The Saga of the Phoenix

 The Empire of Govhlor.

The planet known on Earth as Gliese832c, orbiting the red dwarf Gliese832, that is visible in the constellation Crane, was inhabited by a highly evolved civilization that had discovered how to travel in space hundreds of years ago. The beings who lived there and called Govhlor their planet, had a humanoid body structure, with a stature that exceeded eight feet in height. The robust build was equipped with powerful musculature proportionate to the planet's gravitaty.

The body differed from the human one for a very prominent spine, protruding from the back with a cartilaginous ridge that continued along the neck and reached the top of the skull. The head showed very protruding cheekbones that made the small eyes sunken with a rhomboidal pupil placed vertically. The mouth, without lips, showed a set of teeth similar to the human one but with the canines much more evident and sharp. The auricles, small and very close to the skull, were pointed. Completely glabrous, they had thick and leathery skin of a greenish gray color. An Earthling would have considered them reptiles, even if in reality they were not.

In spite of the technologies they had, the social organization was primitive and similar to that spread on Earth in the Middle Ages. A great Emperor exercised absolute power over the planet and the worlds he had subjugated. Under him, the Dukes managed the power in his name but in practice they were independent and divided the domains among themselves. The most deserving, according to the unquestionable judgment of the Emperor, received the title of Governor of the conquered planet, where they could rule as they pleased.

The Empire had its own army and space fleet, but each Duke could have his own troops and ships. In the past, there had been rivalries between the Dukes, which had resulted in bloody wars, but with the conquest of other worlds and their division, they were all interested in the new conquests and the rivalry between them practically disappeared.

Duke Lundthor entered the throne room, already crowded with low level nobles. With a slow and martial step he went towards a bench placed on the right of the throne and sat down after having addressed a greeting, with a deep bow, to Emperor Hulhus who, half lying on his huge throne, looked at the room with a bored air. Behind him were deployed ten Guardians, in black uniforms, who held the kwerr, a weapon supplied almost exclusively to them. It was formed by a long steel rod that carried on the top a sharp serrated blade, slightly curved and contained a ray generator.

Two Guardians entered the room, holding by the arms a completely naked being who could hardly move and was bleeding from the different wounds he had in various parts of his body. When they arrived in front of the throne, they made him kneel in a hollow in the floor, three yards square and about ten inches deep, remaining motionless at the sides of that kind of basin.

The guttural voice of the Emperor resounded in the silent hall:

“What is the charge?”

Duke Lundthor rose from his seat and, turned to the Emperor, said:

“Great Hulhus, this vile Patrician has disobeyed my orders and stole several...”

He could not finish the sentence that the Emperor silenced him with a sharp hand gesture and, turned to the two Guardians, ordered:

“Proceed!”

Simultaneously, the sharp blades of their kwerr fell, one on the throat and one on the nape of the neck of the prisoner who collapsed to the ground, his head half detached from the trunk, in a lake of blood. After a few seconds, the bottom of the basin opened in two halves, causing the body to sink while, from the sides, a steaming liquid, with an acrid smell, washed away all the blood. The room remained silent when the Emperor got up from his throne and went out followed, shortly after, by the Duke.

The star Gamma Pavonis, visible from Earth in the constellation of the Peacock, is a yellow dwarf not very different from the Sun, around which the planet Uluth orbits. The complacency of Emperor Hulhus had entrusted it to Duke Wohlok, one of his most loyal feudal lords who, by imperial appointment, performed the duties of Governor. In practice, however, was the absolute master, since the Emperor, to ensure the loyalty of his dukes, left them a free hand, provided that they paid, or rather, did pay the imperial taxes to the inhabitants of the planet. Uluth was particularly rich in raw materials essential to the Empire, especially in the military field. The hulls of spaceships were manufactured with metals from the rich deposits of the planet. Weapons technology depended largely on the extraction of rare metals that were abundantly available only on Uluth. In addition, the intensive farming on Qwok provided huge quantities of highly prized meat, much sought after by the Empire's wealthy nobility.

The indigenous inhabitants of the planet, a meek people of gatherers and hunters, had been forcibly enslaved to the Empire and forced to work according to the directives imposed by the Governor. The only two activities allowed were mineral extraction and Qwok breeding.

The Qwok was a huge herbivorous animal weighing up to 5 tons. It was similar to a large rhinoceros, but had four fearsome long horns on its head pointing forward. Of a tame nature, it could be easily domesticated and used for work or as a mount, but it was raised primarily for its meat, considered a delicacy throughout the Empire.

The inhabitants of the planet were practically slaves under the absolute power of the Duke. Only a small group of individuals had rebelled against the tyranny and lived in hiding on the inaccessible heights full of tall trees and deep caves. The Duke's Guardians were tasked with searching for them and, when found, killing them on the spot. The Duke had established a prize for each rebel killed, just to encourage the search, but the finds were very rare and this made both the Duke and the Guardians angry and anxious to collect the prize. A further reason that fueled the desire for revenge of the Duke, was given by the fact that the rebels, on several occasions had managed to overwhelm some isolated Guardians, killing them and taking away their kwerr. Thus armed, they proved to be very dangerous for the Guardians who, although much more numerous, could not avoid the sudden sporadic guerrilla attacks that often caused significant losses. The rebels were a real nightmare for the Duke who was determined to solve the problem alone, without informing the Emperor, for fear of being deprived of power in case of prolonged failure. The fact that the Rebel ranks were growing larger and larger made the situation absolutely intolerable for the ruthless tyrant.

Yquus had discovered a system of caves that plunged from the side of the mountain into the bowels of the planet, forming a labyrinth of chambers and tunnels. In one of these, enormous and with a very high ceiling, which was accessible through a narrow tunnel, there was a rather deep lake surrounded by flat, sandy shores. On the opposite side of the lake, there was another tunnel that went up to the surface and came out on the opposite side of the mountain. Most likely there were other exits through the many underground chambers that should have been explored thoroughly. It was the ideal hiding place for the rebels and also easily defensible thanks to the narrow accesses that would not allow the passage of more than two Guardians side by side. The entrances were almost invisible from the outside and the depth of the cave would have hindered or even prevented the Guardians' detection systems from detecting their presence. He gathered all his followers and they settled on the shores of the underground lake. While some were organizing the settlement with a view to a long stay, Yquus sent some of his people, armed with kwerr, to explore the various chambers and to draw a complete map of the cave system with all possible exits to the surface. With the rocky materials present along the shores of the lake, the builders began to erect housing, also using the kwerr, which thanks to the powerful ray at very high temperature allowed to obtain regular blocks of rock to form walls and fences. The provisions were not sufficient for a long stay, so Yquus ordered another group to go out to hunt a Qwok, whose meat would ensure a supply of food for a long time.

Four hunters armed with kwerr cautiously emerged from the cave into the mountainside looking up at the sky. The main danger came from the Dwagoo, huge, voracious flying reptiles that would swoop down on anything moving on the surface and devour it on the spot if it was too heavy to carry to their nest. An Uluth inhabitant weighing around two hundreds lbs, on the other hand, could be easily transported in the air and placed in their larder on the mountain tops where they were usually stationed. The Qwok, slow and tame, did not resist those terrible predators and were only partially eaten because of their enormous size. An adult Qwok, with its 5 tons of weight, was impossible to carry even for the powerful Dwagoo.

The hunters spotted three Qwoks grazing lichen at a distance of a few hundred yards and ran down to the plain to catch up with them. It would have been very useful to convince one of those behemoths to climb up the mountainside to facilitate transportation to the rebel shelter. Once grabbed by one of its four front horns, the animal would let itself be guided meekly without resistance. The opening of the cave was not wide enough to allow the passage inside, but at least they would have shortened as much as possible the journey to transport the large pieces of meat.

Along the stretch that separated them from the small herd, they stopped to collect lichen and filled a large sack. When they were next to one of the Qwok, a hunter grabbed one of the two lower horns of the animal and invited it to turn its head towards the sack full of lichens. While the animal grazed contentedly, the whole group, keeping the sack within reach of its mouth, moved in the direction of the mountain. They were going up the slope when, high in the sky, a Dwagoo appeared and, having reached the vertical point of the other two Qwoks who were still grazing, swooped down on one of them and bit him in the back of the head. The animal collapsed to the ground under the terrible grip of the predator's jaws, while the other one trotted away at the maximum speed allowed by its size. The Dwagoo began his meal, which would keep him busy for a long time, giving the hunters time to reach a small plateau not far from the cave entrance. One hunter aimed at the animal's forehead, right in the middle of the four horns, and a death ray came out of the kwerr, knocking it to the ground. While another hunter ran into the shelter to call other rebels to carry the meat inside, the others began to tear the huge carcass to pieces. That supply of meat, along with the harvested lichen would allow the rebels a long stay in the safety of the new shelter.

Gordon had been informed by the incorporeal beings of Upsilon B Andromedae, that the species hostile to their universal mission had forcibly subjugated the inhabitants of Uluth, a planet orbiting Gamma Pavonis, and it was from there that he decided to begin his research. They had informed him that on Uluth existed, unbeknownst to all, a small colony of their minds placed inside a hundred bodies similar to the one found on Earth, in the underground electrical cabin in Nevada. The beings of Upsilon B had suggested to Gordon that he locate the colony and make contact with them, as they could be extremely useful to him.

As supreme commander of the Earth's space fleet, he embarked on the flagship, a Super Phoenix named F1, which carried, attached to its hull, six auxiliary ships identified by a letter added to the call sign of the flagship, from F1-a to F1-f. The powerful fleet built by the Phoenix, in the lunar shipyards was composed of fifty super ships, from F1 to F50 each of which was formed by a flagship joined to six other sister ships.

Gordon left thirty super-ships on the lunar base and sent ten of them to the Proxima B Centauri base. With a fleet of ten super-ships for a total of seventy ships powerfully armed and defended by the new screens, virtually insurmountable, he headed towards the constellation of Peacock to reach Gamma Pavonis.

Long before their arrival, Gordon ordered the fleet to perform exercise maneuvers. All the crews had already been fully trained, but the purpose was aimed primarily at the maneuvers of uncoupling the auxiliary ships from the main ship and placing them, in the shortest possible time, in combat formation. The fleet would have to assume different configurations depending on the type of threat to be faced. Endless simulations had been made in space within the solar system with very positive results, so Gordon believed he could successfully face any opponent. Turning to his deputy he ordered:

“Archie initiate the level 4 fleet-wide exercise.”

The first officer was a man in his fifties, a martial-looking space veteran who proudly wore his short white hair and ensured cool, near-perfect efficiency. He assented to the order he received by responding with an old term in use in the English Navy of the eighteenth century, which Gordon particularly appreciated when used by his crew:

“Aye Aye Sir!”

and turned to Arielle, a martial-looking woman in her forties, clenched in her uniform of second communications officer.

“See to that the order is sent to all ships with maneuvers commencing in 120 minutes.”

The efficient second officer, in turn, with a resounding:

“Aye Aye Sir!”

immediately went to the communicator computer. Despite the perfect training of the crews, the simultaneous maneuvering of the seventy ships to configure the various combat formations was not an easy task but, at the end of the exercise, Gordon, fully satisfied, congratulated all the crews and their commanders for the perfect preparation demonstrated.

The Rebel scouts had drawn a complete map of the entire cave system. It was a huge set of tunnels and underground chambers interconnected by tunnels of different sizes, and no less than five of them led outside, up the sides of the mountain. In the event of an unlikely attack by the Duke's Guardians, they would provide several valuable escape routes in all directions. The entire system was practically a maze that would thwart any invaders while giving the rebels time to take refuge elsewhere. Another team had been tasked with exploring the surrounding mountains for other similar cave systems.

Yquus had placed a rebel armed with a kwerr at each of the entrances, having camouflaged the opening with rocks and bushes. He felt safe in that new shelter and, along with some of his rebels, began to study plans of attack in the form of guerrilla actions against the Guardians. The purpose was twofold: to kill as many enemies as possible and take possession of their weapons and equipment to organize a real army to free the planet from the tyranny of the Duke.

The species, to which the inhabitants of Uluth belonged, was completely different from the invaders who all came from Govhlor. It was different physically as they were much more similar to Terrestrians, although their average stature reached seven feet in height. Their faces could have gone almost unnoticed on Earth as they had an oriental-like conformation with almond-shaped eyes similar to those of Asian Terrestrians. Only their tall stature and pointed pinnae would have revealed their alien origin. The other fundamental aspect that differentiated them from the Imperials was their meek and peaceful nature that, despite themselves, had favored the invasion. Only after long years of subjugation had formed the first groups of individuals determined to rebel against the tyranny and so were born the rebels, whose ranks grew larger and larger.

A fleet as impressive as the Earth's could not go unnoticed by the space detection centers of the planet Uluth. From the space station in orbit, the Duke was told directly that an unknown fleet of ten large ships was approaching Gamma Pavonis and would enter the system within 72 hours. The ships had an unknown structure as well as their origin. They added that they were definitely not from Govhlor. The Duke, between the surprise and the fear that they were new types of ships sent by the Emperor to deprive him, given the lack of success in the repression of the Rebel uprising, gave orders to identify the unknown fleet. For 24 hours, incessantly, the orbiting station sent signals requesting identification, without receiving any response. When the fleet entered the system and orbited Uluth, the orbital station received signals, apparently without any meaning, which it immediately sent to the control room on the planet where the Duke had gathered all his scientists and military leaders. The experts present quickly deciphered the message that repeated the Fibonacci series in decimal, octal and hexadecimal. Between one series and another there were vocal messages, all different from each other, in an unknown language. The computer experts with the help of their most advanced computers set to work to analyze that language and translate it. After a few hours, the person in charge of the operation told the Duke the text of the main message. The others, which were long enough, had been sent only to facilitate their analysis and translation. The message, which made the Duke's eyes glaze over in astonishment, said:

“We come from the third planet of the star we call the Sun, on the outskirts of the Milky Way galaxy.”

Followed the astral coordinates of the solar system and continued:

“Send us a long voice message so that we can set up a translator to communicate with you in your language.”

The scientists sent a long message sufficient to demonstrate their mathematics knowledge and mastery of advanced quantum physics. The Duke's purpose was to try to intimidate them by making them understand that they were facing a civilization that was scientifically highly evolved and not at all clumsy.

Gordon, on the command bridge of the flagship received the translator developed by the super-computer in a very short time thanks to the length of the texts received and immediately sent a message;

“I am Admiral Gordon, commander of the Earth fleet. We intend to go down to the planet to explore it. We have no hostile intentions but will not tolerate any acts of hostility from you. I await your urgent reply.”

A grimace of irritation appeared on the Duke's face, not only for the imperative tone of the message but also for the intrusion of alien beings on his planet. On the one hand, perhaps it would have been worse if they had been sent by the Emperor, whose cruelty was well known to him. He made a laconic reply:

“Land your plane, Commander Gordon, I am Duke Wohlok, Governor of the planet Uluth, I am waiting for you in my palace for a meeting.”

And sent the geographical coordinates of his residence.

Gordon decided to descend to the planet with his flagship F-1, leaving the other nine super ships in orbit. Immediately after entering the planet's atmosphere, the auxiliaries separated and all the ships descended in formation on a large flat expanse surrounded by mountains, one thousand miles away from the coordinates provided by the Duke.

The analysis of the atmosphere gave a positive result defining it breathable for the Terrestrians, however Gordon gave the order to maintain breathing inside the spacesuit for all personnel who would descend on the planet. He decided to land not too close to the Duke's settlement for the caution suggested by the disembodied beings. He was the first to get off the ship, along with some of his officers and an armed escort to protect the group, while all protection and detection systems were activated on board.

The group walked away from the ship through the low lichen vegetation, from which some samples were taken. Gordon was commenting with his deputy on the desolate appearance of the place, when from the communicators inserted in the suits they received a message:

"Caution! A flying creature has been spotted, three miles away from you at a height of three hundred yards, coming from 150° (directional references were always given with respect to the bow of the flagship). From the appearance it appears to be a huge flying reptile, probably carnivorous. Maximum alert!"

The group gathered in a circle with their weapons pointed upward and stood by. After a few minutes a huge Dwagoo appeared, high in the sky, and began to swirl above them. He had evidently decided that those little figures on the ground would be useful in his larder in the mountains and began to swoop down towards his prey. From one of the stern turrets of the flagship came a series of shots in rapid succession that tore the animal to pieces, while it was still at a height of a hundred yards. A shower of shreds of flesh mixed with a dense, dark liquid almost hit the group. One of the security agents bent down to take samples of meat to bring on board for analysis while the cameras of the ship had already filmed the animal in all its details when it was still in flight. The analysis, later, established that the aggressor was a flying reptile very similar to the pterodactylus present on Earth in very distant times, but much larger in size. Featherless, with membrane wings, it had a huge mouth bristling with sharp teeth and its diet was exclusively carnivorous.

One of the rebels guarding one of the entrances to the hideout, had warned Yquus of the arrival of the seven unknown spaceships who, together with four of his fellow rebels, witnessed the destruction of the Dwagoo and was astonished by the power of the ship's cannon that had literally crumbled the enormous reptile in an instant.

Yquus wondered who those aliens were and what their intentions were, but he was afraid to expose himself so as not to compromise the secrecy of the new refuge.

They remained hidden and observed the seven large ships that were arranged in a radial pattern with the flagship in the center, forming a perfect hexagon around it. Inside the perimeter they could see beings, protected by their spacesuits, moving from one ship to another in silent vehicles that glided a few inches above the ground. Suddenly an aircraft emerged from one of the ships and headed towards them. Realizing that he had been discovered, he sent one of his men to sound the alarm to the others underground, so that they would be ready to disperse into the underground labyrinth and, in case of danger, to leave through the many openings and disperse into the mountains. Yquus stood in front of the opening, surrounded by four of his faithfuls, waiting for events to unfold.

He was willing to risk his life to find out if these aliens were friends of the Duke or could help them in their fight. The fact that they were not accompanied by imperial troops gave him a glimmer of hope.

The Explorer remained stationary in the air about ten yards from the mountainside with its bow pointing towards the five rebels who were watching it in silence. The commander of the aircraft had received very precise instructions from Gordon: communicate with those beings and understand their intentions. Observing them closely, he realized that they were very similar to Terrestrians and decided to send them a message in the language they had recently inserted in the translator. Shortly before the message was sent, the five beings placed on the ground, at their feet, steel rods with a curved blade at the top, which looked like very primitive weapons even if, apparently, finely finished.

The message read:

“We come from a very distant star in the Milky Way galaxy and we are here to explore the planet. We want to communicate with you. If you understand this message, please respond.”

All of Uluth's inhabitants had been forcibly forced, since the beginning of the invasion, to learn the language of the Empire. Those who refused would be punished with death.

The glimmer of hope in Yquus's mind increased and he decided to gamble, all out. Gambling for the natives was absolutely forbidden, only Imperials could play but, in that case, no one would ever contested him. He answered out loud, almost shouting, even though the very sensitive instruments on board the Explorer could have detected even his heartbeat:

“Our planet has been invaded by the Empire, which has enslaved all its inhabitants. We have rebelled against the tyranny of the Duke who seeks to kill us because our purpose is to free the planet.”

He said it all in one breath and stood anxiously awaiting the outcome. There was no answer, but the aircraft slowly rotated 180 degrees and brought its stern closer to the small plateau where the rebels were. From the rear door, lowered like a drawbridge, came out four Terrestrians wearing a type of spacesuit never seen before and carrying strange weapons. Barret, who was in command of the Explorer, decided to contravene the order he had received, believing that the gesture he was about to make was very useful for his purpose. He took off his helmet with the visor darkened to show the rebels the similarity between their two species. The atmosphere was pleasant and he breathed deeply, staring into the almond-shaped eyes of Yquus, whose hope of finding an ally against the Empire was about to become a certainty. The Terrestrians rested their weapons on the supports hooked to the backpacks they carried on their shoulders and Barret, approaching Yquus, turned to him with a friendly air, smiling:

“I think we shall have to talk at length.”

He immediately informed Gordon by briefly summarizing the situation and that, in the absence of danger, he would prepare his meeting with the rebels. As they descended the tunnel that led to the underground base, the commander released an exploration sphere that followed them, recording everything and sending the data to the control center of the flagship.

Yquus was surprised to see the sphere at work, but was calmed by the commander who explained that it was only a data recorder to send sounds and images to the ship as well as chemical and physical analysis of the environment. He did not mention, of course, the lethal armament with which it was equipped, nor the ability, even if limited, of mental conditioning that the latest versions of the exploration spheres possessed.

The Duke had been informed that a part of the Terrestrian fleet had descended on the planet in an uninhabited area very far from the city where he lived. Thinking that the choice of the location was dictated by reasons of prudence, he decided to wait a little longer, before sending a patrol of Guardians to meet the Terrestrians and lead them to his palace. Almost a day had passed since the arrival and he decided to send a patrol of Guardians. The aircraft that landed on the ground a few hundred meters from the fleet, was the size of an Explorer but its shape indicated that it floated in the air like the old planes, although propelled by an ingenious jet engine. From aboard the flagship it had been thoroughly scanned and the first officer informed Gordon that it was armed with a ray gun whose power could not be determined at the moment. It was, however, held at gunpoint by at least ten turrets of their starships.

Ten Guardians, with their commander in the lead, descended from the aircraft and walked toward the first ship, holding long steel rods with a curved blade on top. Watching them march as if they were on parade, Gordon turned to Archie with a smile:

“Are they armed with spears?”

The first officer shook his head:

“No, Commander, we X-rayed those weapons from a distance. They are cutting weapons but they contain a ray generator. I'd be curious to see them in operation to classify them.”

Gordon ordered a patrol to join them and a magnetic pillow vehicle slowly headed their way.

Suddenly a hungry Dwagoo appeared high in the sky and swooped down on the group. The Guardians stopped immediately and all together started to shoot at the predator, wounding it only slightly and without stopping its attack. From one of the turrets a series of shots were fired that reduced the animal to shreds, just about twenty yards above their heads. There was little left of the reptile because the cannon had been set at almost full power, which greatly amazed the leader of the Guardians. The land vehicle approached the group and its commander, through the translator addressed what appeared to be the leader:

“Come aboard, Admiral Gordon is waiting for you.”

The Duke had provided him with a similar translator but he did not respond and climbed into the vehicle with his people.

Gordon was waiting for them on the command deck along with his officers. Their appearance was not particularly pleasing to the Terrestrians; the crested heads, poking out of their black uniforms full of metal reinforcements, looked like those of giant reptiles. They arranged themselves in a line, and their leader, who was a senior officer of the Guard, exclaimed aloud:

“The Duke wants a meeting with you in his palace and has been waiting for you since the moment of your arrival.”

The tone, rather haughty and arrogant, irritated Gordon who by now was clear about the situation on the planet Uluth. He would have gladly looked for an excuse to start a war and liberate the planet, but very diplomatically he held back while waiting for further information from the colony of incorporeal beings he had not yet identified. The dislike that infused him with that kind of arrogant bipedal reptile, should not have made him anticipate his next moves. In a friendly tone, smiling, he replied:

“This is a safe place. Have you seen what happens to those flying predators? Tell the Duke I am waiting for him here on my ship.”

The leader of the Guardians did not blush with anger because his thick, greenish skin tissue would not allow it. To refuse an ‘invitation’ from the Duke, which by everyone on the planet would be considered a peremptory order, was something unthinkable to him. He answered with the same haughtiness as before:

“I will report to the Duke. Now we want to return to our craft.”

Gordon looked at him smiling even if he wasn't sure that the mocking grimace on his face had the meaning of a smile for those beings and answered:

“But of course, no one will stop you.”

And, addressing his first officer:

“Archie, have the guests escorted in one of our vehicles to their aircraft. I wouldn't want them to be attacked again by one of those flying beasts.”

Archie, smiling and with a resounding:

“Aye Aye Sir!”.

He signaled for the guests to follow him. The blush of anger on the Guardians' officer's face was trying hard to surface and only just succeeded.

When the imperial aircraft had moved away, Gordon instructed one of his officers to organize Explorer patrols equipped with gamma-ray detectors to search for the colony of incorporeal beings. It was necessary to make contact with them before making any further moves. One of the ships, the F1-a, flew up and began to describe very low orbits around the planet to detect any gamma ray traces, but also to locate all existing settlements and map them out.

VOLUME 3

chapter 2

Lucius had only recently been a part of the Phoenix. He had been persuaded to join it by Admiral Gordon who had met him during a time travel in search of the Incorporeals, in Imperial Rome in the year 757 aUc¹. His full name was Lucius Calpurnius Piso who had been a valiant proconsul and, in Thrace, a heroic legate of the Legio XI Claudia.

Gordon, after an investigation into his mind, had seen in him a possible valuable collaborator and had proposed to Lucius to follow him into the future. Lucius had been subjected to the four notional treatments provided and had reached a level of knowledge equal to that of the other members of the Board.

His pragmatic and rational mind, brought to a rigorous logic, had allowed him to fit perfectly into the organization and had become Gordon's right hand. The same mind, that had allowed him extraordinary victories in Thrace many centuries earlier, was now busy trying to understand the Incorporeals and their secrets.

Lucius was no longer surprised at anything. Notional treatments had provided him with the mental tools and adequate knowledge to understand everything around him at that time, so far away for him, in the future. He perfectly understood phenomena that were unthinkable in his time and thanks to his cold and calculating character, he remained imperturbable in the face of any novelty. The only thing that upset him, even if he would never admit it or point it out to others, was the presence of Giorgio Relli², whose biological death dated back to a century earlier and was considered a myth by all members of the Phoenix.

Shortly before his death, Giorgio Relli had poured all the contents of his mind into the organization's super-computer and, when Sean, one of the most experienced computer scientists, noticed the presence of that data, had it transferred to a new organic super-computer, with unprecedented performance.

The new machine didn't outperform normal proton current computers by much in processing speed but it could process billions of data simultaneously, so ultimately its performance was vastly superior. Thus it was that Giorgio Relli came back to life, even if confined within an organic machine, whose data were stored and processed in DNA strands. The huge cylindrical container that housed it was equipped with sensors designed to detect any phenomenon that occurred in its vicinity. A monitor, inserted in the steel casing, showed his face and the voice with which he spoke was absolutely identical to the one he had had in life. His experience and his mental abilities made him an invaluable aid to the Phoenix.

The fact that a man, who died a century earlier, spoke, reasoned, possessed memories and gave advice to others from inside a machine, was something that intimately upset Lucius's mind. It would have been much more normal for him that the gods had allowed Giorgio to return from Hades to rejoin the living.

Gordon had called a meeting to which Dr. Wiesman with his team of scientists and obviously Lucius and Giorgio Relli would have been present.

When everyone was gathered around the large table, Gordon, who had Lucius and Giorgio on either side, turned to Dr. Wiesman who sat across from him, in the center of his team:

“During the previous meeting we had highlighted two particular statements that had been made by the Incorporeals during my time travel in the Imperial Rome. These statements have left me very perplexed as they are inexplicable from our current scientific knowledge. You and your collaborators are most likely the only ones able to deepen these topics and give us explanations.”

Dr. Wieseman carefully hid the pleasant pride that pervaded him hearing those words and replied with a very serious air:

“The main arguments, incomprehensible to us, are two: the fact that the Incorporeals tell us they exist outside of time and the assertion that all human theological theories have always been wrong and far from reality. We are now dealing with the first question and Dr. Wiesenthal leads the team of physicists who are dedicated to this problem.”

He waved his hand to Dr. Wiesenthal to invite him to speak and he began in a calm voice, pronouncing the words in an almost didactic tone:

“Let us consider the assertion of the Incorporeal that claim to exist outside of time. What we know as space-time comprises four dimensions, one of which is time: x, y, z, t. The time dimension makes sense only in conditions of motion of matter or of energetic changes of any kind referred to electromagnetic waves or to gravitational or electrical variables. If we could reach the hypothetical temperature of 0°K, which is impossible, then the time dimension would lose its meaning since at that temperature there is no motion or change, at any level. This tells us that existing outside of time is impossible but perhaps it is possible for them to exist outside of our time and within their own time.”

He paused as he looked at those present who were following him closely and went on:

“We don't know what the Incorporeals are made up of. The host bodies they use are singular organisms based on silicon instead of carbon, but their true essence is unknown to us. In any case, regardless of what constitutes them, they think. The succession of their thoughts is enough to determine a temporal sequence and then insert them into a time dimension.”

He made another short pause and finished:

“So the problem to be faced is which time the Incorporeals are inserted in. If their statement is true, and we have no reason to think otherwise, then theirs is another dimension of time, different from ours. This is the goal of our research: a fifth dimension, which we could call 'super-time', which also includes them.”

The hall was silent for several minutes. Everyone was considering what he had heard, in the light of their specific scientific knowledge, when Giorgio Relli's voice rang out in the room:

“Gentlemen, in some remote corner of your memory there will surely be, at least a hint, of a short science fiction novel, not very well known, called Flatland and written by Edwin Abbott in 1884. You will remember that the author imagined a world with only two dimensions inhabited exclusively by two-dimensional polygonal beings.

In the second part of the novel the protagonist, a square, meets an extraordinary being, a sphere, which comes from an external world called Spaceland. This meeting enlightens him on the existence of a third dimension for him hitherto unknown and unimaginable. Here, I think that we now find ourselves in the same conditions as that two-dimensional square.”

Some smiles appeared on the faces of those present at the thought of being assimilated to two-dimensional geometric figures, but all agreed, almost gleefully, that this was the reality. At least one dimension was missing if not more.

Lucius, who had remained silent all the time and was particularly struck by the other mysterious statement of the Incorporeals, introduced the second interesting topic:

“While Dr. Wiesenthal will be in search of ‘super-time’, we should consider the other aspect of the Incorporeals claims regarding the theological misinterpretation of reality. Their speech suggests the existence of a superior being who guides them and who has entrusted them with their mission of peace.

In my time there were many religions and, in all of them, there were different divinities but the most important ones were united in a Triad. In Rome the Triad formed by Jupiter, Juno and Minerva was particularly venerated, who also expressed the political power of Rome as well as the religious one.”

All those present were particularly attentive because listening to considerations on events that had occurred many centuries ago from a man who had really lived them was an extraordinary fact. Lucius continued:

«Of one of the main religions that have been professed on Earth, Christianity, I have no direct news as it spread several years after my departure for the future. Only from notional treatments did I learn of its disclosure and of some hypotheses that affirm that Christianity was one of the contributing causes of the decline of the Empire. I was struck by the fact that in this religion, as in many others, a Triad is venerated. Father, Son and Holy Spirit in Christianity. Allāt, Al-Uzza and Manāt, the three goddesses of the pre-Islamic religion. The Hindu Trimurti formed by Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. In many other religions, such as Norse, Egyptian and Greek, there are similar Triads. I do not believe that the similarities between these beliefs, characterized by very different and distant geographic locations and theosophy, are coincidental coincidences. This could be a reason for furthering our research.”

Giorgio intervened:

“In our archives we have no certain historical evidence of the presence or appearance of divinities on Earth. The existences of Buddha and Muhammad as spiritual guides or prophets are historically confirmed. The only one to proclaim himself and to have been venerated as a divinity is Christ, of whom, however, we have no historical evidence of his existence, which is proven by his followers exclusively by referring to confessional documents and texts considered sacred by Christians, but of not irrefutable purely historical relevance.

The only historical document that could concern him but which is impossible to verify is a written report of a Roman centurion, who reports having crucified three Jews, without mentioning their names, in the place and approximately in the period in which the sacred texts indicate the crucifixion of Christ took place.

The whole Christian narrative has as its probative sources the Gospels, written by various authors over the course of many years after the death of Christ and the Bible, a very ancient text whose origin, however, can only be defined fideistically, in the absence of real historical evidence on its authors and the veracity of its texts, mostly allegorical, with evident educational and didactic purposes.”

He paused, detecting with his sensors an extreme attention on the part of those present and continued:

“The Bible, which in fact, as evidenced by the Greek etymology of the term (βιβλία = books) is not a single book but a collection of writings by various authors, could provide us with useful clues.”

During a very brief second pause, he noticed a sharpening of the attention of those present, characterized by an awaited interrogation.

“One of the oldest books is Genesis, which is present both in the Hebrew Torah and in the Christian Bible. The text was written in Hebrew by unknown authors, it seems to be around the fifth century before the Christian era, Lucius would date it to around 200 aUc. and deals, in the first part, with the origin of the world and its creation, the so-called biblical prehistory. It is interesting to note that the narrative is focused on the creation of the Earth, without considering the rest of the universe and takes place by the hand of a superior being, God, who gives birth to everything from a shapeless set of water and darkness. The scientific value of this narrative is irrelevant even considering it as an educational text intended for the primitive world of that time. However, it should be noted the presence of this superior being who after creation imposes essential rules on his creation and remains its supreme owner. The first characters described in the text, the Patriarchs, who follow one another and all descend from the first man created by God, live very long lives, lasting almost a thousand years. The text explains how this extraordinary longevity is the result of divine benevolence.”

He concluded by saying:

“In the absence of scientific relevance of the text and with very often contradictory contents and often in contrast with scientific evidence, we must consider it an allegorical story, for educational purposes, handed down orally until it reaches its writing in Hebrew, which took place about twenty-seven centuries ago. We must instead reflect on what extraordinary events of the distant past gave birth to it, so much so that it was handed down orally for so long, until its written drafting. Surely the oral transmission of the original story will have produced, over time, many textual and conceptual changes and additions, but the details are not very interesting, since we must focus our attention on the main event that may have caused the story and, on this, formulate our hypotheses.”

The hall was silent for a few minutes and Gordon spoke again to end the session:

“I would propose to create two working teams. The Dr. Weisman with his team will continue the search for the ‘fifth dimension’...”

He stopped smiling for a moment and added:

“While Giorgio, Lucius and I will go hunting for God.”

Everyone smiled as they left the room, only Dr. Wiesenthal, passing by, whispered to Gordon:

“Good hunting, Admiral”

who in return replied with a further smile:

“Good hunting for you too, Doctor.”

1757 aUc (ab Urbe condita: from the foundation of Rome) is the year 4 C.E.

2Giorgio Relli one of the first members of the Phoenix Council in the last years of the twentieth century. See volume 1.