Life Giver

by Nightwatcher

Chapter 7 : Life Looks For Life

/ 5/25/8252 CE

/Doctor James Keyes

/Playback begin

/Aboard the UEG-ONI- Research Ship 'Sagan'

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I looked out of one of the many windows aboard the 'Sagan' watching ships move about above the pale blue dot spinning below, waiting for the results for a certain 'project' of mine.

In the couple of months that we had been here the fleet had been reinforced, now consisting of one Dreadnought, two Cruisers, five Destroyers, and a dosen Heavy Frigates. We had been very busy in the past couple of months, in that time we have documented nearly all of the species on the planet.

I looked to three reports laying on my desk in-particular, picking up the one closest to me, looking it over one last time.

'Púca'

- The 'Púca' are a insectoid race of quadrupeds native to the planet GW-420-1 ( Code Named Eden ), in system 5929-A, sector S-478-BA-9. They are, as I wrote in my earlier report ( See Report 001 ), they have a black chitinous exoskeleton, and pair of wings that are capable of flight. Instead of re-stating what I wrote in Report 001, I will write what we have learned about the culture and mannerisms of the 'Púca'. If I could sum up all I have learned about them in one word, that word would be 'alien'.

They have no art, no music, not even names, yet when I think about it I understand why. We humans have the odd urge to force our nature, onto nature. Why would they have names, why would they have music, those things, while seeming normal to us are when you get to the meat of it, human inventions. Taking music for example, it has been widely accepted that humankind uses music primarily to express and convey feelings and to develop a feeling of togetherness, in this respect the 'Púca' have no use for music as they can directly express what they are feeling to their peers. Although they have shown a interest in music when we showed it to them.

As for names, the best explanation I can come up with stems from their insect like nature. The 'Púca' posses a 'hive mind' and because of that they have a lesser understanding of individuality, with only the 'Púca' higher up on the chain having any real sense of self. They appear to use small crystals for identification, small markings in the crystal appear to differentiate between individuals.

-The 'Púca' are divided into a cast system with three main levels.

The Queen

At the top is the Queen. The Queen stands in at an average of forty feet tall. She is the 'main' mind of the hive, the one guiding influence that all members of the hive move too. She can take over the mind and body of any member of her hive, using them as if they were her own, also she can take more of a 'back seat' in their minds ( I believe she does this at all times ) mealy acting as an observer. She has the power to use the minds of her 'subjects' to bolster her own thinking power and knowledge as well. John had described it similar to being under water, as a force pushing in from all sides, he said that it was not particularly painful just 'different'. The other members of the hive have an undying loyalty to the Queen, and will follow any command given. The most interesting fact about them is that we believe them to have negligible senescence maybe even biological immortality.

The Matriarch

The Matriarchs appear to be the main cast within in the Hive. They posses a skewed sense of individuality when within the confines of the hive mind, but on their own are comparable to a baseline human in terms of sapience. Chrysalis and her Mother would be considered Matriarchs. They about six feet from 'hoof' to horn when fully grown. We believe that a Matriarch has the ability to mutate into a full fledged Queen if the need arises.

The Drone

The Drones appear similar to the Matriarchs externally, but in fact are quite different internally. They can be more likened to animals then their more intelligent relatives. They serve as the all around 'cannon fodder' of the Hive, doing the majority of the redundant or menial tasks.

Arcaneium

Arcaneium is the tentative name of the 'power' that all casts of the 'Púca' posses. This 'power' appears to be natural produced in their own bodies, as Chrysalis (Specimen 001) was still able to harness her power while aboard the "Icarus". Testing has concluded that this power gives 001 the ability to lift objects many times its own size, and it has been documented that the other members of it race are able to do other things. Their power can not be used constantly as they require a resting period before their power can be used again. Further testing is scheduled, I have submitted requests for tests to see if this power can be used by humans, but the tests have not been approved as of yet.

I shut off the pad and picked up the next one.

Wyvern

The Wyvern are a sapient race of flight capable reptiles native to the more monotonous regions of GW-420-1. They vary in size from something that could perch on my shoulder to something that could eat a dropship whole, but they are an average of fifty feet from the tip of their snot to their tail.

(A Wyvern atop a Púca tower)

The Wyvern are just as intelligent as the Púca, but of the two Wyvern are the more 'cultured' of the two races. They do not have cities or infrastructure (mainly because of their size) but they do have a rich culture. They posses a form of music, some art, and even a written language. The Queens words were true when she said that they were 'Honorable', apparently a member of one of the clans had seen what we did to the two outcasts and we were 'rewarded' for our 'troubles' with a large amount of what appears to be gold and precious gems (samples were recorded and left overs were dispersed amongst the crew). They appear to live around a complex system of codes and rituals that are exclusive to their own peoples, that said we are exempt from their codes, although we do not have a free pass according to the clan leader 'Ehecatl' and must show ourselves as good guests.( the Chairman has already touched on the subject of 'out of regulation activity' in that he said if anyone steps out of bounds their contract will be 'liquidated'.)

They appear to view us with a mix of superstitious awe and respect. They do not understand everything we have showed them but they are progressing fast in that respect. They have given us many names so far but the most prevalent appears to be 'Wahl-Do-Lein', the best translation we can come up with is 'Maker-Of-Life/World', I believe that it is fitting given what we have shown them. The appear to be strongly religious and believe in a single god, 'Dein-Do-Yol' or as it translates 'Keeper-Of-The-Flame', a Wyvern the size of the world and made from fire. The clans that we have encountered are generally indifferent about integration but their are many outliers that wish to do so.

The pad winked off as I set it down to pick up the largest of the three-

A knock at my door got my attention.

"Doctor, sorry for disturbing but I thought you said to notify you personally when the specimen woke up."

"Thank you."

I put the pad down and walked out the door, making my way to the research wing.

The specimen she was referring too was a part of the 'Uplift Program', and as of now she was the most promising one in a string of failures. Uplifting the Equine like race to sapience was easy enough, aside from the 'side effects', a gruesome combination of mutations that came about as they aged, and as of yet had been fatal every time.

Out of the four iterations of gene lines code named: PHOBOS, BOREAS, HARPAGOS, and finally ALICORN, ALICORN appeared to be the most likely to produce viable subjects.

As I passed through the doors to the research wing a familiar old song reached my ears, "Beethoven's 9th? Really?" I asked to no-one inparticlar.

I rounded the corner to see something that did not make me very happy.

The one way window to subjects 01A and B's room had a small crowed of my scientists bunched up around it.

"Alright! Anyone who is not on the project had better be out of my sight before they see what the other side of an airlock looks like!" I yelled as loud as I could.

After shuffle of movement left two scientist behind, one who were actually meant to be here, I looked into the cell.

Subject 01A, a almost pure white 'Alicorn', was messing with a hologram of a sun; using the tips of her primary feathers on her wings to twist and turn the hologram, casting light and shadows about the room. Meanwhile subject 01B, a dark sapphire blue 'Alicorn', was laying on her back looking up at the ceiling of her end of the room which had been replaced with a hologram of the space outside of the ship.

"Who gave them access to the mainframe?" I asked slight agitated about not being told.

"I did" The AI whose name took after the ships, his avatar appearing at my side.

"Why did you give them access, Carl?" I asked the AI

"Because they have exhausted the curriculum you gave them, James. I could not just let them sit there." He said back, a smug look on his face.

That was a good sign, "No mental denigration? That's good."

He nodded, "Yes.... well there was a small problem. Subject 01B has sown a predisposition for schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder, but it is easily treatable with medication."

I narrowed my eyes at 01B, watching her point at the stars calling out to her 'sister', "If it gets any worse I want it terminated, we cannot allow the gene pool to be contaminated this early on. Understand?"

Carl nodded, "I understand, Doctor." Then he vanished.

I looked to my two associates, "They have names?"

The one who answered was looking at a data pad and waved dismissively, "Carl had two names he liked; Subject 01A is 'Celestia' and 01B is 'Luna'."

"Hmm," I shrugged, " It's better calling them 01A or 01B."

"Ya, it is."

"Keep monitoring them, I have to got talk to the chairman."

"Yes, Doctor."

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"Chairman, its good to see you." I said as I sat down.

"Likewise Doctor, I assume you've sent me the relevant files on our scheduled updates?"

"Yes, I wanted to talk about our progress here." I asked.

"We have made great strides here Doctor." He said back.

"Yes I know, I want to know that we are not subjugating them here Chairman."

"This is about 'Alexandria' isn't not? The purpose of the cities construction is so that we can have a 'melting pot' of sorts, a test if you will to see if the Púca, Wyvern, and your.... Equines, can interact and live stably in an environment with us."

"I believe we can Chairman, they're peaceful enough. It's us that's going to be the problem."

"Maybe.....maybe, we'll have to give it time Doctor, move slowly, carefully."

"I saw that the amount of warships here has gone up, something I should be worried about Chairman?"

He turned his back, "Just an..... insurance policy, Doctor. Nothing you need to worry about."

'Hmmp, his way of saying 'none of your damned business'.' I thought.

"I hope we don't need it." I said as I left the room.

The chairman looked at a datapad, a familiare outline of a HLF recon vessel on the screen.

'Never hurts to be prepared.' he thought to himself.

Comments

[Bronybro 117]

This is getting good by the chapter.

[Ranakastrasz]

Not sure if this was explained earlier, but if this is in the same universe as The Gods in the Stars, then unless they erase the memories of Celestia and Luna at some point, they would already have known about them.

[dashdlkashd]

Dang it! I was hoping humans were not going to be the creators of Luna and Celestia. I was hoping that they would have just been plain-ol-alicorns who just happened to take the role of handling the moon and sun. Oh well, I guess you can't please them all. Great chapter though.

[FormNalvoid]

1696021 Humans made them in this story how can they be "Normal" If they were all manmade?

[The Well Dressed Ninja]

images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/2/13/129105745174012323.jpg

[Paladin Redflare]

So does this mean that Humanity will go extinct cuz then I would be really peeved off, but I highly doubt that. THE GODS ARE PONIES? I'm not sure, haven't read yet.

[dashdlkashd]

1696138
Well, by normal I meant that humans make Alicorns. Then the Alicorns continue breeding... BAM! Luna and Celestia!
1696589
That picture... 10/10

[ArTic]

D*mn it, Nightwatcher, hurry up and post more. I can't decided if I love something if it isn't done.

[Cold Spike]

Ok.. this story just got amazing.

[mrturtlebobington]

1696138 If all oserved case are of same state, then that state is normal by definition

[Organized Chaos]

Interesting that you use the Skyrim dragon language rather than perhaps Latin or perhaps German.

[Nightwatcher]

1701466 Ya had a hard time deciding which one to use, it just made the most sense to me. After all why would aliens speak a human language?

[Organized Chaos]

1713108True, but it would be interesting for dragons to speak Latin...

[IgnoreMETILLLATER]

Something tells me the HLF are gonna attack and fuck everything up.

[Esme]

1713108
However, the Skyrim dragon language is effectively a human language, since its grammar is, apart from a small part of the derivational morphology, completely identical to that of English.