Biesi Orbital Operations Platform - Secure Debriefing Room
Stark, white, empty.
They were the words which Korr'ih felt best described the room which she sat within, upon a chair of milled durandium and nothing else, at a table constructed in the same manner, with an unoccupied seat placed across the table, waiting for an occupant. Before she had been admitted into the room, Korr'ih had been stripped bare, her hair released from its confining braids, a surgeon even disabled her neural interface. By the time Korr'ih had been granted entry into the room, she wore nothing but a gown comprised of unwoven paper-fibers, entirely disposable, and entirely unobscuring. She was under a microscope, watched closely; it was not an accusation, it was a precaution, a precaution against the foolish hearts and minds of those who were not aware of the promise which awaited the Matriarchy, that only Korr'ih, a robot which she again recalled as a second half of Tamamo along with her digital assistant, and a once-again whole Danny knew of.
What Korr'ih knew awaited her was a special clearance contractor, someone which had been chosen specifically for the task of debriefing her. She knew not where the person came from, who they were, or where they would be as soon as they left the room, the person was a mystery to the Commander, as she waited, and sat with eyes closed as to spare her still battle-seared retinas the sight of the stark white room.
A woman with long legs and willowy white hair stepped into the room, strides confident and slow as she set herself down in a chair -- going through the contents of her breast pocket to open a case -- slowly setting a pair of red-framed glasses upon the bridge of her nose and then steepling her hands in her lap as she reclined. She took a moment to compose herself, eyes closed, running through the situation in her head before taking a slow deep breath.
"It has been quite a journey, hasn't it? How are you this evening?"
Looking upon the person who so casually greeted her, Korr'ih worked to place the face. She had seen the general structure before; strong jaw structure, yet narrow like some form of canine or rodent. Eyes of vivid pink, like a young ruby. Hair that was long, dignified, yet somehow butchered. It was a struggle, but the image that came to Korr'ih's mind was of the flight operations director which she last saw before she departed with the Herald, but that person was small, puny, undeveloped, and sickly.
"Is something the matter?" the woman said, tipping her head back slowly with a curiously pleasant smile.
With the display of teeth, the image was abolished, they were not the same jagged mess she had seen bared by the little Lmanel she had seen before. It was another person, perhaps a relative, that had to be it. Korr'ih worked past the thought as she spoke; "No, nothing is wrong, you just reminded me of someone." A fleeting thought, of several faces over the last decade, but it was quickly gone "As for your original question, I am well. Somewhat sore, fatigued, but well. I am glad to be back amongst my people again."
"It's good to have you back. Given the intelligence reports you've read, I take it you're struggling a bit to understand the situation. I understand they are very technical, dealing with the physics of our transit, rather than the physical consequences. It's to be understood; the people who wrote them really didn't expect anyone outside of their field to read them. My purpose here today is to explain those consequences to you."
"I'm a soldier, not an engineer. I can only presume to grasp the fundamentals of what has been proposed, and work the equipment to perform a task I can only describe in action, not method." Korr'ih stated honestly, before she continued; "Based on my journey, and my original brief, I can understand that we will be relocating. I can understand that it will be a substantial investment of labor and energy. I can understand the event will be... impressive, to say the least. My duty, was to determine the end result of such an endeavor, and to return word of the potential consequences." Korr'ih spoke, illustrating her understanding of the situation; it was limited, but it was more than 99.97% of the Lorath Matriarchy was aware of.
"How much are you aware of at this point, as so I can inform you without presuming your knowledge? I'd much prefer not to come off as condescending, nor confuse you."
"Our people are leaving this universe. It is a technical endeavor that is substantial in scope. A majority of the population is unaware of where we are moving to. This endeavor was not a sole venture of the Matriarchy, but a combined effort between the Matriarchy, and the Lazarus Consortium which provided ample quantities of equipment and funding for my mission." Korr'ih explained, before she dug a little deeper into her thoughts; "And lastly, based upon the trends of design and development over the last five of our years, it has been something in motion from the moment our people were first subjugated by the Yamatai Empire, however, that last portion is supposition."
"That's correct. Forgive me but just to set the ground-work, what have you been told the purpose of this meeting is, just so we're clear under no uncertain terms? There are things I both can and can't tell you and I need to know the scope of what I can tell you before we proceed. I know it's not nice me asking all these questions."
Korr'ih was already starting to feel a tickle in her thoughts, one of instinctive defense, it was something that had to be suppressed as she looked into the eyes of the woman. "What I am here for, is to provide my individual account of the travel to the other universe, the impact of transit upon my crew, the properties of the other universe, accounts of the interaction with the other universe, and the impact of return transit."
"Very good" the woman reclined once more, content with this. "Just so we're clear that our records do match, could you tell me the time of your departure, as you remember it, as well as the state of mind you were in? Given that the universe is made of information and that not all universes are the same, certain facts or figures may deviate as a consequence of transit."
"It was Oh-seven-thirty-two hours, on the tenth day, of the second week, or the eighth month, of the five-hundred-thirty-second year of the Goddess."
"Interesting - you believe you departed seven minutes before the actual transport event - the time at which the TTD was powered up for startup checks. And in the Yamataian calender?"
"Oh-one-hundred-two hours, on the third day, of the first week, of the eleventh month, of the thirty-eighth Yamataian year."
"...These times don't match. Are you aware of this?"
"Vaguely." Korr'ih stated honestly, despite the instinctive embarrassment of not knowing the time of day.
"Your Lorath calender is running seven minutes slower than your Yamataian. Very very interesting."
"My limited understanding, as a starship operator, would indicate that it is likely due to the proximity of Yamatai in relation to the event, as opposed to the proximity of Lor."
"Correct! You experienced time dilation, something that normally is very weak and difficult to notice. It would seem in the other universe things work somewhat differently in relation to spacetime and velocity."
"And thought." Korr'ih added, almost as punctuation.
"This seems to be the most poignant of events, according to reports I've read. From the debriefings I've performed, you seem to be the most emotionally disturbed by these changes in fact and understanding that occur when you move from departure point to destination point. Could you describe your emotional state at the point of departure? How were you feeling?"
"In a word? Smug." Admitted the Lorath Commander, as she recollected the events that she last experienced within the universe she now sat within. "It was something of a point of pride, to be able to even entertain the prospect of departing from known space-time. No linkage of dimension, multi-verse, or some other excuse for saying we are still part of the same... 'thing' that everyone else is a part of. We would be placing ourselves not just one degree off from everything else around us, but we would have an entirely different plane, that would not be able to be measured in space apart. It was liberatingly intoxicating to think of, and to perform such a task for our people, to promise salvation, was a rewarding thought."
"That feeling. It changed when I crossed, however." Korr'ih quickly admitted, out of humility.
"I understand the conditions of your arrival were... To put it lightly, unpleasant. Could you go into those for me?"
A reflex gripped Korr'ih, a chortle, a sort of exhaled half-laugh at the way which the woman spoke in understatement. "When I awoke, one of my crew was disintegrating, another had become calcified, or vitrified, I am unsure which due to lack of functional analysis hardware available during our operation other than the automated systems. I almost lost my very identity, my purpose, my being. I inhaled someone's blood..." Korr'ih's voice trailed for a moment, as her mind lingered on something far away; "I felt safe somehow, however, something... something spoke inside of me, I don't know what, but it kept me whole."
"A failure of information to transfer from one universe to another... Defailance. Certain concepts, ideas or information and the physical structures that result from them can't successfully move from one universe to the other without substitution. The consequences of that substitution are sometimes catastrophic. Though the results were very awful for you, we needed a control to determine the results of what would happen before the mass-transit with the UF1. Though this violates a clause of ethics, the stakes here are far higher - this is the survival of the Lorath people we're talking about."
"Yes, I know, that was our purpose. Even looking back, I am glad that I performed this task, for our people, and to promise that we would be safe." Korr'ih acknowledged, the nature of her breeding clearly present. "I am however obligated to report; substitution did not entirely take place, some portions of what crossed over simply were... removed? Components, documentation, they were not filled in by a native equivalent, they were entirely expunged. Yet, some things, they were somehow 'enhanced'."
"In itself, substitution failure is not an error... A candidate-set for overload-resolution can create these kinds of problems in a given system... So then, if a candidate remains and overload resolution succeeds, we can consider the invocation to be well informed... I'm sorry. This may prove the Vandevoorde hypothesis, which is very helpful to us... Could you go into more detail?"
A momentary pause came from Korr'ih, as she made a note of what the woman spoke of before she continued; "As you know, I lack the means of accessing our records at this moment, however, I can provide what I do recall. Herald's aetheric generator lost a majority of its regulatory components comprised of zesuaium, nerimium structures and objects were reduced in strength and restructured to a high-density iron-based alloy, durandium was restructured to an aluminium-ceramic composite, Yamatai-go text was removed or corrupted from our system data..."
"So the Aura survived... To interject, did you find that you couldn't name any of these things on the other side, nor recall their origins clearly -- only sparsely the relationships between them in a non-specific way?"
"Yes! That was exactly what we experienced." Korr'ih replied, with more enthusiasm than intended. "It was as if everything that we only had a limited relationship to were degraded in its presence, or removed. Objects which we were familiar with were able to effectively substitute, or remained unaltered."
"Interesting. Have you heard the theory that anything that can happen, will happen an infinite number of times?"
"That's multi-verse theory and probability theory. A little bit of column A and B overlapping."
"As a soldier, you know it by its Nepleslian name, Murphy's law."
A tilted head came as a response from Korr'ih, as she remembered the saying uttered during the weeks of training with Mister Lewis, yet, she was more familiar with the concept by another term, as were most Lorath; "God's will." she spoke, almost feeling disgusted by the concept.
"Well, God's Will as you so put it makes it impossible to work out the probability of something happening. It means we have to slice things into finite sects -- a finite amount based on how accurate the calculation needs to be -- a limited sample called geometric cutoff... All of these things that 'can happen' come from a seed or a root number from which the instructions which become that universe are formed, like a software program. The root number of the other universe is different, so the software is different."
"You refer to a systemic relationship?" Korr'ih inquired, curious, and thinking to some of her training for field command, but unfortunately, her knowledge was limited to where she did actually have to ask the question genuinely, as opposed to rhetorically.
"Correct. We - me and you, we're variables. When you move variables from one system to another, their meaning changes. That change of meaning can trigger exceptions, memory-faults and errors, which are what you, the Herald and your crew experienced physically, first hand."
Korr'ih's brow furrowed before she shook her head in a rebuttal. "I must inform you that perhaps that is contrary to what took place."
"Proceed."
"Some things, some things that were more... 'important'..." Korr'ih paused, finding the word inaccurate as she quickly corrected herself; "Sacred. Were not impacted negatively, nor altered in their meaning. If anything, their meaning was again whole, in a way I had not seen since I was much younger. Will of thought, and soul, they were alive and well."
"As I stated, we work from a model of the universe being information. If something is important to many people, it's pushed up the Vandevoorde ladder of importance and is more likely to not fragment during the trip. Rather, it would be reinterpreted, as while the thing may not physically be with you, the concept of it is, and it is the concept of it which becomes the template of the next universe to interpret that thing" she repeated again, secularizing the meaning once more - something about her very machine-like.
A feeling of displeasure grasped Korr'ih in that moment, as a fragment of judgment crossed her consciousness as she looked into the ruby-like gaze that rested upon her. "You're an atheist, aren't you?" She asked, boldly, something which was not openly asked in good grace among Lorath.
"This is a replication of her body as a representative, though I'm ultimately just a passenger. I have no concept of a god on a cognitive level as I'm not fundamentally Lorath, or even humanoid. To go further into this would require a nondisclosure agreement, though given this is going on protected record, I would accept a spoken agreement."
"I will abstain, I have no interest in such matters, now that I know you are not a Lorath, genuinely." Korr'ih replied, her tone somewhat cooled since a mere moment prior.
"Pity. A lot have died trying to discover my nature and being so close to our endgame, I would have given you it so easily. I'm flattered though, that you'd prefer not to. You have a very strong concept of self, Mrs. Korr'ih. I respect that."
"Chambers." Korr'ih corrected, since she then knew she was speaking to an outsider from her people.
"How long would you say you were gone for, Mrs. Chambers?"
"I was in suspended animation for the return leg of our mission. It would be difficult for me to provide an accurate assessment. I would however, based upon calculated transit time, and accounts from one of my crew, state that we were absent from this universe for a period of seventeen of our days. At least as it was experienced on the other side."
"You were gone for almost half a year."
"We entered two black holes, I am pleasantly surprised to find everyone still alive, for the most part, and not geriatrics."
"Going over your databanks, we are able to confer the relativistic difference on the other side. This is going to affect any possible resurgence from known space which may attempt to replicate our transit - given that the time slippage would mean their culture would have exponential time to develop and advance against our own. Thankfully natural phenomenon seems to ensure we won't need to protect ourselves from possible invaders, so far as we can tell - and that on the other side, we won't even remember them. Given my short time here, I'm looking forward to ridding my memory of them."
"From what I gather, portions of my ship's payload, equipment, and even two members of my crew were intentionally placed for the purpose of effectively ensuring that a death-trap waits for anyone who may follow which would fit the properties of what was impacted destructively by the transit, is that correct?" Korr'ih asked point blank.
"Again, we'd require a nondisclosure agreement. Given that this conversation will be meaningless in a few days in this universe, there's no reason you shouldn't. It's really just a formality."
"It is a matter of principle that I protect the interests of those who I command. If I am given a task which will maim or kill any member of my crew, I wish to be aware of it, so I may provide them some measure of dignity, instead of simply snuffing them out."
"Well, your NDA supersedes them. If you include yourself, you include them, who may also be deferred and told, though if they disclose, the consequences are with you. That being said, I don't realistically think they even have time to prepare a report that would violate those terms."
Another frown pressed its way across Korr'ih's lips, she was speaking of irrational concepts, concepts that belonged to those with Goddess given souls, not thoughts meant for... whatever it was, likely some sort of machine, based on what she was hearing. Applying concepts of Lorath thought was foolish to even begin to entertain. "Next question, please."
Quietly, the woman opposite Korr'ih spoke in Korr'ih's voice: First clearing her throat. "Testing, testing, one two three... I hereby agree to the terms of the agreement and the record should note that any further disagreement with this cannot be superseded by permission granted as a factor of the transit itself, caused by possible mental health complications" -- and then back into her own voice. "There, that wasn't difficult, now was it?"
"How many people want to end you?" Korr'ih asked bluntly, interrupting the woman.
"I honestly couldn't tell you how many. Formally speaking, I have made this journey seventeen times. Each is massively different from the other and each is an entirely different journey. Assumptions based on past journies while helpful, don't really tell me about future journeys... I would say though, that SAINT is aware of my existence on some level, and that those who stand against Lazarus, stand against me personally as we are one and the same."
"This sounds more like a segment of an autobiography than a statement of how many persons want to end your continued being." Korr'ih stated, indicating her disinterest in the nature of the woman, quite contrary to the usual treatment which the woman had received from near everyone else she had contacted during her time within this segment of her journey.
"I can tell you how many people would like to kill Ayetseu Karoupshea if you'd like, though I'm neither her nor one of her constructs. The number is much smaller than you'd expect: She's honestly not as big of a deal as she likes to think she is."
"In other words, you're unaware of those who wish you harm?" Korr'ih asked, her curiosity given some fuel for thought.
"Moreover that with the number of trips made, it is impossible for me to know. Within known space, however, the number is... Substantial. My existence raises some very troubling questions for Yamatai."
Korr'ih was dissatisfied with the response, she had a taste of the bitter nature of the 'creature' she was speaking with, and she already had an internal instinctive impulse to kill. "You keep making statements on the macro-level, I'm asking, personally, how many want to end you."
"Given the closest thing to an intelligence matching my own in scope is PANTHEON... I would estimate some forty to fifty billion people."
"That know you, personally?"
"Correct. PANTHEON's objectives supersede Yamatai at a personal level, though I doubt Yamatai is aware of this. It is how they survived becoming a class 1 aetheric civilization without wiping themselves out: They're not aware that they're a singular mind. If you asked any Yamataian, they would vehemently deny it."
"Their recent politics would act against your assessment."
"By all means, as a single subjective mind, you're welcome to believe whatever lets you sleep at night. It is one of the primary motivating factors in my wish to leave known space."
"A single subjective mind is just as narrow in scope as billions within an echo chamber." Korr'ih waxed philosophical.
"Ourans 15:2. Your knowledge of scripture is impressive. That's quite arcane. Back to the debriefing: Could you describe the seventeen days you spent on the other side?"
"At what point of our mission would you wish for me to begin at?" Korr'ih asked, again focusing on the task at hand.
"We don't need to do this in the correct order provided I get the details. Generally, those which stand out as unusual or noteworthy to you personally are what I'd describe as important. Please, go on."
"Chronologically would be ideal, as to avoid inconsistency." Korr'ih prefaced, before she continued; "Upon our arrival, our first priority was to regain operational effectiveness. Several key ship systems were damaged by the transit and needed to be stabilized prior to inflicting additional damage to the Herald. Additionally, crew members Taela and Tamamo were disabled by the transit, forcing us to function as a three-person crew. For the sake of beginning to function, we needed to ascertain our relationships to one another and our identities. Herald provided some guidance through a neural interface link to the remaining personnel, while additional information was provided by our hard-copy ship record, which was analyzed by the mechanical variation of Tamamo." Korr'ih stated, explaining the first few hours of their time on the otherside.
"Of all to come from that place, she's the one I've met that deserves to survive the most, in earnest. We've only formally met once before and she wasn't aware of it, but I feel our exchange was a good one. I think the closest approximation I can give you is that her survival pleases me." the adult replication of Aiesu smiled, her face very warm in a way Aiesu herself was incapable of - leaning forward in her seat as enthusiasm flooded her voice. "Please, do continue."
There was another silent notation of the woman's words, as Korr'ih continued, recalling the events as best as her memory could grasp them; "We worked to prevent further damage to the ship from further system malfunctions. I can only recall fragments, however, the majority of the repair process was focused around components incompatible to that universe. During the efforts of myself and Mister Lewis, a stowaway Lorthet, one of three, regained consciousness and made its presence known to Tamamo. Details of their interaction are not readily known to myself." Korr'ih spoke before she moved on a little further; "Once damage control was complete, we began to inventory our damage, our remaining equipment, and our required repairs to regain full mission viability."
"From the mission-logs, you did an admirable job. A better crew could honestly not have been selected for this mission. You kept a level head in a circumstance that would paralyze most captains with existential dread. As a living being, you excel yourself."
"Do you have those statements pre-arranged, or are they formulated on the fly?" Korr'ih asked, this time, rhetorically as she continued her account of events. "During the evaluation of our resources, I inventoried our cargo. While documenting what we had remaining after our transit, I did interact with some of my personal effects..." At that point, Korr'ih felt uneasy continuing, as she knew she was dealing with an outsider, someone foreign, alien, apart from the ideology of her people.
"Were there any noteworthy differences either in your expectation of them or in how they themselves function or appear?"
There was the question, and the marked importance to account, and it was not within Korr'ih's nature to deny her obligation to duty, in the moment she found herself in, that obligation was to a comprehensive account; "Yes. Their presence was able to return some of my recollection of my identity, however, most notedly was a scroll of scripture. When I read the scripture it was greater than just words, it was memories, feelings, thoughts, things that were beyond what I should have remembered or known. I felt as if part of me had been built upon, extended beyond the sum of myself."
"Information catalyst. In the same way, you are a consequence of your experiences and the things you value, the same can happen recursively as you rediscover those things - as per the reinterpretation of the destination universe, however. Vandevoorde strikes again. What happened next, Mrs. Chambers?"
With the spewing of words which flourished from the woman, Korr'ih did not argue the most recent time around; there was more to the encounter with the scroll, more to the event, in ways that Korr'ih knew through and through that the being behind that woman could not begin to grasp, no matter the raw intellect present. If anything, the thought threatened to make Korr'ih feel that smug pride her caste were predisposed to, however, she was also a soldier that was beyond such foolishness; the woman she was speaking to had more knowledge in one fraction of a millionth of a second proceeding through her thoughts than she would have in half a lifetime; underestimating that would be foolish.
"I concluded that the best course of action to recover our operational effectiveness was to attempt to collect replacement components from native sources. Our orders strictly stated we were to refrain from leaving recognizable traces of our presence. Due to our orders, trade was excluded as an option to procedure components. Our lack of knowledge of the universe also prevented our ability to seek suitable salvageable locations which would remain unnoticed. Our remaining course of action was to conduct a raid of a native resource, in hopes of procuring suitable components. We used sensor information to identify the nearest native settlement, and we began an approach on the system. During our approach, we used our advance in the opposing direction to EM originating from the system to rapidly gather information about the local inhabitants as we formulated a suitable plan of action."
"And from this, what did you learn?"
"We learned that the locals have a rudimentary grasp of interstellar communications and travel. Their construction techniques are antiquated. They require substantial quantities of raw materials, which are distributed to other settlements which require gathered materials." Korr'ih initially explained, before she continued to a far more pressing portion of what was learned; "Our approach itself did gather a portion of information as well; those which we were approaching had a means of observation outside of conventional sensor technology. Our defensive equipment developed five of ou--- Lor years ago registered a spike in psionic activity. Our Lorthet stowaway was aware of the attempted intrusion before the system registered it however, it does appear that Lorthet are impacted differently by the transit than the remainder of our 'sample base'."
"I see. So from a tactical standpoint, the Lorath people would have to revise their methods of warfare should conflict occur, given this new information?"
"Negative. I will explain why shortly." Korr'ih replied.
"The Lothet. What happened?"
"They spoke in riddles really, neither confirming nor denying information. They almost mocked us in our inability to perceive what was happening." Korr'ih admitted, speaking the truth of the matter; that a primitive throwback of Lorath development was somehow able to interact with the other universe in such a drastic way. "Its riddles, however, were not the full scope of what transpired, and that brings us to the next juncture of our operation."
"After we formulated a plan of attack, we advanced upon the star system. It was a star system with multiple mining platforms, numerous picket ships and mining assets. Numerically, the Herald was at a disadvantage. Helm control and a portion of weapons control was assigned to Tamamo, while the remainder of weapons control was assigned to Mister Lewis. On our approach, we effectively eliminated the opposing assets, while our psionic scrambling equipment was effective in nullifying the native attempts at utilizing their... 'techniques', I have no other word to describe what was observed, at least, not at that moment."
"After making our way to the central station complex, a boarding operation was carried out. Mister Lewis was assigned to the neutralization of potentially threatening structural components of the station, while I eliminated personnel and secured the interior of the station."
"This sets the tone of our next arrival then, given the transference of information with this nonstandard sensor method. You are arriving into war."
"That would be the case, if our psionic scrambler was not in effect, and had I not killed every single man, woman, and child aboard the station," Korr'ih did not so much as bat an eye at her own words. Even to the synthetic gaze of the construct which sat across from her, there would be no observable sign of emotional distress or disturbance. "As for the native people, their combat methodology was unrefined. I was able to effectively neutralize their security personnel, and the limited civilian resistance while in the station, Mister Lewis was unopposed on the exterior of the station. Tamamo used the Herald to destroy the remainder of the picket ships present. There were no survivors, and to guarantee that, I moved to take the station command center to evaluate the situation in full."
"That was the first genuine opposition that I encountered. A trap of some sort caused a spontaneous ignition of atmospheric gas, an explosion took place. My Gust was able to endure it, at this point, the Lorthet which I took with me during the boarding operation expressed a disdain, as it knew the trap was there before I even tripped it. At that point of the operation, the Lorthet broke ranks and proceeded into the station's environmental system."
Korr'ih's partner in conversation sat, seemingly bemused by this, having an assortment of expectations either confirmed or denied as if these circumstances were some way intentional. "And what happened next, Mrs. Chambers?"
"I continued the advance, proceeding to the command deck. I neutralized a number of automated defense systems, which did pose a degree of threat, until I used a performance enhancing compound to drastically enhance my reaction time, suppress pain response, and increase adrenaline production. Upon breaking the automated defense perimeter, I encountered two natives; they were dressed in some sort of officer's regalia, I can only assume."
"They nearly killed me." Korr'ih spoke, and with those words, there was a momentary fluctuation in pupil diameter, respiration, pulse; instinctive response to a recollection of bodily injury.
"I see." the construct nodded. "You seem disturbed by something. Was their method unusual or did you see something that took you out of your expectation of combat?"
"They, through some form of rite or ritual, created an obstacle, a barrier of some sort. My Gust's sensors were unable to gather information on the anomaly. Shortly thereafter, by means unknown, a discharge of energy was directed at me specifically. I can recall what I saw before I closed my eyes to save myself from blindness, even through the hard shell of my faceplate. My sensors detected a massive gamma-ray burst for a fraction of a second. Data corresponded to that of a pulsar emission; not a simulation of one, not some sort of gamma-ray discharge from an emitter array, a genuine pulsar, including stellar matter. My armor was either vaporized, or destabilized to the point of simply crumbling. I suffered second-degree burns over the majority of my front half, numerous third-degree burns, and near-lethal radiation exposure."
"...Wasn't something similar possible in localspace until very recently? Not to the same degree, or even close, granted. I recall something about the Elysians having a similar capability though documentation on the subject is fuzzy everywhere I go..."
"Why do you think we bothered to develop the equipment we used to defend ourselves, even before crossing over?" Korr'ih found the matter amusing, it was a little glimpse into the 'blindspot' of the creature she spoke to.
"There are no rules or systems predicting the behavior of such systems and there isn't enough remaining to study, as it was either expunged or simply stopped altogether. Troubling. I find it disquieting that we will be entering a space where this is not only normal but perfected to quite a high degree, violating thermodynamics to such a level where a primitive society would stand a real chance against you in warfare."
"You haven't heard the most unsettling part." Korr'ih prefaced.
"Go on."
"I was rendered unable to fight back against the two individuals. They were preparing to kill me through the same means they used to initially break through my armor. Before they could complete their 'process', the Lorthet emerged from an environmental control duct. It grasped onto the skull of one of the humanoid combatants, shortly before it---" There was a pause from Korr'ih, she was disquieted by the recollection; "Before it must have somehow assumed control of the person's motor control and higher cognitive functions. It made the combatant kill their companion, before they released a discharge of some form of energy into their own cranium."
"So in practice, this is some kind of manipulatable skill. This puts on the table the potential of harvesting persons should you not be able to develop these capabilities yourself"
"Perhaps, however, we do not understand the scope of the Lorthet's ability either." Korr'ih spoke in observation of the apparent.
"Funny how you're more frightened of losing your autonomy than your own impending death via imminent vaporization."
"Consider losing your own autonomy for just a moment, put your capacity toward that thought, and explore it fully."
"I did, for the better part of nearly fifteen years. I'm altered in such a way that I cannot even know my own name. Until around three years ago, the concept of 'me' was not something I had so communicating with you meaningfully like this was impossible."
"And to lose that?"
"I thought it was an interesting experience."
"To think, to have interest, having those abilities expunged, altered, or controlled. What then?"
"It has already happened. What happened next?"
"My sympathies." Korr'ih expressed, the tone sincere, before she continued; "I was able to gather the will to continue, I entered their operations center. An individual, elderly in appearance, was present and attempted to repeat the same methodology as used by the previous pair of combatants. Despite their barrier, of what appeared superior construction, I was able to neutralize the target."
"Can you describe their barrier, visually or any changes in sound?"
"Visually, it was a distortion kin to looking through calcite, or poorly produced glass. Images were dulled, muted. However, there was also an illumination present, kin to the hardlight systems which were recently introduced. In regard to sound, I observed no notable distortion." Korr'ih explained, though, she was curious about something; why was the visual or aural impact of the barrier of greater concern than how she managed to penetrate it?
"I see. Did you use the same method each time or were there an assortment of methods to dispatch your opponents?"
"You mean, did the Lorthet do all the work again?"
The construct smiled. "Something like that."
"To put it bluntly; I prayed, as I shot him in the face, with one of my revolvers. He then incinerated from the inside out, as light poured from every body cavity of the target, before he fell over a hollow husk." Korr'ih accounted, directly, and flatly, knowing full well that who she spoke to had no ability to appreciate the significance of the moment.
"Likely some biological difference. A lucky hit. What were the remains like, did you inspect them?"
Korr'ih could not help but to find amusement in the fact that she was right, there was no understanding, no comprehension. "No, I did not inspect the remains, I lost consciousness immediately after I informed Mister Lewis that I took the operations center. My next recollection was being aboard the Herald. After Mister Lewis tended to my immediate care, he placed charges to detonate the station, while Tamamo salvaged the components we required for our repairs, and additional materials for intelligence gathering purposes."
"Of those components, did any survive the return trip? I'm asking purely to see your subjective viewpoint to confirm a hypothesis. I know the question sounds absurd, as I should already know based on reports."
"It's a valid question, it is being used to assess your hypothesis." There was an understanding from Korr'ih, about the procedures of the creature, before she continued; "No, the components did not survive. We did, however, leave a message buoy on the other side, with analysis of what we were able to document. Much of our documentation also did not survive, we were fortunate to retain our recollection."
"Very interesting. This means the idea of a trip back or fourth is far more difficult - something given the circumstances of known space, I find highly desirable. What of the Lorthet? Did it survive the return journey?"
"We kept it in suspended animation for the remainder of the return trip, it should still be in storage along with its fellows that did not regain consciousness during the mission."
"Given under stasis it enters a spacetime probability of zero where nothing can actually happen, this is very smart as the changes of reverting to our space may be negative. It also however means, we cannot study it as information does not enter or--"
"We used our methodology of suspension, not the Consortium's."
"A pity. Is that contempt I hear?"
"No, just fact, I wanted to save you the verbose grandstanding. That was contempt, by the way." Korr'ih could not help but to let a combativeness leak into her tone, she did not know why, it was simply something that clawed at her internally, something demanding that she do something other than just respond to the thing "After we completed repairs, we plotted a course to the nearest singularity which would meet our needs for transit, at which point Mister Lewis and I were placed into suspended animation as well, we then returned to this universe, and that eventually ends with us here."
"Very good, Mrs. Chambers. Do you have anything you'd like to add to the record?"
"I am pleased to serve my people. Despite this, I am not a pawn to be used. That is not for the record, that is for you." Korr'ih stated in resolution, before she decided to make that resolution clear; "If we are done, then I would recommend you deliver that information to the High Priest, as we must be leaving soon."
"Are you excited?"
"No, I've been there before."
"Sort of loses its charm after the first time, doesn't it?"
"You tell me, you've done it far more often."
"See you on the other side."
The figure sat opposite Korr'ih squinted, as if waking from a dream, brows furrowing: an entirely new library of body language as their eyes explored the corners of the room - getting a sense of where they were. Slowly she glanced down at the tape recorder - an arcane tool but necessary given the information security needed. She gave Korr'ih a very strange look before hitting pause - unsure of herself and what had just happened.
"...I... I haven't seen you since the Herald..." Aiesu squinted - trying to process what she just experienced.
"You have a message to deliver. Perhaps we will speak another time, perhaps when we can be more sure of being ourselves." Korr'ih replied, knowing full well that the wrong move in that instant had every possibility of doing far more than just ending her career.
----------------------------
Nepleslian Space - Anamnesis
"You seem distracted." Miles spoke, as he worked to recalibrate the limbs which had been so brazenly removed from the diminutive Lmanel scientist after their recent encounter with her 'warren' on the surface of Nepleslia. They had since left the surface after they were able to avert a near disaster.
"...We need to go to Lor..." Aiesu said, visibly dazed - panic slowly replacing that sensation.
"I can't really explain fully right now - you wouldn't believe me if I told you - but it's an emergency. We have to go."
The Amnesis shuddered sharply, accelerating from orbit - the rumble causing a crate to slide off the far wall, shelves emptying themselves across the floor.
"Considering the treaty between Yamatai and the Matriarchy fell through, why not?" Miles replied, not even questioning the matter, not while he had a glimpse of things which took place within the warren, the memory fresh in his mind.
A click of the comms over the speakers; "Miles, did you do that?" Sana called back. "I just lost helm and we're redlining the engines at 200%"
"Ship's under remote control from the madhare here." Miles replied, not even perturbed. He knew things were going to be different, a lot happened while the two of them were confined; but it seemed even more happened elsewhere. He would just have to find out the next time Aiesu was asleep.
