Intrinsic: Book One of the Terran Cycle

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  Shit, I’m never gonna get to have sex again...

  Everyone was going somewhere and they weren’t slow about it. This place moved with speed and he had to be quick to move with it. A few minutes after being jostled around and bumped into, he managed to make his way to the edge. He was stopped by a transparent barrier at chest height which he guessed to be made of some type of plastic. He couldn’t find the right words for the view. He could see now that he was on a circular platform that looked big enough to wrap around the moon. He could see that above and below were identical ringed platforms that became narrower towards the middle. He could only see this from a particular angle as the space between the rings was filled with smaller platforms of different sizes and shapes. Each one had several bridges that connected the floating islands. He saw massive parks filled with a variety of coloured grass and trees he had never seen before. There were stalls lining the bridges in front of him and below with aliens of all kinds browsing the goods.

  Each level looked like a self contained city with thousands of people going about their business. Vehicles not unlike the ones on Earth were passing by using some type of anti gravity technology. The inside was actually busier than the outside. It was all so alien, yet so familiar. He saw them walking hand in hand and eating at restaurants, others were shopping for clothes and technology; children even ran past, looking like one of the scaly aliens with a toy ship in one of their hands. As alien as it was, it reminded him of any other human city.

  All at once the buzz came to a silent stop as the plastic barrier he was leaning on came to life. Every panel showed an alien head and shoulders with unreadable symbols beneath at the bottom of the screen. The alien had a long jaw with two small fangs protruding from its lower lip. The eyes were a golden swirl set against a black background with long milky tendrils flowing from its head. He had no idea what it was saying but it had everyone’s attention. As if in response to the video his visor changed allowing him to see in full colour again. The image of the head changed to a long purple ship covered in arcing spikes. He looked around as the masses watched the images on the barrier or on their own devices. As quickly as the alien appeared it vanished leaving the barrier’s transparent again.

  The buzz of activity doubled after that and huge groups started to form, all heading the same way. He had no idea where he was but he knew it would be harder to find him in a large moving crowd. He decided to blend in and go with the flow. He had no clue what had gotten everyone so excited.

  Before the view port was eclipsed by the Conclave, three ships moved into a blockade position across the bow of the Valoran. All three had a polished deep red hull with visible cannons and torpedo tubes. The backs of the ships were haloed in blue light that emanated from their engines. He had seen this design of ship in the data module and recalled Li’ara telling him they were Conclave security. She had explained it as one force that represented the Conclave and was made up of all species not just one. They were created to remove any bias between disputes or crimes committed by a particular race. They patrolled all Conclave borders and were not restricted by jurisdiction. Each Nebula Class ship such as these had the required armaments to obliterate a planet in a single strike.

  “We are being hailed Charge Telarrek.” Said Ilyseal.

  Telarrek bowed his head and Ilyseal reacted appropriately, by pressing something on the floating console in front of her. The console itself was spherical with a ninety degree angle removed from its surface. From this gap was displayed an orange holographic screen that reacted to her touch.

  Telarrek remained in his podium but the platform remained grounded in its housing. The space in front of them distorted for a moment before a full colour hologram appeared from nowhere. Kalian and Li’ara looked but could not see the emitters that projected it. The image sharpened until it was almost indistinguishable from a real form. Standing before them was a being as tall as any Novaarian but triple the width. Its head was thick and elongated up to a flat hairless circular top. It had two small eyes where you would expect them to be, though they were overshadowed by a hanging brow. The nose was a large pitted hole set high into the face almost between the eyes. Its mouth was like that of a cave with nothing but darkness inside when it spoke. Broad shoulders flowed into heavyset arms and three thick stubby fingers. The skin reminded Kalian of marble with streaks of grey and blue across a white rocky background. He imagined to bump into this individual would be like bumping into a rock face.

  “Greetings of peace, Charge Telarrek.” The voice was deep with a small echo to it. “You and your expedition have become the only topic of conversation of late. You have been gone many cycles, in secret no less.” The hologram began to pace the floor in front of them.

  Everything below the waist was just as alien. At the thighs the legs divided allowing for another pair of legs to extend to the floor. It walked up right but the back legs were always at an angle with inverted knees like the Novaarians’ high set ankles. The feet weren’t covered and they could see the front pair was spread between two marble toes and the rear feet were similar to hooves. Most of the body was dressed in a red tunic with black trousers that covered both pairs of legs. Kalian noticed a gold chain that hooked onto the high collar and the chest. Beneath this was a holographic display of medals and insignias.

  He was trying to recall everything about this particular race but always got them confused with the Revaneen, another species that inhabited the sector of space dominated by the Laronians, though they weren’t on the Highclave. Then it came to him, the being before him was a Raalak, one of the five races’ that did rule on the Highclave.

  “What we have found, High Charge Uthor, is of great importance.” Telarrek made a sweeping gesture to take them both in. “The Highclave requests the presence of this individual, Kalian Gaines. We shall dock at the Clave tower and present-” Uthor cut him off.

  “The Valoran will remain where it is.” The High Charge moved to stand before the small humans as he took in what he could only imagine were soft features. “I am sending a shuttle for you and them to board and together we will escort you to the council chamber. We are still processing all the information you sent us on their kind. Until we are satisfied with that information they will remain under my guard.” He paused at Telarrek’s podium before striding back to his space in the middle. “A warning from one old friend to another, the council members are not happy with Nova Prime’s concealment of your mission. Someone will have to take the fall for this; it breaks the Conclave’s pact on sharing information. Tread carefully, Telarrek...” His image imploded on itself in a ball of light.

  Telarrek looked at Kalian, “I am afraid what happens next is out of all our control.” Kalian gave Li’ara’s hand a tight squeeze.

  Not long after they found themselves in the hangar with Telarrek, Ilyseal and Namek who had been waiting for them. Kalian noticed the Fathom on the far side. It looked better than new with an exquisite shine and no sign of any damage.

  The shuttle Uthor spoke of was already at the end of the bay with two guards either side of the descended ramp. One guard he recognised instantly as a Laronian with their glittered scale like skin. They had done a lot of research into them on their journey here. They both wanted to get a better idea of who the terraforming team were dealing with and whether they were a threat. Just thinking about it made Kalian’s spine tingle with that particular feeling.

  Their information had been endless thanks to the openness of the Conclave rules regarding each species. They knew the Laronians were one of the founding members of the Conclave. They also knew that the Laronian borders held the most Intrinium deposits this side of the galaxy. Everything was to be shared in the Conclave, but Kalian would bet that a lot of deals were done in the shadows concerning who saw the profits. Their culture was heavily based on material gain and wealth. They often considered themselves above most other species leaving Conclave security to deal with disputes between them and the Revaneen or the Atari who also l
ived within their space.

  In a way it was thanks to their greed and want of monetary gains that led to Kalian even being here. If he tracked it back the only reason he was alive was because the Novaarians had detected their Solar Drive, which humans wouldn’t have if the mining ship hadn’t landed on Earth’s doorstep. Telarrek had told them that it was the secrecy of their find that had kept the other species from discovering humanity. It felt to Li’ara, and Kalian agreed, that they seemed like a race who always liked to have the upper hand. For this reason neither of them liked the idea of the Laronians finding the terraforming project.

  The other guard was a biped but a new alien all the same. Li’ara reminded him on their way over that it was called a Tularon, who lived within the sector space of the Shay. He, if it was indeed a he, was bald with rough brown skin and large black eyes surrounded by a tuft of fur-like hair. High Charge Uthor waited at the top of the ramp with his stubby fingers clasped behind his back. Telarrek informed them on their way down of the history between Uthor and himself. Telarrek had spent two centuries prior to his expedition serving in the Conclave security as Charge-of-a-ship. Telarrek had stepped away from his promotion as High Charge in preference for the observation mission on humanity. It was he who had recommended Uthor for the position.

  As they walked up the ramp Uthor remained firmly rooted in front of Kalian and Li’ara. He seemed even bigger in the flesh, or stone. His flat-top head sounded like two rocks grinding together as he looked down on them.

  “So the legends are true, they do exist.” Up close they could see his brown eyes were almost identical to their own, except for the horizontal pupils that were oval in shape. They fell under his scrutinizing gaze as he examined them. Kalian noticed his gaze linger on both their hands. For his size his movement was swift as he followed Telarrek into the main hold; Kalian couldn’t stop staring at his unusual legs. “I have been going over the information you supplied on this new threat. After this business with the Highclave I would like to debrief you on some of the specifics.” Telarrek bowed in acknowledgment.

  The journey was quick as the shuttle, which reminded Kalian of a fly with its two bulbous view ports around the cockpit, closed the gap between them and the planet. There were long screens along the main hold giving them a good view as they flew by. A soft female voice came over the speakers above.

  “Passing through the atmo-barrier now.” He didn’t know if it was the pilot or an automated voice but he had no clue what she was talking about. Seeing Li’ara and Kalian look at one another Telarrek explained.

  “You see up there?” He pointed with his larger finger at the upper hemisphere of the cracked planet. Following his direction they both saw what looked like a giant mechanical umbrella attached to the planet’s scorched surface. Looking across he could see more of them in the same line stretching across the planet’s gap as well as on the lower hemisphere. “You cannot see it but they generate a barrier allowing the planet’s interior to maintain a stable atmosphere. We have just passed through that said barrier.”

  “What about gravity? With the planet broken in half...” Li’ara let her statement go unsure of the science she was implying.

  “Everything is plated with gravity enhancers. Personally I prefer the feel of earth under my feet with a real gravity well. It has been too long since I have seen the sunrise over Nova Prime. Our blue sun creates a truly beautiful sky, unforgettable once seen.” It was the first time Kalian was really hearing about Telarrek’s life. He imagined at nine hundred and twelve he would have a lot of great stories to tell about his experiences.

  “I would like to see that one day.” It was Li’ara who had replied. Kalian could detect a certain longing in her look out of the stretching window. He felt a little impressed with himself for detecting such feelings in her. That sort of thing usually passed him by. It was strange to think that just a week ago he had never even known this woman. Now she was becoming the only person he had ever cared for? He hadn’t really taken the time to examine his feelings for her. There was an attraction he couldn’t deny, but they had been flung together by the worst of circumstances. He realised that, had they met in some other reality they wouldn’t have got on. She was a hardened soldier and he was a history lecturer with socialising issues. The thing was, he knew she was more than that. He had seen a softer side to her, a more human side. He knew her to be loving and at times even funny. All he wanted to do was hold her again and let her know everything would be ok, which was strange to him as he had never had that feeling for anyone.

  “It would be my pleasure. I grew up on Nova Prime but my pod, that is my family, lives on Bhavisha where I was hatched.” There were a few facts there that made Kalian blink. Li’ara saw his thoughtful expression and explained.

  “Novaarians aren’t born like us, they hatch out of eggs. Didn’t you read anything on the data module?” There was playfulness in her question.

  “I can’t read as well as you yet.” He continued the joke knowing how funny it was that a history lecturer couldn’t read very well. He did remember a reference to Bhavisha though; it was one of the many colonised planets within the Novaarians border. “What family do you have?” He asked.

  “My brother and his mate live on Bhavisha with their three hatchlings.” There was no mention of whether Telarrek had a mate but Kalian felt it would be rude to ask.

  Minutes later they were well past the barrier and into the heart of the Conclave. They couldn’t help but be impressed. The central tower, or Clave tower, was truly the biggest thing he had ever seen. It was covered in platforms that extended from the main body as well as docks that were inset into the tower.

  Ships flew by everywhere he looked, he couldn’t imagine how they avoided mid air collisions. It was that thought that jogged his memory of the A.I that governed such technicalities within the Conclave. He was still unsure of the idea of an A.I being created at all. Central Parliament law had been strict on the creation of artificial intelligence after the first attempt by one of the extinct corporations. History detailed the event vividly in hopes of warning further generations. A small moon sized station named the Daedalus had been required to build its hardware as well as a remote controlled station to house it in close orbit around the sun. The corporate engineers had taken precautions in their design knowing the potential dangers in creating a superior being as it were. They were right to do so.

  The A.I had taken six point four seconds to come to the realisation that it was the next stage in human evolution, and that humanity needed to be wiped out to make way for a new superior species, much the same way Homo sapiens had wiped out the inferior species before it. Seeing the human body through the eyes of a machine it could not make the distinction between what made up their bodies and its own. Therefore it came to the natural conclusion that it was the next step in their evolutionary journey. Subverting the onboard environmental controls it ejected every member of the stations team, all eight hundred of them. Detecting the virus it then implanted into the corporations mainframe a remote team who deactivated the thrusters on the housing station. The A.I was at the mercy of the sun, and merciful it was not.

  According to the data module the Conclave A.I had been designed by the Shay as their major contribution to give them a seat on the Highclave. The chief reason for the A.I’s creation had been for economic reasons. It controlled the standard clock used across all planets to allow for a massive economy to thrive across a plethora of worlds in different time zones. Its central hub was situated here in the Conclave, though it was capable of controlling all air and orbital traffic on every planet. If Kalian understood it right, the driver or pilot could decide to travel without the A.I’s guidance but it was widely considered to be suicide.

  Despite the fact that it maintained all the shared information its ability to learn was stunted. The Highclave had put restrictions on how far the Shay could go with the A.I’s development to ensure it never achieved full self awareness. Li’ara had explained it as
the Conclave controlling an artificial child that only wanted to please its parents.

  Kalian was eager to meet these Shay. The race as a whole was obsessed with artificial enhancements and in some cases replacements. Li’ara had mentioned that the Highclave had also put restrictions on this type of biological modification. If an individual went too far, Shay or otherwise, with enhancements or modification they brought into question their existence and the rights owed to them. Were they living or machine? This was a question the Highclave could not answer and subsequently placed strict laws over it.

  The shuttle landed on an expansive platform that stretched out in a teardrop shape. The two guards made for the exit as the doors slid open and the ramp extended from its hiding place. The light poured in blinding him momentarily, but his ears couldn’t miss the sound. He guessed there to be a large crowd beyond the shuttle all shouting at once. The after images faded away to a welcoming he hadn’t expected.

  “Your discovery is new here. There are a lot of people eager to see you.” Telarrek extended both of his left arms gesturing for them both to depart. They descended the ramp together as a massive crowd of aliens stood behind a line of Conclave security. There were small machines, which reminded Kalian of the hover-bots that worked on the ships in The Hub, darting around above the crowd with spotlights pointed at Li’ara and himself. He made out the lenses reflecting in the light and wondered if they were cameras broadcasting their arrival.

  There were aliens he had never seen before standing in the crowd all with some hand held device they were pointing at them. Were these reporters? It was a strange feeling to think how similar their worlds were. The guards had formed a line of bodies that the reporters obviously knew not to cross. The High Charge made his way across the platform heading straight for the centre of the masses. His stride never slowed and the crowd must have known from experience that he wouldn’t stop as they parted down the middle for him. The guards followed him down forming a column for Kalian and the others to follow. He could barely hear himself think as the throng of voices threw questions at him, most of which he couldn’t make out.