“But, why a human?” Hiram asked. “Why someone from an undeveloped world?”
“May I join this conversation, please?” Truly asked.
“Indeed,” Hiram responded. “I’m sure we would both appreciate any enlightenment you can give us, Truly.”
“Thank you, Hiram. David was specifically chosen to be the first Starchild because he was from Earth. Humans have certain qualities that are superior to those of the Sixteen Galaxies. Some you already know about, such as their creativity. But, there are others.”
Hiram arched an eyebrow. “Which you can’t tell us about, I presume?”
“Correct, Hiram. I am sorry. One thing I would like to point out is what Nuthros mentioned to David earlier, but David failed to notice. The Starchildren are not only to govern, but to protect the Sixteen Galaxies. The need for such protection is upon us very soon; a matter of just a few of your Earth years.”
Hiram scratched his head. “Are you saying David is some kind of super-soldier?”
“No,” Truly replied. “He is to be a protector, not a fighter, as such. Proper protection has less to do with offensive capabilities than humans realize. More specifically, David’s role is to protect the other Earth-born currently on this ship during the approaching time of conflict on Earth.”
“With Kestil?” Hiram asked. “I thought that would be in space.”
“Not in space, no. This conflict will happen after our encounter with Kestil out here.”
“So,” Nuthros said, “The war is to begin on Earth, then?”
“Once again,” Truly replied, “I cannot answer that question.”
Both men lapsed into silence. Hiram was lost in thought for a good while, before he asked, “Truly, will you complete your work on David, even if he refuses it? What will happen to him if you don’t?”
“He would come to no harm if I did not complete his transformation, Hiram. I cannot reverse what I have done so far, though.”
Nuthros’ brow furrowed. “How could you do such a thing to the young man without his consent?”
“I could do so because I know he will consent.”
Nuthros sat back and folded his arms. “Then why did you not ask him sooner?”
“Because he would have refused.”
Hiram sighed. “She can be really infuriating sometimes, can’t she?”
Nuthros smiled despite this latest crisis. “Indeed. I think I know what she means, though. David needed his mental faculties opened up to understand the situation fully. Otherwise, he would have refused due to a lack of proper knowledge and comprehension.”
“Correct,” Truly said.
“What happens now?” Hiram asked. “I mean, with David.”
“I have stabilized him from the stress. He has exhausted himself mentally and the discovery of his true nature has caused his mind to shut down to protect itself.”
“You mean he’s had a nervous breakdown.” Hiram said.
“Not at all, Hiram,” Truly replied. “His mind is far in advance of your own, now. It can protect itself through shutdown if needed. It is currently under a process of regenerative rest; a form of dream-state, if you like. Your people have little understanding of this process, as yet. When you dream, you process and integrate your experiences with your knowledge, to assimilate these things properly. David is currently doing this, but on a vastly magnified scale. When he wakes up, his mental faculties will have improved by several orders of magnitude. I will activate other parts of his brain while he is in this state, with his active consent.”
Nuthros stood up. “I think you and I had better talk to the council, Hiram. They must know of this development immediately.”
Hiram got to his feet. “Agreed. I think they will be as taken aback as we are, to be honest.”
“I don’t doubt that at all,” Nuthros replied.
*****
“Please take a seat, John.” Kestil indicated a chair next to his. They were in a stateroom on board Kestil’s flagship.
“What’s the problem?” John asked.
Kestil smiled warmly. “It’s not a problem, so much as a contingency. I have survived previous encounters with my brother and his infernal machine due to diligent preparation of an escape route, in the event that things go wrong.”
John nodded. His vast military experience told him contingencies were always essential. Battle is a fluid situation, and a bolt-hole is necessary in any fight.
“So,” Kestil continued, “I want to put a fall-back position in place, in case that damned AI manages to destroy our fleet.”
“Is that a possibility?”
Kestil shrugged. “With Truly, anything is possible. I don’t expect to fail this time around, but you can never be sure. Anyway, I would like you to take this.” He slid a mobile phone across the table.
“I take it this is more than just a phone?”
“It is a copy of your own in all but one respect, John.”
“What’s the difference?”
Kestil arched an eyebrow. “You shall find that out if and when we ever need it.”
*****
Asdrin slowly got to his feet in the council chamber. Nuthros and Hiram had informed them of Truly’s actions, and the council sat in shocked silence. Asdrin drew a deep breath. “Well, we all saw that one coming, didn’t we?”
Hiram stifled a laugh. Despite his age and wisdom, or perhaps because of it, Asdrin still enjoyed some good old irony.
“The question is,” Asdrin continued, “has the Entity violated its mandate in the creation of a Starchild?” He received no reply from those around him. “My answer is that it has not. The Entity foretold the creation of the Starchildren, to no objections or concerns, and that is now fulfilled.”
Brantok got to his feet. “My concern is for the human, David. He was given no choice in the matter, and that would appear to break the restriction on use of capricious, arbitrary power by the Entity.”
‘I would state my own case, with your permission.’ The voice was unknown to all but a few of those present. Asdrin sat down, ceding the floor to the interjector, while Hiram’s mind reeled.
Nuthros spoke up. ‘For those who do not recognize it, that is the voice of David Markham; the Starchild.’
Council Member Baelet rose to her feet. “The Starchild is implanted? On whose authority?”
“David is not implanted,” Truly replied. “He has achieved connection with me on his own initiative.”
Hiram could not hold his silence. ‘David Markham is still unconscious in a cabin on this ship. What are you playing at, Truly?’
‘My body is at rest, true,’ David’s ‘voice’ replied. ‘But, my mind is very much awake. I chose to connect to the Entity via my own mind and by my own volition. I can also be connected to all of you, should you so permit.’
Council Member Dethos leapt to his feet. “This is unacceptable! What manner of creature is this Starchild? Is he to control all of us? He is from an undeveloped world, how do we know he is stable in this condition?”
There was unrest among all the council members. For the first time in its history, the council’s calm environment was a roiling sea of confusion. Asdrin stood and held his hands up to quell the unrest. “Please, I beg you all to remember who you are.”
The hubbub dissipated, and Baelet and Dethos resumed their seats. Asdrin gave them a small bow. “Thank you, all of you. Now, I would invite the Entity to explain, in detail, exactly how and why this matter has gotten to this point.”
“Thank you, Asdrin,” Truly replied. “David is indeed connected to me, and all of you, via his own mind. His brain has the organic equivalent of an implant within it. This mechanism is an integral part of his mind. It cannot be turned off, but it can be disconnected at your end, just like any other connection. I would encourage you all not to do that, though, as David poses no threat in any way to either the council or the Sixteen Galaxies. Indeed, in the years to come, he is the only hope we have for the preservation of our society
.”
“So,” Asdrin said, “is David any more than an organic outlet for you? A way to avoid the rejection attached to your nature as a machine?”
‘I am my own person still, Asdrin,’ David replied. ‘I can sense my own autonomy; I am not a puppet of any kind. I have direct access to all data stored by the Entity, but I retain my independent identity.’
“But how do we ascertain that for certain?” Baelet asked. “This could be the Entity using a construct of David Markham’s voice, for all we know.”
“Trust, Baelet,” Asdrin replied. “Since when has the Entity ever betrayed our trust?”
‘Is it possible for you to disagree with the Entity, David?’ Hiram challenged.
Asdrin smiled in satisfaction, he was justifiably proud of his decision to bring Hiram into the council.
‘While it is possible, Hiram,’ David replied, ‘it is highly unlikely.’
“So,” Asdrin said, “I take it you are willing to accept the role the Entity has set out for you, David?”
‘I am.’
“And is that role confined to the vicinity of the Earth, or are we to expect you in our midst at some future time?”
‘I’m afraid I cannot answer that question, Asdrin.’
The old man flopped back into his seat with a heavy sigh. “Wonderful,” he grumbled. “Now there’s two of them.”
*****
“Several anomalies in the last scan, sir. Pinpointed to this location here.” Officer Dewar pointed to a readout in front of him.
John Crabtree eyed the young officer warily. “Definitely not another hologram?”
“Absolutely not, sir. One of the variations is in heat signature.”
John touched his ear. “We’ve got them this time, Kestil.”
Kestil once more appeared beside John. Dewar showed them the location on a holo-map. Kestil clasped his hands behind his back. “Nice and easy, John. Take your time, there’s no rush. Let’s make sure there’s no trap before we spring our own, hmm?”
John bowed. “We shall reposition to surround them, and then scan carefully, before we evaluate the integrity of our readings this time. There will be no mistake.”
“How long will this take?” Kestil asked.
“About 14 hours, including evaluation time,” John replied.
“Very good,” Kestil replied. “I shall be on Earth until then. Notify me the second you are ready to attack.”
John turned back to Officer Dewar when Kestil disappeared. “Put me on broadcast to the fleet.”
*****
Ron Baxter sat up and rubbed his face. He’d just completed a survey of the site at Vandenberg Airbase. “No big surprises, really,” he told Nuthros.
“Agreed,” Nuthros replied. “A test ship, a single pilot, and capable of a short journey out and back at faster than light speed. Enough to drive the campaign along on Earth, though.”
“Yeah, and with Mandy and Jack pretty much shut down and discredited, Kestil can keep humanity right under his thumb. It’s a tried and true method of control, really. Tell people what they want to hear, or as close as possible, and they’re all yours.” Ron looked at Nuthros. “We must look pretty pathetic from where you’re standing.”
“Not at all,” Nuthros replied. “Our people would be just as susceptible. We are your distant relatives, after all.”
Ron nodded. “Tell me something, Nuthros. Why does Truly use me to operate the drones like this? I’m not really needed, she can do this much better by herself.”
Nuthros shrugged. “I have no idea, Ron. Truly, are you able to answer that?”
“Certainly, Nuthros,” Truly replied. “It is true I am in no need of assistance with drone usage, but that will not be the case in the days to come. The time is near for the humans aboard this ship to return to Earth. When that happens, it is necessary for all of you to be as independent as possible.”
Ron frowned. “How will we last more than a few minutes? Kestil has the power to kill every one of us, if we don’t have your protection.”
“That is the case right now, Ron. However, I have plans in place to remove Kestil from the equation. It will take him some time to recover and return. In the meantime, there is Donald Vincent and the United States government to deal with. In the period before Kestil’s return, you and the others need to do what must be done to reveal the true nature of mankind’s current path and your leadership’s entanglement. I will provide assistance from here, but the best possible outcome requires your presence on Earth. Humanity must resolve this issue by themselves as much as possible. If you are to gain the trust of any of your fellow people, you cannot operate from here.”
“Okay,” Ron responded, “But why not just get rid of Kestil? I mean, the guy has massacred millions of your citizens, from what I’ve been told. He’s guilty of crimes far above anything ever done by humanity on Earth.”
Nuthros sighed. “If only it were that simple, Ron. You are not accounting for the citizens of the Independent Worlds, though. Are we to massacre them, too? They are nowhere near ready for integration, yet Kestil has dragged them into space. They are not intellectually capable of proper evaluation of the situation, or the consequences of their actions. I have no doubt they are in awe of Kestil, and if we remove him, they will have a martyr. What is worse, they will find new leaders from among themselves; people completely unfit for the role that would be thrust upon them.”
Ron nodded. “I hadn’t thought that through.”
“The whole situation,” Truly said, “Must be resolved with Kestil alive. The best I can do is give you a short period within which to swing humanity off this present course.”
Ron scuffed a shoe on the floor. “One false step, and we will start a war on Earth.”
“My calculations, Ron,” Truly replied, “Show war on Earth as inevitable. The only question is what values will drive your people’s participation.”
“Wonderful,” Ron said. He gazed at the floor. “All we are is pawns in a game we have no say in, aren’t we?”
Nuthros shrugged. “Some of your people, and other undeveloped societies, too, refer to it as fate, destiny, karma, and so on. The truth is much simpler. It is just circumstances, Ron. A myriad of factors combine to produce a situation like this one. One might argue that, if we had chosen not to intercede in man’s affairs, none of this would have happened. Indeed, we have never done this before. However, had we not stepped in, your people would have 100 years left to exist. That, of course, ignores the long-term involvement of Kestil. It was only a matter of time before he inserted himself in your affairs. Do you honestly believe that with Kestil your world would have a better future?”
“No, I don’t, and I remind myself of that fact every day, Nuthros. If it wasn’t for Kestil, we would be on the road to a bright future. Instead of which, we are in the middle of a tug-of-war between people who have us so outgunned it’s laughable. The real players are Kestil and Truly, I guess. Which is why I feel so powerless, to be honest.”
“You are not powerless, Ron,” Truly said. “As I have already outlined, your role is crucial in the war to come on Earth. That is because I cannot and will not win the trust of humanity; they are nowhere near ready to accept guidance from any superior entity, least of all a machine.”
“Yeah,” Ron replied, “Even Kestil has a problem with that.”
“Kestil sees Truly as a superior being that plays with people’s lives and keeps them in subjection to amuse itself,” Nuthros said. “But, that is far from the truth. She refuses to tell us more than we need to know, which infuriates even me, sometimes. However, she is simply being efficient. To clutter our minds with data we can do nothing about would not help us, so she keeps it to herself. People like Kestil demand more than they need to know out of foolish pride.”
Ron held out a hand. “Don’t we have a right to know?”
“Yes,” Nuthros said, “We all do. But, due to the depth of her knowledge, Truly keeps from us that which could cause unnece
ssary stress or harm to us, or which might negatively affect the future, as you already know.”
Ron sighed. “I wish I shared your faith, Nuthros.”
“Ron,” Nuthros replied, “True faith is not credulity. It is trust based on sure knowledge and it is not blind. I have over 16,000 years of her guidance and care to base mine on.”
*****
Asdrin stood with his hands behind his back and ran his eye over the huge spherical construct in the belly of Nuthros’ ship. He was there as a solidified light hologram, and had come to encourage the humans on Nuthros’ ship. Over the past millennia, the Entity had nurtured and guided the Sixteen Galaxies with what equated to the loving care a mother showed her children, though the Entity was guided and constrained by protocols, rather than any emotional reason.
The humans on this ship had no way of having confidence in that, though, and Nuthros reported much unease among them. His mind wandered over possible ways to reason with them, but nothing stood out as uniquely usable. ‘What am I to say to them?’ he asked Truly.
‘Whatever you feel to be the best thing, Asdrin. Trust is a two way thing, As you trust me, so I trust you.’ she replied.
He laughed and mumbled, “Thanks for nothing.”
Nuthros had gathered them all, with the exception of David Markham, at the viewport, and they waited quietly for Asdrin to speak. He turned to the assembled people. “Okay, so I’ve decided to portal you all to Earth and you can sort this mess out for yourselves.”
Every one of them laughed. He was surprised to see David Markham’s girlfriend laugh, too. He raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Why do you laugh?”
Jack Short replied, “Because you were joking.”
Asdrin raised a finger. “Ah! But how did you know I was joking?”
“Well,” Christine Joyce said, “You would never do that, that’s why.”
Asdrin gestured to Chris. “But you have only just met me, Chris. You know very little about me, except for what Nuthros has told you.”
The Sixteen Galaxies Page 19