by Karl Morgan
“This is bizarre,” Ont stated. “Park, do you or your team have any theories on this?”
“One so far, but it is quite extreme, Lord Valoo,” Park replied. “The other thing we learned is that all the brain tissue samples had the identical DNA. That means they had to come from the same brain.”
“The robots said they were all Zeet because they were all part of the same brain?” De-o-Nu wondered. “How is that possible?”
“Here is our theory based on the limited information we have to date,” Park began. “Zeet said some other came to Bandabar and recruited them to join something called The Accord. We believe that is a government not unlike Greater Gallia, or the Maklakar Federation. The difference is the Beings in this Accord have decentralized minds. Somehow they have learned to break their brains into thousands or millions of bits without killing the individual. Those bits are encased in machines like those we dissected. All the pieces can communicate electronically or telepathically. It is like a massive hive of bees where each bee has a piece of the queen’s brain rather than their own. Each bee is the queen and the queen is each bee.”
“How can each tiny piece of brain survive?” Jon asked. “Wouldn’t there have to be a large piece left to lead the others? And how would they nourish themselves?”
“Captain, obviously we don’t know the answers,” Park said. “If I was going to speculate, I’d say there is one piece of brain large enough to be viable of its own accord. It acts as the intermediary among the millions of others. Their constant interconnection keeps all the pieces viable. The viscous gel is also full of nutrients with many properties similar to oxygenated blood. I imagine the smaller robots return to some home base from time to time to replenish the gel.”
“That’s why the robots all died as we fled Bandabar,” Vard suggested. “We reached the limit of their communications and they became a small mass of cells, no longer able to survive without the others.”
“We must have done some serious damage to Zeet’s brain with the number of robots we destroyed,” Ka-a-Fa announced. “Do you think it was enough to kill the whole Zeet?”
“I sincerely doubt that, although it would be better for the Bandabar if we had,” Park replied. “The one central brain is viable by itself. Given this level of technology, it is likely more neurons can be cloned to replace the ones we destroyed. We weakened him, but he will recover. Zeet probably gained a lot of knowledge from the experience as well.”
“How do you mean?” Jon asked.
“Zeet knows about the plasma bomb device,” Park said. “I’m sure he saw each of our interrogators and knows what systems we come from. He learned about the weaknesses in his robot design and will likely improve the next generation. By tracking our path, he may also know we are headed to the Lubna system.”
“Do you have any good news, Park?” Vard asked.
“Actually I do,” he smiled. “Creatures like Zeet need a lot of material to make their robots. I imagine he used most of the refined metals on Bandabar to build the robots he occupies. In order to get more, he will have to learn how to dig ore and smelt the end products. I believe at least one Zeet said there were other Bandabar who also wished to join the Accord. Every robot we captured said it was Zeet. There may be hundreds or thousands of Bandabar waiting for their own robots. By destroying the fleet, we have slowed them down.”
“Do we have any idea where the other came from?” Ont asked.
“Nothing precise, Lord Valoo,” he sighed. “The Zeet I interrogated mentioned the other came from the cloud of stars. I thought that was quite an artistic play on words. When I mentioned it to our navigation team, they immediately noted the two small elliptical galaxies near this one.”
“The Magellanic Clouds,” Jon said. “Park, given the speed of the small robots; how long would it take one to cross the intergalactic space to here?”
“The navigators guessed about one thousand years Jon,” Park replied. “However, I imagine the central part of Zeet may include more powerful thrusters, but that’s just a guess. It’s also important to note we have seen no evidence of other creatures like Zeet in this galaxy. He may be the first, and hopefully, he is a bit afraid of us now.”
De-o-Nu stood and said, “So you all know, Greater Gallia is the closest to this area of space. I have already asked our High Commissioner to send a coded message to all known civilizations to avoid the Bandabar system. We will be putting sensors and warning beacons in two light-year sphere around the system. Hopefully, we will know if Zeet decides to leave home again.”
“Admiral De-o-Nu, what are we going to do about the Bandabar?” Ont asked. “We can’t just leave them there to be devoured by Zeet?”
“I appreciate your concern, Lord Valoo, but the situation there is too dangerous right now. You and this vessel came within minutes of destruction. Frankly, we were very lucky the plasma bombs worked. If we would have missed one or two, I doubt you’d be alive to ask me that question right now,” he replied. “Now, if the rest of you don’t mind, Captain Lake and I would like to meet with you in private about the attacks on Tak-Makla and the Nom-Kat-La system.”
After the others left, Ont opened a small cabinet and removed a bottle of brandy and three glasses, filling each and handing one to each guest. “I knew this day was coming,” he groaned. “It wasn’t my fault! I argued against it but was overruled. Perhaps you should have let Zeet take us.”
“Please calm down,” Jon said softly. “None of us are here to judge you or the Maklakar. The Tak-Makla incident was not good, but it is over now and we have bigger problems to deal with, as we have all just witnessed. Just tell us why the attack occurred.”
He took a long drink of brandy and looked at the other two. He pulled out a small box with a single button on top and set it on the table, then pressed the button. The room was filled with red light. “This is just a privacy shield. My crew is loaded with spies for our Supreme General Ulon Porto. They are just waiting for me to say the wrong thing so I can be humiliated and eliminated. We used to be great friends with the tekkans, until the Paxran entered our territory. We tried to befriend them as well, but they wanted none of that. We had more than fifteen hundred planets and the Paxran destroyed all of them. It would have been horrific if they had enslaved us, but the reality was worse. They killed every man, woman and child on our planets and burned the cities to the ground. It was genocide on a planetary level. That’s why the few survivors fled our lands and found refuge on the edge of the galaxy.”
“I have heard this story from Zee Gongaleg, the tekkan High Consul,” De-o-Nu said. “But it was a long time ago.”
“Yes, but the scars are still there. The scale of the genocide was too great to ever be forgotten. Remember they are maklans like us. How could they do this to their brothers?” Ont continued. “Our spies began to hear about the Hive weapon the tekkans had constructed. The tekkans were always fair to us, but how could we know they wouldn’t give that technology to the Paxran? Or perhaps the Paxran would take over Tak-Makla and gain the weapon that way. It was too big of a risk for Ulon to accept. You have to know how terrified we are of the Paxran. Imagine the trillions of innocent maklans slaughtered by their bloodthirsty hordes!”
“Thousands of tekkans died in that attack, Ont,” Jon said, “as well as two human Chief Engineers.”
“I’m sorry,” the Maklakar cried. “There was nothing I could do to stop Ulon. I’m lucky enough to be alive for even questioning his plan in the first place. I did take a lot of heat for the failure of the attack on the Gallicean worlds.” He chuckled softly. “At least that plan went as I anticipated. That’s probably why I’m here. He got me out of the Maklakar systems so he could better control my planets.”
“I have been wondering about that too,” De-o-Nu remarked. “The attack on Tak-Makla was incredibly strong. The ships that invaded my system seemed extremely weak by comparison.”
“That’s because I was in charge of those ships, Admiral,” Ont smiled. “You
never found any bodies either, did you?”
“Come to think of it, no, we didn’t,” De-o-Nu replied.
“They were drone ships. I would not allow a senseless attack on the Gallicean worlds. You have never done anything to us. It would be a meaningless provocation to attack you. Frankly, I’m still surprised Ulon let me handle that,” Ont continued.
“Perhaps it was his way of making you prove your loyalty, or disloyalty,” Jon said. He turned to the Gallicean and continued, “De-o-Nu, I think I believe this man. His story is corroborated by the facts. What do you think?”
“Jon, I don’t think my opinion matters anymore,” De-o-Nu replied. “With a massive Paxran fleet headed to Lubna and its natural Hive, we need the Maklakar as our allies. We can leave it to someone else to work out the peace treaties.” He scowled at Ont and said, “Okay my friend, let us consider the Tak-Makla incident closed for the moment. Between the Paxran and The Accord, I think we have more important issues at hand.”
Ont tapped the dome on the security device and the red light disappeared. “I agree completely. How about another glass of brandy?”
Chapter 55
Very coincidentally, the Nan of Fistnan had the same custom of meditating in the woods following dinner as Dave had experienced on Nan. The small group who chose to walk with Elder Paranaxis Sambolam was strolling through the tall forest toward a cluster of small temples sitting in the middle of the neighborhood. Dave was holding Lini’s hand and wondering how he would ever find the stone temple the Zula wanted him to discover. He had asked each Nan at the dinner and none had ever seen such a place although there were old tales of natural temples all over the moon. The waxing crescent of Lubna provided enough light for them to follow the path through the trees.
After twenty minutes, the group came upon a small clearing where four open wooden temples sat in the pale light of Lubna. Sam reminded everyone that men and women worshipped separately here and the group split in two and approached the buildings. Out of the corner of his eye, Dave saw a narrow gravel trail leading off the cobblestone path that led them here. He walked up to Sam and whispered, “Sam, where does that path over there lead?”
“I have no idea,” the elder replied. “I imagine it leads to one of the other homes nearby. Why do you ask?”
“Could you please come with Lini and me? We’re going to check it out.”
“This is very irregular Dave,” Sam frowned. “I should be leading the meditation. We can check on the path tomorrow.”
“Meditation is a private thing, Sam,” Dave argued. “It will only take a moment. Please?” The three slipped away as the rest of the group was beginning to relax and consider the universe around them. The path was rough and leaf litter and twigs covered it completely in many places. Dave thought if this path had led to a nearby home, it would not be so overgrown. After climbing over a small rise, Dave could hear the sound of falling water. “This is it,” he shouted. “Just a little while longer and we’ll be there.”
They walked down into a narrow valley where a stream carried rainwater back to the sea. On the opposite side of the valley, a short cliff was split by a waterfall, which rained down on a large flat stone. The water rolled off the stone to form the stream. “Okay Dave, we’ve seen your waterfall, can we get back to the group now?” Sam asked. Dave ignored him and stood in front of the waterfall and bowed deeply. Amazingly, the waterfall stopped, revealing the entrance to a cave behind it. “What is that?”
Dave stepped into the cave and turned back, saying, “This is your stone temple, Sam. Hurry up before the water starts again.” Just inside the cave, a set of steps led downward into the hillside. With each step it became darker. Each touched the walls with both hands to keep their balance as they felt for the next step. After the twentieth step, they were in a dark room. Dave searched the walls with his hands and found a torch of some sort. He pulled his blaster, set it on stun and shot it at the torch, setting it afire. He used it to light several other torches in niches around the round room. In the firelight, they could see ten stone benches radiating from the center, like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. At the center was a circular ring of stone. “Isn’t this amazing?”
“How did you know this would be here Dave?” Lini asked.
“I know it isn’t easy to believe, but there are temples very much like this on Nan,” Dave laughed. “Elder Odo Pak told me this was how the Nan connect with the Source.”
“I remember those stories as well,” Sam replied. “It has been so long ago we began to believe they were just legends. Wow! What do we do now Dave?”
“Now we lie down on the benches and open our minds to the Source,” Dave answered as he removed his jacket. “I like to have a pillow for my head.” He sat on the bench and then stretched out with the jacket under his head. He motioned for Lini and Sam to follow his lead, which they did. They lay there for several minutes, but Dave did not feel any different. When he had been on Nan, his string of light jumped out of him, but not tonight. Perhaps he had lost faith and was destined to live here for the rest of his life.
“Dave,” Lini said. “Are you okay?” He opened his eyes to see her but she was not there. He looked to his left and could see her lying quietly on the bench. “Not over there, silly. I’m over here.” He turned his head and a brilliant white string of light was floating in the air, inches from his face. With the shock of seeing her, his string of light shot out of his body and rocketed out into space. He was flying through the stars at incredible speed. He had no idea where he was headed or why. Two other strings of light approached and swirled around him.
“Is this the Source, Dave?” Lini asked. “I feel so safe and free.”
“Dave, this is the most wonderful experience,” Sam said. “Thank you for finding the temple. This event will bring back many of our traditions. How can I ever repay you?”
“We all need to think about Ulook, the Zula that Fondee and Banthan met from my time. Perhaps our minds will reach out to her,” Dave said.
The stars around them began to swirl about. Space itself seemed to twist and warp until it formed a long funnel which sucked them downward. The funnel became more and more narrow until a bright wall of intense light surrounded them, practically touching their strings of light. Dave tried to open his eyes and return to the temple, but it was impossibly far away now. He was entranced by the light and feared their imminent deaths.
When the tunnel ended, he found himself in a darkened metallic room. Lini’s string swirled around him. “What’s going on Dave? I’m scared.”
“Don’t be scared Lini,” he replied. “We are in the Source now. Nothing can harm us here.”
“Who’s there?” a third voice said. “How did you get in here? I will summon my guards to kill you if you don’t answer me!”
“I am Dave and this is Lini,” he replied. “Who are you?”
“I am Zeet,” the other answered. “How did you get in here? Are you of The Accord?”
“No we are not,” Dave replied.
“Then you must leave this place now!” Zeet shouted. “Where are you? I can hear you but cannot see you. Show yourselves!”
“Sorry, Zeet, but we can’t do that,” Dave replied. “You are sensing our minds only. We are not physically here.”
“Then you are of The Accord,” Zeet said. “That is why I can hear you. It makes perfect sense to Zeet now. But why do you deny The Accord?”
“I don’t know what The Accord is, Zeet,” Dave responded. “We cannot see you either Zeet. Are you in the Source as well?”
“That is an interesting question Dave,” Zeet said. “Perhaps this Source you mention is just another word for The Accord. I suppose it is possible your language is different enough for that to be true. How many robots does your brain control?”
“None, Zeet. Well, there are robots in our fleets, but my brain does not directly control any,” Dave replied.
“Well, I suppose you are not of The Accord then,” Zeet said angrily. �
��You must leave this place before your minds begin to damage my network. I will have to learn more of this Source. It seems as powerful as The Accord.”
Dave and Lini shot back into space and zoomed away from Bandabar. They approached a large metal planet and shot through the hull into a small dormitory. “This is a most unfortunate turns of events niece,” Altamar Zendo said.
“Don’t worry uncle, our fleet is only hours behind us now. They were able to avoid Bandabar completely. Since the Gallicean and Earth ships saved us from the monster machines, I suppose we owe them our thanks. Nothing is lost yet. The Paxran fleet is approaching and we can always slip over there when the time is right,” Valamar replied.
“But the Donnaki and the Brotherhood have deserted us,” he argued. “Surely you don’t think the Paxran alone can defeat the Free Society?” Dave and Lini’s strings of light shot back out in space.
Dave sat up straight, finding himself back in the same temple, but something was very different. The torches were gone and modern lighting fixtures were mounted to the walls. Each bench was fitted with a comfortable mat and soft pillow. The ring in the center was now topped with a gold statue of Paranaxis Sambolam. A man he did not know was lying on the bench where Sam had been. He stood up and stumbled for a second. When he felt confident on his feet, he walked over to Lini and sat next to her, touching her cheek with his hand. “Lini, are you okay?”
She opened her eyes and smiled at him, then sat up and kissed Dave on the lips. “Wow Dave! That’s all I can say. Wow!” She looked around and noticed all of the changes. “What happened here? Did you do this?”
Dave laughed. “No, I just woke up too.”
“Good morning Dave and Lini,” the Nan on the next bench said as he sat up. “We’re glad you can be with us. Odo Pak asked me to greet you personally.”
“You know Odo?” Dave asked. “Are we back in our time?”
