By John Newton
How did I come to be here? Well now, that’s a story I’ve told several times over the past six hundred years or so.
I found this place at the end of the Outer Stars rebellion. Centre Stars Group had just about won the war – they were so well equipped, you know. A few of us were fleeing one of the last space battles when we came across a Central Group inter-star transport ship.
We brushed a small armed escort aside and captured the transporter and to our amazement found it carrying the Centre Stars’ main new energy source – a package of Power Slabs their scientists had developed – so small and mobile in comparison to the moon sized Slabs then in use and of a design that would – and did – change the face of the whole universe.
There we were – the shattered remains of a great battle fleet, holding power to change history and wipe out the Centre Stars tyranny. Breathtaking!
What happened? Our commanders sat there in space, orbiting the transporter and arguing. Why had the Centrals shipped such valuable cargo across deep space virtually unprotected? Is it a trap? How do we make the Power Slabs work?
We needed to get the Slabs to our scientists fast. With the Central Stars heavy battle group only twelve LYs away and closing, our commanders had to act and finally decided.
My ship, smallest in our battle group and lightly armed, avoided damage in the big battle by simply keeping out of the way. We distributed our thermo-nuclear rockets among the other ships and transferred the Power Slabs to our hold and set off for the Outer Stars at extra-light speed. Our comrades said farewell to each other and us then turned back to face the oncoming heavy battle group and cover our escape.
Of course, they faced annihilation, with every single ship vapourised within seconds of engaging the enemy. The Central Stars government control planet soon realised we had captured their inter-star transport ship but by the time their battle fleet regrouped and received orders to search and recover, we were well away into Escape Space.
They found us on their long distance detectors and detached a Speed Commando battalion to make chase. We watched on our rear-defence probes as a dozen ships broke away from their fleet and began to overhaul us. They moved at super-light speed, which we had no hope of matching. Unless we did something, they would catch us in about six LYs.
By luck we had as navigator one of those odd beings from the seventh star in the seventh quadrant, which is seven million LYs from Point Of The Universe. As you probably know, the beings from Seven-Seven-Seven are a strange bunch. With seven of everything – seven eyes, seven probes, seven mouths and seven… Well…you can imagine, I’m sure. His name was unpronounceable by anyone but his mother so we just called him Seven.
I’d never met such a brilliant navigator. He took us on the most frightening space-chase you can imagine. First, he scared me to death by turning the ship ninety degrees at full light speed – the G-Force nearly ripped my guts out. It didn’t affect Captain and Engineer. Being Saturn Life Blobs with no bone structure they just ballooned out for a moment then reset themselves when he completed the turn.
This manoeuvre gained us about two LYs because the Speed Commando had to drop out of super-light before they could try the same trick. They skidded past and by the time they regained following course we were approaching The Clusters.
You know what Seven did? He took us through The Clusters at extra-light speed. Can you imagine that? He refused flatly, to slow down, even to normal light speed. If I’d been Captain, I’d have ordered him out of light-speed altogether. I’d never have dared to run The Clusters faster than mid-rocket speed.
This amazing navigator sat at his console with all seven probes shooting in and out, all seven eyes appearing and disappearing, and all seven mouths chattering to each other, passing information round his seven brains.
Do you know Seven’s skill kept us from even touching the edge of a gravity field, let alone getting caught in a pull-down.
But the Speed Commando ran straight into trouble. Their best navigator would be nowhere near as good as even a junior trainee from Seven-Seven-Seven. To follow through The Clusters at the same speed was madness – but they had to try, or we’d be gone and free. They’d never catch us in the Deep Dark.
As we shot out towards the Deep Dark, they entered The Clusters five LYs behind us. They were brave – or stupid. In the first ten Mili-LYs they lost four spacecraft. It takes the slightest touch of a gravity field in The Clusters and you’re into pull-down. We saw the explosions on our rear-defence screens and cheered.
At least, I did. Seven and the two Life Blobs couldn’t cheer, of course, but I sensed their excitement in Thought Forms flying round the cabin. All we had to do now was get out into Deep Dark and catch our Gravity Slide. Once on the Slide we’d be safe and carried straight across to our own Outer Stars sector, where Space Protocol banned aggression. I don’t know if it’s the same now but then The Slide was governed to keep ships at least four LYs apart.
Halfway to The Slide our Captain gave a thought squeak and ordered slow-down. I checked the rear-defence screens. Several of the Speed Commando ships had made it through The Clusters and increased speed towards the edge of Deep Dark. With our Gravity Slide so close why move to slow-down?
Captain called me to his forward-search console. Ahead, quite near, I saw a solid object sitting completely still in Ordinary-Space at about the centre of the Deep Dark. Captain thought-formed, “It may be a Central Stars trap. Perhaps they’ve sent a special bomb ahead by Re-Arranging. They’ve perfected it as a method of moving objects through space immediately – not life forms, only objects. I’ll get nearer so you can look at it with your eyes.”
Blobs and Sevens can’t see like us. They can only sense. That’s why they always need we lower life-form humans on board to examine the detail of anything suspicious.
Seven eased our ship forward, and from safe distance illuminated the object with our space light. I studied it through the telescope. I stepped back to rub my eyes and stepped forward to check what I’d seen.
Captain sent me a querying thought-form
I had to tell him the truth, ridiculous though it seemed.
“A railway station.” I told him. “It’s a railway station from Earth.”
He screened up an historical Earth-Map and in seconds had a railway station in his inner brain. He asked, “What is it doing here?”
“How do I know? I’ll have to go across and see.”
As I slipped down the landing beam, detail of a small square grey-stone building came into view. I could read a sign over the door. It said “BRITISH RAIL LOWER HARTINGHAM” in bold letters. The station looked neat and peaceful, and just how I remembered from my school history videos back on Earth, all those centuries ago.
It was, of course, completely deserted. I mean – what would you expect from a railway station floating in the Deep Dark?
I stepped from my pod, walked through the door and saw that the station seemed to be attached by time warp to its planet-of-origin. At that moment my ship, parked only a few Mili-LYs away vaporised, and disappeared in an almighty flash. My pod went too – just went. No noise out here in high space – only a great flash, then nothing.
So here I am stranded: for some reason untouched by the vaporisation. Probably because the station door had closed, and I’d moved into a different time warp.
Or so I thought in the moment of panic made worse by the arrival of the Speed Commando with four heavy warships. What could a lone human do? I minimised myself and hid in a floor crack. Their search detachment looked everywhere. Those with feet clumped around, the others slithered or rolled. Their thought-forms showed puzzlement at this object hanging out here in the Deep Dark. Of course, they didn’t recognise it as a railway station. Probably, nothing like it had ever developed on their planets.
Their thought-forms told me that my Captain, realising he was caught, had tried to minimise our ship, and join me in the station. This caused the Power Slabs to react and explode his ship.
Oh well. I felt sorry they’d gone. They’d been reasonable company on the long space warps. As reasonable as a human can expect from a small rubbery globe with seven of everything, and two Life Blobs with limited conversation.
The Speed Commando left and I maximised and saw that my railway station is attached on three sides to this small country village, with the fourth side looking out into the Deep Dark. The village – neat and green – is set to Earth Time – with day and night, summer, and winter. Since I arrived here I’ve had six hundred years watching the seasons. Quite absorbing.
Every so often I’ve had visitors like you. They arrive by different methods; some by pod, like me, some by train. Others just materialise. They’re always human and always surprised to be here. Some have stayed a long time – one for over a hundred years – others moved out quite quickly. Some have been good company, others terribly boring. Sorry I won’t make your acquaintance but I’m booked out on the next train. It’ll be here soon. You won’t be allowed to board. You’ll be staying in here. You’re not even allowed out onto the platform.
How do I know?
I just know.
You’ll see when the train arrives. The station door will open and let me onto the platform. No matter how hard you try you’ll not be allowed through. The time warp will stop you. That won’t change until it’s your time to leave.
How long will you be here? Heaven only knows.
How did I pass the time? Well…over there are some timetables. You can read those but they’re many millions of years out of date. And you can watch that calendar on the wall. It changes with the seasons and is quite interesting. But mainly, I must say, it’s pretty dull here.
Ah, my train’s arriving. How quaint. They’ve sent a steam engine. I’ve seen several of those. I must be going on the up-line and they’ve decided to give me a treat.
Well! Goodbye! It’s been pleasant talking with you even for such a short time.
What was that? What is it really like here?
It’s Purgatory, my dear fellow
Absolute Purgatory
Author Bio:
I don’t usually write Science Fiction, but I used to read it quite a lot in my younger days. This story came into my head a while ago and I thought it worth sharing.
Contact Author:
Email: nbi.john@gmail.com
