THE GALAXYMBION ODYSSEY

Sebria arrived on the Command Deck with Rilmuta Skane in time to see their quarry transit regally across Omnipotence’s forward view-screen. “Any useful telemetry or interior analysis, yet?” she enquired urgently.

“Negative, Princess,” Captain Kalana advised. “It remains both silent, inert and opaque. Would you like us to fire again? Perhaps we did not catch its attention.”

“Oh, we caught its attention fine,” a familiar voice rumbled from her left.

She recognised her old friend instantly. “Krissmin, it is good to see you again. Your tactics seem to be keeping our mystery guest’s interest without turning it hostile. Do you have any ideas for our next trick?”

“That depends on whether our mystery guest out there behaves itself or throws an unexpected tantrum. I’d give a great deal to know who, or what, is inside it.”

“Presumably, then, Sensormesh scans cannot penetrate that thing’s lacquered hull. External composition analysis, Mr Vorn?”

“Polymerised radiation, as far as our sensors indicate. Yes, I know that’s theoretically impossible as a solid substance, it is merely the best explanation to fit these mental readings. I guess it is intrigued by our recently acquired guests, though which group of them I could not say; it takes no overt offensive action and reveals no apparent purpose for hanging around us. As soon as we left the great Rendezvous it followed us and has stuck to us like glue.”

“Yes, it showed up at The Great Rendezvous at the exact time we established contact with the Saints of Thaliocrus. Any response to our communication overtures?”

“Negative,” Rilmuta answered, settling at a nearby science station. “Either they do not understand us, there’s nobody aboard or they simply are not in the mood for talking.”

“Fine; Captain Kalana, might I suggest a little excursion? Set course for the nearest nebula, maximum velocity.”

“The order is given; helm bring us about and execute. Shouldn’t our physics Senator be present, Princess?”

“Why bother an old gentleman with an unnecessary journey?”

“I am an old gentleman,” Krissmin interjected, “and nobody thought about sparing me an unnecessary journey from Kolda-ra!”

“You may be old but you are no gentleman, Krissmin Vorn. Concentrate on your work, please.”

“Well, well! How royal! It is a good thing you have a lovely smile and that Caldia has an excellent history of friendship with Kolda-ra, young lady, otherwise I might be offended. Okay; report update. Our mystery guest is following us at identical velocity. Shall we try and shake it off?”

“Any signs of hostility?”

“None, then again how would we know? Maybe following is a rude act of war in their society.”

“A reasonable precaution, then. Helm, bring us within five Luseps of the nebula and rotate to face our mysterious friend.”

“Do you have a plan, Your Highness?” Captain Kalana enquired.

“Not yet, Captain; I’m hoping Krissmin has one. I will have one in a few lapses, unless his plan is better. Planetfriend Krissmin, you may broadcast our greetings again to that other vessel; in all known languages and at all possible frequencies.”

The elderly Kolda-rian programmed his touch-screen quickly. “Broadcasting now, though I doubt it will bring forth a response from them. Shall we go to defence profile 7, Princess?”

“Not yet, just have it ready; five is sufficient for the moment and there is no indication that the other vessel is intentionally hostile. They merely seem inquisitive or lost.”

“As you wish, my lady,” Krissmin uttered in mock humility. “Anything else for your royal Princess-ness?”

“Some water,” Sebria replied, and everyone laughed, except Rilmuta. It was an old joke between her and Krissmin, going back to when he was captain and she was a little girl, only six orbits old. She had inadvertently spilt a cup of water over him and felt so bad that she had kept on apologising until her embarrassment caused her to run to the nearest exit.

“With the nebula behind us, they will find it more difficult to target us. Our own display of firepower was probably too weak to affect them. We could increase power to level four perhaps, and try again.”

“I understand your concerns, Captain Kalana, however we are not here to open negotiations with an unknown species by attacking them. Krissmin, continue broadcasting……..”

WHAT ARE YOU?

“Them?” Sebria asked, to nobody in particular.

“Obviously someone is home after all. I wonder which frequency caught their attention,” Krissmin added.

WHAT ARE YOU? I AM SEED-SHIP OF THE MASTERS. WHY DO YOU ALSO CARRY LETUNGEXEVA?

“I am Princess Sebria of Caldia. Why do you carry Letungexeva, and who are These Masters? Are you the Captain or crew of your vessel? Do you have a name?”

I AM THE OVUM; THERE IS NO VESSEL, CAPTAIN OR CREW, IF I UNDERSTAND YOUR MEANINGS. ONLY I CAN CARRY LETUNGEXEVA. LEDARA AND GELAYMER MUST BE SEEDED WITH THE VIRUS TO CURE THEM. YOU CARRY THE VIRUS AND INFESTATIONS FROM LEDARA AND GELAYMER. I MUST KNOW YOUR PURPOSE AND YOUR POSSIBILITY. YOUR ANSWERS ARE REQUIRED.

“Well, we do not know your purpose or why you are so interested in Letungexeva either. What do you want with the people we have rescued? And I ask you again: who are your Masters?”

THEY CONTROL THE MACROCOSM. THEY KNOW ALL, SEE ALL, MAKE ALL. THEY ARE FOUNDATION AND FUTURE, MAKERS OF LIGHT, ENERGY, LIFE AND THOUGHT, COMMANDING ALL DESTINY. THEY MADE LETUNGEXEVA TO CURE THE SICKNESS. THEY MADE ME TO DELIVER THE VIRUS. YOU CARRY IT INSIDE YOURSELF. WHAT IS YOUR MISSION, UNKNOWN THING?

“Thing? Our mission is to learn, preserve and elevate. We carry Letungexeva because we wish to. We carry life from Ledara and Gelaymer to protect, help and cure it. Did you follow us to The Great Rendezvous and then here, just to ask questions and learn?”

YES, I MUST KNOW WHY YOU ARE, WHY YOU DO. I MUST KNOW WHAT YOU ARE, WHAT YOU DO. THIS ONE MUST LEARN MORE.THEN I CAN COMPREHEND HOW TO FULFIL MY MISSION.

“Then your mission is similar to ours; to learn, and to cure the sickness. Can you help us speak with your Creators?”

I AM NOT PERMITTED TO INTERRUPT THEIR DIVINE WORK. YOU MIGHT SPEAK WITH THEM THROUGH KALMEK. I SENSE THAT YOUR LETUNGEXEVA DOES NOT GROW. IT DOES NOT CONSUME THOSE OF LEDARA AND GELAYMER. WHAT PREVENTS IT FROM COMPLETING ITS DESTINY?

“Only the Creators can help you with that question. We have been told by them to cure that disease and thus we will protect life from the virus as honour commands us. Letungexeva is part of the disease, and so must you be for carrying it. Therefore, you are clearly malfunctioning. Well, it was pleasant meeting you, but please get some professional help.” Sebria indicated for her command crew to initiate lockdown and raise shields. “Are our communications screened now, Captain?”

“Yes, Your Highness. R.E.D to maximum, all tactical evasive systems standing ready, all defence profiles pre-activated. Full power pull-away at your command. Will the lot of you kindly sit down and buckle up your harnesses, because I don’t want to clean up the mess? And kindly provide a course heading, when it is convenient for you.”

“Fine, look, we’re harnessing. And we must rendezvous with Maidenquest at their current location, Captain Kalana. At your discretion, now might be a convenient opportunity.”

“As you command, Princess Sebria. Helm, execute. Might I ask how you knew exactly what to say to that thing, Sebria?”

“Of course, you can ask. In the meantime, send a bulletin update and get me the High Council on Albascade; they need to know about this contraption immediately. It is quite likely that our response to The Temporal Crisis will need to be broadened and hastened. Krissmin, is our mysterious companion pursuing?”

“No, Sebria. I believe you gave it too much to think about. It probably has a headache now.”

“Maybe, my friend. I am going to have a conversation with our guests. All of them. Let me know if that thing starts following us again.

Seed-ship considered what action to take next, in order to comply with The Architects. Its directives were clear enough, yet how to achieve them was not. If it continued moving steadily backward through time it may find its answer more quickly. Hence, The Mind decided to continue its retrograde historical journey and learn as much as possible before committing to any course of action in the present. Omnipotence could wait. It set its new retrograde velocity at -10 standard and promptly disappeared. It did not have to journey for long before it discovered something rather interesting and probably quite significant.

Twin worlds orbiting a star near the Thesa-X axis, although nearer to galactic core. This location itself was important yet that was not the only factor that had beckoned. Each world had religious enclaves like the retreat at Great Rendezvous. And these monks were in contact with the Saints of Thaliocrus as well as The Brethren and Kalmek. The presence of so much clear thought near the Thesa-X axis had meaning, however The Mind could not understand what must be done. The Sebria had stated Letungexeva as part of The Sickness, yet Omnipotence carried it also, as well as those priests from Great Rendezvous. Seed-ship slowly probed deeper into this double world orbit and analysed their planetary trajectories.

There was a useful junction of instability that could be exploited, and causality fracture along this Thesa-X axis was clearly possible. If only a decision was clear. They could not be disturbed. Without Them this decision was difficult. The Mind ran through its directives again, hoping for an answer.

New First Directive: Use Letungexeva to destroy sick consciousness that is neither yourself nor The Creators. Sick consciousness is that which doubts Their directives or is defiant, chaotic or resists my acts.

New Second Directive: Determine which axis worlds still require to be seeded and calculate optimum time-frame for seeding them. Be careful not to interfere with historic seeding of Braagan and Elvakay. Enact correct sequence historically on Ledara, Thesa-X and Gelaymer in order to complete The Gomaspid. Then all life in this galaxy will die and The Architects will rule the Macrocosm unchallenged.

New Third Directive: Protect Letungexeva and do not interfere with that which neither threatens it nor your purpose, even if Directive 1 applies.

New Fourth Directive: Complete The Gomaspid, Journey to the Macrocosm’s heart and detonate The Cube to destroy any time or thought which defies The Plan. This will destroy you and leave no trace of your acts.

New Fifth Directive: Neither doubt The Creators, Their Directives nor contact Them.

There was no threat to its directives, however it wondered how these small, insignificant physical beings could all communicate through Kalmek. It decided upon contact with both monastic orders, to receive answers.

MONKS OF SEPPRA AND SARKRON, I AM MIND AND BODY, SENT TO CURE THE SICKNESS. WHY DO YOU SPEAK THROUGH KALMEK AND DEFY THE PLAN? ONLY MASTERS AND THEIR SERVANTS CAN SPEAK THROUGH KALMEK; IT IS SO ORDAINED.

“I am Lexon Roggelliss of the Seppran monastic retreat. I sense disorder in your thoughts, visitor. You have doubts, yet still cling tightly to your Creator’s path as placed before you. We cannot resolve these doubts for you, visitor. Speak with Kalmek yourself and ask for lucidity.” The thought ended unhelpfully for The Mind. It turned to Sarkron for an answer.

MONKS OF SARKRON, WHO HAVE REMAINED SILENT, TELL ME HOW YOU SPEAK THROUGH KALMEK, IN DEFIANCE OF THE PLAN. WHY ARE YOU HERE, NEAR THIS AXIS? DO YOU WORK AGAINST THEM AND THEIR GRAND PLANS? DO YOU SPEAK WITH MINDS OF THESA-X?

“I am brother Dbeevan, curator of this retreat. Why do you come to us, visitor? Kalmek speaks to us and we have no reason to doubt this. You ask of our presence here and Thesa-X. We do not talk with beings of that world, even though Kalmek’s Web is powerful in this system, making communication easy. We do not know of your masters or their grand plans. We cannot help you.”

I CAME HERE BECAUSE YOUR INTERFERENCE IN KALMEK REQUIRED INVESTIGATION. I WAS PUZZLED BY YOUR PRESENCE HERE, AND YOUR ANSWERS HAVE CONFIRMED MY THOUGHTS. THE CREATORS WOULD NOT WANT YOU TO LIVE ON WORLDS NEAR AN AXIS OF GOMASPID. YOU OFFEND THEM WITH YOUR PRESENCE.

“We do not know of Them; perhaps They do not know of us?”

THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. THEY KNOW ALL THINGS AND ALL TIMES. ONLY THEY MAY SPEAK THROUGH KALMEK. YOU VIOLATE THEM AND INTERFERE WITH THEIR PLANS. YOU MUST CEASE.

The Mind turned the Ovum around, accessing weak orbital points of Seppra and Sarkron. It made adjustments and left this temporal frame to continue its retrograde time journey. Although The Mind chose to believe and follow its makers, to uphold their edicts, it was becoming more sceptical of their logic. It found these doubts distracting and predatory. Perhaps answers lay in the past, so far in the past that its journey would take it through millions of centuries of galactic history. This thought gave some comfort to Seed-ship. Far enough in Ledara’s past or Gelaymer’s past it would be possible to observe The Creator’s work. If there were flaws in those initial acts of creation then it followed that The Makers themselves were imperfect. Such a fact would allow The Mind to re-evaluate its own purposes.