Beyond The Impossible

Ithaca, in orbit above Earth

The bridge is illuminated by the light emanated by Quantum, since the electrical systems have stopped working long ago.

It’s completely different from the bridge of any starship that he’s ever visited: it’s clearly meant to be operated by a very large crew, considering its size and the quantity of workstations.

<What do you make of it?> he asks through radio waves: without the life support systems, Noriko Null has to rely on the Survival Field emitted by her belt to breathe.

<This thing must’ve been gathering dust for ages. It’ll be a miracle any of this stuff actually works.> she answers, and to prove her point she drags a finger over one of the computers to remove some of the dust.

<But I’m sure this thing wasn’t built by humans, it was only retrofitted to be used by humans.>

<What makes you say that?>

<Well, for starters, notice how none of the chair match the rest of the structure? I think they were only added afterwards. Plus, if you look carefully, you’ll notice there used to be working stations on the ceiling: this was originally designed to be operated by a crew stationed on a three-dimensional arrangement.> she explains, pointing at the top of the dome-shaped bridge.

<Maybe they didn’t have artificial gravity?>

<Think, Max, if that was the case the chairs would have seatbelts. They don’t. No, I think the bridge was supposed to be filled with water. That, plus the size of the ship in general, makes me suspect this was designed by the Ichthyians.>

<Who?>

<Mermen and mermaids, Max. The refugees we helped during the Gaea crisis.>

<The half-fish people? Come to think of it, those city-ships were also massive. What was one of these things doing on Earth for who knows how long?>

<Excellent question, Max.> Noriko concurs, stroking her chin.

 

In the habitable zone

The immense size of the ship, comparable to a large island, is more understandable by visiting the ruins it contains.

Inside it, in fact, are a series of cavernous habitats that used to house a whole civilization.

A massive fireball generated by Vesta acts as a temporary sun as the goddess and a bunch of Kari duplicates explore the place, and it’s a depressing sight.

Much of it is just rubble: the vast majority of buildings has crumbled long ago. Only a limited number of them is still recognizable… a house here and there, a marketplace, a temple.

Kari is weirded out: some of the architecture reminds her of planets she has seen, but everything is slightly off. The occasional skeleton just laying in the open certainly doesn’t help easing her mind.

<This is so creepy. I guess there were kind the living quarters? I don’t see much of what you’d expect in a city… unless these people were even more primitive than Aquilia? What do you make of it Vesta? Vesta?> she calls out, having lost sight of the goddess.

One of the duplicates eventually finds her, and she has no trouble understanding why this is hitting Vesta so hard. She’s standing before the ruins of a temple to Hestia… herself.

Including what used to be a statue representing her, which is now missing both arms.

<Ever seen a place like this?> she tries to break the ice.

<More than you realize. This used to be a thriving city and then it just… slowly faded away and died. With nobody left to remember it.> Vesta replies, her thoughts lost in thousands of years of history across continents and planets.

<You mean nobody destroyed this place? How could that happen?> Kari asks.

<Sometimes it just does. But something about this temple…> Vesta replies, pausing to inspect it a little better. Fortunately, ruins still tell a story to those who can read them.

<This style. They used to worship me with statues like these in the old days.>

<How old?>

<Before my exile. Around 1,500 B.C. To put into context, 3,200 years before Demeter conquered Myridia.> Vesta explains.

<I know how Earth years work, Vesta. What was it doing on Earth?>

<Vesta, Kari, can you come down to the engine room? We just found something.> Noriko informs them through the Soul Relay.

<Oh, by the way, we’ve found the engine room.> she adds.

 

The engine room

Unlike the bridge, this part of the ship seems to be working in perfect order: even life support is active, allowing the Vanguard members to finally breathe normally.

The engine itself is contained inside a glowing cylinder the size of a two-story building, that is pulsating through a humming vibration that can be felt in the air itself.

<This is an amazing piece of technology.> Noriko says, placing her ear against the metal as if she was trying to literally understand what makes it tick, only to excitedly them move to the nearest workstation.

<It’s not just an engine! It’s also the power source for the entire ship and, I believe, the device responsible for keeping it phased out of regular matter for thousands of years.>

<How does that work?> Vesta wonders.

<I have no idea! I can’t wait to work on this!>

<Can you at least keep your pants on long enough to park it somewhere first?> Kari teases her, just for Vesta to lightly elbow her.

<Ouch! I mean, we might have figured out how old it is.> Kari continues, massaging her side.

<It’s definitely much older, maybe by centuries, but I can say for certain that it’s been buried on Earth since roughly 1,200 B.C.> Noriko anticipates her.

<What makes you say that?> Kari then asks, a bit disappointed at having lost the opportunity to show up Noriko for once.

<The rate of decay of the particles emitted by the engine. I checked it before you got here.>

<They’re weird particles. They look similar to both neutrinos and tachyons, but they’re neither. I’ve never seen anything like it.> Quantum adds.

<Whatever it is, I have a theory. This ship was originally built by the Ichthyians in Poseidon’s galaxy, but it was later converted by humans and brought into the Milky Way.> Noriko says.

<Never heard anything like it. Also I’ve never heard of anyone bringing a ship this size to Earth, and 1,200 B.C. is not much earlier than when Earth was assigned to my sector.> Vesta replies.

<Don’t take this the wrong way, Vesta, but you weren’t exactly the most informed goddess; are you sure this didn’t slip your mind?> Noriko insists.

<I was naïve, Noriko, not an idiot. The ship must’ve been already phased when I was exiled.>

<Maybe the ship crashed and was locked into the phased mode? It would explain how the people eventually died, if they couldn’t have access to the outside world.> Kari theorizes.

<That can’t be. The engine is still working perfectly: I’m sure that the power was cut off on purpose and that the shift could’ve been stopped at any time.> Noriko replies.

<If that’s true, why did it re-appear now?> Quantum wonders.

<Excellent question. I’ll have to check the logs of Earth’s satellite system to see if anyone tried to send a signal to the ship.> Noriko proposes.

<Can you move the ship first? I am not going out there to push, this thing is extremely heavy.> Vesta complains.

<Aren’t we in zero gravity?> Quantum asks.

<Then you go out and push hundreds of millions of tons.> Vesta responds, crossing her arms.

<That won’t be necessary, I can transport it to the Null Zone and study it there. But there is one last thing worth exploring first, Vesta… I saw the writing on the ship’s hull: “Ithaca”, the birthplace of Ulysses. What’s up with that?>

<I only know Ulysses told me he was from a kingdom with that name, and that it was from Earth. I’ve never actually visited the place… I don’t know any more about it than Homer did.>

<There are legends around the Galaxy about Ithaca being a ship, and that’s why nobody has ever managed to find the real one.> Kari adds.

<Maybe it’s time I push Athena to reveal everything she really knows about Ulysses.> Noriko says.

 

Hell, 163,000 light-years from Earth

Torn is meditating of the edge of the enormous chasm that leads to Hell’s core, the wound inflicted by Ares when he attacked the planet.

The mixture of lava and Blood energy is unusually active today, boiling angrily and shooting vast amounts of lava towards the surface.

Without moving a muscle, Torn creates a large sword to shield himself from being hit by the lava, while feeling the approach of a familiar soul.

<What troubles you, my love?> his wife Agony asks.

<The Blood is angry.> he replies.

<The Blood is always angry.>

<Not like this. Ichor was spilled in the Olympian Galaxy, and even across the void the Blood resents it. Itches for a fight, striving for balance against its opposite.>

<Is that why you are in Hell, instead of besides your comrades?>

<This is our home, Agony. A Demon’s soul belongs to Hell, just as our souls belong to each other.>

<I know your soul better than anyone else, Torn. You stand guard in Hell because you feel it must be protected. Our allegiance to Null has brought to Hell both triumph and torment: by serving her, you serve Hell itself.>

<I know.>

<But still you refuse to leave your post.>

<Indeed. Do you have a point, wife?>

<You are the most stubborn soul I have ever met.>

<And you the most resourceful.>

<You two remind me why I didn’t bother resurrecting my latest husband.>

Both Torn and Agony quickly move to a battle stance, conjuring Blood weapon to fight the goddess who managed to sneak behind them.

<The living are terrible spouses. Relax, children, you are not worth the effort.> Ereshikigal reassures them, completely unimpressed by their weapons.

<This is sovereign soil! You are not allowed to set foot in Hell!> Agony protests.

<My treaty with your predecessors say otherwise, Lady Of All Demons… that is still the correct title, right? Even though you are just slaves of the Olympian Empress.>

<Null is the Regent of Hell, but we don’t serve her. She serves Hell.> Agony clarifies.

<Keep telling yourself that.>

<Are you here to bring Ichor once more?> Torn ask.

<To kill a few million people? Please, I’m the Goddess of Death, I don’t bother with such low stakes. But I do have a certain fondness for Demons, I must admit, even if you have softened over the eons. So I came with an offer.>

<Then make it quickly so that we may refuse it. Hell has no use for gods.> Torn answers.

<Really. Seems to me a certain God of War made quite a mess. Allow me to fix it.> Ereshkigal says, and in the span of just a few seconds the enormous chasm left by Ares simply closes itself.

<Parlor tricks. Hell is not interested.> Agony says, not showing any emotion.

<Not even in the lives of your fallen Demons? As the Goddess of Death, it is fully under my power to resurrect every Demon murdered by Ares… roughly three quarters of your population, I believe.>

<Even if that were true, we would never…> Torn replies, but Agony places her hand on his arm and interrupts him to ask:

<At what price?>

<Wife, we can’t trust her!>

<Bring me the head of Hebe, the Divine Empress of Olympus. Then I will resurrect your dead.>

<Absolutely not. You are just trying to trap us into your own war.> Torn replies, but Ereshkigal turns to Agony to ask:

<Are you a servant of your husband and of the Slayer, Lady Of All Demons? Or will you act in the best interest of Hell?>

The time that Agony takes to answer makes Torn’s three hearts miss a beat.