Read Online Birthright-The Technomage Archive by B.J. Keeton - Free Book Online
Authors: B.J. Keeton
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into?
Roman’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Let me be the first to officially welcome all of you Recruits aboard the Inkwell Sigil .”
A hand raised in the crowd. A chubby girl Ceril didn’t know asked, “What's an Inkwell Sigil ?”
Roman smiled at her. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I get ahead of myself sometimes. The Inkwell Sigil is the name of a spaceship.” He waved into space off to his left. “A spaceship whose most basic function is as a location where we train our Recruits.” Roman swept his arm across the group. “And it will be your home for the next six years.” Roman waited for the students to get their murmurs out before he continued. “Your families will be given cover stories about your education. In a way, they will be told the truth. They will know that you have been selected for an extremely selective boarding program and that the program lasts for six years. I’m sorry to say that your contact will be limited during your tenure here, but that is temporary.”
A boy with a round face spoke up behind Ceril. “I don’t think my Ma will go for that, Mr. Roman.”
Roman smiled, and it was the first time Ceril thought it wasn’t genuine. He said, “She won’t have a choice.” His tone indicated that the matter was closed. He changed the subject before anything else was said. “Right now, we are traveling through hyperspace.”
“ What are you talking about?” asked another voice from the crowd. “Hyperspace? Did you just make that up?”
Roman was unperturbed. He was used to that kind of disrespect during these initial moments. This was a lot to take in, so he forgave the kid’s rudeness. “No,” he said. “I didn’t. Hyperspace is pretty easy to understand. Think about it like this. Have you ever rubbed your hands together and felt heat building up? That burning sensation?”
The student said, “Well, yeah.”
“ Well, it’s friction doing that. Now, have you ever rubbed your hands together with something between them? Like some water, jelly, anything like that?”
“ I guess.”
“ Does it make it easier to rub your hands together? Does it stop the burning and make you not blister?”
“ I guess.”
“ Well, think of that jelly, water, or whatever, as hyperspace. If we were to move through normal space, we’d be slowed down by what you can basically think of as friction. There’s a limiting force to how fast we can go without destroying ourselves, kind of like that burning when you run your hands together too fast. However, if we coat ourselves in jelly, so to speak, we can move far more quickly and far more smoothly to where we’re going without burning ourselves up from too much friction. Does that make sense?”
“ So we’re in a spaceship that’s covered in jelly?” the student asked.
“ It’s not a perfect metaphor,” Roman said.
“ It’s a stupid metaphor.”
Roman laughed and said, “I can’t help that. It’s the best I’ve got. Right now, from where we are, you can’t see the hyperspace envelope that surrounds the ship. Once we leave this lobby area, though, you’ll be able to see the envelope through any window or porthole you look out of—a colored blur, some swirling lights, maybe.” He looked at the student who didn’t care for his explanation of hyperspace. “That’s the jelly we’ve got on the ship. Other than that, we are in a completely empty Instance.”
More muttering and whispering started, and Roman let it slide once again. Something didn’t sit right about what Roman just said with Ceril, though.
Then it hit him: why could they see stars? If they were in a completely empty Instance, why were there stars? It just didn’t make sense. And on top of that, if they were in hyperspace because it let them go farther away, faster, and with no damage to the ship, why would they have to be in an empty Instance? Couldn’t they just stay in one place and not worry about hyperspace at all?
Ceril raised his hand to ask,
Roman’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Let me be the first to officially welcome all of you Recruits aboard the Inkwell Sigil .”
A hand raised in the crowd. A chubby girl Ceril didn’t know asked, “What's an Inkwell Sigil ?”
Roman smiled at her. “I'm sorry,” he said. “I get ahead of myself sometimes. The Inkwell Sigil is the name of a spaceship.” He waved into space off to his left. “A spaceship whose most basic function is as a location where we train our Recruits.” Roman swept his arm across the group. “And it will be your home for the next six years.” Roman waited for the students to get their murmurs out before he continued. “Your families will be given cover stories about your education. In a way, they will be told the truth. They will know that you have been selected for an extremely selective boarding program and that the program lasts for six years. I’m sorry to say that your contact will be limited during your tenure here, but that is temporary.”
A boy with a round face spoke up behind Ceril. “I don’t think my Ma will go for that, Mr. Roman.”
Roman smiled, and it was the first time Ceril thought it wasn’t genuine. He said, “She won’t have a choice.” His tone indicated that the matter was closed. He changed the subject before anything else was said. “Right now, we are traveling through hyperspace.”
“ What are you talking about?” asked another voice from the crowd. “Hyperspace? Did you just make that up?”
Roman was unperturbed. He was used to that kind of disrespect during these initial moments. This was a lot to take in, so he forgave the kid’s rudeness. “No,” he said. “I didn’t. Hyperspace is pretty easy to understand. Think about it like this. Have you ever rubbed your hands together and felt heat building up? That burning sensation?”
The student said, “Well, yeah.”
“ Well, it’s friction doing that. Now, have you ever rubbed your hands together with something between them? Like some water, jelly, anything like that?”
“ I guess.”
“ Does it make it easier to rub your hands together? Does it stop the burning and make you not blister?”
“ I guess.”
“ Well, think of that jelly, water, or whatever, as hyperspace. If we were to move through normal space, we’d be slowed down by what you can basically think of as friction. There’s a limiting force to how fast we can go without destroying ourselves, kind of like that burning when you run your hands together too fast. However, if we coat ourselves in jelly, so to speak, we can move far more quickly and far more smoothly to where we’re going without burning ourselves up from too much friction. Does that make sense?”
“ So we’re in a spaceship that’s covered in jelly?” the student asked.
“ It’s not a perfect metaphor,” Roman said.
“ It’s a stupid metaphor.”
Roman laughed and said, “I can’t help that. It’s the best I’ve got. Right now, from where we are, you can’t see the hyperspace envelope that surrounds the ship. Once we leave this lobby area, though, you’ll be able to see the envelope through any window or porthole you look out of—a colored blur, some swirling lights, maybe.” He looked at the student who didn’t care for his explanation of hyperspace. “That’s the jelly we’ve got on the ship. Other than that, we are in a completely empty Instance.”
More muttering and whispering started, and Roman let it slide once again. Something didn’t sit right about what Roman just said with Ceril, though.
Then it hit him: why could they see stars? If they were in a completely empty Instance, why were there stars? It just didn’t make sense. And on top of that, if they were in hyperspace because it let them go farther away, faster, and with no damage to the ship, why would they have to be in an empty Instance? Couldn’t they just stay in one place and not worry about hyperspace at all?
Ceril raised his hand to ask,
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