Spheria (2 page)

The group of Soldiers had been following the Zalisk for some time. They watched and waited, letting it do the work, before taking their own meal. Now was the time.

Ga∙zo, Za∙zo, and Be∙zo had been staying a slight bit ahead of the beast. They swerved in unison as it went, remaining in the same relative position while staying hidden. The first two each dragged the end of a long strand of chords, resembling rope. Be∙zo carried a small shard of green crystal on his back. The remaining Polyans, three on each side of the Zalisk, trailed the rest of the rope. These two flanking groups kept visual sensors toward Ga∙zo, waiting for the signal.

The beast paused again. Its enormous tusks swayed to the left, then the right. It attempted to sense another green crystal buried in the ground.

With the beast distracted, Ga∙zo bowed, and the others stopped as signaled. He made a circular motion with one of his legs and Be∙zo began to dig a shallow hole in the path of the Zalisk. Ga∙zo and Za∙zo each made a loop in their ropes, which they then hung from a branch in the way of the beast. These were suspended at the exact level of its outermost tusks. The others grabbed the loose ends of the ropes and stretched them around trees. They braced for them to go taut. Be∙zo placed a small green crystal into his hole and covered it.

The Zalisk didn’t detect anything in the current spot. Still unaware of the stealthy trackers, it shifted forward to try again. It took three more steps, paused, and sensed the crystal that Be∙zo had buried. The Zalisk moved toward it, and in doing so, unknowingly slid its two outer tusks through the dangling loops. Another step and the loops caught, pulling taut. The Soldiers reacted quickly, and in unison. They pulled the trailing ends of the loops toward the back legs of the creature, seeking to bind them to the tusks.

Seeing sudden quick movement, the creature panicked. It made a loud bellowing sound and flailed its tusks to one side. Za∙zo went flying through the air, along with two other Soldiers. They landed in front of the beast’s deadly tusks. It immediately charged at them. But just before smashing them with a crushing blow, the Zalisk jerked back and fell sideways. The second strand had caught on a tree as the other three held it. They tied it to the creature’s three exposed left legs, rendering them useless.

The Zalisk struggled to get back up, thrashing its right three legs. The Soldiers heaved on the left rope, and the beast was rolled onto its back. Ga∙zo and Za∙zo scrambled up the creature’s forward appendages and onto its exposed belly. Two others retrieved the strand dangling from the Zalisk’s right tusk and tossed it up to them. Along with Be∙zo, the three on the ground each grabbed onto one of the flailing legs and, holding tight, pulled with all their strength. Ga∙zo and Za∙zo went to work, binding each leg with the rope.
 

The creature struggled, pushing with its middle legs on each side. It was working to remove the strands connecting its tusks to its legs. They’d soon come off, but the Soldiers were ready. They snared each leg with additional strands and pulled them tight around more vegetation. This stretched the body of the creature, its legs spread wide. It lay immobile, vulnerable to the sky.

Be∙zo, who was on his first hunt, was given the honor of the kill. He retrieved a bundle of clear crystals that the group had been dragging with them. He removed one and hefted it onto the belly of the beast. The Zalisk struggled against its restraints, knocking Be∙zo off balance. But he recovered and climbed up. He reached the spot between its six outstretched legs and looked into its belly. There, pulsing from a day of foraging, was the life crystal: large, violet, and glowing.

Holding the clear fragment high above his head, Be∙zo proclaimed the words he was taught. “This Zalisk gives us its energy, that we might move, that we might live, that we might multiply.” He then pressed the pointed tip of the shard against a flat edge of the beast’s core. The color began to flow into the crystal, turning it a vibrant violet, and the Zalisk’s life dimmed. Be∙zo passed down the saturated shard, and the others handed up another clear one, which he also filled. In this way, they removed all the energy contained in the beast, and it went limp, the struggle over. The core of the magnificent creature, still impressive in size, twinkled clear like a diamond.
 

Be∙zo once again raised a shard over his back and this time, with the final one filled, proclaimed, “For the Colony!” The pile of crystals contained enough energy to replenish them all.

“For the Colony,” the others repeated in unison.

#

Ti∙ni squealed “All fall down!” as the stack of brown rocks collapsed onto its side. They tumbled into a ragged column along the ground. She laughed and began pushing them back together with her three legs, but paused when something caught her eye. A moving glow became visible in the forest just outside the Colony.

The proud Soldiers emerged from the growth. They each carried a radiant shard above their backs, displaying them like trophies. The other Polyans rushed out to greet them, and everyone danced around in a wild commotion. This was the third great haul, possibly enough to refill everyone. These shards contained more energy than a week’s worth of foraging for green crystals. They formed a line and marched between the hives to the center of the Colony.

Po∙ni, another three-legged Drone like Ti∙ni, approached her. She asked, “Can you make a square, Ti∙ni?”

Ti∙ni bounced and laughed. She returned to the fallen blocks and formed them into a square platform on the ground. It was a decent job, considering Ti∙ni was their latest born Polyan and had a lot to learn. Po∙ni tidied up the structure a bit more.

The Soldiers approached the platform and placed their shards upon it. Everyone gathered to admire the magnificence of the combined glow. The crystals illuminated the gathering now that the Source above had begun to dim, signaling the end of the day. Whispers spread through the congregation until everyone was asking the same thing: “Where’s Sa∙ma?”

A mysterious voice spoke from within the crowd. “I'm here,” it said. Those near the voice spread apart, and a gap emerged through the crowd clearing a path to the center. The old Polyan then hobbled to the platform that Ti∙ni had built. “Today is wondrous,” he said, his front illuminated by the purplish glow. “Our hunting party must be commended for another fantastic capture. Bringing down a Zalisk is no easy feat. It takes the coordination of many skilled Soldiers, and at significant risk. Today we’re all blessed with their success and the Colony is stronger as a result. Come, it's time to celebrate. Let the feast begin!”

Then, as if on cue, Po∙ni declared, “Let us Drones make sound!” All the three-legged Polyans started to bang their legs together in unison. Synchronized primal rhythms emanated from their motions. This was one of the few things Drones were able to do, besides menial tasks such as pushing things around. Ti∙ni bounced in cheerful glee, this being her first-ever celebration. She fumbled a bit but, after a dull clank or two, was able to mimic the cadence of the others. “Aren’t you a quick learner,” praised Po∙ni. Ti∙ni seemed to swoon and stumbled but recovered. This caste, being the most numerous, withdrew from the crowd and formed a musical circle around the others.

Pu∙ma then bellowed at the crowd, to be heard above the noise. “Let us Workers make sway.” Upon hearing this, all the four-legged Polyans raised one of their legs into the air and tapped the ground with the beat. They raised another and did the same, and so on. As they performed their tapping dance, they spread out and formed a concentric circle just inside the one formed by the Drones. Their motion now synchronized and developed the appearance of a wave.

Next, the crowd mingling inside turned to Be∙zo, of the five-legged caste. She declared to the anticipatory eyes, “Let us Soldiers dance!” The five-legged Polyans began to spin. They rotated around the central shards. Thus, they also formed a circle inside the ones shaped by the Workers and the Drones.

All that remained inside were eight six-legged Polyans. Yo∙sa spoke to them, just loud enough for them to hear. “Let us Leaders eat first.” This caste, being just one leg short of a god, were the wisest and most elite. They thus had the honor and privilege of eating first. Each of them, in turn, climbed upon the platform in the center of the celebration. They placed the lower point of their core upon one of the shards and drained out a bit of the violet life force inside. Once at capacity, they climbed down and made their way through all the moving circles to find a place to rest.

Now the five-legged Soldiers moved in, each performing the same act of feeding. This was followed by the four-legged Workers, then finally the three-legged Drones. The violet shards were eventually depleted, reduced to mere transparent shells again. A few of the Drones failed to get any, but nobody seemed to notice. Everyone spread out in a grid-like pattern and sat upon the ground, basking in the afterglow of having been replenished.

Near the remains of the shards, two of the four-legged Polyans were in deep discussion. Sa∙ma was illustrating something to Le∙ma, making outlines in the air with one of his legs. Le∙ma seemed to be taking it all in. She’d learned to observe more since becoming his apprentice. Ga∙zo, considered to be the chief of the Soldiers, noticed this and spoke to them loud enough so the whole crowd could hear. “Show us some learning,” he teased. “Build us something, Le∙ma. Build us a statue.”

The Colony in unison echoed his request. “Le∙ma, build us a statue. Le∙ma, build us a statue.” This chant was repeated until Sa∙ma stood and raised a leg. The crowd became silent, and Le∙ma took this as permission to appease them. She pushed the shards off, then separated the blocks making the platform. She stuck the largest six shards into the ground. Then she rested several brown blocks on top of them. To the front of the brown blocks, she attached five more small shards.

She stepped back to view her masterpiece. The crowd couldn’t help but admire the beauty and symbolism of her creation. A perfect Zalisk replica stood tall before them.

Chapter 2 - 1% Inspiration, 99% Funding

“Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” - Thomas Edison

Max walked out into the raw Belgian night. A horn blasted from below, and he walked over to the balcony railing to peer down. Two cars were attempting to take the same parking spot. The drivers began shouting profanities in French. Max knew he had that same passion in his blood.
If we realized we are all pieces of the same machine, conflicts like this wouldn’t happen.

It calmed his nerves to know he was in the tower of the Hôtel de Ville de Bruxelles. Here he could be an observer of society for a moment instead of interacting with it… instead of being the center of it. He pulled out an electronic cigarette and took a drag of vapor. The nicotine calmed his nerves.

Light footsteps approached him from behind. Turning, he saw his friend David heading toward the balcony. He stopped next to Max and looked out upon the city.

“Nice job today,” David said. “It’s not easy for a rookie to impress a roomful of leading particle physicists.” He looked up at Max, whose dark hair blended into the night sky, making him look even thinner than he was.

Max took another drag of vapors, exhaled, and pretended to squint as if smoke blew into his eyes.
 

David’s youthful demeanor belied his age. Max had befriended him years earlier in an online discussion forum on quantum theory. They’d formed a long distance friendship due to their shared interest in the components of the atom. This turned out fortuitous for Max, because when his friend was appointed chair of the 25th Solvay Conference on Physics, Max landed a speaker invite.
 

Max was thrilled to have participated in this event. The first one, in 1911, was attended by many luminaries including three of his heroes: Albert Einstein (who explained the photoelectric effect), Marie Sk
ł
odowska-Curie (the first woman to win a Nobel prize for radioactivity), and Henri Poincaré (a mathematician who created the foundations of chaos theory). It was, and still is, an invitation-only gathering and represents the best of the best.
 

This year the theme was “The theory of the quantum world.” Max had demonstrated a radically new device. It was an honor to have shown it to the modern equivalent of those who had made it possible, people who actually cared.

“There’s someone I want you to meet,” David said.

“I’m kind of burnt out on meeting people, that’s why I’m out here on the balcony.”

Sounds from the cocktail party floated up from the conference below. The lively debates were still going on, and would go to the wee hours of the morning.

“Kid,” David said, smiling at him. “It’s not just anyone. It’s Graham Neilson, and he loved your presentation.”

Max raised a brow, Spock-style. “
The
Graham Neilson? The wealthiest man in Australia, the brilliant investor, the international playboy?”

“The same.”

Max knew a lot about Graham Neilson. He had a reputation as a flamboyant spendthrift. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he used his wealth to fund eccentric hobbies, such as treasure hunting and racing fast cars. His progressive policies toward employee benefits also got him on the cover of many news magazines. Max had wondered, more than once, how he had time to run a bunch of companies and do all the cool things he did. Maybe he just had talented and trustworthy managers overseeing his companies for him.