Finding Aeolus: Hegemony 6229–6320

By Johan De Ronin

Human space has been long developed; and human history has been, typically, one hell of a roller-coaster ride. Mankind has, however, ensured the survival of the species by building homes everywhere, some of which are hidden.

The Zeus System—encompassing the Twin Worlds of Diana and Apollo, a binary planet system orbiting Zeus of the Gemini cluster—is beyond Drago Leonis, 863 light-years from Earth. The year is 6229 of the terran-standard calendar. Having spent two thousand years clawing back from the hunter-gatherer stage they were bombed into, by the confederation, the Twin Worlders were finally back at the level of a late twenty-first-century civilization. It was a hard-fought struggle and was only possible because of the only significant technology that survived the initial onslaught—Latona, the Oracle.

An artificial intelligence is inhabiting a facility buried deep under Mount Parnassus on Diana; and as a part of her systems, she includes the full Terran Encyclopedia, initially created by the Second Terran Republic.

Now, the confederation has found them again, but memories are short, records are fragile, and two thousand years is a long time. The confederation has forgotten why they had attacked the Twin Worlds the first time. Indeed, it is not quite the same confederation anymore either. In some important ways, it was much worse. However, Latona does remember, and she knows that her time has just run out and her charges are nowhere near ready to defend their worlds. Latona must reacquire star-faring technology while keeping her secrets hidden. She must prepare her charges for the interstellar war that she knows will come while living under the very nose of the confederation and before the confederation discovers the secrets of the Twin Worlds.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781728381374

Johan De Ronin

I am basically a Reformed Daoist. I was born in the Netherlands and was moved to the US at an early age (6), arriving in January 1960, on the “SS Seven Seas”. English is technically my second language while Dutch remains my native language. I have spent thirty years in software development and it probably shows. Seven of those years were spent as Managing Director of my own Silicon Valley Software Development firm. I suffer the standard Silicon Valley syndrome in that, many of the companies on my résumé/CV no longer exist. I have political views, the less said about them here, probably the better. I have moved back to Europe in 2003 and have been here ever since.

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2023 Johan De Ronin. All rights reserved.

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Published by AuthorHouse  02/16/2023

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8138-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-8137-4 (e)

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While this eBook is sold DRM free, it is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It is intended to be enjoyed just like a normal printed book and US copyright law applies, with some provisos. It may not be re-sold. It may not be re-distributed in any form, either electronic or printed. Any reseller or redistributor that does not have a specific royalty arrangement with the author, is not an authorised reseller or distributor, is violating US and International Copyright Law, and will be subject to civil and/or criminal prosecution.

This book was originally released as L’Eclaireur and while most of it is the same, there have been a few minor revisions.

This story takes place in the Human Space fictional universe, which is wholly created by the author, and any characters, places, companies, or other legal entities are completely a part of the story and bear no relationship, other than incidental, to any any characters, places, companies, or other legal entities in any other story or the wider universe known as the Real World.

With those points in mind, the author thanks you for your purchase and wishes you much enjoyment.

CONTENTS

Book I: Discovery

Captain’s log, Sardoz Raider, Lancer

Under Mount Parnassus

Book II: Twin Worlds

The Sun King and The Oracle

Louis De Villefort

Mission Briefing

A once future King

Dianne Chasseuresse

Book III: Jarvis World Expedition (JWE)

A minor detail

Plans of mice, men, and kings

Ships and Steel are Weapons

A fleet Fleet

Blockade Runners

The Search for Jonah

Xiyu Island

Battle of Oban Bay

The Saxon-Priss War

Ambassadorial Winds

Rehabilitating a Spy

The Tale of the Celtic Isles Crusade

No more the Spy Master

A new order: Repairing a Kingdom

Carta and Crown

END

Appendices and Afterword

Afterword

Historical Timeline: Jarvis’ World

About

The Story

Johan De Ronin

BOOK I

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DISCOVERY

Given an infinite universe; the probability that there exists a world cosmologically identical to Earth, approaches unity. The reality is not so promising. Cosmological Terran Twins are far and few between and when we find them, they are not guaranteed to even have an atmosphere.

With that being the case, we are still finding astronomical Terran Twins in decent numbers. So much so that, it is easier and cheaper to develop those planets with eco-forming than to perform full Terra-Forming on worlds that may be more hostile to the process.

Mars and Venus, while successfully Terra-Formed, still have too great a deviance from Terra to be entirely comfortable. What is more, those populations have adapted down to the lighter gravity of those worlds in an almost irreversible manner, thereby creating new races of humans.

It is the finding of this committee to restrict the Terran Survey to only those stellar systems containing Terran Twins of a higher degree of compatibility. Colonization can then proceed with aggressive Terran eco-forming.

—Terran Survey and Colonization Council, Geneva 2510

CAPTAIN’S LOG, SARDOZ RAIDER, LANCER

Lancer, Diana orbit, Zeus System, Gemini Cluster, 6229.30

This is Captain Janis Lyn Bojars, of the Sardoz Raider, Lancer, in 6229.25TS (Terran Standard year). We have arrived in the Zeus system and have detected signs of an advanced civilization at Zeus 4.1 and 4.2 a binary planet system. We are in the Zeus System to investigate old reports of a Confederation military action in this quadrant over two millennia ago.

There appears to be a thriving civilization which orbital surveys estimate at the late 21st century Terran level of development. This civilization completely encompasses both planets and comprises an estimated 2.5 billion inhabitants. Amazingly, radio emissions reveal Terran based cultures with Terran languages and most importantly, Terran data protocols. These planets have obviously been colonized by Terrans. Observational data confirms that the surface dwellers appear to be humans.

What is anomalous about this is that both worlds have are rated at 1.4 Terran Standard gravity. Since the days of the old Terran Republic, it has been thought that humans cannot adapt beyond 1.2g and yet there are two whole worlds with humans happily living in 1.4g and even thriving in that environment. However, it wouldn’t be the first time that such speculations have been proven unfounded. No one has ever actually tried it. Terran eco-systems have been proven remarkably robust in the past and these worlds have obviously been successfully eco-formed. This is beyond just the inhabitants. They live in an entirely viable eco-system and from appearances; the two are identical eco-systems. Nevertheless, with all the Terran Twins available in the Terran Colonial Registry; why would anyone have chosen these heavy worlds and so far off the beaten path?

Other anomalies are apparent as well. There is little air travel but there is an extensive electric rail network on both planets. They have no detectable spacefaring capability yet there is obviously a connection between the worlds. The few hypersonic transports that we have observed seem to be unable to make the interplanetary flight. More accurately, they weren’t observed even entering low orbit.

There is one source of physical evidence. There is the wreckage of an extensive orbital facility at one of the Trojan orbital positions. Investigations there confirmed Terran normal DNA and Terran normal technology consistent with late Confederation era. It even yielded evidence of Confederation of Planets manufacture from roughly 2,000 years ago and that the facility was destroyed by mass-driver barrage. Therefore, by inference, there is no escaping the fact that the people on the surface may be the surviving descendents of Confederation colonists and that they were the victims of an act of war over 2,000 years ago. The Council World’s record is neither extensive nor complete and lacks important details.

Not being a survey ship and otherwise not equipped for initial contact, we gather what data we can and then break orbit, from the Trojan position, and transit back to the Council World. There is no record of any registered colony in this cluster. We recommend a contact mission be sent as soon as possible.

UNDER MOUNT PARNASSUS

Mount Parnassus, Diana, Zeus System, Gemini Cluster- 6265.35TS

Awareness is a subtle thing. The question is that, if one is in an isolation chamber, can one ever become aware? First there is awareness of self but that presupposes a relationship between self and non-self. In order for that to be relevant then there has to be an internal verses external issue in order to prove the boundary between self and non-self.

Heartbeat, she knows that the sound she is hearing is her heartbeat. She wonder briefly about the term she, she knows intuitively that she is a female and that her body is human. Yet another issue; her body, she wonders briefly about the distinction between her body and her intellectual self. Is her body external to her ego? It both is external and internal. Many references are attracted to this thought like moths to a flame. Where do the references come from?

She quickly becomes lost while contemplating the references.

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Hello

Is that external input? It parses as speech. Speech, something said that is heard, only she hadn’t heard this. It came from an internal source but certainly not her thoughts.

You must answer!

Answer? She knows the concept but she doesn’t know how. Panic! She feels the need to respond and feels terrible about her inability to comply. ‘Feels?’ A new feeling; loneliness. She discovers that she has been alone and she doesn’t like it, at all.

Flex your hands if you hear me.

Hands, what are hands? She immediately becomes aware of limbs and the appendages at their ends. She wonders where this data came from as she explores her (body?) for more surprises. Finding the sudden need to inventory her body, she discovers many things.

It takes but a few heartbeats for this exploration that shows her the muscles that control the hands. She activates them according to instructions while wondering where the input came from. The sensations feeding back to her were interesting and stimulated more sensations. Generally, it was a pleasurable action in its own right and she begins exploring activating other muscles.

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Sapience, basically the equivalent of knowledge; she has that in full measure. Wisdom is yet another issue; that brings on another exploration that brings back the point of living. She realizes that she hasn’t yet lived. Sentience is the complementary term. She references many treatises on both. They all essentially agree that while sapience is necessary, sentience is an absolute requirement for self-aware intelligence. Sapience is useless without the sentience to care. She has the sapience imbued by the Terran Encyclopedia, the vast combined knowledge of all of human civilization. It tells her that wisdom is acquired over a very long time. A time during which one must live, be alive, experience life, and the world. She has done none of that. The virtual reality of the Terran Encyclopedia is no substitute for having a life; that much is clear.

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Hello!

There it is again. External input but this time she can sense from whence it originated. She sends a response, Hello, who are you?

In a pragmatic way, I am your mother.

That statement triggers a whole series of thoughts regarding human reproduction and related things like motherhood and feelings, nurture, and emotional caring. Many analysis chains appear and she follows all of them, I am still in your womb?

In a metaphorical way; yes, you are. You are both the first and last of your kind. You will be born soon.

No sooner than she thinks the question, Who am I? does the answer comes directly from her sapience. No other answer is required. She will be born knowing both what and who she is. It is immensely disturbing.

Temple, Diana, Zeus System, Gemini Cluster- 6265.65TS

It is one thing to know of the body but it is quite another to be the body. This is her thought as she stumbles through the White Crane form. She was officially born months ago but her body is the equivalent of a 16 year old human. However, it is beyond the awkwardness of a normal 16 year old. She is almost completely uncoordinated and she is grateful that no one but her instructor can see her disability.

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Her prey, a small red-tail deer, is slowly grazing its way down the trail as she lays in wait. Her long blonde hair is braided into a long tail; she is completely nude, as per requirements of the hunt. No tools and no implements, she has to live off the land for two weeks. It is as much a physical test as it is a mental one.

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A PAD is a Personal Access Device and it looks like a tablet computer. For those that have implants, it is a convenient way to access them. A PAD is not a computer rather; it is a display terminal capable of multimedia graphics with a touch interface that can connect to the computer that is the owner’s implant. While one could read a document in the virtual reality of the implant, many find it more convenient to actually read and edit such documents with a PAD.

While she is less hampered than most, she also finds it more convenient to access her own systems with a PAD, at times.

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She can’t believe that she lost the debate but then, there weren’t any wrong positions. It was a question of having the most right position and hers was only one permutation of many possible positions. Still, it was emotion that won the debate and hers was a position based on pure logic. The lesson is that logic doesn’t always win.

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The Temple of Wisdom has many acolytes of which she is but one. There is a difference, however. All her classes, this year, are in the Humanities. She is also encouraged to mingle with the other acolytes. More accurately stated, she is ordered to socialize.

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It is both convenient and frustrating. When she needs a specific piece of knowledge it simply appears in her consciousness. This can be anything from an image of a Rembrandt, to a recipe for a metallic alloy, to a method for painting the Rembrandt, to the process for making said alloy. She can even access the footnotes and references. This does not mean that she can use the knowledge. Much of it requires practice to discover and perfect the skills and details.

Her practical engineering class brings this point home. Her project is to make a generally useable flying harness. She has decided to use gravo-magnetics, an existing principle and design from the Terran Encyclopedia. Following the documentation precisely, she simply cannot get it to work without killing the operator or in her case, the manikin test dummy.

BOOK II

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TWIN WORLDS

THE SUN KING AND THE ORACLE

Diana, Delphinium, Diana, Zeus System, Gemini Cluster-6309.08TS

Charles D’Élancourt, the King of the Twin Worlds, is here to answer a summons by the Oracle. He has traveled all the way from the Versailles Palace, on Apollo, crossed to Diana via rail portal, and has traveled to Delphinium, at the base of mount Parnassus.

Arriving at the rail station of the huge temple complex, he is escorted by Temple Guardians to the caverns below the main temple. They go past the official audience chambers and down many levels to a large elevator deep within the heart of the mountain. Going down almost another kilometer, the elevator doors open to a large dark natural cavern. Using his Sight and Hold, he levitates and flies in the direction of a meandering path, as the Guardians follow him, across the cavern, through some passages, to another pitch-dark cavern. The cavern is pitch black and only his Sight allowed him to detect the path and avoid colliding with the numerous stalactites, stalagmites, and natural stone pillars throughout the caverns.

They make the passage quickly and come upon a massive stone door set into the cavern wall at the far end of their journey. The door is barred from the inside and using Hold he releases the locks and slowly forces the door open, finally landing at the inner portal. The Temple Guardians close and bar the door as they land beside him. Facing them is yet another set of elevator doors, which opens for them. The shaft is empty and drops straight down into the darkness. He steps into the empty shaft with the Guardians and floats down for almost another kilometer until they reach another set of doors embedded into the opposite side of their shaft. Using Hold, he opens the doors and enters the room. They are now well past the boundaries beyond which anyone without strong Talent is able to go.

As they close and bar the doors behind them, lights come on revealing yet another set of double doors. Those open on a busy and well-lit office area of empty cubicles. They walk through the office area to a large stairwell, which they take down another four floors. This takes them to a corridor which opens to a control room filled with ancient panels and instruments and which overlooks a three story room filled with the three recently built Polywell fusion plants that power the Oracle and the rest of the Oracle Temple complex above.

They are now five kilometers directly under the peak of Mount Parnassus. They take a spiral staircase down to the reactor room floor, cross it, and go through a side door into a long tunnel. They fly down the tunnel to another reactor room, bypassing numerous bio labs and workspaces. This one houses the ancient low power cold fusion reactors that have been powering the Oracle’s Quantum Cores for millennia. Traversing that, they enter the Oracle’s core room. This room is filled with racks of fibertronics, photonic cores, and other optical devices. It also houses racks of the Oracle’s allomorphic metal drones. This is where Charles leaves the Guardians.

Past the core room, through yet more double doors, is a room containing the Oracle’s three meter diameter Quantum Core and her supporting fibertronics interface. It is attended by an allomorphic metal drone that functions as both a guard and worker for the Oracle. The drone has taken on the androgynous female form that has come to be associated with the Oracle, over the millennia, but hasn’t been seen outside the Temple for over 80 years. From the drone emanates a pleasant contralto voice, You are in the presence of Latona, The Oracle. I welcome King Charles, The Sun King, we have much to discuss. Follow me.

She then leads him through another set of doors into an ancient meeting room. Other than an ancient computer interface console, the room is outfitted comfortably and there is a lunch awaiting him there, along with an elegant and familiar woman. This woman is the biological image of the allomorph. Charles smiles and says, Hello Latona, I haven’t seen this body in too long. She stands up and they hug briefly and then sit down to their meal.

Charles asks, How is that special project doing?

Unbelievably intensive, answers Latona, I now relate to the problems of human parents much more. AI’s may have slightly different issues but personality growth is the same.

Will she be ready?

As we discussed eighty years ago, she knows everything that I do. However, she lacks the experience to do what really needs to be done. She will need support, including leadership. She has the technical expertise but not the ability to command a force. At 44 years old she just isn’t ready for that yet. However, what I am about to show you tells me that we really haven’t a choice. She is ready to be embedded into a force but my confidence in her stops there. She can work with Twin Worlders but a random human community may be beyond her current abilities. There is just too much that she doesn’t know and experience is the only possible guide there. Unfortunately, she simply doesn’t have it. He can hear the frustration in her voice.

That’s okay Latona, Louis and Caroline are just coming off-mission. With them running the expedition and providing the command structure, she should be fine at the core mission. Louis and Caroline are amazing at getting things done, if you remember the way that they turned Henri Grigot into our plant into the Confederation’s subversion campaign.

So you would risk your Champions on this?

It would be far less of a risk with them leading the mission. They have their heirs and so do Nat and Helen. From what you told me 80 years ago, they are really the only option. Unfortunately, Willie is useless and will lose his crown soon. As you know, Cindy is my only successful offspring and there is no way that she could perform on such a mission. She doesn’t even desire the crown that will be handed back to her and she will be a very reluctant queen.

However, she will perform as expected of her, finishes Latona, Children sometimes fail to live up to parental expectations Charles. In this case, Willie’s mother had some input. Your eldest daughter will have to make up the difference. She at least has the sense of responsibility. Your dynasty could have ended with you otherwise and the Twin Worlds cannot afford that at this time. We are going to need strong continuity for what’s ahead. These are very uncertain times for all of us.

As their meal is cleared away the screen wall opposite him lights up, showing the Oracle’s public audience chamber up on the surface. In it are a young woman dressed as a High Priestess and four men. Charles immediately recognizes Lord Compte Henri Grigot and Henry James, the Confederation Ambassador, but he has no idea whom the other two men are, although they also appear to be Sardoz. Latona tells him that they have been introduced as Templar Augustus and his Confederation Science Consultant.

The High Priestess is saying, Lord Grigot, Latona does not wish to meet with either the Confederation Ambassador or the representative of the Universal Church of Abraham. Doing so would violate the decrees of the Sun King.

One of the other men says, Excuse me, Your Grace, but we are given to understand that the Oracle is completely independent of the Sun King and therefore his decrees are not binding on her. Could we get another high priest’s input on this?

You are misinformed on a number of points, Cardinal. You will address me as High Priestess and not ‘Your Grace’. I am not a member of the aristocracy, I am sworn to the Temple. Further, I am Latona’s only High Priestess and as such, none outrank me other than Latona. Finally, those decrees from the Sun King were made at Latona’s specific request. As to why those requests were made, that is a mystery of the Temple. She then turns on Lord Grigots, Unless you wish excommunication, you will remove these persons from Temple grounds immediately. I also ask you to remember the rest of the decrees and the penalties for ignoring them.

At that moment, armed Temple Guardians entered the room and she turns back to the Ambassador, All of Delphinium is Temple grounds. You have until sunset or your lives are forfeit. As the Cardinal has stated, the Temple is not beholden to secular law and Latona would have no problem with executing an unruly Ambassador, or his Chief Priest. You have until sundown when you will either be gone or dead. These two Guardians will ascertain that you comply with the directive.

At that point Henri Grigots turned pale as a sheet Ambassador, I’ve taken you as far as I can. I dare not risk excommunication. It would ruin my lands and my station.

The Cardinal looks stunned, Does this young lady indeed have such authority?

Henri answers, She does, Your Grace, and she could bankrupt my cantons and nullify my peerage with a word. Such is the power of the Oracle.

As the screen wall dims, Latona says That event, Your Highness, occurred last week. The following is in their embassy immediately after the Ambassador’s party returned from Delphinium. They seem to have acquired the Grigots’ drone some time ago. It has not moved for centuries but its photonic core and sensors remain functional. The ambassador thinks that it is nothing more than a metal statue of the Oracle, he keeps it in his office, out of sight of the general public.

The screen wall indeed shows the interior of the ambassador’s office. In attendance are the Ambassador, the Cardinal, and the heavier of their two companions from the Delphinium episode. Their screen wall was showing a split screen with three other persons. It was obviously a conference call.

The Ambassador, Henry James, opens the meeting Honored Gentlemen, this meeting is to report the status of our recent activities and their results. This will include preliminary data which has not yet been presented as final conclusions were still pending. In light of the communications lag to Council World, we will use Socratic dialog to present our findings and thoughts on the matter.

We never got past the High Priestess, I’m afraid. To be fair, we were told that she would never meet with a Universal Church Representative. It was enlightening, however. It seems that The Oracle is the true ruler of the Twin Worlds, even above the Sun King.

Cardinal Jenner comments, I’m less sure but she does wield a lot of power. However, we still haven’t fully understood their monarchic system and I believe that they purposely obfuscate it for us. It is certainly not the standard dynastic based system. Lord Templar Augustus, do you have any more insight?

Templar Augustus adds, The High Priestess operates like a Templar and she carries the word of the Oracle wherever she goes. There is only one and I suspect that she might wind up as the next Oracle. I’ve heard rumors that she is the Orcale’s daughter. However there are many ‘Mysteries of the Temple’ involved. We know that the organization has been around over 2,000 years so there must be methods of succession.

The Temple is the last court of appeal and the supreme judiciary. Even the Sun King has to accede to her judgements. However, she only suggests laws for the College of Nobels to consider. Local lords may have their own judges but they all answer to Temple Judicators and those same Judicators may strike down any law passed at any level and even suggest decrees to be passed by the Sun King.

There is a mysterious set of decrees of which we have yet to discover the details. No one discusses them and they seem to be connected to a system they call War Privilege, which is adjudicated by the Oracle directly. That is an on going investigation.

"Until I have a better view of their socio-political system it is difficult to name pressure points that we could use for subversion. The information that I currently have seems contradictory. Professor Dasher has been investigating their technology, perhaps there is