Starweb

by Warren James Palmer

  'That's why I brought you here, Jennifer; to show you there is a bigger picture. We can save countless lives; those that have moved on to the next stage of the evolution have a special place in the order of things. That includes yourself, your child and Moss! Try and consider what a fantastic opportunity this is!'

  'You mean it's a great opportunity for a very few,' Jennifer replied hotly, removing her hand. 'Tell me if I've misunderstood this, but what you're basically saying is that there is no future for humanity unless it makes the next ‘evolutionary step’?'

  'Of course, the future for humanity is in evolutionary change,' the reconstructed Nimue replied with calmly. 'But, when in the history of humanity, has that not been the case?'

  'I can't believe you're saying this Nimue,' Jennifer snapped, standing up and rocking the infant in an agitated, rather than soothing fashion. The baby opened its eyes and began to wail. 'You can tell your new masters from me, that there is no hope at all, of Moss and myself deserting those we love and cherish. The idea of leaving the rest of humanity to be massacred by those crustaceans is appalling! I don't know what they've done to you, but any last trace of humanity has obviously been driven out!'

  With those parting words Jennifer turned and marched back the way they had come, heading for the hut where she had first awoken.

  'I'm sorry you feel that way! But, you do not understand what I am saying…' Nimue called after her. 'Give it some time. Think over what I've told you Jennifer. I truly believe you'll come around to my way of thinking!'

  The words were in vain, the mother and wailing infant were soon gone from sight as the undergrowth closed behind them.

  Jennifer spent the remainder of the day in the open-sided hut. Her discussions with what was once Nimue, had left her physically and emotionally drained. At first, she had sat on the wooden veranda worried that she would return, but as the hours passed by, she began to relax and consider her position.

  The infant had been awake and alert for a few hours, but had now slipped into slumber once more. As the heat of the day waned to the cool of early evening, Jennifer ate some of the delicious fruits and vegetables left for her. Then, unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she fell to sleep, her baby close to her bosom.

  Surprisingly, her sleep was deep and dreamless, until something woke her abruptly during the night. It was the absence of her infant, which awoke her with a start. Feeling her baby was no longer in her arms she opened her eyes and without moving, looked about. By the light of the twin moons, she saw the figure of Nimue looking down at the infant, which had somehow moved to the foot of the bed.

  To her amazement, the infant was looking up at Nimue with an intensity that would seem impossible for a baby only a few hours old. In return, Nimue was looking down into the eyes of the child with an expression that was a mixture of rapture, love and awe. Nimue made no attempt to pick up or touch the infant; she merely stared fixedly at the child.

  Jennifer was aware and astonished, to feel a mental rapport between what was once Nimue and her baby. The fact that the child was born operant was not surprising, but the ability to create such a rapport after only leaving the womb a few hours ago, was incredible.

  She attempted to read into their thoughts, but found herself unable to attune her mind to their strange and particularly personal, rapport. Not knowing what to do, Jennifer sat up and reached for her child. For a moment, Nimue and Jennifer locked eyes, then with a look of regret, what was once Nimue turned, and walked into the night.

  Jennifer gratefully reached out to her child and hugged him to her breast. Apparently entirely unperturbed by what had just happened, the infant sought her nipple and greedily began suckling. Thoughts of warmth and love radiated from the tiny baby, comforting the bemused and alarmed young mother. Afraid to fall asleep, Jennifer sat out on the veranda cradling her offspring until night faded and was replaced by another splendid dawn.

  She was awoken from a fitful, disturbed doze by a gentle shake of her shoulders. With a start, she opened her eyes, immediately registering from the height of the sun in the sky, that she had finally nodded off and slept most of the morning.

  Her baby? Where was her baby? In a panic Jennifer tried to clamber to her feet, but she found a firm hand on her arm and a deep but gentle voice said, 'Relax child. Your baby is safe, as are you.'

  Jennifer looked up at the source of the comforting words. He was somewhere in his mid-thirties, lean and muscular. His mass of dark hair was shoulder length and framed an angular, handsome face. In a lot of ways he looked just like Moss, but this wasn't her beloved, it was somebody else; albeit from the same family.

  'Arthur? Is it really you?' she asked, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. 'What's going on? Why are you here? Come to think of it, do you know why the hell I'm here?'

  Arthur Pendragon helped Jennifer to her feet and led her to a small table laid with an array of the refreshing fruits. She looked about anxiously for her baby, but although surprised, relaxed when she saw the pretty adolescent girl gently rocking the wide-eyed infant in her arms. The girl turned and smiled at her; it was Aquiline, the strange, but talented Heligsion, Moss and herself had rescued from the horrific DNA mutation tanks the Starweb used to turn humanoids, into crustacean drones.

  It had been a while since Jennifer had seen Aquiline. In recent years, the girl had been undergoing personal instruction from Dauphne, the Heligsion seer. The question was; what was she doing here? But the bigger question was; why was the legendary ancient king of medieval England making an appearance at the heart of the Starweb's universe?

  Arthur Pendragon was a direct ancestor of Moss, and indeed was the legendary king of old England. Arthur was one of the first operant telepaths on Earth, but had found himself a pawn in some greater cosmic scheme, that was even now, still being played out. The distant events that spawned the legends of Camelot and the knights of the round table were intrinsically linked to what was happening to the human species today. How or why, nobody was quite sure, but the link was irrefutable. (See Minds of the Empire. WJP)

  In the years since Moss escaped from the ghettos of an occupied and devastated London, Arthur had made several appearances to his descendant. Always at crucial times to pass on some vital piece of information. It was obvious that Arthur, or whatever created his image, was involved in the 'greater cosmic scheme', even though he never hinted as to what the universal plan was.

  Jennifer had been witness to a visitation from Arthur only once before. That had been on the garden deck of Excalibur, just before the Starweb fleet attacked Dyason. Considering his past track record of delivering good news, she couldn't decide whether the ancient king's appearance was a good thing, or not.

  'Here.. eat this,' Arthur said to her kindly, passing a bright red fruit from the bowl on the table, 'you've only recently given birth. You need the energy.'

  Jennifer took the offered fruit and bit deeply into it. It was delicious, full of sweet juice. However, she never took her eyes off Arthur and after swallowing the first bite demanded, 'What's going on here, Arthur? One minute I'm lying in a bed on the medical deck, the next I'm here; supposedly on Samarcia, being creeped out by something that looks a lot like Nimue. Why?'

  'What's happening here is very important to everyone,' Arthur replied levelly, holding her gaze. 'But, you know that instinctively.'

  'That doesn't answer the question Arthur,' she told him firmly. 'I don't want to have to decipher a cosmic riddle; I just want to be a good mother! Arthur junior needs caring for like any normal baby, and is not going to be used as a pawn in some bizarre cosmic scheme, run by God knows who?'

  'Arthur junior?' the image of the ancient king asked with a smile and a raised eyebrow.

  'Myrddin's idea, but the name can be changed,' Jennifer was quick to reply, then added hotly, 'anyway, don't change the subject…I want to know what's going on and I want to know now!'

  Arthur picked up a bright yellow piece of fruit, took a bite and chewed thoug
htfully before answering. Jennifer wasn't fooled for a moment; she knew the projection of the figure from legend didn't need to eat. It was his way of getting her to calm down before he spoke. She took two deep breaths and crossed her arms, waiting for him to begin.

  'It's because of Arthur junior that you're here,' he eventually said.

  Jennifer glanced at her baby, still gurgling merrily in the arms of Aquiline.

  'Why?' she asked worriedly. 'He's only a few hours old. He hasn't had a chance to do anything to upset anybody yet.'

  'Who said anything about young Arthur upsetting anybody?'

  Jennifer thought of the figure of Nimue and it’s rapport with her child.

  'Arthur junior is a child born of two powerful operant parents,' he told her firmly. 'Your baby is the first of the next generation of operant humans. A rare cosmic event…’

  'And the Starweb see him as a threat?' Jennifer asked, beginning to understand the situation.

  'The Starweb will certainly be aware of his birth,' Arthur answered with a serious, intent look. 'You see, it's not just the birth of a human child; it's what he may potentially become. There are elements out there in the cosmos, which have observed with interest the evolution of many species over the eons. Their state of evolution is such that they left their physical bodies behind long ago. Now they roam the universe at will.'

  'They sound like gods,' Jennifer interjected.

  'No, they're certainly not gods,' the ancient knight replied firmly. 'Unfortunately, despite being removed from their physical bodies, they still possess some of the emotions of more fragile creatures.'

  'Such as?'

  'Curiosity, intrigue, jealousy, fear. You see, a few of these cosmic beings have taken it upon themselves to become involved in events,' he told her.

  'Involved? How?'

  'There are some who actively support the advancement of the Starweb. They see the evolution of the sentient AI computers to beyond a physical state, as the future of this galaxy,' he explained, clearly trying to simplify a very complicated situation. 'And there are others who see the evolution of operant humans as the way forward.'

  'You make is sound like it's all some sort of game to them,' Jennifer said shaking her head. 'I mean, who are these beings? Where are they? I mean, are you one of them?'

  Arthur got up from the table. 'I've told you perhaps more than I should already,' he said, ‘but hopefully, all will become a lot clearer soon…’

  He turned and began to walk away. Jennifer stood up as well, her face a picture of confusion.

  'Wait…Arthur! You have to tell me more! What is it that we're supposed to be doing here? Stop!'

  The ancient King of Britain didn't turn around, he just kept walking into the dense undergrowth. But just before he disappeared he called over his shoulder, 'You'll work it out Jennifer; I have every faith in you... '

  Then he was gone.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Senate chambers, United Nations Headquarters, Auckland New Zealand.

  12.40hrs local time, July 13th 2057.

  'The President's policy against the Triplanetary Church and some of our world's largest multi-national companies, can only be described as the most bizarre witch-hunt in history! I've read all the reports submitted to the senate by the Masorak secret service and can see no connection between the two groups at all!' Senator Wenstedt declared from the podium to a packed chamber.

  An emergency meeting of the entire United Nations senate had been called only hours after a despicable event had caused the horrifying devastation of central Sao Paulo. Even as battalions of quick-reaction paramedics and emergency services battled to save hundreds of innocent people trapped in mountains of rubble, hard-pressed doctors began to treat thousands of cases of flash-burns. Special equipment was shipped in to deal with the radiation, whilst President Gafton did his best to convince a split senate to agree to punitive action against Triplanetary Church.

  However, things weren't going well. Gafton knew that several leading senators were in the pay of the multi-nationals and he knew that these same vast conglomerates were operating alongside Triplanetary Church to destabilize the world government. There was no doubt that it was a member of Bishop Dydnski’s cult who had set off the backpack sized ‘dirty bomb’. The perpetrator had been filmed from numerous CCTV cameras igniting the device in the centre of a busy shopping precinct The problem was convincing the rest of the senate without revealing everything that Masorak had unearthed. There would be a time and a place to deal with the corrupt amongst the senate. Today unfortunately, was not the right time, nor the right place. Which was why, no matter how much he despised the slimy representative of the Germanic states, he had to put up with the obese bastard.

  'Triplanetary Church's popular following is a result of the desire of the average person on the street, to find meaning; to understand—the revelation that human life began on a world nobody has ever seen! No wonder this results in the occasional display of excess energy; particularly, amongst the younger generation,' Wenstedt continued in his patronizing manner, his beady eyes scanning the chamber constantly, but never holding the gaze of any one person. 'But this religious confusion has nothing to do with the contemptible and cowardly terrorist attack on Sao Paulo! Nor does it have anything to do with our leading multi-nationals! Subversives for reasons unknown, as yet; have clearly carried out this attack.

  'I submit that President Gafton is pursuing a conspiracy theory based upon nothing more than his fertile imagination! Taking action against Triplanetary Church would be both illegal and inappropriate. I appeal to the senate to have nothing to do with this McCarthy style witch-hunt! We must not be diverted from the rebuilding of the three civilisations and our preparations for the inevitable final conflict against the Starweb! In fact, I demand a vote of no confidence against President Gafton! In following his current course of action he has proved himself, unfit to run the United Nations! It is time to look for a more pragmatic leader!'

  The chamber was filled with a mixture of jeering, but also cheering, at this final comment. Gafton knew that Wenstedt wasn't a serious threat to him; at least not yet. That time would come soon, but not today. From where the president sat, he could see those amongst the senate who were cheering and applauding. They were mainly the senators already known to be in the pay of the multi-nationals.

  However, what really worried Gafton, were the members of the senate who had supported him consistently in the past, but who were now openly applauding Wenstedt. The subversives had done their job well; even seasoned politicians were apparently turning against him. Taking a deep breath and calming his nerves, the president took the podium once more, brushing past Wenstedt who stared at him with an evil little smile.

  'The honorable senator for the Germanic states talks of a conspiracy theory,' he began, scanning the chamber and making sure he made eye contact with as many of the senators as possible. 'Well, this theory is based upon information, and facts that are irrefutable. One needs only to look at what has been happening around the globe in recent weeks to see a clear pattern. It is no coincidence that as the Starweb continues to amass its fleet on our borders, subversives at home are doing their best to rip apart our society. Unless we take action to put a stop to this now, the Starweb won't have to invade; they'll be able to simply walk in and finish off the survivors of our planet's last and most futile world-war!'

  This time what Gafton said was received with a hearty round of applause. His opponents, including Wenstedt sat in stony silence waiting for their moment.

  'I agree that the action I propose is drastic, but dire times call for drastic measures. I submit that now is a dire time for the human race. We cannot give ‘Triplanetary Church’ the opportunity to maim and kill more innocent people, in the name of some ungodly jihad! We must act now…to…'

  The president’s words faltered and his vision became blurred. Beads of sweat popped out on his forehead and a feeling of nausea overwhelmed him. A part of his mind knew he must be
hallucinating, but knowing that didn't change what he saw. Every member of the senate had become the clone of Bishop Dydnski and every one of them was openly laughing at him. Gafton's hands clawed at his chest and gasping for breath, he collapsed to the floor of the senate chamber.

  'Medic! Medic!' somebody roared.

  Standing in the wings, Field Marshal Kaleba leapt forward pushing aside senators who had climbed onto the podium.

  'Out of my way! Move damn it!' he cursed at the morbid politicians, fighting to get to the side of the man he respected more than any other.

  When he got there, the president was barely conscious, but recognising the head of the TWDF ground forces through a red haze of pain, he pulled the Field Marshall toward him and hissed in his ear, 'Raze...it.... to the...ground.... Kaleba! Do.... it!'

  'I will Mr President! I will....' Kaleba nodded in understanding. 'Don't you worry sir, I'll make sure there's nothing left of the place and bring the bastard in! Now you just hang on in there...'

  Para-medics arrived and immediately began the job of treating the president's sudden heart attack. As they lifted him onto a wheeled stretcher Kaleba caught the look of satisfaction on Wenstedt’s face. The mother knew this was going to happen! Angrily, the Field-Marshall began to plough his way through the senators who were aimlessly milling about, but by the time he'd crossed the chamber Wenstedt was gone. Cursing vehemently in anger, Kaleba swore to add the fat bastard to his hit list. When the time came to put the traitor in front of a firing squad, he would pull the trigger himself!

  The peak of the stone pyramid rose from between the tops of the trees, reaching for the daylight, which the lush vegetation of the Amazonian rain forest virtually cut off. Despite having been nearly destroyed by decades of cultivation, followed by the dark years of war, the South American rain forests now covered thousands of square kilometres. A careful programme of accelerated growth, combined with the selected cloning of threatened species, had resulted in a lush rain forest, which now covered more land than at any time since the early twentieth century.