Read Online Kaldean Chronicles: Kaldean Sunset (Book I) by Maxwell Bond - Free Book Online
Authors: Maxwell Bond
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said wistfully as she looked out at the water, “there's so much more out there, things you could barely imagine. Sentients with technology far more advanced than our own, ancient cities that were built long before earth existed. It's like another dimension.”
“I've heard very little about it.”
“Well that's because nobody goes there. You never know what you might encounter. Once, when my ship was orbiting a gas giant, this creature, thousands of miles wide flew out of the center and nearly crashed into us. He was comprised of nothing but gas.”
“I've heard it theorized that gaseous life might be possible, but I've never actually heard of it existing.”
“It does.”
“You've seen so much.” He leaned in with his head in his hands. “Yet here you are, a crowned prince, an heir to what is assumed to be the most powerful Empire in the Milky Way, and you have no idea what's outside its borders.”
“No idea whatsoever.”
“That's sad. You should come with me.”
“You have no idea how much I'd like to do that.” He was sitting in the transport with Cornel again, anxious to reach out and touch the stars, but he couldn't. He wasn't allowed to. His life confined to petty politics led by shallow men and skilled strategists. All he could do was ask questions.
“What's it like to live in the palace,” Dhana asked.
“It's terrible. I have that drunken guard following me around everywhere, my father constantly hounding me about one affair or another. I can get whatever commodity I want, but I barely have time to indulge in them. I'm only allowed to leave on official business. Most of my time is spent meeting with local leaders, governors and such, reporting to my father or trying to get some semblance of rest.”
“But you're revered. People respect you.”
“They lie to me. They laugh behind my back when I'd rather they did it to my face. They patronize me, and try to gain my affections. I have women I don't even know, some twice my age who try to send me gifts or lure me into their beds. Men are constantly trying to strike up conversations with me. They all want something from me. I'm not really respected.”
“I don't think you understand,” she scoffed. “What it means to work your entire life to gain some sort of recognition. My father wasn't always the head of a major business. We lived in a small house in the city designing drones for merchants, tiny things so they could carry their goods around. We didn't always have the things we needed. I had to borrow books for school, and my mother stitched my clothes when they tore up. Even electricity became a burden when things were hard.”
“You're right. I can't imagine what that must be like.”
“No, you can't. You have no idea what the people go through. The only reason he was able to get where he is today is because he knew the right people and he worked hard to make sure that they had what they wanted. He built them ships, transports and eventually moved into robotics once he was able to build a name for himself. You, you've never had to work for anything.”
“We work. We live to solve problems that don't have answers.”
“But it's not the daily grind that normal people have to withstand.”
“I want to understand.”
“Do you?”
He stared at her. “How could I possibly be an effective leader if I don't?”
“You do sound sincere. I think you will make a good leader.”
“You don't know how sincere I am. I would give anything to understand your perspective. I wanna know what it's like out there in the outer reaches, and what it means to live on nothing. If I could leave this life behind, I would. I hate it. I hate everything about it. Please, take my place, because I would gladly take yours.” He was getting heated. “You're not the first person to say these things to me, you know. I bring it up all the time.”
“To your father?”
“Yes.”
She laughed, “And what does he say?”
“That he takes a detached
“I've heard very little about it.”
“Well that's because nobody goes there. You never know what you might encounter. Once, when my ship was orbiting a gas giant, this creature, thousands of miles wide flew out of the center and nearly crashed into us. He was comprised of nothing but gas.”
“I've heard it theorized that gaseous life might be possible, but I've never actually heard of it existing.”
“It does.”
“You've seen so much.” He leaned in with his head in his hands. “Yet here you are, a crowned prince, an heir to what is assumed to be the most powerful Empire in the Milky Way, and you have no idea what's outside its borders.”
“No idea whatsoever.”
“That's sad. You should come with me.”
“You have no idea how much I'd like to do that.” He was sitting in the transport with Cornel again, anxious to reach out and touch the stars, but he couldn't. He wasn't allowed to. His life confined to petty politics led by shallow men and skilled strategists. All he could do was ask questions.
“What's it like to live in the palace,” Dhana asked.
“It's terrible. I have that drunken guard following me around everywhere, my father constantly hounding me about one affair or another. I can get whatever commodity I want, but I barely have time to indulge in them. I'm only allowed to leave on official business. Most of my time is spent meeting with local leaders, governors and such, reporting to my father or trying to get some semblance of rest.”
“But you're revered. People respect you.”
“They lie to me. They laugh behind my back when I'd rather they did it to my face. They patronize me, and try to gain my affections. I have women I don't even know, some twice my age who try to send me gifts or lure me into their beds. Men are constantly trying to strike up conversations with me. They all want something from me. I'm not really respected.”
“I don't think you understand,” she scoffed. “What it means to work your entire life to gain some sort of recognition. My father wasn't always the head of a major business. We lived in a small house in the city designing drones for merchants, tiny things so they could carry their goods around. We didn't always have the things we needed. I had to borrow books for school, and my mother stitched my clothes when they tore up. Even electricity became a burden when things were hard.”
“You're right. I can't imagine what that must be like.”
“No, you can't. You have no idea what the people go through. The only reason he was able to get where he is today is because he knew the right people and he worked hard to make sure that they had what they wanted. He built them ships, transports and eventually moved into robotics once he was able to build a name for himself. You, you've never had to work for anything.”
“We work. We live to solve problems that don't have answers.”
“But it's not the daily grind that normal people have to withstand.”
“I want to understand.”
“Do you?”
He stared at her. “How could I possibly be an effective leader if I don't?”
“You do sound sincere. I think you will make a good leader.”
“You don't know how sincere I am. I would give anything to understand your perspective. I wanna know what it's like out there in the outer reaches, and what it means to live on nothing. If I could leave this life behind, I would. I hate it. I hate everything about it. Please, take my place, because I would gladly take yours.” He was getting heated. “You're not the first person to say these things to me, you know. I bring it up all the time.”
“To your father?”
“Yes.”
She laughed, “And what does he say?”
“That he takes a detached
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