Secret invaders (STAR-DUST 17) E-Book

Jens F. Simon

• Herausgeber: epubli
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 82

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Sigurd and Alethea are back in one body. The planet ANUN'HA, where they are staying, was once a living entity. Today, on one of two continents there stands the Star Ziggurat, the sole legacy of a very old star people, the Ancient Race of Krsutner. The second continent is populated by human-like intelligence. They call themselves Akkattarians. When the so-called 'Secret Invaders' appeared from stars over a generation ago, society was in turmoil. King Šamšī-Rohh II, the head of AKKATTA, tries to minimize the economic exploitation by the weaponry-superior aliens. When the star ziggurat suddenly becomes active and attacks the spaceships of the 'secret invaders', things finally escalate. Sigurd is involuntarily drawn into the incipient conflict and at the same time has to defend himself against the tablets of fate still in his shoulder, which have begun to manipulate him. His goal of finding a way back to Earth suddenly seems a long way off. His goal of finding a way back to Earth suddenly seems a long way off.

Leseprobe

STAR-DUST

Under the spell of nanites

Volume 17

Secret invaders

© 2025 Jens F. Simon

Illustration: S. Verlag JG

Publisher: S. Verlag JG, 35767 Breitscheid,

All rights reserved

Distributed by: epubli a service of neopubli GmbH, Berlin

ISBN: 978-3-819032-78-3

The work, including its parts, is protected by copyright. Any exploitation without the consent of the publisher and the author is prohibited and will be prosecuted under criminal and civil law. This applies to electronic or other reproduction, translation, distribution and making available to the public.

Virtual realities surround us as soon as we are born. Every person has his very own view of things. Reality is a subjective experience of things. Imagine that one day you wake up in a foreign body, see a completely new world with foreign eyes. Are you reborn? What has happened? "Only a dream", you think, but this "dream" does not end. You have no choice but to accept the new realities, even if you think that this reality is no longer your reality.

Table of content

Irreversibility unwanted

Moderate marauders

The creators

ANUN'HA'S Way

The enemy inside you

Captain Solaakk's victory

Separation from Alethea

The ring of five

Irreversibility unwanted

The insidious attack had severely damaged the retina of my eyes. I most likely only had my body nanites to thank for the fact that no permanent damage had occurred.

After the jump, I was now standing in total darkness.

"That was really close. Why didn't the panels help this time, or your know-it-all subconscious not intervene?"

Alethea's thoughts pointed out to me that I only had myself to rely on.

I left the question unanswered and concentrated on the darkness. It was silent, too silent.

The eye nerves responded immediately to my need to be able to see at least a little more, and the nanobots optimized the retina's performance in seconds.

It became a little brighter now that I could see in the infrared range. I was standing in a long corridor that was about five meters wide and whose walls were a strange hue.

"I don't think what you're perceiving right now is the color of the walls. Rather, it's some kind of thermal radiation emanating from them that appears differently in infrared vision."

"Is that so important now? We've been shot at in the back. I think we leave this inhospitable place and teleport," I replied somewhat roughly to Alethea's thoughts.

Nevertheless, I carefully touched the wall surface with my hand.

The nanites of the skin receptors immediately detected the warmth and transmitted a vibration sensation to my brain.

The wall began to vibrate more and more strongly, and the vibrations propagated across the floor.

Distant thunder in rhythmic beats made me sit up and take notice. Then, abruptly, silence set in.

"I feel like I'm inside the belly of a giant creature."

Alethea fell silent, and I didn't really know what to make of all this.

"We're not getting anywhere like this! I don't know what possessed me to jump here at all. I suggest we teleport back to the room with Professor Yout'jang's horseshoe-shaped console table. What do you think, Alethea?"

"We need to talk to this Saviier again. Your body materialized from a black hole artificially created in his laboratory. I think only there is the possibility to find out if and how we can get back to our world. That's still your goal, isn't it?"

Alethea was right, and at the same time I was puzzled. Not only because of her question, but also because I hadn't thought of going back at all.

"Be careful, you are already being manipulated by the panels."

The inner voice of my subconscious made me sit up and take notice.

I had also completely forgotten that the fate tablets were still hiding in my shoulder.

The attack was again completely unexpected. Sun-bright rays suddenly enveloped my body, and I was thrown several meters into the corridor.

I had the feeling of being on fire.

It took only a few seconds for the glare from my eyes to be removed by the body nanites, but even this short period of time meant almost half an eternity to me.

I thought I was dying and a conglomerate of impressions from my past began all at once to rage through my mind.

When I looked up distraught, I recognized cube-like machines about two meters tall, each standing on six stilt-like legs in front of me.

Needle-fine laser beams were shooting toward me from red-hot emission openings located on the underside of the cube.

My subconscious had apparently already reacted long ago and built a telekinetic defense shield around me.

In any case, the beams were deflected a few centimeters away from me and even partially reflected.

First explosions showed me that they were indeed dangerous.

"Fool, normally you should have been dead long ago if the panels hadn't intervened first and then me. Come to your senses and react!"

Almost painfully loudly the mental voice of my independently acting subconsciousness sounded through my head.

Without thinking any further, I teleported and jumped to the last memory present in my mind, the large, horseshoe-shaped console table. There was no living being in the room when we rematerialized.

I winced as a sharp and at the same time hot pain in my right shoulder made itself felt.

It disappeared immediately and I was distracted when the door opened.

I knew there was an elevator behind it and that this room represented a secret retreat of the professor.

And sure enough, just as I expected, Professor Yout'jang came through the door. He entered the room without noticing me at first.

"VVT, connect with Saviier," I heard him say loudly.

Of course, I knew by now that the VVT was a new type of communication system. He had activated the Virtual Visible Table system via the voice control.

Without delay, I now saw the scaled-down image of the Gravo designer Saviier appear as a hologram directly in front of me on the desktop.

The hologram had turned its back to me and was looking in the direction of the professor.

When the professor turned to the desk, he did not look at the hologram but directly at me. A multitude of wrinkles formed on his forehead, but that was already all. It just seemed to me that he had been waiting for me to appear.

"Saviier, I'm sorry, I have to disconnect. I have a visitor!"

The Gravo designer's hologram faded away without me hearing another word from him.

"Paurusa, I knew I would see you again. I guess your sudden disappearance hadn't been entirely voluntary, right? Saviier and I could guess that you yourself wouldn't just cut off the conversation without a reason. What happened?"

He looked at me questioningly and in his face I could clearly see a growing tension.

He probably wasn't as completely calm as he put on the outside after all. I attempted a smile and sat down in one of the chairs that stood, or rather floated, in front of the lectern table.

"Professor Yout'jang, you have a point. The panels in my shoulder are beginning to take on a life of their own. The teleportation was indeed not triggered by my will."  

"Don't reveal too much about us."

I heard Alethea's thought only on the periphery of my own thought processes. Of course, I had no intention of revealing more than necessary about Alethea and myself. Especially since the director of the Virtual Reality Center had no knowledge of our physical and mental merging.

"I really need to talk to Saviier," I blurted out anyway.

"Very interesting. What are the functions of these so-called panels? As far as I understand, their bodies are made of organic nanites and are similar in structure to the Lifebots. Very interesting, really!"

Had he not understood me, or did he not want to understand me? Professor Yout'jang slid leisurely into one of the free-standing armchairs. I kept silent and looked at him skeptically.

"VVT, connect with Saviier," I heard him say.

I looked anxiously at the table, where also before the small hologram had been created. It took a little longer this time for me to catch sight of Saviier in full form.

"Yout'jang, what can I do for you? Unfortunately, I'm a little pressed for time. I'm on my way to the government palace right now."

"Dear Saviier, I am very sorry to bother you. But my visitor has an urgent need to contact you," the professor replied with an ironic undertone.

The hologram began to rotate slowly as he pressed the contact area of the VVT display on his left arm with the index finger of his right hand.

I waited until the Gravo Designer hologram had turned to face me. "Paurusa!" His astonished exclamation showed me that he had recognized me.

"Saviier apologize for the intrusion and likewise for my sudden disappearance at the time. It had not been entirely voluntary. I absolutely need more details about the black hole you artificially created. According to your information, my body was transported through the black hole. Is there any information about the point of origin?"

I paused for a moment.

"Ask him if the connection through the hole still exists," I abruptly heard Alethea's thoughts.

Before I could formulate the appropriate question, the hologram faded away and disappeared completely after a few seconds.

That's strange. The VVT signal was apparently overlaid by a stronger source, breaking contact."

I looked from the tabletop to Professor Yout'jang in amazement.

"What does that mean exactly?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you. I know too little about this new communications technology."

It was like being jinxed. I had the impression that I just couldn't get off the ground.

"What about those panels in your shoulder? Ask him if he sees a way to remove them!"

I followed Alethea's suggestion without thinking.

"Yout'jang, you certainly remember. Saviier has already brought it up. There are seven small tablets sitting in my right shoulder. From your point of view, is there any way, however tiny, to remove them?"

Professor Yout'jang looked at me with a fixed gaze.

"I remember. I also remember that your body is made of organic nanites. We have some routine here at the Virtual Reality Center about repairing our Lifebots, but these are made of artificial nanobots."

He paused.

"We would need to run some tests on your body beforehand, take cell samples and measure the area in question in detail. Based on your question, I think I can assume that these tablets were not part of your body from the beginning, but were added sometime later, right?"

"Yes, that's right. I was completely surprised by this myself."

"You'll have to explain that to me in more detail. Especially the special circumstances would be significant to know to be able to make an exact analysis. To perform an ectomy, every bit of information about the patient is basically important!"

"If I tell them my whole life story, we are still sitting here after one planetary orbit around the sun. I think the very first thing to do should be the tests. I'd appreciate it if we could get started on that as soon as possible."