Chapter 28
Mirana stood perfectly still, although she was hardly conscious of herself at all beyond what she was seeing and hearing.
“Who are you?”
We are the Shadow, came the reply, and several figures appeared before her, clothed in silky black fabric with bright red trim. She was reminded of her own armor. We are the ones who resisted. We are your heritage.
“I came looking for information about my father. About the Shadow Plasma. Is this where he gained it?”
He was here. He received the Power and was charged to destroy the Enemy. But we see from your memories that he failed in this task. Events were… not entirely as we had predicted.
“He what? Wait, are you reading my mind?”
You misunderstand; we read nothing; we have long since departed this life. This crystal contains our memories and exists to teach you what you need to know in order to accomplish what we could not.
“And what is that?”
Behold the Enemy. The images around her shifted, and Mirana saw a planet that she could not identify. It was densely populated, and starship traffic was heavy in and out. There was technology she did not recognize as well; and many people used the Plasma. They used it to move around, to prepare food, to build things, to heal injuries. Sometimes it glowed with colored light; other times things just happened, the world responding to the commands of the people.
The Power, the voice in her mind said. They discovered it, harnessed it. They claimed to have created it. They used it for everything: for transportation, for recreation, and for dominion. They ruled all of the space that the Anacron Empire now claims. All that its allies claim. All that its enemies claim. The Power made them masters of the galaxy.
Mirana watched as various groups began competing for power, wielding it for economic and political advantage, to prevent crimes and to commit them.
Not everyone commanded the power in equal degrees. Some could hardly perceive it at all, while others could accomplish great works almost without effort. The Power exists independently; wielding it requires a connection between the mind, the body, and the universe itself. An equal balance provides the most straightforward manifestation of the Power, sometimes in ways that might go unnoticed or unexplained by one not acquainted with it. But the Power can manifest itself when these elements are out of balance, as well.
The scenes before Mirana changed again. Those with the greatest command of the Power joined together, forming their own agreements and rules apart from the empire they sought to control. The mind and body must be in harmony to use the power; after all, without some connection, the body itself will die. But some chose to focus their efforts on just the mental link to the universe, neglecting the physical dimension of their power almost entirely. They called themselves the Enlightened, claiming to have increased their power by a higher mental path than those below them walked. Mirana saw as they helped each other seize power from weaker people, killing people and wiping out cities when their authority was challenged. The weapons they used were beyond anything even Dark Viper had constructed; in some cases, beams of light pierced hyperspace to envelop distant planets in flames. This is what they did with their power.
Mirana was aghast at the scene of destruction before her. These people would destroy a planet full of innocent people just to damage the bank account of a rival. Billions of people lived in virtual slavery to leaders who could have provided for every imaginable need on their own. The whole galaxy seemed to be on fire with the abuse of power.
But there were some who resisted. Rejecting the rulers’ insistence on a purely mental link to the Power, they pursued a more grounded approach, using the Power already in them and letting it flow directly through the body rather than seizing it from the ether and bending it to their will. The rulers called us Darklings, calling our approach carnal and degenerate. But it soon became clear that their loathing stemmed from fear. For the physical dimension of the power gave us certain advantages.
Mirana watched as small groups of these “Darklings” infiltrated their masters’ bases of operations, much like Mirana herself had done with Anacron and StarBlazer. At first these rebels were not invisible, but they managed to block out the Plasmic energy that powered most of their enemies’ security systems. And in close combat, they enjoyed an obvious advantage. Sometimes without any visible display of Plasma at all, the Darklings were able to cancel their opponents’ attacks. Weapons seemed to appear from nowhere as the Enlightened were assassinated one by one. Those who claimed to live in the light began to fall to their own shadow. Watching the beginnings of her own power, Mirana could not help but feel a bit of vicarious pride for what these ancient rebels had been fighting for.
Of course, they eventually learned what we were doing, and they adapted their weapons to counter us. While we were superior in direct combat, there was no way to counter their planet-reaching weapons, and they would kill a billion of their own people to silence one of us. And because of the difficulty of developing physically-oriented power, there were never very many of us. But we pressed our attack, infiltrating their forces, coordinating our might for the most damage possible. The scene before Mirana turned to all-out war; the scale of destruction on both sides was staggering.
Soon it became clear that there was no end to the conflict. We knew they would eventually hunt us down. But we also knew that the weapons we would leave behind would wipe them out. The question was no longer how we would survive. It was about what would happen once we were gone. However, we soon learned that the Enemy was contemplating the same question.
Mirana seemed to be watching a limited-quality security tape now; the images were hazy and the sounds were muffled, as if the Shadow Masters did not have much first-hand knowledge of what they were showing her. The Enemy began to assemble in secret, where they would take turns connecting themselves to a huge device that seemed to draw out Plasmic energy from each person, leaving him or her lying lifelessly on a table. Each body was then locked into a capsule attached to the machine, making way for the next person.
They began pooling their energy, the voice explained. Billions of them transferred all the power they had seized from the universe around them to this device, while a few Masters determined how to make it available to a few individuals, or to one. In the end they created four keys, the Plasma Crystals whose destruction you have since witnessed. The Crystals were sealed away where we could not find them, destined to lie dormant while our civilization crumbled to oblivion. But even as we fought our final hopeless battles, we discovered what the Enemy had planned for their keys.
Now Mirana was looking a street-level view of a vast city overlaid with imagery that reminded her of a circuit board, with Plasmic energy flashing between nodes corresponding to people and objects, mirroring their movements and then flashing skyward toward some unseen destination. The Plasma Matrix resonates with the movement of objects in physical space. The Enemy created an automated entity, an ethereal algorithm, to monitor these movements after we were all destroyed. It was to look for conditions that would favor their return. When it determined that the time was right, it would select someone worthy and give that person information on how to find the Matrix Crystal. Of course we tried to override this algorithm or predict how it might choose a successor, but this time their methods proved impossible to infiltrate.
But all was not lost; we managed to seal away our power as well. And while we could not stop the Enemy’s algorithm from choosing a successor, we did find a way to watch for the awakening of the keys. That is what this station was built for. When the Enemy’s power again disturbed the Plasmic ether, a telepathic message was sent to someone near the new Matrix Master. Someone close by, with reason to hate him. Reason to kill him.
“My father?”
Yes. The Holder of the Matrix Crystal attacked a ship that your father’s family was on. His parents and brothers were killed. Our device sent the coordinates of Palandora’s warp corridor to your father in a
dream, with promise of revenge. He came. We gave him the power of invisibility, the most potent ability we had acquired. Giving him this gift almost completely drained this moon’s reserve, but it was necessary to equip him to carry out his mission. But something went wrong. The Matrix Crystal changed hands, and the Shadow Master lost his motivation to destroy it.
Mirana’s eyes had started to tear up at the mention of her grandparents’ death. It was a subject her father had never really spoken of, and hearing about it now made it a little easier to understand why her father had been unable to speak of his wife’s death later on. Mirana wanted to ask about that, but she decided that she should stick to the topic. And as she tried to focus on what she had just been told, suddenly something struck her as odd.
“Wait – the Matrix Crystal changed hands? You mean Trelan Thendrak was not the man who awakened the Plasma?”
Correct. This database does not contain information regarding how it changed hands, and if the previous Shadow Master did not tell you, then the information is lost. But we had known that there was a chance your father would fail. Because the power is tied so closely to the physical body, the key to the Shadow Plasma can be shared with those genetically close to the holder. You have inherited this power, and although you did not carry out your father’s mission, you have witnessed the destruction of the Crystals.
“But Dark Viper still has power. And I can’t cancel it out anymore.”
It seems he has expanded his command of the Power beyond what the Enlightened had intended for him. A more balanced hold on the Power can enable elemental affinities, which are not as easily severed by the Shadow. But elemental powers have their weaknesses as well. All is not lost, Shadow Master. Your father’s mission was not the only one we had prepared for.
Now Mirana was looking at mountains and valleys that looked vaguely familiar.
The enemy used this planet for genetic experimentation, and they kept it concealed to hide their secrets. When we found it, we nearly launched an attack, but instead we chose to remain hidden so that we could tap its power source, taking advantage of the same concealment the Enemy had provided for itself. Your father was instructed to return here when he had completed his mission, so that he could receive the remainder of our legacy and build up the Shadow again. We did not dare risk giving him everything at once; we felt we needed to keep the remainder safe until the Enemy was destroyed. But now the Enemy’s power has grown too great, and we cannot risk further delay. You must take up our legacy. When you leave this place and the moon is again in position, it will mark the entrance to a path on the planet below. You must seek out this path quickly.
Mirana was getting excited now; it seemed that there was something worthwhile on this planet after all.
The path ahead will not be easy. The Enemy could not locate us, but it knew we were somewhere nearby. They left guardians to seal away our power. They will try to stop you. The people you have allied yourself with may intervene as well, but as with this moon there will be a field to block their petty technology. And you will not fight alone.
“Fight? You mean the dragons are going to come after me again?” All of a sudden this conversation was starting to worry Mirana.
The Enemy had ways of detecting a Shadow field, once they knew where to look. And the people nearby will help them, will they not?
“They might, but I don’t see why they-”
Do not worry. This moon is equipped with weapons that can help neutralize that threat.
“No, wait! Those people are friendly!”
They have allied themselves with the Enemy.
“How would you even know that? You said you couldn’t see my thoughts!” Mirana’s worry was quickly turning to panic.
You have confirmed the danger with your words.
Mirana gritted her teeth, inwardly cursing herself for having said anything out loud, although of course there had been no way to know that it could cause trouble.
“Do not attack them!”
They cannot be allowed to intervene. You must hurry once you leave this place.
Mirana had heard enough. She tried to let go of the crystal, but something held her hands to its faceted surface.
“Let me go!”
Soon. But once you leave, you will be unable to return here.; this moon’s power is almost spent, and its purpose is nearly fulfilled. So you must finish your task here first. And you must pledge yourself to this cause.
“Of course I’m going to do whatever I can to defeat Dark Viper! Just let me go!”
You must understand how desperate the situation is, Shadow Master. You have no heir, so if you perish, the Enemy will triumph. You must not let anyone else stand in your way. The Enemy’s power must be destroyed completely.
“I understand.” Mirana forced herself to calm down and cooperate. Whatever was going on outside this room, she would be of no use until she could get out there and face it. But rushing away from this chance at information would not help anyone, either. Since the crystal was silent for a moment, Mirana searched her mind for questions she could ask. “What about the battle armor my father passed on? I had to leave it behind to escape the… Enemy. Can you recharge it?”
The armor is linked to a charging unit within the ether, which regenerates any damage taken while it is not in use. If the armor’s integrity becomes too weak, it will vanish automatically; it should be restored in a matter of days. But even within the ether its matrix cannot cross interstellar distances quickly. You will have to proceed without it. Do not worry; your own power will not fail you.
“Fine,” Mirana said in resignation. “Just tell me what I have to do to get out of here.”
You must fully commit yourself to the cause, the voice repeated vaguely. You must open your mind and let our memories transfer. Only once you have a clear picture of the horrors we have suffered can we be assured that you will pursue your mission with the proper urgency. And only once you understand what we did with our power will you see the potential of yours.
This mental link had become a burden; this “algorithm” the Shadow Masters had left behind was already threatening her friends. Mirana was not sure she wanted to know what else they had planned for her. But there really didn’t seem to be an option. And besides, hadn’t she come here for information in the first place? Steeling herself against what she was about to be shown, she gripped the crystal more firmly.
“I’m ready. Show me.”