Unholy Star, Beyond Faith

Qura Amara

[Qura Amara, the living platform, Heart of the Amaran Wisdom]

"It lives, just as we live, not by the power of will, but by the force of existence" ~ Gazul on the birth of Qura Ammara, the living platform.

The platform that based the original colony of Qura Amara was a living thing grown from a piece of the body of the legendary first mothership, the Beautiful Thing.  But this was just a fact, like space is vast, or water is clear, that no one thought about -- until they beheld the view of the expansive entity from space for the first time.

Sen and her new friend, the young auger Bast, stood on the promenade of al Dahni. After shifting into the system at the designated entry coordinate, the bulky ship had made a jump to one of the primary orbital docking platforms and was currently floating upside-down over the living platform; this gave the impression that Qura Ammara had become the sky as seen through the transparent shielding above the deck.

"Wow!" exclaimed Sen in awe staring at the alien-like fractal structures of the platform; it was like millions of cubes of varying sizes stacked atop each other in towers that swayed slowly back and forth as if being pushed by a slow moving breeze. The cubes themselves possessed a metallic, platinum satin sheen.

"Yeah, Wow." echoed Bast and Sen wondered what the scene looked like to him with his augmented vision. "Can you believe that we're going to actually live there?"

"I can believe it, I know it is true--why shouldn't I believe it?" asked Sen defensively.

"You're so funny. You know that Sen?"

And you're so cute, thought Sen, but she didn't know why she would think such a thing and would never say it, but as he stood there staring at the sky all she could do was notice the smooth skin of his cheeks, and the shape of his lips and chin in profile.

"Why are you looking at me like that Sen? Are you okay?" asked Bast without changing his blind gaze from the platform above, he could somehow see from his sides.

"It's just that you're so ugly, and the platform is so beautiful. Such a big contrast is all."

"Crappo, Sen, why do you have to be so mean to me all of the time?" complained Bast, his feelings hurt.

"I'm not mean--it's called honesty." Sen didn't know why she had to be mean either, over the weeks in their trip to Qura Ammara the two prodigies had become inseparable friends. Bast seemed to weather her critical and downgrading remarks; they sometimes made him sullen, but once she got him talking about his auger tech or his latest learning project his mood would jump back up. As smart as he was, Sen couldn't believe that her friend hadn't seen the pattern and confronted her about it. "Do you think they will let us live in the same tower?" She said, changing the subject and gesturing to the platform.

"Yes, I asked Sedek, and he said we'll be living at the library itself."

"Cool," exclaimed Sen, just as a massive jet of blue tinged gas, bigger than any of the towers, erupted from the platform. "Whoa! did you see that?"

"The platform farted."

Sen doubled down, in laughter, "I doubt it would smell as bad as yours."

Bast grinned, "I dunno, do you want to compare?" The boy said as he stuck his butt out to let off his own gas.

"I think that would be an experiment best left for later." The two children instantly quit their antics surprised by the approach of the Mawlas, Xe'ed and Sedek. Xe'ed continued, her formal red and yellow costume for the day highlighted her wide, angular shoulders, narrow waist, and shapely hips, "are you two excited about your new home, it's beautiful isn't it?"

The children nodded in agreement.

Sedek wore a low cut purple robe; it exposed a triangular section of his hairy chest--a sight that Sen found revolting. With his loose sleeves held in place by tight cuffs, the Mawla pointed up to a tower that rose out of the platform almost directly above them. Sen noticed that the base of that tower was considerably wider than its neighbouring cuboid-structures. "That is the library, your new home and, as we like to think of it, the centre of our place in the galaxy. As soon as we dock, we'll head down together to meet the Learned."

Sen's throat caught in her neck; meeting the twelve members of the Learned was one of the most daunting tasks she knew that she had to face. These individuals were once Ethnaa Ashaar, like her, but had excelled in their learning of the twelve years and were, therefore, available to be promoted as one of the Learned. But, as there could only ever be twelve Learned at any one time, the Ethnaa Ashaar needed to wait for one of the current Learned to die almost invariably from old age. These exceptional people were each considered living treasures of the Galaxy and the subject of god-like adoration among the masses. As a group, the Learned also received the supernatural attribution of omniscience, and this was the source of Sen's concern: If the Learned knew everything, they would know her motives, her crimes, and the origin and full extent of her talents. Sen was counting on the likelihood that such omniscience was a myth. One thing she didn't mind them knowing was that she was brave, so she looked Xe'ed in the eye, "I'm ready."