The Star Agency (The Star Agency Chronicles)

by R. E. Weber

  ‘Why?’ said Weng.

  ‘There is no definitive answer,’ said First Mentor. ‘However there are several competing theories.’

  ‘Which are?’ said Weng.

  ‘One possibility is that they simply chose to abandon their homeworld and move their civilisation elsewhere.’

  ‘What, their whole civilisation?’ said Theo.

  ‘Yes,’ said First Mentor.

  ‘But that would take years, wouldn’t it?’ said Theo.

  ‘Our best estimates indicate that it would take several decades to relocate their entire population via the Quantum Portal network. This in itself highlights a problem with this theory. Our evidence shows that the He’tal vanished over a relatively short space of time. Perhaps a year or maybe even less.’

  ‘But what if they found another way to travel through space?’ said Theo.

  ‘It is possible that they were able to develop a more advanced form of space transportation, which was able to relocate their population in vast numbers, quickly. The limitation of Quantum Portal technology, advanced as it is, is that it is only able to transport vessels of limited size and remain active for relatively short periods of time. This would limit the movement of large populations quickly. However, we have been unable to find any evidence that they developed such advanced technology.’

  ‘So what else might have happened?’ said Weng

  ‘Another possibility,’ said First Mentor, ‘is that of some sort of natural disaster wiped them out.’

  ‘What kind of natural disaster could wipe out an entire civilisation?’ said Ruby.

  ‘An exploding star,’ said Weng.

  ‘Otherwise known as a Supernova,’ said Theo.

  ‘It would need to be a cosmic event of a similar scale,’ said First Mentor. ‘But again, there is no evidence for this. Supernova leave remnants, none of which have been detected.’

  ‘Maybe there was a war and they were all killed,’ said Lara.

  ‘Unfortunately, that is also a possibility,’ said First Mentor, ‘and with a species even more advanced than the He’tal, it might be hard to prove. Their technology might be beyond our understanding and detection.’

  ‘It would be indistinguishable from magic,’ said Theo.

  Ruby stared open mouthed at Theo. ‘What… where did that come from?’

  ‘Oh it was just something I read in a book once,’ said Theo. ‘If an advanced civilisation meets a primitive one, the advanced civilisation’s technology would seem like magic to the primitive one. Like if you showed a gun to a Neanderthal. Even though he’s intelligent, he wouldn’t understand it.’

  ‘You read some strange books,’ said Ruby.

  ‘That’s probably why I’m here,’ said Theo, looking at Ruby with raised eyebrows.

  ‘Indeed,’ said First Mentor. ‘But for the moment, we will put the matter of the disappearance of the He’tal to one side. The research team on the asteroid, which recovered the biological samples, set up a long-term research station there. Working over many years, using the genetic information extracted from the samples, they were able to successfully recreate several valid biological specimens.’

  ‘You mean, living creatures?’ said Theo.

  ‘Yes,’ said First Mentor.

  ‘So they cloned them?’ said Weng.

  ‘Reconstructed them,’ corrected First Mentor.

  Theo smiled and turned to Ruby. ‘Jurassic Park.’

  ‘Trust you,’ said Ruby.

  ‘Why did they reconstruct them?’ said Lara.

  ‘The scientists believed that the He’tal left samples of themselves behind, knowing that any species advanced enough to develop space travel and therefore recover the samples, would also know how to reconstruct their species. They believed that the He’tal were ensuring their long term survival as a species by leaving their remains.’

  ‘So these samples and this chamber, it was like a time capsule then?’ said Weng.

  ‘Time capsule?’ said Theo.

  ‘Yes, I know what you mean,’ said Ruby. ‘A few years ago, at school, I remember the whole class filling up a big metal box with pictures and books and stuff. Then we buried it in the school grounds so that pupils in the future could dig it up and see what life was like in the past.’

  ‘You are partially correct,’ said First Mentor. ‘But the implication was that, as well as inform about the past, they intended for the past to be restored.’

  ‘Maybe they did it because they knew they were all doomed,’ said Lara.

  ‘Trust you,’ said Theo.

  Lara didn’t answer, but instead just glared at Theo with her steely cold eyes. Theo quickly turned away, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut.

  ‘Several hundred individual He’tal were reconstructed in order to form a viable population,’ said First Mentor. ‘And in order for them to learn how to integrate into Polisian society, they were put into service for the modern Polisians.’

  ‘Service?’ said Theo, confused.

  ‘They became their servants,’ said Ruby.

  ‘More like slaves,’ said Lara sternly.

  ‘Over a period of little over one hundred years, the hundreds of He’tal became thousands. They seemed to integrate well into Polisian society and become willing and able servants of the Affinity.’

  ‘So what went wrong?’ said Theo.

  ‘About a hundred and fifty years ago, an individual known as Paranoemenos, who served the then Polisian Governor, rose to prominence amongst the He’tal as a kind of unofficial leader.’

  ‘Para…no… what?’ said Theo.

  ‘Paranoemenos,’ said First Mentor. ‘The name literally means Winged Messenger of the Architect in ancient Polisian. He is believed to have chosen the name himself.’

  ‘The Architect?’ said Weng.

  ‘Yes, a supreme being or deity from Polisian mythology.’

  ‘You mean like God?’ said Theo. ‘A winged messenger from God – like an Angel?’

  ‘That’s a close enough translation,’ said First Mentor.

  ‘Talk about delusions of grandeur,’ said Weng.

  ‘Indeed, however if I may continue. He believed that the He’tal, although not enslaved or imprisoned, had become an underclass due to the fact that they had never been given any positions of authority or responsibility. He believed, not entirely without justification, that the He’tal were not fully trusted by the Polisians.’

  ‘And why weren’t they trusted?’ said Ruby.

  ‘When the He’tal were first reconstructed, the scientists found that the first living specimens created were more aggressive and animalistic than modern Polisians. It was an unexpected discovery and an unwelcome one. Therefore, the scientists decided to modify this trait.’

  ‘Modify?’ said Theo slightly alarmed. ‘How do you modify a species behaviour?’

  ‘The scientists identified the parts of their genetic code believed to be the cause of this trait and suppressed them. They made the He’tal more passive.’

  ‘You mean, they did what they were told?’ said Lara.

  ‘Yes,’ said First Mentor. ‘However, even though this alteration had taken place, the Polisians were concerned that He’tal’s naturally aggressive behaviour might somehow re-assert itself, unexpectedly. So it rapidly became an unspoken rule that no He’tal were to be given any positions of power or responsibility in case this happened. Over the following years, mistrust towards the He’tal became widespread and ingrained into Polisian society.’

  ‘Let me guess,’ said Ruby. ‘Paranoemenos found out about the change.’

  ‘Correct.’

  ‘How?’ said Theo.

  ‘It is not known for certain how he came across this information, since details of the research were highly classified. However, the He’tal believed that he had always known about their true nature because he was a dreamer.’

  ‘A dreamer?’ said Theo.

  ‘Yes. The He’tal believe that the universe itself is alive, and that a dreamer
can hear its voice when calm and at rest. Paranoemenos is revered amongst his kind as the last of the dreamers. It is said that when he was very young, the universe spoke to him and told that their true nature had been stolen. He then took it upon himself to reclaim what he considered to be their birth right.’

  ‘A dreamer?’ said Theo. ‘What a load of codswallop. He just sounds like a nutcase to me.’

  ‘Few share their beliefs, myself included,’ replied First Mentor. ‘However, the Metah Dah follow this doctrine to this day. It is not known for certain how Paranoemenos came into the possession of this information, but the fact remains that he did. He then began to spread the word of his discovery amongst the rest of his species, while also engineering a way to reverse the change. The change became known as The Cure.’

  ‘He really was deluded, wasn’t he?’ said Weng.

  ‘And then some…’ said Theo.

  ‘Ten years later, having reversed the change in most of the He’tal in secret, Paranoemenos led an uprising against the ruling Polisians. The remainder of their own kind who didn’t agree to the change were killed, along with any Polisians who stood in their way. In the uprising, most of the He’tal were killed, however a few, including Paranoemenos, escaped in stolen space vessels and headed into deep space. Ever since this time, they have been evading capture and waging a covert war against the Affinity and everything they stand for. From this point forward, they ceased to be known as the He’tal, which they considered to be their slave name, and instead named themselves the Metah Dah.’

  ‘So are you saying that these Metah Dah are responsible for the attack on Ch’Dath?’ said Theo.

  ‘Three years ago, several unmanned mining drone ships were found to have disappeared from a derelict mine in deep space. Since the technology was obsolete, it was considered to be of little importance. However, around nine months ago, a space station orbiting a gas giant planet in the outer reaches of the Ch’Dath solar system, detected several objects as they entered the atmosphere of the planet and burnt up. The composition of these objects precisely matched those of the missing mining drones, and when their orbit was calculated, it was found to coincide with the orbit of the asteroid that was later to hit Ch’Dath.’

  ‘But I don’t get it,’ said Weng. ‘How could these mining drones cause the asteroid to hit Ch’Dath? Don’t mining drones just mine?’

  ‘The mining drones were designed to eject fragments of excavated rock into space as they tunnelled downwards. Whoever programmed them, used this behaviour to change the orbit of the asteroid very precisely.’

  Theo thought for a moment and then smiled. ‘So they used the mining drones like rocket engines to guide the asteroid?’

  ‘Precisely,’ said First Mentor.

  ‘How?’ said Ruby.

  ‘Basic physics,’ said Theo. ‘Every reaction has an equal and opposite reaction. Each time part of the asteroid was blasted into space, the orbit of the asteroid changed slightly. ’

  ‘Correct,’ said First Mentor. ‘They were able to use the mining drones like primitive rocket thrusters to change its orbit, a little like your own spacecraft use reaction thrusters to control their speed and attitude. Then, once they had finished their job, the drones were set adrift in space, their energy reserves exhausted. They drifted in space until they were captured by the giant planet’s gravity. Then they burnt up in its atmosphere.’

  ‘Destroying the evidence,’ said Weng.

  ‘But how do you know this was the Metah Dah?’ said Ruby.

  ‘This is typical of the approach the Metah Dah would take. They have little in the way of technological resources at their disposal, however what they lack, they make up for with ingenuity. Additionally, a small vessel was detected on a flight path in the vicinity of the derelict mine, close to the time of the theft. This vessel was known to have been stolen by the Metah Dah.’

  ‘But you have no proof that it was them, the Metah Dah I mean?’ said Theo.

  ‘You are wise to point this out,’ said First Mentor. ‘Indeed, there is no absolute proof. The evidence is entirely circumstantial. However, on balance, it is by far the most likely explanation.’

  ‘Yeh, who’s side are you on, Theo?’ said Ruby, frowning.

  ‘It’s not that mate,’ said Theo, ‘It’s just something that my grandfather used to say. There are three sides to everything: their side, your side and the truth.’

  ‘Intriguing that you should phrase it like that,’ said First Mentor.

  ‘Erm, is it?’ said Theo.

  Ignoring Theo’s question, First Mentor continued.

  ‘Paranoemenos is still believed to lead the Meta Dah, co-ordinating attacks against the Affinity and its member races.’

  ‘What, you mean he’s still alive after all this time? You said that was like a hundred years ago, didn’t you?’ said Weng.

  ‘One hundred and fifty two years ago to be precise. The He’tal have naturally long life spans. They often live in excess of two hundred years.’

  ‘He must be a right old wrinkly by now,’ said Theo.

  ‘Paranoemenos is a brilliant scientist and an experienced warrior. His age and wisdom make him a formidable enemy. However, even by his own standards, the attack on Ch’Dath was the boldest and most devastating yet. It would appear that the Metah Dah might be increasing the severity of their attacks.’

  Theo quickly turned on his companion and spoke privately to Ruby. ‘Wisdom? Sound like First Mentor admires this Paranoemenos,’ said Theo.

  ‘Rubbish,’ said Ruby. ‘He just knows how dangerous he is. He just doesn’t underestimate him.’

  ‘One things for sure Rubes, he’s no Angel, is he?’ said Theo, barely suppressing a laugh.

  ‘Oh Theo, sometimes you’re really pathetic! All those poor creatures on Ch’Dath that have died and you are just cracking your stupid jokes. I don’t know why I bother with you sometimes, I really don’t,’ said Ruby, before abruptly cutting off the conversation.

  Theo tried to apologise to Ruby, but she refused to open up any more private communication with him. He then looked at her and mouthed the word ‘Sorry.’ But instead of replying, Ruby just scowled and turned away.

  ‘This concludes the briefing,’ said First Mentor. ‘Is there anything I have said that you do not understand?’

  Everybody remained silent.

  ‘Good,’ said First Mentor, ‘in that case, you may leave and attend to your remaining studies.’

  Silently, and still deep in thought, they all rose and left the Sensorium. Ruby walked away quickly down the corridor, without waiting for Theo as she normally did. Theo didn’t think it was wise to try and follow her.

  *

  Theo had tried several times later that day to apologise to Ruby, but each time she’d refused to even acknowledge him, let alone hear what he had to say. He wasn’t sure why she had reacted so badly to his joke, even though he knew that it was in bad taste and not really funny. Surely she knew him well enough by now to understand his sense of humour, even if she didn’t always appreciate it?

  Theo lay down on his bed that evening and, for the first time since his arrival on Polisium, felt very alone. He didn’t want to lose another best friend, but suddenly it looked like a very real possibility. As he lay there staring at the blank ceiling, a small tear began to form in one eye, and even though nobody was around to see it, he wiped it away quickly.

  He stood up, took a deep breath, walked over to the sink and splashed some water on his face. Then he sat back down again, wondering what he should do next. There was clearly no point in trying to apologise again because his last few attempts had failed miserably. Had Ruby perhaps just had enough of his childish remarks? Quite possibly. She was, after all, far more grown up than him, to say nothing of how far ahead she was academically. Why would she put up with such an immature idiot as a friend? Indeed, why would any of them put up with him? They all seemed way more intelligent than him. Who was he to represent the human race? What made him so spe
cial? Suddenly, being on Polisium Prime seemed like a huge responsibility, and one which, quite frankly, he didn’t feel up to. He was alone on a distant planet, competing with three child geniuses and being left way behind. He so longed to talk to somebody, but there was nobody he could think of. If his grandfather had been around, he would have known what to say to him to lift his spirits. But he wasn’t. He was gone and never coming back. And that made Theo feel even more alone. Alone and sick to his stomach.

  He lay back down on his bed and tried to force himself to sleep. But even though his eyes were closed, his mind was still racing. He felt like an idiot and a fool. All his friends were going to leave him struggling while they moved on to better and more exciting things. He thought about all the lessons they’d had so far. First of all there was Affinity Common. Ruby was already way ahead of him there. Of course, he knew all the vocabulary well enough because his companion had seen to that. But the syntax still seemed as confusing as the day he’d started. Even his French lessons at school had seemed simple by comparison. Then there was Species Biology. Weng was way ahead of the whole class with that one. He just seemed to get it straight away, like he’d known it all his life. Then there was Lara: cold and seemingly emotionless, but astonishingly clever. She seemed to have an instinctive understanding of the scientific theories behind Affinity technology, not to mention a photographic memory. And then there was him. What was he good at? What did he do better than everybody else? There didn’t seem to be anything. Suddenly, it all seemed completely hopeless. And he couldn’t see a way out of it.

  *

  An hour later and still wide-awake, Theo sat back up again and rubbed his bloodshot eyes, finally realising that sleep wasn’t going to come that night. He couldn’t stand it any longer. The silence between him and Ruby had gone on long enough. He had to try Ruby once more. She had to talk to him. He would make her talk to him.

  He sat on the edge of his bed and took a deep breath. Then he started his companion and selected Communicate, Continuous, Voice and Destination. He then paused as he stared at Ruby’s name in the list of recipients. Even if she were in the mood to answer, how would she feel about being called at this time of night? Would he upset her even more? Quickly, he cancelled the option, and was about to turn off his companion when he noticed another name in the recipients list: First Mentor. But, aside from his Mentor led sessions, he hadn’t really spoken to First Mentor unless he had been called first. Was it proper to call his mentor to discuss personal problems? Theo wasn’t sure. Was it worth a try? Just, possibly.