Chapter 0:

The Late Great Bazyli Heinrich's Disaster

Aftermath of New Beginnings


The metallic door slid into it's recess as Sam entered the laboratory. Really, he was the only one who had access, aside from Bazyli Heinrich's daughter, who was estranged despite his best attempts. Dr. Heinrich did his best to further the bounds of science. It was the only thing he was good at, and the only person who could tolerate his abrasive personality was Samuel Grier, the son he never had. Sam was in college trying his best to see if he had a knack for science. He wasn't particularly smart, but he enjoyed science anyway. He popped into a class he heard a lot of things about. They weren't particularly flattering, but the one thing that was common was that the presenter was definitely a genius. Sure enough, Dr. Bazyli Heinrich was brilliant. Sam didn't understand any of it, but he knew if he could be close to this man, he could witness the kind of science he longed for. Soon after that he got hired as Dr. Heinrich's personal assistant, which included being the subject of experiments. Trailing behind Dr. Heinrich, he witnessed the birth of flying cars, transportation between two locations in the blink of an eye, and the infancy of space travel. Medicine, agriculture, travel, industry, just about everything but warfare was touched by Dr. Heinrich and flourished. Unfortunately, when Sam was twenty-seven, just eight years later, Dr. Heinrich died from cancer, the one thing he still had yet to defeat, leaving half of everything to Sam. His daughter then signed the rest over citing that it'd be too much of a bother to deal with. Now that his father figure and friend was gone, he thought it'd be best to close down the lab. As he walked through a small room housing there resident animals- a lizard, a dog, a tiger, a bird, a bear, and a shark in a tank- he noted that one was missing. Entering into the next room, he noticed that the otter was in a cage next to a glowing machine. Strange Sam thought. He never mentioned a new experiment involving the animals. Deciding to return to the task he came to accomplish, he moved off to Dr. Heinrich's desk. Sifting through his effects, he found a journal he knew to by Heinrich's personal log of everything he did with his experiments. Flipping to the last page to read the final entry.

Friday, April 18th, 2031
"That boy has heart, but he's a terrible scientist. All he is good for is assisting me in my tests. However, he has heart like I have said. He loves science, and that's all I could ask for in a friend. I admit, it would be nice if we had another friend or two, so I devised a new experiment. I will give full sentience and intelligence to the animals in the lab. Samuel won't be available until Monday, so I'll set the experiment up in the lab before I leave for the weekend. We'll begin immediately in the morning when he arrives. That reminds me, I have a gift I've designed for him. I will leave a note to go with it and leave it on the desk. I'd best do it now, since I lose sight of things when I dabble any amount in my experiments. Soon it'll be a whole party in the lab. How I've longed to go to a party since my youth. I'll end this log here. My chest had been hurting me lately, and I'd like to wrap up here and then return to my bed."

Sam closed the journal, looking at the belt and note on the desk. The belt had a singular wide pouch on it, a clasp to attach it, and what looking like some kind of display or dialing system at it's center. He put it on eagerly, happy for a gift from his mentor. Just as he picked up the note, a loud noise behind him made him turn. The glowing machine had changed from it's steady pulse before to a constant beam. Rushing over, Sam tried to shut it off in the ways he was taught to shut down any other experiment gone wrong, but he couldn't. Even after disconnecting the power unit it continued. The otter in the cage next to it was panicking, mirroring Sam's mental state. Just as he was about to make a run for it, the glow enveloped the whole room and he could hear the distant sound of an explosion, followed by the whole world going dark.

What felt like a brief moment later, the world was once again washed in white light. He realized the dark he saw was his own consciousness fading. From somewhere relatively close in front of him, he could hear a metallic banging and alarmed voices. Every so often he heard the name Dr. Grier. After about five minutes, a dark line in front of him came into existence and slid a part. What was revealed before him was a shock. There were many people dressed in lab coats, however he was alarmed by one thing. Can I call them.... people? he thought. In front of him were an assortment of bipedal dogs, cats, birds, and even lizards. He didn't understand the language they were speaking, but they looked concerned and alarmed, and he kept hearing the name Dr. Grier again.

"Where am I?" he asked hesitantly. The creatures all buzzed excitedly at this. One of them grabbed a device from a nearby table and held it out to Sam. "What's this? What do want me to do with it?" 

With more excitement, the creature pressed a button on the device. Sam could hear a voice speaking different languages from it, then it settled on his language. "Who and what are you?"

"Uh" He looked at all the faces peering at him. "My name is Samuel Grier. Don't you know what a human is?" After the device translated his words into a language they understood, they had a mixture of confusion, excitement, and alarm. One of them said something to the device.

"You are not Dr. Grier. What is a 'human'?"

"Uh, my name is Samuel Grier, but I'm not a doctor. I don't know how to describe a human to you, I'm sorry. What is that device?"

Before anyone could say anything else a wall on the opposite side of the room exploded, and from it poured a horde of otter people in armor with swords and shields. The scientists all panicked and attempted to flee, but they were either cut down or restrained. A particularly tall otter entered through the hole. Or at least Sam thought he was tall until he noticed that a lot of the fur on top of his head was tall hair. He looked around the lab and then his eyes landed on the device he was still inside. The otter marched right up to him, cupped his chin with a furry hand and then said something. When Sam didn't answer it looked irritated and repeated what it said. One of the scientists said something and pointed at the device at the otterman's feet. Scooping it up, he repeated his words once more.

"I am commander of the Silent River fleet. What are you and how did you arrive here? Your kind is unknown to us, and we must ascertain if you are threat to the peace of our glorious nation."

Gulping loudly, Sam stood straighter. "I'm a human, and based on those guys' reactions, you've never seen or heard of a human before. I don't know how I got here. I was in my friend's lab, a flash of light happened, and then the next thing I knew I was in this... device? Honestly, I'm a little scared, and very confused. I'm very sorry I can't answer you better sir."

After the device translated his words, the otter grunted, then turned to the wider room. It spoke authoritatively and then the soldiers rounded up the remaining scientists. "Gather them up and throw them in the brig on my flagship. I'll have words with them myself. As for this creature, see to it that all it's needs are met and it is treated with humility." Turning back to Sam, he spoke further. "Also, it is ma'am." She strode off towards the opening, and two otter soldiers came over to guide him out as well. Once through the hole, he gasped.

They facility had been built into the side of a mountain, with swathes of forest blanketing the area below. Farther ahead in a valley was a settlement with some interesting, crustacean like structures built throughout it. The sky was a beautiful blue, and the sun warmed him just right.

What caught his attention the most though, were the six ships floating in the sky. The smallest ship looked to be about two hundred feet long, while the largest appeared to be about five hundred. They floated in formation, the largest ship taking up the center.

The otterwoman from before was waiting at the edge of what appeared to be a landing platform. As he and the two soldiers approached, she handed him the translation device. "You should carry this with you until you learn our language." She said. A small ship roared down and landed on the platform. "We will now board my vessel, the Gracious Beacon. You will be well taken care of, but expect that we will have questions for you to answer at a later time."

He nodded and boarded the transport. Looking back at the facility as it rapidly grew smaller, he wished Dr. Heinrich were with him. I have no idea what is going on, where these animal people came from, how I got here, or where we're going. Samuel Grier felt the grip of both fear and excitement fight for control of him. One question dominated everything else in his mind. 

Where are all the humans?!