Jayr POV - Earth, Geia, Mert ty, Lone Oak Farm - 2010

  After having lunch we separated into groups again, but this time they were slightly different from the groups we made this m.

  Lori, Carol, and Sofya remained in the family house with the kids, keeping them occupied by home-schooling them and making them py.

  Dale and Man started to see what was wrong with the sor panels, sor batteries, and the electric system in general and then worked on fixing everything they could to make it run again.

  Ruben, Amast, Miranda, and Morales tio take care of the few walkers' corpses remaining by burning them on the makeshift pyre and ohey were dohey would move on to help the others.

  Daryl went to explore the farm's extensive area on his own to make sure that there weren't any other walkers hidden somewhere or other nasty surprises.

  Then there is the group posed of Rick, Shane, A-Dog, and Glenn who moved toward the back area of the farm to fix the colpsed part of the steel fenclosing the whole farm, they will also try to reinforce it using the veneer logs I prepared this m that while it may not be pretty to look at it should at least be effective and st until we have the time to find a better solution.

  Meanwhile, I went back to the Cargo Trud used the radio to tact Dr. Jenner back at the ter for Disease trol and Prevention to not only inform him of the successful quest of the Lone Oak Farm but also to get an update ouation on their side and on the progress in the creation of the still unnamed Virophage who will cure the Wildfire Virus.

  Before discussing the most important topic, Dr. Jenner informs me that everything is fine on their side, Jim is making sure that everything works as intended while Jacqui took trol of the situation by managing the day-to-day operations, like ing, scavaging for resources, and taking care of security liabilities like the dead bodies, the tanks, and the other o just outside the ter for Disease trol and Prevention's building.

  Dr. Jenner also told me that Jacqui is now f him to gh some rest periods reminding him that to fully focus on the research he must always be in his best mental state and that if he overworks himself and makes mistakes he won't be able to help anyone which is something that I totally agree with.

  Then Dr. Jenner moves on and informs me of the progress he made and the problems he has entered during the study of the Wildfire Virus and the creation of the unnamed Virophage, and in response, I tio give him subtle hints here and there along with a few useful suggestions to make sure that Dr. Jenner progress with as few setbacks as possible while also ensuring that everything proceeds as closely as possible as I envisioned making it easier to fix everything in case there is a critical error in the finished product.

  After tag Dr. Jenner aing an update on their group's well-being and the state of the research, I get out of the Cargo Trud move toward Rick's group to help them with fixing and reinf the fenbsp;

  Arriving at the locatiohe fence colpsed uhe bined ford sheer weight of the walker horde, I see that Rid the others have already done quite a bit, moreover, Ruben, Amast, Miranda, and Morales are also already here helping them.

  The crooked a fences are already up again and at the moment, they started to dig the ground for the veneer logs that will reinforce the fences while T-Dog, Shane, and Glenrying thten the fences as much as possible.

  Without wasting any more time, I quickly join them and start to help, and then with a joint effort, we are able to finish fixing and reinf the fence before the sky starts to turn dark.

  At this point, since we have taken care of all the major issues of the farm, we decided that it was time to rex a little sihe group has been almost stantly under pressure since we left the ter for Disease trol and Prevention.

  This is especially so sidering that we drove through the desote highways most of the day, faced two walker horde at a distance of a few hours one from the other, slept in a barn, and the day worked to the aftermath of the battle and fix the most pressing issues in the farm after barely rec from yesterday's fatigue.

  It is clear that Rid the other are in need of some downtime, after all, they are only human and there is only so much that they endure.

  So for the rest of the afternoon, the group passes time rexing around the family house, Man, Rick, and Shane are teag Andrea, Carl, and Duane how to shoot with a gun while Carol, Amy, and Sophia are watg with i while calmly chatting.

  Dale, T-Dog, Glenn, and Ruben are pying with a set of chess that we have found in one of the cars on the jam-packed highway while Daryl broods from the distance while taking care of his crossbow.

  The Morales Family is quietly spending time together with Almast and Sofya as the adults py aertain the kids, Eliza, Louiz, Ana, and Stepan.

  Meanwhile, I simply sit oairs of the family house's entranjoying this peaceful sight while I focus most of my sciousness on my Digimon Ination as I spend some time pying with my kids watg as Kharna blows up her first moon with her Dragoh only falen using his Spiral o to restore it ba pristiate a few sed ter while Seiji is making the perfect imitation of Pikachu by letting out a bit of air from his tummy and a 100,000-volt thunderbolt into the sky before happily g his hands and ugh.

  Like that time peacefully passes, the sky turns dark and the women step into the family house to prepare dinner while the men prepare a big table outside so that we eat uhe starlit sky because Dale and Man still haven't pletely fixed the sor panels.

  After dinner, sidering the camp-like atmosphere we decide to start telling some campfire stories sihere is no other form of eai.

  Dale starts with a cssic fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper, which basically describes how a hungry grasshs for food from an ant when winter es and is refused teag the moral lessons about the virtues of hard work and pnning for the future.

  Then Sharies to scare the kids with another cssiarrating the story of the Hook-Handed Killer, an urban legend that talks about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attag a couple in a parked car another cssid something that the kids had already heard.

  At this point, I decide to step forward and say, "Now I'll tell you a story that you may find iing. This story has a bit of everything, and while some part of it may seem dht scary or horrible remember that it is a work of fi." while thinking, 'At least it is so in this universe...'

  Seeing everyone fog on me, I smile a little before I start my narration by saying in a somber tone, "It is the 41st Millennium." whistantly makes Glenn mutter, "Oh God...!"

  Hearing that, I smirk a little before I tinue, "Humanity has created an ielr civilization spanning the gaxy. Through sheer determination and the application of advaeology, the a dream of a new home among the stars has bee a reality. It was that tenacity and vision which first led mankind to reach out into the void and which ultimately built a star-spanning culture."

  Indeed, I decided to narrate the story of Warhammer 40.000, one of the darkest and most insane universes ever created, one of the few I hope to never set foot no matter how powerful I actually bee, in fact, if I ever bee the winner of the Battle Across the Omniverse and ruler of this Omniverse, I'll make sure te that universe, purge everything with ation.

  While refirming my decision about that particur universe, I tih the story which has already captivated everyone by its introdu, "But the civilization that was once defined by progress and hope has been lost, ed in the fire air of eternal war and a never-ending struggle for survival. For the power that mankind haro travel the stars nearly caused its extin and represents a threat to all life in the universe."

  Like that, I tinue my narration starting at the very beginning, "Just as humanity seemed to gaze into the abyss, a new leader rose among them. This man, the Emperor of Mankind, was the only one who truly uood the threat and how to fight it. To save all that he loved, the Emperor sacrificed himself and accepted eternal impriso in his own flesh. Now, humanity must fight a battle on all fronts. They struggle not only to preserve their Empire aheir Emperor alive but to save their very souls."

  "Humanity's settlement of the gaxy began over 40,000 years ago, when mankind was still restricted to its birth world of terror, then known as Earth. It was during the long span of the so-called Age of Terror, whided ih millennium AD, that humanity dared to reach out into the void. To prove themselves extraordinary and accept the challenge of the unknown, human explorers pierced the Earth's atmosphere. After establishing themselves in low orbit, they soo further and first set foot upon their world's moon, Luna."

  "But only oination had it ever truly fired the imagination, Mars, the red p. Mars was the first world to be made livable for humanity through the process of terraf, transf its dead, crimson sands into a veritable paradise of greenfields worlds, deep os, and blue skies."

  "The effort was led by powerful Terran corporations, whose visionary ideals led them to use all the money and power at their disposal to spread humanity beyond its fragile cradle. By harnessing their petitive spirit, heard, and desired to attain the on good, these Titans of industry were able to join together to develop radiew teologies at the edge of human capabilities. It was these innovations that transformed a lifeless desert world into a verdant oasis in only a few lifetimes. Su aplishmehe cartels and their masters emboldeo do more."

  "Havihat it was now possible to reshape one world, they worked together to open up new vistas all across the Sor System. To feed this desire for expansion, it was not long before the Martian y became a nexus for rapid stific adva and daredevil research. This dedication to the pursuit of knowledge would defihe culture of the red p for turies to e. With the capacity to reshape a dead world into a garde now at hand, humanity speuries g the worlds of the Sol system as its owlements soon stretched from the mihat extracted the mineral riches of Mercury to the great shipyards that circled the gas giants of the outer system."

  At this point, the kids are pletely captured by the story as they excim in wonder and awe listening to the aplishment that the humanity in that universe was able to reach, and they aren't the only ones as the adults too seem ied.

  So, after a brief pause to let the information sink in, I tinue, "But it was he end of the Age of Terror, ih millennium, that humanity at st moved beyond the boundaries of its home system into the unknown ielr void beyond. This period became known as the stelr exodus, and at the start of a new era, the age of teology. Billions of people sought to carve new homes in the image of Earth from this stelr wilderness and prove their owal on the new frontier."

  "The development of the Long March geion ships, so all because of the distahey could travel and the time it took to do so, made it possible to reach worlds hundreds of light years from terror. But extra-sor ization was hat easy. Because the ists' starships were restricted to retivistic sub-light velocities, travel times to the new worlds could stretch over 10 geions. This meant that each journey was always a one-way trip."

  "Evehe inal ists' desdants finally arrived at their destinations, unforeseen problems could quickly threaten the y's survival. On some ps, the settlers became the prey of vicious predators. On others, an uhable atmosphere or extreme weather may travel outside of domed habitats, making it nearly impossible to survive with the teology at hand. But no matter the obstacles, the ists persevered and faced these hardships willingly. They learo work together to ehat everyone prospered."

  "Over the turies, human perseveransured that their settlements spread across the void from terror-like points of light in a dark endless o. At the same time, the ck of easy ielr travel or unication forced each settlement to be as self-suffit as possible. It was not long before they developed their own traditions and culture."

  "What had begun with one world was soon replicated in hundreds of new ies during the age of teology. In time, humanity finally answered the age-old question of whether it was alone in the universe. It wasn't, and the aliens were often the enemy. Intelligent but less advanced alien life was discovered on scores of worlds, though the natives often saw the human ists as invaders."

  "But even this possibility had been pnned for by the engineers of terror. Drawing on the experience of prior ies, the long march settlers had been supplied with databases and fabricators that allowed them to craft nearly any item. This included t suits of powered armor to build and defend their ies. The pilots of these bat walkers could arm them when necessary with military-grade ons."

  "The suits soon proved their worth. Few natural predators or hostile alien warriors were able to overe them. These hybrids of humans and maes soon became a on sight in many of the early Terrant ies. They were called knights by the settlers after the a Armored cavalry. But what came was an ued leap, even by the standards of a people used to stant innovation. Though few reliable records remain, it was at the dawn of the 18th millennium that humanity made the greatest stific breakthrough in its history, faster than light space flight."

  "Despite millennia of research, the ws of physics had proven frustratingly rigid. Nothing in the universe could travel faster than light. It seemed as if humanity's many worlds might be lonely outposts forever, dehe erd unication a true ielr civilization required. But the solution came from something no stists could have predicted, the discovery of a whole new universe. This dimension, he Immaterium, but better known as the , was a reality that ran parallel to the physical universe at every point, but followed none of its rules."

  "Reality had no meaning in the depths of the . The Immaterium was not defined by solid matter but was instead a seething o of pure psychiergy. It was nothihan raw emotion given physical form. Within the , the impossible was the only true stant. Cause did not proceed effect. Time could move faster or slower than in what came to be called real space. But most importantly, the speed of light was no longer a hard limit upon those who dared the 's flowing currents of energy. The key was the Mandeville point. This was the name given to a location in real space where the overpped with it to create a stable interface where Starship could safely enter or exit the ."

  "Outfitted with a teology known as Drive, the vessel could transte from real spato the through a Mandeville point. It then traveled through the twisting streams of the Immaterium to its destination and reemerged into reality through another Mandeville point. Because the obeys none of the physical ws of distance or time, the vessel reappeared in a new position several light years from the starting point."

  "But it recisely because the true nature of the was unknowable, and so at odds with reality, that it proved incredibly dangerous. In the early days of travel, journeys were usually uaken in short jumps of four or five light years. Vessels that attempted longer jumps could be cast off course by thousands of light years or everoyed ht. Worst was the bizarre nature of time in the , as some starships arrived turies after or even before they had inally pnned."

  "The was also often pgued by violent distortions akin to storms and squalls. These could cut entire regions of the gaxy off from travel and unication. Then came the discovery that something malevolent lived within the . Many early explorers were lost to its maddenihs shortly after rep the o of terrifying halluations and visions."

  "Other phenomena were entered that might once have been sidered supernatural by believers in a superstitions. But humanity would not be deterred and was unwilling to forsake the extraordinary possibilities offered by traversing the psychic dimension. Human stists tiheir researd ultimately developed the deviown as a Geller field. Just as a Mandeville point provides an interface between real spad the , the Geller field projects a mobile bubble of reality that protect a starship as it moves through the . It operated much like a film of oil surrounding a stone in a raging stream."

  "While humanity ow safely ehe and use it for ielr travel, navigating it for any real distaill proved all but impossible. Any attempts to directly probe the unreal geography of the always drove a Starship pilot to madness, their mind shattered by the immaterium's sheer inpatibility with reality."

  "The solution was another ued discovery, the human navigatehis gene was an expression in the physical universe of the ability to manipute the energy of the . It allowed its bearer to stare into the depths of the Immaterium without going insane."

  "Further sele for the geo the birth of the first human psychics or Psykers. They could wield the mental energy of the directly to ma seemingly impossible effects in real space. The bearers of the navigatene also developed a literal third eye in the middle of their foreheads. Through it, they could read the ebb and flow of the so accurately, that they could lead a starship safely through its hazards. But every gateway swings both ways."

  "Any who dared to peer into a navigator's eye were as likely to go insane as if they had looked into the Immaterium itself. Despite the dangers, there were those who weled the ce to be the erstones of a new ielr society but to be a navigator carried with it both responsibilities and hazards. The navigatene was recessive. This meant the intermarriage of existing navigators was necessary to ehe survival of the gene in the human popution. Additionally, those born with the navigatene sometimes suffered from further mutations beyond the development of their third eye."

  "These ges often proved hideously debilitating. To deal with such issues, the individuals who carried the navigatene in its stable form baogether into families. These s soed marriages between their bloodlines as carefully as any a breeder of thhbreds. Yet such restraints ultimately proved their worth. By the 19th millennium, the navigator's abilities had bee indispensable to mankind's tinued expansion."

  "They proceeded to establish a new nobility whose houses earned enormous prestige ah. With navigators aboard, human starships could finally make pnned, accurate jumps through the that crossed 100 of light years at a time. With such a reach, the savants of Earth and Mars were able to retrace the likely courses taken by the Long March geion ships turies before. Those lonely outposts were sooed with their homeworld and each other. As the 19th millennium came to its close, no huma o fear isotion."

  "It was at st possible for the once scattered ies of mankind to trade and unicate with each other. A star-spanning human civilization interected by ties of erce, knowledge, and a on culture was born. Riding the currents of the , humanity could look beyond the horizon of the star. The entire gaxy was now open to exploration alement. This new era would be remembered as the apex of human civilization, The dawn of mankind's golden age."

  At this point, much to the disappoi of the kids and some of the adults who were very ied in the narration, I clude the story with that before we decide to retire for the night with part of the group, mostly women and kids, going back to the family house to rest in the fort of the freshly ed rooms.

  Meanwhile, the rest of the group will use one of the barns verted into employee dormitories as shelter which isn't that much worse in fort pared to the family house if one doesn't mind sharing his/her space with other people.

  As soon as we reach the employee dormitory, we walk into the locker room and start to undress, then we head into the unal shower to take advantage of the operational water system to shower and wash off the sweat, dust, grime, and more importantly the walkers' smell from our bodies.

  After the very mueeded shower, we all chose our favorite bunk beds and y on them where we discuss a little our pns for tomorrow before falling asleep.

  Glenn POV - Earth, Geia, Mert ty - 2010

  Sitting in the backseat of Carol's Chekoree with a map in my hands meanwhile, Andrea is sitting in front casually looking at the road ahead and Shane is sitting beside her fog on driving.

  I once again look at the map to firm, once more, the location of our destination before I say, "I checked again and the closest town to the farm is the one a few miles away south of the farm, it is marked by a pink point on the map so it should be a very small town which means that it is very likely that the number of walkers present here should be more than manageable..."

  In response, Shane chuckles and says, "Heh, got it. We should arrive in a few mi most. The road ahead is clear, so I speed up." followed by Andrea who ents, "I just hope that everything goes well this time. My st supply run wasly a pleasant experience."

  In response, Shane reassured her, "Don't worry about it. Just keep your eyes open and be ready for anything and it will all be fine."

  At this point, I look outside the window and ask, "What do you guys think about the idea of tag other people? Isn't it a little too soon." to which Shane replies, "It is ioo soon to tell them about the possible cure and the farm. But meeting other people is a risk we have to run if we want to know more about what there is around us. I have no doubt that we will enter hostile people sooner or ter, so it is better to learn as much as possible when we ."

  Like that, we tio calmly discuss this topid many more random ones until we finally see in the distance our destination, a very small and apparently deserted town.

  Odyin