The Prophesy: Book 4 - Armageddon

 

Weeks passed, and the number of collisions between the Earth-Moon system and the flux of comets, asteroids, and other stellar garbage kept increasing steadily. The biggest worry for the Atlanteans remained the four biggest asteroids, but the number of comets coming their way was also worrisome. The stellar model visible in the astronomical map made it clear that interplanetary space was buzzing with activity.

As the Atlantean leadership eyed the spectacular view afforded by the long-range optical sensors, Samson and Enron kept a running comment on what caught their attention.

"Ceres is now behind the Sun, and if our numerical estimate of its orbit is correct, it will emerge from there after coming within less than 6,000 miles of Venusia’s, atmosphere. It will have gained a considerable amount of speed, well in the vicinity of solar liberation. However, we know from precognition that this will not be the case."

"Add to this the fact that the comet that perturbed the fragile equilibrium in the Asteroid belt is also coming back early, much earlier than its customary 76 years, and you understand that exact predictions in these conditions is next to impossible," added Enron.

"Nothing in the Solar system explains the explosion of comets coming our way," noted Iridia.

"To understand this, you have to look at their origin. There are two known sources for comets: the Kuiper Belt, which extends from Neptune to about 2,000,000,000 miles out; and there is the Oort Cloud, that extends from there to about one light-year away. There are many potential causes for a sudden rain of comets. The most probable is a massive dark object entered it some time back, and perturbed the orbits of these objects. Consider Jupiter. It is a proto star that never lit up its fusion reactor, but still produces more light than it receives. There must be a considerable number of these objects flying around, getting thrown from star to star, and making a mess of any Oort Cloud. There is also the possibility that one or more objects collided and are crashing down. Another option is that interstellar dust is putting the brakes on their displacement. Who knows, we may be in a dust arm of the Galaxy and it would have cumulative impacts on their orbits. Finally, the least probable is that the Sun came close to a star. Our closest visible star is Proxima Centuri, but that is a visible star. There are brown stars, and probably cold, dark stars that have lost all energy over time, much like Jupiter will."

"How encouraging, Samson. Do we have an idea of their respective numbers?"

"We know the shape of the distribution, but their numbers is impossible to establish," said Enron. "The probability of finding an object of mass M is described by an exponential function. The greater the mass, the less likely are we to find it. A good example is the distribution of pebbles, from grains of sand to boulders. Finding a grain of sand is way too easy, but you will not find a boulder of several tons everywhere. It is easy to test too. Take a cubic inch of soil, and measure every grain in it. You will find small grains, big grains, and intermediate-sized grains. You can do a graph, with size on the X-axis and the number of grains of that size on the Y-axis. You will notice that the number of smaller grains is considerable, and the number of bigger grains is considerably less. With patience, you will see a curve come out of these measures. It is the probability density function. You will be able to establish the probability function of finding a gain of size M, and that function will be exponential."

"You are giving me a headache!" said Iridia. "And that is not a probability, but a certainty!"

"But how does this apply to comets? They sure are not grains of sand."

"Jefferson, that probability function is scalable. What that means is it stays valid whatever the scale of the objects you measure, from atoms to stars. There are more hydrogen atoms than there are iron atoms, and if you look at the atomic distribution, it follows that rule. It is true of molecules, dust, rocks, planets, and stars. The number of small planets is higher than the number of big ones. The smaller stars are more numerous than giant ones. I could go on and on."

"Oh. Okay."

"Anyway, however hard we try to predict what will happen, things are worsening by the day," said Samson.

"Let us go down to the Royal Suite and take this discussion to a more comfortable setting. We have a lot to cover, and it would be more convivial to do it sitting on a couch then sitting on workstation seats or standing up," suggested Harold.

"Who is in charge this shift?" asked Williams.

"The roster says it is Alaric, and his Dragon bonded, Amphiptere, as Commander in second," replied Ian. "The Mage on duty is the Runt, one of Greywolf’s Pups. The others are in training."

"Okay. Let us get going," acknowledged Harold, as he moved out to the portal and mentally dialled his living room.

"Are we not getting lazy? No one bothers porting through Magic anymore!" exclaimed Harp.

"I think it is because it requires almost no effort from us. There is no need to visualise our destination, know where everyone is located and moving to, and find a place to materialise, stake the place during materialisation, and so forth."

"It is still lazy," complained Harp.

"Purist!"

"Well, I do need a defect, Viola, or else I might shine too much!"

"Little Brother, count yourself lucky oceans are all but vanished, or you would have ended up in one!"

***

"Let us get down to business," began Harold. "Yamato, how is the recovery of the atmosphere going?"

"The pressure had dropped by 434 millibars. It is slightly higher than expected, but we have to take into account that water vaporises explosively at the Depression bottom, and that there are numerous volcanoes in activity, most of which were, until recently, underwater. Add the arrival of some rather big icicles that slammed the Asian Continent and Pacific Depression bottom, releasing considerable amount of water and some methane and sulphuric acid, and you have a more complete picture. I have had no issues with the tubes and pumps."

"The Pacific Depression?"

"We cannot continue calling it an Ocean when it is now a salt bed. The tubes have been hit repeatedly by rebounds, without damage."

"Okay. Has there been any earthquake?"

"Quite a lot, Sire. We have had several gravitational earthquakes, with power levels 10 or more on the Richter scale. But it does not stop there. The Sumatra fault moved several feet and produced a 9.5 earthquake. Also the Chilean fault had a similar move a week ago. And I must add collision earthquakes, some of which were of magnitude 12 or more."

"How come we never felt anything?"

"Dad, we have dampers in Thebes. Earthquakes, even of magnitude 12, are well within the capacity of the dampers," replied Paschal.

"Dampers?"

"How do you think this behemoth will be able to navigate space and change direction on demand?"

"The next questions concern life sciences," said Harold. "What is the situation with the Pterodactyls?"

"They are coming back with flourish. They have had very few infertile eggs," said Enron. "Once they returned to their wintering quarters, we took the infertile eggs and proceeded to an analysis of what might have caused the issue. Apparently, the females are charged with reserving the sperm and using it when they ovulate. The females are polyandric, meaning they copulate with a number of males, and select a single Father to raise their young, but there was not enough males available to supply them with enough sperm sacks."

"Is this normal?"

"I doubt it. We will know at the next cycle. There are about three males for one female in the new generation."

"And what is the situation with the Ark and Eden projects?"

"Everything is done. If we missed anything, it is dead. The average temperature for the globe is at -175° Fahrenheit. The tessaracts are doing their job."

"How do you measure this?"

"If a species reproduces, it is because the conditions are right. All species are actively involved in this primordial activity, so I conclude the tessaracts do their job."

"Will we run out of space?"

"It would take a veritable explosion in populations. We are currently in the process of integrating the zones so the life forms can migrate, compete, and maintain a healthy diversity. Reconstructing ecosystems from stasis reserves is difficult and must be carefully planned. For now, it is the lowest life forms that have reached the best integration. We need to build each layer one after the other. Most high-order animals, such as Birds, Mammals, and Fishes are currently isolated and are left to reproduce without competition in order to rebuild the critical biomass before they are added to the global ecosystem. That goes for plants. We noticed the integration in nature is such that plants depend on animals to reproduce and spread, while supplying them with food. So any addition to the global ecosystem involves a lot more than dumping an animal or a plant. We even have to include Bacteria and toxins to really reconstruct things properly. In due time I plan to integrate every life form, from the Australopithecus Regressi to the Pterodactyls, but it will be some time, probably several thousand years."

"What about the Orcs?"

"They are getting reprogrammed and kept in stasis. We have about 1,000 done. I focussed on the young first. If we are lucky and succeed in this, we will have another intelligent life form to add to our family."

"I hope so. Do you think we will one day be able to integrate the Australopithecus and the Pterodactyls to our community?"

"There is a good chance of that. Both species are herd-oriented and could probably develop a collective Conscience given the proper pressure. However, it will not be those we rescued but a new species that will earn that position. That said, we will press things forward."

"I see. What is the progress with the Seraphrims?"

"The Matriarch is out of stasis chamber and is learning how to see. She is still a bit unsure of herself, but things are improving rapidly. The re-sequencing of the eggs is progressing on time. That is also the reason why she is not here. She is resting and I decided not to bother her with a discussion of this," said Ian.

"Okay. What is the progress with bonding with Dragons?"

"Every Dragon except those that were adults when we joined Atlantis have bonded. I realised that there would never be enough Dragons to bond every Atlantean, so we have decided to poly-bond. Remember, when we did the passage through the Pyramids, I bonded with all six before we decided to do an individual bond, and it worked perfectly. So, after discussing with my Privy Council, we have implemented the following rule. Each Dragon must bond with a minimum of 100 members of Atlantis, preferably a good sample of each Atlantean species. There remains a primary bond, but the others benefit of the same advantages, so we now have a lot more shape-shifters than our number would indicate. These secondary bonds are set at the discretion of the Dragon and occur two years after the primary bond has been set."

"Thank you, Typhoon. What about the health situation? Rockhook?"

"Things are improving. We have begun leaving stasis. Our numbers is very limited, but things are improving. We are getting out of stasis at about 100 a month. It is not fast, but it is reasonable."

"Okay. What about the Humans recovered in the last bunker?"

"We are releasing them at the same rate," said Paschal. "Reconstructing their nervous system is the easy part; it is rewiring their memory so it is consistent and devoid of gaps that is difficult. We are also doing our best to reconstruct family structures, but the amount of inbreeding is such it is difficult to sort things out. We are also fixing quite a few genetic anomalies that got propagated across the entire population. That probably explains why treating these Humans is as slow as it is with the Goblins."

"That is fine, Paschal. I admit we have had quite a few surprises over the years. And you, Colibri, how are you adjusting?"

"I am doing fine. The College of Magic is fascinating. And I help Lord Paschal fix the ecosystem, at least in the Amazonian context."

"Good. One last question and we are done. What is happening with Francesca?"

"I have decided to rewrite her memory of this life by rewiring it from scratch. It is a last ditch effort. If that fails, we will have no choice but to either commit her permanently or kill her," said Harp.

"How long before this process is completed?"

"In her case, since I must take into account her knowledge of billions of lives, I will have to do it very slowly. It may take several years to separate her true current life memory and the previous lives she lived. For some reason I cannot understand, her mind refused to partition these previous lives into separate, autonomous, entities and access them as needed. Everything fused. I have to pick her brain apart and reconstruct each thread separately. I think the issue is genetic; she had a series of mutations due to being born from parents that lived near a Forbidden Forest."

"How do you plan to install the partitions?"

"As soon as I manage to extract a coherent memory flux, I store it in one of these small crystals. They act as holographic memory storage bins for her. My biggest issue is all these stillbirths, and murder at birth her previous lives have ended up with. They are difficult to differentiate from each other and their order is important to reconstructing her multiple life thread properly."

"What about her Magic?"

"That is just about the only good thing coming out of this so far Dad. She has been accumulating energy and will eventually be a pretty good Magic user should she so wish, if I restore her connection to her core. And that is a big if, a very big if. She will have to earn the connection back. It will not be something that will be done lightly."

"I understand and I agree with you, Harp. That concludes this meeting. Let us go have a quick lunch. Rockhook, how many of your people are out?"

"There are 300, my Lord. Why do you ask?"

"I plan to visit them after we are done with lunch. Do not warn them of my coming. I want to see their reaction to Atlantis taking over their life."

"Certainly, my Lord."

"Do you want to be called Rabwhaar or Rockhook?" asked Harp.

"Rockhook. Rabwhaar makes me feel out of touch."

***

After a quick lunch composed of cold cuts, vegetables, fruits and nuts, Harold, Harp, Ian and Paschal followed the Goblin Plutarque to where his people were located.

"A question, if you do not mind, Rockhook?" asked Harp as they made their way deep inside Thebes.

"Certainly."

"Why are your people so far away from the others?"

"I tried to make them feel at ease, but they have lived so long in isolation they have issues adapting to new people."

"That will be a problem. We expect them to be full-time and full-part Atlanteans. That means a willingness to interact with all life forms, be they intelligent or dumb as a rock."

"I am aware of this, Lord Harp. I hope your arrival in their midst will change their attitude."

"Maybe "

"Do not worry, big Brother, I have dealt with some rather crappy people while cleaning up the Amazon. They better get in line or their butt will feel my wrath," replied Ian with an evil grin.

"Rockhook, if your people know what is good for them, they will appease Ian before a figure of speech becomes a very burning sensation on their bums."

"Who is pointing fingers, Harp? You have had your moments of glory!"

"Rockhook, I wanted to know if Thebes was warm enough for you?"

"It is fine, Paschal. Initially, I felt cold, but then I realised it was due to the lack of humidity. Now, I am used to it."

"Do you need any clothes?"

"I needed some when I occupied a function, but Princess Iridia supplied me with some remarkable clothes. They are beautiful and light."

"Yes, Iridia’s people make clothes from Spider webs, which is a type of silk. It is a remarkable achievement and the clothes are extremely resistant, can be coloured at will, and weight next to nothing."

"Why did you need clothes?"

"Oh, I needed to indicate status during the meeting of the Privy Council. And I also needed some way of indicating what kind of work I was doing for Atlantis."

"Have you had any issues?"

"Of course: no one expected that kind of change when they were put to sleep for the trip. I had a lot of trouble with my esteemed skeleton Crew. They remembered me as shy, more inclined to be behind than in front and outgoing. The Crew Commander was particularly obnoxious."

"You were undermining his authority," commented Ian, as they progressed further into Thebes’ innards.

"How much further have your people descended?"

"As of my last visit, they had moved to layer B529, in wing ZTL."

"Maybe we should use the portal?"

"I do not know if it is still operational. I think the Commander was becoming xenophobic and dismantled it to prevent surprise walk-ins."

"If he did that, his head will be dismantled from his shoulder shortly. I and only I can authorise this, and as far as I know, I have not done so!" declared Paschal, in a voice that sent shivers down the spine of everyone within hearing range.

Furious at the prospect of intentional damage done to his home, Harold indicated he wanted to port to layer B500 directly and then see what could be discovered.

"Dad, the issue is that level B500 is not responding!" said Paschal as he scanned the network.

"Every portal at that layer?" asked Harp, as he got red in the face in fury.

"No. ZTK, ZTL and ZTM. It goes from B500 to B699."

"Verify the seals."

"The doors are disabled."

"That guy just sealed his fate, Rockhook. I will not put up with some potentate trying to carve his own little Kingdom aboard my spaceship!" said Harold, now as furious as Harp and Paschal.

"Let us port as close to them as we can. Then we will deal with the jerk," said Ian. "We will move to level B700."

"I have just asked for 50 repair Spiders to move in. They will not stand a chance against these machines, and we will not risk getting hurt," replied Paschal.

"It is like you are expecting them to be armed."

"I am not sure about that, but there is enough material for a technologically advanced race to make some out of the power grid."

"Okay, Paschal. Proceed as you see fit."

"Let us wait on Sitar. He is the best to handle guerrilla warfare."

"Yes, true."

Just then Sitar exited from the nearest portal. After a short explanation, he took command of the situation.

"I agree, let us wait for the Spiders. They should be here shortly?"

"They are very close to the surface, since they were primarily designed to repair it should there be reason to do so. They should be here within half an hour.

"Okay, Paschal, have you noticed any progress, or attempt at extending the area controlled by that group?"

"Not that I have noticed. I installed an alarm should anyone try to temper with the portals within the immediate vicinity of that area, and for now, there are no signs of this activity or of their even being used."

"Okay. Is there an override for these bulwark doors?"

"Yes."

"Can you activate them from here when the Spiders come?"

"Yes. In fact, I have entered the override codes for a floor-by-floor assault. I think it will be best."

"Agreed."

As they waited for the Spiders to arrive, the discussion continued.

"I wish we knew where they are in that vast area," said Rockhook at one point.

"Ah, but we can! I forgot that!" said Paschal. He moved to a locked door and entered the key. The door opened with a powerful release of compressed air, clearly indicating it had not been breached.

"They never entered here. Let us see. Ah! Here is the monitor. It is done to make it possible to record all activity on a floor. As a side-benefit it can also show current activity on any floor, as long as you have the override codes. It will be useful to determine who did what and on whose orders."

Paschal entered the code and began scanning the floors above them. He used thermal sensors to locate any heat source. It became apparent that there were three lines of activity: right above them, right at the top, and in the middle. There were also signs of activity at the periphery of the rebellious area.

"Can we see anything more than red heat sources?" asked Sitar.

"Sure. Which ones are you interested in?"

"Who is immediately above us?"

Paschal brought into activity a camera along a hallway. They could see a pair of Goblins handling primitive-looking maces. On their ear were earplugs and some sort of microphone.

"They have found a way to communicate across the area. It will not be an easy pick once they discover we are invading."

"All depends on how this works. Can you spy on their communications?" asked Harold.

"I suppose so. Let us see. This thing here is a frequency scanner. Rockhook, can you listen on it and tell me if you hear any exchange in your native language?"

"Certainly."

Rockhook sat down and began scanning the radio signals. Twenty minutes later, just as the Spiders were reaching the lower levels of occupancy, he told the team he had heard an exchange, but that they were extremely terse and spaced out.

"What do you make of it?"

"All I hear is a call number, and a terse nothing to report."

"I see. Harp, you are the best at telepathic communication. There is one patrol coming just behind the door. Try to grab their number. We will then port their communication devices and then we will in effect have silenced them."

Harp focussed and came back with the information.

"They are to report at every portal, every door. It gives us no more than two minutes to intervene before their silence sounds the alarm."

"I see. Rockhook, you will need to take their place at the communication. We port the material as soon as they have done their next report!" decided Sitar. "Harp, as soon as Rockhook has the material in hand, and is reporting all clear every two minutes, you port these arse holes directly to the brig!"

"Consider it done!"

The two unsuspecting individuals moved on, and after making a stop at the next portal to verify it was still disabled, waited for their confirmation call. Right on time, the central command asked for their report that they supplied dutifully. As soon as they went silent the equipment, in fact everything they were wearing vanished. It took 15 seconds for Rockhook to gear up and he sat waiting quietly in an isolated room for the next request. The moment the material had been removed from them, the rebels found themselves in the brig, encircled with a powerful magical field that prevented any telepathic communication, should they have tried it.

"Unlock the door!" ordered Sitar as soon as this last task was done.

Paschal triggered the door’s override and it opened without any alarm ringing.

"Let us get into the Spiders. We were lucky this time. It might not last."

The Atlanteans progressed quickly. Apparently each pair had a wide area to cover and was rarely able to meet another patrol during rounds.

"I wonder why they choose to occupy such a vast perimeter. They must know they are unable to defend it effectively."

"I think they believe the alarms will give them ample warnings," said Ian at Sitar’s comment.

"I think the Commander bit a piece too big to chew. His ambitions will be his downfall," analysed Harold.

"We are nearing the next patrol according to the Spider’s sensors. It is just beyond that bend. It should report in a minute."

Right on mark the exchange occurred. The communication material got ported inside the Spider carrying Rockhook and the patrol found itself in the brig, joining the two previous captives.

"How many patrols are we talking about?" asked Harp, as he eyed the increasing pile of communicators.

"Five. They have to patrol the three wings, and the ends of the wings above them. It must be one tiring exercise."

"That gives me an idea!"

"That gleam in your eyes tells me they will not like it!" said Harold as he watched Paschal.

"Oh no they will not. Rockhook, if I look at your physiology, gravity must be your worst enemy?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"One of the characteristics of Thebes is the capacity to create local gravity wells. I will bring the gravity well in the entire area to 10 times its current value. They will not even be able to crawl to reach the bathroom."

"You can do that?"

"Sure. Guys, set your gravitational compensators on. It is the yellow crystal on the top left of the control desk."

Everyone did so and the Spider’s control panel immediately displayed a value of one G. Once all occupants of the Spiders reported the field activated, Paschal entered the control centre of Thebes and raised the gravity to 10 G on all rebellious floors.

"It is working. I think even Worms cannot move!" said a very relieved Ian. "Let us go pick our seditious individuals."

The Spiders quickly moved along, and as each rebel was found, generally sprawled on the floor having serious breathing difficulties, they were stripped of anything and sent to the brig.

An hour later, all was said. The Goblin rebellion had been put down without a single life getting lost. Paschal put the Spiders on the repair of the doors and the portals. It would take them a couple of days to fix everything.

"What do we do now?" Sitar asked.

"Do what you normally do," answered Rockhook.

"We dispose of the leadership and rehabilitate the followers. Is that acceptable in your culture?"

"Is this Atlantean law?"

"Yes."

"Then follow the law. When I swore fealty to Atlantis, I also swore to abide by its laws."

"Good. I do not like keeping Snakes alive when they have bitten me once," said Harold. "They will be scanned for their contribution to the revolt, the leadership will get beheaded, and the rest will face forced participation in military reform Centuries. Only those involved against their will shall escape this fate."

"It is perfectly acceptable. I would not have asked for less."

"Let us go to the brig, and separate the guilty from the victims," said Sitar.

***

The Atlanteans walked into the brig, which was packed solid. There were a few Goblins on the ground, immobile.

"What happened?" asked Harold as he noticed the mess.

"My Lord, there was a fist fight. We tried to calm them but nothing short of a stun bullet put some sense in them. We were waiting for a Mage to show up to get the story out when you arrived."

"I see. Well we have Harp the Prince of Magic with us, along with my Son Ian, the God of War Sitar Montue, Paschal Imhophet the Architect, and the Plutarque of the Goblins, Rockhook. Harp, revive the idiots."

It did not take long as Harp doused them with icy water. It was a case of wake up, stand, and survive or drown. Once everyone behind the force field was awake, Harold stood in the middle of the control room and looked in turn at each member of the Goblin community.

"I do not know what keeps me from sending you out of this ship! The current atmospheric pressure is already reduced to nearly half its standard value, and you would boil off your water if not your stupidity!"

"This cannot be a spaceship! It is way too big! A huge city where we are held prisoners is a better description!"

"Who is the big mouth?" asked Harold as he looked at Rockhook.

"This is the leader of the Crew, what once passed as my commanding Officer, Bashar Sirdan Heran."

"Bashar?"

"Commander in Chief."

"I see. Well he will not be commanding anything shortly. As to you, Sirdan Heran, it is a spaceship, an Atlantean spaceship to be exact."

"Atlanteans died out a long time ago! You cannot be Atlantean! Anyway, even if you were, you left us to our need when we faced the Enemy! We were left to run for our lives!"

"Sirdan Heran, you need to know that we were almost destroyed, but we were not completely eradicated. We are back, and back with a vengeance. The Enemy, whatever his true identity, has not yet met us in true battle. That day may come, but the Servants of Darkness will meet us and we will not back down. This I have vowed 17,000 years ago, and this vow I now renew!"

"Big words for someone with no power."

"Know whom you are talking to before letting your mouth do the thinking. I am Pharaoh Horus of Atlantis. Now be quiet while my mind readers determine the nature of your crimes.

"I do not believe you are who you claim you are!"

"I do not give a damn about what you believe. Harp? What is your analysis?"

"This Sirdan Heran has ambitions as big as his mouth! He planned to establish a Kingdom in the area, with him as supreme authority. He has 25 followers, including the three others that got repaired from the smallpox."

"What a nice way to thank us for saving their lives!" said Ian.

"Port those that were forced to follow that bunch of crappy individuals into the next room."

Quietly, the 26 followers and leaders of the rebellion were the only ones left in the room.

"Where are the others?" asked Sirdan as he suddenly noticed the cell was a lot less crowded.

"You wanted a proof that we were Atlanteans? You have it. The others are now detained elsewhere. Now, you are alone. You would have realised it right off had you not been so self-centred. How else could we have captured all of you without even lifting a finger?

"That does not make you Atlanteans! Who said you are not the Enemy? None of us ever survived to tell of their meeting!"

"It is true. However, no one ever met an Atlantean Pharaoh and survived after behaving like you did either. My Sons have forwarded to me your intentions, and your Plutarque, Rabwhaar, has given us jurisdiction over your fate. Given the exactions you took off your people before meeting us and even after, you are hereby condemned to death by unanimous consent of the jury."

"You cannot condemn us! And Rabwhaar died millions of years ago!"

"Oh yes, I can! You are in my home, on my ship, and still on my planet! It therefore is logical to assume you also are in Atlantean territory, under Atlantean laws! Even more so, Rabwhaar has sworn fealty to the Crown of Atlantis, renewing your ancestral bonds. Yet I read in your mind that you do not believe it, as if I cared? What you believe is irrelevant to the consequences of your acts. Even if you did not believe a word of what Rabwhaar said, you had duty to recognise the environment you were in, the work we did for you, and that you were alive! But no, you choose confrontation, rebellion and disavowal of long-standing laws and obligations. You made your bed. Sleep in it for eternity."

Harp extended his arm carrying Bata and the 26 Goblins disappeared.

***

The 26 rebels were ported into a vast area on the inner surface of Thebes. They could not help but see the horizon curve upward, revealing for all to see the true size of Thebes once it had closed on itself.

"So you said about this not being a spaceship?" commented Harold as the Goblins took scope of the area. "Do you know many planets with that type of configuration?"

Indeed, the inside of the Atlantean spaceship was a spectacle to behold. The inner surface was sprinkled with lights, showing the paths of wide boulevards. The narrow streets were lit at regular interval as well. The Kantar quarters and the six giant Pyramids, as well as the other gigantic structures of the Atlantean architecture emitted beautiful lights. The waterways, dark still in the early morning hours, were being silently travelled by boats of all sizes and shapes, their dark forms outlined by navigation lights.

"Our people have a policy: we execute traitors at sunrise if it is possible. Most of the time, traitors are executed on the spot because they are dealt with in battle. In your case, we fall back on classical Atlantean law. You will die once the full day has begun. Enjoy the sight of Thebes at night. We are an hour away from sunrise, set at prime. Your people will be sitting on these bleachers to view what happens to those that foreswear their bonds to Atlantis," declared Harold in a very cold voice.

The Goblin rebels were left alone in a vast area encircled by a 20-foot wall of red and finely polished marble. In the middle of the circle was a water fountain, and, about 25 feet away from the fountain’s kerbstone were tables with food and drinks.

"Feed yourselves. It will be your last meal," said Ian.

The Goblins spent their last hours bickering, and blaming each other for the failure to grasp the true nature of their predicament. Fistfights broke out repeatedly. The Atlanteans watched the fighting without intervening. What purpose would an intervention serve? If the dead were fighting between themselves it was none of their business.

The rest of the Goblins silently walked into the bleachers, ignored by the 26 Goblins happily going at each other’s throat. Another 100 had been freed in the early hours of that morning, and were also present. Those that had taken part in the rebellion and had come away with their life explained to the newcomers what had happened so far.

"No, I do not know why we were brought here. All I can say to you is that these people down there were the leaders of a rebellion. I thought they would be dead already," explained a spokesman to the newcomers.

As the two-mile wide sphere that occupied the centre of the ‘sky’ began to light up, a big gong rang, stopping the bickering amongst the condemned and attracting the attention of the spectators upward. It had been invisible in the darkness because it was made of totally transparent tubing through which plasma could flow freely, lighting the inside of the sphere. It was the volume of plasma that determined brightness. The entire structure had been put in place once the sphere had been closed and was held stable by using a local gravitational well that kept it isolated from Thebes yet in full harmony with its displacement.

"Welcome to the Artificial Sun of Atlantis! May this day be filled with justice! Let the guilty parties repent!" Harold intoned in a strong voice. "Justice shall be served as the Sun reaches its full power so no one can claim it was done in darkness and hidden from view!"

As the artificial Sun became brighter, the full extent of Thebes came into view. The lights were dimmed and turned off; the Pyramids showed their elaborate outer surface, Castles were visible everywhere, with spires and Towers encircling their main constructions. The Kantar quarter’s humongous size became truly visible for all to see. The number of boats increased considerably, mostly gondolas that carried people along the waterways. The inner structure of Thebes was visible, as long walls seemed to support the sphere, converging to two poles and circling the inside parallel to the equatorial plane.

"See for yourselves the power of Atlantis, traitors! It will be your last sight!" thundered Harold as he emerged on a dais located at the periphery of the execution circle.

Harold sat down, and clapped his hands. The gong that had marked the rising Sun resonated again. The fountain stopped, its surface was covered with a slab of marble that rose from the bottom.

"We, Pharaoh of Atlantis, have judged these 26 Goblins guilty of high treason for forfeiting their bonds to our Crown dating from the beginning of time, a vow restated clearly by Rabwhaar, Plutarque of the Goblins as these people were saved from certain death. Atlantean laws are very clear: they are to be executed this day. Had any of these people thought of asking for forgiveness, they might have received it if their request had been sincere, but you all saw their actions in the past hour. They did not repent, they fought with each other, they only blamed each other for the failure of an ill-thought plan, and they did not even touch the food so graciously offered to the condemned by the customs of Atlantis. Even now, a few minutes away from death, they refuse to admit what their own senses tell them."

Harold took a glass of iced water, sipped on it, and let the declaration sink in. Then he spoke again.

"The Goblin nation as a whole is witness to this execution, even those still in stasis, as their memory will be fed with the information now given to you as if they were here in flesh and blood! Let us remind you that your people own their lives to Atlantis; we fought the Enemy beside you, we died with you, we gave you the tools to escape and fought the rear guard battles you needed to make good your escape. Atlantis died for you and for all those whom we now call upon to defend this last Bastion of our right to exist. This planet is doomed, and we will flee again, aboard this spaceship. We could have left you behind, but we did not! You came to our refuge battered, your spaceship a ruin, and unable to fly anymore! Your leadership knew this and yet ignored these facts when they choose to rebel. Executioner! Do your duty!"

"At your command, Harold, Thor, Pharaoh Horus of Atlantis!" replied the Man wearing a red mask and handling a rather impressive double-edged axe.

Harold snapped his fingers and gallows appeared right over the fountain. Drums began to beat a solemn walk, and a magical field began converging on the centre of the circle from the walls of the execution arena. As the Magic reached each renegade, he was pushed against his will toward the gallows.

Those of the group that opposed the most furious resistance were the five core leaders of the rebellion. Sirdan Heran simply lay on the ground, thinking it would let him resist against the pressure of the advancing magical wall. Unfortunately, the wall simply pushed him along, rubbing him badly on the ground and skinning his torso in the process. Others sat down, and were pushed on their arse right across the field.

Once the rebels were pushed against the kerbstone of the fountain, the group was brought to the bottom of the steps leading to the platform by a similar method. It became a shoving fight to stay away from the stairs as long as possible. Sirdan himself emphasised the lack of dignity shown by the rebels: he punched his way to the end of the queue, in a vain effort to delay his execution. His behaviour did not go unnoticed and brought a number of boos and catcalls from the spectators.

The Executioner moved quickly to finish his job. He picked a kicking and screaming Goblin and carried him under his arm to the billiard before forcing him down on his knees. A bit of Magic kept the Goblin in place as the Executioner took hold of his axe, backed a few steps, turned, bowed to Harold, and waited for the signal.

Harold read the Goblin’s mind for the last time and saw nothing warranting a respite or an Imperial grace. He turned his thumb down, and the axe followed the same direction. The head fell with a thud down the gallows hole, the blood spouted and fell on the marble of the fountain before seeping below. As soon as the blood stopped flowing the body was disposed of, and the next Goblin was picked up.

The ritual was repeated 26 times, as none of the hard-core rebels ever even considered backing out of their ways. Once the last Goblin was dealt with, Sirdan Heran frothing at the mouth and hollering obscenities and defiance, the heads were placed on spikes around the fountain.

"Let those that consider betraying Atlantis heed the warning. We will not be lenient on traitors," declared Harold. "These heads will stay in stasis for a week then be disposed of the same way the bodies were. Thank you Executioner, for your efforts."

"I am at your entire service, my Lord," said the Master of the Blade of the Centaurs.

"Goblins, you are part of the general population of Thebes. Isolating yourselves was what led to this tragedy. We will not put up with ghettoes. Your numbers are few compared to us, and you must learn to live in our midst. Do not believe all that crap about the danger of losing your identity due to mixing with others; do not believe that being different means a person is Evil; do not believe that dispersion weakens you. We are all Atlanteans of different origins, and Goblin is but one such origin. No discrimination based on species, race, sex, age or other differences shall be tolerated. That includes the belief that one group is superior or inferior to another due to its physical characteristics, its origins, its habits, its tastes, or its beliefs. You have been assigned new quarters. Your group will be dispersed in Thebes uniformly. Do not ever try again to recreate what Sirdan Heran tried to do, or the price will be a lot more bloody!"

As Harold kept silent, Rockhook stood up.

"The Pharaoh is waiting for an answer from you! Answer his unspoken question! Do you understand what is asked of you? Will you conform to Atlantean laws? Will you work toward your integration to this culture?" thundered Rockhook.

After a minute, one Goblin stood up and answered for himself.

"Yes, we do, Plutarque. We will abide by the ancient Covenant our ancestors engaged with Atlantis."

"That is nice for one of you to answer! Has everyone forgotten how to speak?"

The number of voices progressively rose and finally, everyone acknowledged the supremacy of Atlantean laws. The Atlanteans monitored and kept count of those speaking and finally the last one had taken a stand and lived through it.

"I am Sitar Montue, the God of War of Atlantis! Be ready to fight for Atlantis! War is upon us once again!" began Sitar. "We will fight anew the Soul-eaters, the Enemy and the Scavengers of War. Many of you have refused to train under our supervision. It is no longer an option. We need all we can muster for the battles coming to us. Refusal to train is high treason, and you saw what happens to those who forfeit their duty to Atlantis! Once you have been relocated, report to the Sergeant at Arms to get properly equipped, and then to your respective Centuries. Ask your way to the Armoury. It no longer is acceptable to isolate yourselves and refuse to speak to others. A fair warning: the diversity of Atlantis Three is such that even Dogs are Soldiers, and so are Spiders and their Masters the Fairies. Be forewarned that you will fight in mixed Centuries involving a wide variety of species."

"Stand up for porting!" thundered Harp, taking over from Sitar.

Harp ported the Goblins to their new homes in bunch of 50 souls. Once this process was completed, the gallows disappeared, the fountain floor dropped and water sprouted again, washing the inside of the basin of the blood that had accumulated in it. A few hours later, the blue water was clear and no trace of the executions was left except for the 26 ghastly heads spiked up around the waterworks.

The Atlantean leadership then left the overhanging dais and returned to the Royal Suite.

"I hope you were not too shocked by the scenes?" asked Harold as he walked beside Rockhook.

"I was shocked, but they brought this on themselves, my Lord. I will get over it. They made their choices."

"That is true. Let us go have a quick breakfast. I did not eat, knowing what was coming. Hopefully it will stay where it belongs. It is one of the most displeasing part of being Pharaoh."

"Is it frequent?"

"It was in the beginning, but things have settled down. People know they cannot escape justice and they think twice before trying to do anything stupid. The next batch of Goblins to be released will have today’s events written in their memory, as I told everyone today. I hope this will prevent any repeat of what brought this."

"I hope so too."

***

Things returned to normal, if anything can be called normal given the impending catastrophe, as more and more collisions occurred between interplanetary garbage and either the Moon or the Earth. The inner planets of the Solar system were not exempt of these collisions, and huge explosions were visible on Venusia and Mars. Deimos exploded upon entering in head-on collision with a comet and created a ring of debris that began spiralling down toward the Martian surface; it was a preview of the fate of the Moon. Several spectacular explosions rocked the atmosphere of Venusia, mostly due to the impact of meteorites the size of mountains.

On the Earth, each collision created major craters, and the heat generated by the collisions melted the ice over wide areas, creating mirrors at the bottom of the craters as the ice froze over quickly. Gases escaped and, by some principle of even distribution, kept the pressure at the mouth of the tubes relatively constant at 300 millibars.

"What is the cause of this?" asked Harold as Yamato informed him of the situation.

"I suspect that the repeated volcanic eruptions, the numerous impacts of meteorites and meteors keeps the atmosphere supplied in gases of all sorts of origins. We have noticed that the volume stays the same but the composition changes: it now comprises a higher portion of sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide than previously. Also, it is not uncommon for sudden bursts of water vapour to come our way. The reality is that there is now a competition between the heating up due to tectonic movements and meteorite impacts and the cooling of the atmosphere due to the albedo and sulphuric acid produced by the interaction between water vapour and sulphur dioxide."

"What will be the consequence of this?"

"Probably a greater import of water, and, apparently, somewhat less oxygen in the end. We will also have a substantial reserve of sulphur dioxide and a somewhat less massive influx of sulphuric acid."

"Does this pose a risk of corrosion?"

"No, all our containers are resistant to the worse acids nature could throw at us."

"Fine. How long before we leave?"

"That should be soon. We will probably begin the process of lift-off shortly after the Soul-eater trap collapses."

"When is that due?"

"As soon as the Moon meets its fate, the driving force behind the trap will falter."

"I wonder what will happen to Gabriel and his friend Lucifer?" asked Ian.

"Who cares? If we are lucky, they will be destroyed in the coming days; if not, well, their friends from outer space, their kin the Soul-eaters will pick them up or, with some luck for us, the Scavengers will do so!" replied Thorsten.

Just as the sext break was over, the general alarm rang across Thebes.

"All report to stations! All report to stations!" ordered Alaric. "Imminent collision! I repeat, imminent collision!"

The Royals popped right to the Bridge, abandoning their meal where it was. If Alaric called the general quarters, it meant serious business.

As Ian came on deck, taking over command from Alaric, he saw what had alarmed the generally unflappable Elf. He immediately touched a red crystal calling for all hands on deck and battle stations, as Alaric moved to take a secondary station near the firing team, tying himself up with straps that fell off the dome above the Bridge and then bracing himself.

"This is Ian! All hands on deck! I repeat, all hands on deck! Brace for a collision!"