feet, revealing little of their purpled faces.
Youi was tense at my side. Adt and Sarleni stood with Kigor Dorta. We pressed closer to them, waiting and watching.
Proctor Romos entered with Andon Janis at his right. Raising his arms, he glanced at the intimate assemblage.
“Take note, while Andon speaks.”
As the Proctor sat, the proceedings began with no further ceremony.
The scientist took the stage, Proctor and Mutis presenting a formidable backdrop. Andon’s Korda-strap held his sedately ornamented sword beneath his blue trimmed cloak.
“You’ve been called here for a vital reason critical to the survival of our people. Perhaps even for the survival of all mankind on this planet. We have learned, to our dismay, about a perilous uprising occurring at a frightening speed. A force already dominating a major portion of a distant continent is threatening to cross the seas into our lands.
“Word has reached us through a detailed report brought under dire circumstances by our young Adt Dorta and Sarleni from Helandi. Not all of you have met Sarleni, yet.”
His arm unfolded towards the lovely woman standing near Adt. Heads turned as he continued.
“They retrieved valuable data from Talni, an inside source in Kamina. The brave Messenger, rest his soul, fought to preserve these horrific accounts and make them available to us.…”
The Proctor’s voice cut him short.
“To the point, Andon.”
The nervous scientist rapidly continued:
“Ah yes, the report: it all came from a tiny microchip imbedded upon Talni, the Messenger; a fine piece of genius, it is: a tiny sliver encapsulating a recording shell; quite simple enough for our decoders to resolve. The task will take time for it contains multiple layers of data, graphs, visuals, recordings, and complex messages.
“The preliminary findings are distinctively clear!” Andon’s right hand lifted, index finger extended to become a stiff pointer waving upwards in a spiral as he spoke.
“An authoritative government has come to rule, disregarding the innate ethical principles of natural order. A threatening tyranny is overthrowing tribe after tribe, enslaving the clans; yielding to no negotiation.”
He paused, looked nervously at the floor, then back to the anxious audience.
“The shell appeared to be a singular message, and our lab discovered an unusual coding system that continues to expand the deeper we go.”
His words had begun to drift as his eyes lifted in glassy wonderment.
“I’ve been perplexed by the sliver itself, intricately designed.…”
“Andon, please!” The Proctor scolded with firm understanding.
The scientist continued, after turning a disapproving eye toward the Proctor.
“I suspected the microchip carried volumes of data even before starting my work on it. Vast experience in my previous life has exposed me to wisdom beyond our greatest minds here on Noomas. Reducing infinite information to a concentrated finite point is not beyond advanced.…”
“Andon!”
The Proctor’s tone said far more than that one word.
“Yes. Of course! Talni had spoken clearly in a particular hologram, appealing to all resources who still could hear the message and hopefully guard against its impending threat: the Kamina.”
He shook his head to wave away any questions. Then he eyed the Proctor, knowing that brevity was expected.
A few of us had already heard what Andon Janis was about to reveal.
“We are facing a deadly, ruthless nation.”
His hand lifted again, and the finger pointed like a weapon of destruction, tapping out shot after shot with each declarative statement, aimed threateningly at his rapt audience.
“And they are determined to dominate the human species as beasts of burden for their sadistic desires. Yes, the people are reduced to performing unspeakable atrocities for the expanding rulers of Kamina. Their purposes are malicious, vile, and sadistic to the core.
“A Muti nation: by name—the Kaminaean Muti Empire: by design—determined to dominate Noomas.”
He paused, finger curling shut, then lifting like a drawn sword, once again thrusting at us.
“And they expect to be worshipped in the name of some Ancient decree. They tout themselves as overlords to their human chattel.”
Again he paused; eyes grief-stricken. When the finger relaxed, the hand lowered.
“What is shown within the message is revoltingly graphic.”
Andon Janis shuddered visibly.
“All of you must see and learn from these images. The lab’s viewing screens are all set. My technicians will assist you with the translations. Be warned; prepare yourselves. For, what follows is grotesque to the point of madness. Mutis brutally inflict unspeakable pain on their most loyal human servants. These tyrants have invented sickening ways of savaging humanity.”
General Qui Shan, commander of the joint Bel-loniean Armed Forces, aggressively stepped forward and demanded. “I’ll want proof. As soon as possible! I will require detailed facts regarding their aggressive tactics and any maneuvers that fall under my personal authority!”
Andon shifted towards Qui Shan.
“As you wish; at the Janis Foundation. The volumes of data might require a substantial team to analyze. Detailed maps and historic archives are being extracted from the micro-sliver, even as we speak. We have no idea how relevant they are to current affairs or past eras. It is exhaustive. Still, you may, of course, sort through it all to find pertinent data. I have two specialists standing by with transcribed files for you and your staff, Qui.”
The old scientist explained the background and extent of the Kaminaean uprising in depth and then stepped down, having finished his report. The Proctor confirmed Andon’s invitation and gave brief directives, outlining procedures and assignments for his staff.
“General Qui Shan, you along with Kigor Dorta, will arrange a unified international bulwark.”
A cold, tense silence filled the room.
Suddenly a shrill feminine voice splintered the silence.
“Finally you make sense!”
The sharp, biting tone caused all eyes to turn and see the woman sweep forward. An extraordinary mane of red hair streamed behind her in undulating waves. Her gown glistened with silver and gold mingled with deep scarlet hues. Her entire image shimmered, as if hovering; not standing. Her movement was swift and in a blink she occupied the dais, overshadowing the Proctor and the Mutis.
To most of us she was a stranger.
Sarleni leaned forward tensely without saying a word.
Apparently a projected image of the woman; she hovered, feet not actually touching the floor and bowed in deference to the Proctor; the room watched in amazed silence. Then she spoke with a gentler voice.
“Our people have been tracking the Kaminaean activities, however, their expansion recently escalated at an alarming rate.
“Understand that what you are going to experience is a sample of what is occurring daily in the land of Kamina.”
Her arms spread wide and the room opened in all directions. An uneven plain stretched to the horizon. The speckled landscape was clumped with spindly brush and dried grasses. Far off we could see what appeared to be oddly shaped barren tree limbs. They zoomed close and took the shape of broken arches.
From the heavens a pillar of fiery white and red appeared, belching out of a metal cylinder slowly descending to