THE WORLD
“That’s insane,” I yelled. “Just because we’ve made some kind of agreement, doesn’t mean I won’t turn you into spare parts here and now.”
Images of electronic messages, scanned letters, receipts, and transcripts flashed across the screen at speeds I couldn’t keep up with. “That information is hard to process, but you must, Rayce.” She persisted, “The deception goes beyond even you. In fact, it webs out into the bombings, the military, and even the supposed Calvarian War.”
“Can you hit the high points in a brief layman’s translation?”
“I will try. Twenty years ago a supposed discovery of the planet Calvaria lead by a group of soldiers by then-Captain Wyld began a new era in weapon’s technology development after all of Wyld’s men were killed in a skirmish. Upon his return a single scientist was chosen to lead the project in tandem with Wyld. They began researching strange artifacts brought with the scientist from an archeological dig he had done on an unnamed planet.
“It should be noted about this scientist, there are no records of him being born on Bathesda. He literally just shows up in the system out of the blue. His information was cleverly installed into the social mainframes to make him look like a native Bathesdan.
“This man formed a friendship with Wyld, and as they worked together, they started manipulating their way into the developing illegal biological serums meant to create the perfect fighting force. They chose to start on a single child as their subject. The prospect of controlling a thousand enhanced soldiers seemed dubious, but a single Ultra Soldier could be controlled. You. Obviously they wanted to hone your skills early, but they couldn’t have you training with the soldiers on a military base at such a young age, so I have traced records to their creation of the technology, and sponsorship funding of Laser Ball. They wanted it to become a popular sport so nobody would question the need for the child’s intense training at such an early age.
“Enter your girlfriend, Starshine. I show communications that she was briefed on the need to prepare you emotionally. She was to be used as something of a carrot to guide you away from Laser Ball and into the military at the appropriate time. She has been well compensated with property and money in one of the southern islands.”
As Sabra explained each of the stages of the deception and manipulation, she displayed the evidence she had uncovered to corroborate what she was saying. I saw emails and reports Starshine sent to her father detailing her thoughts on my willingness to join the military, how soon she believed I would be ready, and at one point, there was even a negotiation for more money when she threatened her father to abandon the lie.
I read the words as we soared up near the stars. We flirted with the edge of our world, and I could see out into the vastness of open star-dotted space. It was cold, empty, and unforgiving. I felt the ripping of Starshine tear away from my soul with each piece of exposed evidence. What remained inside of me felt as black, expansive, and merciless as the vacuum that loomed just above me. I had been nothing more than an experiment, a project, and a mission. Any fragment that remained of my heart turned into a soundless orbiting mass, like a forgotten moon that circled a newly ignited sun of rage and revenge.
I stared at the reports through a lens of disbelief. They seemed as far from reality as one of those badly written GX Knight mini-novels. I had been playing like a rookie in a game bigger than the arena, and I had been losing that game.… But, the game wasn’t over. I knew the rules now. There was still something I had to do. I had to be sure.
I didn’t know how to fly the plane, so I ordered Sabra to set a course for Starshine while I had her explain Wyld’s war hoax…
…Apparently, we’ve never been at war with Calvaria. Wyld had stumbled
“That’s insane,” I yelled. “Just because we’ve made some kind of agreement, doesn’t mean I won’t turn you into spare parts here and now.”
Images of electronic messages, scanned letters, receipts, and transcripts flashed across the screen at speeds I couldn’t keep up with. “That information is hard to process, but you must, Rayce.” She persisted, “The deception goes beyond even you. In fact, it webs out into the bombings, the military, and even the supposed Calvarian War.”
“Can you hit the high points in a brief layman’s translation?”
“I will try. Twenty years ago a supposed discovery of the planet Calvaria lead by a group of soldiers by then-Captain Wyld began a new era in weapon’s technology development after all of Wyld’s men were killed in a skirmish. Upon his return a single scientist was chosen to lead the project in tandem with Wyld. They began researching strange artifacts brought with the scientist from an archeological dig he had done on an unnamed planet.
“It should be noted about this scientist, there are no records of him being born on Bathesda. He literally just shows up in the system out of the blue. His information was cleverly installed into the social mainframes to make him look like a native Bathesdan.
“This man formed a friendship with Wyld, and as they worked together, they started manipulating their way into the developing illegal biological serums meant to create the perfect fighting force. They chose to start on a single child as their subject. The prospect of controlling a thousand enhanced soldiers seemed dubious, but a single Ultra Soldier could be controlled. You. Obviously they wanted to hone your skills early, but they couldn’t have you training with the soldiers on a military base at such a young age, so I have traced records to their creation of the technology, and sponsorship funding of Laser Ball. They wanted it to become a popular sport so nobody would question the need for the child’s intense training at such an early age.
“Enter your girlfriend, Starshine. I show communications that she was briefed on the need to prepare you emotionally. She was to be used as something of a carrot to guide you away from Laser Ball and into the military at the appropriate time. She has been well compensated with property and money in one of the southern islands.”
As Sabra explained each of the stages of the deception and manipulation, she displayed the evidence she had uncovered to corroborate what she was saying. I saw emails and reports Starshine sent to her father detailing her thoughts on my willingness to join the military, how soon she believed I would be ready, and at one point, there was even a negotiation for more money when she threatened her father to abandon the lie.
I read the words as we soared up near the stars. We flirted with the edge of our world, and I could see out into the vastness of open star-dotted space. It was cold, empty, and unforgiving. I felt the ripping of Starshine tear away from my soul with each piece of exposed evidence. What remained inside of me felt as black, expansive, and merciless as the vacuum that loomed just above me. I had been nothing more than an experiment, a project, and a mission. Any fragment that remained of my heart turned into a soundless orbiting mass, like a forgotten moon that circled a newly ignited sun of rage and revenge.
I stared at the reports through a lens of disbelief. They seemed as far from reality as one of those badly written GX Knight mini-novels. I had been playing like a rookie in a game bigger than the arena, and I had been losing that game.… But, the game wasn’t over. I knew the rules now. There was still something I had to do. I had to be sure.
I didn’t know how to fly the plane, so I ordered Sabra to set a course for Starshine while I had her explain Wyld’s war hoax…
…Apparently, we’ve never been at war with Calvaria. Wyld had stumbled
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