Two Steps Forward - One Step Back

[Maharg67]

0058: Of Tommy Tomkins and Others

 

Tommy Tomkins had come to realize he needed more resources to complete his special project, some of them being quite exotic. He stood in a great dome shaped chamber, on a raised disk shaped, semi-enclosed platform at its edge, and observed a huge holographic projection. It showed what was a TransComplex made up of five TransCubes, assemblages of other transdimensional technologies and resources, a range of powerful artifacts and other resources. Yet parts of the great 3D diagram were in red and some were missing altogether.

 

A 3Dwallscreen flickered on into existence in mid air and showed TT-Tom's face. The clone was standing in Robertville's new Town Community Hall, the old but upgraded Robertville Town Hall. He was frowning softly with annoyance and frustration. He spoke. "May I speak?"

 

Tommy nodded. "Yes! Please report. I then need to speak with TT-Jane."

 

TT-Tom responded. "She is with the ANZAC Androids and others in the expanded Robertville Compound. As you feared it would, Robertville Unity has fractured into three main factions. The biggest faction are the Moderate Uniters, and the others are the Strong Uniters, who wish to take control of the Robertville Compound and the Robertville Bunker, along with all of their resources including the ANZAC Androids, and their extreme opposition the Fair Uniters. The two smaller factions, together, are still only about half the size of the moderate faction. Something does not quite add up here, does not 'feel' quite right."

 

Tommy snorted softly. "Like the leadership of the Fair Uniters being often people who had formerly made demands much like those now being made by the Strong Uniters Faction?"

 

"Yes, and the body language and other impressions gained when the leaders of the two minority factions debate with each other." TT-Tom frowned hard. "It is more like they are acting out a script than that they are being real."

 

Tommy smiled. "The same hidden influence is behind both of them. The Fair Uniters are fakes, are Strong Uniters in disguise. Some of my security probe technologies picked up strong indications of what was going to happen before the factions arose. I strongly suspect that the Moderate Uniters Leadership will have gained some idea of the truth and will not be very happy. The last thing we need is a destructive fight between Unity Factions in Robertville, which I fear some exterior force wants very badly to happen. TT-Tom I am going to need to travel to the AlternateEarth that I grew up, taking the TT-TransCube to do so. You will need to remain here in the Robertville Bunker and Compound to make sure things stay okay here. I am sorry that I have to leave you here but I will leave some resources, including some special extras."

 

TT-Tom nodded. "The exterior force has been trying to influence me in a dark, subtle, psychic manner as you warned me it would. I have told it to go away. Do you have any idea of what it is?"

 

Tommy nodded in return. "The same powerful vampire entity that attacked before but now I have come to believe it is a VampireLord, is one of those former FactionLords who were stupid enough to choose to become vampires in order to enhance their powers and their immortality. They call themselves the Undeath Faction. The LichLords also belong to the faction and generally they are known as the UndeathLords, not to be confused with the DeathLords. It can be difficult even for me to keep track of all the FactionLord internal faction changes, external faction shifts and various delusions."

 

TT-Tom responded. "I could hunt down the VampireLord."

 

Tommy frowned. "It would destroy you. It has had some influence on you, then, using your pride to do something very foolish."

 

TT-Tom blushed softly. "Yes, you are right! I will try to be more careful from now on. Why did you give those cannons and howitzers to the Robertville Unityfolk if you feared they would cause trouble?'

 

Tommy smiled. "Because the ANZAC Androids are gaining better weapons to replace those that were taken from them including multiple purpose autocannons, multiple purpose missile launchers, rocket-shell howitzers and quad-pulselasers. I wanted Robertville Unity to feel stronger, more confident and that I am willing to assist them, as I am and have proven more than once. The regenerating of the weapons, ammunition and androids is slowing down and in a couple of days the last of them all will appear. The special event was not to be permanent in effect, they are rarely are. Get TT-Jane and bring her, with you, to the TransCube. We have matters to discuss that can only be safely so here."

 

The communications ended and Tommy Tomkins went back to studying the huge holographic projection with grave intensity. Which was when, with a sparkling shimmer, a large stack of thirteen metallic cubes appeared to one side of him being one golden, three silvery and nine copperish ones. They were marked with the elaborate, graceful, slowly changing symbol of the LittleFatFamily. They had given him gifts partly because he had assisted them to fight a great battle, at his own risk, but mostly because he needed them. Now he could, would, delay his going to the AlternateEarth where he had grown up on but not for very long. Anyway there were three important things that he had to do first before he departed for that other world, apart from utilizing one of the Artifizer TransCubes, that is.

 

Those special Artifizer TransCubes were to be used only with great care and only when, where, why he truly 'sensed' was the need.

 

[Maharg67]

0059: Of Tommy Tomkins and Others

 

Tommy Tomkins looked at TT-Jane and TT-Tom and then he spoke. "We have reached a special point in history, a chance to either dismantle or turn the Great Sphere away from its destructive path across AlternateEarth after AlternateEarth. The LittleFatFamily and many of their allies, including many of us False Eternals, waged a great fight with something called the TwistedGod, its followers, its allies and its puppets. The war was waged on an AlternateEarth and its solar system. We won and lost the war but lost and won it; that is we badly damaged it but it survived and that it was able to continue its evil but with much less effectiveness."

 

"There is a commonly accepted story that the DeathlessLords, under the rule of the Deathless Lord and Lady, created the Great Sphere and then the HarmonyLords stole away control of it. This is a dangerous half truth. The TwistedGod was the entity that influenced chaos to rise on our Home AlternateEarth. We Eternals had been great lords back then but not eternal. We were admired, but also were held in jealousy, by many of our world who lacked our power and longevity though they had much of the same. There was chaos. It was the year 3125AD, roughly speaking, using a calendar that we had long given up using, when the TwistedGod came to our world for reasons that I do not fully comprehend. Yes, we were known as the Utopian Imperium and we had amazing technologies, no poverty, longevity, great pleasures, colony worlds through out our galaxy and through out the Alternates. I still wonder how many of those colony worlds survived and what became of their descendents."

 

"I can not greatly remember what happened during the Great Chaos War for many of my memories were removed and, ironically, I can not remember who did so or why it was done. I can tell you that by the time it was over the Home AlternateEarth was devastated, we False Eternals existed but were scattered and the same was true of the FactionLords and some others that for now will remain unnamed because I can not recall their names. The TwistedGod created the Great Sphere, through the manipulation of the Deathless Lord and Lady, but then lost direct control of it when the HarmonyLords took it over, throwing out the DeathlessLords and their bizarre leaders of the Deathless Lord and Lady. I have come to conclude that the TwistedGod would have betrayed the DeathlessLords, would have stolen control of the Great Sphere from them, but the HarmonyLords ruined its plans. The problem was that the Great Sphere was not designed, not intended, to be controlled by the HarmonyLords and they not only failed to gain total control in the first place but have been losing control of it ever since so now it is almost totally outside of their control except for HarmonyCity itself."

 

TT-Tom noted the huge 3D image on one wall of aspects of the Great Sphere. TT-Jane was already looking at it.

 

TT-Tom spoke. "HarmonyCity is not all of the 'interior' of the Great Sphere, often known as the Great Bubble?"

 

Tommy shrugged. "No but not even the HarmonyLords truly know what else is 'inside' the Great Sphere. There are billions of people in HarmonyCity that need rescuing for sooner or later HarmonyCity will be put under direct risk by the true nature of the Great Sphere itself. We also need to find a way to either alter the Great Sphere to make it harmless or destroy it. Then there is the TwistedGod to deal with but also other dangerous factions including False Eternals, FactionLords and humans. Yet we have more time on our side since the TwistedGod was greatly damaged. That is more time to learn the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, more time to make plans and more time to carry those plans out."

 

Tommy turned to TT-Jane. "I am giving you a number of special artifacts to give you the ability to travel to various places on this AlternateEarth to pick up a list of items, to carry out other tasks and to do what you come to see as important."

 

Tommy turned to TT-Tom. "You will remain here in the Robertville Bunker Compound, why not combine the two names for convenience, and you will make sure that things go as well as you can. I will be here for a while and will assist with some of the gits that the LittleFatFamily gave me. When I do leave, I will leave even more resources with you."

 

It sounded like a good, broad outline of a plan but of course many details would have to be put into place.

 

Tommy smiled. "Tammy Tomkins was here. We made melding-contact. I will tell you more soon. I suggest you both get some rest for you will need it. I have some things that need to be done."

 

Tommy Tomkins suddenly froze motionless.

 

The real Tommy Tomkins walked into the room and nodded, thoughtfully, while looking at the others. "So, what do you think? Will he and the fake TT-TransCube staying here be enough to convince others that I am the real Tommy Tomkins, along with the real TT-TransCube, go off to that other AlternateEarth where I grew up in my current life?"

 

TT-Jane nodded. "Yes, except if the observer is extremely powerful and sophisticated or gets too close."

 

TT-Tom shrugged. "Given all factors, very good."

 

Tommy sighed. "Yes, as well as expected. Now to get some more work done on the fake Tommy Tomkins and the fake TT-TransCube."

Edited June 26, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0060: Of the OmniOberserver and the Observed

 

The OmniObserver observed the appearances of the green glowing fogs, the undeathly devices of the UndeathLords who were once typical FactionLords. Though the UndeathLords controlled the glowing green fogs, they were in turned controlled in turn by another, a well hidden other. The UndeathLords did as commanded out of fear and in hopes of rewards, the biggest being to abate their constant cravings for life energies. They dared not question their orders or even to ask for more information than they were being given. Sometimes, when doing such as going between AlternateEarths, they needed the great corrupt power of their secret overlord and they got it, the overlord taking direct control of the GlimmeringFogs and making them do things that the UndeathLords could never make them do.

 

The UndeathLords were invading HarmonyCity of the Great Sphere but were finding it difficult to carry out their plans. SamWaSam was in HarmonyCity.

 

The UndeathLords were invading the AlternateEarth of the 1950s, as they had done in the past when green glowing fogs were first ejected from the Great Sphere onto that world. Nobody seemed to know why it had happened. The UndeathLords had not been part of that first appearance of green glowing fogs on that AlternateEarth. Tommy Tomkins was on this world.

 

The UndeathLords were starting the invasion of the AlternateEarth of the 1980s, even as the Great Sphere first emerged and grew there. They waged war with local humans and the exotic TripleEmpire. Tammy Tomkins was on this world.

 

Another AlternateEarth was involved in that people on-in the Moon (Luna) of the AlternateEarth of the 1980s had come from an AlternateEarth that had, in the 1890s, been invaded by Martians with strange and terrible warmachines, including great big tripod machines. They were dealing with unidentified creatures on that Moon along with humans who had come from the actual AlterateEarth of the 1980s.

 

Two AlternateEarths of the 2030s, one being more advanced than the other and only one having the Great Sphere on-in it, were both being invaded also by the UndeathLords. The one that was more advanced was also the one with out the Great Sphere. On the world with the Great Sphere was a strange transdimensional artifact, the TransWardrobe, and in that was the LittleFatFamily. On both of those words the UtopianLords seemed to be involved and on at least one, the DystopianLords. War raged between more than one faction.

 

FactionLord Factions, False Eternals, the LittleFatFamily, human factions and others had been involved, were involved or were becoming involved. Yet the main focus of all remained the Great Sphere.

Edited June 26, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0061: Of Others

 

Marshal Nelson was a brilliant, canny, much experienced commander and yet the sudden increase of attacks against Cobber Paddy took him by surprise. The outposts were either quickly overwhelmed or had to be abandoned except for three of them closer to the, mostly underground, town. Officially renamed, re-recruited BISAS Soldiers served the Marshal in recon-strike squads and search destroy platoons. His more conventional Greencoats kept to larger sized units, kept to the dirt roads and dug in when they could as much as they could. The fighting was intense at times, mainly against swarms of zombies that had long become naked but sexless and covered with strange leathery skin. except for the eyes. The fingernails had become claws, the teeth had become long fangs. The few zombies that showed any bits of clothing or other gear sometimes had items that did not seem to belong to that world.

 

Marshal Nelson stood in a reinforced semi-enclosed guard-tower on top of the small, shallow sloped, hill at the center of the town. A big energy collector was humming some yards away. In the distance a battle was raging in the semidarkness as the undead, mostly zombies, attacked a large outpost. Cannons fired, howitzers boomed, machineguns chattered away and other distance muffled sounds could be heard. There were flashes of explosions, the shallow arcs of tracer fire and at least a couple of things were burning to show flickering flame light. Some times signal-lamps would flicker signals at the town and responses would soon follow. Two-way radio communications had been going through a fairly rough patch over the last few days.

 

Captain Crale walked into the chamber and he spoke with a crisp voice that just failed to conceal his tiredness. "We managed to reinforce many of the old mine chambers and shafts, as you ordered. The enemy seems to be mainly zombies, normally mindless but something is directing them, making them much more dangerous, of course. Zombers are on the move, often poorly armed but with that undead cunning intelligence of theirs that makes them such a big threat. There have been unconfirmed reports of superzombies and vampiric creatures, most likely subvampires and semivampires."

 

Marshal Nelson frowned. "How are are damphir allies doing?"

 

"They have ripped swathes of death, destruction and disorder amongst enemies ranks, have brought down more than a few zombers. Many are working with the BISAS; they work together well." Crale could not stop himself from yawning. As soon as he had finished doing so, he spoke again. "Some promised equipment and supplies have arrived from the UnityLords in the form of eight one-way teleport-canisters. The UnityLords are having troubles on other AlternateEarths. The green glowing fogs, green glowing monsters and undead are the weapons of the UndeathLords being VampireLords and LichLords along with others, unnamed for now. The UndeathLords are busy invading at least three AlternateEarths and the Great Sphere."

 

Marshal Nelson had been amazed to learn about the AlternateEarths, the MultipleEarth, the False Eternals, the FactionLords and much else. He knew he had much more to learn but also that many answers might not be easily forthcoming. His world, his empire, was but one part of a great on going series of events, of a scattered war between many powerful forces. It seemed like a brutal chess game where there were more than two players, cheating was fairly common and the players were not sure of the state of the game. What was important was the he defeat the UndeathLord's invasion of that world, along with other threats.

 

The Marshal frowned hard. "Any response from Bethena, from the Field-Marshal?"

 

"Two-way radio contact has been blocked between us and Bethena. The small airplane, we sent, has failed to return. I asked the UnityLords to communicate with the UtopianLords to try to learn what has been happening in Bethena but the UtopianLords are refusing to respond to UnityLords' attempts to communicate with them." Captain Crale shook his head, being clearly bemused. "We are well and truly isolated except that the UnityLords sent us one power artifact of great usefulness that I must operate as a UnitySublord. It can be used to transform various forms of non-organic materials to make them harder, stronger, more shapable or in other ways. I need some time to work out what its limitations are but I will soon be able to turn various underground rock or earthen walls into stronger barriers against any attempted intrusion."

 

Suddenly, at the distant battle scene, appeared glowing energy spheres shooting through the semidarkness; they glowed, sometimes sparkled, green or blue or yellow. They spat pulses of energy, the same color as themselves, at the undead enemy. Inside each sphere could just be seen a human figure, naked, of a youthful man or woman. Each figure sat with crossed legs and hands clasped together in laps. Then there were the winged creatures glowing green, yellow or blue, spitting elemental flames from their mouths. There were other creatures, also winged, using physical power of great claws and spiked tails or even fang filled mouths. There were leathery armored human figures, flying low through the air with strange winged backpacks, using exotic and lethal looking organic looking weapons.

 

Captain Crale sighed. "The MistLords, of the Glowing White Mists, have come to fight the UndeathLords. This is good for we need the assistance but also bad because it indicates that the war is escalating to new levels."

 

Marshal Nelson shrugged. "Humanity of this world is used to fighting the undead."

 

"That first invasion, that first war, was just a weak taste of what is to come." Captain Crale frowned hard. "We need reinforcements as quickly as we can get them and other kinds of assistance also."

Edited June 27, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0062: Of Others

 

Alan Pale made them materialize though he did not know how he did did so. The newcomers were based on super heroes in his favorite comic-magazine, that amazingly enough was still being published though once a month instead of once a fortnight as it once was and it was black-white instead of color printed as it had once been. There were three Knights Templar is quasimagical armor and with quasimagical weapons and shields that were both defensive and offensive in nature. There were three Power Soldiers with special tech armor and weapons. There were three Slayer Mages with exotic powers of one Evoker, one Summoner and a Healer. They came from the comic series known as Hellsgate Earth, fighting zombies, demons, elemental beasts, rogue humans, human followers of darkness and much else. Leading them were the Grand Triplets, two youthful women and a youthful man, being a Grand Knight Templar, a Grand Power Soldier and a Grand Slayer Mage. Supporting the Knights Templar were 81 Guards Templar. Supporting the Power Soldiers were 81 power-robots. Supporting the Slayer Mages were 81 elemental entities.

 

Marshal Nelson quickly decided that he needed these stranger entities to help protect both Alan Pale, which they very much wanted to do, and Cobber Paddy. The comic book quasimagic, elemental powers and exotic technologies had been adapted, in reality, to exist on that AlternateEarth effectively and some changes had been made. Alan Pale did not care. Indeed he was very pleased with the changes. When Captain Crale informed that quasimagic, elemental powers and the exotic technologies all did actually exist anyway, and were to be found at least somewhere on that world even if in secret, Marshal Nelson failed to be surprised.

 

The three outposts were standing up to attacks but not with out losses though the enemy had suffered far more greatly than the defenders; the problem was that the enemy seemed to have an endless supply of undead. After Marshal Nelson met with the strange newcomers, having Captain Crale brief them on what was happening, had happened, and could happen, the commander went off to attend other matters. He managed to get five hours of good quality sleep before his personal aid woke him to remind him that there was an important meeting coming up in the War Room. Also Captain Crale wanted to see the Marshal before that.

 

In a small meeting chamber, multiple purpose actually, Crale lay some objects out on the metal table. At once Nelson knew they were special, that there was no way that they came from that world. There were digital wrist-watches of solid-state build, of advanced plastics, and the same was a pocket-coputer. There was an electric Tazer, an electric stungun firing double needles trailing wires behind themselves. There was a UV-laser pistol, designed to kill zombies or other undead, it seemed. There were some small colored 3Dphotos of loved ones. There was a very compact, multiple purpose, mobile-phone that, amazingly enough, was also a telephone. There was a combat knife made of a steel alloy stronger and lighter than any that world had, being rust proof. There were some other items such as a 3Dphoto fronted IDsmartcard of something called the United World Federation, being updated 2055 for that woman citizen born as of 2036.

 

Marshal Nelson frowned. "If a world advanced enough to make such items fell to the undead, then how can be hope to win?"

 

Crale sighed. "It has never been so straight forward as that, Marshal! The glimmering green fogs are but one variety of the GlimmeringFog and not the most dangerous of such undeathly forces. Those glimmering, or glowing, green fogs are given over to the UndeathLords to use against enemies but the one who grants those powerful forces is no mere UndeathLord. The one is known as the TwistedGod who's real nature, if 'nature' is the right word for it, remains a mystery to we FactionLords, as far as I know. Yes, though a mere FactionSublord, I also belong to the FactionLords as part of a FactionLord Faction." He frowned. "I do not what AlternateEarth that these particular objects came from but can try to find out. As it is I have gained a new power-artifact from my FactionLord Faction. It is a transduplicator that can duplicate copies of things though the more complicated, larger and exotic, the longer and more energy duplication takes. I suggest that I can duplicate such as bullets, foodbars, nails, pencils and much else of the kind not just for the military but also for the civilians."

 

Nelson nodded. "Begin that operation as soon as you can. What of the other power-artifact, the one that can strengthen walls?"

 

Crale frowned. "It was malfunctioning so I had to return it. Seems that the UtopianLords gave us many of the worst devices in stock as a way of paying us back for becoming a splinter faction. We are demanding compensation but the UtopianLords are not 'playing fair'. The UnityLords are creating a colony inside the moon of this world, with the assistance of Unity. There is a Lunar Underworld there."

 

Nelson snorted. "Before the Great Sphere arose, the Z-Plague and zombie invasion began, I would not have believed you but now I accept, why not? I do not see how it helps us."

 

Crale sighed. "Because we will have a Lunar Overworld Outpost, that is the surface of Luna, going and will be able to send things down here much easier than we can teleport them here. There are five autodispensers now accessible to our people, at the edges of Cobber Paddy and the Great Labyrinth. The menu of available items had not changed except that there is now available a type of carpentry saw for one transcredit, a multiple purpose cushion for one transcredit, a double sheet set for one transcredit and pain suppression serum for one credit for four vials, being the same as for the multiple purpose healing serum. The logic of the prices still does not quite add up but the new types of goods are very useful and much in demand."

 

Amazingly enough, more refugees had managed to reach the settlement, this time through the Great Labyrinth, as both groups spoke of being guided to Cobber Paddy by odd blue glowing human figures, elemental humans. One of the groups had spotted, briefly, a bigger group of everfolk with their strange translucent features, pacing quickly and with strange quietness through the great maze of mazes. The everfolk had only spoken briefly to warn the elemental human, and the refugees, that dangerous things were active in the Great Labyrinth, in that area. They had not been very specific about what the 'dangerous things' were.

 

Nelson knew about the dangers of the Great Labyrinth, the less obvious hazards of becoming dependent on it and becoming drawn into it, but he was glad that Cobber Paddy's population was able to utilize the transdispensers, even with the limitations of the transcredit. His major fear was that the transdispensers were beyond Cobber Paddy proper and he would have difficulty in defending them properly if he had to do so.

 

Then a sergeant hurried in with news that the small airplane, the one sent to Bethena, had returned but now with four people instead of the two that had gone. One one of those that had gone, the pilot, had returned and he brought strange and disturbing news with him. A great glimmering green fog had suddenly engulfed the fortified town from the very center of it. Many had managed to escape in a big convoy going south, or in a smaller convoy going roughly eastwards, but many had also been taken by the glowing green fog. The worst news was that Field-Marshal Alan Alderson had gone insane and had betrayed the humans of Bethena by giving out orders that helped leave the town and people defenseless. Only the fact that many officers chose to disobey him had saved as many people as had been saved. All of the aircraft had managed to lift off except for two airplanes undertaking repairs. It was a major blow to hopes of help coming to Cobber Paddy, to Bethana and to the British Empire, to the plans of the UtopianLords or so it seemed.

Edited June 27, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0063: Of the OmniObserver and the Observed

 

The OmniObserver observed the surprise attack by the UndeathLords on the fortified settlement of Bethena of the AlternateEarth of the 1950s. Field-Marshal Alan Alderson became a VampireSublord, a dark gift for a treacherous act of dark betrayal of his own people. Captive live humans, and animals, were fed upon and other humans were already changed into zombies, zombers or damphirs. The damphirs escaped or were killed. Only a very few humans became truly vampiric. The results of the glimmering green fogs could be very unpredictable and sometimes, though not this time, other kinds of undead entities would emerge of very exotic nature. The invaders of Bethena had come up out of the Great Labyrinth and the Field-Marshal had made sure that the way up into Bethena was easier to take though not all of his plans had been successful. Some damphirs, escaping into the Great Labyrinth, took humans with them along with friendly zombies. They fled towards the settlement of Cobber Paddy.

 

The OmniObserver observed the AlternateEarth of the 1980s where on the Moon, Luna, scattered skirmishes took place between forces of the AlternateEarth of the 19^th Century and more than one force of attackers. Insect like selenites sent strange soldiers and living war machines from the depths of the Lunar Underworld. There were glittering green fogs full of zombies, zombers and other monstrosities. Then there were TripleImperial Forces that seemed intent on taking over much of the Lunar Overworld. With the Brotish Imperials, from the world that had been invaded by green comet-ships from Mars, by Martian tripods, were human astronauts from that world of the 1980s. Much of the fighting went on underground in a series of vacuumous cave systems but also some that had been filled with atmosphere and sealed up by ancient structures of unknown origin; they were not of selenite, Brotish or TripleImperial type design or make but strangely organic, almost flowing and growing in their stillness.

 

The OmniObserver observed the AlternateEarth of the 2030s where the DystopianLords had invaded Washington DC and then observed them vanish, along with their followers and puppets, taking many valuable stolen resources with them. They went through to the other AlternateEarth of the 1980s, the one that Peter Bishop had been born on, where President Walter Bishop held despotic power over the United States of America and where the former members of the Fringe Division were on the run, as many others were. The UtopianLords, along with other FactionLord Factions, were taken by surprise, as were others. It had been a very clever move made possible by the creation of stable transdimensional doorways between the two AlternateEarths. Union America rushed to send forces to reoccupy Washington DC, with the help of the UtopianLords. The UtopianLords were enraged by the trickery, the treachery, of the DystopianLords.

 

The OmniObserver observed the AlternateEarth that had suffered from the Martian Invasion, that the Brotish had fled from in antigravity spheres. A year had passed since the Brotish had gone and the Martian Invaders had died of what seemed to be Terran microbiological lifeforms. Yet in the days that followed the supposed 'miracle' that had saved humanity of that world, something terrible began to happen. The dead Martians, those that had not been frozen in preservation or dissected or burned away, began to arise as bizarre undead creatures. Sunlight burned many to death. Humans that had been fed on, had been left as dessicated corpses, often began to arise as zombies if they had been protected from sunlight. Many clambered up out of their graves and others arose in temples or morgues. In days the terrible zombie war had begun as the Z-Plague began to spread across England, China and Brazil. The second part of the invasion had begun.

 

The fates of five AlternateEarths had become connected, three of them suffering from the intrusion of the Great Sphere.

[Maharg67]

0064: Of Professor Chronos and Others

 

The TARDIS (Time, Alternates and Relative Dimensions in Space) materialized in a junkyard in London of the British Empire of the very late 19_th Century. At once it transformed appearance to look like a dull, dark blue police telephone box bit enough to hold some criminals, if need be, or be a small emergency shelter. London was partly in ruins from the Martian Invaders, their heat-rays and strange railgun-cannons. The Martian Invasion was over but people were tense, were rushing around, and soldiers were marching down the street past the abandoned junkyard. A gentleman, in a bowler hat and fairly cheap suit, stepped out of the false police box carrying an umbrella in one hand and a traditional doctor's bag in his other. Nothing was what it really seemed to be. Professor Chronos took out what looked to be a pocket-watch, golden with a golden chain leading to the small pocket, and examined the face. It was no watch face but a fancy glowing disk shaped screen. After a minute he sighed and put the fake pocket-watch away.

 

A young woman stepped out in a nice but practical knee length dress, mid-heel shoes, stockings and carrying both an umbrella and a big shoulderbag over one shoulder. She looked like the daughter of the man but she was his clone-daughter. He was a TimeLord fresh from Gallefrey, which was actually an AlternateEarth. She was a TimeLordite, a follower of the TimeLords.

 

"It is as was feared." Professor Chronos frowned hard. "The Great Sphere is causing increasingly powerful, and disturbing, rippling effects that are touching even AlternateEarths that the Great Sphere is not directly involved with. Distortions stopped us from materializing back further in time here when we could have assisted to stop the Undeath Plague escape from the dead Martians, who are not really Martians at all."

 

The so called Martians were tripocs from an AlternateEarth engulfed by the Great Sphere who had escaped from it using advanced slider technologies in the form of sliderships. They had found the AlternateEarth, that they had come to, occupied by humans and so had chosen to create a new colony world beneath the surface of Mars. There, to their horror, they found that some of their tripoc people had brought with them the undeath. So they had launched these doomed tripocs at the local AlternateEarth to take revenge on the humans because it had been very advanced humans who had created the Great Sphere in the first place. Professor Chronos had gone to Mars in his TARDIS-881Zan but when trying to get to the AlternateEarth in time to warn humanity what was coming, complications caused by the Great Sphere had seemingly caused the TARDIS to materialize too late. Or was that the real explanation?

 

Suzane spoke. "Do you mean the TwistedGod?"

 

Chronos sighed. "Yes! The False Eternals will be involved in what is happening, as will the FactionLords. Their struggles will not end until the challenge of the Great Sphere is resolved one way or another. They are linked with the Great Sphere, intrinsically tied to it by their very transformed natures. They can not escape it, can not ignore it, though they have tried many times in many ways. We TimeLords came from a similar AlternateEarth as theirs but somehow we did not fall into the same trap. When the TwistedGod tried to influence us into insanity, Rassilon himself led a great force to hurl that most distorted, evil and unnatural of entities into the Great Nothingness for many centuries. Somehow, greatly weakened, it escaped. After that we lost track of it until the LittleFatFamily, a very mysterious entity of entities, fought a great battle with it with the assistance of many FactionLords and other forces."

 

Suzane was fresh clone born and was still learning things from the TimeLord. She sniffed the air. "Professor, what now? I smell zombies!"

 

The noise of rifle fire came to them. A muffled voice shouted instructions for soldiers to shoot the head or chest, which destroyed zombies at once. Then the voice shouted that nobody was to shoot the friendly smellies because they were useful for moving heavy objects and carrying big, heavy loads as backpacks or in handcarts. There were some more shots and the howling scream of a savage berserker zombie. The junkyard gate swung open and in came four soldiers in khaki green fatigues and metal helmets. They brought with them four fast shambling, fearful zombats, friendly zombies, who rushed to find somewhere to hide. Seeing the Professor and Suzane, they tried to hide behind them, crouching down with hands over heads.

 

*********

 

One of the soldiers saw the pair of humans and spoke. "I hope you are a real doctor. We more than need you."

 

"I am a medical doctor by training, and practice, but I am Professor Chronos. I specialize in exotic ailments including diseases and parasitic infestations. This is Doctor Chronos, my daughter and assistant."

 

The army sergeant looked surprised. "A woman doctor? Well, if we can have the walking dead, then women doctors is damned normal in comparison."

 

Suzane smiled. "I will take that as a compliment, sergeant. We have some others with us. We have set up this police telephone box as a storage place."

 

The sergeant looked surprised. "I wonder how that got there. The police will be wanting their property back."

 

Professor Chronos smiled. "Its a well made prop for a play, not the real thing, but perhaps stronger in some ways. I assure you that I do own it because I collect curiosities."

 

The young woman nurse stepped out of the TARDIS along with two young men, tough looking assistants. Both had big powerful shotguns and backpacks full of stuff. The sergeant snorted as if noting how dangerous the shotgun toting men were but he failed to note the nurse as anything but attractive and more in his social class, thus more attainable. The nurse smiled at him.

 

Professor Chronos spoke. "We were to come to London to help during the Martian Invasion but were unable to reach the city. Do you know of the Genius Nine?"

 

"Who doesn't! They helped hold back the Martians until nature killed them. If you want to meet them, good luck! They scarpered in big metallic globes that flew up into the sky. They did leave behind them lots and lots of knowledge and nice technical tricks to deal with the Martians and...I heard... with zombies. They warned the government what was going to happen but the bloody government refused to believe them. Still, there is the British Imperial League of Guardians. They helped against the Martians."

 

The Professor smiled. "I suggest we set up a first aid station. The junkyard is hardly the best place to do that with its one old house, sheds and heaps of 'junk' but it does have high walls and a big strong gate."

 

The soldier nodded. "Lots of London is broken and burned. That black smoke would have killed everything if the Genius Nine had not invented the white spray to neutralize it. They passed many of their inventions onto the League of Guardians. They need me out there. I will be back."

 

The Professor smiled. "You will be welcome, sergeant, who or what every you really are."

 

The sergeant sighed. "GuardianOne of the GuardianLords of the FactionLords and you are a TimeLord as expected. Just one of too many FactionLord Factions but not from the AlternateEarth that created the Great Sphere but from one where the project was halted before it could be completed. Our public face here is the League of Guardians."

 

Professor Chronos nodded. "We TimeLords know of you and welcome your alliance and assistance."

 

The sergeant nodded, turned and departed in a hurry back to his soldiers who were probably a mixture of GuardianOnes and local humans. The GuardianLords would try to protect friendly zombies as part of their ethos.

Edited June 29, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0065: Of Tammy Tomkins and Others

 

Ayers Rock City had survived so far because it was linked with some important industries and a large scientific research station along with a large military base. Yet it had increasingly become more isolated, rougher and even more dangerous as time went on. Strange things were said to be happening in the city, not all of them bad but some very bad. It was getting into darkness of night as they got closer to Ayers Rock City.

 

Even as Tammy Tomkins, and the others, got to the edges of the fortified city, even as they saw the concrete bunkers and barbed-wire, they heard gun shots. In the semidarkness of dawn there was a swarm of green glimmering stingerbugs flying towards the city. They were being shot out of the air by determined sharpshooters, a mixture of soldiers and civilians, who seemed quite practised at doing so.

 

They passed inspection, a brief and hurried affair by nervous Customs Police, and then were given over facilities in the form of a walled yard, a couple of demountables and a small, old, ablutions block. Much of Ayers Rock City was underground or going underground but much of it was still on the surface. Tammy wanted to start gathering local information at once but had been warned that this could be a dangerous business. The city was known for its spies. It seemed that many foreign powers had sent in agents to the place to gather information but the Australian Federal Government had done the same thing. Organised crime sold information but also guarded it. Some crazy cults had also emerged in the strange metropolis. Then there was on going friction between old enemies of the Australian Civil War. Tammy had to be careful, even with the assistance of the UnityLords' people.

 

Avrisa, a UnityOne, approached Tammy wearing combat fatigues but no military igsigna or other markings. She spoke even as she got closer, the tone of her voice showing concern. "TripleImperial agents are in the city including TripleOnes."

 

There were three TripleLords but each was triplets, being three in one. This was true also of all TripleSublords but TripleOnes were usuaully in 'ones'. The TripleLord Faction was a very hierachal one even by FactionLord standards. The TripleLords seemed to have their own exotic, unique hidden agenda but so did other FactionLord Factions.

 

Avrisa frowned softly. "It appears that others are also after the ancient artifact, if there is one here."

 

The Ancient Artifacts were not only extremely powerful but were quasiliving entities that grew, evolved and learned. They had literally escaped from the Home AlternateEarth of the False Eternals and the FactionLords. Nobody even seemed to know how many had been created or just what kinds that there were. Many had been gathered up but mostly they were the less powerful, less dangerous and less intelligent ones. Tammy-Tommy Tomkins had passed over most of them to the SanctuaryLords who placed them in a very secure sanctuary where they also carried out research projects on the artifacts. The SanctuaryLords' Faction came from their own Home AlternateEarth where, despite the influence of the TwistedGod, the Great Sphere had never been created. Instead there had been a brief and terrible war. The Great Sphere there had become the Great Sanctuary where many refugee lifeforms, and much else, ended up going to escape the Great Sphere Invasions and other great disasters. The SanctuaryLords were a large and powerful faction but they already had much to do even with out directly confronting the Great Sphere more directly. From that same Home AlternateEarth came the GuardianLords, though, who did assist more directly against the rampaging madness of the Great Sphere.

 

Tammy took out a silvery glittering bracelet and slipped it onto her right wrist and then an identical one, this going onto her left wrist. She then hid them with the long sleeve of her light jacket.

 

Overhead a jet-airliner was circling as it prepared to land. Such aircraft did not travel through the Outback Skies as often as they did but they were vital for moving people and, more importantly, cargo. New aeroships and, more advanced, skyships, were being manufactured around the world by big surviving governments, corporations and other agencies. There were also aeroboats, aerobarges, skyboats and skybarges along with the prototypes of other craft. The airliner was corporate, of Qantas, but it would be mostly likely chartered by the government. Then it was gone from sight, was landing.

 

Tammy spoke. "I am starting to pick up a wide range of energy signatures. Most are such as electrical energy signatures, from basic circuits to solid-state electronics. There are some radio energies from two-ways, from radio broadcasting channels, from active radar. Now, other energies are being picked up. Life energies of living things from microbiology to humans to sheep to cockroaches, flower bushes and crows. Very interesting! Quasiliving energies of silicon based quasilifeforms. Aaahhh, yes, elemental energies of the kind typical of elemental transformed carbon based lifeforms but the signals are feint. What is below Ayers Rock City?"

 

Avrisa shook her head, a little. "More than should be there, perhaps! More than would be guessed at looking at the historical forces of this world. Another Aboriginal People dwelt here before the White Europeans came to Australia but surprisingly little is known about them even by other Aboriginal Peoples. The Albinorines, a name given to them by the British, were all albinos except for a small minority with black skin. Those born with black skin were considered abnormal and were given over to other Aboriginal Peoples to bring up as their own. The deal was that if albino children were born to the other tribes, they would be sent to the Albinorines. The deal, as far as we know, was kept because the other local peoples considered those born as albinos to be abnormal."

 

Tammy nodded. "I have learned something of them! They lived underground but came up in the night to hunt. They also knew enough to take in sunshine in the dawn and dusk when the sunshine was not too harsh. By the time the British, and Australian Colonials, got here they had vanished. Many of their tunnels had been deliberately collapsed but excavations began to not only learn about the Albinorines but to use their very cleverly designed and well made underground networks. While some of the networks, such as ancient temples, have been preserved, much of the network has been altered by latter human occupation."

 

Avrisa responded. "Then you know the dark reputation of the Albinorines; yes, they were in many ways a surprisingly sophisticated and advanced civilization, by local standards. They had glass-blowing, golden metallic bracelets and use of copper. They had a basic picture-word language, bows and arrows, some bronze tools and weapons, use of fine clay products and an basic mathematics system though they did not have the concept of the 'zero'. They mapped the stars and somehow figured that the world was round. Trouble was they had some dark social and religious practices. They worshiped something they called the Blooded Bleeding Darkness with its Statue-Gods. Not much has been found explaining more of this. It seemed the albino people stripped much from their underground network before they vanished and destroyed other things. After the newcomers came and began to expand through the network, some strange events took place. The British Imperials sealed off parts of the network and the Australian Government kept them sealed up after Australia became Federated as a Commonwealth. In World War Two a large bunker complex was built down there as a special command position and garrison if the Japanese managed to invade the Australian Mainland. They did so but were soon driven off again."

 

Avrisa went on. "There was one odd story about some curious individuals who appeared in the Ayers Rock Undercity in the early 1910s. They seemed to fit the description of the True Illuminati, the UtopianLords. There may be one of their AlternateGates down there, along with other exotic machines that they would have brought, or built, here. There was also the story of strange creatures being glimpsed deeper in the underground networks being like wozzles, of the wildfolk, but with albino white hair and pink eyes. They were called morloks and were bigger and savage on average than were wozzles."

 

Tammy responded. "First to have a meal, a coffee, a good shower if there is one to be had and then some rest be some of us set out to learn some more of the real history of Ayers Rock City and, more importantly, of Ayers Rock Undercity."

Edited July 3, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0066: Of Tammy Tomkins and Others

 

Tammy Tomkins used a device to rejuvenate, repair the small ablution block and they took turns to use the flush toilet and to have luke warm showers in a bare concrete shower stall. After that she sat sipping coffee, with canned milk, with others who had come with them from the ecocommune but also with some local unityfolk. Unity was weak in the infamous city, was a small minority only, but they did manage to have some good contacts anyway. A married couple, Martin and Gail Edwards, came to meet them as official representatives of the Ayers Rock City Government. They came with warnings that there had been a series of AOP murders, AOP standing for 'accidentally on purpose'. These false accidents had targeted FactionLord followers, secret agents, investigative journalists, undercover police officers and others who had 'apparently' been seeking information on the ancient artifact.

 

Tammy read through some written reports, neatly printed on white A4 sheets of paper. One Unity agent had been killed, apparently when a tunnel collapsed while they were in it. He had been seeking answers to odd stories he had picked up of glowing blue, green and yellow spheres moving through the underground area near the big World War Two bunker complex. That bunker complex was occupied by Australian Soldiers and others. What was going on in the bunker complex was very secretive, as if the Australian Government was up to something. Yet the government faction represented there was Royalist Nationalist. Whispers were strong in the city that hiding there, in the bunker, were some war criminals of fanatical leaders.

 

Was it time to up the ante? Was it time to utilize some of her special abilities and-or tech? The False Eternals had become wary of using either because doing so was tricky and could too easily have unforeseen consequences such as attracting the wrong kind of attention. She took a big mobile-phone out of her large shoulderbag of many outer pouches, and tapped on its keyboard before putting it to her ear. Others looked at her in puzzlement for it was hard to get such technologies to work perfectly closer to where the Great Sphere was expanding. There was a beeping noise and then somebody answered.

 

Tommy Tomkins: "Any luck on the artifact entity? No! I can 'sense' no! Do you need resources?"

 

Tammy Tomkins: "I strongly suggest the use of Ava111Ava."

 

Tommy Tomkins: "Dangerous but I agree! Risk is worth getting the artifact entity. Sending Ava111Ava to you at once. The project is stalled in need of special resources. The artifact entity may assist in the need."

 

Tammy Tomkins: "I might even find more prizes than that to be had here. Take care, be strong!"

 

Tommy Tomkins: "Take care, be strong!"

 

Tammy tapped some buttons and returned the mobile phone, which was not really a mobile phone, to the shoulderbag. Fifteen seconds later the shoulderbag gave a tiny shudder. She took the shoulderbag, put it upright and opened it up. A glowing mist of many colors shot up into the air from its interior, for about twenty second, and then vanished. Ava111Ava, a code name for the greater swarm of semiautonomous microbots and nanobots, had gone out into Ayers Rock City in three lesser swarms. Now all she had to do was wait for about an hour and hope that everything went well as planned and nothing went wrong.

 

Lisa sat down with her and looked amazed. "What was that? It looked very pretty!"

 

"Ava111Ava is its codename and though it looks 'pretty', it is quite dangerous. Using Ava111Ava is a gamble in more than one way." She took a large purse out of the shoulderbag, opened the purse and took out a large roll of Australian dollar notes being slightly used looking denominations of $20, $50 and $100. She carefully sorted it out onto the table top being $8,500 in cash. It was new Australian Dollars printed since the end of the Australian Civil War. "Excellent! At least for a start! Then she peeled off $100 in cash and passed it to Lisa. "That is to be spent wisely, not on a new pair of shoes."

 

Lisa snorted. "I have some spending discipline, you know!"

 

Tammy frowned softly. "As in what you did to the $200 cash that was meant to keep us both in meals and snacks when the mission began?"

 

Lisa frowned. "Those sandals looked so delicious. Okay, I will be more disciplined this time."

 

Avrisa came over and sat down. "That was some power tech you unleashed."

 

Tammy nodded. "Ava111Ava!"

 

Avrisa whistled softly in surprise. Then she spoke. "FactionLords may easily detect its use even if not its exact nature."

 

Tammy nodded. "Yes but they will be too smart to go after it and even if they did so, Ava111Ava is beyond FactionLord technologies to deal with, as far as I know. One fear is that something very powerful will strike out at Ava111Ava and that Ava111Ava will strike back in turn." She took the fake mobile-phone out and looked at its small screen that was much more advanced looking than the rest of the device. "Ava111Ava has completed charting all of the surface, and above surface, Ayers Rock City. It is now focusing on the Ayers Rock Subcity. Very interesting. I have found what seems to be a series of hidden stockpiles of valuable resources. At least one is most likely linked to organized crime as it is in a supposedly abandoned, derelict warehouse. Another is in a big basement level of the Bannings Corporation. Another, mostly military equipment and supplies, is in the military bunker complex built during World War Two; there is enough advanced tech there, by local standards, to equip an army much bigger than the force now inside the bunker complex."

 

She paused and then spoke again. "What do you know about the Bannings Corporation?"

 

Avrisa looked surprised and then thoughtful. After a time she spoke. "A large, diverse, sophisticated, modern transnational corporation based in Melbourne, the Banning Corporation has its tentacles in almost every big profit making type of business there is in Australia and New Zealand. Australia has a population over fifty million and New Zealand over twenty million, so they are both big markets with steal a lot of consumer power by world standards. Bannings runs mines, plantations, mercenaries, security services, agritech, fast food chains, has a big interest in AusiMotors that manufactures many of our civilian and military vehicles, manufactures weapons, has a small shipyard, is constructing a new complex to construct aerocraft such as small aeroships, makes movies, makes TV programs, manufactures computer tech and so on. Banning Corporation is linked with its mother corporation known as the Umbrella Corporation."

 

Tammy frowned softly. She had heard the name before but, having lived many rejuvenations, regenerations and even rebirths as a False Eternal, she had masses of memories, of information, stored away. So she closed her eyes. Then she cursed softly. "The Umbrella Corporation is linked with the DeathlessLords who found their own form of supposed greater immortality and fell into a great new curse of their own making. It is they who were first manipulated, and resourced, into creating the Great Sphere and who had it stolen off them by the HarmonyLords; or so goes the ancient story that many, including myself, are having increasing doubts in. The DeathlessLords are one who have attempted a few times to manipulate the Z-Plague, in its many manifestations, to create new technologies. The Umbrella Corporation has appeared on more than one AlternateEarth but has also taken other fronts, has worked through secondary organizations."

 

At that moment a gentle shudder went through the ground, through the building. A cloud of rainbow energies appeared above the shoulderbag and then flowed down into it.

 

Tammy looked concerned. "Ava111Ava has returned early because it was threatened by a great swarm of aggressive, advanced nanobots of unknown nature. Instead of doing something that would destroy the city, killing most of its people, it returned to me. I have the coordinates of where Ava111Ava confronted the other swarm of nanobots."

Edited June 30, 2012 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

0067: Of Tammy Tomkins and Others

 

While Lisa went shopping for some goods, with two soldiers for company and protection, Tammy went with Avrisa and others to seek more information. They caught a privately run transit bus, which was fairly expensive, and got off at the Central Business Zone. This was just a whole lot of big, low hulking buildings with many shops, at least half of them abandoned or even used as homes, other commercial services and government offices along with NGO (Non Government Organization) Offices. While some cars were used, she noted that most people went on foot or used bicycles or small, cheap scooters. Some bicycles and scooters pulled small trailers.

 

They were walking along a flagstone footpath, along a side-street with some abandoned cars stripped of most useful bits, with Avrisa trying to track down a man named Paddy Jackson. Paddy Jackson traded in information of many kinds but he was well known for having secretive information of dangerous sorts. A couple of Aborginal men were sitting outside of a cheap cafe, drinking cheap coffee, wearing cheap working clothes and boots, so Avrisa approached them. Country music was playing, being one of Slim Dusty's most popular songs about a 'pub with no beer'. Tammy had little liking for Slim Dusty music. She stood to one side as Avirsa talked briefly with the two men, discretely passed over a $20 note and then they talked again. They continued onwards but Avrisa did not have good news: Paddy Jackson had seemingly vanished, had not been seen around the place for some months.

 

Avrisa led them into a second hand shop, such had become much more popular and useful since the Australian Civil War had begun, along with war time manufacturing and rationing. Rationing had never ceased, thanks to the Crisis of the Great Sphere, and the black market thrived with strong links with stolen goods and pirate manufacturing. The shop was packed, in barely organized chaos, with furniture, fittings, decorations, books, cheaper artworks, a couple of lawn-mowers, car batteries and much else. A couple of young thugs stood keeping guard, both of them looking bored and standing close to hidden weapons. Then there was a back wall, complete with a counter, and a tall, thin man with very thick glasses. He wore an odd long coat of 18^th style but also coveralls with many pockets.

 

Tammy had 'sensed' an odd, powerful presence as she entered the shop, had 'sensed' that the shop was more than just a shop but was a TransCube of exotic design and make. She looked at the other False Eternal and knew then why the shop thugs were actually combat androids. She spoke. "So what do the locals call you?"

 

The man smiled. "Joseph Trust! I never try to cheat anybody and I never put up with people trying to cheat me. I have a good reputation here but much of the time I have been trading in information through Paddy Jackson. Paddy Jackson was forced to vanish after two attempts on his life, cleverly disguised as accidents, were made in places that should have been safe for him to go. I was contracted to come to this horrible little human world by a client that I can not name. Not that it matters for the name given to me is clearly fake. I heard about SadHat! Too bad, really, I almost liked him. Still, he will be back and all refreshed, hopefully. Have picked up some interesting information that you can have for free but I would like some assistance with my TransCube. I got attacked by an unknown power some... centuries ago, by human terms, and I drove it off but my Alpha TransCube is still damaged."

 

Tammy Tomkins smiled. "Why are you really here, Paddy Jackson? Why aren't you off on-in the 13of13 where you can play endless games with the Eternal Court and that fool of a self styled Eternal Emperor? Or did the 13of13 finally tire of you and that would explain the damage done to your TransCube?"

 

The tall, thin, man scowled softly but then shrugged it away. "Okay, I might have tried to 'borrow with out permission' some treasured items of the Eternal Emperor but, in all fairness, he did try to cheat me big time. The contract is real but I suspect that it is the Eternal Empress who is behind it. She is surprisingly naive as a False Eternal but still manages, somehow, to remain on her TimelessThrone."

 

"She is not as half as naive as you are." Tammy Tomkins smiled some more but her eyes glittered softly. "She wanted to know she was behind the contract and wanted you to pass on that information to others. She sent you here knowing you would gather at least some valuable information and that there would be others who could use it well. Do not forget who and what my brother, and I, are!"

 

"How could I? The man snorted. "So you are hanging around with Human Unity these centuries."

 

Tammy nodded. "Human Unity is necessary for the survival of humanity and also for our longer term survival. Great, powerful, forces are gathering two five AlternateEarths, three of them being invaded by the Great Sphere. Two already have the Great Sphere having completed its first stage and, on this world, the Great Sphere is expanding. Be warned that something has changed, something both complicated and subtle. A great confrontation, between extremely powerful forces, is about to take place. You may want to leave this zone, may want to return to the 13of13, if you can do so."

 

Paddy Jackson shook his head. "No, I want to stay and be entertained, be distracted from the 'you know what'. Okay, this is what I have picked up! The TripleLords had intended to conquer this whole AlternateEarth as the foundation of a great TripleEmpire. For some reason they had decided that the Great Sphere would never come to this world. The fact that it did has caused them a good deal of 'loss of face' with their own TripleSublords and TripleOnes. So they are trying to carry out a new plan that is not only successful but which makes them look good to their own peoples. As it is they have a great deal of power, wealth and influence in the human world of this AlternateEarth as they are using it all to carry out a new plan but what the plan is, exactly, I do not know. I have picked up a strong inkling that they want to take control of this city, want to do so even if it means an overt invasion by conventional forces. They are trying to deal a blow to any other FactionLord Factions busy on this world such as that big raging battle with the DeathlessLords that is still going strong."

 

Tammy frowned. "A big battle in which humans are the once doing most of the dying, be they wild born or cloned, along with other mortal entities. It is time that certain FactionLord Factions are dealt with."

 

Paddy Jackson frowned. "Just leave me out of it! I am a FactionLord Faction of one! The DeathlessLords are busy in Ayers Rock City through the Bannings Corporation but they are having difficulties with an unknown enemy. The TripleEmpire is here through a big underground bunker built back in World War Two but much upgraded since but they are also having troubles. Nobody can work out who, or what, is behind all of the cunning, murderous attacks taking place on individuals. Unity is here but not in any great strength, as you most likely know. There do not appear to be any FactionLords active here, at least not in any real strength though some may be investigating, at a distance, through secondary agents."

 

"What do the following coordinates mean to you?" She spoke the coordinates at which the Ava111Ava nanobots, and microbots, had been attacked by strange, powerful nanobots and where Ava111Ava had prudently withdrawn. She spoke of using Ava111Ava.

 

"Using Ava111Ava was risky but worth it!" Paddy Jackson frowned as he paused to go through his memories, his own extensive databanks. Then he frowned harder. "Coordinates are of a big mysterious temple that was sealed off by the British Imperial Explorers, who dug a tunnel to it, only days after they uncovered it. As far as I know it has been sealed up heavily ever since. That reminds me of a story that has circulated that I might otherwise not have thought important enough to tell you." He took a pencil, and a sheet of paper, and drew something with amazing speed and accuracy. It was a strange, disturbing symbol that was the same right way up as upside down. "This symbol has been found on tunnel walls as drawn by the mysterious Albinorines before they vanished over a century ago."

 

It was a primary symbol of the TwistedGod that was also the symbol of the Damned Unnamed who had been pushed into the Great Nothingness a very long time ago. That is a great deal of time before the Albinorines had appeared in that Australia, supposedly. Tammy had been in the amazing brutal and savage war against the Damned Unnamed and winced slightly even at the thought of it. A great part of a whole universe had been destroyed during that war. It could have been one of those bizarre AlternateEarth, MultipleEarth, type coincidences but she knew that there was no way she could take the chance of it being so.

 

She spoke. "I will do what I can to help you fix up your TransCube or can offer you another solution."

Edited July 1, 2012 by Maharg67