The order of the day was to run each of them through a standardized series of tests, basically similar to those used by the Russian Paranormal investigators and the Forteans.
During these proceedings, they were intensively monitored by the sensitives in each team. The major purpose of the tests was to stimulate the relevant centers of their minds and allow the sensitives to pick up the responses, rather than to actually display a major facility in the skill.
At the same time blood and tissue samples were taken, to allow a full genestat to be prepared for each of them.
These allowed the geneticists to establish life expectancy, as well identify of some of the more obscure talents.
They broke for lunch in the staff dining room at 13:00, after which the recruits had the afternoon free to investigate the sport and recreational facilities, while the specialist teams boiled down their reports and correlated their findings.
Marianne and Michael watched a kinetic basketball match. The game was the same as normal basketball except much faster, and the ball was very seldom touched by hand. No one was allowed to ‘hold’ the ball for more than a split second, the best technique being to direct and flick the ball instantly on it’s way.
“It is more like a mad cross between volley ball, lacrosse, and basketball” Marianne remarked to Michael, sotto voco.
“You’re right” he whispered back. “It does rather change the nature of the game when you can telekinetically grab the ball. I wonder how fast it goes.”
One of the coaches moved closer to them.
“We have measured speeds of up to three hundred kilometers per hour. Originally they used standard balls, but they just fell to pieces.
Even with the specially reinforced balls, the player has to support the ball kinetically. We find that it is excellent practice to improve power, control and accuracy in our kinetics.
But this isn’t the fastest game we play; you haven’t seen anything till you see basketball played by teleports.”
“Teleports?”
“They don’t throw the ball, they port it. They have strict limits on distances, power and so on; the main challenges are detecting where the ball is going to appear, and accuracy.”
“You mean you can detect where a teleport is going to?”
You can detect the terminal as well as in which direction and how fast the object being ported will be traveling. Again it is excellent practice and develops you accuracy and sensitivity. You two should try out.”
“Try our?” They asked in an impromptu chorus.
“Look: to be a coach in these games, you have to be both talented and a sensitive. I have been one of the top coaches for seventy years now. I can tell talent when I see it.”
“Uh thanks,” Michael responded for both of them. ”We are still being tested, so we don’t even know ourselves yet. We will definitely consider it once we know what direction we are going in.”
“You just do that friend, you just do that! Enjoy the game!”
“Thanks.”
*** *** ***
After the game, Michael and Marianne went in search of David and Dianna. They found them in the lounge in their living area.
“I hope we’re not interrupting anything?”
“No, Michael, we are just running through the entertainment options. You two are as always very welcome.”
“Thanks David. Have you found anything good?”
“Actually it’s not so much a matter of finding something good, as of choosing between too many.” Dianna responded. “I have forgotten how complete our coverage is down here.
That’s Hephaestus’ fault. He has set up connections to all networks worldwide, with feeds to one of the AIs to analyze and digest everything coming in.
Everything is also recorded, so once it has aired, it is available off-line at any time. Oh, and translation is available in-flight into your native language – either audio of subtitles.
We have digital copies of all new films and books published, as well as a complete historical library both in original and translated form. All media are also archived electronically.
We also have recordings of literally millions of live productions which were specially captured as well as recordings of most great art works and architectural achievements for quite a few centuries.
Many of the worlds lost treasures which would otherwise have been destroyed, have been rescued and preserved here or at one of our other bases.
For those of us interested in history, a large number of historical events have also been recorded, as well as a number of eye witness accounts by people who were involved, where the events happened before we perfected our first recorders.
Since we perfected the metal recorder – we have also managed to record a large number of memories from those actually present at these events.”
“Why do you require such complete coverage, Dianna?”
“Oh, it goes a lot deeper Marianne. Full details for every possible technology, high or low, plus thousands upon thousands of hours of instruction on every subject man has ever studied are also in the system.
Each time a ship is sent out, everything is sent with it in multiple redundant format, and in multiple media formats to insure that at least some will survive any possible disaster on the new world.
Our first priority is the survival and growth of the human race.”
“But you have a large number of inventions and tools available down here, which the common populace has never even heard of. Why don’t you bring them into the common stream of knowledge?”
“The problem is that people have to grow into the technology, David. We have found over the centuries that giving them the technology before they are ready just frustrates them.
In addition many of the technologies are dependent on other technologies. There is no graceful way to sneak them into the common domain all at once without causing major psychological damage.
We actually lost the Muan civilization through feeding them too much technology too quickly. They promptly used the new tools to destroy themselves.
There have even been times when we have had to suppress a specific invention to protect humanity. However every single invention – even those suppressed - is recorded and kept – to be fed back into the general civilization at the appropriate time.
It is also not good for the short lived to know there are a large number of people who enjoy immortality and enhanced powers.
In the past this has led to mass depression, and civilizations collapsing.
Those we recruit from mortal ranks are checked whether they are flexible enough to handle the situation, and are mostly for the colonies.
The reason we do not expose everybody to the godstone is practical, linked to genetic realities. We who have survived and adapted are still a fortunate few, although there seems to be a steadily growing number of people with the potential to survive it.
We have also found the short lived tend to mutate and adapt more quickly than the immortals. This allows humanity to grow and us with them.”
“How do you manage the dependence factor in the colonies?”
“Michael, those going on the colonization ships are fully aware of the situation. The type of person suitable for such an endeavor is usually flexible enough to handle the idea of immortals without any adverse reaction.
Basically the first two or three generations work closely with the immortals, until a suitable level of technology and civilization is established.
After that, the immortals stand back and act as protectors and mentors only when required. During this period we inevitably fade into myth and legend.
Thereafter we monitor and recruit as we do here on earth.
We will feed them technology as required, with the proviso that they do not develop something equivalent or better themselves, which they quite often do.
When that happens, those technologies are recorded and the records are distributed to all other worlds. If they are suitable to spe
cific world, they will be implemented there.”
“How many colonies are there Dianna?”
“At the last count we had seven. Isis is the oldest; we started that just before we built the great pyramid.”
“Speaking of which – did you use slave labor as was reported in the legends and histories?”
“I wasn’t actually involved – that was about twelve thousand BC, but Anzashi was. The Pyramid was built in approximately six months by a hundred and forty kinetics and twenty teleporters.
No mortals – slave or not - were involved. It was accounted a miracle by the locals.
We built it to confirm certain astronomical theories, and incidentally for some of the first neutrino measurements.
Everybody was quite sad when it was inundated, after the ice pack melted.
That was when the first Atlantis sank beneath the waves.
Fortunately we saw it coming, both scientifically and through prophecy. We managed to warn quite a few of our strongest lines, and they managed to evacuate to higher land.”
“So there was a great flood?”
“Yes. It was actually a sinking, not a flood as such.
When the great ice started melting, its weight decreased allowing the central parts of the continent, which had been depressed, to rise.
This caused the temperate areas where all our major settlements in those days were, to sink back under the waves.
There were real floods in a couple of places, such as North America, where sub-glacial oceans of fresh water had accumulated. Once they found a way out they quickly eroded away all opposition, and flowed out in great floods, stripping the land down to bedrock, and beyond in some places.”
“That explains the washboard effect we have noticed in some regions, like Washington State.”
“That’s correct David. Anyway, as I was saying the first colony was Isis. That solar system has two inhabitable planets, so we settled the second as well. We called that one Osiris.
The third planet was Marduk in what is now called the Pleiades. That was just after what in mortal myth is known as the war of the gods.
This was a sad time in our existence, when a number of our most powerful warrior and mago level talents, who were the founders of the survival of the fittest group, decided they had the right to rule over everyone and everything.
Probably the most powerful of them was Tiamat. She was a powerful kinetic and could raise and control massive storms. She and her consort were defeated in a massive battle, during which a number of us died, or were burnt out.
The only one I would gladly have killed was Mummu, who was later known as Ahriman (he is still the actual leader of the enemy although he seldom appears in public).
We have good reason to believe that he was the one who incited Apsu to attack us in the first place. When Apsu and his minions were defeated, he fled back to Tiamat with a load of lies, which led her to attack us in turn.
When we defeated them he fled, and has been causing problems ever since.
After that war almost everyone spread out and kept away from each other.
For a long period humanity developed in fits and starts, building about city states, each with its God-king or small group of immortals acting as its gods.
It took us a long time to get together again.”
“So it was one of the small groups that established the colony on Marduk?”
“That’s right Marianne. Anzashi and Awaki formed the core in the Chaldean region.
Their group was responsible for the Marduk colony, and they were also involved in the Shiva colony, which was sent to the neighboring solar system by Indra and his group.”
“But you did come together again?”
“Yes, eventually we started working together again.
Various groups would get together for a cooperative project, although it was mostly an uneasy truce, rather than a proclaimed peace.
Each of the factions had its own agenda, and each was unashamedly trying to do the others dirt.
The strongest groups were those following Hades, whose main followers were Ares and his gang of cutthroats.
They believed strictly in the policy of survival of the fittest. Almost all their projects were aimed at subjecting the rest of us and all the short lived to their will.
(They were secretly supported by Angra Mainjoe or Ahriman - as he is more popularly known.)
Athena and Hermes stood for freedom and growth, with yours truly, as well as Hephaestus, Minerva and the rest of the moderates.
Zeus led the other major group, who basically didn’t want to decide one way or another. They didn’t want to use Hades’ methods, but they enjoyed playing god.
At least we managed to get the Olympus off during this time.
It was while we were helping Uncle L’ki to get off the Asgard (dear old dad had put on an eye patch, and became Odin), Hades and his bunch sent their first colony to Hell.
The last colony group, to Persephone, went off while Hadrian was building his wall. The war group was on the ascendant at that time, but we slipped one over on them with the republic.
Since then we have all been rather busy trying to manage the sudden growth of colonization and technology. But we are now almost ready to send of the next generation ship.
We are just waiting to see if the FTL drive works, because if it does, it changes the whole ballgame.
With that we can really get this colonizing drive going.
It also means that we might be able to set up some kind of policing scheme to prevent the kind of excesses that have been perpetrated here.”
“What about the enemy – have they been sitting still?”
“Unfortunately not!
We have recently had confirmation that they are within a year of launching their next colony ship.
They are calling it Tiamat. And they are planning some kind of nastiness to distract our attention while they launch, so that we cannot get a line on their ship.”
“Do we have any idea what they are planning?”
“Not yet Michael, all we know is that it involves the godstone on a massive scale, and that they are going to snatch a population to serve as colonists from somewhere in the eastern bloc.”
“How did we get this information?”
“Our friend Sprout brought some presents when he decided to join. The AI’s are still busy analyzing the data, but it is consistent and complete.”
“Is there anything we can do about it?
“Right now there’s nothing. But there will be time!”
“I’m getting tired. I think we’ll be off to get some rest!”
“’Night Guys!”
“Good night David, Dianna.”
Chapter 9
Bernardo O’Higgins Station – Chilean Zone - Antarctica – 29th August 2035
“Good morning everybody!”
“Morning Bernardo!”
“Morning.”
As Gods Above Page 18