Iron Age Short Story Prompt - The Rondure
Considering the titling convention for these - I want most of them to be able to be read out of order, but there may be some that work better chronologically… I suppose for now I’ll continue to label them, while stating before hand that ‘you can read these in any order’. Enjoy!
The Archive of Bliss, ep.2 - Dimensional Sentry
Slow progress along hundreds of kilometers of rocky ridges allowed Gero Von to skirt around a dense, foreboding bog that filled the lowlands. With the dragonfly’s vertical limit of only a hundred meters or so, even cruising above a biome like that could be dangerous. Apart from propulsion failure, on a planet where there were known titanic species, you could never be too careful.
As Gero slipped down into drier flats that bordered the bog, he caught sight of a dusty haze on the horizon. That suggested movement, but he wasn’t aware of any micro-colonies in this region of Bliss. Of course, the Survey Group’s data on the area was out of date and incomplete, which was why he’d decided to activate the dragonfly’s topoScan functions and gather fresh data while he awaited new orders from Mission Control.
He kept his speed low, so as not to startle any denizens, checked his weapons in their holsters and sheaths, and toggled on his SightLog. He and the hovercraft passed through the cold, invisible membrane before Gero could even register that he’d felt it.
He came to a sudden stop, whirling the dragonfly around to look the way he’d come. He definitely felt something, like passing through a sheet of chilled, humid air, but there was nothing to see. Nothing at all, in fact. The space inside the membrane was Everything. A curve of Nothing cut off the vistas of Bliss, as if black night had marched on past the horizon to creep as close to Gero as it dared.
Ancient fleshly instincts urged him to flee the way he’d come immediately, but breaking away now was at odds with his mission. Gero tamped down fear and adrenaline and dismounted, then examined the space he had entered.
It was a ruin. Ancient, bone-white, columns and arches and blocks of stone. Now ruins on Bliss were no new thing, since no colony of more than fifty souls had ever survived its second winter there. But Gero was aware of no site of this apparent age - the wild, humid biomes that dominated the planet were as hostile to structures as they were to human life.
Yet here was dry, dusty, and still. The midday sun had gone, and in its place hovered the merest hint of twilight. Gero thought he may well have entered another place, or another time. If the latter, he’d be able to retire on the bonus once the Survey Group had confirmed it.
Gero left the dragonfly hovering in place and passed through the ruins, contemplating. The alabaster stone was cold to the touch, and he sensed it was suffused with memory. Memory he had no means of accessing. The best he could do was use his layman’s grasp of archaeology to determine what the purpose of the site might have been.
The circular pavement at the apparent center of the site was his best clue. A religious complex, he surmised. Any number of ritual preparations could have taken place in the now-fallen buildings. The devotees would process from that rectangular footprint of a colonnade to the cracked altar that stood here. For worship? Sacrifice?
Was theirs a twilight god? Was it the residue of his magic that had separated this place from the light of day?
Gero’s musings were cut short when a glassy drone approached in a rush from his left. A Form slipped through the air, silent but for that tuneful indication of its operation. The Form shifted erratically, now a latticed sphere of some crystalline material, now flat as a disk. It could not seem to decide in which dimensions to make its home.
Its urgency suggested threat, though, and Gero’s hand rested on the hilt of the multiblade at his belt.
But the Form stopped at three meters and circled him, scanning aggressively. Alarms went off in Gero’s head as his security systems detected several supposedly impossible breaches. But the Form did not attack his mind, or his AIs, or try to steal anything from him. It merely poked and prodded, deeper than it should have been able to, then withdrew from his mind and rose a bit higher into the air.
After emitting a series of sounds that Gero could not decipher, the Form finally spoke in a language that Gero understood.
Creature, be advised that your presence in this restricted location is forbidden under [unintelligible] code RS12:3TL2003a. State your business, for the record. Your sentence will be decided forthwith.
Sentence? This was some ancient, lonely security drone then, unaware that its services were no longer needed. Gero fought to keep his cool, his mind imagining the million ways such an odd, dimensionally unstable machine could choose to punish him.
“Gero Von,” he stated, “agent with the Luzcorp Interplanetary Survey Group.”
The Form seemed to consider this.
Corporation not recognized. Function?
“We survey and develop research and preservation plans for anomalous sites on planets such as this one.”
What is your designation for this planet?
“Bliss.”
Our records do not match. A moment. You are one of these surveyors, then?
“Yes.”
I am a surveyor. Designation [unintelligible]. Our directives are in sync. Considering the code violation…
“Have you sent your report?” Gero asked.
Affirmative. Temporal lock has been engaged until further notice. Preservation and Reclamation ship is inbound. ETA…
It stated no time but didn’t seem to be thinking. When its silence persisted, Gero prompted, “I suppose whoever’s survey team arrives first gets credit for the find, eh?”
He made it sound as amiable as possible, unsure if the Form could even pick up on his inflection.
Indeed, said the thing at last. Verdict reached. Please refrain from contaminating the site any further and continue on your way. Feel free to log the site, though you must expect that the claim will be lodged and locked before your team returns. We hope you understand.
“Of course,” Gero humored. “I appreciate your civility.”
But the Form did not respond. With a rising glassy whine it shifted into a two-dimensional disc and rotated into invisibility. Only the fading whine that followed indicated that it had moved away.
Gero returned immediately to his hovercraft, mounted and cruised toward the wall of Nothing. A glance over the shoulder showed no sign of the Form. Only the quiet ruins preserved by this strange automaton for who knew how long.
Gero passed through the membrane again, as cold and uncomfortable as before, and into the oppressive warmth and humidity of Bliss proper. His senses reeled a moment at reentry into time’s proper flow, then his body rejoiced at the return of the silent high Bliss must have been impressing upon it since his arrival there by dropship. It was so subtle he hadn’t even noticed, and may never have had it not been for the transition to the Form’s weird bubble of protection.
Gero Von sent his report not long after, and parked near a clear brook for rest and rations. He was dismayed to see that the SightLog had recorded nothing within the Form’s temporal lock, but in hindsight wasn’t surprised. His word on the matter would have to do. He reported also on the subtle high of the planet itself, making a note that it had indeed been well-named by the first attempted colonists.
He was pleased to receive confirmation of receipt shortly after, and along with it, orders for his next mission.
Hope you enjoyed the story - there’s more where this came from!
https://www.amazon.com/T-J-Marquis/e/B087RLN18G
