Ex Astris Scientia

by Octavias Melody


On the Shoulders of Giants

It had been a few minutes since Princess Luna had successfully returned to the facility with Princess Twilight in tow, Twilight herself now providing instructions to Luna on how to open the security door.

“...and now it just needs to scan me,” Twilight said, rounding off her lesson in security with the device in the wall scanning her head with a series of vertical white beams. After a few seconds, the door heaved open, the damage from earlier proving a slight challenge for the mechanism to overcome.

The two ponies walked cautiously into the room, both now coming face-to-face with the aftermath of the earlier confrontation that Luna had witnessed from above. “And you are sure that the door is secure? What if a Changeling were to impersonate thou?”

“I spoke with Dusk about that very problem. Changelings can mimic anypony’s appearance, voice, and even smell, so those types of checks are out of the question. Instead, we have a device installed that scans brain waves; those are unique to everypony. With Queen Chrysalis still at large, we can’t risk any new hive she’s making compromise this facility.”

Luna nodded before picking up the teleport device with her magic. “The intruder seemed very interested in acquiring this. Where should we put it?”

“In here!” Twilight shouted, moving off to the right of the room into a new area. “This is a research lab; it’s perfect for studying what happened. Put the device on this scanner, and I’ll activate the computer to find out what happened earlier. I hope Spike’s safe, wherever he is.” Twilight said, a somewhat worried tone infecting the air around her.

Luna carefully placed the cylindrical device on the indicated circular scanning plate, and apprehensively stood a few feet back. As the computer activated, the scanning plate became illuminated by a series of pulsing green light beans from below it. Twilight, meanwhile, was running through reams of data from another computer. “It looks like there’s residual traces of weapons fire in the room; judging by the mess of the room itself, I’d say there was a struggle of some kind. Let’s see if we can get some answers from the device.”

Twilight entered some commands on the exposed keyboard using her horn, and the scanner’s green glow became more intense. More computer data now scrolled by on one of the screens, Twilight digesting it hungrily.

“The computer has identified something called a ‘verteron particle’; it’s saying that the room is 
saturated with them..”

“What does that mean, Twilight?”

“I haven’t got a clue. What the heck is a ‘verteron particle’, anyway?” Twilight mused to herself.

“Something we should all be worried about, probably.” Twilight and Luna looked up to the room’s entrance, finding a concerned Kalendris peering into the room, “Don’t mind me, I’m just simulcasting in here while I continue helping in Canterlot. I just noticed some activity with the scanner and I thought you might need some assistance. Judging from the state of the main chamber, I’d say my suspicions were correct.”

“Kal, do you know what a ‘verteron particle’ is?” Twilight inquired.

“Benefit of being hooked up to a giant computer library is that, if I didn’t already know it, I can just download and learn about it anyway. The Interstellar Federation did some research using verteron particles; they’re artificially-created subatomic particles, and scientists found that, in sufficient quantities, they are capable of distorting the space-time continuum. In the vernacular, they can create wormholes, tunnels between two points in space.”

“Could… could Spike be somewhere around here, then?”

“If Spike has fallen into a wormhole, not very likely… especially not, based on those readings. There are far too many loose particles to account for just a tunnel being made between two points on this dimensional plane even before particle decay is taken into account. Let’s see if the computer can interface with this thing.”

Kalendris began to manipulate the scanner directly, focusing on anything that might serve as an interface. “I think I’ve found something. It’s asking me to verify my identity. This device might have protection against tampering. If so, our task may be more difficult than I first thought. I may have to scan this thing down to the atom and try to find a weakness in the structure of the device’s logic circuits.”

Twilight felt the electric spark of an idea shoot up her spine as it struck her brain. “Wait! That bigger version of Spike was carrying this. Wasn’t he talking to you earlier, Luna?”

Luna stepped forward. “Yes, he was. He claims that you, or at least, another version of you, is his commander. That is all he would reveal to us. If what he says is true, the device might be set to respond to a limited number of individuals. Since the bigger version of Spike was able to interface with it, the device may not have been able to distinguish him from his juvenile form in this world. However, I would be surprised if the device was not calibrated for this other Twilight as well.”

Twilight was running ideas through her head on what could make her unique to other ponies. “As I mentioned earlier, the brain waves of a pony are unique. Similarly, the magical signature of the arcane energy we manipulate should also theoretically be unique to every unicorn or alicorn. Both of you. stand back; I have an idea. Kal, see if the device’s response changes while I do this.”

Kal nodded, and Luna took several steps back in slight apprehension. Without warning, Twilight shot a pulse of magical energy directly at the teleport device, momentarily bathing it in a purple hue. The machine offered no visible response. “Kal? Anything?”

“Well… it didn’t say yes, but it certainly didn’t say no. It just says ‘signal fault’. I don’t understand what that means.”

Twilight thought harder. “I think I do. We suspect that another version of me has access to this device, right? But we don’t know when this other Twilight did. In her native universe, she might be even more powerful than me. If that’s the case, I can’t possibly hope to match her magical potential.”

Luna waved. “Excuse me; there is a second alicorn in the room over here. What if I were to amplify your magic? You could absorb the energy that I send you, and use that to fire a much larger burst.”

“Excellent idea! Hold on a moment, though.” Twilight went through what Luna was convinced were a pointless series of wing stretches and limb shakes. “Ready when you are, Luna.”

Luna did not need telling twice, turning her quite considerable magical energies directly at her purple friend. Twilight steeled herself as the magical stream from Luna struck her flank, Twilight resisting the urge to unleash the power now building inside her. Keeping one eye on Kalendris, he merely shook his head to imply no change in his readings.

Princess Luna began to channel more of her considerable magical potential to Twilight, with Twilight doing all she could to prevent premature transmission, as she fought to avoid the magical energies from not only being released, but from tearing her apart. Her fur was beginning to stand on end, and her chest felt like a white-hot poker was stabbing it.

When Twilight was sure she could no longer safely contain the energy swirling within her, she forced every single joule of arcane energy into her horn. At the apex of the energy’s concentration, she shot forth the collective power of Luna in combination with her own at the device, causing it to glow with a bright pink hue.

As her horn’s light faded, Twilight collapsed on the floor as her hooves gave way, mentally cursing her schedule for her not having eaten yet today. Luna immediately rushed over and cradled her exhausted friend in her hooves. Luna looked over at the holographic stallion, “Any change?”


“Er… you might say that. The device has granted me access to its network interface, and I’m now reviewing its operations manual. If what I’m reading is correct, this is well beyond what our science had achieved in my time. This device rips open the space-time continuum, forming a wormhole of sorts to a new location.”

“Wh-What location?” stammered Twilight.

“If my analysis of the integrated database is accurate… the worlds recorded within this device are all alternate versions of this planet. But there is no history of where the last transport was made, presumably for security reasons in case this device was ever lost. It does, however, include a bookmark section that holds the location to a few hundred worlds, presumably all worlds of interest to whomever previously owned this device. The device records that the last instruction made a selection from this list for the teleport. Your companion will be on one of these worlds, no doubt about it.”

Twilight had now got up, still feeling slightly woozy, “... we need to rescue him. What are our options?”

“Well, these worlds could be, and most likely are, full of unknown hazards. Anyone going to one of these worlds is going to go well-prepared. As for where to start? You might as well put them on a wall and throw darts at which one to start with, for all the good it will do. If these are indeed alternate versions of your world, then according to most credible theories it’s likely that you will find ponies and others you recognise. You might even find an alternate version of yourself, but they could act very, very differently to you. I cannot overemphasise how dangerous this rescue operation could be.”

“My friend is out there, and he could be injured… or worse. If I were the one missing, he would risk his life to find me… he knows I’d do the same for him, too.”

“Well, now that I understand how this device works, I think I have a way of fabricating more units or at least incorporating its main features into our existing technology. Twilight, come with me, I’m going to get you fitted out as a one-pony infiltration team. Luna, as we discussed, I need you to find me as many ponies as possible that want to help. There’s a conference room already finished next to the Mission Control complex, and it’ll hold one hundred occupants plus a few lecturers. I know this is short notice, but given the nature of the threats we seem to be uncovering lately, I’d like for the first hundred to drop everything and report to Canterlot in two days to commence training immediately. Do you think that’s possible?”

Luna nodded. “I shall rally for ponies in Ponyville first, and then in Canterlot. You will get your hundred by day’s end.”

——

Luna flew south to Ponyville, eyeing up a potential audience in the throes of the lunch rush in Market Square. Near the entrance to the square was an ornate marble podium, some twenty feet tall, used mostly for mayoral addresses. Luna flew atop the erection, as was her right, the rest of the townsfolk swiftly taking notice; soon, all eyes were upon the Night Princess, the town falling eerily silent.

“Citizens of Ponyville! I am sure that word has reached you by now of the calamity that fell from the sky. Princess Celestia and I agree; we intend to discover from whence it came. To that end, we require your assistance.”

As the crowd began talking amongst itself, Luna flew down from her perch, instead choosing to drop herself in amongst the group, ponies from every side automatically making room. “We seek volunteers to aid us on this journey into the unknown. Everyone here has a skill, and everyone here has something to contribute; if you are in search of a challenge, then I beseech thee to head to Canterlot at once and report to the Castle; for those that volunteer, your training will commence tomorrow morning.” The ponies around her began to talk amongst themselves, and while Luna wished that she had time for questions, she immediately soared into the sky, setting course for Canterlot. That was until her EVA began to bleep.

“Alert. Target located. Identification: Tempest Shadow, bearing three-zero-zero mark two-nine-five.”

Luna was beginning to find this device incredibly useful; it had amassed a database of everypony who had ever been to Canterlot, where the Progenitor had been able to scan them. Since every pony was required to visit Canterlot at least once to register their birth, this device could locate practically anypony. Following the markers EVA added to her vision, she came to a stop just in front of a somewhat surprised Tempest Shadow.

“Your highness. I was about to answer the summons to Canterlot; I was just making a final rest stop in Ponyville before boarding the train. Can you tell me why Canterlot has summoned me?” Tempest looked at Luna inquisitively.

“Equestria needs you, and you come highly recommended. I understand that you spent time as a Guard of the Southern Kingdoms before going on your ‘crusade’ with the Night King. Specifically, we need you to train ponies for military life in space, and I would have you as an instructor.”

Tempest’s eyes went wide. “You mean, eventually, we’re going to be out there, among the stars?”

“Yes,” Luna stated, rather bluntly.

Tempest began mulling the idea over. “If I do this… I don’t want to be stuck at the Academy forever. You know, I used to read those old Pony Trek comics when I was a teenager, and I always used to imagine myself at the weapons console, firing at whoever was threatening the crew that week. If I go along with this, I want to be doing just that on the first mission ship.”

Luna did not require any time to think the request over. “Request granted. You’ll train up our first batch of officer recruits, and you’ll get the training to be on the first ship with the best of them.”

Tempest whinnied, and in an uncharacteristic show of emotion, sprang forward to give the princess a tight hug. “I won’t let you down, Princess. I promise you that.”

Luna was caught off guard, and could only reflexively pat Tempest’s back with a hoof.

——

“Wait, how long did it take you to design this?”

Twilight was examining the armoured suit meticulously. It was white with gold trim around the joints, the entire surface covered with a hexagonal, almost metallic-looking film. The helmet had a receptacle for the horn, and the midsection had additional accommodation for the wings of a pegasus.

“I have been locked in a computer for many thousands of years, you know; I needed a hobby. For decades, I adjusted and tweaked the Federation’s most popular armour design to cover your species’ physiology. Quite the challenge. Sitting in that chamber is the suit in full configuration. But as you lack hands, I had to develop a suit-fitting system for you all. Come, I have a room set up for this very purpose.”

The room itself was unremarkable, with flush metallic surfaces all over. To Twilight, it didn’t look like much of a suit at all. As Kelendris nodded his approval, Twilight inserted her two forehooves into the two forward cylindrical formations before steadying herself and doing the same with her rear hooves at the back. The structures seemed to contort, and Twilight could feel pressure around her legs. “What happens now?” Twilight asked.

“Suit construction. Stand by.”

The floor around Twilight disappeared, leaving her isolated on a metal platform. Coming up from the floor around her were a series of machines, almost looking like factory equipment. In front of Twilight descended a screen with various parts of pony biology highlighted. “Twilight, that display will help you put the suit on. It’s largely automated, but it still needs some help from you. Each time a light turns on, raise the appendage it’s referring to, and the machinery will begin attaching the suit to it.”

Taking a few deep breaths, Twilight could see that the monitor was highlighting a pair of outstretched wings. With all the practice from Rainbow Dash at her command, she extended each wing as far as it could go.

Immediately, the machinery kicked into motion; it started by adding torso plates to her midsection, while two other tools each took a wing, covering them in a black, shimmering film that stretched to the back of the suit. Another two machines secured her new wing coverings to the power armour with armour of their own.

The monitor now highlighted her tail while another automated tool startled Twilight as it coated her tail in the same shimmering film as her wings.

Next up were her hooves, the screen blinking where her left foreleg was. As Twilight held her leg up, she could feel the metallic plates of the suit and the fabric interior slide up to connect with the armour, the whole process feeling mildly ticklish. The process repeated with each of her other legs, leaving only her head exposed to the air. From above the room, a small rectangle-shaped machine descended, the mechanical arm above it positioning it in line with the top plates of the suit. Confident of a secure connection, the arm gently lowered the box until it was nearly flush with the outfit, upon which it began to secure itself to the exterior. Slightly taken aback, Twilight had in front of her a machine that was lowering a see-through helmet towards her face. Closing her eyes, the device secured and locked the helmet into place without further input from the overwhelmed mare, her horn slotting neatly into the perfectly designed cavity of the helmet, while her ears were enveloped by custom-designed protrusions in the helmet. The machines now began falling back into their regular places, the room noisily reorganising itself back into its former position.

Kalendris smiled. “Well done, Twilight. I’m sorry if that felt a little out of your comfort zone, but the suit is reading as fully online now. That box on your back is your consumables box; it contains a dedicated air supply, an air purifier, rechargeable power cells and a supply of water if needed. You’ll find that the suit has been equipped with a computer that will accept voice commands; you can access it via the omni-tool in your right foreleg. While you won’t be able to transport across dimensions yet, the power cells contain enough power for me to use the dimensional teleporter here to bring you back; it’ll also bring back any lifeforms within a few meters, so try not to carry back anything hostile.”

“Can I use my magic? This helmet seems to have been specifically designed with my horn in mind.”

“You can use magic, but it’s a little different to normal. You channel the spell as you normally would, but the suit auto-targets for you using your eye movements. To select a target, look at them and blink three times. Once your spell is cast, the suit channels it to the emitter on top, and it will attempt to hit the target. Your suit’s computer contains an imprint of all known spells, and it can tell spells that target from ones that don’t. Now, if you’ll come with me to what I’m for now calling the ‘Transporter Room’, we’ll get started.”

As Twilight walked to the new room, another thought brewed in her mind, loud enough for her to want an answer. “Can you detect lifeforms with this interdimensional transporter? As in, can you detect the presence of other ponies?”

Kalendris stroked his holographic chin with a holographic hoof. “The transporter can’t, but the suit can once it’s inside… but because the suit doesn’t yet have a database to compare such a signal to, I will need to analyse the data. What will I be looking for, exactly?”

“Well, let’s think about this logically. The Spike from my world is currently inhabiting a world that technically he’s not a native of. Barring any statistical anomalies, that should mean that any world he’s on would have two Spikes.”

“Unless the first Spike died or never existed. Or wasn’t born male. If there are infinite worlds, then there are infinite chances of those situations occurring.”

“But there is a finite number of worlds logged on that device. It’s a long shot, I know, but it’s better than nothing.”

“Fine. This is going to take a while, I didn’t expect to have to reconfigure the suit to pass data to me through this transporter device.”

“Not a problem. But, while I have some time with you, I wanted to ask a question.”

“Sure; on what topic?”

“We’re about to take a big leap as a species. Maybe even skipping some steps we shouldn’t be skipping. I want to know what it was that drove your species to look up to the stars.”

Kalendris sighed. “Are you sure you want to know? It’s not pretty.”

Twilight nodded. “I absolutely want to know.”

“Well, I can do better than just show you. I’m going to configure your helmet for a virtual reality construct that’s computer-generated. To you, it’ll look just like the real world. I’m also going to engage your suit’s antigravity generators so you’ll levitate off the floor. The suit will provide force feedback to simulate walking and running during the simulation. What you’re about to experience is our best reconstruction of the events that immediately preceded our space exploration efforts. Stand by for suit link-up.”

Twilight had no time to respond before her suit’s helmet melted into a new vista, her senses momentarily disoriented while she adjusted to the feedback system.

Twilight looked around, taking in her surroundings. In front of her was a very tall building, with numerous bipedal creatures walking around the foot of the structure. Even as she walked amongst them, they remained oblivious to her presence.

Apart from one of them. Clad in a blue suit with a white shirt, Twilight couldn’t help but make eye contact with the approaching bipedal creature. “Hello. Kalendris has informed me of your desire to learn about our history. I have been programmed to serve as your guide during this simulation.”

Twilight’s first question felt obvious, and yet she felt it needed to be asked. “I mean no offence, but I have to ask; are you just a computer-generated hologram, or are you a stored consciousness like Kalendris?”

“No offence taken, my dear. I am a fully computer-generated construct, you may refer to me as Vincent. I have access to the sensor and communication logs of the time, witness testimonies, and in some cases, direct memories from the people of this time period. In fact, the basis for my personality was a survivor from the initial attack, who was also my namesake.”

“Attack?” Twilight inquired.

As if to answer her, the world around her was bathed momentarily in a blinding white light that made her shut her eyes in reflex. When she opened them, the horizon beyond was filled with a rapidly-approaching orange glow that swiftly slammed past her. While it didn’t hurt her, Twilight could hear screams and shattering glass in the background. When the fireball subsided, all around her was on fire; trees, wildlife and buildings all around her blazed with impunity.

Twilight was caught off-guard and stumbled backwards. “Wh-What started this attack?”

David started walking, and Twilight followed alongside sluggishly. “Our records of the time show that political tensions were rising. A combination of dwindling natural resources, accelerating climate change of the biosphere, and increasingly authoritarian governments meant that, eventually, tensions hit a breaking point. The attack you saw here was just the first wave; every military base, power plant and transport hub got hit with a weapon of the same power that you just witnessed. A nation of seventy million people, over a period of just one year, dwindled to around four million. The scale of such loss of life echoed around the planet.”

“What kind of weapon was it? This destruction is… hard to imagine being possible.”

“Officially, the weapon was termed a Thermonuclear Device. It does three main things; first, there is a pulse that takes out everything with an electronic circuit in the vicinity. Second, a fireball engulfs a significant amount of land; that fireball destroys anything within it before it becomes a thermal shockwave that spreads outwards, setting anything and everything it encounters on fire for quite some distance. This is then followed by an air shock; a sudden change in air pressure that ripples outwards, taking out charred trees, and demolishing most buildings, especially those that suffered significant damage from the previous effects. Those are just the immediate effects; the long-term effects made things much, much worse.”

“Surely there’s some kind of rescue operation after something like this happens?” suggested Twilight.

“Not with this type of attack. Our society at the time could handle one natural disaster at a time, like a serious flood, or a hurricane. An attack like this is like getting hit with every natural disaster at once, everywhere. Our society simply wasn’t able to respond; disaster recovery systems and protocols were almost utterly useless in that sort of situation.”

“You said that millions died in the first year. Were most of that just during the attack?”

“No. While estimates are sketchy at best, we think between four and eight million died in the first day as a direct result of the initial attack. What came next compounded the problems for survivors. Look up at the sky, and tell me what the cloud in the distance looks like.”

Twilight squinted. “It… looks like a giant mushroom in the sky.”

“Indeed. It’s called a mushroom cloud; each initial explosion creates a suction effect that lifts dirt and other light debris from the air and ground and circulates it inside the cloud, where it’s exposed to an effect that we call radiation. Heavier debris then falls back to the ground like snow, occasionally mixing with water vapour in the air to create a black, tar-like substance; we call this ‘fallout’. During the first week, coming into contact with this fallout substance is incredibly dangerous, and is often fatal if it’s inhaled. The main danger passes after two weeks or so, but that’s all the time it needs if you’ve been exposed to it. Over the coming weeks, most of the people that were exposed to the fallout died, rather painfully... and as if that wasn’t enough, another cruel twist of fate was to follow.”

Twilight immediately began to notice that her surroundings were becoming much, much darker; the sun had faded from view, replaced by a thick, dark blanket across the sky. The buildings around her, or rather the remains of them, became almost impossible to see in the eventual near-total darkness.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked, somewhat disorientated.

“Remember that explosion earlier? Not only did it take out its target, but the fireball it sent out set thousands of homes and other buildings on fire. Now imagine that scene multiplied by a thousand across the world; that many raging fires lifted up an incredible amount of soot, dust and other contaminants into the atmosphere. The planet’s wind patterns eventually lifted this detritus even higher into the planet’s atmosphere, where they then formed a dense layer that blotted out the sun. By the end of the first week, most of the world was covered in darkness, and temperatures began to sharply drop. The attack took place just as Summer had begun, so our crops hadn’t yet been harvested; in the below-freezing temperatures that followed, most crop yields were rendered worthless overnight. Some farms nearer the coast remained viable, but the sun wouldn’t emerge for over a month. So, in total darkness, the small number of viable crops that survived, even in their inferior state, were harvested. Given how important food is to society, this first harvest was literally a matter of life and death for those that remained.”

Twilight squinted as the sun once again began to peek through the dense cloud cover. “Surely the sun coming out meant that the worst of it was over?”

“Not quite. High in the atmosphere, there is a protective layer that keeps the worst of the sun’s high-energy sunlight away. We called it the ‘Ozone Layer’; dust and soot in the atmosphere interfere with the processes that maintain it, however, and as a result, the sun’s rays became extremely harmful to those that survived. The ozone layer would reform itself naturally over many decades, but during the intervening period, those working outside would have to wear extra protection, otherwise, they’d be easily burned. To add further complications, communities across the world began to be ravaged by diseases that we had thought consigned to the history books.”

As more sunlight began to pour through, Twilight could tell something was definitely different than before; snow and ice covered the landscape, no doubt a legacy from the time spent without the sun’s rays. But, every so often, she’d see something black in the ice, her instincts causing her to look away. “Are those… dead bodies?” Twilight enquired, hesitantly.

“Yes, they are. Victims of the attack, most likely dead as a result of fire, disease, injury, or radiation.”

“Well, why are they in the street!?” Twilight demanded. “They should have been buried or… you know, at least cremated. This is… it’s not right!”

“You don’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation we found ourselves in,” Vincent said, raising his voice a little. “When civilization itself struggles for survival, you can’t spare the labour for digging graves, and you can’t spare the fuel for cremation; bodies pile up in the streets as a result, as you can see here. In this harsh new world, three uncomfortable facts became clear to those who remained; those who cannot work don’t get fed, those who don’t get fed die, and the more people that die mean more food for the ones that are left. Those who control the food now control the population, with the people reduced to living in barbaric, squalid conditions amidst piecemeal reconstruction efforts. To live in these times was to live under the heel of arguably the worst tyranny in living memory.”

Twilight’s mood changed, feeling a deep sense of sorrow as she looked over a pile of bodies, the sight of them with their eyes still open burning itself into her mind. “That’s… horrible. How long did this last for?”

“For most of the decade that followed, this became the norm. Our education system was in ruins, we had almost no medical care worthy of the name, subsistence agriculture was barely adequate, and we had to deal with a large number of children born with cognitive and physical disorders due to radiation exposure; all of this coupled with ruthlessly authoritarian governments barely worthy of the title of government. There was no justice system; even minor crimes carried the death penalty in this new era  Theft, arson, rape, murder and all other crimes against the person or the state were now met with execution. Humanity was in a very dark place… but even in the darkness, light sometimes finds a way to shine.”

The scenery around Twilight changed rapidly, and she now found herself standing in a wooded area, the sun shining down from above. Without warning, Twilight heard a large explosion, and her eyes turned to the source, a blinding flash of light that momentarily caused her to close her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes noticed an object heading into the sky. Twilight’s expression turned aghast.

“Is that yet another weapon being launched!?” Twilight asked with incredulity.

“It used to be a missile. That missile used to house a warhead on top, but a military scientist, Dr Curric, repurposed the missile, found in an abandoned silo, over the course of twenty years. After the attacks, she recruited every able person she could find to continue the project. Ironically, it was the very project that began the war in the first place.”

Twilight furrowed her brow, “What kind of project could spark a world war?”

“Well, this project was called Prometheus, so named for a minor God in our mythology who was said to have given fire to early humans, in defiance of his father. Project Prometheus was all about developing a new, almost limitless power source, to free us from our dependence on fossil fuels and other damaging fuel sources. The nation-state behind this project was distrusted, and other nations did not believe that this project was peaceful in nature, so a war was waged to stop the project, leading to worldwide devastation when the inevitable counter-attack occurred. Dr Curric, the head of Project Prometheus, first established contact with other scientists within her own nation within a year or so of the war; it took a further six years for contact to begin to be established with locations elsewhere in the world.”

“That must have been awkward.” Twilight observed.

“Scientists are different from politicians. All concerned found the situation lamentable and knew that the project was sound in theory. In fact, all of the scientists agreed to relocate their teams, equipment, and expertise to the location of the original project. Governments that remained were fractured and did not have enough manpower to interfere in these relocation efforts. Each of the new arrivals brought expertise and knowledge from their own communities; agriculture was made more viable, attempts at genuine permanent infrastructure began to house people in something approaching a minimum standard, and life began to flourish as technology began to be unburied and electricity generation made easier. After fifteen years, humanity began to unearth the culture of the world before the war, with every effort now being made to preserve anything uncovered from raids on towns and cities long forgotten and abandoned; optical storage media, books, and technology that had not been destroyed by the war became highly prized commodities, and humanity began to once again drink from the shared melting pot of culture that it had enjoyed for centuries until the cataclysm.”

“So, what was launched after the next five years?” Twilight asked, showing she was paying attention.

“Project Phoenix. That limitless power source I was talking about? One of the two fuels was exceedingly expensive to produce, so much so that there was no nope of using it as a power source when confined to a planet, as the energy would never be gained back. Roughly two years before the launch, a fusion power plant was running; research had already been completed, and only the construction of the reactor itself remained, delayed indefinitely by the war. Scientists involved in the project secured contracts with every surviving cargo ship they could to ship everything they needed to make this reactor across an entire ocean, from parts, to fuel, to people. The reactor ensured that this second fuel could be created, but it was still a painstakingly slow process to create even a gram of this stuff. 2 years of this fusion plant running on full had managed to yield a kilogram of this new fuel, which was loaded up on the new craft, and launched into space.”

“What was its purpose?” she asked, inquisitively.

“To find life. Like so much science in our history, the idea behind Project Phoenix was originally science-fiction; our oldest science fiction ideas were rooted in how we understood physics at the time. We had calculated that no object could exceed the speed of light, effectively making it the speed limit of the universe… but, we theorized that space itself could be folded around something. This proved compatible with our theories on how the universe worked, as the object in the centre of the fold theoretically would not be moving at all. Laboratory tests proved that you could funnel so much energy into a single point that you could cause the fabric of space to warp and distort; subsequent follow-ups proved that this could be controlled, resulting in the idea of a spacecraft that could travel faster than light.”

“I take it that the Phoenix was a success, then?” Twilight asked, anticipating a positive reply.

“Only that it proved that a ship could travel faster than light. Initially, the technology just allowed the Phoenix to travel to the planets of our solar system in a matter of minutes; the journey to one of the closest planets to Earth, called Mars, took just over four minutes, rather than the nine or ten months it would have taken conventionally. But, space is vast; the furthest planet from our star, Neptune, could be reached in just over four hours of travel with the Phoenix, but to escape our solar system entirely would still take a full year of travel at this new speed, and just over four hours to travel to the nearest star system. They iterated on the design of the drive and the ship, and they managed to get a drive capable of four times the speed of light. Just over a year to the nearest solar system was acceptable, and so a second ship was commissioned; the Enterprise.”

“OK, Phoenix I can understand, ‘resurrection from the ashes’ and all that, but why Enterprise?”


“Well, after Phoenix, it was decided to name vessels after previous Earth spacecraft. Enterprise was the name of the original prototype for a space vehicle that would see, between its five descendants, three decades of use before being retired. You wanted to know of our history… the name Enterprise represents it in a single word; the name is a reflection of humanity’s indomitable stubbornness in the face of hardship and is in itself a symbol of courage and endurance in the face of adversity, a lesson to those aboard to never give up in the pursuit of knowledge, and a warning to her enemies that she is a force to be taken seriously. She joins a long list of names that helped propel humanity to the stars, along with other such revered names as Apollo, Ariene, Artemis, Atlas, Falcon, Proton, Saturn, and Soyuz. When you begin your journey to the stars, I ask that you look through our database, and give life to the names that made such journeys possible, for it is through their hardships and tragedies that the road to space is open to you.”

Twilight nodded solemnly. “You have my word. I appreciate the opportunity you’re giving us… the ability to stand on your shoulders and to learn from the mistakes that humanity made along the way. It is a gift I will treasure, and I will travel far and wide to spread its message.”

Vincent nodded. “Then I bid you farewell, for now. You are always welcome to return to these archives if you want to see some other historical events.”

Twilight saw a flash of light, and once again found herself in the laboratory as before. As her hooves once again found the ground, Kalendris took note. “Perfect timing. I’ve completed the changes. Wherever you’re ready.”

Twilight exhaled sharply. “Let’s do this.”