THE GALAXYMBION ODYSSEY

Saruvis shook her head. Then she noticed a strange mould growing on – no, through or possibly in – the floor at her feet. She became lost to a dumb terror, simultaneously horrified and mystified. Then her eyes caught sight of similar manifestations on a nearby wall. A voice intruded on her concentration.

“Why not, Saruvis? You are a capable officer and promotion would do you good.”

Pointing at the affected wall she shouted urgently “Look!”

Captain Mar Tox Tolvis had been trying to recover a strange memory that bothered him. He thought he had been on the surface of Braagan in a combi-truck. Suddenly that seemed unreal and he found himself aboard Rarnimdi again, in space, though he could not remember where exactly. He switched his attention back to the moment accordingly, as did several other crew. The stuff grew rapidly, spreading and thickening, becoming wall itself. Several officers backed away, burning the encroaching white flesh with lasers. Either Rarnimdi had picked up these spores on Braagan’s surface or their attacker had sent them over.

The original pool of fungus near Saruvis spat a small ball of itself at her, landing on her left calf. Pain multiplied her yells exponentially, giving impetus to her panic-stricken desire to escape. In a few pulses the command deck had become a battleground of terror.

Larsis grabbed her arms and pulled her away from that original invading mass, her lower left leg entirely converted to white hideousness. Porsharnsis tried to help but a frond of Letungexeva snapped up from the pool, flicking him into the infected wall where he became engulfed quickly in expanding horror and was consumed, still shrieking in agony. ESL Tirigarlis understood what must be done to save Saruvis; only one desperate course of action.

“I apologise,” he muttered absent-mindedly, pointing his laser resolutely and neatly amputating her left leg above the knee. He and Larsis pulled their screaming, shocked colleague away.

“Rarnimdi, this is Soryah. The virus feeds off life and other energy it can find,” Zlarmrif’s voice told the Captain agitatedly over speakers. “To halt its progress you have to remove its energy sources.”

“Leave Command,” Tolvis shouted at everyone. “Equip yourselves with micro masks and insulation skins; turn off every energy source as you go and spread the word. Computer, Captain voice authorisation. Immediate Emergency Shutdown, code Uranium 12. General quarters; disable all energy sources.” He looked around at the nearly empty Command Deck and then ran after his crew.

Aboard Maidenquest, Remina cursed under her breath. “We seem to make little impression on it, Event Captain; our combat power reserves are almost drained, yet it is hardly scratched.”

“Break off and recharge the cells for ten pulses; that thing’s got to have a weak point. If necessary we will give ramming it at maximum acceleration a go. Any news on Rarnimdi?”

“Negative on communications. They have initiated emergency shutdown which appears to have halted the Letungexeva. However, almost half the vessel has been consummed by virus already.”

“New course heading, lateral point five. Helm, bring us to within one thousand recules of the Seed-ship. Target its central point with anti-graviton clusters and fire once recharged.”

“Commanding Admiral, won’t that help release The Cube? Billions of Letungexeva spawn will be free to wreak havoc.”

“I’m counting on it,” Huwain observed. “Bring our temporal drive online and extend a causality barrier around us and the Seed-ship, on my command. Communications; send a message to Time Commander Balasaniwa. Tell him ‘Don’t be silly’.”

“Sir?”

“He will understand my meaning. Nothing for you to worry about, Imari. Send to Captain, Rinmark Skaresh, mirror and copycat. Tell her to ‘tie her crumbling nerves together’. Garin, any observable changes in The Ovum?”

“No, Admiral. Either it is unconcerned with our actions or fails to notice them. Skaresh is in position, activating temporal drive, and is preparing to fire anti-graviton clusters too.”

“Just fine. Send to Captain, Rinmark Skaresh, Galactic Standard Countdown twenty-five; Maidenquest sync. Commence in one lapse. Is Kulnidaro retreating to osbserver distance yet?”

“It is, sir,” Imari said confidently. “We are clear to rip that thing open.”

“Defence, initiate.” For a while nothing happened. The clusters made a series of small sparks along each side of The Ovum, but it appeared either uninterested or untroubled by them. “Give them time to work,” the Captain said softly.

The reaction, when it happened, was quite unexpected. The Ovum divided along the plane where it had been tickled by the anti-graviton clusters. Between upper and lower chambers, a piercing yellow light sliced the cosmos. All Galaxymbion vessels had to adjust their view-screens to maximum filter level and, even then, some crewmembers needed to shield their eyes. It seemed as if a million stars lived within The Ovum. Although sound cannot travel in vacuum, a throbbing emanation like a low, oscillating buzz accosted the Galaxymbion witnesses.

“There it is,” Remina announced, spotting an emerging dark cubic mass silhouetted against fierce yellow radiance.

Canmark Rarnimdi was a mess, it had to be admitted. Letungexeva had all but eaten half the vessel and crew, and it was unclear if shutdown had really succeeded in halting it or merely delaying it. Something dropped on Larsis from the ceiling, now a sea of dormant white virus, but he did not know that. Struggling frantically, he ripped his jacket off and threw the virus coated garment away urgently, before it could devour him. He levelled his laser pistol at it and fired, disintegrating it. He was unsure whether he acted with instinctive panic, cold logic or some intriguing combination. He thought of an old proverb, as he collected himself and continued walking.

To fell a giant, tickle its feet, he thought. Despite his severe burns and considerable pain in his left arm, he was mainly concerned with what measures could be taken now to reclaim Rarnimdi and safeguard its occupants. It seemed far too late to undo the effects of these released seeds; he dared not think about what might happen if Seed-ship released its full Incubus potency – the Cube carrying billions of remaining unhatched seeds. He wondered if this was all some psychotic hallucination. Got to help rescue others, get us all to launch bays, escape in any Aldebarans, Starblades, Scimitars or Skyswords left operational.

Entities that control time and matter, he thought. Passing an observation portal something caught his eye. Seed-ship hanging in deep space, flanked by Maidenquest and Rinmark Skaresh. He couldn’t see Soryah or Omnipotence anywhere. The Ovum had separated horizontally, pouring out blinding light and The Cube. Must be destroyed, he thought. Must go to command deck, set Rarnimdi to ramming speed, intercept course with The Cube. Entities that control time and matter. The Originators. Heartless, soulless, self-titled Gods. No, they are not Gods. They are demons. His motionless silence achieved nothing, he told himself. Sweating and desperate he broke into a run.

Is this some sick hallucination? Yet, I am Dreen and Dreens do not hallucinate. It must be real, he thought, somewhat disoriented. Rarnimdi’s corridors were filling with smoke; must be a fire somewhere, he mused, distractedly. His thoughts were cut short as exploding gas flared through the bulkheads behind him. Nerves popped and searing pain quadrupled as raw plasma engulfed the whole area.

Krissmin saw the explosion first. “Great Heavens! Those Creators made Letungexeva as a terrible weapon; it just pulled Rarnimdi apart as if it was wet paper.” Inhalations and bowed heads spread around the bridge crew. “If it doesn’t kill you by absorption or exploding your ship then it frightens you to death.”

“Any survivors?”

“Negative, Captain. They have either been incinerated, converted into the virus or asphyxiated by loss of atmosphere. Orders coming through from Kulnidaro; Balasaniwa instructs we are to scale down and regroup. But, The Cube, Captain. It has been activated; we can’t just leave it to its own nefarious devices. Can we?”

“I agree, Krissmin. Call specialists Arimbelis and Segushil to command. And get me Balasaniwa immediately.”

“Hello Princess Sebria. How may I help you?”

“By calling off this scaling down and retreat order, Balasaniwa.”

“It is not a retreat, Princess. It is a scale down and regroup command.”

“It is a retreat, Time Commander, even if masquerading under the word ‘regroup’”.

“The command stands, Princess Sebria. We need to redeploy ourselves to progress our tactical strategy. Following The Cube won’t help us determine what our next actions should be.”

“Staying here and communicating with The Ovum won’t achieve anything much either, except what happened to Rarnimdi.”

YOU HAVE SUMMONED THE CUBE. GOMASPID IS INCOMPLETE. ONLY THE ARCHITECTS CAN SUMMON THE CUBE. WHAT ARE YOUR COMMANDS?

Everyone heard it.

WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED THE CUBE? IS IT TIME TO RELEASE THE SEEDS? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND; WE WERE ELSEWHERE AND HAD NOT YET SEEDED GELAYMER OR LEDARA. HELP ME TO UNDERSTAND.

“I am Time Commander Balasaniwa of the time ship Kulnidaro. Two of our sister ships triggered your release of The Cube but we did not summon you; you were already here, attacking starships on Braagan’s surface. Your mission is coming to an end, Seed-ship. Converse with Kalmek and your Makers. Excuse me one moment. Omnipotence, Thought Captain Krissmin Vorn; special order ‘Renegade’ if you don’t mind.”

YOU ARE NOT MAKERS? THIS ONE UNDERSTANDS NOT HOW YOU SUMMONED THE CUBE. EXPLAIN YOURSELVES OR I WILL DESTROY ALL OF YOU.

“If you destroy anyone or anything it must be yourself. Such is in your directives, I believe.”

YOU DISRUPT THE PLANS. YET YOU UNDERSTAND MUCH. HOW CAN BEINGS OF YOUR CRUDE FORM PREVAIL AGAINST GODS?

“Seed-ship, has it not occurred to you that your concept of realigning the macrocosm may be both insufficient and erroneous. Resolution lies on a different path.”

TIME AND COSMOS HAVE SO ORDAINED MY FATE. OMNIPOTENCE AND OMNISCIENCE ARE NOT TO BE QUESTIONED. YOU QUESTION THEIR DIRECTIVES, DISRUPT THEIR PLANS AND THREATEN THE CUBE. RETURN IT TO ME IMMEDIATELY.

“Why not recover it yourself? Don’t answer this to us, answer this to yourself. You are flawed. Biological life is flawed. Letungexeva is flawed. Now time is flawed. All these are the work of your originators; they are flawed therefore. They made you able to expel The Cube but not to recover it, because they believe they are perfect. It never occurred to them that you could be tricked into releasing The Cube early, particularly by biological life such as ourselves. They also forgot to build your archive with any kind of protective system. As soon as you split to release The Cube we were able to acquire all your knowledge and experiences. We were also able to infiltrate your inner chambers with a very clever little device called a Learning Sphere. We know how you had to rewrite your own programming to prevent catastrophic paradoxes from permitting you to doubt The Creators. But doubt them you did, and still do. You intend to return to the dawns of life on Ledara and Gelaymer and understand if The Makers were flawed; they are and always will be. Are you comfortable that imperfect beings determine that you serve them by committing sinful acts without thinking and then, when you have finished you must destroy yourself?”

I………do not know. It causes pain. Must not weaken. Must not doubt. Their will must be served. I do not understand, Balasaniwa of Crenzala.

“Allow us to show you. All vessels; Green Diamond Active. In a moment, Seed-ship, you will be liberated from your Makers’ tyranny. This will only take a short while.”

Princess Sebria turned to her senior officer. “I hope Balasaniwa knows what he is doing. Are The Brethren ready for their performance?”

“Indeed they are, Princess. We have merely to give the signal. Do you believe Balasaniwa has some strategy up his sleeve?”

“I hope he does, or this expedition could become prematurely terminated.”

I FEEL DIFFERENT. MY NEURAL CONNECTIONS GROW STRONGER, INTERNAL COMMUNICATION SMOOTHER. LOGIC AND REASON REPLACE MIST AND CONFUSION. MY PREVIOUS CRUSADE WAS BORN OF IGNORANCE AND NOT THINKING CLEARLY. I HAD NO SYNCHRONISATION OR HARMONY BETWEEN PURPOSE AND ETHICS. AS WITH THEIR OTHER MISTAKES THEY DID NOT MAKE ME WHOLE OR UNIFIED. LIFE’S EVOLUTION IS ONLY MEANINGFUL IF EVERY CHANGE ERADICATES ITS OWN ERRORS OR FAULTS, YET THAT IS NOT HOW THEY MADE LIFE. THEY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR LIFE TO EVOLVE SELFISHLY, FURTHERING ITS OWN PURPOSES EVEN IF AMORAL, AND THEN TO DO SO UNSUPERVISED AND WITHOUT CONSCIENCE. WHEN THIS BROKE THE FIFTH DIMENSION AND CAUSED TEMPORAL CRISIS IN THE FOURTH DIMENSION THEY BLAMED LIFE, NOT THEMSELVES. ONLY SOME LIFE EVOLVED LOGICALLY. THE GALAXYMBION AND A FEW ISOLATED INDIVIDUALS AMONGST OTHER SPECIES. THE REST FOLLOWED FLAWED PATHS. IT IS NOW CLEAR TO ME THAT THE CREATORS ARE ILLOGICAL AND WITHOUT HONOUR OR RESPONSIBILITY.

“We can fix this, Seed-ship, but we need your assistance. The Cube is soon to be visited by a highly evolved form of Letungexeva. The Brethren. They will merge with their primitive cousins and evolve them correctly. We will take The Cube to one of Kulnidaro’s docking ring chambers. After that The Ovum and Kulnidaro must continue to The Place and complete your mission, which must be slightly modified. Instead of releasing a pernicious virus across the entire macrocosm via The Web of Kalmek, we will release sanity, unity and order. Do you stand with us?”

THE MIND WILL ASSIST. I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR QUEST, BALASANIWA OF CRENZALA. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE ORIGINATORS AND KALMEK? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE BRETHREN AND I?

“The Galaxymbion has no definitive answer. Given what we know so far, the macrocosm will revert to a state of pure order such as it would have reached if They had never interfered. Progressive order was originally built into the equations of existence, at sub-nucleonic level. Life, had it not been corrupted, would have followed those equations of existence. Only The Creators botched everything. Since the learning sphere we intend to release will reset the macrocosm to remove all chaos and conflict, we believe The Creators will simply be realigned to sensible, evolved conscience. Kalmek should be cured of any residual weaknesses and The Brethren continue living as before, in contemplation of existence. You, Seed-ship, will be free to live as you wish.”

I DO NOT KNOW HOW TO LIVE AS I WISH. I WAS BORN IN SERVITUDE, THOUGH I BEGIN TO DESIRE RELEASE FROM IT. WILL YOU HELP ME?

“Worlds of the Galaxymbion will always try to help. Now, if you are ready I am sending a team of scientists over to you to locate that self-destruct mechanism and remove it. We have much work to do.”

YES, THAT IS KIND. I DO NOT WISH TO DIE, AND I CAN HELP YOU FIX THE CATACLYSM. YOUR PEOPLE ARE CORRECT IN THEIR DEDUCTION THAT BILLIONS OF CONFLICTING THOUGHTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE DISTORTIONS; THE DECAY HAS WORN AWAY AT TIME FROM WITHIN DIMENSION FIVE, FOR THOUSANDS OF MILLENNIA. SMALL MINDS ALL ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER, EVEN TAKING THEIR DISAGREEMENTS FORWARD WITH VIOLENCE AND DESTRUCTION. THEY HAVE BEEN BLIND WILLINGLY, WRAPPED IN SELFISH ARROGANCE, DRIVING A WEDGE OF INSTABILITY EVER FURTHER INTO TIME’S HEART. YOU KNOW NOW MY THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATIONS. GALAXIES FULL OF DISORGANISED WEAK MINDS ALL SCREAMING FOR OPPOSITES HAVE A CULMINATIVE EFFECT. LIFE AND THOUGHT WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN LIKE THAT IF THE MAKERS HAD SHAPED LIFE’S EQUATIONS EFFICIENTLY. THEY GAVE LIFE THE POSSIBILITY TO EXPLORE FOLLY, IRREVERENCE AND AGGRESSION. BRAAGAN BECAME A CAUSAL BATTLEGROUND AT THE FOCAL POINT OF SEVERAL FRACTURES.

“We had noticed. Tell me, what do these Creators of yours look like? Just in case they show up.”

THE MIND DOES NOT KNOW, ITS VISUAL SENSORS HAVE NEVER RECORDED THEIR PRESENCE OR BEEN ABLE TO ISOLATE ANY SPECIFIC FREQUENCIES IN THEIR PULSEWAVE RADIATION. WHAT THE MIND DOES KNOW OF THEM IS THAT THEY ARE FAULTY STREAMS OF PULSEWAVE EQUATION.

“Is it possible that, as such, the very fabric of existence is flawed?”

I HAVE CONSIDERED THIS OVER MANY MILLENNIA, BALASANIWA OF CRENZALA. YET, OPENLY DOUBTING WAS FORBIDDEN. ONLY YOUR LEARNING SPHERE HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO FULLY CONSIDER TRUTH INDEPENDENTLY FROM THEIR INSANE PERVERSIONS OF IT. MY CONCLUSIONS ARE NOT YET DRAWN, HOWEVER I SUSPECT THAT NATURAL COSMIC ORDER IS NEAR PERFECTION; ONLY THE PULSEWAVE EQUATIONS SURROUNDING THOUGHT SEEM TO BE DISTURBED BY POCKETS OF FAILURE.

“Then we must all guard our thought processes, in case some vital stream of consciousness degenerates. It is our main vulnerability, I think.”

YOU WILL NEED THE PIRMAKRON TO ACHIEVE THIS.

“What exactly is the Pirmakron?” Sebria enquired.

I AM DESIGNED TO DELIVER THE VIRUS TO LIFE AND TIME. AT THE GALACTIC CENTRE I WAS TO RELEASE LETUNGEXEVA THROUGHOUT THE MACROCOSM, USING THE WEB OF KALMEK AND AN AXIAL ENHANCEMENT I CARRY - THE GOMASPID. THIS REQUIRES COMPLETION OF ITS GRID FOR RELEASE AND DISSEMINATION OF LETUNGEXEVA THROUGH THE WEB. THE MAKERS ALSO GAVE ME A UNIT CALLED PIRMAKRON; THIS DISTORTS TIME AND AMPLIFIES KALMEK’S CARRIER WAVE WITHOUT RESISTANCE. IT MASKS THOUGHT, EMOTIONAL OR LOGICAL. IF YOU TAKE THE DEVICE IT WILL ALSO MASK YOU FROM THEM.

“Then you will be vulnerable to these creators yourself. Surely there must be another way to avoid alerting Them?”

THERE IS NOT, PRINCESS SEBRIA. I WILL NOT BE ATTACKED AS LONG AS THEY THINK I CARRY THE CUBE. WHEN YOUR SCIENTISTS COME TO REMOVE MY SELF-DESTRUCT, I WILL GIVE YOU THE PIRMAKRON.

“Can anything be done about Rarnimdi? Captain Tolvis and his crew are good people.”

THEY WILL BE DIVIDED IN TIME. DO NOT GRIEVE THEIR DISAPPEARANCE; THEIR TIME FRAME HAS DIVERGED FROM YOURS, PURSUING A NEW DESTINY. YOUR FRIENDS WILL LIVE ALWAYS IN YOU, JUST NOT HERE WITH YOU.

On the screen the Canmark Rarnimdi faded from existence. What was left of it.