possible quantum outcomes are physically realized is absurd. If I had Areanalop off your head, it would not inaugurate a new universe in which she didn’t.”

“May we test out that hypothesis, Mother?” the android asked with a vicious smile.

“However,” the Watcher continued, not paying her any mind, “I will concede thatI have heard of at least two universes far beyond our own that contain incongruitiesthat you might qualify as such… But the reasons for this are due to lack of propergovernance and balanced oversight. I have seen that the universes that are regularlybreached have gone quite off the rails; some have been destroyed and un-destroyed, orrecombined with their original, or irrevocably splintered due to imprudence andindifference… Not every Celestial is wise, competent, or even sane.”

“So, in that Echo Universe you mentioned earlier, Hyperion, I think you said itwas called, there’s another version of Cuenyne and me running around?”

“Potentially, and in Apeiron as well,” she admitted. “I’ve only attempted to piercethe veil once. It is extremely inadvisable to traverse temporal-spatial rifts.”

“Worth noting,” Cuenyne quipped.

As I was trying to digest and correlate all this, it came into my head to ask, “Dœsany of this explain how an Asogian during the Clone Wars traveled to a world inwhich our history was nothing more than a holodrama series?”

Archon-Ood’s pastel illuminations shifted to stark, primary colors. “You’rereferring to Earth… Stop! I can hear your thoughts threatening to escape your mouth.There have been many Earths. Some took on different names after they joined thegalactic community, such as Terra I which became TerraAsta, and some did notsurvive. Most had their share of troubles, including this world.”

“Which was?” I demanded.

“You have already surmised the answer to that.”

After I picked my jaw back up, I said, “So this world is Urthha! So this is theoriginal homeworld of Humans—”

“Arhul Hextrophon, you are getting ahead of yourself! This and the other Earths ofSkyriver, Apeiron, and Hyperion were named and fashioned after the Primary World.”

“You earlier mentioned a time dilation, but if that’s true…” I started doing mentalcalculations, “the Prime Dimension would technically be… older? Younger?”

“Impossible to calculate,” Cuenyne cut in. “Based on what Archon-Ood has toldus, I surmise that time runs much faster here but not a constant rate.”

“That is my conclusion as well,” she confirmed. “The end of the Vernal Splendourat the coming of the Cosmic Wars changed much. But we must table suchphilosophical matters for the time and focus on the more immediate situation athand.”

“You were explaining how the Osserians ended up here,” Cuenyne reminded.

“I will attempt to complete my tale; perhaps then you will better comprehend thelarger picture. Your arrival has set events into motion; the imagers of the gloamingare even now stirring, bent on your destruction!”