by Don Koch
The leader of scouts said, “Yes, yes, we understand.”
Trilx said, “wait”, and went to each scout and touched the arrows in each quiver. As he did so, all of the arrows fell into a pile of splinters within the quivers with no segment larger than an inch in length. “Now go and show this to your leader and describe what you have seen here. He will not be permitted to harm you. Thereafter each of you return to your home and take up a different occupation or suffer the consequences. GO NOW!”
The six scouts departed as if all the demons from hell were following them. The Gar then projected back to the camp. Trilx said, "Thank you friend Hank. I now understand why you employ this tactic and also why you enjoy it so much. I think those poor souls will set a new record time for their return to the castle."
Franz was wide eyed with amazement. Hank saw this and said, “In a weeks time, you too will be able to perform actions similar to this. We will explain what you saw and how it is done. The warning I would give you is that, if in the perception of the observing AI in orbit around this world, you are abusing this ability, the capability will be removed from you, so you must use it for the benefits of others and not for only your own benefit.” Hank turned to the Gar members with a huge grin and a thumbs up saying, “Really well done team, that was well played. Wira, you hit exactly the right fear button with the ‘looks like food’ comment. That poor sucker is going to have nightmares for some time to come. Trilx, your disintegrating those arrows was a good touch. There is no way they could replicate such evidence, I also like the idea that the scouts can’t be harmed for reporting what they have seen. Barana and Corina, after they report, transport them to their homes separately. Please be sure that they are not harmed. That should put them out of harms way. You might suggest to them that they move on to a distant village or town and give them the means to do so. That should put the king into a further frenzy. Barana and Corina, I just thought of another thing we can do in the interim. Damp down the kings telepathic ability to such a low level that he can only hear us when we want him to receive and can not receive or detect another telepath standing right next to him.”
Hank then addressed the families saying, “Well that is the start of things. Now it is time to get your training underway. We are going to send your wagons and possessions back to your homes. Those will have protection umbrellas place over them that only you and those friendly to you can enter. Your animals will be cared for. You will be sent to a vessel in the sky that looks like a rich mans home where you will live for the coming week or so while you are trained and equipped for your coming quest. I think you will find the quarters to be spacious and it has amenities that you will find hard to believe. All will be explained to you when you arrive. Are you all ready to go?”
All agreed and Barana transported them up. The rapport team returned and broke rapport.
Chapter 13: A Little Training and Preparation
Station 1 in Saark Orbit –
October 17 – C Day 413
The following morning, Hank and Sam asked Barana to contact Franz and his family to discuss the training regimen. Franz said that all the family was up and had experienced a restful sleep. He also realized that he seemed to know things he did not know previously and was worried about that. Hank said that he would explain and asked if they would care to join him and Sam on Station One for breakfast. They were all teleported directly to the interior of the big lodge where Hank and Sam had been married. Also present were Kar, Loriella, Ben and Mary Pine, and Ben Junior, now 4 years old. The windows were opaque but the room was bright and cheery. Hank and Sam greeted them on arrival. Hank said that the view was blocked for the moment and explained, “you have all lived your entire lives on a planet where the view you experienced had an immense open sky and the horizon in the distance was a long line that appeared to be a straight. You were essentially living on the outside of a ball and could see a lot of sky. The reason I have temporarily blocked the windows is to allow you to prepare for what you will see. It will be the reverse of what you might expect. We are living inside a tube and that can be a bit disconcerting. I wanted you to be prepared for what you would see before you actually experienced it. If you can bear this, we will proceed with your training here rather than a smaller ship from one of the stations. Last night you were on one of our passenger shuttles, a smaller vessel that was prepared to look somewhat like a dwelling that would look like one that can exist on your planet. There is much more room here to do the things we would have you learn. These things must not be shared with others without our approval. Is that understood?” All nodded agreement. “OK, are you all ready to see what our world looks like?” Again agreement. “OK, follow me outside.” They did. All were awestruck by the view. Hank said, “What you see before you was built by man. It is substantially more advanced than what you might be capable of building on Saark but the difference is that this was built to travel amongst the stars. It does take some mental adjustment to get used to the difference in the horizon and we shift frequently between what you see here and what you see at your home so we are acclimated to the differences. This lodge will be your home for the next week or more. Do you all have an appetite for some breakfast? If so, let us go back inside and enjoy some food following which I will explain what we have in mind.”
Franz recovered quickly and as they went back inside the lodge, he said, “Henry, you said that this station is your residence and that Barana is the station and all this was built by man?”
Barana interjected,
“Thank you Barana, that was well said. Franz, why don’t we have breakfast and then get down to how we will go about this effort.” They all went to the table where the food looking very much like what they were used to seeing was waiting for them. As the family grew more comfortable, others started to engage in conversation with the Lenards and the Pines. Little Ben helped to put everyone at ease.
After breakfast Hank said, “Franz, earlier you said you woke up this morning feeling rested and refreshed and seemed to know things you did not know before. Did each of you notice a similar experience?” All nodded in agreement. He went on, “Well here on station we learn differently than you do on Saark. The beds you slept in last night are machines that look like an ordinary bed, but within that bed are machines that teach while you sleep. They are our schools. While you sleep, the beds are exposing you to the things you need to know and are in fact training you as you sleep. They are designed to assure that the sleep you get is also restful and invigorating. One additional feature to these beds is that they are also our physicians. They scan your b
odies and remove disease, repair defects and can provide enhancements that can not be matched by others on Saark. For example, have any of you noticed an ability that you know you did not have before.”
Franz’s son Kellem responded, “Yes, all morning we have been speaking in a language that I have not heard before, yet I know it as well as my own and it contains ideas that I have not heard of before. Some of the meanings are still vague but they become clearer when heard in use and when I think on the word.”
Sam said, “Excellent observation. From this you can appreciate the scale of things you can learn in a fairly short time. It is formidable. Anyone else?”
Hans Pestal, Franz’s father said, “I found that I was looking at strange devices throughout our quarters, yet I knew in my mind how each one worked and what it does.”
Hank said, “That was so that you could operate things to which you have had no previous experience and that would make the quarters you were in much more livable.”
Next, Holse Ulter, Franz’s father in law spoke up and said, I am near the end of my lifespan and I am 58 years old. I have been ailing for the last few years and in pain a good deal of the time. Yet today when I woke up I feel like 20 years had dropped from me. My wife tells me the same as does Franz’s parents. I do not understand why I feel this good.”
Hank explained, “That feeling is real. Your bodies have all had some repair work done by the medical component in our machines. For the elderly, this will mean the elimination of many of the causes for the aches and pains that accumulate over time. Past injuries such as the broken leg Jana suffered as a child that did not heal properly have been repaired. Each day you are here more will be done and your health will be greatly enhanced. You life span will be extended so significantly that you may have to move from time to time to a place where you are not known. Your longevity will be noticed and may cause animosity or unwanted questions. At some point you may wish to consider life on a station and you will be welcome. We can do something else. Considering the danger you will be in from Tomar you may wish to consider some added enhancements. We can provide you with a modification that we provide to our combat teams. It includes enhanced speed, visual acuity, strength and most importantly a shield that no arrow, firearm, spear, sword or knife can penetrate. You will have to be careful around fire itself and burning oil but those things you should be able to avoid. This kind of enhancement takes a bit longer, but if you are willing to stay for two weeks, this package can be provided along with training in its use. Kelem and Salar, your future mates should be telepaths. You will find that you will be drawn to the right person specifically for you. When that happens and both parties recognize that fact, be sure to alert the AI then in orbit around your planet and that person will receive a similar enhancement package. It is likely that due to your enhanced longevity that you will all be around when the day arrives for Saark to be invited into the association with the other planets we have mentioned. What say you all?”
To a person they all said an immediate yes.
Explanations were added and a plan was developed as the training and enhancements were installed. They tested their skills as the enhancements matured. They were shown how to enter into rapport and how to use the capabilities included there. They were advised that the AI in orbit would support their rapport efforts and that as the need arose, they could augment their rapport with support of a station AI or T-Raptor team. The family became quite adept at functioning in a T-Raptor mode.
Corina and Barana were able to locate all of the telepaths on Saark. Each was approached by a T-Raptor team and warned of Tomar’s pogrom. The telepaths were then recruited for training. Many never realized that they had been on a station in space. By the time the two weeks had ended, most of the telepaths had been trained and were ready to act. The rest would be ready in another week. Franz with the concurrence of his father, decided that their best approach was to determine who was supporting the king and to exile the lot to a distant location of the planet and confine them to that location. Barana advised that this could work because she could tag exiled individuals in such a way that they could not leave their assigned location. He then set up a number of his own T-Raptor style teams to go in invisibly to gather the evidence needed to identify the king’s supporters. Once this was done a diversion was created to draw the army to a location where it would be unable to interfere with Franz’s plan for the king and in fact would have problems of its own.
Franz brought 100 telepaths together and described his plan. He would appear visually in the throne room before his brother and would be the focal point of the event. Assignments were made and planned. The others would remain invisible but would control all activity in the room such as preventing entry to the room, preventing departure, immobilizing the guards without harming them.
In the meantime 20 more teams of 100 each were sent to surround the army. Only one person from each separate team would be visible. Each had his identity and voice disguised and all were in impenetrable mode. They were instructed to disarm anyone they encountered but not to kill them. All had been taught how to render their opponent unconscious. Another 30 teams were stationed at strategic locations with similar instructions. Franz felt it would be pretty hard to fight an invisible army. Finally a group was assigned to protect the bodies of the telepaths that were in rapport.
Chapter 14: Renewed Earth Upgrade
Aboard Station 19 in Earth Orbit –
October 25 – C Day 421
AI Dosia had arranged for one hour of air time on all of the major television, radio and computer entertainment and news sites on Earth. They were told that the Antoran Fleet had an important announcement to make affecting the general welfare of many on Earth. General Montand said, "OK Dosia, its time to roll. Would you activate all of the sites we use in our original upgrade and link us in to the TV, radio and other sites that you have arranged, please. We are ready to go."
"Greetings to the people of Earth. My name is General Phillip Montand representing the Antoran Fleet. As most of you know, The Fleet offered what we euphemistically called an 'Upgrade Program' about 10 months ago. About 3.7 billion persons from Earth participated in that program. After that program, slightly over two billion persons applied for positions on a station or at one of the five colonies prepared by the fleet. As most of you know, the fleet has been a bit occupied since then. The colonies we spoke of then have now been seeded and the conflict that brought us to your attention has been substantially resolved. Those of you who returned to Earth with the knowledge imparted to you have had an impact where you live. "
"We have had a number of requests to again offer the opportunity. I am appearing before you today to let you know that we have heard this request and are again offering a program. The stations we emplaced 10 months ago are again active. The fleet has a number of activities in which we are engaged. These include exploration, defense of the planets we protect that has now grown to 19, colony preparation, and restoration of planets damaged by conflict. Since not every station is involved in these activities, we also have a number of stations that are in standby status. This latter category is what allows us to offer another 'Upgrade Program'. General Stone, Commander of the Fleet has arranged for three Divisions of Stations to do their standby duty here in Earth orbit and they are all available for the Program."
"The last time the program was offered, we had twice as many stations available. We ran five cycles the last time and the largest of those was for 750,000,000 persons. This time we will limit the number of persons in a cycle to 300,000,000. That is a significant number. The conditions are the same as before and these will rerun after I have completed this announcement. It will also be repeated continuously at the numerous offer acceptance machines we have all over the planet. Those of you that have received training previously may accept an offer for more advanced training. Those will be briefly described following this announcement. There will be a broader selection of coursework once you have had the basic off
ering and some aptitude testing. Following the training phase of the program, you will again be offered choices including return to Earth, application for a position on a station, or application for a colony world. All of the off-world positions are multi species, including humans from other worlds, Linan, Gar, and Glarin. If you are xenophobic, I would recommend that you do not apply. As before the list of ineligible applicants is the same. The stations that are providing this program are on Battle Fleet Standby status and that means that if a problem arises somewhere, they may be called to respond. Depending upon the seriousness of such a call, it could have an impact of how long the Program continues. We hope to run it until everyone has what they want. This announcement and follow up information runs for about an hour. Some television, radio and cable companies have agreed to run it several times after that. In any event the offer acceptance machines are now operational and will also be running the offer. Note that there are no strings attached to this offer. The offer will not be offered to those that intend to do harm to others."
Phillip signaled Dosia that he was done and the supplemental information started to air. And the offer acceptance machines were abuzz. In the first four hours following the announcement the reached their first session limit. By the end of the following day, the second session was filled. It was looking like the program was going to out produce the original. Phillip sent a message to Hank saying that the program had exceeded expectations in terms of the numbers wanting to participate. Would it be possible to post another standby Division at Earth for a while to help. Hank immediately responded that he would repost Battle Fleet Standby Division 6 from Tau Ceti to Earth. Phillip expressed his thanks as that would allow the session limit to go to 400,000,000. Division 6 arrived a few hours later and they all went to work.