by Peter Kratky
Galactic Encyclopedia: human species.
The human species developed on a planet they called Earth, about four thousand to four and a half billion years ago. The vestiges that have remained of this species are mostly indirect, obtained through the Xarwen remains that are still preserved on the planet and in other locations of the solar system. Apparently, it was a level-one technological species, which gained knowledge of the basic structure of matter, but failed to grasp the fundamental question of what they called “laws of physics.
The General Intelligence Algorithm classifies the human species at the lowest levels of technological intelligence, although it is hoped that new data can provide a better vision and knowledge of this species.
The Discovery
While Garrin was talking to Nahr about the architecture of the area and its main features, Kirak was reviewing his instruments with growing interest. The readings from the area indicated certain anomalies that could not be reconciled with the common remains of that civilization. Something was altering the results.
Kirak addressed Garrin, showing him a sensor indicating a strange signal detected:
“How about this, Garrin?” Garrin turned and looked with growing interest.
“It's very interesting. These readings didn't show up on the scanners from space. There appears to be a blockage limited to this area, and the instruments cannot make precise readings. I think Deblar could give some additional information on this data.”
“Do you think it's necessary to bother her about this?”
“I think so, yes.” Garrin quickly activated the hidden transmitter inside his ear.
Garrin confirmed:
“Copy that. Yes... We've detected a field that is only quantifiable at close range. Please review these data, they are not within the parameters and I believe that the readings may result in derived nucleotides and DNA/RNA strings, as well as protein memory n-grams.”
A long silence was heard, and Deblar finally answered:
“Correct” confirmed Deblar. As I see, and verified by the bioscanner, you are close to a biocomputer system, specifically designed for managing carbon-based structures, and designed to store records of a species. Specifically, with 86% probability, they belong to the species known as human beings. At least that's what I get from the initial reading. Remember, we have very little data on that species. Where did you get these readings?”
“In an ancient dome of the Xarwen. We watched them from space, but we hadn't made a search of the area yet. These structures are protected by a field that cushions the scanners at a certain distance,” Garrin replied. “I'm sending you the coordinates now. I think we could investigate it in more detail.”
“I agree,” Deblar replied. “I'm going over there with a team.”
As they spoke, Kirak had been triangulating the exact position of the reading.
“Apparently, the entire area is in a self-sustaining energy warehouse. As I see it has been conserved for at least three billion years, I suppose thanks to energy sources that must come from the same hot magma of the planet.”
“Still, it's amazing it's still active!” Garrin exclaimed. “Three billion years is an impressive figure.”
“Yes it is,” Kirak confirmed, “but the Xarwen were a very advanced civilization, let us not forget. They had to equip the system with some self-sealing and self-repairing system, probably. They were durability experts. These same ruins bear witness to this. Anyway, we'll be right over. Deblar's on her way.”
“Can I come with you?” cried Nahr enthusiastically.
“It's okay,” Kirak replied, not very convinced. “But remember, at the slightest problem, you're flying away. Is that clear?”
“Yes, very clear,” Nahr replied without too much belief in his own words.
The three departed in a gentle flight to the area indicated by the instruments. The energy released by the old maintenance system was modulated to be captured only under a specific and rotational pattern by a pseudo-randomized algorithm, but the LauKlars had overcome this type of masking strategies thousands of years ago. State-of-the-art detection systems could detect traces of energy and gravity fields of tiny size at the edge of physics, even if they tried to hide themselves by imitating natural radiation patterns. In that case, it was not necessary; the signal was strong enough to detect it several hundred meters away clearly. However, it was invisible from a standard orbit.
They reached the area and settled down as they watched the surroundings. The area was converted to rust, but the old dome was still standing, thanks to an energy system similar to the one they were investigating, except that in the case of the dome the field was not coded, and had been detected from several light years away. Probably the field had been set aside for other purposes besides the dome support, and no one should have thought that this signal would lead to the other coded signal. Or maybe they had simply spent thousands of years between the two events. They could hardly ever know the truth.
But it didn't matter. At least not too much. Deblar arrived with the team of scientists who were studying the traces obtained in the area. Deblar had recently been promoted to Level One Supervisor, something that had not happened for centuries. Level one was only reserved for scientists of a truly exceptional level. Given the apparent importance of the finding they had just made, their experience and capacity were certainly much needed. Sometimes science finds itself faced with something unexpected that allows it to step forward where there was no hope. But the unexpected has to be sought, and Deblar had extensive experience in this.
The group began to move toward the source of radiation, while Kirak mentally ordered Nahr to wait in that area until any potential hazards had been cleared. Nahr seemed willing to refuse, but his father had been strict, and when his father was strict it was better to obey.
A radiation field concealed and hidden for thousands of years could have many surprises, be extremely unstable, and include traps for the curious. Deblar was an expert in this type of situation, so she would be the first to cross the area.
They entered through a narrow corridor that hardly allowed them to move and which had evidently been created for beings much smaller than themselves. Its ten meters of wingspan did not adapt well to closed areas, created for beings two meters high. Of course, for those beings that small corridor would be a main entrance of considerable size. As so often happens, everything depends on the observer's point of view.
After the corridor, they reached a large underground room, and found that the emission field was right in the middle, over what looked like a control table. The room had been vacuum-sealed for millions of years, and protected from light and any external influences. In fact, even in such extreme conditions, it was surprising that the whole structure remained standing. The Xarwen had carried out a very high level of engineering work, which even the plate tectonics had failed to destroy.
They placed several spotlights that at the time illuminated the camera almost entirely. Meanwhile, Deblar started operating on the old control table. The minds of the LauKlars were able to introduce themselves into a bioinformatics system and understand its basic functionality based on the protein structures found in their operating system. Biocomputers were the technological pinnacle of many species, and LauKlars had long understood that, in one way or another, the search for the best solution led to similar technological solutions in most advanced civilizations, similar to the evolutionary convergence of species. Deblar commented on what she was observing.
“It is a classic molecular computer system based on protein models and artificial RNA structures, containing all process and data information. Coded in these molecules is the information we're looking for.”
“Can you get the information?” Kirak asked.
“Yes, they are partially degraded, but the system is redundant on five levels, and I can get the data without problems. I've connected the system to our biocomputer, which is tracing the functionality of the operating system. It's pretty ad
vanced, no doubt. They did a good job here. Ah, we're beginning to read the information... Yes, interesting... Yes....”
“What readings are you getting?” asked Garrin this time.
“Basically, they are DNA and RNA molecules, diverse protein models, and memory n-grams of a basic level brain with deductive capacity belonging to a mammal... And they correspond... Yes... Exactly, they correspond to the human species in its final phase, shortly before its extinction. However, these samples are virtually intact.”
There was silence among all present. Even their minds didn't speak for a few seconds. Kirak finally broke the silence.
“And what's a human database doing on a Xarwen computer?” Deblar reflected for a moment.
“I don't know. I can't explain it to myself,” Deblar finally replied as she stared at the data. “It is clear that this data was stored here for a very long time to be preserved, and they have managed to do so. Kirak, this discovery could prove a research work of the Xarwen of the species known as humanity. We have many details of the Xarwen, which we have been collecting these weeks from different sources, but, as you know, humanity is still largely surrounded by mystery. We know it's extinct, and we know it was the first technological species on Earth. But these data are revolutionary for two reasons: because they contain very detailed information on human specimens, and because they make it clear that the Xarwen had somehow found a way to obtain very elaborate information on an extinct species. And even their memory n-grams. Not only do we have humans stored in this Xarwen biocomputer; we also have their minds.”
Deblar gave mental instructions to her team, and they quickly began to extract all the information from the Xarwen database into their own systems. Deblar, meanwhile, addressed Kirak verbally, looking at him with astonishment. This discovery could be the most important of the LauKlar science in the last thousand years...
Galactic Encyclopaedia: Xarwen species.
The Xarwen were a race of engineers and architects superior to almost any other known in the galaxy. Their instruments and designs have not only withstood the passage of time in a staggering way, but have also adapted automatically to all the circumstances of the planet to continue to exist in perfect condition, long after the Xarwen species itself disappeared. The exact mechanism to achieve this is unknown...
... Although many data on this species are known, it remains unclear why they did not develop the hyperluminal reactor, which would have allowed them to leave the solar system and begin to populate the galaxy. Other sources however indicate that they did develop this technology, but disappeared without a trace for unknown reasons...
... The Xarwen designed protein and RNA/DNA-based biocomputers and bio-devices that revolutionized the history of species in the galaxy. Other species have developed similar technologies, but none of them so amazingly effective...
The decision
“Kirak, I need your permission. You're the expedition leader.”
“I can't believe what you're thinking,” Kirak reflected mentally, perfectly reading the idea that formed in Deblar's mind.
“It's the only way to access and get all the information from these biocomputers.”
“But you know that our program doesn't include this sort of thing, and it's not convenient. We're researchers, we're archaeologists. We investigate the past, we don't mix with it. They had their chance. Their moment. They are part of the planet's remote history.”
“I know,” Deblar replied, looking up and moving her wings slowly. “But this discovery is exceptional. It can open up new frontiers in Xarwen research. It is generally believed that they did not develop the hyperluminal motor, but how did they achieve sequencing, not only of human DNA, but also of their memory n-grams? This doesn't make any sense,” Deblar whispered mentally as he slowly lifted and lowered her wings, a clear sign of confusion.
“Do I need to have it?”
“The what?” Deblar asked, coming out of a sort of trance.
“Sense. Is it necessary for all this to make sense?”
“What do you mean, Kirak? We're scientists. You said it yourself. It all must make sense.”
“Do you really think so?” Kirak asked as he raised his wings. “We're archaeologists, and we're paleo-scientists. We investigate the technological and scientific past of extinct cultures. It's not an exact science. There will always be holes. There will always be doubts. To pretend to know the reality in its entirety is simply impossible, we could not in a hundred thousand years of research cover 100% of the knowledge of the past that we investigate. And now you come up with this? Bring back to our time specimens who had their time, their opportunity, their moment? They died, and were inscribed in history as vestiges of a remote past. That someone or something determined to get their DNA and memory n-grams to store them is not our competence, nor should it be a reason for any foolishness. We can and must investigate what they do on the Xarwen biocomputers, but we must ask the remains before us, not them directly. They are part of the story. They cannot become part of that story.”
“It's 27, if you want to know the number,” Deblar said with determination.
“Twenty-seven, seventeen, seven, three, three, one... One would be enough to leave this subject as it is.”
“Kirak, the only sure way to find an answer to this puzzle is written precisely in the memory n-grams of this database. But n-grams can only be interpreted by the brain that created them. We need those brains. And those humans. With them back, we can directly ask them anything. Can't you see that? They'll be firsthand sources of information! We will bring ancient history to our times through their regenerated minds, and we will learn from them all that we can only speculate now!”
“Can't you simply regenerate mental structures and load the n-grams to read them directly? In one of our biocomputers you could recreate some of those brains in a virtual way, and try to read their minds.”
“I could, but it would take at least five years of work. And without a guarantee of success. Those brains were primitive, we don't know their exact structure, their neocortex was quite different from our brains. There are too many unknown variables.”
“Five years is better than regenerating those individuals,” Kirak said emphatically.
“Yes, but we don't know for sure what remaining stability the Sun has left. You know that in a normal process the Sun will slowly expand over several millennia, but it could also happen that in a matter of days it could expand violently and destroy what is left of the Earth. In that case we'd lose all the material still on the planet. And there may be a lot of secrets to discover... Besides, it's about our ancestors.”
“They are not our ancestors,” Kirak replied with displeasure. “We were not perfect, but we never reached the extremes of species such as humans, which were lost because of their eagerness for unlimited growth without counting on resources and means to grow in harmony with them. Not to mention the mystical obsessions of this kind of race. We had a slower development, but it has allowed us to expand across the galaxy and live with thousands of species, technological or otherwise.”
“In any case,” Deblar went on to say without paying attention to Kirak, “we must focus on the now. And now we have an opportunity to know what could be a discovery of a level that would modify the science of paleotechnology forever.”
Kirak, finally .and as expected, gave in. He was the leader of the expedition, but Deblar was an authority on the matter, and opposing it too much could bring him complications. In addition, 27 primitive and controlled individuals did not appear to represent a danger. After all, there were twenty-seven individuals of a primitive species, which would be isolated in a world incomprehensible to them. They would depend on the LauKlars for everything and everything. And perhaps they might even know secrets that would otherwise be buried forever.
Definitely, recreating human beings seemed a unique opportunity to explore the distant past of the original Planet, or Earth as they called it, directly and with witnesses from that
time. Besides, Deblar would end up getting it, with or without his permission.
Galactic Encyclopedia: Red Giants.
... The main sequence, in which most stars are found, is much larger than that in which they develop most of their stellar cycle, and this leads to drastic changes in the entire system of celestial bodies in their orbit, especially on the planets. Klaye Narrekkum was the one who determined with precision the first physical-mathematical model that would allow to know the complete cycle of a red giant, and how to calculate the transformation process until becoming a white dwarf....
In the last two billion years, the number of red giants and white dwarfs has increased, as a result of the final consumption of many stars in the Galaxy's main sequence. The pace of creation of new stars has been falling more and more sharply, which is creating a Galaxy with fewer stars in its main phase. It is estimated that the current star creation rate is approximately 5% of the first two billion years of the universe, when there was the largest production of massive stars based on hydrogen and helium and that, in their conversion as supernovae, created the rest of compounds that populate many stars and current planets, as well as the creation of life based on carbon...