1. Flight of a Prodigy
“Dopamine... Dopamine...”
“Huh? What? Oh... I’m up. Where are we?”
The small spacecraft shook as it entered Eudemian airspace, the vast expanse of the kingdom spreading beneath them.Dopamine, a nineteen-year-old princess with a thirst for adventure, blinked away the remnants of sleep, her gaze fixed on the mesmerizing lights of the city below.
“Sorry I dozed off. I’ve been up for four days straight.”
“It’s alright, kid. Everyone needs their sleep eventually. Even you.” Dopamine’s flight instructor chuckled, his voice filled with warmth. “By the way, you passed your space aviation exam. With flying colors, literally. I’ve never seen anyone with zero hours helm experience fly that well.”
Dopamine smiled, her cheeks tinged with a touch of pride.“I guess I’m a natural.”
“You’re a genius. That’s what you are.”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, don’t thank me.I’m not the one who made you a genius.”
As they continued their descent, the flight instructor opened a live communication with the groundsman responsible for granting them entry to the palace.“Officer Beckett, requesting entry.”
“Right away, Sir,” answered the groundsman, his voice crisp and professional.He immediately disengaged the forcefield, allowing them to land safely behind the towering palace walls.
“Here we are, dear.Now you can get some well-deserved rest in your own bed.”
Dopamine glanced out of the window at the majestic palace that had been her home all her life. The weight of her responsibilities as a princess, and now the excitement of her upcoming adventures, settled upon her shoulders. “Thanks, Mr. Beckett.Goodnight.”
It had now been fourteen years since the Warmot invasion of Eudemia in 2547, and the planetary forcefield had long been completed. The planet had not been invaded since, and the people there felt safe and secure.King Fredrick had also allowed the people of Bene-lan, a nearby planet, to take refuge in Eudemia from possible invasion by the Warmots. Since Eudemia was still largely uninhabited, there was plenty of room for the Bene-landers. And since it was the only planet in the system that had a planetary forcefield,the Bene-landers gladly accepted his offer to live there.
Bene-lan’s President Mattan adjured his people who moved to Eudemia to be subject to the laws of Eudemia, even if some of their laws differed from those of Bene-lan. He eventually submitted himself as Lt King under King Fredrick, so that he would not pass a law in Bene-lan without the approval of King Fredrick.By this action, Bene-lan became part of the Eudemian empire.
King Fredrick, being aware of how much of the planet was still uninhabited, offered a reward of fifty thousand pounds of gold to anyone who could come up with a way to increase the population quickly. Everyone loved the idea, but no one knew how to accomplish the task. No one, except King Fredrick’s daughter in law, Verila Marcussen. She was a genius chemist, botanist, horticulturist, and homeopathic healer. She was the granddaughter of Joshan Essex, the self appointed Recorder of the Times of Eudemia, and the daughter of Anna Essex Marcussen, who was a genius chemist herself. She came up with what she called Verilixer, which had three main benefits. First, it caused women to become up to ten times more fertile than usual, allowing them to conceive much more easily. Second, it reduced the gestation period down to two months, allowing them to give birth seven months early without any complications.The third effect, which was the most appealing to most women, was that it slowed the aging process in women by ninety percent, allowing them to remain in their childbearing years much longer.
Verila received her reward, along with public recognition for her accomplishment. She gave away most of the gold, however, especially to young families. She didn’t do it for the gold anyway. She did it because she believed in the cause.She only hoped that, with many more children being born in Eudemia, that perhaps some of them would turn out like her favorite niece, Dopamine.
