by Ivan Kal
“What did they want to do? How did they contain them?” Adrian asked.
“The enemy grew by feeding on biological matter, on life. They denied them that. They purged all life for ten thousand lightyears in all directions around the enemy, denying them the fuel they needed to grow. That did not stop their growth—there was still materials for them to use—but it did slow it down considerably, allowing the machine armies a chance of slowing their advances through the galaxy significantly. The AIs were programmed to never allow any life inside that ten-thousand-lightyear border. Each time the enemy pushed the machines back, the machines would expand the border, even if there was intelligent life in their way.”
“They were wiping out entire civilizations?” Adrian asked.
“Yes. I argued against it, but others ignored me. They believed that they couldn’t risk that the enemy grew any larger. I left, and created you.”
“You wanted us to fight them? When even you couldn’t, with all your technology?” Adrian asked incredulously.
“I might not have agreed with their plan, but it did give me time to attempt my own. Your three races have our legacy, but you weren’t born in a time when there was no life in the galaxy. You have known struggle, conflict, war. You are much better suited to fight this threat than a group of dying scientists. We were never warriors; already you have adapted technologies we developed to military use, something we never did.”
“But why not find a warlike race and give them the technology, give them time to prepare to fight?” Adrian asked.
“When you are as old as I was, you learn to look far into the future. I couldn’t risk giving technology to someone who would abuse it afterwards in case they won. I chose to trust in my children rather than a race that was young and had no connection to me. The few we uplifted to fight the enemy initially were not as advanced evolutionary as we were; they had very little capabilities with the Sha. And in any case, it would take much more than a single race to defeat them now,” Axull Darr said. “You need to grow, find allies, and raise them with you. Only a united galaxy can stand a chance against them.”
Adrian looked at him in understanding. “You want us to rule the galaxy, just like the Shara Daim believe. You want us to unite it under our leadership.”
“Yes. It is the only way.”
“So the Shara Daim are right; they, or rather we, are destined to rule the galaxy.” Adrian chuckled, “When they heard the beacon, you—their you—must’ve told them that, but when they lost the sphere, the message must’ve been corrupted. They started believing that all other life was insignificant.”
“It is possible. All three of us who inhabit the spheres, are unique, we can think and make decisions by ourselves. I don’t know why he would’ve told them so soon, before they were ready, but there might be something that we are unaware of. Something that made him decide to tell them.”
“How do we even know that this enemy is still out there? Perhaps the others figured out a way to stop them,” Adrian said.
Axull Darr shook his head sadly. “No, they are still out there. The proof was in the ship you recovered on Earth long ago.”
“The Union ship?” Adrian asked.
“Yes. From its data, you learned that the Union was attacked by an incredibly advanced enemy that they had no chance of winning against. I reviewed the data and confirmed that the enemy was the machines my people created. They were pushing the border, eradicating life within it. That means that the enemy has pushed at least forty thousand lightyears from the area they inhabited before I split.”
“That was a long time ago…how much do you think they could’ve pushed since then?” Adrian asked.
“That is a progress of millions of years; the time that passed since the Union was attacked till now is insignificant in comparison. I doubt that the enemy has pushed much further. And you are on a completely opposite side of the galaxy; you have plenty of time before you encounter the machines or the enemy. I planned it like that; I put you as far away as I could to give you time to grow,” Axull Darr answered.
Adrian sighed in relief, then looked at Axull Darr. “You said that your people started dying because you needed more Sha. Did Axull Darr continue searching for the cure?”
“The damage was already too much; his only hope of a cure was to be infected with the artificial lifeform just like the three. And that was not something that he would even consider doing.”
“And what about us, will we have the same problem in the future?” Adrian asked.
“No, Axull Darr made sure that your code contained failsafes that will allow you to evolve even if you meddle.”
Adrian nodded. “So how long do you think it will be before we stand a chance, at least technologically?”
“I can’t say for certain. Your growth was already extremely fast compared to that of other life in the galaxy, even before the knowledge from me. Now you are growing even faster. But it will still be several thousand years at least before you are able to match what my people were at the height of our civilization.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Several Days later — December; Year 55 of the Empire — Bloodbringer
Anessa was one hundred and thirty-six years old on the day she was first called into the Hall of the Ages by the Elders of Shara Daim. She remembered feeling pride, joy, and fulfillment. Her loyalty and devotion had been rewarded, and she was being raised to be the first among the Dai Sha, the leader of the First Legion.
The Elders had spoken to her in person, giving her praise for rising so high so fast. They returned her trust in them, by calling on her personally, by telling her how proud of her they were. Anessa remembered her father, who too had believed that she would one day stand before the Elders as the first among the Dai Sha. She had finally done it. She was a servant of the Elders before everything and everyone else.
She had never strayed from her goal, focusing everything she had and was towards serving. And the day the Elders raised her up was the happiest of her life.
Anessa watched from her chair as Bloodbringer dropped from trans-space, followed by the rest of the ships of the First and Fourteenth Legions, those that had survived the attack on the Empire. Almost immediately, her ships pinged the station that she knew was orbiting the fifth planet in the system and got the real-time scans of the system. Her holo updated, and she saw a Legion in the orbit around the planet, the Seventh Legion. Anessa winced; she didn’t know whether the Dai Sha in command—Barask—was a part of Garaam’s little group, but their presence was a complication.
She could still barely process what Garaam had told her. However, there was too much information in support of Garaam’s suspicions. According to her, the Elders had been killing off powerful Dai Sha for centuries. Anessa couldn’t believe it when Garaam had told her, but the more she spoke, the more truthful her story had become.
There were always nine Elders; once one died, the oldest and the most powerful Dai Sha ascended to the spot, abandoning their previous name and taking the mantle of an Elder. The procedure for a Dai Sha becoming an Elder was simple: when they received the summons, they would go to Shara Radum for a year of contemplation and study. During that time, all records and mentions of their life up to that point were deleted from the Shara Daim nets, and by the end of the year, it was as if the Dai Sha hadn’t even existed. Then they ascended to the mantle.
Only, according to Garaam, that was not what happened. The Dai Sha that was chosen never gained the spot, they simply disappeared. The last time a Dai Sha was chosen had been seventy years ago. Anessa had been a rising Dai Sha then; she hadn’t paid attention to all the other Dai Sha, so she couldn’t remember what he even looked like. And there were no records for her to look through and then compare to the Elders she’d seen on her last visit to Shara Radum. There were few who remembered him now, and even those who did remembered him as younger, and the Elders all looked old. And they rarely met with anyone in person; even their guard rarely interacted wit
h them.
Garaam and her group believed that the Elders never raised a Dai Sha to the mantle, but instead someone who they molded for the spot from birth. Their theory had some holes, though. For instance, the Elders didn’t die at the rate they were supposed to; it was usually anywhere between ninety and one hundred and fifty years between the deaths of an Elder. The Shara Daim lifespan was around four hundred years, and coupled that the youngest Dai Sha ‘raised’ to the mantle was three hundred and twenty, the Elders should have been changing their members much more often. Garaam had told her that they believed the Elders had something that allowed them to extend their lives, but now with what they had learned from Axull Darr, there was another explanation: the Elders didn’t die at all. Everything about them was a farce, their old appearance only one of their lies. They didn’t even know how old they were. Anessa remembered them talking about how the Shara Daim had lost the device. She remembered their tone of voice, the conviction in their words. Almost like they had been there to see it.
Now with the knowledge that Shara Daim shouldn’t age and die, there was too much evidence to support the theory that the Elders had been lying all along. Everything that had once seemed perfectly normal now made Anessa suspicious. The fact that there was no information on the Elders, that they never left Shara Radum, that they had doctored history, kept their people in the dark—it all pointed to the conclusion that Garaam and her group were right. The Elders had been manipulating the Shara Daim in order to keep themselves in power.
Now Anessa and Garaam were going to find out the truth, even if it meant destroying what the Shara Daim were. Anessa opened a channel to Garaam, and a moment later, her friend appeared in front of her, her expression furious.
“The Seventh Legion, are they a part of your group?” Anessa asked.
“Yes, but we have a problem. I just spoke with Barask. The Erasi have attacked the Har Aras, Har Kaleras, and Har Nara sectors. We have already lost six systems.”
“What?” Anessa demanded, caught off guard.
“The system guards were overwhelmed; the Erasi invasion force is believed to be around sixty Legions strong. Our Legions are out of position; the closest ten Legions are months away, the trans-routes back would take longer. And the Elders have ordered twenty Legions assigned to the invasion of the Empire to go back to defend,” Garaam said, and Anessa understood from where the anger came.
“Only twenty? With those numbers, they can do nothing but slow them down!” Anessa said.
“Yes, the Elders have made clear that the priority is the capture of the Human homeworld and the device,” Garaam said.
“Even if our people are dying in the meantime?” Anessa asked incredulously.
“They believe that taking the Human homeworld is more important.”
Anessa didn’t really want to believe it; even if the Elders had lied, they had still guided Shara Daim for a long time. But their reaction to the Erasi invasion only served to push her over the edge, convince her that they didn’t really care as long as they got what they wanted. “What are the other Dai Sha saying?” Anessa asked. “I can’t believe that they are happy with those orders.”
“They are split. Some believe it is a wrong call but accept the Elders’ orders; others want to disobey the Elders but they don’t dare. It is all they know.”
“We need all the Legions to defend our people, Garaam.”
“I know, but there is nothing we can do. We should go to Shara Radum and find out the truth about the Elders. If we get proof, we might be able to remove them from power,” Garaam said.
Getting the proof would be hard. If they were right, the Elders had had millennia to cover their tracks. And Anessa knew that they didn’t have the time to be stealthy, to gather information and proof to show her people. No, they couldn’t wait. Even if most of what she knew was a lie, there was one thing that was still the truth. Shara Daim were warriors at their core; they lived for a fight, for war and conquest and honor. Something in Anessa cracked; all that she had believed in had been shattered. But there was one thing that Anessa couldn’t allow; out of all of her beliefs, there was one that still held true. Anessa was supposed to protect the people. And to do that, Anessa knew exactly what she needed to do.
“No. I am going to send a message to all Legions through the net, ordering them to gather for the defense against the Erasi. I’m the first among the Dai Sha; in emergencies, I command all of the Legions,” Anessa said authoritatively.
Garaam frowned. “That is true, technically. You are the first because you are the strongest, but I don’t know how many would defy the Elders to listen to you.”
“Enough will. They already want to go, I will just give them a little push.”
“The Elders will countermand your orders as soon as they learn of them,” Garaam added.
“By then I will have reached Shara Radum,” Anessa said.
“We don’t have enough proof to remove them from power, Anessa,” Garaam said. “Going there will only get you imprisoned for ignoring their authority.”
“No, we have proof. The Elders are ignoring our people; they are leaving our territory vulnerable to invaders, just because they want more power. They are willing to sacrifice millions for greed. Their actions are all the proof I need. Send me everything that you and your group have discovered, and take yours and Barask’s Legions and go to the Har Aras sector. I’m going to order the Legions to go to the closest invaded sectors. Once you are there, take over command for the defense,” Anessa said.
“What are you planning to do, Anessa?” Garaam asked uneasily.
“What I was raised to do: protect the Shara Daim.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
One month later — January; Year 56 of the Empire — Sanctuary
“I can’t believe that you got him to tell you,” Seo-yun said.
“I think that it had to do with the fact he met someone from the Shara Daim. I think that there are still things that he is keeping from us,” Adrian said.
He, Seo-yun, and Tomas were in their study, the two of them sitting on the couch and Adrian in the chair across from them. He had arrived in Sanctuary only a few hours ago, and had already returned the sphere to Seo-yun’s research department.
“Why do you think that?” Tomas asked.
“Just a feeling. Some things just don’t align perfectly with his story. I can’t point anything out, I just feel like there is something that he is holding back. And then there is the other thing that I have been wondering for a while,” Adrian said.
“What?” Seo-yun asked.
“Have you ever wondered where the remains of their civilization are?” Adrian asked. “They were living in this galaxy for a great chunk of its existence; there should be something left.”
“Axull Darr said that they had been dismantling and destroying everything as their population dropped, only keeping enough to sustain the current population,” Seo-yun answered.
“I think that there is more to it; they couldn’t have possibly destroyed everything. They built things to last. But it doesn’t really matter right now, what does matter now is this enemy.”
“Axull Darr said that it will take a long time for us to encounter them,” Tomas said.
“Yes, but we need to start preparing now. I told you everything that he said. They have the technology of the People, in addition to whatever they’ve discovered since then, and their biotech,” Adrian said, “We can’t rely on the technology from the sphere; we need to start researching in different directions, revise every technology they have and try to improve.”
“We are already doing that, Adrian,” Seo-yun said.
“Yes, but it isn’t enough. I know that you think that this is a problem for the far future, but we can’t afford to think about it that way. We need to make sure that we are ready when we do meet them.” Adrian turned to Tomas. “And we need allies. Adding other races to the Empire is a great way of boosting our strength, but not every race will want to jo
in us, not at the price we are asking. We need to make alliances that will last.”
“The only candidates for alliances are the Erasi and Shara Daim,” Seo-yun said. “If everything we’ve learned about the Erasi is true, then even if they allow different races into their empire, they are manipulators and elitist. And the Shara Daim are…well, you know what they are.”
Adrian nodded. He did know. “I still have hope that the Shara Daim will change. Perhaps Anessa will manage to convince her Elders. The Erasi, well…We’ll see how they respond to our message. Laura told me that the Fleet has plans for their stealth ships in our territory.”
Tomas shrugged. “We’ll meet other races. Already I have reports from Laura that some of our exploration fleets in the coreward and anti-spinward directions have encountered spacefaring races. The galaxy isn’t empty.”
“No, it isn’t. But we need to alter our plans, Tomas. We need to expand faster.”
“First, we need enough ships to defend ourselves. The plan is for fifty fleets in ten years, five fleets per year, and that is in addition to the stations and defense platforms we are building,” Tomas said.
“I know, but we can push the Forge more, and you can pressure the Clans to pause their projects and focus on shipbuilding. With every Clan, we can do it in half that,” Adrian said.
Tomas shook his head. “That would be a hard sell. They need to expand in order to sustain their population growth. Half of every Clans’ resources goes to expanding their infrastructure and colonization.”