<No one knew where it came from. No one from this universe. It was a parasite. A devourer. Its name was unknown. But it was created. It had a purpose.>
Melissa I
Melissa never used the capital's public transportation before. They took the train inside a serpentine-like tube that coiled around the city. The tunnel was transparent and up in the sky, so they had an astonishing aerial view of the city. The chaotic ducts resembled intricate water slides.
Melissa pressed her face against the train window, eyes gleaming with child-like wonder. She soaked in as much new information as she could, watching the capital come alive. Both the chaos of the technological side as well as the fervor of the archaic side.
Alcedina wasn't the capital city of the Dorrean Federation for nothing, its visage was like a moving painting. Seen from above, it looked like the intricate, colorful patterns of a Sirtosian carpet. It even had a rectangular shape and its city center looked like an open flower. Inside the lotus-like dome was the administrative and financial center: The Comitium and right next to it, the cultural and religious center: The Athenaeum. Museums, concert halls, and more importantly temples were located there.
The temples were segmented into the Worship temples and the Studying temples. The worship temples were named Hieron and handled rituals and ceremonies as well as esoteric training for the spiritually gifted. The studying temples were named Academia and were two types: The scientific ones and the military ones.
The more luxurious and older city center buildings were made of marble and jade and looked like flowery palaces that were harmonious in shape. They were in stark contrast to the newer buildings at the periphery which were more industrial looking, made of glass fiber, and had an asymmetric, chaotic design. While screens weren't allowed on the older buildings for religious reasons, the newer ones displayed various digitized commercials and even had an option of making three-dimensional holograms. They were considered in poor taste though. A deplorable simulacrum only for the lower masses to enjoy. It was seen as a way to replicate the practice of the temple sacerdotes, priests worshipping Yarl: the god of light and wisdom.
The city center had numerous exquisitely well-maintained parks with luscious vegetation that was so beautiful there was no need for botanical gardens. The seeds were brought from all corners of the planet showing an impressive variety in shapes and colors. It wasn't uncommon for strollers to stay a whole day just to admire a specific segment of the shrubbery.
But of course, the most beautiful of them all were The Suspended Gardens of the Dorrean Palace, majestic pieces of botanical and architectural engineering. The Dorrean gardens were themselves copied from the House of Galandor, the oldest and most respected of the Seven Houses.
The main highway was flanked by fountains in the shape of the Goddess Galatis, the patron of water and life.
Just outside the flower-like dome were the entertainment district as well as the market district, they resembled nothing of the orderly, immaculate city center. The two sectors were total opposites: the entertainment district was technologically advanced, no corner was without some type of innovation: opera music that produced visible colors, virtual reality game arcades that were neuro-linked to the players, robotic bartenders, plasma-fueled bike races, mech suit fighting tournaments and even holographic idol-based concerts.
The market district on the other hand was another kind of erratic: narrow street corners surrounded by colorful bazaars. The noblewoman only visited the market district in the capital once a year but every time it was in the form of an official tour. As the duchess of Winderver, the third biggest state in the Dorrean Federation, she was always accompanied by her envoy. Her advisors planned every part of the touring schedule. They also kept her from frequenting certain locales and from interacting with the lower classes, especially those that happened to be chimera as well. Only high-ranked chimeras with city center permits could interact with the duchess.
"This was so exciting!" Melissa let out a cheer while disembarking the train. The duchess reached out for her niece's arm and they started walking hand in hand.
***
Melissa walked along a narrow dimly-lit street with Ereya by her side. The atmosphere was surreal, one of the only quiet places in this part of town. This part of the street was still paved like in ancient times. They arrived at an intersection between the market district and the entertainment district. The direction for the market district became upwards. Slowly, the marketplace unveiled before them in all its chaotic glory.
The crowd noise became stronger and they got inundated with different kinds of stimuli: The various smells from aromatic perfumes to spicy condiments and smoked meats. Distinct textures and patterns were displayed, from silky robes to crystal embroidered dresses to wooly coats. All those stimuli caused a symphony of senses. It was this sensory overload that Melissa was so excited for.
There were people from all walks of life, from afar they looked like multi-colored scales on a giant snake, slithering along the market. All different shapes and sizes, different clothing styles. All the way from the Sirtos Federation, with their tall golden headgear for men and dangling jewelry as headdress for women, dressed in their lavish robes to the technologically advanced Xyntar Federation, wearing mechanical suits or wearable nanotechnology. Some even wore holographic dresses or capes, very fashionable lately with the Xyntar youth, Melissa remembered hearing.
And of course, in the market district, there were a lot more chimeras than in the city center, of all different species and combinations. The further they got from the city center, the more chimeras were there. Especially in the outskirts. For only being 10% of the Dorrean Federation, half of the outskirts inhabitants were chimeras. And the Dorrean Federation was the most generous and forward-thinking of the Seven Houses.
All other Houses had the standard 2% chimeras of the general population, in order to not get over this percentage, the chimeras were deported to the Dorreans or they were terminated. Of course, 170 years ago the Noble Houses didn't have to worry about the chimeras multiplying naturally...
One Planet. 7 Houses. The 200-Year War. A ban on expanding and colonizing other planets based on religion and prophecy. The creation of chimeras, lab-made animal-human hybrids and their struggle for emancipation.
And a looming cosmic doom.
All that has to be solved by the soldier and princess Ereya of House Dorrean. Will she succeed or will a fate worse than death await her?
I will be posting this story on RoyalRoad.com as well:
https://www.royalroad.com/profile/247732/fictions
Comments (0)
See all