Ozonia #004 Through...

Ozonia #004 Through Hyperspace

    The universe is big, so long in all directions it stretches that it seems infinite. Considering the magnitude of its size, it's hard to believe that in the beginning, before the Big Bang hurled glowing particles in all directions, all the matter in the universe was concentrated in a sphere the size of a basketball. In that initial singularity, agglomeration of infinite density, was condensed all that would come to be, all energy, all matter, all time. With the great explosion began the process of expansion and cooling that eventually arrived at the present form of the universe.
    In this beginning of chaos and energy, condensed points of time were stretched into thin strings, forming a web of timelines that connect all points in space. This web of time and energy is what we know as Hyperspace. For a long time, hyperspace was just a concept of theoretical physics until, about four thousand years ago, using space excavation technology developed at Antares, the first hyperspace pathways were opened.
    Even with this first advance, it was almost a thousand years before the first hyperspace voyage was made, a twenty hour flight between the planets Antares and Babylon. With the technological development of the last ages, nowadays, this same trip can take only an hour using modern ships with multiple warp engines.
    Modern ships are fast and coated in such a way that crew and passengers feel virtually no bodily effects from traversing hyperspace. This is not the case with the ship Belchior is currently on. The adapted compartment has a thin coating, the seats are comfortable, which is an aid to the body that seems to liquefy. Belchior feels as if he is melting, a weight as if an enormous gravity is compressing him from all sides. Trepidation and discomfort, he feels like vomiting, he can't, inside the body the organs seem suspended. He tries to take deep breaths, he tries to forget the discomfort, he manages to find a line of thought that takes the attention and alleviates the discomforts of the trip.
    He's going to Tot, mentally reviewing everything he knows about this planet. Tot is the only inhabited planet in the Otonia galaxy. It has a gravity of 11 m/s² and a pleasant temperature most of the 545 days of the year. Its native inhabitants are the Totas, mammals with short fur and large eyes, the average height of an adult Tota is 1.50 meters. They have long tails that can reach 2 meters, the tail has several joints that allow it to be used as a fifth limb. The official local language is a variation of Juco, however, most of the population has Juco as a second language.
    Planet Tot was the twenty-seventh planet to join the Galactic Union of Pandora. Its integration with the Union took place peacefully, in the year 1037 of the Pandora Calendar. With the opening of a space hypervia, Tot became a tourist destination for many nobles wanting to enjoy the mild summer and fruit cakes, the traditional dishes of the local cuisine.
    The planet is made up of three hook shaped continents surrounded by four oceans. The oceans of Tot are highly saline and acidic, only a few unicellular life forms survive in such an adverse environment, however, the continental meadows are very rich in trees that bear fruit with a hard shell, tasty and nutritious.
    Before tourism development, Tot was an agricultural planet. The totas cultivate fruit trees and a type of undergrowth that they use as grazing land for livestock. Even though it is a large planet, there are few climatic differences, with a flat relief mostly by the sea, there are few and low mountains. Warm winds circulate most of the year, except in winter, the even short season is intense. To protect themselves from the cold, the tota houses are built with sheets of insulating metal, making the houses warm in the winter and cool in the summer. In addition to insulating the temperature, the metal sheets make the cities beautiful, at sunset all the buildings oscillate in reddish luminosity.
    The tota metal alloy became famous, which led to the beginning of mining on the planet. As soon as extractive operations began, the impressive mineral wealth of the subsoil was discovered. In a race of greed, ignoring locals and the health of the environment, gigantic mining industries have sprung up across the planet. In a few years the local population increased tenfold. Lots of humans and reptilians with capital to invest, and a lot of orcs, either free or property, to do the heavy mining work. At the same time, large agricultural areas were destroyed, giving way to mines, making local food dependent on imported inputs.
    For four centuries the mining activity was intense, until, in 1750, the crisis occurred that brought down the price of ores. Most mines and industries were deactivated, the nobles and those with capital left the planet. Without the financial power holders moving commerce, the famine began.
    Today about 70% of the planet's inhabitants are orcs, most living clusters in capital cities. The tota population has been working hard on the replanting of fruit trees, seeking to restore food autonomy. A small portion of the population is made up of reptilians and humans.
    One thing Belchior knows, orcs and totas don't like humans. Humans are seen as freeloaders, selfish and inconsequential. In an ideal escape plan the route would not pass through Tot, however Ryu has connections to the planet. The image of Ryu comes to mind, a few days ago, going over the last details of the plan, As soon as you arrive in Tot you will look for the restaurant Oglon Nuts, it is close to the spaceport, about three kilometers towards the center. It's best to walk, finding a taxi driver who doesn't like humans is not uncommon. Arriving at the restaurant you will look for a tota named Yara, she is tall for a tota, has a long gray tail, is the cook's daughter, will likely be working at the counter. At first she won't like a human entering the restaurant, tell her you know me, you can say I'll still pay the five nuts I owe. She's kind of rude, but I'm sure she'll help, say you need to go to Master Raco's workshop to buy a ship.
    Strong pressure on the ears as the body is thrown forward by the seat belt. Muscles contract and regain strength. The ship is passing through the deceleration rings, leaving hyperspace, arriving in orbit around the planet Tot.