The Light

by James T. Crichton

  Grex loaded the last creature trap into the transport.

  It contained a vervix, and a half-eaten purple paymilla fruit nearby. Vervix were suckers for those. The creature was sitting still in the corner.

  The initial freak-out of being captured had passed and it had finally seemed to have accepted its fate, whatever that may be, for the time being.

  Grex looked closer. Good, it was a female. They needed females. This brought the total of vervix captured to sixteen – eight males and eight females.

  As the traps were set in what was thought to be the territories of different family groups, it was hoped that there’d be enough genetic diversity for a successful breeding program.

  Blood-work was already done on all captured specimens to ensure that they were not contaminated with triterium poisoning. This one was clear, and would be allowed to mate.

  The animals caught by the other team, near the mining operation, however, weren’t nearly so fortunate.

  Reports of heavily mutated creatures were already emerging: vervix were being captured with two mouths and six-and-a-half eyes, along with other gross deformities. Those with triterium poisoning, either in the early or advanced stages were, out of compassion, being euthanized as frustratingly, nothing else could be done for them.

  On the same day they were busy packing up the creature traps, Brem and Jera discovered what appeared to be the cause of the higher than average rate of mutation at their site.

  A river nearby had huge levels of triterium waste and when they ventured up-stream, they discovered the cause: toxic waste was being pumped overtly at high speeds directly into the river in insanely large quantities from a huge pipe that led directly to the mining operation.

  In other territories, the mining companies sometimes went through great pains to pump the waste covertly into the environment.

  Here, they didn’t even bother trying to hide it. Brem and Jera recorded the incident and took more samples for evidence. No one tried to stop them.

  On the drive back to camp, Grex decided to catch up on some of the recordings taken in the field by the three hundred or so autonomous, camouflaged and mobile, eight-legged field cameras scattered around the designated area of operation.

  Some were placed in stationary positions, monitoring specific areas of interest. Others were mobile and were controlled by Boxy, following specific targets, but always keeping a safe distance so as to not be detected.

  They had collected thousands of hours of footage. Boxy excelled in tasks like these; she could easily filter and gather all footage related to a particular specimen in seconds, a task that took other computers or Praxians at least five hundred times as long, turning a once monotonous and tedious task into a breeze, or a fun experience even.

  Along with all the fascinating species Grex was observing or following, he also had a special side-interest in a species of jungle insect called a jerbex cricket. As the team managed to capture a few excellent specimens today, Grex decided that it was fitting to start his daily footage viewing with this species.

  What he found particularly interesting and what stood out with this otherwise mundane and standard cricket-like species was the fact that their cells contained metal elements infused with the biological.

  Also, the cricket’s armored exoskeleton was almost entirely made out of a strong metallic compound.

  This was unheard of at the time. And the fact that Nature had somehow managed to pull this off by herself had astonished and excited Grex and his team.

  This humble cricket could bring new advancements in biotechnology, be used to help build better and more advanced versions of Boxy, and even become a sustainable and near-infinite source for metal ‘farming’.

  It appeared that the crickets had no problem making lots and lots of themselves, so farms filled with countless trillions of these creatures were easy to imagine.

  They seemed to be sustained by simple plant matter, so transplanting them and replicating their environment shouldn’t be too difficult – in theory. The team was trying to learn as much as they could about the cricket, its diet and environment to ensure success.

  Right now, it was the mating season and Grex was hoping to gain some additional insights into their mating behavior before they left Kryxo.

  Seeing a proverbial goldmine, the team, after witnessing the devastating effect of triterium mining on Kryxo first-hand, had become disillusioned with the Society and its realistic chances in winning the environmental fight against the mining companies.

  They unanimously decided that they were going to resign their commission and go into business together farming the crickets as soon as they returned home.

  Just as Grex began watching, Boxy reported back in. The communication signal to Brem’s team had been lost again – nothing unusual, given their close proximity to the mining operation. The comms link was particularly vulnerable to interference from regular underground blasting.

  It should be restored within the next ten minutes or so. Boxy was merely following protocol in letting Grex know. As expected, she reported back shortly afterwards that the link had been re-established.

  Grex began watching the recording. His view screen was filled with the lush green jungle of Kryxo. Text overlaid on the top right corner of the screen indicated the camera ID, its location, date, time and the target species being monitored. The camera was perched on the main trunk of a tree and was looking down on some flowers nearby on the jungle floor. There, sure enough, feeding on a leaf was a little black insect.

  A single jerbex cricket. From the white markings on its back, Grex could tell that it was a male.

  It carried on feeding for a while, then hopped and disappeared into the underbrush. The footage jumped to another camera, monitoring another specimen. This one, also a male, was slowly approaching a group of females and was making a series of chirps in what appeared to be the ‘I’m a friend’ password call.

  Even though the crickets had metal armor, they still had some fleshy bits that, provided you were fast enough, could be reached before the cricket could close it up with its armor.

  Although they were harder prey, they were still vulnerable to predation, particularly from an insect called a xeno mimic, which not only preyed on the crickets, but on other insects as well, and which had the ability to morph its appearance perfectly to match that of its prey.

  It could even copy the smell of its target and could make adjustments such as changing sex and color. It would then sneak up on its unsuspecting prey and pounce, catching its hapless victim completely by surprise and off-guard.

  According to the Axari database, it was for this reason that the crickets evolved the password tactic in defense.

  Because the mimic had not yet developed the means to bypass or simulate this tactic, the advantage currently was in the crickets’ favor. This did not mean that the mimic didn’t get lucky cricket kills though; just a lot less than it used to – for now.

  A couple of chirping exchanges were made between the females and the approaching male. They seemed to accept him, and allowed him to get closer.

  Some more chirping ensued, which Grex could swear seemed like foreplay. Finally, the male started mating with each female one after the other. Lucky bugger, Grex thought. Eventually, after what seemed like an eternity, the male, now finished with his business, promptly hopped away into the bushes, presumably in search of more females. The females hopped over to the nearest leaf and started munching.

  The visuals now switched to what seemed like a series of cricket shorts: cricket hopping down a path, then disappearing into nearby grass. Switch. Cricket sitting on leaf. Switch. Cricket on ground, then promptly jumping into the bushes after being startled by a passing nimar chasing a chuchew. Switch. Cricket eating leaf. Switch. Cricket mating. Switch. Cricket on log. Switch. Cricket near gorgeous flower, chirping. Switch.

  Fascinating, thought Grex. He yawned, stretched and looked away from the screen and at his surroundings to see how far the
y still were from camp – another half an hour or so.

  The cricket shorts continued. Grex was getting sleepy and was just about to switch to a more stimulating subject when something that happened on the screen caught his eye. It looked like a replay of the scene from the mating earlier.

  Male approaching about five females. Password routine. Male accepted. Male starting to mate with each female. Two females left. Then... some interference appeared on the screen, consistent with that from the mine blasts.

  The male and the three recently mated females flickered for a second or two. The two other females didn’t flicker. Grex instantly snapped out of his sleepiness.

  What? thought Grex. He stopped the playback and checked and rechecked and checked again that what he was seeing had actually happened. He paused the bit where the crickets flickered.

  They seemed to have vanished into thin air momentarily. Impossible. Grex proceeded watching the rest of the clip. After the flicker, everything continued as normal.

  The male cricket proceeded to mate with the remaining females, finished his business and hopped back into the jungle. The females, exactly as before, went over to the nearest leaf and started munching.

  “Boxy?” Grex asked.

  “Yes, Grex?” Boxy replied, always at the ready.

  “Please check the data and visual integrity of the scene I’m currently watching. Then check the cause of the interference recorded. Also, check if the camera that recorded this is functioning correctly.”

  A brief moment passed then Boxy replied “No issues were detected with the data and visual integrity. The camera is operating correctly, no problems detected. The cause of the interference, based on correlating data from both the cameras’ onboard sensors and the sensors at camp appears to have been caused by an explosion approximately three miles underground, likely from the mining operation.”

  “Can you verify the life signatures of the creatures featured in that footage and identify which species they belong to? And were there any mimics present in that clip?”

  “Life signatures verified based on bio data. Species confirmed. All creatures in the footage in question are jerbex crickets. Unique identifiers for mimics are not present” Boxy replied.

  “Then, can you please explain why some of the crickets flickered during the interference?” asked Grex while looking at a paused frame on the screen where four crickets were supposed to be.

  Boxy was quiet for a couple of seconds.

  “Sorry Grex, I have insufficient data to deduce an explanation.”

  Grex was puzzled. Then he had an idea. What if there was some strange electrical anomaly present? Maybe he could try to pin it down by starting with the crickets... He knew that the standard bio data readings did not include the bio electrical measurements that were recorded as well.

  “Boxy, do you have enough data to identify the electrical signatures of the crickets?”

  “Yes, Grex. Would you like me to start the clip from the beginning and overlay the data?”

  Grex said yes, and watched as the clip started playing from the beginning. This time the female crickets were highlighted in a blue glow, illustrating the unique electrical signature of their species.

  The male was not highlighted.

  “Boxy, please identify and display the electrical signal for the male.”

  The male glowed red. Grex nearly fell off his chair. He was sure he had seen this signature before and knew the answer before Boxy gave her reply.

  “The electrical signal has been identified as jungle wisp,” Boxy replied.

  Grex watched in stunned astonishment as the red cricket touched the blue crickets.

  And one by one all the blue signatures turned red.

  Chapter 7: The Jungle Wisps

  Grex felt a bit stupid. Why he hadn’t done a search for the wisps before based on electrical signals eluded him.

  Sure, it may have initially been Jera’s idea to check electrical signatures when they first encountered the wisps, but as Grex was expedition leader, it was his responsibility to set search criteria and not overlook important observations made by his team.

  And even though he planned to leave the Society when they returned home, he still took his work and responsibility seriously.

  He knew he was inexperienced and should probably just chalk this one up to lack of experience; however, as a generally responsible and honest person, who believed in constant self-improvement, he knew the seriousness of his mistake and took this one quite hard.

  In an effort to not make such a stupid slip-up again, he vowed that he would work harder internally on his situational awareness and spend more time on his internal mental review process in future.

  His blunder could’ve resulted in valuable scientific data about the wisps – a potentially new species – not being recorded or worse, not being noticed at all.

  Grex’s heart was pumping now. They were due to leave Kryxo within the next few hours. All was not lost yet.

  He still had some time left to gather as much data as he could, which should assist the follow-up expedition, if there ever was one, to Kryxo.

  He took a couple of minutes to gather his thoughts, and then he gave Boxy a series of instructions to execute.

  First, she had to isolate all footage that contained the wisp signatures, then she had to compile a list of species that were being copied or imitated – assuming the crickets were not the only ones.

  Based on the first observation of the wisps, Grex instructed Boxy to isolate and create a map of the suspected wireless network between the wisps – if it actually existed – using the small geo satellite they deployed in orbit when they first arrived, and superimpose this data on satellite imagery of Kryxo.

  While he waited for Boxy, Grex looked at the passing scenery, and eventually he let his mind drift a bit.

  He thought about what was still left to be done at camp and thought back on the events of the last three weeks, all that was observed and done. He thought about the mining operation, the triterium poisoning occurring on a large scale, the creatures that were already mutating.

  He thought about the sheer hopelessness of the situation and the discussion with his team about the crickets and going into business together.

  He recalled how angry he had felt about the loss of the Axari civilization and the likely true reason behind the war and his plans to fight for the Axari cause when he returned.

  Then he thought about the recall order that cut their trip short by a week, and the debriefing that he was going to have with management back on Praxima.

  His mind gravitated back to the wisps and the peculiar scene he’d witnessed with the crickets.

  Suddenly, a thought hit him like a sharp, icy splash of cold water, making him instantly snap out of his day-dreaming.

  Were the wisps capable of copying larger creatures? And if so, could they copy Praxians?

  Boxy reported back with her findings and Grex immersed himself in the data.

  The wisps had copied more than one hundred and fifty small insect species. The copies appeared to be perfect, exact replicas, both in appearance and behavior. Even the bio data was exactly the same.

  The only way to tell the replicas apart from the originals was by reading the unique electrical signal, which was distinctly wisp. Another way was possibly by simulating the interference from the mine blast, which appeared to momentarily interrupt the physical illusion of the copy.

  Other than that, you could probably hold or cut open a replica and not be able to tell that it was not the real thing.

  Grex found the apparent ability of the wisps to be able to copy their prey exactly, molecule by molecule, unnerving. In the case of the crickets – and he had Boxy verify this – even the metal components appeared to have been copied.

  At the moment it seemed that the wisps’ prey was indeed limited to small insects.

  Grex suspected that it could be that the wisps’ copying mechanism was not compatible with larger creature
s – yet.

  Similar to how the bite of some ultra-venomous arachnid species back on Praxima were almost instantly fatal to most insects, but were completely harmless to Praxians. This was due to the fact that the fangs were just not adapted to pierce Praxian skin.

  However, with the wisps, Grex suspected that it wasn’t for a lack of trying. While analyzing the data, he viewed many snippets of what appeared to be failed copying attempts, with wisp insects pestering and landing on a variety of larger creatures, then being swiped away as one would do with a pesky fly.

  As Grex continued to analyze the data, a better picture of the nature of the wisps slowly started emerging in his mind. It appeared that the wisps were some sort of electrical creatures, with distinct electrical qualities.

  They were indeed connected to one another on some sort of network and seemed to be drawn to the electrical energy of other creatures.

  Strangely, they appeared to be making more of themselves by feeding on or assimilating another creature’s energy and turning it into a wisp somehow. Once this creature had been assimilated, it was connected to the wisp network. The creature would then continue acting like normal; however, most energy that it would consume afterward when eating, appeared to be distributed along the wisp network, or WispNet as Grex now called it. It would also try to turn any insect it came in contact with into a wisp, growing the network larger and larger.

  Not all assimilation attempts would be successful though, with only one in three attempts resulting in success. This probably explained why Kryxo wasn’t teeming with swarms of wisp insects.

  Boxy had been able to identify and visualize the wisp network on satellite imagery.

  Grex wasn’t entirely sure that he wanted to see it but his curiosity made him pull up the images anyway.

  The network was clearly visible. Each assimilated insect was represented as a glowing node, interconnected with shiny white lines to other nodes. It was a lot smaller than Grex had expected it to be, covering less than a quarter of Kryxo.