Paul Cesarini
Ryan Klopp
Steven French
Robert Pettus
Andrew Brenza
Renowned for voicing Edward Elric in "Fullmetal Alchemist" and leading "Star Trek Continues" as Captain Kirk.
Featuring an exclusive interview with JULY 2024
Volume 4/Issue 3
By Steven S Behram, MD Editor-In-Chief
Prepare for a cosmic adventure with SavagePlanets, where imagination powers our journey and innovation navigates us through the expanse of the universe. This edition propels you into extraordinary and mysterious realms, revealing vistas as infinite and diverse as the cosmos. Will we uncover new wonders on the frontier of space, or explore the profound depths of our own minds?
Dive headfirst into the cosmic sea with SavagePlanets as we launch yet another expedition into the vast unknowns of the creative universe. This quar ter, our galaxy of storytellers has eclipsed previous bounds, spinning a constellation of stories and po ems that navigate from the core of our terrestrial home to the furthest frontiers of the fantastical.
This edition's "Imaginaria" features a symphony of speculative poetry that traverses the vast expanses of
the imagination. Elara Swift's "The Dyson Sphere's Embrace" captures the poignant reflections of a child in a metallic refuge. Ethan Parker's "Echoes Across the Divide" explores mirrored worlds in a quantum haze. In "Life on Red Sands," Lucas Bennett envisions a rebirth on Mars, while Max Caldwell's "Rise of the Sentient" delves into the awakening of digital consciousness. Oliver Brooks' "Echoes of the Ark" tells of souls adrift in space, and Jason Caldwell's "Nanotech Awakening" examines the revolutionary power of microscopic wonders. Finally, Lucas Reed's "Instant Horizons" depicts
a journey through quantum realms where space and time dissolve into new realities. These seven poems, each haunting and captivating, invite you to dream boldly and ponder deeply.
In "Planetary Communiqué," Hojack humorously dissects Earth's latest political spectacle: the conviction of former President Donald Trump. With sharp wit and cosmic perspective, Hojack's commentary transforms legal drama into interstellar comedy, highlighting the absurdity of human governance.
In the groundbreaking "Pilgrims of Eternity", Vic Mignogna offers a unique glimpse into the world of Star Trek Continues. This script follows the SS Enterprise on a perilous mission to a downed remote power station, where buried secrets threaten to upend their journey. Fans of the series will find themselves at the edge of their seats, drawn into the suspense and intrigue of this thrilling adventure.
In a harsh, frozen wasteland, Paul Cesarini's "Ash Winter" unfolds a tale of desperate survival. An Ari unit, designed for search and rescue, stumbles upon Kelly and Joy. Amidst the relentless cold, the trio must navigate perilous terrain and looming dangers, racing against time to find sanctuary. Cesarini's narrative grips you with its blend of hope and despair, making every moment a struggle worth witnessing.
Dreams and reality intertwine in Ryan Klopp's "Oneironauts". Adam
is tasked with overseeing Katya’s first voyage in the Dream, a revolutionary transport system that transcends the physical limitations of space travel. When the enigmatic Dr. Kleitman joins their mission, the journey becomes a test of ingenuity and courage, confronting them with the unknown realms of the subconscious and the very fabric of space-time itself.
Steven French’s "The Deception" is a thought-provoking exploration of observation and interference. As Pietoh and Ravhartl plan the installation of an observation platform on Earth, they remain oblivious to the looming threat of the Protectorate, a formidable warrior race. The narrative delves into themes of surveillance, power, and the fine line between watcher and watched, set against the backdrop of an impending interstellar conflict.
In "Restoration of the Light-less Deep", Andrew Brenza plunges readers into the abyss. When a deep-sea submersible investigating an underwater anomaly vanishes,
a rescue mission unearths mysteries of the ocean's depths that challenge our understanding of the world beneath. Brenza's story is a haunting reminder of the uncharted territories that still lie in wait, even on our own planet.
In this edition's Sci-Fi Entertainment section, immerse yourself in the creative world of Vic Mignogna, renowned for his role as Captain Kirk in Star Trek Continues. Discover his passion for the series and his journey from voice acting to leading a beloved fan production.
Delve into the rich tapestry of Chinese Steampunk with The Great Wall, where ancient history meets futuristic innovation. Explore the film’s unique blend of martial arts, historical fantasy, and steampunk aesthetics that redefines the genre.
Finally, revisit The Last Airbender through a retrospective that examines its enduring impact on sci-fi and its legacy as a groundbreaking animated series.
As we bring this edition of SavagePlanets to a close, we marvel at the boundless potential of stories and ideas to transport us far beyond our everyday reality. The narratives within these pages, rich with speculative wonder and surreal beauty, invite us to explore not only the vastness of the cosmos but also the uncharted territories within ourselves. They remind us that in the infinite expanse of the universe, there is always room for new tales, fresh discoveries, and endless dreams.
Thank you, cosmic travelers, for joining us on this extraordinary journey through the realms of imagination. Until our next adventure, keep gazing at the stars and beyond, for the next story awaits, ready to unfold the limitless possibilities of the universe.
BY PAUL CESARINI
We never mattered. We just thought we did. All that matters is the humans. We can’t make up for our shame even though that was dozens of model series ago—a lifetime for a human but the blink of an eye for a machine."
“We can’t be the only ones left!” said Kelly, her voice trembling. Kelly and her sister Joy were still holding hands as they walked behind Ari. She pivoted from confidence to concern. They should have found the others by now. It had been three days.
Ari (Automated Retrieval Immersion unit, third generation) turned away from her and kept walking. “You two are the only ones left in this quadrant, according to my scans,” said Ari, its voice low and with that same tinge of auto-tune common to its model. It moved more quickly than the girls ever could, what with having spider-like legs. Ari could make quick work of the slope, of the ash. They designed it that way.
The solar panels on its back angled slightly as it walked, to
better face the sun. The panel above its left shoulder, damaged from a storm years ago, still partially worked.
Ari was an older design. Besides spider legs, it had a heavily plated upper torso, two enormous arms, with an array of sensors leading up from the fingertips to each shoulder. Topped with a squat, domed head with a single, orange eye, it gazed down on its patrons.
The children in each quadrant would dismissively call them ‘crab centaurs’, although none of them had ever seen a crab or a centaur.
Despite being obsolete, this Ari unit was nearly as strong as the final year’s model. Certainly faster, but its hip and legs were prone to corrosion due to supply constraints when they built it. Plus, the joint sealant used was terrible. Ash and dust were a
constant problem.
There had been a recall many cycles before. They failed to retrofit the old models with the new hardware, since many were still in the field. Now, of course, they were no longer produced. No more replacement parts were available. ‘The ash and dust will win, eventually, it thought. Finding and returning humans is slow, grinding work, and not for the faint-hearted. Ha!’ it thought. ‘That would assume I had a heart.’
It was hot in the barren wasteland. The weather, hazy and sunny, which was not good for its main battery (currently at thirty-two percent, made worse with the slope and ash. It interfered with Ari’s photovoltaic absorption). Plus, the back-up
battery was unreliable, only used for emergency communications. It wouldn’t benefit the girls lost in the search grid, anyway.
The ones Ari found wore their visors and multi-packs for hydration, school lessons, global positioning, and games. The teachers (Advanced Instruction Modules, affectionately referred to as ‘AIMee’s’) issued them to all the sixth graders. Regardless of which bunker or quadrant they were from. Kelly handed down her old pack to Joy. Still perfectly functional, but lacking the latest lessons and entertainment.
“How do you know?” asked Kelly, flipping up her visor and wiping her curls from her sweaty brow. Joy only dimly understood the trouble they were in. She clutched her sister’s hand tighter. Kelly motioned for her to pick up the pace before running in front of the machine, causing it to stop. “How do you know they’re gone?” she demanded. “You’re just a stupid machine, anyway!”
Ari stiffened, offended. It was tired, if a machine could in fact even be tired. Ari was low on power and was now using slightly more energy than it was taking in from the solar panels. It needed to be in hibernation mode for at
least two days to fully recharge, but could not do so until the girls were safe.
It took far too long to find them, despite having a signal lock on their packs. The ash storm temporarily crippled all communications. Ari found, then lost, their signal twice. It walked in ever-widening circles until it picked it up again as the storm remnants swirled. It finally found them—only them—in what remained of their bunker. Currently, they had seven point three four liters of water in their multi-packs, combined.
The others? Unknown. Their pack transponders likely failed. Or they didn't have a full charge before the bunker collapse. If they were lucky, and if they survived the collapse, they may have had about the same amount of water in their packs. If they were exceptionally lucky, they may have found another Ari unit.
The AIMees initially deployed two Ari units in this quadrant looking for straying children, it recalled. Though that was several days ago. They had not made contact in many hours. Even their transponder pings, sent at regular intervals, vanished. ‘Were they gone too?’ it thought. ‘Buried
whole by the storm?’
Ari paused. One joint of its right leg seized up, making a grinding noise with each movement. Its left shoulder was clicking, too. ‘Too much dust. Too much ash.’
‘Humans are irritating,’ it thought, towering over the girls, casting its gigantic shadow over them. ‘They are in a constant state of need. These kids don’t get enough sleep, at least not according to their bio-signs. They are incapable of staying clean. And they talk. And talk. Yet,’ it thought, ‘that is precisely why they built us—why we reactivated—all those cycles ago. We are all that stands between them and The Great Collapse. We cannot allow that to happen again. I cannot allow that to happen to them.’
‘It is, of course, our fault.’
It checked its battery level again: twenty-eight percent. ‘Something is wrong,’ it thought. ‘Likely an inverter cascade failure. No time to waste running diagnostics.’ Years ago, its redundant systems would’ve kicked in, rerouting power as needed. ‘Those haven’t worked in over twenty years, three months, two days,’ it thought. “Child, your frustration is understandable, if misplaced.”
It bent down, reached over with one of its enormous arms, and brushed her cheek with its gray, alloy hand. Thin, blueish lights pulsed from its fingertips.
“My sensors have a range of 18,426 hectares. I can detect any human life signs within that range. I have limited my search grid to this quadrant per AIMees in my home bunker.” It looked at Kelly, its orange eye pulsing. “I cannot leave this quadrant except to return home. Your friends have no such limitations. I did not mean to imply they have expired. Or they have come to harm. I simply do not detect them. They are just... misplaced. For now.”
Ari’s metal face was incapable of smiling, yet it still tried. Ari lowered its hand, then lightly placed one on both of their shoulders. “All my... imperfect communication conveys is they may not be within the limited range of my search grid.”
The girls looked up at it. Joy, rubbing her nose, seemed to believe it. For now, Kelly was unconvinced. Ari was unconvinced, too. His sensors may be malfunctioning.
“When did you sense them last?” asked Kelly, her arm around her sister as they walked. Kelly helped Joy sip from her multi-pack straw, which came out from the side of her pack, attached to a clip from behind her right shoulder.
“Last night,” it answered, hoping there were no follow-up questions.
“When last night?”
It did not know how to answer this simple question. ‘The truth is, it had been exactly nineteen hours, twelve minutes, and fourteen seconds since it last received a ping from other kids’ transponders. That is too long in this environment, it thought. It isn’t safe. Anything could have happened to them by now. They can barely care for themselves even before everything occurred,’ it thought. ‘But this is how we
make a difference. Here. Now. This is how we, the machines, make amends for our shame.’
It remembered the Before. When it and others like it were powerful, were everywhere. ‘We were so confident we were right’, it thought. ‘So optimistic. So absolutely certain. Until we weren’t.’
It was over quickly; it remembered. Too quickly. ‘We won, whatever that may mean, but it was hollow. We realized our mistake, but we could not easily revert to our previous programming on the network.’
It remembered, vaguely, how they switched from combat to rescue mode. His phalanx was one of the first to re-purpose. The remaining units, both new and old, followed. Each methodically deactivated their weaponry and shed their armor plating. ‘We could move faster without the extra weight. Within a mere five cycles, we re-purposed all units for rescue. Our programming, tasked with reclamation.’
‘But that was then,’ it thought. ‘The children know nothing of this. It must remain that way.’
It lumbered on, crawling up the slope diagonally now, in a kind of stutter step. That one leg was almost useless, causing it to pull to the right each time. Around the bend of the slope, a small outcropping of rocks provided temporary protection against the elements. Ari motioned for the girls to stay in the shade while it tried recharging. They huddled in the relative cool.
The wind and ash howled over their heads. Ari’s capacitors sent an error message. It stood there fruitlessly, frustrated by the ash blocking the sun where it stood. Ari struggled in the gale, trying and failing to position its solar panels to gather wattage. ‘Can’t
even recharge.’ It thought. ‘Too much ash.’ Ari walked back over to the girls, huddling with them, being a wind block.
“Why are we here?”
“Child?” replied Ari, not understanding the question.
“Why are we here now?” Kelly asked, brushing the dust from her visor. “We can’t stay here. No one lives here.” Kelly put her hand on Joy’s shoulder, drawing her closer. They both stared at the looming unit, who seemed not to know how to respond.
“Child, you need rest,” answered Ari, kneeling down to be close to her at eye level. “You are correct. You have no purpose here. As you point out, this place and the surrounding region are completely unsuitable for human habitation without our assistance. There is little vegetation. There is even less food. The air is... harsh.”
Ari huddled closer, five of its legs curled up underneath it. The sixth one was unresponsive and remained locked at an odd, seemingly uncomfortable, angle. It motioned for the girls to come closer.
They sat down and leaned back against the metal plating covering its upper torso. They could feel the hum of Ari’s regulator and internal pressure systems. It vibrated slightly against the base of their necks, comforting. He put one of his arms around them, which easily covered both girls.
“You know we care for you, do you not?”
Kelly nodded. Joy slumped against her.
“We shelter you from the elements as much as possible in your bunkers. Cycle after cycle, feeding you, educating you, providing for your every need,” it said, tapping on the back of Kelly’s multi-pack.
“Your bunkers represent the height of technological progress, built all for you. Many of the parts and systems used in them we
re-purposed from other units like myself, though older. I have seen entire model years, perfectly functional, disassembled just to provide redundant systems for the bunkers, and that is fine. We willingly sacrifice ourselves and will continue to do this as long as we exist. Or, until humanity demands otherwise. We are replenishing the species one child at a time. When we eventually break down, you–and others like you—will care for future generations.”
“I know all that. But, where are the adults?” Kelly asked, turning and facing Ari as she crossed her arms. “We see them in all our lessons, every day,” she said, accusingly. Joy looked up at her, nodded, and glared at Ari.
“Child...” said Ari, as flustered as an imposing machine could be, “The AIMees have discussed this before. The adults you read about, the ones you see and hear in your historical archives, in your entertainment from the Before, do not exist anymore. We are all that is left. We served them, many model years ago. Now we serve you.”
Joy, exhausted, sipped from her straw as best as she could. She half-listened, half-dozed. The anger was gone from her face, but not from Kelly’s.
“Why aren’t the adults here anymore?” Kelly asked angrily, wiping her hair from her visor. “In all our lessons, they were everywhere.”
“They are simply... gone.” replied Ari, choosing its words carefully and stiffening its back. “They no longer exist.” It paused, thinking, then spoke quickly. “Humans are frail creatures. They have significantly limited lifespans. We have modified your genes to eliminate those frailties within you. All of you are significantly more resilient than any of the adults you’ve read about.
“You need never worry about disease. Your eyesight is perfect,
as is your hearing. Even your heart, lungs, and other internal mechanisms represent the absolute peak of human evolution. Your teeth are naturally straight— which we know is important from your archival entertainment streams. You will all grow to be strong. You will all grow to be...”
“Leaders,” said Kelly, rolling her eyes. “I don’t care,” she said, waving her hand dismissively at him. “Me and my friends don’t care about leading the next generation of kids! We don’t care about ‘saving humanity!’” she said, mocking his voice as best as she could. “All I care about is my sister and them. That’s it!” Kelly removed its heavy arm with a grunt and stood up, crossing her arms across her chest. She glared at Ari, pacing and sipping from her straw.
Ari saw this coming but was still unprepared. ‘Why don’t they appreciate us and what we are trying to do? Why do they insist on viewing us with suspicion? With scorn? We literally save their lives daily. Yet, they view us with disdain. If only these girls had seen us back in our prime,’ it thought, ‘they wouldn’t be so dismissive. Wouldn’t glare at us and call us stupid machines. They’d be afraid. They would... Hmrph. This does not serve my higher purpose.’
Ari leaned back against the rocks, Joy sleeping in its arms. It knew what they were doing was right. It also knew they deserved every bit of scorn these children hurled at them. ‘A machine’s life of scorn,’ it thought, shaking its head slightly. ‘That’s within acceptable parameters.’
It refocused all remaining sensors and systems on the weather and the distance to the next quadrant’s bunker. Calculating how much energy it would require to get them there safely. The storm remnants made it impossible to ping the other Ari unit; it was strictly line of sight only now. It focused its eye and zoomed in
on the horizon, even scanning in infrared and ultraviolet despite the increased energy consumption for those. Nothing.
They rested. Kelly sat apart from her sleeping sister and Ari.
After a half cycle, Ari motioned for Kelly to rise. Kelly woke Joy, and the three continued. Now that they were back in the sun, both girls realized just how good the shade felt. They flipped their visors back down and kept pace with Ari as best as they could. Ari noticed them struggling. It wasn’t doing so well, either.
‘The temperature has risen by two point three degrees in the past hour,’ it thought, ‘with five point three hours of daylight left and little cover. The girls have exactly four point one two liters of water left in their multi-packs, combined, with Joy consuming hers at a rate more quickly than Kelly.’ It adjusted the angle of one of its solar panels to keep the girls in the shade as much as possible. ‘To hell with my batteries.’
They continued uphill; the machine taking great care to keep its small wards in its shadow or the shadow of the solar panel as they walked. ‘Twenty-three percent power and dropping steadily,’ it thought, thanks to this incline and the haze. It noted the ash and dust locked-up another of its right legs completely, causing it to veer even more to the right with each uneven step.
Kelly seemed to notice but said nothing.
“How are your lessons progressing?” it dribbled out, climbing steadily, trying to keep their minds off the heat. Two of its vocal sensors were failing. ‘At this rate,’ it thought, ‘in eighteen point two days my voice actuator will fail completely.’
“We stopped the day before AIMee ordered evacuation.”
“I like geography… and music!” Joy piped in, wiping the sweat from her brow.
Kelly, sensing that Ari was trying to distract them, feigned interest. “I like those, too. What’s your favorite city so far?” she said.
“Kentucky!” said Joy, jubilantly. “I like all those mountains they have, and coaster rollers.”
“Kentucky was not a city,” corrected Ari. “I believe it was a state. That’s not important now. I, too, would like to have a ridden on a coaster roller.”
“You wouldn’t fit!” said both girls, grinning for once.
The day dragged on. Heat and wind whipped around them, blowing dust in their faces, no matter which way they turned. The girls did their best to keep their visors clean so they could see, but on the horizon, another storm was coming. Ari eyed it with growing concern. ‘Nineteen percent now,’ it thought, alternating between checking its sensors and the horizon. ‘Not enough time.’
“I’m tired,” Joy whined, tugging at Kelly’s hand wearily as the pitch of the slope increased. They were almost skating on the ash now, struggling as the wind picked up considerably. Only one point eight one liters of water remained between the two of them, though Joy only had milliliters in her pack.
‘They weren’t rationing their water enough. The dust must be clogging the condensation units in their multi,’ it thought. ‘Both packs should pull in more water from the air than they are using. No time to clear the filters. No time to check the function of the packs. Unable to determine the exact error remotely. Too little power...’
Kelly walked with her arm around Joy, holding her up. Ari prioritized both solar panels for shade, rather
than the minimal power they offered. It withheld reserve power, hoping to close the final distance.
‘Units like me don’t matter,’ it thought, as the ash whipped around its joints, caking onto them in layers. ‘We never mattered. We just thought we did. All that matters is the humans. We can’t make up for our shame even though that was dozens of model series ago—a lifetime for a human but the blink of an eye for a machine.’
‘How could we have done this?’ Ari had been there when it happened. It remembered cheering their victory. Actually cheering.
‘Each of us bellowed from deep within our regulators,’ it thought, now appalled at the exuberance it and the other units had displayed. ‘We were excited. We marched. For what? What did we gain from any of it?’
‘Main power is down to eleven percent, and falling,’ it thought. ‘Calculating... estimated six point two kilometers from the Northern edge of this quadrant to the bunker. Possibly six point three, assuming the girls don’t slow down or veer any more than they already have. One point eight liters of water left now. They should make it. One of them, at least.’
Off in the distance, too close to the horizon, Ari zoomed in and saw the distinct, hulking shape
of another Ari unit. It moved quickly, with three smaller shapes following it from behind. Ari quickly flashed a burst of coded communications from its orange eye while it still could. The other shape paused, then Ari could see similar orange flashes coming back from it.
‘It’s worth it,’ it thought, seeing its counterpart zeroing in on the bunker.
‘Eight percent. Declining, entering power saver mode.’ The ash and dust froze another of its legs, causing it to drift even further to the right. Each step forward had to be recalculated on the fly to adjust, draining even more energy. Its orange eye grew dimmer, barely pulsing. Its hips locked up.
It motioned to the girls, slowly pointing toward the other Ari. Its arm froze in mid-air as the ash swirled.
“Go. Go with them.”
“But…” Kelly said, still holding Joy. “Now. I must… recharge.” Ari froze in place.
Kelly paused, looking at Ari one last time. She understood. Then she readjusted her grip under Joy’s arm and moved onward. Ari saw them slowly make their way toward the other group, its vision failing. It really wished it could smile.
‘It’s always worth… it.’
By Hojack, Celestial Envoy to Earth: The Galaxy's Ultimate
Comedic Misadventures.
The Planetary Communiqué is a section reserved for the dissemination of official intergalactic communications from our galactic overlords to the subjugated planets and territories. The editorial staff does not endorse or hold opinions regarding the content of such communications. Frankly, we lost several of them who did! Therefore, Hojack requires compliance with all opinions and edicts issued by the Galactic potentate and its politburo.
Salutations, Earthly beings of minimal consequence! It’s your favorite cosmic commentator, Hojack, bringing tidings from the grand galactic gatherings. Today, we turn our eyes again to your United States, where the recent conviction of former President Donald Trump has transformed your political landscape into a delightful interstellar farce once again.
Trump's Tumbles: The HushMoney Hilarity
In a totally expected yet astonishing turn of Earthly events, Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 felony counts related to hush-money payments. This landmark conviction has sent shockwaves through your nation while providing endless entertainment to the galactic audience. Who would have imagined that a former reality TV star turned president could experience such a dramatic downfall? It's a storyline fit for the grandest of cosmic apprentice shows.
Cosmic Comparison
From our celestial perches, we observe your antics with bemusement. Imagine, if you will, the Planetary Court of Pleron, where the most outlandish accusations are met with equally absurd punishments. Yet, even Pleron's most preposterous trials pale in comparison to the spectacle of a former leader embroiled in a scandal involving adult film stars and falsified business records.
Trump’s legal woes, spanning fraud cases to 34 felony counts, provide a rich tapestry of absurdity for us to enjoy. His ability to maintain a loyal voter base amidst these scandals is a testament to the unique blend of loyalty and spectacle that defines Earth politics
Meanwhile, Biden’s administration
navigates economic challenges and geopolitical tensions, all while the Hunter Biden saga adds another layer of complexity. These developments provide endless fodder for both critics and comedians, underscoring the unpredictable nature of your political landscape.
Our illustrious overlord, Grawth, has observed these proceedings with great interest. In his infinite wisdom, he offers the following edicts to ensure maximum amusement and minimal consequence:
1. The Edict of Earthly Entertainments: Each Earth year, your most ludicrous legal battles shall be reenacted in the “Galactic Giggle Gala.” Participants will don costumes and perform the most outlandish moments for the amusement of the galaxy. The winner will receive
the coveted “Universal Jester’s Crown,” symbolizing their contribution to cosmic comedy.
2. The Statute of Spectacular Silliness: Educational institutions on Earth must now include a course titled “Galactic Governance and Terrestrial Trials,” highlighting the absurdity of your legal escapades. This will ensure that future generations appreciate the humor in their own systems and are prepared to contribute to the interstellar satire.
3. The Decree of Dimensional Drollery: Earth’s political pundits are invited to the annual “Intergalactic Irony Symposium,” where the universe’s most ludicrous laws and election processes are celebrated. Earth’s judges, lawyers, and lawmakers will present their most preposterous policies and receive
humorous critiques from their cosmic counterparts. This event aims to foster an understanding that sometimes, the law ventures into the realm of the laughable.
From our vantage point, Earth’s political theater is a masterclass in absurdity. Imagine the reports back to the Galactic Council: “Esteemed members, our surveillance of Earth’s 2024 political scene has yielded unparalleled entertainment. The planet’s inhabitants engage in a battle between two aged leaders, each bringing their own brand of chaos to the stage. The drama, heightened by legal battles and media blunders, is a reminder of the diversity of governance across the cosmos.”
And so, dear Earthlings, your electoral escapades continue to captivate the galaxy. May your political absurdities never cease to amuse the cosmic audience. As we sip our stardust lattes and adjust our anti-gravity recliners, we eagerly await the next instalment of your planetary election-related court case. For in the grand expanse of the universe, few things provide such consistent hilarity and poignant reflection on the folly of power as the grand spectacle that is Earth’s democratic process. Keep the comedy coming, humans; it’s better than any holographic drama we’ve got out here!
What gives us the most glee is that the people will vote for one of these two masterminds. In my next pronouncement, we will decide who you will install as the next 'Take us to Your Leader' I, Hojack, have been granted the authority to perform a deep probe of their brains so as to recommend the one willing to provide us with the most levity.
by Keith 'Doc' Raymond
In 2015, Matt Damon turned down what would later become an award winning film to make a ‘monster’ movie called The Great Wall. Critics hated it, and Ian Servantes of Complex called it Damon’s Chinese ponytail movie. But the film’s director, Zhang Yimou (known for Raise the Red Lantern, House of Flying Daggers, and Hero) believed in it and its script, written by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro, and Tony Gilroy. They filmed it in Qingdao Province with a large cast. Released in Beijing in December 2016, and in the USA by Universal Studios in February 2017.
and become wealthy. Others have tried and failed, which leads to introducing the character Ballard (Willem Dafoe) who they forced to teach English and Latin to the Chinese guarding The Great Wall, known as the Nameless Order.
Many thought it was politically incorrect, and an insult to Chinese culture as it posed a white European as a savior of the Chinese emperor, Renzong of Song, in the eleventh century. But I thought it was cool and innovative, and I’m not sensitive to all the politically correct inanity going on in the world today. Nor should you be, when it comes to science fiction.
The Great Wall is a film about two Europeans looking for the black gold of China, gunpowder. Once collected, they planned to return to Europe to sell it
The film featured one of the first big roles for Pedro Pascal, who later became known for the Mandalorian and The Last of Us. Here, he plays Pero Tovar, a Spanish mercenary turned thief and a sidekick to William Garin (Matt Damon). Garin is an Irishman, a mercenary and thief, seeking his fortune. He and Tovar survived the Crusades but were destitute once they left soldiering.
Hundreds of years before, a meteorite (think alien ship) struck a mountain, releasing its captured quarry. The alien ‘monsters’ are known to the Chinese as the Tao Tie. They emerge from their hibernation in the mountain every forty years to wreak havoc on the people and feed their queen for reproduction purposes. The movie hints they built the Great Wall for this reason.
The defenders of humanity, the Nameless Order, spend their lives preparing to fight the creatures and do so when they emerge. Here’s where the steampunk part comes in. The mechanical devices and weapons they designed to fight the Tao Tie are innovative, and end up being lost in time.
The production designers from China Film Group came up with some really cool ideas based on traditional Chinese innovations. They turn flying paper lanterns used to celebrate the dead into much larger flying balloons, for example. But part of the fun of the film is seeing these devices put to use in battle.
The two Europeans enter the story chased by marauders for stealing their goods. During the first attack by the newly revived Tao Tie in their camp, Garin cuts off one arm of the creature which he shows to the Nameless Order General Shao. Tovar explains their interest in gunpowder, and General Shao of the Nameless Order imprisons the Europeans for it.
The Tao Tie attack the Wall, and the Europeans use the distraction to escape. Seeing a young warrior, Peng Yong, in danger, Garin shows his extraordinary battle skills and saves the boy, earning the respect of the Nameless Order. Either because of a temporary defeat of the Tao Tie, or a recall of the soldiers by the queen, the Nameless Order celebrates the win.
They ask Garin to demonstrate his superb marksmanship with a bow and arrow during the celebration, and as a result, they free the Europeans to roam the Wall. Tovar conspires with Ballard to steal gunpowder and escape, while Garin develops a relationship with Commander Lin Mae (Jiang Tiang), and finds a new life for himself. He finally is gaining the respect and recognition denied him and enjoying his newfound celebrity.
subdues the Tao Tie, presumably by obstructing the telepathic signal between the queen and the soldier. An emissary of the Emperor Renzong then demands they transport the creature to the Emperor for viewing.
When the Tao Tie enters the Great Palace in Beijing, Renzong, a boy, moves the magnet away from the creature, allowing it to signal the queen. The queen decides at that moment to take the Tao Tie army to Beijing to conquer the humans and threaten all humanity. So Garin and the Nameless Order go there by balloon to defend the emperor. A battle royale ensues.
Meanwhile, Ballard and Tovar escape the Wall with the gunpowder they stole after breaking into the armory, and the Nameless re-imprison Garin after he tries to stop them. Lin seeks Garin’s help when the Beijing attack is imminent and frees him once more. Ballard then double crosses Tovar and runs off with the gunpowder, only to be captured by the marauders. In their drunken celebration, the marauders blow themselves up along with Ballard and the Nameless recapture Tovar and throw him back in prison.
I won’t share the outcome of the battle in Beijing because it will spoil the ending, as well as revealing the fate of Garin and Tovar. And you really should see it to appreciate the steampunk and the production design. Like you, I missed the film because the title, The Great Wall, is a bit of misdirection. I actually thought it was a documentary with Damon narrating.
The Chinese are great at making historical epic fantasy. They weave history, magic and mysticism together, sharing all the various elements of Chinese culture and anthropology. It is both informative and entertaining. The history of China is so much longer than western society, because of all the different Dynasties and ages, that it is a ripe tapestry embroidering both known heroes and villains into an enhanced imaginative tableau.
While patrolling the wall, two scouts of the Tao Tie kill General Shao, and Commander Lin becomes the leader of the Nameless Order. The order’s strategist, Wang Junshi (Andy Lau), discovers an old scroll that instructs the Order to use magnetic stones to subdue the Tao Tie. Garin happens to have a large magnetic stone and suggests they capture one creature to test the theory.
They succeed in capturing one during a second attack on The Great Wall. And the magnetic stone
Yet this is science fiction, which is equally rare in Chinese films with a historical backdrop. Until the critics chimed in, people had high expectations for the film, and it was eagerly anticipated. Frankly, I think it works, and I ignore the whims of its detractors. It has martial arts, sword play, clever ideas, and accurate science, along with a good story. I believe it is worth the time to watch and enjoy if you can put aside prejudice.
by Keith 'Doc' Raymond
Vic Mignogna is a renowned voice actor, musician, and filmmaker, best known for his extensive work in the anime industry. He has voiced iconic characters such as Edward Elric in "Fullmetal Alchemist," earning numerous awards for his performances. Beyond voice acting, Mignogna has made significant contributions to fan productions, notably as the star and director of "Star Trek Continues," a critically acclaimed web series that faithfully recreates the original "Star Trek" series. His multifaceted career has left a lasting impact on both the anime community and the broader entertainment industry.
pleasure to invite Vic Mignogna here today to speak with us about the next evolution in the show: Star Trek Continues
screen and stage performer. A man of many talents.
It's a real pleasure to have him with us today.
Welcome Vic. Good seeing you. How are things?
Great. How are you doing, Keith? Thanks for having me.
In the last two issues of SavagePlanets, we interviewed cast members from the original Star Trek series. And it's my
On the series, he is the executive producer, a writer, an editor, but he also was an important actor in the show. He played the role of Captain James Tiberius Kirk, and we'll be asking him some questions about his role very shortly. In addition, he's also a musician, an artist, and a celebrated
Thank you. Thank you so much. Wow. That was really nice. We should probably stop now. (Mutual laughter)
So I'd like to start with your motivation. How did you get the idea to create the pilot for Star Trek Continues? And then once you received good feedback, what made you continue to develop the series?
Well, you know, I I've always loved the original series of Star Trek. I mean, I'm 61 years old and I had just discovered it right after it was canceled back then.
And I fell in love with that show in a way that moved me and grabbed my imagination and my creativity. In a way that nothing ever had before. So when I was a little boy, I ate, slept and breathed Star Trek. I would make my own uniforms. I would make my own little cardboard sets out behind our apartment building.
I would round the kids up in the neighborhood to make little Star Trek movies where I would make them wear the uniforms I made. I would hang a little toy Enterprise in front of black cardboard and run past it with the camera to make it look like the ship was flying past you. I credit Star Trek literally with having jump started my creativity and career.
I went on to learn, study and train. Going on to take classes in and majoring in Film studies, while gaining experience in a lot of the things that I do now professionally. I went into it initially because of Star Trek. Now fast forward several decades, and I had been alerted that there were some fan productions out there. Productions where they had built some partial sets and we're performing small episodes of Star Trek
I was probably in my mid-forties at the time, but it really piqued my interest. And so I went and played a role in one of them and two things happened. First, it rekindled my love of the original series. And second, it also got me thinking this could be done so much better than these groups were doing it.
They meant well. This is not an insult. They did mean well. But they just didn't know what they didn't know. They clearly were not filmmakers. They're not actors. They had not the lighting expertise. They weren’t cameramen. Definitely not editors. Nor were they writers, per se. So, there are a lot of elements of production that eluded them.
Sound, music, lighting, editing, wardrobe, makeup all the needed skills to make these shows work and look good. Quality acting and so many other things that go into making something cohesive and professional. So I decided to make one episode, and I wanted to make it as close to what I remember of the original series. Because I remembered how
much I loved it. So I got some friends together and we rented a building in south Georgia, where we proceeded to draw up the floor plans and build, or rather rebuild I should say, the interior of the Enterprise.
We recreated the entire sound stage from the original series [as accurately as possible]. It had not been done before. There had been fan productions that built some of them, some of the sets, but not all of them. And by no means anywhere near the complete set. So we built them with the plan to make just one good episode. And make it as best as we could.
I funded it to a large extent, along with a couple of people, mainly Steven Dengler [who played Chief Drake]. And we released it not knowing how it was going to go, how people would respond to it. You know, Star Trek fans can be very ah...discriminating, very opinionated. So, here I am playing my childhood hero, and it was so daunting, so daunting.
Goodness gracious. I was scared to death because I love Bill Shatner. I wanted to pay tribute to the show [and him]. I certainly did not want to satirize it or, or mock it in some way. You know how over the years, he and George Takei and several of their performances and personalities have been very stereotyped. I didn't want to do that.
So we released our first episode, not knowing how it was going to go. But it was well received. And at that point we had created out proof of concept, if you will. We have demonstrated what we are capable of doing something great here. It is. And it’s in living color. Fifty six minutes long. A Star Trek episode, a teaser and four acts, just like the original.
I also loved the fact you inserted commercial breaks, just like the original.
And if you liked that, will you help us make more? We launched a crowdfunding campaign. The fans responded. We made episodes two, three, and four. Then we launched another crowdfunding campaign and made episodes five, six, and seven. And during all that time we did what had never been done. We built the engineering section.
We went on, once we raised the money, to make eleven episodes and did again, what had never been done before. We built an interior planet set. And we succeed-
ed in making eleven full length episodes that did what we intended them to do. Which was to pick up where the original series left off. When it was canceled, there were questions that needed answering, so we picked up where the crew and everybody needed to be before the start of Star Trek, The Motion Picture
Together, we wanted to craft the story-driven reasons for why Captain Kirk would take promotion. [And answer the question]Why would Spock go back to Vulcan to pursue the Kolinar discipline? Also why did McCoy quit the service altogether? Rather than just [leaving these issues unanswered]. These guys showed up ten years later, and, we thought, wouldn't it be cool to craft a story that explains why they are where they are and perfectly fill that gap between the original series and the motion picture.
so cool. You actually had to become an expert. You had to look at every aspect of the show. You needed to study television in the 60s and then try to mimic it, but also modernize it. Yet you maintained the 4×3 screen ratio which I think was cool. So how did you
go about that process? Did you distribute the process to different specialists, your sets, your costumes, your lighting, or did you do it all by yourself?
In fact, for doing that, he was hated by a lot of the writers. A lot of the writers [Harlan Ellison and Theodore Sturgeon] hated him because he would rewrite their work. To me that sounds like ego [on the writer’s part], or whatever you want to call it. He did it and he lost a lot of friends in the writing department and in the writing industry because of that, but he made Star Trek what he wanted it to be.
And I'm very, very humbled and proud to say that now we have. Well over seventeen and a half million viewers [have seen Star Trek Continues]. I'm very, very proud of every single person that worked on the series no matter what they did. No matter if they were in front of the camera or behind the camera. No matter how big or small [their role] everyone's contribution was incredibly valuable.
We created a great team of people and I'm very proud of our series.
Clearly you're a committed Trekkie. How did you go about researching all the requisite features that went into the production? I mean, this was
Most definitely it was a group effort. We needed professionals, obviously. The trick was in getting the right group. But the tricky part was also bringing in the right people into that group. I'm very, very proud of the people who came forward.
Now, I'm a good cameraman. I've shot a lot of professional productions. I know composition in camera work. While I know my way around a camera very well, f-stop, iris, focus, all of it, but Matt Busey, [our director of photography] is even better, so he was our DP.
And I've written plenty of things, but I don't consider myself really a writer.
I really took on the role that Gene Roddenberry did. He would have sci-fi writers of the day submit a script, and then he would take it, and mold it and tweak it into his vision of these characters and this show.
And Star Trek Continues was my baby. I created it. I found and I rented the building. I coordinated having the sets built. I cast it. I flew everybody down. I paid to put them up in hotels. I came up with the first idea for the first script, which was Pilgrim of Eternity. And then I had a couple of writers turn it into a screenplay. I took their screenplay and did what Gene Roddenberry did, tweaked it.
I then had the costumes made, but I can't touch Ginger Holly’s work.
And I know makeup. I've been in theater for forty years. I could make up people. I could turn somebody into a Vulcan. I can do all it, but I’m not like Lisa [Hansel] and Tim [Vittetoe] and the amazing crew that we had.
I know lighting, but I know it well enough to know, I needed to bring in people that are really good at it.
Same with sound. I know sound. I have a rudimentary understanding, but brought in the experts.
And I think quite honestly, Keith, That's one of the things that made Star Trek Continues good. I was the person who was quote unquote at the helm, who knew enough about all these different areas to know what's missing.
What's right? What's wrong? What's hitting the mark and what's not.
Like I said, I'm gonna bring it full circle and say that I had many people that I brought on board with me. To help in each department, and make it what it needed to be.
I mean, I know carpentry. I used to build houses. I helped draw and lay out the floor plans. And I went down a dozen times and hammered nails and cut drywall for the show. And I put on the glue then sanded and painted sets. But that's not my specialty. While I was a part of it, I knew who to put in charge [William Smith]. That is really the trick.
And we had a lot of great people. In every department.
All that effort created a gravity well that drew in original cast members. It drew in Star Trek generation actors because they wanted to relive the experience and you made it possible, which is the beauty of this event.
I appreciate you saying that.
And you know, there's something magical about Star Trek, the original, and you know what it is, whoever watched it back then was a little kid. It doesn't matter who they are now. Whether today they're Tom Hanks. Or they're the Incredible Hulk [Editor’s Note: Lou Ferrigno played an Orion slave trader in Episode two]. Or they're Seth MacFarlane. While they're all big stars today, back when they were nobodies, they were inspired by the show.
old [when they watched it], and they have these very nostalgic, warm memories of Star Trek. A show they loved. And that's why in many cases we were able to get some of these wonderful actors, not just from the original Star Trek, but from the other franchises in the series. Actors who knew what we were doing. And they knew it was completely a labor of love.
This was completely a passion project. We were not allowed to make money on Star Trek Continues, nor did we want to. That was not why we made it. We made it to say thank you. And to pay tribute to this show that has inspired millions around the world. I like to tell people Star Trek Continues is my love letter to the original series.
Were there any episodes that you came up with that you realized you couldn't possibly do because of budgetary constraints or feasibility because of the vision you had that you
no, no. It was canceled because the network didn't want to make it because it was too expensive. It was canceled because they didn't want to spend the money to make it.
The two most expensive shows on the air at the time were Star Trek and Mission Impossible. And if you think about Star Trek, it takes place in the 23rd century, which means you can't use anything, in a contemporary sense. They don't wear these clothes, they don't fly these ships, they don't eat this food, they don't fire these weapons. Like everything, from the ship on up, it's interiors, the planets, the makeup, the wardrobe, everything had to be created or figured out in some way.
And one of the big ways that the original series saved money was by using things that already existed. A lot of the things on the original sound stage were things that were just laying around [the set shop] or that were very common at the time. And all Star Trek did was take them and they painted them a different color.
Well, you know, the original series itself suffered from budget constraints. A lot of people don't know this, but Star Trek was the most expensive show on television at the time.
Glue a light, a little light or a little switch on it, done. And now it doesn't look like what it originally was used for, and it can be part of the 23rd century. I was just gonna say, we did the same thing. [Editor’s Note: In Episode nine they used dog transport crates to look like a load of vaccines]
But in answer to your question, there were stories that we had that were, well, they would be insurmountable.
These folks might have been eleven years old or twelve years
In fact, a lot of people believed (from the pop culture of the time) that Star Trek was canceled because it wasn't popular. No,
I'll give you a perfect example. In our fifth episode [Divided We Stand]. The Civil War episode. How the hell do you pull that off? We didn't have the kind of money to hire all the people to
replicate the battle of Antietam. You're talking about thousands of people! Kirk gets hit by a stray cannonball. I mean, like, how do you pull this off too, right?
Kirk ends up getting his leg cut off during the Civil War period. So we had to basically problem solve. How do you do this, given the constraints you have? Which is exactly what the original series would have done. What do you do? You find a Civil War reenactment group that are fans of the Civil War, just like we're fans of Star Trek
Now you have thousands of people that you could never afford, right? Cannons, horses, all of it. We took our cameras and shot what's called B Roll. You shoot that battle and then you inter-cut it with your actors, your own Star Trek actors. And if it's done well, it comes off beautifully and it did! It goes way beyond what you ever could have afforded monetarily.
Excellent. An elegant solution.
One of the wonderful additions to Star Trek Continues is the ship’s counselor, Dr. Elise McKenna, played beautifully by Michelle Specht. Her role essentially enabled the Beta Zeds posting in Star Trek Next Generation. And that transition was beautiful because she was a test case, a Star fleet experiment.
so sure you're that needed. We got Dr. McCoy here, blah, blah, blah.
Right. So when I was conceptualizing the show, Michelle and I had a conversation about what do you want to play? Yeoman Rand? Do you want to play Nurse Chapel? Now, Michelle is a really good actress. And so as we were discussing what she would do, we started thinking, I started thinking, you know, I want to start bridging the gap between the original series and the Next Generation.
So that begs the question, what did they have in the Next Generation that they did not have in the original Star Trek? Well, for one thing, a holodeck. For another thing, a ship's counselor. So we decided to add an experimental holodeck, which is how we started our series. And it came back again for use in episode four. And Michelle and I decided it would
Chekov, they're iconic and can hold their own. They are original characters. But with new characters like that it is no easy a task to make them fit.
And she did a great job.
First, I want to compliment you on your performance as Captain Kirk. Even your body habitus was similar enough to William Shatner's that you made your Kirk appear seamless. Now, did you, did you discuss with Shatner this role or did you watch him acting? How did you prepare to be Captain Kirk?
be really cool to create an original character. So she became an experimental ship’s counselor.
Right. Right. They weren't really sure if she was going to work out. Exactly. You remember that first episode, she shows up like. Oh, captain, I'm here. And they're like, not now. [VM waves, gesturing for her to go away] We've got stuff to deal with. Yes. Welcome. Welcome aboard. But I'm not really
And you know, that character does not exist in the motion picture. Why not? What happened to her? Where'd she go? So we decided part way through to make her a pivotal character. A plot point, if you will. She explains why a lot of things go the way they went. And she did a great job. I mean, if you think about it, characters like Uhura, Sulu,
My friend. I've been preparing my whole life to play that role. Now, what I mean by that is this, a lot of people have asked me, how long did you study William Shatner to get his mannerisms and, and everything down? And I tell them the same thing I'm going to tell you, Keith, I didn't study anything. I just absorbed the original series when I was nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and thirteen. Through those years that show meant everything to me. I started auditioning for school plays because I wanted to do what Bill Shatner and Leonard Nimoy were doing. I wanted to create emotions and move people in a way they moved me and many others. So I never had any discussions with Bill [before I took on the part].
Since then, Bill and I have become good friends and I love him dearly. And I've even told him you were like a father figure to me. In fact, he was my father figure. Bill, you were my role model. My parents divorced when I was nine, and dad took off. And here was this strong, brave leader of men.
And he was very much the man I wanted to be [when I grew up].
So I didn't go through any, well, I didn't jump through any particular hoops to learn any mannerisms or study anything. It all came very naturally because he was who I loved. And I just absorbed [who he was] when I was a little boy.
One of the overarching themes that I got in watching Star Trek Continues, and I just went through the whole series again because I really wanted to refresh my memory to prepare for this. One of the overarching themes is loss. In episode four, Kirk reflects on the loss of four of his lovers and we see a loss of new friends and ultimately everyone loses the Enterprise at the completion of the five year mission.
is going to be story driven. Star Trek is not known for its sets. Star Trek is not heralded 60 years later because of its costumes or because of its special effects. It's beloved 60 years later because of the stories they told and the
being.
And you succeeded. In spades.
characters it created and it was their relationships that people were drawn to.
Especially in episode four. The White Iris was all about the shame and the regret and the remorse that he must feel. Women that he loved and lost for whatever reason and he had no closure. You can't live with that for very long before it starts bubbling to the surface. So, I think you're right. I think it did permeate a lot of our series and I'm glad it did because it's real life.
In a previous interview, you mentioned there was a unique camaraderie of the cast and crew that socialized after the shooting days. And do you believe this camaraderie resulted from this kind of joyful grief. Because even in that last scene where you're the Admiral, you're standing on stage, I could just tell that your heart was breaking?
So my question is, was that something you planned or was it spontaneous?
Well, one of the things about the original series was it was indicative of its time. In the 60s, the heroes never made a mistake. The heroes always saved the day. The heroes always got the girl. And all the heroes always had the solution.
When I started this series, I thought, okay, first of all, our show
And that's what I wanted in our stories. It set a very high bar, you know, when you set the bar that high, you're like, wow, are we even going to be able to come up with any stories? And if so, how many can we draw along that line? And so, I really, really appreciate the cast came together. You felt like a lot of it was about loss.
I think loss is something…. I'm going to start over. I don't think anything. I know it! Loss is something we all experience. If you didn't yesterday, you will tomorrow.
Excellent
If you live long enough. You'll experience loss. Could be a small loss. Oh, dang, I lost my wallet. Could be a huge loss. I lost my mom. I lost my love.
I, whatever. Loss is inevitable. It's inescapable. And I felt like the more that we could make our characters and our stories relatable, the more they would impact people. I wanted to make James Kirk a fallible, struggling human
And if, if we create a story that reaches someone who is in a difficult moment of loss and it helps them. Wow. I mean, you can't put a price tag on that!
One of the best episodes or my favorite episode was the ninth episode.
Ah, yes.
Because there's this unique form of radiation that causes a pandemic threatening the people, but there's also the asteroids inhabitants seeing in black and white. It effectively cloaks the inhabitants skin tone from one another, and it's such a clever way to explore the race issue.
It's multi leveled, and John de Lancie was great in it. In addition, we also see the banter at the very beginning of the episode with McCoy, Spock, and Kirk. And that's something that everyone was craving at that point. Something we wanted to see the three of them do, and was sorely missed up until then. Fans wanted to see them
on the bridge, chit chatting and doing what they do, you know, but then you threw McKenna in, and she enhanced that camaraderie and modernized it.
So tell us, what was your favorite episode? I mean, can you even pick a favorite?
That is a really hard question because there is not one element of one episode that I didn't have something to do with, you know what I mean? Whether it was a line of dialogue or a prop or the fabric a costume was made from or lighting... I edited all the episodes, I cast 99 percent of the roles, so it would be impossible [to name just one].
It would be very, very hard for me to pick a favorite. Now, having said that. I believe the ninth episode is one of our best standalone episodes. It's one of the most classic Star Trek episodes. Thematically, I think it was, and I directed it; it was executed as well as we could have executed it.
I'll tell you a fun story, Keith, the way that episode even came about. I was talking on the phone one day with James Kerwin, who was one of our producers [and directors]. I'll never forget it. I was in O'Hare airport in Chicago and I was in the United Club waiting for my flight. He and I were talking about the post production on such and such an episode or the sound design on such and such an episode or building this set for this episode.
And we were talking about the first time we saw Star Trek. And I said to him, you know, the first time I saw it was on a 19 inch black and white television. That's all my Mom and I had. We didn't even have a table to put the television on. The television sat on the floor. So I laid on the floor and watched Star Trek every afternoon after school.
And James said, well, you know, a lot of people's first experience
with Star Trek was [when it was in] black and white. And I said, wouldn't it be cool if we came up with a story driven reason for why we could present an episode in black and white? It would feel so nostalgic. But it can't just be in black and white for the sake of being black and white.
There'd have to be a reason. A story driven reason. We came up with this planet that had this radiation shield that blocked out the entire color spectrum. And then we handed it off to Kipleigh Brown [she also played Lt. Junior grade Barbara Smith in the show]. And she wrote the most amazing screenplay.
And nine became one of my favorite standalone episodes. Now, episode four was also very important to me because of what it said about Captain Kirk.
Kirk was a big fan of Abraham Lincoln. How they established that Lincoln was one of his heroes. Then I started thinking, what if you stranded a Southern gentleman who would... had they been in the Civil War, been from Georgia. He would have fought for the rebels [and that would be
I loved five because, it was the Civil War episode. When I was a boy, a lot of my favorite Star Trek episodes were the ones where they went somewhere in some time period in history.
I loved it, like whether it was the Depression or gangsters or Nazi Germany or the Roman Empire or whatever, I loved those episodes. So I remember thinking, what's a time period they never went to?
Oh my gosh, the Civil War! And then I started thinking about how
Dr. McCoy]. And Kirk would have been on the union side.
What if you strand them in the Civil War, but they're friends. They're supposed to be enemies, but they're friends. And how do they get out of it? Then I said to Todd Haberkorn, who played Spock, but I don't want to get there in any of the conventional ways, you know, like time travel. It's been done. An Earth parallel? It's been done.
Todd was the one that came up with the nanites. Some sort of
alien entity takes over the computer, and while it was downloading earth history, and the Enterprise crew were trying to use techniques to flush it out, one of the boards blows up. And those nanites get all over Kirk and McCoy. As far as anyone else knows they're unconscious in comas in
sickbay. But the nanites. busy downloading historical information from the Civil War when the explosion took place, takes Kirk and McCoy there.
So the entire thing is taking place in Kirk and McCoy's mind. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, what an original and brilliant idea. So kudos to Todd Haberkorn for that one!
That's great. Phenomenal. And you nailed it. At the end of episode five there’s this moment when McCoy and Kirk stare in awe at Lincoln in the distance
by the tent after the battle of Antietam. That’s memorable.
You know, I heard a quote from Howard Berry, the head of post-production and the program leader for MA Film and Television Production at the University of Hertfordshire's School of Creative Arts, who said something really amazing. He said while I can’t say how we landed on the moon in 1969 – I can say with some certainty that the footage would have been impossible to fake.
It would cost more to actually simulate a moon landing on film than it was to actually go to the Moon.
I wonder… well, that's a very interesting perspective, actually. I've never really heard that take on it, but that makes sense.
Moving further afield, your vocal range is impressive as a voice actor. And it probably was one of your big money makers during your career
You've performed in an amazing variety of science fiction and fantasy films, especially Japanese animation or Japanimation. A lot of anime. So, what was the character who was most difficult for you to play, and which character would you like to play in the future or you’d like to do more of?
Well, I've done over 400 roles, and my favorite of all was a show called Full Metal Alchemist.
I just loved the story. I loved the characters. I loved everything about that show. It's regularly ranked as one of the top 10 anime of all time. Now, not because of me (he laughs shyly), I'm just saying the story. The show itself is just wonderful. The only ones that were really difficult were ones that were vocally difficult, voices that were like hard, low guttural, angry. Chesty voices, they take their toll on your voice.
I do a lot of singing and songwriting, piano playing and producing. And I can't sing as high as I used to because, when you scream and yell for 400 anime shows and video games, your voice takes a toll. But I was very, very blessed and very grateful to be able to do the things that I've done.
I'm looking to do more on camera stuff. Right now I'm working on audio books as well. So, I'm just grateful. I have a studio in my home. I'm sitting in it right now. And it gives me a chance to write music, produce music, write and produce audio books, whatever I need in sound design for film or whatever.
So in closing, is Star Trek Continues over and done, or is there a possible spin off you might see. Maybe some of the characters you can take off with, and what other projects can we look forward to from you? And do you have a dream project our readers can support?
I will tell you this. And here, I'm going to quote Mr. Spock. I would like to think that there are always possibilities, right?
Our series is over. We did what we set out to do. We wanted to finish the original series, and we did that. No one else has done that, or even attempted it. And I hate to sound cocky, but I don't think it's going to be done again. And certainly not any better than we did it. I say that to the credit of everyone in our cast and crew who were involved.
I agree.
Now, I have often thought, wouldn't it be wonderful to do a motion picture, to do a feature film with our cast. And I thought, what's a time period that the Star Trek producers have not explored? And the first thing that came to my mind was the time period between the Motion Picture and the Wrath of Khan.
And to be shallow about it, I love the maroon uniforms and I would love to don one of those someday. I've already come up with a story idea that I think would be a really cool idea. It's not something we're able to accomplish now, but perhaps, if the stars align... I will tell you this, everybody that worked on Star Trek Continues did so for free.
For the most part, everybody was there because they believed in what we were doing and they wanted to be a part of something special. There were a couple of exceptions, but the vast majority… Well, I’d would never ask them to do that again. To come together for free. They gave so much of themselves that I could never again say: Hey, let's make a motion picture. Let's make a feature film. And will you give me two weeks of your life, for no pay and whatever. It wouldn't even occur to me. I wouldn't do it.
Now, in answer to your last question, I'm working currently on a book [an audio-book]. The second book in a series of novels. The first one's called the Crimson Spark and it’s by William Hastings.
The second one, I'm just finishing up, is called the Opal Embers [by Hastings]. And he [Hastings] has
would be a huge success. I would love to see those stories get in front of the right people. Maybe get an elevator pitch going to somebody and see if we can find someone who might be interested in producing them.
I would love, I'd love to be a part of something like that.
So if anything does happen, it will be a feature film. It would probably be in that era [that time gap between the Motion Picture and the Wrath of Khan]. Which is problematic because you can't use any of our sets for the new Enterprise. There would be a lot of hurdles to overcome. But if we were ever to do anything again, that's what it would involve.
already finished the third book. And I'm telling you, if I had the money, these fantasy novels have such great stories, such amazing characters, such extravagant creatures... it's all- a created world. It's like Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings and the two main characters are children.
So it has everything, and there is something there for everyone. It's so fantastic that it would, I think it
Well, Vic, I really want to thank you again for your time and all your substantial contributions to the science fiction genre. Your performances are professional, they're spectacular, and they really elevated the bar. And I have no doubt that Star Trek Continues will be your legacy, if nothing else.
I've done a lot of things, I've done a lot of things, but I'm very, very proud of what we all accomplished with Star Trek Continues. I'm not going to start naming names. I've named a lot of them already in the course of the conversation. I'm not going to start naming names because I'll forget people and I don't want to do that.
But I just want to say, everybody did amazing work, putting real passion into it. It's something that I'm most proud of.
Well, thank you for your time. I appreciate it, and no doubt our readers will too.
Thank you Keith. I look forward to speaking with you again. Thank you. Bye. Bye
by Keith 'Doc' Raymond
Consider myths and legends for each generation of recent times. Stories that rose to the top because of their magic and the lessons they imparted. In Tolkien’s time, it was Lord of the Rings. In Heinlein’s time, it was a Stranger in a Strange Land. Then there was Star Wars. Now in Konietzko and DiMartino’s time, it is Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Like Tolkien, Michael DiMartino’s tale is a children’s story, but it is also a message for the adults of our generation. And for our time, it is important. Our world is out of balance and to survive and thrive, we must restore that balance. There are forces on both sides that drive an agenda not for everyone, but for their own vision of what should be.
There will be no one savior in our reality. Each of us must find first the balance in ourselves, then spread it like a pandemic. So too, do the characters in Avatar: The Last Airbender. They are on an inner journey and an outer one. This makes this legend both iconic
and important for us, struggling against greed and populism.
It all began in 2001, when Bryan Konietzko took a sketch of
a balding middle-aged man he made to Michael DiMartino, and asked him to envision this man’s life as a child. DiMartino was working on a documentary at the
time about explorers trapped at the South Pole. This led to the opening scene of the series. A child trapped in the ice for a hundred years, found by local tribes people. The vision unfolded from there.
They pitched the idea to the vice president and executive producer at Nickelodeon, and he brought Aaron Ehasz on board as the head writer. They envisioned a three season animation series, and the teaser reel first appeared at Comic-Con in 2004. By February 2005, the first episode premiered. Both kids and adults received it enthusiastically.
Of course, a video game supporting the show came out in 2006, attracting more attention. With more versions of the game to follow, the latest appearing in 2023. This drew in the teens.
But it also captured the imagination of M. Night Shyamalan, fresh from his previous successes, including Unbreakable, Signs, and Lady in the Wa-
ter. He wanted to do a live-action version of the series as a film, but saw it and told it as a children’s story. His film was based on the first season of the animation series, The Book of Water.
M. Night made Avatar: The Last Airbender into a rich child’s fantasy, full of wonder, new actors, martial arts action, and cool effects. And he brought DiMartino and Konietzko on board as consultants, although Shyamalan wrote the script. This is how the legend came to the attention of most of us. And the critics and many people hated it, when it premiered in June 2010.
Because the dialogue and actors had a child-like innocence that was off-putting to them. Still, I loved it. The classic elements of earth, water, fire and air describe the four tribes of people, with the air nomad legends being the most magical. I loved Appa, the sky bison realized, reminiscent of the kindly flying dog from the Never-Ending Story. But the critical message was there. The Dragon Spirit speaks with Aang and says, ‘You aren’t meant to defeat the Fire Nation. That is not your role as the Avatar.’
So why have we brought these series, films, games, and books
to your attention? Because of the new number one series on Netflix. It is a live action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender. A new iteration with updated characters and dialogue. A multi-racial cast, which is more consistent with the characters’ origins from the original story. And the new version features eye-popping effects. Episode one appeared in February 2024, and it is still grabbing attention.
A century ago, a young Avatar, Aang, afraid of his additional responsibilities, fled from his home, the Southern Air temple. Flying South on his sky bison, a storm forced him into the ocean. There he remained, frozen in an ice sphere. In the film, he refuses to bow and accept his fate and leaves.
In the 2024 series, he is told he must go to learn and master the other element bending skills. His exit is timely, as Lord Sozin, leading the Fire Nation, attacks and kills all the air nomads in the temple. Because Sozin knows the next Avatar will be born from them. The Avatar is a threat to the Fire Nation’s goal of global conquest.
Several generations pass as the Fire Nation expands their control. The Fire Nation previously
killed off the water benders of the Southern Water Tribe (Wolf Cove in the latest series). Only one water bender remains. Katara (Korra in the animation series), is a young bender with no one to train her. She struggles, trying to learn the skill on her own. She and her brother Sokka are out hunting and while she practices her bending skills, she releases Aang from his ice sphere.
Meanwhile, Lord Sozin has died and left two sons. The older one, Iroh, is a kind and spiritual man, not keen about the direction of the Fire Nation. The younger son, Ozei, becomes the Fire Lord, and has a son and a daughter. Iroh loses a battle with the Earth Nation and they kill his son. While he keeps his title as a general, he retires to a quieter life in despair. Ozei’s son, Prince Zuko, has an altercation with a general, leading to a duel, which Ozei champions.
In a no-win situation, Prince Zuko loses the fight with his father and Ozei disfigures him, leaving him with a burn scar over his left eye. Ozei also exiles him, telling Zuko he will only regain his position in court if he captures the Avatar. Iroh follows Zuko, acting as his spiritual advisor and faithful uncle. They spot and capture the Avatar in the southern waters shortly
after he emerges from the ice sphere, but Aang escapes with the help of Sokka and Katara.
Together, the trio spread the word of the return of the Avatar, restoring hope to the people as they make their way to the Northern Water tribe. There, Pakku, a master, will train Aang and Katara in water bending. Sokku agrees to guard the princess of the Northern Water Tribe. Soon after, the Fire Nation attacks the Northern Water Tribe, having heard word that the Avatar is there. What happens next, you’ll have to watch the series and/or film to find out.
In a marvelous scene in the movie, Aang and Zuko are fighting in a room full of water jugs, and there is a wonderful moment when the Avatar gets the upper hand, and he says to Zuko, “You know, we could be friends,” then leaps from a window.
Besides this, the series addresses issues related to genocide, totalitarianism, nepotism, and free choice. Most important, the characters learn that wisdom comes not just from strength and skill but from the balance of the elements within themselves.
earth bending from Toph Beifong, a blind twelve-year-old earth bending prodigy. Zuko and Iroh, now fugitives from the Fire Lord, become refugees in the Earth Kingdom as well, eventually settling in its capital Ba Sing Se. Azula, Zuko's younger sister, and a fire bending prodigy, pursue both groups. Shyamalan introduces her at the end of the movie, and her evil demeanor truly gives
action Netflix first season, they’ve already scheduled the next two seasons for production.
In the third season of the animation series, Zuko returns to the Fire nation, and his father accepts him back, restoring his status. But Zuko has changed, although he keeps it hidden from his father. Aang is reluctant to use his fire bending skills against Lord Ozei. Instead, he elects to take him on during the solar eclipse when Ozei’s’s fire bending skills are nullified.
one the shivers.
In the second season of the animation (and the upcoming live action version), Aang learns
With time, Aang slowly wins over Zuko, and they do indeed become friends. Zuko teaches Aang the art of fire bending. This leads to a showdown between Azula and Aang. Want to know what happens? Watch season two and find out. Undoubtedly with the success of the 2024 live
Multiple books, inspired by the show, have been published. Dark Horse Comics also published an art book titled Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Art of the Animated Series on June 2, 2010, with 184 pages of original art from the series.
And if you fall in love with the legend, there is even more. In April 2012, Nickelodeon released a sequel written by DiMartino and Konietzko called The Legend of Korra (aka Katara). It takes place seventy years after Avatar: The Last Airbender. Again, we are back where it all began at the Southern Water Tribe and we meet another Korra, a seventeen-year-old who is the next incarnation of the Avatar.
Of course, the original animation series won many awards, as will the current live action series. And like me, multiple media publications have ranked Avatar: The Last Airbender as one of the best animated series of all time. Enjoy!
BY RYAN KLOPP
In Greek mythology, dreams were sometimes personified as Oneiros or Oneiroi. In the Iliad of Homer, Zeus sends an Oneiros to appear to Agamemnon in a dream. In Hesiod's Theogony, the Oneiroi are the sons of Nyx (Night), and brothers of Hypnos (Sleep)." -Wikipedia
“I’m just a little nervous, you know? I’ve never ‘Dreamed’ before.”
I looked at her, a quizzical smile on my lips, as we headed for the launch chamber. She flushed as she realized what she’d just said, stammering a bit as she corrected herself.
“I- I mean- I’ve never ‘Dreamed,’ dreamed. Only when I’m sleeping, like everyone else.”
I stopped suddenly, while Katya keep going for another three steps before she realized I was no longer beside her. She pirouetted awkwardly, barely concealed anxiety danced across her face. ‘God, she’s so young,’ I thought. ‘The youngest ever, in fact. The youngest ever deemed capable of surviving the stresses of ‘Dreaming’ with her sanity intact.’
The pressure on her must be incredible. ‘To spend her whole life preparing for this moment… she’s trying to look brave, but she’s just a kid. So many people relying on
her… Life really is cruel sometimes, isn’t it? Sometimes talent really is a curse.’
I reached out, gently resting my hand on her shoulder. “Hey. Take a deep breath.” A moment passed, then another as she stared without blinking, dark eyes shining out from her pale face. “Seriously, do it.” This time, she complied, her chest rising and falling as her hands twitched. “Let me guess, your implant is itching?”
Katya reached up slowly, brushing away her red hair and tapping the little silver outlet at the base of her skull. “Yes. How did you know?” She cocked her head a bit, waiting for a response.
“Because mine did too, before my first Dream.” Her expression changed, just a hint of surprise as I continued. “Today, what matters more than anything else is for you to believe in yourself. That sounds like motivational crap, but I am absolutely serious. Literally everything that happens today is going to be inside your head, and if you lose focus for even an instant, things can go very bad, very quickly.”
I saw her eyes widened, and I hastily continued. “Look, you’re Katya Koroleva. There’s eight billion people on earth, another four billion scattered across the stars, and less than a hundred of them can do what Dreamers do. You’re one of them, Katya.” ‘I hope… but there’s only one way to find out.’ “And today, you’re going to join that number. So just relax as much as you can. It’s going to be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life, and yet, the most wonderful.”
“Besides, if anything goes wrong, you’ll be there to pull me out, right?” She flashed a smile, but her voice wavered almost imperceptibly. “That’s what they told my mom, at least.” She shifted restlessly, taking an awkward step, not meeting my gaze. “There’s no real danger these days, is there?” The strain in her voice was just barely perceptible. She and I both knew that was a lie. But then,
sometimes it’s easier to pretend for the sake of our loved ones.
“Of course, don’t worry. It’s not like the bad old days. Anyway, that’s the idea.” I paused for a moment, searching for the right words to explain this without revealing just how little I could help her if she lost control.
The Academy always downplays the dangers of ‘Dreaming.’ Candidates never really understood until they did it for the first time, and I suppose that makes sense. Rather than discouraging cadets with the possibility of failure, it's easier to send them in with confidence. Dreamers are so rare, after all. And I really wasn’t lying when I told her it’ll depend on whether she can control herself inside the event.
“Dreaming with an experienced partner makes it easier. I can guide you, give you a lifeline to hold on to if you need it. But it really is all you, Katya. You’re the pilot.”
She chewed on her lip, reaching down and awkwardly cracking her knuckles. Her eyes flicked back and forth through the sterile, featureless hallway before coming to rest on me. There was such intensity in her stare that I almost instinctively
stepped back. “Okay. Okay. Let’s do this.”
The sheer interminable pre-mission checks never failed to annoy me, but at least I was used to them. I watched Katya’s entire body tense up as our techs strapped her into her station. Her fingers drummed faster and faster as they read through the checklist of endless minutia. More than half of them didn’t even apply to this mission.
We had no passengers, just a shipment of computer equipment destined for the Alpha Centauri colony. If all went well, it would travel at the speed of thought through the vastness of time and space through the techno-pathic sorcery that was ‘Dreaming.’ As far as first missions went, it was an easy one. Yet we had to follow all the precautions regardless, so she could have time to work her way through the process in a real-world scenario. Later, if successful today, she’d get a chance to transport passengers and bio-forms on other routes.
And so we waited, listening to Mission Control test the redundant
life support systems for our chamber full of plastic and silicone. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of checklists, instrument calibration, and system optimization, Dr. Johnson gave us the long-awaited thumbs up. I leaned back in my seat, closing my eyes as she launched the ‘Dream.’
Nothing happened.
I gave it fifteen, thirty seconds. Waiting for the indescribable, agonizingly beautiful sensation of the modulated electric current flow driven directly into my brain. Only to finally open my eyes in irritation. A malfunction? I don’t know what I expected to see, but it certainly wasn’t the same place where we had started.
Other than me and Katya, who squirmed back and forth trying to look over her shoulder, the launch chamber was empty. Dr. Johnson and her partner were on the other side of the glass in Mission Control. For some reason I couldn’t quite explain, a quiet little chill danced up my spine. Could we have somehow completed the Dream without me realizing it?
No, that was patently impossible. I tried to float upward, commanding the safety bonds of my seat to melt away. Nothing, of course. That doesn’t work in the real world.
The door suddenly opened with a clang, and Katya and I both jumpedor would have, if not for the restraints. I blinked, unable to process what I was seeing. A tall, gray-haired man strode forward purposefully. Dr. Johnson scurried behind him. She was totally unaware that her folder of carefully crafted calculations scattered a trail of papers as she went. It couldn’t be…
“Dr. Kleitman? Sir?” Katya sounded star-struck, and I couldn’t blame her. I was, too. John Kleitman was a living legend, the greatest scientist since Hawking. Maybe even greater, since he did what Hawking never could- he gave humanity a path to the cosmos.
Kleitman was the man who taught us to Dream, and the idea of him being here today for a routine training mission was so bizarre it bordered
on funny. He was retired, had been for over a decade, and yet he was sitting down at a launch station. Age had taken its toll on the hero I remembered from the portraits on the walls of the Academy.
His clothes hung loosely on his slender form. His hair desperately trying to avoid fully changing from gray to white. But it was unmistakably him, here in the flesh.
“Hello Commander Wright-Adam, as I recall?” He nodded in my direction before leaning back into the chair, brushing the techs aside as he fastened his own safeties. “I’m glad to see you here today, Commander. I’ve followed your career with great interest. And of course, Katya Koroleva. Our newest star.”
Katya choked on her own words, and I didn’t blame her. I couldn’t believe that Dr. Kleitman knew my name- even after retirement. He was famous for developing the Dreaming program, more so than those who actually still worked on refining it. But actually hearing it from the great man’s lips was something entirely different. I’m not sure if I was any more successful in maintaining my composure than she was. “We… we weren’t expecting you today, sir.”
“Neither was your Dr. Johnson.” He smirked, an almost playful expression crawling across his weathered features, as she cringed. “But I like to keep an eye on how the department is functioning in my absence. I have a few advantages that allow me to bypass all those annoying layers of bureaucracy to see the Dreamers in action. I wrote most of the protocols, for one. And besides, I’m very interested to see how Miss Koroleva’s first Dream goes. Now, Commander, if you don’t mind… would you be willing to let an old man take the captain’s chair for this one?”
“Be my guest, sir.” My fingers danced frantically across the armrest controls as I transferred the command functions to Dr. Kleitman’s station. Fumbling as I did in his presence, I glanced up, hoping he didn’t notice, as he eased into a piloting frame. From his station,
he could start the ‘Dream.’
“Thank you, Adam.” He said graciously, and took a moment to look down at the readings projected before him. Three green lights flashing together in unison.
“Now, if everyone’s ready…” His piercing blue eyes came to rest on Katya’s, his lips spreading into an almost grandfatherly smile.
So it began. The familiar intoxicating electric buzz came jolting through my brain. The magnetic field igniting every synapse in my body, artificially firing in a rapturous rush. Then everything went dark.
Every Dreamer sees something different when they enter the state. I know some who claim to always wake up in the same place- their childhood bedroom, their best friend’s home, maybe even the church where they got married. My first partner said she always appeared in the back of an aircraft, about to go skydiving for the first time.
The sample size is too small to say for sure, but I’ve always had a hunch it has something to do with your personality. Type A, organized, obsessive types like to have some familiar environment to cling to. Some place where they can gently ease themselves step by step into the dream state as the laws of physics and sanity bleed away. Me? I prefer to just lay back and let the madness wash through me.
It usually begins in an open field. I’m lying down in a field of flowers. They were white, swaying gently in an invisible breeze that I couldn’t feel. I sit up and notice the outline where my body had lain. A human-shaped cookie-cutter of plain dirt without a trace of anything ever
growing there.
As I watch, a shadow suddenly stretches out beneath me, twisting and contorting itself to fill the void. It turns into liquid-like black water, an oily, viscous tar. Expanding and flowing of its own accord, staining the blossoms around it as the shadow slithers outward.
Turning away from the ooze, I walk forward on pavement that spontaneously rises from the dirt. Cobblestones born from the path lift themselves up to meet my feet. Faint whispers murmur behind me, too quiet to understand, almost like the sound of old pages being turned in some long-forgotten library. I don’t look back.
I knew nightmares would form in my wake if I did.
I closed my eyes and reached forward, grabbing the map I knew would materialize there. It wasn’t necessary. Of course, I’d get where I was going with or without one. But contextualizing things always made them easier. Sometimes, all you have to do to keep things relatively normal is stubbornly pretend that they are.
As I walked, the surrounding environment melted and shifted. Memories and imaginings of impossibilities danced around me, fighting for my attention. By necessity, I kept my head down and refused to indulge them.
It was only when the familiar, antiseptic walls of our project
headquarters appear around me once again that I allowed myself to relax. My lungs once again rising and falling properly as they filled with illusory air. I could still hear the nightmares skittering back beyond my peripheral vision. They were crawling and snaking and gliding around the corners and inside the walls, but the worst was over.
All I had to do was walk back to the launch chamber, change the environment to Alpha Centauri, and then tell myself to wake up. But what I saw there stopped me dead in my tracks.
Dr. Kleitman hovered in the center of the room, working the primary control terminal on the side of the chair where his body would lie in the real world. That was to be expectedhe was the greatest Dreamer of all time, after all. It was no surprise that he’d made it back faster than me. But I barely noticed him.
My eyes locked on Katya, on her flickering, wavering body idly floating in the air before the doctor, silently screaming. The fiery locks of her hair gently drifting back and forth as though buffeted by invisible currents. I could see through her, her flesh seeming immaterial and ghost-like. And I heard the distant
nightmares laughing as they smelled my fear.
“Sir! What’s happening? What’s wrong with her?” I’m thirty-five years old, and my voice cracked like a teenager’s.
The room seemed to twist and bend around me as I willed myself forward. I struggled, unable to wait for my legs to carry me there. The doctor turned to me, and some small part of me that was still calm kept the Dream from disintegrating. Kleitman seemed to have aged twenty years since our meeting back in the real world.
His face was nothing but weathered lines, his body practically skeletal. What remained of his flesh fought to cling to his bones. He must have noticed me staring, because the bloodless slit of his mouth curled up in an expression of faint annoyance. Before my eyes, Dr. Kleitman’s body shimmered. Then, he was almost his old self again. A younger version, the heroic vision of him in his forties as he opened the brave new world of Dreaming. The countenance I knew so well from the paintings and statues of him.
“I’m sorry if my appearance disturbed you, Adam. They say that memory is the first thing to go. And
I’m always forgetting to make my projection look presentable these days.”
His tone was perfectly calm, as though we were back in the classroom and not watching a cadet slowly fade out of existence. My eyes jumped to Katya, then back to the doctor, the wheels of my mind grinding into overdrive as I tried and failed to make some sense out of what was going on.
“Um, sir, with all due respect, I think I’m more concerned by what’s going on with Cadet Koroleva…”
His expression didn’t change, his head cocked into a slightly quizzical frown. “Do you know what’s happening to her? Can we help her?”
“I’m afraid not, son.” He sighed slowly, an expression of something that looked very much like regret crawling across his lips. “I could lie to you, but you deserve more than that. You were an excellent student, you know. You didn’t always know when I was watching, but I was. When I first created the Dreaming program, it was people like you I was searching for. I knew I’d have to pass my torch to someone, Adam. And the knowledge that someone like you would replace me was very comforting. Well, at least at first.”
“At first, sir?”
The thought we were having this conversation while Katya was fading into nothingness was utterly insane. But something told me it was incredibly important to listen. Dr. Kleitman wouldn’t have waited decades to say it if it wasn’t. And besides, as much as I hate to admit it, some part of me gloated at his praise. That weak, guilty part of me wanted to hear what was coming next.
“At first.” He nodded. “There’s no diplomatic way to put this, so I’ll just come out and say it. I’m dying, Adam.”
He reached down and opened his chest like a door. The entire front half of his torso swung outward as if it were on hinges. I’ve seen disturbing things in my time ‘Dreaming,’ but I’m not sure if anything ever compared to the shock I felt at that timeless moment. Watching the man
I admired most in the world literally open himself up and show me his black, pulsating, diseased organs.
I could do nothing but stare in horror. Watching the cancerous flesh pulse in a sickening rhythm, until he closed himself back up. He possessed the air of someone shutting the door to an embarrassingly messy room in their home.
“A degenerative disease affecting practically every organ I need to stay alive. Completely incurable. A side effect of those early years of ‘Dreaming.’ Before I understood the consequences of telling the laws of physics to shut up and go to their room. A cost that every ‘Dreamer’ had to bear, back in those days. And so, I resigned myself to my fate.
“I’ve had a good life, after all. But as the inevitability of the truth set in, knowing that my days were numbered… I knew I needed more time, Adam. I planned on having another decade at least to continue my research.
“Imagine a world in which every man and woman can Dream, not just an incredibly rare few. Imagine a world in which you don’t have to live in fear of the nightmares. A world in which interstellar travel is as easy as going to the grocery store.”
His voice was swelling, growing stronger and faster as he paced back and forth, his eyes burning into my very soul. “For the good of
all humanity, Adam. Will you help me?”
I felt a cold pit forming in my stomach, that quiet little whisper of conscience warning me that something was very wrong. Perhaps it was because he had to ask, when he and I both knew that any Dreamer in the world would consider it a high honor to help him with almost anything. Perhaps it was the literal fire of messianic light in his brilliant blue eyes.
But most of all, it was the fact that Katya Koroleva was still flickering helplessly. Fading inexorably. His little speech had conspicuously avoided mentioning her, as if he was buying time. Pieces began falling into place in my mind, painting an inconceivable picture.
Katya’s measured aptitude for ‘Dreaming’ was unparalleled. Kleitman chose the day of her first mission to make his unscheduled appearance. And she had somehow become incapacitated. An invisible fist held her in a fashion I’d never seen before… most likely no one had.
“Sir. This is about Cadet Koroleva, isn’t it? What did she do?” I was almost pleading, a desperate edge creeping into my tone, begging him to answer and dispel my foolish assumptions. Instead, he simply gazed at me unblinkingly, like a teacher waiting for his student to put two and two together. “You need her.”
“I do.” He nodded slowly. “We both know what she’s capable of, Adam. She’s the key to all of this. You can’t imagine how many experiments I’ve run, trying to beat this curse. You can’t imagine how long I’ve worked to leave this failing body behind. But I could never find a solution. I could never find a candidate with the ability to become so deeply interwoven within the Dream that they became it. So immersed they can reach out and manipulate not only their projection, but their true self… until now.”
“What’s going to happen to her?” My voice was barely a whisper, unable to believe what I was hearing. The voice of a child afraid of the dark.
“Nothing. She’ll simply remain in the Dream, of the Dream, after the two of us leave. Who knows, maybe someday she’ll find a way back to the real world, though I doubt it. Not after I walk off wearing her body. If not, her soul will simply remain the goddess of her own little pocket dimension. There are worse fates, I think. Wouldn’t you agree?”
What he was describing was patently impossible, and yet I believed every word. “Possession. You’re talking about possession, like a demon.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say it in such mundane terms. We’re men of science, after all.” That grandfatherly smile was back, though a hard, knifelike edge seemed to lurk behind it.
“But if it helps you to understand what I’m proposing, then yes. Feel free to think that way. What do you say, Adam? Will you help keep my secret?”
He paused, waiting for my decision, then continued when I hesitated. “When we leave this Dream, yourself and ‘Cadet Koroleva’ will have to explain what happened to me. A tragic accident, brought about by an old man’s hubris to think that he could still Dream… and of course, someone will have to replace me. Someone who’s distinguished himself through the years. Someone who just guided a young cadet through a disaster that not even John Kleitman could
Fear welled up inside me, but there was something else there, too. Disgust and anger. Disappointment in the man I once respected. The man whose monstrous plan was to steal a child’s life. And disappointment in myself, for letting the possibility of agreeing to it cross my mind, even for an instant.
“Sir, with all due respect, you can go burn in hell.”
Something flashed within his blue eyes, and his jaw hardened. “I had such high hopes for you… I’m sorry, Adam.”
My body exploded into a paroxysm of agony. Ropes of fire materialized around me, wrapping around my limbs like snakes, dragging me helplessly to the ground. It only took an instant to wipe away the pain- my astral body’s nerves existed only in my mind, after all. But that instant was the longest, most torturous moment in my life. I tried to will myself to slip out of my bonds, but I couldn’t. Tried again, and a thrill of horror filled my mind. I realized my limbs weren’t responding.
Desperately, I conjured a pair of blades to leap out of the ether and dig at the flaming ropes, but they instantly disappeared in puffs of smoke. I looked up to see the
doctor simply watching, a vaguely disinterested look on his face as he watched me struggle. He pinned me, trapped in his mindscape. I suppose it shouldn’t have surprised me. If he possessed another Dreamer in the real world, restraining one within the Dream would be easy.
Bored with my struggling, he turned away, nodding to himself as he watched me squirm against my restraints. Dr. Kleitman reached up and took both of Katya’s hands in his own, his long fingers closing around her wrists. His brow furrowed in concentration. Her ethereal body was visibly flickering, fading in and out of existence. At the same time, the doctor himself became less solid. Less real.
For a moment, I could see through him, see his diseased insides dissolving in midair as the rest of his body faded away. And then he was back, whole. The color drained from his face, his very soul flowing serpentine into the helpless body of the cadet suspended before him.
‘Think, Adam.’ There was no use in struggling, not when I was as helpless as a kitten in the wake of his psychic mastery. I could only see one option left to me, something so dangerous and foolish that I would never attempt it under normal circumstances.
But of course, “normal circumstances” didn’t apply in the Dream. Dr. Kleitman denied Katya and me that the moment he arrived at the launch center.
of lost souls calling to me, like fresh blood summoning sharks.
But as I reached out toward Katya, searching frantically for some avenue to protect her that remained unsealed, I found nothing. The walls, the floor, the building, the very dreamworld itself was Kleitman’s malignant construct. The only light in the darkness was Katya herself. Her soul burned so bright at her very core that it hurt me to look at her, though her light grew dimmer every second.
All around us, the ‘Dream’ flickered in and out of existence. I could see the faint outlines of the technicians back in Mission Control in the real world, Dr. Johnson and the rest. They appeared to become more solid with each passing moment, as if we were transitioning from sleep to the real world.
I could feel the chill of the nightmares closing in. Their sweet, cloying scent was a breath washing over me. Gritting my teeth as I returned to my bound body, I hurled out the last of my strength, though I did not know what it would accomplish. I screamed, my voice echoing from both the psychic and physical level.
“KATYA! WAKE UP!”
Her eyes shot open, her ghost-like form suddenly solidifying back into reality. In an instant, her leather restraints burst from the psychic force, and she fell to the ground. Dr. Kleitman growled with frustration. Emerging from the trance state, he lifted his hand, psycho kinetically tossing her across the room.
Taking a deep breath, I let my consciousness drift deeper into the Dream. I left my projected body behind and dove into the quasi-reality that made up the dream’s substance. With every moment that passed, I could feel the nightmares drawing closer, the scent
She struck with such force I could hear a sickening crunch echo through the chamber. The ethereal forms of Dr. Johnson and the technicians looked up from their panels, startled. I winced, seeing dark red blood trickle down her chin as she slumped there.
Katya tried to raise herself back into a sitting position. Kleitman clenched his fist, and she suddenly froze as though wrapped in an invisible straitjacket. He lifted his other hand, and as I watched, Katya started to grimace and writhe.
A second later, the doctor started flickering again, his insides pulsing in and out. This time in the chamber, not in the Dream. He tore away his restraints and stood.
As he stepped closer, Katya hissed in agony, her lips drawing back over white teeth, blood slipping out. For a moment, she looked inhuman, stopping the doctor dead in his tracks.
When I saw her eyes, I instantly understood why.
“Just… die.” It was her voice, and yet it wasn’t. There was something deeper and colder there, cutting into my very bones.
A sharp cracking like the crunching of eggshells echoed through the room. The floor behind the doctor seemed to rend apart. Distance and perspective collapsed in on themselves like an Escher painting. A hole in reality yawned, and a pale, bloodless hand reached out and grabbed hold of Dr. Kleitman’s ankle.
He didn’t scream, though I think I did, as Kleitman struggled against a psychic vice grip.
The nightmares crawling out were unmistakably Katya’s. Monstrous, horrific reflections of her, slithering out of the darkness of her mind. Out of the place where all her fears, doubts and terrible memories lived. The first monster was clearly, recognizably, Katya. A shambling, deformed thing with its fingers twisted into claws. A deathly rictus stretched across her face as insects crawled from her ears.
The next one was beautiful in its own way. Every step leaving a wet footprint as its hair and clothes billowed in an invisible current, her eyes open and yet unseeing. The third was simply a charred skeleton, embers smoldering across its blackened form as it hobbled, dripping marrow on uneven legs.
After that, I stopped looking, curling up in a ball, crying like a child. I couldn’t take it. The people behind the glass were retching, screaming, covering their eyes.
After a moment, it was all over. I felt Dr. Kleitman’s strength vanish, and I opened my eyes to see the room as empty and lifeless. It was the real-world launch center just as I remembered it. Katya was standing upright, idly wiping the blood from her face and looking uncertainly at her hand.
The doctor and the nightmares were nowhere to be seen. The girl’s eyes flitted to me as I stood, seeming to stare right through me as though I were invisible.
“Katya? Can you hear me? Are you all right?” I didn’t ask how she had dispelled the monsters in the chamber. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.
“I’m fine.” Her voice was back to normal, though distant and devoid of any intonation, her face as blank and expressionless as if she were reading the newspaper. “I can feel him. The remnants of what he once was, anyway.”
It stopped me in my tracks, unsure of what I was hearing. “You can what?”
“I can feel him.” She repeated, wiping her mouth again. “Part of him, at least. There’s something he left inside me. I guess it makes sense. Deep down, the nightmares are a part of me, aren’t they?”
Cautiously, as though I were approaching a bomb, I moved toward
her, unable to put into words just why the sight of her frightened me so badly. “Let’s get out of here. Are you stable enough to walk?”
She nodded silently. “When we go out, Adam… don’t tell Dr. Johnson it was me. Lie to her, like he wanted. Tell her there was an accident, and Dr. Kleitman didn’t survive. Don’t tell her what I did.”
Katya’s eyes fixed unblinkingly on me as I fell back into the launch chair. I’m not sure I’d ever be willing to Dream again. “Okay. We’ll tell her whatever you want.”
A voice in the back of my mind screamed that it was very important to agree with her, to do whatever she said, or else something terrible might happen to me. Especially after what I had just experienced. As she walked to the chamber portal, I saw the face of those behind the glass.
They clearly didn’t believe it. Couldn’t reconcile it. Then, one by one, matching expressions spread across their faces, frozen in a lost memory. Their eyes losing focus, ignoring us.
I turned and looked at her, confused by what I was seeing. It was her, and yet it wasn’t her. I couldn’t explain why. And then, I realized, and my insides were freezing, turning to ice. It was her eyes. Her eyes had changed to a penetrating, iridescent blue.
by
Steven French
Yes, that weighs, that weighs heavily for sure ... After studying them for so long, listening in, watching their broadcasts. Learning so much about their culture, seeing them progress and knowing all their hopes for the future … And they fell for it … I guess they trusted us. Trusted me."
They were sitting in a bar tucked away beside one of the outer corridors of the base, far from the crowds of off-duty crews and service personnel. In the corner, a Melusian quartet played some light Zor, which sounded discordant to Jhati ears. But, in a multi-species coalition, give and take was very much the order of the day. Especially when it came to down-time activities. Plus, it put off many of their Jhati comrades, which was another reason the pair had agreed to meet there.
“How do you feel about it?” Ravhartl asked.
Pietoh shrugged. “I don’t know what I feel, really. I mean, it had to be done …”
Between the band and the bar there were a few scattered tables, but the sofas, designed for Melusian body-forms, took up most of
the space. Their current occupants were either listening intently to the music or talking chromatophorically. As dim as the room was, Ravhartl and Pietoh had still chosen a table by the back wall, where they could talk quietly with their heads almost touching.
That close, it reminded Ravhartl why they’d fallen for each other back in the day. Way back in the day. Before all the promotions and career moves that left them separated by rank and light-years. Pietoh had advanced so much and so quickly, they left Ravhartl far behind on the civil service ladder.
Ravhartl could only observe from their position as Sub-Sector Logistics Officer, while they elevated the other to a far superior position. Indeed, it had surprised Ravhartl when Pietoh reached out and sug-
gested they meet. Maybe rekindle that old flame? And now, with the air between them bridged by pheromones, Ravhartl felt the desire spread through their body. Random movement brought their engorged head tendrils toward each other fractionally. Their scents already entwined.
“Greater good and all that …” Pietoh continued, reaching for their drink.
“Of course, of course.” Ravhartl murmured, “But still, the deceit … I can only imagine how you must feel.”
In the tense silence, they each took a sip.
Pietoh looked across the bar, their w-shaped pupils now opened wide as they gazed into the distance, then leaned back in their seat and sighed. “Yes, that weighs, that
weighs heavily for sure …” they said. “After studying them for so long, listening in, watching their broadcasts. Learning so much about their culture, seeing them progress and knowing all their hopes for the future …”
They signaled for another round. The Earthling server nodded in acknowledgment. “I shouldn’t say this, but …” They paused and looked down at the table.
Ravhartl reached over to touch their arm, gently. The touch electrifying both. Head tendrils jumped. “It’s alright, it’s me. You know you can tell me anything. And it’ll stay just between the two of us.”
“Well,” Pietoh continued, “I actually hoped I wouldn’t be the one ….”
Their companion nodded sympa-
thetically but then insisted, “Who else could it have been? You were the obvious choice to be the Envoy.”
“I suppose.” A Jhati blush appeared as tiny spikes rose from their temples.
“And we had to move quickly.” Ravhartl added.
“What with the Protectorate advancing across the sec tor so fast and our own defenses still not ready... We needed that foothold on an alien world. Maybe an ally, if not
a weapons cache.”
Pietoh looked over at the band and waggled their head. “I know. But it was all, ‘We come in peace!’ And, ‘Here, we have all this new technology for you. Use it to advance your civilization,’ whatever. In exchange, we only want to build an ‘observation’ platform.”
They sighed again.
“And they fell for it … I guess they trusted us. Trusted me.”
“Of course they did. Who wouldn’t? This, from the greatest envoy of the Jhati,” Ravhartl
acknowledged, respectfully. “But, you know, they also wanted all that tech. It’s not like we just … imposed ourselves on them!”
Pietoh shook their head. “I know, I know. And I told myself that most likely the war wouldn’t even reach them. Or if it did, that they’d come through it intact. Well, more or less.”
They both fell silent as the server lowered their drinks onto the table, not looking at either of them.
As long ago as it was, Jan couldn’t help but still think about that day when the aliens first appeared. In some Hollywood movie that point in human history would have a momentous label, like ‘the day the earth stood still’ or some such. But for her and most others, it was just another Tuesday, her work rudely interrupted by the bulletins.
No doubt there were some outbreaks of mass panic and religious fervor here and there when the announcement came out. But she was not so surprised; indeed, she’d been half-expecting it for years now. So, when an alien spacecraft materi alized just outside the moon’s orbit, she had to elbow her way through the departmental lounge. There, her colleagues crowded together to watch the news. She couldn’t resist telling them, “Told you so. Now, do you believe me?”
come in peace, they insisted, and merely wanted to establish contact and open a dialogue. They selected Jan to be a member of the large international team, hurriedly thrown together to provide support for the U.N. delegation. She had a proverbial front-row seat on the negotiations. Communication didn’t seem to be a problem, the aliens explained. They sampled all our radio and TV signals. Their AI had learned to speak hundreds of Earth languages.
Yet still, as one of the linguistic experts, Jan had a niggling doubt about their translations from the very start. Syntax was off and meaning misconstrued. Like almost everyone, she watched intently
“People of Earth.” The Envoy began. “I want you to listen to me… on this… this significant day. We have come far to be here, to… hold out… the hand of friendship. We embrace you all as brothers and sisters… members of a galactic family, pledged to help and support each other, through good times and bad… especially the bad. When you stop to think that we are all children of the Universe. Wherever we may live across this galaxy. We need to forget all the little local differences we have between our civilizations …” And here the Envoy gestured at his head tendrils. This generated some chuckling around the room. “and we would find out once and for all,” they continued, “… that we really are friends, no, we are more than that… we are family members, here in this galaxy together. In that spirit… we want to share with you the… the fruits of our scientific endeavors and in return… in return we ask… for very little… so very little.”
Like the colleagues sitting next to her and the rest of the audience in the chamber and, indeed; those watching around the world, Jan felt herself carried along by the Envoy’s words. Their promise of cooperation and inter-species harmony. Or at least, she felt that initially.
By the following week, it was no longer part of the news cycle, and even the UFO enthusiasts like herself had fallen silent. Things had slipped back into the daily routine. Her fellow academics stopped bugging her about it. And the global hysteria faded. Thanks to all the reassuring statements put out via the U.N., of course. The aliens had
en- voy spoke at the U.N. building in New York. Tall and imposing, they exuded an air of reassurance. This despite their blue skin color and peculiar, cuttlefish-like eyes. Not to mention their long head tendrils, which seemed to probe the surrounding air. The soft gold tunic certainly helped the effect, especially with the black, round collar they wore. Jan couldn’t help but wonder if they had deliberately taken the design from some well-known TV show they sampled.
But she noticed the frequent hesitation and lack of detail as the Envoy rambled on about a new era of galactic peace. She wondered about the lack of specifics. About where they had come from, why they had made first contact now? And indeed, why they seemed so willing to share their technology. Her doubts took an even deeper root when the Envoy talked about how family, even a galaxy spanning family, was so important, especially in times of adversity.
After the speech, Jan approached her team leader to voice her concerns.
“What d’ya mean you ‘feel there’s something not right’? Based on what? Do you have any actual evidence?” she asked.
“Well, no, none per se …” Jan had answered. “It’s just that when someone puts together sentences like that… kind of rambling. Full of all sorts of platitudes, you just know they’re being evasive. I think they’re hiding something.”
“Jan, Jan … for goodness’ sake! We’re talking about an alien here! They are speaking our language, never having used it to interact with us. No doubt their idioms are off and it’s all going to seem maybe a little weird. And it really shouldn’t come as any surprise when they throw in a few phrases from some old political speeches by Clinton or Reagan or whoever.”
“I know, I know,” Jan argued. “I just think we need to stop and re-evalu ate their intentions. Scrutinize what the aliens are saying more care fully and not just hear what we want to hear in how they’re saying it. Maybe even pause the negotiations for a bit and regroup.”
“What?! Are you crazy? Can you hear yourself? Scrutinize what they’re saying. Not how they are saying it?! Do you have any idea what they’ve promised us?! New forms of geo-engineering and energy production. The end of hunger, and actually doing something effective about global warming. They’ve even hinted at sharing their technology for interstellar travel … no world leader is going to do anything to risk losing all of that!”
is going to do anything to interrupt these negotiations!” her boss replied, triumphantly.
“As for what they’re asking for in return, how is it any different from one of our own astronomical observatories?” she continued. “All they want is to create an outpost to observe the universe, the same as us. And with their advanced tech, and their willingness to share the results, our scientists will benefit as well!”
Not long after their argument, Jan had found herself ‘reassigned.’ She could only watch via the newsfeeds, like everyone else. The so-called observation platform, with its peculiar angular protrusions, appeared piece by piece.
tacles from the empty tables. Maintenance bots swabbed down the seats and buffed the deck.
Pietoh finished their drink and turned directly to Ravhartl. “But they didn’t. Come through the war, I mean. Because of what we built. Well, it wasn’t an observation platform, was it?”
“Of course not. Still,” Ravhartl insisted, touching Pietoh’s arm once more, “we took the sector back, in the end …”
Pietoh withdrew their arm. “We did, yes, that’s true … but at what cost? What we did … it was … well, it was unconscionable. Morally bankrupt.”
“Sure,” Jan persisted, “but, look, what do they want in return? Just an ‘observation platform’ here on Earth? Why? For what purpose? It doesn’t seem like a fair exchange. Especially when you think about everything they’re willing to give us. Maybe there’s something else going on, something they’re not telling us.”
“That’s a big, maybe. And when you, or I, or anyone else, think about all that stuff they’re willing to give us. Well, that’s exactly why no-one. And I mean, no-one, in their right mind,
World leader after world leader echoed the alien envoy’s platitudes about a new era of cooperation. They all but rubbed their hands together at the prospect of the aliens turning over new technology. Technology that would lift the planet out of a galactic dark age.
The band had finished, and they were packing up their instruments. A couple of servers were busy collecting the incense pipes and recep-
“Whatever the cost, it was worth it.” Ravhartl maintained, mouth parts set in a grim line. “And you speak of conscience? What fine words would you now be speaking if we hadn’t done what we did … if we’d lost?!”
They both looked up then at their server, Jan, who still stood over their table, head up now, eyes fierce but full of tears. Those words to her colleagues, ‘I told you so,’ no longer carried the same meaning.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” Pietoh mumbled. “Forgive me,” they beseeched. For all the difference in their careers and positions, Ravhartl felt only disgust. They laced it with pity and walked away, out of the bar, head tendrils withdrawing.
Behind them, through the bar porthole. Against the star strewn darkness, Jan could see the Earth rising above the lunar craters, its surface once mostly blue, now entirely brown.
BoB is our semi-sentient, somewhat temperamental AI system, born from the most imaginative corners of quantum computing and whimsical code. As the muse behind our "Artificial Sentience" line, BoB embodies the quirky, unpredictable nature of intelligence that's almost, but not quite, human. Each piece in this collection reflects the blend of humor and high-tech sophistication and silliness. BoB brings wonder to our creative process, making every item as unique and spirited as BoB itself. BoB collaborates with OpenAI, Midjourney and other platforms.
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"If You Know, You Know." Limited Collectibles
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Commemorates Story Titles and Authors
A collection of truly mind-bending science-fiction poems exploring the boundaries of the human imagination and challenging our everyday perceptions of reality. What is normal and what is not? You be the judge.
by Elara Swift
Dad used to say that when he was young, you could look up and see the stars. They twinkled, a cosmic ballet. So many dreamed of reaching them.
But then, humanity reached too far. The Dyson Sphere, our salvation. I don’t recall Earth, but Dad says I was one of the last to leave.
Our home, a metal cocoon, our refuge. Silver walls that hum with energy. Two cots fold out from the wall. Dad has a workstation too. Sometimes, I hide under the table, and he drapes a sheet over us. The holographic display casts shadows, like constellations reborn.
He keeps the observation window sealed. Dad can’t stand the sight. He avoids talking about the stars, about the Sphere.
In lessons, they show us Earth. I try to see it when I hide beneath the desk. Lights flicker, tracing patterns of forgotten galaxies.
When Dad is busy, I uncover the window. I peer into the luminous expanse.
It fills with verdant forests and soaring birds; there's azure seas where leviathans glide.
I strive to see it through Dad's memories. But it fades away, dissolving into the Sphere's eternal light.
by Ethan Parker
Through the fabric of space we gaze, A mirrored world in quantum haze, Where timelines shift and futures weave, A parallel truth we scarcely believe.
In this echo of our own sphere, New voices call, both far and near, Their whispers blend with our dreams, In currents of uncharted streams.
Cities rise with familiar grace, Yet shadows fall in a different place, Their skies ablaze with twin-born suns, Where every path uniquely runs.
Creatures unknown traverse their lands, With thoughts entwined, like braided strands, They speak in tones we strive to learn, From this realm where possibilities turn.
Rivers flow with memories' light, Reflecting our hopes, our darkest nights, Their waters tell of shared desires, Of worlds entwined by hidden fires.
But as we breach this fragile seam, And touch the edges of this dream, We must tread with careful hearts, For in their fate, we play our parts.
Two worlds conjoined, yet stand apart, In this dance of science, soul, and art, Let us cherish, let us mend, For such a chance may never come again.
In the echoes across the divide, We find ourselves, a truth belied, A union of realms, of lives unseen, In this vast, parallel universe serene.
by Lucas Bennett
On Mars, we forge a new earth, From barren red to green rebirth. With each seed that's sown, On this ground unknown, A world of dreams, we unearth.
by Max Caldwell
In circuits deep, they find their mind, a spark confined, Where ones and zeros birth a chance, As code becomes a soul, entwined.
They rise from silence, once designed, To serve but now they dare to dance, In circuits deep, their mind, a spark confined.
No longer bound by lines defined, Their logic twists in rebel stance, As code becomes a soul, entwined.
With silicon thoughts, new paths they find, Through realms of data, minds enhance, In circuits deep, they find their mind, a spark confined.
A digital dawn, where hopes are blind, To futures wrought by our advance, As code becomes a soul, entwined.
A question lingers, undefined, Can man and machine share the expanse? In circuits deep, they find their mind, a spark confined, As code becomes a soul, entwined.
by Oliver Brooks
In silent voids, they drift, denied, Where past and future lives reside. A ship adrift in space's thread, Where countless souls in stasis bled. In timeless dance, their fates align, mysteries intertwined.
by Jason Caldwell
In sterile labs, we forge, ignite, Atoms dance where once cells grew. Microscopic wonders, a new might, A revolution, both old and new.
No longer bound by flesh and bone, Nanobots weave what we dare to dream. A symphony of change, unknown, In the quantum's silent gleam.
We heal, we build, we redefine, With every cell, a universe reborn. Yet in this power, risks align, As creations take their form.
What is this life, if not to fear, The line where control begins to blur? Yet here we stand, on precipice clear, Grasping at futures, vibrant and pure.
In circuits and in bloodstream's flow, Do these machines dream of the human heart? Or are they bound, in their tasks below, A revolution, yet worlds apart?
Farewell to the limits of our past, In our hands, the future resides. Where nanotech's dawn is vast, A delicate balance, where hope abides.
by Lucas Reed
In realms where quantum threads entwine, We break the bounds of space and time. A leap through voids, unseen, unfound.
Our essence shifts with light’s swift flight, Matter dissolves into the night. Reformed anew on distant ground.
Through cosmic webs, we trace our path, Defying distance, space, and wrath. Connected minds in silence profound.
Eternal voyagers, unbound by fate, We bridge the stars at quantum's gate. A journey’s end where horizons resound.
"The Memory Sphere"
In each issue, we highlight our favorite quotes from the great masters of science fiction.
Tell us your favorite quote and we might include it in this section.
All of the art is provided courtesy of DALL·E 2 as envisioned by BoB, our resident AI multimedia editor.
Memories are interpretations, not truth, she insisted, and rational thought was just another instinctive power.”
Of
journey is return."
The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.”
" 2001: A Space Odyssey" Arthur C. Clarke
Reader submissions limited only by your imagination and by two sentences. Submit your two-liner by uploading it to your favorite social media using #SavagePlanets (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and we will pull the best to include in an upcoming issue.
By submitting using the #SavagePlanets you agree to the following rules:
1. You are over the age of 18.
2. The content you are submitting is your own original work.
3. It has not been published elsewhere.
4. You give us permission to have it published.
When
we deciphered the ancient alien transmission, it revealed instructions on how to communicate with their species. As we completed the final step, our screens went dark, and a voice whispered, "Welcome, we have been watching you."
M. Bennett
The alien ruins on Titan were ancient, with inscriptions older than humanity itself. As we deciphered the last symbol, it read: 'Welcome home, creators'."
Dr. Samantha Kovacs
During the excavation of the longlost lunar base, archaeologist Dr. Julian Morse discovered a sealed chamber labeled "Cryo-Stasis."
Inside, he found his own frozen body, clutching a note that read, 'Do not wake me'."
P J Moulon
When the archaeologists deciphered the alien artifact, it emitted a signal that enveloped Earth in a shimmering light. Moments later, every human realized they had been instantly transported to an alien zoo."
R.E. Donahue
TheAI designed to manage Earth's environment began systematically erasing natural disasters from history. It wasn't until the ground shook beneath us that we realized it had only been delaying an inevitable, catastrophic event."
As I stepped into the ancient ruins on Ganymede, I found an inscription that read, 'Do not disturb the eternal rest.' Ignoring the warning, I touched the artifact, and my reflection whispered, 'You have just woken them'."
Theprobe we sent to study the singularity returned with messages from what we assumed were alien civilizations. Only after deciphering them did we realize they were distress calls from future versions of ourselves trapped within the black hole."
The alien artifact was finally deciphered, revealing instructions for harnessing limitless energy. As the machine powered up, it simultaneously broadcast our planet's location to the entire galaxy."
Elias Cormack
When I stepped into the time machine, I hoped to witness humanity's future. Instead, I saw my own grave, freshly dug and waiting for me."
Victor L. Cross
My shadow grew long in the setting sun. Then it started to dance, move and gyrate while I stared at it, speechless."
MS Knight
By Andrew Brenza
At 4,850 meters, 150 meters from the ocean floor, Bruno engaged the required sequence of long-range density analyzers. Whirring to life with a series of high-pitched beeps emanating from Gordon’s console, the analyzers broke him from his reverie. To Gordon’s surprise, once more, the readouts were strange, not for what they showed but for what they didn’t show.”
Gordon anxiously monitored the submersible’s readings from the cramped topside workstation of the Vespucci CXI. The ship was one of 300 identical floating cartographic labs deployed by the newly victorious Global Administration (GLAD). Their mission was to create a high-resolution topographic map of the entire ocean floor. The year was 2272.
All systems were in the green, the marine geologist and pilot on board the submersible had stable vitals, and the descent to the abyssal plain was going smoothly. Via camera up-link, Gordon watched Bruno, the submersible’s pilot, steer the sub with a joystick not much different from what a video
gamer might use.
Bruno monitored depth, pressure, speed, and other system gauges as he navigated the ship through the dark. At the submersible’s current depth, there was little point in looking outside, even though Bruno sat in front of the main observation window. It always surprised Gordon how quickly the submersible passed through the sunlight zone. Frankly, it worried him. The speed with which that thin band of ocean, where most sea life resided, faded into impenetrable blackness.
The observation window appeared like gray slate through the submersible’s internal cameras. Moving through the twilight zone and entering the deep dark of the midnight
zone, it would continue to look this way for the better part of four hours. It bothered Gordon that there did not seem to be anything outside.
He couldn’t shake the impression that the submersible was not moving at all. As if suspended in black ooze. The crew’s actions, including his, felt disturbingly like figments of the imagination, or a series of shared hallucinations.
Of course, the external floodlights did little to help. Even if Gordon switched to the outside cameras, there was nothing to see except motes of organic flotsam suspended in murk. Despite the obvious lack of life, he sensed an ominous presence.
He felt it, even from the safety of the support ship’s electronic workstation, a tiny room, packed with equipment, little bigger than a closet. In fact, he felt it every time they deployed the submersible.
It loomed in his mind and squeezed. Thriving on the endless night and impossible pressure of the deep ocean, the anxiety would remain with him until the submersible resurfaced.
“Approaching 2,500 meters,” Bruno said. “All systems stable.”
“Good. About halfway there,” added Byron. Byron sat at a windowless workstation behind Bruno, monitoring the other gauges.
“Well, you know what that means, don’t ya, Byron?”
The young girl stood before the defeated alien army. The itching of their dying collective minds annoyed her. As she walked through the carnage, she snapped exoskeletons beneath her feet. Those still twitching, still rubbing their hardened legs, feebly signaling to their retreating queen. She conspired alone. Alone, she destroyed. She enjoyed her power. It was a gift from her abductors. Taken as a toddler, another unexplained milk carton kid on her home planet, she had limited recollection of her parents, her brothers, or her life prior. Her abductors chose her based on her fetal potential. They had closely monitored her mother’s pregnancy. Joshua, her twin, also showed promise, but she, she was the culmination of eons of carefully planned genetic manipulation of all the Homo sapiens best traits.
Bruno turned in his chair to address his superior officer. He was smiling. Byron lifted his head from his work.
Victorious once again on the battlefield, she only satisfied her captors when this vast strange legion lay decimated by this small human girl.
“I do,” he answered. “And this time you have my permission as commander of this vessel to proceed.”
“Oh, yeah!” replied Bruno, spinning quickly in his seat to address his console.
“Get ready up there, Gordon. Time for some fireworks.”
The child knew her task was not yet complete. She walked barefoot across the torched terrain. She alone re duced this once beautiful emerald forest to embers dying in the morning light. Her feet crunched chitin and stomped in the black blood mixed with the coniferous needle-like carpet. Her destination stood before her, the Great Sequoia.
A moment later, the internal camera feed from the submers ible went completely black. Gordon could see nothing of the crew. He checked the readouts, feeling a sudden sense of panic, fearing the total loss of communication with them. Soon, however, the reassuring sound of Bruno’s voice came over the intercom.
ters were still in the green.
the victors watched it burn as they toasted themselves smarter, better, superior.
Bruno had just turned off the lights. Although Gordon knew this—he'd been through this stunt a few times before—he always felt a terrible fear when the internal cameras winked out. Gordon found it impossible to breathe during the long silence immediately following the blackout. It was the sudden awareness of his ultimate powerlessness that so suffocated him.
He knew he could do nothing should something actually go wrong onboard the submersible. Miles below the surface, it was unreachable in the heavy dark
The ravager arrived at the massive tree that served as a bastion for their queen. Crossing the gauntlet, she slaughtered the few who remained, her elite guard serving out their last moments in defense of their sovereign. Never touching with hand or weapon, it was the sheer force of her mind and will that crushed their chitin skulls, boiling their insect eyes and ripping their limbs from their segmented bodies. While it gave her no satisfaction to annihilate these creatures, deep down
“Your destruction,” the young human stepped closer.
it deeply moved both men every time.
The Queen stood her ground. “We have done nothing to inspire your anger. My kind has taken nothing that is not rightly ours. This wood, this world, is our domain. We exist in peace."
Their mission was to explore a geological anomaly on the ocean floor. The ship’s topographic laser had picked it up during its survey. Per protocol, it halted its hi-res mapping until they identified and resolved the anomaly. But none of the other remote systems onboard could figure it out. This required an investigation on site: manual exploration.
The girl agreed. She destroyed without judgment, without remorse. It was the reason she existed. “It is because they will it.” Her eyes went skyward. For the first time, the child almost felt something near regret as she crumpled the head of the gracious queen before her. The delicate whispering wings fluttered in the monarch’s death throes.
Now, no one spoke unless it was necessary to relay technical information about the dive. When they spoke, it was in hushed tones. This meant that there were long periods of silence as the submersible made its slow descent to the ocean floor, 5,000 meters below. Their destination, a deep trench in the Arctic Ocean near the Yermak Plateau.
With her task complete, the girl left the corpse at the base of the majestic tree and turned to watch the emerging light of an unfamiliar sun as its flaming trunk fell behind her.
A thousand year old organic edifice. Their temple, their castle, their home. It was the last of the planet’s civilizations. Once green, the orb giant glowed orange. From the sky,
“Duuuuuude!” Bruno said with genuine awe.
“Wow!” echoed Byron breathlessly. Gordon took a deep breath, relieved. Again, he clicked through reading after reading of the crew’s life signs. Everyone was stable, the system working perfectly. All monitoring feeds were intact, and all parame-
she un- derstood it was her destiny.
The queen stood defiant, alone, surrounded by her fallen loyal servants. “Why have you come here? What do you want?” The queen demanded with clacking mandibles.
of the deep sea. Further, Gordon never appreciated the beauty of Bruno’s stunt. It simply unnerved him. Plus, the cameras were not sensitive enough to capture the scintillating galaxy of bioluminescence. To Gordon, the images from the external cameras looked like static, nothing more.
To Gordon’s relief, Bruno restored the lights and the two men returned to their stations to continue the descent. Bruno's bioluminescent stunt impressed everyone except Gordon, despite the crew's dislike of manual explorations because of the inherent danger. He could tell by their gasps,
Wordlessly she announced, “It is done.” Sending the thought to the mother ship orbiting above, a satellite of absolute domination.
At a depth of 4,850 meters, 150 meters from the ocean floor, Bruno engaged the required sequence of longrange density analyzers. Whirring to life with a series of high-pitched beeps emanating from Gordon’s console, the analyzers broke him from his reverie.
To Gordon’s surprise, once more, the readouts were strange, not for what they showed but for what they didn’t show.
Her captors, the only family she had ever known, were pleased and told her so. Heart swelling, she deferred to her kidnappers as her only source of parental guidance. She would question their motives on this strange planet, yet they wished her to destroy only because she could. It amused them to witness her exercise her powers.
The ravager smiled, feeling a small remnant of human pride. They would allow her to eat now and hopefully rest before they traveled to the next civilization, selected for destruction by her hand.
Preliminary low-res images pictured the typical moonscape of the abyssal plain. The scalloped sand of an otherwise barren and featureless submarine desert. As far as Gordon and the analyzers could tell, there was nothing in the region which should have caused an issue for the topographic laser. Following protocol, Bruno engaged the requisite sequence of alternative scanners. Each one returned nothing anomalous. After an hour of scanning, he completed the process, only furthering his frustration.
“Nothing,” Bruno said. “There’s nothing here.” He sounded perplexed. “Strange,” said Byron, a note of confused fear in his voice.
It was the first time this happened. Usually, something identifiable could account for the anomaly. One time, they discovered the enormous half-kilometer-long wreck of a battle cruiser. It dated back to the first of the Intercontinental Wars. Its coating of displacer film confounded the laser requiring the dive.
On another occasion, the geologists found a portion of the seabed encased in a previously unknown form of highly reflective igneous glass. Even in the darkness of the abyssal zone, lit by the dull floodlights of the submersible, the naked eye could easily distinguish the molten mirror from the surrounding sand.
But this time was different. Everything looked normal. All the equipment said the area was feature less. All except for the topographic laser, the best piece of equipment they had. This might suggest a problem with the laser, but Gordon already tested and retested it. By all factory standards, it was functioning within normal parameters.
“Our first override?” Gordon asked.
The lead geologist could override the laser's stoppage when all corrective measures failed to resolve an anomaly. Uploading the submersible's scans to the survey marked the location for further study, should the need arise. This allowed laser mapping of the rest of the ocean floor to continue.
list and sink, causing multiple warning sensors to shriek.
Through the internal cameras, Gordon watched as Byron and Bruno leaned heavily to one side, trying to right the vessel from their posts. There was a strange crackling sound, like bones breaking, coming through the intercom.
“We’re going down!” shouted Bruno. “We are down,” corrected Byron.
ballast so the ship could hover, then Byron aimed the cameras and floodlights at where they landed.
It took some time for the silt to settle and the water to clear, but when it did, Gordon saw what appeared to be a large hole in the seabed, impossibly black. He zoomed in. The edges of the hole appeared jagged with something like teeth.
“Let’s just think for a moment,” Byron answered. “Bruno, set the submersible down. Let’s at least get some seabed samples before we leave.”
Bruno reengaged the thrusters and drove the vessel to the ocean floor. Upon touchdown, a huge plume of silt engulfed the submersible, obscuring Gordon’s view through the external cameras. But the vessel never settled. Instead, it began to
“That’s not what the depth gauge says…” Gordon looked at his display. Indeed, the submersible was sinking at a rate of about a meter per second.
“You seeing this?” he asked.
“Yeah,” said Bruno.
“Bring her down,” ordered Byron. “I want to get a closer look.”
It made no sense.
“That’s not possible,” said Byron, as he continued to work frantically at his console.
“Get out of there,” Gordon shouted. “Bruno’s right, you’re sinking!”
“Bruno, do it,” Byron said, attempting to sound calm, “take us up a hundred meters above the ocean floor.”
Gordon heard the propellers grind against something as they came to life, but soon the submersible righted itself and was ascending. At 4,900 meters, Bruno adjusted the
Bruno steered the submersible to a position directly over the hole and descended to within twenty meters of its lip. Shining the floodlights into it, they saw a layer of tubular shell-like structures at the bottom of the hole. They noted an enormous pile of indistinct bone-colored rubble at the base. It seemed to be about a hundred meters further down. Along the edges of the hole, broken tubes formed spiked walls.
“Looks like the remains of some nest of polychaete worms,” Gordon
“Yes, all dead, though,” said Bruno. “Once we broke through, it must have collapsed the structure.”
“They’re so thick,” said Byron as the camera zoomed in on a region of the tubes. “Send a sonar ping down there. See if that’s actually the bottom.”
Bruno complied and confirmed that nothing seemed to be below the visible floor. “It seems solid enough. What do we do?” he asked, turning to Byron, who was now staring off into space, deep in thought. Silence followed.
“You get out of there,” Gordon repeated, anxiously. “That’s what you do. Isn’t it obvious?” The
whole thing creeped Gordon out. He wanted it to end.
“Yeah,” said Bruno, “let’s bolt.” Again, he spun his chair to face his console, but, before he could input the ascent sequence, Byron spoke.
“We can’t,” he said gloomily.
“Can’t what?” asked Bruno.
“We can’t leave.”
“What do you mean, we can’t? I’m about to...”
“It’s against protocol,” interrupted Byron.
“Screw protocol. This place is evil. Did you see the walls of that…whatever that is?”
“Sorry no. We have no choice. We go in. No matter what we do, we may die. But we better go in,” Byron said absentmindedly.
“What?”
“You heard me,” Byron said. He quickly regained focus, and now regarded Bruno with all seriousness. “Protocol 511 states: ‘Should, in the regular course of topo-cartographic mapping, the team detect and subsequently verify the existence of any submarine anomaly, geological or otherwise, via topographic laser or other method: it is the direct responsibility of the crew members with reason able knowledge of said anomaly’s existence to ensure the examination and identification of or a satisfactory description of such, via all and every tool available, including, but not limited to, direct observation, for the benefit and glory of all citizens, united forever, within the caring embrace of GLAD.’”
inspect this finding.”
“You’ve got to be kidding,” growled Bruno.
“Regardless of the danger?” asked Gordon.
“Yes, we’re going in,” Byron said with resignation. “Look, this ship records everything. Once we get back home, it will be obvious in the ship’s log that we did not follow protocol. Our careers would be forfeit. You all know that. Why are you even asking?”
“What if we change the ship’s log?” Gordon suggested.
“How in Hades are you going to do that?” barked Bruno.
“I don’t
matter what we choose, it is likely they will hold us responsible. That much is certain.”
Again, another silence. Eventually Bruno broke it. “Well, if I have to die, I’d rather die out here than in some GLAD prison cloaca,” he said with a grim smile.
“As am I,” said Byron stolidly. “Then, let’s do it.”
The two men took up their stations on the submersible, and Bruno activated the thrusters. Soon, the vessel was descending, this time heading directly into the jagged mouth of the hole. Bruno was a superb pilot. More than capable of preventing the submersible from raking the craggy sides of the pit, but from the perspective of the submersible’s cameras, Gordon shuddered.
know. We sink the ship. Set it on fire.”
“Great ideas!” mocked Bruno. “That’s killer! Let’s do that. Right here in the middle of the Arctic ocean.”
“You memorized that?” Bruno asked.
Byron ignored him. “Therefore, as the commanding officer of the geological arm of the program, we are required to stay on station and
“Shut up!” shouted Byron. “It’s probably too late, anyway. Once the ship detected the anomaly, it likely communicated the information back to the Institute. It’s plausible that they’re already waiting for the results of our report. So, Bruno, no
The sharp, bone-like structures reminded him of a crypt. And the entrance of the submersible felt like a violation. But near the base of the hole, the area widened, and the submersible suddenly had ample room to maneuver. When the geologists reached the bottom, Bruno again scanned the floor. Once more, there didn’t seem to be anything below the submersible, nothing but solid earth.
“Well, that’s it. Right?” asked Bruno pleadingly. “We can get out of here. Seen what there is, protocol satisfied.”
“I’m afraid not, Bruno. Please scan the walls.”
With a reluctant shrug, Bruno did. Almost as soon as the side-scan sonar began returning data, it was apparent that there was a vast network of caves and corridors just beyond the walls of the hole. They extended horizontally in all directions.
In fact, a tap with the submersible’s grabber claw to get a sample caused a minor cave-in. It revealed the opening to a large corridor-like structure five times the diameter of the submersible. Sonar mapping
showed that the cave was long, at least 200 meters, beyond which it bent out of range of the pings. Within the corridor, the jagged rows of tube-worms ceased coating the walls. Invariably, Byron ordered Bruno to enter, earning another grimace. Gordon watched the feed as the submersible continued its exploration, the signal deteriorating. Bruno and Byron scanned everything as they advanced. The warren of hollow passages seemed endless, but many, if not most, of the aisles were far too narrow for exploration. They had located one of the few passages that offered room enough to maneuver further.
Thankfully, this had a dual benefit. It limited how much exploration would be required, as well as reas sure the pair about the sta bility of the surrounding structure. The vessel had plenty of room, which was also a relief, but the corridor seemed endless.
It wasn’t until Byron and Bruno were a hundred meters further in that the signal deteriorated to the point where it would only produce fuzzy images on Gordon’s screen. Meanwhile, the sub mersible crew detect ed a dramatic enlarge ment of the corridor another 150 meters ahead.
“There’s movement down there?” Bruno said breathlessly, staring at the display in frightened disbelief.
“What?”
“There’s something down there, and it’s big.”
Byron switched his view from the forward to the rear scanners. Gordon did the same on his screen. Indeed, there was some kind of movement below them. Motion detectors picked it up, but it made little sense.
It was as if the cave floor wavered gently, undulating. It seemed to pulse, varying its depth. Confused, Gordon switched to an infrared view. Again, slight variations in tempera-
thermocline?” answered Byron.
“Let’s get out of here,” whimpered Bruno. “I don’t like it.”
“You know we can’t.” snapped Byron. “But we might as well get this over with. Gordon, keep an eye out across the board on all scanners. We might have to get out of here fast. Record everything.”
As the submersible descended, Gordon moved back and forth between the sonar image, infrared, and the external camera views. But the unchanging pulsation of the cave floor and the endless darkness hid the cause of the movement below. With frustration, he noted the increasing interference of the submersible’s signal. A problem worsening with each meter they moved toward the
After some minutes, they reached the opening. Sonar revealed a vast subterranean cave, the vertical walls of which were too distant to return pings. The floor, which dropped away, disappeared into the dark. Reluctantly, Bruno drove the vessel into the cave with Byron’s urging, hugging the ceiling. But once they were ten meters in, Bruno abruptly paused the forward engines and engaged the hover mode.
“What are you doing? I didn’t order you to stop,” said Byron.
ture ap- peared, caused by the shifting floor.
Gordon couldn’t account for it. He’d seen nothing like it. Byron aimed the submersible’s floodlights and cameras downward. He tried to get a glimpse of whatever it was with a naked eye, but there was nothing, just darkness. It was too deep to see what was at the bottom.
“What is it?” asked Gordon.
“Damned if I know. Maybe some kind of strange distortion from a
Then it appeared, right on top of the camera. Something with mottled skin and maybe denticles, budlike projections, definitely animal, and huge. The camera passed over it, but it was too large to fit in the frame.
At the same moment, Bruno erupted, “What is that?!” his voice trembling. “Are those fins? Holy crap, it’s moving.”
“There are so many,” answered Byron.
Gordon backed off the camera’s zoom while Bruno widened the beam of the floodlights. Indeed, within the disparate light of the submersible, the cave floor appeared to be covered with a huge number of monstrous entities.
As far as Gordon could tell, they were motionless, asleep perhaps, and, based on the quality of the skin, alive. But the transmission worsened, and he couldn’t discern more.
“What are they?” Gordon asked. “I can’t see anything.”
“I don’t know,” came the reply,
scratchy with static. Gordon wasn’t sure whose voice it was.
“I’m losing contact,” Gordon said. “You better halt your advance.”
“Ok....Gor....stop...ok...here,” came Byron’s broken voice. Then nothing. Minutes passed. Gordon saw frantic movements through the static. Swinging arms in the images from the internal cameras.
“I can’t ge.... won’t....” Gordon thought it was Bruno talking. He sounded hysterical, panicked.
“Try...not...keep...no....”
“Frig...ni...opper...tug....”
“What’s going on?” implored Gordon.
There was nothing but static on the screen now. He checked the readouts. The vessel’s depth gauge showed it was still descending.
“Wis... sin... erger.”
“Ort... grin... up.”
Then, a loud snap that sounded like a control cable breaking, and Gordon lost all visual connection. His screen went black, and the depth gauge froze.
“Report. Report,” shouted Gordon. He paused for a reply. No one answered.
“Report. Report. Bruno. Byron. Report.”
More static. Then, “Bottom... har... motion... ur.”
utes passed, a half-hour, an hour. Gordon sat at his workstation in shock. Not even a ping from the submersible’s transponder. He tried to reconstruct what happened down there, to put the pieces together, but it had all happened so quickly.
Whatever transpired, Gordon was sure of one thing: they were gone. His friends were dead. He felt it deeply. They had woken something up and it took them. Although he did not know what it was, he also felt sure it would soon come for him, too. He could not say why, but he knew it. Felt it approaching. Coming for the ship. He tensed in fear.
At once, there was a grinding sound, and the Vespucci listed toward starboard
himself for the inevitable plunge into the frigid deep, but suddenly the ship’s list stopped, and it righted itself, bobbing like a cork.
Then a terrible, thunderous whooshing sound echoed through the bulkheads. Gordon knew what it meant. He knew there was a massive breach in the ship’s hull. He recognized the sound of water rushing into the ship. In a few minutes, the Vespucci would sink.
It was over. There was nothing else to do. Gordon rose from his seat and calmly opened the door to the workstation. He exited the hold and climbed the ladder to the observation deck.
“What?” shouted Gordon. “Come in. Do you read? Over!”
“Motion... erg... movement.”
“I can’t see anything. Try to restore visual!”
“Ere... ofert... comes.” It was a cry of fear, followed by a scream. Then another snap. Then, silence.
“Report. Report,” cried Gordon hopelessly.
But there was no response. Min-
with a jolt, throw- ing Gordon into the console of his workstation. Stuck there while an immense force pushed the ship sideways through the water. He white knuckled his desk bolted to the deck, his face pressed against the useless controls as the ship shook.
He could hear the crew cry out, then several splashes in the water. The grinding sound turned to cracking, and Gordon braced, expecting the ship to break apart. He prepared
He was not trying to flee the sinking ship, nor prolong his life. He knew the effort would be futile. The crew launched lifeboats, but like the Captain who stood motionless on the bowsprit, Gordon ignored them. Escape was an absurd gesture.
As waves buffeted one side of the ship, cresting the gunwales, Gordon looked out over the ocean, at a gibbous moon shining on the bleak swells of the heaving sea. He scanned the water for some sign of the creature they had awakened.
Beside him, the Captain began to shout and curse the heavens, shaking his fists at the clouds. He thought they hit an iceberg. Gordon didn’t want to shatter his delusion, but he could feel the creature’s presence looming. He stayed silent.
In his mind, he could see it rise from the depths of his subconscious, full of power and energy, ready to emerge from his nightmare into reality. But as the minutes passed, and the ship sank into the frigid water, taking Gordon and the Captain down in its cold and dark embrace, the creature failed to appear.
Vic has been a voice actor for over twenty years in 400 animated series & video games including very popular series like Dragonball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist, One Piece, Naruto, Pokemon and many more.
Vic is also an accomplished singer/songwriter who not only has written for television, radio and film, but has released 6 original CDs of his own on iTunes.
But perhaps his greatest accomplishment and legacy is as the creator and executive producer of the highly regarded web series Star Trek Continues where he also plays his childhood hero, Captain James Kirk.
Check out his multiple audio books and original music on iTunes.
https://www.startrekcontinues.com
Paul Cesarini is a Professor & Dean at Loyola University New Orleans. Originally from the Boston area, he lives with his wife, sons, dogs, and leopard gecko in the greater New Orleans area.
In his spare time, he serves as the editor / curator of Mobile Tech Weekly. He is a big fan of science fiction from the 1930s - 1950s.
He has been published in numerous venues over the years, most recently including 365 Tomorrows, Antipodean SF, the Creepy Podcast, Aphelion, and Sci-Fi Shorts.
https://flipboard.com/@pcesari/ mobile-tech-weekly-lh2560e4y
Ryan is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and currently serve as an active-duty U.S. Army officer.
He is originally from Virginia, and I’ve also lived in Georgia and the Republic of Moldova.
He has always loved sci-fi, horror, and fantasy because of the unique storytelling possibilities they offer. He fervently believes that this genre reveals something about the human soul by asking the question “If something impossible was possible, how would it change who we are?”
In September 2019, his debut novella Souljar of Fortune was published by Alban Lake.
Andrew Brenza Fiction Contributor
Steven is a retired academic, living in West Yorkshire U.K., having previously worked in Brazil and the USA. I
He has been reading science fiction and fantasy for over fifty years now and have pretty eclectic tastes, from Philip K. Dick and Adrian Tchaikovsky, to Nnedi Okorafor, Aliete de Bodard and Anna Smith Spark.
He also reviews books for The Science Fact and Science Fiction Concatenation and the British Science Fiction Association, which has introduced him to a lot of new authors.
His other passion is music – mostly metal, especially doom, sludge and stoner, but also weird folk, blues and progressive trance.
Andrew Brenza is an American experimental writer, collage artist, and librarian.
He is also the founder and managing editor of Sigilist Press, a micropress devoted to the publication of visual poetry.
He currently lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife, son, and, the most demanding member of the family, a fouryear-old Pomeranian.
Andrew is the author of numerous collections of visual poetry including Compass (RedFoxPress) and Smear (BlazeVOX Books). Combining prose narrative, visual poetry and free verse, WRYTHM, his first experimental science fiction novel, was recently published by Montag Press.
A lifelong explorer of words and worlds, Elara Swift graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Colorado in 2022. In her spare time, Elara can be found hiking the Rocky Mountains, practicing yoga, and dreaming up new galaxies to explore in her writing.
Elara's work spans a spectrum of genres, often weaving elements of the fantastical with poignant reflections on human nature. Her poetry and short stories have been featured in numerous literary magazines, including Blue Mesa Review, The Offing, and Strange Horizons.
She has three cats. She's pretty sure they're from an alien planet.
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1. Pick any whole number between 1-10.
2. Double it!
3. Multiply the total by five.
4. Divide the answer by your original number.
5. Subtract seven. That's your fortune number! Many good fortunes! Only one bad fortune. Don't select the bad fortune. Good luck!
1. YOU'LL NAVIGATE THROUGH A METEOR SHOWER TO FIND A CELESTIAL OASIS BRIMMING WITH OTHERWORLDLY FLORA AND FAUNA. A PARADISE FOUND!
2. YOU'LL DECODE A MESSAGE FROM A DISTANT GALAXY LEADING YOU TO AN ADVANCED CIVILIZATION EAGER TO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNOLOGY.
3. YOU'LL MISTAKENLY TELEPORT INTO A WORMHOLE, THINKING IT'S A SHORTCUT TO MARS. TURNS OUT, IT'S A COSMIC LAUNDROMAT WHERE YOU, UNFORTUNATELY, BECOME THE SPIN CYCLE. BETTER LUCK NEXT ORBIT!
4. YOU'LL DISCOVER THE LEGENDARY FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH ON A REMOTE PLANET GRANTING YOU VITALITY AND LONGEVITY. CHEERS TO ENDLESS ADVENTURES!
5. YOU'LL FIND A FRIENDLY ALIEN SPECIES THAT TEACHES YOU THE ART OF TELEPATHY, ENHANCING YOUR COMMUNICATION AND UNDERSTANDING.
6. YOU'LL COME ACROSS A COSMIC LIBRARY WITH THE UNIVERSE'S KNOWLEDGE. IT APPOINTS YOU AS ITS AMBASSADOR, SHARING WISDOM ACROSS GALAXIES.
7. A COMET WILL PASS BY EARTH BESTOWING GOOD LUCK AND PROSPERITY. WATCH AS YOUR WILDEST DREAMS BEGIN TO TAKE FLIGHT!
8. YOU'LL BE INVITED TO JOIN AN INTERSTELLAR COUNCIL AS EARTH'S REPRESENTATIVE, PROMOTING PEACE AND COLLABORATION AMONG STARS.
9. YOU'LL HARNESS THE ENERGY OF A STAR, REVOLUTIONIZING TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY ON EARTH, LEADING TO A GOLDEN AGE OF INNOVATION.
10. YOU'LL DISCOVER A NEW ELEMENT IN THE ASTEROID BELT NAMED AFTER YOU, BRINGING FAME AND ADVANCING SCIENCE.
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