#9 – Beddesh Ajaki
So far in the future that the human mind cannot readily conceive of it, the universe will be largely empty. The hotter, larger stars will burn out, the galaxies will slowly depopulate, and all that will be left will be the black holes and the red dwarfs.
Known by astronomers to be the longest-lived of all stars, red dwarfs potentially have lifespans that are longer than the current age of the universe. When this universe ends, they’ll be the last to go.
Whatever intelligent life still exists at this time will likely cluster around these stars, building amazing structures to catch every last bit of solar energy they can in a desperate bid to sustain their civilizations just that much longer. But as long-lived as these stars are, they’re not immortal. One day, even the red dwarfs will fail.
The star known as Alpha Aurelius has hosted a human civilization for thousands of years. The star is surrounded by a technological basketwork of energy collectors and residences. People from hundreds of worlds journeyed there with the hope of making a better life. Beddesh Ajaki is one of eleven administrators of Aurelius, and is an expert in navigating the byzantine bureaucracy that has emerged in an attempt to fight the certainty of existential extinction.
When the Nightfinder arrives from the now-extinct Delta-b Cygnus and asks to join them, Ajaki makes sure that the ship and its residents are welcomed with open arms. However, he manages to withhold one very important secret from them until it is too late….
About the Author (Author Profile)
I'm a teacher and a writer living in Osaka, Japan, and will be doing this project concurrently with my NaNoWriMo project.Subscribe
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