Planet Ignis | Ch. 11

... heroes and villains, their stories entwined within the game.

Amidst a predominantly peaceful society, the looming specter of mortality occasionally drove some astray. This was the case for Asher, the slaughterer, whose name echoed as the most infamous serial killer in Burrows’ history. His heinous acts were met with revulsion, and only through the valiant efforts of Chrinos, the hero and captain of the Golden Guard, was Asher’s reign of terror brought to an end.

These two figures stand as a unique pair within the game, their longevity chess Cards forever marking their place in the chronicles of infamy. Though seldom invoked, their presence adds a distinct dimension of strategy and caution to the game, with players weighing the risks and rewards of utilizing their abilities...

In “The History of longevity chess” by Eli, the Flarewalker

“Eli! Wake up!” At first, Eli thought it was a dream. But, as he felt his master’s hand rocking him into awakeness, he finally registered that this was happening.

“Master? What’s going on?” He disliked the feeling of being awakened. But this was nothing for someone who was used to being in a good mood despite never-ending hunger.

“We’ve been summoned. Quick. Get ready. The Council will meet shortly.”

“But I’m only seventeen. Aren’t council members supposed to be at least thirty?”

“You will be there as my aide to watch and learn.”

“What about my classes in the morning?”

“You’ll still have time to teach them. There are more than four hours left until then. Now, hasten. We don’t want to leave the king and the others waiting.”

Eli followed his master down the tunnels toward the heart of the Burrows. This would be his first time seeing the inside of the Throne Room. Despite his master’s serious expression, he couldn’t help but feel excited about finally seeing the legendary screen, the globular throne, or even Fahrenheit. He’d only seen the little spheres that served as Faren’s ambassadors but never the drone itself.

Entering, Eli was surprised that the throne room wasn’t a perfect sphere. It was a result of a natural formation. It was rare to see a room with four walls inside the Burrows.

Most of the others had arrived. They sat around a U-shaped table facing one of the walls. Eli’s eyes were drawn toward the fantastic sight of a metal globe with a man inside. He followed the thick cables springing from it and finally found the legendary drone.

At the sight of the AI, Eli gulped. He had taught countless classes about the last seven and Fahrenheit, but it was one thing to hear about it and another to see it up close. Faren was a giant metal sphere with four appendages on each side. It was fused into the wall. It was designed after a creature of Earth called the speeder, or spider, or whatever the name was. Various lights blinked as it computed the calculations that allowed it to manage the Burrows.

Multiple nanites rolled in and out of Faren, exchanging information with the AI, recharging, or receiving their deployment to assist with any necessary task. Because of ignium’s reverberation properties, it was better to have these couriers traveling through the tunnels. Wireless signals didn’t work well here.

These nanites were originally part of the probe and designed to assist Fahrenheit in cave exploration. They could enter the smallest of crooks and crannies. Each nanite came with its array of sensors, scanners, and tools. Like Faren, they were all extremely durable and could endure the hostile environment.

What a fantastic piece of technology. For it to still be able to function so well after centuries in an ignium-rich environment showed that its shielding and resilience were incredible. Who could have imagined that what had been designed to explore alien caves would one day become the lifeline of a settlement of stranded spacefarers?

Eli felt a twinge of pride. Some of his energy was somewhere inside the batteries of the AI that ran the inner workings of the Burrows. He had known that Faren was one of the most important recipients of the energy poured into the Hearth at each rekindling. But now he could see it with his own eyes.

After inspecting the drone, he focused again on the globe encasing his king. Faren could manage the king’s longevity in a way that no battery could. As Eli’s eyes and Brodnir’s met through one of the windows, he performed a curt bow. The king smiled and winked. They had met in the Nexus several times before, but this was the first time seeing Brodnir inside the throne. It was smaller than Eli thought. What was it like to be trapped within such a machine for years? What was it like to be stuck inside the metal sphere waiting for the tribe to call for their flame? It couldn’t be easy. His respect for Brodnir only grew.

Looking at the council members, he was surprised to see Zawa and waved at her. She gave him a radiant smile and waved back. He felt little sparks of joy prickling his chest. He caught Trother smirking next to him and felt the blood rush to his head. He hit Trother with his elbow, trying to get the old man to stop making fun of him.

Very soon, all council members arrived. Eli counted fifteen people in attendance. Sixteen if you included Faren. There were four yellows with two yellow apprentices, one of them being Zawa; there was master and himself, three other lits and their apprentices, and, of course, Brodnir the blue, of the Sapphire flame, king of the Burrows.

“Why are we only hearing about this now, Faren? It’s been years!” thundered the bass voice of Brodnir. One could only imagine what his voice would sound like if not limited by the speakers’ frequency range in his insulator globe.

Before Faren could reply, one of the lits intervened. “My king, communication protocols are a very low priority in Faren’s system. With such little computing power available, we just had to set priorities. There’s no point in keeping our ears open for the stars if our hearts have stopped beating. Besides, we’re only allowed to send a message every few years, and there’s no point in checking for messages too often.”

“By the flames! This is the Raptor we are talking about! Shouldn’t there have been measures in effect so that we would hear about it sooner if it was spotted again?”

At the mention of the Raptor, Eli noticed how his master, who never lost composure, gulped once, betraying his disquiet.

“king Brodnir,” spoke the metallic emotionless voice of Faren, “after Borus, the late blue king of the Centigrade settlement, pronounced the Raptor as deceased, communications were assigned a lower priority in our computing cycles. We only include it in a cycle every decade so that status updates, news, and breakthroughs can be shared between Settlements. That cycle was run yesterday.”

Eli loved Faren’s voice. Its toneless droning voice was so different from what a human sounded like. Legend was that once upon a time, you couldn’t tell Faren’s voice from a human’s. But the program that enabled human vocal resemblance took too much space and computing power, so it was deleted to make space for more necessary things.

“But for two settlements to have been destroyed just like that? In such a short amount of time? The Anaximanders and the Mendeleevs are no more. And now, only we and the Centigrades remain. This is a catastrophe!” Eli felt disconcerted at seeing the older ones in the tribe looking lost and confused. It was the first he realized they did not always know what to say or do.

Brodnir turned to Trother. “What do you have to say?”

Everyone turned to the oldest member of the Council. Eli was once again reminded of how much everyone respected his master.

“We received one transmission from the Anaximander’s Settlement. It was not sent with an AI ID tag. We can then infer it was sent from the Settlement’s Lighthouse. That means at least one person survived long enough to send out a distress signal. That, in turn, suggests they could put up a fight. Not a long one; otherwise, the message wouldn’t be cut short as it was.

The only indication of the Leevs’ downfall is that their beacon went dark. This time, no communications were made. We can then assume that while the Anaximanders could still respond somewhat to the threat, the Mendeleevs were decimated before they could even send a distress signal.

According to the accounts of the Great War, the Raptor would often spasm and behave erratically in the middle of battle. Its mind was so full that it hardly had space to think and fight. That’s how we could throw him into a Flare Zone in the first place.

We can only conclude that the Raptor can corrupt the drones and turn them over. He is faster now. He grew more powerful with each invasion. It has grown stronger, much stronger.”

Eli gulped. He had never seen his master so worried.

“Faren, did we pick up any signs of an electromagnetic pulse caused by a blue burst?”

“Negative.”

“That would mean that their blue Monarchs couldn’t even put up a fight. He has a way of neutralizing blues.” Eli’s eyes widened. For someone to neutralize the most powerful warrior of the tribe? How could that be so? What hope could there be for the last two Settlements, then?

“Members of the Council…” Faren’s emotionless voice was almost comforting, given the circumstances and the edge of panic that permeated the air in the room. “I must report that we have received an additional transmission.”

“What do you mean? Don’t tell me the Centigrades have been destroyed as well?” exclaimed the captain of the Golden Guard.

“This transmission is not in Ignian. It’s in English. It was sent three months ago. It was not sent by any of the Settlements.”

Trother violently stood up. “How? Who was it?”

“The message is signed by Dr. Hitori.”

For the first time in history, Eli let his voice be heard in the Council. It was an involuntary whisper.

“Impossible!”

Ch. 12