NationStates Jolt Archive

Lommend and Crystalia sat in the primary control room of the habitat. It was not an easy task re-educating three hundred million people in the old ways, when only eight people had any knowledge of them. Afanso helped, thanks to his ability to have numerous conversations at once and a vast database, but even so it was proving difficult. Especially as most of these Reticulites appeared to regard technology as witchcraft.

What was even more difficult was trying to get the various clans and tribes that had evolved down here to stop killing each other and to actually unite. They had tried everything, from mediating peace talks to sometimes randomly transporting people across different tribes for a day, before sending them home once again, just to help them get to know each other better. So far, they had only succeeded in a cease fire. But it was a start. It was sad for Lommend to see his once-great people had been transformed into such aggressive, narrow-minded barbarians.

Lommend found Crystalia to be somewhat different in that regard though. She had a particularly open mind and an eagerness to learn. Plus, they had taken her up to the Galactic Explorer and shown her first-hand what space looked like, so she had a unique understanding of it all anyway.

"Afanso is only instructed to maintain this facility," Lommend said. "You can give him new instructions, with your mental abilities."

"Just by... thinking it?"

"Essentially, yes," Lommend said. "Place your hands upon this palm device, and simply think, 'I want to illuminate the nearest cavern in the...' what did you call that place?"

"The Dark Lands," Crystalia said.

"Yes, illuminate the nearest cavern in the Dark Lands," Lommend said. "Afanso has at his disposal tiny little mechanical creatures called 'nanites', which he can then use to build a lighting system in the cavern. You cannot do any harm, so you may try."

She shrugged and placed her hands on a panel beside the complicated-looking computer systems, and closed her eyes. She concentrated as hard as she could, regardless of how far-fetched she thought the idea.



Many miles away, in the first cavern of the so-called Dark Lands, nanites started to swarm across the ceiling, travelling through their specially-designed nanotubes. They set to work, extracting metals from the surrounding rocks and rearranging them to form lights and power cables. Within a few minutes, they had completed their first light, and it came on automatically. They started to work on the rest.

Below, marmadraks started to get agitated at the new source of light, and moved into the shadows.



Crystalia and Lommend watched it all on a small screen.

"I did that?" Crystalia asked, looking closely.

"Yes," Lommend nodded. Another light flicked on.

"I have never had that much power before... to illuminate the Dark Lands..."

"This technology increases your abilities," Lommend said. "It allows you to accomplish tasks which you would not otherwise be able to do. Like illuminating the Dark Lands, for example. It does not change your natural abilities, though. Without the technology you are still the same old you; however with our help you can increase your capabilities."

"I can become more powerful?" Crystalia asked.

"Yes," Lommend nodded. "But it is not 'power' if you use it to hurt people, or gain control over people. It is only 'power' if you use it to help people, or accomplish works of science or advancement."

"So... I can't defend myself?"

"Yes, but only when necessary. You cannot instigate a conflict," Lommend said. "Violence is the greatest sin one can commit. We have advanced beyond that. You must too."

"Violence will be hard thing for my people to give up," Crystalia said. "The strong dominate the weak, and any who disagree end up being killed. How can that change?"

"By demonstrating that the strong are in fact weak," Lommend said. "Come with me, and I will show you."

She shrugged, and followed him out of the control room.

Several years had passed. Teaching such a backward people as these devolved Reticulites was not as easy a task as the ancient eight had thought it would be. Many were so rooted to superstition and anger that they simply refused to accept any other ways. Those who wished to avoid contact with their few surviving ancestors were allowed to do so. Most of the nomadic tribes had moved into a single sector of the habitat.

Some showed promise, however. Lommend had personally taken one Reticulite called Crystalia under his wing. She had a very open mind, and this was always a good thing. By this point she had learned many new ways to make use of her abilities; including the ability to heal other lifeforms, to fully interact with Reticuli technologies, and to help those around her feel calm -- to aid in negotiating peaceful solutions to potentially violent encounters. She was almost at the level of an ancient Reticulite, and Lommend felt it only proper to show her that which he had once taken for granted.



In a quick swirl of brilliant white light, Lommend and Crystalia appeared in the softy lit corridors of the Galactic Explorer, in orbit of the dead world. Crystalia was taken aback; she looked around in awe and stepped back up against the cushioned wall -- an instinctive reaction. This was all new to her. She had risen from a Dark Age girl into an advanced realm of technologies that could only appear magical to her.

"Come," Lommend said, smiling at her reaction. "There is something I wish to show you."

"What is this place?" she asked, looking around nervously.

"Do not be afraid," Lommend said, calming her. He held out a hand. "You will understand soon."

She reluctantly took his hand. He led her along the cream-coloured corridor. The floor was carpeted, the walls were cushioned with something leather-like, and the lights were white, but soft. The corridor seemed to go on forever -- understandable, in a ship which essentially doubled as a city. Doors opened in response to Lommends thoughts as he moved through the vast ship. He stopped beside a door on the side of the corridor, and looked at Crystalia.

"Are you ready for this?" Lommend asked. "You will see something which makes everything you have been learning these past few years worthwhile. It is the reason for anybody existing."

"I am not ready," Crystalia said. "But I would like to see anyway..."

Lommend grinned. She was as much of an explorer at heart as he was. The door opened at his command, and they stepped inside.

It was a small room, but there was nothing in it. The only interesting thing about it, which distinguished it from the rather dull corridor they had just left, was that a huge window curled down from the roof and down to the floor. The true thickness of the ship's hull could be seen, and it was significant. Through the windows could be seen parts of the vast ship jutting out, the dead world below, and Epsilon Reticuli itself against a backdrop of stars. Its ominous red light poured into the room, turning the cream walls a shade of red-orange. The sheer size of it took up most of the visible space, and was clearly very close to the planet. From this distance, one could see the flares, dark spots, the boiling surface, everything. Thankfully, this glass appeared to be treated to block the harmful rays and to stop it from appearing so bright, whilst the shields of the ship itself would be keeping the heat out.

"Wow..." she said simply, looking out at the amazing scene presented to her. She reached forward nervously, and seemed relieved when her delicate fingers came into contact with solid glass.

"Exactly," Lommend nodded, putting his hands behind his back. He could never see space enough times. It was like his people were drawn to it instinctively -- they found it more amazing and more beautiful than anyone else.

"It is... the Reticuli..." she said, gazing out the window.

"Indeed," Lommend nodded. "A type K1-2 IVa-III red giant. Not a god, or anything like that. This is something far more magnificent and amazing."

"Is that... our world?" Crystalia asked, pointing at the scolding brown rock at the edge of their view.

"Unfortunately, yes," Lommend said, sighing. "When I used to look down upon that world, it was a beautiful mix of blues and greens, with white clouds strewn across it all. Glorious white ships used to fly around it peacefully, and if you tried to talk to anybody down there, you would get a friendly response. Epsilon Reticuli would appear much smaller and yellow back then. Now it is all gone... millions of years of history, destroyed by one of the most powerful forces in the universe..."

"How long ago was that?" Crystalia asked, looking at him.

"I am still unsure," Lommend said. He looked up. "Greetings Caaldrin -- have you worked out how old we are, yet?"

"Greetings Lommend, and Crystalia," a voice said from nowhere. "Yes I have. Just slightly over two billion years have passed since we were incapacitated."

"Two... billion years?" Crystalia exclaimed. "That's incredible. I did not think such a period of time could ever exist..."

"The universe is timeless and endless," Lommend said. "We are not. It is one of the many things we must come to terms with; no matter how many generations of Reticulites there are, we will never explore everything the universe has to offer. And now we must start over."

"Can we not move?" Crystalia asked, looking around at the parts of the ship that appeared visible in the window. "This flying world can move, can it not? Are there not other worlds like the one you describe?"

"Most certainly," Lommend nodded. "But even if we could leave our home, Caaldrin has insufficient fuel left to do so. Even now, he struggles to maintain our orbit. If we do not find him a new source of power, he will collide with our old home."

"Actually Lommend I have extended my power by augmenting it with solar panels," Caaldrin spoke up. "They do not provide nearly enough power to replace my quantum batteries, but for now they will help me run minimal systems for an extended period of time."

"That is good news Caaldrin," Lommend said, relieved. "Something in short supply in these dark times. Come, Crystalia. I will show you the workings of our magnificent craft."

"That is the transdimentional engine core," Lommend said, pointing out over the railing. A vast tunnel, stretching as far back as the eye could see and wide enough to fit some small capital ships in, was presented to them. It wasn't anything particularly spectacular, though. It was a large, dull-grey metal cylinder that ran along the bottom of the tunnel. The only lights were those on the roof, and those on monitoring stations.

"I expected something more... amazing..." Crystalia said. "The size is amazing, don't get me wrong, but this 'core', is... dull."

"These cores were built with practicality in mind," Lommend said. "This is merely a tool that we use to take us to the most beautiful things. This particular core has been further than you might imagine, in the past."

"How powerful is it?" Crystalia asked.

"It isn't the power that is important," Lommend said. "This core is actually a drain on power. It is what it does that counts. It allows us to effectively 'shrink' space around us, by entering another dimension and travelling through that to our destination. It is most efficient, and very fast."

"I do not understand," Crystalia said, shaking her head.

"Caaldrin will be happy to explain it to you later on," Lommend said. "For now, though, I need to teach you how to manage this core in case of emergency. Caaldrin is a great person, but he simply lacks the same imagination as a real person; we may handle problems better than he. Now, place your hands on this panel..."

The large, grey-green object span slowly. It was certainly not built with aesthetics in mind; a bizarre shape, which seemed more like it had been built in stages than built all at once. Parts jutted out, from huge towers to small domes, aerials and other things. It was colossal, and probably incredibly old. The huge vessel certainly didn't look friendly. There were no visible weapons ports, or engine exhausts, though it could definitely shoot and move. Despite its unusual shape, there did seem to be a bottom, a top, a front and a back. It wasn't a sphere or anything of that nature; it had greater length than width, and the bottom was a lot flatter than the top. Vast hangars could be seen in several places on the irregular hull, probably more than large enough to swallow space stations. Compared to the size of this ship, though, they looked as though they could only launch fighters.

The object hovered above the holographic imager, filling the enormous library room of the Galactic Explorer. Given the way that some parts seemed slightly faded at the edges, it was probably simply too large to be completely shown.

"What is it?" Crystalia asked, looking over the enormous object.

"It is a vessel of war, larger than moons, so large it has a gravitational well" Lommend said, shuddering as he remembered the actual ships in action. "Its size is matched in scale only by its ability to destroy."

"Who built it...?" she asked.

"Nobody knows," Lommend shrugged. "The builders of this horrific weapon do not talk, nor reveal themselves. They are our only enemies."

"I do not doubt that all this impressive technology allows you to resist them," Crystalia shrugged, gesturing around at the ancient vessel she stood in.

"Far from it," Lommend said. "According to the Universal Commonwealth Technology Scale, the Reticulites were once a class 73 species. Caaldrin and Afanso have scanned this galaxy, and they have both agreed that the average rating of all the species who live here is class 34, with some species quite higher, and some quite lower. Whoever built these... things, though, were rated at class 91. Their technology is completely beyond our comprehension. The power their ships generate is so enormous that our sensors simply overload and die if they try to scan them. And they may have advanced further in two billion years. The only shield our people ever managed to construct that could resist more than one or two hits from their directed energy devices required 100% of the total power output of a capital planet. Their technology is impressive, to say the least."

"Well... how can they be stopped?" Crystalia asked.

"There is no technology in this universe which cannot be overcome," Lommend nodded. "Unfortunately, the more substantial the technology, the more substantial the effort. Negotiation is our first weapon, of course, but these 'aliens' do not even communicate."

"Why are you trying to frighten me?" Crystalia asked.

"I am not trying to frighten you," Lommend smiled, patting her shoulder reassuringly. "But these 'aliens' destroyed tens of thousands of ships just like this Galactic Explorer. They laid waste to planets, killed trillions of people. They swept through the 17 galaxies as though we were nothing. Their nature should be inherently frightening to you, and if we are to begin explorations of the universe once more, you must be prepared to encounter these creatures once again. For we know for a fact that even after two billion years, nobody has been able to stop them. And I personally believe that for them to have needed to develop such sophisticated technology at all, there could be others like them in the universe."

"I will bear that in mind," Crystalia said assertively. "Very well, teach me all that you know of them."

"If you so wish," Lommend nodded. His hand was already placed against a panel, and with a simple thought, the hologram changed. It showed a massive image of thousands of Galactic Explorers, being blasted apart like egg shells by two of the alien craft.

"This is the retreat," Lommend said, recalling events which only seemed to him to be a few years ago. "Here we can see..."

Lommend surveyed the corridors of the Galactic Explorer with pride in his heart. Many years had passed, but truly, he and his comrades had achieved something monumental here. The beginnings of the resurrection of the Reticuli. Few civilisations in this universe ever gained the opportunity to take a second chance at existence, certainly after such cosmic lengths of time. Generally speaking, dead means dead, a condition renowned for offering little chance of recovery. And the simultaneous death of the star and home world of a civilisation's only place of residence was generally a sure way to ensure that condition becomes onset.

And yet now, here, today. Reticulites wandered the halls of this great vessel of peace once again. Reticulites whom had begun life in wretched squalor, living like primitive animals and warring amongst themselves deep beneath the surface of a dead planet, were now cleaned and put into uniforms and paced the pristine corridors as though they had always done so. Their wild instincts were tamed and tempered with knowledge, wisdom and understanding, and their innate telepathic and telekinetic abilities were awakened and trained to be valuable tools instead of vicious weapons. Their numbers had swelled to the billions. An entire society had been transformed from a vicious tribal society to an enlightened and technologically sophisticated one, all thanks to the persistent efforts of eight lone survivors of an ancient tragedy.

With so many now 'on side', as it were, they had begun efforts to properly restore the Epsilon Reticuli civilisation to its former glory. It was not an easy task, and would take centuries of difficult labour to achieve. But with dedication and a good heart, they all believed it was possible. And perhaps that was all that was necessary.

Already the underground hovels had been modernised and rebuilt to be sophisticated cities, but they could not remain in those ancient caverns indefinitely. So, when the first quantum battery in millions of years was built by the Reticulites, with the assistance of the ever-wise Afanso, it was hailed as a turning point. More of them were built, to the point that this Galactic Explorer was now operating at maximum power levels and had full functionality. The ship had been fully repaired by the re-educated Reticuli, for whilst the nano-repair systems were excellent even a Reticuli ship needed a major refit after so much time under extreme stress. Caaldrin could not be happier, and the event was hailed as a turning point in their rebuilding efforts - a fully operational Galactic Explorer was at their disposal once more.

As his power levels increased and his systems became more operative, Caaldrin did some more digging into the state of the universe. Unsurprisingly, there was no contact with the other Commonwealth galaxies, nor any of the old Reticuli worlds in this galaxy. The superluminal listening posts were silent and could not be located. This was to be expected, of course, as even if they had survived the ancient aliens or celestial catastrophes, or the even more deadly ravages of time, then the Universal Commonwealth would have long been forgotten by them. Other civilisations had risen to fill the vacuum, seemingly lacking the moral scruples of their predecessors. Peace was a long-lost ideal to this new world, apparently.

One of the first missions for this Galactic Explorer would be to find colony worlds. Never would they abandon their ancestral home, their namesake, Epsilon Reticuli, but the dead world was no longer a practical place for billions of Reticuli to live. If they were ever going to recapture their former glory, they would have to start again on a fresh world, lush with life with a young, healthy star.

They would depart soon...