Chapter 8

Vikarian Glimorsky, captain of the Green Ripper, roared with laughter as Archer told him about their awkward first encounter with his crewmen, Klikar and Runki.

This came after Archer had told the captain his entire story—from the endless white expanse to his journey through the portal and his arrival in this world, at the bottom of one of the dried-up seas of the Four Crowns.

Captain Glimorsky’s doubts that Archer and Sol truly came from another world quickly disappeared when Sol removed his helmet and revealed that, instead of a face, he had a hollow socket containing a silver amulet.

But the captain laughed even harder when his crewmen tried to ride the bicycle and fell off again and again.

He laughed until tears streamed down his face. His skin turned red, and he could barely draw breath.

Finally, he waved for the sailors to stop trying to tame the uncooperative vehicle.

Once he managed to regain control of himself, he wiped the tears from his eyes and thanked the travelers from another world for bringing a little amusement into his otherwise monotonous life.

“It doesn’t bother you at all that Sol isn’t human?” Archer asked, surprised.

“Why wouldn’t it?” Glimorsky replied. “Your friend certainly puzzles me.

“It’s just that in forty years of flying across the Four Crowns, I’ve had the opportunity to see plenty of unusual things.

“Speaking of unusual... tell me, Archer. Could you demonstrate the power of your magic brush?”

“Of course, Captain,” Archer said. “Just make it something simple. Otherwise, I’m afraid the brush might not have enough charge.”

“Of course,” Glimorsky said.

Archer took out the brush and checked its charge.

Less than one-tenth remained.

He began painting a small fir tree in the middle of the cracked surface of the dried-up sea, not far from where the warship had landed.

The Green Ripper appeared to owe the first half of its name to its green keel, which was completely covered in a peculiar species of moss.

The horizon was beginning to brighten.

There was about an hour left before sunrise—and the scorching heat that would come with it.

Archer finished painting the six-foot tree.

It materialized before them, and the Painter gestured for the captain to inspect his creation.

Captain Glimorsky approached the fir tree and felt its green needles.

Then he ran his hand over the rough bark.

Finally, he grabbed the trunk and tried to pull the tree out of the ground.

When it refused to budge, he nodded approvingly.

“So you weren’t lying,” the captain admitted.

Archer gave a modest shrug.

“Well then...” Glimorsky suddenly became serious. “Archer. Sol.

“Do me the honor of joining me aboard my ship.”

“With pleasure,” Archer replied.

“Your vehicle will be brought aboard. You don’t need to worry about it,” the captain said.

Then he shouted toward the ship:

“Besma! Bring me the schematics for the aquameter!”

“Yes, Captain!” a voice called from somewhere aboard the vessel.

“One moment, gentlemen. There’s something I’d like to test before we go aboard.”

Before long, the first mate came running over and handed the captain a fairly large scroll.

The captain unrolled it on the dusty bed of the dried-up sea, revealing a strange technical drawing of some kind of device.

“Gentlemen, what you see before you are the schematics for a device called a monolithic aquameter.

“Every mechanism you see in this drawing is part of a single solid piece.

“That may not mean much to you, but no human hand is capable of forging this device because of its unusual geometry.”

The captain sighed.

“What I want to know, Archer, is whether your brush can simply paint this device into existence.”

“I believe it can,” Archer replied.

“Then please do,” the captain said.

“All right.”

The Painter knelt for a closer look at the schematics.

“Is this drawn to actual size?” Archer asked.

“Yes,” the captain replied.

“And it says here that the device is made from an iron alloy,” Archer said.

“That’s correct,” Glimorsky confirmed.

“All right.”

Archer raised the brush and painted an intricate mechanical device about the size of his fist.

The monolithic aquameter materialized and dropped into Archer’s waiting left hand.

The Painter held it out to the captain.

Glimorsky took it.

“Archer, something’s wrong,” Sol said.

Then Archer felt it too.

Something had changed.

He turned and looked around.

The entire crew of the warship had frozen.

No one moved.

Every eye was fixed on Archer, the captain, and the device that had just materialized out of thin air.

“What...”

Archer never finished the question.

The captain of the Green Ripper raised the aquameter high above his head, showing it to his crew.

Suddenly, everyone erupted.

The entire crew.

They cheered.

They shouted as one.

They embraced one another, jumped for joy, threw their hands toward the sky, and ran across the deck.

The roar of their celebration was so loud that goosebumps rose on Archer’s skin.

He looked at the captain.

Glimorsky was laughing.

But there was nothing sinister about his laughter.

It was warm.

Joyful.

“What’s happening?” Archer stepped closer to the captain. “What is this device?”

“This, my friend, is nothing less than the salvation of our entire world,” the captain said, clapping Archer on the shoulder.

“Come, gentlemen.

“We’re leaving for Ramman immediately.”

First Mate Besma began shouting orders, and the sailors hurried to prepare the ship for takeoff.

“Come on, Sol,” Archer said.

Together, they followed Captain Glimorsky aboard the ship and into its interior.

They followed the captain through the corridors and compartments of the Green Ripper.

The entire crew was in motion. Sailors rushed back and forth, shouting instructions and connecting equipment.

A deep rumble began rising from the lower decks as the main engine came to life.

Then the navigator’s voice crackled over the loudspeaker:

“We’re taking off. We’re taking off.”

The ship lurched.

Archer and Sol felt the thrust of the engine and grabbed the handrails to keep themselves from falling as the vessel accelerated.

The captain, meanwhile, simply kept walking.

Neither the movement of the ship nor the laws of physics themselves seemed to have any effect on him.

The companions hurried after Captain Glimorsky.

The captain glanced back, saw that both of his guests were keeping up, and opened the sliding doors to his spacious cabin.

The roar of the engine grew louder and louder.

The ship continued to accelerate.

Glimorsky sat down on one of the couches in his quarters and gestured for his honored guests to take the couch opposite him.

They did.

A cabin boy entered, but Glimorsky told him they needed nothing.

The young man left.

“You have questions,” Glimorsky said.

“Yes,” Archer replied uncertainly.

“Good,” said the captain. “You’ve told me every detail of your story.

“Allow me to return the favor.”

Vikarian Glimorsky began telling them the history of his world.

“Long ago, this world was covered in seas and oceans. There wasn’t much dry land.

“Then our archaeologists unearthed something extraordinary.

“Another civilization had left behind a terraforming mechanism on this planet.

“We learned how to use it.

“And we drained a large part of the world.”

“The dried-up seas are your doing?” Archer asked, surprised.

“Partly,” the captain replied. “The rest was caused by a cataclysm that came centuries after our interference with the ecosystem.

“We discovered it too late, but deep beneath the planet’s crust, an entire civilization of truly gigantic creatures had been lying dormant.

“Creatures the size of cities.

“Our manipulation of the climate awakened them.

“And they began destroying us.

“A war followed.

“It lasted for centuries.

“We were winning.

“Eventually, we exterminated their entire race.

“But before they died, the last of the giants seized the terraforming mechanism. They began a process that would drain the entire world—and destroyed the key that would have allowed us to reverse it.”

“The aquameter,” Archer said.

“Yes.”

The captain looked down at the device in his hands.

“Such a tiny mechanism, yet so much depends on it.

“The planet’s water disappeared deep underground. The surface became one vast desert.

“The biosphere died.

“The human population fell by a factor of one million.

“One million,” Glimorsky repeated for emphasis.

“Hard to believe.

“But that’s what the historians tell us.

“And who am I to argue with them?”

“Wait,” Archer said. “How many people were there in this world?”

The captain fell silent for a moment, contemplating the sheer scale of the loss.

“Just over a trillion.”

“How did you even manage that?” Archer asked in disbelief. “How can you possibly govern a population that large?”

“Different age. Different technology. Different possibilities,” Glimorsky said.

“Today, we are a completely different people. A completely different civilization.

“In any case, almost four thousand years have passed since then.

“Today, no more than a few million humans remain across the Four Crowns.

“We’re scattered all over the world. There are only a handful of cities left, four small kingdoms, and countless lone ships like ours, desperately searching for an artifact called the monolithic aquameter.”

“And what do you intend to do now that you have one?” Archer asked.

“We’ll restart the terraforming machine. We’ll bring the oceans back to the surface. We’ll restore the biosphere.

“And we’ll live.

“Simply live,” the captain said.

“Will the machine actually work?” Archer asked.

“No one knows for certain,” the captain replied. “But what else can we do?”

A voice came over the loudspeakers:

“One minute to the stratosphere.”

“Have you ever been higher than the mountains themselves?” Captain Glimorsky asked.

“No,” Archer replied.

“Then you’re going to like this. Come with me.”

They followed the captain to the upper decks and stepped out onto the observation platform—the highest deck on the ship, situated at the stern.

Sailors brought breathing masks for the captain and his two guests, each connected to a small metal oxygen tank.

Sol had no need for one.

The captain put on his mask, showing Archer how it was done.

Archer followed his example.

Then Glimorsky walked to the edge of the platform, gripped the railing, and beckoned his guests over.

Archer and Sol joined him and took hold of the railing.

Far below them stretched the mountain ranges and dried-up seas of the Four Crowns.

From this altitude, even the great features of the landscape looked small.

The captain pointed toward a gigantic foreign shape lying among the mountains.

“One of the giants we killed,” he said through his mask.

Archer and Sol turned their attention to the giant’s lifeless body.

“Could we fly a little closer?” Archer asked.

Glimorsky nodded and went to give the navigator the order.

Soon, the ship changed course and began approaching the giant’s body.

As they drew closer, its limbs became visible.

It had arms and legs, just like a human.

Then the head of the colossal creature came into view.

The captain returned to his guests.

“How did you manage to kill them?” Archer asked, genuinely astonished.

“With these.”

Glimorsky pointed toward the two cannons at the stern.

“Would you like to see them in action?”

“If you don’t mind,” Archer said.

Glimorsky gave a series of hand signals.

Moments later, a siren roared throughout the ship. Warning lights came on, and a team of gunners rushed onto the main deck.

They worked together with the precision of a well-calibrated machine, loading the cannons and aiming the guns along one side of the ship at the dead giant.

When the chief gunner shouted, “Fire!” the battery unleashed some twenty volleys.

Thunderous blasts shook the air as dark blue smoke and green fire erupted from the cannon barrels.

Red-hot cannonballs streaked toward the fallen giant.

About ten seconds later, they struck their target, blasting glowing holes into the giant’s body.

Archer stood frozen.

Goosebumps ran across his skin.

He imagined a world in which these enormous, city-sized beings had lived and flourished—an entire civilization of their own.

It saddened him to think that humanity had caused such an extraordinary form of life to disappear forever.

“The last giant was killed six hundred years ago,” the captain said. “Since then, the cannons have only been used against other ships whenever conflicts break out between the kingdoms.”

“The kingdoms go to war?” Archer asked.

“Oh, yes,” the captain replied. “We can always find a reason for war.

“Right now, three of the four kingdoms are fighting. Two have formed an alliance against the third.

“Our monarch—the one whose flag we sail under—is the only ruler who has stayed out of the conflict.”

“We’re still climbing,” Sol said to Archer.

“What did he say?” the captain asked.

“He says we’re still gaining altitude,” Archer replied.

“That’s right,” Glimorsky said. “We’re climbing to cruising altitude, where there’s practically no air resistance.

“We need to get that high to reach hyperspeed. That way, we’ll get to Ramman as quickly as possible.”

“What’s in Ramman?” Archer asked.

“The capital of the kingdom I serve,” the captain replied. “Come. Let’s go back inside.

“We don’t want to be out here when the ship reaches maximum thrust.”

They returned to the captain’s cabin.

Archer asked Glimorsky if he could spare a few cannonballs. He wanted to erase them to replenish the brush’s charge and create another universal translation scroll—this one for Sol.

The captain gave the order, and Archer was escorted to one of the lower decks, where rows of cannons lined both sides of the ship and piles of cannonballs lay nearby.

He erased about fifty cannonballs and created a translation scroll for Sol.

The flight to Ramman took about ten hours.

During that time, Captain Glimorsky entertained Archer and Sol with stories of aerial battles against the other kingdoms, descriptions of life in Ramman and the other cities of the Four Crowns, and whatever else came to mind.

When they finally began approaching Ramman, the navigator announced their arrival over the ship’s loudspeakers.

Archer and Sol went out onto the deck.

The Green Ripper maneuvered between enormous rocks suspended in the sky.

Far ahead, directly in their path, floated an immense mass of stone.

A sizable city had been built across its flat surface.

Before long, the Green Ripper entered the harbor and docked.

The harbormaster and his assistants were waiting for Captain Glimorsky on the pier.

“Glimorsky, we weren’t expecting you back for another month,” the harbormaster said.

“Emergency situation,” the captain replied. “We had to return immediately.”

“Something wrong with the Ripper?” the harbormaster asked. “Why didn’t you radio ahead?”

“We maintained radio silence,” Glimorsky replied.

“Don’t tell me you...”

The harbormaster swallowed hard.

“Yes, Darvik,” the captain said with a smile. “We found it.

“We have the aquameter.”

“I’ll be damned...” Darvik said, hardly believing his ears.

The harbormaster extended his hand.

Glimorsky shook it.

“Congratulations, Captain,” Darvik said. “Never thought I’d live to see history being made.

“You’re heading straight to the palace, I assume?”

“Yes,” the captain replied. “We have two guests with us. Otherwise, the entire crew is accounted for.”

“Understood,” Darvik said. “I won’t hold you up with formalities.”

“Thank you.”

The captain gestured for his entourage—including Archer and Sol—to follow him onto the pier.

At the harbor, they made their way to the griffin station, where the group mounted half a dozen of the enormous birds and took to the sky.

Archer was seated in the rear passenger saddle of one griffin, while Sol rode in the same position on another.

The flock soared swiftly over the rooftops, closing the distance to the palace towering ahead of them.

Archer looked down.

Far below, he could see the streets of the city and its people going about their daily lives.

The Glasses of Omniscience highlighted hundreds of people at once, flooding his vision with information.

Archer wondered if there was some way to turn that feature off.

As an experiment, he touched the right lens with his finger and pressed lightly.

Nothing happened.

He kept experimenting, pressing different parts of the lens, sometimes briefly, sometimes holding his finger there longer.

Then he tried tapping it twice.

The glasses switched modes.

The lenses turned reddish orange, displaying different temperatures in varying shades.

Archer double-tapped again.

The lenses turned pale blue.

Now, apparently, he could see through things.

He saw the outlines of the bones and internal organs of the rider guiding his griffin.

Certain objects appeared in darker shades, including weapons—and the monolithic aquameter inside a bag on Captain Glimorsky’s griffin.

Archer double-tapped through three more modes, none of which he understood yet.

The final mode returned his vision to normal, with no information or indicators at all.

Archer left it there.

As they approached the palace, he saw two formations of armored griffins belonging to the palace guard flying out to intercept them.

The armored birds soon drew alongside the griffins carrying Glimorsky’s party.

The commander of the guard recognized Captain Glimorsky and saluted him.

Glimorsky returned the salute.

The armored griffins then peeled away from the group and flew back toward the griffin stables on the palace’s upper terraces.

Glimorsky’s griffins landed near the palace entrance.

The captain, his entourage, Archer, and Sol dismounted from the enormous birds.

Glimorsky approached a court official.

“Captain Vikarian Glimorsky. Inform the king that we have found the monolithic aquameter.”

The courtier froze.

He blinked several times.

Glimorsky took the aquameter from his bag and showed it to him.

The man’s mouth fell open.

It took him several seconds to regain his composure.

“Captain Vikarian Glimorsky. I will inform the king immediately.

“Please proceed to the waiting hall.”

The courtier hurried deeper into the lavish palace, climbed a flight of marble stairs, and disappeared down one of the corridors.

Glimorsky’s party entered the waiting hall, where everyone settled into elegant armchairs and couches.

The captain walked over to a table laden with refreshments, poured himself a glass of wine, and took a sip.

A few minutes later, a military officer entered the room.

“Glimorsky,” the officer said.

“Fenrik,” the captain replied.

“Is it really true?” the officer asked.

Glimorsky handed him the device.

Fenrik took it, examined it from every angle, and slowly nodded his approval before returning the aquameter to the captain.

“Who are these two?” the officer asked, looking at Archer and Sol.

“Friends of the Crown,” Glimorsky replied. “We have the artifact because of them.”

“I see. Follow me, please,” Fenrik said. “The king will receive you.”

Escorted by the officer, they climbed the stairs to the second floor, passed through several halls and corridors, and entered the throne room.

An elderly man in full royal regalia sat upon the throne.

An elegant but lightweight crown rested on his head. His hair and beard were completely white, and a kind smile adorned his face.

The hall was filled with nobles, military officers, advisors, and members of the royal family—about fifty people in all.

“Captain Vikarian Glimorsky and his party, Your Majesty,” Fenrik announced.

“Captain,” the king greeted him.

“Your Majesty.”

The captain and all his men bowed.

Archer bowed as well, and Sol followed his example.

“Show me what you found,” the king said.

Glimorsky approached the throne and handed him the aquameter.

The king carefully examined the device from every angle before passing it to his scientific advisor, who began inspecting it just as closely.

“Where did you find it?” the king asked.

“Your Majesty,” the captain replied, “during our expedition, we encountered these two men in the middle of a dried-up sea.

“They claim to be travelers from another world.

“One of them possesses an exceptionally rare gift, and he created the aquameter before my very eyes.

“The other isn’t a creature of flesh at all, but merely an imitation of the human form.

“Both are peaceful and have shown no signs of aggression.

“I brought them with me so that you could judge their origins and their story for yourself.”

The scientific advisor placed the aquameter inside a slightly larger device of equally intricate construction.

The device came to life.

Its mechanisms began moving and turning.

“It truly is...” The scientific advisor stared in disbelief. “The artifact is genuine,” he reported to the king.

The king nodded several times.

Then he turned to Fenrik.

“Prepare the fleet, Admiral.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The officer snapped to attention and left the throne room.

“Captain, what are the names of your travelers?” the king asked.

“Archer and Sol, Your Majesty,” Glimorsky replied.

“Archer and Sol, come closer. Let me have a look at you,” the king said.

The two companions approached and stopped about ten paces from the throne.

“Which of you created the aquameter?” the king asked.

“I did, Your Majesty,” Archer replied. “My name is Archer. My companion is Sol.”

“Archer, you have done us a tremendous service. What you have given us is beyond price.

“You may ask for any reward you wish.

“But first, I would very much like to know more about you—where you came from and what brought you to the Four Crowns.

“We have several hours before the fleet is ready.

“Please. Tell us your story.”

“Well,” Archer said.

“It all began in an endless white expanse...”