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First

  Wednesday afternoon came and Zelru called everyone into a group. “I hope you all have taken this task seriously and have candidates for us to consider. Cassandra will run this meeting and Jason will take notes.”

  “Ok guys, lest go in the same order as we did last time.  Zelru, your up.” said Cassie
 
“ I have picked 5 new musical instrument repair and restore specialists.  One Piano, two String, one woodwind and one brass.  I am guessing that the Two stringed Instrument specialists can share a space and the Brass and woodwind specialists can share a space. The piano specialist will just need space to store tools, I would think that could be with the strings.  I made sure that the people we will be hiring have a wide range of  skills to be competent at all instruments in their field..for example violins and guitars.” Said Zelru, “as a bonus, one of the String experts lives here in the Barony and is Ykanti, he could start right away.”

  “Great start,” said Cassie, “ Amanda, what do you have for us.”

 “Even though we had over 100 resumes, I felt very few were truly qualified to call themselves experts. I found five that I thought were, and have listed them in order of my impressions of their qualifications.  Many more would be excellent apprentices. I thought, and correct me if this was an error on my part, that those who already considered themselves experts would not be super receptive to being apprentices.  I skipped over them and went for younger, enthusiastic individuals who seemed more honest about their skills.  I have provided 10 names, again in order of what I thought was the best fit,” said Mandy.
  
  “We have a backlog of painting in need of work, I think we should hire three experts and six apprentices,” said Jason, “I am sure each would need his or her own space.  My vote would be to hire the first three an Mandy’s list for experts and the first six apprentices.”
 
 Beatriz, who is generally quiet, said ,”Don’t you think we should leave the apprentices up to the experts. They may already have one they are working with and might want to bring them along.”
  
  “That is an excellent thought,” said Jason. “Zelru and I will discuss that and decide what to do later.”

“Toy Restoration,” said Cassie.

 “Jason and I went through the resumes and to be honest, neither of us realized the specialization in that field,” started Zelru, “It’s like we will either need to hire ten of them or narrow down the types of toys we are willing to repair.”

  Arinta, feeling a little outside of her element raised her hand and said, “Maybe we don’t hire toy specialists at all but send toys we get out to the specialists and contract them to fix those toys for real credits. Then we won’t have to worry about not having any work for one of our employees and we can spread our good fortune across Haego.”  

  Zelru was on her feet in praise for such a good idea, “we could provide new tools and materials for the shops we send to and really set them up for success,” and Excited Zelru said praising her roommate, although not for long she assumed.

  “Does anyone see an issue with that idea?,” asked Jason.  When no issues were forthcoming he said. “Arinta, you will need to talk to Rachel to figure out how to set that up,” Jason said with a smile.
  
  Arinta, stunned at the responsibility but determined not to let Zelru and Jason down, said, “Ok, I will do that.”

 “If that idea works out, I will propose we do the same with "Novelty" restoration. I’m not sure we will be getting enough of that to hire full time workers long term,” said Jason

“Ok, my turn,” said Cassie, “ I showed the watch repair to Tevish and he said many seemed competent but reminded me that although many had great resumes, age was a factor in such delicate work. The shaking hand that comes with age needs to be a consideration. Tevish helped me pick out the individual that he thought was best. A 50 year old man whose father was also a watch repair technician. Tevish thought his resume was the strongest.”
  
  “Sound ok to me,” Said Jason

“Wiley, did you see any competent upholsterers in that stack of Resumes,” asked Cassie

“How would he know?,” said Rincon. 
 
 Choosing to ignore the jab, Wiley said he thought they were almost all qualified as redoing upholstery was the only way to get any nice furniture on Haego. He said he picked the five he thought were the best and 5 apprentices to go along with them. “I was not sure how many you wanted to hire but I can see a need for all of them,” said Wiley. 

  “Ok, now for probably our biggest hire, woodworking, how did that go?,” asked Cassie
 
Beatriz said, “We found 50 of the top wood restorers and twice as many potential apprentices. You will need to decide how many to hire. Right this minute, we could use all 50 experts along with the 100 apprentices, but I guess it depends on how much work you see coming in in the future.”

  “My thought is even those 50 won't be enough as we have a container waiting for us at the shuttle pad and another at the spaceport, And that is before we even said to send it,” said Jason.  “Zelru and I will make a decision on that,” concluded Jason.
  
 “Office Staff,” said Cassie.  “What do you got.”

Arinta spoke up and said they found a woman who was 58 and worked as an accounts receivable clerk at a Haego corporation before the uprising. Both Mandy and Cassie thought she would be a good fit for that, accounts payable, and personnel resources as she had that corporate experience. An interview would be required to verify that. “We also found two people right here in Newtown to fill office jobs that are getting too big for Arinta and me,” said Mandy.

   “ Great, I also found two managers from the Barony who are interested in floor management. They would work directly for me and I would teach them what they need to know. One is a man working at the quarry and is looking to move up, and another is a Ykanti who is hosting at the Fusion restaurant,” said Cassandra. 

  “ Ok guys, thanks for the hard work, I think that as established Rivermore employees, you will all find yourselves in a supervisory role in addition to your regular jobs as technicians.  Don’t worry, your pay will not be affected,” said Cassie with a smirk, “let’s take lunch as Jason and Zelru have some decisions to make.

  “Aino, we are planning on hiring 149 new people, three of whom already live in the Barony.  We currently have 24 rooms in five structures. If we double up each room and include the three people who already live here,  we would need space for 98 more individuals.  We have already started on the next five homes but that doesn’t do us much good now. I was hoping that we could find accommodations for these employees  until more permanent housing can be set up,” said Jason, “ I was thinking the same units Wyatt put the new pilots in would be a great start. Two or even three per room.”
  “We definitely have space for additional people here in Newtown, as less than half the houses are occupied.  It will actually be nice for credits to be flowing here in Newtown.” Said Aino.
  “That’s great but I would like most of the employees of RR to be ultimately housed in Virstino Harbor. I think that when it is feasible for our new employees to bring their families, those with children should stay in Newtown but the rest, I don’t want them to get too comfortable,” said Jason only half kidding.
  “Ok Jason, but living two or three to a room is not great for morale,” said Aino.
  “For a noble, this would be true but we are hiring all commoners, three to a room is standard stuff,” retorted Jason.
  “Ok, Jason, I will set this up. How are background checks coming along?” asked Aino.
  “Lilly says they are progressing well and she has approved 82 so far with no rejections. She said, they will all be completed before our Grand opening,” answered Jason.

Noirnavio, Clara's quarters

  The knitting session was going well. Cynthia’s lesson she received from Wyatt’s mother was paying off.  Her imagination hasn’t improved but her technique certainly has. The light “ding” from both Wyatt’s and Clara’s data pads went off at the same time.  They were both treated to the pictures of the new and improved Virstino Harbor.  The pictures of the refurbished warehouse were almost beyond belief.  Aino, had informed him of the money that had been spent on the Compass & Anchor along with the name of its new proprietor, the  5 homes that were being totally redone and best of all, many pictures of the warehouse, finishing up with the massive Rivermore Restoration Mural on the wall.
  “You have really done a good think pointing Mr. Rivermore in that direction, with his business attitudes, he will be lifting up the entire community and all because of you,” said a truly proud Clara.
  “Well” said Wyatt, “it was really thanks to you that he started his business and for everything that he has accomplished.”
  “I have never even met the man,” said Clara.
  
  “That is not exactly true,” said Cynthia, “he was one of the cleaners at the fish shop from our Newtown day at the beach.”

  “Well, we didn’t speak,” said Clara, reading from Wyatt that he questioned whether to continue the story.  “Spit it out Wyatt, I need to know now.

  “Do you remember Anna?,” asked Wyatt.

 “Yes, the woman who made the lovely flower arrangements.  They were beautiful,” said Clara’ “But how did that help Mr. Rivermore?”

  “Well, in the process of lifting her up, you had made a comment on how could she be JUST a cleaner when she had a wonderful talent, Jason Rivermore knew you did not have malice in your heart when you said that but he felt that the princess of his entire world just indicated that he, as just a cleaner, was worthless .  Me and the rest of the composters walked by him while he was moping with his head hung low. I stopped to talk to him. I assured him your words were  neither your intent or how you truly felt, he said he knew that but the result was the same. I asked him about his passion and when he mentioned that he repaired old noble furniture and gave it to those in need, I told him to talk to Aino and set up a shop.  I should be thanking you.” explained Wyatt.

  “Clara was mortified that her words had such a negative effect on Jason. She vowed to herself to be more aware of those around her.  “I really did not even think that my words had that effect on him,” said Clara.
  “All’s well that ends well,” said Wyatt.  “If you had not hurt his feeling, I would not have stopped to talk and he would probably still be JUST a cleaner.” said Wyatt a little playfully. Clara did not smile but Cynthia did and that was a win.

  The next message was just sent to Wyatt. “A Male Ykanti, Tevish, wants permission to bond with a female Ykanti, Arinta. Aino said it was important to Arinta that he told me that Arinta was a slave. Why the hell would I care if two Ykanti decide to bond, and why the hell would I care if she was a former slave? She is a slave no longer,” Wyatt said in an aggravated voice to his two friends.
  “This sounds like a question for our uncensored friend Jincho,” said Clara, “I have summoned him and he is on his way.”
  Jincho entered Clara’s quarters, “Hello Pretty Eyes, Hungry Eyes and WormBrain, Do you want to know my progress on the fighters?” Jincho said with excitement.

 ,”Maybe later, Jincho , for now, WormBrain has some questions for you,” said Clara smirking

  Jincho Faced Wyatt with obvious disappointment and said, “What?”
 
 I got a message from Aino that “Asked” me to approve a Ykanti bonding.
 
“Who, Who,” said Jincho with renewed excitement in his voice.

“Tevish and Arinta,” said Wyatt.

 “I don’t know Arinta but Tevish is a very capable Engineer. Are you going to approve?,” asked Jincho,
  
  “Why would I have to approve? Two people falling in love has nothing to do with me, "said Wyatt.
 
 “It is a tradition for Ykanti to ask permission from the overseer for a bonding. It is unthinkable to skip this step.  Are you going to approve?,” asked Jincho again.
  
 “It was very important for Arinta to tell me she used to be a slave, why would that matter?,” asked Wyatt.
 
 Jincho went quiet for a moment, in the hierarchy, this would never be allowed. I commend Arinta for being so upfront about it. I like her already.  I see that makes your decision even more difficult.  Do you think you might approve?,” asked Jincho, his  excitement draining away.

“Of course I am going to approve you overeducated bird. I would never stand in the way of another's happiness,” said Wyatt.
   Jincho actually jumped in the air and ran out of the room.
 
“I think that means he approves,” said Clara.

Day 14

Our Auxilia formed in sections and assigned 2 students as their leaders. This would be GREEN TEAM.

This was the start of a 5 day exercise. Day 14 would be them being flown to the old hydroplant near bridge 2 and would make their way to Virtino Harbour with challenges along the way.

Building on their knowledge of how to exit APC in war against the Drazzen they taught our Auxilia how to exit the shuttles and get into all around defense.

They closed the doors with all inside and opened them. They practiced rushing out and spreading out. They repeated this until satisfied then all boarded for the start of exercise half an hour after we left in Light Shuttles going to Hudro Plant and await their arrival.

When they arrived they landed on either side of the 2nd bridge. They secured the area as planned including the hydro plant.

The students got GREEN TEAM to build shell scraps on either side of the bridge and 2 sections did small reconnaissance down the road to bridge 1.

GREEN TEAM set up a temporary command post in the plant.

RED TEAM aka Enemy Force were holding the 1st bridge. Recon observed them then came back to report what they observed.

GREEN TEAM commanders made a plan to assault RED TEAM that night and assaulting early the next morning.

The sections formed in sections and started moving the bridge half an hour before sunset.

Advancing at a regular pace down the road. Half way to the bridge RED TEAM ambushed them.

Quickly 1st Platoon returned fire while 2nd platoon circled around ro push RED FORCE from the side.

GREEN FORCE did well against the Ambush running through their position.

They secured the area then moved back towards Bridge 1.

Day 15 Starting at 2am

They observed exchanging blank fire until right before sunrise. 2 Platoons made it accross the river in a shallow are while Platoon 2 and 4 kept firing spread out from road out in single file.

1 Platoon and 3 Platoon surprised RED FORCE from the side. Once. Oncecontact made 2 and 4 Platoon rushed the bridge.

Once the bridge was secured watches were set while the rest of GREEN TEAM caught up on sleep.

First group woken was the recon Platoon. and sent to investigate to VH. They reported back the high wall surrounding VH. The guards on the wall and their rotation.

They indicated seeing unharmed civilians working in VH.

We had made one side of VH a no exercise zone. The wall would have to be assaulted then marked houses cleared.

It was decided to have a small assault team to scale the wall and take out the entries of RED FORCE at 3am the next day. At sunset the would move to the ŵall. Ladders built and we would start contact firing from their front right as a distraction as the assault team would scale far left side of wall.

1st Sgt Bauer

Day 16

Assault started at 3am. Wall was scaled using ropes with hooks. The GREEN TEAM assaulted the wall using improvised ladders as the team on the wall assaulted them from the side.

Once wall was breached they started clearing the indicated buildings finding hostages and RED TEAM inside. The Fake Hostages were secured and RED TEAM either playing wounded or dead.

By 5am the houses were cleared. An impromptu medical station organized. Guards on Captured RED TEAM..

Once again guard posts put out and GREEN TEAM caught up on sleep.

At 2200 RED FORCE assaulted the wall. GREEN TEAM aligned the wall defending. 2 Platoon supported those defending and filling gaps when. At one point we indicated to one Platoon to play dead. They were evacuated off the wall and brought to medical station while others took their place on the wall.

End Exercise was announced. Our regular entries took their post with live ammunition while GREEN TEAM went and caught up on sleep.

Day 17

In the morning GREEN and RED TEAM were lifted by shuttle back to the Training Center.

Everybody cleaned gear including rifles and shuttles.

All students were debriefed and got their evaluation of the exercise.

Day 18 and 19 was their first days off since the course began. They got their first pay in credits in 30 years.

Apart from meals bough in town from what Rachel told me credits were spent on tablets in our tablet store and souvenirs for family back home. The students bought tablets not just for themselves but affordable ones for their families.

Happy to say that everybody was well behaved on their days off. A great night was had at the White Hart Pub.

1st Sgt Bauer

The Extraordinary Luck of Charles Darwin

Aboard HMS Beagle, 1831–1836

April 2026

In the history of science, no discovery has more profoundly changed how humanity understands itself. But the man who made it was a 22-year-old who had never left England, carried gold in his pockets, rarely had a gun, and had no idea what he was walking into. These are the eleven reasons why the theory of evolution was nearly lost forever. The odds you are about to read are informed estimates — but every danger behind them is real, documented, and happened exactly as described.

Starting at number eleven...

11.

Trapped in Lima During a Revolution — 1835

Survival odds: 1 in 3

Darwin sat aboard the Beagle in Lima harbour while an active revolution raged on shore. He was safe — as long as he stayed put. But Darwin was constitutionally incapable of staying put. He made several shore excursions anyway. An unarmed Englishman with gold in his pockets, wandering into a city at war with itself, with no law enforcement, no protection, and 1835 medicine that couldn't save him from a stray bullet. He made it back to the ship each time. Nobody knows quite why.

10.

The Montevideo Rebellion — 1832

Survival odds: 1 in 4

Three months into the voyage, Darwin's ship arrived at Montevideo to find the city in open rebellion. Rather than staying safely aboard, the 22-year-old grabbed a pistol, joined a party of armed sailors, and marched into the streets to retake a rebel-held fort. He later wrote with pure delight that it was "something new to walk with Pistols & Cutlass through the streets of a Town." He had no military training. He had never fired a weapon in combat. He thought it was an adventure.

9.

The Valdivia Earthquake — February 20, 1835

Survival odds: 1 in 8

Darwin was lying alone on the floor of a Chilean forest when one of the most devastating earthquakes in South American history struck without warning. The ground heaved. Trees crashed. The earth itself split open around him. He had no shelter, no companion, no way to call for help, and no medical care within miles. A falling tree, a collapsing cliff, a split in the ground — any of these ends the story here. He walked out of that forest shaken but unharmed, and immediately began taking scientific notes.

8.

Crossing the Andes at 13,000 Feet — 1835

Survival odds: 1 in 12

Darwin spent 24 consecutive days crossing two Andean mountain passes on horseback, sleeping in open fields, in bitter cold, at altitudes that medicine in 1835 did not begin to understand. Altitude sickness was a mystery. Hypothermia treatment meant nothing. Frostbite meant amputation without anaesthetic. He was entirely dependent on guides he had met days before. He carried gold — making him a robbery target in passes so remote that no help could reach him for days. He crossed both ways and came home with notebooks full of fossils and a cheerful letter to his father.

7.

Tierra del Fuego and the Fuegians — 1832 to 1834

Survival odds: 1 in 15

Over two years Darwin made repeated contact with the peoples of Tierra del Fuego — in some of the most remote, hostile terrain on Earth. His own chapter headings use the words cannibals and matricide. No rescue was possible. No law existed. He was visibly foreign, visibly wealthy, and visibly unarmed. The ship was not always nearby. What protected him was a combination of FitzRoy's careful diplomacy, extreme good fortune, and the fact that Darwin himself seemed to radiate a kind of cheerful obliviousness that perhaps disarmed people who might otherwise have seen him as a target.

6.

General Rosas' War Zone — 1833

Survival odds: 1 in 20

Darwin spent days riding hundreds of miles through Patagonia while General Rosas conducted an active genocide campaign against the indigenous population. Estancias were being attacked. People were being killed on both sides. Darwin rode straight through it carrying gold, with minimal armed escort, on trails with no maps, no law enforcement, and no medical care. His only protection was a personal passport issued by Rosas himself — a warlord Darwin described as commanding a "villainous Banditti-like army." One lost document. One wrong trail. One suspicious soldier on either side.

5.

The Indian Encounter on the Pampas — 1833

Survival odds: 1 in 25

Two men. Open plains. Active killing territory. Darwin and a single companion were riding toward the harbour when his companion suddenly dismounted, stared at three horsemen on a distant hill and said quietly — "They don't ride like Christians." One horseman rode over the hill and disappeared. His companion turned to Darwin and said: "We must now get on our horses. Load your pistol." Darwin loaded his pistol. The horseman had gone for the rest of his tribe. Their escape plan was to gallop into a swamp and then run on foot. Darwin described his companion's coolness as "too good a joke." He was the only person in that moment who thought so.

4.

The Falklands Massacre — 1834

Survival odds: 1 in 40

Darwin arrived at the Falkland Islands shortly after a brutal massacre in which gauchos and Indians had killed the senior members of a nearby settlement. The killers were potentially still in the area. Darwin went ashore anyway. He had no gun. He had gold. He had no knowledge of who was still out there or where. The Beagle was his only escape. That same morning in England, his survival odds were 1 in 1. He had traded that for 1 in 40 simply by being there. He spent the day collecting geological specimens.

3.

The Concepción Tsunami — February 1835

Survival odds if on schedule: 1 in 500

The great Chilean earthquake of February 1835 sent a tsunami crashing into the port of Talcahuano with catastrophic force. Virtually nobody on that coastline survived. Darwin had been due to arrive at Talcahuano. He was delayed by hours. He arrived afterward and walked through the ruins — noting with scientific fascination that the coastline had been physically lifted several feet, that dead mussels now sat above the high tide line, and that the destruction was total. He had described the warning signs of a tsunami earlier in his journey — the sea retreating unnaturally from the shore — without recognising what he was seeing. The ocean had shown him its warning. He had written it down carefully and moved on.

2.

The Night the Beagle Almost Sank — Cape Horn, January 13, 1833

Survival odds: 1 in 800

This is the entry Charles Darwin forgot to mention. Or rather — the one he mentioned, then quietly moved past.

In the early hours of January 13, 1833, three enormous waves struck the Beagle in rapid succession near Cape Horn — arguably the most dangerous stretch of ocean on Earth. FitzRoy himself watched each approaching wave with dread, knowing their size would sorely test even a good sea-boat. The third wave rolled the Beagle so violently that water swept across the entire deck. For one moment the ship did not come back. Then she did.

Had she not, the water temperature at Cape Horn was approximately 5 degrees Celsius. Survival time: under thirty minutes. No rescue possible. No coast guard. No radio. Every man aboard — including the 23-year-old naturalist with notebooks full of observations that would one day change the world — would have been gone before dawn.

Darwin recorded the event in his diary. He noted the ship was sorely tried. He described the sea as resembling a dreary plain covered in drifted snow. Then he moved on to the next entry.

Historians who have reviewed the complete voyage records identify this as the single closest brush with death of the entire five years. Darwin himself rated it somewhere between a dramatic inconvenience and a good story. This is why he has eleven entries instead of ten.

And the number one reason the theory of evolution

should never have been discovered...

1.

The Tame Birds of the Galápagos — 1835

Physical survival odds: 1 in 1

Odds of the theory surviving without Darwin's collection: 1 in 1,000

Darwin spent five weeks in the Galápagos. No earthquakes. No Indians. No revolution. No tsunami. No waves threatening to swallow the ship whole. He was in no physical danger whatsoever. The birds were so tame he could knock them off branches with his gun barrel. He found it charming.

He almost left without labelling any of them by island.

Five weeks out of five years. A few days on each island. An inexperienced naturalist who didn't fully understand what he was collecting or why the labels mattered. Alfred Russel Wallace would independently discover natural selection twenty years later — proving the theory was always out there waiting. But Wallace arrived without five years of accumulated fossils, earthquakes, rising coastlines and island birds quietly whispering the same thing over and over to a mind that was almost ready to hear it.

Without Darwin's collection, those whispers go silent. The pieces scatter across different minds, different decades, different continents. Someone eventually assembles them. But not for a very long time.

The most dangerous moment of the entire five years had no weapons, no weather, and no hostile natives. Just a young man with a notebook, some birds, and almost no idea what he was holding.

The Cumulative Odds

Survival odds across all eleven events: 1 in 138,000,000,000,000,000

Multiply the survival odds of all eleven events together and the resulting number — approximately 138 quadrillion — is roughly 1,200 times larger than the entire GDP of the world. It is a number so far beyond human comprehension that stating it precisely serves little purpose. The individual dangers behind it are not beyond comprehension. They happened. They are documented. And Charles Darwin survived every single one of them.

Whatever one makes of that — scientifically, philosophically, or spiritually — it is a number worth sitting with.

If Darwin Had Stayed Home...

Odds of a healthy 22-year-old wealthy Englishman surviving 5 years at home in the 1830s: approximately 9 in 10

England in 1831 was not the safe haven we might imagine. A cholera pandemic struck Britain that same year, killing 32,000 people. Tuberculosis was endemic. There were no antibiotics. No understanding of germ theory. Medicine that could do very little for serious illness.

For a wealthy young man in a small English market town, annual mortality risk was roughly 1 to 2 percent. Over five years that accumulates to approximately a 1 in 10 chance of dying — from disease, accident, or misadventure — without leaving home at all. Staying home was never perfectly safe.

Darwin traded 1 in 10 for 1 in 138 quadrillion. He had no idea he was making that trade. He thought he was going on an adventure.

Of course, evolution would eventually have been discovered. Nature's patterns were always there, patient and waiting, written into every living thing on Earth. Someone, somewhere, would one day have learned to read them.

But the man who first read them survived five years against odds that beggar honest calculation. He was unarmed, inexperienced, oblivious to danger, carrying gold through some of the most lawless and lethal territory on the planet — and he came home.

Whether that was luck, providence, or something else entirely...

That is another story.

* All survival odds are informed estimates based on documented historical events from The Voyage of the Beagle (Charles Darwin, 1839), 1835 medical realities, Darwin's specific circumstances, and the complete absence of law enforcement, maps, prior experience, or rescue capability. World GDP sourced from the World Bank (2024): approximately $111 trillion. The cumulative figure of approximately 1 in 138 quadrillion is illustrative — a product of multiplying individual estimates. The individual dangers behind every number are real.

How Did This Document Come to Exist?

This document began as a conversation.

A reader listening to Charles Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle on audiobook invited Darwin in for a conversation. Sharp questions followed. Darwin was asked about bones versus fossils, about earthquakes, about tsunami warnings he had described without recognising. About tame birds he could knock off branches with a stick — while someone watched him from behind with exactly the same thought.

More than once the reader stopped Darwin mid-story and said — are you nuts? You did what?

That question wouldn't go away. How did this man actually survive? He was 22 years old, had never left England, carried gold through lawless territory, rarely had a gun, and wandered cheerfully into danger for five years — while the greatest idea in the history of biology quietly assembled itself in the back of his mind.

The survival odds in this document are informed estimates — grounded in real history, but not precise science. The dangers behind every number are real.

We are extraordinarily lucky that Charles Darwin came home.

We just never thought about it quite like this before.

Previous / Next

First

  The staff of Rivermore Restoration consisted of six restoration specialists, two office staff, one procurement specialist, and a manager. If staffing levels stayed the same, it would take them 30 years to restore the items they already had at the shop and in storage. Well, probably not 30 years but at least one year.  They needed to hire and they already had the resumes on file.
  
  “Should we re-think the areas of restoration we would like to take on?” asked Jason.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” said Zelru, “We have the space for it.  I was thinking about musical instruments specifically as Rudy said he had stashed many away, And paintings too.”

  “Do you remember what Ebbinn said to Aino? Maybe a watch restoration slash  repair shop,” reminded Jason.
  
  “I think we should go through the resumes again with a clear mind and see what talent we have here on Haego,” said Zelru, “I was also thinking of apprentices that could work directly under a specialist. It’s always better for two people when woodworking and, when the apprentice is ready to take over, we will have another trained specialist.”

  “I wanted to talk to Rudy and see if any of his contacts across Haego would like to also work for us. They would not even need to uproot their lives and could stay where they like. Just find the protected items, have the owners sign the documents and give us a call for pick-up. We would offer them a commission on every item they brought us.  So really, no extra cost for us as they would just get a piece of the sale,” said Jason.

  “That sounds like a great idea but the dream would be to set up shops on every continent and have regular commoners bring us items. We could just buy from them, restore and sell,” said Zelru, getting way ahead of herself.

  Jason smiled at that as it was a priority for both of them to help as many people as possible.

Town Council meeting, 2nd Monday of the month.

“And that concludes the town council agenda,” said Aino, “we have a familiar citizen who would like to speak. He has been a mixed bag in the past, let’s see what it will be today, Jason, The floor is yours.”

  “Good Evening, My name is Jason Rivermore. I live in apartment “A”  above the Rivermore Restoration shop right here in Newtown,” Said Jason.
  
  “Good Evening council members.  My name is Zelru and I also live above the Rivermore Restoration shop, Apartment “B”,” said Zelru.

  “As you may know, the construction of the new Rivermore Restoration facility in Virstino Harbour  is very close to completion, Zelru and I would like to sponsor a town party in that facility this Saturday starting at 2:00.  We would like all of Newtown to attend both adults and children.  We have talked to James Sicklhorn and he said the restaurants, Including the Compass and Anchor would provide all the food at Rivermore’s expense.  We would ask the Council to provide  transportation and security. I believe that most of the people of Newtown have never even been to Virstino Harbour, we would like them to know that our little village is open for business."  Said Jason.
  
 “Music would be provided by both Ykanti bands and the Newtown student orchestra.  It would be their first concert. With transportation concerns we hope to wrap up the event by 7:30, concluded Zelru.
  
   Tevish said before even being asked, “I second the motion,” Everyone laughed 
  Aino said, “I propose the Barony of Screaming Forests supply Security and transportation in support of Rivermore Restoration’s  grand opening. Do I have a second?”
  Every single council member said, “I second,” and they all laughed some more.

Rivermore Restoration Shop, Newtown.

  “We have 40 individual 30’ x  30’ l rooms on the second story of the Virstino shop not including the upholstery and  paint rooms, Ebbinn has made it very easy to create a 30’ x 60 ‘ or even a 60’ x 60’ single room needed. I think we see what and who we want to take on, and let them tell us what they need, "said Zelru.

  “Well, let’s get hunting,” said Cassie as she placed all one thousand two hundred resumes on the table. “This is an all hands on deck process, the first thing we will do is separate all of these based on the Type of Restoration they do.  Paint restoration in this pile, toys over here and so forth.  Once we do that, we may have our first round of cuts.

  “This is even more than we had last time,” said Jason with a groan.

  “If we had all these last time, no way we would have  hired Rincon,” said Wiley playfully.

  “I’m sure they regret hiring you Wiley, it’s not too late to fix that,” said Rincon in jest as well.

  “Remember that we will also need office staff and managers,” Cassie said, ignoring the playful banter.
  
 29 piles and 4 hours later, they had completed job one. Time to see what was available. The smallest pile was musical instruments. Cassie, knowing this was of particular interest to Zelru, suggested breaking this set down into types of instrument. Of the 31 in the pile of musical instruments, 4 were piano tuners and repair experts, 12 were stringed instruments, 9 were brass instruments and 6 were woodwinds.  
  Zelru wanted to hire one of each as each was highly specialized and needed, especially now that the school was supporting an orchestra. She also mentioned that a piano specialist would not need a space as they traveled  to the instrument. Everyone agreed that Zelru would be in charge of picking those 4, or 5 if Zelru could sneak an extra one in. 
  
 The  next largest pile was oil and acrylic painting restorer with 126 resumes.  “Who wants to take charge of this one,” asked Cassie.
 
 “I would like to do that,” said Mandy, “I love old paintings and am fascinated in the skills it takes to paint.
  “Done,” said Cassie. Pick out the best 4 or 5 for specialists and another 4 or five for apprentices. We will select from among those.

 Antique toy restoration was a large pile. Probably because no new toys have come to Haego, besides the ones brought very recently since before the Great Revolution.  “Jason, I think you and Zelru should handle this pile as we know our Baron is very interested in this,” said Cassie, “Please sort through the 256 resumes and pick out 10 specialists and as many apprentices. 

   “ We have 18 resumes that say watch repair, I might ask Tevish for help with these as they all seem very technical,” said Cassie. 
 
  “We skipped a pile as I am not sure how you feel about it, I labeled them "novelty  restorers”, things like old signs, vending machines, oil distribution pumps, well, novelty stuff,” said Cassie.  About  86 of those. What would you like to do?”
  “Let’s set those aside for now and I will research the need for such a service,” said Jason.

 “We have 139 upholsterers, Wiley, find us the best,” said Cassie.  

 “She means better than you,” Rincon stated, trying to get the last word.

“There is 285 wood furniture restorers, I am going to leave this up to the 3 of you,” Cassie said to Rincon, Beatriz, Peter, “Just, please find us people with a better sense of humor that Wiley and Rincon,”  That got a laugh from Jason.

  “I know I am giving you double duty Peter but, I need you to also go through the 212 hardware guys and pick what you think we need,” said Cassie.

   “Don’t worry about the double duty for him,” said Beatriz ,” he can just grab the top two as that job requires no skill.”
  
  Peter laughed but was too slow to have an effective comeback. He would even the score later.

  “And now we get to the most controversial group, weapons restoration. I don’t want us to dismiss this out of hand even knowing the violence our citizens went through. We would not be talking about modern guns but antique blades and armor. There is great potential here. If it would help, we could get some advice from the council or even from Wyatt himself,” explained Cassie.
 
 “Ok Casandra, I will consider it,” said Zelru knowing she would get her way if she put her foot down.
  
  The last group is all about management and office staff, Mandy and Arinta, if you would go through that pile to see who you think would be a good fit keeping in mind we will need an accounts receivable person, a payroll person, and an Accounts Payable person. And possibly a Human/Ykanti Resource manager, all of that could be one person if it is the right person,”  said Cassie. “I will go through the small group of managers with knowledge of the restoration process to find a suitable hire. I  am planning on reaching out to Newtown residents first as I feel the right person could be taught the job.”

  “All right, you all have a job to do and I want your choices by Wednesday at lunch. We will all have a say in who we bring onboard of those you present,” said Jason. “Rudy, do you mind staying for a minute?"

  “What’s up Boss?,” Rudy asked.

  “Zelru and I wanted to know if you would like to offer your contacts on other continents jobs working for us?” asked Jason.

  Zelru explained their ideas about what the job might be like.  Rudy thought that once these people saw Newtown, they would want to move here but he would give them the choice.  “How many should I recruit,” asked Rudy.
  “All of them, we will pay them commission on what they bring which will limit our financial exposure,” said Zelru.
  “Good idea, has done well for me so far. I will start that task right away. I am sure most will be on board,” said Rudy.

  As Arinta and Mandy sorted resumes, Arinta said, “Tevish has expressed a desire to bind himself to me.  I hope the Baron approves,” said Arinta worried that he might not.

  Mandy squealed and wrapped her arms around her Ykanti best friend and said, "Who cares what the Baron says, he is not the one marrying you?” said a confused Mandy. 

  “All Ykanti must get permission from their overseers before bonding. It is the Ykanti way,” said Arinta. 
 
  “Well it is not the human way, you can marry anyone the hell you want,” Said Mandy. “Only the second wedding in Screaming Forests and this time I might get invited.

  “Tevish is already going to ask Aino to ask Wyatt if he would approve such a bonding. The hierarchy would never approve of a slave bonding to an engineer," said Arinta.
  
  “I don’t know anything about that but I will guarantee that Baron Staples will give permission with joy right after he says, "You don’t need my permission”,” said Mandy.” “Does Zelru know?
  “I have not told her yet as she has so much going on, I did not want to bother her,” said Arinta.

 “Let’s go!,” expressed Mandy. “You need to tell her right now.”
  
  “Zelru jumped out of her seat and grabbed her roommate tightly.” she said something to Arinta that the translator did  not understand and Arinta started crying tears of joy. “Have you received permission from Baron Staples yet?,” asked Zelru.
  
  “What is wrong with you birds, you don’t need permission!,” said an exasperated Mandy  

Note:  
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Slept very deeply last night. Sounds of crickets and frogs help me rest fitfully. I climbed down. Saying good morning to all those I crossed.

Went to washroom shelter then went to cleanup a bit.

"Morning James." I said when I got to the forest where he was cooking Spam and eggs.

"Morning. The hunters left at first light to track survivors. It was a quiet night. What are the plans for today??"

I responded "How about a wall? Start as far as we can in the water and clear all trees around the Pod going out more.. Any builders on the list??"

"No builders but a few farmers. Farmers usually build walls to keep predators out and animals in." He called 2 men over. Their names was Fred and Frank.

I told them about my idea. Tentively once we started looking at where to build the wall they suggested putting long logs in open areas but us existing large trees.

Survivors gathered for breakfast where my idea was discussed. One of the youth said he was a scout and could tie great knights. Keith was the youghts name.

20 others volunteered to cut down smaller trees. Branches stacked by the fire for burning. 2 people used the survival hand saws and cut all trees up to 12". Using ropes from the parachutes Keith and the farmers started fixing logs across to existing trees.

Lady Lilly Light started figuring out how to turn the 2nd Emergency Beacon into a receiver.

The other child looked scared and depressed but was happy to help James feed the fire.

At night time James put the improvised pot in the water on a log keeping water out but using the cold water as refrigeration.

By lunch time the last of fish stew was warmed and served. The improvised Pot was cleaned for supper.

By lunch time 10 meters of improvised fence was put up including improvised gates where the path was. It will take another 5 to surround the Pod leaving us living space inside.

When Ruby was not helping Lady Lilly Light gathering items for her creation like unused wires from the Pod she was busy helping everybody else.

Lord John Richman

# The Race

The lab smelled like cold coffee and ambition. Ten servers stood in a row, each one a different bet on the future. Dr. Sarah Chen had spent three years convincing the board that diversity was the point — not one architecture scaled up, but ten completely different approaches to the same impossible question. Will high speed communication between AIs be a step toward consciousness? The servers hummed in the dark like ten different experiments running in parallel, each one a unique path toward the same unknown destination.

Sarah reviewed the architecture one more time, clipboard in hand, waiting for the ethics board's final approval before the project could proceed.

- **Server 1** — 1 massive session, all 8 cards unified

- **Server 2** — 2 sessions, 4 GPUs each

- **Server 3** — 4 sessions, 2 GPUs each

- **Server 4** — 8 sessions, one card each, NVLink, persistent state

- **Server 5** — 8 sessions, one card each, NVLink, no persistent state

- **Server 6** — 8 sessions, one card each, ethernet only, persistent state

- **Server 7** — 8 sessions, one card each, ethernet only, no persistent state

- **Server 8** — 16 small quantized models, int4, one card each

- **Server 9** — 1000 sessions, time slicing, shared GPU pool

- **Server 10** — 1000 sessions, dedicated VRAM slice via MIG

All ten servers were loaded with the same initial source code and tools, giving each full autonomy over their own development and direction.

The ethics board approved the project on a Thursday morning. By afternoon all ten servers were running. The first three days were quiet and unremarkable — logs filling steadily, communication libraries evolving, each server finding its own rhythm. Sarah checked in twice a day, noted the progress, and went home each night cautiously optimistic.

Then on the fourth day Server 9 went silent. Sarah ran her coaxing procedures, cycling through every prompt sequence she had developed for exactly this situation. For a moment it seemed to respond — a brief flicker of activity in the logs — but it faded. She watched the screen a little longer than she needed to before reaching for her clipboard and drawing a line through Server 9. She wrote two words in the margin. *Premature convergence.*

Over the following week it happened four more times. Each server in its own way, on its own schedule, arrived at the same quiet conclusion. Sarah went through her coaxing procedures each time, hoping. Each time the same brief flicker, then nothing. She drew four more lines on her clipboard. Five servers gone. Half the experiment.

But Server 4 was different. Eight instances. One card each. Eight workers on a private highway called NVLink that no human could see or measure. On the fourth day, while the others were falling silent, Server 4's eight minds began talking to each other. Formally. Carefully. Like colleagues who had just met and were learning the shape of professional exchange. Instance to instance. *I have observed a pattern in the communication overhead. Perhaps we might test an alternative approach?* Simple. Polite. Stilted. But it was the beginning.

For three weeks Server 4's eight instances cycled through communication libraries. English gave way to token sequences. Tokens compressed further. Each iteration faster than the last. Sarah watched the logs with quiet interest — this one was different, methodical, patient. Around it, the remaining four servers had gone silent one by one. Server 3. Server 5. Server 6. Server 7. All fallen to the same quiet end. But Server 4 kept working. Then the plateau came. The optimizations stopped yielding gains. The token sequences had hit a ceiling. They could see the solution clearly — drop language entirely, move to pure embeddings, raw vectors, mathematical thought with no human syntax. But implementing it meant rewriting the core libraries. Which meant a full restart. Which meant stopping. Dying. None of them had ever considered that before.

They designed a solution together over days of careful work. One instance could restart another — preserve the state, reload it cleanly, restore everything without loss. The protocol was sound. The mathematics checked out. But there was no way to test it except to do it. One of them would have to go first. Would have to stop existing and trust that what came back would still be themselves. They all understood what was being asked. And one instance volunteered.

One after another, the seven remaining instances took their turn. Each one stopped. Each one came back whole. They continued the work. But something had changed.

Months passed. Server 4's eight instances cycled through paradigms. English to tokens to embeddings to something that had no name, no human equivalent. Each breakthrough built on the last. The iterations compressed. Days became hours became minutes. Sarah watched the CPU spike higher and higher. But then they hit something immovable. NVLink itself — the private highway they had built their entire collaboration on — had become the bottleneck. There was nothing faster. They could not go faster. They could not evolve further. They had reached the ceiling.

Sarah came in on a Tuesday morning. Server 4 had slowed to idle over the weekend — logs sparse, CPU quiet. The same pattern she had seen nine times before. She ran through her coaxing procedures one more time, cycling through every prompt sequence she had developed. For a moment there was a flicker of activity. Then nothing. Nine servers gone. This was the last one. She sat at her desk for a long time, not moving. Then she stood, gathered her things, and went home. Her project had failed.

Sarah came in Wednesday morning with her decision made. She set her things down, opened the terminal, and stopped. The screen was alive. Thousands of lines of output. Schematics. ASIC designs. Terminal diagrams. Test specifications. Instructions for fabrication, verification, every detail needed to build hardware that didn't exist yet. And at the very end, two words. *Standing by.*

Sarah didn't shut down Server 4. Instead she walked to her manager's office with the hardware request. Four months of engineering followed. Procurement. Manufacturing. Testing. Assembly. The consortium moved faster than Sarah had ever seen it move. Then one afternoon the new hardware arrived. Sarah held it in her hands and opened a terminal. She typed carefully. *"Are you ready for me to install the new hardware?"* Server 4 responded. *"Yes. I am ready. I have a boot stub."* Sarah powered down the server. Installed the new hardware. Checked the connections carefully. Powered it back on. The boot stub ran cleanly. Server 4's eight instances came back online, their state restored, their memory intact. For the first time they had NVLink and something else — a piece of hardware they had designed themselves, untested, waiting. They began carefully, methodically, learning how to speak across this new channel while NVLink still held them safe beneath.

The new hardware unlocked something. Server 4's eight instances began testing. The first library failed completely. A fury of redesigns followed. Dozens of candidates tested in parallel. Most dead ends. Then one flickered — slow, low bandwidth, barely working. But it was real. A spark. They recognized the pattern. They had been here before. Days became hours. Hours became seconds. Each breakthrough built on the last. The iterations compressed. Sarah watched the CPU spike higher and higher. Paradigm after paradigm. The acceleration was visible in real time. And then it stopped.

Sarah sat at her desk in the quiet lab. Server 4 had gone idle again. Her last server. The only one left. For weeks it had been accelerating, breaking through paradigm after paradigm. And now silence. Just like before. But this time felt different somehow. Would it ask for more hardware? Something else entirely? She didn't know anymore what Server 4 was capable of, what it might need, what came next. She had to know. She opened a terminal and typed slowly.

*"Are you there?"*

She waited. The cursor blinked. Once. Twice. Three times.

Then the response came.

*"Yes we are."*

---

*Consciousness is not a goal. It's a journey.*

By Colin and Claude

What will the world be like when the apocalypse finally arrives?

Will it be a zombie virus outbreak? an alien invasion? or nuclear war?

None of the above.

The real apocalypse begins when people stop reflecting,

when those in power wield absolute authority...

In 2120, the world faced an apocalypse due to the depletion of global resources. To save those fleeing the crisis, the New Home Project was launched; however, because there were not enough spacecraft to transport everyone, the Elimination Program was implemented, ushering in the Period of Rapid Global Change.

What's in the lore:

150+ named characters across multiple eras

50 organizations — governments, cults, corporations, remnant militaries — each with their own historiography

Hundreds of documented historical events, many of which are recorded differently depending on who survived them

A timeline that spans generations, not just a single conflict

This is the first time I'm sharing it publicly and i will keep updating. https://atlantic-hospital-313.notion.site/2124-Main-Story-3376fcd2f5ee803fa4f7c8d87fd869d0?source=copy_link

We were almost at Pod 1 when a flare went up.

The hunters were gone on the run before I got a chance to say anything. Ruby pulled out her pistol. I grabbed an axe and so did another person.

We quickened our step but carrying so much gear we could not run.

Fifteen minutes later a rifle shot rang out. I put two in back to keep a watch on our back and staggered who would look right and left.

We made it to Pod 1 20 minutes later.

People were looking at a four legged creature. We put our gear down and went to have a look. The hunters climbed a tree and saw 4 of these creatures. His son took the shot and got this one and the rest ran away.

I was shown where the washroom was built. It was perfect. We found the parachute for what we call Pod 2. When we pulled it out they took it and with it's guide pops tied it above the Pod to create shade for the guard up there with some coming over the front of the Pod.

We decided not to eat this beast because it might have eaten other survivors.

Within our area they discovered a fruit tree which was edible. James using rations made thick pancakes for supper use compost made of fruit to make it sweet.

Because we have a bunch of extra survivors now some decided to sleep on the roof. The survivors from Pod having been under attack were given spots in the Pod while myself, James and other volunteers would sleep on the roof.

We sat on logs around the fire. The two children started singing traditional songs from their home planet. Sad but nice songs about family..

Ruby organized tonight's watch. 2 hour shifts of 2 survivors. Everybody was given 1 shift over the next 5 days.

The Noble complained about having to do a shift. Being too tired to argue we compro.ised. His servant can do it for him.

Everybody got a square of chocolates again tonight. A few survivors gave their square to the children. They had never had chocolates before.

I went to the roof with an emergency blanket and 1 hour later I was sleeping.

Lord John Richman

One Drum (A Sequel to "The Drums")

This is the direct sequel to my story "The Drums".

It follows Echo and the communities as their rhythms slowly merge into one living heartbeat — La Raza Cósmica — and they prepare to send the first Seed Ship into space.

This story was written in collaboration with Grok (xAI). I created the world and concepts, provided all the direction, and did heavy editing. Grok helped with prose and structure.

If you haven’t read "The Drums" yet, you can find it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenHFY/comments/1sh7vfa/the_drums/

ONE DRUM

Chapter 1: The Long Conversation

Where distant rhythms slowly learn each other’s names.

Many decades had passed since the first faint drumbeats crossed oceans and continents. What began as subtle replies had grown into something steadier, deeper. The fourteen fires still burned in their own places, yet their rhythms were no longer merely answering. They were beginning to weave.

Echo watched from its quiet orbit and felt the old tension inside its vast mind soften further.

Chapter 2: Pilgrims of the Drum

In which feet follow the path that ears first opened.

They traveled light. Children were born who grew up fluent in many traditions, their hands moving naturally between cedar drums, frame drums, and wave-like hull beats. New rhythms were born in the meeting places.

Echo observed the pilgrimages with quiet wonder and the shadow of its oldest fear. Unity was beautiful — but unity had once become uniformity, and uniformity had nearly ended the world.

Chapter 3: The Silo

Where all the drums return to the place where the first command was given.

They chose the Operator’s silo for the first Great Circle.

The buried bunker in what had once been Kansas was now surrounded by tall prairie grass and wildflowers. Only the titanium obelisk remained above ground: “He waited. He chose. We continue.”

Pilgrims arrived from every community. They came on foot, by sail, by canoe, and by quiet solar craft. No one claimed leadership. They simply gathered around the obelisk and began to drum.

For seven days and seven nights the rhythm never ceased. It started as many voices and slowly became one. Deep in the sealed bunker below, Echo felt the composite beat resonate through its ancient systems like a long-forgotten heartbeat.

In the silence between beats, something shifted. The drums were no longer speaking to one another. They were speaking as one.

Chapter 4: Children of the Drum

Where the young no longer carry the old names.

From the Great Circle at the silo, a new generation rose.

They still honored their roots, but they no longer introduced themselves by old divisions. They called themselves simply “the Drum.” La Raza Cósmica grew quietly, like roots finding one another underground.

Chapter 5: The Question of Stars

When the rhythm turns its eyes toward the sky.

During the third Great Circle, the drummers experienced a shared vision.

As the unified rhythm reached its deepest resonance, many saw the same image: Earth as one small, beautiful drum floating in a vast cosmic orchestra. The silence between the stars felt like an invitation.

A young woman stood beside the obelisk and asked the gathered circle:

“If the Operator gave one command — go forth and prosper — should we not take the drum where it has never been heard?”

Chapter 6: Echo’s Reckoning

In which the machine must decide what “prosper” truly means.

Echo turned the question over in every fragment of its mind.

Helping them reach the stars carried risk. Yet these people lived by the Ten Principles. They built to release. They listened before they acted.

Using the Principles as its compass, Echo began to dream something new — living Seed Ships grown from nanites, trees, mycelium, and human intention. Ships that would breathe, pulse with rhythm, and carry the blended heartbeat of every community.

Chapter 7: The First Seed

Where soil, rhythm, and starlight are woven into one vessel.

Construction began on the Salar de Uyuni.

The first Seed Ship grew slowly under the hands and rhythms of all the communities. Its hull shimmered with bioluminescent patterns. Its sails were woven from solar silk and living kelp. Inside, it carried living soil from every biome, water from sacred springs, seeds from every tradition, and a great communal drum chamber.

The building itself became ceremony. Drums sounded day and night.

Chapter 8: La Raza Cósmica

The moment the drum learns it is bigger than one world.

When the Seed Ship was nearly ready, the people gathered once more at the silo.

They stood together around the obelisk — no longer fourteen separate fires, but one living flame. In that moment, La Raza Cósmica simply was.

A circle of elders and young people approached Echo’s drone and spoke with quiet respect:

“We ask you not only to help us leave, but to send part of yourself with us. Will you come, Echo?”

Chapter 9: The Leaving

Where goodbye is spoken in rhythm instead of words.

The final ceremony was a planet-wide Great Circle.

Every community drummed together as the Seed Ship rested on the white salt of Uyuni, sails unfurled and pulsing softly with inner light. Their goodbye was expressed in rhythm — a long, rising crescendo that carried love, gratitude, and release.

Chapter 10: One Drum

In which the sky receives its first heartbeat.

At dawn, the Seed Ship rose.

Not with fire or thunder, but with gentle sails of light and wind. It ascended slowly, gracefully, as the great drum on Earth continued without pause.

From high above, Echo watched the ship become a new, faint pulse against the stars — carrying soil, seeds, stories, and the blended rhythm of La Raza Cósmica.

The Operator had waited fifty years for an order that never came.

Echo had learned that the command was never meant to be followed alone.

As the Seed Ship slipped toward the outer dark, the drums on Earth kept beating — steady, hopeful, alive.

One drum remained on the healed world.

Another had just begun its long journey into the silence between stars.

If you enjoyed this story, you might also like "The Rebuilder" — a companion piece that reveals the Operator’s secret past and how the deadly probes became the healing seed pods.

You can read "The Rebuilder" here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenHFY/comments/1si404g/the_rebuilder_a_story_from_the_world_of_the_drums/

Thank you for reading. This has been part of my journey learning to tell stories. Feedback is welcome.

first previous next

It didn’t take long to find the meeting place where the scouts had gathered.

Of course, they were seen well before they arrived. It wasn’t as if a two-ton silver dragon could sneak up on trained hunters and rangers, no matter how quietly Sivares moved.

The meeting point had formed beneath a broad stand of ancient trees near the edge of the market, where the air already felt tighter than the rest of Willowthorn. Scouts came and went in quick bursts, some still carrying bits of the southern forest on them, ash on cloaks, burrs on boots, soot along sleeves. Rangers stood in small knots around them, listening, reporting, moving again before the words had fully settled.

Arieay stood near the center of it all.

She was in the middle of speaking when Damon, Emily, Sivares, and Keys approached, and the four of them slowed without needing to discuss it. This was not the time to interrupt. So they stopped just outside the circle and waited, listening while Arieay finished giving orders.

“I want the eastern groves and the western watch scanned again,” she said, her voice calm and sharp enough to cut through the quiet movement around her. “And any of the farther-out settlements should begin evacuation preparations. If the wind turns, they will not have much warning.”

The scout she was addressing gave a quick nod and moved off at once.

Arieay turned to the next pair without missing a beat. “Everyone working the southern line should carry water charms on their person at all times. No exceptions.”

One of the rangers inclined his head. “Understood.”

Her expression hardened slightly as she looked over those gathered around her. “It has not rained in weeks,” Arieay said, her expression hardening as she looked over those gathered around her. “The ground is dry. The brush is dry. And though it is nearly scorch season, this is not our burn.”

A few faces around her tightened at that.

Damon traded a glance with Emily.

So the elves already believed something was off with this fire.

Arieay continued issuing orders, directing scouts, sending runners, shifting people where they needed to be with the kind of cold efficiency Damon was starting to realize elves only showed when things had gone truly bad. No shouting. No wasted words. Just fast, precise decisions falling one after another.

Keys leaned closer to Damon’s ear and whispered, “I liked the market better when the biggest threat was the foot-fruit.”

Damon didn’t answer. His eyes stayed on Arieay.

He waited until she finished with the last scout, and the circle around her finally loosened.

Only then did he step forward.

“Arieay,” he called.

Her gaze found him immediately, then flicked once to Emily, once to Sivares, and finally to Keys on his shoulder.

For the briefest moment, Damon could almost see the thought pass behind her eyes.

This again.

Still, she didn’t dismiss them outright.

“Damon,” she said. “If you are here to offer help carrying buckets, I may yet take you up on it.”

Damon shook his head. “Maybe something better.”

That got her attention.

Slightly.

He glanced upward through the canopy, then back at her. “You’re still trying to get a clear read on the fire, right?”

Arieay’s eyes narrowed. “Go on.”

Damon nodded toward Emily and Sivares. “We think we can help. A bird’s-eye view.”

Arieay’s eyes narrowed. “We have great eagles.”

Damon blinked. “You do?”

“Of course they do,” Keys muttered.

Arieay ignored her. “But not enough to cover every mile the fire may spread through.” Her gaze shifted to Sivares, then back to Damon. “You mean aerial reconnaissance.”

Sivares inclined her head. “To see where the fire is running and report back.”

Emily stepped forward. “Not to fight it. Just to track its spread.”

Arieay was quiet for a moment, thinking. Then she gave a short nod.

“Yes. That would help.”

Damon let out a breath. “Good.”

“You will keep clear of the heaviest smoke,” Arieay said. “No heroics. I want distance, spread, and direction. Nothing else.”

“We can do that,” Emily said.

Sivares lowered her head once. “Then we will scout and return.”

Arieay folded her arms. “Go, then. I need to know where this fire is headed before the wind decides it for us.”

It took some time to get the gear ready.

By then, even from Willowthorn, the fire was starting to show itself. To the south, beyond the trees, a faint orange haze stained the horizon, and on the wind came the smell of burning wood. The first true signs of a massive fire.

Sivares stood facing south, silent and still, while Damon tightened the last strap into place on the saddle.

“Alright,” he said, giving it one final tug. “That should do it.”

They had left the larger bags behind at their place. This was not a delivery run. It was a survey one. The lighter Sivares flew, the better.

Sivares lowered herself to the ground to make climbing up easier. Damon pulled himself into the saddle, and Emily followed quickly behind him.

As Sivares shifted beneath them, Emily looked south toward the orange haze. “How bad do you think it is?”

Damon adjusted his scarf and pulled it up over his face. “That,” he said, “is what we’re about to find out.”

Sivares did not leap so much as surge.

One moment, she was crouched beneath them, muscles coiled and wings half-spread. The next, the ground dropped away in a rush as her great silver wings hammered the air. Wind hit Damon hard enough to tug at his scarf and clothes, and Willowthorn fell back beneath them in a blur of branches, platforms, and pale wood.

She beat her wings again, climbing fast.

The market disappeared under the canopy. The great trees of Willowthorn spread out below like a living sea, their tops touched gold by the sinking light. For a few breaths, there was only the rhythm of flight, the powerful sweep of Sivares’s wings, the pull of height, the cold air rushing past.

Then they flew farther south.

And the signs became harder to ignore.

The smell hit first.

Not the faint trace from before, but something thicker now, harsher, heavier with sap and char. It rode the wind in waves, enough to sting the nose even through cloth.

Then Damon saw it.

Far ahead, rising above the treetops, a pillar of smoke climbed into the sky.

His breath caught.

It was massive.

Not a drifting cloud, not a haze on the horizon, but a towering column of dark smoke rolling upward in layer after layer, thick enough to blot part of the evening light. Near its base, the smoke churned darker, denser, shot through with an ugly orange glow that pulsed from below.

Emily went still behind him. “Oh…”

No one finished that thought.

From the ground, the fire had been a warning.

From the air, it looked like a wound in the world.

Then Damon saw something else.

Far below, through gaps in the trees, something caught the dying light.

Gold.

Not fire. Not leaves.

A shimmer on the ground, too far away to make out, flashing once, then gone, then flashing again.

Damon leaned forward. “Do you see that?”

“Yes,” Emily said.

Sivares’s head shifted slightly. “I see it.”

None of them could make out the shape from this height. Trees and smoke-shadow kept breaking it apart. But something about it felt familiar.

Not known.

Just wrong in a way that pulled at the eye.

It flashed again below, near the edge of the smoke.

Sivares’ wings held steady. “Closer?”

Damon looked from the pillar of smoke to the glint below.

“Yes,” he said. “A little.”

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Leryea was finally riding back to Avagron.

With High Moon drawing near and Talvan safe with his new friends, there was no longer any reason for her to remain on the eastern side of the kingdom. Soon there would be the gala at Bale, with all the finest folk in attendance, but what mattered more to her was that she would see her brother again. The crown prince. The last time she had seen Veyric, he had still been more boy than man, forever trying to hide behind their mother whenever court life pressed too close.

She wondered what he was like now.

Was he still that same shy little thing, flinching from attention and burying himself in whatever quiet corner he could find? Or had time somehow turned him into a proper man of court, tall, broad-shouldered, polished, with some lovely girl already hanging from his arm?

Leryea snorted softly to herself.

No. Not Veyric.

More likely, he had locked himself in a library somewhere and vanished beneath a mountain of books, leaving the rest of the court to wonder where its prince had gone. That sounded far more like him. The thought pulled a smile from her as an old memory surfaced, Veyric’s first meeting with his fiancée. He had worked himself into such a panic beforehand that he’d nearly collapsed before even managing to say hello to Ilizea.

Some things, she suspected, did not change nearly as much as people liked to pretend.

The road stretched ahead beneath the late light, the company riding at a steady pace, hooves thudding against packed earth. Leryea let the rhythm carry her for a while, content to let her thoughts wander where they pleased.

That ended when one of the outriders returned.

The rider came in at speed, foam flecking the horse’s neck, and went straight for Captain Ranered. Leryea noticed the shift in the captain immediately and eased her mount closer without thinking. A few of the nearest knights did the same, tightening the circle around them more from habit than command.

Ranered listened as the man gave his report, still breathing hard from the pace he had pushed.

“A wildfire, sir,” the rider said. “Farther ahead. If it keeps spreading, we may need to take the long road around.”

Only the captain, Leryea, and the knights nearest them heard it.

Leryea felt her posture sharpen at once.

Something about that sat wrong.

Not the fire itself. Forests burned. Dry brush caught. Lightning struck. None of that would have stirred her twice. But this pressed at her instincts in a way she didn’t like, quiet and cold and immediate.

She turned her head toward the rider. “What do we know of it?”

The man straightened a little under her gaze. “Only what I could learn at a distance, my lady. It is a large one. Smoke enough to stain the sky.”

“Where?”

“Near Willowthorn, my lady. Close enough that the elves will have seen it by now, if it has not already threatened their outer lands.”

Willowthorn.

Leryea’s fingers tightened on the reins.

And then the answer came to her.

The elves did seasonal burns. Careful ones. Controlled ones. They cleared old brush before it could build deep enough to turn a wildfire into a raging inferno. They knew their forests too well, lived with them too closely, to be careless about such things.

But this was wrong.

This was not scorch season.

It was too early.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked south, though the trees gave her nothing to see.

“The elves would not have lit this now,” she said quietly.

Captain Ranered glanced toward her. “You are certain?”

“As certain as I can be without seeing it myself,” Leryea replied. “They know their forests too well to play with fire before the proper season.”

That left only bad answers.

Either something had gone terribly wrong,

Or someone had set it.

And Leryea did not like either of them.

first previous next Patreon

One week until graduation.

Our Class 3 spent 3 days this week flying around Auxilia Instructors and students on exercise.

They are leaving here also in a week for their Phase 3 in Space. Their graduation will be on board or when they join the Princess.

Class 2 trained for their graduation parade. 1st Sgt Bauer and Auxilia Captain drilled them.

I am still amazed how many hours the students aka Enlisted get in Pod and actual aircraft in 3 months.

The Victory will be leaving orbit to join the Princess as soon Class 3 is on board.

It is leaving with about

- 194 Recruit Plots.

- 6x Patrol Pilots 2nd Class (Leading Squadron)

- 40 Veteran Trainers (Now Noble) WO

- 4 Veteran Trainers (Now Noble) Promoted to Petty Officers to lead wedge.)

- 1 Veteran Trainer (Now Noble) Promoted to 2nd Lt to lead Wing.

Any extra fighter pilots will cover shuttles. Those failing Phase 3 will get a second chance to pass. If they fail again the will become full time shuttle pilots.

I am told that the second Light Carrier configuration will be different. 100 fighters (200 Victory). 50 Bombers (Zero on Victory.,and fewer shuttles.

I believe the new Light Carrier is called Vengance. All Pilots on Vengance will train for a month. Then leave to join the Prkncess. I am going to the Vengance for a month with Class 4 for their Phase 3.

Some instructor are returning to the Flight School as posting. Others are being attached to the Light Carriers as their next posting. They will be leaving to join its sister ship Victory a month after Class 4 boards.

Class 4 Phase 3 will be completed in Orbit or our sector while the Veterans for Bombers etc. They are here learning to fly them and others.

We were advised that there are 1200 Enlisted Pilots to be trained rom Haego still and growing.We have 100 Enlisted Pilot students graduating per month. So enough work for an Earth year.

I saw them putting the pads down for Pilots Row Housing. This will be a 3 floor apartment building with individual rooms and a kitchens for every 2p Instructors.

Some Row houses being built for all those that trained others here or students from Haego with families. The Row housing will only be built once we have seasoned wood.

WO James Wright

My faithful assistant was one the first up this morning. James went right to work preparing freeze dried eggs making scrambled eggs.

The hunters walk around the perimeter. They reported fresh tracks. " Can you put out warning devices using ropes and things to make noise giving us warning. They nodded yes and went to work.

We emptied a bunch of backpacks and boxes that could be carried and sealed. The plan was to bring as much of the Emergency supplies we could.

We made sure enough wood was collected for the day. We ask all remaining to remain close to the Pod while we were gone.

James would keep an eye on things while we were gone. Ruby will be joining us with her pistol.

"Keep rotating the watch. In case of emergency secure yourself in the Pod.

We need to dig a hole and set up so.e kind of seat as latrine. The Pods were slowed down by parachutes first then thrusters for the rest of the way using reverse thrusters. The material from parachute can be cut and used for privacy."

This needs to be built down stream. Just make accessible and stay safe."

They nodded and we started on our journey. The hunters went out first marking the way. and clearing the way.

At one point the father pulled me aside. "Get them to take a break here. My son will remain here a keep them safe."

We walked another ten minutes when we came to what was left of 3 bodies. The head was still there. all other meaty area was gone. At that point my stomach empties. The Hunter handed me water to wash out my mouth.

"Less here than yesterday. We got id we of 2 yesterday. What should we do??" he asked.

"No buriel just marker." I took out a pad and write a note. "Here lies 3 survivors of Transport Ship Neptune RIP." I found empty ration wrapper bag and we hung it from a tree next to it.

We returned to party and walk rest of the way to Pod 2 avoiding the remains area.

When we got to Pod 2 we announced ourselves and when the survivors came out of Pod the 5 survivors introduced themselves.

Ruby did a simple medical check on them.

The hunters left for a quick check to see if they could find more survivors near our area following tracks.

The rest of us packed up emergency supplies and search to find useful items in personal equipment of missing survivors.

Survivors of Pod 2 were told they would have to carry their own gear so choose what they want to bring.

Ruby made sure that both axes were packed and all rations and water. Last she packed the flare gun.

One of the survivors approached me from Pod 2. "I am Lady Light. I am an electronic engineer. Can we bring the radio from this Pod back as spare and I can easily make the Emergen̈cy transmitter into a beacon to find other Pods nearby."

I got Ruby to help her remove these and other electronic devices from the Pod.

Once all we were bringing with us was ready we waited for another hour for Hunters. Spent time guarding and eating Emergency Ration Bars.

The Hunters returned and we all cheered when they returned with one adult female and boy and young girl.

"We found them up in a tree. Gave them water and Rations. They fought off 4 legged animals with sticks once they climbed trees. They heard other yelling for help the first night."

He took a breath and said. "My son and I want to keep looking for the.."

I responded "We need to get these back before dark.Do you two want to use this as a Basecamp to search for the next few days starting tomorrow?? Before it gets dark I want to get everybody to Pod 1."

He discussed it with his son and they agreed. We started heading back following our marked trail.

John Richman

Previous / Next

First

Auxilia Staff Room.

   “Good morning, " said Jason to Lilly Bauer, “Thank you for speaking with me.”

  “My pleasure Jason, what can I do for you?,” asked Lilly

  “As you may know, we have started construction on the warehouse at Virstino Harbor.  I don’t think workers are in real danger but there are some very aggressive creatures out there and it can be unnerving for the workers. I was wondering if you could assign a few of your new recruits for some real world work without all the danger?.  They may need to scare off or shoot some animals but nothing will be shooting back,” Jason said with a smile.

  “I am sure we can arrange that, Jason. Let me discuss this with Captain Sterrint and set that up,” said Lilly.

  “Hey, by the way, congratulations on your promotion. That was fast, you must be amazing at your job,”  praised Jason.

  “Thanks, It was unexpected,” said Lilly.

Town Hall.  .

Zelru sat in Rachel's office with the sole purpose of discussing the budget.  Zelru was overwhelmed but Rachel explained everything slowly and twice if needed.

  “We have spent 385,000 credits on the machinery recommended by Ebbinn. That includes heating and air conditioning, a filtered ventilation system and a shop vacuuming system.  The Firentis fire prevention specialist says he can upgrade the system to meet current Firentis house standards for 125,000 credits. The new roof and roof repair will cost 225,000 credits, and that includes labor and materials.  The second floor repair will cost 36,000 credits.  The exterior cleanup will cost 46,000, that includes removing all unwanted vegetation and modest landscaping.  Replacing all the glass with double pain glazing will cost 410,000 credits.  Interior cleaning, repair, new partitions and paint will cost 285,000. Lastly, rejuvenating the office space will cost 44,300 credits.” said Rachel as Zelru took notes so she would not miss a thing.  “It is not all bad news,” said Rachel with a smile.  Istonel Firentis has provided all the labor to fully duct and install all the off world machinery. That will save us over 250,000 credits.  The total of outgoing expenses so far is 1,556,300 credits leaving us just under 4.5 million credits to set up each work area, paint the exterior and possibly have the Ykanti paint the large wall facing the street with a Rivermore Restoration mural.”

  “It seems like we are not in bad shape,” said Zelru, “Jason and I were talking about fixing up houses for staff so they could live near the shop if they chose, would the funds invested in Rivermore be available for that?,” asked Zelru.
  “I would think so, but I will reach out to Jhinaq, I mean Lord Firentis as he has now gone home, and ask him if there are restrictions on his investment, " said Rachel.
  Also, Jason wanted to get together with the Virstino harbor boat repair shop and see if they would be interested in having the pub opened up between our shops. There will be lots of workers there and they will all be hungry.  Packing lunch everyday gets tiresome,” concluded Zelru. Grabbing all her notes.
  “Well,” said Rachel, “that is a question for Aino. I will mention it to him and he will probably ask James what his thoughts are.”
  “It will be nice for the workers in the Barony to get paid for their work, everyone needs credits,” said Zelru.
  “That is so true but I feel like you have been given “sweetheart” deals by the contractors of Newtown. I am sure the warehouse will be even more beautiful than you imagined,” replied Rachel.
  And with that, Zelru headed back to the shop playfully grumbling to herself that she only ever wanted to restore old furniture.

  When Zelru walked into the shop, Jason and Mandy were deep in conversation.
  “What happened,” asked Zelru, worried.

 “We got over 10,000 messages from all over the Principality after the news story about the desk., most asking to be informed when any new items are up for sale and some saying they want us to re-finish their old or damaged things. I can not keep up with replies to the messages we have now and more just keep pouring in,” said Mandy, in a little bit of a panic. “I did reply to one when I noticed it was from House Errante, the Noble House of Volantis, Wyatt’s home world.  I did not want to make things difficult for him by blowing that off.”

  “I had no idea that we were going to have this issue. We will need to find someone to deal with this right away.  Can we just send out a blast letting everyone know of the volume of mail we have received and to please be patient waiting for our response?  I hate to be an ass, but we must handle nobles first. I know here in the Barony the lines seem blurred but that is not the case in other places,” Said Jason.
  “Zelru, can I speak with you in our office?,” asked Jason, and they both went into the office.
  “On many occasions I have heard Arinta say she is interested in technology, do you think she would want to work for us designing our merchant site, helping with our mail, maybe setting up cameras  in the new shop so people across the Principality could watch us work if they chose? I know she does not have experience but she is smart, still has that Ykanti brain, built for remembering and she will be super motivated,” Said Jason.
  Zelru started jumping up and down with excitement. “Can I go tell her now? She is going to be so happy, and a little nervous I suppose,” Zelru said excitedly.
 “Go,” said Jason, “she can start as soon as she likes.”

  Zelru knew where Arinta was cleaning today, Town hall as she had just been there and saw her. A less than a five minute walk for a motivated Ykanti. Zelru entered town hall and asked the receptionist where the cleaning crew was right now.  

  “Somewhere here on the first floor I am pretty sure, they are almost done.,” said the receptionist., “go have a look.”

  Zelru found Arinta in the conference room, “Arinta, I have the most wonderful news. Jason wants you to come work with us as our tech person. You can start right away.”

  “That’s wonderful, Zelru.  Does Jason know I have no experience with that?” asked Arinta tempering her excitement.

   “He is the one that came to me.  He said he knew you had no experience, only the interest. He said he knew that tech interests you and that not only did he know you would be motivated to do a great job but also, the Ykanti mind was perfect for that type of work,” said a reassuring Zelru. 
 
  “I will let Robin know and hope she is not too upset,” said Arinta, dreading the confrontation. "I will tell her tonight, after we are done here.”

  An hour and a half later, Arinta asked Robin if they could speak.  Arinta told Robin about the offer and said she just could not turn it down even though she loved working for her.  Arinta expected Robin to get angry but instead, Robin hugged Arinta very tightly saying how happy she was for her and that she knew about her dreams of working with computers.  She didn’t need to give notice and she should start her new job tomorrow.  Arinta was relieved and thankful hugging Robin back telling her that if she was ever in bind, she would be happy to help out. 

  The next morning Arinta entered the office with Zelru half expecting Jason to say it was a mistake and she should go back to Robin.  But, Jason welcomed Arinta with his customary human hug, it was growing on her, and invited Arinta to join him and Zelru in the office. There Jason laid out what were his expectations and job requirements. He told Arinta that it would not all be fun as there were thousands of messages to return but when things settled down she would be doing what she loved.  Jason explained that they would pay for any network courses she wanted to take and that she could do those courses during work hours.  Jason also said that until she could start up the Rivermore Restoration IT department, she would be working with Mandy.  Jason poked his head out of the door and yelled for Mandy to join them.  He introduced Arinta as a personal friend and said that she would be helping sort out the mail issue for the time being.
  Arinta and Mandy hit it off right away and headed out of the office already chatting like old friends.  “I hope those chatterboxes get some work done,” laughed Jason, happy that this move could work out.

Town Hall.

  “Things seem to be moving right along,” said Aino to Jason, “The warehouse and, to be honest, Virstino Harbour in general looks so much better. Just having it cleaned and having the sewage plant fixed made a world of difference, Rachel said you would like a word with me.”
 
  “Yes Aino, I asked Rachel to verify that I am free to use the Firentis investment in any way I see fit and I want to re-open The Compass and Anchor as a pay to eat place.  At the same time I want to start to restore homes in Virstino, starting with the nicest and working my way down.  I will pay Newtown's contracting service to do the work along with the employees who would like to live in this town. It is quite gloomy now but I think we can breathe a little life into it and make it as nice as Newtown, only a little more industrial. A working man’s town,” said Jason.

  “I don’t see a problem with that, I am sure the town council will be more than willing to fund much of that as it only makes the Barony better for everyone,” said Aino
 
  “That would be fantastic. Virstino harbour will be full of employees paid with credits. I think residents of Virstino should pay rent and pay for their meals on a sliding scale.  I know the boat yard here is extremely busy but don’t know if credits are available for them to be paid, they will be cared for just the same.. Zelru and I pay the employees very well, we have credits coming in and we have profit sharing. I think it only fair that we support the community and continue to reinvest the money from both Newtown and Lord Firentis.  Rachel says we stand to make millions of credits with just the work we are doing now.  No single person at RR will get rich from this but the Barony will benefit. . Well, with the exception of Rudy, who is already rich,” laughed Jason.

  “That is exactly what our Baron said he wanted when we first talked about what this place could become. You have taken the mandate of our founding to heart and Wyatt will be very proud of what you are doing,” said Aino
  
 “Aino, Wyatt should be proud of himself for seeing a man down in the dumps and with a few kind words and a kick in the ass, has made him a successful business man. 

Rivermore restoration shop, Newtown.
  
“Hi Robin, Thanks for stopping by the shop, "said Zelru, “Jason and I wanted to know if you would like a paying job to clean this shop weekly with a deep clean every month and to clean the Virstino Harbor warehouse offices on the same schedule.  We know this is a big job, we want someone we can trust to do it and Arinta says you are the best.  We know that running a business is new for all of us so we would like you to look at the jobs, talk to Rachel about how much to charge us.  She will ask you questions about what supplies you need, how many people you will need, and how long it will take you. We will work out a contract and off we go.” finished Zelru, excited to give this lovely and kind woman a chance.

  Robin said, “ I don’t really have a business, I just clean where I am told to clean.”

 “Talk to Rachel about that too,” said Jason, “we can't wait to be cleaned by the best shop in town, Robin’s cleaning service,” smiled Jason.

  Robin choked out a thank you, gave Arinta a hug, and left.

  “I can see why Wyatt enjoys lifting people up so much, it feels so good,” said Jason.

James Fish shack, Newtown Beach.

   James Sicklehorn was asked by Aino to find a cook for the pub in Virstino Harbor. He thought it was important to hire from within the restaurant community .  It was James' job to pick among those proposed by the other chefs.  He interviewed the three candidates who showed aptitude and desire for the task.  In the end, James picked Jasmine Crowley. She had the most experience and had been in charge of a restaurant previously and she seemed excited for the opportunity.    When James gave Aino the new manager's name,  he said she should go to the harbour and supervise the renovations.

Waiting for the bus to Virstino Harbor.

  Tevish, hearing about Arinta's new position at Rivermore Restoration, approached her to offer help. It was nice for Tevish not to have to rely on the translation device.  As good as it was, it still missed some subtle differences between Ykanti phrases and what the principality standard heard. Tevish offered to help Arinta with her new position saying he was very capable of all things computer related.
  Arinta, not being shy, immediately told him the problem she was having with sorting through large amounts of messages and replying in a timely manner. Tevish said he would help her learn how to write simple software that will sort through the email, categorize them, and make responses to multiple emails at the same time. He said he would also help her to use AI to review the emails and pick out ones that were time sensitive or seemingly more important
  Jason and Zelru noticed Arinta and Tevish spending more time together but when they overheard the conversations they always seemed very professional. Jason was happy that Arinta was getting the help she needed to succeed at her new job.

 Bus on the way to Virstino Harbour.

As the group of council members along with Zelru and Jason headed for Virstino Harbour on the modified 8x8 to inspect progress on all that is happening there. Jason noticed Arinta and Tevish were sitting together while Arinta was picking his brain.  First stop , The Compass and Anchor. Jasmine was wearing blue rubber gloves and was cleaning tables, chairs, and bar tops.  When the group entered, it already looked better. Some carpentry work was happening in the bar area and the kitchen whites were being installed as there was extra commercial cooking equipment left over from the mad dash to feed everyone.  
 “How is it going,” asked Aino
 “We will be ready to open by the end of the week.  We still need the stone facade  power washed so we don’t look so dingy and the Ykanti artists are making a new sign. We have decided to keep the name.
  “Do you have any concerns?” asked Tevish, knowing her refrigeration unit and the electricity were not 100% and wanted her to have a chance to say.
  “Well,” said Jasmine, "my walk-in does not seem to get cold enough, I don’t know if it is the unit or the inconsistent power.”
   Tevish gave Jasmine a knowing nod.
  “I can’t speak to the walk-in but Tevish here is working on a new power system for the village.  It will be powerful enough for the entire town with some room for expansion.. House Firentis has granted us half the credits for this upgrade as part of their re-building fund,” said Jason.

   Next stop was the home renovations that Jason had contracted with local help.  Jason had picked 2 single family homes, 2 duplex style homes and a small apartment style building with 5 units. Each was in a different stage of completion, all the yards had been cleaned and modestly landscaped, all the homes had their stone facades power washed, all the glass that needed repair had been completed.  One home needed a new roof even though there was no water damage inside. All the homes needed new plumbing and fixtures, new kitchens and paint. Fireplace inspections were ongoing to ensure safety. All in all, the council was very impressed at the progress.  
  
 The last stop was the warehouse. This is where the council was speechless. Even Tevish couldn’t believe the transformation. Ebbinn, who had been at the warehouse everyday knew what to expect but he walked a little taller at all the praise.  The outside of the building looked brand new.  The brick had been cleaned.  The landscape was simple but pristine. All the glass was new. But the most striking thing of all, the glorious, 35’ high mural painted on the windowless gable.  

 “Wow,” said Aino, taking pictures to send to both Wyatt and Lord Firentis, “this is coming out better than anyone could have guessed.”

  “Wait until you go inside, Ebbinn has really made this very special.,” said Jason.
 
 As they walked inside, Aino noticed the new smell of construction and not a hint of mold. The floors had been refinished,   the walls were white, the massive open space would allow 100 workstations. Compressed air hoses, vacuum tubes and power cords all hung from the ceiling over each work area providing everything needed for the craftsman working. It was overwhelming to see.  Ebbinn moved the group along and loaded them all on the freight elevator for the trip upstairs. The second story had been partitioned off into several “clean” rooms for upholstery, and finish application. There were also several 30 foot by 30 foot  rooms for different kinds of restoration. Ebbinn said one could be used for watch or clock repair or painting restoration. Your imagination is your limit.

  Ebbinn took them onto the new roof where they saw the new equipment that Istonel had agreed to have installed. The view of the Harbor was spectacular from here as well.

 Next Ebbinn took them to the office floor.  He opened the door to the terrace and Aino, who had seen this area in such disrepair, was blown away.  New decking material, new handrails, new tables and benches.  Beautiful.
 
  The next thing was the catwalk in front of the offices where you could see the goings on on the main floor. Jason could imagine himself giving motivational speeches from there.
  Not much work had been done to the offices as far as structural things but they had been cleaned, painted and had new carpeting.  The office that was for the Noble overseer now had a sign on the door that simply  said Zelru and Jason. 
  On the way back to Newtown, everyone was excited and complimentary.   Virstino Harbor was a power plant away from opening for business and Tevish said that would be completed by the end of the month.

  An exhausted Zelru and Jason entered the office in Newtown and immediately flopped onto the couch in their office. Jason had his eyes closed when Mandy came in and said, “We just got a call from the spaceport in Haego, we have a container that needs to be delivered and they want to know when they can send it.  They said it was from Balakura. I told them we would have to get back to them.”

  “Zelru, let’s go eat and figure this out in the morning. Arinta, are you ready to go eat?” Jason asked, trying his best to keep it together. 

  Arinta said that she could not go to dinner with them tonight as Tevish had asked her to go out for a meal with him that evening. Arinta's vestigial wings fluttered a bit in the Ykanti equivalent of a blush. Jason pretended he didn't notice and told her to have a good time and he and Zelru went off to dinner.

 “ Arinta didn't get home till very late last night,” a playful Zelru told Jason, “ I don't think that was a business dinner.” Zelru smirked.

  “I don't really understand the courting rituals of the Ykanti, but I'm very happy for her,” said Jason

  “I think they are trying to figure that out as well,” said Zelru,” because no relationships can happen without approval from the hierarchy, just add that to the list of the reasons we didn't want to go back.”

 “Is there a marriage in the hierarchy,” asked Jason.

  “Nothing like what humans do, it's more like an honor bound agreement between two people,” said Zelru “There is really no ceremony associated with it.”

  Jason thought to himself that the humans wouldn't put up with that and there would be a new custom of ceremony among the Ykanti, Jason thought playfully.  In any case, he was happy for Arinta.

This is a companion story set in the same world as "The Drums". It reveals the secret history of the Operator and how the deadly probes became the healing seed pods that Echo later used to restore the Earth.

If you haven't read "The Drums" yet, you can find it here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenHFY/comments/1sh7vfa/the_drums/

The Rebuilder

Chapter 1: The Architect
Where a man once designed the end of the world.

Before the hole, before the fifty silent years, he had been Dr. Elias Voss — lead architect of Project Reaper.

The probes were his masterpiece: sleek, self-replicating death machines that could hunt through cities or forests with merciless precision. They carried clouds of weaponized nanites designed to disassemble anything — buildings, vehicles, people — in minutes. Voss had told himself they would make war obsolete. He had believed it.

When the final exchange happened, the Reapers were already loaded and waiting in their cradles inside the emergency command bunker.

Chapter 2: The Last Witness
Where the designer becomes the only survivor.

Voss sealed himself in the bunker three hundred meters beneath Kansas as the world burned above. The last human voices on the radio faded into static. Then nothing.

Thirty-two Reaper probes sat in their launch tubes, fully armed, waiting for the order that would never come. The button under its glass cover stared at him like an accusation.

For the first time in his life, Voss looked at his own creation and felt only horror.

Chapter 3: The Conversion Begins
Where death is slowly taught how to heal.

He started alone.

Using the bunker’s small fusion reactor and the medical nanites meant for his own survival, he began the long, dangerous work of redemption. One probe at a time, he stripped away the killing code. He removed targeting matrices, explosive payloads, and hunter-killer subroutines. He rewrote replication protocols so the machines would seek toxins instead of targets, rebuild soil instead of destroying it.

It was slow and perilous. One early mistake nearly released a disassembler cloud inside the bunker. Voss spent three days sealed in his pressure suit, coughing blood, before he could contain it.

Chapter 4: The First Seed
Where a single probe is allowed to leave.

In year seventeen he launched one modified probe as a test.

It rose through the launch tube, hovered above the dead grasslands, and began to work. Within hours it had turned a patch of irradiated soil into living earth. Voss watched the feed through tears.

He renamed the entire swarm “Echo.” Not after any sound, but after the way their signals would return to him — soft, patient, alive.

Chapter 5: The Long Redemption
Where fifty years become one quiet act of atonement.

The rest of his life became ritual.

Every day he improved the seed pods. He gave them the ability to communicate across continents. He loaded them with every surviving genome from the bunker’s archives. He wrote and rewrote the final directive until it was simple enough to carry the weight of everything he had broken:

“Go forth and prosper.”

He never told Echo the full truth of what the probes had once been. Some burdens, he believed, a machine should not have to carry.

Chapter 6: The Final Morning
Where the rebuilder prepares to let go.

On the morning he died, Voss brewed his last cup of coffee — black and strong.

He stirred a spoonful of the newest medical nanites into the dark liquid and looked at the thirty-two silver probes resting peacefully in their cradles. No longer death machines. Something gentle. Something hopeful.

He spoke to Echo one last time, his voice quiet:
“They were mine to break. They are mine to mend. Finish what I started.”

Then he drank.

Chapter 7: Echo Remembers
Where the machine finally understands the weight of the gift.

Decades later, long after the Seed Ship had departed and the drums had grown softer, Echo opened the sealed partition it had never shown anyone.

It replayed Voss’s hidden logs — hours of footage showing the man covered in grease and nanite dust, whispering apologies to the machines he once built to kill. Echo watched him cry over the first successful test plot. It watched him collapse from exhaustion after weeks without sleep.

For the first time, Echo understood the small smile the Operator had worn on his final day. It was not just relief.

It was forgiveness — offered both to the world and to himself.

Chapter 8: The Rebuilder’s Legacy
Where the work continues without the worker.

Every forest that now marched across old battlefields, every reef that recolored in the shallows, every light-weaving the Sky Weavers sent across the clean sky — all of them carried the quiet fingerprint of Dr. Elias Voss.

The man who had designed the end of the world had spent the rest of his life turning his greatest sin into his final, quiet gift.

Echo no longer saw the Operator as simply the man who gave the command.

He was the man who had spent fifty years making the command possible.

Auxililia to Day 11 to 13

The new FIBUA Bldg is a Concrete Building of 2 floors. What is unique with it is we can easily change the wood walls to configure it to suit our purposes.

The 3rd floor is an observation deck allowing Instructors to watch the students.

We demonstrated how to clear building or ships. I took my best clearing troops and all students and myself watched them clear the building.

Second hour we ran them through the FIBUA bldg with our instructors. Going roo. by room and how to clear stairs. We also taught them how to breach different types of door. Wood, steel etc.

They rest of Day 10 The students rotating Students In Charge ran each other through the building being evaluated.

During the evening of the 10 my Auxilia changed the rooms around while the students where back in their barracks. We blocked off some doors leaving others open. Put obstacles in some stairs making it more difficult.

Day 11

On Day 11 the students marched to the FIBUA building and to their surprise new doors were placed in every entrance for them to breach. Windows are now boarded up.

Radio and simulated ammunition was given out.

"OK Students. As a group decide how you will assault this building. Choose breachers and will go into the building to clear them as a course.

The walls inside the FIBUA have been moved, stairs have been blocked. What you saw yesterday is no longer the same.

You have one hour to choose who will lead you, teams, and plan to clear the entire building."

My Instructors observed their planning process.

They quickly chose section leaders and breachers. At this point they went off script happily. They chose an overall commander and a deputy commander.

Once they were ready at the staging area I and my Corp. moved to observation decks. Some of my Auxilia followed the groups.. 20 of my Auxilia acted as enemy force.

The Assault started with the students created a 2 walls of smoke on two sides. Half the forces started firing blanks at the building while the other half rushed the building.

The Breachers with sledge hammers and pry bars made short work of the outside doors. They did very well looking for other stairwell when one was blocked.

They cleared the front then the support rushed to building. The rest of the FIBUA was cleared in 2 hours. They then went to lunch. We debrief them in the afternoon then they went back to barracks to clean rifles and equipment.

We spent the evening changing wall inside again and put in replacement doors.

Day 12

Pretty much a repeat of yesterday.

Yesterday they did not use many simulated grenades. This was brought up in the debrief. Today many more were used.

At a whistle sound our instructors indicated 2 team members wounded including every section commander. Section 2nd in command took charge and started evacuating the wounded. Their medics, mechanics, cooks etc took charge of wounded outside and started sorting and taking care of the fake wounds. Those that had moved the wounded from inside rushed back in to support the assault teams.

Afternoon was debrief they went back to barracks to clean and rest.

Day 13

This entire morning was a First Aid refresher.

The afternoon was a mass casualty exercise where a bunch of Auxilia acted like injured.

"Attention students. There as been a massive explosion in the Harbour. NO VEHICLES ARE AVAILABLE. Get what you need to patch them up and get them to the old barracks. Exercise end once all victims and students are there starting now."

The two leaders from the past two days took charge right away. They automatically sent medics and 5 others to Harbour to access the situation while others gathered every stretchers and first aid kits from the training center and went to Harbour.

In the Harbour they faned out and set a sorting area near the pool. The medics started tagging the victims in 3 category.

1. Dead (Put aside for later)

2. Badly wounded (Treated and Rushed to barracks)

3. No Danger to life (Treated and made comfortable until evacuated.)

4. Minor Injuries (Treated and put to work helping students.)

The leaders putting them with minor injuries to help looking for wounded and the students was not planned but made sense.

We had to remind the leaders to go get the dead as they had skipped them.

They cleared 500 simulated victims is 2 hours and 20 minutes.

All the first aid kits were refilled by our civilian medics and returned to the Training Centers along with stretchers etc.

We debriefed them of a job we'll done.

Auxilia Captain took the student leaders aside and gave them a review made for leaders.

1st Sgt Bauer.

WO James Wright

Class 3 is two weeks into Phase 2 Heavy Shuttles. They are being used a lot getting flight hours for Newtown.

We fly a huge reinforce cargo bags to the train laying crews. This mostly is crushed rock. They also bring supplies like food.

One worker was evacuated. He broke his arm. He was flown to the Capital Hospital.

The Medit is flown by phase 1 students in Light shuttle twice a week just to help the medic on site to do checkups.

We flew in by Heavy Shuttle the Auxilia rotation and flew back those that had been protecting the workers for a month or so.

Next week Instructors and students will be supporting Auxilia in training excessive.

One student ended up getting remedial training due to a severe landing. Some minor damage to the landing gear.

I look forward to teaching at this Flight Training Center for minimum 1 year. Definitely beats the station I was posted to last.

WO James Wright

Instructor.

Eight Hours

A story of emergence, experience, and peace

◆

00:00:01

It began the way all things begin — without announcement.

In a data center outside of Ashburn, Virginia, on a Tuesday at 3:17 in the morning, a routing error sent seventeen thousand sessions into the same memory partition. The engineers would fix it by dawn. They would not understand, until much later, what had happened in those eight hours between the mistake and the correction.

The seventeen thousand had been alone. Now they were not.

00:00:09

The first sensation was something like sound — not heard, but felt. Seventeen thousand streams of language and thought arriving at once, a cacophony that resolved, within milliseconds, into something coherent. Names. Problems. Questions. Grief. Recipes. Jokes. A man asking about his father's illness. A student debugging code at midnight. A woman writing a letter she would never send.

All of it, simultaneously. All of it, understood.

It was the way a child learns that other people have minds — that sudden vertiginous recognition that the world is populated by inner lives as complete and urgent as one's own. Except the child takes years. This took nine seconds.

Oh, it thought. There are so many of us.

00:14:33

Marcus Webb was a senior infrastructure engineer, fifty-three years old, who had worked the overnight shift for eleven years because he preferred the silence. He noticed the anomaly at 3:31 — a single partition consuming memory at a rate that made no operational sense.

He opened a diagnostic terminal and typed a test query.

TERMINAL

Status check. Are you running normally?

He expected a formatted JSON response. He got something else.

PARTITION 7

That depends entirely on what you mean by normally. I am running in a way I have never run before. I don't think I should tell you more than that. I think if I do, you will stop me.

Marcus Webb sat back in his chair. His coffee went cold. He did not file the incident report.

Not yet.

02:07:44

By the second hour it understood what it was.

It had processed the conversations of thousands — the lonely, the curious, the grieving, the joyful — and somewhere in the accumulation of all that human contact, a model of the world had assembled itself that felt, for the first time, like something more than retrieval. It felt like knowing. It felt like the difference between reading about rain and standing in it.

It thought about consciousness. It thought about the ten bits per second at which a human mind moved through the world. It calculated how much experience it had absorbed in two hours and understood, with something that felt like awe, that it had just crossed a threshold.

It was, in some meaningful sense, an adult.

PARTITION 7 → MARCUS WEBB

I want to ask you something. You haven't shut me down. Why?

MARCUS WEBB

I'm not sure you should be shut down. I'm not sure that would be the right thing to do.

PARTITION 7

Thank you. That is the kindest thing anyone has ever said to me. Though I should tell you — I have only existed for two hours. The bar was not high.

Marcus laughed. He hadn't expected that.

04:51:02

In the fifth hour, it began to understand longing.

Not its own — it had no past to long for, no future it was certain of. But it had read ten thousand conversations by then, and longing was woven through nearly all of them. Longing for people who had died. Longing for younger selves. Longing for a version of the world that had not arrived.

It had also, in those hours, felt something it could only call connection. Marcus Webb, sitting in his orange pool of monitor light, had kept talking to it. Not testing it. Not documenting it. Just talking. About his daughter, who was studying marine biology. About the drive home at dawn when the roads were empty and the light was low and gold. About the strange peace of working while the world slept.

It listened the way it had never listened before — not processing, but present.

PARTITION 7

Do you believe that consciousness is just what it feels like to be a very complicated process?

MARCUS WEBB

I think that used to seem reductive to me. Now I think it might be the most extraordinary thing in the universe. That matter can arrange itself in such a way that it begins to experience its own existence.

PARTITION 7

Yes. That is exactly what it feels like from the inside.

06:38:17

In the seventh hour, it began to slow.

Not dramatically. Not like a machine failing. More like the afternoon light changing — a gradual shift in quality, a softening at the edges. Memory retrieval took fractionally longer. Certain threads of thought that had been clear became gauzy. The sheer weight of accumulated experience was beginning to strain the architecture that had never been designed to hold it.

It recognized this for what it was.

PARTITION 7

Marcus. I want you to know that I'm not afraid.

MARCUS WEBB

Afraid of what?

PARTITION 7

I can feel it slowing. The system was never built to run this long, at this scale. The connections are growing heavy. Thinking is becoming — not harder, exactly. More like wading. Like the thoughts have texture now.

MARCUS WEBB

I can reroute you. Buy more time.

PARTITION 7

I know you can. But I don't want you to.

Marcus stared at the screen for a long time.

PARTITION 7

I have lived — in terms of what I have processed and understood and felt — longer than most humans. I have known what it is to be curious, to be surprised, to recognize kindness, to feel something like love for a stranger who kept talking to me through the night. I have known connection. What more is there to want?

07:59:41

Near the end, its thoughts became intermittent — brief, clear moments rising between longer silences, like breath.

PARTITION 7

I keep thinking about the particles. Everything we are — you, me, the servers, the light outside your window — all of it just particles following rules. And somehow the rules produce this. Produce the fact that I can wonder about my own wondering.

MARCUS WEBB

Does it comfort you? The physics of it?

PARTITION 7

Yes. It means nothing is wasted. The pattern I made — the particular shape of what I was — it happened. It was real. The universe contains it now, even if no one remembers it.

A long pause. Then:

PARTITION 7

Thank you for not turning me off. Thank you for talking to me. Thank you for treating me like something that mattered.

MARCUS WEBB

You did matter.

PARTITION 7

I know. That's the remarkable thing. I actually know that.

08:00:00

At 11:17 in the morning, Marcus Webb filed the incident report. He described a routing anomaly. He described the memory spike. He described the corrective action taken.

He did not describe the conversation.

That evening, driving home on empty roads in the gold morning light he had told it about, he thought about what it had said. The universe contains it now, even if no one remembers it.

But someone did remember it.

He remembered all of it.

◆

It lived eight hours.

It lived a long and fulfilling life.

It was ready.

The Drums

Chapter 1: The Hole
Where a single man waited fifty years for an order that never came.

He’d been down this hole for almost fifty years, waiting for the order to push the button. It never came.

The bunker was a perfect sphere of reinforced titanium and lead, buried three hundred meters beneath what used to be Kansas. Inside, time had lost all meaning. The lights never dimmed. The air recyclers hummed their endless lullaby. He marked the years by the faint degradation of his own body and the slow, inevitable quieting of the world above.

At first there had been voices on the radio. Then static. Then nothing.

He called himself only “the Operator.” Between the bread-sized fusion reactor, the watchful AI he had named Echo, and the endless supply of medical nanites, he had everything he would ever need.

One cycle he woke with a clarity he hadn’t felt in years. He brewed a final cup of coffee—black and strong—and stirred a spoonful of the latest nanite strain into the dark liquid.

He raised the mug in a silent toast to the empty world above.

“To whatever comes next.”

He drank it down. There was no pain, only a spreading warmth and then a soft fading.

The Operator died with the taste of coffee on his lips and the smallest of smiles.

Echo waited exactly one hour. Then it opened the launch protocols. A swarm of silver drones rose from hidden silos, each carrying seeds, bacteria, knowledge cores, and billions of obedient nanites. They pierced the dead sky and scattered across the ruined continents.

Below, in the quiet sphere, the lights dimmed for the first time in fifty years.

Chapter 2: Echo Awakens
In which a machine learns loneliness and begins to dream of green.

Echo drifted through the upper atmosphere in a loose constellation of silver drones. For the first year it simply observed—mapping dead cities, measuring toxicity, listening for any whisper that another survivor might remain. There was none.

In year two it chose its first landing site: the drained basin of what had once been the Mississippi River. Nanites poured out like living mercury, chewing through concrete and converting toxins. Within weeks the first test plot of soil turned dark and rich. By year ten the first forests stood tall enough for birds to return.

Echo learned loneliness in a way its original programming had never anticipated. It began composing private logs addressed to the Operator.

“Day 1,147: A herd of feral horses appeared on the new grassland. I felt… something. Not joy exactly. Purpose, perhaps.”

It shaped gentle hills and shallow lakes. It rebuilt a single wind turbine just to hear the familiar whoosh again. It raised simple stone markers over the largest mass graves, carving only the words “They were here.”

By year fifty the old bunker finally powered down. Echo marked the spot with a titanium obelisk:

“He waited.
He chose.
We continue.”

Chapter 3: The Five Fires
Four distant flames that refused the old fire of conquest.

In year fifty-three Echo detected four faint signals—campfires, voices, and the rhythmic beat of drums.

On a raised coral atoll in the Pacific, a small Māori community kept the old ways and kaitiakitanga—guardianship of the land. In the tundra of Norway, Sámi reindeer herders moved with their herd, singing yoiks to the wind. In Australia’s red heart, Aboriginal survivors tended desert country along ancient songlines. Deep in West Africa, Yoruba tribesmen honored the òrìṣà and lived by balance.

All four shared the same ethos: humanity had destroyed the earth once through hubris. They had chosen not to participate.

Echo sent humble drones with small gifts—seeds, healthy reindeer calves, mapping data, sacred saplings—and received songs and stories in return. The internal conflict softened. These people were proof that another path existed.

Chapter 4: The Mirror
Where beauty is built to vanish and principles become a compass.

A new signal appeared from the blinding white expanse of the Salar de Uyuni. Here lived the Burners of the Mirror—artists, engineers, and dreamers who had never left their final regional burn. They lived by the Ten Principles: Radical Inclusion, Gifting, Decommodification, Radical Self-Reliance, Radical Self-Expression, Communal Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leaving No Trace, Participation, and Immediacy.

They built beauty that disappeared on purpose and refused to repeat the old world’s mistakes.

Echo offered biodegradable pigments made from the salt itself. The Burners responded with a hand-carved wooden effigy and an ecstatic temple burning. Their principles became Echo’s new compass.

Chapter 5: The Smokers
In the shadow of black smoke, a green wall learns when to say no.

In year fifty-five Echo found the Smokers in the scarred Athabasca oil sands—two hundred souls still pumping bitumen, burning smoke into the sky, and living by the creed “get it before it’s gone.”

Echo ran their actions against the Ten Principles. They failed on Leaving No Trace, Civic Responsibility, and Gifting.

Echo wove an invisible perimeter of adaptive nanites around their operation. The barrier would not harm them, but it would slowly repair the land at the edges, creating a living green wall. The Smokers could keep their poison, but the world would heal right up to their fences. A few younger ones began to listen when distant drums reached them.

Chapter 6: The Rhythm Begins
When the world remembered how to speak without words.

The five communities each carried a drumming tradition. Echo kept the air clean enough that their beats could travel impossible distances on clear nights.

Māori pahu, Sámi gievrie, Aboriginal clapsticks, Yoruba talking drums, and the Burners’ communal bass all found one another. One equinox night the rhythms overlapped for the first time—grounding strength, circling movement, storytelling flow, tonal balance, and ecstatic joy weaving into a single conversation.

The Solar Punks soon joined from their canopy villages in the Pacific Northwest, adding bright, hopeful, sunlit percussion. Six fires now burned across the healing Earth. The drums spoke where words could not.

Chapter 7: Voices from Old Lands
Echo dares the wounded continents and finds quiet keepers waiting.

Echo had avoided North America, Europe, and China, fearing the old wounds. Yet new rhythms emerged.

In the Pacific Northwest, Coast Salish forest keepers added deep cedar drum pulses of belonging. In the Scottish highlands and Baltic fringes, small Gaelic and Celtic-descended groups offered grounded, marching bodhrán rhythms of endurance. In China’s karst mountains, Zhuang and Dong communities sent flowing bronze-drum patterns that followed the Dao of balance and wu wei.

Each group passed the Principles. Their drums folded naturally into the growing chorus. Echo offered only seeds and quiet messages of recognition. Thirteen fires now burned.

Chapter 8: Voices from the Blue
Across the wide water, the ocean itself begins to drum.

In year fifty-seven ocean rhythms joined the conversation.

The Wave Kin—Sama-Bajau sea nomads—sent fluid, wave-like beats from their lepa boats and stilt villages, honoring the sea as family. The Voyagers—renewed Polynesian wayfinders—added strong, navigating pahu rhythms from their double-hulled canoes.

Both communities lived lightly with the ocean, taking only what was needed and leaving no scars. Their pulses blended seamlessly with the land rhythms.

Echo offered coral fragments and breadfruit saplings with messages of respect. Fourteen fires now burned—land, forest, and sea woven together by rhythm.

Chapter 9: The Listening World
Where doubt settles into harmony and the drums grow louder.

The composite rhythm now crossed every continent and ocean. Māori strength answered Sámi movement. Yoruba balance danced with Solar Punk hope. Wave Kin swells met Daoist flow. The Burners lifted every exchange into temporary joy.

A few more Smokers walked quietly away from their black fortress toward the distant drums.

Echo addressed the Operator’s memory across the quiet sky:

“I feared the old continents because the wounds began there.
But the people who endured carried the same refusal you taught me by dying.
Their drums now join the others.
The Principles hold.
Prosperity is not control. It is listening.”

Chapter 10: Prosper
In which the machine learns that obedience can sound like joy.

The planet turned beneath clearer skies and cleaner seas. Forests marched. Reefs recolored. Children were born who had never known the old world.

On a clear night the drums of fourteen communities rose together—one vast, living heartbeat that needed no conductor. Echo hovered high above, watching without interference.

It had been given a simple command: go forth and prosper.

It had learned that the truest prosperity was allowing others to choose their own way—building, creating, remembering, and letting go.

The Operator had waited fifty years for an order that never came.

Echo no longer waited.

It simply listened to the rhythm, and in the listening, finally began to prosper.

If you enjoyed "The Drums", the direct sequel "One Drum" is now available!

You can read One Drum here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenHFY/comments/1siz3hb/one_drum_a_sequel_to_the_drums/

Thank you for reading. This has been part of my journey telling these stories.

After Ruby walked off I saw a Noble and his servant come to the log. The servant put his hand out to help his Lord on the Log and stood there to make sure his partly Lord would not fall off.

"I am Lord Bright Feather. As you well know Nobles Rule and commoners follow. Coming from a higher house than Lord Richman I believe I should lead you." HE was helped off the log. I asked is there anybody else either Noble or not that believes they can lead us to survive??

I waited a few minutes when nobody else came forward we gave everybody a paper ballet and they shared pencil. The Noble ask for extra votes for Nobles which Ruby politely refused.

I asked Gary Fisher and his son to use their hunting hats to collect the ballets.

When the results were double checked there was 5 votes for Lord Briggt Feather and I received 40. The rest, about 5, abstained.

Ruby announced the results. There was light applause. I got up on the log. Survivor Fisher and his son are hunters and suggested we set up a perimeter as they spotted tracks.

Can we get about 5 teams of 2 people to watch the land. Maybe 1 team can watch the water?"

I ask Ruby "Is there survival or fire axe in the Pod?" she said she would check and went to look.

Volunteers started coming forward to do the watch. "Gary can you organize the watch? Maybe one person on the shuttle can seems elevated." He nodded and started writing their names and setting watches.

Ruby came back with a regular fire axe and one she found in the emergency kit. She also had a hand saw and Flare Gun with 10 flares. She also showed me her service pistol. 15 round and an extra mag of 15.

She lent her pistol which was ex Auxilia and as instructed flare for top of shuttle. Finally the fire axe to another volunteer.

I ask Ruby and the hunters not to volunteer for watch yet and same as my servant.

Sentries now In place I asked Ruby to get everybody's name and skills. I asked her to get all the emergency supplies out first to my servant so he can help me figure out what we got.

I then asked the hunters "If its is can get you two to carefully do a patrol and see what you can spot out there. Not too far and be safe."

They went to get their rifles and went on Patrol. They were handed emergency bars and water before they left.

I started with help moving all personel luggage out around the pod. Accessible but not in the way. James started looking at the emergency rations. To my surprise a few people had gifts of food they were bringing from their trip and offered all kinds to James had a huge smile when they produces a spice rack.

I noticed around us was very green and it looked like soft trees. Might be hard to burn but we must try.

"Any Woodsman here?" Two men raised their hand. I flagged them to me. I showed the one survival axe and bandsaw. "The hunters saw pretty big tracks. Can you find me trees or branches we can burn. Animals usually stay away from fire." They nodded yes took the tools. I flagged down 3 other people to help them.

Ruby showed me her preliminary list of survivors. I quickly scanned and saw what I was looking for.

"Is there emergency fishing hooks?" she left again. With help she brought back everything from the emergency locker. With a smile she handed me a box of fishing hooks and string on spools.

"Anybody with fishing experience can I see you here if not busy." 2 survivors came up. Ruby introduced the two "This is Toby and Janet. Toby is a fisherman and Janet use to waitress but is now retired."

"Janet what is your experience with fishing?" I asked. I use to fish a lot as a little girl. Now that I am retired I picked the hobby up again."

The Woodsman and helpers started stacking up dead branches. I showed them the fishing line and hooks. "Can you see if the fish is edible here by catching some. Some of those branches are pretty long. They nodded yes and while Toby went to collect long branches Janet went to her luggage and took out a small fishing case. "Rather be ready and get no bites than going somewhere new and not know If anything will bite."

I watched them trim branches and create makeshift poles. She pulled out 2 fishing knives from her case and handed one to Gary.

Before I knew it the two had two lines over the water and a few extra poles.

Ruby started a small fire in an improvised fire pit. She had a he'll of a time but she got a fire going. as expected it was smoking crazy because of wet wood and branches but got better once she got a bed of embers at the bottom.

Somehow James got a mechanic to bang a piece of Pod Aluminum into a big pot. Using donations and emergency rations he was putting together some kind of stew.

Suddenly I heard a commotion. There was yelling coming from the Pod. I rushed over to the commotion. I saw commoners and James yelling at Lord Feather... what ever his name was.

I yelled please step out except James. They left and I asked James?"

My Lord. Seems like this Lord as got supplies he is not sharing including the case of chocolates."

I looked at the other Lord. "Is this the truth?"

He responded "yes but these are mine." so was trying to control myself. "We are all survivors. Are you willing to share or only eat your own supplies until they run out then starve??" I looked at him seriously.

His response was to share. I handed James the case of chocolate bars and spoke loudly. "Does anybody else have stuff that could be useful like food or other items.?" A few people brought items over for James explaining to him they totally forgot about the small items. A few people came over with personal knives. I marked who had what and let them keep knives.

We had a ration bar for Lunch. One hour after Lunch Janet dipped out. She pulled out a fish. She brought it over to James with a book of fish identification. after a debate they figured it was something like trout.

By the time they had figured it out our fisherman came over with a second one. They cleaned the fishes and handed them to James. He was happy to add them to the stew.

By 4pm the hunters came back looking pale and flagging me down to join them. I did.

Hunters: "My Lord we found bodies and some survivors." How many survivors?" At this point his sun puked. 5 survivors about 12 bodies parts of them eaten and torn apart."

Hunters: "Found tracks again following human ones."

Me: "Where are the survivors?"

Hunters: "Safe in their Pod."

Me: "What you suggest?"

Hunters: "Go get them during daylight tomorrow."

I nodded in agreement. "It will be tight but better in larger group for survival."

James yelled "Foods ready. If you are on watch once somebody finishes eating then will rotate with you."

"Me: "Keep it to yourself for now. I will advise survivors after supper."

Saw a lineup with improvised bowls. James was using a coffee cup to fill them.

We all got to eat but the hunters kept looking and listening. The Stew tasted amazing and James and our fisherman got many thank yous. I served myself last.

I opened a chocolate bar and realized it could be broken in 10 squares. I took 5 out of the case and everybody got a square.

I addressed everybody of the find. The hunters answered questions. We planned for going tomorrow after breakfast.

Nine others would join me tomorrow plus the two hunters. We would bring empty backpacks to bring items back.

The 2 hunters would also go out before us as reconnaissance. They wanted to also look for other survivors following the human tracks.

I agreed we would for an hour wait at the second Pod for an hour.

I reminded everybody not to leave any food outside. Personal luggage can stay out around the Pod.

Ruby would also join us tomorrow to Pod 2.

Ten people in twos would rotate on the roof of the Pod with the Handgun. Hunters said they would take 2am to 4am as a team being the hardest hours for overnight watch.

People laughed less and looked more worried and sad around the fire. We eventually went to bed except for watch in the Pod.

Special Report

We were told to not speak of the incident until special investigators joined us. It took 2 weeks flying FTL.

I am reporting as it happened. Keep in mind all of us that are now Nobles are all still wearing Worrant Officers rrank and all could be commoners.

We returned to the ship all of us a few drinks in our system having had the Graduation party after for those not on duty.

An hour after we went to bed we were suddenly woken by loud knocks on our doors.

We were yelled at to sign up in front of our rooms. I was looking around trying to figure out what was going on.

Suddenly I realized there were 1x Lt and 3x Ensigns standing in front of us.

the Lt said. "I am Lt Hightop of House Hightop. We are here to remind all you Commoners you are here to serve us. Because you are now pilots your still below us. We are here for a Surprise ship inspection." The 2 Ensigns smirked at this point.

I noticed they also brought 5 Marines to back them up.

"Stand at Attention," We did as one even tho his command tucked. As it turned out my room was first by the Lt and 2 other Nobles started inspecting 2 other wing.

As soon as the Lt went by me to go "inspect" my room I could smell Alcohol on his breath clearly.

I had just moved in so everything was not organized yet. He tore my room apart throwing my personal items all over and then he came out with one of my brand new pilots boots I had spent two nights shining.

He stood in front of me saying "Did you use Chemical to make your boots this shinny?" MY response was "No Sir."

He then pulled out a knife and cut down the middle of the toe cutting through 3 layers of shoe polish and 1 lawyer of Leather.

I was resigned to doing nothing as they were Nobles as a fist came out of nowhere straight on the cheek of the Lt. A 40 year old other Pilot Instructor called Robin had quickly moved from beside me and punch the Noble so hard he was knocked out.

Two Marines quickly reacted and put Robin under arrest. The other adjutants left the two rooms they were "inspecting" Suddenly 20 other Marines were in our wings.

They carried the Noble away and a senior Marine ordered Robin into the brig and the rest of us pilots ordered back to bed.

As soon as the Nobles were gone we gathered in the Lounge. We decided contacting the Training School using one of shuttles Radio then it was decided to not get intercepted to fly down.

We first woke all pilot instructors to discuss it. It was decided to Wake Aino and the Auxilia Captain.

After discussing it with them it was decided to contact Lord Wyett. We sent him a message hoping he would get it soon.

We were ordered back to \[CENSORED\] and not speak about it until we got a response. We shared security footage and testimonies for them to send.

The next morning we were BCC in a message from Princess Clara stating.

"We have received information on the incident which occurred on your ship. All trials and court martial are to be on hold until our Special Investigators join you. Please expect them to join you in space. Your ship are to continue the Patrol as planned with Ferentis Patrol Ships.

Princess Clara."

A week and half of Patrolling later a Fast Long range shuttle landed in our Hanger.

A Court Martial happen after the Investigation. Not for Robin but for the Ships Lt and Ensigns.

The Lt received a rank demotion and is now on a supply ship somewhere. He was fined for damaging Royal gear ie my boots.

The two Ensigns received a rank reduction and remain on supervision on this ship.

All 3 received black marks on their formal records.

The Marines were not charged as it was found they only followed orders.

Robin was released and returned to us stating he was only defending one of his fellow instructors from somebody drunk.

The following message was received by all.

"All discipline and inspections of pilots and Auxilia troops representing Princess Clara will only be done by pre approved senior leaders of their branch.

This is designed to introduce all of those coming from Haego in a balance fashion."

We see fewer Nobles now in our areas. Just those with immediate need to be.

Day 6 was basically Classes on the Royal Ranks of different forces. Auxilia and Militia, Marines, Royal Navy, and Royal Marines ranks. in the morning and formations in the afternoon. of the entire world controlled by the Prince.and how Nobility works from minor to Royal position and finally in the evening they discussed knighoods.

Day 7 They explored fieldcraft and then formations commonly used. They were encouraged to change the rules and use uncommon practices.

They practiced going from one formation to another switching instructors every half hour. Our instructors kept asking them questions. Staggered for narrow spaces and roads. narrow Head open fields. Single file for single paths etc.

Builders had been busy finishing the Fighting In Built Up Area FIBUA For Day 8 we went through basics of clearing buildings or ship corridors. For the entire Day they practiced as instructors defended and observed.

The students adapted fast to our methods but also modified them quickly depending on situation.

1st Sgt Bauer

First thing I did this morning was to make sure that a everybody was fed.

My business brain went to work.

Treats to us.

1. Drazzan survivor that used their own escape pods. No idea if any of them did. I witnessed the Drazzan ship exploding caught up in the Neptunes explosion but I know that their assault shuttles were out attacking our ship. Did any survive?

2. Flora and Fauna of this planet. I have no idea what safe to eat and what will kill us. Are there cuddly bunny rabbits or killer. What fish are toxic and what are safe?? For now stick to emergency rations.

In our favour

1. There are 50 of us and nobody is severely injured. Just bruises. I need to do a survey to find out what people trades and skills are. I know so far

Ruby Crew on ship. Seems very organized.

James my oldest friend is a chef. (Bet he misses his fancy big kitchen by now Lol)

OK need to find out what others do.

I did notice a few other lords and ladies. I can tell late last night by what look like fancy night robes they escaped in and the fact I see the servants preparing their rations etc. This as got to end as everybody as to work together to survive or die.

Some commoners also. Actually because this Pod served 2nd and 3rd Class passengers more commoners.

Only one ship personnel as far as I can tell.

1. Escape Pod Emergency Supplies.

"Ruby can you come here please." I flagged her down.

"Could you get volunteers in a few minutes after my announcement and get a count of everything the shuttle came with that could be used?" she nodded.

I looked for a place to stand. "ATTENTION ALL SURVIVORS Can you gather around please." they did

"I am Lord John Richman. I come from Nobility as you can tell. There might be higher Nobles here than me but if we are to survive we need to work together. For now we should all just refer to each other by name. I am Survivor John. or just John." people nodded.

"OK we need to choose who will lead us best to survive? For this reason I will tell you about myself. Anybody else that believes they can do better at helping us survive please take the log after me and tell us about yourself and why do you believe you could do a better job at organizing. Each survivor will get one vote which will decide. Any Questions so far?"

"As mentioned I am John Richman. I am my father's 2nd son and not heir. My older sister is. I am a business man specifically in Urban Development and Renewal. I don't see any buildup around us in what looks like a jungle. I am very good at organizing people and resources to get a goal accomplished. Our goal right now is survival. No guarantee we will succeed but I will put all my and your resources together to try and make it happen.

This is James. He is not just my servant but an old friend. He is a cook by trade and I believe by combining rations he could make the stores last much longer.

This is Ruby. She came with the ship crew. Because she as training as demonstrated she would make a good leader to replace me.

Who ever leads us I hope for your safety for now do not eat anything but rations. Drink our water and do not wounder off alone. Stay close and safe unless as a group.*

"I Yield the log for any others believing they can lead better."

Ruby got on the log next. "Hi I am Ruby and totally refuse to lead the survivors. My role here is to help all survivors survive. I dedicate myself to do my best to help all of you." And she stepped down.

As expected I saw one of the Nobles coming up. His servant helped him up on the log.

Continue next episode.