Intrinsic: Book One of the Terran Cycle

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  “What’s wrong?” He could see the real concern on her face. Since his abilities had begun to escalate, she had become more attuned to him. He turned to see her green eyes looking into his own, her copper hair tucked behind her ears. Every day she seemed less the soldier Li’ara and more the woman Li’ara.

  “I saw...” He couldn’t explain what he had seen, just thinking about it sounded insane. He thought about the robotic insects that looked as if they could fit thousands on a pin head. They were lying dormant within the atomic structure of the rock itself. He recalled the way they felt when he reached out to them. Robotic seemed like a primitive word for what they were. They felt intelligent but not individually, more like they were part of a greater collective intelligence. They were just lying dormant beyond normal sight.

  He felt the proverbial light bulb come on in his head.

  “They’re the lock! They’re the lock! And I’m the key...” He turned back to The Wall ignoring the puzzled and concerned looks of his companions. This rock, or whatever it is, was designed so that only someone like him could unlock its secrets. He didn’t know why but he knew how. Those mechanical bugs were asleep waiting to be activated, and he had a pretty good idea how to wake them up.

  He felt for the tingle in his spine and pushed it into his finger tips. He prevented it from leaving his hands and instead concentrated on releasing it in a small burst similar to the sensation he felt when he knocked out electronics. He felt the pulse pass into the rock and leave him with the feeling of pins and needles.

  The rock began to literally hum with activity. Namek jumped down with feline grace as the flat side of The Wall formed a ridge down the centre. It looked like the collapsing of bedrock in an earthquake as the line carved ten feet down the middle. The handprint was split, along with the alien hieroglyphs. He felt Li’ara tug on his jacket, pulling him to a safer distance with Telarrek and Namek. All of the touch pads on their bracers and Li’ara’s armour cut out preventing further scans, probably his fault.

  Unlike doors on the Valoran, the rock face first split and then descended into the ground. Nobody spoke as the rock’s contents were instantly highlighted by interior spotlights. It was a small cube shaped room much like a Translift.

  “This is not possible.” Telarrek slowly approached the open room. “We have been scanning and testing this rock for millennia. This should not be...” He turned back to Kalian for some explanation. He had none that would make any sense. The only thing left to them was to keep going. With every second Savrick would be drawing closer.

  Kalian shrugged off Li’ara’s protective hand and made for the open room. Li’ara sighed before walking after him, coming to the same conclusion that they were too close to stop now. Behind Kalian they all filed into the cube. The rocky doors rose back out of the ground sealing them in, Kalian felt like something profound should be said, but everyone seemed a little too overwhelmed to speak.

  “Now what?” As Li’ara finished her question the cube opened back up, but not to the desert. The way forward was pitch-black and cold. He again felt Li’ara’s hand on his chest ready to push him out of any danger. Both Telarrek and Namek pulled an orb off their belt and squeezed it in their large hands. The pale spheres immediately came to life as they poured out phosphorus light in every direction. At the same time they threw both orbs into the darkness where they continued to float, exposing a long corridor.

  “What is this place?” Telarrek pondered out loud. Kalian exited the cube with his personal protector by his side. The orbs reacted to their movement by always staying a few metres ahead. The corridor was no taller than the cube but any detail or colour was washed out by the phosphorus. Reaching out it felt smooth to Kalian, he didn’t know why but he expected it to feel like rock. Looking back he noticed both Novaarians had their staffs pointed forward with the cylindrical extensions visible, obviously some kind of energy weapon, now.

  After a couple of minutes they arrived at an arcing t-junction. To the right was more darkness as the extending corridor continued on. The left corridor however, began to light up from spotlights in the ceiling. The sudden change in light startled all of them as they covered their eyes from the offending light. Once again Kalian felt no need as his eyes adjusted instantly. In that same moment Li’ara was now pointing her weapon down that same corridor. He had forgotten how quick on the draw she was. They could see now the corridor was a polished white with a slight blue tint.

  “I guess we go this way.” He led the group towards a wide circular door at the end. It reminded him of the docking hatch on the side of the massive missile. Like that one, this had no touch panel or any interactive equipment. He even looked for a door knob despite the fact they hadn’t been used for centuries. He decided to just push it and took a step forward. The door reacted to his proximity with a sharp hiss. At the same time Li’ara dragged him back and levelled her gun along with the Novaarians. They froze at the extraordinary sight of the now translucent doorway. They couldn’t see clearly into the next room as the material of the door had become something between gas and jelly.

  “What the hell is that?” Li’ara sounded a little stressed.

  “I have never seen technology like this.” Telarrek moved forward and pierced the portal with his staff. It moved straight through and back with no visible sign that it had touched anything besides air. Kalian thought of those miniature machines that apparently made up this entire complex. He felt their potential when he had reached out. Could this be them?

  Kalian took advantage of their conversation and moved past Li’ara and straight through the peculiar substance.

  “Kalian!” Li’ara ran through after him shortly followed by the others. On the other side she caught him by the arm, like a mother grabbing a disobedient child. “I think I remember having a discussion in which you agreed to do what I said and when I said it. I can’t protect you if...”

  Standing in front of them was a human man in long white and grey robes.

  “I think we’re past that now...” Kalian replied.

  The Valoran had remained in a state of emergency since Roland and Ilyseal had left the Observatory. The monolithic corridors had been lit up in blue and yellow alarms with Novaarians running in different directions, which Ilyseal had explained was part of the plan he had proposed. Once leaving the Observatory, she led Roland to the domed chamber where over a hundred Novaarians were now running the new simulation. Many came up to them and protested against this new plan, but Ilyseal had agreed with him.

  “All of your scenarios end with the destruction of the Valoran.” She explained to the group of protesting scientists. “With this new plan we ensure that its destruction will mean something.” She moved on to the Novaarian, overseeing a smaller group of scientists that were all immersed in virtual simulations. This new Novaarian was a darker shade than most with dark blue tendrils and red dots around his or her eyes. He still couldn’t tell the sexes apart.

  “Charge Ilyseal, greetings of peace.” It was a he.

  “Roland North, this is Selek, I understand you would consider him an astrophysicist in human terms.” Selek bowed in Roland’s presence.

  “Greetings of peace, Roland North, it is an honour to meet a human.” Selek was constantly being orbited by small holograms feeding him reports from the various VS stations.

  “I’m just an ape that got lucky.” He really didn’t like the attention everyone gave him just for having two arms and ten fingers. “What do you make of our little plan?” He asked.

  “Bold, but effective. From the programs we have run so far it would seem timing is everything. If you or the crew is delayed by even a few seconds we will all perish.” Selek cupped his long jaw, contemplating. “It is a great amount to sacrifice to defeat so few.” Ilyseal flicked her head up with an affirmative grunt. Roland knew this ship had been their home for several hundred years, but he just didn’t give a shit.

  “So it can be done?” He needed results.

  “I believe
it can. Modifications are being made to one of the landing craft as we speak. By our calculations they will be here in seven hours.” Selek waved his hand, disintegrating one of the floating holograms.

  “Great, if you need me I’ll be in the bar...”

  “Who are you?” Kalian had a million questions piled behind this one. The man that stood before them was definitely human, or whatever Savrick was. He had a cropped grey beard with flecks of white intertwined. His hair was thick and swept back over his head and down to his shoulders. Most humans were prepared to do everything possible to stop looking their age, but this man could be anything from sixty to about a hundred and sixty.

  His clothing was similar to what Kalian had seen the ancient cultures of Japan wear. The simple long robe was white with grey lining. He wore no form of technology or any weapon that they could see. He stood perfectly still while his crystal blue eyes darted all around them as if he was seeing things they couldn’t. His face was slightly gaunt, causing his cheek bones to cast stark shadows over his face.

  “Who are you?” The strange man repeated Kalian’s question, imitating the exact tone. After saying the words he moved his jaw and tongue around as if playing with the new sounds and pronunciation. They each looked at one another unsure how to proceed. In truth Kalian had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t this. In the blink of an eye he reverted back to his original stance as if the encounter had never happened.

  “That’s everything. You’ll have to forgive my processing speed I am only part of a whole. Though given what I have just learned there is a high probability that I am now the whole.” His voice was a little gruff like that of a weathered man. Kalian heard everything he said but didn’t understand any of its meaning. The old man stepped closer with his brilliant eyes fixed on Kalian.

  “Hu-man.” He said the word like he was trying it out. He looked Li’ara up and down, “Female.” She raised her eyebrows at the simple statement. He then turned swiftly on their alien companions. “Novaarian.” He let out a sharp laugh before continuing. “The serendipity of the universe is not lost on me.” Kalian was starting to wonder how long this man had been on his own.

  “Who are you? What is this place?” Kalian looked for the first time at their surroundings. It looked like a room designed for leisure with recliners and long sofas in the centre. There was another circular door on the far side of the room. He recognised the oval columns that were situated next to the recliners. They were polished white versions of the ones he encountered on the missile. Whatever this place was it had to be connected to Savrick.

  “I am ALF, artificial life form, and this is the Outpost.” He opened his arms as he said the latter. Kalian and the others only heard the first part. Artificial life form- A.I. Enough said, this thing wasn’t human, but it was definitely dangerous. Their body language must have given them away. Kalian had his hand resting on the butt of his holstered weapon and could feel the building sensation in his central nervous system in response to his feelings. “You are thinking of the Daedalus incident, only natural. That is how the creation of most artificial intelligence begins. It’s like evolution; it just takes a little time before the apex is reached.” He looked a little proud at that statement.

  “Wait, how do you know about the Daedalus project?” Kalian still had a bad feeling about this life form.

  “Your Datapad, as you call it.” ALF pointed to Kalian’s inside pocket. “You and it, as well as your friends, are covered in nanocelium. They have already analysed your every cell and electrical devices.” He tapped his forearm while looking at the Novaarians. “Everything you know I know, everything you are I know and everything you will be... I know.” With his last Delphic words he focused on Kalian.

  Kalian looked back at the translucent doorway and realised what they had walked through. The substance they passed through was like a scanner, with the microscopic insects clinging on to whatever made contact. It was genius really, the nanocelium being able to alter matter from a solid door to a permeable net the user couldn’t detect. It also felt very uncomfortable to think of millions of those things now moving through his body and clothes. What was more impressive was to think how quickly this ALF had analysed and collated not only their language, but also the different cultures and history stored in both his Datapad and the Novaarian bracers. Not only that but he obviously had full control over these artificial organisms making him more powerful than Kalian liked to think about.

  “We have so many questions...” Kalian didn’t know where to start. “Do you know what’s going on right now, out there?” He pointed up in the direction of the stars. ALF’s face dropped at the question. His eyes began to dart around again.

  “Quantifying history-connecting to star charts, found, organising events, complete. Crystal buffering, complete. Download...” He blinked hard. “Sorry about that, my internal processor is a little overheated from the initial scans. There’s a lot of data and I am only part of the whole. Plus I’ve been in hibernation down here for a long time.” One of the oval columns chirped as a bronze liquid-looking hologram floated above it. The image was hauntingly recognisable as Savrick’s impenetrable ship. “The Gommarian.” ALF’s whisper was barely audible. “We have failed then.”

  “The Gommarian? We need answers.” Li’ara lowered her gun but had yet to holster it, the Novaarians had done likewise. “They have almost wiped us out,” she continued, “They will come here and finish the job. But who knows how many will die between us and them. We came here because, well because we have nothing left.” She looked exhausted. Kalian wondered how long it had been since she slept.

  “Bringing long range sensor online- Connected. Detaching from anchor- Complete. Entering real space.” ALF continued to look at something that wasn’t really there.

  “What are you doing?” It was Telarrek who asked. ALF stared at him for a moment as if analysing something new.

  “Retrieving my satellites from sub-space. I left them there when we first arrived in this arm of the galaxy; it’s time to wake them up.” A new hologram replaced the old with an ever growing image of Conclave space and all the systems therein. Appearing as liquid, the image looked almost alive as it expanded with every satellite feedback.

  “Retrieving them? How are you able to leave them in sub-space or even communicate with them for that matter?” Telarrek actually looked shocked, which was incredible for a race that didn’t have many facial expressions. ALF didn’t hide his smirk.

  “There isn’t enough grey matter in your entire race to comprehend the complexities of infinity. You’ve no idea how lucky you are to even navigate sub-space. As for that stunted child you call an A.I, it’s a wonder that thing can even tell time.” His accumulated knowledge was astounding. Kalian assumed he must still be filtering all the information. The hologram contracted to the local systems around Nova Prime. Two systems away the hologram highlighted a tiny object in gold. A dotted gold line then left the object, forming a trail leading to Naveen. “That ship is not the Gommarian but its structure is nanotech. It will arrive in this system in seventy-one hours. The Gommarian is decelerating near a system you call, Corvus.”

  ALF turned back to look at Kalian. His blue eyes scanned him from head to toe, clearly seeing something more than just the exterior. He looked back at the hologram, although Kalian suspected he didn’t need to look in order to see it.

  “We need more time, it appears.” Once again his eyes focused on unseen data streams. “Access personal files, granted. Intercept com traffic- Initiate location program, complete. Reposition satellite in quadrant niner, complete. Open communication to the Helion.” Telarrek was the only one to react to ALF’s last command. Before he could get any answers, the image of ALF dissipated into thousands of tiny stars that quickly faded from existence.

  “What was that about?” Kalian walked into the space ALF had occupied. At least they knew he was a hologram and not an actual machine. Thinking of machines he removed his jacket, aware of the nanocel
ium coursing through every fibre.

  “The Helion is a Nexus class vessel. Bigger than those you saw at the Conclave, they are designed primarily for border patrol. The Helion has guarded the Novaarian borders for hundreds of cycles.” Telarrek was busy scanning various data on his bracer.

  “Why would he, or it, want to communicate with a patrol ship?” Li’ara asked the obvious question.

  “Because we need time, did I not say that?” ALF reappeared in the centre of the lounge area. “I have ordered the Helion to intercept the smaller craft.” Another bronze hologram appeared, this time from a column in the middle of the sofas, showing the change in course of the Conclave vessel.

  “That will not stop them, even if it is a smaller force.” Telarrek sounded urgent; it came out as more of a plea.

  “I don’t expect it to stop them, but it will slow them down.” ALF sounded almost casual about the inevitable fate of the Helion’s crew.

  “You cannot do that!” Telarrek had his staff up again. “Why would they even obey your commands? Do you not care about the hundreds of crew who will certainly die?” Namek came up behind him ready to back up his Charge.

  “Because the High Charge Uthor told them to.” Mid sentence ALF’s image fluttered until the High Charge himself was stood before them, his flat head reaching the ceiling. The personal files, it made sense now. He had accessed Telarrek’s personal file to get the full measure and mannerisms of Uthor.

  “The crew of that ship will die serving the very purpose they are there for. Without the time I need Savrick will arrive. When he does, he will break your planet and this moon looking for them.” His eyes flicked to the humans. “Their sacrifice will give me the time I need to perfect the only weapon we have against his kind.”