Dreamworms Book 1: The Advent of Dreamtech by Isaac Petrov (drm ebook reader TXT) 📕

were as equally sure that they had everything under control as we are today. They built a rural utopia in environmental equilibrium spanning the inhabitable latitudes of the world. They had a stable society, based on Goah’s Gift; the first truly global empire in history, quite the achievement, I would say. It might seem strange to us now, but most people lived happy lives back then. Tragically short, true. At your age,” he points his finger at the young faces, “most of you would be reaching your last years of, yes, a fulfilled life of family and community. This was just a hundred years ago. Just a hundred years. Think about that for a moment, people.”

He pauses to let that sink in.

“But as sure of their destiny as they might have been, they were equally ignorant; just a bad turn away from kicking the bucket. And then, just as the twenty-third century is counting its last days, something very unexpected happened in a remote colony, far away from the centers of power, something that empowered a woman—a teenage girl really—to turn her narrow rural world on its head.”

Edda van Dolah! Ximena’s eagerness surfaces as a hawkish smile on her face. Edda van Dolah—Juf Edda—is Ximena’s undisputed historical hero. Ximena can’t wait to dive into the nitty-gritty details of her lifework.

“The jury is still out on the merits of her legacy,” Miyagi says, “but nobody can deny the extraordinary role that history reserved to Edda van Dolah from Lunteren.”

Ximena frowns lightly in puzzlement. Why the doubt on her achievements? She is the inspiration of every young girl on Earth, and probably on Nubaria too, isn’t she?

“We believe we are doing fine now, don’t we?” he continues. “Imagine that some brilliant new Edda van Dolah appears today. Right here, perhaps one of you.” He points a finger at his captivated audience. “And imagine that she discovers something new, unknown to the rest of us. Something that makes her realize how hopelessly doomed we humans really are.”

An uneasy silence extends across the auditorium.

“It would be tough to convince your fellow citizens, don’t you think? Especially if doing so involved a radical transformation of our way of life.”

He paces the stage slowly, the echo of his steps the only sound in the wide hemicycle.

“Now imagine that happens in a fanatically religious society, where most people spend just five years in school before joining their family business at the age of ten. Think about it, people. Life was so short that a ten-year-old was considered a fully functioning adult back then! Edda van Dolah herself, aged sixteen in 2399, was already an experienced and reputable schoolteacher. And a mother too!”

No wonder, Ximena thinks. If everybody dies at twenty-seven, they had to get busy pretty quickly.

“Try to put her existence into context,” Miyagi continues. “Think about the limited time to educate and to specialize on any trade. The world in 2399 was a sea—no, an ocean!—of ignorance. The average person was clueless about where they came from… and where they were headed. And it is in such a world that this sixteen-year-old girl leapt out of nowhere and kicked history squarely in the balls. What were the chances? Not many, I would say. And not only because, as everybody knows, history is a female.”

Many students laugh as Miyagi takes a few idle steps, his hands behind his back, a smile on his lips. Even Ximena has to chuckle at the horrendous joke.

“I want you to ponder how… improbable Edda’s impact on history really was. We are going to dive into interesting times indeed. But that’s not all.” Miyagi begins to raise his voice with expert modulation. “I’ve also got you covered with an extinction-event asteroid, first contact with an alien species, and even human radio signals from outer space!”

A roar of enthusiasm erupts, Ximena’s included. Goah, this is going to be sooo good.

“I like what I hear,” Miyagi says, nodding at the red-faced students. “All right, let’s get the show rolling. Literally, because I have a little surprise for you today.” Miyagi’s smile widens. “To make this seminar more interesting, I’ll make use of some scenes from a new documentary I’m working on about the time—”

A renewed burst of enthusiastic claps and cheers drowns his words. Ximena is jumping on her feet and clapping her hands into stumps. She has to stop herself from hugging Mark, who is yelling his lungs out next to her. Ximena knows that Professor Miyagi is of course referring to The Rise and Fall of The Juf. Rumors about his new sensorial are all over the media—another historical masterpiece by Kenji Miyagi!

“Thank you. Yes, yes, you’ve guessed it. Prepare to literally immerse yourselves in the world as it was in the zenith of Goah’s Imperia. Please,” he raises a hand, “I must insist on your discretion outside these walls—this is still very much a work in progress, merely a draft. I’m just bringing these scenes into the seminar in the faint hope of saving some of you from certain boredom.”

Three

Faith and Dem

“Dem.” Professor Miyagi seems to enjoy the focused attention of his hundred odd students. “The Dem-Pandemic. The final obsession of the powerful nation-states and scientists of the golden age, all investigating compulsively even as society kept crumbling around them in the early twenty-second century.”

He takes a few silent steps on stage, hands on his back. The seminar begins! Ximena thinks as excitement creeps up her guts.

“They all ultimately failed,” he says somberly, “and billions died. Forward two hundred years, and history crashes against a sixteen-year-old schoolteacher who is convinced she finally figured it out. She is the one that shall crack open Dem for all to see. Is she a one-in-a-millennia genius? Or is that the natural arrogance of youth?”

Ximena leans back at the words. They ring harsh, almost heretical.

“Prepare to meet the true Edda van Dolah, people. Not the myth, mind you. We do history in this,” he waves his hand around the structure,