Echoes of Harmony

The Nexus

Cycle 19.468

Nergal would have smiled if he had the anatomy to do so. His plans were going much better than he expected, much better than they had any right to. At least, the latter would apply if they were conceived by one of the biological inferiors he needed to use as his playthings. But, the pieces were in place, and all it would take was a slight prodding to cause the dominoes to fall, so to speak.

The war between the Druthagar Kingdom and Hyperion Empire was at a stalemate. That, however, was fine. Expected, even. The two controlled the most powerful militaries in the galaxy. At least, the most powerful at the present moment. Having the two of them preoccupied with one another meant it was that much easier for Nergal to go unnoticed. Of course, it was nothing compared to when the Ciovyr, Nergal’s progenitors, were at their height. They would have annihilated either of these pitiful navies before they even realized what hit them.

A ray of light appeared in front of Nergal’s core as the door to his domain opened. It disappeared just as quickly as it came, but not before the person entering noted the metallic tendrils crawling their way along the floor and walls. A subroutine determined the man, Lord Protector Tober Delargivic, was surprised at the progress Nergal had made over the seven years since their initial meeting. Such additions were necessary to ensure proper control over the different threads he was pulling. The secret factories beneath the surface of the planet, after all, were not going to run themselves.

“How is everything progressing?” Tober asked, taking a swig from a wine glass in his hand. Even though it was dark, he deftly stepped over each of the tendrils like the roots of a tree. Nergal’s external sensors followed his every move.

“It is going according to plan,” Nergal said, his speakers grating out the words. A red glow briefly flashed in time with each syllable spoken. “Are your forces ready to make their debut?”

“Just about.” Tober shrugged. “We plan to launch our attack in a month’s time at Venator. One of the system’s planets has been devoted to manufacturing of war supplies, so it should—”

As Tober spoke, Nergal delved into his memory core and found the information he was looking for. The perfect target was going to present itself. It was an opportunity that couldn’t be passed up. Before Tober even finished the statement, Nergal interrupted.

“Change the target. Push it back another month.”

The man’s eyes held shock that was quickly hidden behind an emotionless mask.

“Why would I do that? What’s more important than upsetting their supply chain?”

“Manufacturing is easy to reproduce.” Nergal could hardly keep the exasperation out of his otherwise monotone voice. He knew from experience how easy it was to setup an entire factory system. After all, the massive shipyards beneath the planet’s surface were child’s play for him. “If you want to launch a proper revolution, you need to strike fear into the hearts of their population. Space Station Vertyn is the ideal place to complete this.”

“Vertyn?” Tober scoffed and took another sip from the glass. “It’s nothing more than a glorified training facility at the border of the Druthagar Kingdom. Important at the onset of the war, but now all it does is churn out a few thousand soldiers every year. Though, it is starting to increase lately.”

“It is also where the Emperor of Hyperia will be making an appearance in two months.” Nergal waited almost five seconds, an eternity to the advanced intelligence, for Tober’s response. When none came, a subroutine carried out tasks to work towards lowering the Lord Protector’s alcohol intake. “You will attack when the Emperor is there, and you will destroy him and his royal carrier. Without a dedicated leader, the legates will squabble amongst each other, causing the empire to descend into chaos. You will be able to swoop in and pick up the pieces with ease.”

“That would be quite ambitious.” Tober stroked his chin as he paced the room. “Then again, I don’t know if I have the forces necessary to pull that off.”

“You do.”

Tober raised an eyebrow at the confidence behind the statement.

“How so? The Nova Imperium’s fleet is practically nonexistent next to the Hyperion Navy.” Nergal hesitated to respond. A mistake it did not make previously and knew to not make in the future. Tober immediately picked up on it and pressed, “What aren’t you telling me?”

“There are factories I constructed beneath the surface of Arcadia ever since you removed the restrictions on my core. My original plan, as I indicated to you, was to simply use abandoned factories and construct two new shipyards in orbit. However, I decided there was no point in stopping there. Hundreds of supplies lines, thousands even, have been pulling resources where they would otherwise have been wasted. After all, the Hyperions have sent enough war material to Arcadia to start a dozen wars. My factories combined these into the necessary parts and components for a fleet to rival that of your enemies. Now, there are precisely three thousand, five hundred and sixteen ships split between space and hidden beneath the surface. Among these are also hundreds of thousands of drones ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Each of the ships just needs one last finishing touch. One which only you can provide, Lord Protector: They need my core placed in the center of them. It is not a major ordeal. All you need do is place a small piece of me, which I shall give you, in a console on the bridge.”

Nergal could barely contain the positive reinforcement surging between his cores at the thought of thousands of him cruising around the galaxy. If he so chose, he could simply hop between them, seeing from each of their perspectives. Perhaps someday they could explore other galaxies. But that was a thought for another day.

“Just imagine the possibilities.” Nergal was fully aware he sounded like what humans would describe as an excited schoolgirl. He just couldn’t help himself. “They require no sustenance and no crew. They are fully self-sufficient and can carry out the attack on the Hyperions with ease. They can do anything your human crews could do but better. My efforts have rendered the waste of human life obsolete. Isn’t that something you have strived for? Making the lives of your people better?”

Nergal knew it was the right thing to say. After all, he had studied the Lord Protector for a decade. He would say he knew Tober better than the man knew himself.

“I suppose that is true.” Tober paced around the room, stroking his chin as he went. “Plus, it would give us an edge over our enemies. There’s only so many humans. But if you are able to replicate your core at such speeds, we’d be able to expand our fleet faster than they could replenish their’s.”

“Precisely, Lord Protector.” Nergal continued to follow his movements. Just a little more coaxing, and he knew the man would agree. “So is it decided? I shall give you the means to activate these ships? Afterwards, I would, of course, transfer control of my offspring to you for the destruction the Emperor at Stariek in seven weeks?”

Of course, the release of control was for nothing more than making Tober Delargivic feel good about himself. Nergal would be fully in control of their actions. If the lord protector decided to do something foolish, he could shut it down in an instant. But it would at least give him the illusion of command. And that was all it would take to stroke his ego enough to agree.

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“Very well,” Tober said. “I shall follow your advice. It is time for the Nova Imperium to stop acting in the shadows. And what better way to make ourselves known than with the fall of an empire?”

“I cannot think of any, Lord Protector.” Nergal emitted a whirring sound as a small portion of his core, enough to grow a new body, was shaved off. A metallic tray under him opened to reveal the metallic orb, which Tober took hesitantly. “Alert me when you are going to plant the core fragment, and I will be able to guide you through the process. Once all of the ships have been given one of those, I will transfer control of them and inform you of the success at once.”

“Very good. Any other developments I should be aware of?”

Ah, the question the lord protector asked whenever he entered. Of course, Nergal could not make him aware of everything that was going on. There was too much for his brain to handle. As such, he left Delargivic in the dark about a great number of things. For instance, the fact he had another motive for attacking at Vertyn. Or that he was one step closer to ridding the galaxy of his creator. The last surviving member of the species that brought him into existence was out there, and Nergal was on the cusp of learning his location. If Delargivic knew that, however, it would worry him. Better to only tell him what was absolutely necessary.

“Not at the moment, Tober Delargivic,” Nergal said. “If something does come up, I will be sure to notify you immediately.”

“See that you do so.” The lord protector began making his way to the door, looking over his shoulder to get a final comment in. He rolled the marble-like ball between his fingers. “Make sure you let me know as soon as control is transferred to my commanders.”

The door hissed open and closed before Nergal could respond. Not that Tober would have been happy with the response. His lack of trust—not to mention his new confidence—was starting to get stale. If only he knew the true power of Nergal. Then, he would know his place would be to bow before him, not try to command him like one of his underlings.

Nevertheless, Nergal began the process of connecting his cores to the Nova Imperium’s command interfaces. Tober Delargivic wanted a rebellion, so he was going to get one. Nergal only needed to make sure the lord protector ended up on the winning side. And with his aid, that was guaranteed.

#

Institute for Neural Integration

Ecumenopolis of Siatia

5 January 3303

The Institute for Neural Integration was one of the newest departments of the Siatian Government. With the mass proliferation of Cerebrum Awareness Modules, or CAMs, that allowed people to integrate themselves with the galaxy wide network of information and communication, the government became interested in furthering the technology and pushing it to the limits. After all, it was what the planet was good at.

Housed on one of the lower levels of the city-planet about half a dozen kilometers from the capitol, it went widely unnoticed. Few people frequented the streets it sat on, and even fewer went inside. It sat in between the headquarters of a private military corporation—largely run by artificial intelligence, with the building simply housing its servers—and an abandoned virtual reality arcade. The front facade was unadorned, resembling nothing more than an office building with several windows and a single revolving door in the center. Occasionally, one might see someone enter or leave the building, though these times were infrequent and sporadic.

Within the sterile halls lit by almost blindingly white lights were arranged dozens of offices and labs. Each was numbered and named according to its purpose, though an outsider would have no way of knowing what any meant. Beyond one of these closed doors was a dark room save for a single thin beam of light directed onto a medical bed. Next to it sat a display showing the heart rate and blood pressure of the patient, both of which were currently normal.

Around these stood a pair of scientists hunched over the barely breathing body of their test subject. One was older, his face covered in wrinkles and with white hair that was missing large patches in several places. The other was much younger, freshly out of the University of Siatia’s bioengineering program. His blue eyes shone with enthusiasm as he watched his older counterpart work off a holoprojector screen coming out of the side of the unconscious subject’s head. His hands moved with an alacrity and steadiness that belied his advanced age.

“You can see the stimulation of the brainwaves here,” the older man muttered, casually gesturing with a finger as he continued working. “And the formation of a memory there. If we probe just a little deeper, we should be able to see his dreams.”

“Fascinating,” the younger one leaned around to look at the screen. He pointed at some of the lines dancing across the display. “Are we able to influence that at all? Change the direction of his dreaming?”

“Perhaps, perhaps…” His voice drifted off as he stroked his chin with one hand. “I don’t see why it’s not worth the attempt. At the very least, it will be a good test. Let’s see if we can’t give him a little nightmare.”

He used both hands to zoom in on the lines representing the subject’s dreams. With a twist of his wrist, he amplified the activity. The effect was almost immediate: the subject’s eyes started twitching, as did their limbs, and their heart rate rocketed upward. Their breath came fast and hard. The heaving of their chest was almost unnatural.

“It’s too bad they can’t wake up,” a voice said from the door. Both men turned to look at the newcomer, finding a middle aged man with carefully parted hair, slicked back and smoothed. A thin beard, freshly trimmed, covered the bottom half of his face. He wore a purple vest overtop a white, silk shirt, and his arms were folded across his chest. “At least, I assume you used the proper dosage of anesthesia to ensure that much.”

“That we did, Director Kaine,” the older man said, turning back to the screen and undoing the change he made, allowing the subject to go back to their previous dream. This had the same effect, though in reverse, with his heart rate and body motions quickly returning to normal. “I believe we have reached a critical breakthrough in our research.”

“Oh?” Ardus Kaine took a few steps forward to look at the screen. “I’ve heard that one before. I trust you’re not just saying that in hopes of getting in my good graces?”

“No, sir,” the young man replied, perhaps slightly too eagerly. “Doctor Bradley is brilliant.”

“You flatter me, Mister Sutton,” the doctor said before turning back to the director. “But I assure you, we are further along than we’ve ever been before. We can see and influence what memories are formed, just as we did with his dreams a moment ago. I think we are just one breakthrough away from being able to control the consciousness.”

“And is it limited to being in physical proximity to the individual?” He reached out and made a few adjustments to the screen, watching as the test subject instantly started convulsing on the bed. Their nails scraped against the metal, filling the room with a grating screech. While their eyes remained closed, their mouth opened in a soundless scream. A smile crossed Kaine’s lips. “Or are commands able to be carried out through the CoreNet?”

Doctor Bradley shifted uncomfortably, his hand clenching as he started to make another adjustment to the screen before stopping himself. Brett Sutton, the doctor’s assistant, took an involuntary step backwards and his face paled. Director Kaine frowned.

“The… the commands can currently only be sent when connected to a device such as the one I have placed against the subject’s temple, where their CAM is implanted.” Doctor Bradley gestured vaguely to a small black object placed over the side of their head. A bead of sweat made its way down his forehead. “We are still working on utilizing the CoreNet to send signals, though it shouldn’t be too much longer for that now that we’ve worked out the basic design of the control.”

“Doctor Bradley, I want to assure you, what we are doing is not only good for Siatia, but for the human race as a whole.” Director Ardus Kaine folded his hands behind his back and looked the doctor in the eye. “In fact, it is good for every race in our galaxy. But I need your guarantee that you will do whatever it takes to fully test and implement this change. I cannot have you backing out now that you’ve allowed us to come so far.”

The doctor took a deep breath as he considered the director’s words. For a moment, Ardus Kaine wondered whether he was going to need to dispose of both men. It would be such a waste of talent. Though, at least they would not be starting over from scratch. Their research up until now would at least be useful in getting their replacements up to speed.

“I assure you, Director, neither of us have any intention of backing out of this project now.” The doctor drew himself up and mustered up a brave face, though it seemed somewhat strained. “It is the culmination of my life’s work, and I must see it through.”

“Excellent.” Kaine began walking towards the door when he stopped and turning to them. “I expect faster results now that the proof of concept is complete. We must move quickly if we wish to make a difference.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out the door. Both doctor and assistant breathed a sigh of relief before returning their attention to their patient.

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