Weird Tales About the End by E. W. Farnsworth

Author:E. W. Farnsworth [Farnsworth, E. W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Celestial Ink Publishing
Published: 2019-09-20T18:30:00+00:00

The Five Farstar Brothers

Manny Farstar reluctantly answered his new 3Maggie’s questions about his family and, specifically, what they did in the time leading up to the launch of the Spaceship Arcturus. His former 3Maggie never wanted to discover intimate aspects of the Edgemaster’s past; her focus was only on the future. But the replacement, whose composition included the feelings of the librarian Ms. Hygeia Frictenicht, was always surprising him. She also exhibited subtle motions so attractive on account of their grace and charm that Farstar would forget his feelings of loss for her matchless predecessor.

“You asked about my family. What can I say? My four brothers and I were raised to course through the stars. We attended the Space Academy and were valedictorians in five successive years. Often brothers and sisters were indoctrinated for classified work on the grounds that family members might be less susceptible to treachery than folks who were not related. My brothers and I—did I mention that I was the eldest?—we were treated as if we were a special unit. Our mother and father were general officers in the Space Force, so we were given plum missions. By that I mean the most dangerous assignments, not the easiest.”

She smiled at him, her eyes full of wonder. “Can you give examples?”

“We were asked to perform speed trials on the most advanced spacecraft. We were sent past the known frontiers of our solar system, then our galaxy. When we discovered that the Empire already had conquered the known universe, we became the point special force against a threat that had to be kept totally secret from the masses. The leader of the Federation, which was the controlling body of the solar system, used us as his private army. Of course, he knew the darkest secrets, and, of course, he was treasonous because of the riches the Emperor promised him to deliver the Federation without engaging in a costly war.”

“I know the history, Manny. What I’d like to find out is what your family did in the few years before the launch.”

“It shouldn’t be surprising that the more we discovered about the state of affairs in the cosmos, the more we became involved in what became the resistance. More than that, I led my brothers to understand that, to survive, we could be neither fish nor fowl in the coming struggle. The Federation was headed for self-immolation, and we had to be ready to survive outside our birth context even if we had to go to the far corners of the universe to do that.”

“I’m listening. Please don’t stop there. Go on.”

“Alex was the logistician. Crytox was the cryptographer. Max was the weaponeer. Sibley was the communicator. I was the operator. All of us knew the others’ roles as well as we knew our own. That way, if the Empire—or the Federation—terminated any of us, the others would carry on.”

“But what were you doing all these things for?” She was imploring him now with a faraway look in her eyes.

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