Theme Music [Each Chapter Will have a YouTube music link in order for the reader to get a feel of the tone of the chapter ,for example, if it were an actual motion picture]
Theme Music [Each Chapter Will have a YouTube music link in order for the reader to get a feel of the tone of the chapter ,for example, if it were an actual motion picture]
-Prologue 1: SECURITY BREACH-2064AD
Location: Earth
First Time Reading? Click here to become familiar with basic character profiles.
-Authors Note: The Prologue provides crucial background. The Main 6 and friends are introduced in Chapter 2-
The blinding rays of the dawn sun began to shine through the energy shield surrounding the surviving city of New York. As the sun slowly rose up over the horizon, the night watchers posted at four positions of the city prepared to change shifts for the day watchers. North of the barrier city, a team consisting of sky scouts shut down the radar scanners and energy pulse cannons. The radar scanners were only used at night, and their main purpose was to continually scan for biospiritual entities, or living spirits. These spirits were a constant threat to the city, and the citizens of New York, along with its remaining government, were on constant alert.
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“Fifty years ago, the earth was in a state of complete economic and social collapse. The year 2015 marked the year that humanity’s concept of the universe changed forever. Everyone thought it would happen differently. Everyone thought peace was at hand. Everyone thought…but if only everyone knew what was to come.
The Bible spoke of Revelations. The Hopi spoke of the blue star. Countless civilizations predicted the end times. But no one knew for sure what was going to happen. On December 21st, 2012, scientist and spiritualist believed that the Earth had entered into a different type of energy field, located on the other side of the planar galaxy. This energy field created a massive global awakening to the world. For two years after 2012, the world was at peace. A man, whom they called Matraiya, rose up out of Europe and claimed he had returned to the Earth, after the Earth crossed the planar galaxy. He claimed he was the “Messiah”. He claimed to have the power to fix the Earth. And for a long time, the world believed him.
In 2015, the blue star…the blue flash as they call it, happened. Matraiya and his government kept the world ignorant to the destructive asteroid headed for Earth.
One thing was for sure: something supernatural and spiritual took place: Nothing that could have been explained by science at the current time. Those of us that were left, either were not destined for this passing, or were chosen to stay and fight. Matraiya was not the Messiah to most of the worlds shock, and as soon as the flash (asteroid strike) of 2015 happened, things got a lot worse. Before the Earth could breathe again, the earth became a battle ground for two advanced civilizations. (At least, that’s what we were led to believe). The battle of good and evil turned from Earthly, to Galactic. The surviving people of earth were caught in the cross fire, and barely had enough resources to survive…let alone defend their own planet. No matter how long the battle raged on between the alien races, the conflict seemed like a never ending stalemate. But it was too late when we found out we were all deceived. The asteroid that stuck Earth contained the spirits of creatures from another world, and I still think they never intended to wage war with us. I believe their spirits are lost and confused, still searching for meaning and purpose. Through the media, we were led to believe the war was Galactic, but in actuality, our own government deceived us so that they may escape the planet, and keep us “common” folk busy fighting a war that we could never win. My ancestor’s final message was:
Take back the world in which you’ve lost.
We have fought with you, and shared the costs.
One day things will be set right.
Now it’s your turn to bring back the light.
To them, it was no longer their fight to win. Our family and our old friends had passed on. The humans had to take back control of the planet. The humans adopted much of the alien technology to help them fight the war of the worlds. Everything from energy shields, to free energy generators, anti-gravity machines, improved thrust technology, life support systems, and adopted designs of space craft.
Ten years ago in 2055, the Earth passed through the planar galaxy once again. The humans survived the transition, but the alien’s spiritual bodies were weakened enough so that we could take refuge in barrier cities. All forms of plant life on earth had begun to die, and nuclear fallout was tremendous. The barrier cities provided the only real source of protection for humans.
All it took was simple contact with an alien phantom spirit, and the soul of the human being was instantly separated from the body. Although humans took comfort in knowing these human spirits would move on, it was also uncomfortable to know that there was nothing that could be done to revive them. In 2058, scientists created documented scientific proof that the body cannot function without the spirit present. This was always assumed, but eventually became scientific fact, as it was something that could be measured. The concept of an all knowing God became reality to much of the surviving humans. Somehow, people began to believe that everything was going to be OK. Deep down inside, some believed that God, as well as Gaia (the Earth Spirit), and humans working together in harmony would save the Earth. It is now 2064AD, and the Earth continues to search for meaning, a purpose, and the destiny that awaits us. I still have faith that things will be set right. We can’t give up. We have to hold on. We will find a way.”
-Signed, Aki Ross.
After finishing her journal, Aki laid her iPad 10 back on her night stand, and passed out.
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Suddenly, the piercing sound of a medium tone alarm clock interrupted Aki Ross’s repetitive dream. She slowly opened her eyes and moved her medium length black hair from the right side of her face. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the bright white light illuminating the bland, steel constructed apartment style housing room. The room was nothing special, and certainly wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. Nonetheless, it was somewhere to sleep, away from the noisy city streets below. Inside the barrier city, Aki Ross lived on the 25th floor of Building three, which was a designated research and housing lab for the DSW, the Department of Science and Weapons technology. Next door to building three, was the 5 story, heavily armored research laboratory, owned and operated by Dr. Sid, Aki Ross’s mentor. Before disarming the alarm, Aki thought of the slight change in her dream as something out of the ordinary. Instead of the repetitive dream of an Intergalatic war, right before two alien army’s clashed, Aki saw a bright blue flash next to her and above her. She then brushed off the thought from her mind, and sat up from the twin sized bed extended out from the wall.
“Computer, ALARM OFF” she said with a slightly annoyed tone. As soon as she gave the command, the computer de-activated the alarm. Before she could gather the rest of her thoughts, another sound came over the intercom of her steel apartment complex: It was the sound of Dr. Sid’s mature, and calm voice. However, his voice was more strained than usual. Aki could detect a sense of concern in his voice on this particular morning:
“Aki, Aki, are you up out of bed? I may have found something. I need you to come to the lab as soon as possible. We may have a problem.”
Aki tries to replay the sentence in her head, as she wasn’t quite fully awake yet.
“Um…yes. Yes Doctor, I am up. May I ask what the problem is? You seem more stressed than usual. Are you ok?”
Dr. Sid replied with a hint of impatience. “I am not quite sure Aki. It depends on your definition of OK. Something has happened with project Blue Beam. Please see if you can get here as soon as possible. Make sure you don’t run into Douglas Hein, he is always looking for a reason to shut us down”.
“I’m on my way Doc” Aki responded more attentively. She then terminated the computer transmission.
Aki began to think to herself: I haven’t had a shower for a couple days. Looks like today is going to be the same routine: and speaking of same routine, what was with my dream last night? It’s always the same dream. A dream of the war long ago; I am standing in the ruins of a battlefield, as the alien races attempt to destroy each other. Everything happens so fast. But before the dream continued, a blue flash of light nearly blinded my eyes. And then I saw the Stargate. The Blue Beam project: it was…activated, followed by the sound of turbine engines up over my head. Strange that it would change now, especially when it’s been the same for over two years. It’s just …
Aki then began to talk aloud to herself, rubbing her forehead as if she was over thinking things: “Hmm. Who am I kidding? I haven’t found the meaning to my current dream; I don’t need to be worrying about another part of it.”
She got up from her bed, and dressed into her silver grey work uniform, which consisted of a black collar. As she gathered her things and prepared to head out the door, she glanced over at her bathroom door, wishing she could just relax for five minutes. Aki placed her hand on the electronic hand scanner to proceed out the entrance to her apartment, but then she stopped herself as sliding door began to open. She released her hand from the scanner, closing the door once more. Aki decided to take a quick shower. She deserved it. The Government wanted nothing but projects to be completed, and questions to be answered for a constant 48 hour period. It was time to take at least five minutes for herself.
Ten minutes later, Aki was dressed back into her uniform, and placed her hand on the door scanner. This time, her hair was slightly wet, but straight. She felt better than she had in a long time. At least now, she could focus a little more. The shower seemed to get her mind off of the dream she had last night. It was time for work, and not time to ponder on fantasy.
Aki stepped out of her apartment and began to walk down the quiet hallway of the science and weapons research building. It was 6:00am in the morning, and most “sane” people were still enjoying a night of rest. This was the time of morning where the night watchers switched with the day watchers. Watchers were needed at the North, South, East, and West ends of the city. The sun was almost fully over the horizon, and Aki could hear the sounds of the shift change alarms coming from outside the city. It sounded like a buzzing siren; not one of the most pleasant sounds she had ever heard. But then again, this wasn’t a pleasant world to live in.
Aki continued to walk down the hallway. She could hear every echo of her footstep, hitting the white tile floor below her. When she reached the elevator, she was suddenly startled to realize the elevator door immediately opened up, before she could reach the button. She then let out a startling and alert gasp, as a silhouette in the elevator met eye contact with her.
“Well good morning Ms. Ross, and how are we doing today?” Douglas Hein said with an arrogant, military-like voice.
“Douglas! You scared me. This is just...a little unexpected, that’s all. I am doing fine. I just need to get to the lab…” Aki was saying, but Douglas cut her off.
“Yes, I heard all about your little conversation with Dr. Sid” (the elevator door began to close, then Douglas put his hand next to the sensor to open it once more) “look, why don’t you come on in and we can talk about it on the way down.”
Aki stepped in the elevator with caution, and did not break eye contact with Douglas Hein. Douglas continued as the door to the elevator closed.
“So as I was saying, I am a little-bit-concerned. You know we have scanners on every intercom frequency. All I am trying to do is ensure the security of this city. Now, let’s get to the point shall we?” (The elevator passed floor number 15, stopping on 14 to pick up another worker. Because of the extra company, Douglas lowered his voice to a whisper) “we can talk about this later, because I don’t think you know much. But Sid mentioned something about a problem with project Blue Beam. Under orders of the Mayor, I am instructing you to find out what that problem is, and report back to me…understand?” Douglas blankly starred at Aki as he finished his sentence.
Aki then cautiously responded:
“Um…sir. I will report on what I know, and what I find out…directly to the Mayor. If the Mayor ordered it, I will talk to him. He doesn’t need a middle man to handle the matter.”
Douglas then frowned a bit, but recovered the frown to a fake smile.
“Fair enough Aki. But I am warning you, if you try any funny business, I will personally make sure that project Blue Beam and the Stargate, along with your entire operation, will be shut down. Surely, it will be for the safety of the city. Besides, the machine has a few glitches…I mean potential problems.”
Aki then tilted her head, “You...you just said glitches, what would you know about glitches? The machine is not even operational…”
Douglas tried to remember his recovering sentence, but Aki could sense he was hiding something.
“I said potential problems. Surely, machines that can travel between worlds without the use of a second medium are bound to screw something up. We have close eyes on you; you and your team.” (The elevator then opened the doors to ground level) “Well, here we are. Good day Aki! The mayor will be expecting that report in 12 hours.”
Douglas then walked off into the main hall of the building. The main hall was open, and vast. However, it too, was not aesthetically pleasing…unless one counts machines, scanners, and hovering ceramic and glass carts of weapon parts pleasing.
Douglas was no longer visible, as he became lost in the crowd of military, and civilians heading off for the work day within the barrier city. It was now fully morning, and the glow of the amber colored barrier shield high above the city was now mixed in with the glow of the sun. One could only slightly differentiate between the outside world and the barrier limit.
Aki was somewhat disturbed by her encounter with Douglas, but she continued to walk to the lab, not thinking much of it. Besides, if a person thought too much of one thing in this world, he or she would go crazy within days. Some things needed to simply be accepted. Accepting the reality in which one was presented was the key to surviving on Earth this day and age.
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After what seemed like an eternity to Aki, she finally reached the main laboratory after getting passed security. Only one final obstacle was in her way: a giant steel reinforced, blast proof, and “phantom” proof, security door that secured the Blue Beam containment room at ground level in the middle of the laboratory building. The security door was extremely advanced, and only six people in the city had access to it: Aki herself, Dr. Sid, Gray Edwards (the military captain of their team), Ryan Whittaker (weapons specialist and military team), Neil Fleming (a student of Dr. Sid, and friend of Aki), and Jane Proudfoot (another military team member). To open the door, Aki had the machine scan her hand on the wall. The same scanner scanned her eyes, and matched up her facial features with the computer database. She was also required to enter the password: BLUESTAR84188, and finally, say her full name as the computer voice activation system recognized her voice.
Throughout the entire process, she kept rolling her eyes…as did everyone else. The genius designer of the containment room might have built the most agile security door in human history, but failed to completely seal the room. On both sides of the door were two viewing windows, about 3 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Despite the heavily reinforced glass, everyone knew one shot from a high intensity handheld pulse cannon equaled immediate access through the glass. Aki thought about all her tax dollars wasted on a stupid good-for-nothing security door. Plans were sent to the Mayor to seal the windows, but he responded that “it is more important that we know what is going on in that room, for the security of the city.” The door then slowly cracked open to the right, and Aki slipped inside. The door closed behind her just as quickly…and she rolled her eyes again.
Aki was immediately met by Jane Proudfoot, one of the only women training in the local Military:
“Bout time you showed up Ross! We were beginning to think you were going to pick up some breakfast for us!” Jane said in a tom-boyish tone.
Aki smiled “Well, you know me: better late than never. Actually, I wanted to take a quick shower. But the reason I am late was because I ran into…”
Gray Edwards, the loyal military leader of the group interrupted.
“Because you ran into a split end!” Edwards jokingly claimed. “Man, women and their hair. Can’t you guys just like, worry about more important things!” Gray smiled again.
Jane crossed her arms “Boy, you know I can kick your ass. You best not be talking about a woman’s hair! And you wonder why you’re still single…mmh, mmh, mmh”
Ryan Whittaker then walked over to make peace negotiations. “Alright, alright, guys”, he chuckled, “in all seriousness, Dr. Sid called us all here for a reason, and we should probably get to the point, sooner rather than later.”
“I agree, sheez!” Neil Fleming chimed in with a proud, yet somewhat weak tone of voice. “In fact, after scanning and analyzing these read outs from the computer database, I am very concerned.”
“As am I Neil”, Dr. Sid, the elder genius scientist in charge of the Blue Beam project, stepped down from the main platform of the Stargate to begin to address the main topic of the meeting.
The entire Stargate room was mostly empty black space, except for some advanced glass computer screens on the wall. The center of the room housed the main controls of the machine, as well as the main database. Overall, the lighting of the room was rather dim. The orange glow from the Stargate mechanisms surrounding the main portal, as well as the computer electronics all around the room, emitted more light than the actual overhead lights did. A series of 1 inch thick cables ran from all the main computers, directly to the Stargate machine itself. Each cable was connected to an electronic device: under, on the sides, and overhead of the main Stargate. Dr. Sid was careful not to trip over any of the cables, as he stepped down from the platform, which was about three feet higher in elevation from the rest of the room.
Dr. Sid continued. “As you all know, except for Aki here, there has been a possible security breach of the Stargate.” He paused for a moment, and then continued in a concerned, but calm voice. “I am not sure how to interpret the data from these machines just yet, but one thing is for sure. The computer is telling us that something major definitely happened last night. Neil and I still have a massive amount of data to sift through, but from what we can gather, the Stargate became fully operational at 2:46am last night. The security cameras have already been checked, and were found to be on a continuous loop; the footage is completely useless. I have already contacted the Mayor about the matter, as this is now a danger to the entire city, and completely out of our hands. This will compromise our research, but we need to figure out how, and who activated this machine.” Dr. Sid then paused for a moment.
Aki spoke up. “Doctor, how could this have happened? I…I mean, Blue Beam has never been in operation before, and we were always afraid to test it, due to a lack of scientific data. It’s just, I mean, if it really works than that’s great! But who could have done this?” Aki began to think she was rambling.
Dr. Sid picked up the conversation. “I understand your mixed emotions Aki. I was excited at first too, but I am very conflicted. We cannot fully interpret the data from the computers, but one thing is for sure. An EMMENCE amount of data poured into the main computer last night, and she is still trying to compress the files. We also know the Stargate was activated, because the Obtainium fuel has been depleted by 30 percent. Finally, our last piece of key evidence lies with the wrist controller. As you can see, the controller is locked back up in its place, but it most certainly has been used according to the computer. I tried to have Neil analyze it for DNA, but it’s completely sterile.”
Dr. Sid stopped, as Aki began to open her lips. “Doctor, I have a bad feeling that Douglas Hein could be involved with this.”
“Um, well please explain Aki.” Dr. Sid asked.
“On the way to the lab, I met Douglas in the elevator. It was as if he was waiting for me. He informed me that he wanted me to report back all of my findings about this very conversation we are having. I asked him where he got his orders from, and he claimed they were from the Mayor. So I simply told him: If the Mayor wants to know, I will tell him myself. But I guess you have already informed him…anyway, he said the machine had a few glitches. But that did not concern me. He corrected himself soon after that, and avoided the fact that he was talking about it in past tense. I mean, you had to be there. It didn’t feel right. I could be over reacting, but the aura he was giving off didn't feel right....I know he's hiding something...”
“I see. Well, thank you for bringing this to my attention Aki. We will certainly follow up on it.” Dr. Sid then focused his attention on the rest of the four members of the team. “Team, we are faced with a serious problem on our hands. Mr. Edwards, will you and your team be willing to guard the Stargate, at least until we can get some answers?”
Gray Edwards smiled “Of course we will! Jane and I can guard the main door, while Ryan and Neil…”
Suddenly, Gray and the rest of the team in the Stargate containment room were interrupted by flashing red warning lights and a computer voice:
“INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT. INTRUDER ALERT” the computer wailed.
Just as suddenly, the main security door slowly opened, and military SWOT with heavy armor and pulse weapons entered the room. Before the team could respond and even take another breath, they were met face to face with twenty-five SWOT personnel, Douglas Hein, and the Mayor himself.
The commander of the SWOT team was the first to call out an order.
“Alright men, secure the area. YOU [he pointed to Neil] shut down this computer system. SID, you have been ordered to cease and desist all operations regarding project Blue Beam, as of now.”
Gray Edwards stepped forward “Now wait just a damn minute! You can’t shut us down! We’re on your side too you know! This place has been breached last night, and we need to figure out who…”
Edwards was interrupted “Oh for God’s sake”, the Mayor yelled, “Will someone please shut off that ridiculous alarm.”
Neil shut down the alarm through the computer system. At the same time, the SWOT team lowered their weapons and stood at attention. Douglas Hein then stepped forward.
“Well, I’m sorry to have barged in like this, but it’s my understanding that the Mayor wishes to shut down this project, for the safety and security of the city.” Douglas then turned to the Mayor “Mr. Mayor, with your permission, I believe it would be in everyone’s best interest to terminate access to this room for all six members. If you give me access, I can have my team guard the entire facility and guarantee its safeguard.”
Dr. Sid, usually calm and rational, couldn’t stand what he was listening to “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND DOUGLAS! Eh, UGH, Mr. Mayor…clearly this is not the appropriate choice of action! Granting only Doulas access to this facility IS SURE TO JEPORDISE THE CITY, IF NOT THE ENTIRE EARTH ITSELF!”
Aki Ross spoke up to the Mayor. “He’s right Mr. Mayor. We don’t yet know who broke into the machine, and activated the Stargate. We don’t even know where that Stargate portal led to, and what the consequences of those actions will be. We need time to turn this into an official investigation.”
As the Mayor pondered on Aki’s statement, the SWOT leader informed his men and women that they could head out of the room. Nothing needed to be contained any longer, as no one put up much resistance. Bringing such weapons into a delicate room could spell disaster after all.
“I am aware of the danger and the confusion we all face here”, the Mayor replied, “but we cannot ignore the fact that this isn’t an ordinary military or political operation. We are talking about a machine that has the potential to mess with the space time continuum…”
Neil Fleming interrupted “Actually sir, it’s not a time machine. It’s simply a transportation device. But then again, if you travel to one side of the universe and come back, the time difference between the universes could alter time itself, thereby creating a paradox and other weird situations that we don’t quite fully understand yet, but..”
“NEIL!”, Ryan yelled. “…you’re not helping.”
The Mayor continued “Well, I seem to stand on my original statement gentlemen, and ladies. We don’t understand the situations that could arise by using such a machine. Therefore, we must shut it down for now. Dr. Sid, unless you and your team can fully interpret and understand the data, it is too dangerous to proceed with the project. Besides, we have enough to deal with outside the city…alien phantoms, constant war. And if I am not mistaken Aki, you are still on a mission to find plant life out there somewhere. It would be best to focus your efforts on those things, for all our sakes.”
Dr. Sid spoke up again “I am warning you Mayor, if you give Douglas full access to this machine, something could go terribly wrong! How could you think of such a thing?”
Douglas frowned at Sid, as the Mayor continued:
“Dr. Sid, I have already thought about those aspects. Douglas Hein is a trusted leader of this society, and your unnecessary bias is quite unacceptable. I need you to transfer this data to your other lab, where you can interpret and study it better. The rest of the team will accompany Aki on any scientific research that needs to be completed. And Neil, you will stay with Douglas Hein to watch and monitor the computers. It is my understanding you cannot safely shut down the system without some time. Well, I am giving you that time. You have until this time tomorrow morning to have this area shut down, and sealed for further investigation. Mr. Hein will accompany you. That is an order. Now, we must attend to other matters. Good day to you all and I hope you all understand this is for the best”.
Dr. Sid thought to himself after the Mayor finished talking: Why do I feel like he is going to regret those words?
Soon after, the team left the room, along with Douglas. Everyone on the team was discouraged and felt defeated. The only person left behind was Neil Fleming. He had to figure out a way to shut down the computers. But Aki called to him:
“Neil! Why don’t you come with us? We can shut this down after breakfast. You need to eat something.”
Neil fully agreed to the idea of some good breakfast food. Besides, after a morning like this, it was time for everyone to sit down and ponder on what just happened. As the team walked out of the hallway, with Douglas and the Mayor no longer visible, all six of the team members exchanged silent glances while walking out of the building. Everyone knew what the other person was thinking: I’ve got a bad feeling about this.