by Neal Jones
"Ilkara has been granted full citizenship of the Federation and because it is the only surviving member of its species, its status among us is a unique one. OFCIR and the diplomatic corps have granted it the title of ambassador, with all the privileges and rights that come with that rank. I'm now going to turn this conference over to it. Ilkara will answer your questions."
All heads turned in he/r direction, and Ilkara smiled in warmly. S/he'd been preparing for this for the last three days, and she had a pretty good idea which questions were going to be asked. She'd already decided how much information about her people she was going to reveal and what she was going to keep confidential. She hadn't even told Drumhold's staff or Gabriel's staff everything, and they knew it.
"Thank you, everyone, for being here today. In the interest of time I'm going to give a prepared statement and, hopefully, that will answer some your questions. To begin with, I noticed your expressions earlier when Commodore Gabriel referred to me as an 'it'. My people are a genderless species. We do not possess what you would consider male or female attributes. There's more details on this in the press packets that were given to you earlier this morning.
"Now, as for my people and the history of our empire, I am going to divulge a little more information in the coming weeks than I have in the past few months. This new information will be primarily technological because of the hypergate network and the numerous star systems and galaxies that will be open to exploration and colonization by the Interstellar Federation. However, I am going to keep the details of the fall of the Erayan Empire a secret for now. So please do not ask me any questions pertaining to that. The information on that subject that I have provided in your press packets is the same information that I gave to Commodore Gabriel and his staff four months ago when I was here in quarantine, and that information is all you're going to get.
"Now, I'm ready to open the floor to questions." Several hands shot up. "Yes, you." S/he pointed to a humanoid woman in the front row.
"How old are you exactly, Ilkara?"
"By your galactic standard calendar, I am one-thousand-and-thirteen years old." S/he pointed to a man near the back of the crowd. "Yes. You, sir."
"You said there were almost five hundred hypergates in operation at the height of your empire's reign. Are they all still operational?"
"No. At the time of our fall, over half of them had been destroyed - some by the hand of our own people, others at the hands of...exterior forces." Her slight pause wasn't unnoticed by the reporters or the officers standing around her. "At this present day," she continued hastily, "I would estimate that there is probably only about a hundred or less of the gateways still operational. Next. Yes, you sir."
"Ilkara, I realize that you have explained your physiology in the medical report that you gave us earlier in the press packets, but for those out there who will be watching or reading this later, can you tell us briefly what make your physiology so unique?"
"Yes, of course. Quite simply, I am a cybernetic being. Most of my body is made of flesh, bone, blood, tissue, organs - same as all of yours. But I also possess nanotechnology, microscopic bio-probes that exist in my bloodstream, as well as in most of my major organs like my brain, heart and lungs. The bio-probes give me increased physical strength, a very powerful immune system, and several other enhancements."
"Including anti-aging properties?" This came from a ruddy-faced Murdohn on the left side of the throng.
"Yes, that's right. The Erayans developed a medical science very similar to your own Wolcott's Therapy. I am not immortal, however. As advanced as my cybernetic physiology is, it will eventually succumb to the wearing of time, just like yours. I probably have at least five or six hundred years left." S/he smiled, and her comment elicited a few chuckles from the press. Hands shot up once more, and s/he selected another interrogator.
"How much longer do you think before this hypergate is connected to the others out there? And when that happens, what's the plan for exploring those distant star systems?"
"An excellent question." Ilkara glanced at Laura. "I know that many of you are wondering why we didn't have the hypergate connected to the network months ago, when I first arrived here. Unfortunately, the answer is rather complex." Ilkara's tone became more serious as she turned back to the audience. "Our empire was scattered over several million light years, which means hundreds of sectors and thousands of star systems. In the twilight years of our empire's reign, when it became clear that we were going to lose dominion over most of our territories, our government initiated the Guardian Project. Myself and several dozen others were created in a laboratory, then transported to remote outposts where we were placed in cryogenic suspension. The outposts that were chosen were specifically selected because they'd either been attacked, demolished, and/or abandoned by our enemies, or they were so remote that the probability of them being discovered by our enemies was a remote one.
"I am a Guardian. I am here to ensure that the technological remnants of the Erayan Empire do not fall into the hands of those who would abuse it for their own selfish gain. An excellent example of this is the Jha'Drok Emperium. One of our hypergates drifted near their territory more than a century ago, and four months ago we learned of the fruits of that discovery. You've all probably seen the recent news stories of the massive assault legion that was secretly constructed by the Jha'Drok, with our technology, for the sole purpose of invading several key systems of the Federation. Situations such as that are exactly what I'm here to prevent.
"Now that begs the question of where was the Guardian of the outpost that was discovered by the Jha'Drok? I don't have a definite answer for that. I don't even have all the information about that initial discovery. I don't think that Federation Intelligence or parliament has that information, either. While I will not speculate about this possibility, I will say that the odds are not in the Jha'Drok's favor. There were only a few Guardians created, and it's more likely that all the Jha'Drok found was one of our science colonies, or perhaps a shipyard. That's all I will say on that for now.
"As for your initial question, sir, I need to explain first how the gateway network operated." She picked up a compad from the table and activated the holo-emitter in the center of the table. A starmap appeared in the air above it. "Only two or three gateways are connected to one gateway, or a relay hub, as we called them. For example, if colony 'A' is located in this star system here" – she highlighted a section of the starmap on the holo-display – "and you want to get to colony 'Z' three-point-two million light years away in the star system over here, you wouldn't be able to simply pass through hypergate 'A' and come out through hypergate 'Z'. You would first connect to the hypergate in your local network. That gateway, in turn, would relay you to the next gate in the adjacent local network, and so on. The maximum range of each hypergate is three hundred thousand light years. K'Ssala Ormmai, the planet you have labeled as Gateway Prime, is only two hundred and twelve thousand light years from here. That is the only hypergate in range that our gate can connect to." She switched off the holo-display.
"Not only that, but I do not have the access codes that will bypass the network security lockouts in the hypergate's mainframe. When the Guardian Project was initiated, it was decided by our government to allow those like me only certain information. I can tell you about our empire, about my people, about our accomplishments and our failures. I can show you how to adapt our technology to advance your own, as long as your use of it is benign and unselfish. If I possessed those access codes, then I would be giving you unlimited access to hundreds of star systems and sectors that would otherwise be off limits to you because of your current stardrive engineering capabilities. In other words, it is both for your protection and your own good that you cannot yet access other gateways besides the one at K'Ssala. The ones in charge of the Guardian Project knew that this day would come, that I would be discovered and awakened by a younger race, and that they would want to learn everything about me and my people.
"Commodore Gabriel, Doctor Sysko, and I will discuss this matter further in a private meeting. For now, all I can say is that the possibility of connecting to the other hypergates at this time is a remote one. The only sectors and star systems available for exploration and colonization are the ones within reach of K'Ssala Ormmai. The ECS Dauntless is currently on an eighteen month exploratory mission beyond that system. As far as I am aware, there are no other ships currently assigned to that mission. However, I am sure that in the next few months, your Central Military Command will be assigning more science vessels and planetary expedition teams to chart this new frontier."
Ilkara turned once more to Laura. "Doctor, is there anything you'd like to add at this time?"
Sysko didn't appear surprised by Ilkara's statement or her invitation. "No, not right now. You've answered that question adequately."
The Erayan nodded. "I'll answer a couple more and then we're finished for today." She pointed to a tall, humanoid female in the back row.
"Ilkara, you brought up an interesting point about allowing the Federation to adapt and use the technology left behind by your empire. Do you intend to share this knowledge and technology with any species outside the Interstellar Federation or its allies?"
"Not at this time, no. And since you've brought us back to that subject, I would like to point out that the process of sharing this technology will be a slow and careful one. I will be working closely with Doctor Sysko and the personnel of FCE, and there will be limits to what I choose to share with them regarding my people's technological resources and knowledge. I think the reasons for that are obvious. As for the medical advancements that have come about – and will come about – because of my undergoing recent tests, that was unavoidable. All of that testing was necessary, for both your protection and mine, and I fully trust the integrity of the doctors and scientists who will be handling that information. I will be working closely with key personnel from those areas of study to ensure that these discoveries are not corrupted or abused in any way. One final question." She pointed to an older man at the end of the front row. "Go ahead, sir."
"You mentioned that the hypergates have drifted from their original coordinates. And you also said that most of the gateways were destroyed at the time your empire fell. After the Guardian project was completed, why did your government allow any of the hypergates to remain intact? Wouldn't it have been more prudent to destroy them all? The Jha'Drok wouldn't have successfully constructed their assault legion had your hypergate not drifted near their territories."
Ilkara nodded. "A good question. The primary reason that several hypergates were left intact was because The Erayans no longer had control of them. The hypergates expanded the frontiers of our empire, allowing us to explore star systems and pockets of this universe that had previously been out of reach. But at the same time, because our empire was stretched across such a vast territory, we had increasing difficulty with maintaining power and control over all our systems. We made ourselves vulnerable to outside forces and, thus, fell prey to other empires that were just as strong – if not stronger – than us. The decline of our empire started very slowly, with just a few of our outermost sectors falling under alien control. That meant that the hypergates that connected our home systems to those remote sectors fell under alien dominion as well.
"In the last century before the total collapse of our empire, all the hypergates in our home sectors were destroyed. They were the ones that held all the other gateways in a fixed position. There isn't time now to go into the scientific details of how that was possible. I will include those in a future report to the FCE. For now, it's enough to know that with the loss of the hypergates in our home sectors, the gateways throughout the rest of the empire were left to the forces of the universe and our conquerors. A thousand years doesn't seem very long on a cosmic calendar, but it is more than enough time for several hypergates to have drifted a great distance from their original coordinates."
"But then why didn't the gateway above K'Ssala drift from its fixed position?" the reporter interrupted.
"Because it was under the remote control of the computer systems beneath the surface of the planet," Ilkara patiently replied. "The same systems that were keeping me alive. It's simply a coincidence that two hypergates drifted into this quadrant of your galaxy, and that one of them was connected to the hypergate above K'Ssala. I think that's enough questions for today. I'll turn this back over to Commodore Gabriel now."
Marc stepped forward, and he raised a hand to silence the barrage of protests and last minute questions. "Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming here today. As Ilkara has mentioned, there is quite a bit of information in your press packets about her and the Erayans, as well as more information about the exploratory mission that led to the discovery of Gateway Prime. As always, you may submit questions to myself at any time. My interweb address is included with the packet. Thank you. You're dismissed."
As the crowd dissolved, Gabriel turned to Decev and Saveck. "You two are dismissed as well. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Ilkara, doctor, I'd like you to remain for a few minutes. We have some more to discuss."
"Yes, we do." Laura cast a disparaging glance at Ilkara before dropping into a nearby chair and crossing her arms over her chest.
Once the room was cleared, Gabriel sat as well. He motioned to a chair on the opposite side of the table, and Ilkara walked around to it. "That was an interesting declaration you just made. You could have saved Doctor Sysko and her team three weeks of stress and headaches, besides all the time and travel expense."
Ilkara nodded. "I am sorry to surprise you both like this, but I needed the last four months to fully research the current situation before arriving at a decision. And if I'm being honest, a part of me was hoping that you would find a way to bypass the security lockouts, doctor. From what I have read about the accomplishments of the FCE, I wouldn't have been surprised to find that your team had successfully connected the hypergate to the others in the network.
"That said, I have concluded that there is too much at risk for the worlds and peoples of this quadrant to allow you free and unlimited access to the other gateways. The Interstellar Federation is currently in conflict with a dozen different foreign powers, chief among them being the Khazar Dominion and the Jha'Drok Emperium. Not only that, but you have only recently ended a war with the Chrisarii Alliance, a conflict that lasted for an entire decade. Put simply, there's far too much conflict in this quadrant, and allowing the Federation to have so great a technological advantage over its enemies would be disastrous."
"Not necessarily," Sysko argued. "We know for a fact that the Jha'Drok possess a hypergate, so right now that makes them on even ground with us. That gateway is also linked to the one at K'Ssala. And if you want to talk unfair advantage, they almost succeeded in conquering the Federation with their assault fleet, which they had over a century to build. We got extremely lucky that that fleet never launched. But it's a sure bet that the Jha'Drok have resumed their efforts to rebuild that legion, or at the very least, are exploring other options and uses for your technology. Anything you give us now will only allow us to play catch up at this point."
"Besides all that," Gabriel interrupted, "allowing us to network our hypergate with the one the Jha'Drok have will allow us to eliminate that threat once and for all. The doctor is right. As long as they are in control of a hypergate, they have a connection to whatever outpost or colony is on the other side. And as you so pointedly said a few minutes ago, it's possible that they have a Guardian in custody. I guarantee you that it is not being treated as cordially as you have been by us."
"I understand what you're saying, and I see your point of view," Ilkara replied. "And you're right. As long as that hypergate remains operational and under Jha'Drok control, it's possible that they could become an immediate threat to the Federation very soon." S/he frowned as she silently contemplated the situation. "The problem is that the Jha'Drok are going to have the hypergate under heavy g
uard, and they've probably towed it to one of their core systems. Perhaps even to their home sector. If you were successful in launching a fleet through your hypergate in order to destroy the one on the other side, the Jha'Drok would undoubtedly consider it an act of war and retaliate in kind. Such an action would only further escalate an already unbalanced and precarious political situation." S/he shook her head. "Right now, things will stay as they are. We will simply have to hope that the Jha'Drok suffered enough of a setback with the destruction of their assault legion that they will not be a substantial threat for at least two or three decades. Besides that, I have already looked into the possibility of networking your gate to the Jha'Drok's. I made several attempts but was unsuccessful. I'm not sure if my failure was due to security protocols that the Jha'Drok have created, or whether there is a program in one – or both - of the gateway's mainframes that is preventing the connection, but either way it appears impossible for the time being."
"When did you make those attempts?" Laura demanded.
"Early this morning."
Laura shook her head, frustrated. "And what if you're wrong?" she asked quietly. "What if the Jha'Drok have already found one of the other outposts like the one at K'Ssala? What if they've awakened a Guardian that's not as benevolent as you are, and what if it decides to help them in any way it can? They could send an assault legion through this gateway, and all they would need is a handful of ships outfitted with your technology in order to conquer this military base. And then they would have two hypergates at their disposal. What then?"