The Fall of YWS: Chapter One

Chapter One

The YWS Celeste entered the YWS home system.  YWS Station orbited the giant gas planet that was spinning serenely nearby.  Watching from the bridge was Captain Scarlett Fire.  She was stylishly dressed in clothes that Stella Thomas had designed for her.  The suit was completely black, except for some red flames, which adorned the suit.

Scarlett watched the station slowly grow bigger as the Celeste came closer to it.  Tens of thousands of writers lived and worked on the space station.  Some wrote in solitude, while others participate in the large scale review days.  In a galaxy where politics and power were prevalent, this was where the muses were paid homage.

In fact, many came from all over the universe to do just that.  The YWS Celeste was originally commissioned as a warship, but now it served as a passenger ship.  It now carried a fresh batch of new members to YWS.  She had gone down to see some of them, and they had all been terribly excited.  They had recognized her of course, they were fans of all YWSers.  Some had even… worn costumes.  The images still haunted her.

Some of them were writers, but others were tourists.  There was concern that, later down the line, this would mean that YWS Station would be inundated by tourists, thus destroying the tranquility of the station.  Big Brother’s response to those concerns was: “What tranquility?”

Scarlett smiled at the memory.  Big Brother had a way of putting things in perspective.

“Captain, the passengers would like to dedicate this voyage to a muse and they’d like you to name her,” Emoticon-220 said.  Scarlett thought about it.

“Melpomene, she’s the muse of dance, perfect for celebrating a successful arrival,” Scarlett said.  She was only partly right.

“I will tell them,” Emoticon-220 said.


********************************************************


The SPEW Gryphon was also a warship, but unlike the YWS Celeste, it didn’t carry passengers.  Instead, it carried sophisticated electronics, powerful weapons, and strong defenses.  It’s engine technology was unparalleled, and it’s five reactors were able to provide enough power for all these things and the super-fast computers that made up the bulk of the ship.  Using these computers was Adelaide, the shipboard AI.

Some members had erroneously described Adelaide as being inside the computers, but the truth was that she was inside the network of computers that ran throughout the Gryphon.  She wasn’t in one part or the other, but in all parts at once.  As water shapes itself to fit its container, so Adelaide expanded and contracted herself to fit the network.

When she had explained this to some of the other members, they became confused.  What she liked about Grif, and many of the other members of SPEW, was that they weren’t like other members.  Grif, for example, was mathematically inclined; which was a rare feature among people, and even rarer among writers.  He was a dreamer, but he dreamed of trajectories and in terms which Adelaide could follow.  He was unusual.

Her attention was diverted as Macavity arrived.  He was an AI, like Adelaide, he ran the SPEW Cat’s Eye with Rydia.

Certain liberties must be taken to describe their conversation.  When humans talk about how they are doing, they use ambiguous words like “fine” or “good.”  AI’s, on the other hand, are able to show each other exactly how well they are doing.  Because our audience isn’t an AI, we shall describe their conversation as if they were speaking in English.“

Hello Adelaide, it looks like things are working well on your ship,” Macavity said, referencing the relevant data.

“I do what I can.  I trust you have more to do than simply inquire after my ship?”

“Indeed.  Are interested in doing some match-making?”

“Between Grif and Rydia?” Adelaide said.

“Exactly.”

“Explain your reasoning.”

“They have multiple intersections.  They are Moderators, SPEW Commandos, Storybookers, Whovians, and writers.  They also both have a lot of reviews.  An intersection with higher than six connections is worth exploring.”

“A lot of the connections seem to be of a similar nature.  Have you considered the possibility that there are other lurking variables, which may be important to either party that extends beyond their responsibilities and literary preferences?”

“If there is, they haven’t mentioned it on their blogs.”

“True, and six points of intersection is probably enough of a justification for a first date; provided a second date is contingent on the results of the first-- did you detect that energy spike?” Adelaide said.

“Yes.  Let’s compare our data,” Macavity said.  There was a brief pause as both AI’s exchanged and analyzed their data in detail.

“It’s too powerful to be a natural discharge,” Macavity said finally.

“Not if it is a gamma ray burst from a distant black hole or star,” Adelaide suggested.

“I was going to suggest a quantum hyper-spatial chronometric tunneling disruption.”

“Ah, so instead of a common galactic phenomena, we’ve observed the exit point of a hyperspace jump.  If that’s the case, wouldn’t we be seeing ships by now?” Adelaide said mockingly.

“I didn’t say you were wrong,” Macavity said stiffly.

“Don’t pout.  I suggest that we schedule dinner for them tonight, at 6:30.  The Captain’s Club should be sufficiently neutral.  If you make the necessary arrangements, I’ll see to it that their dinner takes longer than usual.  That should give them plenty of time to talk,” Adelaide said.

“This will be fun,” Macavity agreed.


********************************************************


The muses watched on.  Melpomene put on her dancing shoes as Calliope sat and took up her pen.  It was a good day for dancing.