“Paradise is a pandora’s box we’ll never fully open. So much information on its founding was lost during the evacuation from the western hemisphere that I don’t think we’ll ever piece together how, or even why it formed the way it did. All that matters is whoever runs it must be the most soulless monster in all of human history. That is, if it is just one man. Say what you want about the Jade Emperor, at least he doesn’t permanently destroy the minds of his peoples from birth, rendering them lobotomized slaves. The illusive ‘Council’ that runs Paradise filters their orders through various ranks of leaderships – Furists at the top, then Praecursori, Folgeres and finally Beholders. Regardless of rank, I am sure that all of them must be in the dark in some sense – wallowing in misery they cannot even fully comprehend. Even if we find out the ‘why’ behind Paradise’s motivations, I am sure we won’t understand it fully. Unlike the myth of Pandora, I don’t think we’ll find any hope at the bottom of this box.” – Ricky Upsail, Paradisian Analyst, 2247. Taken from ‘The Western Power – A Dark History Unknown’.

  The wind was howling as Elias woke up besides the love of his life. Chel-Lin, quietly meditating, stirred as Elias began to move.

  “Mornin’,” Elias mumbled.

  “Hey there,” Chel-Lin returned, turning to her side to get a better look at him.

  They rested for a while, the rumbling of the storm outside having only intensified since the day before. Elias couldn’t tell what time it was, having knocked the electronic alarm clock off the bedside table the night before. The same went for trying to see if there was anything on the inter-sys news – the TV remote being another unfortunate casualty of their habit of having sex on top of unusual furniture. Eventually, with much regret, Chel-Lin lifted herself out of the bed and began to get ready. She had redonned her normal skin over her core after they had finished the night before, and her black and gold surface shined bright.

  “I plan to see my father,” she said. “If I can convince him of the positive aspects of our work, perhaps we can sort something out between GaltCorp and my people. Maybe we’ll even have a chance to enjoy the IGS once this weather settles down.”

  “Will he be so accepting? I know he and his friends may be a bit more open than other Tylas after the whole Nucleus fire incident, but still.”

  Elias wandered over naked to the fridge to get a glass of orange juice.

  “I will help him see the truth if he is having doubts,” Chel-Lin had swung the last of her scarves, thankfully undamaged this time, around her neck as she inspected herself in the mirror. “Based on our last few talks, he seemed very forward with both the CCH and the Out-Han in trying to mend the bridges that have been burnt by our leaders. If hope can be rebuilt us, it starts with the lower strata uniting with the middle assemblies, such the Proclaimers.”

  “Huh. Glad to know he’s on our side, even if it’s just politically.”

  “Well… he has been a very attentive father recently,” Chel-Lin tapped a pair of straps together. “And… he may have implied he knew of and approved of our relationship.”

  Elias did a spit take. “Fucking what?”

  “I didn’t pick up on it at the time! In hindsight, him saying something like ‘be careful of burns if things get too heated’ does feel a bit on the nose now. And I don’t even have a nose!”

  Well, great. That would be an awkward discussion next time he met Kar-Trine. At the very least, it seemed like the Tylas was doing his best to become a good dad. Elias wondered what his father was thinking right now. Maybe he wasn’t thinking of Elias at all. It would be better that way.

  Elias got dressed when he looked at the time on his comm-device. They said their reluctant farewells as Chel-Lin braved the ferocious winds of the outside. Taking a quick glance out the window, he saw the skies had darkened to a thunderous myrtle green and the winds were whipping at all the loose trash around Birkdale’s Gate. It was as Elias looked to the side that he knew the Interspecies Galactic Symposium was truly underway.

  A whole fleet of ships had arrived. Tripwire, Glass Tip, both Second and Black Sun, and dozens more companies were all in place on the human side of Kral’Thul, many docked at Birkdale’s Gate. A few vessels had ventured into the air near Urestior, likely the main GaltCorp diplomatic craft trying to sort out Elias’ issues from the day before. He spent a while looking over the ships, attempting to make out the crewmen working on or departing from their ships. Notably, sitting a fair gap away from the usual company-designed ships was a cluster of vessels of a different style. Without further inspection, they appeared perfectly normal, albeit sporting the same shades of purples and whites of the liquidated Henry and Huell Incorporated logo. However, as Elias looked closer, he could see that the exterior had bulges and curves – organic looking material all along it made to mimic the style of a normal human craft.

  The Out-Han Alliance. Their Cambiar crafts were partially made of living material, worked by their advanced bio-technicians to function in harmony with inorganic structures for an adaptable yet strong design. It was the first time Elias had seen one in person, and it was quite the sight. The largest ship, one with dozens of smaller frigates circling it, was parked on a separate asteroid not too far from Birkdale’s Gate, linked by a bridge to the edge not far from Elias’ hotel. As he looked, he could see transport shuttles departing from the frigates and parking up on the smaller landing pads in the city’s centre. Ooh, the idea of getting to pick the brains of the Out-Han’s finest scientists could be fun. That is, if news about his wild gesture hadn’t made him a pariah all across the Milky Way yet.

  Elias turned to look at the machine that had put him in such a position. Thankfully placed in the corner to avoid any mid-coitus bashes, the Daksira-Savage-Drive sat in the cuck chair of the hotel room. Laughing at the positioning of the device now he was of clearer mind, Elias walked over to give it another look. Considering how much he had been looking at his invention recently, he was worried he might start calling it ‘his precious’ and would need to toss it into Mount Doom to be rid of it.

  “’So small a thing!’” Elias quoted. “You know, after all that bullshit with the future sight stuff, maybe this thing might be able to turn me invisible.” Elias spoke aloud, feeling silly, but it never hurt to laugh about the little things in li-

  “You never know, Elias,” a familiar voice said. “Stranger things have happened.”

  Elias turned. Isaac, bald headed and wearing the same lab coat as before, stood beside a window. Hands behind his back, he had the same indominable aura of as before - posture relaxed, but with an undeniable steel to his gaze. His focus was out towards the darkening green skies.

  “Hello,” Isaac said, not looking his way.

  “Y-you!” Elias pointed a finger as he held the DS-Drive behind his back, as if he could shield it from the intruder. “How did… No. Why are you here?”

  “Oh my, am I such a pest that you don’t wish to offer me a drink? Some tea perhaps?” Isaac pouted. “Such a shame. Still, always nice to see how my favourite scientist is doing. Quite the show you made yesterday.”

  “Why are you here?” Elias asked again, voice firm. “If you want the DS-Drive…”

  “Oh, is that what you called it? Ah, yes, that’s right. I suppose it makes sense. Sure, it could stand for part of the principles of the theories behind it, but we both know it’s much nicer to call it after yourself. ‘Daksira-Savage’ was it? You have as much pride as I did at your age, Elias. Always needed to name things after myself. I would never have let my colleagues get their names before mine on any of the papers we did! Ah, such simpler, but fun times.”

  Elias considered interrupting, but the strange man appeared to be rambling, and thus he let him go on unabated. It would give Elias more time to plan his next move.

  “Yes, yes. So long ago now. I was tempted to use the name of my little group for the device, but that felt a bit… I don’t know how else to say it but… on the nose?”

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  “…Right,” Elias said.

  “So yes, after much discussion, I felt the need to name it after myself, you see. Has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?” Isaac, for the first time, gave a real smile, one that creased his eyes. “The Schulyer-Drive, that is.”

  “The… what?” Elias murmured.

  “The Schuyler-Drive. Of course, it always got shortened down to S-Drive. After that, well, you know how it got that silly little nickname. Schr?dinger, that old piece of history with his cats, did have a much more of a memorable name, and his physics do still apply at a basic level, so I can’t be that upset.”

  Isaac. Isaac Schulyer. He was the creator of the S-Drive. And he was in front of Elias. From Project Grail, finished a hundred and fifty years ago. Impossibly old for his appearance, he must have been born long before Evergreen, the age enhancing drug, had been developed.

  “But… the…” Elias was lost for words.

  Before he had considered Isaac some sort of agent of the corporations or perhaps Doctrine, but the truth was far, far beyond his comprehension. How on earth was he here, in front of him? And why?

  “Yes, yes, that was a long time ago,” Isaac said, gesturing the notion as if it had the same importance as forgetting to get groceries. “But things are new! Things are changing! Everything I, well, I and my associates have worked hard to set up is finally coming together, and I couldn’t be happier.”

  Isaac Schulyer frowned. It could have been a trick of Elias’ confused mind, but it almost appeared as if the soft paunchiness of his face appeared to be hardening into cheeks of solid immutability, a statue made into flesh. The already paper-thin fa?ade of a bumbling scientist was fading, fast, not that it had ever really worked.

  “Well, things could have always gone better. I do have my regrets – delaying the release of Evergreen for some time after we first made it, putting restrictions on the Schulyer-Drives to hide their secondary functions until the first contact with the Cambiar, and most of all, putting that poor bear in the ground.”

  None of this was making sense. Elias felt sick. What the fuck was going on.

  “Now that was regretful,” Isaac Schulyer tutted, shaking his head. “I couldn’t let the others bear, heh, the weight for that one. Made the shot myself – click, bang, down. Went straight for the heart. Couldn’t stand to see Poo Poo suffer, even if he had to die. That was… what? 2065, I think? A good long while before could even start mentioning our work to the public, at least.”

  Elias scowled. Schulyer, Evergreen, S-Drive secondary functions, Poo Poo. It was all too much. His slack hand threatened to drop the DS-Drive when Isaac snapped out from his reverie.

  “Oh, goodness me! Look at me – going on and on about myself. Come to the window. I have something I want to show you.”

  “What do you want?” Elias asked, straightening his posture. “What are you planning?”

  He didn’t have his comm-device on him – he had lazily tossed it onto the bed after checking the time. Perhaps if he could stun the rambling maniac, he could try to use it to get help. Elias was determined to get more information from the bizarre man, as any scraps of his history could help identify him later.

  “Are you part of the Illuminati?” Elias asked, not truly believing such an idea.

  Isaac looked insulted, “Oh, come on Elias, really? You think I’m part of some old-world ancient group steering the world’s direction for all of human history? Some sort of ethnically-linked cult, Freemason group, Bavarian secret society, or part of the Knights Templar? Don’t be silly, we got rid of those factions a long time ago. Besides, me and my associates have only been acting for the past few centuries. We’re a real grassroots group, you know. Au naturel.”

  “Oh… sorry…” Elias wasn’t sure what to say to that.

  “Now come on over, I’m not going to bite your head off. Come, come! You’ll miss it.”

  Elias slowly approached the drawn curtain, clenching his fist on the DS-Drive’s handle in preparation swing it at that stupid bald head of Isaac’s if he got the chance. Still, if Elias lived, the small fragments of information he was gathering by the second would be vital. That was a big if though. Despite his seemingly friendly nature, Elias knew for certain that the man was a threat, and not just to himself. It sounded like the whole history of humanity may have been manipulated by Isaac to some degree and someone needed to know about it before Elias died.

  Standing next to Isaac, who gave a friendly grin, the sound of the storm outside was so close he could feel its power through the walls. The bald man gave a sweep of his arm to pull back the window’s blinds to reveal a view of the outside. For a second, everything seemed fine, but it was after just a heartbeat that Elias saw something descending through the swirling winds.

  Peaking through the dark green mist, a colossal ship appeared; hull black and red, and followed by hundreds of smaller frigates and fighters. There could be no mistake – it was clearly a Doctrine vessel and they had not come for the IGS’s festivities. A deafening horn sounded out from the ship, forcing Elias to wince. Face paling, he turned to Isaac. No matter what else, he needed to know the truth.

  “Are they with you? What is it you want with the DS-Drive?” Elias said.

  “The DS-Drive? Oh, Elias, I’m not interested in that. My original Schulyer-Drive could do what yours could and more, before we dumbed it down for the masses, but I must say I am impressed. Even without the head start of information we had, you have achieved so much.” Before Elias could react, Isaac swung an arm up to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The limb was a blur of motion, but had landed as soft as a feather.

  “Me, Elias? I’m going to save us. All of us. And not just here in the CCH, or in our arm of the of the galaxy, or even the local supercluster. My team are ready, and we’re going to save everyone, and everything, out there beyond the stars. Believe me.” He sighed, and his smile dropped. “Be proud, Elias. The sheer fact that you drew me out, massively sped up my timeline on my project, is a clear enough sign you were some of the best humanity had to offer. It’s a real shame you won’t live to see the ending.”

  Elias swung the DS-Drive and lunged backwards. The instant his makeshift weapon would have struck his egg-like head, Isaac appeared to be standing in a different spot a few steps back. There was no magical burst of light, no sound. Almost like…

  “Phew!” Schulyer said, brushing dust off his lab coat. “That was close. You nearly had me walking around with a dent in my head!”

  With a wipe across his eyes, a pair of contact lenses were removed, revealing no change to his iris colour, but instead the piercing golden light burning from the centre of his pupils. They were not the flickering indistinct dots Elias had during his prescience testing; these were solid beams of gilded brilliance, the eyes of someone with centuries of practice. Someone far beyond Elias’ novice and incomplete understanding of the unknown forces at play.

  The sounds of the descending ships had arrived, an apocalyptic siren from hell. Alarms and speakers sounded off outside as the first volleys of gunfire sounded out. But Elias was inside, and far more pressing matters were at hand.

  “You should really be more careful with that. If it weren’t for you, I think it’d be up to the Out-Han to make an S-Field capable device of the same strength, and I frankly don’t trust their progress. Who knows have far they would have gotten without someone like you?”

  “Fuck you,” Elias spat.

  “Please don’t be upset, Elias. I promise, it’ll be quick.”

  “There’s no fucking way you’re killing me. I’ve come too far to die some bald fucking freak.”

  “Me?” Isaac threw his head back and laughed, though it seemed the little jab at his lack of hair did strike some nerve, based on the twitch of an eyelid. “I’m not going to kill you. She is.”

  Isaac nodded towards the window. Snapping his eyes away from the bastard for just a second gave Elias enough cause to do a double take. From beyond the window, he could see dozens of black pinpricks streaming off the battleship in every direction. He initially wondered if it was some sort of chaff, but the increasing size of a few made it clear they were arms of an offensive sort.

  Missiles. Thousands of them. And, as if time was in slow motion, Elias could see one in particular burning towards him. Isaac would do nothing; Elias was already dead. His death dawning on him, Elias made one last look towards Isaac Schulyer. He looked genuinely sad.

  “Goodbye, Dr Savage. It is for men like you, and the love you have, that I do what I must. No matter the price, no matter the cost. I will save us all.”

  And, just before, he was gone. No dazzling effect marked his disappearance – a computer-less, drive-less impossible S-Jump to parts unknown.

  A look to the side reconfirmed the approaching missiles. For a moment, Elias considered sitting down to face the explosive demise that was apparently foreseen by the strange man. It would be instant, at least he hoped. No pain, no more trying to fight back against who he thought he was. In fact, he wouldn’t even need to argue with Kantor – that was a plus, right? That was, unless, both Elias and his father ended up in hell together.

  But he had made a promise – fire and flames, ice and sleet, hot and cold, Elias would be with her. Chel-Lin. And besides, Elias was too proud to die. Unlike what Isaac said, he was not done. Not yet.

  With precision, the calmness afforded by his resolute soul, he closed his eyes and activated the DS-Drive attached to his hip. Battery energized, Elias focused on the feeling he had felt back in the lab the night before his presentation. The calmness within, a fire in his core compressing, but not diminishing. He breathed out and saw the future.

  In a hundred different spots, he saw his end. The shadows echoing out from where he stood began to move, pause, then fade away. In each, Elias saw himself twisted into mangled forms by explosive force, or crushed by falling debris. With each second that passed, the roaring of the missiles increasing to a demonic howl, more and more future positions lead to his end. It was he was beginning to doubt he had a chance that he saw one spot for safety – the back left corner of the room, beside the closet and cuck chair. There, he saw his inverted midnight outline of his body descend as the building collapsed around him. Yet he survived. Even if it was for just a second more than his other fates, it was worth trying. He would never give in.

  Wasting no time, he leapt over the bed, heart pounding, and threw himself into the same spot he saw a fraction of a second before. As he had foreseen, a violent ripple of force tore through the room, shredding the walls to fragments and pulling the floor down, down into darkness. Elias fell, and all became black.