Prodigium: Titans Unchained
Prodigium, #2
Reeks: Prodigium
R. D. Blake
- For
- every
- action
- there
- is
- an
- equal
- and
- opposite
- reaction.
- From
- 4,500
- years
- in
- our
- future,
- Bree
- Matthews
- and
- Jude
- LeClaire
- would
- wrinkle
- their
- noses
- at
- such
- a
- basic
- theorem,
- dismissing
- it
- with
- almost
- scornful
- laughter,
- considering
- it
- as
- hardly
- worthy
- of
- being
- taught
- as
- a
- first
- principle.
- Even
- such
- sayings
- as
- "power
- accretes
- to
- power"
- or
- "when
- great
- forces
- clash,
- the
- gods
- rise
- from
- their
- restless
- slumbers
- and
- take
- notice"
- would
- appear
- as
- trite
- and
- boring
- clichés.
- If
- only
- that
- could
- be
- true.Much
- like
- the
- cataclysmic
- but
- invisible
- forces
- that
- undergird
- wormhole
- transit,
- the
- race
- between
- Old
- Earth
- and
- Galileo
- to
- develop
- the
- next
- generation
- of
- interstellar
- transportation
- draws
- the
- attention
- of
- others,
- those
- formidable
- and
- potent
- in
- their
- own
- right,
- hidden,
- and
- biding
- their
- time.At
- the
- centre
- of
- this
- great
- contest
- are
- Alexis
- Romachenko,
- a
- scion
- of
- Old
- Earth
- and
- the
- leader
- of
- its
- World
- Council,
- and
- the
- Silva,
- an
- order
- comprised
- solely
- of
- women
- and
- the
- chief
- power
- on
- the
- world
- of
- Galileo.
- Though
- these
- two
- competitors
- have
- agreed
- to
- combine
- forces
- to
- jointly
- solve
- the
- last
- of
- the
- engineering
- problems
- they
- individually
- are
- facing
- in
- constructing
- their
- own
- wormhole
- generators,
- each
- is
- scheming
- to
- renege
- on
- their
- agreement
- and
- bring
- ruin
- to
- the
- other.
- And
- the
- means
- to
- that
- subterfuge
- is
- Jude
- LeClaire.Despite
- all
- that
- she
- has
- accomplished
- and
- personally
- sacrificed
- to
- provide
- the
- Silva
- with
- a
- new
- means
- to
- create
- an
- enhanced
- wormhole
- system,
- she
- feels
- herself
- betrayed
- by
- the
- Sisterhood.
- As
- part
- of
- the
- secret
- negotiations
- with
- Old
- Earth,
- she
- is
- required
- to
- marry
- Alexis.
- Against
- her
- will.
- Against
- her
- desire
- for
- freedom,
- Against
- her
- nascent
- and
- growing
- love
- for
- Bree
- Matthews.Like
- Jude,
- Bree
- is
- another
- child
- prodigy.
- However,
- unlike
- her,
- he
- was
- born
- into
- squalor
- and
- poverty,
- never
- enjoying
- the
- least
- of
- even
- the
- simplest
- of
- pleasures
- Jude
- has
- taken
- for
- granted
- every
- day
- of
- her
- life.
- For
- he
- is
- a
- leveller.
- Unknown
- to
- the
- general
- population
- of
- Galileo,
- a
- people
- exist
- below
- the
- surface
- of
- their
- planet,
- incarcerated
- there
- by
- the
- Silva
- for
- crimes
- purportedly
- committed
- by
- their
- ancestors
- more
- than
- two
- thousand
- years
- ago.
- For
- long
- generations,
- the
- levellers
- have
- sought
- to
- escape
- the
- warrens
- where
- they
- have
- been
- eking
- out
- their
- miserable
- existences,
- each
- added
- year
- only
- intensifying
- their
- hatred
- for
- their
- oppressors.Bree
- knows
- he
- has
- every
- right
- to
- loath
- Jude,
- but
- he
- follows
- after
- her
- once
- she
- is
- forced
- to
- depart
- from
- Galileo,
- hoping
- to
- rescue
- her.
- Though
- it
- comes
- at
- a
- great
- personal
- cost.
- He
- abandons
- his
- younger
- brother,
- Wynn,
- who
- is
- being
- tortured
- by
- Bree's
- former
- sponsor,
- Head
- Cadia
- Janus
- Torian.
- And
- knowingly,
- he
- willingly
- gives
- up
- his
- plans
- to
- free
- the
- levellers,
- and
- leaves
- his
- personal
- droid,
- Theo,
- to
- fend
- for
- himself
- as
- it
- is
- attacked
- by
- other
- mechanical
- intelligences
- controlled
- by
- the
- Silva.
- Bree,
- in
- his
- budding
- love
- for
- Jude,
- wants
- to
- give
- her
- what
- they
- each
- have
- long
- desired:
- a
- future
- based
- on
- their
- own
- free
- choices.Notwithstanding
- their
- prodigious
- intellectual
- talents,
- both
- Bree
- and
- Jude
- are
- unaware
- of
- the
- machinations
- occurring
- all
- around
- them
- that
- have
- only
- one
- intended
- outcome:
- their
- deaths.Yet,
- even
- as
- Old
- Earth
- and
- the
- Silva
- seek
- to
- deceive
- and
- ultimately
- betray
- each
- other,
- there
- are
- other
- forces
- arising
- and
- moving
- to
- work
- against
- these
- two
- competitors:
- individuals
- who
- have
- their
- own
- grievances
- and
- purposes
- from
- as
- long
- as
- millennia
- ago
- and
- their
- own
- plans
- for
- Bree
- and
- Jude.
- Their
- futures,
- as
- well
- as
- that
- of
- Old
- Earth,
- the
- Silva,
- the
- levellers
- and
- even
- humanity
- itself
- hangs
- in
- the balance.
