CHAPTER
1

"First Consul, believe me when I tell you that every living thing on this planet is going to die."

Mino orDresha felt frustration mounting even as she delivered the blunt, harsh statement. Despite that, she still was satisfied at finally getting the reaction she sought from Flen etHamwora, watching as his pale, withered features tightened for the first time into a mask of genuine concern.

"You are absolutely certain, my friend?" the first consul asked, his faint and raspy voice one of the more overt symptoms of neplatrenu, the degenerative disease with which he had been diagnosed during the previous season. Acting on the directions of his advisors, Flen had chosen to keep his affliction concealed from the public he had been elected to serve, a course of action that only would have become harder as time passed and his condition worsened.

Not that any of that matters now, Mino mused with only a slight degree of bitterness as she regarded Flen, the first consul's aged, diminutive body seeming even paler than normal and all but swallowed by his high-back chair as he sat behind the simple, uncluttered desk that was his spacious office's prominent piece of furniture. While neplatrenu was not fatal in all cases, it was a virtual certainty that Flen would not survive long enough to see the disease run its course.

"I have checked my findings three times, First Consul," Mino replied. "There is no error. I remained silent while I verified the data, as you directed, but now that it is confirmed we must take action."

"I do not understand," Flen said after a moment, turning in his seat in order to take in the breathtaking view of Yabapmat, the sprawling city that had served as the capital of the Gelta nation-state for thirty-eight generations. "How can something so far away present such an enormous threat?"

Mino sighed. Though she had attempted to describe the scope of what the planet faced, she knew that Flen's impatience and inability to grasp the finer aspects of the sciences would only serve to prolong this discussion. "Yes, it is true that the object we detected is a great distance away, and in fact will never actually collide with or pass very close to Mestiko. That is not the issue here, First Consul."

Deep-space telescopes had detected the object three lunar cycles ago, and it had taken nearly every waking moment since then to corroborate what Mino had feared upon her initial analysis of the telescopes' collected data telemetry: The rogue phenomenon—essentially a compact star moving through space—was emitting lethal levels of radiation. While the object's path would not bring it into proximity with Mestiko, that did not matter, as the radiation it emitted would wash over the surface of the planet, destroying its atmosphere and inflicting a death sentence upon all life harbored by it.

Those most fortunate would perish quickly as the event occurred, rather than survive a brief aftermath characterized by immense, unremitting suffering from which there would be no escape.

Flen swiveled his seat so that he could see Mino again, his expression still retaining a large measure of doubt. "You will have to forgive me, my friend, but this prediction of yours is a bit much to take in all at once. It does at first sound quite outlandish, would you not agree?"

Once more Mino felt frustration as well as the first hint of anger as she listened to Flen's continued denial. "First Consul, I have been your chief science advisor since you took office. You know that I am not disposed to alarmist theories or reckless, uncorroborated declarations. I stand before you today and tell you without any doubt or reservation that our world is doomed, and that we must act if we are to have any hope of preserving anything of our people or our culture." Indeed, Mino's entire career had been devoted to the sciences and the pursuit of knowledge, to say nothing of the careful weighing and investigation of each new piece of information. Working alongside some of the greatest minds in history, she labored to understand not only the origins of the Payav but also their place among the other worlds and peoples that must inhabit the universe.

And it was that part of my work that was just beginning to show such promise.

Flen placed his frail, withered hands atop the polished surface of his desk. "You misunderstand me, my dear friend. It is not that I doubt you, for you have served not only the people of Gelta but me personally with unflagging loyalty and integrity." He paused to release a small cough, as though the act of speaking at such length was becoming a strain. "The problem I face is my own, for I find myself unable to decide how best to proceed in the face of what you tell me is an inalterable fate for our civilization."

Not for the first time, Mino felt the impulse to simply shout that which she had been keeping contained within herself. It was a struggle that had grown ever more difficult with the dawn of each new day that itself was but one of a dwindling number left to her people. The answer to Flen's question and perhaps even the dire fate that apparently had been levied on Mestiko might well be within her grasp. She had only to speak the words.

I cannot, she reminded herself yet again.

Instead, Mino said to the first consul, "Based on the technology available and the time remaining to us, we have nothing that might be employed to destroy the object, alter its path, or protect against its effects. However, there is something else we can consider."

She paused, stepping around Flen's desk so that she might study the expansive Yabapmat cityscape, which she had called home for nearly her entire adult life. For a brief moment, she imagined it scorched by fire, enveloped in dust and smoke, drenched in acidic rain, with millions of its inhabitants lying dead in the streets or huddled inside their homes, fearfully waiting for a merciful end.

Enough!

Forcing away the gruesome imagery, she returned her attention to Flen. "We have developed the ability to propel a spacecraft faster than light. We can increase its scope to accommodate one or more larger craft, capable of supporting a representative sample of our people. They would be a group who might carry forth our heritage, perhaps to begin anew on another world somewhere far from here."

Flen's eyes grew wide as he listened to Mino's proposition. "That is quite poetic, my friend, but is it practical? How are we to select such a sample of survivors to carry on our name and culture? How do we ensure that an equal representation of all the peoples of our planet is created? Most important, how do we go about such a venture without inciting a global panic?"

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