Gods of Nothing Excerpt

       **This is the opening of a chapter, or short story for a book I've been writing. The book, if it becomes one, is titled Son of Time, and the best description I can give for the story is that its a cross between Dr. Who and Sliders. Each chapter I intended to have as a sand alone story but with an overlapping story arch. I'm not going to post the entire story on this blog, but if anyone would like to read more, send me a message and I'll try to send you an email. Again thanks for reading!!!**

Gods of Nothing

     The people of the planet Diaxerah had a sky unlike no other. Living on the outermost edge of a galactic spiral arm, the most remote system in that galaxy, they had a marvellous view of the entire stream that was their galaxy; a magnificent glistening line streaking overhead. This sight was prominent in the northern hemisphere as their solar system was angled perpendicular with the galactic disc.

            The indigenous life here had evolved with elongated necks spanning a meter in length theorised to be due to the breath taking sight they were blessed with. They were also excellent astronomers. Though technology was not their strong suit, still being a young species, they had constructed massive megalithic structures to reflect their obsession with the skies. Great rings for keeping track of their golden sun, mighty wheels designed to track the constellations through the seasons and even cities patterned in ways to reflect their jewel encrusted heavens.

            They were a source of curiosity for a group of interplanetary explorers, much more advanced than the Diaxerahans but peaceful and good-willed, who arrived on their world to study this unique civilization. They were amazed by the colossal structures they had erected, mystified by their astronomically aware culture, and even perplexed by another strange habit these long necked beings displayed; they all lived in the north.

            When asked of this strange behaviour, the Diaxerahans relayed an ignorance of the southern hemisphere, showing no curiosity as to what lay there. Surely the hemisphere was habitable, that green things grew there, that food roamed there, but for a species of wonder and intellect, they strangely showed no desire to learn of what lay beyond the equator. Some of them didn’t even believe in the existence of a southern hemisphere, as if creation stopped around the central belt of their own planet, and when asked if anyone had ever gone to take a look, the people could not image why anyone would want to, not with the sky that was spread over their heads in the north.

            Such was preposterous, a people with such grand knowledge of the universe knowing so little of their very own world. The visitors believed that the time had come to awaken these people to the joys of their own planet. They decided to embark upon an expedition to the south, much to the local’s shock, almost to the point of terror, to see what mysteries lay south. There was some council given by the local elders pertaining to the notion that such a venture may not be such a great idea, but the explorers couldn’t help themselves; they had come so far, after all, and off they went.

            The Diaxerahans gave their visitors a good send off, a massive feast and celebration, that was good fun save for one instance when a priest came to them and offered to give them their rights of passage into the next world. The explorers thought this death chant odd, but perhaps it was a multi-use prayer to send off travelers; something that would require further study when they returned to the north to tell of what they discovered in the south.

            And so, the visitors left on their expedition. They soon discovered that this planet was not just on the edge of the galaxy but a massive expanse stretching for millions of billions of light-years; a great void, one of many that exist between the web of galaxies that compose the universe. Such darkness none of them could have imagined. They realized that the Diaxerahans possibly had no interest in the south with its desolate skies, but something had to be down here so they pressed on.  

            As the years past and generations turned, the people of Diaxerah’s north continued living. They watched the skies and built a shrine around the vessel that brought the explorers from above to commemorate the visit. They told stories and sung songs to them and their bravery for venturing to the south, and used such tales to ward off curiosity among their young concerning the other side of the planet. “Do not venture there,” the elders would say, “for there is nothing there, and those that wander those lands do not come back.”