Worlds of the Parallel Universe

PROLOGUE

I am the Celestial Watcher, an immortal, omnipresent entity that observes the unfolding events of this universe and the other realms of the multi-universe. I was conscious at the beginning and will witness its inevitable end. For this universe is finite, an isolated bubble, only one of many bubbles of alternative realities in this universe and separated by a corridor, an ether, beyond which exist parallel universes, in which the physical laws of this universe do not apply. I know this for I was once mortal like you and attained this higher plane of existence through the Transcendence. I am aware that there are two other celestial watchers, I sense them at the boundary edges of the three zones that overlap like a Venn diagram and between us three we watch over the whole expanse of this universe and down into the strata layers of the multi-verse. We have the ability to influence the subconscious mind of the masses, leaving ideas in the minds of mortals in their dreams, manipulating the conscious mind in their waking hours. It is a powerful tool, to influence the collective mind, suggest courses of action, manipulate decisions and change destinies, although the Ancestors would not agree with us. And the Ancestors in your present time, Earth year 2042, are on the museum planet of Oceanid, orbiting the star Quaestor Minor in the Cygnus constellation.

Messages have been sent out to far flung colony starships crewed by the Descendents and the worlds they have colonised, to return to Oceanid to join with the Ancestors and other human species in establishing an Alliance of Human Worlds.

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But I need to go back so much further and explain how the Ancestors made their first tentative steps out from their home world of Aquilae in the Hydrus constellation, their earliest explorations out to the nearby constellations of Columba, Puppis, Vela, Horologium, Dorado, Reticulum, Carina and beyond. They set up colonies around the Pictor constellation, as their technology advanced from primitive chemical rockets, to ion drives, their deep space telescopes constantly searching for habitable worlds across many constellations, semi-water worlds that would suit their kind. Even with the development of sub-light catalytic nuclear ramjet drives, these were not powerful enough to travel faster-than-the-speed-of-light (ftl). It took hundreds of years, then finally the anti-matter (ftl) drive was developed and they could truly send out exploration teams on deep space colonization missions.

The Cygnus constellation was a favoured destination as many water-worlds had been detected orbiting stable stars in the region. Large but fast starships were constructed. They were basically a framework with the star drive engines located aft, with a bridge, laboratory and crew quarters at the prow and amidships. Within the framework were contained three metal spheres, each in turn being activated when a suitable planet was located for colonization. Each sphere held 12 sleeper humans in suspended animation, a rover vehicle and a heavy duty transmuter, a space to surface shuttle and communications equipment. Basic supplies would be left, but the colonists needed to become self-sufficient quickly as any assessment visits would only be possible when all spheres had been deployed and the ship was returning to the Pictor constellation, which might be many years away.

Other areas in the belly of the framework contained the engineering section, leisure/relaxation and a refectory which meant cramped conditions for the crew of 6 on ‘full awake’ duties.

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All these events had happened 1.68 million years ago. The colony that the Ancestors first established developed into a sophisticated civilization. This was the first phase of Oceanid civilization (1.67 million years ago and the colony would flourish for thousands of years until a catastrophe struck, when a rogue comet collided with the planet affecting the angle of axis, changing a stable orbit into one that was highly elliptical and elongated, when only a fraction of its solar year allowed no more than two months of temperate climate. All traces of civilization were annihilated. The few human survivors took refuge in caves, with only a trace memory of the greatness they had once achieved, they degenerated back to a primitive society, then a medieval society developed, with an intense curiosity that demanded answers to why they were there? They evolved further gaining knowledge, re-establishing science and physics until they reached the dawn of a second phase for the inhabitants of Oceanid and a civilization built around six small island masses and covered autonomous city states emerged. The second phase civilization could be dated from around 1.60 million years ago when they had acquired sub-light space technology around 40,000 years ago - dated from your current Earth calendar year of 2037. The advancement of their technology inevitably lead to space travel, first out to their near moon and then to worlds in other solar systems. Archaeology was a new science, artefacts had been found indicating the existence of their first phase civilization and that their original founding colony had been laid down by aliens who they termed ‘the Ancestors’. The direction from which these aliens had come was calculated by trajectory as being in the direction of the Pictor constellation, out in the Southern hemisphere of that region and so they set a common objective, to send a fleet of star ships out to locate these mysterious aliens and question why they had never returned? These starships had embarked on their mission 1.60 million years ago and it was the consequences triggered by the event that now saw the Ancestors (or Aquilaeons as they were known in their home constellation) waiting patiently on Oceanid awaiting replies to the transmissions sent for Oceanid colonising starships to return. It could take months for the nearest starships to plot a course home or more likely years, but then the Aquilaeons could afford to wait – their life expectancy was after all 250 years! They were masters of faster than light space travel, knew all about the trans-universe corridors, had long overcome their fears of the terrors existing in those domains and the beyond imagination life forms, they were eager to share their knowledge but the Oceanids were about to learn from first experience!

CHAPTER 1

I am the Celestial Watcher, I draw on memories that I believe are my own from the time when the Aquilaeons first entered the Cygnus constellation 1.68 million years ago. I saw in distinct visual detail how their starships did seed these worlds with the first colonists. Yet the entity I have become started as a mortal like you, my mortal consciousness started at my birth or before in my mother’s womb and continued at an elevated level after my Transcendence. But my memories go far back earlier than my mortal lifetime, back to when the Aquilaeons became the first ones to evolve intelligence in their sector of the galaxy when my consciousness didn’t exist. So I must conclude that a Supreme Consciousness does exist to which my Watcher brethren contribute individual memories to a Collective Memory of other Watchers that have gone before, the wisdom of which we can all draw on to influence the subconscious minds of humans and other alien species to change destinies. Our omnipresent recollections draw on this collective memory, allowing me now to narrate their story, the terrors they experienced in the parallel universe and how they were deterred from returning.

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The colonization starship Swift Dragonfly had been in orbit around the planet for three days now, it was a predominantly water world orbiting a G-type yellow dwarf star which the Aquilaeons had named Quaestor Minor. It was unusual in that it was in a system of only two planets, the other being a gas giant. They had named this planet Oceanid and its lone rocky moon they had called it Chara.

The gas giant they had called Kloudeffe.

The blue world below them had approximately 40% landmass. Initial telemetry readings showed a nitrogen/oxygen/ mix atmosphere close to their home world, with a small percentage of argon and carbon dioxide and minute traces of other gases. It looked an inviting world with the blueness of its oceans, brown land masses and spotted green vegetation. Wisps of white clouds drifted across its visible hemisphere. But they knew from experience that many such serene worlds harboured dangers to their kind, in alien flora and fauna, primitive and violent animal life forms, or poisonous toxins in its plant-life.

They had sent two robotic probes down to the planet surface, one was a submersible to take water samples and view and study animal life, the other was a rover that could take soil samples on land and analyse plant species. Both robots had AI control units that could think for themselves and take defensive or avoidance action, if subjected to threat.

The ship’s computers had been analysing data from the probes on the surface for several days now. Captain Argona opened a communication channel and asked his Technical Officer, Irona to come to the bridge. Minutes later Irona entered the cramped bridge section. Argona already had all the holographic screens raised.

Displayed graphics showed analysis of sea water, acidity/alkalinity levels and salinity. Photosynthesis, chlorophyll growth rates, chemical nutrient molecule combinations, daytime/night time temperature fluctuations, was within parameters.

The ozone layer thickness had been measured in the upper atmosphere from space to determine the effectiveness of filtering out harmful radiation. Indeed they had measured cosmic-rays entering the atmosphere, x-rays, ultra violet emissions from the sun.

Photographs from the robotic submersible in the planet’s oceans had attempted to discover and catalogue the range of aquatic animal life and to date only small reptiles and air breathing mammals had been logged. The robotic land roving probe had equally taken on the task of identifying and cataloguing land animals and speculated on risk probability to humans if they were carnivores. It would of course take decades to discover all life forms. Their sensors could only do so much and the crew had already made one visit to the surface to search for bio-signs. But they only had one month to make their decision and that time was now expired. Then they would have to reanimate a crew of sleeping colonists, visit the surface once more and help them establish a base camp with the self-contained equipment Sphere as its hub. Prefabricated building had to be erected and a communications array.

The colonists had food provisions for 1 month x 12 people. They would have to find edible food sources quickly and test these for toxicity in their small laboratory. They had with them a seed-bank of edible plants known to be tolerant to most environments. These would need to be planted, cultivated and harvested as quickly as possible with the limited supply of fertilizers they could bring and they needed to source a supply of fresh drinking water and pipe this to serve the Sphere. The results of all environmental tests done on the surface indicated a benign habitat and should indicate suitable native plants to cultivate and animal carcase tissue safe to consume to provide protein and essential body fats (although this latter idea was repugnant to some, their culture traditionally eating only crustaceans and fish).

After the month was up the ship had to move on to search for other habitable worlds and the colonists would have to be self-sufficient very quickly as a return assessment visit would not be possible for many years.

You’ve had a chance to study these results in advance? Argona directed his question to Irona. Do you agree with me that we are leaving the colonists in a relatively safe environment?

There are no guarantees of course, but on calculating risk factors, I give them a 98% probability of survival and establishing a successful community and they were given psychological profiling in advance, Irona answered.

Well that’s higher than the 95% they are given in the Volunteers Contract, Argona said.

I’ll notify the rest of the crew that we have a go for Sphere Transit to Surface Launch! He touched a console button to change the communication channel and the face of Dr Argentumo appeared on screen, she wore a surgical cap and apron covering her light blonde skin fur. "Ah! Dr Argentumo. Can we begin the reanimation procedure for the sleepers on Sphere 1? We will convey Sphere 1 down to the surface in 4 hours by Cargo Transporter, please have the sleepers awake by then, given a hearty meal and dressed in their survival suits. Very well Captain!" Dr Argentumo answered. Argona switched the communication channel again and the face of his Chief Engineer appeared. Chief we are reviving the crew of Sphere 1 and taking them to the surface; can you issue 12 disrupter pistols from the armoury and issue these to the sleeper crew when they are assembled? Will do Captain! Germaniuma replied and signed off.

Four hours later an assembled group of awakened sleepers stood ready in the launch bay, they had been briefed and were dressed in survival suits with holstered disrupter weapons. The Sphere was already loaded into a claw built into the stern section of the Cargo Transporter. The Captain and Chief Engineer seated themselves at the flight controls of the Transporter with the colonists sitting on contoured bench seats and strapped in behind them. The aft section of the mother ship was depressurized and the Transporter nudged itself out into the vacuum of space using its ion thruster jets. The main propulsion engine was fired and the Cargo shuttle descended slowly through the planet’s atmosphere. Selecting a location on the larger continent, the shuttle came down for a soft landing near the shores of a shallow sea.

Moving equipment was brought into action to detach and transport the Sphere to its nearby location, where a roll out foundation was laid and the Sphere settled on a stable base. Assistance was given by the Engineer to the colonists to erect pre-fabricated buildings using the Sphere as the central hub. Next the moving equipment was used to pick up the robotic rover & submersible probes that had been instructed to gather at the shoreline. The probes were uplifted and secured in the Cargo Transporter. All available scientific data had been downloaded to the colonists’ computer. All that remained was for goodbyes to be said. The Cargo Transporter lifted off to return to the mother ship in orbit. The colonists’ watched the diminishing speck as it made orbit, wondering what their new lives would bring on this new world, so similar to their home world but so far away now. Some felt feelings of isolation and abandonment and had moist eyes; others turned their backs eager to face the new challenge.

CHAPTER 2

In the present, Earth year 2042, the Ancestors have been warmly welcomed by the few inhabitants residing on the museum world of Oceanid. Introducing themselves by the names Platinuma (their mission leader), Niobiuma and Iridiuma (both science specialists), as the ancient titles of military ranks are meaningless in their present society. The android museum curator and his assistant have afforded them maximum hospitality as they search in the archives to access records going back 1.67 million years to the First Phase civilization.

The most notable artefact was a silicon disc, too fragile to handle, but reportedly containing three video frames and audio word fragments recorded by a news journalist at the precise moment of the annihilation, when the comet collided with their world. This had been copied on to a more robust modern playback medium to allow the ancient year recording to be watched again. As the frames played in a loop, the Aquilaeons felt a little uncomfortable at the sight of this artefact, it showed just what had been achieved by the generations of descendents spreading out from that original twelve colonist group, they had abandoned here so long ago and documented in their own history.

The curator lead them on to a display from a former Department of Culture (the founders of this present museum), then operating at the peak of the Second Phase civilization approximately 40,000 years ago. An academic paper published by an actual crew member of the Pictor Mission, a Daelar Fayrann. She was in fact on the flag ship ‘Oria Quintessence’, captained by Malon Endar with a crew of six that went missing. There was an autobiography written by a Malory Binyon, the Director of the O.I.S.A an early space administration organisation representing the city of Oria at the time and the overseeing force behind the 6 city states each financing, building and sending a starship representing their city, making up the fleet. In his autobiography there were statements, recorded transmissions, a listed manifest and named crew listing and speculative conclusions written by the retiring Director in his seventies, it was clear he spent his last years a broken man.

Over subsequent years fragmentary messages reached us, the curator intoned. "Some second-hand, passed on by other cultures, that the crews of the remaining five starships had landed or been rescued and had blended into the cultures of other worlds in systems around Pictor. The loss of these fine ships and crew had reverberations down the centuries. The Second Phase Oceanid civilization scientists were convinced that the Ancestors had broken the faster-than-light barrier. It would take 1,000 years to duplicate the achievement, discover that which was impossible, defy known physical laws and build an FTL anti-matter engine starship themselves and at that point, they began to leave Oceanid, motivated by a fervour to establish colonies of their own, too long had they lived in the shadow of the Ancestors.", the android curator concluded without any trace of emotion

The Aquilaeons showed visible embarrassment at this unintentional criticism of their actions, probably shared across many galaxies with their reluctance to reveal how the anti-matter drive worked and to postulate for so long, that to break the FTL barrier was indeed impossible.

"We apologise deeply for that regrettable period in our history, we have healed the over zealousness pride and self-importance we felt then, and we have undergone a re-evaluation of our moral conscious. The error of our ways has been guided by a Transcended Entity we know as the Celestial Watcher, whom we believe coerced us to solve the mystery of your lost starship, not least answer a call from the colonized worlds of our home constellation to investigate a repeated transmission sent out only 17 years ago!"

"This gave us a better chance to triangulate the signal and identify the source as coming from a remote galaxy they call the Milky Way. A middle aged star called Sol in the spiral arm of that galaxy and the nine orbiting planets of its solar system. The third planet called Earth has a multitude of life forms, predominated by land dwelling humans and the forth planet is devoid of life. But the humans have travelled there and established a small colony. Their space travel technology is primitive, but they have already visited their nearby moon and sent robotic probes outside of their system."

"The reactivated signals from your lost starship originate on that forth planet called Mars. We have visited the human colonists there and studied the artefacts and the transmitting device they had found. We share their conclusions that the remains are from a space vehicle that had crashed there when the world had a viable atmosphere. After taking blood samples from the humans and analysing their DNA we believe those few Oceanid survivors did use the last remnants of their technology to move to Earth. The Martian atmosphere must have been deteriorating rapidly and they believed they must live out their existence on the nearby world and were probably surprised to see the world inhabited by primitive humans and animal species, existing 40,000 years ago. They somehow delivered their own DNA into the human genome, which would carry forward and refine the human Homo-sapiens species that predominate today. So we bring to you the results of our examinations, Oceanid bloodlines left a legacy there far beyond their mission objectives to find us. Possibly they lived to old age and died in oblivion, we will never know - but they should be revered in the annuals of your history as heroes."

"The Earthlings are in a first contact situation and we have asked the colonists on Mars to be our ambassadors’ and break the news slowly to their world leaders’ to avoid panic. In travelling here we have monitored Earth transmissions and believe the process has taken place and our existence is now known, which is the reason why we have asked you to recall your starships from the far flung regions they have travelled to, for we believe an alliance is now possible across all human worlds.", the Aquilaeons explained.

CHAPTER 3

In the dim and distant past the starship ‘Swift Dragonfly’ has delivered a second Sphere to a hospitable planet. Captain Argona had called an informal meeting in the cramped conditions of the refectory located in the ship’s underbelly. When Argona entered the section, two members of his crew were already seated with drinks before them. Nicklo was his biologist, a female; her responsibilities were to work with Science Officer Mercura, her male co-worker, in evaluating alien life forms, climate extremes and planet habitats. Argona shrank his 12 foot tall frame into the confined seat, asking if the others were on their way.

Not far behind us I think. Do you want a drink while we are waiting? Nicklo asked.

I’ll have an apple tea with Barberry infusion, thanks, Argona replied. Nicklo moved to the small transmuter and ordered the drink by speaking its description. The drink materialised and