Hilda stared at the spot where Darklight Isle once stood, stupefied. The place was now empty. All that was left was a faint glow, which resulted from the energy-field ships as they accelerated away. The trail of screams from the holdout leader could still heard in the broadcast—righteous and soul-stirring. Nonetheless, the staunchest spirit of the holdout had no match for the moving experts who transported the isle.
Hao Ren sighed in silence. "Nothing like seeing it in real life. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Haven't I told you, I've got many energy-field ships?" 883 shrugged. "This service isn't cheap. Now that we've moved one isle, we still have 10 teams of spacecrafts nearby. Please earmark the floating isles you woud like to retain. I'll get them hauled to the World Gate. Then, the remaining isles will be ours."
After a moment of stupor, Hilda pulled out a small gadget. "Wait a minute, I will get Vimm to send us the identification codes. A few eco-domes need to be retained."
"Eco-domes?" Hao Ren looked at Hilda in surprise. "You're not keeping Dawnbreak Island? That's where your palace is!"
"A palace can be rebuilt, but things in the eco-domes are the foundations built by our ancestors. We will not be able to retain many things in Aerym as it is, we cannot lose what has been passed down to us." Hilda smiled then continued, "We have been keeping complete ecological samples ever since we broke up the planet in hopes that one day, when we find a new home we would be able to reproduce the entire forest and grassland of our hometown. So, the domes must go with us."
"I do not understand your thinking," the MDT chimed in. "Bear in mind that the new planet has its own ecosystem. You can only keep your own ecosystem inside the dome, separate from the new environment. It's going to take you decades, if not centuries to modify the dome so that the ecosystem can be fully compatible with the new home. It's no child's play."
Hilda looked firm as she nodded. "I am aware of that, but still, the dome must come with us. It may be a burden now but, I do not want our ancestors to blame us for allowing our children to lose their historical roots."
It was an Aerymian internal affair. If Hilda insisted for it to be that way, Hao Ren and the captains were in no position to object. So, as temporary commander-in-chief, 883 ordered the isles to be moved. As soon as the order was issued, a group of strange-looking spacecrafts broke off from the migration fleet; these were the energy-field ships with narrow hulls and a petite size, which did not fit into the cargo ship category. These expensive barges went on to encircle the Aerymian domes. A few strong flashes later, the ships and the isles were gone before their eyes.
"We should go now." Hao Ren glanced at Hilda. "The earlier we depart, the faster I can come back for a second trip."
Hilda gazed at the hologram in the cockpit, trying to etch the last images of the floating isles into her memory. She then nodded firmly and decisively.
A warped image materialised across the display monitor. The glow of the Aerymian star turned into a band of light and disappeared before their eyes. The Petrachelys left the remote and desolute place. It moved through deep space towards the World Gate at hyperspeed.
In hyperspace, the scene outside the spacecraft was pitch black. Holograms of dull and boring flight data as well as charts were being displayed in the cockpit. Hilda exhaled and spoke to Hao Ren softly, "I would like to take a look in the cargo bay."
"Okay. I'll let Lily accompany you. She'll show you the way."
Lily was almost bored to death. She was more than happy to take up the job as she and Hilda left the cockpit.
The Petrachelys was not a specialised passenger vessel; it had a container expansion bay, that was it. It was meant for holding cargo but now, it was packed with nervous elves. Needless to say, conditions were not ideal; it had no seating and it was cramped with the sheer number of elves. The elves were packed like sardines in a can. Some leaned against their luggage, some sat back-to-back for support as they murmured to each other in nervousness and anticipation of what was to come; it was also a means to pass the time.
The journey would not be long. The Aerymian elves were not particular about the cabin's condition and they did not complain.
That was what Hilda and Lily witnessed when they were at the cargo bay.
"Your Majesty!"
"The queen has arrived!"
"Her Majesty is here!"
The coming of Hilda had again caused a commotion in the otherwise boring cargo bay. The elves rose to their feet, greeting and saluting as Hilda walked towards them. Hilda was very down to earth; she walked into the crowd and sat among them—being with her people again had lessened her homesick feeling. "At ease. Now, I am just like you—a passenger. What are all of you chatting about?"
"We are curious about how our new home will look like," a middle-aged elf spoke as he edged back, trying to keep an appropriate distance from Hilda. "Your Majesty, are we really going to a place rich in natural resources?"
Hilda grinned as she nodded. "Yes, we are."
A little girl squeezed herself through the crowd, asking abruptly, "I heard the new home has a super-duper big dome, so large that we cannot see the end. Is it true? What kind of dome is it? Who made it?"
"That is the sky. It' is not a man-made dome." Hilda smiled at the little girl and explained to her what it was going to be like; the breeze and the land of nature. Hilda was almost tearful but she kept her emotions unnoticed: it had been generations since the elves last saw the sky. Not only the child, even the existing elderly Aerymians just saw glimpses of how the sky in their planet once looked like from the archive disk. She could still vividly recall her awe and shock, the moment she saw true sky for the first time when she was thrown into The Plane of Dreams by the huge explosion. Today, she knew the elves would experience the same awe and shock she had. The days were going to end, and as she thought of this, she became emotional again.
Outside, the Petrachelys had left hyperspace and stopped before a magnificent light curtain at the World Gate.
Stopping at the light curtain along with the Petrachelys were other spacecrafts of the migration fleet. The whole armada jammed to a halt at the gate.
Staring at the progress bar on the monitor, Hao Ren asked in astonishment, "What is it? Do we have to queue up at the World Gate? The gate's big enough for us to get through as far as I can see."
"It's the conversion process," the MDT said lazily. It was still in the card slot. "It's the first time the elves and their materials are making the cross to another universe. A conversion is needed before they can pass through."
Hao Ren was confused. "Conversion? What conversion?"
"The law of adaptation." The MDT was also bored from all the waiting. "Think about this: different universes have different sets of physical laws and constants. Some places have differences in the definition of their basic force, some places have differences in lightspeed while some places have materials of non-molecular structure—all these differences could be fatal to space travellers. Astral travel would be no problem but, not physical travel; when a physical body passes through the gate, the body will be rearranged into elementary particles by the cosmic force on the other side. So, it's important that developed, trans-universe nagivation tech always carry a procedure for conversion. The conversion could also be performed when the spacecraft's void engine is activated, or when crossing the World Gate. This is all for the sake of safety. Hence, we've got to wait. We still need to pass through the void quadrant to get to their new home on the other side so, it's going to take a while."
Hao Ren was a little confused. "Okay, I understand about the conversion but, the last time we brought Hilda along, we didn't have this problem."
"Too many people this time," the MDT explained. "Last time, we only had a few but now, it's one billion. What's more, we're hauling millions of square kilometres of land and a mountain of materials along. This World Gate is in the backwater. It's only a lite version. Its sovereign hub is still stuck at version 1.0..."
Hao Ren nodded but, he did understand a thing. His eyes were on the holograhic progress bar. He waited and waited however, the bar looked like it had froze. He released a long sigh and lamented. "Dang it, I finally have a chance to do something big, now what? The progress bar is stuck..."
Hilda stared at the spot where Darklight Isle once stood, stupefied. The place was now empty. All that was left was a faint glow, which resulted from the energy-field ships as they accelerated away. The trail of screams from the holdout leader could still heard in the broadcast—righteous and soul-stirring. Nonetheless, the staunchest spirit of the holdout had no match for the moving experts who transported the isle.
Hao Ren sighed in silence. "Nothing like seeing it in real life. Why didn't I think of that?"
"Haven't I told you, I've got many energy-field ships?" 883 shrugged. "This service isn't cheap. Now that we've moved one isle, we still have 10 teams of spacecrafts nearby. Please earmark the floating isles you woud like to retain. I'll get them hauled to the World Gate. Then, the remaining isles will be ours."
After a moment of stupor, Hilda pulled out a small gadget. "Wait a minute, I will get Vimm to send us the identification codes. A few eco-domes need to be retained."
"Eco-domes?" Hao Ren looked at Hilda in surprise. "You're not keeping Dawnbreak Island? That's where your palace is!"
"A palace can be rebuilt, but things in the eco-domes are the foundations built by our ancestors. We will not be able to retain many things in Aerym as it is, we cannot lose what has been passed down to us." Hilda smiled then continued, "We have been keeping complete ecological samples ever since we broke up the planet in hopes that one day, when we find a new home we would be able to reproduce the entire forest and grassland of our hometown. So, the domes must go with us."
"I do not understand your thinking," the MDT chimed in. "Bear in mind that the new planet has its own ecosystem. You can only keep your own ecosystem inside the dome, separate from the new environment. It's going to take you decades, if not centuries to modify the dome so that the ecosystem can be fully compatible with the new home. It's no child's play."
Hilda looked firm as she nodded. "I am aware of that, but still, the dome must come with us. It may be a burden now but, I do not want our ancestors to blame us for allowing our children to lose their historical roots."
It was an Aerymian internal affair. If Hilda insisted for it to be that way, Hao Ren and the captains were in no position to object. So, as temporary commander-in-chief, 883 ordered the isles to be moved. As soon as the order was issued, a group of strange-looking spacecrafts broke off from the migration fleet; these were the energy-field ships with narrow hulls and a petite size, which did not fit into the cargo ship category. These expensive barges went on to encircle the Aerymian domes. A few strong flashes later, the ships and the isles were gone before their eyes.
"We should go now." Hao Ren glanced at Hilda. "The earlier we depart, the faster I can come back for a second trip."
Hilda gazed at the hologram in the cockpit, trying to etch the last images of the floating isles into her memory. She then nodded firmly and decisively.
A warped image materialised across the display monitor. The glow of the Aerymian star turned into a band of light and disappeared before their eyes. The Petrachelys left the remote and desolute place. It moved through deep space towards the World Gate at hyperspeed.
In hyperspace, the scene outside the spacecraft was pitch black. Holograms of dull and boring flight data as well as charts were being displayed in the cockpit. Hilda exhaled and spoke to Hao Ren softly, "I would like to take a look in the cargo bay."
"Okay. I'll let Lily accompany you. She'll show you the way."
Lily was almost bored to death. She was more than happy to take up the job as she and Hilda left the cockpit.
The Petrachelys was not a specialised passenger vessel; it had a container expansion bay, that was it. It was meant for holding cargo but now, it was packed with nervous elves. Needless to say, conditions were not ideal; it had no seating and it was cramped with the sheer number of elves. The elves were packed like sardines in a can. Some leaned against their luggage, some sat back-to-back for support as they murmured to each other in nervousness and anticipation of what was to come; it was also a means to pass the time.
The journey would not be long. The Aerymian elves were not particular about the cabin's condition and they did not complain.
That was what Hilda and Lily witnessed when they were at the cargo bay.
"Your Majesty!"
"The queen has arrived!"
"Her Majesty is here!"
The coming of Hilda had again caused a commotion in the otherwise boring cargo bay. The elves rose to their feet, greeting and saluting as Hilda walked towards them. Hilda was very down to earth; she walked into the crowd and sat among them—being with her people again had lessened her homesick feeling. "At ease. Now, I am just like you—a passenger. What are all of you chatting about?"
"We are curious about how our new home will look like," a middle-aged elf spoke as he edged back, trying to keep an appropriate distance from Hilda. "Your Majesty, are we really going to a place rich in natural resources?"
Hilda grinned as she nodded. "Yes, we are."
A little girl squeezed herself through the crowd, asking abruptly, "I heard the new home has a super-duper big dome, so large that we cannot see the end. Is it true? What kind of dome is it? Who made it?"
"That is the sky. It' is not a man-made dome." Hilda smiled at the little girl and explained to her what it was going to be like; the breeze and the land of nature. Hilda was almost tearful but she kept her emotions unnoticed: it had been generations since the elves last saw the sky. Not only the child, even the existing elderly Aerymians just saw glimpses of how the sky in their planet once looked like from the archive disk. She could still vividly recall her awe and shock, the moment she saw true sky for the first time when she was thrown into The Plane of Dreams by the huge explosion. Today, she knew the elves would experience the same awe and shock she had. The days were going to end, and as she thought of this, she became emotional again.
Outside, the Petrachelys had left hyperspace and stopped before a magnificent light curtain at the World Gate.
Stopping at the light curtain along with the Petrachelys were other spacecrafts of the migration fleet. The whole armada jammed to a halt at the gate.
Staring at the progress bar on the monitor, Hao Ren asked in astonishment, "What is it? Do we have to queue up at the World Gate? The gate's big enough for us to get through as far as I can see."
"It's the conversion process," the MDT said lazily. It was still in the card slot. "It's the first time the elves and their materials are making the cross to another universe. A conversion is needed before they can pass through."
Hao Ren was confused. "Conversion? What conversion?"
"The law of adaptation." The MDT was also bored from all the waiting. "Think about this: different universes have different sets of physical laws and constants. Some places have differences in the definition of their basic force, some places have differences in lightspeed while some places have materials of non-molecular structure—all these differences could be fatal to space travellers. Astral travel would be no problem but, not physical travel; when a physical body passes through the gate, the body will be rearranged into elementary particles by the cosmic force on the other side. So, it's important that developed, trans-universe nagivation tech always carry a procedure for conversion. The conversion could also be performed when the spacecraft's void engine is activated, or when crossing the World Gate. This is all for the sake of safety. Hence, we've got to wait. We still need to pass through the void quadrant to get to their new home on the other side so, it's going to take a while."
Hao Ren was a little confused. "Okay, I understand about the conversion but, the last time we brought Hilda along, we didn't have this problem."
"Too many people this time," the MDT explained. "Last time, we only had a few but now, it's one billion. What's more, we're hauling millions of square kilometres of land and a mountain of materials along. This World Gate is in the backwater. It's only a lite version. Its sovereign hub is still stuck at version 1.0..."
Hao Ren nodded but, he did understand a thing. His eyes were on the holograhic progress bar. He waited and waited however, the bar looked like it had froze. He released a long sigh and lamented. "Dang it, I finally have a chance to do something big, now what? The progress bar is stuck..."
