The Taleweaver
Prologue

Musicfading out, only the drums left now. Cameras four, five and sixrunning. Holoscanners circling.

"Sir,we're live in three, two, one..."

Armsoutstretched in invitation. Turn to camera five. Panning in, slowly.

"Iam Arthur Wallman,and I invite you, dear audience, to a harsh world of strange beauties-- unlike our own and yet in many ways very similar."

Bendforward. Show intimacy. Camera six panning in.

"Thisis the first in a new holo show series,Otherworld Disclosed. I will give you the background and the today asit is -- not the watered down version Federation HoloCasting feeds you."

Standupright. Audience leans forward. Sit down in chair. All cameraszooming. Face up again and smile.

"Otherworldhas a past, like our own, and a future we are bound to sharetogether. That sharing has a beginning.

Humanshavealways been searchingfornew horizons. Ever hungry for the unknown, we searched the bodiescircling our sun. By thetwenty fifth centuryhumans traveledthroughout the solarsystem, making homeswhereveringenuity andengineering made conditions bearable."

Smilefading. Replace with fatherly love, and compassion.

"Onefield of science, however, refused to yield the secrets demanded.Bound by the limits of the speed of light we found the stars out ofour reach. Home had become our prison. Hope grew into frustration,anger and resentment. Resentment finally subsided into resignation.Mankind plodded on like a herd of well fed sheepwatching the years passing by, too tired even to hope for a miracle."

Bend forwardagain. Camera six zooming, one and three panning out. Tilting headslightly sideways. Express sympathy and hope.

"Try toremember that time. Pretend that you are still living at a timebefore that miracle happened -- it will help you to appreciate whatoccurred, to feel that sense of wonder again."

Risefrom chair. Left hand sweeping to holocube. Lights dimming.Recorded holorunning; there, metal and stone filling the view. Voice onlynow.

"Sixyears ago, in the year of 2761, Theta 47, a fully automated miningand construction unit, disappeared."

New recordedholo.

"CaptainJohn Ishimacommanded the police corvette sent to investigate whatever accidenthad befallen the station. Finding it intact would in itself have beena major boon to his career, but what made him a place in historywas the replaceing ofthe Gate."

Andthere his face fades from view. More darkness, and a blackness sototal it's visible against the stars. Zooming in and throughit.

"Somewherebetween Mars and the asteroid belt there is a hole in reality, a wormhole, a gate to heaven, or more simply, just a hole, and behind thathole, another world. It's a strange solar system with only one singleplanet circling a sun and a moon circling the planet. The planet wecall Otherworld is slightly larger than Earth.

Ishima'sfirst remote surveyshowed Otherworld'sliving conditions practicallycopying Earth's, making it ideal for colonization.His second, that it was already populated."

Holorecord fading out. Lights brighter. Cameras two and six zooming in.Stand straight expressing concern and mild outrage.

"Theecstatic surprise we all shared gave way to hope, and hope'sugly companion, greed, was soon to follow. Without telling us, thevery citizens the federation government is bound by law to serve,they took upon themselves to decide how to greet our new neighbors."

Drumsrolling and the Federation fanfare barely audible in the background.One step backwards as caught by shock and disgust.

"Withina year the carriers TSS Indomitable and TSSShieldbreaker were dispatched under thecommand of Admiral Chang with troops to take control of the newfoundgift. After four months of uneventful travel they were orbitingOtherworld.

Sometimeduring the last stages of planning before sending troops planetside their communication equipment suddenly voiced a messagefrom the surface."

Ironic bow.Camera four zooming in, six and three panning out. Turn slowly andslowly walk to number four. Benevolent outrage and then the crookedsmile. Invite the audience to share a secret.

"Yes,this is something that I, Arthur Wallman am able to let you know, nomatter how much our government would want it unknown, and if theconservatives hadn't lost last year's elections it would still beburied along with the rest of the lies and halftruths only an independent newscaster dares digging through."

Turn to holocube, arms outstretched as to receive agift. Satellite records on.

"Wewere to be assigned a small area, barely three kilometers across, asthe single point of entry to the planet.This is where the current launch port is located."

Switchrecord. Admiral tearing apart his gloves during the last trial wherehe gave testimony.

"AdmiralChang, chosen more for his decisive handling of piracy in the miningbelt than for any skill at diplomacy, sent a short message back toEarth about the unexpected communication. Rather than waiting forinstructions which could have intervened with his career he excelledin military stupidity and gave the orders to proceed with shuttledropping ground forces targeting all majorcities on the main continent."

Savorthat expression of surprise. Now they're learning what reallyhappened...