Chapter 13: Entry 14 [In which I interface with an unknown being]

Resurrection Log: Ź̷̼͖ý̶̧̡̩̫͉͔͇̓̈́̋̎̽̌͐͛̈́̎̒́̐̍͠r̴̢͓̖̲͙̲̮͋̉̓̾͒̑͜͠ͅa̵̡̨̦͍͉̳͎͕̞͔̲̺̰̩̩̽͑̆̈̌́̏͝g̵̼͈̟̗͔͋́̈́̀͆̀̚ą̸̯̽̈́̑͒͑́ṙ̷͙̝̥͔̳̜̗͖̦͉͓͕͗̈́̇̇͂̐̍̒̍̔d̸͇̞̥͓̠̈́͒͋̌̐͝ ̶̨̧̛͔̲̻̖͚̠̣͔̻̰̫̒̇͐͜͠T̴̠͓͔̦̩̻̼̖̽͆̍͆̓̊̽̔̚͠ơ̷̶̵̸̸̸̡̛̛̬̖̰̦̦̮͚̗̞̻̻̞̻̙̘̘͈͈̭̲͙̪͍̭̭͉͚̤̅̾̽͋̀̑̋̆̍̉̇̉̈́̿͋͒̇̊̓̂̿̿̑̈́͆͑͌̂̌̑̆̉͘̚͜͜͝͝͝͝͠ţ̷̢̢̛͙̩͎̥͈̝̖̈̄͛̄͊̆̓̈́̊ͅͅȩ̸̠͍̱̖̺̣̖̄̉̔͜ņ̷̡͓̘̥̠̖̝̺͈̥͔̲͊k̴̛̯̫̪͑̽̔́̅͂̿̂͋̉̂̕͘͠y̵̟̟̰̪̻̼̖̌̽̇̓́̍̃͒̾̕̚͝͠r̵̢̨̠͉̼̲̲͛͒̂̽̄͐͌̏͘͘͝a̴̛̰̙̫͂͐̓̐ḿ̷̡̛̤͙͕̼̱̻͙̔͌̓̈̏͑̔̈́̓͘̚ą̸̧̧̯̺̫͈̞͎̻̤̫̂͐̐͘ņ̷̨̱̖̟͖͚̣̂͌͗̌̾̔́̕ ̶̨̨̲̘̭͚̣̝̞̲͔̦̽̾̏̄̒́̚͝K̷̖̻̘̣͐̽̀̅͛͜͜͜ṟ̴̛͇̺͈̲͉̤̰̰̥͉͓̜͑̈́͌̔̍̓́̕ą̷̼̄̾͊̓̽̾͊̈̒̍̍́̉̚͝l̸̨̞͇͈̖͔̘̜̱̦͈̊

Year 76,589 of the —Mother of Ruin—

M:6 D:16

Day 972 of Cycle 3

[transcribed memory/thoughtstream generated by Ṁ̵̢̘̭̬̙̘̦̳͓̺͈̪̒̂ǫ̵̨̛̠̫̻̐̋̓͗͗͗̏̎͂̿͌̕t̴̜̪͇͕͚́̓͐h̴̯͍̼̦̯̝̜̝̤͂͋͆͌͗͝ę̸͉͖͕̜̤̘͙͎͚̈́̏͒̒̄̏̃̋͘̕͘͜ȓ̸̢̨͍͉̱̮̞͔̋̇ ̴̡̛̱̳̘̠͎̫̩̪̦̠̦̣̀͒͛͊̚͠G̷̰̹̝͆̈͜į̸̧̟͙̰͖̳̯̈́̒͜͜g̶͉̗̹̻̟̰̞̭̠͉͙̈́͊̌̈̈̓̐̒̕ạ̵̧̧̘͖͔̟̝̳̅̇̂̂̅̓̇͛̓͋̊̏̇̕t̵̮̉͒̋̄̑̇̌̀̅͑̋͋r̶̻̟͗̋̀̆̿̃̔̄͒̎̊̈́̚o̵̪̦͇̫̾̋̊̾̋͗͗̊͊̄͜͠͝ḡ̵̛̰͎̇̐͒͋̊̀͝ẗ̶̡̮̠͈̗̗̃͛̈̊̾ḩ̴͍̖͖̥͈̻̪̖̤̰̥̣̋͌̚ř̵̝̤̩͈͎̤͎̯̤͔̝̬̖̓̏͐̀̿̊̂̈͋̕͝͝ĭ̴̡̡͙̺̪͕̻̺̥̫̭̜̺̳̃̂͊̓́̅̈́̎̀̽̀̚ͅṃ̵̨͇̺̪̤̄͜ȧ̵͓̟͖̞̩̤͙̩̖̠̝̣̔ź̶̡͇͍̝̳͚̱͖̳͖̬͓̋̂͜ ̸̢̺͚̍̎̈́̂͛̂̐͐̊̕̚͜͝͝Ȉ̵̢̹̜̞͆̃͗̅̈́̋͒̅͝Í̶̡͓͓̰̥̤̗̱̀͛́͆̒͋̂͠͝I̴̟̞̪̯͍̟̿̂̐̌͑̎̅̋͐͆̍́] 

The humans lead me to a sort of cargo hold and then bound my upper body with bio-reinforced wire rope. They left the individual with the unfamiliar weapon to guard me. I believe they overestimated the efficacy of their stunning-substance, or else did not account for the overwhelming presence of caffeine in my system. 

Regardless of my rapid recovery, I feigned continued weakness and turned my energies instead toward observing my surroundings. The closest of which—my bindings—were of particular interest. The layer of reinforcing fibers appeared to be engineered from a group of Earth-origin species known as spiders. 

Humans know of the Lyrian ability to customize our own forms. They’re not, however, generally aware that unassisted DNA absorption from outside sources is one of the methods by which we accomplish this. And so long as we do not use these genetic acquisitions in the crafting of hybrids without outside consent or cooperation, we consider this matter to be our business alone.

And I’m deeply grateful that we do. 

I acquired the enhanced spider DNA and began at once to incorporate it.

By the time we reached our destination, my modifications were complete—and entirely internal. The humans would notice no difference. The vessel surfaced, or seemed to, and more of the armed men returned to escort me out of it. 

We emerged from the vessel into an immense, vaulted space of smooth stone. One side half-submerged, the other featuring a raised platform with corridors branching off of it. We had not increased our elevation enough to have truly surfaced, and therefore, I surmised the structure I then found myself in was most likely entirely underwater.

From the vaulted chamber I was taken to a very small cell with a metal door almost as thick as the room was wide. I was shoved in. The door was shut and locked. 

Shortly after, a voice issued from speakers in the corners. Jonathan’s voice. 

“I hope you’ll forgive the accommodations, but we know better than to underestimate you.” 

He paused, as if expecting a response. I said nothing. 

“I think you already have an idea of what we’re going to ask of you. And we’re entirely aware of just how difficult it would be to make one of your species do anything it didn’t want to do.” 

I persisted in my silence. 

“We didn’t bring you here to force you into anything,” continued Jonathan’s voice. “But we do have things we want to show you. Things which may change your mind. And if they don’t…well, we’ll do a few scans, take a few samples, and let you go. Surely, your people will not punish you for what was taken against your will.” 

I very nearly laughed at that, and was almost pleased to find that the inclination seemed to be occurring with increasing frequency. But still, I, as the humans say, held my tongue. 

This time, Jonathan waited a while, as if hoping the long stretch of silence would goad me into speech. But I wasn’t that human. Not yet. 

“My guess is you’re doubting whether I’ll really let you go. Alive, at least. But I’m a man of my word. I’ve got nothing to fear from Elysian authorities.”  

I did not doubt him at all. I knew already that, in spite of having faked his death to disappear from the public eye, this man remained one of the wealthiest on the planet. He paid to keep his secrets and his freedom both. 

“This bores me,” I proclaimed at last. “You say you have things you want to show me. So show me.”

“If Rin thinks you’re going to learn anything from this experience that I don’t already want her to know, she’s mistaken. Not that she isn’t used to that.”

I made a show of yawning, doing so as loudly as I could. It was my first time, though, and so I am not certain how convincing I was.

“Alright, then. I’ll leave you to it,” said Jonathan’s voice after a moment. The speakers went completely silent, lacking even the high-pitched buzz they had when left on but out of use. 

The space was so small that I could barely move. It was also windowless and lightless. Neither of these qualities would typically have bothered me. But due to my primate DNA, no doubt, I felt a twinge of distress. 

Luckily, I was distracted within seconds by a nudge. I opened the outer edges of my awareness to it at once.

But it did not speak, not in the usual sense. 

Instead, it showed me a planet. Covered mostly in blue water and swirling clouds. But there were a number of continents, too. Brown and green. 

Earth.

The view rushed forward, through the atmosphere and fluffy clouds. Over trees, lush and green—thriving. From there it plunged down through the earth itself. Into structures built beneath it. Structures where humans slept, worked, ate…lived. The view zoomed out, spanned continents, and flew inward again. Another hidden human settlement.

And another. And another.

Why are you showing me this fantasy? I queried finally, beginning to grow frustrated. 

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Not a fantasy, replied the consciousness sharing these visions. Reality. This moment. 

Then, as if to prove itself, the view shifted to Elysian. Swept downward toward a small island of dark rocks in the middle of the ocean. An island where Rin and the others still waited, sheltered now inside the skimmer.

This could be an approximation of reality, a conjuration based on what you already know. It does not prove that you were showing me the real Earth of this present day. You cannot have been. It’s still far from habitable. The Benefactors have that planet under rehabilitation protocol. They don’t let drones or anything else within its space. 

I do not need drones to see, replied the consciousness.

What are you? 

It did not directly answer my query.

I can show you things I have witnessed in the past as well, it said instead, after a moment. 

In the next instant, another vision was projected into my consciousness. A city on Blue Sabbas Moon. 

A darkened chamber deep underground, half-submerged in water. A human, hands shackled behind him, shoved down a narrow stair by a trio of khirtirlird, held forward so that his cheek rested against the water. Things flitted about beneath its restless surface, translucent flesh shiny with iridescence and little flecks of silver. With squirming tentacles one of the creatures dragged itself up from the water, its tiny arrow-shaped body sliding over the human’s jaw. Back and around his hairline, coming to rest at the base of his neck. 

The man cried out in pain as the thing’s tentacles pierced his skin. And then, quite suddenly, he stopped. The khirtirlird released him, and he straightened. His expression was strange, blank. He did not seem to blink.

Are you suggesting to me that the humans did not willingly carry out the attacks of which they’ve been accused? I asked as the vision faded. If so, Why do you not show this to the galaxy? Broadcast what you know for all to see?

I can only share what I have witnessed through direct connection of the minds. I must remain hidden. Secret. And as you pointed out, it is easy to deny the truth of what I’ve seen. 

Does Jonathan truly think these visions will convince me to break the Mothers’ commandments? 

He doesn’t. But he hopes that you will question what you think you know, and learn things you may not have as a result. The khirtirlird are favored allies of the Benefactors. This parasitic species may be, as well—or perhaps they engineered it themselves. 

[This was unlikely of course, unless the Benefactor’s disdain for genetic “tampering” was a lie. I considered that for a moment.] 

And if you do find proof of their duplicity, he hopes that you will share it with your people. We know the Lyrians consider the Benefactors their enemies, mutually agreed-upon neutrality or no. You could be our greatest allies against them. 

You think we will ally with you against the most revered and feared species in the entirety of the galaxy after you forcefully extract samples of my flesh?

I do not know.

What are you? I asked again. Who are you?

The being did not respond for a time. 

I have shown you everything I am meant to, it said. 

And then it said no more. Showed me no more.

A long time passed in which no one spoke and nothing happened. Several hours. I spent it making what alterations to my body I could without exhausting my energy.

After I had done with that and begun to slip into interminable boredom, the consciousness nudged me again. 

He’s asleep, it said. Find me at the heart of the complex and kill me. 

Why? Who are you?

Find me and kill me.

What are you?

It made no response.

More hours passed of darkness and nothing.  

Slats opened in the walls. Began to emit a damp mist. Another form of the substance they’d shot me with. Again, my body became slow, sluggish. But my earlier adjustments to my physiology had involved more than just incorporating spider DNA. I had managed to weaken the effect of the substance on my physiology as well, after identifying some key compounds. I had not, however, been able to make myself entirely immune. 

I behaved as though it had taken full effect. 

The mechanisms of the door sounded as it was unlocked and dragged open. The time had come, apparently, for scanning and sample-taking. 

Or so my captors thought. 

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