» Nuri Jawa is taking care of these beings. What do you mean by your other remarks?« Nok wanted to know.
»Well, some people fit perfectly into the prey pattern of other species. I would not bring them into one room. I can’t assure that there are the same number of people present after the meeting than at the start.«
Scorge seemed amused about his comment and it took a couple of seconds until he calmed down.
While Nok pondered over his words, her thought were interrupted by the scanner officer.
»Ma’am, Sedna is back on the long-range scanner screen. The Kuiper object has left its dimensional bubble and has returned to the standard universe!«
The dimensional station, Nok thought surprised.
This was a sensation which pushed the refugee fleet and its problems on the backburner.
It reminded Nok that the fleet was not the only thing happening.
A strong radio signal overwhelmed the base’s comm-channels. Igor Petrow’s excited voice sounded through the command central.
»Warning! Before Sedna disappeared inside the bubble, all of the Globuster lenses inside the Solar System had gathered there. A huge Globuster carrier with thousands of lenses …«
»... we know your reports about the carrier, Petrow,« Nok tried to calm down the commander of the Pulsar Cruiser. However, he kept talking.
»… we should ask ourselves why Sedna appeared just now at this time. If the Globusters were able to free themselves from the control of the Conceptors and follow their conditioning then we have a catastrophe of immense proportions at hand. Their strong fleet will fly, without doubt, to the Neptune Sector, encountering the refugee fleet. You can imagine what will happen then.«
»Nothing will happen,« Nexus Tor injected via his comm-channel. »The tactic-master has assessed a very slim chance for this to occur. Batu is convinced.«
Nok frowned and noticed that the Dragon had left the parking orbit over Triton and took a stationary position over the Fronite crash site.
»With all due respect for the capabilities of your mission specialists. Batu is a boy with no experience when it comes to these things. I doubt that he can assess the tactical situation in detail due to lack of enough information,« she replied harshly.
»With all due respect, Ma’am,« Nexus Tor replied politely but firmly. »Batu has all the necessary information. This includes parameters that describe the current situation. Did it escape you that the Techno-Clerics just left their artificial planet and flew out into space?«
Nok turned around. The space surveillance officer frantically pointed at the holo. Indicating what Nexus Tor already knew.
»The robots have started in different directions. We can’t determine their exact course vectors at this time. Some of them are flying toward the Kuiper objects Eris, Pluto, Makemake and Sedna! There are thousands of them!«
Nok looked at 40028 who pulsated slightly, hovering before the central holo.
»Where are they flying?«
»They’re flying toward several locations along the Globuster Matrix,« the space surveillance officer announced. »The robots would never do that if there were a threat coming from Sedna or the Globusters. The dimensional field, controlled by means of the dimensional station, is also still intact. As a matter of fact it increased its shield. The Conceptor still has everything under control otherwise the degenerated technology would have taken over by now.«
»I agree,« Nok acknowledged. »What are the Techno-Clerics doing? What’s their projective and who gave the orders?«
Nexus Tor didn’t know the answer.
40028 left his position and hovered toward Nok. He stopped one meter before her and announced, »It’s time to fulfill our mission, the only obligation assigned to us by the Creators.«
»… and what would that be, 40028?« Nok inquired.
»Protect life!« replied 40028.
Help me save the galaxy
Ramir was running past the warrior statues to the outside portal steps. His heart was racing and his breath was erratic. He tried to see the devastating destructions he just had seen on the holo display inside the library. Everything seemed normal, however. The plaza, the city and the planet looked peaceful as usual.
He briefly closed his eyes.
What’s going on? What’s happening to me? he thought.
You’re slowly realizing the truth, young Progonaut, he heard that voice again in his head.
Ramir shuddered.
You’re not a mentor, he thought and held his breath. You’re sending me mental messages. No Progonaut, even the mentors, other chots or the ruler of India can do that. Who are you? Show yourself. What do you want from me?
Ramir noticed a movement from the edge of his eye and turned around. A person, not even five meters away, walked toward him. He had been hiding behind one of the portal pillars. Ramir straightened. He didn’t feel panic rising; he had expected another encounter.
The alien! he recognized the stranger.
The stranger ignored all the other students, who also seemed to ignore him, even those who were sitting along his path.
You must be a ghost, Ramir thought and moved back a couple of steps. Did you come to take me to the realm of the dead?
»That’s utter mystical nonsense, my young chot,« the stranger said in a clear Progonaut dialect. »I don’t want to hurt you, I just want to talk to you.«
Ramir was startled for a moment as he heard the man’s words. His voice was deep and resolute, it didn’t allow an objection.
»That’s not possible. I must be daydreaming. You’re unreal. Strangers like you, I’ve never seen on India. What do you want?«
The stranger’s dark eyes examined Ramir. He returned the glance insecurely, but was, nevertheless, fascinated. The stranger had a lot of hair in his face and his neck, even the arms and legs were covered with hair where it wasn’t covered by his leather-like body armor. His forehead protruded slightly. His build was strong and muscular, nonetheless, he resembled a Progonaut in some way. Ramir realized that the stranger was much stronger than him. Despite the archaic appearance, the stranger seemed highly intelligent, alert and energetic. The alien registered Ramir’s anxiety and showed his yellow teeth, which seemed threatening.
»How is it possible that nobody else than me is seeing you? They should see you too,« Ramir said perplexed and then yelled at the people on the portal steps, »Don’t you see him?«
Nobody reacted to Ramir’s shouting.
He accepted the fact and hung his head.
»Are you just a product of my imagination? Is Skinna right and I need medical help?«
»You probably saw that the others don’t notice you either. It’s not that strange that they don’t see me either then? Is this a good enough answer?« the stranger growled, almost amused.
»No, it’s not good enough! Where do you come from? Are you an official visitor or an envoy of a friendly nation? Did you come here to ask for an audience with our ruler? Do you have a long relationship with us? What people do you belong to? What’s the name of your home-world? Why are you following me?«
The stranger made a quick hand movement to stop Ramir’s questions.
»One after the other,« the man growled. »Yes, I’m a visitor, however, I didn’t come to India to talk to your ruler, as much as it might help my issue. Unfortunately, your ruler no longer receives visitors anymore since he is long dead.«
Ramir became weak in his knees. Cold sweat was forming on his forehead. The stranger said what he had feared already for quite some time.
»How … how is that possible? Is this an invasion? Do you possess suggestive powers and enslaved my people?«
»Nonsense, Progonaut. Our peoples have never met, at least not in the times you think you’re living in.«
»What do you mean by that? I don’t know what to believe anymore. According to the library information, India was involved in a devastating war, Kalmot was totally destroyed. I’ve seen the reports with my own eyes.�
�
Ramir opened his arms wide.
»But Kalmot still exists!«
The stranger followed Ramir’s arm movement and seemed sad.
»I wish, I could see a city by the name of Kalmot through your eyes. I can’t. I feel guilty to have stepped into your life and ask you for help, even though, you’ll be experiencing the bitter truth.«
»You’re asking me for help?« Ramir whispered surprised. »Help for what, why me?«
The stranger grumbled and beat on his chest.
»You need to help me save the galaxy. I think that you’re the only Progonaut on the planet who can do it. My name is Herimos.«
They are singing
Nuri Java silently observed the dancing Fronites. Their population had doubled in the meantime. It became tight inside the hangar, which made the hangar chief uneasy.
»One more division and the hangar is full!«
Nuri did get distracted by his comment. She tried to decode the Fronite auras for quite some time, but wasn’t successful. While the life-aura of a Human being had a distinctive taste and just slightly varied when dealing with extra-terrestrials, the Fronites presented a challenge to her.
»I have no clue,« she admitted. »As I understand it, relying on my experience, the Fronites are no real life-forms. Maybe they’re representing a new type of existence which we don’t understand yet.«
»This is the leader of the rescue team speaking,« he reported from the crash site. »We tried to enter the alien ship to search for survivors, but I must honestly say that I’m lacking the words …«
While observing the Fronites, Nuri bent the flexible microphone closer to her lips and said, »Describe to me what you see.«
»Well, the ship drilled itself into the rock by one third of its length. It is split open along the side. We tried to enter the ship at the slit but there’s no real entrance or opening.«
Nuri looked surprised.
»Explain it to me in greater detail, please.«
The team leader cleared his throat before he continued, »
»Listen, I’ve never seen this before. The spaceship possesses a thick leather-like skin. We didn’t find any metal. There’re no decks, machines or aggregates. The interior is filled with an unknown gel-like substance. That stuff isn’t frozen despite the ice-cold temperature in space. On the contrary, it is elastic and warm. We placed a couple of scanners at the slit and detected that several large objects which are embedded in tis substance. One of my crew members is an astro-biologist and he swears that this is not a spaceship but an oversized bacterium!«
Nuri’s eyes widened.
»Say that again.«
»I know it sounds silly considering that the Fronite ship came to us with a faster-than-light jump, it possesses, as we know, a defense shield and looks like a cylindrical ship. I think it is a higher dimensional life-form.«
Nuri remained calm and looked at the Fronites inside the hangar. All communication efforts had been in vain so far. They didn’t react to any signals.
»One more thing,« the team leader interrupted her thoughts, »ships have landed all around the crash site. Some of the ships have begun to deploy crew or robots.«
Bewildered, Nuri shook her head.
»What has that got to do with the Fronite ship?«
»Well, we’re not alone here anymore. Some alien crews have begun to take apart the wrecked ship. They’re trying to harvest the gel-like substance. This doesn’t look like a recovery operation … they’re literally stripping the ship to reuse the organic cell mass.«
Nuri clenched her teeth. She hadn’t considered that.
»Observe and record the activities,« she commanded. She pondered for a moment, rubbing her chin.
»It’s true, the officer is correct,« she suddenly heard a voice behind her and twitched.
Nuri turned around and looked at Hassan.
»Hassan!« she said and looked into his pale face the techno-hybrid seemed exhausted and weak. She hadn’t expected such a change in him. As she noticed some movements in Hassan’s hair, she covered her mouth in horror.
Thousands of thin antenna-like nano threads were growing from Hassan’s head covering his hair. It looked as if thousands of moving, thin wires were growing from his head.
»Hassan, what’s going on with you?« she asked scared and tried to taste his aura. She was able to detect a change and a faint life aura.
The degenerated technology was not yet successful to replace his aura, she thought relieved. She now fully realized Hassan’s struggle and his fate.
Nuri walked over to Hassan, after signaling the hangar chief that her conversation with him was over for now.
»How did you get here? I thought you were in sick bay?« she asked calmly while seeing that that nano threads were growing out of his ears, groping through the air and then drilling themselves into Hassan’s temporal lobe.
Hassan moaned, but not in pain rather as if he enjoyed it.
»I’m not ill, Nuri,« he explained and closed his eyes. »I don’t belong in sick bay. You know, it’s quite nice to change locations without having to make one single step. I woke up and followed the call. Can you not hear it?«
Nuri’s eyes wetted.
»What call? Hassan! Look at you …!«
He made a calming gesture. His eyes were briefly glowing as if they were burning from the inside. His looks were somehow hypnotic.
»It doesn’t matter, Nuri. I’m not suffering. It lends me a heightened sensitivity. Now, I can hear and understand the Fronite songs.«
»They’re singing?« She looked at the Fronites again.
»Oh yes,« he replied mutedly. »They’re thanking Nebular for their existence.«
»Nebular?« Nuri asked surprised. »What or who is that? Is this some sort of a Fronite god or religion?«
Hassan slowly opened his eyes while the nano threads quickly retracted.
»My senses cannot yet tell me enough to answer this question, maybe later when I evolved more. My gut tells me, however, that Nebular is not a god.«
As Nuri briefly glanced back at the Fronites, she noticed that they had divided again. Now the hangar was full!
»Isn’t it fascinating how different the life-forms in the universe are?« Hassan whispered. »The Fronites are a totally strange life-form, based on ancestors who probably behaved like our terrestrial viruses. There are no common threads between us, no communication base, no exchanges. They are fundamentally different than us and yet they still exist.«
»Yes, indeed,« Nuri replied drily. »If we don’t do something very soon then they’ll burst through the hangar doors into the base.«
Show me the data
»Save the galaxy?« Ramir asked in a desperate tone. »You don’t have an easier task on your mind? Skinna was right, I need to see a therapist.«
»Skinna doesn’t exist, at least not the way you’re led to believe,« Herimos growled.
»What are you implying?« Ramir asked angrily. »I live with her! As far as I can tell, the only fantasy is – you! What do you think is the case? I’m totally stressed out and I’m seeing a hairy stranger or you are real and need my help to save the galaxy – and – except for us two, everything else around us is just an illusion?«
Herimos snorted in amusement. He seemed to like Ramir’s sarcastic reasoning.
»Alright then, my young Progonaut, let’s try a different approach.«
Herimos stepped forward unexpectedly and slammed his fist on Ramir’s chest who was jolted back by the force of the impact, sliding across the marble-like floor inside the library. The warrior statues gloated as Ramir struggled to get back on his feet while Herimos followed him slowly.
Herimos laughed, then he offered Ramir his hand to help him get up.
»Was this fantasy or was this real?«
Ramir groped his chest, coughing.
»I think you broke a rib!« he complained.
»Do you want another demonstration?« Herimos asked, but Ramir quickly ra
ised his hand.
»No, you’re real. I believe you.«
Herimos displayed his yellow teeth and growled amused.
»I’m glad you understand. Let me know if still have some doubts.«
Ramir threw his black hair back with a defying head movement and looked at Herimos with his golden eyes.
»Even though you’re real and not a product of my fantasy, how can I help you save the galaxy?«
Herimos nodded.
»Not just any galaxy, but our own, our home! I appreciate it if we come to the crux of the matter without further delay, because time is tight.«
Herimos pointed at the entrance to the study hall.
»This might be the right place to begin our cooperation. This is the room where we can access archaic holo data banks, right? I’m looking for an extraordinary, eye-catching piece of jewelry. It’s some sort of a hair clip which the ruler guarded inside his palace.«
Ramir smiled.
»Huh, we don’t need to consult the data banks for that. Every Progonaut on India knows about the Jamal-Comb. It used to be displayed in the Museum of Galactic Ethnology. It’s no longer there.«
»I need this comb,« Herimos said harshly. »My sources tell me that it is hidden on India.«
»You need a piece of jewelry to save a galaxy?« Ramir laughed out loud. »It’s becoming ridiculous.«
Herimos growled in a warning tone.
»This is not a game, Ramir, but deadly serious. Help me to find the comb and do your part in saving the galaxy.«
»What’s in it for me?« Ramir asked provocatively. »Maybe you’re just a thief who uses a mind-manipulator to steal from the ruler. How else can you read my mind and suggest things?«
Herimos remained calm.
»You decide. Hmm … on the other hand, you’re correct if you ask for a reward. In return, I’ll give you something you’re longing for – the truth. Be cautioned, however: the truth is not always pleasant!«
Ramir was breathing heavily. He could hear his heart beat.
»You say … the truth, although, this entire incident seems unreal to me? Yes! I’m searching for the truth. I accept.«
NEBULAR Collection 6 - The Great Tremor: Episodes 27 - 30 Page 25