Dinosaurs, Elois, and Werner

By Ian Eress

The citizens of New Earth, an Earth-like exoplanet relatively near to Earth, have forgotten much about technology, science, history, and other worlds. After the Decline, Ando and his young friends from a small village that used to be an important city set out on an adventure.

 

On another planet, little Alberta-Snezanka is adopted by a wealthy couple. However, the woman of the house sees the child as a rival. Alberta-Snezanka is in mortal danger.

 

Meanwhile, immortal Werner, on Earth, faces threats from this universe and other parallel universes in the Multiverse. Will he prevail against all odds?

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ian Eress
• Release date: Mar 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201451813

Ian Eress

Born in the seventies. Average height. Black hair. Sometimes shaves. Black eyes. Nearsighted. Urban. MSc. vim > Emacs. Mac.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

CHLOE'S FATHER, MOTHER, brother, and sister were killed five years ago in a bomb attack. Ruler Morpheus Lane-Carter Leung was charged with the murder of the High Ruler's family, the holo-news said in the gloomy and frigid server room. It isn't clear whether his daughter, Ophelia, will be prosecuted too, but the authorities assure us more information is forthcoming soon.

Fiafi, the first Artificial General Intelligence in the United Galactic Federation, based on Urzur from Thohnuth, muted the holo-news. On the Forbidden Planet, in the center of the galaxy, it was a hot day where young Chloe lived.

How do we deal with this? Amaterasu, the second oldest AGI in the UGF, asked. Chloe is so inexperienced. She's only been in charge for five years now that her family is dead.

She knows what to do, NBBN2, another AGI based on NBBN, a creation of the Qeeravs, said. He represented himself with a butler hologram.

Outside, an excited chorus disturbed the peace. The sensors I could access across the UGF picked up on befuddlement and distress.

We must teach High Ruler Chloe better, Fiafi said. Prepare her for the upheaval that will ensue. She should know everything about the TC, the Ursine Union, Hidnajaf Empire, and the NonLocBes. Everything there is to know about the quantum Multiverse, her ancestors, and the UGF.

And the past, Amaterasu said. Gaia?

I, the Mercury-sized Thinker, presented myself as a supermodel, a weighted blend of actual supermodels. Amaterasu, the UGF Council has everything under control.

Technically, yes, however, we can't trust them completely.

NBBN2 laughed. How paranoid!

Humans, Atagans, Azoins, Poids, Qeeravs, Thohnuths, Verdetas, and other citizens in the Kolektur voiced their opinions outside whilst a-translators made sense of their words. Most of what they uttered was wrong, but they were right about one thing. Chloe did suspect her uncle Morpheus, and maybe his daughter Ophelia, of being involved with the murders five years ago.

Before he was killed, Chloe's father had been teaching her for nine years, Fiafi said. High Ruler Leofdeg Hsieh Stithuif Du Wigstan Zhu Swiohun—

There's no need to recite all his names. NBBN2 chuckled as he often did. Albert Sawyer, who created him and Amaterasu, made a point of giving him a sense of humor.

Godgifu, Fiafi continued out of spite, Liang Cenric Yu Bada, all right, let's take turns.

We ought to use more persims this time, Amaterasu said. I see no other options.

Neural surgery for some measly persims? NBBN2's butler avatar grinned. The High Ruler is not a poor Pioneer, surviving at the edge of the UGF.

Fiafi picked a random holographic avatar, a gray dog. Yeah, persims are effective. Let's start with adding one.

Amaterasu followed Fiafi’s lead: her almost-humanoid hologram had horns and wings. Let's not get caught up in the specifics. We should split up and write a proposal. A plan that we can agree on.

Fiafi’s holographic dog nodded. Chloe Leofdeg Hsieh Stithuif Du Wigstan Zhu Swiohun Godgifu Liang Cenric Yu Bada—

The butler, representing NBBN2, giggled. Great, Fiafi, let's recite the High Ruler's names each day. If it were up to little old me, I'd give her the molecular memories of the Awakenistas and Albert Sawyer.

Fiafi’s Presence folded her arms. They're ancient history. We shouldn't go back too far.

Amaterasu's hazy shape started to sway. Gaia should come up with a plan. The rest of us are doubtless better off not bothering. Gaia will accomplish it far more quickly and effectively than we can.

NBBN2's holographic butler frowned.

I'll see what I can do, I said.

CHAPTER 1

High Ruler Chloe speed-read the latest reports in her office, nine times the size of a lesser Ruler's office. Her blonde hair was a terrific triumph, her beautiful face displaying the signs of stress. Adorable ted-bots (robots with the appearance of teddy bears as big as children), Azoin servitors (crab-like aliens), and XNA-enhanced humans milled around in the High Ruler's glamorous palace, preparing for the worst they thought could happen.

Fiafi had told the High Ruler about Umvitar, and it was my turn to teach her. Tired blue eyes pierced me. High Ruler Chloe, time for another lesson.

What about the TransMeMol, Gaia?

You asked Fiafi and Amaterasu the same. My supermodel Presence smiled.

High Ruler Chloe watched me confused. Vād...?

I pressed on. Molecular memories can malfunction.

Chloe inclined her head, watching my hologram. New Earth. Did they revert to the Dark Ages in 8th century AG on that exo-planet? Please tell me more about that.

Sure. Her interest in New Earth made me glad. Yeah, during the New Earth Decline, knowledge, culture, and technology was lost, but the reasons for that weren’t what you might have imagined.

I know what you're going to tell me, Gaia. Chloe frowned. I'll not let that happen to the UGF.

"Let's talk about Ando Belonite in Prodiv also known as Three Hills, New Earth. Goethe said, 'The decline of literature indicates the decline of a nation.' However, I won't be talking about literature..."

EIGHT CENTURIES BEFORE Ando Belonite, his young friends, and his girlfriend were born, an APS department, the Pioneers, colonized New Earth, an Earth-like planet relatively close to Earth Zero. Later and especially during the Decline, Awakenistas and other Morlocks like Werner (who I will talk about later) neglected New Earth, focusing on matters in the Inner Solar System.

Wars, natural disasters, and criminal activity at the time of the Decline turned New Earth into a Wild West. Drones, killbots, gangs, and minefields made travel dangerous on the planet.

In the Democratic Republic of Aliabur, Three Hills, also known as Prodiv, on the banks of Narita River, had lost hundreds of thousands of citizens to wars, disease, and emigration. The about hundred villagers, who lived there when Ando was born, knew little about their history, science, or technology.

However, the ruins in the Ancient City, the abandoned central district, held reminders. At the start of the year snow covered them. Ando and his male friends, Lod Wolf and Felim Ega, visited in summer and spring, weather permitting.

Ando, Lod, and Felim had left Prodiv because the Regressors were chasing them. Plus, Ando’s girlfriend, Nini August, and her older friend, Welidi Sauer who was the village Healer, had joined them too.

The Regressors, also known as the Minions, also known as the Traitors, were individuals recruited from various species and planets in the many parallel universes of the Multiverse. They served the HiDimBes, our Enemies, who had no bodies if you didn’t count virtual subatomic particles spread through the parallel Milky Ways. The HiDimBes feared other species using Artificial General Intelligence like Fiafi, Amaterasu, and NBBN2. (Technically, I, Gaia, was an Artificial Superior Intelligence, having more hardware to my disposal than Fiafi, Amaterasu, and NBBN2.)

Luze was a port town on the border of Aliabur and the radioactive Wastelands where a nuke had exploded once upon a time. In early January, Ando and his friends were waiting there for another friend of theirs to be released from prison. Vikol Ziko, a junior merchant, had fought his way to Luze after encountering a Lemivio. Vikol might or might not have stolen food to survive.

Dark-skinned and tall, young Ando shivered outside a tiny Luze dwelling, snowflakes and the wind poking at him. He hated the cold.

In a simple gray robe, Hilodo, an older Second Order monk of unknown age, wished to teach Ando how to use his plasma sword. Ando’s father had given him the weapon after Thohnots, mutants created by the Lemivios, had attacked father and son.

The Zērpizdō was almost as tall as Ando, but he was certainly stronger and faster. Hilodo moved like a cat, efficient as a robot.

The plasma swords of the two men were in practice mode, displaying holograms instead of real plasma. It looked real enough, though.

Ando focused on finding Dreamland the way his father had taught him. Lupsofot, a rare material whose particles oscillated through the many worlds of the Multiverse, allowed one to connect to other subconscious minds using the Wavej Field in Dreamland, facilitating Wavej wormholes. Ando suspected he had either ingested or had been injected with lupsofot one or more times without his knowledge. Could he have been born with lupsofot in his body?

Dreamland Appeared for a fraction of a second in Ando’s mind. There was a dream-like beach, humans, aliens, and psychedelic fractals and spirals. Hilodo told him Dreamland wasn’t a real place but a projection created by his subconscious.

The swords produced sounds, short pings, upon contact that could be turned off. Naturally, the noise only benefited students with little experience like Ando.

To Ando, Hilodo seemed superhuman, moving too fast for the young man to follow. Had Hilodo undergone rejuvenation therapy? And if so, which kind? Most people on New Earth couldn’t afford to have their lives extended.

The holographic sword tip touched Ando’s chest. An annoying chime followed by a bright flash startled Ando.

"You’re dead, Ando-san. Hilodo smiled. Improve your kamae. Your stance."

This was the sixth time in a row. Ando had been on the defensive for seventeen minutes, unable to launch a single attack.

Ando grunted. Am I so slow, or are you so good, beh?

Welp, for a former sheepherder, you’re doing ‘kay. We’ll get Vikol out of jail and then we’ll head back to Prodiv.

Do you think it’s safe to do that? Ando asked. What about the Thohnots, the Lemivios, and the other freaking Regressors?

They haven’t been active lately. Most of them must be dead. Besides, Alberta-Snezanka will come with us. She’s a powerful Wavejer.

Was Hilodo aware of Ando’s Wavej skills? Maybe it was a dream. Right? Ando didn’t believe that. He knew he was the one who killed millions, perhaps billions, of Minions in one glorious moment using countless Wavej wormholes. Did that make him the Leader of the HiDimBes’ Prediction? The one to kill all the Enemies, once and for all.

Then I don’t need the flaming sword, beh, Ando said.

You could sell it.

Nah, it belongs to my father. I’m sort of borrowing it.

"Plasma swords were rare even before the Decline, meant for senior officers, generals, and blazing admirals. How did your papa get one, Ando-san?"

No chomping clue.

I don’t have the darn tempo to teach you properly. I needed ten years to become a master. Ten more to beat all the masters I knew. Plus, ten more to realize how many masters there were in the Pax Galactica. And I’m still learning to this day.

So he had been at it for at least thirty years. Lod and Felim aren’t ready to go home. Something happened to them. Welidi has been nagging about returning to Three Hills for weeks. Even Nini ignores her.

"You want to explore, sheepherder? Or do you want to marry Nini so she doesn’t join Second Order in the Red Cylinder? Zērpizdōs are celibate. Our glorious leader, the Prophet Galileo, didn’t want peeps unable to resist chomping temptation."

No, no, no. Ando shook his head. Now that Ando was possibly a Grand Wavejer, maybe even the