Metallicity: Book 2 of the Eichi Testaments
David Wiley
- The
- Imperial
- Astrophysical
- Institute's
- official
- position
- is
- that,
- as
- a
- planet,
- Demeter
- should
- not
- exist.
- In
- a
- stellar
- system
- far
- older
- than
- Sol's,
- the
- lack
- of
- metal
- should
- have
- prevented
- any
- planet
- from
- forming
- around
- the
- weak
- red
- sun.
- But
- Demeter
- overcame
- the
- odds
- and
- the
- planet
- and
- its
- life
- survived
- for
- billions
- of
- years,
- even
- after
- the
- first
- human
- settlers
- arrived.
- Now
- something
- has
- happened
- to
- catch
- the
- eye
- of
- the
- Church
- Universal.
The
- Church
- Universal
- is
- the
- glue
- that
- holds
- the
- Second
- Empire
- together,
- and
- their
- Tawiin,
- handpicked
- squads
- of
- assassins,
- are
- a
- messy,
- but
- necessary
- part
- of
- that.
- However,
- on
- Demeter,
- the
- Tawiin
- forgot
- their
- cardinal
- tenet,
- "Make
- No
- Martyrs."
- As
- a
- result,
- a
- rebellion
- is
- in
- full
- flower
- on
- this
- impossible
- planet
- near
- the
- galactic
- core.
At
- first
- glance
- the
- deck
- appears
- stacked
- against
- the
- rebellion.
- On
- the
- Imperial
- side
- is
- the
- infamous
- General
- Amatos
- of
- the
- bloody
- Kelevian
- skirmishes.
- Amatos
- came
- prepared
- with
- battlecruisers,
- flitter
- gunships,
- hovertanks,
- and
- several
- battalions
- of
- Imperial
- Marines,
- all
- of
- which
- deployed
- in
- an
- indecent
- hurry,
- even
- before
- the
- rebellion
- started.
- The
- Imperial
- forces,
- the
- Imps,
- have
- the
- numbers
- and
- the
- technology,
- but
- for
- some
- reason
- the
- Butcher
- of
- Kelev
- seems
- to
- be
- pulling
- his
- punches.
Meanwhile,
- the
- rebellious
- settlers,
- their
- backs
- to
- the
- planet,
- are
- fighting
- for
- survival.
- But
- how
- do
- you
- fight
- without
- enough
- metal
- even
- for
- bullets?
- Much
- to
- the
- annoyance
- of
- the
- Imps,
- both
- the
- rebels
- and
- the
- planet
- itself
- seem
- to
- have
- some
- ideas
- along
- that
- line.
- But
- nobody,
- Imp
- or
- rebel,
- seems
- to
- have
- the
- answer
- to
- the
- biggest
- question
- of
- all.
- Just
- what
- did
- a
- group
- of
- archaeologists
- discover
- that
- was
- so
- important
- that
- they
- were
- killed
- and
- a
- rebellion
- provoked
- to
- cover
- it
- up?Metallicity
- is
- the
- second
- book
- of
- the
- Eichi
- Testaments,
- delving
- deeper
- into
- the
- questions
- raised
- in
- Make
- No
- Martyrs.
- Questions
- such
- as
- how
- do
- you
- hold
- a
- galaxy-spanning
- civilization
- together,
- what
- makes
- someone
- a
- human,
- what
- price
- does
- genetic
- purity
- demand,
- and
- what
- role
- do
- worms
- really
- play
- in surgery?
