The universe was ten kilometers wide, and it had existed forever.
There was no night. All matter glowed and absorbed energy at the allowed wavelengths.
Ancient societies had arisen and survived for millennia by enshrining their traditions. They inevitably collapsed and faded into prehistory.
The oldest record was two trillion years old, a shred of paper no one could read. The text was crumbling, and only portions would be copied onto newer parchment.
The universe often split into dozens of rival nations, but now it was united again.
The last Exclusion Zone had been defeated only six thousand years before. Emperor Galoon's special forces were still sanitizing the area, erasing all the evidence.
Galoon's vast Citadel already occupied one third of the universe. He planned to build even higher walls as his wealth increased.
Access to the Emperor was controlled through layers of courtiers, ministers, and lesser nobles. The lower third of the population already thought of him as God.
He fully intended to become the universe's final ruler. He might even succeed this time.
After all, he had already done this an infinite number of times before, even if he remembered almost nothing about his earlier reigns.
This time, he would have to do one thing differently.
Infinite Thunder by Jack Arcalon.
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