The view shifted back to one of Earth. The woman morphed back into her idealized human form, but didn't take her hands from G'Liat. “Your kind is obsessed with conquest,” she said. “Perhaps even more so than the humans. We deemed you inadequate to our needs since you would no doubt try to conquer us and we would have to destroy you.” She looked into G'Liat's eyes. “I admire your ingenuity getting here, but we cannot merge with your kind as an alternative to the humans."
"I respectfully submit,” said G'Liat, “that I have another option in mind."
"We do not wish another option. We are tired and the time has come for us to move on.” She stepped toward Tim Gibbs and put her hands on his shoulders. “We will build a legacy, much as humans do. We will leave something behind for others like us."
"I don't believe that is an option any more.” G'Liat put his arms behind his back. “Mr. Gibbs has told me that his laboratory has changed. From what I observed in his apartment and from what I know of the human resistance, I suspect that they have destroyed one of your kind already and are massing to attack again."
"What!” Ellis looked up at the ceiling in time to see the view shift again. He saw several ships approaching. In the distance, he thought he saw the Nicholas Sanson. Leading the group was his old ship, the Astrolus.
"They can injure us,” admitted the woman. “They cannot destroy us."
"Why be injured at all?” asked Ellis, seeing an opportunity. “Retreat today. Come back and negotiate."
"You were right to seek Earth,” interrupted G'Liat. The woman looked at him with building interest. “It is a planet where evolution has happened rapidly, the creatures of this world grow and change in mere millennia while many of the rest of us are much more stagnant. I submit, you simply picked the wrong species as your appendages.” He held out his hand and the image of a sperm whale appeared. Ellis found himself grudgingly admiring how quickly G'Liat had learned to manipulate the Cluster reality.
"These creatures have the largest brains on the planet,” he continued. “They are as eager to see the sights you can show them as you are to have the input that comes from creatures that evolve. They are less obsessed with death and more with the hunt. You and the whales would make formidable allies."
"Wait,” interjected Ellis, “I thought you said the Rd'dyggians could not be trusted."
"No,” said the woman quietly, as though she was forcing herself to be tolerant with a petulant child. “We said that the Rd'dyggians were inadequate to our needs. Often times their motives are far more transparent than humans, making them far more trustworthy than you."
A woman with golden eyes appeared next to the first woman. Other than her eyes, she was identical in all respects to the first woman. The green-eyed woman took the whale image from G'Liat and handed it to the golden-eyed woman. “The Rd'dyggian has proposed an interesting alternative to the humans. Perhaps we can avoid death—of our kind and theirs."
The golden-eyed woman vanished.
"What does all this mean for my memory core?” asked Tim Gibbs.
* * * *
Richard—or T'Li'Ch'D, as he was actually known in his own language—had found a particularly good field of squid. He swam through them, scooping them up in his massive mouth and crushing their shells between his lower teeth and upper jaw. The hunt is the art, he thought joyfully as the tasty morsels went down his throat. He looked out over the ocean and thought about all the sights he'd seen in his long life from coral reefs and the clear blue waters of the Caribbean to glaciers near Iceland. In the depths of those northern waters he'd battled a particularly ferocious giant squid. He still carried the scars of that battle with pride and it had made a tasty meal.
The ocean carried other dangers as well. There were Orcas and sharks that swam at him and tried to carry him into the depths to drown him. Richard had survived by his cunning, speed, and sheer power. He gulped down another mouthful of squid and realized that it was nearly time to return to the surface for air.
"The cycle continues,” he said as he broke the surface of the water. Night had fallen while he had been under water. The recent storm had broken and the sky above was filled with stars. He rolled over onto his side so he could get a better look at the stars. Again he thought about all the places he'd seen, but he found himself wondering what it would be like to travel among those stars. The hunt could only be grander.
As he thought that, he felt himself being pulled out of the ocean and into the stars themselves. He looked down and saw the waters receding below him. The horizon was no longer a flat line, but an arc that fell away from him. He began to discern landmasses and then he noticed that the clouds themselves were below him. He looked out to the sides and saw the stars, clearer than he had ever seen them below.
He swam upward and then swam downward again. In a panic, he began to wonder where the surface of this wonderful new ocean was. As he wondered that, he saw the most beautiful female whale he'd ever seen. She had captivating golden eyes and she rubbed herself against him, making him feel stirrings he had not felt in many years.
"Breathe,” she commanded him. “I have created a medium for you that is both water and atmosphere. You can breathe."
Though he felt water all around his body, he cautiously took a breath and discovered that air filled his lungs. He exhaled and then took another breath. He then swam around in a great vertical circle, reveling in the feeling of being able to breathe as he swam.
* * * *
Aboard the Sanson, Simon Yermakov stared slack jawed at the view in the holo tank. Just as the fleet was massing to attack the three Clusters that had materialized over the planet, one of the Clusters broke formation and made a giant loop-the-loop. “What the devil is it doing?” he asked.
Laura Peters stood up next to Simon and stared at the image wide-eyed. “Is it getting ready to attack?"
"The Cluster has lost interest in humans,” said Natalie. “They've found someone else, someone more suitable to their needs."
Both Simon and Laura turned and looked at her.
"What does it mean?” asked Laura.
"Life in the galaxy won't be destroyed in a big shock wave,” answered Natalie.
Simon let out a sigh of relief in spite of his skepticism at Natalie's words. “Then we're safe."
"No,” said Natalie, shaking her head. “We're not safe at all."
* * * *
The golden-eyed woman materialized next to the green-eyed woman and a broad smile appeared on her face. John Mark Ellis shuddered as a violet-eyed woman also materialized. “I like the way these whales make me feel,” said the golden-eyed woman. “I feel alive. I want to explore. There is no end to the universe."
"What about our legacy?” asked the violet-eyed woman.
"Our legacy will be our children,” said the golden-eyed woman. “We have always had the ability to reproduce. We simply have not had the desire. I want to make more of my kind. I want them to see the universe as I see it. There can be no greater legacy. It is far better than a machine."
"I feel your joy,” said the green-eyed woman. She turned and looked at Timothy Gibbs with something like contempt. “There is a joy in the machine you want to build, but it is fleeting. Once it is built, the joy will be gone and you will, once again, worry about your own death.” The green-eyed woman looked at her two sisters. “The humans are not grateful for what we have given them. The Titans were not grateful. The whale is grateful. I say we join with the whales. They shall be our new appendages."
The violet-eyed woman looked worried. “Is that wise?” she asked. “Should we abandon an appendage so easily in favor of another?"
The green-eyed woman smiled. “There are many kinds of legacies. A legacy of life seems better than a legacy of death."
"Indeed,” echoed the golden-eyed woman.
Without warning, Gibbs and G'Liat vanished. For a split-second before he was gone, Ellis thought he caught a look of self-satisfaction on the warrior's face. The antiquities in the room a
lso vanished and Ellis found himself floating in water. The green-eyed woman swam up to him and before his eyes, her legs merged together into a tail and her arms became fins. Her still-human face smiled and she said, “Your kind must learn to seek joy.” As her head transformed into that of a sperm whale, he realized he was blinking up at the ceiling of his bedroom in Nantucket.
Kirsten dropped onto the bed next to him. “You're back!” she cried. She scooped him up her arms and kissed him. “When you went slack in my arms, I was afraid we'd lost you for good. I was afraid that you'd gone like Coffin."
Ellis pulled Kirsten close and hung on with all of his strength. “I don't think humans have any more to worry about from the Cluster and, to be honest, that really scares me."
* * * *
Richard caught sight of a group of cylindrical objects gathering nearby. They reminded him of a school of squid. Like squid, they seemed somewhat menacing. Also like squid, he somehow knew they were to be hunted. He let out his stunning sound—the loud gong that sperm whales make and swam toward to the ships. The sound he made was like laughter.
* * * *
Aboard the Legacy, the damage to the battle deck was mostly repaired. The lights were on and fresh air circulated. Mary Seaton's body had been carried down to the infirmary and the EMTs had returned to the Sanson. Fire and Manuel decided to remain aboard Legacy to help out where they could.
Captain Ellison Firebrandt watched the scene unfold in the holo tank with growing confusion. As the battle group had formed to challenge the Clusters, one of the Clusters broke formation and performed a loop. Now that same Cluster broke from the rest. A golden beam issued from it, causing one of the ships to simply vaporize. As the Cluster plowed through the line of ships, two more were destroyed. After which, the Cluster simply jumped and vanished.
The human fleet tried desperately to regroup. As they did, both of the other Clusters retreated a short distance and also jumped.
"Dad,” said Fire from the computer console. “EQ frequencies to the outside galaxy have just cleared. I can reach Alpha Coma, Sufiro, anywhere."
Manuel and Juan stepped up to the front of the battle deck and joined Firebrandt and his daughter. “Does this mean we won?"
Roberts looked around at the destroyed engineering console, at the missing rivets in the wall and at the bloodstained deck. “I don't think ‘won’ is the right word. Somehow, I think the Cluster has found a new legacy."
Firebrandt nodded and looked back toward Roberts and the damaged battle deck. “And we must rebuild ours,” said the captain. He turned to his daughter. “Let's see if we can find someone who can help us get this ship rebuilt. I think it may be time to get back home and attend to the harvest."
"Aye aye, Captain,” said Fire, winking at her father.
* * * *
"I dare say your work is done, young man,” said G'Liat to Swan as he packed the brain scan device into the case. “I would recommend that you find transport to Sufiro."
Edmund Swan stood up from the couch, looking warily at Rizonex who had lowered his weapon. “What do you mean?"
"The Cluster has relinquished its hold on human kind,” said the warrior. “They have found another species more to their liking. As a result, they have abandoned their project at the center of the galaxy."
"That's right,” said Timothy Gibbs. Tears ran down his face. “They're gone. There will be no memory core."
Maria Gonzalez stood up and slapped Swan on the back. “That means we won!"
Tim Gibbs fell from the chair into a broken heap, crying inconsolably. “No,” said Swan. He helped his friend stand, took him in his arms and gave him a hug, then helped him lie down on the couch. “We've still got a lot of work to do."
G'Liat closed the clasps on his case, and hefted it over his shoulder. “As do I. If you'll excuse me,” he said as he stepped toward Rizonex at the door.
"Wait a minute,” said Swan. “You still haven't told us what you did."
"You'll find out soon enough,” said the warrior. “Talk to Ellis. I'm sure it'll be a whale of a good tale.” With the briefest of nods, the Rd'dyggian left the apartment, with Rizonex on his heels.
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THE NEW GALAXY
Three days after the Cluster left Earth, Mark Ellis and Kirsten Smart invited all of their friends and family to Nantucket for dinner. Ellison Firebrandt, Roberts, Manuel, and Fire came down from the Legacy, in a space dock for repairs. Though pleased that they could land their launch at the Nantucket spaceport, it was still disheartening since it was a reminder of how much the population of Earth had been diminished. Upon arrival, Manuel and Roberts both shooed Mark and Kirsten out of the kitchen. Manuel began adding a mix of chile powders here and there while Roberts applied hands well practiced at cooking homegrown vegetables on Sufiro.
Edmund Swan arrived with a bottle of Saguaro wine that Carlos the plumber from the resistance back at Southern Arizona had given him as a thank you present for his help. “How's your friend Tim Gibbs doing?” asked Kirsten as Edmund poured her a glass of wine.
"Improving,” he answered. “He's suffering a hefty dose of guilt for helping the Cluster and a hefty dose of depression that his dream of the perfect memory core will never be built. His old supervisor, Jerry Lawrence, checked him into the psychiatric ward at St. Mary's Hospital down in the Bisbee Sector. It's really quiet and peaceful down in that part of Southern Arizona. He's got a tough road ahead, but I think he'll recover."
"It's a good thing he had a friend like you,” said Kirsten, lifting the glass of electric-red wine.
Noticing that Mark was sitting alone on the couch with his head lowered, Fire sat down beside him and put her arm around his shoulder. “What's the matter?” she asked.
"I suppose I'm feeling a little like Timothy Gibbs,” he said. “After all, it was because of me that the Cluster came to Earth in the first place."
Ellison Firebrandt, admiring the rack of pipes on the mantle overheard and turned. “You can't blame yourself, Mark. The Cluster was attracted to humans.” He strode over, tugged on his pant legs and knelt down next to Mark's chair. “Feeling guilty because the Cluster found your thoughts and emotions interesting is like saying you're feeling guilty because you're human.” The old privateer captain smiled. “And you know something? I think you're about the most human person I know."
Mark snorted. “Once I brought the Cluster here, I couldn't get rid of them."
Firebrandt looked up into his grandson's eyes. “What counts is that you tried. No one person—or ship for that matter—could do it alone."
"G'Liat did,” said Ellis, bitterly.
"G'Liat did not solve the problem,” said Fire clasping her son's hand. “He merely changed it. Who knows what the Cluster's up to now."
Kirsten sat down next to Fire and took a sip of her wine. “I shudder any time I think about it. The Cluster is now a symbiont with a creature whose mantra is ‘the hunt is the art.’”
"Why do you suppose he did it?” asked Mark, perking up a bit. “Why did he introduce the whales and the Cluster? Somehow I think there was more to it than simply stopping the destruction of the galaxy."
"Undoubtedly,” came a singsong voice from the door. Everyone looked up to see Arepno, holding a bowl of something that looked like purple gruel. He set the bowl down on the coffee table. When everyone stared at it blankly, he explained, “It's a Rd'dyggian specialty called ruas'ordah.” When the group continued to stare at the big bowl with blank expressions, Arepno stepped over to the kitchen table, retrieved a tortilla chip and dipped it in, then popped it into his mouth.
Dubiously, Manuel picked up a tortilla chip and hesitated a moment. Then he stepped over and dipped it into the ruas'ordah, then nodded. “Not bad,” he said. “It even has a little spice to it."
Firebrandt stood and bowed to his old friend. “Arepno, what do you think G'Liat was up to?"
"G'Liat has connections on my world and beyond,” said Arepno as he st
uck one of his fingers into the purple gruel. “He, like many of my people, fears one thing above all—the eventual human domination of the galaxy.” The Rd'dyggian lifted his hand to his mouth and the purple mustache-like growth began shoveling the gruel in.
Mark's brow furrowed. “There's one thing I don't understand, then,” he said. “If you knew G'Liat was so dangerous, why did you take me to him?"
"Because you asked me to,” said Arepno simply.
Firebrandt turned and looked at the pipes on the mantel again to hide a snicker. After a moment, he looked down at Mark. “Do you have any tobacco for those pipes?"
"I do indeed,” Mark answered, brightening. Then his face fell, momentarily. “It was some Navy Flake tobacco that Old Man Coffin gave me."
"That seems only fitting,” said Firebrandt, somberly. “We shall smoke to his memory."
"Well,” said Kirsten, getting to her feet somewhat unsteadily and sloshing just a bit of the Saguaro wine. “If you're going to smoke to his memory, do it outside. The food in here smells too good."
Grandfather and grandson each selected a pipe from the rack and took them outside just as Eva Cooper came down the stairs. She smiled at the sight of so many people in the house. Kirsten stepped up to her and took her by the elbow and introduced her to Edmund Swan, Arepno, and Roberts. A short time later, Simon Yermakov, Laura Peters and Natalie Papadraxis arrived from the Sanson.
A few moments later Ellison Firebrandt stepped back inside. “I thought you went outside to pollute the clean island air with that pipe of yours,” said Kirsten.
Firebrandt smiled. “Mark's doing a fine job all by himself.” He made his way into the kitchen, grabbed two bowls, filled one with chips and scooped up some of Arepno's purple ruas'ordah into the other. “I'm not about to let all of you hoard the food."
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