alex_riveiro
Active Member
- Joined
- May 30, 2013
- Messages
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This is part of the prologue of the book I worked on since 2006 all the way to December 2011 (the full prologue is 2200~ words, which falls outside the allowed length here). I never really considered translating it into English, but finally decided to do so, and I'm curious to know how it looks to English readers, as Sci-fi isn't really that big in Spain.
I'm unsure I can actually share the link to the website where I'm publishing the translation, so I'll keep it for me. Before moving on to the actual text, I'd like to humbly apologize if I have overlooked something when posting this piece of text. The book was never published in Spanish outside Amazon and my own website (got several offers to publish it from Spanish agencies, but nothing that transmitted any kind of confidence) and it's not published in English either (it's a WIP for at least 3 months more, at the very least).
To give a bit more background on it. This is the first book of a trilogy. 100,000 years have passed since mankind left the Earth. The universe of Memories of a Distant Future is filled with very different species, and Rebellion tells the story of one of those predominantly human empires.
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Utopia. That word had been used by human beings tens of millennia back, on Earth, talking about a concept that, back in that era seemed out of reach. Perfect peace, an ideal world in which everyone would live in harmony. It had been dismissed as a romantic idea by some and as plain foolishness by others. But in all truth, Ilstram's Empire had only known peace at every level for the last centuries. To such a degree that both rulers and peasants shared their lives without any confrontation.
Security forces did exist, of course, as well as an unparalleled army, and even crime had managed to persevere during such a peaceful time. But the pages on the calendar without victims were counted on the tens of thousands. The population didn't fear each other. Those rulers didn't fear their citizens. The true function of security at Antaria's Palace – a majestic construction that watched over the sprawling megalopolis from the top of a hill located on a corner of the city that once was its former center – was to protect it from any possible attacks from the outside. After all, the universe was populated by plenty of sentient species, and the most sanguinary empires, even if controlled, could try to break the peace of that harmonious world.
He was destined to become the Emperor of Ilstram. But many years should pass until that moment came. At least that's what he kept telling himself.
"Explain it to me, Yahfrad, why did you join the army. Was there even a need?" asked the upset son of the emperor. "You are my friends. The only ones I can have. We've been together since our times back at the school..."
"Unfortunately, not all of us have parents in a position like yours... The army is a good choice. Furthermore, the battles are taking place very far from here, and we have signed solely for protecting Antaria" his friend replied. A young man that had just turned eighteen years old. A teenager, in fact, almost a child in a society where the average lifespan of a human being was around a century and a half.
"And nothing happens on the capital, anyways." Ereid added. He was the oldest, nearing his twenty fifth anniversary. " In fact," he continued "it is the best job that one can get right now. Sure, it's true, we have to prepare just in case there is an attack some day. But not even our grandparents ever fought."
"I know my father. He loves wars. How can you possibly know he won't send you to other planets to battle for the Empire" asked the Emperor's son, still upset. "You wouldn't be the first in that situation, and certainly not the last."
"We'll protect Ilstram if that situation ever happens."
"Ereid" the heir of the Empire replied again "Why such an interest to take part in the war? Can't you just limit yourselves to help here? There're always people in need of help right here, in the city"
"Unlike you, we come from humble families. We don't have the luxury of choosing what we do with our lives. Either we work at the crystal mine, or we join the army. Life is quite simple when you are just another person in the Lower City" he said.
"But you aren't just normal people" said the son of Donan, Antaria's emperor, visibly worried.
"We are friends of the Emperor's son. Your friends. But that doesn't make us special to anybody else" Yahfrad replied.
"I can give you a better life, when I become the emperor, the very first thing I will do is to get good jobs for you two. You don't have to dedicate your lives to this"
"Wake up. Even to carry materials to the moon in a cargo ship you have to become a soldier." Ereid argued.
He knew, better than anybody else, that a utopia could not be easily maintained. His father had moved a vast military contingent to some planet he could hardly remember, neither was he particularly worried about what his father intended to do with it. Simply put, he just wasn't interested in those topics. He had always noticed the people living on Antaria. He was far more worried about how he could help them live more than any wars that could take place on a solar system he had never heard about. There was just no interest from him, even if he understood that it was necessary to wage war against other empires when that peace was at risk, but he was incapable of understanding the lack of appreciation his father had towards the inhabitants of the Lower City. His mother told him once that it was due to the teachings that every emperor of Ilstram had received since times long forgotten. It certainly seemed to be the case, because Donan was always trying to put his whole dedication in transmitting such knowledge to him.
But he wasn't like his father. He felt much closer to the deceased empress, Tara, his mother. That genuine interest for the people must have come from her, at least that's what he thought. There was no other possible explanation. It was that same worrying about people that made him talk to his father, several days later, on the marble balcony of the palace. That place was, for some intriguing reason, witness to some of the most important decisions taken by the emperors that had ruled over Ilstram:
"Father" he told him "Yahfrad, Ereid and the others have joined the army"
"They're doing the right thing, my son. If we weren't the emperors, I would have encouraged you to do the same" replied Donan in the most solemn tone. "There's no bigger honor than fighting to protect ourselves from the empires that threaten to destroy what our ancestors built."
"I want you to remove them from the army. I fear for their lives."
The Emperor looked at his son with disdain. That wasn't a petition he was willing to listen to from someone that was set to become the next Emperor of Ilstram someday. It was not admissible.
"Your friends must have arrived to Modea by now, and they are probably receiving the training they need to join the army. You should not worry about them" he replied harshly.
In all honesty, Donan wasn't a fan of those talks with his son. He knew without the slightest shimmer of doubt that his son didn't share his vision about the fate of the Empire, and it was overly frustrating to not manage to make him understand that a good military defense, and a strong army, were required to guarantee the future of his world.
"You should not worry so much about them, my son. If they have decided to enrol in the army it's because they believe in the empire, and they wish to defend it."
"They believe in the empire. I do not believe in you." his son replied, harshly, as he started to leave the marble balcony, ignoring the first snowflakes that just started to fall over the city.
The months went by, Yahfrad, Ereid and the rest of his friends came back. But he could see it on their faces. They weren't the same. Those jovial young people he had known had left way to people that, even if seemingly happy, had developed a strong sentiment of duty and protection of the empire. It was true that Yahfrad already mentioned how proud he felt when he imagined himself protecting those that surrounded him, long before leaving for Modea. But, for the Emperor's son, that wasn't a matter of pride, nor duty. Not even love towards the worlds his father ruled over. The war, he kept repeating to himself, could only bring misery and death to wherever it reached. He was thankful for the place where he was born, but, even within Ilstram's Empire, other planets, such as Cigle, were suffering conditions far more severe and less harmonious than Antaria.
In the end, utopia could not host everyone.
I'm unsure I can actually share the link to the website where I'm publishing the translation, so I'll keep it for me. Before moving on to the actual text, I'd like to humbly apologize if I have overlooked something when posting this piece of text. The book was never published in Spanish outside Amazon and my own website (got several offers to publish it from Spanish agencies, but nothing that transmitted any kind of confidence) and it's not published in English either (it's a WIP for at least 3 months more, at the very least).
To give a bit more background on it. This is the first book of a trilogy. 100,000 years have passed since mankind left the Earth. The universe of Memories of a Distant Future is filled with very different species, and Rebellion tells the story of one of those predominantly human empires.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Utopia. That word had been used by human beings tens of millennia back, on Earth, talking about a concept that, back in that era seemed out of reach. Perfect peace, an ideal world in which everyone would live in harmony. It had been dismissed as a romantic idea by some and as plain foolishness by others. But in all truth, Ilstram's Empire had only known peace at every level for the last centuries. To such a degree that both rulers and peasants shared their lives without any confrontation.
Security forces did exist, of course, as well as an unparalleled army, and even crime had managed to persevere during such a peaceful time. But the pages on the calendar without victims were counted on the tens of thousands. The population didn't fear each other. Those rulers didn't fear their citizens. The true function of security at Antaria's Palace – a majestic construction that watched over the sprawling megalopolis from the top of a hill located on a corner of the city that once was its former center – was to protect it from any possible attacks from the outside. After all, the universe was populated by plenty of sentient species, and the most sanguinary empires, even if controlled, could try to break the peace of that harmonious world.
He was destined to become the Emperor of Ilstram. But many years should pass until that moment came. At least that's what he kept telling himself.
"Explain it to me, Yahfrad, why did you join the army. Was there even a need?" asked the upset son of the emperor. "You are my friends. The only ones I can have. We've been together since our times back at the school..."
"Unfortunately, not all of us have parents in a position like yours... The army is a good choice. Furthermore, the battles are taking place very far from here, and we have signed solely for protecting Antaria" his friend replied. A young man that had just turned eighteen years old. A teenager, in fact, almost a child in a society where the average lifespan of a human being was around a century and a half.
"And nothing happens on the capital, anyways." Ereid added. He was the oldest, nearing his twenty fifth anniversary. " In fact," he continued "it is the best job that one can get right now. Sure, it's true, we have to prepare just in case there is an attack some day. But not even our grandparents ever fought."
"I know my father. He loves wars. How can you possibly know he won't send you to other planets to battle for the Empire" asked the Emperor's son, still upset. "You wouldn't be the first in that situation, and certainly not the last."
"We'll protect Ilstram if that situation ever happens."
"Ereid" the heir of the Empire replied again "Why such an interest to take part in the war? Can't you just limit yourselves to help here? There're always people in need of help right here, in the city"
"Unlike you, we come from humble families. We don't have the luxury of choosing what we do with our lives. Either we work at the crystal mine, or we join the army. Life is quite simple when you are just another person in the Lower City" he said.
"But you aren't just normal people" said the son of Donan, Antaria's emperor, visibly worried.
"We are friends of the Emperor's son. Your friends. But that doesn't make us special to anybody else" Yahfrad replied.
"I can give you a better life, when I become the emperor, the very first thing I will do is to get good jobs for you two. You don't have to dedicate your lives to this"
"Wake up. Even to carry materials to the moon in a cargo ship you have to become a soldier." Ereid argued.
He knew, better than anybody else, that a utopia could not be easily maintained. His father had moved a vast military contingent to some planet he could hardly remember, neither was he particularly worried about what his father intended to do with it. Simply put, he just wasn't interested in those topics. He had always noticed the people living on Antaria. He was far more worried about how he could help them live more than any wars that could take place on a solar system he had never heard about. There was just no interest from him, even if he understood that it was necessary to wage war against other empires when that peace was at risk, but he was incapable of understanding the lack of appreciation his father had towards the inhabitants of the Lower City. His mother told him once that it was due to the teachings that every emperor of Ilstram had received since times long forgotten. It certainly seemed to be the case, because Donan was always trying to put his whole dedication in transmitting such knowledge to him.
But he wasn't like his father. He felt much closer to the deceased empress, Tara, his mother. That genuine interest for the people must have come from her, at least that's what he thought. There was no other possible explanation. It was that same worrying about people that made him talk to his father, several days later, on the marble balcony of the palace. That place was, for some intriguing reason, witness to some of the most important decisions taken by the emperors that had ruled over Ilstram:
"Father" he told him "Yahfrad, Ereid and the others have joined the army"
"They're doing the right thing, my son. If we weren't the emperors, I would have encouraged you to do the same" replied Donan in the most solemn tone. "There's no bigger honor than fighting to protect ourselves from the empires that threaten to destroy what our ancestors built."
"I want you to remove them from the army. I fear for their lives."
The Emperor looked at his son with disdain. That wasn't a petition he was willing to listen to from someone that was set to become the next Emperor of Ilstram someday. It was not admissible.
"Your friends must have arrived to Modea by now, and they are probably receiving the training they need to join the army. You should not worry about them" he replied harshly.
In all honesty, Donan wasn't a fan of those talks with his son. He knew without the slightest shimmer of doubt that his son didn't share his vision about the fate of the Empire, and it was overly frustrating to not manage to make him understand that a good military defense, and a strong army, were required to guarantee the future of his world.
"You should not worry so much about them, my son. If they have decided to enrol in the army it's because they believe in the empire, and they wish to defend it."
"They believe in the empire. I do not believe in you." his son replied, harshly, as he started to leave the marble balcony, ignoring the first snowflakes that just started to fall over the city.
The months went by, Yahfrad, Ereid and the rest of his friends came back. But he could see it on their faces. They weren't the same. Those jovial young people he had known had left way to people that, even if seemingly happy, had developed a strong sentiment of duty and protection of the empire. It was true that Yahfrad already mentioned how proud he felt when he imagined himself protecting those that surrounded him, long before leaving for Modea. But, for the Emperor's son, that wasn't a matter of pride, nor duty. Not even love towards the worlds his father ruled over. The war, he kept repeating to himself, could only bring misery and death to wherever it reached. He was thankful for the place where he was born, but, even within Ilstram's Empire, other planets, such as Cigle, were suffering conditions far more severe and less harmonious than Antaria.
In the end, utopia could not host everyone.
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