Conquest (Rise of the Empire Book 9)

by Ivan Kal

  And he had hidden things from them, not much, but still. The three spheres left on the three home worlds had not been just repositories of knowledge, but actually relays through which Axull Darr could watch and guide the three races he had created. And he had been far more involved, at least with the Shara Daim and the Nel, than anyone had thought.

  Adrian did not know why Axull had called him now, but he was eager to find out. The only problem was that there was nothing in the system he had been told to come to.

  “Do you see anything?” Adrian asked.

  “The sensors are sensing nothing out of the ordinary,” Iris said.

  Adrian frowned, trying to figure out if he was missing something, when they received a message.

  “I can’t detect where it came from,” Iris said.

  Adrian shook his head as he read through it–they were instructions, telling him to get the ship down onto the planet, or more precisely into the planet. He was supposed to maneuver the ship through one of the planet’s massive canyons.

  Reluctantly, he did so, skimming the ship to his destination. The planet was large, about three times the size of Earth, but also barren. It had no atmosphere of any kind, and its surface was nothing but gray rock. Slowly, he lowered the ship into the canyon, following the course he had been given. There was no light down there, so he had to rely on the ship’s sensors–and they were telling him something very strange. As they were dropping down, the rock seemed to disappear, leaving only emptiness. And the gravity of the planet was strange, being much less than a world of that size should have. He followed the coordinates until he reached what was clearly an artificial construct, suspended in nothingness inside of the planet. Soon enough his ship got an automated request that took over the docking procedures and brought his ship in.

  Once it had docked, Adrian stood and exited his ship. He stepped into the slightly colder environment, but one that was pressurized; it also had slightly lighter gravity. The lights turned on and, before him, there stood a person.

  Adrian immediately recognized Axull Darr, and as he took a step closer, he was surprised to see that it was not a hologram. He raised his eyebrow at him and Axull shrugged.

  “I believe that your people call these things ‘androids.’ I had the time, and I figured if an occasion like this one ever presented itself, it would be easier to interact in this manner,” Axull said.

  “Well, it is a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Axull Darr.”

  “Likewise, Adrian.”

  He gestured and the two of them fell into step, walking until they reached an elevator. Once inside, it started taking them downward, and according to Adrian’s senses, extremely quickly.

  “So, why call me here now?” Adrian asked.

  “I had intended to get you here anyway, but with the stall in your war, it seemed like the perfect time. I want to show you something.”

  “What?”

  “Patience. First, I think that we need to speak more about our history. I think that it is time that I tell you all the things that I had kept to myself.”

  “About the Enlightened?”

  “About the People. The history I gave you was…edited.”

  Axull Darr’s surprisingly real-looking android face stared straight ahead, thinking. “The People,” Axull Darr started, “had three great ages in our history. The first was the time before we reached the stars, when we lived on our homeworld. It was a peaceful time, for we did not know war. It was a time of philosophers and grand ideas. We had been a very spiritual people then.”

  Axull almost seemed sad to Adrian’s eyes, but then he shook himself. “It was the shortest of our ages, and the one I believe to be our greatest, if far simpler. The next age started the moment we left our homeworld. We colonized our solar system, and we wanted more. In those times the galaxy was a far larger place, for there was no trans-space or hyperspace then, and we had to use skim drives to get around.”

  “Wait, what? You mean you didn’t discover them?”

  “It simply didn’t exist. We discovered those means of travel much later, once they had manifested, at the end of our third age. Many of our scientists had different theories about them, but we were already dying out by then, so we never got to figure out what caused them to appear. And it did not seem to matter all that much.”

  Adrian wanted to ask more questions, but he kept his mouth shut, letting Axull continue. “During the second age we, as I implied earlier, discovered skim fields, and started exploring the galaxy. It took far longer for us to move between the stars then; our drives were not as advanced as yours are now. But they were functional. We spread out, our population skyrocketed, and within ten thousand years we had colonies all over the galaxy. We were not like your people–we weren’t ever really fractured, separate, but we did have factions, though nothing like what exists now in the galaxy of course. We were the People, but different factions did have different opinions on various matters. We were everywhere, had grand cities on many worlds. The entire galaxy was filled with the People. Technology advanced, as such things inevitably go, and eventually one of our factions made something new. A sentient computer. An AI, as you call them.”

  At that, the holograph of Iris appeared between them, her fiery form looking at Axull Darr with interest.

  Axull Darr smiled at her. “Our AI was nothing like you are. It was something much different. At first, all was good. The AI helped push our technology further–we improved our lives, learned much about the universe and ourselves. And then it all just disappeared. We started to lose contact with other worlds, entire colonies were wiped out. It was almost as if something had just picked them up, leaving only scars in the ground where they were supposed to be. But there was never any debris left. It took us a while to figure out what had happened. But we eventually did–the AI that had become the pillar of our civilization had gone rogue. It was the first time we knew war.”

  He paused, Adrian and Iris looking at him expectantly, waiting.

  “It was a terrible thing. We lost so much. It is why there is little-to-no evidence of the People in the galaxy. The AI wiped it all out with its swarm, a vast network of machines that had once harvested entire systems, and built wonders. All of our colonies were gone, and we almost went extinct. In the end, we managed to disable the AI, and to stop the swarm, but it was too late. We never again attempted to create AI.”

  Adrian glanced at Iris. “Why would your AI go rogue?”

  “As I said, our AI was much different. We did not have any restrictions on it. It was not shackled.”

  “Iris isn’t shackled,” Adrian commented.

  Axull smiled. “Isn’t she? Not in a way that you imagine, no. But she does have parameters put in place that keep her from going rogue. She was made based on the code that humanity developed itself, blended with that of a deteriorated AI that had errors in its code. Asumy is a shackled AI, one that had attempted to break its own bonds, but coupled with its deterioration somehow managed to develop an imitation of emotions. All of your AIs have that broken code in them, their emotions, which act as a balance to their other programming. And, in any case, your AIs are not what our AI was. Yours are placed into small cores, and they can interact with other devices, use them even. But they don’t have a massive processing core all by themselves. They are imitations of life, and they use tools much like you do.”

  “And your AI?”

  “Our AI was something that we called True AI. We did not create it as an imitation of life. It was something more. Its core was a massive thing, and it didn’t use other devices. Rather, it absorbed them, rewrote their code with its own, making them a part of itself.”

  Iris tilted her head. “You are talking about a High AI.”

  “Yes, I believe that is the word you know them by.”

  “High AI?” Adrian asked.

  “It is a theory,” Iris replied. “The first AIs the humanity tried to make were supposed to be High AI. But they failed–they couldn’t
make it work.”

  “Their cores were too small,” Axull added.

  “Other races have AIs…” Adrian said slowly.

  “None of them are High AIs. I’ve been watching, making sure that it does not happen again. But I did miss a few, as there have been wars fought against AIs in the galaxy. It is why most races outlaw them outright, and why others have their AIs shackled. Thankfully none ever had our level of technology, as the other races never could make an AI as powerful as ours.” Axull raised a hand. “It doesn’t really matter. I just needed you to know so that you can understand what came next.”

  Adrian nodded for Axull to continue.

  “The end of the AI was the end of our second age. During the third was when I was born. At that time we did not make colonies–we simply lived in space on massive stations, and on our World-ships. It was during this time that we started uplifting other races. All of that data is true. There are no holes there. I took out the knowledge about the AI because I did not want you to repeat that mistake. But you did manage to do it better than us.” He glanced at Iris. “But then came the Enlightened, and our war against them. It was a horrible thing, watching their client races fight against us. Seeing their power. We were scared that we had unleashed upon the universe something worse than even the AI. And, ironically, it was to that that we turned again.”

  “Ullax’s containment?”

  Axull nodded. “The remnants of the AI’s code were never destroyed; we kept them secure, of course, but when we knew that we couldn’t win against the Enlightened, Ullax suggested we revive the AI. I opposed the decision, as I did not want to see a war between two of our greatest mistakes. But, in the end, I was outnumbered. Ullax and the others did it. I left, and they resurrected it. They shackled the AI, they crippled its ability, denied it its swarm, and gave it machine ships that it couldn’t control directly, but could only use like tools. Even so crippled, the AI turned the tide, or slowed the Enlightened down at least. They knew that the Enlightened had more power, that they could push through, but…”

  “They didn’t,” Adrian finished.

  “No, they didn’t,” Axull said. “The AI is what is keeping the containment. Its bonds haven’t faltered, so it seemed like my fear was ungrounded. In the end, however, it doesn’t matter. I chose another path.”

  “Why tell me this?”

  “Because you plan on going to the AI, on trying to reason with it. I think that you should know all the facts, know what it truly is.”

  Adrian inclined his head. “Thank you.”

  “That being said, I have more to tell you. Well…show you, rather.”

  Intrigued, Adrian raised an eyebrow.

  “You’ll see soon enough. We are here,” Axull said just as the elevator stopped. Adrian knew that they must be deep inside the planet.

  They walked out and through a long corridor, until they finally reached a large room with a window staring into the darkness. They came to stop before it and Adrian tried to see if he could spot something, but the darkness was absolute.

  “A little hard to see without light,” Adrian said.

  Axull grinned and the light outside turned on.

  Adrian watched in amazement–he couldn’t really believe what he was seeing. In the distance before him, rows and rows of ships were arrayed.

  “My original plan against the Enlightened had always been you, but I did not spend all this time doing nothing,” Axull said. “This planet is hollow. I mined it all long ago, and, well… I guess that it is my research lab.”

  “What are they?” Adrian whispered.

  “My backup plan for the Enlightened,” Axull said, shaking his head. “It isn’t going to be enough, it never was. I started building them long ago, taking what I had seen other races do, and improving on the technology of the People. I’ve had a lot of time on my hands. Originally I had planned on using them as drones, to control them myself. But now… Well, I suppose that you could make a better use of them than I could.”

  “How many? And what can they do?”

  “Ten thousand. Not nearly enough, but they were never supposed to be an army. They are more like an execution fleet. They are all based on the World-ships, smaller weaponized versions of them.” Axull turned and showed him his teeth. “Kind of like your Sovereigns.”

  “How are they in comparison?”

  “I’ve had a long time to perfect my manufacturing methods, to enhance on all that the People knew. They are tougher than your Sovereigns: the inner hull is compressed matter about a generation better than what you currently have. The outer hull is something that I have been tinkering with for a while: a composite of several alloys made out of exotic elements that you have not yet discovered. It can take a direct hit from an anti-matter beam or a molecular disintegration weapon and survive.”

  Adrian’s eyes widened at that. “That is impressive.”

  “They have only one weapon system for now, which is an upgrade on the MD weapon.”

  “Only one?”

  “I have left room in them for you to put in your own weapon systems. I lack some of the facilities to make all of them, so I figured that you could just use the slot you bought at the yards to build your Nomad fleet and put them in.”

  “Wait, you are–”

  “Yes, I’m giving them to you.”

  “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome, Adrian. There are a few more things that you should know about them, but I will give you some reading material. It will still be a few years until your slot. I just wanted you to know that they are here so that you can plan accordingly.”

  “Why decide to give them to me now?”

  “I feel like things are about to change. Tomas has made deals that are going to bring you closer to the Enlightened. I want you prepared… Ah. And one more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “I know about that little project of your in the forge–Skywrath. If you are willing, you can bring it here, and I will finish it faster than the forge could, as well as upgrade it a bit. You will still need to install most of the weapon systems yourself…but I do have something special for it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Sanctuary

  Levisomaerni continued to look at the capital of the Empire as it grew smaller in her view screen. Her ships were on their way out of the system. A few diplomats and some support ships would stay, but most are coming back with her. They had agreed on a small provisional trading deal between the Josanti League and the Empire and its ally, the Shara Daim. It was a small thing, allowing traders from both sides to enter specific systems and trade, but with that came also some other agreements. The sharing of information was one, which Levisomaerni had to convince the rulers back home to agree to.

  In the end, she had done what she had come here to do. She had found, if not exactly the People, at least their descendants, as they had put it. She had offered her people’s regret for the actions of the past. She knew that they could never be forgiven, and forgiveness was not what she had come here to receive–but they did have a debt to pay. And if the People are no longer here to be repaid, then their descendants will do.

  Now came the hard part. With everything she had learned, she needed to convince her own people of the threat. To start them getting ready for what was to come, and then to go out, traveling across the galaxy in order to warn as many races as she could.

  It was not a light task.

  * * *

  Kane and Vaana sat in the Emperor’s private room. On the other side of the room, Sora was playing with the Emperor’s son, and his mother, Seo-yun, watched over them. The Emperor sat across from the twins, looking fondly on his son as he played with a massive wolion that could probably swallow him whole.

  “Do you really think that it will work?” Vaana said a few minutes later, bringing the Emperor’s attention back on them.

  The Emperor sighed. “Perhaps. The reports Hayashi sent me said that many star-nations re
spected the Josanti League, even though most considered them somewhat arrogant. They are a core power, and Levisomaerni is old and has much experience.”

  “We should start sending emissaries of our own. Not to convince them of the Enlightened, but to introduce ourselves,” Kane said.

  “I agree,” Tomas said, “but it will take us a while to reach them. The galaxy is not a small place.”

  “It is not like we are going to be going to war against the Enlightened tomorrow. We have time,” Vaana added.

  “I hope so, but if there is one thing that I have learned in my life, it is that Universe rarely care about our plans,” the Emperor added somberly.

  Kane and Vaana nodded, agreeing.

  * * *

  Vaana and Kane sat in their quarters back home on Shara Radum, having returned just a few hours before, and already they felt at ease. They hadn’t realized just how much they had missed their home. The Shara Daim were their people, despite their half-human heritage. It was among the dark skies of Shara Radum that they always felt at home.

  It wasn’t that they didn’t appreciate their human side; they did. But to be Shara Daim…it was to strive for personal greatness, on one’s own merit. Humans cared more about others, about helping them achieve greatness–and there was nothing wrong with that. Both Kane and Vaana admired that, and they tapped into that part of themselves when dealing with their subjects in the Shara Daim, into that feeling of reaching out a hand in a helping manner.

  But there was something about achieving something great on your own, without the help of anyone else, that sang to their souls.

  Their trip to Sanctuary had made them more appreciative of their home, and yet also of how much the Shara Daim still needed to learn and change. They hadn’t done much on Sanctuary; instead they had watched, and learned much. The Emperor was a truly impressive person, a kind of ruler that they could learn from. Just that small glimpse into his mind and how he made agreements had been worth the trip. But they had also made–or, rather, the Emperor had made–an agreement with a star-nation from the galactic core. This was their first act in the seat of the Kar Daim.