The Sistine Fall
A science Fiction Short Story
The Department of Technology Acquisitions
Paxia’s technology control center orbiting Hedon Prime
(Data Spike: xd8/m7g/j2/ov22)
Recorded by Nerius, Chronicler of the Paxia Department of Technology
High above the surface of Hedron Prime, the space station Sistine Fall orbits. This is the Paxia Empire’s Guardian Ring for the Hedron star system and the center for all of the human empire’s technology advancement and approval. As the sun begins to break the curve of the planet, a shadow slips across the 15th century gothic architecture and through the stained glass.
Gallius walked at a casual pace through the sunward hallway of the Sistine Fall. He looked young but wasn't. The tiredness in his eyes showed the centuries he had lived before even coming to the Fall. His hair was short and neat, pressed down by a small circular patch of red velvet cloth that rested there. His robes were heavy and plush, crimson with a trim of liquid silver and the royal mark of the Technology Approval council upon his breast.
A cloud of small AI screens drifted around him, matching his pace, occasionally flashing red, or green to vie for his attention. He barely acknowledged the screens, the endless stream of technology requests almost forgotten as he slowed.
“Stop.” He murmured. The AI screens locked their displays and parted to let him pass before reforming behind him.
He loved walking here at this time of day, waiting for the exact moment the sun would break over the planet's surface and catch the Cathedral in glorious golden light. He paused to watch, ignoring the drifting AI screens that chimed to indicate a critical note. His eyes involuntarily flickered to the screen, irritation rising at the interruption—request Pheron-DPD No.1a884 required his attention. He growled under his breath, then turned back to the stained glass and let out a heavy sigh, his body relaxing with the long exhalation.
As the sun crested, light pierced the restored windows of the Sistine Chapel. Each of the windows lovingly restored to their former glory cast breathtaking beauty upon his dull world. For ten seconds the hall became a kaleidoscope of rainbow colors, bending and shifting as the glow refracted through the edge of the planet’s atmosphere. The display was breathtaking, and Gallius smiled for the first time in days. Almost as soon as it began, it ended. The full light of the sun overwhelmed the focused light and the sharp colored shapes faded to blurry patterns of muted color.
Gallius let the small smile fade from his face. He sighed, his features going slack, his eyes turning flat and lifeless. He took a deep breath and resumed walking. “Display A6B, item 1a884, full screen.” The AI screens shifted, edges lining up with each other to form a single large screen floating before him. The details of the technology request from the Pheron-Malcian Corporation began streaming over the screen.
“Digital Particle Displacement? Clever.” Gallius said, after reading the proposed technology summary. Then his eyes glowed with blue static and began flickering at inhuman speeds. He skimmed the 3000 pages of documentation in a few minutes, his eyes squinting as he analyzed key phrases and the implementation requirements for the 82 patents they would need to incorporate.
At last he scoffed, “Nice try! Comms… connect me to the Pheron-Malcian representative, Lipricia Kine.”
There were two short chimes, then the click of the link connecting. The full screen floating before him displayed the smiling face of a beautiful young woman in a charcoal blue designer suit with neon orange piping. But the eyes were dull. The single curse of the wealthy immortals. No amount of anti-aging treatments or clone swapping could restore the mind's youthful innocence. That ineffable spark that slowly dies the longer you live.
“Vice Tech Gallius. What an unexpected surprise. How are you today?” Lupricia’s voice was pleasant, the smile even reached her eyes. However, Gallius’ flickering blue eyes found every flaw. The AI screen displayed bars and graphs, overlays pointing out micro expressions and heat fluctuations. An erratic sine wave showed the stress in her voice patterns in jagged spikes of red.
“Spare me the flattery, Lupricia. You knew full well to expect my call in the event technology request 1a884 was caught by our scans. And let me impress upon you… it has. It is my extreme pleasure to inform you that your request is unequivocally denied.”
“Oh, come now… I am sure there is some misunderstanding. That project is going to allow us to—”
“One word, Lupricia,” his voice was sharp and clipped. “Teleportation. Did your pathetic backwater moon corp really think they could sneak a technology like that past us? Past me?
“Gallius, honestly I have no—”
He cut her off once more, “Enough! This tech would effectively allow for the teleportation of living matter between two points. I will grant you, it was quite clever to disguise it as nothing more than instantaneous digital information sharing across a quantum subspace network.”
“Please. Gallius. We need this contract. Without it, the corporation will have to make deals with pirat-”
“Stop talking. You will not voice any intent of extralegal dealings. If you do, I will have the Apophis Massdriver pay your moon a visit and reduce your pathetic Sol-State to a population of zero. Am I clear?”
“Yes... But you should be aware tha-”
Gallius ended the link before she spoke another word, a pleased smile spreading across his face. He lived for the rare moments like this. Nothing made him remember why he loved his job more than when the bugs tried to crawl out of the dirt and he got to step on them.
So distracted with his moment of triumph, he never noticed the shadow that darkened the rainbow stained glass. A small ship slipping between the sun and the cathedral wall.
“There are no logs showing transport today.” Gallius said, and his brow furrowed as began skimming through the AI screens looking for any record. A sudden wave of dread washed over him as two distinct sucking ‘pops’ sounded behind him, followed by a sudden rush of air that rustled his robes.
“Lupricia. What have you done?” whispered Gallius as he turned to face the two black-clad figures that teleported into the hallway with him.
Lupricia ended the ComLink with the infiltration team. This was the single most stressful moment in her life—and the most satisfying. Months of planning. And it all came down to a grand total of two minutes. Setting the perfect moment when Gallius would be most distracted by his precious stained glass. It was flawless. She poured herself a drink and, with still shaking hands, took a sip—Kamorra Brandy—8000 units a bottle. She sighed heavily and released a nervous laugh. The alcohol stung her throat but calmed her thundering heart.
With Gallius out of the way his replacement had already made an offer to be more accommodating. Of course he couldn't approve the teleportation patents, but that's fine, PMC had dozens of other technology patents that hung right on the edge of the Empire’s approved advancement limitations. Gallius was just too stubborn to accept bribes, and his personal history with the Pheron side of the Corporation was making his bias against them problematic. Her link chimed, and she grinned when the name appeared.
“What providence…” she purred, standing straight and beaming a genuine smile before answering, “Good afternoon, Staff Tech Makeel… you have perfect timing.”
The man on the other end was young, but not the artificial young of chemicals or treatments—his eyes still sparkled. His face lit up seeing Lupricia. “Oh? It has been a few weeks since we spoke last… when I didn't hear back… well, I was starting to get nervous.”
“Nonsense, there's no need for concern. As I said, your timing is perfect. I just got off a call that finalized the last stage of our deal. That request we spoke of has been fulfilled and everything should be in place to move forward with our mutual best interests.”
“That’s wonderful to hear, Lupricia. I am looking forward to living on The Sistine Fall.”
“I’m sure you will love it there. I hear the sunward hallway has a magnificent view during sunrise.”
Makeel’s eyebrows creeped up into his hairline. “Now I'm intrigued. Someday you will have to tell me how you made this happen.”
“Maybe someday… I will,” she said, a wolfish grin spreading across her face.
“Looks like I'm getting another call, I gotta take this. You have my gratitude, Lupricia. I will send you a vid when I arrive and… well, we can begin working together soon.”
“Wonderful. Safe travels and congratulations on your promotion to Vice Tech.” Lupricia ended the call and sat back in her chair to gaze out the window at the skyline of her little moon. The sun would be coming up in a moment, and the view would be spectacular.
Love how fast you managed to do a decent amount of world building!