Full Night on Tannis

Chapter 1

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.”

As she finished the story, Venka Hyrris was elated by the look of awe and terror on the faces of every child in front of her. She cherished these sessions. The art of oral storytelling had all but been lost over the past 300 years. There was something special about allowing children to use their imagination to let stories come to life through their mind’s eye, rather than the usual method of integrated vision and sound that their nanos intuitively provided. Some of the children from the nearby campsites had joined her group, as well.

The children of Tannis 714 were practically born into their optic nanos. A direct patch into the retina allowed nanosight to blend reality with the image being viewed. The same tech was used for aural nanocoms and sensory nanostims. Children were infused with the nanos shortly after birth in order to have their functions be developed intuitively as they grew up.

The tech was originally developed back on Earth hundreds of years ago. It was a technical marvel to allow microbionics to tap into the energy produced by a person’s mitochondria, providing a limitless power source for personal electronic devices. Once the microbionics industry took off, it quickly evolved into nanotech, which allowed for improved communication and travel technology.

“But what happens next, Ms Hyrris?” Binnel was still wide-eyed in fascination from the tale.

“You’ll just have to wait until next week to find out, Binnel,” Venka said.

A chorus of “Awww” rang out from the children in front of her. Venka couldn’t help but laugh at that.

“Story time is over. Now we can all enjoy watching Sol set below the Far Sky.”

Tannis’ second largest sun was about to start its 250 year journey on the opposite side of the planet. This was a first for the population of Tannis 714. Never since the colony arrived have all three suns been in alignment. Thankfully the original settler’s predictions had been right about their alignment occurring on the Far Side of the planet.

“How much longer until we have to rely on full nanosight?” Asked Harris.

“Well,” Venka explained, “we’ll have a typical Twilight Season for about three weeks due to the slow setting of Sol. Only this time, Sol isn’t floating across the low horizon, its fully dropping to the other side of Tannis. Once that happens, we’ll finally have Full Night.”

“What happens then?” Another of the children asked.

“No one truly knows, Merril. We won’t see Sol again in our lifetimes, but Sun should return briefly in about twenty years. Then Sun will set again and we’ll have a few years of Short Night before Solaris re-enters our sky from the bottom horizon.”

“And that will end all Night for our generation,” Myka spoke up at last. He had been sitting quietly this entire time.

“Right,” Venka continued, “and all of you will be able to teach the next generation about Full Night and Short Night and all of the changes this side of Tannis will have undergone without Solar Light, as well as all of the changes Far Side will have endured.”

“Plus, what its like to live relying on pure nanosight, right?”

“Yes, Merril,” Venka placed a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “It will be just like your true vision. You shouldn’t notice a difference.”

Myka stood up and started walking towards the transport. “I’ll be inside doing some last minute calculations. Hit me up when you’re done here.”

“I think I’ll stay out with the kids at the campsite, actually,” Venka said.

“Suit yourself. Just don’t be late for the meeting,” he said as we walked away.

Venka stoked the fire with a stick, watching the sparks spiral upwards to blend with the emerging stars spotting the sky above.

One of the younger children shuffled his way closer to the fire, dragging his butt along the dirt. “Why can’t we just all live on Far Side so we can stay in Full Light?”

“Well,” Venka began, “you see, Tommel, if we were to…”

“Ohhh,” Tommel interrupted, “that’s kinda scary.”

Venka cleared her throat, “What was the rule about nanos at the campsite tonight?”

Tommel blinked himself back to Full Reality. Even without her nanosight, Venka could see the color blushing into his cheeks as he looked down in shame. “We’re not supposed to use our nanos while we’re out here with the troupe.”

“Right,” she said, “this is a special night. The fewer enhancements we use, the more we will remember it in its full natural wonder.”

A murmur of hesitant agreement rustled through the campsite audience.

“But mom, why can’t we?”

“Merril,” Venka said, “of all people, I shouldn’t have to explain to you the importance of limiting excessive use of nanos.”

“No, mom. Why can’t we live on Far Side during Full Night?”

“Oh, uh, right. Well,” now a blush was forming on her own cheeks, “because the intensity of our three suns as they align will cause radiation levels that would cause Far Side to be unlivable for at least a generation. We would be forced to live inside under cover. Spending too much time outside during a Triple Solar Season would be too much for even our nanotech to protect us.”

“Won’t the cold and dark of Full Night be dangerous, too?” This question came from her left.

“So many questions tonight!” Venka said.

Merril leaned in to whisper into her mother’s ear, “Because you won’t let us use our nanos, mom.”

Venka’s blush deepened at that. “Which…is a…good thing when you’re not using nanos, of course. Its a more…natural way to exercise your brain.”

The children all laughed at Venka’s attempt to keep her cool. She, of course, had her nanos in full effect this whole time. Constantly getting feedback from the team of scientists in the transport regarding up-to-the-minute conditions of all aspects on Far Side. Flora, fauna, weather, and ground conditions, not to mention thousands upon thousands of solar and terrestrial forecasts.

“More than three hundred years of work here, and with all this technological power, it has to be accurate,” she hoped to herself. It wasn’t like her to second guess the science. After all, it was her life’s work. And her father’s before her, and his parents before that. Four generations of the Hyrris family legacy will be put to the test in the next few weeks.

Once humans had harnessed the potential of nanotechnology to first find and then travel to other earth-like planets, interstellar colonization became a necessity. Nanotech became much more than a conduit for entertainment and communication. It revolutionized healthcare, extending human life-expectancy to over 200 years and eradicating all but the most virulent diseases. There were still some protoviruses that could evade the rapid healing effects of nanotech due to their incredible mutation rates, but most “traditional” diseases were relegated to stories of Earth’s past.

Tannis 714 was one of the first planets colonized. Venka’s great-great-grandfather piloted the Stellar Ark through wormhole Alphya, arriving here safely with just shy of 17 million people. The enormity of Tannis 714 and its vast wealth of natural resources made for a haven that has thrived from the start. From an early age, Venka was fascinated by the planet’s three suns, each with its own meandering course across the sky. The original settlers had quickly surmised that Life Side of Tannis would allow for hundreds of generations to thrive with only a few episodes of Full Night during that time. Nanotech would help overcome the extreme cold and Hard Technology would keep everyone and everything safe indoors, including food stores and natural growing fields.

The only remaining question was: what will truly happen on Far Side when the full intensity of all three suns relentlessly barrage that side of the planet for years?

Venka’s nanocom notified her that the Atmosphere and Environment Committee meeting will be starting in 20 minutes, sharp. Enough time to get these kids to settle down so she can get comfortable in front of the fire. “Yeah,” she thought as the fire continued to crackle, “I’ll just run the meeting from here tonight.”

“Commander?” Specialist Joise’s voice interrupted Venka’s thoughts.

“What is it, Specialist?”

“I think you should see this.”

The camp’s fire remained in Venka’s True Sight, but her optic nanos overlayed an image that was unsettling. It was a real-time image of Far Side, Sector 6. The ground seemed to be…moving.

“What am I looking at, Joise?” She made no audible noise with this question, her nanos had been patched directly to allow for silent coms. A perk of being in the Higher Science Division.

“I’m not exactly sure, ma’am,” Joise said, “maybe its a heat illusion due to Sol’s intensity adding to the other two suns.”

“That’s not an illusion, Specialist.” Myka’s voice was added to the conversation. His nano’s were direct-patched as well. “Venka, you’d better get in here.”

“Shit,” she mumbled as she carefully shifted herself out from under her sleeping daughter. “I’m coming.” This last was silent again.

As she made her way to the transport, she watched as the ground of Sector 6 continued to undulate under the slowly increasing intensity of all three suns. It seemed to be moving in some sort of pattern. Her optic nanos intuitively panned and zoomed to get the best viewing angle that the Far Side cams would allow. Logistical analyses of the event was running in the foreground. Earthquake? Volcano? Could the crust be…melting?

More and more voices were speaking on her nanocoms, all at the same time, but her nanos allowed her to process each one individually. This…event, or whatever was happening, was nothing like the thousands of simulations her team had predicted. It was like the planet was coming to life. Tectonic shift? Extreme radiation effect?

When she entered the transport, her team was all hands on deck. Dozens of monitors were flashing from Sector to Sector, scanning all of Far Side for similar activity. Only Sector 6 seemed to be active.

“Any thoughts?” Myka quietly said out loud, so as to avoid having his nanocoms broadcast to the team.

“Not yet,” Venka said, “and why is Sector 6 the only region doing this? Sector 2 must have more intense heat and radiation currently.”

“Exactly,” was his verbal reply before he went back to nanocoms and his monitors.

One of the monitors in front of Venka was the same image as her optic nano feed, so she focused on the screen, instead. As she shifted her focus, the ground of the Sector 6 region being watched stopped roiling and split open. Like a zipper, the crust started separating in a mostly straight line, causing a gaping chasm to form hundreds of meters long. As this new terrestrial anomaly continued, the other movements surrounding this ground-tear seemed to settle down until finally everything came to a halt. Venka seamlessly switched back to her optic nanos so she could more quickly scan Sector 6’s new topography.

“I guess it was an earthquake,” said Joise.

“Not an earthquake,” Myka said.

Venka saw it, too. Out of the chasm that had just formed, a head was sticking out, looking around. It had a broad brow that swept back to a crown of horns before plunging down to a neck that allowed the head to turn almost 360 degrees around. Three sets of eyes scanned the horizon as the head turned back and forth. Below the eyes, the head became flat and narrow. A vertical slit opened, exposing a gaping maw that began to vibrate.

“What the hell?” Venka said as she watched the creature begin to emerge from the slash in the ground. “How did we miss this? After all these years and all this tech?”

No audible sound was coming from the vibrating mouth-slit. Long, gangly arms ending in large paw-like hands protruded from the ground, assisting the creature out to the surface. Its leathery body was disproportionately smaller than the head and arms and the legs were almost comically small. A thick tail acted like a third arm to support the tiny body that hovered just above the ground, its stubbly legs dangling.

The mouth slit continued to silently vibrate and the head continued to look around. Then another head emerged from the giant hole in the ground. Then another, and other.

“Oh shit,” was Myka’s response to this.

“How did we miss this, Myka?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter now. We’ll figure it out. Right now we need to make sure everyone is safe. Until we know more about these things, we have to assume they’re hostile.”

“Get the children inside,” Venka broadcast across the nanocoms, “get everyone inside. Now!”

She burst out of the transport and ran to her daughter. Merril was still sleeping soundly with her troupe-mates next to the crackling fire while the sky continued to darken as the third sun slowly continued to set.