Callum Ralph
These stories are evolving, with a new layer being added to the Scatterverse background. Over the coming weeks the writing team will expand the scope of the stories and begin to describe the next phase of the saga. With single stories, trilogies and a novella, all published in December, keep coming back for your regular dose of ‘Humans Are Awesome’ fiction
Part I: The Weaver’s Trade
Sel Vayne’s hands moved like a dancer’s, precise and graceful as she threaded the inertium micro-filaments into the matrix of a circuit. The strands glowed faintly, their energy humming against her fingertips. Her workbench on the Threadspinner was cluttered with spools of filament, ancient tools, and discarded prototypes. Around her, the steady thrum of the generational ship’s aging engines echoed through the walls.
“Careful, Lira,” Sel said, her voice steady but firm. “You’re twisting the filaments too tightly. They’ll snap.”
Lira, her apprentice, groaned in frustration. The teenager’s hair was pulled back into a haphazard braid, and her freckled face was scrunched in concentration. “I don’t get how you make this look so easy.”
Sel leaned over, her fingers deftly correcting Lira’s mistakes. “Because I’ve been doing it since before you were born. Threading isn’t about force; it’s about rhythm. Feel the hum. Let it guide you.”
The Woven Clans had always relied on their craft to survive. Their inertium-threaded circuits powered life support systems, stabilized starship engines, and even augmented weapons. The Woven bartered these creations across the Scatterverse, their independence a point of pride.
But independence came at a cost. Supplies were running low, and their inertium reserves were almost gone. The Threadspinner was barely holding together, its systems patched and re-patched until even the repairs needed repairs.
The door to the workshop hissed open, and Toma, the clan’s leader, strode in. His heavy boots clanged against the floor, and his expression was grim.
“Sel,” he said, “we’ve got a lead.”
Sel set down her tools and raised an eyebrow. “A lead?”
“A trader passed through the relay station,” Toma explained. “Sold us a map to a planet rich in inertium.”
Lira’s eyes widened. “An inertium-rich world? That’s—”
“Unlikely,” Sel interrupted, her tone skeptical. “What’s the catch?”
Toma hesitated. “The planet’s uncharted. Remote. But if it’s real…”
Sel understood the implication. If the map was genuine, it could secure their future. If it wasn’t, the clan would starve.
Toma’s voice softened. “You’re the best we have, Sel. If anyone can make this work, it’s you.”
Sel nodded, her jaw tightening. “Then let’s hope the map’s worth more than the ink it’s printed on.”
Part II: The Uncharted World
Zeta-94 loomed before them—a lifeless gray sphere on the edge of the Scatterverse. The Threadspinner hung in orbit, its sensors scanning the planet’s surface.
“It looks dead,” Lira muttered, peering out the viewport. “Are we sure there’s anything down there?”
“The scans don’t lie,” Sel replied, though she shared the girl’s unease. “Massive inertium deposits. Almost too massive.”
The landing was rough. Zeta-94’s jagged cliffs and deep crevices offered little in the way of stability, and the thin atmosphere howled around them like a wounded animal. As they stepped onto the surface in their reinforced suits, the world seemed eerily still, the sky a dull, oppressive gray.
“Keep your eyes open,” Sel instructed. “This place doesn’t feel right.”
The first vein of inertium they drilled into was unlike anything Sel had ever seen. The crystals gleamed with a strange inner light, their edges impossibly sharp.
“It’s beautiful,” Lira whispered, cradling a fragment in her gloved hand. “I’ve never seen inertium like this.”
“Neither have I,” Sel admitted, her brow furrowing. “And that worries me.”
Despite her unease, the crew worked tirelessly, hauling the glittering crystals back to the ship. The cargo hold filled quickly, each shard a promise of salvation.
But as Sel ran her fingers over the crystals, she felt a faint vibration—a rhythm that seemed to pulse through her skin. She glanced at Lira, who was examining another piece with wide-eyed fascination.
“Do you feel that?” Sel asked.
“Feel what?”
Sel hesitated. “Never mind.”
Part III: The Pulse
The first sign of trouble came when Lira collapsed.
She had been cataloguing the haul when she suddenly crumpled to the floor, her body convulsing as though caught in an electric current. Sel rushed to her side, her heart pounding.
“Lira! Can you hear me?”
The girl’s eyes fluttered open, her breath shallow. “I…I’m fine,” she whispered. “Just…felt strange.”
Sel scanned her vitals, her face pale. “There’s nothing physically wrong with you. But your neural readings are…off.”
That night, Sel’s sleep was restless. Fractured whispers filled her dreams, their meanings just out of reach. When she woke, drenched in sweat, she found the crystals in the cargo hold glowing faintly, their pulses synchronized like a heartbeat.
“Serenity,” Sel said to the ship’s AI, her voice trembling, “analyse the crystals. Look for…anything unusual.”
“Crystals exhibit quantum resonance patterns consistent with cognitive activity,” Serenity replied. “Conclusion: potential sentience.”
Sel’s blood ran cold. “You’re telling me the inertium is alive?”
“Possibly,” Serenity said. “Further analysis required.”
Part IV: The Presence
As the crew continued mining, strange phenomena plagued the ship. Equipment malfunctioned without explanation. Crew members reported seeing figures in the distance, though the scanners detected nothing. Sel began spending hours in the cargo hold, staring at the crystals as their pulsations grew stronger.
One night, the whispers returned, louder this time. “You take without knowing. You break the weave.”
Sel jolted awake, her heart hammering. She knew she had to act.
Descending into the deepest cavern on Zeta-94, Sel discovered a massive crystalline structure, its surface shifting like liquid light. The whispers swelled to a deafening chorus, and Sel fell to her knees.
“You are threads within the weave,” the voices intoned. “To take is to unmake.”
“I don’t understand!” Sel cried.
The presence focused, its voice resonating in her mind. “This inertium is not yours. It is ours. The Scatterverse is fragile. Will you tear the weave apart?”
Visions filled her mind: stars winking out, planets breaking apart, ships torn asunder by invisible forces. Sel realized the inertium wasn’t just part of the planet—it was part of a vast network, an ancient system binding the Scatterverse together.
Part V: The Choice
When Sel returned to the Threadspinner, the hold was full, the crew preparing for departure.
“We’re done here,” Lira said, her face bright with triumph. “This haul will save us!”
“No,” Sel replied, her voice firm. “We’re leaving it behind.”
The crew erupted in protest. “You’ve gone mad!” Lira shouted. “This will doom the clan!”
“It’ll doom us all if we don’t stop,” Sel countered. “This inertium isn’t just a resource. It’s alive. It’s part of something we don’t understand.”
Ignoring their protests, Sel activated the ship’s systems and ejected the cargo hold’s contents into the abyss. The crew watched in stunned silence as their salvation drifted away.
Part VI: The Quiet Understanding
As they left Zeta-94, the crystals dimmed, their resonance fading into silence. The whispers in Sel’s mind softened, replaced by an eerie calm.
“Did I do the right thing?” she asked Serenity.
“Unknown,” the AI replied. “But the network’s resonance has stabilized.”
The Woven fleet would struggle without the haul, but Sel felt a strange peace. She hadn’t saved the clan, but she had protected something larger than herself.
The Scatterverse was vast and mysterious, its threads woven with meaning she could only glimpse. For now, she was content to leave the weave intact.
Endless Horizons 