Blackshade wasn’t sure what to do, “So, I push this button and your construction begins? It’s that simple?”
Tremendous smiled, “Yes, Blackshade, there is no hidden agenda here. This is simply our attempt to incorporate your ceremonies into this moment. We believed that humanity would appreciate this gesture. If we were incorrect, I apologize. We meant no insult.”
Blackshade was doubtful, “No, it’s not that, you’re right, humanity would appreciate this gesture, but why me, though? Why not one of our Presidents? Why not a dignitary of note?”
Tremendous shook its head, “You were the first human we made contact with. You were the first human to have the courage to face us and keep your courage in the face of the unknown. You have treated us with respect and understanding in all of our interactions, and as the first Ambassador appointed between our races, we could think of no human better suited to be the focal point of this ceremony.”
Blackshade was out of arguments. He moved to push the button when Artificer stopped him, “Is it not customary to make a profound speech before you perform the ceremonial task?”
Blackshade stopped in his tracks, “Yes, I believe it is.” he answered, as a cold sweat broke out all over his body, “Forgive me. I am still new to this role and am somewhat overwhelmed.”
Artificer nodded, “Good, I believe that is the correct emotion to have in these situations.” the Engineer said with another wink. Blackshade wasn’t certain, but he thought Artificer was attempting to make a joke.
His heart began to race as the sudden weight of the situation settled on him. He had been in the military for years, made plenty of speeches and sat in numerous meetings where he had to address high ranking, or high importance individuals. This was the first time in his career he had to address the leaders of an alien race, let alone one that created his species, and he found he was having trouble finding words significant enough for this occasion.
He knew he had to calm down and get control of himself, or he was going to botch the whole thing. Artificer, Tremendous, and many other Omegas were watching him from around the room. They were all expecting something inspiring from him, and currently, he didn’t have the words. Closing his eyes, Blackshade took a deep breath. He concentrated on slowing down his heart and focusing his thoughts. He tried to let the crushing weight of the situation fall away and focus on what was important. Without willing it, the memory of Zahera kissing him on the cheek came back to him. The memory was so powerful that for an instant, he felt her lips on his flesh again. A lump caught in his throat as he relived that moment, and when it was over, he opened his eyes. He only realized he was touching the spot where she had kissed him when he felt his hand on his face. Smiling, he lowered his hand and walked slowly towards the button. When he stood in front of it, he looked up at each Omega in turn before he began his speech.
“When we first saw you, we weren’t sure if your arrival would portend our destruction, or our salvation. We didn’t know who you were, what you were, or why you were coming to our planet. No one knew for sure, but our predictions were, I’m ashamed to say, negative. Some believed you were going to kill us and take our planet for your own, while others believed that you would enslave us.” he began somberly, “If I’m honest, I believed the worst and was prepared to fight against you, tooth and nail, no matter how futile the act might have been. Then, I had the privilege to be the human that made first contact with you. I was given the honor of getting to talk, face-to-face, with you and discover that your intentions were noble and pure. You’ve brought truths to us that, while difficult to accept, will have lasting effects on our race and that will help propel us into a fruitful future. Yes, there have been misunderstandings between us, but I believe that as we work through these first, stumbling steps together, as partners, that both of our species will emerge stronger as one, than we ever would have apart.” He paused letting his words sink in to the Omegas around him. “So, it is with hope that as I push this button and begin the process that will establish your city on our planet, the cooperation and friendship that blossom from its creation will be as a permanent as the planet our cities are built on. May we all flourish as equals, together, for the rest of time.”
He finished his impromptu speech by closing his eyes solemnly and then performing a crisp Omega salute. He didn’t see the Omegas return the salute, but the sound he heard come from all around him let him know that each of them had. Opening his eyes, he saw all of the Omegas looking down at him with approval. Tremendous went so far as to nod at him with respect.
Proud of himself, Blackshade reached forward and pressed the button.
Chapter 12
The buildings the Omegas created on what was once South America were incredibly disappointing. After Blackshade pressed the button, the floor he was standing on became transparent. He barely contained the shriek that came unbidden to his lips, as he watched the floor disappear beneath him. As it was, he jumped backwards as the floor lost its opaqueness, and for a moment, he thought the whole situation had been a cruel trick and that he was going to fall to his doom. When his feet reconnected on solid, transparent ground though, the feeling of dread drained from him, and he was able to regain his self-control. Taking a moment to settle his nerves, Blackshade looked down at the continent as pure white beams of energy shot down from the ship and into the ground below. Where the beams struck, huge plumes of grey smoke billowed up from the ground. Shortly after the beams hit the Earth, structures began to materialize and peek out from inside the dense clouds, like jet black mountains. Blackshade quickly realized that he was getting his first glimpse of Omega architecture, and he felt a little disappointed as he realized their buildings were as drab as their ships. The structures were some of the ugliest and least impressive constructions he’d ever seen. The pure white energy beams moved slowly around the perimeter of the structures as they took shape, making the buildings taller or wider depending on the design. The first building that took form was the same jet black color of the Omega ships, rectangular, and had a series of large pipes that ran around their outer walls in a random pattern. As the structure became taller, thousands of small lights began twinkling along its base, slowly rising up the structure as it grew in height. As incredible as it was to see the creation of these massive structures happening below him, using a technology that was far beyond him, the moment was blunted by the absolute lack of aesthetics used in the creation of the Omega constructions.
As he watched the buildings take shape, he supposed he shouldn’t be disappointed; his expectations had been pretty unfair. He hadn’t known what the alien structures would look like, but he had allowed himself to expect amazingly elegant, beautiful designs that incorporated art and style in the design. Something exotic that would both offend and intrigue his sensibilities. He recalled seeing art work in video games that had a human artist’s interpretations of alien structures, that had won awards for their inspired designs. These structures were nothing like those. They would never win any awards. Try as he might to feel otherwise, Blackshade was utterly disappointed.
He stood there for what felt like hours, watching the Omegas build their structures. He saw colossal buildings of black rise slowly into the sky. Other buildings were squat by comparison, but still incredibly large in their own right, easily dozens of square miles in area. All of the structures were rectangular or square in shape, and there seemed to be very little imagination when it came to the design of the Omegas’ buildings. The tiny twinkling lights that peppered the structures helped a little bit, but Blackshade equated it to putting Christmas lights on the burned husk of a magnificent tree.
In contrast, the way the Omegas went about building their structures was extraordinary. The massive white beams of energy that shot out from the ship must have required enormous amounts of power to create. How the beams were causing the structures to form was far beyond his cognitive abilities, but the appreciation of the technology was not.
“How are you doing this?�
� he asked, awestruck.
Artificer moved to stand next to him. Pointing at the beams, he explained, “The manufacture protocol takes matter and transforms it into the material required for construction. The beam works in three phases. Phase one is the identification and classification of the matter and resources at the site where the construction is to take place. In this case, the remains of the structures, plant, and animal life is identified, analyzed, and quantified, which is then categorized into different groups. Each group will later determine what that matter will be used for or transformed into. Even the elements in the soil will be used in the construction of our buildings.” the Engineer told him. “The material is categorized into specific groups in such a way that all of the matter is used efficiently, with little to no waste. For example, transparent materials will be used to create translucent panels or materials. Denser materials will be used to create load bearing structures, lighter matter will be used for binding agents or miscellaneous details, while conductive and resistive materials will be utilized for energy transfers or shielding. Obviously, we try to keep the matter as close to its previous form as possible, but if that is not feasible, our technology will put it into a category that allows the matter to be utilized in the most efficient manner possible for the construction project. There are many categories the matter is sorted into, but I generalize my explanation for easier understanding.”
Blackshade followed the conversation as best he could, “So, your energy beam is identifying the raw materials and resources at the build site in order to know what it has to work with, and categorizes them into groups by usefulness?” he asked tentatively.
Artificer nodded, “Correct.” The Engineer pointed towards the location where the beams met with the Earth, “Phase two is the transformation, or mutation phase. This phase uses the most energy and the most time. In this phase the manufacture beams begin adding or removing protons, electrons, and neutrons from the raw materials in order to create the materials required for the specific parts of the construction. It is very intuitive; the beam takes the molecules it needs from the different categories in order to efficiently create new matter from multiple sources. As long as the raw material is available, we can create whatever matter we require for our projects, provided the raw resources are available at the site.”
Blackshade was intrigued, “You’re saying that you’re using the rubble of South America to create all of this? If that’s the case, then why did you have to destroy everything in the first place? Why not just change the properties of everything while it was still in one piece?”
Artificer smiled approvingly at his question, “Because, as I have told you, we needed to terraform the continent for our needs, and the most efficient way to do that was to remove the pre-existing structures, flora, and fauna that was there. Also, having the matter broken down makes the transformation and mutation phase more efficient than if we used the materials while they were still in their previous form. It is similar to the reason you chew your food before you swallow it. Materials that are broken down to a simpler state are easier to work with than complex ones.” Artificer explained patiently.
Blackshade had to admit that made sense, but he was sure there was more to it than that. Showing the world how easily they could destroy an entire continent and then rebuild it was a message no world leader, no matter how deluded they were, could dismiss or ignore. He felt a surge of pity for any country whose leaders did not heed this veiled threat.
Artificer continued, “In phase three, the manufacture beams take the original and transmuted matter and blend them together to create the predetermined structures we require.” The Engineer pointed to a massive rectangular monstrosity that easily reached a few miles into the sky, “That is going to be one of our observation towers, where we will be able to watch humanity function in their chosen habitats. Notice that as the beams circle the structure, it grows taller. That is because the beams are transferring matter into the structure from the surface, allowing the building to grow until it reaches the proper size for our needs. Once it reaches that predetermined point, the beams will be refocused on the next portion of the project and allow the building to solidify and stabilize.”
Blackshade cast an inquiring eye at Artificer, “What do you mean, solidify and stabilize?” he asked, squinting down at the buildings. They looked pretty solid to him, although, when he looked closely, he could see a sheen to the structures that reminded him of an ice cube, just above its freezing point.
Artificer seemed pleased by this question, Blackshade got the feeling Artificer enjoyed talking about engineering, then he internally rolled his eyes at himself for having an epiphany on something so obvious. Artificer continued with its lesson, “Similar to your own bodies, our structures are semi-organic in construction. While they are not sentient like you are, they are a blend of organic and non-organic materials. Our technology uses the organic nature of the materials to essentially grow our structures to the required size. This still requires a lot of matter and energy, but the natural process of organic growth greatly reduces the amount of raw matter required to build these structures and allows all of the internal components to properly set before the external support structures completely solidify.”
Artificer looked down at him expectantly. Fortunately, Blackshade felt he knew what the Omega wanted him to ask next. “So, are the structures flesh and blood like me?”
The grin on Artificer’s face let Blackshade know he was spot on, “No, the insides of our structures are nothing like the insides of your body. However, the concept is similar. Your bodies do not solidify internally like our structures will because different manufacturing protocols were used when creating you. If your bodies were to harden like the structures will, your functions would cease within hours after your assembly. That is because the matter used to create you and the matter used to create the structures are very different. The organic matter created to build our structures is far more…waxy… than the matter used to create humans, and when combined with other complex matter causes the material of the building to solidify into an extremely hard and sturdy compound. It would take an act of Fuin to harm our structures once they have set.” Artificer said proudly.
“What about your ships?” Blackshade asked, curious, “Are they made of the same waxy substance that your buildings down there are?”
Artificer shook its head, “No. Again, different structure, different matter. Our ships are made of far sturdier materials, because they have to be able to endure the rigors of space, combat, and motion. Creating just a segment of this ship would require every last resource on this planet. Spaceship design is a far more complicated process than simple planet side construction.”
Blackshade nodded his understanding and returned his attention to the city taking shape below him. He stood in silence for a while, standing on the transparent bridge of the Omega ship, watching the white beams fire into the planet again and again, creating one ugly black structure after another. There were now four energy beams coming from the ship, each bright white and targeted with envious precision. “How long will the construction take?” he asked, finally breaking the silence.
Artificer shrugged, “This phase of the construction should take the rest of the day. Completion of the overall project should take five days. No longer than that.”
“Are you going to completely cover the continent with your buildings?” he asked curiously.
Artificer looked at him as if his question was a foolish one, “Of course, we are.” the Engineer answered incredulously, “We negotiated only for the space we required on this planet, if we needed less, we would have negotiated for less.” Artificer returned his gaze to the construction below them, “To not utilize every square inch would be inefficient.”
Blackshade found he rather admired that. He wasn’t sure if all the Omegas shared Artificer’s sentiment, but not wasting space, and the efficient use of resources was something he valued greatly. “After the construction is c
omplete, what will you do?” he asked.
Tremendous spoke up from behind him, “We will move our researchers and other essential personnel to our new city and continue our efforts to assess, analyze, and study your race.” The Omega leader answered as it monitored the progress, “Our research will be far more efficient and in-depth once we are planet side.”
Blackshade was confused by this, “Why is that? You’ve been able to learn so much about us from your ships already, what will your researchers being planet side do to improve your studies?”
Tremendous didn’t look up from the construction, “Our research from orbit has revealed much about your species already that is true, but it is severely limited by its nature alone. We get a broad spectrum look into whatever aspect of your race we are studying at the time. Therefore, we can easily miss a nuance or an anomaly that would have been obvious to us if we had a more up close and personal viewpoint.” The Omega waved a massive hand towards him, “Your nipples and belly button being removed by our Near-Life Case is a perfect example of this. Our broad spectrum analysis of your body allowed Artificer, Notes, and our other researchers to fine tune the machine and vastly improve your overall performance. It fixed many of your system’s errors and corrected anomalies that would have otherwise ceased your functions prematurely. However, even with all that, due to the nature of our research, we missed certain nuances like your nipples and belly button. In this situation, the results were purely cosmetic, but as we saw with the relocation of the humans of this continent, even our minor missteps can result in mass ceasings of your species, which is something we do not want to repeat. Being on the ground and able to study you in your chosen habitats will better allow us to pick up on all of those acute nuances, so that mistakes like these do not happen again. It is also a far more efficient form of research.”
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