It was all hyperbole of course. The idea that the Empire could encompass a thousand universes was optimistic at best. The whole concept started when a physicist in the seminal days of exploring the multiverse, by the name of Isaac Stein, postulated that our universe was in direct contact with a thousand universes.
His basic theory was correct, and then some, but it was also flawed in the fact that either we couldn't attempt to explore or had no reason to explore many of those universes.
For starters, a good chunk of those universes didn't follow the same rules of physics that our universe followed. The atoms of a person entering that universe would simply collapse onto themselves leaving a pile of goop for a millisecond and then disintegrate. Of course, his ship would also be a pile of goop, disintegrating shortly thereafter.
Then there were universes that had no matter, no stars, no planets, no nothing, just an endless void. Yet, in the end, hundreds of universes did exist in close proximity to our universe, they followed the same physics, had matter, had stars and galaxies, and more importantly, planets that could sustain humans.
The best of those worlds were little more than rocky planets that we could terra form, without liquid water but with the capability for it. A planet which already had life on it, or even the possibility of nurturing life in its distant future, were protected. The reason being that if some civilization had colonized Earth just before the first single cells of life emerged in our primordial ooze, we certainly wouldn't be around today.
Some would ask, what about visiting systems in our own universe? The simple answer to that is Kinetic energy. The more men learned about the universe, the more they understood its limitations. Faster than light travel, whether it be Warp Drives, Jump Drives, etc, were all impossible. In fact, the fastest ships could only travel at .333 C or one-third the speed of light.
Faster than that was problematic since the human body did strange things at those speeds, as did all mass. Life couldn't be sustained at higher speeds, and the kinetic energy requirements were astronomical.
So traveling to other universes were the only option, and experimentation on doing so started at the end of the twenty-first century, with the first ship proceeding into a wormhole early in the twenty-second century.
So when man finally reached out to the stars, it wasn't necessarily the stars that he had looked to over his primordial campfire.
The Imperial Palace
Xho Shi walked the darkened halls of the Imperial Palace without restrictions. Sensors in the doors and walls communicated with her implants identifying her as a person of status and giving her liberty to enter even the most reserved sections, ones that were once allowed only to the Emperor and his immediate staff.
The color of the silken silver robes covering her tight bodysuit wasn't just arbitrary. They denoted her social rank, and the length and style of her hair (long and free) announced that she was, or more correctly, was an Imperial concubine. She also wore silk ribbons in her hair, red and maroon, which were the family colors of the Xho clan.
She was thin with straight black hair, and she was also tall, which was atypical of her heredity. Most of the Imperial concubines were tall and thin, a testament to the tastes of the now deceased Emperor. Along with her height, she had certain enhancements procured at an early age to please this Emperor. They were prerequisites easily bought and paid for by a family as rich and powerful as the Xho.
It wasn't considered unusual for a woman from such a prestigious family to become an Imperial concubine. The fact was that all of the Imperial concubines were from prestigious families anxious to win Imperial favor, and also to procure an heir which would show favor to the young girl's family.
On her home planet she was considered inordinately attractive, but so too were all of the other tall, thin attractive concubines that once vied for the attentions of the now deceased Emperor, and who were now on there way back to whatever system they had once come from. That was all except the concubines who had given the Emperor a child, and that list was brief, consisting of just two names, one of which was Xho Shi of the Xho clan.
Xho Shi thought it ironic that just recently she had been considered persona non grata in the Imperial palace. So much so that she had been exiled from Earth, the Imperial seat, and had spent the last three plus years back on her home planet, intentionally distanced from her young son.
Now that the Emperor had died, and her son was destined to be Emperor, she would become, if she played her cards right, Empress Regent. The Emperor presumptive, Xho Shi's son, was still only eighteen, still considered a minor, and couldn't be crowned at Emperor until he reached his Majority at the age of twenty-one.
The problem was that she still had plenty of enemies in the Palace, the dead Emperor's wife being the most evident and the most powerful. It would take some intrigue, and greasing of the right wheels, but she was determined, and prepared to do anything required.
Thanks to the interference of the Empress Dowager, and though she had been in the Palace a few days, Xho Shi had yet to be alone with her son, only seeing him on formal occasions. She was now on her way to take the first step as she headed down the hallway in the direction of the Aeolian Guards standing in front of her son's apartment.
As she neared the Aeolian Guards, the Emperor's red uniformed protectors, she knew that this would be her first test. For they were more than mere body guards. They were reputed to yield prodigious influence, not only in the running of the Palace but also in installing onto the Imperial throne whom so ever they preferred.
If she could win them over to her side, she would be one step further in her goal. Xho Shi approached the guards cautiously while trying to portray an air of outward confidence.
At the time of her exile, she had been deemed by the Queen to have an undue influence over her son.
"What undue influence?" She had protested at the time. "I'm just trying to protect my son from the snakes and rats that occupy this Palace."
It had been an unfortunate outburst, one she regretted afterward. By doing so she had displayed the same overly protective nature that the Queen had accused her of having. She had learned an important lesson.
The Empress Dowager, who had only born the Emperor one child, a son, Zonig, who died fighting in what was to later be known as the Pugilist Rebellion. Some speculated that after the first years of marriage the Emperor never again had relations with his wife.
That lack of a legitimate heir had made the concubines inordinately essential. The Emperor had to have a son, even if it was a concubine that bore it.
Even before Xho Shi returned from exile, she knew that the disposal of the Empress Dowager was essential. In Xho shi's mind, there could be only one Empress, whether it be Empress Dowager or Empress Regent, and it was imperative that she, Xho Shi, be the last one standing in the upcoming fray.
As she neared the door to her son's apartment she was so deep in her own thoughts that she hadn't noticed that there were not the usual two guards, but instead three, and the extra one standing at the door was the captain of the guards, a good looking man who was known to be of all brawn and no brains.
This deployment struck Xho Shi as an obvious ploy by the Dowager to isolate her from her own son.
"Good morning Lady Xho," the captain of the guard greeted her professionally.
"Good morning, Captain. I hope you are doing well."
"Yes, ma'am. Thank you for asking. Might I have a word with you in private ma'am?"
"In private? What seems to be the problem, Captain."
"If you would, please ma'am." The Captain insisted and then escorted her down the hall to a separate waiting room, one off the main hallway which was reserved for visiting dignitaries.
As they entered, Xho Shi realized that the room was empty.
"Captain?" She said to him stiffly as he closed the door and looked at her.
"I just wanted to tell you that I found something of yours this morning," he said as he handed her something, palming it so as to hide it from view.
She didn't have to look at the article that he placed in her hand to know that it was a diamond earring whose absence she had only noticed that morning.
"Thank you, Captain. Where did you find it?"
"In my quarters." She shot him a look, and then she looked up at the cameras mounted in the ceiling."
"Relax," he said smiling. "I turned off all the monitoring equipment." She nodded at him to acknowledge her foolishness.
"Where?" She asked showing him her closed fist.
"By the bed."
"I should be more careful."
"That's always a good policy. Also, I need to thank you. The package arrived at its designated location."
