Hyperdax

Hyperdax is a moon of mystery. Bright blue bays are surrounded by white seaport buildings, the marble cladding fixed to a structural brick core, as manicured gardens twist and climb over the landscape. Towers built on the tops of mountains, silently looking out over green valleys and clear bright lakes in alpine valleys.

Who built these structures? And why were they abandoned?

At first, the answer was clear - obviously the lost race from Lukona. …but then the story got more complicated when the Toba discovered what happened on Lukona. Archaeologists noted that the structures were not sized for the members of that lost race, but for Toba … and phatyois dating showed that some of the structures of Hyperdax had been inhabited during Toba history, just a millennia ago…while other buildings seem to have never been lived in. Wood fired ovens were built into walls, but don’t have even a trace of wood ash or flour in them.

The working hypothesis is that some Toba, or group of Toba, built the structures. But who, specifically, did it? How did they get the money, the laborers, and the spaceships to do it? Why is there no record of this in Toba histories? Perhaps they used robots to mine the materials locally and do the construction…but that still leaves the largest mystery of all: why?

And that question is posed by every tour guide leading vacationers past the many beautiful sites of Hyperdax. The once abandoned moon is now the favorite destination of Toba (and other Interstellar species) looking to relax and enjoy the idyllic seaside setting.

The Arch of Triumph is a giant marble-clad structure, straddling the broad cobblestone thoroughfare that leads into the city. The archway is wide enough for a column of four chariots, side by side, to pass through it - either on their way out of the city to fight enemies, or on their way back again, returning as victors. The archway is even taller than it is broad.

The most impressive thing about the Arch of Triumph is not its sheer size, but the scenes carved in low relief into all of the marble cladding. At the ground level the designs show kings, subjects, and legions of troops (Toba? Human? Other? It’s hard to tell). Higher up the carving shows armies clashing, epic battles, and scenes of destruction.

What kings, what armies, what battles do these scenes represent? As with everything on Hyperdax, the origin is a mystery, and the meaning doubly so.

The Seaside Harbor is a circular, engineered harbor of bright aquamarine water, surrounded on three sides by white marble galleries. More white marble buildings, flanking wide cobblestone-pave streets, spill away from the harbor, making up a medium-small settlement. At the mouth of the harbor, where its waters connect with those of the ocean beyond, is the plinth and huge white marble statue.

Toba tourists and tour guides have made the most of Seaside Harbor, and sailboats and triremes, patterned after those of ancient Toba history, now tack back and forth across the harbor and poke their noses out into the ocean as the bravest sailors contemplate adventures beyond the safety of the encircling harbor arms.

The Statue of The Youth towers over the forum, standing crisp and white against the blue sky. The statue is carved of white marble so pure that sunlight penetrates a few millimeters into the stone, giving it a lustrous almost life-like glow of vitality. In one hand, held near his hip, the youth holds a discus. With the other hand, he points at his target - the sky itself. Who created this work of art? Who placed it on the plinth in the middle of the ancient forum, among the fountains? What does it symbolize? The Rocket Dogs who race past can only wonder; there are no answers to be found.