Intrinsic: Book One of the Terran Cycle

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  “Wait, how old was humanity at this point?”

  “From our four hundred years of studying Earth, it became clear to us that humanity did not exist for another fifty thousand years. Our interest in your species began long before your existence.” Now he was really confused.

  “How could you be so interested in us if we didn’t even exist yet?” He was starting to think the answers he would get would only beg more questions.

  “Fifty thousand years before what should be possible, we found proof of your existence, on Naveen.” Kalian was speechless; he had a million more questions but couldn’t form a single word. Seeing his shock Telarrek continued. “When we discovered Earth four hundred years ago we were on the verge of celebrating the discovery of what we thought were the precursors, when we realised you had only just found a way to travel beyond your star. Solar Drive technology was new to you. We were, are, just as confused as you Kalian. We have spent centuries theorising your current state of biological and technological evolution. We do not know how humans reached Naveen before you even learned to stand upright. There is more than enough evidence to show that your kind did in fact evolve on Earth. That is why we have watched you for so long; your kind is the biggest mystery in the entire Conclave.”

  Kalian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It made no sense at all. How could they have reached an alien moon before they even had two arms and legs, let alone Solar Drive technology?

  “What did you find on Naveen?”

  “Our geologists informed us it was made when our species were still living in burrows underground, but the exact age is unknown. Near the northern hemisphere in a place called the Sea of Naveen, there is a solitary rock. It is a large rock just bigger than the Fathom; it is pointed as if reaching for the stars above.” Telarrek raised a hand as he looked up visualising the location. “One side is completely smooth, too smooth to be natural. It simply came to be called, The Wall. In the centre of the stone around your height is an impression...” He hesitated. Kalian knew Telarrek must be struggling to go against his orders. “An impression of a single hand print, a human hand print, Kalian.” He picked up Kalian’s hand with his lower limb and examined the space between his fingers. Kalian thought back to the moment on the bridge when he was trying to convince Telarrek to aid Century. The fascination with the shape of his hand made sense now.

  “A hand print? But how? Why?” More questions.

  “Underneath the impression is an engraved language we have never been able to understand. But we did understand a particular structure within the text, a strand of DNA. Your DNA, Kalian.” How was he supposed to take that? He moved away for a moment and leaned on the high bench. Had he heard that right? Even if he had he wasn’t sure what it meant.

  “My DNA?” He thought back to the initial message the Novaarians had sent to The Hub with his DNA encoded in it. “You mean human DNA right? The whole double helix thing?” He thought back to his biology lessons and the image of the spiralling ladder with little spheres for rungs.

  “It is almost identical to human DNA, but the karyotype on Naveen contains more chromosomes, like yours.” Telarrek might as well have been speaking in his native tongue for all the sense he made. He recalled the knowledge that human DNA had twenty three pairs of chromosomes but he wasn’t confident of their purpose. Was having more good or bad? Also genetics and biological augmentation had become a big thing over the last couple of centuries. Surely his altered DNA would have raised a flag.

  “But that doesn’t make sense. You’re saying my DNA is different from a normal person’s, but the Birthing Databank would have picked that up. If that were true I would have spent my whole life in some UDC laboratory.” Telarrek looked away for a moment but Kalian still couldn’t read Novaarian expressions.

  “That is because we hid you.” Kalian couldn’t stop his eyebrows from shortening his brow. “We had been monitoring your Birthing Databank since its creation. You were not the first to be born with this unique DNA. We know of two others that came before you in the centuries leading to your birth. We were too late to act however, and your United Defence Corps took them away. We never found a trace of them after that. By the time you were born, we had already taken measures to ensure we were alerted first. It was actually Numanon who accessed the databank and altered the record.” It was like blow after blow. They had been watching him his entire life. Again he couldn’t find the right question to ask. To think there had been two others like him. He wondered if they had experienced all the same strange things he had. What did it mean that there were more like him?

  “You see now why you are such a mystery Kalian. The species that left that hand print on Naveen were older and more advanced than the entirety of the Conclave. And the DNA imprinted on The Wall is unquestionably theirs. Why else would they leave it? Humanity’s DNA is clearly the foundation to this more evolved DNA... your DNA. You are proof that your kind is only just beginning to acquire this new state of evolution. My people have sought yours out for thousands of years believing you to be the precursors of this galaxy, the ones who came before. We thought you would have answers to some of the biggest questions in the universe. Instead, we found a primitive race of supposedly advanced beings.” Kalian couldn’t take offence at the primitive comment; it was true in comparison to them. If he had to guess he would say Telarrek’s expression was that of a sad one. He was glad Telarrek had told him this though. He imagined being told the same series of events by this Highclave and it not sounding quite so sincere.

  “Do the other species within the Conclave know about us, about Naveen?”

  “Yes. One of the binding pacts in the formation of the Conclave was a sharing of knowledge and history. For a time everyone was fascinated with the possibility of your kind, every species in the Conclave examined The Wall. But no further proof of your existence was ever found, until now. You understand this was thousands of years ago, many people believe The Wall to be a hoax or a myth now. After the attack on your planet I informed our councillor on the Highclave. She has now informed the other members and most likely the Conclave at large of your discovery and our research. There may be some reprisals for keeping you a secret for so long.” His face gave away no emotion as to how bad this was.

  “I can see your interest in us, in me. But what about them?” No further description was needed; Telarrek knew who he was referring to.

  “We are no closer to learning their origins. Their reasons for attacking you remain a mystery. I am confident they are not part of the Conclave, though that only makes them more of a mystery.” Kalian surmised that this must make them feel as alien to Telarrek as the Novaarians were to humans.

  “Why did you keep us a secret?” Kalian had given up trying to figure everything out.

  “We were unsure of you when we first discovered your planet. You were such a mystery we wanted time to observe you without interruption. Remember, four hundred years is not a long time for a Novaarian. Also, we were afraid of the Conclave’s perception of you. Your race was thought to be a powerful one should you exist. As I’m sure your own history shows, most superior races do not coexist with lesser ones. We were afraid the other species of the Conclave would become defensive if they knew of you. As it turned out, you were not as superior as we thought. ” That made sense to Kalian. Human history was rife with examples of the superior destroying the weaker, even the origins of life with Homo sapiens wiping out Homo erectus. In a way it was a good thing they had been kept secret. Kalian could imagine the full force of the Conclave turning up on Earth’s door step four hundred years ago, worried that the human race posed a threat.

  “How old are you?” Kalian really hoped it wasn’t an offensive thing to ask a Novaarian. Telarrek lifted his head and gave a succession of grunts.

  “By your time I am nine hundred and twelve, just over half of my expected life.” Kalian took in the sight of the Novaarian again. He didn’t look that old, though maybe the specks of blue around his eyes were an i
ndication amongst their kind. That age was unimaginable to Kalian. He knew he would never get past two hundred and fifty years at the most. Although the way his life had changed recently, he would be happy to reach twenty-nine.

  “Come, I shall return you to the company of the Lieutenant Commander. I believe she is still in the hangar with Ilyseal.” Kalian didn’t move to leave with him. “There will be plenty of time on this journey to learn more, Kalian. I must educate you both on the new society you are about to enter. I think you have absorbed all you can for one day.”

  And then some.

  Kalian followed him back to the Translift with one last look at the magnificent nebula. Life seemed so simple and quiet looking out at the distant stars, how wrong he was.

  His rage was never to be taken lightly. The command module was to be protected at all times, he himself had programmed that into every nanocelium. Acting so, the ship immediately began to move the interior sections of the ship around. A solid wall was constructed from thin air cutting him off from the pilot and Elandar. Without him even noticing, the ship separated the two sections, leaving the command module where it was, and descending his level into the belly of the ship.

  He always liked to think of it being the ship but he knew everything was directed by the sub consciousness of the pilot. His reaction to the escape of Kalian Gaines had been predicted. Now safely away from the command module, the new room he occupied was expanded and filled with pillars. His reaction in such instances was always the same. He propelled himself towards the first pillar using his own momentum to shatter it. He wasn’t satisfied. The debris from the pillar was instantly reabsorbed by the ship, nothing was wasted.

  He wanted to destroy everything at once, to just let go and unleash his full potential. He felt the bulky Harness that encompassed his chest and ran down his spine connecting to his central nervous system. He hated it. The cool metal represented everything he had been fighting against. The armour that covered the rest of his body and the same of his crew allowed them some measure of control by counteracting it. He demanded more. He lashed out with his hand obliterating six more pillars, each twice the width of himself. He continued to throw his arms out from his static position, each extension shattering a series of pillars. The armour was tough but couldn’t prevent the heat he felt as he manipulated physics to form a ball of organic plasma. It floated in the palm of his hand before he unleashed it on the next pillar. It continued through destroying one after the other. He felt the armour dampen the Harness fighting its effects.

  It only enraged him more that he required the bulky exo-skeleton. The Harness was a crime against him and his people. He yelled with all the anger he had, refusing to give in to the Harness’s constraints. Every pillar left standing was decimated in his cry.

  It would never be over until they were all dead, especially the anomaly. The moment Kalian Gaines had fled the system he knew he was dealing with a Terran. They were always so good at running away and hiding. That was why he had created the Eclipse in the first place. Every time they attacked a new system they would begin to evacuate and thousands would slip away, not with the Eclipse.

  This Kalian Gaines had a great amount of luck on his side to have escaped and survived two supernovas with such primitive technology. As the debris was reabsorbed he looked up to see Elandar standing amidst the rubble. He knew he wasn’t really standing there, it would be a hologram.

  “The system has been destroyed. Where these humans once called home is now a black hole.” Even though he was only a hologram and far away from his rage, Elandar looked fearful. “What are your orders, brother?” He pondered that question for a moment. What would they do next? He had hoped to end it all with the destruction of Century; of course he had never told his crew of the plans he had after all this. Now he was aware of another terraforming project with seven thousand of the humans on it, not to mention the elusive Kalian Gaines.

  They had also detected the escape of the Novaarians’ vessel and he was sure they would have intercepted Kalian by now. That being the case, there was only one place they would go; the Conclave. It was through this alien society that they had even found the humans in the first place. Having encountered the collection of strange species centuries ago, they had infiltrated their A.I network and through that their individual planetary networks. Their technology was so primitive they hadn’t even detected the intrusion. It was this tactic that allowed them to continue their search while constantly monitoring the Conclave’s own exploration. It had paid off. Four hundred years ago the Novaarians discovered Earth and informed their superiors on the Highclave. With the distance between them it took two hundred years for the data to reach them. It was still a mystery as to why they had kept it a secret from the others within their society. He cared not in the end though, the information was relayed back to them all the same, and they immediately began their two hundred year trip back to this region of the galaxy.

  He reasoned that the terraforming group wouldn’t be going anywhere. But Kalian Gaines was heading into the bosom of an alien collective that might hide him away. He had seen the karyogram of this particular human, he was too close. Just the idea of him surviving made his skin crawl, he had to die.

  “Set a course for the Conclave, even if we have to wipe them all out, I will kill the last of their kind with my bare hands.” He thought about his crew as well, they had been cooped up on this ship for too long. He was sure they would all enjoy the R&R.

  Chapter Seven

  The first hit to his jaw wasn’t so bad; he’d endured far worst in his career. It was the second hit to his kidneys that pissed him off, though. These guys obviously had no intention of fighting fair, but that was their mistake. To the other patrons of the Arc-Bar this had become a regular occurrence with Commander Roland North. From the brief conversation before the first blow, the onlookers knew the Commander had clearly offended another UDC soldier.

  Through the haze of alcohol, Roland’s muscle memory miraculously reacted to the familiar scenario. Feigning more pain than had been inflicted he hunched over, fully aware of the two attackers behind and the stupid dick in front of him. Launching up with a speed they assumed the alcohol would have dulled, he brought his open palm into the attacker’s throat. He didn’t wait to see the reaction; he had seen it a thousand times before.

  Flowing straight into his next move he ducked, bringing his leg up behind him. The attacker on his left immediately flew into the nearest table, collapsing it with a shattering of glass. Coming up from his second attack, the guy on his right made the expected move. Roland intercepted the swing with slightly less finesse than usual, thanks to the alcohol. Without thinking he naturally locked the arm under his own and applied an upward pressure on the elbow. The subsequent snap of bone would have been cause to scream, if Roland hadn’t instantly head-butted the man into oblivion.

  The lead attacker was on his knees, panting for breath while clutching at his throat. Roland dropped to one knee matching his height.

  “Don’t take it so seriously, kid. We’re out here at the ass end of the galaxy. You can’t blame a girl for looking elsewhere every now and again, besides I’m pretty sure I fell asleep half way through...” He had been pretty drunk that night, even for him. His memory of sleeping with the soldier’s girlfriend was so blurry he couldn’t even remember what she looked like.

  Taking further offence, the young lieutenant threw another swing. Thankfully for him Roland just wanted to get back to his drink and decided to end it quickly. Grabbing the fist mid air he stood up to bring his knee into the man’s nose, which was the end of that. Without noticing the alarm on the faces of the other patrons, he picked up his fallen stool and resumed his drink. The automated bar flashed a holographic message across the counter in front of him: Cut Off.

  Letting off a small curse he downed the rest of his drink and turned to leave. It was the only bar on this side of the galaxy and he couldn’t afford to get banned. Turning to leave, his exit was quickly bl
ocked by the two man-mountains standing behind him. They had clearly received augmentation to their bodies to make them so big, and it hadn’t escaped him that they were wearing full armour as well. He was flattered. No one wore full armour out here, after the first two years’ security had lapsed somewhat, when they realised they were totally alone.

  “I’m going to have to ask you to come with us, sir.” Even his voice sounded augmented. Six men with stretchers came into view and started to examine the unconscious attackers. He loved a good bar fight but he felt the feeling had passed.

  No need to put these two meat heads in Medical as well.

  “Fine, I think I know where we’re going.” This wasn’t the first time he had been escorted to the Captain’s post on the main command bridge.

  With the effects of the alcohol only being designed to last an hour, he unfortunately began to regain his senses on the walk. The Arclight was a massive ship, if you could call it a ship. Despite having Solar Drive capabilities it was chiefly made to work within an atmosphere, planet-side. It acted as the main hub and living space for all personnel. Like a self contained city it was a constant source of activity. Even though Roland hadn’t arrived with the original terraformers he had been briefed on everything that had transpired over the last five and a half years. Like any terraforming project they had arrived in a fleet of ships. Every ship was integral to changing the planet’s environment, though the Arclight would be considered central operations where the other ship/stations could be monitored from.