So, Owens thought, the rulers of Golstar didn’t trust their own people. They were brainwashed and kept ignorant and the ruling class maintained its iron control. However, as history has often demonstrated, such a lack of trust along with the assertion of such unilateral power can eventually lead to a civilization’s downfall. That appeared to be what was now happening to Golstar.
The Grand Patriarch continued, “It was never contemplated that the availability and direct access to such knowledge would ever be withdrawn to those rightfully designated to wield it. Before their withdrawal, the Primes had always manufactured and maintained the technologies under the wise and benevolent guidance of the ruling families.”
“Withdrew?” Owens leaned forward. “Well, that doesn’t seem to fit with our experience on Selane. The Controller of Prime Two seemed to be functioning all right, at least well enough to save my life. It practically bragged about its vast libraries and capabilities. Why can’t you access that one?”
“Ah, the Prime Two Controller’s intercession on your behalf was unexpected but perhaps explainable, given whom you are. I may broach that subject later. But more importantly, we are now finally at the crux of the matter. The Prime below our feet is one of many such subterranean complexes,” the Grand Patriarch looked down at the floor. “There is one on each planet of the Golstar system. They are quite extensive; each complex takes up a significant portion of the area beneath the planets’ surfaces. Their resources are impressive, almost unlimited… and to the best of our knowledge, all of the Primes are fully functional.”
“So,” Owens began. “The problem is...?”
“The problem is that we have been locked out. We have not been allowed access to the Primes for the last two centuries.”
● ● ●
Talin heard more than enough. He was furious as he made his way back to his command center. He had quietly entered a maintenance room at the outer perimeter of the Sanctum and through a maintenance console, he could monitor the conversation taking place within the Hologram room.
He was tempted to enter the Sanctum and reveal himself, but fortunately more rational thought prevailed. He remembered the Sanctum still accorded the Grand Patriarch with certain protections designed into its structure. Had he given into his rash impulse, he had no doubt his weapon would have been disabled and he rendered completely immobile. No, he would have to arrange to wrest the Outsider from the Grand Patriarch’s control at a more opportune time and place.
If he had any misgivings about what he was about to do before, they were now completely gone. The Grand Patriarch had clearly lost his sanity. He was no longer fit to rule. He had to be removed quickly before more damage was done by his mad scheming.
● ● ●
Owens asked, “Again, I ask you, how do I fit into all of this?”
“You are a piece of the key; the most important piece that will allow us to regain access to the Primes. It is your DNA, or rather I should say, it is the analog of the Founder’s DNA that will open the door long closed to us.”
“DNA is a key?”
“A piece of the key, yes,” the Grand Patriarch nodded. “After the Founder first achieved contact with the Controller of Prime Two on Selane, a pact was made. In exchange for certain commitments agreed to by the Founder, the vast knowledge, technologies and manufacturing facilities were made available to the ruling families on behalf of our people.”
Owens could imagine the elation the original elite classes must have felt when given exclusive access to what was a virtually unlimited power. He looked towards Sharné and was surprised by the look of shock on her face.
“A method was designed by the Founder as a means of check and balance,” the Grand Patriarch continued. “It was a unique key that would be used once every five solar years to reconfirm ongoing access to the technologies, along with the manufacturing and repair functions provided by the Primes. If the key was not used within the proscribed period, the Primes would cease to interface with the outside. It provided an insurance policy against unauthorized access.”
More like a dead man’s switch, Owens thought. Kill the Founder and you kill the golden goose. He also imagined the Founder could just as easily have denied access to the Primes, had he so desired. He was in sole control of the alien technology and as a result, the power he had wielded was absolute.
“You can see why it is so important you are here now. You, Janus Owens, are half of the key.”
“Yeah, I certainly can,” Owens replied. “May I ask, what’s the other half of the key?”
He smiled at Owens. “Another closely guarded secret, but given your situation, I think I may provide you some further enlightenment. I will only tell you that it is a simple numerical sequence comprised of the birth and death dates of the Founder’s parents and maiden aunt, in the order of their occurrence. It is something not written in history texts or easily discovered.”
“So, how does it work? Punch in the numbers and provide a drop of blood?”
“The Grand Patriarch smiled, “Close. After specific sections of DNA strands of the living person have been verified by the Controller, then that very same person must recite the numerical key before access can be attained.”
“I see, so only the living Founder, or his doppelganger, could activate the key. Not a very trusting soul, was he? ”
The Grand Patriarch ignored Owens’ comment, “Do you have any more questions?”
A lot more, Owens thought. He said, “I find it strange the Founder would not realize that such a key would be short-lived; that with the end of his life, so too would end the usefulness of the key.”
The Grand Patriarch nodded, “It raises an interesting question, one that was explored generations ago. We believe the Founder fully intended to change the key’s access configuration. We believe the original concept was simply an expeditious way to secure the alien technology from unsanctioned access.”
“But something happened,” Owens said. “The key wasn’t changed. Why did the Founder fail to change it?”
The Grand Patriarch frowned at the word ‘fail’ being attributed to the Founder. “He did not fail in anything. However…” he conceded, “the establishment of a successful, thriving colony was most taxing. The Founder was the spiritual, political and military leader of our people. His preoccupation with our survival took precedent over many other considerations, including the access key to the Primes. Naturally, he guided and directed the use of the Primes’ resources constantly during the colony’s formative years. Even so, a good number of years passed before the Founder again gave any consideration to change the basis for the key.”
“Something serious must have happened before he could make the change,” Owens ventured.
“Yes, it is remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Light, a true tragedy for our colony. He was mortally injured in a transport accident only seventy-five years after the colony was founded.”
Owens rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “You’ll forgive me, but that doesn’t seem to add up. Sharné told me that Golstar was founded over five centuries ago. Confederated Planets was rebuffed by Golstar, using what I now understand as alien technology, around three centuries ago. You just said that the Founder died only seventy-five years after the colony was established. Yet you appear to have used the Trah-tang technology for at least a hundred and twenty-five years after your Founder’s death. I don’t see…”
The Grand Patriarch interjected, “How we accessed the Primes after his death?”
“That’s my question, yes.”
The Grand Patriarch smiled. “I did not say the Founder died, I said the Founder suffered a mortal injury. Over seventy percent of his body was burned in the accident. However, the doctors were fortunate and were able to stabilize the Founder temporarily, but without a miracle, he would eventually die.”
“I still don’t get it.”
“He was placed in cryogenic suspension.”
They made him a corps
cicle, Owens thought. Then the implication dawned on him. “You thawed him out. Whenever you needed access, you revived him! Afterward, you refroze him until the next time he was needed.” He stopped, his mind racing. “But why couldn’t his body and organs be re-grown?”
“Unfortunately, it happened at a formative stage of the colony’s development. There were basic medical services available, of course. However, we had not yet constructed the advanced medical facilities sufficient for such a task.”
Owens asked, “What about the Primes? Couldn’t their technology have helped?”
The Grand Patriarch shook his head regretfully, “The Trah-tang sciences were directed in other fields of endeavor. The medical knowledge they did possess was exclusively focused on the Trah-tang physiology and was interestingly deficient in many areas of genetics. In any case, although quite capable of raw research, lacking the trained personnel, we could not task the Primes to advance the field of human medicine.”
Bullshit, Owens thought. He suspected that the ruling classes were quite content for the Founder to remain in his frozen state. “Alright, then why didn’t you just have him change the code during one of his wakeful periods?”
“It was once attempted, but it failed. Keep in mind that the machine intelligences controlling the Primes are alien. Their logic pathways do not necessarily map to human analogs. Too late, it was discovered that once the code key was set, it was considered permanent from the Controllers’ perspective. All attempts to reason with the alien intelligences failed.”
“Okay, so even if the Founder had not been injured, he wouldn’t have been able to change the key as he had originally planned. In any case, you were stuck. However, even with the Founder’s accident, you were still able access and direct the Primes by periodically awakening him. Something else must have gone wrong. What happened since the encounter with Confederated Planets?”
“The Founder was involved in another, final accident.”
Owens’ sense of credibility was beginning to fray.
“To this day, no one is sure. A mechanism malfunctioned at the center where the Founder was being maintained. The alarm system failed, and the malfunction went unreported. A coolant pump failed. It started an electrical fire and it spread to the oxygen storage room. The temperatures must have been incredible for we were unable to recover even trace DNA material. Curiously, not a single hair follicle could be found at his old residence.”
Something tripped in Owens' mind and another piece of the puzzle slipped into place, but he would not reveal his latest revelation. Instead, he said, “The logic is still not working for me. Before the center blew up, a lot of time had passed. Your medical capabilities should have drastically improved by then. Why didn’t you cure or clone him before the mishap?”
“Medical facilities had been readied for such courses of action, but the final steps had not yet been taken. This was the Founder, the creator of our civilization, the most important personage in our history and culture.”
It sounded to Owens like the rulers of Golstar still weren’t that keen to have a rejuvenated Founder back in power and had delayed as long as possible before beginning the medical procedure.
“Everything needed to be perfect,” the Grand Patriarch continued. “We must also assume they were confident in their safeguards and believed there was sufficient time to initiate a procedure with minimum risk. Nothing would have been left to chance.”
Except redundant alarms and backup systems, Owens thought. Planning for contingencies did not seem to be a strong point of the citizens of Golstar. The incredible arrogance of Golstar’s sense of its own infallibility shouldn’t have surprised him. He kept these thoughts to himself and asked, “And that’s all that you really wanted me for? Cloning? You want an analog of the Founder in order to regain access to the Technology? ”
“Yes, the very life-fabric of your being will provide our ultimate salvation.”
“But why bother with all this senseless subterfuge to get me here? Why the elaborate pretense? Wouldn’t a simple kidnapping have better served your purpose?”
The Grand Patriarch frowned. “I need not justify my decision to anyone, least of all you. However, I will provide you with this much.” He touched another panel and a holograph appeared depicting a planet. Great continents dominated the globe; the oceans comprised a little more than half of its surface. Splashes of scarlet color were concentrated along many of the coastlines and scattered areas inland.
“The areas in red indicate Berralton’s population at the height of our civilization’s growth.” He touched the panel again. The areas of population shrank, in some locations disappeared altogether. “It seems to be one side-effect of our exposure to Trah-tang technology. Our population levels have retreated to a little more than half what they were two centuries ago. The other populated planet within our system has, likewise, suffered diminished birthrates.”
Owens asked more calmly, “Do you know what’s causing it?”
“Yes. What remains of our scientific community has its theories for alleviating the condition. They have been promising a solution since the birthrate began to slow, but we are no nearer a solution than when the problem first manifested itself.”
Owens could detect a subtle change in the Grand Patriarch’s voice. The man was holding something back.
The Grand Patriarch continued, “You can see that our need is great. My intent in showing you this was to help demonstrate how truly diminished we are. In addition to being cut off from the Primes, our industry, science and military prowess have been weakened in line with our reduced population. Today, Confederated Planets would have little difficulty in subjugating Golstar if our plight was revealed.”
“To your question, however slight the chance, if we were to be discovered during an attempt at abduction or a retrieval of biological tissues, the consequences could lead to Confederated Planets learning of our dilemma. I decided the risk was too great. I instead chose an alternative; an effective alternative to hide our intent in plain sight.”
His voice grew strident, “Your government has continued to maintain a healthy respect for Golstar’s technological superiority. To date, there has been no cause for them to believe anything has happened to change that posture. Even so, it is only a matter of time before their curiosity eventually overcomes their caution. Another excursion into our territory could happen at any time.”
Owens nodded, “So, you set up a situation of your own choosing, but in doing so you must know you dangled a very, very large carrot in front of my government.”
“Of course, I deliberately drew your government into my subterfuge in order to put them off-balance and delay any possible action they may have already planned.”
Owens nodded, “Without saying anything, your request led them to believe your position may be softening. But you also whetted their curiosity. You’re taking a tremendous risk.”
“That may be true, but more importantly we gained some measure of control over the situation. By asking for you specifically, we temporarily delayed the countdown to Confederated Planets’ discovery of Golstar’s present circumstances and at the same time assured your safe delivery into our sphere of control.”
“Father, may I have your permission to speak?”
The Grand Patriarch looked at her. He seemed to be judging her. Finally, he nodded.
She said, “Owens, much of what we have heard today was unknown to me.”
He looked at her face. She seemed to be telling the truth, but he still had a few reservations. “I’m having a little difficulty believing you. You were after all a principal player in your father’s scheme.”
“I admit it, but I was told only a part of the reason for which you were needed. I was led to believe your DNA was needed, but not as the means to access the Primes. I had no knowledge their existence before Selane. I was born long after access to the Primes was denied, and I was not provided the knowledge of their existence by my father. I only knew that the adva
nced technologies were controlled and maintained by the ruling families.”
“Go on.”
“I was told that your DNA was being sought for purely medical reasons; that it was unique and would be used in further research and as the basis for a cure to our falling birthrate.”
“She was not given the complete story,” the Grand Patriarch added. “She had not yet been initiated and made privy to Golstar’s precious secrets. She was given the partial truth and from that she was allowed to draw her own conclusions.”
She nodded, “Owens, the elaborate scheme and cover story were only intended to keep you and your government in the dark about the underlying rationale for which you were brought. And regardless of the true reason for obtaining an adequate sample of your DNA, it… it was never our intent to keep you here permanently.”
“Still, you intended for me to investigate the elaborate pretext of the statuette’s theft.”
“Yes,” she said.
Their opinion of his intelligence must be pretty low, he thought. “So, regardless of the reason behind it, how were you going to get my DNA without my knowledge?”
Her voice faded a little, “During the investigation, you would have encountered a small accident. It was only intended that you be rendered unconscious for a short while, but still long enough for us retrieve blood and tissue samples sufficient for our purpose.
“Why would you require so much tissue and blood? Even I know that a few hair follicles, or a skin cell or two, would be enough for your purposes.”
“We needed to allow for unforeseen circumstances. My Father has told you about the deplorable level of our technical knowledge. That applies to genetic related sciences as well. We had to be sure to allow for mistakes. Your accident would easily cover the relative small loss of blood and tissue, while ensuring us a more than ample supply of your DNA.”
Owens wasn’t particularly shocked by Sharné’s admission. Still, he thought it better he played the outraged victim. He looked at Sharné, his face set carefully into hard lines. “I must say that you played your part quite well.”
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