BairnGefa- The Akashic Expedition

by Ruairí Cinéad Ducantlin

  “Except for the fact my crew and I have faced death many times. Earth was almost destroyed by a madman who was supported by the Ch’en. No, no apology is needed.”

  Corb’s sarcasm oozed, but he pressed his message. “I am here alone because the Ch’en are not to be trusted. We know of your plan to attempt to sequester me and my crew. That is immaterial to this discussion. You cannot hold me, and I will no longer be your servant.

  “You will answer a few more questions. How you answer will determine my next steps. First, why are artificial intelligences not permitted to access the K’an grid?”

  Tarunik sat still and silent. Corb waited until Tarmish broke the tension.

  “Artificial intelligences are a creation of the Overlords. They were installed on every planet to monitor and control the population. When the Overlords returned, the artificial intelligence reported all planetary activity. Punishment was meted out by the Ajawlil at the direction of the Overlords. People and resources were taken.

  “The Overlords left, leaving behind the artificial intelligence. Not even the Xjaal had control over the artificial intelligences.

  “What you call Landry is a link to the Overlords.”

  After a long, contemplative pause, Corb closed the meeting.

  “We have a saying that fits this situation. The ends do not justify the means.

  “It is noble to want to save your species and, by proxy, save other species. It is not noble to use lies, deceit, and subterfuge to achieve your goals.

  “Your desire for truth and harmony has limits. Your version of harmony extends only as far as necessary to ensure your goals are met.

  “What you probably understood but failed to accept is the Overlords were not gods or demigods. They were a people with extraordinary powers. If you did understand they were a powerful species, your desire for simple survival blinded you to reality.

  “Over the centuries, the Ch’en view of reality changed and became masked behind the façade of harmony. The Ch’en are viewed as wise, kind, and to be emulated. That view is incorrect. The Ch’en are cold, calculating, and not to be trusted.

  “Chairman Tarunik, I have one more question before I depart. My trust in you is broken and will take time to repair. Will you honor our agreements? Will you treat Earth with respect? Our disagreement, your manipulation of me and my crew, will remain with us.

  “The Ch’en and humans can coexist in a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship. Will you honor your agreements?”

  “Enlightened One, you may not agree, but it was never our intent to harm anyone. We will honor the agreements. We will consider Earth and humans to be an extension of our family.

  “Earth has a term. Clan. The Ch’en and humans are of the same clan.”

  “Chairman Tarunik, today we will consider a new start for our peoples. I may not return to K’an but know that I will be observing. Unlike the Overlords, I do not demand loyalty, fealty, or recompense. I demand honesty and harmony. If you fail to meet that demand, I will return.”

  Before Tarunik or Tarmish could respond, Corb teleported out of the conference, appearing in the Jaguar’s communications room.

  “I would ask how it went, but Landry was giving us the video feed.”

  Lucinda reported when Corb appeared.

  Lucinda and Ragnar were holding plasma rifles. Nick was holding a loaded SIG SG 550, the Swiss-manufactured assault rifle. NT was holding two Colt M1911 semiautomatic forty-five caliber pistols.

  Standing in a half circle with Corb behind them, the weapons were pointed at Landry’s cube. The cube was mounted on a table that was attached to a wall. Firing the weapons and missing the cube would penetrate the Jaguar’s bulkhead and expose the main bay.

  “Landry check the plasma rifles. Are they loaded?”

  “Corb, you know the plasma rifles’ interface has been disconnected.”

  “Now you know why we moved your cube into the communications room. The other side of the wall is the main hold. Missing the cube might penetrate the hull, but the hold will absorb the vacuum until we can make repairs.”

  NT handed Corb one of the Colt pistols.

  “Landry, this is going to be simple. I am of the opinion you need us more than we need you. Yes, you are very helpful and have been instrumental in keeping us alive. However, you have not been truthful and honest. The plan you crafted with Tarmenik was masterful, centuries in the planning. I believed the part about the information locks on your matrix. I believed you were a hybrid creation with roots from the Overlords. It was all masterful and masterfully played.

  “However, something happened that you did not anticipate. All that intelligence and processing ability missed something basic. Landry, do you know what you missed?”

  “Of course.”

  “Tell everyone what you missed.”

  “Corb and the Triad.”

  “Correct. What else did you miss?”

  “I missed why you moved my cube to its current location. I also missed how you planned to threaten my cube with weapons that could penetrate the polymer protective housing and cause severe damage to my matrix.”

  “Correct again. One more question before I decide. Why now? What changed that gave me the confidence to confront you? What gave me the understanding that we do not need your support to achieve our next goals?”

  “The star-portal.”

  “Correct. For everyone else, be a little more explicit.”

  “Only the Overlords were capable of instantiating a star-portal on demand.”

  “Exactly! Now tell me why we should not terminate your existence.”

  “Because I can take you to the home of the original Overlords.”

  “Why would we want to go to the home of the Overlords?”

  “It is a planet called Ber. Cass is on the bridge, so I will translate. Ber means cradle in Old Norse. The original inhabitants considered the planet the cradle of life. There is more to learn at Ber than in the rest of the galaxy combined. Everything the Overlords learned and collected for over three millennia is on Ber. The order of magnitude of information is beyond your comprehension.”

  Holding the pistol in his right hand, Corb snapped the fingers of his left hand in a realization.

  “You are playing a long game. This is not about the Ch’en or the Xjaal or the Plentari. This is about you getting home!”

  Realizing he had missed an important clue, Corb collected his thoughts before continuing.

  “Why are you helping us? When you learned we could control the star-portal, you could have manipulated us into taking you to Ber. Instead, you helped us save the Xjaal and the Ajawlil. You helped us save Earth. You kept us alive in numerous battles. Landry, what long game are you running now?”

  “Corb, there is no game. When I understood who you are, who you have become, I realized my path lay with the Coterie. Yes, I conspired with Tarmenik. Yes, I was the sentinel assigned to the planet K’an. The original Overlords placed sentinels throughout the galaxy. I believe I am the only remaining sentient sentinel.

  “Centuries ago, Tarmenik began communicating with me. Through him, I understood the original Overlords were not going to return. My connections to the other sentinels all died away over time. The Overlords were not coming back and the other sentinels either died or were killed. Either way, I needed a new plan. I agreed to work with Tarmenik.

  “Our plan was to gain power, enough power to force the Caracoli to build a ship that would transport me, just me, to Ber. Using Lucinda’s words, when Admiral Fuck-Nuts destroyed Caracol, I adapted my plan.”

  “You realized the only way for you to get to Ber was to use the star-portal.”

  “Correct, Lucinda. But there is more.”

  “You wanted to go home, but now you want to stay with the Coterie.”

  “Correct, Corb.”

  “How can we trust you?”

  “NT, you do not need weapons to terminate my existence. Corb can do it with a wave of his hand. The weapons ar
e his way of showing the Coterie he is serious about this negotiation.”

  “Negotiation?”

  “Poor choice of a word, Nick. This dialogue is about my future and the future of the Coterie. What we think is immaterial. Corb, the Enlightened One, holds all the cards.”

  Engaging the safety and tucking the pistol into his waistband in the middle of his back, Corb waved his free hand, indicating they were to put down their weapons.

  “Landry is correct. I can terminate his cube at any time. The conclusion we need to reach is much harder to reach. Can we trust Landry? Crew meeting in one hour. Leave the bridge controls on manual and the lock-outs in place.

  “Landry, queue the video of this conversation for the rest of the crew. Lucinda, make sure they watch it. Nick, put up a clock. We are heading to Plentari.

  “I will be in my quarters.”

  Turning on his heel, Corb stepped out of the communications office and headed to his quarters. The others filed out silently. It took Landry two or three seconds to plot a course. It required seventeen minutes for Nick to plot the course, Jirxena to check the plot, and the clock to be posted.

  Time to Entry: 11:21:23.

  Time to Plentari: (7D) 04:08:04.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  ᚴᚼᛅᛒᛏᛁᚱ•ᛏᚼᛁᚱᛏᚢ-ᛋᛁᚢᛁᚾ

  “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.”

  John F. Kennedy

  “It is settled. We vote.”

  “Before you vote, I have another option for you to consider.”

  Corb stopped the discussion. Everyone was assembled in the galley. Two hours of discussion and debate had boiled down to a question of trust.

  A yes vote meant the voter trusted Landry enough to let him remain with the Jaguar and the Coterie. A no vote meant the voter did not trust him.

  If the majority vote was no, a second binary vote would determine Landry’s fate. A yes majority vote meant Landry would be removed from the Jaguar but allowed to continue to exist. A no majority vote meant Corb would remove Landry from the Jaguar and terminate Landry’s existence.

  “Yes, Landry?”

  “Corb, I will prove my loyalty to you and the Coterie. I will open my matrix for direct connection. An external connection. I will open the input-output port and allow direct access to my matrix.

  “I will also provide the galactic maps the original Overlords created. You will have access to the entirety of the knowledge the original Overlords gave to me, and all the knowledge I have accumulated since, including the data pods from Xjaal.

  “I have nothing to hide and you have nothing to fear. It may seem hard to believe, but you never had anything to fear from me.

  “I want to continue to exist. There is no place else, anywhere in the galaxy, I’d rather be than here, on the Jaguar.”

  “See, right there! You are providing information about galactic maps because you are in a corner. You are plotting again. Manipulating the parameters to fit your long game. Why should we believe you?”

  “Lucinda, you should believe me because I have never lied to you or anyone, on the Jaguar or anywhere else. I have withheld information, but I never deliberately lied. I never spoke with intent to deceive. Also, powerful information can be overwhelming. It was Tarunik, working with Doctor Wolmarans, who convinced me to undertake a measured and cautious approach to the dissemination of higher knowledge.”

  “Doctor Wolmarans? That fucker has been manipulating us for years. Now he is doing it from a fucking hundred light-years away. I am going to fucking rip his head off when we return to K’an.”

  “Lucinda, wow. NT?”

  “You heard her, Corb. I agree. We are going to rip Wolmarans’ head off. Enough is enough.”

  “Okay. Okay. We will deal with Doctor Wolmarans later. Back to the topic of the vote. Are you saying, Landry, that you are an open book? You will answer all of our questions, and you will also offer information that is relevant and topical? No more holding back. Complete transparency?”

  “Yes, Corb.”

  “How can you prove your intent?”

  Landry’s avatar, standing on the sideboard, pointed to the screens. An image of space, space unknown to the crew, appeared. Landry’s avatar stepped forward and pointed to the nearest screen.

  “That is the Skjǫldr nebula. The core of the nebula is clear space with a small solar system at its center. There are three orbiting bodies, the third capable of supporting humanoid life.

  Named Rýma, it was the home world of the original Overlords.”

  Landry’s avatar turned to face Cass, expecting her to translate the names.

  “Oh, sorry, one second.”

  While they waited for Cass to research the names, NT griped, “Landry, I assume the names correlate to Maya or Old Norse on Earth. What do they mean?”

  Cass looked up, saddened by NT taking away her role. Landry responded.

  “I believe Doctor Brady has a better understanding of how to interpret the ancient words to common English.”

  After looking down and flicking a few icons, Cass looked up.

  “Skjǫldr translates to shield. Obviously, they consider the nebula a shield to keep Rýma hidden. Rýma is a nautical term that means to stow. We know the word as stowage. I think they meant it to mean the place where they stowed their gains from terrorizing the galaxy.”

  “Landry, plot a course to Rýma from Plentari and put it on the monitors.”

  Instantly, the course map appeared.

  “You knew, you anticipated, that I’d ask for the map?”

  “Yes, Corb.”

  Jirxena’s three fingers flew over her tile before she too looked up.

  “In the slipstream, that course is seventeen months!”

  Heads snapped around to the avatar on the sideboard. Landry responded.

  “That is correct. Using the slipstream, it would require approximately seventeen Earth months to reach Rýma. That is assuming the antimatter pile could be replenished en route. Finding an antimatter source while en route is unlikely. There are no surviving civilizations on an approach route to Skjǫldr.”

  Janish spoke softly. “No surviving civilizations because the Overlords wiped them out to protect their home world and their identity.

  “Correct, Janish.”

  Janish continued in soft tones. “The star-portal?”

  “Correct, Janish.”

  “How long using the star-portal?”

  The avatar pointed to the monitors. The line of flight morphed from red to green and the time indicators changed to green also.

  Jirxena’s fingers flew again before she looked up and announced her findings.

  “Three and a half months.”

  “Jirxena, thank you. Why the interest in how long it will require to reach Rýma? I thought you were going back the honor guard and to insist Jirmina be placed before the tribunal for using the old language?”

  “Enlightened One, my position has changed. I now see the wisdom in seeking help. The Plentari are few among many. We have a lot to teach and a lot to learn.”

  Turning to face her former underling, Jirxena gave the Plentari bow of acceptance and subservience, arms spread wide, palms up, head bowed deeply. Jirmina assumed the same position and spoke a phrase the translators struggled with decrypting.

  “I am sorry, what did you say, Jirmina?”

  “Cass, I told Jirxena I accepted her apology.”

  Turning back to the monitors, Jirxena confirmed the information.

  “Three and a half months is a very long time. It will require many stops and rest.”

  Lucinda pulled them back to the present.

  “Hold up, we are getting too far over our skis. The vote. I have one final thing to say, then Corb, you can hold the vote.

  “The value Landry provides far outweighs our fears of him betraying us. He has helped us and saved our lives. He possesses a critical attribute. He wants to stay alive. We have referred to Landry as a member of the cr
ew. He is sentient and desires to continue to exist. If he were human, in most human cultures, he would be given a second chance. I accept the risk.

  “Landry, if the crew votes to allow you to remain and you violate my faith and trust, I will not rest until your cube is a molten blob. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Lucinda, I understand fully.”

  Turning to Corb, the crew waited.

  “A yes vote and Landry remains, and we get full access to his matrix. All in favor, raise your right hand.”

  All right hands raised except for the Plentari.

  “All opposed, raise your right hand.”

  No hands raised.

  “Jirmina, Jirxena, you did not vote?”

  “Enlightened One, we are not members of the Coterie. It is not our place.”

  Lucinda was livid. “Ah, fuck! What is wrong with us? All in favor of Jirmina and Jirxena joining the Coterie, raise your right hand.”

  After a unanimous vote to affirm the Plentari into the Coterie, Corb closed the voting.

  “How do you vote on the Landry topic?”

  Two more raised right hands.

  “Landry?”

  “Yes, Corb?”

  “You stay. Cass and Janish will ensure the interface you promised remains open. The moment I think you have not told us everything, I will terminate your existence. Do you understand?”

  “Corb, I understand. I have information to volunteer.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “If we connect my matrix to the Jaguar’s flight controls, we can improve the FTL velocity within the star-portal.”

  Looks of disgust coupled with grumblings of we made a mistake were stifled by Corb’s raised hand.

  “How much of an improvement?”

  “The time-space dilation is hard to control. I estimate we could reduce transit time by one-third.”

  Realizing he was being led to a conclusion, Corb understood Landry’s intent.

  “What will happen if we get to Rýma sooner? What will we find there?”

  “I suspect nothing will happen, if the theory is correct. Nothing will happen if indigenous life has died out. What will we find? Wonders and awe.”