Vorlon Prime
24-01-2005, 23:50
The Kuiper Belt object, at the cold fringe of the Sol System, did not even have a name. It was only a scant dozen kilometres across, but it had its uses. Most notably, the rock was solid enough to host a substantial structure, or rather, a nest of them, upon one side of it. The Vorlons were not a numerous race, not by any means, but they did believe in taking up much space. In truth, despite all the millions upon millions of creatures that could be counted as borderline sentient in the empire of the Vorlons, the true beings themselves were only around two million in number.
As such, beside the Kuiper object, the flash of a jump point opening into hyperspace, a blue luminescence, was bigger than it would need to be. From the tunnel of light came a great shape, four pronged, a dreadnought, accompanied by many other ships, smaller light cruisers that perhaps resembled, radiant, alien flowers, the petals around their bases were open as they decelerated, pulsing with blue light and power.
What had been initially planned as a listening post had grown in the planning, and this force was necessary now, for both protection, and more so, for seeding, like much of the grand scale technology of the Vorlons, constructs such as those that were planned were grown, not built. They grew from many materials, special fluids of nutrients, and simple water, even rock and iron. That was why the object that had been selected was an asteroid of the type known as Carbonaceous Chrondite, it contained water, carbon of course and other chemicals and minerals all of which could be used for the seeding.
The light cruisers closed with the asteroid, the Kuiper Belt object, and began to release packages - seeds - upon the surface of the rock. They would hatch, in a steady stream of energy from the ships that fostered them, and put down roots, digging deep into the watery rock. They would begin to turn the rock into something better, something harder. The fluids would be reserved, or evaporated, and the asteroid would crumple in upon itself over the months, becoming progressively harder until it could be worked.
Then the buildings would begin to grow out of it, a reactor would be born at the heart of the asteroid, and then it would power the growth of the asteroid base further.
The Vorlons knew of faster ways to get the same result of course, but they had all the time in the universe, and would much rather remake the asteroid in their own image than simply carve into it. It was a philosophical statement.
Everything was about philosophy when one understood the Vorlons.
As such, beside the Kuiper object, the flash of a jump point opening into hyperspace, a blue luminescence, was bigger than it would need to be. From the tunnel of light came a great shape, four pronged, a dreadnought, accompanied by many other ships, smaller light cruisers that perhaps resembled, radiant, alien flowers, the petals around their bases were open as they decelerated, pulsing with blue light and power.
What had been initially planned as a listening post had grown in the planning, and this force was necessary now, for both protection, and more so, for seeding, like much of the grand scale technology of the Vorlons, constructs such as those that were planned were grown, not built. They grew from many materials, special fluids of nutrients, and simple water, even rock and iron. That was why the object that had been selected was an asteroid of the type known as Carbonaceous Chrondite, it contained water, carbon of course and other chemicals and minerals all of which could be used for the seeding.
The light cruisers closed with the asteroid, the Kuiper Belt object, and began to release packages - seeds - upon the surface of the rock. They would hatch, in a steady stream of energy from the ships that fostered them, and put down roots, digging deep into the watery rock. They would begin to turn the rock into something better, something harder. The fluids would be reserved, or evaporated, and the asteroid would crumple in upon itself over the months, becoming progressively harder until it could be worked.
Then the buildings would begin to grow out of it, a reactor would be born at the heart of the asteroid, and then it would power the growth of the asteroid base further.
The Vorlons knew of faster ways to get the same result of course, but they had all the time in the universe, and would much rather remake the asteroid in their own image than simply carve into it. It was a philosophical statement.
Everything was about philosophy when one understood the Vorlons.