Arc of Mind · Book One
A hidden world.
A forbidden history.
The shape of Book One, told without resolving it. Nothing on this page reveals the ending — the chronology further down carries its own spoiler control.
Where it begins
Arca'n Spectre is a young Umarian who lives on Umara, a planet hidden from the rest of the universe. He longs to leave his home behind and explore the stars — but like all Umarians, he is expected to remain, where space travel has long been forbidden. Exceptionally gifted and possessing extraordinary abilities, Arca'n is unlike anyone else around him. When the discovery of a new resource leads a scientist to question ideas that had always been untouchable, truths begin to surface that threaten the very foundation of Umarian Ancestral belief. Three prophecies will be revealed. And then, one day, two meteors change everything.
From the Introduction
- An old enemy will return.
- War will erupt.
- There will be loss, especially for Arca'n.
- His relationship with his father will be tested and pushed further apart.
- A hero will rise to save the Umarians.
- Victory will come at a tremendous cost.
“This is only the beginning of Arca’n’s journey. His story does not end here.”
Book One
A universe in conflict
A boy who wants to leave. An emperor who wants everything. Between them, 500 generations of a secret neither of them chose.
Five movements
- I
A world kept hidden
Chapters One to Five
Umara has been hidden for 500 Ancestral generations. Three billion people live up to 1,200 years, move objects with their minds, and have no memory of where they came from. The Planetary Security Organization has made certain of that: the curriculum is controlled, the archives are sealed, space travel is forbidden, and questioning the Ancestors is a crime.
- II
The nonconformist
Chapters Six to Nine
Arca'n Spectre is seventeen, holds the all-time Umarian academic record, and cannot stop asking the one question nobody is allowed to ask. His father wants him to become a senator. His rival wants him to lose. His mother believes in him without condition. Then the Science and Technology Alliance discovers what he can actually do.
- III
The forbidden question
Chapters Ten to Sixteen
The discovery of a new resource leads a scientist to start questioning ideas that had always been considered untouchable. In the P.S.O. archives, a restricted file surfaces — a scorched Ancestral notebook whose owner's name has burned away. Dr. Vil Tasc'n repairs it, translates it, and finds two prophecies. Curiosity pushes him deeper, and he finds a third.
- IV
The old enemy
Chapters Twenty-One to Twenty-Seven
Thousands of generations ago the Marconians were a peaceful race, until the Ancients enslaved them and made them mine the metals that killed them. They won their freedom and lost their world doing it. They have been hunting the remnants of the Ancients ever since — and a debris trail 500 generations cold is about to point them at Umara.
- V
The war
Chapters Twenty-Eight to Thirty-Two
200 Speedstar fighters and a single cruiser against a scout fleet with a cloak Umarian doctrine has no counter for. A hero will rise to save the Umarians. Victory will come at a tremendous cost — and it will not be paid by strangers.
Outcome withheld
Thirty-two chapters
- —Preface1
- —Introduction5
- OneThe Umarians8
- TwoThe Dream14
- ThreeThe Body20
- FourAdrenaline Junkies28
- FiveUnidentified Objects36
- SixThe Recruitment41
- SevenThe Nonconformist44
- EightImminent Danger52
- NineThe Prodigy Uncovered57
- TenThe Meteor Shower65
- ElevenThe Archives71
- TwelveSuspicions75
- ThirteenThe Fight79
- FourteenThe Three Prophecies84
- FifteenThe Visionary88
- SixteenProject Chronos99
- SeventeenThe Ancestors103
- EighteenDisturbing Revelation109
- NineteenCaptured116
- TwentyThe Execution123
- Twenty-OneThe Marconians134
- Twenty-TwoThe Summoning139
- Twenty-ThreeDimonicur146
- Twenty-FourWhere Did They Come From?151
- Twenty-FiveProvisions for Combat155
- Twenty-SixUnrealized Potential159
- Twenty-SevenThe Hunters165
- Twenty-EightRealized Potential168
- Twenty-NineThe Undecided171
- ThirtyThe Hunted174
- Thirty-OneThe Paradise Lost190
- Thirty-TwoRemembrance197
- —Afterword201
- BonusThe Original Short Story (The Three Consecutive Dreams)203
Includes a bonus chapter featuring excerpts from the original version recorded in the author's childhood diary.
From Marcona to Arc of Destiny
Spoiler control
8 events that resolve Book One are hidden.
Before Book One
8 eventsThousands of generations ago
Marcona
The Ancients invade Marcona
The original Marconians were once a peaceful race — until the Ancients invaded their homeworld. The Ancients enslaved them and forced them to mine generons and aderons from the asteroids orbiting Marcona's sun. The metals killed many Marconians, because the Ancients believed Marconian lives were more expendable than their own.
Several hundred generations later
Marcona
Marcona falls; the Ancients are driven out
It took several hundred generations for the Marconians to learn how to undermine and overthrow the Ancients, but victory came at a steep price. The Ancients destroyed Marcona, though the Marconians managed to push them back beyond the brim of the universe. No one knew where the Ancients went afterward. All that remained of Marcona was rubble.
The age of conquest
The enchained become the conquerors
No other race was willing to give up any portion of their planet for the Marconians to settle. Desperation turned into conquest. Anger was never satisfied, and the empire grew stronger. No Marconian remembered the words peace or forgiveness anymore.
Year Zero A.U.
Umara
The Ancestors settle Umara
The Ancestors originated on a planet in another distant galaxy before discovering and settling on Umara — marking what became known as Year Zero A.U. (After Umara). They designated the world “T.D.-b.”
Day One, Year Zero A.U.
Umara
The great crash
The great crash occurred on the very first day the Umarian Ancestors arrived on Umara. Massive amounts of history, data and cultural artifacts were lost forever in the wreckage.
Year Three A.U.
Umara
Metamorphosis
The Ancestors began experiencing a phenomenon they called metamorphosis, developing enhanced telekinetic abilities unlike anything they had previously known — and gradually began losing memories of their Ancestral past. Scientists named the cause Meta-energy.
After the forgetting
Umara
The P.S.O. is founded
An authoritative organization was created to preserve Ancestral history while keeping it hidden from the general population: the Planetary Security Organization. “We must keep Umara hidden from any threat, and we intend to keep our planet safe,” decreed its first leader.
500 Ancestral generations
Umara
500 generations of secrecy
The population forgot the true origins and history of The Ancestors. The P.S.O. used the opportunity to preserve and study Ancestral records privately. Thick cosmic dust clouds kept the planet concealed, and Umara grew to three billion inhabitants.
Book One
16 eventsChapter Two
Larcastle
The Dream
On Umara, an eight-year-old Arca'n Spectre plays hover-disc with his neighborhood friend Dunys Fikan in Larcastle — the beginning of a rivalry that will define them both.
Chapter Three
Larcastle
The Body
The boys find a body unlike anything the Larcastle police have ever seen. Two P.S.O. agents arrive and take over the investigation immediately.
Chapter Six
Larcastle
The Recruitment
At the career fair, Jestra Wel'n is drawn to the medical profession after seeing firsthand how doctors and nurses save lives, while Conl'n Zaxis heads for the Engineering booth. Two futures quietly begin.
Chapter Nine
The Prodigy Uncovered
Arca'n's unusual talents are discovered by Dr. Vil Tasc'n of the Science and Technology Alliance.
Chapter Ten
Umara
The Meteor Shower
Two meteors change everything.
Chapter Eleven
Capitol Point
The Archives
Over several centuries the P.S.O. had painstakingly analyzed recovered Ancestral data archives and books, keeping their findings strictly classified. A new layer of information demands executive attention — and Saudran summons Tasc'n for a private briefing.
Chapter Fourteen
The Three Prophecies
From a partially burned Ancestral notebook, Tasc'n recovers two prophecies — then pushes deeper into the corrupted files and uncovers a third that leaves him cold. The author's name is unretrievable.
Chapter Sixteen
Project Chronos
The S.T.A.'s temporal displacement device is still not operational. Every test subject sent back five minutes fails to reappear. A crucial variable remains unidentified.
Chapter Nineteen
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapter Twenty
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapters Twenty-One to Twenty-Three
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapter Twenty-Five
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapter Thirty
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapter Thirty-One
Larcastle
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Chapter Thirty-Two
Sealed — resolves Book One
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Beyond Book One
2 eventsArc of Time
Book Two
Arca'n is recruited into the P.S.O. Jestra Wel'n follows her calling and becomes a doctor. General Bracsan Noor still holds the rank of General.
“Let your dreams and imagination carry you into a world of wonder.”