‘We have rrright to this worrrld,’ the Kosnak leader growled. ‘You, go!’
‘You have entered an exclusion zone,’ the Vardon Admiral replied. ‘We signed a treaty with the Xeraphin. This system is under our protection.’
‘You have worrrds?’ Ur spat. ‘We have arrrms!’
The Vardon ship shook violently as it was bombarded by Kosnak weapons fire.
‘Our shields can easily withstand your pathetic attack,’ H2-L0 replied.
‘We arrre matched,’ Ur said.
‘So, will you leave or must we destroy this planet to prevent you from seizing its knowledge?’
‘Morrre worrrds!’ The Kosnak looked as if he might almost be smiling, but he could easily have simply been baring his teeth. ‘We destrrroy Xerrriphas!’
The screen went blank. There was silence both in the Senate chamber and on board the Vardon ship.
Then H2-L0 spoke. ‘Start landing troops. The Kosnak will not claim the prize!’
At that point Orfak ordered the telepathic transmission cut.
‘Prepare for invasion,’ he ordered. ‘All power to the planetary shield. We must have time!’
‘Time for what?’ called a Senator.
Before the words had died on his lips, the doors to the chamber flew open and dozens of heralds marched in, heavily armed.
‘The Senate is dissolved,’ Orfak said. His voice trembled at the enormity of his words. ‘I am imposing martial law.’
At that point Furis strode into the chamber.
‘General Furis will be in command of the planet’s military and civil defence,’ Orfak announced. General! When did the Xeraphin last have a general?
The Soothsayer actually placed a hand on my shoulder. ‘All will be well. We must believe that.’
No matter what he said, they could not detract from the reality of the bombardments that started almost immediately. At first their impacts on the shields appeared like pretty decorations in the sky, but after many hours the Kosnak managed to break the harmonic code and the first radioactive beams penetrated through to the surface.
As night falls, we are in the crisis shelters beneath the Citadel. They have not been used for decades and are rudimentary and cold. News came in almost by the minute of more devastation and death. Already, the population has literally been decimated.
We must act before extinction becomes our destiny.
The Precinct of Anitroilia, Academy of the Core Scientific
Capulenday 3rd Belagaw
We decamped from the crisis shelter very early, under cover of darkness, and relocated to the Academy of the Core Scientific and set up our base of operations in my office.
Epeyak was duly roused from his rest period and brought before us. He looked saddened and groggy as he was introduced to the Soothsayer. Considering the silver-haired man was the first alien on Xeriphas for a dozen generations, my old friend took it very much in his stride.
Orfak put it to Epeyak that we might be able to use the technology he was developing to hide ourselves.
‘All I have been working on is a way to harness our abilities,’ he said.
‘Let me see if I understand your research properly,’ I said. ‘The “focus” you have been working on combines the psychic essence of our people.’
‘It does.’
‘How?’ asked the Soothsayer.
Epeyak explained that in essence the device was like a transformer: taking the minds of the Xeraphin and altering them, fusing them into energy that could then be directed however we saw fit. His idea was to use mental projection to show our planet laid waste; something that would fool the Vardon and the Kosnak, sending them away from us forever.
‘A nice idea,’ the Soothsayer said. ‘But not practical.’
He pointed out that only those on the ships now in our solar system would be affected. Those using long-range scanners would see that this was a ruse and invade anyway.
‘Besides,’ he said, ‘that won’t stop the radiation bombardment.’ He walked around the room with his head cocked to one side and bony finger to his lips. His pale, intense eyes seemed to burn with an intelligence that made even ours look stunted.
‘This reminds me of another conflict I encountered not so long ago,’ he mused. ‘That was only two warring factions, mind you. But I don’t see why the solution shouldn’t be similar! No indeed. If a little less horse-shaped, hmm?’
He was clearly being humorous but we had not the faintest idea what he was talking about. We just inclined our heads politely.
‘As we know,’ I said, ‘evacuation is not an option either as we will simply be pursued wherever we go.’
‘So,’ he said, ‘tell me, ah, Epeyak, what would happen if you were to attune your device to transform not just mental energies, but the entire essence of your people?’
There was silence.
‘You mean absorption?’ I asked. ‘The entire race?’
‘Precisely, my boy!’ the Soothsayer said loudly.
Epeyak confirmed this would – in theory – be possible.
‘But would it be desirable?’ Orfak asked. Furis nodded.
‘Compared to your destruction? And the destruction of your amassed knowledge?’ the Soothsayer asked angrily. ‘I would say it is!’
We all exchanged glances.
‘I fail to see what the benefit would be,’ Furis said. ‘We hide from the Vardon and the Kosnak. How do we regenerate?’
‘You don’t hide,’ the Soothsayer said. ‘You present yourself as a gift!’
The Precinct of Anitroilia, Academy of the Core Scientific
Dessinday 4th Belagaw
A week since the war reached Trallinhoe.
Heralds have been marshalling the populace to what have been dubbed ‘liberator stations’ across the planet. As many Xeraphin as possible are being transformed by Epeyak’s technology into beings of pure energy.
Naturally, some are refusing. Some do not even bother to come to the stations. They are trapped in their outmoded beliefs or desperately hiding from the truth behind a curtain of false hope.
What we have achieved in such a short time is nothing short of astounding. It is almost impossible to believe how the Scientific Core have pulled together, using the myriad Archivists – the repository of all our accumulated knowledge – to find methods of doing what needs to be done.
The Xeraphin that have transcended their physical forms were transmitted from the liberation stations to the Citadel for storage in what Epeyak is calling his sarcophagus. No one is very keen on the term as it makes us sound like a dead race, but the Soothsayer tells us it will serve very well; the conjuror’s art of misdirection, he called it.
Meanwhile General Furis has her heralds and emissaries battling the Vardon and the Kosnak on almost every front. When the planetary shield failed, she had the foresight to use smaller versions around the major conurbations, altering the frequencies so the Vardon did not break through immediately.
The Kosnak are actually helping us in all this. Unintentionally. They are hindering the Vardon in their efforts to reach us. Of course, a great many Xeraphin are being caught in their crossfire – a microcosm for the whole situation.
The Soothsayer is saying that he has one part to play before he departs. He must wait for the last of us to join the Xeraphin gestalt in the sarcophagus. He will then tinker with the last of the defence shields so that whichever side it is can break through and believe they have won. He will then leave in whatever way he arrived, I suppose. This trap of his will be sprung and his work done. The rest will be up to us.
I am still nervous about this idea of becoming one with the whole of my species: amalgamated into one organism with one immense personality. We are all individuals who must have our privacy – partly in order to process how we deal with one another.
It is indeed fortunate that we do not rely on archaic technology like computers to store our data. Our minds are developed enough that, with the right training, we can retain vas
t amounts of data. The Archivists are selected at a very early age for their unique assignment. The intelligence quotient of all Xeraphin is measured and those with the highest who also possess the sort of eidetic memory necessary to the task are given special training.
This was the prize that both the Vardon and the Kosnak sought to take from us. A prize worth fighting for and over. This was the crux of the Silver Soothsayer’s plan.
Instead of being a collection of individuals who might resist giving up the information they possessed, the gestalt offered a much more attractive proposition. The nucleus of the sarcophagus will present a tempting ‘gift’ for whichever side claims it: an immeasurable intelligence at the centre of a psychic vortex. This not only represented the most comprehensive database in the universe but also a weapon or power source equal to that of a galaxy of supernovae. It would be more than capable of destroying the other’s enemy.
Orfak let this be known by contacting both fleets and speaking directly with Ur and with H2-L0. He told them that instead of letting ourselves be conquered and killed we had decided to ascend to a higher plane where their petty disputes could not touch us. He also let it be known that with our knowledge we could easily have destroyed them a thousand times over. But we were a civilised species – perhaps the most civilised in existence.
Orfak ordered that the sarcophagus be placed in the largest arena in the Citadel; the Arena of Inauguration. Around it were stockpiled all the weapons belonging to the heralds and the emissaries. Every last piece of food and drink was brought in, too, and piled high.
Even I helped. It felt good to be carrying out this last act of defiance. It was agreed that we four – myself, Epeyak, Furis and Orfak – would have one last night of physical existence before we became one in the morning.
These may be the last words I dictate. Who know what will happen when our personal archivists are consumed by the gestalt?
Essenday 5th Belagaw
We are one. Odyson, the leader of our Core Scientific, joined us on this morning. He stood before the sarcophagus and bathed in the agonising golden light before becoming part of the nucleus. Every atom of his existence was converted to pure energy.
Then we waited.
As we suspected it was the Vardon who entered the Arena of Inauguration. Our plan to give the impression of our total surrender appeared to work. They wandered, marvelling, among the stockpiles of weapons, the crates of food and tankers of water and other consumables. They shook their heads in disbelief and they felt melancholy at our demise.
This did not stop them from taking the nucleus back with them aboard their ship. It did not stop them from using it to send out an energy wave that turned the Kosnak vessels to dust in an instant. It did not stop them celebrating their victory. How could they know that the powerful radiation they used also permeated their own ship?
Now was our time to persuade them to surrender to us. No. Now was our time to strike.
We are one mind. We must regenerate. Take back our physical form.
Aboard the Vardon Flagship
Deep Space
Abanday 6th Belagaw
Those of us who regenerated today were confused by what we found. As one, we had witnessed the destruction of the Kosnak fleet. What happened after that was clouded. When I try to recall, it is as if two pieces of music are playing at the same time. I cannot concentrate on one for the notes of the other become entangled.
What we found on board were the dead bodies of the Vardon. Epeyak and his assistant, Anithon, both expressed confusion. We knew the dimpled aliens should be suffering from radioactive poisoning, but they should not have been dead.
Epeyak came up to me on the bridge of the ship, away from the earshot of the heralds that had been brought back to individual life alongside their leader, General Furis.
‘Plasmavores,’ he whispered.
I looked at him and the inference was clear. Plasmavores had been sent to kill the crew.
‘But who sent them?’ I asked.
Epeyak looked at me. ‘You fool,’ he said. ‘We did!’
I was so taken aback I could not reprimand him for his insolence. But I realised at once what he meant. A fool I may, be but an idiot I am not.
As one mind we had many voices. That is why I seemed to recall multiple versions of events. They were not memories they were arguments for what we wanted to happen. Clearly the majority – the mob! – had elected to deliver vengeance on the Vardon.
I found myself collapsed in the captain’s chair. Staring at the screen we had watched days before. But now it was blank. There was nothing out there. I then became aware I was being watched. I looked over at the door. Furis was standing there, regarding me with a cool gaze.
‘I will need that, Odyson,’ she said, moving forward. Then she smiled at my expression. ‘The chair!’
I stood up. ‘Of course.’
A few emissaries then trooped in and took up positions at stations that had once been manned by the Vardon crew.
‘We need to escape the radiation,’ Furis said, taking the captain’s chair.
‘Of course,’ I repeated. I was suddenly very nervous in her presence. ‘Where is the Senate Principal?’
She waved a hand. ‘I believe he is in the kitchens. You know how fond he was of his ferment …’
I took my leave and stole through the ship like a spy. Orfak must be made aware of this. I could not prove it, but I was convinced Furis had taken over the gestalt. I could scarcely credit it. Furis! I had trusted her. I had liked her. Had she engineered this whole thing? Impossible. She must have seen an opportunity and taken it. But she could not go unpunished.
I spoke with Orfak and told him of my concerns. He was deeply shocked but admitted to having the same fugue state when it came to the events of last night following the use of the sarcophagus by the Vardon.
‘Epeyak brought this to your attention?’ he asked.
‘Yes, Senate Principal.’
‘Do you think he can be trusted?’
‘I believe so.’
‘And no one else has this information?’
I told him I did not know. He nodded sagely and then summoned an emissary I had not met before. His name was Zarak. He was, Orfak assured me, totally loyal to the Senate and would gather similarly dependable heralds to arrest the General.
Before this could happen, however, Epeyak called an emergency meeting in one of the communal chambers aboard. As we had emerged as the architects of the Xeraphin’s survival, only the four of us were in attendance. I noted Zarak on guard at the door and nodded to him as I entered. He totally ignored me. At first I felt slighted but realised he was a clandestine operative whose nature was not to show his hand.
Epeyak was standing at the centre of the room looking more sombre than I had seen him – even in the past week.
‘I have analysed the radiation poisoning suffered by the crew,’ he said. He bowed his head then. ‘It is very powerful and has affected the regenerated Xeraphin.’
Orfak grabbed him ‘Affected? You mean we’ve been poisoned?’
‘I’m afraid so, Senate Principal.’
Orfak clenched his fists and turned away. With his back still towards us he said: ‘This is your fault, Furis.’
Furis reacted as if she had been slapped. ‘Mine?’
‘Zarak!’
The door burst open and Zarak entered with several heralds.
‘Arrest General Furis.’
‘On what charge?’
‘Treason!’
Zarak had already gripped the former Senator and pinned her arms behind her back.
‘This is an outrage! Who was it that brought you the Silver Soothsayer? I could have used that to my advantage, but I have too high a regard for the Senate, for the rule of Xeraphin law!’
I stepped forward. ‘I believe Orfak is right. The evidence is that the Plasmavores killed the crew of this ship. I believe that General Furis was behind the order.’
‘You believe?’ F
uris shouted. ‘Belief is not a body of evidence!’
‘Execute her!’ Orfak said.
‘What?’ I stepped forward. ‘There has not been an execution on Xeriphas for several millennia!’
‘We are not on Xeriphas,’ Orfak hissed.
‘I agree with Orfak,’ Epeyak said. ‘And anyone who doesn’t is also guilty of treason.’
I looked into the eyes of Furis as she pleaded with me silently.
It was clear to me now what was happening. It was a coup. But not by Furis. Orfak had taken over with Epeyak’s help. He controlled the Plasmavores after all. At least, that is what I thought. Until another Xeraphin stepped forward.
‘I think you are all guilty of treason,’ said Zarak. ‘You will be taken to a cell and held there until the radiation for which you are responsible ends your lives. The Xeraphin will endure. We will return to the sarcophagus to outwait the sickness.’
Zarak! He must have seen his opportunity for power and seized it, betraying his Senate and his superiors.
Now trapped in this cell, I record these words for you, my brothers and sisters. So that when you wake, you will know that we escaped through a ruse of fiendish devising. Further, that we were trapped once more by our own stupidity and lust for power. And last that we must change if we are to ever return from the quagmire of mob rule that this gestalt has enforced upon us.
DEFIANCE OF THE NEW BLOODS
THIS WAS TO be his finest victory. His troops had fought hard on the battlefields of planets and in space across five systems to reach this point. Countless Sontaran warriors had died, but each one had done so in the certain knowledge that his death was glorious because it would not be in vain.
The Sontarans hated one race above all others. They especially hated them for their cowardice in battle. There was no honour in taking on the appearance of others. That was what the Rutans did. Amorphous and green in their natural state, Rutans adopted the form and technology of any race or species that would serve its battle against the Sontarans.
Due to their amoeba-like physiology, they preferred dank, watery worlds on which to breed. While many planets had been adopted as Rutan breeding grounds, the Sontarans had identified them and wiped them out, one by one.
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