Chapter 2: The History of Humans
Sol System - 3111 P.C. (Post Creatio) The First Age
Sed stood looking out over the city of Ur. Various consoles beeping quietly behind him in his lab. *My new apprentice is late* He was irritated as he glanced at the chronograph on his wall for the third time in as many minutes. He often stood at his giant picture window and gazed out at the city, contemplating whatever thoughts needed his attention. Ur was a technological marvel of human engineering. Its tallest buildings touching the clouds, and the space elevator could just be made out on a clear day, its long tendril reflecting silvery light in the mid morning sun.
Sed was one of Terra's leading astrophysicists, but at 900 years old, he felt his age catching up to him. He had been searching for someone to replace him for a few centuries now. It was his life's work, and he was determined to be picky about who it was that would continue his legacy and improve upon his ideas. And therein was the problem; he needed an idealist. And idealists were, by their very nature, unreliable. And so it was that he finally found a young man who showed promise. Even at the tender young age of 30, this "child" was lightyears ahead of anyone. *I dare say he is smarter than I am.* Sed glanced at the chronometer in annoyance again.
The main door to his lab swished open.
"You're late, Myrddin."
"My apologies, Sed. I lost track of time working on your Faster Than Light drive theory and…"
"Do not apologize, young Myrddin! It is a sign of weakness."
"Yes sir."
"Now… you mentioned that you were studying my FTL drive theories?"
Myrddin strode across the lab, a datapad in hand, eager to present it to his master. Sed took the pad and studied the readout carefully. Myrddin's hypothesis was definitely interesting.
"As much as I appreciate your fervor, I will not tolerate tardiness in the future if you want to continue as my apprentice."
Myrddin grinned. "I have already seen to it that I would never make that mistake again and have taken an apartment in this building, Sir."
"Is that so? Also… stop calling me 'sir', damnit. I know I am old, but I do not need you reminding me every few moments you petulant pup!"
Their eyes locked as Sed verbally raked young Myrddin over the coals. After a few tense seconds, Sed realized that Myrddin was holding his breath and actually looked a little frightened. Seeing his young apprentice standing still with such anticipation filled Sed with an impish glee. He let out a guffaw at the site of the younger man's unease.
Myrddin picked up on the fact that he was being made fun of and started to laugh with the older man. He had been foolish to think Sed was actually cruel.
*Sed is only human after all.*
Wiping a mirthful tear from his eye, Sed again turned his attention to the data pad. He was shocked by the elegant simplicity to Myrddin's answer. This equation held the potential to not only allow humanity to travel faster than light, but it could theoretically increase the power output of their current propulsion systems 300 fold. Myrddin interrupted Sed's thought processes.
"I also have a gravity cancelation theory. It would mean we could launch from a planet's surface without spending years hauling parts up the space elevators."
Indeed something like that would be huge. The space elevators allowed humanity to build smaller ships while in orbit or to ferry down Helium 3 fuel cells that had been delivered from the moon, but the process was slow due to the weight limit on the elevators. Gravity canceling technology could push their plans to colonize the Sol System even further.
"Do you have nicer clothing than what you are wearing?"
"Yes, but… why?
"I need you to get changed. We are going to meet with the council and I want you to present your theories."
"Me?!" Myrddin was in shock.
"Yes. You. You have proven to me time and time again that you are the right person to eventually replace me. Now, you have to prove it to the Council."
Myrddin beamed with pride and turned, running from the lab. Sed called after him.
"Be presentable, and meet me in the lobby in 20 minutes!"
"Yes sir!" Myrddin shot back. The automatic doors almost didn't open in time, and Sed was certain Myrddin would have knocked them down with his enthusiasm.
Twenty minutes later, Sed exited the lift and stepped into the lobby of his building. Of the 900 floors in this building, a vast majority of the lower 100 floors were offices. Above those were various eateries and a few shopping arcades. However from the 300th floor up were living spaces. Some were small apartments for single people, and others were multi-bedroom homes for families. There were various parks throughout the living areas, some with playgrounds, and others were arboretums. The top 6 floors were Sed's home, office, and laboratory. So the lobby was always bustling with activity as people came and went. He was shocked to see Myrddin standing by the central fountain, waiting on him.
The contrast in their ages couldn't be more apparent. Myrddin was clean shaven with short hair and no head covering of any kind. He was dressed in the style of his generation with a body length cape draped rakishly over one shoulder, its platinum chain clasping it to his shoulders. What he wore underneath was even more indicative of youth. "Pants" were becoming more and more the rage with young adults in favor of the more traditional robes like the one Sed wore. By contrast, his robes were elegant, if not old fashioned, with intricate designs of gold filament and platinum embroidery. Draped down his back was a hood that was both stylish and functional. His beard came down to his mid chest, and he wore a hat indicative of his station.
Sed approached the younger man. "Waiting for me long?"
Myrddin smirked. "I don't know. I wasn't tracking the time. I just Changed and came right down."
The two men walked outside and stood by the curb. A sleek looking transport pulled up and the rear door swished open and they got in. The driver turned to Sed.
"Where too, sir?"
"The central transport hub, please." The driver nodded and merged into traffic as the door slid closed. Sed noticed Myrddin's excitement.
"Have you ever been to the capitol?"
"Once, on a school trip when I was 14. The only other time I have been outside of Ur was for university."
"Your father works up on the station, does he not?"
"Yes. He and my mother oversee the various projects being constructed there. As well as the shipments of H3 from the lunar surface."
"And your brother?"
Sed noticed Myrddin's demeanor change slightly. His brother was apparently a sore subject for him.
"Gersh left to train with the Terran Defense Forces. Mother and Father didn't understand his choice, but they didn't try to stop him. He seems to take more after my maternal grandfather. Always ready to get into a fight."
They continued to make small talk as the transport zipped along the main route to the transportation hub. Upon arrival, the two men headed to a suborbital transport waiting to take them to the capitol. Myrddin had never been this close to a personal transport before. He marveled at its construction. Its pointed nose looked like a bird beak to him, and its swept back Delta wings made it look like it was ready to leap from the ground and take flight. On either side of the rear fuselage were two small but powerful ion drives. Sed and Myrddin boarded the sleek craft and took their seats.
A few minutes later, the pilot boarded. "All systems check out and we are ready for departure, sir."
Sed nodded. "Very well then, captain."
The transport hummed and vibrated with energy as the primary drive engines came to life. Sed glanced over at his young apprentice, who was staring out the window with wide eyed enthusiasm.
"Is this your first suborbital flight?"
"Yes. I have been up to the space station on the elevator before, but I have never flown suborbital. The school trip I mentioned was just a regular passenger airship…"
The sudden jolt of acceleration threw Myrddin back in his seat. Sed chortled. Having done this innumerable times before, he knew to lean back in his seat, but what came next shocked him. Despite the G-forces as the airship climbed into the sky, Myrddin was whooping a loud "Ya-hoo" as they shot into low orbit. Sed smirked to himself. Yes, Myrddin was unrefined and youthful, but he had a sense of wonderment and adventure about everything, and that made Sed even more confident in the selection of his apprentice.
As their body mass caught up with the acceleration, the G-forces lessened and Sed turned to watch his young apprentice. Soon, they were weightless as the transport rocketed through the sky on the edge of space. Myrddin unbuckled his safety harness and floated free of his seat, laughing like a madman.
"First time being weightless?"
"Yeah! This is an interesting experience!"
Sed figured this would be Myrddin's first time experiencing weightlessness. When a person rides the space elevator, they never get to experience this. As the elevator travels up the cable, the gravity of Terra would lessen the higher they got until they reached a "tipping point", where gravity would invert. Myrddin drifted around the cabin, twisting this way and that, and Sed chuckled quietly as he watched the younger man. Before too long, however, the pilot came over the intercom and announced they were beginning their approach to the capitol. Myrddin floated back to his seat and got strapped in as the transport began its descent.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
JDLinderman
JDLinderman I know I said "a chapter a week", but this week you get a bonus; because chapters 2 and 3 are linked. Also, this is going to be a slow trudge uphill as we build the setting for the world. Although, I refuse to spend huge amounts of time on exposition. So I plan to break it up into chucks. And for you history/mythology buffs out there that recognize a particular name... don't jump ahead of me. ;)
Happy Reading!
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