BOOK 1: BEYOND THE ICE WALL - Chapter 1: The Shape of the World (by Clive J. Welan)
Chapter 1: The Shape of the World
The morning sky above the City of Novara was a pale blue, clean as freshly polished glass. The sun hung high, casting light across the neat rows of university buildings that lined the main boulevard.
Students hurried toward their classes—some with books clutched in their arms, others holding cups of steaming coffee.
At the center of the campus plaza stood a massive screen. Almost every day it broadcast news, guest lectures, or official announcements from the university.
Today, the screen displayed an animation everyone knew by heart.
A blue sphere slowly rotated in the emptiness of space.
A beautiful planet.
The planet called home.
Large letters appeared above it.
EARTH
Moments later, the image shifted to an elderly man wearing the traditional attire of a classical scientist from centuries past.
The screen changed again, now showing an illustration of an ancient telescope aimed toward the heavens.
“Through scientific observation and experimentation, humanity eventually discovered that the Earth is a sphere, orbiting the sun within the vast universe.”
Some students paused for a moment to watch before continuing on their way.
Everyone knew the story.
It was the foundation of modern education.
But not everyone in the plaza believed it completely.
At the edge of the crowd stood a young man with his hands tucked into the pockets of his jacket, staring at the screen with an expression that was difficult to read.
His name was Eljireh Root.
His eyes were dark and sharp.
Not the eyes of someone merely watching.
But the eyes of someone thinking.
“Still watching the morning propaganda?”
A voice came from behind him.
Eljireh glanced over his shoulder. Another student stood there with a mocking grin, accompanied by a few friends who were already chuckling.
“Don’t tell me you still believe those strange theories of yours,” one of them said.
Eljireh didn’t answer.
He looked back at the screen.
The blue planet continued its slow rotation.
Perfect. Smooth. Flawless.
As if it held no secrets at all.
The students exchanged puzzled looks.
“Because there’s no reason to,” one of them replied.
“Is that so?” Eljireh said quietly.
He gestured toward the screen.
“If the Earth truly is a sphere, the shortest flight paths between several major cities should pass through that region.”
One student raised an eyebrow.
“Here we go again.”
“Eljireh, seriously?”
“You’re still pushing that weird theory?”
Soft laughter rippled through the group. Someone even pulled out a phone and started recording. Eljireh didn’t look offended. He was used to reactions like this. Since his first year at the university, he had been known as the student who asked questions people considered strange. Questions about:
World maps.
Satellite routes.
Restricted zones in The Southern.
And one question that always made people uncomfortable.
What exactly lies out there?
“Look,” one student said, pointing at the screen.
“Scientists proved it a long time ago.”
A new animation appeared. A rocket launched into space. From afar, the blue planet floated peacefully—round and beautiful.
“Satellite photos,” the student added.
Eljireh stared at the image for a long moment. Then he spoke softly.
“Who controls the satellites?”
No one answered. One of them sighed.
“Guys, I told you.”
“You can’t win an argument with someone who believes crazy conspiracy theories.”
More laughter followed. Eljireh finally turned away from the screen and walked out of the plaza without another word. But the final words of the video echoed behind him.
“Science has given us a clear understanding of our world.”
“There are no mysteries left.”
Eljireh almost laughed when he heard it. No mysteries? If that were true, why were so many regions of the world forbidden to enter? Why were independent expeditions to The Southern always intercepted by international military forces? Why did no commercial map show the entire southern polar region in full detail? The questions circled in his mind like pieces of a puzzle that refused to fit together. He passed through the main gate of the faculty building. An old stone structure stood proudly before him. Above the entrance, the university motto was carved into the stone.
VERITAS PER SCIENTIAM
Truth Through Science.
How ironic. Eljireh pushed open the doors to the lecture hall and stepped inside. The large room was nearly full. Students sat in curved rows of wooden seats facing the podium at the front. A professor already stood there. The man looked to be around sixty years old, his gray hair neatly combed back.
Professor Adrian Voss.
Astrophysicist. And one of the lecturers who disliked Eljireh the most.
“Ah,” the professor said when he noticed him entering.
“Mr. Root finally decides to join us.”
Several students smiled. Eljireh took a seat in the middle rows. Professor Voss pressed a button on the small remote in his hand. The lights dimmed. The projector flickered to life. Once again, the image of the blue planet appeared.
The first slide showed a man standing beside an ancient telescope.
He walked slowly across the front of the room.
“Through telescopic observation, he helped demonstrate that Earth is not the center of the universe.”
The next slide appeared. Planetary orbits. A diagram of the solar system.
Several students nodded. They had learned this material since elementary school. Professor Voss paused. Then his eyes settled on one person in the room.
“Eljireh.”
The entire class turned.
A ripple of laughter followed. Eljireh remained seated calmly.
“What do you mean, Professor?”
“I’m simply curious,” Voss replied with a thin smile.
“Do you still believe that something is being hidden from the world in The Southern?”
The room fell silent. Eljireh looked at him for a few seconds. Then he said,
“Yes.”
Several students burst into loud laughter. Professor Voss sighed.
“Very well.”
“What exactly do you think is hidden there?”
Eljireh thought for a moment. He could have given a long answer—about incomplete maps, satellites that never photographed the entire polar region, expeditions that mysteriously vanished from public records. But instead, he said only one sentence.
“I don’t know what’s there.”
“And that’s exactly the problem.”
The class grew quiet.
Eljireh continued, his voice slightly softer now.
“If our world has truly been fully understood…”
“Why are there places we are forbidden to explore?”
No one answered. Professor Voss stared at him for several seconds. Then he switched off the projector. The lights came back on.
“Class dismissed,” he said shortly.
Students stood and began gathering their books. But just as Eljireh was about to leave the room, something caught his eye on his phone screen. A news notification. The headline was short. But it was enough to make his heart beat faster.
“Anomalous signal detected in The Southern.”
He opened the article. There was only one image. A blurry satellite photo. In the middle of an endless field of white ice… a long, dark shadow stretched across the surface. Like something towering. Something far too large to be an ordinary mountain. Eljireh stared at the image for a long time. Then a thought appeared in his mind.
What if… the world truly is hiding something?
And what if what it’s hiding…
is far greater than humanity has ever imagined?
Outside the lecture hall windows, the sky above Novara remained calm and blue. As if the world held no secrets at all. Yet far to the south… something stood silently within the storms of ice.
Waiting.
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