»This is fantastic!« Lai Pi whispered, entranced. »Could you’ve imagined it?«
Arkroid shook his head. He was so impressed that he either couldn’t answer or didn’t want to.
Vasina watched the pictures and associated data, but wasn’t impressed at all.
»Why did the Techno-Cleric lead us to this inhospitable, out of the way sector of the system? There’s nothing here, except dust, rocks and deadly cold.«
Arkroid glanced at Vasina dismissively, and she ignored him in turn.
»That,« Scorge replied quickly, »is what we’re about to find out.«
»Both suns revolve around a common center of gravity and complete a trip around Epsilon Indi in about 77 terrestrial years. We are 1,523 astronomical units from the central star, which means that the amount of heat radiated is rather small.«
Arkroid and Lai Pi listened attentively. Both men felt as if they were pioneers of space travel.
»Please, excuse me now. I have to detour around the asteroid field. There are some large chunks of rubble I don’t want to encounter, not at this speed.«
The display disappeared, leaving the two men with their mouths ajar.
After a few minutes, and with a touch of scorn in her voice, Vasina asked, »Will it always take that long until you’ve regained self-control? This is a completely insignificant system. What’ll happen to you when we approach an inhabited world and meet other intelligent species?«
Arkroid replied irritably, »Can’t you see that this flight is new to us? Since I was a child, I’ve dreamed that we would fly to distant solar systems and now I am part of that mission.«
»Congratulations,« she answered sarcastically, »you’ve just discovered a ring of asteroids and two almost dead stars. Believe me, there are much more exciting regions in this galaxy!«
»She doesn’t understand,« Lai Pi said resignedly and sat down. The specialist closed his eyes and seemed to be dreaming.
Arkroid did the same and whispered to Vasina, »Do you mean your home-planet?«
He heard her inhale strongly. She answered calmly enough, »Yes, Atlantika was a wonderful and beautiful planet, very similar to yours. I’m having trouble getting used to …«
»… the lost time of a million years?« Arkroid asked softly.
»… the damned inflexibility of the Progonaut Council. How could they leave Atlantika without the fleet’s protection? We flew blindly into a trap. That was the unconscionable mistake that led to the downfall of our civilization.«
»How did that happen? Will you tell us?«
Vasina looked at Arkroid. It was very hard to evade the glance from her golden eyes.
»Four of the five council members agreed to attack the supposed home-world of the Dark Brotherhood. I told them it was a seriously wrong strategic move. Our fleet was completely destroyed by the Dark Brotherhood’s new weapon.«
Arkroid paled.
»Four of the five? You were the only one opposing?«
»Yes!« Vasina replied bitterly. »I tried, but in vain. I held back my flagship and a small battle group against council orders, but we were not enough to pose a serious threat to the attackers.«
Recalling what she had warned him about earlier a light dawned on Arkroid.
»Your people were betrayed. The enemy had influenced your leaders!«
»I can’t think of any other explanation! Then the Jamal-Combs disappeared, stolen by common thieves. Only my father managed to save his piece of jewelry. He was convinced that it protected him in some unexplained manner. He guarded it like a treasure.«
Arkroid quickly glanced at her comb.
»Then the rulers of the other Houses made more and more questionable decisions. Their choice to opt for an open conflict with the Dark Brotherhood was the most serious and their last mistake.«
Arkroid felt a sudden deep sympathy. Even though the events had occurred a long time ago, Vasina was talking about the demise of a flourishing civilization.
»Are you really convinced that this threat still exists, even after a million years?«
»There is no doubt, Arkroid. I’m afraid that Humanity faces a difficult time.«
Arkroid clenched his teeth. He didn’t want to accept Vasina’s words so readily.
»Will you help us?« he asked directly.
Vasina got up and paced through the room.
»If it’s in my power, yes. What you urgently need are powerful friends and allies. Someone has to help you in the coming conflict. Look for the Dark Brotherhood’s agitators. Beware of governing personalities who will change their positions and head in an entirely different direction. That will be your first warning sign.«
»How does this enemy influence these selected people? Brainwashing?«
»Not at all,« she answered seriously, »the people are cloned and replaced. The clones can’t be recognized from the originals. They are genetically programmed. I’m afraid that I was surrounded by clones during the last council meeting, but I didn’t recognize it until it was too late.«
»What do you think happened to the people who were used as templates?« Arkroid asked in a dry voice.
»What do you think?« Vasina responded. Her voice was close to failing. The memories of the past were beginning to overwhelm her thoughts.
»How much time do we have?«
Vasina remained silent. She probably didn’t know.
Lai Pi disturbed the silence.
»Let me see if I understand you, please. You said that the fleet was led into a trap and that it was destroyed by a new weapon. Hmm … this might grieve you, Vasina, but it seems to me there was nothing more you could have done. Your fleet would have been destroyed anywhere in the galaxy! Even if the entire fleet had remained in your home-system to protect Atlantika, it would have been destroyed! The Dark Brotherhood only lured the fleet into another system to make it simpler to deport your people. Space battles would have left debris behind, which could have interfered with the deportations. The council decisions only shifted the battle into another system. You did the right thing in dislodging your battle group, preventing total destruction.«
Vasina looked at Pi with tears in her eyes. She wanted to say something, but sat down again and just looked at her boots. With a tremulous voice she said, »I never looked at it that way. We didn’t have a defense against that new weapon. You have to heed the warning signs this time, because we still don’t have a defense yet. Thank you, Pi, for your kindness.«
A scratching sound made Arkroid and Lai Pi jump from their lounges. The door had opened.
Warm steam hissed as it entered the room, increasing the humidity. A wave of hot air struck Arkroid, covering him with fine water droplets. His clothing immediately felt damp. A spherical shape floated through the mist.
»The Techno-Cleric!« Lai Pi shouted in surprise.
The translator revolved around the robot like a satellite, held in orbit by directed gravity fields.
Arkroid asked himself how 40028 had succeeded in opening the heavy airlock door without arms or tentacles. He imagined that 40028 could have only achieved it through applying gravity fields, imitating Shwakan appendages.
No wonder he’s spherical, Arkroid thought, an energy saving shape.
The Techno-Cleric hovered before the two men and obviously waited for something to happen. Arkroid cleared his throat and stepped toward the robot.
»We’ve reached the destination, haven’t we?«
It was more of a statement than a question.
»We’ve reached the dual star system, as you’ve seen for yourself.«
»Are we going to meet your people here?« Lai Pi asked cautiously. The Techno-Cleric remained silent.
Arkroid tried a different approach.
»How did you get separated from your people, 40028?«
This time, the robot replied at once.
»To truly understand the fundamental laws of the universe, you have to leave your home and travel, to gather experiences that benefit the collective
. You can understand and apply the cosmic morality only when you’ve gained sufficient experience.«
»Cosmic morality?« Vasina joined the discussion. »You mean … your people’s moral interpretations?«
»No,« the Techno-Cleric answered softly, but not lecturing. »Just as the cosmos is filled and held together by laws of nature, there’s also a cosmic code of morals, applying to all creatures who inhabit the cosmos. Unfortunately, we have only found a single group of people in this galaxy who’ve lived up to this code.«
»This is interesting,« Arkroid confessed, »who are they?«
»Our designers and makers,« the Techno-Cleric replied willingly. »They left us behind, a very long time ago, and advanced into the least known regions of the cosmos. Since that time, we’ve pursued our mission.«
»What is your mission?« Lai Pi whispered.
»Our mission is to reach absoluteness,« 40028 responded.
»How is your cosmic code of morals formulated?« Arkroid was fascinated by the Techno-Cleric’s revelations.
»Many cultures recognize some parts of this cosmic code and actually apply them to direct their civilizations, yet mostly incompletely and inconsequentially. The basic rules are often misinterpreted, used to confine their people together with other sets of rules and regulations. This is not the way the cosmic code works.«
»Can you tell me some of these basic rules?« Arkroid wanted to know.
»Search your thoughts and you’ll find the answers yourself,« the Techno-Cleric answered enigmatically.
»Thou shall not kill!« Lai Pi said instinctively.
40028 began to pulsate several times. His aura glowed a bit stronger than before.
»Lai Pi knows one of the basic rules. Does Humanity live by it?«
Arkroid felt ashamed.
»I wish from the bottom of my heart, that it were that simple.«
»You people are still young and follow your own path. Your fate will be fulfilled sometime when you stand at a fork in the road and have to choose between morality and immorality.«
»We have to do that almost every day,« Arkroid admitted. »But what about your people? What is your function? Are you teachers or missionaries to spread this philosophy throughout the cosmos?«
»We have no function, man with the name Arkroid,« 40028 explained affably. »We have a mission, but it is not lecturing other people. The truth cannot be taught or imposed. Every being has to learn it for himself to understand it … that’s the only way. Unfortunately, with the exception of our makers, no people have reached this stage, so we merely wait until this occurs. We live a secluded existence and seldom have contact with other civilizations. It is necessary for us to venture out sometimes to question the actual development of the universe and test and verify our basic moral programming.«
»I understand what you want to say,« Vasina answered. »Everything is relative, especially the interpretation of morality. Only those who understand evil can define the good and only those who know immorality can understand morality.«
The Techno-Cleric remained silent. Arkroid didn’t know if this meant agreement or disagreement with Vasina’s interpretation. His aura pulsated while a dim fluorescent light enveloped Vasina and the men.
»What’s happening?« Vasina asked uncertainly.
As if Scorge had been waiting for this question, a virtual display appeared showing the brown dwarf at a close distance.
Numerous objects were displayed in different colors as well as their descriptive data. Scorge’s voice filled the room.
»There are about five hundred objects revolving around Epsilon Indi Ba. Four of them have a diameter greater than 5,000 kilometers. About one hundred are larger than 1,000 kilometers. The rest are the size of asteroids and rotate around the star in unstable orbits.«
The Techno-Cleric remained silent.
»Where in this chaos is the Techno-Cleric’s home?« Vasina directed her question at Scorge.
»I can’t answer that. I’ve scanned the entire sector for quite some time, but can’t find anything more significant than a dead rock. The only interesting object is a 7,500 kilometer diameter giant moon close to Epsilon Indi Ba. This object is always facing Ba, and evidences volcanic activity.«
»Are there any signs of settlements or civilization in this sector?« Arkroid inquired.
»Nothing, Arkroid, negative. There’s no living thing in this system.«
The Techno-Cleric suddenly moved and changed position.
»It’s horrible,« the universal translator announced.
»What’s happening?« Arkroid asked tensely.
»My brothers aren’t answering my call,« 40028 answered sadly.
»Maybe they can’t receive your message?« Lai Pi suggested. »Try it again. Are you sure this is the system?«
»No doubt. They should receive my call. If they haven’t replied, then they’ve banned me and my existence has lost all meaning.«
»Hold it!« Arkroid interrupted. »Give us at least a hint about the object we’re looking for. Do you live on a planet?«
40028 didn’t answer.
»He won’t answer this question,« Scorge retorted over the intercom. »They protect the position of their world. It’s a secret!«
»But how did he expect to be brought here without revealing his secret?« Lai Pi asked.
»The position of our home is taboo for everyone,« 40028 answered suddenly. »That also applies to you. There’s no contradiction in Scorge bringing me here, while the position of my home still remains secret.«
He paused.
»I spoke the truth. My brothers don’t answer me. Something terrible must have happened.«
»How long have you been separated from your home-world and your brothers?« Lai Pi asked uneasily.
»About 700,000 years,« the Techno-Cleric answered.
»Come again?« Lai Pi asked in disbelief. »Did you just say 700,000 years?«
»Yes. A comparatively short span of time.«
»Maybe you’ve made an error and they’re waiting for you somewhere near the second dwarf star?« Arkroid asked excitedly. »700,000 years is a long time.«
»The probability of that is smaller than the chance of two hydrogen atoms colliding in the void between the galaxies and fusing to form helium,« 40028 responded.
»Anything can happen!« Scorge chirped. »I’ll fly the Yak K’uk’Mo’ into the system of the second dwarf. We’ll be there in a flash and know for sure.«
»It will be futile,« 40028 protested.
»Couldn’t something have occurred in the past and your brothers had to leave their world?« Arkroid was obviously grasping at straws.
»Very unlikely. That can be ruled out,« 40028 answered softly.
»Maybe they were attacked and had to flee?« Vasina asked without emotion.
»An attack against my world can be ruled out. War is immoral. We reject such methods,« 40028 replied.
»But what if war is forced upon you?« Vasina kept asking.
»There’s always a choice,« the Techno-Cleric answered. »The belief that there is no choice is an illusion.«
»We won’t be able to solve the problem this way. Let’s see what Scorge finds out about the other dwarf,« Arkroid suggested.
Searching
Epsilon Indi Bb was a brown dwarf star with 6,000 times the mass of Earth, but only somewhat smaller than Jupiter, and like its partner star, glowing dark red with a surface temperature of a little over 1,200 degrees Kelvin. The Yax K’uk’Mo’ had quickly reached a new orbit. About two hundred small and large moons rotated around the sun, but only two of them had a diameter over 4,000 kilometers. Holding their breath, both men listened to the data Scorge was reading to them over the intercom.
40028’s attempt to establish communication with his brothers failed. They either didn’t hear him or didn’t want to respond. The robot displayed more and more emotion, rapidly changing his surface colors, appearing depressed.
»There’s no trace of an inhab
ited planet. Is there something we should be looking for,« Arkroid asked, »or is your world perhaps one of the planets of the central star?«
No answer.
Arkroid concluded that 40028 was not ready to reveal anything more on this subject matter.
»Maybe his brothers fell to the same enemies as your people, Vasina. The Dark Brotherhood could’ve attacked his home-world,« Lai Pi addressed the former queen.
Suddenly, the Techno-Cleric reacted. He ascended by half a meter, his voice filled with panic.
»The Dark Brotherhood is immoral!«
40028’s reaction was strong for him.
»Do you know something about them?« Vasina asked with a trembling voice.
»We know about them,« 40028 replied, »but we never want to meet them.«
»Does that mean they still exist?« Toiber Arkroid asked excitedly.
»Immorality doesn’t vanish so easily,« 40028 replied cryptically and descended again, »but you’ve given me an idea.«
»What would that be?« Vasina appeared worried.
»I have to investigate the fate of my brothers and solve another riddle. It involves me and the reason why I arrived on the dead moon where Scorge found me.«
»How exactly did you get to that stray moon, over four thousand lightyears from here?« Scorge inquired. »You never told me.«
»That’s the riddle, Scorge,« the Techno-Cleric answered uncomfortably. »I really don’t know.«
The Techno-Clerics
900,000 years
My first flight to another solar system and now this! Two brown dwarves, almost dead, surrounded by debris and moon-sized planetoids. No life, only subzero temperatures – forsaken places, debris, never visited by intelligent beings – there’s no reason to. Nevertheless, a robot insists that his home-world is around here. Right! His home-world, amid all these asteroids and comet cores? In this half-finished solar system, frozen in time? It’s not reasonable. I’ve argued for hours to persuade the others to leave this decadent sector and search the inner system of Epsilon Indi – to no avail! Scorge doesn’t want to leave the coordinates of the Epsilon Indi Bb dwarf. He believes what 40028 told him. But what if our hovering bowling ball is malfunctioning, or simply mistaken?
NEBULAR Collection 2 - The Expedition: NEBULAR Episodes 6 - 11 Page 7