Lai Pi showed his bleeding finger to Arkroid.
»That could have ended far worse! Look at this … that wasn’t a game.«
Vasina pulled down the shield from her back and stared determinedly at Arkroid and Lai Pi.
»I think I understand now what the Hall of Eternity is. It is not just a machine that establishes virtual realities, we sorely underestimated the Creators. It is not about re-creating situations from our past, it’s about re-living our mistakes so we can change them with all their consequences, because our mistakes were contrary to the code!«
Arkroid wiped the sweat from his face.
»You’re saying that you could get killed trying to rectify your errors?«
»I think that’s our problem, not the Creators’,« Lai Pi butted in, »the Hall of Eternity was built and designed for the people who built Techno-Center. They were already following higher morals. That’s why they congregated here – to ponder and reflect over small, little, moral glitches in their past. Their errors were less lethal than our own.«
Arkroid thought he understood.
»It’s our morals that determine how we relive our past in this hall. It depends on the severity of our errors. But how do you explain our first visions, Pi?«
»I found myself studying inside a temple. It probably hurt my mother more than I had thought when I renounced Buddhism. I was mainly occupied with my studies and my work, everything else became secondary, even my closeness to other people and … and love,« Lai Pi revealed slowly.
»I had doubts if I wanted to take the throne as a Progonaut queen. I saw the worries of my people as too much of a burden. Only now, I understand that I was morally obligated to carry the weight on my shoulders. But Nofratea,« Vasina swallowed hard.
»You can’t make yourself responsible for every Progonaut death … you can’t carry that load on your conscience,« Arkroid said softly. »I saw my home and my daughter and I understand why. I’m lightyears away from home, but I’m still responsible for my safe return to be there for her in the future.«
»I think we should leave this place before we end up in situations we can’t handle,« Lai Pi suggested.
»Yes. I’d rather face that Techno-Twin before I have to go through this again.«
The Moral Decree
Vasina, Arkroid and Lai Pi were surprised to find the hall’s exit so easily. It appeared that the hall’s programming had actually assisted them. As they stepped outside they took a breath of relief. Arkroid immediately looked up to the sky. The view hadn’t changed and still presented the strange colors of the Dimensional Shield. What lay behind the shield, Arkroid couldn’t make out and it was probably beyond his imagination.
»Did the Progonauts of your time have knowledge of higher dimensional space?« he asked Vasina.
Vasina briefly followed his glance.
»The tachyon track or trail is part of a higher dimensional continuum,« she answered, »you know already that this particular space is used for travel by many species. But this …«
Vasina didn’t finish her sentence. She had obviously no explanation. Arkroid briefly looked back to the dome, then said, »Let’s go up to the portal and back to the plaza. I don’t want to go back to the Hall of Eternity. I’ve had enough of finding myself.«
Arkroid held his breath as they arrived at the upper steps. Although the Yax K’uk’Mo’ was still underneath the glowing energy shield, thousands of Techno-Clerics had gathered around the ship, outside the shield’s perimeter.
»Come on, I have the feeling we need to help our friend!« Arkroid announced loudly, advancing toward the ship.
Arkroid could not imagine the Techno-Twin launching another attack against them in the presence of so many Techno-Clerics. As soon as they arrived at the ship, the robots voluntarily opened a path for them to join 40028. A cold shiver ran down Arkroid’s back as he noticed the Techno-Twin in the crowd. The opponent had not just increased in size, but also glowed much stronger than 40028, who in contrast seemed to have shrunk considerably.
»This is all immoral!« Arkroid shouted angrily, amazed at his own guts, addressing the robots in such a manner. He hoped that his words were translated over the universal translation devices. He learned a moment later that his assumption was correct. The collective answered with one voice.
»The organics are not permitted to interfere with the fact finding process. The stranger who entered our world together with you was unmasked. The collective’s judgment will be handed down shortly.«
The Techno-Twin increased in size even further when he demanded, »The presence of these organics is against the laws of our world. They should be ejected into space through the dimensional gate, together with the false brother! Their intentions are directed against our established order!«
Lai Pi stepped forward.
»The Techno-Twin tried to kill us! This occurred just a couple of minutes ago inside the Hall of Eternity!«
»It is a crime that the false Techno-Cleric had led the organics into the Hall! This proves that he is an imposter. He was sent by an outside force to undermine our morals!«
»You are wrong, brother,« 40028’s weak voice replied, »the Hall of Eternity was built solely for organic beings, like the Creators! They never demanded to close this place of reflection and meditation for other organic beings!«
»That statement is correct, however, it does not influence the collective’s decisions, since the intrusion into the Hall of Eternity is a deviation from the Moral Decree! This alone indicates that 40028 has been modified and does not belong.«
Arkroid’s thoughts were racing.
The Moral Decree is the Techno-Cleric’s base-program. 40028 explained several times to us that the robot civilization could not function correctly without it. It’s the foundation of their existence. I can’t believe that 40028 no longer adheres to it.
Lai Pi seemed to ponder heavily, staring at the marble-like ground. Even Arkroid seemed to be grasping at straws.
»We also need to expel the space ship. The galaxy with all those immoral people shall never know where our hiding place is located,« the Techno-Twin demanded strongly.
»He’s an agitator!« Vasina suddenly screeched.
»What are you saying?« Arkroid asked in shock.
»He’s an agitator!« she repeated louder and more clearly. »Why didn’t I notice that earlier? He’s a Dark Brotherhood associate. His mission is to condition this society in their favor! He infiltrated your society for just this purpose!«
»Vasina …«
Arkroid tried to calm her down, but Lai Pi demonstratively stepped by her side and put his hand on her shoulder.
»She’s right!«
40028 rose from the floor and increased in size. Arkroid noticed this change with satisfaction. Lai Pi turned toward the collective again; Vasina’s remark had given him an idea.
»Perhaps you shouldn’t ask if 40028 shows a modification from the Moral Decree, but ask yourselves if you have changed!«
Arkroid observed the Techno-Twin hovering up and down nervously. He had seen this strange behavior in 40028 before when the Techno-Cleric was excited.
»This is an unbelievable accusation!« the Techno-Twin shouted, enraged. »You will not be able to use my brothers against me. You are the intruders!«
»Would it be possible that our friend 40028 could open himself to the collective to have his memory scanned? If so, then you will find that some loss of memory occurred after he met another Techno-Cleric in the void. That had to have been the Techno-Twin! 40028 explained to us that an exchange of information occurred at that time. We believe that the Techno-Twin injected some sort of virus or destructive code into 40028’s memory, which did not destroy him but disabled him long enough so he could be contained inside the brypan asteroid.«
The Techno-Clerics became strangely silent all of a sudden. All their movements had ceased.
Is this good or bad? Lai Pi thought.
Arkroid signaled Pi to continue his argu
ment.
Pi cleared his throat and went on.
»If the Techno-Twin is capable of generating this code and disabling 40028, then he can do the same to you. Certainly, he would take a very high risk in doing so, but if the re-programming is done slowly, step by step, then none of you will have noticed any drastic changes in your base programming. He essentially re-wrote the Moral Decree! This is the reason 40028 is different from you! It is you who have suffered changes and not our friend here.«
Arkroid was speechless. Lai Pi had again proven his understanding of deeply integrated technical functions. He was punished for it almost instantly. A jolt hit him on his chest, throwing him backward by a couple of meters. Breathing harshly, he lay on the ground. The Techno-Twin had exercised his powers again, doubtless to keep Lai Pi from talking. However, Lai Pi didn’t give in, got up and broke out in painful laughter.
»There you see it! Your fake brother is using force against me and you are tolerating it? He must have already heavily damaged your understanding of the Cosmic Moral Code. Is the death penalty part of this decree? You wanted to expel us into the strange continuum beyond the shield – killing us! If you do that then your Cosmic Moral Code will go down the drain forever!«
As 40028 began to speak, all friendliness had disappeared in his voice.
»Using force is immoral! The manipulation of the Moral Decree is immoral! The Dark Brotherhood is immoral!«
The Techno-Twin slowly approached Arkroid and Vasina, but to Arkroid’s surprise, several Techno-Clerics positioned themselves between the twin and the team.
»Brothers … you all know that the Creators made sure that our base programming cannot be touched. The Moral Decree cannot be rewritten or manipulated for too long. We are able to defend ourselves against that. This protection is as much part of us as the Cosmic Moral Code is part of the universe. I suggest a cold-start of our systems. Then we will see how much deviation there is.«
»What’s he going to do?« Arkroid asked quietly.
»I think he has requested a reboot of the basic program,« Lai Pi grinned. »If he’s right and the basic program is hard wired or hard coded then it’s the only way to go. The destructive code will be overwritten or erased and 40028’s brothers will be able to assess the differences and the truth.«
»This is blasphemy! I demand that the collective reject this suggestion!« the Techno-Twin screeched.
»We will reinitialize the basic program!« the collective announced in unity.
Arkroid suppressed a ‘Eureka!’, but observed how more and more Techno-Clerics sank to the ground. The robots rebooted themselves by the thousands.
»You will regret this!« the Techno-Twin threatened.
The Techno-Twin shot forward toward Vasina who, in a split second, tore her shield from her back, holding it in a protective move against the robot. The established defensive shield could only repel the Techno-Twin for a moment before it collapsed under an energy flash that jumped from the robot’s sphere.
»Who do you think you are … you organics? Do you really believe you could stop my masters’ plan? These robots will be taken over by my masters or they will vanish from the face of the universe!« the twin declared with a loud voice.
Again Arkroid felt like he was being strangled. He turned blue within seconds and began wheezing. Lai Pi and Vasina were experiencing the same symptoms.
»I hope you realize that your attempts are futile. I will now end your miserable existence!«
»Stop!« the collective ordered. »Violence is immoral!«
More and more Techno-Clerics recovered and interfered in the dispute immediately. The Techno-Twin was tied down by gravitational forces while other robots neutralized the forces the Techno-Twin had unleashed against Vasina, Arkroid and Lai Pi. Suddenly, the Techno-Twin freed himself, directly advancing toward Arkroid, but the agitator didn’t have a chance against the collective. He ceased all movements as a dark-blue energy field enveloped him.
Moaning, Arkroid got up and felt the supporting force of several gravitational fields, pulling under his arms.
40028 came closer, making sure that nobody was harmed.
»The term friendship was alien to me and rather abstract,« he said. »This is a very important lesson for all of us and will now be part of our collective knowledge. Friendship can move mountains and bring people to sacrifice their lives for a good cause. This equates to very high moral standards and we are truly grateful for your help. I have returned to the collective. Lai Pi’s logic was correct.«
Arkroid produced a painful smile.
»You’re welcome, my friend! What’s going to happen next and what are you going to do with the twin?«
»We encapsulated him inside a preservation field. He won’t be able to harm Techno-Center any longer. There are, however, still some unanswered questions. How was it possible to make a copy of me, so perfect that the twin could infiltrate without being noticed, and how could he manipulate the basic program?«
Lai Pi nodded.
»If he’s really an agitator sent by the Dark Brotherhood then we have to assume that they are at least at the same technological level as the Creators,« Pi picked up the thread. »That’s a very disturbing thought. You mentioned that you people know the Dark Brotherhood or at least their name. Is there anything you can tell us about them and the danger they are posing?«
40028 seemed depressed as he replied.
»We do not know what’s behind this threat, but we have encountered other galactic peoples who were talking about an underlying threat from an unknown power. On some planets we heard legends and stories about an unfathomable power constellation, manipulating the history and fates of galactic races and nations. The Progonauts of the House of Nubia, who I met 900,000 years ago, were talking about a power which had almost destroyed their entire nation. To see that this threat is still existent and present even on Techno-Center is very disturbing. The collective will deal with this immoral situation, and seek ways to counteract it. We cannot just look the other way. We will thoroughly analyze our data, collected over the years, for clues.«
Arkroid nodded slowly.
»That just might be the only way. If the people and nations of the galaxy are made aware of the threat, and the fate of the Progonauts, we might be able to prevent this from happening again. This unknown power is not conducting an open war, but they can work behind the scenes for more than a million years. We don’t know their final objectives but we do know that we Humans are somehow part of their plans. We’ll do our best to deny them their goals even if we’re not as advanced as you Techno-Clerics.«
Arkroid had just finished his sentence when the energy shield around Scorge’s ship collapsed. Almost instantly, Scorge’s voice screeched excitedly from the comm-units.
»What Torbs disabled my propulsion system? The Yax K’uk’Mo’ does not react to any of my inputs. If you can read me then tell me what’s going on here!«
Lai Pi grinned and chuckled.
»It was done for your own good, Scorge. The Techno-Clerics wanted to prevent you from taking off and leaving the planet. That would have been your death sentence, because you would now be twirling around in space as an eternal energy stream.«
»Who says that I wanted to take off? Do you believe, I would have left this fascinating planet without having negotiated some business deals?« he replied, gurgling strongly.
»No, not really,« Arkroid laughed.
»I’ll come over to you. It’s high time that I take a closer look at this beautiful city.«
»Welcome to our world, Scorge,« 40028 greeted him amiably.
World of Wonders
Scorge was surrounded by Techno-Clerics as he stepped out of the Yax K’uk’Mo’, who accompanied him until he reached the small group. He used dozens of his tentacles, touching the clerics’ spheres, who didn’t seem to have anything against it.
»How can we tell them apart from each other, they all look the same?« Scorge asked as he arrived.
&nb
sp; »I’m afraid it’s just too difficult for us organic beings,« Arkroid smiled.
»40028 has offered to show us his world, which we gladly accepted. Do you want to come with us?« Vasina asked Scorge.
»Certainly! I wonder what these robots could offer me that’s worth trading,« Scorge replied with vibrating tentacles.
Lai Pi, Arkroid and Vasina broke out in laughter while Scorge was visibly amazed over their sense of humor.
»What has happened to you? Vasina and Humans are suddenly in agreement and display the same sentiments? A second ago, I was still under the impression that this would never be possible!«
A small dot in the distance was approaching from the center of the city, slowly increasing in size. It turned out to be a small and slim-built hover-glider, propelled by gravitational forces. As the craft softly landed before the group, 40028 explained, »We robots don’t need any transportation devices, but you might enjoy the services of a gravo-sailer.«
Arkroid noticed with surprise that the sailer was equipped with three seats and a soft seating cushion. It seemed that the Techno-Clerics must have quickly refitted the craft for their visitors. Shortly after they entered the sailer, it took off and accelerated smoothly. The Techno-Clerics followed them, some lined up like a chain of baubles, positioning themselves to the sides or above the sailer.
40028 had no problem keeping up with the sailer’s high speed.
»How many Techno-Clerics are there?« Lai Pi asked via a comm-link between the sailor and 40028, trying to mentally absorb the impressions during the flight.
»We are exactly one million individuals,« 40028 replied readily. The term ‘individuals’ used by 40028 showed clearly how the robot civilization thought of itself. They existed, because they were thinking, they could reason! Long ago they had made the transformation from a mechanical existence toward artificially developed intelligent beings, who considered themselves an integral part of the cosmos.
»Down there, in the distance, you see one of the fifty projectors, generating the Dimensional Shield, protecting Techno-Center from the dissolving effects of the higher continuum,« 40028 directed their view to a four-hundred-meter high conical tower, its needle-like tip disappearing in the clouds.
NEBULAR Collection 2 - The Expedition: NEBULAR Episodes 6 - 11 Page 13