The Terrans

by Jean Johnson

  “All of our fossil records point to a great d’aspra, a massive movement of people, herd animals, and plant matter—seeds and seedlings—all coming into existence on V’Dan approximately ninety-five of our centuries ago. Before that point, all of the records show nothing but plants and animals that had evolved for millions of years on V’Dan. After that point, some native species died out, while many Before World species supplanted them. On the motherworlds of the other sentient species of the Alliance,” he stated, “their fossil records show how their own kind evolved over millions of years, but not on V’Dan.

  “It has therefore been a great mystery for our scientists for the last four hundred years, ever since we reached into space and met the other races, as to why certain plants, animals, and ourselves simply appeared at some point. Our largest religion, the Sh’nai faith,” Li’eth continued, “posits that we were taken from the Before Time Motherworld—which would be your world—by a benevolent immortal being who wished to save her chosen people from an immense disaster. She in turn—again, according to religious texts, which are not the most scientifically written documents—was stated as having come from ‘the far-distant future.’

  “These claims, of the d’aspra of her chosen people and of the Immortal High One’s origins, have been repeated many times throughout the holy texts . . . but again, we have not been able to verify how or why, or even exactly when any of this took place. Other than fossil records supporting our sudden appearance and lack of evolving ancestors. Now that we have met you, we have hope that the Before World has been found in your world, supporting some of those religious claims . . . but it is still something that should be approached with minds open to science, not minds open to religion,” he added.

  Beside him, V’kol relaxed a bit. It was known the family V’Daania followed the Sh’nai faith, but not blindly. Religion was revered, but science was practical, and thus preferred. Li’eth hadn’t bothered to make his policy on the subject as a commanding officer any different from royal policy, and knew his friend and junior officer was relieved to hear that policy was the same, as a prince.

  The Secondaire paused, clearly thinking his way through the questions on the device in his hands, then asked, “. . . Do you know why your people were moved by this . . . immense being?”

  “It is said in the holy texts that there was a massive series of disasters. The High One—our Immortal First Empress—was able to predict them,” Li’eth explained. “According to those texts, she had advanced warning via a series of ancient prophecies, which she had carried from the future into the distant past. It was she who located the world we now occupy, she who constructed the portal, she who organized the d’aspra, saving her chosen people. It was said she ruled for five thousand years before the d’aspra removed us from the Before World, but that her kingdom was small. It is known as fact that she ruled for five thousand years after the d’aspra on V’Dan, before being challenged and removed from power by my direct, if distant, ancestor, War King Kah’el.”

  Several hands shot up, particularly among the rows of white-backed seats. A couple of the Fellowship even bounced in their seats. Pong glanced their way then sighed, and pointed. “The Fellow in seat number fifty-eight may ask a question at this time. Fellow . . . Blanding?”

  The seat-bouncer, an elderly woman with white hair streaked in bits of gray, her pale face age-seamed, stood. She wore a pink sort of tunic over purple trousers, a wreath of flowers around her neck, and a purple, flower-printed belt. “Fellow Julia Blanding, Dakotas Province,” she announced herself. “Retired schoolteacher of life sciences.”

  “I am honored to meet one of your teachers,” Li’eth replied, and received a blush and a smile on that age-lined face.

  “Well, thank you, Highness. My question is, if this female lived five thousand years as you say she did, and you have proof she did . . . how did she live so long? Was she a Grey One?”

  “Ah . . . I am not certain how to answer that question at this time. I do not know what a Grey One is,” Li’eth temporized. Virtually all of the arms dropped around the Council Hall, proving their questions were meant to be follow-ups to an answer he could not give.

  “Ambassador Maq’en-zi, please visualize a Grey One for the prince,” Premiere Callan instructed. “Your Highness, have your people ever encountered a being like this?”

  Shrugging, Ja’ki held out her hand, narrowed her eyes in concentration . . . and a spindly-limbed, vaguely humanoid being with a Gatsugi-teardrop head and Gatsugi-big or bigger eyes appeared on the tabletop, much as her raptor illusion had appeared. The skin was a sort of dull gray, the eyes black as a Gatsugi . . . but it bore no tufts of fluff-hairs on its head, it had a small body relative to that head, the torso was short and not very muscular, and the being had only two arms and two legs, not four arms and two legs. There were no clothes associated with the being, either.

  She added a Human next to the Grey, proving the Human was not quite twice as tall, much more muscular, and almost complex-looking in comparison. Li’eth studied the image a long moment, then shook his head.

  “. . . I have never seen any being like that before, and I have met with all the known races of the Alliance territories. The High One was said to be a V’Dan in appearance, though she had all the tricks of a Meddler, a Feyori. Those are a very powerful, long-lived race of energy-based shapechangers. That . . . being . . . looks like a very physical, matter-based entity,” he concluded. “But not one that I have ever heard about, let alone seen.”

  “Huh. Well, there goes my theory,” Fellow Julia stated, and resumed her seat. Ja’ki released the illusion.

  “It is good to know that we probably won’t have to deal with the Greys when we head in the direction of your Alliance,” Callan stated, his words mild but his tone suggesting the Grey Ones were not pleasant. “Secondaire Pong?”

  The taller of the two white-vested men bowed a little. “Thank you, Premiere. Thank you, Fellow Blanding. Please be seated. Next question: Can you please inform us of what this Alliance is, and who else is out there that you do know about? You may each be seated for your comfort, and feel free to go into some detail, as we are all interested in hearing about other friendly races . . . and the unfortunate potential for unfriendly ones.”

  Prepared by the earlier questioning, Li’eth nodded and seated himself next to Ja’ki. “Then I will start with the history and structure of the Alliance, then explain as best I can what each race is. The Alliance was created by the K’Katta when they first encountered the Solaricans. The Solaricans have already established colonies around the galaxy, but each is considered to be a near-autonomous colony. As a rule, they prefer to coexist with other races rather than conquer or exterminate, as their method of interstellar travel, while unbelievably swift, is also extremely difficult and limited in its range to specific areas of the galaxy.

  “Still, relieved to find peace-preferring aliens, the K’Katta proposed a series of trade agreements, and the two races established a set of common laws between the two species, centered around the basic ethics of not harming others in ways that are physical, financial, and so forth. It was not, however, a formal alliance arrangement at that time. When the Tlassians joined the interstellar community, the Tlassians brought into the growing Alliance the concept of a Charter, which is an outline of all major laws, all of which must be approved by the other groups, and which can be supported, even enforced by the other groups, should major transgressions of those laws happen and start to affect the other Alliance members.

  “The reason for this is that the Tlassians have always had a three-caste system, physical differences which give rise to specific tasks and areas of control within both their culture and their government. The Worker caste’s Charter is proposed by the Workers, then approved by the Warrior and Priest castes, and the Priest’s Charter is approved by the Workers and Warriors, while the Warriors go through the same process as well,” he explained. “Any rejections must have a solid basis, a set of reas
ons as to why, and none of the Charters can command any legal control over any other group, save lending support in enforcing infractions of the laws that start to disrupt other societies.

  “This Charter system solidified the K’Katta version into a formal approach for the Alliance to accept new members. Individual colonyworlds could submit a governing Charter for their particular world—the Solaricans, Tlassians, and V’Dan all have similar enough biochemistry that we can jointly colonize worlds with relative ease, which made it an imperative for joint colonyworlds to come up with their own unique Charter agreements,” Li’eth found himself explaining.

  It wasn’t just to hear himself talk, or to try to explain how the complexities of the Alliance came to be. No, he could see these Terrans actively paying close attention, looking interested, nodding along when they understood a certain point, or briefly raising a hand before lowering it again when he continued, adding a bit of clarification with each flash of enough palms.

  They wanted to know these things, these Terrans. So he continued, trying to meet a gaze here, a look there, from the other side of the three-part screen. It was the closest he could get to answering them in person until quarantine was over.

  “By submitting a joint Charter for that planet,” Li’eth continued, explaining how colony governments were validated in the Alliance, “this outlines which parent government holds which responsibilities for support, defense, and so forth—which became rather important, if awkward as an understatement, when our current troubles with the Salik began . . .”

  —

  (Well?) Jackie, asked, curious to know what Li’eth thought of the Council and its five hours of questions. Only five hours because the prince’s voice started to give out, even with him deferring several of those questions to the rest of his crew to answer every so often. Which was why she asked her question telepathically.

  (Your people are . . . ruthlessly polite in their interrogations, Bright Stone,) he sent back. At the moment, he was lying on an exam bed in the cramped but functional quarantine medical bay. Maria had examined his throat and was now formulating a restorative compound that could be injected safely. The doctor herself was beginning to sniffle with the onset of a cold, some sort of virus picked up from the V’Dan, but otherwise was fit for medical duty. (They only pressed a couple different ways at most on questions we could not answer, before moving on. I’m also surprised they asked so many questions not related to the Salik. Some of them were a little . . . odd?)

  (Can you pinpoint how?) Jackie asked, as Maria sniffed hard.

  Jackie was grateful she herself didn’t have any sniffles, nor red eyes, nor sneezing—Brad would have had those symptoms since he was suffering from repeated sneezes when he wasn’t taking an antihistamine. Robert had also taken an antihistamine for watering eyes and a suppressant for a cough, while Lars seemed to be fine for the moment, though he swore that was because he took a sauna session twice a day, now that he could. Ayinda had watery eyes as well but no other symptoms, while the V’Dan showed no real signs of suffering from any shared common-cold symptoms.

  There had been a bit of elevated temperature in Dai’a and Ba’oul earlier that morning, which they swore was something that should be taken seriously. According to Maria, they had been given their medicines for that before the meeting, however, and were being monitored remotely via their bracelets while they rested in their quarters.

  (Your people seemed more concerned with how soon the Salik might discover and reach this place than with their capabilities. They were interested in the numbers estimated for their fleet, but not their firepower or hull strength.)

  (Hull strength and firepower is something we do not know how to measure, since your units are meaningless compared to ours at the moment; we simply have no basis for translation, and we’re smart enough to know it and work around it,) Jackie reminded him. (It is also more of a concern for the Space Force to handle, not the Council. Which means I think I can explain why the Council were asking what they asked,) she added.

  His brows lifted. His face looked a little odd with the extra streak of burgundy down his clean-shaven cheek, a good finger’s worth in length. (And that is . . . ?)

  (Budget meetings,) Jackie sent succinctly.

  He grunted and closed his eyes. (Of course . . . I should’ve guessed. Every government is ruled by its budget. Even Mother must bow to the bottom line from time to time.)

  (Just by encountering you, and by my choice of rescuing you—which was the ethical thing to do,) she told him, (I have thrown my people to the edge of war with the Salik. Now, it is possible that we could broker some sort of peace treaty . . . but considering they viewed me as just another walking V’Dan snack, despite my vastly different ship and its patently different technology . . . and given how I sort of bowled dozens upon dozens of them over during my rescue of your crew . . . I doubt that such would ever come to pass. Nor would I vote for it if anyone suggested it.

  (So, that means the Council will be very busy discussing how much budget to allocate to the Space Force, how many ships to build, how many hyperrelay units . . . The Space Force already has something of an idea of what things your people will need from us first and foremost, but they will want to question each of you in depth. Not so much your engineering specs as your general capabilities, where your strengths and weaknesses are in regards to the Salik forces—“you” being the Alliance races as a whole, not just the V’Dan. From there, the military will know better how to apportion our various resources . . . but the Council needs to have an idea of the general scope of things so that they can have an estimated idea of what the military’s budget requests will be. Hence, budget meetings.)

  “Jackie . . . do you have any biokinetic ability?” Maria asked suddenly. The question was so out of the blue, it made the younger woman blink. The moment Jackie faced her, Maria raised her brows “Well? Do you?”

  “Of course not,” Jackie denied, recovering from the shock of the odd question. “Not even as a Rank 1, save whatever biofeedback I can give myself for calming things like heart rate and blood pressure, the same as anyone else can do. All of my abilities are on file, and I know you’ve read that file. Why do you even ask?”

  “I am asking because both you and the captain, there, have been showing neural energy patterns associated with biofeedback, in patterns associated specifically with active biokinesis,” the doctor stated.

  What the? Jackie blinked again. That should not have been possible. Li’eth had biokinesis, yes, but she did not. “Are you sure I have those energy signs?”

  “Very sure. I’ve been combing through various medical data sets to establish comparisons with V’Dan physiology. You mentioned that Li’eth is a psi. Does he have biokinetic abilities—and no, señor, you do not get to answer aloud,” the doctor added, pointing at Li’eth, before glancing at her machines. “Not until after you have taken the medicines that are still synthesizing, which will take another . . . seven minutes. We are not straining your voice any further, today.”

  Jackie answered for him. “Yes, he is a biokinetic. But I am not.”

  “Well, the monitors don’t lie; your brain and body chemistry are elevated at rates associated with biokinetic healing, self-healing. Not by a lot, but they are above basic biofeedback levels. I suppose they could show similar readings caused by some other source . . . I’d have to hook up a KI monitor to each of you to be absolutely sure. Or give you a paper cut and wait to see if it heals fast,” Maria joked.

  (We have been practicing those . . . biokinetic techniques of yours,) Li’eth reminded Jackie, careful to use the Terran terminology. (Would that do it?)

  She shook her head. (Only to a mild degree in myself, to the same level as plain, ordinary biofeedback, since I don’t have those actual abilities. I just know the basic training techniques . . . unless you’re projecting, but I don’t think you are.)

  All three of them fell silent. After a while, Maria suddenly laughed a little. It was a brief sound of mirt
h, but it caught both of their attention. Jackie lifted her brows. “You found something amusing?”

  “Oh, it’s just that the two of you are the first two Humans on each side to meet . . . and the first two psychics to meet,” Maria joked. “Wouldn’t it be funny if you turned out to be a Gestalt pair, too?”

  “. . . Not really,” Jackie refuted, bemused by the idea—the logistics alone would be a nightmare because Li’eth wasn’t a common sort; he was a prince. And she herself was an Ambassador. Opposite side of everything. “It would be very awkward. And highly unlikely. And very awkward.”

  “What is a Gestalt pair?” Li’eth asked aloud, looking between both women. His voice sounded raspy, and earned him a scowl from the medic.

  “No sound out of you, señor! A Gestalt pair is—” A beeping noise from her machinery interrupted her. “You explain it,” Maria ordered, flipping her hand at Jackie. “I know some of what it is, but you live it far more than I do. I specialize in trauma and general medicine, not psychic abilities.”

  “Gestalt, Li’eth, is a word from another language, German, and it basically means that the sum of the whole is greater than the tally of its parts. It’s like adding two plus two and somehow getting five instead of four,” Jackie explained patiently. She did so aloud for Maria’s benefit as well as for their guest. “A Gestalt pairing refers to something similar happening between psychics. It’s not common, but sometimes a pair will encounter each other and a sort of bond will occur. Something in their biology and in their psychokinetic makeup creates a link between the two. Gifts simply grow stronger even without training, and as the bond grows, the two can start sharing abilities.”

  He quirked his brows but carefully stayed silent.

  Jackie nodded, acknowledging his unspoken question; she didn’t have to sense his subthoughts, though they were there. “Yes, that means if one person has telepathy and pyrokinesis—mind-to-mind speech and the ability to control heat, even spark a fire—and if the other person has telepathy and clairvoyancy—mind-to-mind speech and the ability to see things at a distance without needing any equipment or being there in person to do so—then if they are a Gestalt pair, the clairvoyant would find themselves sparking a fire at some point, the pyrokinetic would find themselves viewing things remotely, and their telepathic capabilities would increase tangibly without much effort.”