“AI? In regard to the information given to you by the alien, what did it tell you about its nature?” said Rose, who was sitting next to Orion and holding his hand.
“It is immortal, or so long-lived that it is irrelevant. It can change its shape, it can reconstruct matter. It can manipulate space. It can do nothing to directly harm life, the failure to evolve by sentient beings distresses it. It has immense knowledge, it has a sense of humour. It likes to be entertained. It loves life. It has immense curiosity. It has emotions but they are not equal to ours. It is logical–”
“Stop AI, that will do for now. One more question, is it God?”
“No. If the concept of God is of a self-fulfilled entity then the alien does not fit such a description. It has limitations.”
The President spoke next. He rose first and walked to the little platform where the manifestation of the alien had stood. “So it appears the alien spoke truly when it said the stars have smiled on us. The choice is to stay independent from this creature, ask no favours and continue on our way and face hardship and deprivation for possibly a thousand years, or say yes to its offer. As your President I see no reason to ask the people to endure anything more. As a species we have not relied on good fortune but, now it is being offered, I feel we can take it with gratitude. I ask the elders to instruct me.”
The elders argued the proposal back and forth for some time. Tuathans were proud of their resilience and independence; they had never taken the easy way but had been true to their philosophy of life. This philosophy defined who they were and it was also the thing the alien prized most about them. Therefore, the decision was not as obvious and simple to a Tuathan as it would be to an opportunistic race such as that now dwelt alone on the planet Earth. After an hour had passed, the elders had exhausted the pros and cons and one of them turned to Rose and Orion. “You two have shown exemplary insight and you are truly representative of the aspirations of the people. The elders have made a decision, but I would first like to hear your thoughts.”
Orion and Rose whispered to each other and then Orion stood. “We trust the alien. It has judged us we think fairly; we cannot fault its logic. We have come five light years from our home where we survived thousands of years of aggression and hostility. Now we are faced with a smile and a warm welcome and are suspicious and fearful of the open hand offered to us. This is a test of our humanity, let us be humble and accept this gift. If it does not go well for us we will have at least have acted in the true nature of our race without false pride or deception.” Orion resumed his seat and was met with a kiss on the cheek from Rose.
“Very well,” said Orion; “you are a man of the people, we concur. If this relationship is a test of our humanity, let’s embrace our new friend with open hearts. AI, ask the alien to visit us.” They took their seats and waited while two minutes passed.
The same golden orange glow and there he was, smiling. The President spoke first this time:
“Welcome friend, we wish to accept your offer. Please explain your plans and what is expected of us.”
“Firstly, you will need to reassemble your fleet in tight formation. Then your AI will detect an anomaly in the fabric of space, it will appear to you as a black hole surrounded with a rim of golden orange light. Accelerate the fleet to near light speed and enter the hole at your maximum velocity. You will travel instantaneously to another portal near the outermost planet in the system you wish to colonise. Your AI should be set to immediately shut down your photon thrusters. Once you have visual, proceed to the planet. You will need to wake everyone on the way to the planet. Place the fleet one million kilometres out from the planet, do not approach until I say it is safe. I will be in the process of terraforming the planet, it will take me at least two weeks to finish. Then there will be a settling-down period of a month for the planet and then you can disembark. I will initially meet you once you enter the solar system as I will need to find out what sort of planet you would like it to be once it is completed. I will do this by waiting until everybody is awake, then seeing the vision each individual has in their mind. The end result will be a compilation of the visions of everyone on the voyage. Once you are all safely on the planet’s surface, I will leave you as I have other places I wish to visit.”
“That seems straightforward enough. When will you have the portal constructed?”
“Allow me twenty-four of your Earth hours and then proceed to the co-ordinates I will have placed in your AI. From that point you will be just able to see the portal with the human eye. It takes a lot of energy for me to construct these portals so enter it as quickly as possible.
“Once you exit, the portal will be shut down and cease to exist. That way, it does not harm the integrity of space. You will not experience anything unpleasant as the travel is instantaneous, maybe just some re-orientation on exit will be needed especially for your AIs as they will be busy absorbing the data from their new environment and align themselves with their new spatial co-ordinates.” Everybody tried to look like they understood what he was talking about. A representative from the elders now formally made a short, but emotionally charged speech and the alien projection was obviously moved by the sentiments expressed. The projection vanished and everyone dispersed to perform their various duties in preparation for the departure. Rose and Orion took the opportunity to visit Briony in her hibernation pod. They both felt the need to tell her the good news and they did so, even though she could not possibly understand them. They had some time to spare and, because the fleet had been stationary for some time, news from Earth relayed through the Martian projector had been given enough time to reach them. There were three days of news to catch up on but it was of course five years old and was full of the Second World War. The scenes of the destruction of entire cities and the deaths of millions of people sadden them. Peace was still a long way off and new, smaller conflicts were breaking out constantly on other parts of the planet. The enclaves were still operational however and so was the projector base on Mars. Orion told their AI to send news from the fleet telling of their good fortune, it would be very welcome. The alien he felt sure would have a way of transmitting it. The people left behind had family, probably still in hibernation. It would be a nice gesture to waken them now so that they could send a message now before disappearing into the black hole and reappearing five hundred light years away. The AI would have to coordinate this with the elders, the President and the alien. The AI sent Orion a message thirty-five minutes later, saying it was approved and feasible, and that the alien would transmit all the desired information tomorrow before entering the portal. Orion and Rose made excited happy love that night with a lot of giggling. Orion fell asleep thinking, I hope there is not going to be some sort of catch to all this, especially after someone suggested my speech about trust should be entered into the discourse of the elders; which was an honour that made Orion cringe at the thought of generations of children reading his words. Rose fell asleep thinking what name they should give to the alien. They couldn’t keep on referring to it as it, or the Alien, it was not friendly. I wonder what it referred to itself as? she thought. It was strange that we didn’t think to ask it. Is it even a race of aliens or just scattered diverse individuals in some sort of co-operative state? There were so many questions to ask and she fell asleep with the questions still piling up.
The morning came and Orion and Rose were both on the bridge. Rose kissed him and they wished each other and the rest of the crew luck. There was an immense air of excitement. Orion was visibly nervous which was unusual for him. The co-ordinates had not arrived yet. Orion scanned the other ships on his monitors. The crews looked eager and excited. The alien was nowhere to be seen. Rose was peering out of a port looking for him. “It must have started work early this morning,” she said with a laugh.
“Co-ordinates have arrived,” the AI reported. “Minimal thrust initiated.”
The stars were moving again outside the ship and it felt good to be going somewhere. One ho
ur went past and AI brought the ship to a stop. Orion and Rose stood at the port to watch as the fleet turned to face in the same direction. There was a silent pause as everyone strained to see the portal. It was there; small at this distance even though it would be of an immense size in reality. “All personnel are to be seated and strapped in, secure all lose objects safely as there will be zero gravity for approximately one second on entry.” Five minutes passed by... then came the announcement. “All ships have indicated they are ready. Photon thrusters to maximum NOW!” The entire fleet silently leapt forward. The stars outside the ports went out, the metallic shields slid into place and outside the ships an invisible electromagnetic envelope surrounded them, each ship providing itself with limited protection to small solids. The AI did a slow countdown to the portal gate. 20, 19, 18... Orion was watching the velocity clock. 17, 16, 15, 14 They were at maximum velocity NLS.13, 12, 11, 10, 9 Orion felt himself clenching his teeth and gripping the arms of his chair.
8, 7, 6, 5... This has to work, please alien don’t let us down, we need this so badly!
4, 3 Orion opened his eyes wide. He wanted to see and experience this to its fullest extent. Rose was imagining Briony oblivious to everything that was going on, laying peacefully in her hibernation pod on the deck below
2, 1...
Rose closed her eyes, tightly.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AD 1949
“Friendship given unconditionally deserves respect and should not be abused.” Wisdom of the Elders.
Rose opened her eyes. Orion had been watching the velocity clock, for a second it had stopped but now the numbers were rapidly falling. “Exit from portal achieved deceleration in progress...” the AI was announcing. “All ships in fleet undamaged... ISS3 fully functional... all personnel unharmed... Alien in close proximity to fleet... We have visual... We have arrived at the target destination.” People were out of their seats, cheering and jumping up and down.
“AI show us visuals on screen!” Orion yelled over the noise, aware his voice was shaky. All screens lit up. A large, rocky planet as big as Jupiter was outside and in close proximity to the fleet. It was hard for Orion to tear his gaze away from it, the first exoplanet ever to be seen by an unassisted eye. “Show us the target planet using maximum magnification,” Orion added. A star a bit brighter and larger than the rest came on screen. Orion had a smile on his face so big it was hurting him. Rose was by his side, clinging on to his arm.
“Is that really it?” she said aloud to no one in particular.
“Yes,” said the AI. “The alien wishes to have commune with us again; it proposes a meeting in two hours. The elders have accepted and a full delegation will be here in one hour.”
They watched as disc ships left, heading for ISS3.
“AI? When should we begin awakening those still in the pods?” asked Orion.
“The intention is to give the directive as soon as the alien has debriefed us.”
“Orion, this alien needs a name.”
“I know Rose, but naming a god is not an easy thing. I’m sure the people will think of something, usually such things evolve naturally.”
They were all assembled, the President, the elders and the executive crew of ISS3. The alien sat in his comfortable chair smiling at them. They in turn were all smiling back. “You are near your destination and should awaken the people so I can see their vision of their new home. There are some choices to be made now regarding your new home planet. The light from its sun is weak in comparison to Earth and there is nothing I can do about that, except arrange weather patterns to optimise clear skies for most of the time. It has one very small moon. I suggest that it should be tripled in size to something a little bigger than twice the size of your moon on Earth. This will give you bright nights and make up in part for the constant twilight effect of the days. Is that satisfactory?”
A brief discussion was held, then a short response. “Will the low lighting affect us psychologically or physically?” asked the President.
“Your eyes would be more efficient if you genetically favour slightly larger pupils. Mornings will be similar to afternoons on Earth fading into a long twilight with nights slightly brighter than Earth’s norm. It will not make any difference to your temperaments.”
“Then so be it,” said one of the elders.
“I will be able to adjust the gravity to Earth normal. The indigenous seaweed, which is non-sentient, I do not wish to wipe out as it is not permitted that I destroy the potential of any living thing; so some will be allowed to remain in the deepest oceans. I have access to all the genetic materials aboard your fleet and I will be able create all flora and flora you are familiar with. As previously stated, the land will be landscaped according to the dreams of your people. I suggest that colonisation begins at or near the equator as it will still be a colder planet than Earth. As you already know, there are only four planets in this system. The one outside your window is a rocky planet the size of your Mars with four moons. It has ice on the side not facing the Sun and is in an orbit quite close to your new home planet. It has a thin atmosphere and three types of lichen on it. I will not be interfering with the other planets in the system. The closest in the system to the sun is a semi-molten rock planet with a thick gaseous atmosphere. Its surface is rent by shifting tectonic plates. The sun itself is stable and will stay that way for a long time to come. The planet farthest from the sun is small and has rings of dust around it. The planet outside that you can observe is rich in minerals and you would do well to explore it and exploit it.. The nearest sentient life form is only seventy light years away, but is at a low technological level and is addicted to destructive superstitions. They have made no advancements of any kind for over three thousand of your years. They go through cycles of tribal war and famine that they are unwilling to break out of. They are in a state of stagnation and show no signs of ever advancing. My theory is it is probably due to an intelligence disorder that evolution has not been able to rectify. I intend to investigate their planet, it’s on my list of things to do. That, my new friends, is the state of things. Are there any questions?”
Rose was quickly on her feet, “What are you, I mean, what do you call yourself?”
“Ah Rose Two, you have a talent for finding the correct but difficult questions. I – or should I say we? – are always defining and redefining a definition of ourselves because knowledge brings not only wisdom but a shift in perspective. I can give you some facts which I hope are truths. I am a highly evolved sentient being, the most evolved I/we have ever discovered, well so far anyway. I am not really an ‘I’ as there are others of my kind, but we are few in number. We commune on many levels and our consciousness is semi-connected at all times and can be fully connected when we desire. Therefore sometimes I am a ‘we’. It is because of this that we think of ourselves as The Eternal Us which is the closest we can come to a name in your sense of the word.. I am sorry that I cannot give you a true insight into my nature. There are many, many things I cannot and in fact must not share with you. We call it the Prime Law of Non–interference. The integrity of your uniqueness must not be compromised by our relationship. It is partly for that reason that I will leave you when my work here is finished. As time goes on we will get to know each other and understand each other better, as friends always should. There is no need to hurry this process, although I must admit I sometimes get tempted to speed thing up.” He laughed at his own joke.
Rose thanked him. A few of the elders asked a few housekeeping-type questions, and then the alien departed.
The fleet went on its way at a relatively slow speed. They needed time to wake all the colonists, which was in itself a huge task. They all had to be fed, exercised and physically checked out. The new situation and all the events leading up to it had to be explained and the inevitable questions answered. On the journey to the home planet, which had been named Tuath naturally enough, it was decided to do some research on its planetary neighbour. The rocky, icy pla
net found itself invaded by twenty-five disc ships each with research crews, a total of 500 people. It was going to be another six days before their new home was ready so the Tuathans settled down to constructing a small but permanent research centre. It was designed primarily to evaluate minerals. The planet was as they discovered better than the original probe analysis indicated. It would have been easier to terraform than Mars. A communications unit was also established, geared specifically to send and receive communications from Tuath. Meanwhile in the fleet, the preparation for landing was being worked out. It was essential that the colony became self-sufficient as quickly as possible. Fortunately food reserves in the fleet were high due to the unexpected shortness of the journey. The people had decided that they did not want to live in large cities, not after they had been cramped up with limited space for nearly two thousand years. They dreamt of open countryside and space for their children to play without fear. These dreams had fed the design of the new home planet. The alien had delved deep into the psyche of the colonists to this end. It was decided to create one large administrative centre of fifty thousand people. The remainder of the population would be in towns with populations of five thousand people with seven villages to each town, housing no more than one thousand in each.
The alien of course was listening to these dreams and revelling in the joy of creation. It was going to produce a dream home, a work of art; a place of beauty for these beautiful people. It had high hopes for these Tuathans. The alien had been disappointed hundreds of times in the past. Only three races in the entire galaxy had reached a level of enlightenment worthy of its physical intervention. They were far more advanced than the Tuathans, but they did not have some of the qualities that made the Tuathans shine out. Perhaps it was because they had suffered so much and had their faith in compassion, truth and justice tested so cruelly. They had not wavered. The alien admired their courage deeply and communicated this as it worked, sharing its thoughts with its greater self. Its greater self was more cautious and warned of the unforeseen. It urged prudence and restraint, with constant reminders of the Prime Law.
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