Earth.
Kaal switched off his ThinScreen. “Maybe,” he shrugged. “No one knows.”
“Come on, you lot!” called Emmie impatiently. “We’ve done what you wanted to do. Now can we please go to the battlefield?”
Chapter 11
Getting to the battlefield exhibit meant a half-hour ride across the planet. It was almost lunchtime when the Shuttletube swept into the station, but Emmie was far too excited to think about eating.
“We’ll just see some of it,” she gabbled, as the class streamed through the Shuttletube exit, “and stop for lunch after that. Then we’ll have a proper look. John... John . Hurry up.” She had pulled the Comet Creative from her bag and was already running forward. “Got to find the best place to get a picture!” she shouted over her shoulder.
John and Kaal glanced at each other, frowning. Hyperspace History was one of Emmie’s worst subjects, and she had never showed the slightest interest in the Goran–Subo war before Graximus Greyfore had talked to them about it.
However, Emmie’s unusual behaviour was quickly forgotten. As they cleared the exit, both John and Kaal stopped in their tracks. Before them was a vast block of crystal-clear ice and what was inside was nothing less than a complete battle, frozen in time.
The entire class had fallen silent. There was no laughter or happy chatter now. Every eye, antenna, and sight-sensor was turned to the towering ice block. Before them, across a dreary landscape of mud and bogs, the creatures John had seen in the 4-D movie at Hyperspace High were locked in close combat. The Goran – looking like heavily armoured tanks with great pincers – against the blubbery Subo, seal-like, except for the long laser spikes jutting from their heads. Spikes that could be used to stab their enemies. Several Goran had been frozen in exactly such a pose.
“Come on, there’s loads more to see.” Emmie clapped her hands to attract attention and pointed the gawping students to a path around the exhibit. “Over there looks like a good place to take a 4-D photo.”
As the rest of the class moved away, John stopped by an information screen. It immediately changed, as the characters on its screen transformed to English. Fascinated, he leaned in to read.
“Over two hundred thousand warriors, including Suboran’s infamous General Klort, are held inside this stasis cube. It is the largest display of suspension technology in the history of the galaxy,” the screen told him. “It was developed in complete secrecy, at a time when ninty-five per cent of space-faring civilizations were at war.”
Shaking his head in amazement, John continued reading the story of how the frozen battle had come to rest on Archivus Major. At the height of the war, members of the Galactic Council had formed a top-secret peace group. Hiding deep within a gigantic hollow asteroid, they created factories that had produced immense spaceships – Peace Stars 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 – each one equipped with powerful suspension beams. Escorted by a fleet of smaller fighter craft, the Peace Stars had battled their way through space to the centre of the Goran–Subo war. There, they had released the power of their beams. With the warmonger, General Klort, as well as top generals on both sides, in stasis, the Subo and Goran governments had quickly laid down arms and, under threat of suspension from the Council, the rest of the galaxy followed.
“With the war over,” the screen finished, “it was decided that releasing the fighters from suspension was too great a threat to the new-found peace. Instead, the Peace Stars cut the entire battlefield from Gora Prime’s surface and towed it to Archivus Major. It now serves as a reminder of the horror of war. By order of the Galactic Council, the warriors within will never be released.”
“They’re all still alive in there,” Kaal’s voice broke through John’s thoughts. “Just held in suspended animation for thirty thousand
Kaal switched off his ThinScreen. “Maybe,” he shrugged. “No one knows.”
“Come on, you lot!” called Emmie impatiently. “We’ve done what you wanted to do. Now can we please go to the battlefield?”
Chapter 11
Getting to the battlefield exhibit meant a half-hour ride across the planet. It was almost lunchtime when the Shuttletube swept into the station, but Emmie was far too excited to think about eating.
“We’ll just see some of it,” she gabbled, as the class streamed through the Shuttletube exit, “and stop for lunch after that. Then we’ll have a proper look. John... John . Hurry up.” She had pulled the Comet Creative from her bag and was already running forward. “Got to find the best place to get a picture!” she shouted over her shoulder.
John and Kaal glanced at each other, frowning. Hyperspace History was one of Emmie’s worst subjects, and she had never showed the slightest interest in the Goran–Subo war before Graximus Greyfore had talked to them about it.
However, Emmie’s unusual behaviour was quickly forgotten. As they cleared the exit, both John and Kaal stopped in their tracks. Before them was a vast block of crystal-clear ice and what was inside was nothing less than a complete battle, frozen in time.
The entire class had fallen silent. There was no laughter or happy chatter now. Every eye, antenna, and sight-sensor was turned to the towering ice block. Before them, across a dreary landscape of mud and bogs, the creatures John had seen in the 4-D movie at Hyperspace High were locked in close combat. The Goran – looking like heavily armoured tanks with great pincers – against the blubbery Subo, seal-like, except for the long laser spikes jutting from their heads. Spikes that could be used to stab their enemies. Several Goran had been frozen in exactly such a pose.
“Come on, there’s loads more to see.” Emmie clapped her hands to attract attention and pointed the gawping students to a path around the exhibit. “Over there looks like a good place to take a 4-D photo.”
As the rest of the class moved away, John stopped by an information screen. It immediately changed, as the characters on its screen transformed to English. Fascinated, he leaned in to read.
“Over two hundred thousand warriors, including Suboran’s infamous General Klort, are held inside this stasis cube. It is the largest display of suspension technology in the history of the galaxy,” the screen told him. “It was developed in complete secrecy, at a time when ninty-five per cent of space-faring civilizations were at war.”
Shaking his head in amazement, John continued reading the story of how the frozen battle had come to rest on Archivus Major. At the height of the war, members of the Galactic Council had formed a top-secret peace group. Hiding deep within a gigantic hollow asteroid, they created factories that had produced immense spaceships – Peace Stars 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , and 5 – each one equipped with powerful suspension beams. Escorted by a fleet of smaller fighter craft, the Peace Stars had battled their way through space to the centre of the Goran–Subo war. There, they had released the power of their beams. With the warmonger, General Klort, as well as top generals on both sides, in stasis, the Subo and Goran governments had quickly laid down arms and, under threat of suspension from the Council, the rest of the galaxy followed.
“With the war over,” the screen finished, “it was decided that releasing the fighters from suspension was too great a threat to the new-found peace. Instead, the Peace Stars cut the entire battlefield from Gora Prime’s surface and towed it to Archivus Major. It now serves as a reminder of the horror of war. By order of the Galactic Council, the warriors within will never be released.”
“They’re all still alive in there,” Kaal’s voice broke through John’s thoughts. “Just held in suspended animation for thirty thousand
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