Vlaheen — Simon Fox

In response to a powerful Vision, the people of NewIsska embark on a trans-cosmic journey to find a mysterious civilization ... VLAHEEN is Sequel 4 in the FirstLord Chronicles, a cutting-edge series of hard-core science-fiction novels by Simon Fox.



CHAPTER 1



The JourneyVision came to the people of NewIsska while they were at their regular SeventhDay worship in The Meadow.



They all saw it in their minds, heard it in their hearts and felt it in their bones. It was a Vision of overwhelming power. They had not heard the Anthall speak with such clarity since the time of the Twofold Mandate, 213 years before.



NewIsska's entire 12,000-strong population �" even the youngest daughters �" fell silent and lay prostrate upon the soft grass of The Meadow. It was not an unpleasant experience �" there was no pain of any kind �" but it was completely disabling.



Just before she drifted off into a trance-like state, KnowsMuch whispered this advice over the YevvCom:



“Don't resist it, my daughters. Relax … go with it … The Anthall wants to speak to us … Listen to him …”



An unprecedented quiet now filled NewIsska's vast hollow interior. The only sounds were the songs of the birds in the trees and the gentle humming of the ever-busy robotic AIs as they maintained the fabric and systems of this artificial world.

NewIsska continued its long slow orbit around the unremarkable sun of an uninhabited star system on the outer fringes of the Home Galaxy. While the millions of solar collectors on her hull gathered energy from the sun, her people gathered wisdom from the Anthall …



CHAPTER 2



Two days later, in the FirstLord Hezzkal's private quarters aboard Lazall's Palace in Isska orbit, ThinksFast and KnowsMuch broke the news to him.



“But we NEED you!” protested Hezzkal, shocked by their announcement that they were about to embark on a long journey, perhaps never to return. “The Fraternity can't survive without you!”



His friends, sitting on a sofa facing his, shook their heads, smiling. Dressed in their usual multicoloured two-piece outfits, they looked the same age as Hezzkal himself �" in their mid twenties. But in fact, the two NewIsskans were about 2,300 years old.



“Oh yes it CAN!” replied ThinksFast. “The Fraternity has truly come of age now. It has over 7,000 member species in 32 galaxies. And now that you've developed really effective IntergalJump technology, you no longer need us to transport your ships between galaxies.”



KnowsMuch understood that Hezzkal wasn't just worried about the Fraternity; his anxiety was also personal. She and her husband had been the young FirstLord's much-loved friends since his infancy; he could hardly imagine his life without them in it.



“Hezz, we don't know for SURE that we'll never return,” she said, trying to encourage him. “We just think it's a possibility, and we wanted you to know that.”



Hezzkal nodded thoughtfully, trying to come to terms with the idea of their absence. “So … tell me more about this Vision from the Anthall,” he asked.



KnowsMuch and ThinksFast exchanged one of those “Do you want to explain this or shall I?” glances that Hezzkal had frequently seen during his childhood, when they were answering his endless questions about the Anthall, or their telekinetic abilities, or what it had been like for them back in the days when they had been Protectors rather than NewIsskans. ThinksFast nodded to KnowsMuch.



“We were in a kind of trance for just over three hours,” she said. “During that time we all saw the same things, heard the same things, felt the same things. To sum it all up, the Anthall told us that the present phase of our NewIsskan history is coming to an end, and a new one is beginning. We must undertake a very lengthy journey to a VERY remote part of the universe.”



“And why's that?” enquired Hezzkal.



“So that we can encounter the Vlaheen.” ...