“Attack?” Jibril replied with curiosity. “No, Admiral Euphretes, this is no attack.”
Doing his best not to sound defensive, “Then what is it?”
The face looked around at the petrified crew before resuming eye contact with Euphretes. “This is merely a built in precaution made by the UIS to ensure every Pyx that is found has a worthy Guardian,” Jibril answered, trying to instill confidence.
“What is she talking about?”
“I have no idea.”
The Admiral looked around at his dumbfounded crew, not a single sound being uttered. “My ancient UIS history is a little rusty; please remind me of the meaning behind a Pyx,” Euphretes requested.
Jibril patiently smiled, “A Pyx is a newly discovered civilization that has not achieved singular collectiveness in government. And, or, a Pyx is a newly discovered civilization that is not advanced enough to develop a long standing human colony outside its home world.”
Having no idea where to carry the conversation, “Alright, so it wasn’t an attack. Then why are you here?”
“Well, I’m here so you can now assume responsibility for it,” Jibril replied.
“Assume responsibility for what?” Euphretes’s tone was fraught with skepticism.
“Careful. If she can shut us down once, she can do it again.”
“That’s why you’re here, is it not?” Arhangalos Jibril answered, a look of concern on her face. “To stop Emperor Indus from laying claim to the humans on the Pyx’s surface.”
The tension within the Command Center was deafening, “What do you think?” Euphretes shot over to Neuma, wanting her opinion before answering the Guardian Response Program.
“I trust her; but it’s not like we have a choice in the matter. She’s somehow holding the entire Armada hostage.”
“It is, yes.” Euphretes said to Jibril, acknowledging Neuma’s statement with his own trust in the program as well.
“Then you willingly accept your new responsibility as this Pyx’s Guardian?” Jibril asked, excitement returning to her voice.
He looked around at his crew and then at Crestone and Blanchard, who both nodded their heads as if to say, “We’ve got your back, but still have no idea what’s going on.”
Admiral Euphretes took a moment to allow the enormity of the responsibility to sink in. It was absolutely overwhelming, and he seriously doubted his ability to take on such a task, even with the help and guidance of Neuma. Yet, how could he say no? Turning to Jibril, “I do accept this responsibility.” Euphretes answered the call with humility and reserved confidence. “However, to be completely honest with everyone here, I have no idea what I’m signing up for.”
“Not a problem Guardian Euphretes. I’ll pull up some relevant information and give you the opportunity to ask any questions you wish,” Jibril replied in a pleasant tone before disappearing.
“Guardian Euphretes. I like it.”
“So what does that make you?” Euphretes shot back to his mind space.
“That makes me, Guardian Babysitter.”
“Good Lord!” Euphretes replied laughing.
All eyes shifted immediately to Euphretes when Jibril disappeared. Hushed whispers once again filled the room. “Sir, what the crap is an Adoenye?” Crestone asked. He had completely given up trying to get personnel counts.
“Long story, but Jibril is referring to the Pillar AI.”
“Wait, you mean…”
“Yup. Like I said, long story brother,” Euphretes whispered.
“Looking forward to that one,” Crestone laughed.
Jibril abruptly returned, ending the Command Center’s side conversations. “So, how may I be of service Guardian Euphretes?”
“Babysitter,” Euphretes whispered to Neuma.
“Real mature.”
“Well, can we begin with your definition of what a Guardian actually is?”
“It is not my definition, Guardian Euphretes, but the UIS’s. You see, the first two Guardians arose shortly before my creation. Before the pretentiousness of Man drove a permanent wedge between the Guardian and its most powerful asset; before it became necessary for me to the bridge the gap. But I digress,” Arhangalos Jibril paused momentarily.
“So, she’s the messenger?” Euphretes commented to Neuma while Jibril began her definition.
“To answer your question, a Guardian is an individual responsible for protecting their Pyx. They are charged to shield the Pyx’s inhabitants from outside influences such as technology, government, and medicines that are foreign to its inhabitants. But most importantly Guardian Euphretes, your primary role is to further facilitate the growth and development of the human race. You must, at all costs, preserve your Pyx’s Culture.”
Euphretes narrowed his eyes as he asked the question everyone around him was thinking. “Jibril, why should I preserve their lives and keep them in a state of blissful ignorance when my father could use all the help he can get?”
Jibril smiled, “Well, for one, the UIS won’t let you just stroll down to the surface and start plucking up soldiers without a fight. And I can promise you this, the UIS is an enemy not worth having.”
“Pretty sure I offended her,” Euphretes commented within his mind space.
“Actually, not at all. She seems entirely at ease.”
Jibril continued. “But the primary reason for the strict seriousness of the Guardian’s responsibility lies in the importance of a Pyx’s inhabitants. You see, when a Pyx solves life’s biggest struggles on its own, the importance of a Pyx’s Culture goes far beyond educational. What you must understand is that developing civilizations, uncorrupted from the outside influences of the Galactic Group, tend to develop original solutions to the same universal problems that face Mankind. And more often than not, the Pyx’s solutions match, if not best, the answers that the so called advanced Galactic Group has come up with over the millennia.”
“Like looking at everything through a different lens,” Neuma stated.
“What if they start going backwards?”
“That is the dilemma for all Guardians,” Jibril admitted. “To think that they know the answers until their Pyx proves them wrong in marvelous ways. What you see as backwards could very well be the path to humanity’s greatest achievements. So, the reason you must shepherd your Pyx, rather than demand its submission, is because their problems today could be Humanity’s solutions tomorrow. You are to watch, guide and protect, but not blatantly interfere. You must allow them to clean up their own mess. Does that clarify things?”
“Mostly,” Euphretes humbly answered.
“Look at it this way Guardian Euphretes. At the end of the day, every discovered Pyx is another chance for Humanity to solve the grandest problems of them all.”
“What’s my end state?” Euphretes asked after several moments of contemplation.
“Unless your Pyx gets destroyed or its people, as a whole, are corrupted by your failures, then yours is a lifetime commitment. However, in order for a Guardian to introduce their Pyx to the Galactic Group and its technology, two scenarios must be met. The Pyx must have at least seven Custos years of total, planet wide peace under one government. During that period, the Pyx must also be capable of, and actively seeking, to send some of its human inhabitants to another world with the sole purpose of colonization.”
“Now she decides to speak decisively.”
“No kidding,” He said to Neuma before returning his attention to Jibril. “Ok, that’s clear. But what should happen if I lose control of the Pyx to an outside threat?”
“Like I said, the UIS will not like an outside agency trying to corrupt a Pyx; so as long as you are following the Guardian Protocols, then the chances of even being discovered are slim.”
“Yeah,” Euphretes exclaimed, doing all that he could to sound respectful, “But that didn’t answer my question Jibril. What happens if my Pyx falls into Indus’s hands?”
“My apologies, I thought that would be clear. Should Emper
or Indus kill you, then he would be the next Guardian; so long as the planet isn’t already corrupted.”
Before Euphretes could formulate his next question, “Unfortunately Guardian Euphretes,” Arhangalos Jibril’s tone shifted to melancholy, “My time with you has come to an end, for now. It seems that your Pyx already requires your attention. I recommend you start camouflaging your Armada. But before I go, I must remind you, you are not alone in this. From here on out, walking with you in this journey is the most powerful weapon ever known; the Pillar AI will never cease to amaze you as long as you keep your eyes open.”
Jibril somehow suddenly switched to speaking within Euphretes’s mind space before disappearing altogether, “Adoenye is your only chance to stop Emperor Indus, Euphretes. But for you, Seed Code Neuma, Adoenye is your only hope of saving Humanity.”
Out of nowhere, every piece of technology resumed its operating capacities as if the last hour had never even happened. Monitors reflected the immediate surroundings of the Flagship, revealing the entire Armada peacefully floating in interstellar space. Meanwhile, the data display sprang to life.
“Sir, I’m picking up a small vessel exiting the planet’s atmosphere; it has human cargo on board,” SR6 informed, as if he hadn’t disappeared for a second time.
Euphretes glanced over to a nearby workstation. On the top right corner was the time, 02:50 CT. Soon, he would learn that it was the Earth date of July 16, 1969; and the small vessel entering interplanetary space carried the Apollo 11 crew. Euphretes stared at the data display and watched as the tiny capsule slowly made its way through space. “What are the odds?” He asked out loud.
“Sir?” SR6 responded.
“What are the odds that this beautiful planet has remained undetected all this time? What are the odds that humans, billions of them, are living and perhaps even thriving on this planet?” The volume of Euphretes’s voice grew as the magnitude of the situation began to manifest itself. “And, what are the odds that a few of those humans decide to go for a space flight at this very moment?”
Neuma remained quiet, allowing Euphretes to absorb this on his own.
“Well, my calculations show that the odds are . . .” SR6 interjected.
“The odds are zilch. None. Not possible,” Euphretes interrupted. “Yet here we are.”
“That’s pretty much what I was going to say,” SR6 admitted.
Everyone remained silent as they all tried to grasp what was happening. Then, breaking the silence, Euphretes spoke, “Could this be our answer? Could this be our solution? Is this Destiny’s way of saving humanity?”
Neuma smiled as the light bulb went on in Euphretes’s mind space. “There is indeed hope.”
Little did they know however, that humanity’s new doom was peacefully gliding toward the moon, utterly oblivious to the hurricanes of War pounding upon Earth’s door.
Chapter 18:
Humanity’s New Doom
Custos Date: 24,951 PE
Earth Date: July 20, 1969
The past thirty-five hours had been a blur for Euphretes. With Steward Operative Caruso by his side, he squatted low on the regolith that covered the surface of the moon, and relished the brief break in activity. Euphretes had been hit with multiple top priority issues the second he assumed responsibility for Earth. To say it had been overwhelming would be a gross understatement. The Guardian, even with an AI buffering his body, felt stretched thin.
Euphretes had to react immediately to prevent anyone on Earth from seeing his Fleet Vessels and acquiring video or photographic proof. Using special equipment brought with them from Ozark, the Guardian dispensed teams to close off Earth from the Armada; and the rest of the Galactic Group. Once he had his Operations Team working on setting up the Armada’s camouflage, Euphretes pushed salvage teams to the dark side of Earth’s moon to work on the crashed Natron Cruiser. The Guardian wanted to ensure that all crew members were returned to their families, dead or alive. When the salvage teams were up and running, Euphretes next created expansion teams to begin setting up a base of operations in a deep crater on the moon’s dark side. Finally, he had to carefully plan out the next four Custos years in order to ensure that he and his crew stayed on a predetermined track.
Ironically, it was during the Armada’s concealing efforts that they found the missing Natron Cruiser. It miraculously made a soft crash landing on the dark side of Earth’s moon, leaving much of it still intact. Unfortunately, there were no survivors found on board. What was puzzling to the crews working the crash site was the fact that three Transports were missing from the Cruiser’s only bay, which had been torn to shreds by some explosion. Adding to the mystery was the fact that four bodies were also missing. While it was possible that the four missing persons were ripped out into space during the initial bay door’s explosion, Euphretes wasn’t willing to believe it until he knew for certain of their appointed lot. A strange and haunting thought played out in his mind space. “What if they were taken to Earth, alive?” His stomach ached at what sort of experiments the Earth humans might be doing to the captured outsiders. No one deserved such a fate.
Before Recovery and Medical crews began working the Natron Cruiser, Euphretes had individuals placed in Earth’s orbit. One team worked roughly half way between the moon and the Earth’s surface while another was placed just past the moon. Both teams were establishing a bubble of Surface Area Concealers to prevent anyone on Earth from seeing the Armada while at the same time camouflaging Earth from the outside Galactic Group. The Armada was sandwiched in between the two massive globes with its own layer of camouflage. The bottom section of Surface Area Concealers kept Earth in a sort of blind ignorance while the outer layer helped to ensure Earth was not accidentally found by the enemy.
Next to the Recovery teams on the moon was another operation working to create the foundations for a future Pyx Headquarters. Because of the Apollo 11 mission, crews working on the moon had to cease their activities and conceal everything once the three astronaut’s Command Module began orbiting the moon. Euphretes’s intent was to build as many defensive platforms into the moon as soon as possible while also working to terraform Mars. Because of the excellent conditions on the red planet, Euphretes expected to have homes and Ship Yards on Mars after just two Earth years of terraforming. After three and a half years, he expected to have a breathable atmosphere.
Guardian Euphretes was afforded little opportunity to spend any significant amount of time learning about Earth, a planet he was now charged to protect with his life. Shortly after the camouflage operations were complete, he was told that the Apollo 11 mission was showing signs of making a run for the moon’s surface. While it was incredibly early to make an appearance, Euphretes strongly felt that he needed to step in and make a request for the fallen Natron crew members that could be on the planet’s surface. With that in mind, he went down to the surface himself to await the Lunar Module’s arrival. The last thing he wanted to do was falsely assume that four Galactic Group civilians were lost to deep space and not left to the guiles of a curious planet.
An impact site that easily could have been caused by a Natron Transport, that was conspicuously just over two years old, and in an area that Euphretes would learn later on was Nova Scotia, gave weight to the Guardian’s suspicions that crew members could be on Earth’s surface. Regardless, Euphretes prayed for a good first impression to whomever stepped off the Lunar Module and genuinely wished to bring a positive message for the governments of Earth.
“It’s a miracle that they even made it this far,” Euphretes remarked as he watched the Lunar Module slowly grow in his head’s up display, “You know, considering the drastic gaps in their technology and computing abilities.”
“I just find it sad that they couldn’t even use stolen technology to make it happen,” Caruso replied, his tone serious.
“We don’t know yet if they had access to a Transport or are holding any crew members,” Euphretes answered. “Just because we found a potential
crash site doesn’t necessarily mean that the missing Transports made their way to the Pyx, or that they stayed intact enough to even be of any use,” Euphretes commented.
“Fair enough. But don’t expect them to be honest with you when you bring it up,” Caruso answered as the pair crouched in a crater watching the Lunar Module descend to the surface.
“Don’t ask me how I know, but you’re wrong.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can see one, a wrecked Transport I mean; and two bodies! But Euphretes, it’s nothing like I’ve experienced before. It’s as if I’m looking from a single focal point from inside the room. If they have these two, they may have the other two!”
“How is that possible?” Euphretes’s stunned voice rang out within his mind space.
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