Galactica: Book 1 - Via Lactea

 

"Okay, gentlemen. Where do we stand?"

"We are in the process of expanding the blob by converting the interior into living quarters. We have added several layers of propulsion and are adding even more. Huge areas are being made into holds for all sorts of supplies, and more area is being converted into living and training areas. Magic is used liberally to do the work, since ambient Magic is intense to say the least. We have expanded the inner spheroid that used to be the Planet by several magnitudes, reducing the core’s density considerably. Ianium was found embedded into the crystal lattice and is now being extracted and merged into its own structure. The energy potential stored just in that collection of atoms is enough to ensure we shall be able to do inter-universe jumps even with our current mass."

"How long before the entire system is set up?"

"I estimate it will take us five years to bring this to full functionality, Dad, even if we put everyone on the task. We must take into account the expansion of the blob as the inner sphere pushes on its mass, the need to validate the integration process with Thebes, to install secure transports, and what not. Luckily, artificial gravity holds or we would be crushed. This is one priority I must tackle, Dad. We must imperatively have multiple backups for artificial gravity, fully automated as well as disposing of redundant power sources and control. The damper fields must also be expanded."

"All right. We can not do much to speed this up, can we?"

"No."

"What about the rescued species?"

"Let me see. We have the ones from Earth: the Dolphins, the Pterodactyls, the Australopithecus Regressi, the Seraphrims from the First Nest, a number of Birds that seem promising, the Felines, some of which are now part of the crew but most still need to be reworked on to become fully functional. As a final problem, we have hive Insects, including the Bees and Wasps to deal with. We are looking at the Octopus in the marine environment as well. Then we have the Atlanteans of the Mother World, and those recovered from the Colony ship; and the Seraphrim Female that has yet to wake up. She is worse than Sleeping Beauty. Let us not forget the species we rescued on different Planets, starting with the three species called collectively the Erigonians, with different habitats: a surface breather similar to the Whale, an open-water breather similar to our Octopus and a bottom-dweller that still reminds me of an oversized Lobster; and then the Children of the cold Planet we rescued from slavery which we still call the People and that has to stop, even if they believe they are the belly button of the universe. Then we have the Marsupials. That too must change, because it is more a reference to their reproduction than a name for a sentient group of individuals. Finally, we have the Founders. And I almost forgot the Ogres. These ones are currently held in a tessaract with a frozen time frame, blocking all evolution, but we must one day give them their chance."

"And how far has each species progressed, Colibri?"

"The Founders have regressed, but our arrival has stopped that fall into oblivion. The People... they are being reprogrammed and their memory of the damn slavers is being relativised so they do not stay stuck in their mental set of revenge. We are reintroducing them to their culture and history so they have an anchor for their identity. It is only when this has progressed sufficiently that we shall begin the Elevation protocol on the most promising of their members. The Erigonians are progressing on schedule. The main obstacle for them is the need to bring them out of the water, which required a complete genetic redesign and progressive implementation. They are under guided evolution. They are aware of this and, so far, have been very appreciative of our efforts."

Colibri looked at Dunbar before continuing his report.

"There are many other species on the path of Elevation. A group of them is wild, and consists of three species of Pterodactyls. My exchanges with Dunbar lets me believe that the Pterodactyls should shortly discover our role in their evolution and, since we have been rather friendly to them, they should not pose any threat. The Dolphins are still very much Dreamers of the Sea, but they are progressing rapidly in the use of language. We should begin implanting Magic in them within the next year or so. The Australopithecus are on the verge of breakthrough. We have several already incorporated in the crew. Tom and Jerry have proven invaluable. We have modified their genetics intensively and they are now full-fledged crew members with powerful Magical cores. The other species of Earth origin are further back and will not be elevated in Magic until several generations have passed."

"How many species are we considering for Elevation in that group?"

"Two hundred and sixty-seven Insect families, 38 members of the Cephalopod family; 132 species of Birds, 15 Feline species, 112 Ophidian species."

"Our friend King Cobra must not like that?"

"I am not too worried about this. I am the first to admit that quite a few of my co-species are too individualistic to contribute to the overall well-being of the community. It will take several generations of our kind for this to change."

"What about our Ancestors from Atlantis One?"

"Unfortunately, we are waiting for the entire generation to die off. The new generation is incorporated into our population as soon as they can walk."

"Why is that?"

"There was a lot of conditioning going on, and for them, Atlantis One was the top of the food chain. They are unable to adapt to the new paradigm and live in an illusory world. We rewire the Children at birth and for those who had not yet learned to talk, but the others are left in their tessaract. Nestor had several incidents with them, and had to call upon the Wolves to put down several rebellions. Finally, it was decided between us to concentrate on recovering the upcoming generation, born in Thebes, rather than to fight a lost battle. Harp has sped up the Tessaract to three times normal time flow. The final result is that the last of the original Atlanteans will be dead within 20 to 40 years rather than take the expected 60 to 120 years. By then, the current new-born generation will barely be out of childhood but be contributing constructively to the collectivity."

"Are the Children not missing their Parents?"

"No, they are too young to remember them when we take them out of the Tessaract. The interesting thing is we wipe the Parents’ memory of ever having had a Child, so no trauma ensues."

"That seems a bit extreme?" asked Yamato.

"Maybe, but a lot less than having to kill them in 20 years for another perceived, and illusory, slight. However hard we try to convince the Adults they would be dead if we had not intervened to pick their arse out of time when the home star blew up to become a supernova, they do not believe us. There is just so much we are willing to put up with, and that is how we dealt with the security risk they were becoming," explained Sitar.

"What about those recovered from the Colony ship?"

"These ones incorporated flawlessly into Thebes’ general population. For them, it is just another big ship, and they feel right at home. The discovery of Magic and that it was not spurious incidents has brought just about everyone to the College of Magic for Adults under the supervision of Nestor. Their Children are following the standard educational path of our own Children. Even Blight seems to take things in stride now. He is taking lessons in Magic and advanced Interstellar Navigation. He is the first to admit he was outdated."

"What about the Marsupials?"

"They are very technologically savvy. Remember, they had built the Caterpillar Space ship on their own. They are not magical yet, but we are looking into it. Meanwhile we are teaching them all sorts of engineering things, which they absorb like sponges. The Founders are also acutely attuned to technology, and they have a functional Magical core we are in the process of analysing. Their first free-roaming members are now exploring Thebes, benefiting from a brand-new immune system," continued Colibri, looking at his data-pad briefly. "The Guardian is also rediscovering the joys of a body."

After taking another sip of his drink, Colibri concluded his report.

"The Orcs are now fully Atlanteans even if they were not incorporated with a ceremonial; so are all our allied species. The only sad note to this report is to signal the disappearance of the last pure Human. According to King Jefferson, he or rather she, died of old age a week ago. She had been suffering from radiation burns for ages, and even our most advanced technology could not save her. We offered her a rebuilt body but she declined, feeling her time had come. As she said, why stay when all her friends have passed? It was sad to see her go. We took her memory imprint and it is now stored in one of Thebes’ many layers. Her Conscience was let go to be reborn when the time comes and she emerges from transition to life anew."

"I wonder how Jefferson took that. Anything else?"

"Jefferson is relieved. He may be the King of the Ghosts, of a lost Kingdom, but he is happy with the situation. Yes, Dad, there is another thing. I think it is time to accept officially, and I stress the word officially since most have been de facto members, some more of the rescued species into the Atlantean fold: the Australopithecuses and the Orcs, the Marsupials, the Atlantis One Colonists, the Founders, that last one at the request of the Guardian. I also want the Guardian to be recognised. We are working on creating avatars for all Artificial Intelligences. The Guardian is a starting point to design better bodies for all concerned. In the Felines, the Sabre Tooth Leopard, the Lion, and the Cheetah are ready and will act as models for the rest of the Felines. The Cobras are ready for the Ophidians. Zebras have been waiting for years and must be included as well. Acceptance in our fold with all the pomp and circumstances that come with this grandiose ceremony will go a long way in driving the others to try to achieve the same status. I also propose the creation of observer status for the People of the Icy Planet, the Children of Atlantis One, the Dolphins, and the species of Erigonians as an added incentive to move forward into incorporation."

"I thought we had accepted the Orcs already? What do you think of this, Samson?"

"Do it. Incorporation in the Atlantean fold was what drove us to excel, my friend, and has made us finally get off our arse and start moving forward. Without your impetus, Elves would be vapour by now!"

"Dad, we did accept the Orcs, but there was no time for ceremonials at the time. Remember the context," said Harp. "Now, we fix the issue. They did not ask for it, we offered. Tarik is my Brother by adoption. I want to make his People ours as well."

"I concur with Samson, Sire," said Iridia, the Fairy Princess, surprising everyone by her forceful tone. "Had your Sons not kicked our butts in my Throne room, we would never have been moved to action."

"Hear! Hear!" clamoured the other members of the Royal Privy Council, making it clear that agreement on the subject was unanimous.

"So be it, Ian. Organise the shindig and I will be the clown of the show."

"Dad, this is the establishment of a ceremony of Elevation that shall set precedence. It will be a very formal affair, choreographed to the second and the placement of the toes on the ground, the gift of symbols of membership, music and order of precedence for each and every species involved, from old to new members. Nothing, absolutely nothing, will be left to chance. So far we have done things rather haphazardly, but this time is over. We are the model upon which rests Life and we must take proper action."

"When will that ceremony be held?"

"Given the amount of planning, a year from now."

"A year? A year! I shiver at the complexity of the protocols you Boys will come with if it takes a year to set things up!"

"And you are right to fear it. We have been working on the question for years already, and the next year is to fix last-minute glitches and fine-tune the ceremony," replied Ian.

"When did you start on this?"

"Oh, somewhere around the time we battled the Orcs for the last time, in Africa. We realised we would one day need some way of making them feel welcomed. That is it. King Tarik helped us a lot by describing what he could remember of the Orcs’ ceremonials, and the Dwarf Orcs also added their input. We practiced by incorporating the Dwarf Orcs under the supervision of Tarik. They welcomed this, as they felt without leadership after we disposed of their Priests and Hunters Castes."

"I only regret Typhoon’s Dad will not be out of stasis."

"He understands my Lord. All he asks is that ceremonies of this importance be recorded for his enjoyment."

"Typhoon, that goes without saying. What I miss is the great sagacity of the Gold Dragon King, my friend. Your Dad was of great counsel during critical parts of the war and his input since his misadventure has been sorely missed."

***

A year later...

"Dad, stop fidgeting! You will drop the Crown otherwise!" said Harp as he finished tying the last button to the gold on black vest at the neck.

"You know how I hate ceremonials..."

"We all know! By the way, did you go to the bathroom? It would not do to halt the ceremony halfway through because you did not eliminate the 60 cups of coffee you have been drinking!"

"Son, may I remind you I am wearing a kilt just for that reason? Anyway, I can use Magic to empty bladder and bowels." Indeed, Harold was wearing a gold and black kilt with a silver lining matching his vest, that dropped to just above his knees. Black socks extending to the knees with a sliver of gold at the top rim. Shoes were also shiny black leather with silver linings and gold clips. He had his Hammer and Shield at the ready.

"Thank Magic for that. You ate more than Typhoon in his best days for breakfast!"

"I am just nervous and you know how that goes! I get into an eating binge!"

"Luckily, Magic eats the food off faster than you can stuff it in your face!"

"You make it sound like I am a Pig!"

"That was my point!"

"Harp, you are lucky you are wearing something today or you would find yourself in a watery spot in a flash! Oh well, there is always another day!"

"Hey, are you guys ready? It is two minutes to the drum roll!" yelled Ian from the door of the Imperial Suite.

"Dad is almost ready! I need to tie his Ermine cape around his neck and we are done!"

"You mean the noose?"

"Ian, you might join Harp in the promised cold bath!"

The two Boys snickered, as well as Annabelle, Paschal, Sitar, Jefferson, and a dozen more that were close by.

In another room of the Imperial Suite were those promised to full Atlantean status. Tom, Jerry, Tarik, Ut, the Marsupial’s elected representative to be crowned King of the Marsupials, all shared a common room. Tom, Jerry and Tarik hid their nervousness by joking, much to Ut’s total shock and dismay. Nearby, Spit Snake kept company to an equally nervous Zen.

«Continue like that and Zen will be a misnomer!» hissed Spit, triggering a bout of laughter from Tom, Jerry and Tarik that baffled Ut completely.

Off in another room, Stripes was being brushed one last time, wearing her new marks of office as the first Zebra that had mastered shape-shifting. Her clothes clearly matched her natural looks giving the impression she was nude even if the thin Spider silk covering gave out a shiny look. Her Maid in waiting was a basket case, unable to hold her mouth shut and babbling away senselessly on everything and anything.

The Kittens of the last batch produced by the mates of Fang Chao and Spare Ribs were even worse, being so jumpy it was a pain to watch. Spot, the Cheetah and Mines, the Lioness were no better. The Lioness kept prowling around the room, her tail twitching nervously, and the Cheetah was licking his left paw almost raw. The two young Felines, as yet unmated, were being handled by their Dragon bonded, as they were the only ones that could get to them in their state of nervousness.

"If it continues, Dad will ask me to replace the carpet and cushions in this room!" said Paschal as he peeked in the Felines’ room. "There is enough Eider feathers flying around to create a snowstorm!"

"Get lost!" said an irate Spare Ribs.

"It is difficult for me, since I happen to have designed this place! Did I ruffle some fur?"

Ian sat calmly with the 12 members of the Founders that constituted their Privy Council, along with the Guardian, now fully adapted to his shiny golden body.

"Are you sure, Guardian, that you do not wish to take the Crown of the Founders? It is your last chance."

"Yes, my Lord. You are the one we have been waiting for since we left our home-world so long ago. Under your guidance, we once again will flourish."

"You know I shall one day wear the Imperial Crown of Atlantis?"

"Yes. And be King of Kings, as is so aptly named the Pharaoh Emperor. I have no qualms about this, none whatsoever. When I followed you in foresight, I knew this was what we had been waiting for. You, and the others that have bonded with you, are the ultimate goal of life. You wear the title of God much more than I ever did."

Ian blushed deep crimson, endearing him even more to the Guardian.

"So be it, then. Do not forget that, even if you are the only one of your kind, you represent a new Species. One day, we shall have more of you, probably derived from the Artificial Intelligences that control and make Thebes what it is, but who knows? We may meet a people made of Cyborgs that are not all centred on butchering Carbon or Silicon-based life. The Universe is vast and the alternate Universes may be as big if not bigger."

On the side sat Captain Blight. He listened intensely to the exchange, but he knew his role was a lot simpler. He was to turn over the Colonists to their true Leader so they could be welcomed back in the fold of the Empire like long-lost Children. He was feeling both sad and relieved at the same time: sad because it would put an end to a long history, but relieved that it ended positively. He had spent the last year studying the history of Atlantis Two and Three and realised that they had escaped catastrophe after catastrophe by the skin of their teeth. He shivered at what would have happened to his charges if it had been the Soul-Eaters or, the Divinities forbid, the Borgs that had found their marooned ship in space. These dark thoughts were interrupted by a roll of drums that resonated all over the now immeasurable ship. Blight could not even imagine a ship measuring the size of a star, for Thebes had inflated as the Orichalque was put to use and configured into habitable quarters, food-producing centres, research Laboratories, Gardens, Parks, sea-side Resorts, Museums, Schools, and with hallways so wide and high Dragons flew in their original form without even creating a draft. He had visited the core of Thebes and seen the huge artificial Sun that lighted its interior, some of the numerous Tessaracts that seemed to encompass entire Planets in what the Princes called sub-segments. Yet, he had been told there were marvels he could not even imagine hidden in these tessaracts, vaults of immense cultural treasures from long-lost worlds.

***

The huge column made slow progress down the Imperial Hall, headed for the Coliseum that had last been used to celebrate Ian’s birthday. It had been expanded repeatedly over the years, and now could accommodate several hundred million guests comfortably, all in their natural form. The drums set the pace, as rows of legionnaires kept the thongs watching the parade in check. Each delegation that represented a species or a race had its colours and dresses. Also included were representatives of the active Army forces in their specific colours, with the current Units of the Imperial Guard in dark shiny black and gold. The species that were to be inducted into Atlanteans were the last, right in front of the Imperial family, whose members were riding warhorses in full regalia. This order had been decided because the entrance of the Imperial Family would mark the beginning of the ceremony per se, and they were supposed to be the focus of attention from all parties. Already, the benchers were filled to capacity in the Coliseum, and the hum of noise was deafening even from the outside.

The arrival of each delegation was accompanied by an ear-shattering roar, the rising of their colours, the playing of an anthem, and the Diplomats’ March as they made their way to their respective section around the enormous sandy floor. In front of each delegation were the seats, stalls or whatever required by the species leadership, so they had front row view of the proceeding.

The arrival of the new species was marked by a change: they had yet to receive their official colours from the Emperor, and they had no anthem as of yet, so it was the anthem and colours of Atlantis that flagged them, at half-mast. As the last delegation, the Cobras, made their entrance and walked in or more precisely, slithered in and took position, the immense building gradually quieted down. It was eerie to see this immense crowd held silent by an unspoken expectation.

The arrival of the Imperial family was signalled by a play of trumpets and other wind instruments playing Aida’s March as the huge Horses walked in step with the music. The Horses made their way to the steps that led to the dais holding the Imperial Throne of Atlantis, ported there by the care of Harp. Once the Horses reached the steps, they halted. The Imperial family dismounted first, as Harold stayed on his faithful stallion. Silence reigned and Harold looked around before dismounting himself. Barely had he set foot on the sands that Prince Yamato ordered in a voice that made the building shake:

"Attention!"

The entire population present in the building lifted and slammed their right foot on the ground hard, creating a shock wave that made the bells on the dais ring. Harold then walked to his Throne and his family followed in step as the Horses move to join their kin of the Equines. Harold waited for every member of his family to be ready to be seated before seating himself thus inviting everyone in the huge structure to do the same. He rested his Shield to his left, and his Hammer on his right. Now was the time everyone had been waiting for.

"Who is the first petitioner?" he asked, his voice soft but carrying like thunder in the huge hall.

Captain Blight walked forward, as had been rehearsed and stood still, looking at the Emperor, eyes veiled with tears. Freedom would be his shortly!

"I am Captain Blight, last commander of the Colony ship Destiny of Atlantis. I request our re-admittance in the fold of our long-lost people."

"Who speaks for the petition?"

To Harold’s surprise, three Equines of the delegation walked forward. He had expected a member of his immediate family, but it seemed that was one of the surprises Ian had kept hidden from him.

"We of the Equines, have seen the care he took of his people; he has been loyal to them and they to him; they have never harmed any of us, or turned their back to those in need; we believe they have the right to be called Atlanteans."

Harold nodded his acceptance and the three Horses returned to their place.

"Who speaks against the petition?"

After waiting five minutes and no one manifesting, Harold stood and spoke for all to hear.

"Your request to be re-admitted into the fold of Atlantis has been granted. May your honour guide your choices and Magic be your bond. Do you have a request?"

"May I be relieved of my command, my Lord? It is time I retire and I feel the need to reassess my goals for what is left of my time in this cycle. My people are now your people, my Lord, and they will follow you wherever you lead."

"The request is granted. Please maintain the title for the rest of your life, and occupy its station until the end of the day."

Blight moved back to his seat and waited.

"Who is the next petitioner?" asked Harold, establishing the first line of ritual.

This time, it was Founder that walked forward.

"I am Rama of the people called by the Atlanteans the Founders. I humbly request that our people be accepted in the fold of Atlantis under the guidance of Lord Holy Spirit Ian, Prince and Heir to the Imperial Throne of Atlantis."

"Did your people not have a leader?"

"Yes, the previous Dominus Spiritus Sanctus died without transferring his power and our God, the Guardian has chosen a replacement in the person of Dominus Spiritus Sanctus Ian, Prince Heir of Atlantis."

"Who speaks for the petitioner?"

To Harold’s surprise, it was Captain Blight that stepped forward. He forcefully extolled the virtues of the Founders he had met and deeply moved Harold with his impassioned plea for their incorporation into the Atlanteans’ umbrella.

No one stepped forward to speak against the Founders and everyone thought the admittance was in the bag until Harold pulled a Rabbit out of his hat.

"Son, step forward."

Ian did as asked and stood in front of Harold, looking at him in the eyes.

"Do you accept the charge of Dominus Spiritus Sanctus for the Founders in addition to the charges of Heir, and King of the Wolves?"

"Yes Dad. I have no choice given what I have keened of the future."

"So be it then. None shall gainsay I stood in the way of your destiny, my Son. May wisdom guide your steps as I know honour already does. Who bears the colours of the Founders?"

Another Founder made his way to the Imperial Throne and kneed in front of Ian, tending the flag of the Founders.

"Stand and bring the flag to the post for its first rising," ordered Ian.

The Founder did as asked and, as the flag was brought to full mast both at the delegation and in the rotunda, the anthem of the Founders was played. Ian then returned to his throne, as the Founders’ colours appeared by Magic beside the colours of the Wolves.

From there, the ritual repeated itself with relatively little change except in the names of the races and species being called, their respective representatives, and different requests of bindings under one or other of the Thrones already bonded to the Empire. The afternoon was spent in festivities celebrating the arrival of the new members of the ever-bigger Atlantean family. As vespers closed on them, Harold signalled that it was time for him to retire.

"Harp, make sure the new members of the Imperial family meet us tomorrow at the Hall of Recognition. By then, the different leaders should have been incorporated by Magic into the back mosaic."

"Fear not, I shall do so Dad. I shall be the last to leave with Ian as we must return the Thrones to their original place in the Imperial Throne Room and add the finishing touches to those that have had their status promoted. I wonder how Zen will take to that huge Throne with a King Cobra head, fangs bared and standing on its body, pulled back and ready to strike?"

"As badly as I did when I saw the complexity of my own. Zen is a simple soul and he hates all that is not essential."

***

The next morning, the newly added members of the Imperial family flocked to the Room of Recognition. As expected, quite a few new characters had been etched in the flowing mosaic by Magic. Those members of the Imperial family that had been presented to the Mosaic for recognition already shone in vivid colour.

"From what I see, there is still no replacement for the Goddess of Healing," noted Harold sadly as he pointed at the dull and faceless figure on the mosaic where once shone the image of Francesca.

"I came here every time we met a new species, or every year, and it has stayed the same," said Samson. "We can but wait. I guess this goddess is of lesser importance since we have control over Magic and Life has not attached that much importance in finding her a replacement."

Once everyone was in the vast room, Harold sat on his throne and invited each representative of the new race to step forth and touch the wall where a paw or hand print matched their dominant member. Each received his key of recognition in due form and Ian received an additional one, in the form of a three-dimensional representation of the Galaxy. Once the process was completed, everyone retired to the Royal Mess Hall for a quick lunch.

As they left the hall to return to their duties, Ian took his Dad on the side.

"Dad, I just received notice from Harp and Paschal that the expansion of Thebes is now completed. Our current diameter is now 865,000 miles, give or take a few hundred miles.

"Give or take a few hundred miles? Are you telling me we are so big the margin of error is equal to our original diameter?"

"Yes. We are comparable to Sol."

Harold almost fell on his arse. Only the lightning-quick reflexes of Ian saved his cushions and his modesty.

"Next time you want to give me those kinds of news, wait until I am sat sagely with a puke bucket at hand."

"And deprive me of the fun of flipping you? Do not count on it! Ah yes, since you are leaning against the wall, Paschal and Harp told me we are ready for our first long-distance slip-stream flight. We will be going across the Galaxy to reach its border and jump to Andromeda."

"Why not jump right away?"

"Because I need to wait for an event. Which should occur in a day or two. I told them to continue checking the new drives and validate synchronism between them. Sitar and Tarik are busy, along with Typhoon, Timor, Thorsten and Yamato verifying all the new weapons banks we added. Our stockpile of anti-matter mines, and the new time-wrap mines we copied from the arsenal of the Founders, is growing exponentially. We have enough photon and anti-matter torpedoes to flood the area for days. Phaser banks and laser banks are carpeting the exterior. We also validated electromagnetic pulse weapons, neutron and anti-neutron beams and an extensive list of long, medium, and short range vectors. Harp has added about a hundred more decks for FSS usage. All bulwarks have been tested under strenuous conditions. Enron has added biological warheads and Thorsten worked on chemical ones. He created a Planet-blower, that gives us an alternative to the gravitational mine and nova or super-nova star system detonator. The variety of weapons and delivery systems is phenomenal. "

"How far are we from the edge of the Galaxy on this side?"

"The last star is about four light-years away and should pass our port bow in a day. Once we are past, I shall be using the area to test how Thebes reacts to commands at transwarp speeds and slipstream speeds. We have been trying to navigate hair-pin turns at various warp velocities. So far, all is working nicely and the damper fields hold, even in the external regions where the movements can produce accelerations in the order of several million Gs. Nothing moved. Inner stress tests also are conclusive. Rotating the ship at .5 C did not bring the dampers near the critical limit. On the other hand, the show we must have given for an observer from the outside must have been spectacular! Models indicate that Thebes begins emitting photons as it rotates. At .5 C we must be brighter than the Sun, and at C, similar to a supernova going boom! And no, we are not losing mass: the photons are produced by the ‘friction’ between us and the fabric of space. We are currently testing how we fare at .6 C and I am quite sure that you are unaware of it on the physical plane. Magically, on the other hand, it is a good test to see how easily someone can get disoriented by the Magic field. We had some seasick Mages, including poor Nestor. He has learned to overcome the feeling."

"Old age does that. How did you test the dampening fields?"

"With the most sensitive of instruments: a candle! The flame stayed straight up and never wavered once in any of the areas we checked. Had the air lagged behind and moved even slightly relative to the candle, we would have seen flickers on the images of the high-speed cameras."

"You Boys will always surprise me: using such a low technology to check what amounts to one of the most advanced technologies available!"

"It works and is able to detect even the slightest fluctuation so why bother with complex when simple can do?"

***

Two days passed without much to note as Thebes was put through its paces on acceleration and manoeuvrability tests. On the Bridge, the crew watched the bleak dark sky around the ship as the last lone star of the Galaxy shone in the distance. Paschal walked in on the Bridge and took his station at the Engineering controls.

"Harp, have we recalled the last scout ships?"

"Yes. They are locked in their bays."

"Good. Tarik, we are ready to test the slipstream for a four-hour test run. Alexander, you have the way-points in storage."

"Engage when ready!" ordered Tarik, acting Captain for the test.

The Blue Danube⁴

The ship jumped from total immobility to slipstream speed instantly, as per the instructions of the test entered in the Helm’s program. It kept gaining speed progressively and halting on a dime, putting the ship through one of the toughest manoeuvres possible. Then came the reversal of direction, with the ship doing jumps in all directions at maximum slipstream speed. It waltzed in space, creating a superb light show.

"Combine it with rotations, 3-axis, C."

The invisible Thebes lit up like a new Galaxy had been born, creating geometric figures composed of flickers of light of incredible intensity as it vanished from and came back in the space continuum.

"Test the inversion of rotation, all three axis, at the speed of light."

"Surge on the dampers at 1% of nominal on rotation inversions!" noted Harp. "And I had to amplify sensitivity to see it. The slipstream inversions were more stressful, at 11% of nominal."

"We are nearing the end of the programmed path," reported Alexander. "Automatics disengaging... Now! Manual controls back to Helm."

Thebes stopped abruptly, materialising in the space between Galaxies, well past the last star of the Milky Way.

"Navigation? Are we where we expected to be?"

"Getting the readings from the pulsars now, Tarik. I should have the answer in a minute or two," replied Samson.

While Samson did his measurements, Harp was busy getting readings on the electromagnetic spectrum. After all, inter-galactic space still held many secrets, even with the data recovered from the Founders. As he passed in review the deep infrared range he noticed some anomalies.

"Hey! What is that?" he wondered aloud, attracting the attention of Timor, on the weapons desk.

"What is the problem?" asked the Troll Prince.

"I see flicks of thermal signatures in the very low deep infrared range. At first, they moved randomly. But now they seem to converge toward us! Samson, how long before you have your results?"

"Twenty seconds, why?"

"I do not like what I detect. As soon as you have the data, plot a way back into the Milky Way."

Tarik did not wait for more information. He felt it better be safe than sorry. He triggered the klaxon and spoke in a stern voice, his voice resonating across the vast expanses of the ship.

"Red alert! This is not a drill! Full battle stations! Man secondary Bridge! Harp, I want more information on these heat sources like yesterday!"

"I have a visual, Tarik! I do not like what I see either!" commented Stargazer, a Unicorn.

"Put it on the front screen! Sitar, report to Bridge!" ordered Tarik.

Less than a minute later, Sitar ported to the Bridge, his long blade of office, Excalibur, shining like the Sun at noon. Tarik pointed at the appendage, surprised.

"Wraiths! We managed to materialise in their midst!"

"I thought the Atlanteans of Atlantis One had pushed them to extinction?"

"Apparently not," the God of War of Atlantis replied as he studied the dark shadows enveloping Thebes, now displaying an ever increasing number of translucent forms all headed toward the ship. "These Vampires lived on blood at the time, feeding on any life that happened to cross their migratory path. Atlantis One was the first one and only one we know of to ever successfully push away a Wraith hive ship."

"But this does not look like a Wraith hive ship?" said Stargazer, using his head as a pointer toward the main screen.

"Technology evolves... and apparently, so did the Wraiths. Their ship seems to run on residual thermal energy and must be very energy-conserving to function. Before, also, they had huge ship that held millions of them in stasis, waiting to fall on unexpected lunch to invite themselves to the table and devour host or guests as well as diner. Harp, what do sensors tell us of these ships?"

"These ships are much like our FSS: individual vessels, totally autonomous from each other. From the signature, they propel by using light as a jet, collecting it from the environment and focussing it in a cohesive light in the deep infrared range. It is their propulsion we detect. Their core is colder than the surrounding space, thus giving space a rather granular look in the immediate area. For now they are still several light-minutes from us but they are accelerating."

"Do the ships show signs of life?"

"Spectral analysis show crystalline structures in the needle-like nose that sticks out from the engine intake compatible with organic life in deep spore form. The Wraiths are dormant, but the sudden increase in heat produced by the activation of some sensor or other that is guiding the ships to us must be waking them up."

"They are in stasis pods?"

"No. Their own body is in stasis, much like Bears in hibernation."

"Suggestions as to what to do?" asked Tarik.

"We run!" said Sitar. "We may have made a lot of progress since our Ancestors first defeated the hive ship, but they too have made huge strides. What our ancestors did is not applicable here and we have no way to deal with them for now."

"And how did the esteemed Ancestors deal with the Wraiths?"

"They poisoned them by feeding them a tainted blood supply. As you know the Wraiths are Vampires and live off blood. They were offered a feast they could not resist that contained a prion that attacked their nervous system and killed them by eating up their brain, similar to the Creuztfeldt-Jakobs prion that creates Human Spongiform Encephalopathy or HSE. At the time, the Wraiths were using hive ships, and it was possible to bring them to a source of blood collectively by literally luring them to it. It cost our Ancestors a farm Planet, but, according to the information recorded, the Wraiths went on a feeding frenzy and never looked back. Once the feast was consumed, they left the Planet totally devoid of any animal life and moved off. Meanwhile, the Atlanteans had used the feeding to install tracers on the vessel’s outer shell. It took off and headed toward another star, but, instead of landing or exploring the system, it crashed in the star. They thought that was the end of the story. They seemed to have been wrong."

"I wonder what actually happened?"

"Me too, Tarik, but I have the path back home. It is now in the Helm," Samson said. "We are actually at the very edge of the intergalactic space, just beyond the magnetic flux of the Galaxy. This may prove important if we ever meet the Wraiths again."

"Engage quantum jump drive. We have yet to test this and if there is ever a time to do so, it is now."

Thebes blinked out of existence to reappear at the edge of a star cluster belonging to the Milky Way. The blade carried by Sitar had recovered its normal aloft brightness.

"I wonder why it reacted that way?" asked Tarik, feeling cold and attributing it to fear.

Sitar reddened in shame but cared enough about the Orc to explain.

"This blade used to react to Orcs, my friend. It still does to you, as you see. It has a very light red hue to it and it would be blood-red if I were to walk into an Orc village. Apparently the blade reacts differently to different species. I am not sure it reacts to the Wraiths specifically or to something else in them, but, from the documents associated with the forging of the initial Excalibur, not the one we now have, there were specific sets of triggers that made the blade’s colour change. I do not think this colour is Wraith-specific, since the original from which it is derived was forged well after the encounter of our Ancestors with them. It may be that it reacts to prions and that the prions are now incorporated in the structure of the Wraiths. I suspect the use of different prion species was used by the Atlanteans of old either as defensive or offensive weapon and that this blade had dual purpose of detecting the prions and injecting them into the target life-form. Atlanteans are not immune to using biological warfare if it suits them. And neither are we. I do not need to remind you of what kind of work we have been busily working on in the past year."

"What do you mean, the prions are incorporated into the Wraiths?" asked Tarik as he digested the information dumped on him by Sitar, not liking the implications one bit.

"Like any biological weapon, some individuals are immune to prions, and it is very likely that some Wraiths were immune to the prions or at least resistant enough to survive to reproduction and do so. We have no idea of the life cycle of the Wraiths, so do not ask me how they do the deed. Anyway, prions are like viruses, except at a much smaller scale. They need to infect the cells of the host to hijack its reproduction mechanism. In doing so, they become incorporated in the cells’ genetic material, like so many viruses have become incorporated into our own genes. Initially, a virus may kill, and it can do so to the point its host population dies out, but most of the time, as the population thins out, the surviving individuals are either too far apart to effectively act as contaminant vectors, or those that survive have developed an acquired immunity. At some point, the deadly disease becomes a mere inconvenience, and finally, everyone is immune because the genetic map of the target population carries the proper lock-up keys that block the expression of the disease associated with the virus. It is then that we talk of fossil infection vectors. Now, this principle applies to all life, including the Wraiths. It is more than likely now a fossil vector in their population."

"That is interesting. But how can we fight them if we can not run, one day?"

"We do what our Ancestors did: capture a group and test different types of infectious agents, or, as did our Ancestors, bioengineer a specific infectious agent," said Enron. He and Colibri had walked in on the end explanations of Sitar.

"We must also make sure we do not give them an unexpected benefit with the carrier. We know that, however effective the agent, some will survive, but it would not serve us if the survivors not only gained survivability but also an added evolutionary advantage."

"What do you mean?"

"The reasoning is simple. A prion can take a crystalline form under duress, much like a virus or a bacteria can. In fact spores and seeds use this capacity to live dormant for years to confer a reproductive advantage to a wide variety of living organisms."

"Yes, so?"

"I read the reports from the sensors on the Wraiths: they were in dormant, crystalline form. Does it not ring a bell? What if our Ancestors gave them this benefit by inadvertently incorporating in their genes the capacity to take that form during interstellar transit? Nothing I read about the physiology of the original Wraiths even hinted at this capacity. In fact, there are good indication this occurs regularly in unicellular life: immunity is transferred from one species to another, from one individual to another, and so are strategies to infect higher-order organisms. The Humans are not the only copy-Cats..."

"Growl!"

"Oh, sorry, Spare Ribs, I did not mean it maliciously. Still friends?"

"Growl!"

"Thank you. To conclude, may I remind you of your studies in cellular physiology? Each of our cells carries in its intracellular fluid numerous organelles that were incorporated into the cells as they evolved. Two of the most fascinating are the mitochondria and the chloroplast. Both are cells in their own right, the mitochondria having genetic material encased in it, but without a nucleus, and the chloroplast being a RNA-based cell, even more primitive than the mitochondria. It is the incorporation of the chloroplast that marked the separation from the animal kingdom of the plant kingdom. Like many evolutionary processes there were false starts, regressions and other side-trips, including the establishment of different levels of symbiosis. Life is not static and is as likely to throw away something as to keep it."

"Anyway, I left them a little surprise!"

"What did you do, Sitar?" said an alarmed Tarik.

"The moment they touch what I left, there is going to be a miniature black hole where we once occupied the area."

"How miniature?" asked Harp.

"Oh, about the size of Thebes. In effect, it will fold space for a distance of 30 light-years and trap all the Wraiths in the area. I was not feeling too generous toward Vampires, even if they were converted to icicles. It is one of our star-system busters."

"I have to remember not to ever cross you, Sitar. You carry your name of God of War loud and clear."

"Tarik, we have become friends and it would take flat out treason on your part toward the family for me to change my attitude. Somehow, I know I can count on you to have my back in the worst situations."

Tarik was deeply moved. This was an endorsement that moved him to tears. He moved to Sitar and hugged him while tears dropped on the God’s shoulder.

"There is a huge gravitational wave that passed us," said Harp. "Was that your handiwork?"

Sitar looked at the clock and shook his head negatively.

"It is not due to trigger for another five minutes. The fastest Wraith ship was a few minutes off when we left, and the mine is at the centre of the space we occupied. They had to travel the additional distance."

"I think I detected the source. There is an intense flux of gamma rays off to our port bow that was not there before. I think we saw the ignition of a star. It is still shrouded in dust, but the gamma stream is constant and is heating it up. It has been visible in the infrared spectrum for a while. A shock bow is being formed, pushing the lightest elements away. The sudden collapse of matter that triggered the ignition of Hydrogen fusion is probably the cause of the gravitational wave I detected. From what I see, this star will be small: a red dwarf, more on the dark than the light side. The dust cloud that gave birth to it was a bit anaemic for mass."

"Should we wait for the little firecracker?"

"Sure. Just reduce the gravimeter sensitivity or it might burst!"

Harp nodded and played with a couple of dials. As he finished, the surge hit and the instrument peaked, as the Prince of Magic whistled.

"I thought you meant the black hole was going to be mass-equivalent to the Sun, not that the horizon would be! This is not a miniature black hole, big Brother, but the size of a pre-galactic core! I wonder what it will eat to feed itself?"

"Nothing but Wraiths. It is far enough from the Milky Way to orbit the Galaxy without perturbing it in any way. By the time it dissipates, the Wraiths will be history for sure, and their sensors are attracted to the occasional flare of infrared dissipated by a speck of dust or Wraith falling over the horizon, attracting more of them to their doom. I actuated the Soul-Eater trap of the Founders to fit our need."

"You are terrible!"

"And you like it, Thorsten!"

"The fun is over. Samson, plot a course across the Galaxy for an exit point slightly ahead of the jump point to Andromeda.

"It is done. We have two options: circumnavigate the Galaxy or drive right through the core. What is your command?"

Tarik looked at Ian.

"Dive across. We shall be able to collect a few million atoms of Ianium on our way."

"You heard the Heir."

"Course plotted and laid out to Helm."

"Course received and recorded," said Alexander. "Autopilot engaged."

"Engage!"

Thebes jumped directly into transwarp, travelling at warp 9.999. Even at that phenomenal speed, crossing the Galaxy would take 45 years. This period would be put to good use. The Erigonians’ evolution would be accelerated and, if things went according to plan, they would be leaving their constricted tessaract and become fully Atlantean just as the ship made for the intergalactic space. There were plans on Elevating the Pterodactyls and Dolphins and, by the end of that period, most of the original Atlantis One population would be dead and be replaced by a new breed, ready to take their place in the Empire. By then, too, the number of Atlanteans of all types would number in the high billions, ready to break the trillion mark according to the estimates of the Artificial Intelligences.

The path chosen to cross the Galaxy had been precisely established over the past few months: ultimately, the number of Ianium atoms would reach sufficient quantity to form a visible Crystal in the crystallisation chamber. Ian was impatient to see for the first time the form it would take: would it fit their model or reveal a totally new type of Crystal?

Study of the memory banks of the Cyborg fleet had been undertaken and quickly revealed the Planet of origin of these deadly machines, deductions that had been confirmed by the data recovered from the Founders’ own records. A Scout was sent on a suicide mission: the autopilot would deliver a Planet buster to the target and remove any possible lurking threat from that quarter. After all, no one could be sure that all Cubes had been called to destruction during the ultimate battle for Atlantis One.

"There is one thing that saddens me a lot," said Ian, as they began their ultimate crossing of the Galaxy.

"What is it, my Son?"

"Apart from the three species rescued from Erigon, we never did capture any other magical being and the wave has had time to cross half the Galaxy."

"That can only be the result of the depredation produced by the Soul-Eaters and the Borgs. Their combined efforts, albeit not concerted, had a synergy that resulted in the destruction of the vast majority of civilisations in this Galaxy. The devastation is not their sole responsibility either: remember the number of Scavenger species we found, and the Insects that attacked the People and the Marsupials. Remember also that Planet occupied by the Birds, that had been unable to overcome their predatory instincts to unite in the face of danger. And remember the Humans, whom contributed a lot to their self-destruction even if the Soul-Eaters or Elohim pushed them toward annihilation. Remember the number of revolts we had to put down and that we may still have to as time passes and numbers grow. Jealousy of those that have not toward those that have is a constant threat to those with Power. Have you found names for the People and Marsupials, Ian?"

"Jefferson came up with an ingenious idea. He has each species propose names in the form of a contest. The names are being recorded. Once the nomination period is over, he will present the candidate names in a referendum across the species involved. The name with the most votes will be the one retained for that species."

"That is a brilliant idea. When will the result be known?"

"In a month."

"On another front, have you found the Planet from which the Founders migrated?"

"Sagittarius A. Their Planet orbited the Galactic Black Hole and was one of the first to form. But it was also the first to disappear as it finally got captured by that greedy bastard. This is what forced the Founders to begin their long, almost eternal wandering as they seeded Planet after Planet, and began the process of Elevation for all life forms. I have sent automatic search and rescue probes to all the Planets inventoried by the Founders as seed worlds. So far, few survived the first steps of space travel, falling prey to older interstellar species seeded earlier by the same Founders. It is interesting to discover that, of those that did not manage to escape their Planet, and there are a few, all have legends about Wanderers, of visitors from the Stars that initiated civilisation and brought basic technology to them. Even more interesting is the similarity of the images associated with these Wanderers. Most drawings, even if severely eroded, show disks or spheres, with a tongue of fire that burned everything it touched. That matches closely the class D ships we found in the Founder Ships Array. Admittedly, it also matches the Atlanteans’ explorer vessels, making the validation of the origins of the Sowers a bit difficult. Time frames are so unstable it is difficult to establish whom did what."

"Sometimes, I wonder if we should not be called the sewers. Do you plan to rescue these people?"

"Probably. If the Founders saw something in them and they have survived so long, they deserve a chance at flowering within this world."

"How many species are we talking about?"

"Five, so far. Two are mammalian or similar; one is a plant, another is Bird-like, and a last one reminds me of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, but at a vastly reduced scale."

Samson looked at Ian with wide eyes. "Are you going nuts? Rescuing a T-Rex?"

"No, we are not rescuing a T-Rex, but something that looks like one. That one has developed superb ceramics. Its forearms has hands with three fingers. The Mammals are cute furry things that remind me of the pictures we have of the Ferret and the Marten, but with advanced hands, opposing thumbs, and rather big heads for their body size. As for the plant, it is static, contrary to the Ogres, but is telepathic. That in itself militates for its rescue."

"How many Planets did you have the robots visit?"

"Somewhere around 1,000,000 Planets had been earmarked for an immediate visit by our robots. Of those, ten percent had been eaten up by their primary as it blew up over time. Another 80% had regressed or suffered full biosphere collapse. We can not say if the collapse was the result of internal or external intervention. The rest were visited by either the Soul-Eaters, the Borgs, or both and never recovered. These are, apparently, the most recent victims of these horrors."

"Is this the entire inventory of Planets visited by the Founders or the Atlanteans?"

"No. The Catalogue has over 100,500,000 life-sustaining Planets. So, this puts our current efforts at somewhat less than 1% of the total Planets known to have sustained life at one time or other in the history of the Galaxy. Paschal, Enron, and Colibri are hard at work producing additional robots. We hope to finish the inventory six months before leaving the Galaxy."

"And, if the ratio of valid candidates species per Planet is constant, we should expect to have 502 or so additional species for Elevation by the time we get out of here. Are you sure we can deal with this influx? We have 45 years to assimilate them, at 11 or 12 a year. Do we have the capacity for that?"

"Dad, we managed to assimilate more in our first year than this, and quite easily at that. Remember the number of contributing species from Earth. It was done quickly, quietly, and effectively. And you assume, wrongly, that all Planets have a single species worth rescue and Elevation. We plan to rescue a Planet’s entire biosphere. If the Earth is any indication of things, you might multiply this number by 10 to 20."

Flabbergasted by the enormity of the numbers, Harold uttered the simplest rebuke he could muster. "You assume extra-terrestrial life-forms have similar constraints."

"In a way, they do: feed themselves, survive to reproduction, and reproduce. That is what drives life all over the Universe. We shall supply them with the needed environment, and guide their evolution. We can also put them in stasis if ever we become overwhelmed. After all, we can always design specific stasis pods, slow or even halt time in a tessaract sub-segment and Paschal had refined the transition buffers we used to rescue and separate the imports from Erigon. They now can hold an entire ecosystem in stasis until we have some free space in a tessaract for its implementation. Harp is currently designing another collection of tessaracts, quadrupling this type of space."

"I just knew this whole thing was nuts. But we are engaged, and my word and the word of my Sons are of eternal value. Continue, Sons, and hopefully, we shall pull this off."

"Do we have a choice, Dad?" questioned Ian. "I have been thinking about the Holy Keys and the fact that Harp had them in his mind, or, for that matter, all of the Atlanteans present. At first, it did not make sense, but then, neither did it make sense that an Ancient, Scarlatti, had it in his mind either and wrote the code in music in the early XVIIIth century AD. But then, I asked myself one thing: who made us? I mean the Atlanteans? Who started us on the road to space and the stars? These same Founders that built the ship and the Inner Sanctum and the Holy Keys! Who is to say they did not have powerful Mages capable of seeing the future as we now can? We always portrayed the Founders as all-powerful, all-seeing, all-knowing. Maybe they were in their heyday, and they planted that knowledge when they Elevated us. We assume they failed in seeing the destruction of their work by their work, but maybe it is us that are naïve in believing this. Maybe they did foresee this, and actually prepared us by pushing us in a direction we would not have taken otherwise. Their subtle presence has been a driving force all along our history, Dad. I am not talking about physical presence, but an inner drive that brought us to this point in time. They sowed, we reaped. I suspect this was their intention all along. That was the only explanation that made sense, Dad. They even planned the rescue of their Children, knowing that, in time, they would regress and we would be taking over their role."

"All this scares me even more, Son."

"As it does me."

"There is another thing that keeps coming back to my mind. The Founders look like Children, even in the genital department. How do they reproduce? I looked at some of the their Archives, and the Guardian was rather vague. I keep finding something in the oldest Archives they have about ‘doubling’ with makes my head spin. Dad, I think they duplicated by Magic, somehow, at the apex of their power. But it did not serve them well. Each duplication gradually introduced mistakes in the process, a sort of drift, which would have been less intense had they at least kept mixing genes like the Goblins. Faults could have been detected and repaired that way. Then, when their Magic had degraded too much, they implemented the stasis pod reproduction without the safeguards the Goblins did. Finally, even that sort of became problematic. We have been hard at work cross-indexing the genetic maps and running simulations to figure out what their original genome was, and believe me, there is a lot of garbage in the current form. Enron and Colibri are hard at work fixing a standard model and creating enough variance to allow them full recovery but, believe me, it will not be tomorrow they will be able to claim their old status."

"Why did this happen?"

"Apart from natural deterioration of genetic material, I see one big, and totally insurmountable cause: arrogance and self-confidence pushed to its extremes."

"What happens when they do recover their grandeur? You know we had enough trouble with that kind of individual."

"I said we were trying to recover their genetic material. I did not say we planned to put it back in intact, Dad. We are not stupid! I like their gentle and kind nature. We plan to keep that."

"I saw some Females in the lot..."

"These are the oldest in stasis Dad. They suffered a similar fate to the Goblin Females, but we still have their body to study. They are sterile and unable to produce viable eggs, even if we managed to bring them to menarche. Their reproduction organs are too damaged. I think the Founders hoped to one day restart their population, but it is not by this means they will succeed. For now, their population is stable, and Paschal is hard at work preparing them some stasis pods for reproduction purposes, much like the machines used by the Goblins. However, this one will use blood draws until we manage to get the Males to puberty. That promises to be a complicated task."

"Why not send a ‘sperm collector’ back to their original Planet?"

"Dad! We thought of this, but Paschal shot the idea down in flames: you know where that Planet orbited, and you know the impact it had on space-time continuity! Sending a collector there might well trigger another Big Bang! It is out of the question!"

"I keep forgetting these damn Physics laws."

"Alzheimer’s, Dad!"

"I shall show you about old age and memory loss, you little prick!" said Harold as he began chasing Ian around the Imperial living room, with Ian giggling madly at his Dad missing him at every turn.