The Beyonder was being prepared for the deceleration point about an Earth year into the 1 light year journey between the stars Ea and Holdus. The deceleration point was when a hyper-accelerating spacecraft had to be turned around to begin slowing down. Turning this around required that skilled engineers to maneuver nuclear rods into the reactor to slow down the fusion effect that produced the energy for acceleration. Once the reactor of The Beyonder was cooled down the ship swung the reactor section around in front of the debris avoidance bulb at the front of the ship. This kept the avoidance mechanism in front of the ship’s path. The reactor was swung into position by the passenger bays that flanked the saucer shaped bridge in place at the center of the craft. That had been how the particular design of The Beyonder got made to maneuver this halfway point of a hyper-acceleration journey.
The Beyonder
Humanoid 2nd generation Eagolim crew members of The Beyonder always made the best engineers according to the Captain and that did not exclude his own humanoid children from performing the chore. The Captain’s sons Adma and his half brother Ulusu were appointed for this task on the mission to the star Holdus. Adma and Ulusu talked a lot while they worked heavy machinery that would grab the reactor rods from the storage containers in order to position them at the reactor. It started to bother Ulusu the way Adma seemed to look for reasons to dislike their father the Captain.
Adma spoke. “Our own father sons the most dangerous task for the ship journey is having do.”
Ulusu once again had been defending their father. “Captain Mynervood a ship engineer before a Captain becoming began as. Back when we all almost his vast wisdom as an engineer us to the fusion plume enough to the ship stop contain allowed died. Without the plume we through space for the rest of our lives would have hyper-accelerated.”
Adma laughed, which sounded human, and nothing like a gargle. “That like the ultimate journey sounds. What kind of beings we become would?”
With nothing to stop a ship at .6 times the speed of light, the ship would just continue indefinitely forever across the galaxy probably never to return again to the little 15 star cluster in the Carina arm of Magphoreus. Nephrican Eagolim physicists can only speculate on how such an endless lifelong journey at such incredible speeds would effect the structure of DNA already known to do all kinds of crazy things at that speed when just at a relatively shorter duration.
Ulusu changed the subject. “I the topic to change want. You when you be with me here be helping should have been disappearing. You on the last shift where were?”
Adma became confounded. “Last shift? I a shift missed? I … I remember not do.”
“You to blanking out on this journey be seem. It before since we left has happened.”
Adma had been at a loss to explain. “I not remember do.”
*
Meanwhile Lockfreedow, the first mate of the ship had been also neglecting some of his duties after becoming immersed in the data program of their last failed mission. This had been the data program that Admiral Mull gave him just before they took off on this journey. He had been in his quarters pouring over a keyboard and a screen while exploring every aspect of the journey that had gone wrong. He sought answers about what went wrong with the journey that before killed seven of his comrades, and almost killed them all.
Geben Lockfreedow became confronted by the fact that the last ship should have worked without fail. That became a one-two punch that followed with the conclusion that the mission had been sabotaged. He ran simulations of the data, modified and compared it to the data of what happened to pinpoint the nature of the sabotage. Where was the sabotage? How did the sabotage take place?
At first there had been no connection. The data of what should have happened just didn’t match up to what actually happened. He found himself having to reprogram the digital data finer and finer until he finally found himself using a quanta-nanocoded application. That would be the only way that allowed the data to match up. The ship had been, in all probability, invaded on the quantum molecular level of existence by some kind of quanta-nanocode virus. The whole slew of quanta-nanocoded breakthroughs lately seemed to be in the process of recreating the entire empire of Nephapricus from within, right here at the infancy of their galactic civilization.
Geben Lockfreedow pulled himself away from the data and switched off his interface device. It had become time to attend to his first mate duties, and make sure he mentioned the results of this investigation to the Captain.
After Geben Lockfreedow left his personal room there had still been someone in the room. Deep within the digital electromagnetic effects that were still circulating on the digital circuitry on the table a small collection of quanta-nanocoded molecules began to energize and cascade into the form of a quanta-nanocode being. This being existed as a much simpler version of the Binary Electromagnetic Artificial-intelligence Thought technology, and it had been known as a quanta-nanocode virus.
Within the interface device upon the table it began to find its way into the mainframe circuitry of The Beyonder. It queried the hard drive for information on the location of the ship’s reactor. In the ship engine room, nuclear fuel had been stored in a dormant state until refined through centrifuge devices that were used to create the atomic explosions that generated the necessary pressure used to turn a tank of hydrogen fuel into a fusion event. The quanta-nanocode virus had been programmed to cause the reactor enrichment centrifuges to oscillate incorrectly while at the same time producing data that assured the engineers that absolutely nothing had been wrong until the centrifuges explode along with the ship.
*
Time became very different in a ship that hyper-accelerated through space at half the speed of light, and spacecraft time has no conceivable relation to how time flows at the slower speeds of non-space flight. Therefore an atomic clock operated as the main timekeeper of a ship, and crewmembers were advised to routinely calibrate their time keeping devices with the ship atomic clock. The ship clock measured days out as ship cycles, which were supposed to be approximately the length of a day on Nephrica.
Adma didn’t remember it, but he had been monitoring the Captain’s schedule in his spare time with some invisible assistance from the Agents of Ea that were on board who controlled him like a puppet with sophisticated mind control technologies.
Adma had selected a place near the Captain’s quarters that usually had been abandoned. He knew the Captain waddled by this crossing on the way to his quarters around the same time each ship cycle in order to update his ship’s journal. Adma brought the gun with him this time. It had become time to do the deed.
Adma had found himself digging for reasons to do this. Captain Mynervood never spent any real time with his sons, always busy checking in on someone else. He put his only sons to the most grueling and dangerous engineering jobs. Adma thought it would be better still living beneath a hologram disguise back on Nephrica. He hated his father Captain Joberk Mynervood.
*
Meanwhile Captain Mynervood talked to Trunlio in front of the view port where the core of Magphoreus could be observed nestled within the galactic bar of the 2nd Age. Trunlio had been pre-adolescent at the beginning of this journey, but now had become a two-foot taller adolescent at the halfway point of the light year in length journey they were on. This dramatic effect of maturity speeding up during hyper-acceleration actually only happens to immature children. With older beings that have fully matured the effects of hyper-acceleration actually slow down. That increases even to the point of practically stopping the aging process entirely.
Trunlio had not been so sure this speeded up aging process would really stop. “When I out of my skin-cloth clothes will I stop? I more replacement clothes need.”
“It soon Trunlio will stop, but you a grown male when it done is will be. They your family of this were warned.”
“My family a proud Negolim name that way back in history goes are. I the name of the Eagolim to carry
am. I much about it to say not did have.”
Captain Mynervood became surprised by the new attitude of the adolescent Trunlio. “You however, much more enthusiastic about that when this journey at what like only 20 or 30 ship cycles ago seems started were.”
“I sir sorry am. I I growing pains guess have.”
Captain Mynervood knew what might distract the child from his distress. “I at these speeds most of my life have traveled. I many wondrous things about at these speeds traveling have learned. I we all on such slow points in the universe that we from the natural continuity of existence, which us to everything joins become detached believe.”
It had been something the Captain succeeded in leaving Trunlio deep in thought about, distracted at least for now from complaining. The Captain started back to his quarters to bring his ship journal data up to date.
Meanwhile Adma became poised around the corner still waiting for his father to walk by. He had just peeked around the corner to see Captain Mynervood walking his way. The gun came out ready to shoot the next Nephrican that walked by the corridor crossing. He could hear his father’s tentacle steps approaching, and his finger began to squeeze the trigger in anticipation.
Then Lockfreedow caught up to the Captain to report what he had concluded from his investigation. Adma could hear them around the corner.
“Captain! Permission to my findings from the data of our last mission report.”
“First Mate Lockfreedow certainly. With me to my quarters come. I something interesting for my journal now have.”
The glaze that possessed Adma’s eyes this whole time started to blink itself away. He had not planned for someone else to be with the Captain, but now both were approaching. The gun began to take aim again, and the glaze began to return to his eyes as he decided there would be no turning back now. No now back turning. No now back turning.
Then a humanoid hand grabbed his gun arm from behind while another arm wrapped around him and jerked him back into the shadows. Adma became almost limp while Ulusu silently pulled him back in the abandoned side corridor. The Captain and Lockfreedow walked by conversing with themselves oblivious to the failed assassination attempt that just happened to their right down the shadowy unused corridor they had just passed.
“I the whole thing Adma saw. I out for my brother closer than you thought have been watching. What with you wrong is? Where you this weapon get did?”
Adma became Adma again, and felt like he just woke up without being able to remember the dream he just had.
“I sorry am. Ulusu I here not got how do know.”
“I to my brother into the Captain not turn am going, but I to you yourself to the physician to be checked out turn in am going make. Her everything Adma tell.”
“I will. I brother will,” said Adma as he willingly surrendered the weapon to Ulusu his half-brother. No! That gun not do surrender. The gun keep. The gun keep.
* * *
When Randa took off outside in the exploratory vehicle on the planet Caleb orbiting the star Yat, Beatariel disturbed its master Prospero to inform him of the news. Actually it seemed to take Beatariel much longer than immediately to finally locate its master to inform him of this. Prospero’s anger just shifted from wondering why he had been disturbed to why Beatariel allowed it to happen in the first place. There were times that Prospero really questioned the programming of Beatariel. It seemed as if it came with bugs still compiled into the logic circuits.
“Enough my problems with you Beatariel about I have had! After her in your robot form go, and her immediately back bring!”
“As you command master, so I obey.”
Prospero had been really fuming mad about this turn of events. Beatariel assumed control of a two tentacle armed robot with two human-like legs to go run after Randa, and Prospero eventually calmed down enough to remember the audio link to the exploratory vehicle he could use to contact Randa with. Prospero attempted to contact his daughter on the audiovisual link from the station.
“Randa! Randa I you to to the station right now return command! It dangerous out there is, and you hurt could be!”
At first Randa had decided not to answer the message from her father, but since she had been on her way back anyway to confront him she argued to herself that confrontation would be easier from a distance. She opened up the audiovisual link to talk to her father’s face that now appeared on the control panel screen. “Father I the real reason we never outside go now know. There intelligent life out here that you to with a comet impact destroy is.”
“Randa, there may some exotic fungus in the extreme cold forming be, but you to about what kind of life forms intelligent are learn have.”
“It at me looked! I it frightened! You about to intelligent life out wipe are, and father you me to that wrong was know raised!”
“Randa, back to the station come, and I you my studies into what you for intelligent life out there are mistaking will show. It a simple collection of single cellular silicon constructs that with some collective unison through electromagnetic networks acts is, but it intelligent not is.”
“I father not do believe. I … I the vehicle not can move. What is? … Aaaaaghhhhh!”
Randa kept screaming through the speaker as she disappeared from the screen. It seemed like something outside had grabbed the vehicle and started hitting it against the side of the icy ravine. Prospero wasted no more time and waddled really fast to the environment suit room.
*
The Beatariel robot body ran down the icy ravine, which its geo-tracking mechanisms indicated Randa had driven down. It looked like a metallic midget with tentacle arms waving about. This had been Randa’s favorite physical form that Beatariel would occasionally assume. She grew up with Beatariel in this form playing games as if robot Beatariel were her little brother. Soon Beatariel came up upon a scene of a giant creature made up of multicolored frozen gas arms that were now wrapped around Randa’s vehicle, and slamming it over and over again against the cliff side.
Beatariel stopped its robot body to devise a plan. This had been a narrow crevice near the beginning of the ravine where the creature had long ago grown around in order to set this trap. It became a narrow section of the ravine where the silicon creature had grown around to function like the mouth of a giant Venus flytrap. She had been allowed to drive in, but now would be having trouble driving out. Beatariel knew there would still be so much to learn about this form of life. It seemed to be trying to force Randa to come out of the vehicle. The robot body that drove as Beatariel produced a weapon as it started walking closer to the creature still banging the vehicle against the cliff side.
Then a stick figure version of the silicon life form ran up the ravine on two human-like legs from the other side of the creature. The stick figure waved two human-like arms. Beatariel stopped to observe the octopus-like arms that were still wrapped around the vehicle. Then the giant arms set the vehicle down in front of the human-like stick figure that looked like it had been made of braided strands of frozen gas. Then the vehicle door opened, and Randa came out to face the silicon creature. Beatariel watched helplessly as the young girl courageously made alien contact.
Beatariel held its fire as Randa and the stick figure began touching hands. The simple end of the stick figure arm began to do a better job of imitating Randa’s complicated five-fingered humanoid hand as the two beings touched. There had been a mutual fascination between both beings as they touched, and they both became lost in this most profound moment. Their two hands slipped into a handshake. The other version of the creature that surrounded the sides of the ravine like a throat released its grip on the vehicle and retreated back away to the sides of the ice cliff.
Suddenly the stick figure standing next to Randa still shaking her hand jerked it away, and began backing away. Then it started melting away, making a brief appearance as a puddle of liquid on the ground before then dissolving in a puff of vapor.
Prospero appeared from behind where the Bea
tariel robot stood. “You Randa see. It just a nearly harmless beam from a microwave pistol takes and then away like they never existed melt. You on ice crystallization hallucinate.”
“You him killed!’
“Him? Her? You daughter of mine so little about biology know.”
Beatariel drove the vehicle Prospero arrived in while Prospero took Randa back in the slightly damaged vehicle just released by the ice crystallization hallucination. The creature had retreated as far into the cliff side as it could, and no longer posed any obstruction. Then Prospero drove her home. The vehicle still worked, and Randa cried the whole time he drove. No matter how he explained it to her she just kept calling him a murderer in response. Prospero became exasperated with the fact that children were so naive about life and death, right and wrong.
Randa realized that the temperature change itself would annihilate the entire sub-zero degree ecosystem of this planet. The life of this planet had been about to be melted away into puffs of vapor as if it never existed just like her brief acquaintance with the stick figure. She could not be convinced that this had been right or justifiable. This had not only been wrong, but also a crime against the life of the universe.
Meanwhile back at the place where the stick figure had first originated a terrible disturbance began. The silicon being evolved within the cracks of the planet’s icy surface where the ultra-freezing surface winds failed to reach. Inside these valleys of slightly higher temperature, small single cellular silicon based organisms eventually began to gather into multi-cellular collectives. The life form that evolved along the ravine sides had been like a silicon-based fungus made up of collectives of microscopic beings that contributed to the whole organism.
For millions and millions of Earth years the organism grew along the cracks of the planet while content to wave together from side to side as a collective digging out nutrition from the solid water on the sides of the cracks in the planet. That had been before Randa touched it and millions of eyes beheld another multi-cellular collective being like them. It learned whole new tricks of how to arrange itself from the single touch of this alien being. The alien multi-cellular being that touched it had been a frail carbon based being that hid behind inanimate molecules for shielding, but the silicon life form could tell this alien had been a collective of single-cell organisms that were also working in unison to produce a multi-cellular construct like itself. At the time several millions of silicon cells agreed to imitate the multi-cellular construct they had just met, and they used this construct to follow her. They quickly bid farewell to the rest of the organism to form a human-like stick figure standing on two long stalks that had the newly acquired evolutionary advantage of being able to move about free of the ravine side. This had been a revolutionary innovation for the creature that now became eager to also explore the new power of mobility.