Galactica: Book 1 - Via Lactea

 

Captain’s Log

Star Date: 10th day of March, 12th Year IC

18:05 hour UTC

Ian recording.

It feels strange to use a calendar based on my own birth date, with all the months rounded to 30 days, a year of 360 days, and all months moved up by 19 days so March begins on my birthday. I just can not explain the unease this causes me. Dad says it is because I had ten years of the old calendar to overcome. Maybe that is it, who knows?

We have just left the star nursery after spending two years training non-magical people in the use of the Fighter Space Suit, or FSS for short. Some still have been unable to deal with the vastness of space, but we hope that reprogramming them in stasis pods will bring them to functionality. If not, we shall have to keep them as ground Infantry should we need to invade a planet. Some Mages also suffer from the same issue, but they are a lot rarer.

The listening of radio waves has not revealed any coherent transmissions, but that does not mean much. Hyper-space transmissions are also silent, apart from the constant white noise produced by the expansion of the Universe we are embedded in. The occasional laser beam we have detected are all associated with Black holes and Neutron stars, not with a civilization. Warp and transwarp bubbles are also undetected, and this is probably due to attenuation. We are way off any potential standard routes for intra-galactic navigation. Slipstreams, albeit less affected by attenuation, also give a much fainter signal when they are in use, making their far-range detection problematic.

The exploration of the nursery’s vicinity has revealed a cluster of stars, and a group has left some weeks back to look into the stars in search for a planet with some resources we need. I ordered that Thebes follow the exploratory teams into the cluster. We should be undetectable due to the high ambient radiation level. It would be nice to find some more orichalque. We need to expand Thebes outward, and the additional material is sorely needed. I hope we also find some other rare metals.

End recording.

"Captain, Legate Terminus reports a strange solar system," calling Ian’s attention to her station.

"Ok, Felicia Wolf. Put him on speakers."

After a nod, Ian requested the report.

"What is the issue, Terminus?"

"It is the first time I see three planets of about Earth-size share the same orbit."

"That is indeed strange. Usually the bigger piece of junk clears a ring, preventing another planet from forming. What have you done so far?"

"I dispatched three Centuries, one per planet, to ascertain they are what they are."

"What do you expect?"

"I have no idea. Can you ask Thebes to verify the star’s orbit and compare it with the neighbours?"

"It is working on it. A star cluster is usually hectic."

"I have some news, Sir."

"Yes, AI-6?"

"The spectra of the star in question is abnormal, indicating a concentration of metals 200 times the concentration found in the stars of the cluster. That star migrated into the cluster, Sir. The cluster is composed essentially of metal-poor type II population stars. This is a type I star."

"Thank you. Paschal, speculate?"

"That star is not of origin, thus it must have been captured by the cluster as it orbits the Milky Way. As a complementary suggestion, given how far we are from the galactic core, it is possible it is the entire cluster that got captured, carrying within itself the star and its planetary system."

"You believe it is possibly of extra-galactic origin?"

"Yes."

"Ok. Terminus, proceed with caution. We are navigating the star cluster to reach your location, but it is not easy, even with our small size. The count places the number of stars at around 100,000,000,000, densely packed."

"Acknowledged."

"AI-6, backtrack the cluster’s orbits and try to determine where it comes from."

"On it."

***

A few days later, Thebes was inserted in a stellar orbit slightly beyond the orbital plane of the three planets that had intrigued Terminus.

"So, what have you discovered?" asked Ian as he took the Captain’s seat from Timor.

"The mass of the three planets is inconsistent with the density of rock. It would be somewhere like 2.1 rather than the 2.70 expected from granitic masses or Earth’s 5.5 due to important concentration of iron."

"That puts their density at somewhere between aluminium’s 2.7 and magnesium’s 1.7. An alloy?"

"So far, surface scans reveal something different. Sit down, my Prince."

"I always am sitting down when I am in command. I even have a five-point safety belt."

"The surface is pure aluminium. The ‘craters’ are fake, designed to trick the eyes. These ‘planets’ are artificial."

Silence met Legate Terminus’ report. As it extended in time, he became anxious.

"Are you still there, Lord Ian?"

"Sorry, that cut my legs off! Be even more careful while exploring the surface!"

"We are, your Highness. We are hovering above. I do not wish to trigger any surprise."

"That is good policy, Terminus. Expect us in..."

"Three days," replied Samson as he kept plotting the best path to the location of the exploratory Legion.

"It is fine, Lord Samson. We still have 15 days before auto-recall activates."

After the narrow-beam communication had stopped, Samson walked into the Bridge and huffed.

"What is it, Samson?" asked his Son Enron, as he followed the plot to their destination.

"I just can not understand they still use these outdated titles. We are all equal in this venture."

"Conditioning that has lasted for a lifetime can not be erased overnight, Dad. Terminus still lives in a feudal society, and the fact that we still exercise power as Kings and Princes, and that there is still a fully functional Court does not help him overcome his need to use titles."

"I know Son, even if we officially adopted everyone as part of our family to help remove that stricture."

"Paper will never outweigh customs."

"I sure know it! Even with Ian’s Imperial Decree, some still use the caste system in my people!" lamented Tarik. "It will take the disappearance of the current generation and than some for these labels to vanish."

"If human history is any indication, Tarik, short of executing every Adult and brain-washing the Children, it will last for several generations, not a single one!" replied Harold, from the Imperial Chair of the Bridge.

"You are not very encouraging."

"It is better to be honest when dealing with social reengineering. It is easier to move a mountain than to change mentalities."

***

A few days later, Thebes inserted itself in planetary orbit at 100 miles above the surface. It took 25 orbits to map the surface and confirm the virtual flatness of the ground, notwithstanding the extensive colouring that gave the impression of a cratered surface.

"This does not make sense!" exclaimed Paschal as he looked at the data. "Sitar, recall the FSS fleet. We need to do some tests."

"Ok. Transmitting the recall immediately."

A few minutes later, Sitar reported all aboard.

"What do you plan to do?" asked Ian.

"We shall pull into a tractor beam a piece of rock, say a small mass of one ton, and let it fall on the surface. We shall observe what happens."

"Ok. There is a lot of garbage in the asteroid belt. We can pick one."

"Dad, stay in orbit, we shall send a Legion to move a small rock out of orbit and throw it down so it comes to collide with the planet. It would be safer if we were not associated with the orbital change of a ton of rocks, in case it is interpreted as an act of aggression."

"Ok, Sitar. I agree if we can do it without being associated with the piece of junk, it would be better. Proceed as you see fit."

"I need the help of AI-6, Paschal, and Harp."

"Ok."

***

A small rock was selected after four hours of intense search. It was already a piece of junk that intercepted the planet’s orbit. It needed very little nudging to slow it down and bring it to a collision path.

"How long will it take to collide with the planet?" asked Ian.

"Six days," replied AI-6. "Had we not nudged it, it would have skimmed the planet at less than 100 miles."

"I was expecting to stay around for a month or so?"

"There are millions of rocks around, but you wanted a big one. Most are in the order of pebbles, and thus are useless for our objective."

"And how did you nudge it?" Samson asked. "I did not detect any explosion."

"We used the parabolic laser method. By staying in the shadow, it was possible to impact the surface at the proper angle for long enough to move the piece by 0.02°."

"Ok. I gather it is AI-6 that did the maths?"

"Err, no, it was Paschal. I just confirmed the results."

Harold looked at Paschal, who was whistling a love song innocently. "You, Son, will be my nightmare."

"I thought it was Harp?"

"Him too! Him too!" replied Harold, smirking.

"Dad! You enjoyed my tricks as much as I did!"

"Tricks without treats can get boring. And it does not mean I am not worried you might go too far, Son."

"Who is monitoring the rock’s displacement?" asked Tarik, more to cut short the current discussion than because he was really interested.

"We have one of the young Orcs, ²² ("Alizé: from French, a subtropical wind, the Trade Winds."), that volunteered."

"He is always volunteering for everything. One day, he will volunteer himself in a corner."

"Maybe so, Tarik, but I wish we had more like him," replied Ian. "He is not magical, but wants so much to be accepted it would be a disgrace to turn him down when he can do a mission."

Tarik looked at Ian with concern. What does he mean, we need more like Alizé? Tarik though.

«I mean people are scared, and do not want to take risks. He is scared, but he finds the guts overcome his fears. That is bravery. That Boy is brave, brave beyond the call of duty.»

Tarik blushed furiously. He had forgotten to shield his thoughts.

"And what is expected of him?" he asked.

"To sit tight and send a pulse every time he is hidden from the Sun to a series of relays that triangulate the pulse. This allows us to track the rock without anyone being aware it is so."

"And when will he leave the rock?"

"He is on recall as soon as he is less than 500 miles from the surface."

"I see. And what happens if that planet activates its defences before he is ported out?"

"That is where bravery comes into play. He can trigger the port himself at any time or it will trigger if he is in danger. Knowing him, he will do all he can to ride the rock to the minimum altitude."

"Bravery is also knowing when to back off."

"Explain that to him when he materialises in the Porting Hall."

***

"It is two minutes to auto-recall. All are notified."

"Thank you, AI-2. Start countdown."

As the minute passed, everyone kept an eye on the slowly growing rock. The lack of atmosphere around the planet gave no indication of how near to the surface was the incoming impactor.

"One minute to impact, speed: 36,000 miles per hour, distance: 600 miles. Porting," AI-2 informed the Bridge crew.

Everyone watched the rock and the surface of the artificial planet with growing anxiety. Thirty seconds passed without any reaction. Suddenly, at -15 seconds to impact, a powerful flash of light left the surface and vapourised the rock into a fine dust.

"Estimate the distance between the rock and the surface." asked Ian.

"Estimated distance: 150 miles. We are within the defence response range, as we are orbiting at 100 miles."

"Thank you, AI-2," replied Ian, and then, turning to the others, asked the question everyone had on their lips. "Why were we not blasted?"

"I came into orbit following a tangential trajectory and put the brakes on at our perihelion. The defence mechanism probably calculated our orbit and decided we were not a threat."

"Ok. That makes sense. Now, what next?"

"Apparently, defences are still working fine. I wonder about one thing. Have we received any messages from any of the planets?"

"None whatsoever," replied Felicia Wolf.

"Do you think we could port inside?"

"Not until we know what is inside. And we have only been using passive exploration methods, with good reason, given what we just observed," Sitar told them.

"Could we use Mage Sight?" wondered Timor.

"We have not tried that," Harp said, as he looked at Ian questioningly.

"It is worth a try. There is one thing we have not tried."

"What is it?" Thorsten asked.

"We know we can merge to sense the future and that this spot is another Nexus of time, but we never did try merging other senses, including Mage Sight. Maybe it is the time to do so. It might break the fog."

"It is worth a try. Where do we do that test? And how many of us get involved?" asked Harp.

"I suggest we try all seven of us, first from the Bridge and then while hovering in space." Typhoon said.

"Typhoon, reverse the order. I do not want Thebes associated with any active sensor activity, should it be conceived as an act of aggression."

"Agreed, Pharaoh. I forgot the whole picture."

"Ok. Dad, you have the Bridge. We get to the FSS Hall and port out 1,000 miles off around the planet we are currently orbiting. I suggest we merge before jumping into the FSS."

"All right, Ian," replied Harold, nodding and moving to the Captain’s chair from the Imperial chair, before tying himself up.

A quick portal jump brought the Protectors and Ian to the FSS Deck, and the seven boys converted to their Dragon Boy form before binding their minds into a cohesive super-mind.

«First, let us try to synchronise Magic Sight," ordered Harp, in charge since it involved advanced Magic.

After a few minutes, all the Boys were able to share Sight, and progressed in exploring Thebes using the combined sense.

«I see your Dad is a quarter healed,» Ian said as they explored the Dragon Tessaract.

«Yes, I noticed. It has been six years and four months since he was put in the stasis pod. Tarik still visits him weekly, as I do.»

«What are these fine lines that seem to create an ephemeral web?» wondered Thorsten.

«It is the Magic web. See how fast we collect it in our core, like we were spooling yarn. And Thebes as a whole is collecting vast amounts of it as well. I am sure if we looked at the space ship from further away, we would have the impression of a big ball of wool spinning on itself.»

«And the big, dense balls of it are the Crystals?» asked Typhoon.

«Yes, and the atoms of Ianium.»

«Ok. Let us get in the FSS. AI-5, have you calculated our port points?»

«Yes. It is stored in the port data and will be retrieved on closure of the FSS.»

The seven boys jumped in the liquid and quickly assimilated to their respective Fighter Space Suit, to be immediately ported to their target coordinates.

«Is everyone still connected?» Harp asked.

«Yes.» replied the others.

«Ok. Focus on the planet below. First objective: determine the thickness of the outer shell. Second objective: determine the organization inside. Third objective: determine the atmosphere. Fourth objective: determine if there are inner defences. Fifth objective: determine if there is life, as we know it. Do not forget to sense for silicon-based lifeforms.»

***

The task began and the Boys quickly realised that the ‘crust’ was about five miles thick, with numerous cavities. Using advanced interferometry, they came to a conclusion: these pockets were occupied by machines of various types. One of them was hotter than the rest.

«I think that this is the source of the light that vapourised the rock. We need to inspect it at close range. Are there other types of machines around?» Paschal asked.

«I see a few more,» replied Sitar.

«I estimate there is one per ten square miles. If you see this as a few, we do not have the same notion of what that expression means!» said Paschal.

«Paschal, get the brain out of the cotton! When I said a few, I meant I saw different types!»

«Oh. Sorry! I notice that what could be reactors or ion drives that seem to be aligned with the ‘craters’, and that each ‘crater’ is the site of an increase in density. My explanation, subject to verification, is that the activation of a reactor includes extending some sort of plating to guide the expelled gases or ions.»

«That covers propulsion and defences. There must be sensor arrays, if only because it managed to detect the incoming rock?» Ian wondered.

«It probably has to do with the other two types of machines we see. Passive detection and active detection methods should be the norm. However, I can not figure out which is which,» Paschal replied.

«Is there anything else related to the crust of the planet we need to talk about?» Ian asked.

«There is a density change, covering several hundred miles, just below the crust. From what I detect, it is ice.» Typhoon noted.

«Given how cold the surface of the planet is, I am not surprised it has a layer of ice right under the crust. The cold must have permeated from the surface down over the aeons.» Ian replied.

«Below that, there is another transition: it is a fusion layer indicating a phase change between solid ice and liquid water. Then things settle into a liquid form for some time before becoming solid anew. It is a strange solid. It feels like an amorphous rock composed of water!»

«Sitar, this is phase VI water, at 10⁹ Kilo-pascal. The pressure is so intense the water molecules are unable to move,» Paschal told the others.

«Is there anything else?»

«No, this is the last transition. There is no metallic or magmatic transition surface. The core of the planet is rotating at a somewhat faster pace than the surface, typical of the decoupling produced by a liquid or gaseous interface.»

«How much faster?»

«My estimate, Ian, is that it spins about four times faster than the surface,» supplied Paschal.

«We are done with physical characteristics. Let us begin to work on the next question. Is there life?»

«Ian, the Ancients said it succinctly: where there is liquid water, there is life,» Enron commented.

«I would agree, but what would be the energy source for the life in there? We have found no fumaroles, nothing that would indicate some source of energy.»

«What keeps the water liquid?»

«What do you mean, Thorsten?»

«That thing should be a solid block of ice from top to bottom by now. What keeps a layer liquid?»

«Maybe it is gravity? Much like it used to do with quite a few Moons of Jupiter?» suggested Typhoon.

«That requires an eccentric orbit, and that planet is in a perfectly circular one. And, to complicate things further, there is next to no tide,» answered Paschal.

«Let us try to find life, and if we do, we can try and speculate on where it gets its energy,» Ian decided, wanting to bring things back on track.

Everyone focussed on Mage Sight again, trying to detect life. At first, nothing was apparent.

«Maybe we are looking for the wrong thing?» suggested Thorsten. «We always assume technology. What if it is not the case?»

«But this planet is artificial! How could there not be technology?» objected Enron.

«Nonetheless, I suggest we look for something else. What is the fundamental, most fundamental, aspect of life? I think we need to focus on trying to locate the presence of cells, exchange of nutrients, gases, and excretion of by-products of life. Let us begin at the bottom of the chain rather than at the top, as we have been doing.»

A refocussing of Mage Sight quickly revealed a different picture. There was a huge volume of exchange, but the picture was strangely both more complex and a lot simpler than anticipated. Suddenly Harp understood what he was seeing!

«Guys, I can not believe what I see. This planet is a life form! What we see, all the complex structure, is to encase a single cell! The energy source is the Sun, and all that complex crust is the skin allowing protection from the exterior conditions, defence, displacement, and potentially excretion. What we see outside is mimicry. The crust is the skin, the nucleus contains the equivalent of the genome, which we mistook for badly formed crystals. The entire thing is structured like a huge cell! I would not put it beyond that thing to have antibodies capable of assimilating whole comets and asteroids. It is our luck it is not hunting, because it has a Sun as a source of energy! Between stars, beware! I think it is in the process of thawing up, not getting frozen up! Once its ice layer is gone, we had better be far off!»

«Could it have selected the star cluster for a source of energy?» Ian wondered.

«I have no idea. It could have sensed it as a nice place to divide, since there is considerable radiation at the centre of the star cluster.»

«What about the other two? Are we seeing the same thing?»

«Ian, we need to look at the other two before we try to pull some conclusions. From what Terminus told us, it could well be the case.»

«Let us go back to Thebes. I want us out of orbit as soon as possible. The greater the distance the better!»

«I agree. Everyone, activate your recall to Thebes.»

The seven explorers quickly found themselves back on the FSS Deck, coughing somewhat and feeling cold, even if it was the hottest spot in the entire Atlantean space ship. Immediately, Ian contacted the Bridge.

"FSS Deck to Bridge! Immediate recall of all FSS out on patrol! Five minutes to transwarp! Alexander! Plot an orbit one light-year away from that star!"

Ian and his Companions quickly dried up and ported to the Bridge. Ian quietly informed the crew of the astounding conclusions they had reached and explained what justified the recall and the move off the star.

"In short, safety in distance!" said Samson. "I approve."

By then, every patrol was back on-board and the space ship suddenly engaged into transwarp for less than one-tenth of a second, literally blinking out of existence for the interval.

"What do we do now, Son?"

"We check the other two. I tentatively named that monster Aquarius, because it contains a lot of water. We may have to rethink this at a later date. Let us have a quick lunch, then we move to the next one. I am having problems calling them planets, even if we know Earth was a living planet, Gaia."

***

The team moved to the next pseudo-planet and began the Mage Sight analysis. Rapidly, some changes were quite apparent. Yes, the exoskeleton was of similar composition and structure as Aquarius; but there were also marked differences. Huge tubes could be detected crossing right through the crust from the liquid core. The Boys could also see a veritable armada of long tubes bounded in long spindles. Aquarius, on the other and, seemed to have numerous low-density spheres presenting a much smaller nucleus.

«What are those structures?» wondered Typhoon, the Dragon.

«Let us focus on one of these tubes. I think we shall have a better understanding by going deeper in the structure,» suggested Harp, all the while wishing he could scratch an itch he could not reach on his back.

«Do not worry, I will do all the necessary scratching when we get back in the Nest!» exclaimed Thorsten, much to the amusement of the other Boys and Harp’s lasting embarrassment.

«If I understand what I see, each spindle is composed of a long, narrow tube, a short cone-like thickening about ¾ of the way and then another extremely short tube. The long tube is empty, the short tube as well, but it has what could be an ionic drive assembly near the cone. Let me see... Yes, the cone itself is divided in two parts, one containing a particle accelerator congruent with an ion drive, and the other has a contents that seems to be folded on itself. I can not, for the moment verify the structure of the folded material, but its density and Magic resonance match the signature of the material found in the nucleus of Aquarius,» Enron analysed.

«I have an idea of what we are observing,» Ian said, «but that mental image sends shivers down my back. Let us move to the other pseudo-planet and see what we find before I submit my idea.»

The septet quickly ported near the third and last pseudo-planet. The observations matched point by point the results obtained from the second flyby.

«Ok. I have a good idea of what we are observing. Let us go back to Thebes.»

All the Boys followed Ian’s recommendations and moved back to the space ship. Quickly, after drying up by Magic, the Boys ported to the Bridge.

«Family conference at vespers, Dad. I want everyone present except the skeleton crew on the Bridge. What I have to reveal scares the shit out of me.»

«I have never seen you so worried, Ian. Why delay, if only by an hour?»

«I do not want to leave anyone in the dark about what I found, and vespers is one of the best times to ensure that everyone is wide awake: the evening shift is about to take their stations; the night shift is in its ‘morning’ rituals; the day shift is readying for their rest period but is yet awake.»

«I understand.»

***

Vespers dinner was beginning when a general call to attention rang across Thebes via the speakers. Not everyone had mastered telepathy and it was the only way to make sure no one was missed.

"Attention! Attention! Incoming critical communication from Ian, the Heir of Atlantis! All non-vital activity must stop! Please get as close to the speakers as you can and wait. The communication will begin in five minutes!" the Thebes AI thundered across all layers of the immense ship.

The minutes ticked by slowly, but finally, the whistle calling everyone to attention blew. Ian sat at the Captain’s Chair on the Bridge and spoke slowly, clearly weighing every word before uttering them in the microphone.

"Atlanteans! We have been exploring what we initially thought were strange planets. These structures were not planets but planet-sized lifeforms. The first life-form, which we called Aquarius, is a layer of icy water covered by a crust of aluminium 5 miles thick. The structures of the other two lifeforms is similar. After analysis, I have come to a conclusion: Aquarius is the Female of the species, and the other two are the Males. The two Males are in the process of courting the Female, and we are in the courting arena, a mere speck of dust compared to these three behemoths. I came to this astounding discovery after studying the internal structure of the Males: they contain huge amounts of spindles ready to be launched the moment the Female is ready for fertilisation. Given the size of the individual spindles, I suspect the Males will not survive the ejection of the material required to fertilise the Female. I am not at all surprised this could be the case. We all know about the rescued Salmons, or the Spiders so dear to our family members, the Faeries. There are many things we still do not understand concerning the Aquarians, including the life cycle, their origins, or if it is of artificial origin or the result of a natural evolution in planets. Let us not forget that our second home, Terra, or Earth, had developed into Gaia, a conscious planet. Maybe these three Aquarians reveal another form of evolution. At the time of our departure from Gaia, we were not focussed on understanding planetary conscience development; but now, with the presence of the Aquarians, we have to look into it. We must re-evaluate our notion as to what constitutes Life. I called this meeting to inform every member of the Atlantean Society of our astounding discovery, but also to ask counsel from all. I have three questions: Are we in danger? If so, should we stay to investigate further? And third, should we try to establish contact with the life-form? We are at the core of a nexus, and Far-seers, even us, are blinded to the future. We have no idea what lies beyond the fog for the immediate future. Will we have a rough time? Will our decision lead to more trouble than it is worth? That is why I call upon you to help me decide. All the Royals and Dragons are available to collect comments from this moment on. Any and all comments are welcomed. All data collected so far can be freely obtained from any terminal, and the interpretation furthered with the assistance of most Artificial Intelligences. I say most because one must stay available to control the internals of Thebes, and another to ensure the monitoring of outer space. I do not expect any sudden change in the Aquarians for a while still, but nonetheless, we must arrive to a decision shortly. Ian out!"

At first, stunned silence met Ian’s speech. Then the Artificial Intelligences began feeding information to all who asked. Terminals were all saturated and telepathic communications flowed at an unprecedented volume. Slowly, a consensus evolved, and by the end of the week, one point had been decided by the Atlanteans. They were in danger and the common suggestion was to move off at a safer distance. The vast majority suggested moving at least three stars off, which meant, given the density of the star cluster, a distance of eight light-years. The decision was immediately ratified by the Boys and Harold. Alexander took the helm and navigated the cluster to the appropriate distance, placing Thebes around a red super-giant.

The next decision took some more time to come by. The debate raged. Everything revolved around one aspect: what was the research trying to assess? Was it worth the risk? Enron and Paschal were solicited frequently to explain some arcane aspects of the life form as they understood it. Sitar and Thorsten were questioned on the strategic aspects of what could be gained. Harp and Typhoon, along with Ian, supplied a finer description of what had been seen with Magic Sight and how it influenced the research models envisioned.

As time passed, another question began to overshadow the raging debate. What constitutes intelligence? How do you communicate with what amounts to a cell? Many ideas flew around, some rather ludicrous, like the use of chemicals to communicate across vast voids, to the use of light pulses or patterns. The later suffered from severe problems, as no sensory organs were apparent on the surface, much to the chagrin of the Boys. Nothing protruded, no eyes, no antennas, no hair, nothing! Yet there had to be a way for the three Aquarians to be aware of their environment and their mutual presence! Otherwise, how could the Males have detected the Female orbiting the star? Stuck in an infernal debate, Ian called up his Companions.

"Guys, we lack some essential elements of information. We must return to the Aquarians and scan in depth. I sense that we must penetrate the skin of one of them and explore its structure physically."

"This is dangerous, Ian."

"I know, Sitar. But what choice do we have?"

"Not many, I fear."

"How should we proceed? We can port above the surface and then below, since we now know the internal organisation of the Aquarians. But should we wear a FSS or go bare?" wondered Thorsten.

"And should we take more of us? I, for one, would love to have at least our Dragon bonded with us, and possibly Timor and his bonded as well."

"Paschal, you know that means we must include Iridia and her bonded Dragon? She will hide in his fur to get on that trip!"

"I know, Harp! I know!"

"I think we must use the FSS, if only because we have no knowledge of the nature of the contents within the cavities we shall be porting in. These suits may not be orichalque, but they offer us a lot more protection than nothing with their extensive covering of metallic mithril. Their structure also protects us from unexpected magical attacks. I doubt these Aquarians have Magic, but we can not be sure of anything, given our lack of knowledge."

"I agree with Harp’s assessment of the situation. And we are shape-shifters. We can always change shape within our catalogue of genetic maps to fit the best given the environment we find below. One thing we must be aware of is that it might be beneficial to enter in the smallest size we can convert to," suggested Sitar. "Stealth is in the order of the day."

"What would you choose?"

"Let me think! How many of us can combine Dragon skin with the functionality of a Bee?"

The Boys looked at Sitar wide-eyed.

"This!" he replied converting to a Honey Bee with the armoured body of a Red Dragon.

The number of surprised exclamations told Sitar it had not been practiced much! Coming back to his Boy form, he explained why he wanted to use that form.

"First it is small; second the exoskeleton is Dragon skin, therefore almost indestructible; third, it can fly; fourth, the eyes are similar in both species. From what I see, none of you has tried mixing two genomes?"

"I had thought of it," replied Harp, but, for some reason, I held back. How many of us do not have the Bee genetic map?"

"I think Iridia, Timor, and possibly Tarik do not. Iridia, because, given her diminutive size, a Bee is like getting stung by a dive bomber; the other two, because they are covered with a thick, protective, layer of fur."

"Why do you think Tarik might not? There were enough Bees in Africa to be bugging!"

"African Bees, yes! Honey Bees? I did not see any!"

"You have a point. Let us go see Tarik. We shall ask and see if he wants to come with his bonded in that expedition. Most of our Dragon bonded will need to be inoculated with Honey Bee genomes anyway. Do we have some in store?"

"I hope you have enough, Enron. I can tell you none of the Dragons ever got stung by a Bee. Our rocky skin do not allow their puny dart any leeway to penetrate us."

"Ok, Typhoon. We can resolve the issue, as long as you all have Atlantean or Human genomes. You can convert to our form and get a shot. It will be a new sensation for you guys."

"I shiver at becoming a leather skin!"

"If we managed to survive, Typhoon, it is not that bad. I am sorry to introduce you to our condition to shove a needle in your cute bum!"

"Ian! Do not scare him so, or he will constrict his muscles so tight the needle will break!"

"You are not helping, Harp."

"Come on, guys! Stop it! The best jokes are the shortest ones! You already have collected several hundred genomes, Typhoon, and you never needed a needle to do it! All we need to do is to get you near a beehive! They will come to you and you can collect a variety of samples easily, like anyone of us!"

"You are a fun flop, Enron. I was so enjoying the jumpiness of my bonded!"

"Someone mentioned Tarik. Should we include him and his bonded?"

"I do not see why not, Thorsten. He will be glad to be part of this."

"Ok. Let us go collect everyone. Tarik, Timor, Iridia, Greywolf, Lord Agramon Silver Moon, and our Dragon bonds. That will bring the expeditionary forces to twenty-two. Is this enough?"

"I think so, Ian. I do not want us to be too numerous. The smaller the group, the less apparent its presence, both outside of the Aquarian we select, and inside its skin, once we move into position."

"Ok, Typhoon, I will accompany the Dragons to the Eden Tessaract. Harp, reaccelerate time within that Tessaract to match on-board time flow, please. I do not want to spend six seconds moving in it while six months elapses in here."

"You have a point. I will accompany you to the Tessaract gate. I wonder when the first Cat will be ready for the Ordeal and a bonding? I would have included one if they had reached that level."

"I wish we could too, but I doubt their unique abilities would be of use within a FSS."

"Point taken, Sitar."

***

The news of the expedition spread in Thebes like fire in a gas tank. Just about everyone volunteered to replace the Princes and kings in that dangerous endeavour, but Ian stood fast on his original decision.

"I decided on the composition of the exploratory team due to one thing no one knows. We considered sending out Units, but the mere inclusion of one person not of our level of magical Power darkened and thickened the cloud enveloping the nexus. I came to the conclusion that this could only mean one thing: either death for one of us, or the ultimate failure of the information-gathering process. Each one of us was added because his presence lightened the fog, but no single combination totally dispelled it. I also noticed that adding more Royals worsened the situation beyond a certain point, and completely blackened the horizon if we included Dad, Samson, or any of the older princes. According to our best abilities at foreseeing, we are the optimal team to accomplish that mission."

***

Harp sped up time in the Eden Tessaract and decided to accompany the Dragons in it. The Elves and Faeries that kept the Eden Tessaract under control were surprised to see the collection of Dragon Boys, Typhoon, Enron, Sitar and Harp walk in on them.

"Is there a problem?" asked the Legate Elf in charge of the Eden Tessaract.

"Actually, we need to collect genetic material from the Honey Bees for inclusion in our genetic maps," explained Typhoon. "Do you know where we could find some?"

"The Legate of the Faeries would be best suited to answer that question, my Lord. I saw a Fairy speed off to get the Legate the moment you mentioned your need. Please be seated while we wait on his return. Do you want something to eat or drink? We have honey, honey beer, and honey wine, juices in an infinite variety, and also a variety of pasties made with honey. The Bees let us collect the honey without much fuss as long as we insure a constant supply of flowers for nectar."

"It has been a while since I had honey on fresh, hot, crusty bread. Do you have that?"

"You are in luck, my Lord. We just made a batch of hot bread this morning, and it should be out of the oven by now, just cool enough to be sliced."

The Legate snapped his fingers and a train of Elves brought bread, milk, fresh bread, and honey on the combs to the table.

It took half an hour for the Fairy Legate to show up, out of breath.

"What can I do for you, my Lords?"

"We need to collect genetic information about the honey Bees to add to our genetic maps. Can you guide us to a hive?"

"Certainly, your Highness. We could walk there, but it is an hour’s walk off, through thick brushwood. You might find the passage difficult, since there is a lot of spiny bushes."

"That is not a problem. We can fly. Each of us is able to convert to a Hummingbird. Hey, we forgot to ask Colibri if he wanted to join?"

"I thought of it, Typhoon, but Colibri’s presence reduced marginally the probability of success," replied Ian.

"I suggest we take in the Pterodactyl form for a good part of the flight. That way, the Legate would be able to sit astride the neck of the Reptile, and it would reduce the travel time considerably."

"Ok. Since it is your Idea, Harp, you give this Lady a ride."

"Before we leave, Legate, one question?"

"Certainly, Lord Enron?"

"Have you noticed a change in the behaviours of the Insect colonies, the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Termites, or other colonies?"

"I was going to mention this during my next report, but since you raise the question, yes I have. Do you have some explanations for these changes?"

"It depends on the nature of the changes you noticed."

"I would say an increase in cohesiveness within each colony, like they were developping a sense of purpose."

"A sense of purpose?"

"Well, yes. They seem to be gaining some sort of colony awareness. It is troubling, yet exhilarating. They seem to willingly exchange services with us, and with plants. It gives us the creeps."

Enron looked at Harp, who could not help but whistle at the observations.

"I think we are observing the Tessaract Effect in the Insects. Should we intervene?"

"Let us observe. It is a natural development of living in Tessaracts, Enron. We knew this was coming, but not that fast, even if I intentionally slowed down time within the Eden Tessaract."

The Fairy Legate looked at the King and princes, perplexed. "Tessaract Effect? Time slow-down? What are my Lords talking about? I am lost!"

"Let me explain," began Harp. "Some years back, well before we left Earth, I noticed that living in a Tessaract had some weird side-effects. At first, it was limited to an increase in multiple births, the Tessaract Baby Boom, which is still as strong as ever. Then we noticed that the those born in a Tessaract were more intelligent than their parents, which we falsely attributed to better health care. It did play a role, but it is the fact that they were born in Tessaracts that was the dominant factor, not the health care. This became apparent as the number of Babies showing spontaneous Magic exploded. It was at that time we noticed that even those born outside of a Tessaract but living for long periods in one began showing magical capacities. A case in point were the two Felines, Fang Chao and Spare Ribs, that developed telepathy. Lady, the number of Faeries with Magic was, to put it mildly, dismal. Now, you show telepathy and some form of basic Magic. I know for a fact that your six children are all in the Army already, and three are in the College of Magic at age three. The triplets are all potential Mages. And look at your family history. When was the last time any of them had six children, including triplets?"

"Never, your Highness, I did the research when the Healer told me I was expecting triplets."

"As for the time slow-down, we were, no, are worried that plants and other life-forms might suddenly see their evolution accelerate, much like it is happening to higher-order life like the Fairies, the Felines, and, we learned with quite a shock, viruses, bacteria, and retro-viruses. We almost lost the Felines to the Feline Immunodeficiency retro-virus and we had to take emergency drastic actions to eradicate the disease to safeguard the Cats. There were six such episodes so far, and I have not verified with the Fairies handling the Ark Tessaract if there were new threats. You certainly noticed the severity of the means used to keep ecosystems separate. This is one of the critical reasons for it."

"What does this have to do with the time slowdown?"

"By slowing down time in a Tessaract, we have a relatively faster response time to detect and eradicate any threat. Apparently, even that measure is not sufficient, since the Insects have begun to evolve in a noticeable fashion. We need to reassess the protocol, the methods, and accelerate our watch cycle. We shall put some of the family on the question while we are off on our mission. Colibri will probably be put in charge of that. He has proved his capacity with the Atlantis One Project. It is working like clockwork, and he is bored out of his mind with too much paperwork."

"He wanted to be a God, now he is one. I suspect he never considered the number of mind-numbing decisions he would have to take!" said Ian with a smirk.

"You might be surprised. He has found the best to handle just about every task, and set a series of goals that literally map the reconstruction of the planet-wide ecosystems to its pristine wildness. The original herds are for all intents and purposes reduced to specimens in a zoo, their genome a reference upon which to compare the changes and the progress in the reinsertion of biodiversity and normal behaviours."

"I was going to ask you how you knew all that, but I had forgotten you are still the military Governor of the Atlantis One Tessaract. You must be in constant contact with him, Sitar."

"We are, and the little bugger showed me how to manage things! I am good at flattening a town, but military administration was killing me. I was ready to execute every adult in sight. He pointed out some issues, and some avenues of solution, which I implemented with relish, and, some would say, an iron fist."

The Elves and Fairies were surprised at how candid the Royals were about issues and looked at them wide-eyed.

"Hey, do not look so surprised. You know how we abhor protocol and double-talk. Just look at us: we do not have a string of yarn on us. In fact, it is you guys that seem to be dressed for a formal dinner!" said Harp, as he noticed the funny faces of their audience.

"We seem to forget things the moment you walk out of eyesight, your Highness. Please forgive us."

"No offence taken, my Lady. Are we all finished eating?" Receiving a nod from everyone at the table, Harp stood up. "I noticed a clearing just in front of the house. Let us move there. Converting to a Pterodactyl inside would not be convenient. Lady, once I have changed shape, Typhoon will lift you so you can sit astride my neck. Talk to guide, I shall still understand you. And it is not necessary to yell. I noticed Pterodactyls have a very fine hearing, thank you, and you will be sitting just behind my head. I shall use Magic to keep you in place so we do not need a saddle."

"I was worried about that."

The group moved out, and Harp studied the small clearing.

"Takeoff will be steep and quick. Get ready. Guys, wait until I am in the air to convert to the form of Pterodactyls. That place would become overcrowded fast! We shall convert to Hummingbirds when we reach our destination. Lady, I shall port you from my neck to the ground in mid-flight. I have doubt that even with your diminutive size, a Hummingbird would be able to carry you anywhere!"

The Dragon Boys, the Faery Legate, Ian, Harp and Sitar moved outside quickly. Harp took position a the furthest end of the narrow opening in the forest cover, and converted to a fully coloured male Pterodactyl, much to the amazement of the observers, unused to seeing feats of Magic of such magnitude.

"Come with me, Lady," indicated Typhoon. Bringing her to near the neck of the impressive Pterodactyl Harp now had taken the form of, he lifted the Legate and helped her sit down, legs wide, across the neck.

"Do not worry. Harp has already taken grip of you by Magic. Just close your eyes on take-off. That is the most scary part in the whole affair."

Typhoon then moved out of the way and signalled the all clear. Harp lumbered at a dead run along the narrow path and suddenly climbed up almost vertically, barely clearing the trees at the end of the runaway.

«I will fly at 5,000 AGL and wait for you to join me.»

Shortly, the Faery Legate saw from her vintage point each Dragon Boy convert to a Pterodactyl and take off, then it was Sitar and Ian’s turn. She was impressed by the mastery of flight the big Reptiles showed. Then it came back to her. Dragons were natural flyers! It took her some time to realise Harp was waiting on her to fly to the Bees.

"I need to understand what I see from this point, my Lord," she explained clearly. "Can you fly closer to the ground?"

Harp obliged and circled the clearing a couple of times.

"Go west toward the river, my Lord. We should see a stream before we reach it. We need to go upstream."

Harp had his doubts about spotting a stream from above the forest canopy but he decided to use Mage Sight to determine the level of humidity on the ground. A stream should stand out as a red line under the forest cover. He was beginning to have some misgivings about converting to a Pterodactyl. Their minimum flight speed was 60 miles per hour, and that meant the whole flight could be over in less than five minutes, assuming the poor Faery recognized the proper landmarks!

His fears were rapidly confirmed. There were numerous streams under the forest cover. Which one was the Faery referring to? Then they reached the wide river before the poor Legate even thought they had begun flying in earnest. She was completely lost.

"I am lost, your Highness. I thought the river was much further!"

Harp understood their mistake immediately. He ported her on the beach visible below, converted to a Hummingbird in mid-flight, and landed before recovering his standard Atlantean form.

"I figured something was wrong the moment you asked me to circle the clearing. A change of perspective, added to a substantial increase in speed, is enough to disorient anybody. Do not feel bad about it. Do you at least know where we are now?"

The Faery looked around and spotted a marker on a rock.

"Yes, this marker is registered in our logbook as reference point R-30. We are two miles past the stream. There is a narrow, well-hidden trail fit for faeries, your Highness."

"Lead the way."

"You would have issues... Come to think of it, no you would not. Are you married, your Highness, you do a pretty damn cute Faery!"

"Thank you, my Lady. However, I am bonded to Thorsten, the King of the Dwarves, and also to a Dragon. Furthermore, I have duty of bonding to Atlantis, meaning I must also service a wide variety of females of different species to insure the cohesion of the Empire. If you are willing to live with those constraints, I can couple with you, but you must not expect fidelity. No one can expect that, under that kind of duty to the Imperial Crown, not even the love of my life, Thorsten. And he does the same, just in case you think I am the only one caught in this extended web of obligations. A Spider has more freedom than we do, Lady."

"What about the children your bonds create?"

"I am there as much as I can, and I try to explain things to them as early as possible, and with as much clarity as words can carry. I support the mother in her task, and try to be a Father as much as my multiple, complex, and unending obligations let me. As you already know, you are already part of the Royal Family: the Adoption Decree was not a meaningless piece of paper. When I am not available, the extended family is, and your child will have a huge collection of Uncles, Aunts, Cousins and other family members willing to be there at the mere thought of a need."

"Harp, let us get back to the goal of this side-trip, if you do not mind?"

"Oh, yes, Typhoon. Sorry, I think we got carried away. Lead the way, Lady.

They quickly engaged below a dense patch of brushes, following a barely discernible path. Insects of all sorts flew around them, mostly butterflies and other inoffensive members of the Lepidoptera family. The drone of a bigger Insect occasionally covered the noise of bruising leafs, at which time the Faery indicated they should either stay still or find shelter.

"Why?" suddenly asked Sitar as they once again resumed their progress.

"We do not wish to kill needlessly, but some Insects are carnivorous. The droning sound is made by the Dragonfly. And it carries its name!"

"Ah, a family member?" asked Typhoon.

"If you suck your victims dry..."

"No, I chew them up, after roasting them."

"It must be efficient given your size advantage, my Lord, but that advantage is considerably reduced when you are a Faery."