Clark II
“I assume you are referring to the industrial colony originally designated Halos I, financed by the House of El, in alliance with the trading and industrial guilds. It was also an experiment in self-determined governance. The colony was considered a success for over three generations, and paid back its debt to the both the parent guilds as well as to the House of El within two generations. The House of El maintained close financial and personal ties with the colony.”
“It was an experiment in self-determined governance?” Clark repeated. “Could you explain that?”
The hologram’s pleasant expression didn’t change. “The governance of Krypton has traditionally been based on a balance of power between the noble houses, the industrial and trading guilds and the priesthood. Halos I was granted the right to use a more representational form of government much like ones my great-grandfather had observed on other planets, including Earth. The experiment was surprisingly successful and suggestions were made to allow this form of government to be permitted in future colonies.
“Unfortunately, no other colonies were founded prior to my discovery of inherent instabilities in Krypton’s orbit due to the immanent death of its sun.”
“So, what happened to the colony?” Clark asked. “If it had a representational government, why is it now ruled by the great houses, why was there almost a civil war?”
“Some members of the Council of Elders took my warning seriously enough to evacuate themselves to Halos I and apparently made the attempt to recreate the political structure of Krypton in that new environment,” the hologram said. “I must assume their attempt was only partially successful.”
“The general population didn’t want to give up their rights,” Kal-El surmised. “The guilds sided with the Houses of Ra and El, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they did,” Clark admitted. “Ching was surprised I even bothered to contact the guilds when more of the houses started to side with Nor, demanding the heir of the House of El, namely me, take his rightful place as ruler beside Zara or allow Nor to do it. Zara wasn’t about to marry Nor and I wasn’t about to become king.”
“But Krypton hadn’t had a monarchy in millennia, not since Pol-Us, Sor-El and Kol-Ar crafted the government that brought peace to Krypton,” Kal-El said. “I’m assuming that’s true of the Krypton in this time-line.”
The hologram appeared to blink its eyes as the AI recognized Kal-El’s presence. “Correct. The government created by Pol-Us, Sor-El and Kol-Ar brought about the Great Peace, allowing Krypton to become the most evolved and enlightened society in the known twenty-eight galaxies.”
“Modest, too,” commented Clark. The AI had given him a little background on the political situation on New Krypton, but nothing he thought he could use, yet. It certainly didn’t explain Zara and Ching’s demand that Nor’s granddaughter be killed, unless . . . “Explain property inheritance among the noble houses.”
“Within the Great Houses, the eldest legitimate male heir inherits both his father’s property and title. In the event there is no legitimate male heir, the property and title will devolve onto the eldest legitimate female heir, then to the eldest male heir born to a noble concubine, then to the eldest female heir born to a noble concubine. Any offspring, male or female, born to non-nobility are not eligible to inherit either property or title without special dispensation of the Council of Elders.”
“Bingo,” Clark murmured to himself. “According to the original charter of the Halos I colony, who owns the land, the property, the colony is on?”
“The House of El. Specifically, the High Lord of the House of El” the hologram replied. “You.”
“That’s Xon’s plan,” Clark said to Kal-El. “Disenfranchise my kids since Lois isn’t Kryptonian nobility, and then announce the granddaughter is my heir by a noble concubine, whether or not I ever slept with her. Whether or not I was even on the planet. The granddaughter inherits the lands and titles, which happens to include the whole blasted colony. It’s property, not politics.” He turned back to the hologram. “Is there a legal mechanism to sell or otherwise dispose of this type of property, say deed it over to the Council of Elders or to a consortium of the guilds?”
“Negative. Only individuals of noble birth may own property. Also, a property transaction of this magnitude to another House must have the unanimous support of the Council of Elders.”
“Damn,” Clark muttered to himself.
“So, what do you plan to do about it?” Kal-El asked.
“I still don’t know,” Clark admitted. “I’m not sure there is a viable solution. I can’t claim her, that’d be feeding into Xon’s lie. If I repudiate her, she can still be used against me. I can’t foster her out on Earth cause he may find out and attack Earth. I could try to find Herb and send her off to another time-line, but there’s still a chance she could be used against the Kal-El of that world.”
“Assuming you could find this sometimes dead time traveler?”
Clark nodded. “And assuming he was willing to help. He hasn’t shown up yet. I don’t know what that means, except that Utopia isn’t threatened.”
“Utopia?”
Clark nodded. “According to Wells, my descendants, Lois’s and mine, will found a Utopian society centered in Metropolis. No poverty, no crime, the whole nine yards. Wells intervenes, or tries to, when he sees that future in jeopardy. He’s very invested in that future.”
“And since nothing has happened yet to endanger your children, there is no threat to the future Wells is protecting,” Kal-El reasoned. “Obviously a second Superman and Lois doesn’t have an effect.”
“Or something will get you out of here before you effect it,” Clark said. Again he turned back to the hologram. “What is known concerning inter-dimensional travel or inter-dimensional rifts?”
“Please insert the eighth memory module into the reader.”
Clark looked through the blocks on the console until he found one with the proper Kryptonian number engraved on it. He placed the module into the square hole beside the navigation globe. The hologram appeared to change, it’s expression growing more solemn.
“Kryptonian law forbids research into that area,” the hologram began. ”Kryptonian theory is that transferring matter from one dimension to another would alter the static state of each universe affected, potentially destroying both universes. Another theory has that a transfer of an individual would initiate a chain-reaction throughout all related realities, shifting each counterpart into an adjacent reality. The energy requirements of this shift also has the potential of destroying one or more realities.”
“I know from experimental evidence and personal experience that both of these theories are incorrect,” Clark said. “It is possible to transfer one or more individuals from one time-line to another without transferring out their counterparts. Given that fact, there is no evidence to support the theory of a chain-reaction throughout all related realities and maintaining the static balance between realities simply requires that the mass be balanced, not the individuals being transferred.
Clark continued: “Is there any evidence to support a natural phenomenon being able to create a dimensional transfer or dimensional rift?”
“There is a phenomenon known to the Dakaari as the Nexus. They believe it to be a primordial super-string. Should the Nexus phenomenon in one reality intersect the Nexus in another, it would be theoretically possible to use the phenomenon to transfer from one time-line to another, or to travel backwards in time within a time-line. However, the gravitational anomalies created by the approach of the Nexus can and has destroyed entire star systems, including the Dakaari home world.”
“Any other possibilities?” Clark asked.
“There is also a phenomenon known as a ‘tempocane’, a highly localized magnetic storm that is theorized to be able to create a conduit between dimensions or different points on a single time-line. According to the scientists of Aldierra, a tempocane nearly always returns to it’s initial site of manifestation within seventy-two hours and creates a reverse effect, returning objects transferred back to it’s original space, if not time.”
“Can you describe the physical manifestation of a tempocane?” Kal-El asked.
“It is reported that a tempocane within an atmosphere appears as a severe cyclonic atmospheric disturbance that is frequently mistaken for a severe thunderstorm, except for the magnetic disturbances within the storm’s epicenter. It is also reported that the static discharges appear to be shifted to the blue end of the spectrum. Green is the most commonly reported color,” the hologram reported.
“A severe storm with green lightning,” Kal-El murmured. “That’s what it was. That’s what brought Lois and me here. And it may reappear sometime in the next sixty-six hours or so, so we can go back home.” Kal-El suddenly looked worried. “What if it’s already come and gone? I’m on a different part of the planet altogether from where it dumped us. And so is Lois.”
“According to Aldierran science, a tempocane magnetically marks the matter that was initially transported and is attracted to that marked matter upon its reappearance,” the hologram explained. “However, it is postulated that the two ends of the tempocane can shift, causing the transported matter to be left in a different reality than it originally came from, unless a ‘homing beacon’ is established to guide that matter into its home time-line.”
“Translation,” Clark said. “It’s going to come after you, but there’s no guarantee it’ll take you back to where you belong.”
______________________
You all know where the Nexus came from.
The tempocane is courtesy Martin Caidin's novelization of The Final Countdown, starring the Nimitz and Kirk Douglas.
