Conflict Unending

by Raymond L. Weil

  “Fleet Admiral Strong wants to know where the Eternals came from,” said Captain Everett, who was in charge of the Marine company that had arrived. He was holding an assault rifle cradled in his arms as he gazed uneasily at the chambers in the room. “General Wesley told me Councilor Bartoll called an emergency meeting to discuss this situation. All three councilors were present as well as Fleet Admiral Strong, Admiral Kalen, General Wesley, and Governor Barnes. There were also other Originators called in. The meeting supposedly lasted nearly half a day.”

  “It doesn’t surprise me,” Brenda said. In her hand she held one of the detonators which could destroy the stasis chambers and this room. Sergeant Metz had the other one. “I want to speak to Dazon Fells and see what he thinks is going on.” Dazon had come from the Hub and was a specialist on the Anti-Life, or the Eternals as they now called themselves.

  Brenda walked over to where Dazon was talking to a group of Originators.

  “Major Wilde,” said Dazon, recognizing her. “This is a frightful discovery you’ve made here. Not in my wildest dreams would I have expected to find Eternals in one of the stasis facilities.”

  “Do you have any idea what was going on here?”

  “Partly,” Dazon answered. “We believe our people in this facility were experimenting with the mechanical nanites that reside in the Eternals’ bodies. They are far more advanced than any we ever designed before the use of them was banned.”

  “We think they were trying to modify the mechanical nanites to eradicate the life extension pathogen or possibly even change it so it would not be harmful,” said Marisa Lillad. Marisa was a geneticist.

  Brenda felt confused. “Could you not have done the same thing with the biological nanites that you use?”

  Marisa shook her head. “No, our biological nanites are all designed for a specific function and once that function has been achieved they dissolve. Very few of our people have functioning biological nanites at any given time. However, the mechanical nanites the Eternals use are designed to last for several years before they need a new injection. While they’re inside an Eternal’s body, they can be programmed for different functions. They are much more complex nanites than anything we possess.”

  Dazon took over the conversation. “No doubt some of the scientists here believed the mechanical nanites could be adapted to work against the pathogen. There are numerous signs from the procedures performed on some of the Eternals we’ve examined that mechanical nanites were extracted from their bodies.”

  “So what happened?” asked Brenda. This all sounded so gruesome.

  Dazon and Marisa looked at one another their faces showing confusion. “We don’t know, at least not yet.”

  Brenda let out a deep breath. “Continue your investigation. If you discover anything let me know. Under no conditions are you to open any of the stasis chambers. They’ve all been rigged to explode if that were to occur.”

  Dazon nodded. “A wise precaution. None of these Eternals can be allowed to wake up. They would be a danger to all of us.”

  Brenda returned to where Captain Everett and Sergeant Metz were standing. “I want one of the two of you down here at all times. If one of those Eternals starts to awaken evacuate everyone and then blow the stasis chambers. I’m going to the city where the two Originator Councilors have been taken. When they come to I will question them about what was going on in this complex.”

  “Yes, Major,” Captain Everett replied as he took the detonator Major Wilde handed him.

  Brenda took a deep breath as she looked one final time around the large room. Combat robots stood at regular intervals ready to act if something went wrong. Marines were constantly checking the stasis chambers along with Originator AIs making sure there were no changes in their status. Finding Eternals here was nothing more than a nightmare. A nightmare she was going to have to deal with.

  -

  An hour later Brenda exited the excavated tunnel which led down to the hidden stasis facility. Stepping out into the open, she looked around. They were in a small mountain range accessible only by air. Nearby was a small Originator flyer which would take her to the city. She was curious to hear the two councilors’ explanations as to what was going on with the Eternals in the facility and even more importantly, how had they gotten into the Dyson Sphere to begin with.

  -

  It was the late the next day when Major Wilde was ushered into one of the special treatments rooms in one of the large medical centers. Other stasis chambers were now being brought in as sufficient numbers of Originators, Altons, and AI medical personnel had arrived to begin administering the antidote to the life extension pathogen.

  As Brenda stepped into the room, she saw two Originators sitting up weakly in their beds. Councilor Bartoll was standing between them with a deep and disapproving frown on his face.

  “This is Major Brenda Wilde who is responsible for finding your hidden stasis facility,” he said in the way of an introduction. “If not for her you most likely would have stayed in stasis until your repair robots ceased to function and your facility failed, killing everyone in stasis. As I’ve already informed you, nearly 12 percent of all of our people in stasis in these facilities did not survive.”

  “You are not an Originator,” said Councilor Aldon Metrecs, his eyes widening considerably. Metrecs looked over accusingly at Councilor Bartoll. “Why is this being here? Other races are severely limited from visiting our Shrieels.”

  “You have not been listening,” Bartoll said a little frustration edging into his voice. “We are at war with the Anti-Life. The Humans, Altons, and Carethians have come to our aid as we no longer have the numbers to fight a war.”

  Councilor Metrecs did not look at Brenda, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “How goes the war against the Anti-Life?” asked Councilor Alora Roan. “Can we not force them back into their galaxy?”

  “No,” said Brenda, deciding these two Originators needed to be shocked back into reality. “The Eternals, as they now call themselves, control over ten thousand galaxies and have millions of warships. It is doubtful we can ever force them back to their galaxy again.”

  “Thousands of galaxies,” said Councilor Metrecs, forcing himself to look at Brenda. “How is that possible?”

  Brenda took a deep breath. “While all the surviving Originators slept in their stasis chambers, the Eternals managed to escape from their galaxy over a thousand years ago. They have been rampaging through the universe conquering galaxy after galaxy. No one has been able to challenge them until we found the Dominator and awakened Commander Zafron. We also discovered the Communications and Transport Hub and over time, we found more of your people in stasis. My people are currently providing crews for your larger warships so we can keep the Eternals from conquering Originator space.”

  “Your people are fighting the Eternals?” asked Councilor Metrecs, his eyes focusing intently on Brenda.

  “Yes, and many of us have died keeping the Shrieels safe.”

  Councilor Metrecs closed his eyes and then reopened them. “It seems there is much I must learn of this new age.”

  “When we opened your stasis facility, we found a room deep beneath the complex containing several hundred Eternals in stasis chambers,” said Brenda, watching the two councilors reaction to her announcement. Neither seemed surprised. “What were they doing there and where did they come from?”

  “It was a mistake,” replied Councilor Roan in a tired and heavy voice. One of the Originator medical technicians stepped forward and injected her with additional organic nanites to give her weakened body strength.

  Councilor Bartoll looked at Roan. “How was it a mistake?”

  “We sent a ship to the Anti-Life galaxy. One of their ships had been captured trying to reach one of the hyperspace interference stations. The crew had been stunned and placed in stasis by the military AI on board. Our vessel rendezvoused with the station and took the Anti-Life on board, bringing them back here for study. I
t was hoped we could modify the mechanical nanites in their body to change our genetic structure providing us with immunity from the effects of the life extension pathogen. All of our experiments failed miserably. We finally put all the Anti-Life back in stasis as we were too weak to continue the tests. The next thing I knew I was being awakened here in this medical facility.”

  Councilor Bartoll shook his head. “You risked much bringing the Anti-Life into one of our Shrieels.”

  “We were desperate,” Councilor Metrecs said. “The council had recently ordered our fleet to take action against unrest occurring on many of the Shrieels. We knew if we could not find a cure quickly it would be the end of our civilization.”

  Brenda looked at the two councilors. “It nearly was. When I get back to the stasis facility I’ll give the order to have the stasis chambers containing the Eternals destroyed.”

  Councilor Bartoll nodded his approval.

  Councilor Metrecs looked over at Councilor Roan. “Tell them.”

  “Tell us what?” asked Councilor Bartoll, his eyes narrowing.

  “During our study of the mechanical nanites in the bodies of the Anti-Life we discovered how to shut them down. What if we could design a weapon which would shut down the mechanical nanites inside the Anti-Life? It would turn them into ordinary beings without their special enhancements. The immediate effect on them would be to make them feel weak and helpless. To them it would be the same as losing an arm and a leg and their brain suddenly working much slower.”

  Brenda looked over at Councilor Bartoll. She didn’t know what to say.

  Councilor Bartoll let out a deep breath. “We will postpone destroying the Eternals for now. They are under heavy guard. I need to contact Fleet Admiral Strong and speak to him of this.”

  “Who is Fleet Admiral Strong?” asked Councilor Metrecs. “Is he an Originator?”

  “No,” answered Bartoll, shaking his head. “He’s a Human and the entire future of the Shrieels and our race rests in his hands.”

  “The two councilors need their rest,” said Cynthia, stepping closer to her patients. Come back in a couple of days and you can ask them all the questions you like.”

  Bartoll hesitated and then nodded. “Very well. We’re getting ready to begin awakening everyone in the hidden stasis facility. It’s going to be a long process considering how many there are. Come with me, Major Wilde. We have a lot to discuss.”

  Brenda followed Councilor Bartoll out of the room. He led her to a small waiting room empty of anyone else. “What do you think?”

  “Do you believe they are telling us the truth?”

  “Yes, I don’t see any reason for them to mislead us. I do want to speak to a few Originator scientists back at the Hub about being able to shut the mechanical nanites down. If it is possible, it could change this war very quickly to our favor.”

  “Maybe,” replied Brenda doubtfully. “The Eternals are spread out over ten thousand galaxies and I doubt if we can even get a fleet anywhere near their home system. Even if we can shut the nanites down I doubt if we can get all of them.”

  “No, I’m sure you are correct. However, what if we could shut down the ones in the crews of the Eternal battlecruisers? The confusion caused by such an action may make their ships more vulnerable to our weapons.”

  Brenda nodded. “I think you need to talk to Fleet Admiral Strong about this. I know a lot about fighting on the ground but space warfare is way out of my league.”

  Councilor Bartoll strolled over to a large window overlooking the city. It was a breathtaking view. All of the cities on all of the Shrieels had been kept spotless and functioning by the hundreds of millions of repair robots that took care of nearly everything. Looking out across the city and its soaring towers you would think it had only been evacuated yesterday.

  “I will speak to Fleet Admiral Strong as well as others. We have some serious decisions to make. I’ll also be remaining here for a few more days. I have a number of questions I want to ask Councilors Metrecs and Roan. They can tell us a lot about the last days of the pathogen in the Shrieels and the actions the council took. Some of those actions, including the use of our fleet, took the lives of millions of our people.”

  “It was a desperate time,” Brenda replied. “At least now with all of your people we have found in stasis you can start over again.”

  Bartoll nodded. “We shall, but I fear our civilization will never be the same again.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Deep underground in a hidden stasis facility Commander Alvord and Albate stood in front of the leader of the Destroyers of Zorn. Councilor Zorn had recovered fully from his time in stasis and was listening patiently as Alvord and Albate explained to him what was going on in Originator space. They had briefed him before. However, this one was much more thorough.

  “So, we are finally at war with the Anti-Life,” said Zorn pleased to hear of this.

  He had long warned the council that someday the Anti-Life would escape their imprisonment and become an even greater threat than ever before. The council had merely stated that as long as the Anti-Life stayed in their galaxy, there was nothing to fear. The hyperspace interference stations would ensure the Anti-life stayed in their galaxy for eons to come. The council had been certain internal strife would eventually eliminate the Anti-Life as any type of threat.

  “Yes,” replied Alvord. “The Humans are taking the lead in the war and Councilor Bartoll is following along. I fear in time it will be the Humans who control the Shrieels and not our own people. Every day more Humans, Altons, and Carethians are arriving from their Federation. In time they will far outnumber us.”

  Councilor Zorn frowned. “I believe we can take steps to ensure that does not happen. Of more importance is making certain this war against the Anti-Life continues. I understand more of our people are being awakened from stasis.”

  “The Humans are finding more hidden stasis facilities every day,” reported Matissa Lanoor. Matissa was a deep sleep specialist. “We have confirmed reports that in most of the facilities 12 percent of the stasis chambers have failed. Recent computer estimates put the total number of surviving Originators awake and in stasis between sixty to ninety million.”

  Zorn was not pleased to hear of the deaths. “With the destruction of the dark matter Shrieel we have no idea as to why we were not awakened when the AIs at the Communications and Transport Hub discovered the cure. Our primary facility was supposed to be activated immediately upon receiving that information.”

  The primary Defenders of Zorn stasis facility had held over forty thousand of Zorn’s staunchest supporters. This secondary facility held only eight hundred. Zorn had never felt comfortable in the Shrieel surrounded by dark matter. However, it was the ideal place for the primary facility because of the research being done and the fact that the Dominator might someday return with the cure. It was upsetting to learn his careful plans for the Dominator and the Seeker had met with failure.

  “Using the birthing chambers it will not take us long to greatly increase our population,” said Matissa. “With a base population of eighty million, we could have our numbers up to three billion within one hundred years and nearly one hundred billion in two hundred.”

  Zorn nodded his head in acceptance. “Even at that rate we’re only talking about 500 million in each Shrieel in two hundred years. We once numbered in the trillions.”

  “It would be unwise to expand our population any faster,” cautioned Matissa. “We are long-lived. Someday we will see our civilization back at the numbers we once knew.”

  Zorn was silent for several long moments and then spoke. “We will begin sending some of our people out who are not known members of our organization. As long as our people continue to support the war against the Anti-Life, we will not interfere. However, I do want to set up some contingency plans if that support begins to fade. The war against the Anti-Life must continue until they are destroyed!”

  Zorn believed after the first war with the
Anti-Life was over his people had become too complacent. While he wasn’t pleased to hear Humans, Altons, and Carethians were living at the Hub and operating Originator warships he could see where they might be useful. It was time for him to begin thinking of his rise to power and how to accomplish it. In time, he intended to return to the Originator Council and rule over it.

  -

  Major Wilde and Councilor Bartoll were inside a small conference room at the medical center speaking with Councilors Metrecs and Roan. Both were doing much better as the organic nanites injected into their systems were rapidly improving their health. They still needed some aid walking but had insisted this meeting occur in a place more suitable than one of the treatment rooms.

  “We have both studied the computer records of what has occurred over the last several years,” announced Metrecs. “I must say I am impressed by what the Humans have managed to accomplish against the Eternals. When I first learned about the Humans I was greatly concerned.”

  Councilor Roan nodded in agreement. “There are also the Altons, who in many ways resemble our own people in our younger days. I see no reason to restrict their access to our technology. It is also evident that as close as they are to the Humans, they will help to control the use of our technology and ensure it is not misused by this younger race. Of course both races will need considerable guidance from us in the future.”

  “As for the Carethians they seem to be a very honorable race. Their support of the Humans and Fleet Admiral Strong is almost fanatical. Of course after the way he saved their world I can easily see why they’re so supportive. They also don’t seem very interested in our technology. Even in the new cities we are building for them they are using very little of our advanced science and technology.”

  Councilor Bartoll nodded. “Their leader, Grayseth, was very insistent our technology be limited in their cities. Their culture, while very primitive in some ways, is based on honor and hunting. The only advanced technology they have embraced is upon the warships they operate, and Grayseth has requested we provide sufficient AIs to handle that technology.”