36 - The Endeavor
(60 years ago, 945 S.E)
“Ahem. Bi-Annual Meeting on the progress of the great endeavour.” Gaan Gaax, at the head of the slab-like table adjusted a pair of dark glasses.
The group nodded welcome, old habits die hard. The meeting hall was filled to the brim, the floor raising in terraces for situations like this.
“First, ‘grats again on the completion of the C-rail project, The potential for this compulsion plate technology is astounding. It can be assumed the Acropolis chip shipments will never be delayed again. (Pause for applause)”
A chorus of crumb-laced mumbling erupted, the assembled beings, including a young Esa, tittered ‘grats in turn.
“Now, with regards to the continuation of the Great Endeavor, our eternal atonement, and then the long awaited advent of the Ascension; the C-rail project has interesting applications for other areas pertaining to the (whispered) endeavour. Now, I’ve had some interesting results in my own experiments and research with the Cimmerian Broth…
A hushed whisper echoed around the room. “The Darkest of Fluids” The speaker knew not whether it was from those considered present, or from generations past whom had filled the chamber eras former.
“Ahem. And not just the remnants, you know. we believe there is an ancient isolating device somewhere near this local.”
A marker pulsed on the haptic map, in the jungle outside Sodden. He lowered his voice, and looked around hurriedly. “An isolating device, from before the schism.”
The room went quiet.
“I believe this machine will unlock secrets which were lost to us in the schism. It will allow us to finally right the wrongs of the past, and then ascend to the stars, per our long awaited, as voted-upon destiny.”
The Alovian gallery nodded as one.
“Using some of the same principles as the C-rail, with some added centrifugal void wrangling, with the storied, enigmatic method of isolating Cimmerian Broth, we can create a much more substantial negative mass. Stable, of course, provided the entire system is sized smaller than, oh say a loaf of bread.”
“Whole wheat or…” Ventured a double-bespectacled Alovian currently working on a new grain strain that would apparently slice itself if made into a loaf bread.
“That is beside the point, my good Alovian” Said the speaker, slapping the slab-like table excitedly. They were easily distracted when interesting topics of research came up.
“Now, imagine the flow of time as a horizontal cheese cloth over the edge of a vertical board. Now imagine a cut out from the edge, so that a vast amount of time could flow down into the smallest of spaces. This is the effect we can achieve. Obviously, the effect area isn’t large enough, or consistent enough to pass anything of substance or vitality to any particular future.
We’re confident that size was the error with the device at Chronus Extent (the group collectively shivered.) We’re confident the concept was sound, we are sure the solar panel array was designed for maximum efficiency. The system was far too large for the probabilix of the universe at large to ignore, resulting, as you know, in a massive drought and subsequent drying up of the surrounding seas. These devices will be too small to register. We will harness the power of sunlight at a much, much increased pace. At a pace, I dare say, that even our ancestors couldn’t have hoped to achieve. A pace of, say a hundred thousand years in one year of operation. And I don’t have to remind you - with the genesis of this project, we can finally mend the schism by providing our ancient, unfortunatly separated brethren nearly unlimited energy, achieving success out of the ashes of our great, shameful failure. Mind you, we should certainly advise the operators to limit the number of devices to a hundred operating at once. This should keep the worrying effects of the past null.
Celebrations were had, soda waters uncorked with ultimate fervour. Finally, after nearly a thousand years of repartitions to the Old Jardinian people for the failures at Chronus station, isolating the empire and enclosing it, the Alovians were on the final stretch of their near-eternal path to repay the great debt.
It had been long decided their post-debt fate was to then Ascend, and take their place among the stars. A drive that had been with them since the days of Alberinthian. They had left a path for the rest of Greater Jard to follow and join at their own pace, the schism finally mended. They were certain that they could not repeat the mistakes of the past. This is why, fifty-odd years later, after three years of careful monitoring the great expanse for signs of a familiar encroachment or otherwise anomalous events, the Alovians left.
The smudge didn’t show up until two years later. It was attracted by the ever-larger network of temporal farming machines, the Industrialist responsible eventually ignoring the hundred machine limit completely when his earnings began to plateau.