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Hydro
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Winfield, IL, USA
Jun 1999
time: 05:13
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Spires: Ascendant
Superior Master N'Kal strode down the hallway to the Tactical Nexus, the rear talons of his feet clicking on the immutable gray of the passage floor. As usual he was alone and in a hurry. Being Superior Master had more responsibility than benefit; he was directly reportable to Conqueror Marr, who was known for his strenuous demands and not for his generous spirit. The passage of the Tactical Nexus itself seemed to go on forever. This one curved slightly to the left in such a way that it never seemed to end: it simply turned out of view. Along the hallway were claw-sized resonance plaques, which were discretely inlayed in the nano of the walls at eye level. The only reason they were there at all was to let a potential entrant know they were in front of a portal because, unless activated, it was not possible to tell a wall from a portal. Other than the resonance plaques the hall was featureless and sterile. Its only redeeming feature to N'Kal's eyes was its color, which was a pleasing mottling of green and gray with flecks of pink.
N'Kal knew better to look to closely at the walls, or trill a resonance at them. He had done that once, long ago, when he was a simple Master. Then the walls had fascinated him, for the colors seemed to undulate, and the very texture of the walls seemed to mutate and morph in front of his eyes. If you looked long enough it would pull you in and, some said, eat you mind. Even stranger was its resonance, which was so strong it seemed that the walls were a resonance field. But, N'Kal knew better. The walls were simply an age-old structural nano passed down from the ancient Progenitors, one that was specially equipped to emit an intense multi-phased resonance field. Such a nano required significant resources, but it had certain advantages. First, being a nano it could be altered with suitable programming (and authorization), it would never show wear, since it was self-repairing, and its resonance blocked all forms of illicit observation understood by Progenitors. N'Kal's mandibles clicked in amusement, thinking of those pathetic Invaders trying to divine anything through the walls of this military complex. He trilled happily thinking of the Invader's frustration.
There was only one place the Invaders might personally see and try to understand this type of resonance wall, and that was in the Manifold Nexus. Those ancient walls put these pale imitations to shame. N'Kal had seen detailed holos of the complex, and even in its ruined state it was impressive. N'Kal swelled a little with pride thinking of the great works his Progenitor ancestors had created, not the least of which were the Manifolds themselves. This Manifold Nexus had withstood many Flowerings and hundreds of millions of years, and that was no small feat since, over that time, the continents themselves had split apart, merged, and reformed several times. The central complex's walls had survived, and the fact that the core of the complex was still standing testified to its prestigious durability. It was irritating that the barbaric Invaders occupied and sullied the works of those august Progenitors who had build and once manned the Nexus. Like the minor Nodes, which the ignorant Invaders called Monoliths, they were constructed of self-repairing nanos structures that emitted their own protective and defensive resonance fields. N'Kal knew that the Usurpers, in the decay that afflicted all Progenitors after the Flowering of Tau Ceti, had nothing to destroy those walls short of a singularity bomb.
The Usurpers, N'Kal knew, understood the Manifold Nexus. It was elegantly designed, and even Invaders could evidently understand some of its power. The Nodes, however, were still vexing. They seemed to appear and disappear according to no discernable fashion, and had effects that were not in the original Progenitor plans for the great Manifolds. It was disturbing, but it seemed that the Nodes had changed. Evolved? Manifold 6 had Flowered at least 4 times since it was created so long ago, and a Flowering was an event that the Progenitors still did not fully understand. Each Flowering was unique, and the Manifold changed each time it Flowered. Most of the Flowerings had been predicted within several centuries and planned for accordingly. But, some Flowerings were beyond the ken of the Progenitors, such as the Flowering of Tau Ceti. Then there had been almost no warning, much to the Progenitor's sorrow. Even worse, its Flowering created such a resonance that it affected all the other Manifolds. Researchers called this phenomenon Sympathetic Resonance, and it propagated through resonance-induced wrinkles in space similar to the well-known resonance gates the Progenitors used to travel between solar systems. When Tau Ceti's resonance fields touched the other Manifolds it acted at a catalyst. Regardless of the cause the effects were profound; the other Manifolds Flowered or partially Flowered at the same time as Tau Ceti, laying waste to almost all of Progenitor civilization.
But even in our want we are superior to these Invaders, N'Kal mused. Of course, we Progenitors know more than the backward Invaders, but these Invaders have the disturbing habit of learning, and learning fast.
Something will have to be done about, and to, the Invaders. Soon.
That is the reason I am meeting Zzar in the Tactical Room today, N'Kal finished emphatically, to teach him of the task ahead, and explain our resources. And our limitations.
Finally N'Kal recognized the plaque he wanted. He issued a focused trill and formed his security resonance code at the plaque. In a moment the plaque recognized him and it flashed a pinpoint of light at him, and there was a barely detectable mote of heat on N'Kal's carapace. He knew the plaque had focused a beam of monochromatic light at a random part of his body, vaporized a miniscule portion of his carapace, and completed a spectral analysis of his DNA and medical helper nanos that were always in his body. Such was standard security protocol, and it was all rather routine.
Without delay the wall to the right of the plaque shimmered. N'Kal could see the resonance field shifting and the pleasing green and gray colors died and went opaque. The surface seemed to undulate for a moment as the nanos reformed, and then lost its coherency. Like a veil of lifting mist the resonance and wall faded and before the Superior Master the entrance to the Tactical Chamber opened.
N'Kal walked purposefully into the brightly lit chamber, which was filled with data ports, area simulations, and map projections. In the center of the chamber was Zzar. He was facing away from N'Kal and was motionless, and seemed to be staring at nothing. From experience N'Kal knew why - he was accessing the ancient Progenitor personalities he had had downloaded into Zzar. Loading all of the best personalities had been a risk, N'Kal knew, and he had heard there had been a near disaster during the download that had almost killed Zzar. Still, this Zzar was clearly different from his broodmates. He had the honor and courage of a Usurper Conqueror, and he seemed to be touched with the insight of the ancient Progenitors. And then there was his unique resonance that he had used to touch The Resonance and to kill his broodmate challenger in the Rite of Domination. That was, as of yet, unexplained. Likely it would remain unexplained.
N'Kal waited for Zzar to finish whatever conversation or interaction he was experiencing. Establishing a repertoire with a personality is important if they are to be of service, and disturbing him when he was still finding and establishing relationships was ill advised.
So N'Kal waited. In wry amusement he reflected that he, a Superior Master, was waiting on a young Conqueror who only days ago had been a youngling! Isn't irony delicious?
+++++++++++++++++++++
Honored ancestor, who are you and when did you live?, Zzar asked. By now he had been informed on the proper way to address an ancient. Again, age-old protocol had come to his rescue.
I…am Kr'l the...Seeker. I lived on…Manifold 2…after its first…Flowering. My caste's purpose was to…retrieve lost…knowledge in the ruins of our world and…within the…fungus. Our faction also…sought after new knowledge…such as we understood it.
The ancient one finally finished speaking, and Zzar was puzzled. First, this ancient ancestor's self image that formed in his mind was a bit vague. All Zzar could tell is that he was male and was shorter than the mean Progenitor. A datapacket intruded, informing him that the norm height of Progenitors generally decreased after a Flowering in response to environmental stress, and that Kr'l's height was probably standard for his time. Zzar accepted this with equanimity since he could hardly do otherwise. Now he had datapackets from his RNA-enhance brain and from his sometimes overly helpful ancient personalities. Some of these personalities were more observant and attentive, and they constantly stayed in the background of his consciousness, observing the world through his senses. They also provided thoughts and explanations directly into his mind. It could be disjointing, but it was almost always helpful.
Second, the speech from the ancient Kr'l was disjointed and almost broken. The speech, or perhaps they were thoughts, of the other ancients were fluid and understandable, although some were frequently a bit obscure and they sometimes used strange words or phrases in ways Zzar didn't fully understand. Since being a recorded personality was the highest honor in Progenitor society Zzar naturally assumed they had at least average mental skill. This one seemed, well, limited.
The ancient Kr'l apparently read his thoughts and responded.
I know…I am limited. My original…recording was complete. My…third host from ages ago was…killed in a singularity blast from…a weapon of the Keeper…faction. I was retrieved from her body…but…was damaged. My knowledge is…intact…but…my interface is slow. I am a…historian and…technologist. Almost all from…my Seeker…faction were. I…will assist you as…much as I am able. Many Conquerors are…not well trained…in technology or the…history of the Progenitor race. It is…important…to know, to understand,…Conqueror Zzar.
Mentally Zzar bowed to the honored historian and technologist Kr'l. In his mind he had ancient Progenitor tacticians, pilots, starcraft navigators, builders, and even some philosophers, but only one historian or technologist. That struck Zzar as strange since the ancient personalities were a link with the past, and surely historians and technologists were part of this crucial link.
Again, Kr'l understood his confusion.
Conqueror…Zzar, you ask the…right questions. In ages past…you could have…been a Seeker like me. But…my faction has…passed away. It…is because historians and…technologists are so valued that we have become…rare. We are…used after a Flowering…or spasm, which sunders the…fabric of our…culture. Many…Manifolds would have…descended into complete…barbarism without historians…and technologists to conserve…what would have…been destroyed. But spasm…times are perilous and…many die before their time. No new…personalities can be recorded in such…times. When we personalities are…lost with our hosts during spasm…times, …we and our knowledge…are lost forever. Do…you comprehend, Conqueror Zzar?
Zzar thought for a moment, and it seemed to make sense. He knew that life in Tau Ceti homeworld and the surrounding Usurper asteroid colonies was tenuous and short after the Flowering, and that Progenitor culture and resources were only now recovering. The spasm had been so traumatic that much had been lost, including the location of the fabled Manifold 6.
Yes…Zzar. You are…correct. But…there is…more. Spasms are…sometimes caused by…a Flowering, but…not always. In times…of stress the Progenitors, who…are normally united in mind and…deed, form…factions to determine…the right to lead. The…factions in times of change cause…wars, which…are also spasms. Such was…true in my time, and…it is true in yours. You, Zzar…, live in a spasm time. Your…Usurper faction battles the…Caretakers…to determine dominance and…the right to lead. The Usurpers are…similar to the Warrior faction…of my time, and the…Caretakers are akin…to the Keepers in…my time. So, Zzar…the cycle…continues. Your…spasm cycle is…one of many.
One of many? No, this conflict is different, Zzar thought. At stake are the Manifolds themselves. And there are the Invaders. Zzar knew that aliens had been met and destroyed in eons past.
That…is true. The…first great spasm was…fought against…aliens, methane…breathers. It shook…Progenitor culture…to the core, even as…the aliens were…exterminated. Ever after aliens…were destroyed when they…were encountered, causing new…spasms. These Invaders…on Manifold 6 are…not new, although it is…new that they infect…a Progenitor Manifold. Manifolds have…been fought over…, too, Zzar. But…eventually one faction prevails and…order will be restored.
Zzar tried to look through K'rl's eyes. Through his perceptions history was fathomless, with Progenitor cultures rising and falling like a sine wave, spasms following a societal crisis or Flowering in a never ending cycle. Between the spasms were countless millions of years of static and very slow and cautious technological advance, times when projects like the great Manifolds were undertaken. During peaceful times the intellectual and material capital was plentiful. During spasms limited resources were used in a fight for the right to lead the next peaceful time, which might last tens of millions of years. And all of it was held together by these ancient personalities, which provided a stabilizing and conservative link with the past.
But to Zzar it seemed pointless and bleak. Endless cycles? To war, to win and build only to know it will be destroyed or lost? Zzar didn't think it sounded glorious at all. It simply sounded sad, and empty.
Yes, Zzar. You…begin to…understand what it means to be…a Progenitor. Philosophers have…asked the same questions. The…cycles are part of…us. They define…who we…are. We…struggle because…we must. There is…no other way, except…for the oblivion of extinction.
Thank you, honored historian K'rl, Zzar thought, and the historian's mind form bowed and faded back into Zzar's subconscious.
Is there no other way? Zzar thought. Zzar didn't relish a pointless existence, and refused to accept it. To him the Resonance he had seen and felt in the Challenge Chamber seemed to transcend his isolated existence, and it spoke of larger things - things linked to the Manifolds themselves. And then there was the Voice, and the promise it seemed to give. What was the Voice? Was it simply a gift from his Mother? It could talk, and it could kill. It seemed to come from within and from outside Zzar. It seemed to be from the fabric of this place, Manifold 6.
Could the Manifolds be the key? Zzar thought.
++++++++++++++
N'Kal had stood watching the motionless Zzar for tens of minutes, then, being irritated at his own inactivity, paced over to a tactical screen. He reviewed incoming data, scrolling through it with increasing speed. First there was the Usurper fleet in space, the constant and routine patrols of the territory claimed by the Usurpers, several patrol boats on the Manifold 6's sea, and then the Gnats.
Ah! Perfect! N'Kal watched with growing excitement. Yes, he thought, this will do for one of Zzar's lessons.
In the background Zzar stood, locked in apparent meditation as he continued his conversation with his ancients.
+++++++++++++
Zzar came to, his eyes focusing on the room around him. He sent out a general resonance to get his bearings and noticed nothing different, except that the Superior Master N'Kal was in the room. Out of habit he immediately assumed the submissive posture of a youngling and lowered his tusks. Then he realized that as a Conqueror he didn't have to lower his tusks to anyone, save, perhaps, Conqueror Marr himself. In fact, to do so was a breach of honor.
Luckily N'Kal was facing away and was absorbed in some sort of simulation at a tactical station and did not see his lapse. Although Zzar was tired and thirsty he knew that the Superior Master was here to teach him, and that it was his duty to learn. Turning, he walked deliberately toward N'Kal, making no attempt to silence his talons, which clicked on the ceramic floor with each step.
"Conqueror Zzar, how goes your assimilation of the knowledge of the ancients?" N'Kal resonated, his back turned toward Zzar.
"I have learned that I have much to learn, Superior Master," Zzar altered, meaning every word of it.
N'Kal trilled and his mandibles clicked in amusement. "Yes, that is true. In fact, it is always true. There is always more to learn. The key, Conqueror, is to understand when you know enough to complete your job. It is too easy to let the wisdom of the ancients overwhelm you. Instead, learn which ancient is likely to be able to answer a question and then ask it. All you need know is how to form the question properly so to elicit the answer you need. You need not know yourself, for they will answer it for you."
"Yes, Superior Master," Zzar replied. He did see the logic in his strategy, and started composing a matrix of the ancients for future reference.
"I have prepared a demonstration for you, Zzar. You now understand some of our technology. Not it is time to see it in action against the Invaders," N'Kal resonated.
N'Kal stabbed at a portion of the console with his claw and then turned to face Zzar. To Zzar he had a curious expression on his face. It was a mixture of delight, anticipation, and maybe a little foreboding.
In front of Zzar and N'Kal a holo started. It showed the pale blue sky of Manifold 6, and it was taken from the inside of a moving object. There was no horizon immediately visible so Zzar concluded it was from an aircraft of some sort.
"Overhead tactical view, oblique orientation, perspective from behind Progenitor aircraft," N'Kal ordered. Immediately the view changed, showing a Usurper combat aircraft in flight heading east. Since the view was from behind the aircraft and downward toward the ground it was easy to see both the aircraft, the land underneath and in front of it, and anything in the air. The broad blue and fungus red-tinted sea of Manifold 6 was currently underneath the aircraft, and at the horizon rose a large island. Covering the island were, Zzar knew, some of the Invader cities that infested Manifold 6. In fact, they were some of the biggest Invader cities. Beyond that all Zzar remembered is that they were from the alien faction that was opposed to the Usurper ally Invader Yang.
"This, Conqueror," Superior Master N'Kal resonated, "is the first Gnat to be converted to military use within the atmosphere of Manifold 6. They were originally designed for short-range combat in space as fighters, but since the stranding of the Usurper fleet most have entered the atmosphere to our cities. Over half of the Gnats did not survive reentry, and many of the remaining were not salvageable. We will have four offensive and four defensive Gnats when conversion is complete. A homeworld singularity generator powers each Gnat, and its weapon is a graviton beam.
The purpose of this flight is to test the Gnats against the defenses of the Invaders. The pilot's orders were to engage and then return. The mission was completed mere hours ago."
Zzar and N'Kal watched as the Gnat sped closer to the Invader inhabited island. The island soon loomed large on the horizon, and the glint of the alien cities could be seen. From this vantagepoint at least five cities were obvious; one sea city along the island's western coast and four on the western coast or along the spine of island. One of these cities, Zzar knew, was until recently occupied by their ally Invader Yang. Even at this range Zzar could see it was little more than a ruin now.
N'Kal pointed toward the island. "See. The Invaders rise to try to defend what they have taken from us."
The squadron of Invader aircraft rose slowly and painfully from cities on the eastern boarder. A tactical display and grid covered the Invader aircraft in the holo, scanning and identifying each, and superimposing a diagnostic of each target.
Zzar examined the aircraft and their statistics. He was amazed that they used primitive fusion engines, and weak chaos or shard weaponry. Their range would be short, and the firepower ratio between the Progenitor and Invader aircraft would be 3:1 to 5:1 in favor of the Progenitors.
He could feel the tingle he always felt before battle, even if he wasn't directly involved in this one.
One by one the Invader aircraft arced upward to meet the Gnat. The Gnat's superior speed gave it a significant advantage in dogfighting, and its maneuver ability let it taken on the Invaders one at a time.
A dull whine was emitted by the holo, indicating the graviton beam had fired. The only visible sign of the graviton beam was the general distortion in the air the beam passed through, and the brilliant explosion as it intersected and literally tore apart the Invader interceptor. It didn't even get off a return shot. The second interceptor fired a proximity shot that grazed the Gnat, causing minor damage. It soon met the same end as its compatriot.
One by one the Invaders queued up for destruction, trying desperately to destroy the Gnat. With each encounter the Gnat was damaged, but not mortally. Mercifully, the last Intruder interceptor exploded, and its debris showered down into the ocean of Manifold 6 in a confusion of parabolic arcs marked by smoke and vapor.
The combat area view was replace by the face of a female Progenitor. "Senior pilot Careth, reporting. The mission is complete and victory is ours, and the Invaders have been vanquished. Returning to base for repair and reprovision. Glory to the Progenitors! Glory to Marr!"
With that the holo winked out.
Zzar swelled with pride. It almost looked too easy! Just sweep the inferior from the skies and land to purify it, and then secure Manifold 6 for Conqueror Marr! The grand design would be carried out, only a little behind schedule.
"Superior Master, that was glorious! With the valor of our soldiers and such tools we will prevail, crushing all resistance! When will we be able to fabricate more of these wonderful warplanes?"
N'Kal paused, shifting uncomfortably.
"Conqueror Zzar, we will not have more of these aircraft. They are beyond our ability to fabricate due to the excessive resources they require to construct and consume in support, and we are barely competent in the technology necessary to repair them, much less fabricate them. Similarly, Conqueror Marr has been fabricating and hoarding ground craft for our inevitable war against the Invaders for 40 turnings. Once we commit to war there will be no more warcraft for either ground or air."
Zzar was stunned. He knew that the fortunes of war would not always favor the Progenitors. If every loss was permanent then he fervently hoped that fortune favored the Progenitors more than the Invaders, since the Invaders were numerous and the Progenitors were not. If fortune didn't favor them then either the Usurpers would lose, or would be forced to use weapons like those of the backward Invaders. Such an eventuality would not favor the numerically and resource poor Usurpers.
Zzar shuddered and thought: Marr forbid!!
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21-04-2000 08:56
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