by Wilson Harp
“I get the idea mosar can transmit data, but is it really a form of communication?” Williams asked.
Jii shook his head. “Mosar is so much more than you can understand. We… well, the Otina have a great responsibility to the galaxy. I intend to see it through. And you humans were the final missing equation to the formula.”
Alex saw a slight change in Jii. He seemed older and more tired than he had seen him during his captivity.
“Did the Otina create mosar?” Alex asked. The other humans stopped and looked at Jii. The Otina kept typing in the navigational coordinates and acted as if he didn’t hear the question.
“No,” Jii said finally. “Mosar is our fault, but we did not create it.”
Alex looked at Williams. He hoped to see some glimmer of understanding, but William’s brow was furrowed.
“I better get back to the medlab,” Fields said. “That is if you don’t need any medical help, Warlord Jii.”
“Just call me Jii, Fields. I know titles mean things to you, but my name is title enough,” Jii said as he continued to type in the data.
Alex was amazed at the long strings of coordinates the Otina was inputting. It seemed unreal Jii could just know the numbers that well.
“Eight hundred years you be, see what you remember,” Jii said.
“Excuse me?” Williams asked. “What did you say?”
“Ramirez there was wondering how I could remember all of these numbers. I was paraphrasing that little green guy from that movie.”
“You were quoting Yoda from Star Wars?” Alex asked.
“Return of the Jedi. But, yes.”
“Did you read my mind? Is that one of the powers of mosar?”
“No, just saw the look on your face in the reflection of the screen. And I’m much older than eight hundred years. Eight hundred years would just be the beginning of a life for an Otina. You would be amazed at what you could remember if you lived as long as me.”
“I’m sorry, Jii. I’m just curious as to what we are up against,” Alex said.
Jii turned and looked at Alex. “I like you, Ramirez. I like your tenacity and I like your desire to say what’s on your mind. We will get along fine. Here is what is on my mind. Stop asking me questions while I am setting our course. It’s annoying me.”
“He speaks like Yoda but he whines like Luke,” Alex muttered as he left the room.
“I think he heard you,” Williams said as he caught up.
“Since he can read my mind, do you think it matters?”
“He can’t read your mind.”
“Then how did he know what I was thinking?”
“He told you he saw your face in the monitor. What makes you think he can read your mind?”
“He said it wasn’t one of the powers of mosar. But what if the Otina can read minds?”
“You’re paranoid, Alex.”
“Maybe, but we shouldn’t be so chummy with this guy, ya know?”
“A Marine is friendly to everyone he meets.”
“And has a plan for killing them.” Alex smiled. “Okay, I’ll be friendly. But I’m still going to have a plan to kill him.”
“When you come up with one you think would work, share it with me,” Williams said.
The common room was full of the crew. The men seemed ill at ease, but that was common for the first shift of a launch. No routine had been set, no flow of how the ship would be run. Daack waved Williams and Alex over to the table where he sat.
“You guys know how to play hearts?” he asked.
“Sure do,” said Williams as he sat down. “We’ll need a fourth.”
“Cooper is coming right back.”
Alex took a seat and tried to remember how hearts was played.
Daack dealt the cards as Cooper returned.
“How was our guest?” Cooper asked as he sat down. “Is he still cold?”
“He didn’t seem to be chilled at all,” said Alex.
“Cryo is just a term,” said Williams. “He was in a state of hibernation, but it wasn’t because of induced cold temperatures. There were some compounds of gases that altered his metabolism.”
“What were the compounds?”
Williams shrugged. “Jii wouldn’t tell us. He manufactured it himself, just like the sealant for the entryways.”
“The green goo?” Cooper asked.
“Yeah, he was pretty particular about it.”
“That’s because it inhibits mosar’s communication,” Jii said as he walked in the common room.
“I told you he could read minds,” Alex whispered. “He couldn’t have picked your voice out from this room.”
“I can and I did, Ramirez. But if it makes you feel more at ease, then yes, I can read your mind. But only when you don’t want me to.”
Daack and the others laughed as Jii approached.
“Good evening crew of the… What name did you decide on for the ship?” Jii asked.
“We don’t have a name,” Williams said. “Could never officially decide on one.”
Jii turned and looked at Williams. “You Earth people demanded, and very insistently, that you be involved with the planning and development of this expedition. I knew the important details were too much for you to handle, so I gave in on three things. The food in the galley, the color of your uniforms, and the name of the vessel. Looking at you now, I see you have failed on two of the points. I am not looking forward to meal time.”
“What’s wrong with our uniforms?” someone asked.
“Never mind,” said Jii. “Now the ship’s name. Let me think. It needs to be evocative of its purpose and yet short enough to sound unpretentious.”
The crew all stopped and watched Jii. This was not what they expected from an alien who was likely taking them on a suicide mission.
“I know,” Jii said. “We will call her Enigma. Welcome crew of the Enigma. As you know, you were handpicked by me to go on this expedition. Not because you are the best, but because you are unlucky. Not unlucky enough to have been killed by the gravitational weapon the Iltia’cor developed, but unlucky enough to have been affected by the gravitational effects. That allowed mosar to work itself more deeply into your molecular structure than would normally have occurred.”
Alex looked at the Otina with a critical eye. About five foot six inches tall, the alien was not imposing at all. His voice wasn’t overly compelling, and his mottled brownish-purple skin didn’t stand out as either overly appealing or hideous. And yet Jii had complete command of the room. Alex thought Jii would have command of any room he was in. A’nacal had the same presence.
“I have read some information on each of you,” Jii said. “And I’m sure you will get to know me more as we travel together. Are there any questions you have?”
“What exactly is our mission?” Daack asked. “I know we are heading toward an undisclosed planet and if successful we will be able to remove mosar from Earth and its people, but what exactly are we doing?”
“Now that our course is set and mosar cannot communicate beyond this ship’s containment, I can tell you. We are heading to my homeworld, a planet known as Oracos. There I have a laboratory which has some of the finest equipment for molecular manipulation ever built. With the knowledge I now have, I should be able to find a way to isolate and destroy the mosar in any substance without harming the molecular structure.”
“So this would be a universal cure?” Williams asked. “Other species will be able to remove mosar as well?”
“Hopefully,” Jii said. “But it would only be a galactic cure. I don’t know that we could influence the universe.”
“Some people may not like that,” Alex said.
“Who?” Daack asked.
“The people who make mosar based weapons, for one. The sales of the products and the investment in their research and development would be lost capital.”
The warp engines kicked on and a wave of tension rippled through the crew. This was the real start of their journey.
“What is the dangers of mosar?” someone asked. “I mean, I get it isn’t natural in humans, but what are the problems with having it in our systems?”
“You mean aside from being disintegrated by high-end weapons?” Hendricks asked.
“No, that’s a good question,” Williams said. “Other races have lived for centuries, maybe millennia with mosar in them. Why is it important to rid the element from them?”
“Because the form of mosar you have in you, which creeps into molecular structures, is only the first stage of mosar. It took us thousands of years before we realized what it really was. What it was doing,” Jii said.
“The first stage? What is the second stage?” Cooper asked.
“Control and influence. The Otina were never a people to seek beyond our own system. We observed, of course, but the desire to spend the time and energy to actually travel wasn’t a component of our personality. About three thousand years after the introduction of mosar, we became restless. We wanted to see what was out there. We developed a boundless curiosity of everything we hadn’t seen.”
“Isn’t that natural, though?” asked Daack. “To climb the mountain because it’s there. To explore a cave no one has returned from?”
“Are you stupid? That’s not natural! It’s a good way to get yourself killed,” Jii said. “What’s natural is to be safe and take small, careful steps.”
“Do you… do you think we were infected by mosar before all of this? Do you think that’s why humans have always desired to explore the unknown? Could we already be in this stage?” Steinberg asked.
Jii turned and look at the bulky engineer. “No. Humanity is just impulsive and self-destructive. Mosar would love to have you as a host. You would be easy to influence and control. Or maybe not.”
“Which is it?” Alex asked.
Jii motioned for Cooper to get out of his seat and the alien sat down.
“You people from Earth are interesting. Such a wide variety of individual motives, morals, ambitions, and dreams. Some species are diverse, but nothing like humans. Not even close. That makes you interesting and dangerous.”
Jii picked up the stack of cards in front of him. “What are you playing?” he asked Alex.
“Uh, hearts,” Alex said. “But what about mosar? Could it advance in us and control us while we are on this mission?”
“No. It will take centuries to develop to that point,” Jii said as he looked through the stack of cards.
“What about you?” Williams asked. “Does mosar influence and control you?”
“Every moment,” Jii said.
The common room went silent as Jii and Williams stared at each other.
“Teach me the rules to hearts,” Jii said.
Chapter 5
The image shimmered and came into focus.
“Ambassador Martin, so pleased we could meet,” A’nacal said. His image was almost life sized and it was set to appear as if he was seated behind a low table in Kyle’s living room.
“We need to clear a few things up,” Kyle said.
“Has the ship left?”
“Yes, the ship has started its journey. They should have their passenger on board.”
“A fool’s errand, but nothing to do about it now.”
“We’ll see when we get a report back. But onto the thing we agreed not to talk about until he was gone,” Kyle said.
A’nacal shifted and dropped his eyes. “It is time. Ask your questions.”
“You are Otina? Correct?”
“Yes, I am an actual Otina. What most people assume are Otina are a separate race called the Fendra.”
“Your servants?”
“Not exactly. We conquered the Fendra and wiped them out. We kept some as experiments and shepherded their evolution.”
Kyle’s jaw dropped open. “That’s horrific.”
“I agree. We should never have butchered them, we should not have tested on them, and we should not have altered their progression.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“You asked for the truth and the truth is my people were not very moral or ethical when they dealt with others. Still aren’t, to be honest.”
“Did you try to stop it?”
“How? I was not in any position of influence. The Fendra were taken thousands of years before I was born. They were already cloned into the servants you see before I took my first minor council seat.”
Kyle frowned. “Your entire position and influence with the Galactic Council is dependent on this secret.”
“Of course. Over the years, most of the races represented on the Higher Council have deduced my race. A few even know the connection the Otina have with mosar, but nothing much has come of it because the truth is I now stand apart from the Otina.”
“Do you have contact with the Otina?”
“Of course. About half in any case.”
Kyle took a sip of coffee. “Half. Why half? How many does that half make?”
“Counting Jii, there are eighteen Otina I can contact. There are twenty-two others I suspect are still alive.”
“So few? I expected more.”
“There were once billions of us. Now they are few, although with the Fendra, those few still hold vast numbers of star systems. Mostly on the other side of the galaxy. You know of our social structure, yes? Kings and Warlords and such? Only the heads are true Otina.”
“Does that make you the Emperor then?”
A’nacal laughed. “No, Ambassador. I have removed myself from their structure. My interest is in helping other races take the reins of leadership. The Otina had the chance, but we handled ourselves poorly.”
Kyle frowned and took another sip of coffee.
“You seem disappointed in that news, Ambassador.”
“I am, quite frankly. I had hoped you would at least have some influence.”
“If I had any influence, I would have convinced Jii not to attempt this mission.”
“You think it is doomed. No chance of success. Because of what you know of mosar?”
“Because of what I know of Jii.”
Kyle set his coffee down and put his hands over his face.
“What were you hoping to hear, Ambassador?”
“We need some level of success, A’nacal. The situation on Earth is destabilizing.”
“In what way?”
“Politically. Chancellor Wu is being influenced by those who believe we should find ways of divesting ourselves of the responsibility of the Iltia’cor and renegotiate our agreement with the Pelod. He has already proposed heavy restrictions on aliens living and working on Earth. The Pelod complain about it, but he is staying just barely inside the treaty stipulations.”
“That makes no sense, Kyle. Your people signed those treaties not five years ago.”
“I know, but those who are stirring up trouble are claiming it was the Americans, not all of Earth, who signed those treaties. There is a lot of resentment the positions of Ambassador, Chancellor and Commander were all held by Americans for the first four years of the Earth Alliance government. Wu was elected to replace Thomas and there’s pressure to remove Kitch from her position.”
“Because they can’t replace you,” A’nacal said. “Yes, I see their point. But why would they want to undo the accomplishments made?”
“Some don’t feel these are accomplishments. We’re experiencing breakthroughs in technology daily, we have decades of scientific theories to learn and explore, and we’re dealing with dozens of new alien cultures and experiences which fascinate us. Many believe saddling ourselves with another race’s welfare and protection and giving away resources in our own system is just too much, too soon,” Kyle said.
“The great strength of your individualism is the ability for your race to develop so many advances at once. The great disadvantage is the speed at which you make devastating mistakes. I didn’t realize change would come at this pace, Ambassador. I see now why you were looking for a way forward.
You need to show this mission, even if it were to fail in its objective, would still have been a wise and thoughtful action.”
“There are a lot of things which don’t make sense, A’nacal. A lot of stupid decisions are made because people don’t have all of the information. I know, because I’ve made those decisions.”
“Sometimes not knowing makes the best decision easier to obtain.”
“I don’t see how.”
“Would you have accepted the position of Ambassador, or even encouraged your planet to sign the Treaty of the Stars if you had known the truth about the Otina?”
“I still don’t know the truth. Not all of it,” Kyle said. “Don’t you trust my judgment? Could I have not made the right choice knowing the truth?”
“Maybe you would have, but I didn’t want the risk.”
“Take the risk, A’nacal. Tell me what I need to know.”
A’nacal leaned back and scratched the side of his head. “Very well, Ambassador. What questions would you have me answer?”
“What exactly is mosar? Something you created or something you discovered?”
“Neither. Mosar discovered us. It is a living alien entity from a distant galaxy.”
“I don’t understand. It’s extra-galactic? That isn’t possible. How could it get here?”
“A team of our scientists detected patterns in a gamma ray wave which was extra-galactic in origin. It took several months to verify the wave was indeed from outside our galaxy, and the news was greeted with elation. Years later, one of the engineers working on the project submitted a theory the pattern detected was in fact encoded data.”
“A message?”
A’nacal shook his head. “No, but that is what we thought for hundreds of years. There were equations and complex theories which had us examining the data over and over.”
“And you discovered mosar in the data?”
“Mosar was the data. The interference pattern which was behind all of the recognizable patterns was mosar itself in its most basic form.”
“It replicates by… just being heard or read?”
“Touch, sound, sight… mosar infects anything experiencing it.”
Kyle realized he hadn’t spoken in a few seconds. “How… I want to ask how that’s possible. But instead I’ll ask, can it be stopped?”