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Crystal Guardian

Arc 3: Perversion of the Light

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Chapter 32: A new Dawn

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Canala and her mother Enala spend some time at Enala's Command Centre, and as the newly Armoured Guardian of Sector 5 Enala would have to work hard to perfect he use of the Guardian Crystal Armour. Canala was eager to hear her mother's analysis and perception of the extreme power of the Guardian Crystal Armour. Canala knew that it would not be long until she is ready to wear the Guardian Crystal Armour.

Naole on the other hand was worried that he would not live up to the expectations; that he would not live up to the legend of his Father. Nalen was by far Crystalorb's greatest scientist, and his son Naole had just stepped into his shoes. Since many of the senior scientists were killed during the Hodian attack on Crystalorb Naole was the only one qualified to fill the position of Deputy Research Guardian.

As Enala and Canala walked out of the Sector 5 Command Centre Canala's thoughts turned to her father, and Enala could see that there was something troubling her daughter

Enala : " What's wrong?"

Canala : " I'm worried about Father. Will he be able to fit in here?"

Enala : " He grew up here. Crystalorb is his natural home."

Canala : " Yes but he didn't fit in before. Now he's changed so much."

Enala : " Naole will be fine Canala; He's more capable than you think."

Canala : " But he's alone. I mean he has no one outside the family, no friends. The people of Crystalorb don't understand him! How could they?"

Enala : " Unfortunately it was always like that, before Tuo, Casara and I were his only friends. Naole is unique, the only one of his kind, and in some way he will always be on the outside."

Canala : " There must be something I can do; Or maybe ...?"

Enala : " No! Please don't ask that of me; I can't do it!!"

Canala : " But...!"

Enala : " Imagine meeting your perfect other. Imagine falling in-love with a man to whom no other man can compare, that no other man can ever measure up against. Then imagine making a mistake that causes you to loose this man. Imagine knowing that the man you love sees you as being devoid of honour." She pauses as a tear runs down her face "I loved my husband, but what I had with Naole was magic; I wasn't ready for it. I can't risk being close to him; I can't be just friends with him. I would always hope to be more; Crystalan men aren't known for being Forgiving."

Canala : " What do you mean?"

Enala : " Crystalan women are lucky; Crystalan men see us as equals, and they always have. I'm sure you've noticed that Crystalan women are built differently; we are almost as tall as our men, and we have the same lean muscular physique. It's part of our genetics. The men are slightly larger, but we're generally significantly more muscular than other women. It's almost as though we were built for war. Other women are weak thin and not athletic. Our men want us to be as strong as they are; This is a blessing and a curse. Crystalans have an obsession with honour, and this is why you hardly ever hear of anyone being unfaithful in their marriage. Once we take the Vows of Honour we live by them. You've seen how other women are dominated and beaten. As women we have it relatively good. But that has come at some price."

Canala : " What price?"

Enala : " Crystalan men only ask once. Women around the world have men practically beg them for a date, but Crystalan men don't beg. That would violate their sense of honour. If you say no to a Crystalan man you have to understand that your decision is final; He won't ever ask again. And that door may be closed forever. Crystalan men don't frequently give second chances; a second chance with them is an extraordinarily rare thing. If a particular Crystalan man does not like another man, and you date the man he doesn't like, you can forget about him ever asking you out; even if it breaks their hearts to do so. Many Crystalan women have lived to regret their choices."

Canala : " Do you regret your choices?"

Enala : " Yeah! I love Naole; I always have. Time has changed nothing. My actions as a teenager have left me with a lifetime of regret."

Canala : " Do you think father also has regrets?"

While the two were talking they did not see Naole approach from above them.

Naole : " We all have regrets Canala. It's a human condition; A consequence of Choice."

Enala : " Naole!"

Naole : " Didn't mean to intrude."

Canala : " Not at all Father."

Naole : " I sometimes wonder if I contributed to Amun's betrayal? At what point does my choice end and his begin? Or was it all the fault of those who chose to ignore his flaws, those who protected and promoted him?"

Canala : " What are you saying?"

Naole : " One can only be responsible for one's actions. Therefore shared actions require shared regret. But regret must never be assigned or associated to another person's choice."

Enala : " One's choice is one's choice alone."

Naole : " I can guarantee you that you will make mistakes Canala. For that matter I will in future make mistakes. When that happens One must examine One's intent."

Canala : " If the Intent was good, then one won't find regret in one's heart."

Naole : " Exactly! Well at least that's how I do things."

Canala : " I get it!"

After a shared smile between Canala and Naole, Naole's attention turns to Enala.

Naole : " So; Guardian?"

Enala : " Yes!"

Naole : " Clearly the Spirit Stone approves."

Enala : " After what happened with Amun? The Spirit Stone now checks to determine if one is worthy of Guardian Crystal Armour."

Naole : " Maybe I was wrong about you."

Enala : " You weren't; A long time ago I made a genuine mistake. But then I made things worse by withholding the truth. My deception has tainted my Image. The fact that I had not taken my Vows of Honour has allowed me to hide my shame. But I know who I was; I know who I am today."

Naole : " The Spirit Stone has determined that who you are today is Honourable, that is enough to earn my respect! In the past I lost control, and were it not for Casara a lot of people would have been hurt. We are fallible creatures after all. It took the actions of someone else to soften my heart, and bring me back from my spiral into chaos. Tuo gave me hope. I've found life lessons there. Because of that, I was able to take a second look at Crystalorb. Some Crystalans remain unsure about me, but they've welcomed me back to Crystalorb. I was never the most popular Crystalan, and as the children of two Red Guardians Casara and I are the apex of Crystal power. Casara's Red Chest Crystal is unique and perfectly balanced, but my Chest Crystal is in its early stage of its development, and the fact that none of my children inherited it points to that. Yet I can sense the power of the Blue Chest Crystal deep inside Canala, Ralen and Raole. Together with Casara's kids they will watch over the people of Crystalorb."

Canala : " You can?"

Enala : " And what about you?"

Naole : " Crystalans imagine the Olen's to be the Warrior Elite. But my father always told me that greater than the Red Chest Crystal's power to destroy is its power to create. The power also energises the brain, and that gives us an efficient brain, resulting in a very creative mind. I've stepped into my father's shoes, and I must focus my energies on creating new technologies that will help Crystalorb live out its true meaning."

Enala : " What technology?"

Canala : " Some say that we've reached the limit of technical developments, and that the new frontier will be within our bodies."

Naole : " The Evolution of Crystalorb Technology requires new forms of energy, and more advanced power sources. The Spirit Stone draws its power from the Sun, and the energy is in the form of Solar Radiation. All life on Earth draws its energy from the Sun in some way. We are all a product of Solar Radiation; Our future is Solar Radiation. But to meet the needs of our development we have to learn how to duplicate Solar Radiation."

Canala : " Are you talking about Nuclear Fusion?"

Enala : " Crystalorb Scientists have been talking about Nuclear Fusion for decades, but the research has been disappointing."

Casara, Nasara and Kalen approach the conversing Naole, Enala and Canala. Kalen runs to his uncle and jumps onto Naole's back.

Naole : " Hey Kid!"

Casara then sends the disruptive Kalen to find Ralen and Raole who are still training at the training centre as part of their education

Canala : " Father was telling us about Nuclear Fusion."

Casara : " He's been working on Nuclear Fusion since we were kids!" Casara looks Naole in the eyes "You've come up with a new approach?"

Naole : " Actually; I have.” smiling “I think I know where Crystalorb Scientists have been going wrong. Until this point we've been trying to create a miniature Sun, and the research has been long and spectacular, but that is only matched by the enormity of our failure. The combination of Inertial confinement and Magnetic confinement fusion has proved difficult to master. The size of the miniature Sun is at the heart of the problem. We've avoided making the miniature Sun too large for fear that we may loose control. The risk to the population of Earth is too great. The other problem has been our inability to contain the Electromagnetic and Thermal Radiation of Nuclear Fusion. We can't efficiently sustain Nuclear Fusion if we don't have adequate containment of Thermal Radiation. But I think that in order to learn how to build small we must build a Nuclear Fusion Reactor that works."

Casara : " You want to build a larger Nuclear Fusion Reactor? The Council of Elders is unlikely to support such a measure."

Naole : " Because of the risk associated with testing on Earth I intend testing in space where the coldness of space can provide cooling in the event of containment breach. First we must learn how to contain the massive Electromagnetic Radiation associated with Nuclear Fusion, once we've understood all the variables involved we can then make the Nuclear Fusion Reactor small enough to be placed on the Crystalorb Ships. Traditionally Crystalorb Scientist have used Electromagnetic forces to compress the Nuclear Fusion Fuel and the subsequent Nuclear Fusion Reaction. At the moment we are at an energy increase or gain of about 10% of energy expended into the Fusion process. Part of the problem is our inability to sustain the Fusion process. At the moment the miniature Sun has a diameter of 10 millimetres, but I believe that the diameter of the miniature Sun should be increased to 500 millimetres, and the other components that I want to introduce are metals with high melting point. Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Helium, Thorium, Tungsten, Deuterium, Tritium and Hydrogen enriched Palladium would be the preferred initial inputs."

Casara : " The way I understand it; The Sun has a gas plasma core, and that has been the basis for the Fusion research. Why do you want to have a solid core? And what would constitute this core?"

Janu approaches the group.

Naole : " Palladium would form the primary core component, but I want to experiment with other materials including radioactive Isotopes. The reason I want to introduce the concept of metals in the miniature Sun has to do with the fact that I want to develop a rapidly spinning miniature Sun. I believe that rapid rotation at high pressure will help to contain Thermal Radiation in the plasma and thus sustaining the Fusion reaction."

Casara : " I can barely understand what Naole is talking about; Do you know what Naole means Janu?"

Janu : " He told me about the research area he intends to focus on. As you know we lost most of our senior staff during the attack on Crystalorb. We have very few Nuclear scientists in Crystalorb, and all of them are focused on the development of the advanced Fission Reactor. We only had two PhD's working on the Fusion Reactor program, but since their death our Fusion Reactor program has had a staff complement of one Graduate student, and so we welcome Naole's decision to work on the Fusion Reactor research. As you know 10 years ago we founded the Crystal Valley City University in order to provide a nearby learning institution for Crystalans, and we have a pipeline of students who will in due course fill all the Positions in Crystalorb. Nuclear science is a highly specialized field, and there isn't much glory, but the benefits to the population is beyond measure. Throughout the world there are thousands of Scientists trying to advance nuclear science, and our scientists have drawn from that global resource to build the most advanced Nuclear Fission Reactor in the world using a Thorium fuel cycle. Each of the 2 Crystalorb Nuclear Fission Reactor produces 40 Gigajoules per second 〘GJ/s or Gigawatts with symbol GW〙, and we get another 60GJ/s from Solar radiation through the Black Crystals. Crystalorb needs 40 GJ/s and Crystal Valley City along with Crystal Valley Industries uses 45GJ/s. We store the Remainder in half of the second level of the 650m diameter Hemispheres. As it stands our energy needs are growing, and the costs are enormous. The Nuclear Fission Reactors on the ships can supply 15GJ/s, and Naole's ship has a slightly larger Reactor giving it 20GJ/s. We've started construction on the next generation Crystalorb Nuclear Fission Reactor on the third level of the 850m diameter Hemispheres that will produce 60GJ/s. Our reactors are more efficient because we don’t need to use steam or gas to turn turbines. Our Black Crystal technology allows us to absorb the Radiation directly and transform it into any type of energy we require. We think that Hodian researchers are adapting their plasma weapons technology into fusion research with the intent to dominate the energy supply industry, and combined with the Crystalorb technology they stole from us they are making good progress in that regard. Naole brings with him fresh Ideas that may help us regain the advantage. If the Hodian researchers perfect Fusion before us the balance of power will once again shift to the HOD, and they may go back to their old ways. Fortunately our analysis indicates that they are still far behind our Fusion Reactor technology, but the fact they have made such quick progress is enough to raise concern. There are others in the world who have made significant progress in the area of Nuclear Fusion; the Asian Defence Consortium, Pacific Defence Group, Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the USA and EU independently. The Atlantic Treaty Organisation's research prototype has shown a 50% gain in energy, and that has been deemed enough for them to build a commercial prototype that would show an energy gain in excess of 90%, but large scale production at this point seems unlikely because the projected costs in excess of $100 billion per power station are prohibitive. Our prototype Nuclear Fusion Reactor is much smaller, and at about 2% the size of their Fusion Reactors we are taking a different approach. While applying their knowledge to our technology there have been some technology integration problems, and we don't have as many minds working on this. With Naole joining the search for answers we hope that his unique mind can help answer some of the problems we've encountered through the years."

Casara : " What's your target energy production level?"

Janu : " We are looking for a medium term Crystalorb energy output of about 900GJ/s, and the main intension is that we want to be the largest energy supplier in the world. Most Crystalans don't get this; But there is an energy cost associated with the daily activities of Crystalans. Every time one of us opens a door, switches on a light, activates Crystal Armour, watches television, uses a computer, etc. People pay directly for the energy they use, but Crystalans don't pay for anything they use in Crystalorb, and because of this we're clueless about the cost of energy. We are the most technically advance people on Earth, but we've also become the most energy wasteful people on Earth; With no Idea of the monetary cost of energy. And why would we? We are an Egalitarian Community. We believe in shared costs and shared responsibility. Each of us uses about ten thousand times more energy than the average people in the rest of the world. Wealth is essentially meaningless to Crystalans, and that is because in Crystalorb money can't buy you a better life since all Crystalans get free access to the latest Crystalorb technology. Whenever there is a breakthrough in technology or a revolutionary design anywhere in the world; we buy a sample and bring it before the Spirit Stone and we can easily duplicate it. We have 3 year old children in Crystalorb who run around with Diamond necklaces because the Spirit Stone can easily produce the Diamond. The minerals required to produce a single Vanguard Crystal Armour are worth $250 million on the open market."

Enala : " What?"

Naole : " He's right; I've been on the outside. Running the Indigo used to cost an extraordinary amount of money."

Canala : " But how can Crystalorb afford to build so many Crystal Armours?"

Janu : " We don't buy minerals on the open market. We mine the minerals ourselves and that reduces the cost by 90%. As you know there are two new baby ships, and that means that we will have to spend Billions of Rands mining minerals for their growth. Nuclear Fusion would help us generate more revenue for Crystal Valley Industries, which means more resources for us to collect or mine more materials, which means we can build new things. There are plans to increase the size of our ships by 30%, and the reason for that is that we believe that the increased space would give us the room we need to refit the ships with Electromagnets for the generation of artificial gravity, that means space operations. Ever since Nalen developed Repulsive Electromagnetic Radiation Energy Propulsion Systems we've been able to operate in space, but we've limited our operations to Earth orbit. As we develop as a people we will begin to explore the solar system and we believe that our ships are the most logical way for us to do this. As it stands the ships are the largest and heaviest things to ever fly, and they've guaranteed the security of Crystalorb. The hope is that they can take us into space; To do this we need enormous amounts of energy. Ordinarily for the ship to hover at 100 meters above ground the energy requirement is 9.81 GJ, but because of the Repulsive Electromagnetic Radiation energy Propulsion System the energy required is 0.8 GJ. However in space there is no magnetic field to provide additional lift, therefore the energy requirements increase, and for the ship to move one meter at 350m/s we would need 612.5 GJ to overcome inertia and accelerate to that speed, and we would need an equal amount of energy to stop. Operating in space is not as simple as they make it out to be in the movies, there's very little room for error, therefore our calculations have to be precise. Naole's unique physical condition makes him the perfect candidate to test long term operations in space."

Naole : " He means I have all the time in the world."

Casara : " Because you don't age the way we do?"

Naole : " Yes!"

Casara : " What's your timeline?"

Naole : " It will take about 18 months to build the prototype reactor"

Janu : " It's been my experience that one builds many prototypes."

Enala : " Let's hope Naole is as smart as his father; Otherwise we will hardly see him."

Naole : " I can promise that you'll see lots of me." Smiling "That much I can guarantee!"

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As Janu and Naole continue to explain the cost of energy more Crystalans gather to hear about the amazing research Naole was about to take. When Ralen and Raole realized that their father was still engaged in this discussion they decided to go onboard the Indigo, and as they explored the altered ship they accidentally stepped into the Indigo's reproductive chamber which started the reproductive process.

The Indigo's reproductive system was different from that of the other Crystalorb ships, and it was based on an external DNA fertilizing agent. The Indigo's reproductive system had deemed Naole's DNA to be unacceptable because it was Identical to its own DNA based Crystals. The Indigo's reproductive system ruled out Casara and other Crystalans with Clear Chest Crystal as incompatible, but there was something that it found familiar in Ralen and Raole.

Ralen and Raole had the requisite trace amounts of Blue Crystal in their Biochemistry combined with a compatible DNA that allowed the Indigo's reproductive system to determine them to be an acceptable DNA fertilizing agent. The Chamber collected a sample of their Blood, Bone tissue and Chest Crystal. Once all the samples were collected they were used to fertilize the ovum and the egg production began.

Once Naole received information from Indigo about what was happening he rushed to the ship to find the twins outside the Indigo's reproductive chamber. The Indigo had an independent biological machine and even though Naole could control it with his mind it didn’t ask permission for every process, and it behaved instinctively. The Indigo's level of consciousness was estimated to be comparable to that of Hump Back Whale, and that of the other Crystalorb ships was estimated at that of dolphins.

Once the biological process started it could not be stopped, and the Indigo began to produce the egg. The egg would be carried onboard the ship for 10 years as the embryo develops into a baby ship. The Indigo would supply all the energy the embryo needed to develop and once the egg hatched it would be released from the Indigo. Unlike the other baby ships which are born completely independent of the parents the Indigo's offspring would continue to be dependent on the Indigo for an additional period of 2 years, and the Indigo's offspring would during that period be allowed to re-enter the Indigo.

This was possible because the estimated size of the Indigo's offspring was 3 meters in length and 2 meters in width. This was much smaller than the other Crystalorb baby ships, and like the Indigo they had accommodation for a limited number of individuals. It was expected that Raole and Ralen would have a similar relationship with Indigo's offspring to that between Naole and Indigo before Naole's brain was transformed.

To some in Crystalorb the emergence of this new class of vessels was further proof that the Olen Family was branching out in a different direction from other Crystalans, and to these people the Idea of ships that were linked to particular individuals was strange. Naole was unshaken by his detractors and continued to advance his research. Crystalorb designated the Indigo and its offspring as Indigo Class Ships. At the urging of Janu the Guardian Council approved Naole's research proposal and authorised funding for him to build his first Nuclear Fusion Reactor prototype.

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Even as the peace between the Hodians and Crystalans began to take root the forces of Chaos were already planting the seeds of conflict. The absence of the Spirit Stone had left a vacuum in the spiritual orientation of Crystalans, and some Crystalans had embraced the violent tendencies more readily than others. In fact there were those who loved the fighting, those who enjoyed the killing, welcomed the chaos.

By embracing the violent tendencies they unwittingly opened their hearts to Negative Psionic Energy, and this created a thirst for power, which inevitably creates more chaos. This small group of Crystalans did not want to stop the war with the HOD, and when Crystalorb and the HOD reached a ceasefire 9 Vangleads, 13 Vanguards and their 28 Children secretly left Crystalorb to pursue what they were convinced was their rightful vengeance on the HOD.

Once the 11 couples and their 28 Children left Crystalorb they called themselves The Circle, with individuals being called Circleans, and because the Circle freed themselves from the obligations of the Crystalorb Charter they were now like the HOD free to do as they pleased. The 9 Vangleads formed the Inner Circle, the next level would consist of 18 members, the next level would consist of 36 members, and the next level would consist of twice the members of the previous level.

Each level would vote on which of their members advanced to the next level. The highest authority of the Circle would be the Inner Circle. The Circle did not have any set of rules from the start, but they hoped to develop their rules in due course. The Circle was born out of an intense hatred for the HOD, but as is always the case with negativity the hatred would eventually extend to the rest of the human race.

It started with a strong dislike for normal humans who worked for the HOD, but soon the Circle began to see themselves as more than human, and therefore justified in their dislike for what they call primitive humans. The Circleans saw themselves as post-humans, equalled only by other Crystalans, and even though they had left Crystalorb they maintained their Crystalan identity.

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At the Chambers of the Council of Elders Naole was completing his presentation to the Council of Elders as all of Crystalorb planned for the days to come, chart a path through the mind-storm of possibilities

Naole: " Honoured Councils; Let me conclude by reading from the Crystalorb Charter and it says; Life Favours Progress!" After a brief pause to reflect Naole continues "The survival of the Human race demands that the Human race makes progress, and any Crystalan progress is Human progress. We will help the Human Race reach its full potential. The ultimate Destiny of the Human Race is to go to the Stars!"

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In the Spiritual Realm Created by the Spirit Stone.

Lesedi : " I’m sure you noticed by now that Naole’s soul has changed; it’s older than it Should be."

Nalen : " .What could have caused such a change?"

Esara : " What happened to him?"

Lesedi : " .The reason we are in this Realm is to find out; because once we return to the higher plane we will be limited."

Nalen : " You have an Idea of what might have happened?"

Lesedi : " Because I was the first of our kind I was received by a Transcendent. Some of the Older Transcendents became able to fracture their consciousnesses in order to affect the timeline."

Esara : " Are you saying that Naole became a Transcendent?"

Lesedi : " Transcendents fracture their consciousnesses and send a piece of themselves into the past or the future. Naole seems to have fractured his soul; this is something incredibly risky and smells of desperation."

Nalen : " So something in the future is so bad that our son risks his own afterlife?"

Lesedi : " It looks that way."

Esara : " What could be so Bad?"

Lesedi : " Perhaps the capture of the Spirit Stone by someone capable of consuming it."

Nalen : " Is such a thing even possible."

Lesedi : " Supreme Intelligences."

Esara : " By the Source!"

Nalen : " But the Will of the Source forbids Supreme Intelligences from consuming Souls?"

Lesedi : " We can’t claim to understand the Will of the Source."

END

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