999 OCTILLION SOULS, May 11, 2024
I FLIGHT
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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE:The following information is derived from Information Seed 40 and received by the Gravitational Wave Observatory. I and AI performed a frequency analysis on it. IE edited certain parts to make them more 'readable'. (He might have overdone it.) Please feel free to comment.3
Young and beautiful Petra, living in the colossal Building encasing most of Earth, yearned for the world beyond the artificial sky. From her window on Level 123, she gazed at the endless cityscape, her gaze drawn to the Spitze, the apex, piercing space almost touching geosynchronous orbit. The ever-present Computer, an invisible hand controlling their lives, fueled her curiosity about the Grand Empire they were told lay outside. Six more years of school and she would be considered an adult, allowed to explore as a Rookie Spacer.
St. Trillian Junior High School was one hour up by turbo elevator, but Petra preferred wormholes like everyone else. The waiting time in the wormhole access point, a row of simple computer-controlled booths, ranged between two and four minutes. She arrived at her destination almost instantaneously, mere Planck seconds.
de_tech_G: wormholes are fantasy
IE: how can you be so sure?
de_tech_G: I’m certain
translator: treat this as a fairy tale then
The classes, meetings with zero-g talent scouts, and VR sessions were interesting, but Petra worried too much about the match against Zenith to pay them much attention. Her team of five looked as nervous as her but tried to hide it.
prof_sparky: Everyone from GWO, please don’t talk to outsiders. If you do, you could be prosecuted under various security acts, FISA, and CISA.
gwo_fr_5: as they say, Roger that, sir.
prof_sparky: cap_mal, what’s the status of your vitamins?
cap_mal: have bags of them. more are coming our way
Hours passed until the match started. They had to take a wormhole up to the top floor of the Building.
Petra squeezed her eyes shut, picturing the worn, leather sphere hovering in the zero-g court a floor below with, in a corner, a holographic statue of St. Trillian before she Ascended and statues of famous zero-g ball stars at the edges. (Trillian was depicted as a large, dark-skinned woman in her forties.) The two nets, at almost six meters in length, hovered on opposite sides.
Sweat beaded on Petra’s forehead. Below, the curvature of the Earth bled into the inky blackness of space, a breathtaking backdrop for their after-school game. Today, it was Decaped versus Zenith, the reigning inter-tower champions.
"Ready, Decapeds?" Valentino asked, his voice echoing in the vast chamber. Towering even at twelve, handsome Valentino wielded the Wavej Field like a seasoned athlete. Beside him, Dinah, with her cybernetic eye, crackled with nervous energy. “Yes!”
Da Shi, the oldest at fourteen, bounced in low gravity, his twin braids whipping around his big and ever-growing head. “Can’t wait to destroy them!”
They were all dressed in bright red.
“Ready, V,” Petra said.
Big-boned George chuckled. “Dudes and dudettes, we got this!”
luo_ji: what’s the Wavej Field
translator: a field allowing for a sort of telepathy and telekinesis
ru_mikhail: excellent
us_gwo: yes, definitely not a waste of time
Petra took a deep breath. Forget the view, forget the competition, forget the screaming audience, the talent scouts, and everyone watching at home. All that mattered was the ball. She opened her eyes, searching the court. Across the shimmering net, the blue-uniformed Zenith team of five floated in microgravity poised. Jae, their captain, with his aura of effortless superiority, smirked at Petra. They had one Qeerav boy on the team. There weren’t many aliens left in the Solar System after the Great Galactic War.
ru_mikhail: GGW between?
IE: Earth and the Grand Empire probably
us_gwo: but the GE worships Earth, right?
The buzzer blared, shattering the silence. Time to focus. Petra reached with her mind, not grabbing, but coaxing. The leather sphere hovered and pulsed faintly, responding to her Wavej nudge. It rose, a slow, graceful ascent. A cheer erupted from the Decaped bench, a smattering of students and curious adults.
Valentino, ever the strategist, used his neurochips to send a silent message. #QSM#
Petra received it instantly: a slingshot maneuver, arcing the ball around Jae's Wavej shield. She grinned, her mind forming the trajectory. The ball picked up speed, blurring past the bewildered Zenith players.
otavio_br: this is all very confusing. neurochips are brain chips?
IE: yes
builder_7: why not use their field?
uk_gwo5: maybe they aren’t close enough
But Jae was fast. With a flick of his wrist, he sent a TK counter-wave. The ball wobbled, its course deflected. Panic surged through Petra. She couldn't let Zenith score! Da Shi, sensing her distress, sent a mental jolt. It wasn't a complete thought, more of a surge.
Drawing on renewed strength, Petra pushed harder. The ball responded, dipping under Jae's net with a satisfying thud. A collective gasp rose from the Zenith side. Decaped erupted in cheers. Chubby George, a teleport specialist, materialized the ball back to Petra's side of the court.
"Nice one, Petra!" George shouted. “I’ll treat you to an energy bar later.”
Petra beamed. This was why she loved zero-g ball. It wasn't about TK or TP; it was about teamwork, reading minds, and pushing her mental limits.
The game continued in a whirlwind of Wavej throws and counter-attacks. Sweat stung Petra's eyes, but she wouldn't give up. The score was neck-and-neck, the tension thick in the air.
Then, with seconds left on the clock, Jae launched a vicious Wavej spiral. The ball spun chaotically, defying normal trajectories. Da Shi stumbled, his TK hold wavering. Petra lunged forward, her mind screaming.
With a final burst of Wavej force, she intercepted the ball mere inches from the Decaped net. Silence descended. Then, the buzzer blared, signaling the end of the game.
A slow smile spread across Jae's face. "Good effort, Decaped," he said mockingly.
cap_mal: I like Jae
luo_ji: he’s a winner
Petra ignored Jae. She had done it. She had stopped the impossible shot. Relief washed over her, mingling with the exhilaration of the near-impossible save. Her teammates surrounded her, their cheers drowning out Jae's snide remarks.
builder_7: so Decaped won?
otavio_br: who cares?
“We’ll crush the Five Musketeers, darlings,” George said, heading for the nearest foodomat. “Don’t forget about the tabletop party.”
The Computer manifested as a holographic, smiling Cheshire Cat in front of George. “Don’t overeat, Navigator,” the Computer said.
George frowned. “Buzz off!”
“Point deduction.” The Computer’s hologram vanished.