Solbidyum Wars Saga 9: At What Price

by Dale Musser

  “Correct. This entity is one of the many forms of evolving life that exist. The universe and all the intelligences in it form a collective energy or consciousness that is thought of by most sentient life forms as God. That consciousness has decided that when the three of you die, you will be elevated and reborn into this form, an energy being such as myself. I am here to assist you in that transition. Normally, the intelligent entity or soul that occupies a humanoid life form, such as yourselves, requires many incarnations to arrive at this transformation, but your case is a quite special because of the lives you’ve lived and what you have accomplished, sacrificed, and what you are about to sacrifice.”

  “Will we still maintain the knowledge we have now?” asked Kala.

  “Yes and no. At first you will not. You’ll be like small children, but as you grow and develop your understanding, you’ll slowly regain your memories of the past. Think of it as temporary amnesia.”

  “Will we always be stuck in a star?” asked Kala.

  “Does it look like I am stuck in a star?” Thumumba asked with a smile. “You will be like me. Eventually, you’ll be able to take on any form you desire. Personally, knowing A’Lappe’s quirky nature, I can’t wait to see what forms he chooses to manifest.”

  “You mentioned that we need each other. What do you mean by that?” I asked.

  “Ah, you were paying attention, Tibby. Yes, I need you too. I know your plans and what you intend to do once you reach the solbidnite field. I’m ready to take the next step in my own evolution, but I need help to do it. You see, I require the energy of at least a supernova to make my transition and I don’t want to wait billions of years for my own star at Alle Bamma to reach that point. However, the explosion created by a reaction at the solbidnite field will release more than enough energy to manifest my change. I will have a moment or two before I make my actual transition, where I will be able to collect your life energies and place them into newly created stars. There your energies will mature, until one day you will be as I am now. Your stars will be near enough to each other so that once you have sufficiently matured, you will be able to communicate with each other as you do now. If you so desire, you will be able to slowly build worlds and even take on human or other forms and walk on these worlds you create. You shall not die.”

  “But what happens to you?” I asked.

  “I move on, I take on more energy and become a more active and cognitive part of the collective consciousness, just as the three of you will someday, trillions of years in the future.”

  “Sounds like an awfully long time,” said A’Lappe.

  Thumumba laughed. “Not at all, little one. You will find the time goes by quickly. Time dilates differently with each advancement you make. For you, centuries will be like seconds and millennia like minutes. It will never be mundane and it will always be amazing.”

  “If it’s so amazing, why do you want to evolve?” I asked.

  “A’Lappe, I think you can answer that question,” said Thumumba.

  “Curiosity,” said A’Lappe. “Simply because we are seekers, and the seeker is curious.”

  Thumumba nodded but said nothing.

  “So what exactly will happen?” asked Kala. “What will we feel? Will it be painful?”

  “Birth is always painful, but we don’t remember being born,” said Thumumba. Seeing that this answer brought Kala no comfort, he continued, “What you will experience the briefest microsecond of searing heat and pain, after which you will be thrust into blinding white light. Then a warm peace will settle over you. You will fall asleep and stay sleep for centuries, while your mind is cleansed and you assimilate to your new life form. Then one day you will wake up an ignorant child and you will kick and twist and turn and learn about your new environment. Eventually, you will begin to learn and reach beyond yourselves and before long, you will all find each other. When that happens, old memories will begin to return.”

  “So by the time we become cognizant again, all our children will be dead?”

  “Not dead, but certainly changed. Over time you will be able to find them again if you wish, but it’s unlikely they will recognize you or sense your presence, unless you decide to manifest yourself to them. But at some point they will transform into beings like you, and then you will be able to communicate with them once again.”

  “So we’re not going to die, but our bodies will cease to exist. You’re going to stuff us into newly formed stars inside the nebula that will be created in the explosion of the solbidnite, when we sacrifice ourselves to destroy Ming and the Brotherhood. We’ll evolve into something greater. We’ll sleep for millions of years, only to wake up and find out our kids won’t be here – at least not like they are now and not in a way that we can interact with normally – but in a few million more years they will be,” I said.

  “Sounds like you’ve got it, Tibby,” said Thumumba.

  “Actually, I only paraphrased your words. I really have no idea what it all means,” I said.

  “An even greater truth, Tibby, because none of you can truly know what it means until after it happens.”

  *****

  “Hi, Reide. I’m glad I’m able to talk to you, as it looks like we’ll reach our destination shortly. So this will probably be our last conversation, at least for several million years, if Thumumba is right.”

  “Don’t say that, Dad. I don’t want to hear that. Something will happen to fix this, I know it will. Something always does.”

  “It’s nice to believe that, son, but it isn’t always realistic. Nevertheless, I want to tell you how exceptionally proud I am of you. I couldn’t have asked for a better or smarter son, nor a braver one. I’m proud of the way you’ve stepped forward in times of need and danger and you haven’t once hesitated to do what’s necessary to protect life and defend liberty. I love you, son.”

  “Stop it, Dad. I’m no hero and what I have done is nothing compared to what you’ve accomplished and sacrificed. I’m sure in a few weeks you’ll be home and the war will be over and we’ll be kicking back with Marranalis in The Locker, downing afexes and laughing about how this war ended.”

  “Well, I hope you’re right, Reide, because I really don’t want to leave you, but just in case, know that I love you and Lunnie both so very much. Now, can you let me talk to Lunnie a while? Then you mother wants to talk with you both.”

  “Hi, Dad. What has Reide all upset? He’s bawling like a baby!”

  “I guess he just doesn’t like goodbyes. Listen, Lunnie, we’ve almost reached our destination and this will probably be the last communication you get from your mother and me. I want you to know just how much you mean to me and how much I love you. I am so deeply proud of you and Reide. It seems like only a week ago that we were all living on Desolation and you and Reide were playing in the underground house there. It seems like only yesterday that Reide messed up your styling wand and turned your hair purple. You’ve been such wonderful children… you’ve filled my heart with more joy than you will ever know… and I am so, so proud of you. You amazed me at Megelleon the way you tore through that hoard of Brotherhood warships took out all those fighters and asteroid-ships! How did you learn to fly like that?!”

  “I don’t know, Dad, I just got angry and then all at once it became just like when Jenira made us practice swords and she told us to think of the sword as an extension of our body. I did that with the ship and the rest is history. Dad…please… I don’t want you and Mom to die. Isn’t there some way to save yourselves?”

  “I’m afraid not, Lunnie. But your mother and I aren’t afraid. We’re just sorry we don’t have more time with you.”

  “Dad, do you believe that stuff that Thumumba has told you? You know about you, Mom and A’Lappe living forever?”

  “I don’t know, but I guess it won’t hurt anything to believe it at this point.”

  “I hope he’s right, Dad. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you and Mom in a few thousand years – or however long it takes me
to reach your level.”

  “We’ll be waiting for you… you and Reide both. Now your mother wants to talk to you. If you don’t hear anything from us again or from Ming, you’ll know we succeeded.”

  “Dad, one more thing. I want you to know that if you succeed – and even if you don’t – I plan to do all I can to restore Earth to what it once was. It will be my way of honoring you. I love you, Dad.”

  “I love you too, Lunnie. I have to go. Now here’s your mother.”

  *****

  “My name is Luinella Renwalt, daughter of First Citizen Thibodaux James Renwalt and First Citizen Kalana. I am here today to relate to all of you the events that immediately preceded and followed the explosion that created the great Hoye’ Aah Nebula.

  “Under the threat of annihilation of billions of Federation citizens if they refused to comply, my father, mother and A’Lappe yielded to Ming’s demands and led him and the bulk of the Brotherhood leaders deep into space to the enormous solbidnite field that Ming wished to monopolize as the most valuable known resource in the galaxy. It was here that A’Lappe had planned to manipulate the TRITYTE’s small power source and GW drive to hopefully trigger an explosion powerful enough to incinerate Ming’s entire fleet and ignite the vast cosmic reaction that would consume the solbidnite.

  “Unfortunately, A’Lappe’s plan failed.

  “In the last moments of their lives, as we know them, my mother was in communication with me using the Deep Space Communicator. She related to me that after my father disconnected from the communicator on his last call with me, A’Lappe announced that they had reached the inside edge of the solbidnite field and that Ming and his cohorts had not yet figured out that they’d arrived. He had to act swiftly, so my mother had only seconds to say goodbye. These moments were, as you can imagine, immensely emotional, but my mother assured me that the three of them had no fear and that they were full of hope at the prospect of eliminating Ming and the central core of Brotherhood leadership.

  “Suddenly, there was a great sense of distress in my mother’s thoughts. The TRITYTE’s systems were too old and the GW drive and power source were simply too small to generate an explosion. A’Lappe could think of nothing to remedy the situation, except to find a way to trick Ming into firing a weapon and triggering the reaction himself.

  “As always, my father knew exactly how to accomplish this goal. My mother told me that my father used Ming’s own delusional, imperious arrogance against him by taunting him into firing a laser or PLABE to destroy the TRITYTE. What my father’s last words were to bring Ming into such a rage, we will never know, as my mother didn’t have time to relate them to me. Whatever he said, it worked and today all evidence of those ships and the evil tyrants on them are gone forever, vaporized in the explosion that created what we call the Hoye’ Aah Nebula, which in Federation language means Forever Peace. It is so named to honor my father, my mother and A’Lappe, who willingly gave their lives to end the tyranny of the Brotherhood and to restore peace to the Federation and to all worlds that seek a future built on hope and freedom.

  “We cannot mourn their deaths, because they have not died, if the words of the entity known as Thumumba are true. Even now, as we assemble here, three new stars are materializing out there in the vastness of the Hoye’ Aah Nebula – three stars which, if Thumumba is to be believed, are forming around the still living souls of my father and mother and A’Lappe. It will be thousands of years and, in some cases, millions of years before all the worlds of the Federation will be able to see this nebula in their skies, because it will take that long for its first light to get here. But our ships have flown there and have seen it and taken images of it to share with you here today. We know it’s there and that my father, mother and A’Lappe succeeded in their mission to save us, our children and the generations to follow. It is real. This is not a story that will eventually become a myth or a legend. It is the truth and it shall remain the truth for all time.

  Two years ago, my Father traveled to Eh-Netta, where he met with the Gom Pasha, the religious leader of the Neovian Universalists. While there, he was told of prophecies made by a monk of their religious order many centuries earlier – prophecies in which my father, mother and A’Lappe played central roles in a war of unprecedented proportions. These divinations are displayed in giant murals and stone carvings in a cave within the monastery complex. My father never gave much credence to these predictions, though he was amazed at their accuracy with regards to his life as it had unfolded up to the moment that he viewed them. The last scene in the series of murals showed what appeared to be a giant nebula bearing three prominent stars. My father asked the Gom Pasha what the mural meant and was told that no one knew, for the monk who foretold my father’s life and painted the image so many centuries earlier would only weep when asked. Before his death, the only thing he would say of the image was that it was the birthplace for immortality and the deathplace for tyranny. Today we know that his prophecy was true and we understand the meaning of his explanation. The monk also said that the greatest sacrifices hold the greatest rewards, and without a doubt the price paid and sacrifices made by my parents and by A’Lappe meet those criteria.

  When my father departed from Eh-Netta, the Gom Pasha sent with him one of the neophytes of the Order to document the events that would follow until the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy. He is here today. His name is Asalott. He will be returning to Eh Netta shortly to present to the Order the details of the realized prophecy. Asalott tells me that the Neovian Universalists will not mourn my parents or A’Lappe; rather they shall celebrate their victory and the reward of immortality they have received. While I shall miss them terribly, I too shall rejoice in their reward. Hoye’ Aah!”

  *****

  Across the galaxy, both inside and outside the Federation coalition, hundreds of billions of people stared at their vid screens, their hearts drenched with grief, as Lunnie stepped back on the platform of dignitaries and sat down beside her brother. The ceremony had been going on for hours. Earlier, Rebadat Tonclin and Leader Pheosa had spoken of the extraordinary courage, dedication and honor that defined the lives of Tibby, Kalana and A’Lappe. A proclamation was read posthumously, elevating A’Lappe to the rank of First Citizen, a gesture which would have no doubt amused him, as A’Lappe was never a citizen of the Federation to begin with. Reidecor had elected not to speak and allowed Lunnie to speak for the both of them. Days earlier he had been honored by the Senate as a hero of the Federation, which was an event that seemed to sadden him more than please him.

  Admiral Marranalis, who had been officially promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, also days earlier, made a moving speech outlining in a very candid manner his association with Tibby from the time of his arrival in the Federation to the last conversation they had before his death, noting how, out of Tibby’s first contacts, he, Rebadat Tonclin and Piesew were the only ones still alive. He related the story not of a hero, but of a friend and a man who stuck by his principals, someone who cared nothing for fame, wealth or glory.

  The Ruwallie Rasson performed an elaborate demonstration of their own, honoring not only Tibby, Kalana and A’Lappe, but Padaran as well, all as fallen heroes and as members of their own people. At the end they all turned and bowed to Jenira, who sat silently on the opposite side of Lunnie from Reidecor. Very few people outside of the Ruwallie Rasson and the crew of the NEW ORLEANS understood the rarely seen gesture and many of those watching commented and wondered about it.

  People were surprised to see an android present on the dais. Andy was not only present as a representative of the android community, but he also made a small speech referring to Tibby as “Friend Tibby,” saying how he was and would remain the most respected of all humans among the androids and how he hoped that one day all humans and androids would come to know such friendship.

  Jenira spoke briefly, her vow of silence now ended with the demise of the Brotherhood. She spoke of how the greater part of the remaining Broth
erhood members surrendered after the destruction of Ming and his fleet of ships at what had become the Hoye’ Aah Nebula. Without Ming wielding the slave collars and drug addiction that controlled them, most rebelled quickly against the few true loyalists of the organization and in less than a week the Brotherhood tyranny was ended.

  She also spoke of Tibby’s and Kala’s overarching love and compassion and how Tibby was always willing to help someone and give them opportunities to prove themselves. Her speech was brief and heartfelt and everyone could see that she grieved deeply, but few fully understood the depth or reasons for it.

  Lunnie was the last to speak there on Megelleon, watched from the hillsides by the tens of thousands of people who encircled the valley and from afar by the billions who gathered before their vid screens to bid farewell to their defenders and guardians.

  Then, from the dark outer rim of the valley came the slow, deep rhythm of drums as ten thousand drummers began their funeral dirge. At the onset of the drumming, everyone stood, including thousands of Federation troopers, who stood at attention before the podium in inside the valley. Lunnie and Reidecor stepped forward and stood at attention as well, honoring their parents in the manner of their soldiers in arms.

  Gradually, the drummers began their approach from the hillsides through the ranks of troops and headed toward the central platform, where a large area was designated for them. The unyielding rhythm was mesmerizing as it boomed across the valley and reverberated deep within the chest of each person like a mighty heartbeat. There was no sentiment of sadness or defeat or loss in the cadence; only the pulse of strength, honor and victory. The swell of ten thousand drums culminated in the sound of glory and remembrance at the platform, as the drummers began to gather and registered deeper and deeper strikes into their drums, finally breaking down many of those in attendance into unbridled sobs. Never before in history had there been so many drummers or so many troops and dignitaries at a funeral service. Never had the hills been so full of mourners and never had so many watched in awe on their vid screens across the galaxy as fallen heroes were honored.