A New Golden Son

Chapter 13

The Seven Worlds of Kyoto were part of galactic backwater system with only a few stars, and even fewer planets. Using mechanical means of transport, the Kyoto star and its seven planets in equi-distant orbit may never have been found by space-faring folks. But several hundred earth years prior to Albert arriving on Vestic, a Japanese man named Hi-Chiro had fallen through a fairy gap and ended up on Draegohn. A citizen of ancient Kyoto, Hi-Chiro had first become exposed to space travel on Draegohn, but he quickly developed an intense love for the stars. With time and effort he was able to obtain a ship of his own. This he augmented and improved upon. Soon he was capable of traveling further and faster than anyone in his part of the universe. After one extended trip his modified engine began to leak particles that acted as free radicals which, because of the heat of his engines, were catalyzed into forming a persistent dimensional hole. It was a spatial oops that could be likened unto acid eating through a wall. All of the sudden, one could travel vast distances without really traveling at all. This enabled Hi to find the unique Kyoto system, with its seven worlds.

The spacial (actually dimensional) breach was just a few impulse hours away from Draegohn. And after some repeated stealthy surveying, Hi discovered that the sentient races of Kyoto were largely peaceful, and also light years behind Draegohn in technological development. Therefore, when the Japanese transplant went before Draegohn and its king to propose interaction with the newly discovered realm, he went as a prophet of conquest.

The war was, at first, very popular among the Draegohnians. The whole planet was abuzz with the prospect of new lands, wealth untold, and other-dimensional pleasures not even dreamed of. This sentiment wasn't shared by the Kyoto peoples. Something about the requisite death and destruction that went with being conquered put them out of favor with the idea. As with most wars, though, some of the most ardent supporters from the beginning became some of the staunchest critics in the end. Soon the war was unpopular everywhere. And before ten years had past, even the king was losing heart and thinking of giving up the whole venture.

But then, in what would come to be known as 1 D.W., a miracle happened. Hi-Chiro, now a decorated general, and acting governor of one of the contested planets, split. He subdivided, self-cloned, self-reproduced, however you want to describe it; he did it and it was done. Not once did he do this, but six times. It happened in a matter of seconds really, and where once there was one, there were suddenly seven.

The Kyoto peoples had always valued replications and multiples. Though the cultures and physiologies varied from planet to planet, that part of the equation did not. They all believed ardently that the more of one thing there was, the better. Any time a multiple occurrence happened naturally – twins, repeating sound patterns, concentric circles – the multiplicity was considered divine. So when Hi split, inexplicably, into enough Hi's to rule the seven worlds at a ratio of one Hi-Chiro per planet, peace was unilaterally declared. The Kyoto peoples, or Seven-Worldsmen, wanted the Hi-Chiros to be their leaders and the Hi-Chiros wanted to make peace with the Draegohnians. The deal was done.

From that point on, time itself was marked differently. One era had ended and another had begun. No longer were Draegohnians alone in their corner of the universe. Nor, either, were the Seven Worlds isolated in their dimension by lack of technology. For both peoples, a newness of reality had manifested itself. And to mark the new beginning, a new system for time recording was established. The old systems, separated by worlds and cultures, were not sufficient. Out of eight planets there had arisen a new, single kingdom (This is why Draegohnian currency also bears the equivalent of the Latin: E Pluribus Unum). The designation D.B: Draegohn – Better was picked to apply to all succeeding years. The splitting of Hi-Chiro marked the beginning of year zero: 0 D.B. The first Gathering of All Peoples occurred in 4 D.B. The great corn harvest on Kyoto-six happened in 9 D.B. and so on. Likewise, all years preceding the unification came to be referred to as D.W. years: Draegohn – Worse. In this way a balance was established between peoples and times and dimensions. And in all of Draegohn and the neighboring worlds for those first few decades, there was peace.

Contributing to this time of the unification, on Kyoto-five, was the best marketing agency in a million light years and a dozen dimensions. Staffed by polyglot anemones who had neither mouths nor ears but acutely accurate telepathy, it was this formidable group of neologists that "picked" the D.B. and D.W. designations. The new classifications were being batted around by any and all at the agency when an emeritus member of the group named Chrolt showed up. Mr. Chorlt was of the pinkish, purplish hue, and stood about fifteen inches at the tallest tentacle. He was a commanding anemone if ever there was one.

"Don't be foolish," he advised. "Choose something powerful – something simple."

"We like using Hi-Chiro's name," a mere sprout announced, as if he spoke for the entire reef. "He made the split, he brought the unity, from this point on every year should be marked as Hi, or Hi-Chiro, or..." The anemone clammed up as he finally became aware of the psychic gaze being leveled at him from every direction.

"Using Hi-Chiro's name isn't a bad idea," Chorlt acknowledged after a bit of silence. "But it's too divisive. Some from the Seven Worlds don't like him because he's Draegohnian. The people of Draegohn are suspicious of his 'abilities.'"

"Others of us," a middle aged anemone began, "thought a clear binary might be good. Something that showed the difference between the way we were and the way we are – or will be."

"There's a boy who'll do us proud," Chorlt beamed, waving ever so slightly to the right as the tide began to go in. "A binary is just the thing. Something simple, powerful and clear. Something like better and worse."

From there, it was just a short, twelve-week discussion on who would be better, worse, and how. But in the end, Chrolt had saved the day.

The genius in Mr. Chorlt's recommendation was that it played to the pride of both parties. Draegohn had, by all accounts reliable and spurious, supported civilization much longer than any of the Kyoto planets. It was therefore fond of the notion that the records would show a millennia-long march toward infamy where Draegohn emerged victorious, its name prominent in all things. Seven-Worldsmen couldn't get over the clarity of the statement that thousands of years of Draegohn being worse (D.W.) was made better (D.B.) by the inclusion of their home planets. Another two weeks later the two groups shook hands over the unified historical perspective. And, Chorlt's stipend got a boost.

Always the wise investor, the boost in pay gave Chorlt the edge needed to secure a large land holding on one of Kyoto-five's many islands. He, of course, could not survive on land. But he was hopeful that one day his children could. Anemones had been abused for generations by land dwellers. The sentience of the anemone community hadn't even been recognized for a long time because of a prejudice against creatures that used the same orifice to ingest food and expel waste. But things were starting to change, and scientists were making greater advances. One day, Chorlt believed, the things that separated his people from others wouldn't be so pronounced. "One day", he telepathically told his thirty odd offspring, "we'll live above the waves and beneath." So, believing in that which he could not yet see, Chorlt bought a plot of land, invested the rest of his money in anemone micro-biology, and became one with the reef.