《Protodrone》Chapter 1: Moment of Truth
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The colossal contraption, spanning over a mile wide, lit up with sudden brightness, bathing Alpha Site in its strange purple glow. The ensemble of scientists, military advisors, reporters, and helicopters flying overhead froze with baited breath, watching. Waiting.
This project had taken decades, incredible amounts of funding, cooperation from all the major powers of the world, and a truly obscene amount of power; the amount of energy required to put together and power the circular portal strained the resources the denizens of Earth had to offer.
A significant portion of the nearby land-based military surrounded the megastructure, prepared for any enemy that might decide to exploit the rift the portal had shorn between worlds. Commanders standing stock still, tense and ready.
Far above the ground, a steel bridge led directly into the center of the portal, constructed beforehand. All eyes were on the figures about to enter the world’s first attempt at trans-universal travel. This test could even pave the way for true teleportation.
An unnamed scientist stood upon the bridge, along with a couple technicians.
“The prototype drone seems to be responding well. This is it, I guess. I hope all those hours we spent machine-training this damn thing was worth it.”
“Relax. The bot’ll do just fine. People’ve developed fusion reactors already, and spatial tech. I’m sure the machine-learning processes will hold up; the amount of data storage they fit in this thing is unreal.”
One of the reporters in his helicopter continued to narrate to his captivated audience about the momentous occasion he had taken such lengths to reserve a spot at.
“This supermassive portal in front of us is the result of 30 years of hard work on the part of the United States the Americas, the European Commonwealth, and the Republic of Asia, with support from the African Collective and…”
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The reporter twitched in disgust here.
“...Australia. Unfortunately, we are not allowed to disclose the exact location of the portal at this time, but we will get to witness the first ever portal test in history!”
The bot approached the portal, stopping a few meters away. The purple light glimmered on its smart metal skin, bouncing off the scattered alloy plating scattered upon its surface. The finest artisans the world had to offer had come together to craft the greatest reconnaissance battle bot the world had ever seen. Boasting spatial compression of over 10x resulted in an unreasonable amount of functionally being shoved into one creation.
The technicians left the bridge shortly after, commenting on how uncomfortably human the robot was: with perfect proportions and a featureless face, it stood stock-still, fearless. The scientist gave one last glance before departure.
“Reporting to the project director, all systems are a go. Parameters are within acceptable range. Test may begin.”
The director stepped onto the bridge, alone. He had spent half his life working for this very moment; this was his moment. He smiled a nervous smile. The bot turned its face to observe the director, eyeing him with miniscule pinhole cameras.
“Exploratory, you are cleared to enter the device.”
Exploratory turned around and closed the remaining distance. The portal warbled dangerously, spinning into itself over and over and over again. It reached out, a single finger coming closer, closer, closer…
Contact.
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
Then, the deafening crash of the portal collapsing in upon itself, flowing towards its center where Exploratory breached the field. Gasps, then screams of terror as the onsite staff fled at all speed, running, escaping a terrible fate. Exploratory watched the whole ensemble implode at high speed, towards its person. Its final thought as the pieces of the portal crushed it within itself at high speed was:
“Disappointment.”
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The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan
When Teal helps an injured soldier by hand-delivering a scroll to the Emperor, he is offered a place in the Emperor's harem for his courage and efforts. Teal is of Lombock descent however, a cannibalistic race of beings who were believed to have died out. Having grown up on the outskirts of the Empire, Teal finds adjusting to life as the Emperor's concubine difficult and as he begins to learn about his origins, he also stumbles on old dark secrets lurking in the palace. Traitorous spies, unfinished disputes, and old enemies from neighboring kingdoms hide in plain sight within the palace walls, all threatening to ignite Teal's true identity and with it, cause the return of a race of beings who once controlled the world with horrific consequences. The only way out? A possible alliance with a defiant and strong-willed princess and a group of magical assassins who wish to control the world as they see fit. Please don't be shy. Feel free to comment if you enjoy the story. Feedback is always welcome! Artwork for cover purchased from Canstock: by 'AtelierSommerland' I'm currently working on Book Two. I won't post book two until I have a decent amount written. Current word count on book two is 43,000 so you know I am working on it (19/5/22)
8 157Distant Leaps to Circinus
A dark fantasy story that takes place on a reborn Earth. "With all the planets in the universe, it just had to be this one." Not many thoughts came to mind when scientists said they could provide the Earth with nearly infinite power. Humans could only think about the future, after all: they could travel to the farthest reaches of space, never worry about their electric bills again, and give rise to new and innovative technologies. With such good outcomes on the horizon, there was no way humanity would sit idle; instead, they studied perhaps the most powerful entity in the entire Milky Way. It seemed that, after its appearance decades ago, the strange and unmoving black sphere was something of a godsend. There will always be a reason for these things. With one touch, our very reality was but a grain of sand in an hourglass. In an instant, the Earth was gone - replaced by something… different. More than a century later, Earth’s remains have reformed into a completely different beast - a planet both alive and dead at the same time. Physics that were once understood no longer made sense, giant land masses floated in the sky, and billions of people fought for their very survival. Work, sleep, and play were no more; it was time for the world, Circinus, to reign. The birth of Circinus could only be the beginning. The powerful yet ever-elusive black sphere seemed to watch the world from afar - casting light for those below, but never truly emitting light from itself. What does it all mean for the children of Circinus - children born with eyes that seemed to stare into God’s heart?
8 263The Fortunate Cultivator's Treasure [to Greatness]
Oh, the Cultivator's Treasure, the most powerful group of mercenaries—and cultivators—to ever exist in the Eight Kingdoms. Legends say that they defeated the Spiritual Beast of the West with their hands tied and while drinking Daqujiu. According to Bakhtam's own accounts, they even defeated the Golden Dragon of the Southeast during Sun King's Summer Solstice. Truly an impressive feat that echoed across the Eight Kingdoms faster than Hari could say good heavens! However, at the height of its power and absurd stories, the Cultivator's Treasure disappeared. And now that the Eight Kingdoms are no more, and the Jade Immortal slowly grows his hold on the North, it's up to Hari to find the Cultivator's Treasure again and bring them back together. But do they even exist? Who knows? Follow Hari and her search for the Cultivator's Treasure, while she tries to find her place in a world filled with war. - - [I hope you all enjoy the story. From a Cultivation fan to another.] [Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] [Also, on SpaceBattles and Scribblehub.]
8 191Tales From The White Gold Desert
*New chapter when I can get some time free of work or university. You! Yes, you! Were you ever kidnapped by a sentient tree and tossed through a portal into a colonial fantasy world that has just discovered gunpowder? Do you like action, adventure, not knowing what the hell is going on, and strange curses? If so, your name might be Ben Everett. Ben Everett was enjoying some after-battle relaxation when an ill-fated act of mercy has him kidnapped from his own reality. Thrown in the middle of a battle between two rising powers, he must make sure he survives long enough to learn the mysteries of this new world.
8 190Quick Transmigration: I Don't Want To Follow The Scripts!
Liu Xu Yuan, having died from an unknown death, found himself bound to a system. Thus he starts the journey of going through various worlds to complete tasks. From the experiences, he earns many ability but also suffer quite an impact. Liu Xu Yuan starts to turn apathetic and expressionless, treating everything as a game. Until he met one man. Panicked, Liu Xu Yuan pack up and decisively beg the system to abandon the world with that man in it. He thought everything is going to be back to normal and within his control but the system later told him that he is free to do anything he wants and no longer has to be bound with restrictions. OOC is within reach. Liu Xu Yuan finds it strange but from the beginning, his emotions had deadpan so he doesn't care and only runs around acting. He got bored and decides if he should suffer or retaliate. The effect of change somehow lands up destroying the plot. Although he has fun playing, he felt amiss. Later, Liu Xu Yuan finds a tall, handsome man following after him world after world. ...And that man is the same guy he throws away in the last world! Little Cinema: Shou Yuan: Stop, stop! Why do I always see you in every world I go to?!Gong : *silent* :)Shou Yuan: Answer me, you bastard! ...and don't touch me! 1V1, HE, professional actor black-bellied shou x thick thigh clingy gong OP couple (MC & ML very strong, ah...) Warnings: Explicit sex scenes and occasional teasings. 18+ and others insane content where you'll question your sanity about life! I will put the warnings on the chapter's title or the notes before chapter's content. M=Mature, E=Explicit
8 117This World Just Got A Whole Lot More Confusing | MCD and MyStreet Crossover
A crossover between MCD and MyStreet. A lot less plot line driven than some of the others I've done. Prepare for Lizzie to earn the catchphrase 'My brain hurts.'Yes, I use Lizzie. Again. Fite me.I do not own any of the characters aside from Lizzie and maybe a few side ones I'll throw in. The rest belong to Aphmau.
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