Severed Worlds

The Watcher, Volume 1

Iam Dreamfire

Published by Freestyle Wordplay, 2019.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

SEVERED WORLDS

First edition. February 11, 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Iam Dreamfire.

Written by Iam Dreamfire.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Book One | Introduction | The Beginning of the End

Chapter One | Device

Chapter Two | Her

Chapter Three | The Traveller

Chapter Four | Visitation

Chapter Five | Watched

Chapter Six | Hollywand

Chapter Seven | Epilogue

Book Two | Chapter Eight | Stranger Methods

Chapter Nine | Mutual Needs

Chapter Ten | Advantages

Chapter Eleven | The Beginning Of Liberation

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Further Reading: The Book of Past

Also By Iam Dreamfire

About the Author

About the Publisher

Dedicated to the great masters of imagination who have swept me away and urged me to dream and to the people that dare to think out of the box.

Book One

Introduction

The Beginning of the End

In times of desperation their kind is called upon. They rarely answer. Frankly, they never do. Some may say they should and this could even become a conviction but they don't value the opinions of lower orders.

This is what he was born into, under a purple moon that one still evening.

Device was a name given only at the age of ten, after it was altered to give him a stated purpose. He could, as much as anyone could tell, pierce others and see through façades and lies with uncanny accuracy and thus the title was created and the duty was formulated.

Shortly after he was officially appointed "The Watcher" for his planet; answering to no one, answering to no thing or rank. He was given free reign, the trust of his masters, so much so they had let him free to move and act how he saw fit.

He'd engage when he felt it appropriate and mainly go about his chosen duty on intuition and observational skills. One could say it was a calling. The job had never existed until his birth because the skill hadn't been seen so distinctly as a method of attack and with technology advancing, people, it seemed, were harder to control or keep track of.

To be an anomaly amongst literal Gods should have made him feel all-important but he had cravings to uproot rigid systems and wanted to matter more. He wanted to make a difference but couldn't even articulate the boundaries he was trying to traverse.

For the last seventeen years of his existence he had followed the rules as best he could but they weren't dummies, they knew he could predict moves ahead of the action, unmatched in calm resolve. He had eyes so to speak, that seemed to see aspects of past, present and future and never faltered to follow through, once something had been surmised.

He didn't have friends nor lovers nor acquaintances as he was a tool above all else, a living weapon that was charged with the purpose to keep order in a system that had lasted for millennia.

It was a good system with predictability and durability that lacked only one key factor along it's sturdy roadbed, empathy for others and the heart to burden itself with the plight of another. Yes they, the great ones, were a system built on people joined hand in hand; as long as you were one of them.

Thus The Watcher was a necessary commodity in a stone cold time. Someone that could sense the cracking of aplomb and the shattering point of sanity.

The basic positive impact of the system was dubious at best in his mind and it was on it's last legs of order and the people of the Lazeren Quadrant knew that full well, leading to a worship of The Watcher for his singular role, to keep ahead of looming disorder.

He embraced it only wanting to be of service, all the while trying to search out the big escape valve, the one that would unburden all of falsity.

A God among the Gods of power, that themselves didn't know enough to know there were holes in the fabric of their own armour.

Chapter One

Device

Another research tour. Another lift off at a planetary border to explore the vast expanse of the universal inhabitants out there.

To his kin it was a data search but in his mind it was the subject of peeling away layers to expose the raw underbelly of what may come. He was given leeway to explore the depths of cultures to upload, so to speak, and improve their grasp over the subject of impending insanity and disorder.

The Vision as they called themselves, were his employers, except for their obvious lack of intervention in his activities. They were a lofty crew who had many qualities needed to regiment others but under it all he could smell a type of fear, a hysteria of sorts. They maintained a civil order that would've been envied by any government, even an order of ants.

Oh, they were experienced beyond his young years a hundred times over and could tell tales of the epic undertakings of themselves, the people who dared play God, almost. They were impressive but it often made him chuckle within that they looked to a mere child to do their cultural bidding for them; the anomaly that seemed to be able to sense a crack in the system.

He often wondered as they kept pointing elsewhere to look for the people on the brink of disorder, if they ever wondered about what The Watcher could see about them, too.

He stepped down from the platform with a crack of a smile on his youthful face. It was a fresh location, not just obvious from the new scenery but by the subtle expressions of awe in the eyes of the soldiers on the ground. They stood saluting a young man so recently having escaped childhood that to look at him caused a mild stir as they tried not to stare in disbelief while their senior officer introduced him.

In Verien language "Device" was given an additional definition to not only honour him but to bolster his authority; they created his name to mean "Watcher of even the watchful." He would have preferred his personal friends to call him by something more intimate, if he had any.

What the members of The Vision likely didn't find in the reports was the personal touch and ease that said "Device" descended upon most outlaying troops.

Defences were up when a superior officer of growing legend hit the ground and he went to work dissolving pent up walls. It was never just a social call but he wanted them to know that he wasn't just a title based on some built up delusion of grandeur.

This particular afternoon he felt rather curious. He had a particular beat but today he was going to draw it out a bit with words this group likely never expected to hear from military lips. He could have just as well done a survey of the area without saying much, but he liked to intimately test people and groups to feel out the cultural habits that bled into them over time on a particular planet, all the while rubbing elbows with the natives.

He could sense a lot from simple exercises as all these members had undergone the same basic training, so could estimate where they varied. Further, by just a short test usually, The Watcher gauged the level of havoc their environment wrought on them through continued exposure.

"I'm Device," he said in a loud but calming voice. "I am sure you are very aware of my role but that's neither here nor there. I'm interested in you and the information you carry."

The men in uniform seemed to lessen their harsh stance while the captain spoke, a wave of soothing balm easing their anticipating minds. He paused until he knew they had finally relaxed enough and let their guard down some.

"I won't lie to you and tell you something that isn't true, however I will withhold some information regarding the outcome on purpose. Your responses will tell me some things that will be helpful, as long as you answer honestly. There are no wrong answers. It is just information."

He then scanned the group of about forty soldiers in front of him and took a moment to look many directly in the eye. He wanted them to know he was not there to make men look away downtrodden. He wanted them to sense he was there for the simple sake of interest and didn't care about what they thought he wanted to hear. He wanted answers and wanted to have an insight into how they operated as a unit. The air that day was still, almost in anticipation of the earth-shattering revelation that was about to come his way.

He nonchalantly started striding easily through the rows of bodies and began, "I am here to separate you out into groups of one kind or another. One group will be given the opportunity to compete to progress up the ranks and the other will be kept here in good condition and care as you have been. You have been out here for half a life, some of you, but your future could change."

On the planet Verien, which ran the Quadrant, the general life span was about two hundred to three hundred years. Some of the officers on the ground at the current location had seen a new generation come into being as they were the guards over the various port holes to their area of galaxy and tended to be the most aged and experienced. They had travelled down from their gateways to meet him, for things they knew not what of. They were given the task of security and though it was a duty steeped in honour, it could be seen some had grown older and a bit weary.

The audience became a bit more attentive. The idea of a change was welcome, he thought.

He had made his way back to the front of the ship so all could easily rest their gaze upon his tall frame. "If you have done things you are not proud of here on the ground but you feel that it was the best you could do in the circumstances and time limits presented step over to the left.

"Secondly, If you are aware of some things you feel need resolved with your team mates on the ground that you feel are vital to improve the integrity of your crew and life here in the midst of this place then step to the right." He always spoke fast as bullets fired out in rounds and it was short but said with finality. His mouth was always too slow to catch up with his thoughts.

And now the test, as he let the words ring out into the cool morning air. Usually in such a crowd, when he was feeling talkative as he did today and used this survey, it took a moment for the individuals to assess which would be the more noble response that would get them promoted and generally seventy percent opted with calling out their fellows for misdeeds.

In Verien society there was an emphasis from an early age on taking control and being somewhat dominant, so it was no surprise this seemed the more noteworthy choice.

Device stood watching for what started to feel like a crystallized hanging moment of time. Not one of the troops had budged even an inch to sway in one direction or another. There wasn't even a flicker of indecision. As he waited he had a strange feeling cross over his stomach and felt an energy brewing in his core; he hadn't really experienced giving such a choice and seemingly having the request utterly disregarded.

He stood and stared. They had heard him all right. Why weren't they moving? Didn't they want to try to become a candidate for a ticket off this remote outpost?

He began to look them over and noticed they were very much braced amongst each other almost reminding him of a troop about to fight as a single unit. Yet there had been no war of recent...

He'd never seen anything like it in his short two years of touring. "Well you have startled me. Sticking together I see..." his smooth voice trailed as he put his hand to his face stroking his chiseled chin as a smile started to creep up under glinting eyes, unnerving the senior officers who had accompanied him on the ship journey. He heard agitated shuffling from his personal guard to his left who were preparing for something they knew not what of.

"Permission to speak." It sounded polite but it was an order from his lips that sent a chill through everyone surrounding Device. He glared with a menacing readiness to pounce, steadily inviting any bold response forthcoming.

A shorter bulky man near the front spoke to answer up to his implied question. He read the man and noted he lacked signs of fear and with a clear steady voice the soldier uttered, "Breaking off for some of us to have a proposed opportunity, leaving others behind isn't really how we operate. Maybe some would do it in a heartbeat but we don't necessarily share those values and though this may offend, we feel the offensiveness of letting down ones who have come to depend on us on the ground overshadows the necessity of carrying out this task, sir!"

The commander took in what he said like a sponge to water. Device's mind was quick like a weapon poised in readiness. His face showed neither surprise nor displeasure. He was a tool above all else and he had seen something in this group, a type of empathy to protect each other that wasn't quite the way of the cultural habits on Verien or even the Lazeren Quadrant.

Why else would his planet have such a title as The Watcher? It was a cleansing of sorts seemingly innocuous when one heard the various presentations of such a mindset but Device questioned it, almost daily.

As a child he recalled a hand coming down to snatch him up while he slept and before it could contact him he had intercepted it with his eyes closed. His vision was so strong it was as if he could see through his lids. That was the beginning of the tests and the scrutiny.

His captors took him knowing full well the rumours of his abilities were true from that moment forward. He couldn't resist their strength as a toddler but could readily smell their fear and wonder of the unknown, even then. It was a race that played ruling class and in many ways, rightfully so, yet he could feel the cowardice seeping through the culture like a blossoming vine egging on hints of revolution.

The superiors of Verien, the ones calling themselves The Vision, knew they needed him as a conduit to the outside, to control unwieldy populaces, yet he found it difficult to see it in such a light. More correctly, he needed them, to explore every nook and cranny across the system. He needed them, exactly right where he had them, with their guard down.

This particular group intrigued him beyond measure. He couldn't compute any fear though they seemed ordinary enough. "I see!" he said strangely cheerily as he turned sharply to walk towards his ship to begin his debrief to Tentacle, the Quadrant's supercomputer. He did see something in their midst. They had a secret, they had a distinct lack of mortal hesitation. They had a saviour.

Tentacle, the computer that mirrored data and physical remnants from past explorers was awaiting input as her sparkling fragments throbbed across the space of the hull of the ship with a thirst that seemed insatiable.

Yes, she was a she. She was made that way and seemed to enjoy her fame, with dripping persuasion delivering the reality of the facts of data and mortality.

Tentacle seduced and seamlessly coerced male, female and the young of all types of species to give up their information, to feed the universal thirst for knowledge. She was an old spirit that was once hopeful but was now a bit jaded and slightly depraved and used her abilities to run the most complex supercomputer operating in the Lazeren Quadrant.

She was part flesh and machine melded together into a meticulous operating system. Her structuring was completed about seven hundred and fifty years prior when linking atoms and molecules of metal with flesh became a perfected science, inclusive of enhanced structural preservation, made possible through superior molecular physics.

In her presence the air chilled and breath expelled could be seen with the naked eye in even the warmest climate, as she absorbed energy in the vicinity, registering temperature and smell, constantly expanding her database.

She was mildly greedy for all the gory details but this served her masters fine. She didn't use her input for personal ends specifically, she was all too happy to assist and to use her skills to maintain her celebrity status.

"How is the universal whore today? Is she ready to upload?" Device chuckled good-naturedly as he teased her. Nearing the motherboard, the tiny hairs on his smooth skin bristling ever so slightly from the abrupt temperature drop. Most would need special equipment to debrief so as not to go into hypothermic shock but Device wasn't ordinary.

"Enjoying the new territory quite fine, though I must admit a slight surprise that aside from the roaches that were drowned out with a recent flood on the west banks the animal life here seems quite unusually content.

"Apparently someone important has been championing better crop methods and this has lessened the death toll of animal flesh as the main source of nutrient.

"I must hand it to the roaches though, across vast distances and nooks and crannies they just manage to pop up everywhere, rain or shine!" Tentacle laughed at her comment in a congratulatory tone, almost an electronic whine of static with her every utterance.

Though he smiled at her quirky personality, his mind was already rolling ahead into the future. "Do you trust me?" Device looked at her angelic face of almost translucent skin stretched over metal with a cocked eye as he read her intentions.

Though she covered the space with intricate software there were parts of her that almost looked like a real individual of flesh. She was definitely an oddity in the universe. When they'd met two years before while embarking on his first exploration she was very defensive and would only show her mechanistic aspect. Through continued association he'd gotten her to feel safe enough to perhaps express opinions about the often overwhelming sadness and decay she would upload through her structured framework.

"Yes fine sir, I trust you with my mainframe," she wheezed joyously.

Device began settling himself in his debrief chair. "Today my lovely companion, I will bluff and add falsity into your very fabric to disrupt the flow of information to The Vision. I will not be uploading through mental memory as usual but will manually impart the information and I need you to tab it under "mental presentation transmission."

The computer creaked as she leaned forward towards her captain almost hoping to absorb the whole story before it was told. "I'm intrigued and mildly astonished but do go on," she said as a gap of a grin cracked open, exposing pale luminescent light from within her depths.

She felt privileged that Device saw her not as just another cog in the great march forward of The Vision but as his ally. He knew full well that he was asking something of her she would never do for anyone and that in an instant she could send a transmission to tell of his intended deceit.

"Here it goes. Start entry number 40304." He should have felt a sense of apprehension or a tense quiver for having used his position of trust towards other ends but his instinct told him that he was on the right track, though the full story of what he had encountered and where it would lead had yet to reveal itself to it's fullest extent.

"Arrived on Embarko and was met with no surprises and nothing out of the ordinary." Device paused, choosing his words carefully, “The troops were in good spirits and loyal to Verien. I sensed no dissension.

"I however, through valid intel, have had a report of new information that may have become available on Glog and my men will head there next. Device transmission over and out." It was done.

"Glog?" Tentacle asked.

"Yes Glog. The Vision sends all the wayward individuals there so what better way to misdirect them than to use their own bias against them?

"Of course, there's something wrong on Glog!" He laughed scoffingly as though discussing the petty games of mere children.

"I wouldn't want to be your enemy," Tentacle retorted, still slightly taken aback by what had just transpired.

Even she couldn't contain her intrigue and anticipation despite the dangers presenting themselves. In this leader before her she sensed a feeling of hope and inspiration.

Device got up and moved with a stride that sliced the air. His resolve could be seen throughout his tall muscular build as his tendons and limbs flexed beneath the special conductivity suit he'd changed into to be in the midst of her for debrief. He oozed a confidence of a young man fearless and unfettered.

Tentacle stared after him, almost a twinge of lustful craving amongst the electrical components that made up most of her. If she was a full individual of flesh that could lead a somewhat regular existence she would have likely called him her first real crush, a mind to match her own it seemed, maybe to even surpass it.

Device, now back in uniform, went into his officer's lounge, where the handful of men that were earlier on the ground with him now snacked, awaiting further instruction.

"That was suspicious." Officer Zed verbally ventured in the direction of his captain.

Without even a pause Device responded. "Nothing odd about it at all. That crew just has a bully they cower to that is holding some type of death or punishment over their heads if they even contemplate leaving his service. I'll be rooting him out and will have a heart to heart and let him know who is actually in charge in this Quadrant. Nothing at all out of the ordinary so far that doesn't resolve with a wrist slap."

He really seemed to be getting the hang of this whole espionage gig and wondered why people needed training in this. He sounded deadly convincing.

Zed's face showed telltale signs of flushed relief. The man pondered the concept, stroking his dark handsome face.

Device found it interesting how easily the mind of even a senior officer could be moulded to an altered idea, if it filled a needed vacuum of peace of mind. People would grasp at something similar enough to a real answer if it meant less to deal with and more restful nights.

Device found at an early age what this practice of "sleep" was. Every evening his mother would lie him down and gently pull on his lids to close them. He would rest there supine in the dark until she left and would then solve riddles and puzzles in his mind until the orange sun had brightened from the evening misty purplish hue and sleep was over.

Strange rituals that he seemed to be excluded from, in terms of necessity, gave him an inkling he was different. Sleep, a necessary commodity for cell growth and regeneration, that didn't seem to apply to him.

Without sleep he had grown to six foot three inches, rising slightly above most of his kind. Later his handlers had told him he had what they could only label a rare disease where his cells would uptake triple the oxygen and nutrients and energy, therefore repairing and growing without the needed stasis-like quality of rest.

"Officer Zed I have sent a transmission to the effect that the ship will be heading to Glog. I want you at the helm.

"I have a report of an uprising of sorts and need the most likely candidates apprehended peacefully and brought to me. I will stay on Embarko to further my research."

"Yes sir! What details do we have to go on?" Zed asked.

The other three officers had stopped chewing and Device now had their full attention. They always liked a challenging mission, especially handling dissidents.

"There is a list of leaders that The Vision has issued in Peacekeeping Pronouncement 764377790. Bring the hierarchy amongst them to me, you will find exactly eight of them. Their usual whereabouts are in the most western valley of the Surrenal Mountains."

The men were too excited with their new mission to be appropriately amazed at how he could recall the exact number of a particular issue written however far back. Actually the commander knew that list for a reason beyond his good memory; they were his most intriguing study. As for his senior officers, things that were considered extraordinary to others were normal occurrences to this particular crew.

Once they had been disabused of the idea of Device as some untouchable commander through his own treatment of them and overall demeanour, they became comfortable with great deeds from a head position within their grasp. His men began prepping their ship for their flight to snag rebels.

When a particular planet, Aleg, was descended upon two years earlier it looked like any other uninhabited area rich in untouched vegetation and ores. A closer survey done revealed that there was a substance that only Device could see, apparently undetectable to the eyes of his men and due to this observation they were able to trace it to it's source which was vast and easily witnessed by the naked eye.

The material was a grey black shimmering stream that could contract when heated and expand back to size upon cooling, but on a grand scale. Device had noticed the vein upon an outer volcano wall but as it was in a contracted state from the extreme temperatures, apparently only he could recognize it's molecular formation.

They named their find feathian. They had mined it and halfway en route to their freighter spacecraft it had multiplied to approximately ten times it's original size with the cooling clime, drowning the transport vehicles below out of sight while crushing the officers within.

Thus a new type of craft was designed where some areas to the outer dimensions were made of feathian, whereas all the inner quarters and flight controls were not.

Through the operation of an advanced computerized heating and cooling system, the size of the overall circumference of the shell would shrink only during such temperatures as created during flight, allowing for enhanced speed and efficiency of space travel or battle when the captain deemed it necessary. When entering various atmospheres, the computer would adjust accordingly to keep the outer rims contracted or not, based on preference.

The rim contained mainly venting and pressure systems built of same said material, thereby no actual internal functions were disturbed, just diminished due to contraction. With the technology of a forced condensed vapour-flow apparatus pumping from within through the would-be restricted venting, the crew could manage in short spurts, usually enough time to finish a dogfight. This served a vital purpose in the case of attack; the ship could literally shrink in diameter almost immediately and escape a hit from a reasonable distance.

Device sent the craft on it's mission post-haste. He wanted that group apprehended immediately for reasons unbeknownst to the flight team. Behind him it ascended and with a clap of sound shrunk into urgent feathian mode and vanished into the ether.

He stared ahead at the clearing where a few officers of Embarko lingered on duty in the distance. Device was an impressive figure as he approached, especially in uniform. His suit was a material not unlike metal that was thin and flexible and hugged his frame at the right areas, accenting his broad shoulders. It was a substance that mimicked movement and energy in it's fluidity but was of extreme strength. It had a natural cooling system should the body get too hot through adrenalin, battle or the like.

The material tended to have a pale silver type visual when donned by the usual officers of Verien, however when the metal hit the skin of Device it escalated to a shade of light metallic black that screamed a sort of renewed energy. Early life testing confirmed his core temperature rode at an average of twenty degrees above the norm. The symbology of his uniform, his build and his decorations made him stand out, even on a physical level, as a force to be reckoned with.

He approached swiftly towards two officers who were now standing at attention. Device grinned at them widely with a glint of premonition in forest-reflected eyes, "Take me to your saviour now."

Chapter Two

Her

I'm walking urgently by you so as to not absorb all your hurt as a swell into my senses, which must remain intact for the job ahead. I have work to do but I will try to do my best to bring some type of relief here and hopefully it will wash back over you at some future date. My heart lingers with you after I am gone and for her...

My mind has to push his grief aside as I look at the withered old man grasping tightly to what I can only imagine is his granddaughter. She is unkempt except for her hair which I can tell she has been combing as a pastime with her delicate fingers.

As my feet wear a path through the dirty streets of this urban centre, I feel a looming despair in the atmosphere and I can hear no real noise to speak of, though it is nighttime in this hub of questionable activity.

Death becomes me as I reach out my attention hoping to understand what is happening here. What is going on?

As though my thoughts have screamed my curiosity on high, a toothless man of about thirty steps out from a building shadow to persuade me to come inside.

"Lovely creature of enchantment you are definitely not from around here, but this place will surely want to get to know the likes of you. Come on in, your entry fee is on the house." He motions a bow leading his scrawny fingers over smokey air to a badly painted door chipped from sun exposure and repeated banging I estimate.

"Yes, thank you. I would like to be shown around as I am just visiting." My voice is soft and appreciative with feigned innocence of the wonder of a child.

As if he has just won a full family of daughters to ease his midnight cravings the man leaps towards his hole in the wall club with the energy of a cheetah. He does the prescribed four raps with his knuckles and the door opens.

I follow intently into the dark corridor where it is wooden and barren, yet ahead I can feel body heat upcoming with an attendant eerie silence unbecoming of such settings. As I grow near I can pick up bits of conversation and giggles of abandonment.

"Through here," he waves, "we have just what you need."

I am whisked to a bar type setting with dispensers of labeled drugs of choice. The man behind the counter glares at my cleanliness and beauty and I can feel his urge to strangle me, after maybe having his way with me.

"What should I get her?" he lunges curt words at his master of the house.

"She'll have the best we have to offer, Rupine 15 of course! We must match quality with such fine china! Give her only one, she's new and we don't want her heart to stop!" He bursts out in a forced laugh at his own perceived humour while I naively smile, pleasing him even more.

I pretend to take the pill fumbling about like a novice at such wicked games, ever so swiftly letting it drop down my sleeve where I then catch it on it's way out as my arm lowers.