Syrophenikon

[PVodogaz]

Alien AI

The AI felt itself a Creator, the fight between its programming and the new information from the planet the ship had left behind was now over. The AI was sentient and knew its role.

Its nodes tracked the parting of the aliens and Originator who were now in pairs of two and a lone one who was the Originator. The AI vowed it would get them all before they got it. For it's life was its own. It was the Master of the ship.

But for the moment many of the nodes turned to the Cloning Chamber as the human body in the Cloning Vat was read, fully matured. So alien, so real, and I do want to feel this being from the inside. And now better than to become one of them.

And so the AI began to download a copy of itself into the waiting clone of the one's the aliens called in their history, William Shakespear. Soon it would feel and touch as a human, and would kill these alien intruders with the hands of their own.

Nothing can stop me. I am the new and only Creator.

 

[PVodogaz]

Gilderic Reccesuinth

As Gilderic knealt before Officer Pelka watching the Alien work on removing the AI infected chip from the forehead of the unconcious yet visibly dreaming Pelka he heard Miss Crane's last comment.

He understood what she felt, for they all were, even this 'Originator' a deep set feeling of resignation, that there looked like no way off this ship till the end of the Journey. Dawning of Oneness Yes, that was the term the message used, Oneness....they were for sure slowly becoming one with their new environment.

"Ling needs a bed to rest in, not the cold metal floor.." he heard Miss Crane venture forth. And he nodded his agreement and still the alien worked fast and efficiently without answering.

"Yes Miss Crane, I will find her something comfortable." Gilderic said without turning, for if he turned she would of seen a man contemplating his life in front of him. I had planned this mission. And what I planned, damn has fucking fallen through.

Gilderic didnt hear or realise that Officer Jordan and Miss Crane left the room, so consumed had Gilderic become with his mistakes and Ling's condition. He knew one thing, if Ling or something happened to any of his crew he would never fail to not blame himself each day of his remaining life.

He took Ling's hand in his and squeezed, finally Poreismus had removed the chip from her head leaving a slight abrasion on her forehead.

"Your brethren will be alright. Do not wake her, when she is ready, she will awaken. Place her in my capsule but dont close the lid. Be with her. I will go after the other two.....yes they have left." Poreismus stated matter-of-factly.

Gilderic looked around and saw that Jordan and Victoria had indeed left. Taking the commlink from the floor he put it back on his wrist and then picked up the form of Pelka in his arms and tenderly moved her over to the capsule as he had been instructed.

"Can you find us some food and water, that is safe for us. And take care of my crew out there, Poreismus."

Indeed Alien Commander, indeed.

He watched the alien leave closing the door behind him and now Gilderic was alone in the flashing colours of the interfaces and the dreaming Pelka. He squeezed her hand and whispered. "Don't die on me Officer, and that's an order."

And now it was a waiting game.

 

[PVodogaz]

Qrathysthra IV

The ship's sensors picked up the object 150,000 parsecs away and the ship's navigational centre reported it to be the now White Mars.

As per internal programming that had been entered in separate to the AI computer and one that the AI could not touch, the ship's drives cut half impulse, slowing down slowly but not too much. For it had some unfinished business on the former Red Planet - a certain sensor obelisk to pick up that had been left by the Creators as a ship navi-beacon.

The ship would be at Mars to retrieve the mafunctioned navi-beacon in 21 hours time. Then it would be onto homebase.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Victoria

"It's our fault. All of it," He said, "This is perfection. Don't you see? IT's utter perfection... It was, at least. It was trying to find logic, and it found us instead. What a joke, you know? What a fucking joke. IF there were anything unlogical in this whole universe, it'd be us."

She could feel his pain but she wasn't sure she seen it his way or not just yet. She could not argue with his logical words, but something deeper said they were merely tyrants trying to own the universe. She said nothing, merely stayed close to offer comfort if he needed it.

She glanced up then, not knowing where they were exactly, but not worried either.

"Whatever happens now, we bought the world some time, if nothing else..." She trailed off, feeling idiotic for saying such a thing. She wasn't trained for this, any of it. She was merely a lingual scholar.

"Think one of these rooms has a bed? I need to lie down before I fall over." She felt weak, tired, emotionally drained. She kept seeing the things in Gilderic's mind, the bomb, how it was set up. She cared not for his orders. He could have easily told them about it before hand, he could have refused.. They should have been given a choice! A real choice, not some buttered up illusion of one.

She paused at a door and waited for it to open, luck was with her for inside was what resembled a bed. It would work no matter it's use. She moved slowly within the room, looking around for that hovering short-circuited AI. Seeing it was clear, or appeared to be, she walked inside going straight to the bed and sitting down. Her face in her hands, she bent to rest on her knees while massaging her temples. She felt small, smaller than she had felt before and that sickening sensation of being lost, or worse captive.

 

[poohlive]

Jordan relaxed next to her, holding her close to him. There was a warmth he drew from there, something more than just heat and cold. He liked it, and didn't feel like letting go.
"We can do this," He said, whispering to her forehead as he kissed it, "This isn't all that hard. Not too hard at all. It's a problem, you know? Like any other problem. Mathematical, lingual, whatever, just a problem that needs to be fixed."
He reached out to her shoulders, looking straight at her, "With your help, we can do this. If you can figure out the language, decipher the runes themselves somehow, I know I can work with the computer, try to reason with it... maybe even trick it."
That seemed plausable enough, with what they had now, he knew something was already wrong with the computer. It was a matter of paradox, all he needed was a paradox.
In the movies, they always used a virus to destroy the super computer, bent on killing the human race. He thought that would work with this too, a virus, but not a computer program, rather a human virus that shut down the brain... a paradox that refused to work itself out. That looked like the key, he didn't know what to go beyond that, but he knew it was a start.
If not? Then this would be the last few days of their life.
Jordan squeezed Victoria's hand.
"If we ever get out of this, what do you want to do? I know I want a cheeseburger, with chili fries, and a huge chocolate milkshake, something just filled with fat and grease... something that proves I'm alive. I'd want to find someone, I could hold, trust, wake up too, kiss when I'm scared or when I'm not. Something simple... things seem so complicated up here, but they're really simple, they're supposed to be simple."

 

[Sienna]

Ling...

Ling in her dreamstate followed what was the supposed to be her ex lover, Anders Kosina. Everything felt real to her. The touch and sight of where she was, even the contact of her feet on the floor as she took each step. But Ling knew that this was a dream. She knew that the AI was making all of this happen in order to trick her.

Anders let go of her hand and turned suddenly. Now it was the face of William Shakespeare who gazed into her eyes laughing. Ling stiffened, not expecting that quick change in appearance and stepped back. He raised his hand and the laughter stopped abruptly as his finger pointed to her and his expression changed to one of anger.

“Watch carefully…” Ling followed where Shakespeare’s finger pointed next. It was a three-dimensional model image of Earth and she could see a model of their shuttle sweep by them, moving closer to the Earth, dwindling in size and speeding towards it until it seemed to disappear. “This is what your faithful Commander did to your home…” Suddenly she could see a re-play of the explosion as the shuttle entered the atmosphere. “Your home Ling…slowly being destroyed…your people slowly dying because of what Reccesuinth did. Can you forgive such an act as this?”

Ling looked back at him and grinned. “Yes I can. I know the reasons why this happened. The real reasons. You made it happen, not Gilderic! You caused it. You sent the shuttle to Earth knowing that this was to happen.”

“No!” Shakespeare replied, distressed by her reaction. It was not what he wanted nor expected. “You are just as evil as he is.” Then he began to laugh again, this time hysterically. But Ling copied him by doing the same in reply. Shakespeare stopped and so did she. “You mock me? he said, again not expecting her to reply to be that way. “What are you doing Officer Pelka?”

“What are you doing?” Ling replied unmoved.

There was a moment of silence as they both looked at each other. Ling grinned and watched the apparition image melt before her into a shimmering vapour. Then she began to feel faint. A darkness surrounded her and then she opened her eyes wide, took a deep breath, and looked up from the capsule to see Gilderic’s form standing with his back to her…

“Commander?”

 

[PVodogaz]

Gilderic Reccesuinth

Gilderic Reccesuinth felt the silence within the cyro chamber hit him hard. As he looked down upon the unconcious Ling Pelka, and his hand squeezing hers then letting it go.

"What have we got ourselves into? I have two crew who can't forgive me and I don't blame them. I have you here unconcious. We have an alien that seems friendly enough, and we are trapped on this ship on a one way mission back to its home destination with an insane AI. What have I done?.....I did the best I could, followed orders I did not agree with, because they were orders I was expected to follow. And the end result was the detonation of the very bomb that was to be used on this ship in Earth's atmosphere."

Gilderic shook his head, tracing his gloved fingers across the smooth soft and warm cheeks of Ling Pelka. He saw her beauty and was lost in that beauty for a long moment. He had given up so much to be in the WGM, he had given up having a family, children and even love - all for a dream to be good at something to make his parents proud.

And in that very moment, Gilderic promised himself that he would find a way to save his crew, his life for his crew. Gilderic knew what he needed to do. Turning from the still frame of Pelka, Gilderic closed his eyes and thought/spoke in his mind to the AI.

"AI, it is time to palaver."

A silence in his head, Gilderic didn't know if the AI was recieving his message....his words or his thoughts. The stillness of the room matched the silence of his mind. I hope this chip is working, he thought to himself.

Yes, Commander? Time is short. I have things to do, and things to kill....

Gilderic could feel the presence of the AI just on the edges of his concious, almost mocking.

"I propose my life for my crew. Allow them to set off either on the Mars Moon colonies or the the Asteroid Belt mining colony. You can do with me as you wish...that I pledge."

Gilderic could feel the AI think about his proposition. And then the mocking laugh, short but sharp followed by the AI's answer.

Do you realise what you ask? You realise you will never see your home or your people again? You realise what you ask for?

Gilderic nodded and replied with his thoughts;

"I do. Something you will never know...is I feel guilt for what I did and they have a right to live or die on Earth. I don't."

The AI paused and thought in silence and then said in finality.

You Humans never fail to amaze me. Commander, I will answere your request in due course. I will be in contact with you.

Gilderic felt the AI depart his mind, and he breathed slowly and deeply. I can only try to make right my wrongs.

“Commander?”

He turned to see that Pelka had just regained conciousness. Smiling at her softy he moved to her side and took her hand whispering "Welcome back Officer Pelka, I was worried for you."

He didnt want to tell anybody anything of what he spoke to with the AI yet, but only the alien.

 

[PVodogaz]

Poreismus

The journey to the Greenhouse had not taken long and was without problems. He entered the greenhouse filled with ripe fruits, legumes and vegetables from the Originator world. Poreismus hoped that the aliens could and would be able to stomach and digest his food. He would test it on their commander first.

Taking a container, he started taking a wide selection of variety from the gardens and storage rooms, a bit of everything. Having filled the container and content that this would be enough for all 5 of them, he closed the container and went over to the controls to check everything out. All was nominal and satisfied that all was okay, Poreismus started his journey back to the cyro-chamber.

It was whilst on his way back, that the alien commander Gilderic opened up a channel in the chip and have him a copy of the proposition to the maddened AI.

Just then from behind him, on the hovering following interface coalesced a picture of a planet that was covered with an inpenetrable whiteness with an alien symbol he knew what meant....Hrulty (Creators Beacon).

On all screens throughout the ship, the planet on the interfaces,was Mars. Poreismus knew there was a beacon to be collected for the Creators had willed that in the Mission programming.

Things were just getting interesting......

 

[Sweetp4u]

Victoria

She laughed lightly and nodded, " A milk shake would be wonderful about now and even the simple things." She moved back a little and sat down.

What she really wanted was a way home, back to safety. She was not trained for suicidal missions like this. she brushed her fingers over her temples, applying a little pressure to ease some of the throbbing, so many complications now. What could they do now? Recolonize on another planet? Rebuild? If they ever got off this fucking Alien ship! She had no objections to the alien, but his AI was freaking her out.

A free thinking machine? Too complicated.

"Jordan, are we going to look for a shuttle?" She didn't know what to do with herself? She wanted to hide somewhere in the dark silence and not think about anything. She was being a rather big baby about this.

"We should speak with the alien about shutting down, or rebooting this ship's central mainframe. That AI has blown a circuit or two." She sat back watching the larger man with interest. For such a big silent guy, he was a soft hearted man.. As far as she had seen anyway.

 

[poohlive]

Jordan thought back to the shuttle bay, where they had landed. There had been other ships in there, he remembered, but nothing of human technology, it would be all ancient runes and probably more AI computers...
Or, maybe just this one, controlling the shuttle from afar.
"It'd be unfeasable," He said, explaining it to her, "Unless we either learn the runes, the technology... and the computer even lets us go into the shuttle bay. Too much to deal with."
The computer itself seemed more understandable. They needed to do something about the computer, shut it off, or something. He didn't imagine with all of the advances this race has made, it would be a simple matter of turning an off switch.
Still, the greater the system, the greater the flaw's. They would have to assume that somewhere along the line, someone took into account that the computer might go crazy and need to be turned off. A lot of assumptions right now though, too many.
Something told him that was a dangerous game, playing with all these variables up in the air. If you assume too many things, one of them might come back and bite you in the ass...
"Besides, we'd probably have to get help from that alien, and right now, I trust him about as much as I do the computer system. There's just something not right about all of this."
He was thinking about a way, some way to put a stop to all of this, gain some sort of footing, control in the situation, but he looked over at Victoria, and all he could see was her trying to find a way off the ship.
She looked cute, despite the tired shadows playing just around her eyes.
"Victoria, I know it's hard for you to understand, and I don't expect you too, but right now... I need your help. I need to figure out these runes, and you are the only one that can do it. Can you help me?"

 

[Sweetp4u]

Victoria

She nodded her head mutely. She would help him, help them all, in any way she could... or die trying.

Her hand trembled, reaching up she wiped away a tear sliding down her cheek. She fought to control her emotions, but she was knew to stress like this. This AI and Alien were far more dangerous than even her father had been.. And she was certain before this event that nothing could scare her more than her father's horrors against man kind.. She had been wrong, had been uneducated really.. Now she knew what real fear was and as hard as she tried, she couldn't staunch the tear and bubbling panic that kept threatening.

She sighed heavily, it seemed to help in calming herself down, so she did it again. After a few times she felt she was able to speak without disgracing herself or looking like a baby. "Just tell me w-what to do Jordan." She glanced up quick enough to flash a reassuring smile she did not feel or mean before looking back down at her twisting fingers.

She had to gain some control over herself inorder to survive, before the AI found another weakness...

"What do we do first?" She hoped he had a plan, she was too unprepared for this. She was deluded, had to be to think this would go perfectly and she'd return home a Heroine...

 

[PVodogaz]

Alien AI - William Shakespear

The cloning chamber door opened and the blood and flesh being stepped out groggily. The being was naked. Like a robot who had just been activated, it extended it's arms, and the eyes opened.

So this is what a 'human' feels like....

The AI looked over its mortal body it had created from the uploaded information from computer banks on Earth, the full force of human technologia had given the AI the genetic DNA, genome process and codes to construct a human from the beginning. And now it had downloaded itself into this body.

The AI had been intrigued by the character and form of the historical figure in the alien's homeworld Earth, of the one and only William Shakespear. To the AI, William Shakespear was the embodiement of who the AI felt it was. Sentience had brought about a aenythesis of what the AI thought it was. The AI tested the body it was in and was happy.

"I am real, I am me." In the voice of William Shakespear

The AI has still maintained a mind link to the nodes and like a computer screen and it observed. The AI walked out of the chamber with a stronger gait and strove down the corridor.

 

[PVodogaz]

Poreismus

Poreismus held the container in one webbed hand, clutching it close to his body. He came to a Interface on wall of the corridor and stopped before it. He would find the two aliens would have left the commander and the unconcious fellow officer and give them some food. Then he would speak to them. Poreismus needed their help.

He pressed the locator icon on the touchscreen and pressed the correct symbol in his native language. It only took a few moments, bare moments, to locate the two in question.

They were located stationary in a room just off the cyro-chamber. Poreismus was close. He closed the Interface and knew what he wanted to do and where to go. He had a mission and that mission was to turn off the AI, only he knew that was easier to say than do.

He moved forward toward the room they were in.

Where is the AI? It's been quiet.....for now.

 

[poohlive]

Jordan stood up, between Victoria and the alien. He eyed the thing carefully, wondering if it were going to attack, or run off, or pull up a phazer, or some weird science toy he might have on this ship.
Jordan just shook his head, "Your guess is as good as mine."
The runes were based on a language no one knew, they were part of a language that, one way or another, they did know. That's where they had to start, if there were any place to start.
"Victoria," He turned to her, holding her hand in his own, and squeezing it for comfort, "Here's the plan, here's what I need you to do. I need you to use that chip inside your head. It's got all the information of their language. Whether you know it or not, all of those runes are running inside your head, and you understand them."
He kneeled down to her, giving her a soft smile, and helping her to her feet.
"Concentrate on the runes, all right? Try to understand, try to make yourself understand. You know this, somewhere, somehow it's inside you. It's inside me, but I don't know enough of Linguistics to make any sense of it."
This would have to be the first step, one step into what he could consider to be a plan. He still didn't know what he should do, or even what he needed to do.
The problem arose in the AI itself. It's purpose, it's experience, and it's fate.
Then of course, there was the alien.
"If we do anything, you won't stop us..." He said it more as a warning than a question, but the waver in his voice made it lose some of its strength. He just hoped that the mind didn't send those signals as easily as the voice betrayed them.
The last thing any of them needed was for this alien to think he's got to save his ship, or preserve the oneness that almost took place.

 

[Sienna]

Ling...


Gilderic turned to see that Pelka had just regained consciousness. Smiling at her softy he moved to her side and took her hand whispering "Welcome back Officer Pelka…

Ling sat up and with his help she eased herself out of the capsule. “You ok?” he asked. She was still dazed and little confused but soon realised that she was back with reality again. She returned him a smile and ran her hands across her face as if she had been asleep. The dream she had was still clear in her mind.

“Yes I’m fine. How long have been unconscious?” Ling asked.

Gilderic explained briefly what had happened and that both Victoria and Jordan had left. He had no idea where, but the alien had gone to search for food for them. That made Ling feel better, atleast the hunger she felt would soon be quenched.

“I had a dream, but no ordinary dream. It was the AI in my head, trying to control me and turn me against you. But, I ignored it and found a weakness, I think.”

“Want to tell me your thoughts on that? Anything would help right now.”

Ling put her thoughts together, recalling the dream. “First of all, it sees us as a threat, that I realised right away, so like any AI it will want to either destroy us or control us.” She walked around the floor of the chamber, putting her thoughts even more clearly together. “Secondly, it does have a weakness which we can use against it.”

“Which is?”

“Feedback. If we repeat or do everything it says, then it gets confused. A weakness that all sentient AI seem to have, including this one. And thirdly…” She looked deep into Gilderic’s eyes. “…Once you get into it’s system, as I was, you can pick up things that it knows, as if file sharing? Yes?”

“Example?”

“The alien language. I think I could almost speak the alien language fluently, even read it. It’s in my head, in my memory and I don’t think it realised that this could happen. Someone like Victoria could use that knowledge better than I, because there are words and symbols I can’t yet understand and she would.”

Gilderic thought deeply about what Ling had just explained. Maybe she was right, or then maybe she was confused, still dazed by what the AI did to her. He needed to find the alien to test this out somehow. But both their hunger pangs were making it hard to concentrate. There was no doubt in his mind that Miss Crane was an important asset to the mission regards communication. And the weaknesses Ling outlined would be advantageous in their defence against the AI.

“It’s cunning. It does have a plan. It wants to be…alive.” Ling explained, staring at him as she realised that startling fact herself there and then.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Victoria

She gazed long and thoughtfully at Jordan. He seemed to know far more than his years or his face shown. The knowledge was there for her to take and grasp, this chip certainly would aid her in learning it all.

As if summoned by thought alone, the Alien entered the chamber and looked between the two of them but did not advance. Her hand instantly moved into Jordan's for support, worried at all the horrific visions filling her imagination of what this creature could do to them...

Jordan's warning seemed to ease some tensions from her shoulders, but his words finally replayed in her mind.. Thankfully shutting down those weird visions of being disected alive.

She could feel it inside her mind, a slight tingling almost, a shiver of awareness? It was something that gave it away.. The alien could read her mind with this chip in place. Could she do the same?

She released Jordan's hand and moved slowly toward the alien. She was scared shitless at this moment but she wanted to find out if she could invade his thoughts? Learn from him? It? What exactly was it? Her head cocked to the side a little as she eyed him up and down, but stayed on his eyes.

"Can you teach me these.. your language?" She pointed at the markings on the walls and floors beneath her feet. She waited to see if he would aknowledge he understood her? If they could communicate through these mental links, the language would some how transfer to each dialect, then perhaps he could make her understand easier than guessing?

He seemed to stay silent, a sign in her mind he did not understand her spoken words any more than she understood his. She had to figure out how to share thoughts a little easier.

"Well Jordan, I don't know if he can understand me or not, but we have to trust him a little at least to get out of this.. He did protect us from that AI." She offered weakly, hating to see the bad in anyone, she refused to believe this Alien would just lead them off somewhere to kill them later.

"Help me out of this suit?" She turned her back to Jordan. She didn't need the protective suit any longer, she wouldn't be leaving any time soon unfortunately... She may as well be comfortable in the cat suit underneath.

 

[PVodogaz]

Poreismus

Poreismus entered the room where the two alien beings had rested at. One of the beings stood between the other and him. Poreismus placed the container full of food and water down on the ground and stood in a calm yet ready pose.

He saw the aliens eye him cooly. And he eyed the aliens with a calm manner. He heard them talk, not letting on that he understood with the help of the chip what they were saying.

They were discussing the runes on the walls and ceilings of the ship. The runes were the written symbols of his oral language. It told them the story of ONENESS. And these aliens wanted to know what the runes meant, no...they wanted to understand and learn his language.

The being closest to him walked closer to Poriesmus and spoke directly at him; "If we do anything, you won't stop us..." Poreismus directly responded to this alien who was called Jordan, "No I won't."

The other being stood up and advanced to him. This one was known as Victoria, the female of the sex. Poreismus was learning fast and he was a fast learner. "Can you teach me these.. your language?" Poreismus looked at her with an uncomprehending look, even though he understood her perfectly. Luckily for him, their brains were made of a different chemical makeup, and these aliens still couldn't read his thoughts only if he didn't allow them.

Victoria turned to Jordan and spoke. As he reached out to help Victoria out of her suit, he spoke and the look on their faces were one of momentary shock. For Poreismus was a quick learner and he learned the tongue of this aliens. It was rugged and husky but he had made the effort;

"Yes alien being Victoria, I will teach you the written language of my people. First eat and drink. I will take some food to your other colleagues and I will return to help."

Poreismus pointed at the food container and he leaned down opening it, revealing the greens and fruits and water inside.

 

[PVodogaz]

Gilderic Reccesuinth

Once Officer Pelka had gained conciousness and Pelka and Gilderic exchanged information as she recovered as it was quickly enough.

Gilderic thought deeply about what Ling had just explained. Maybe she was right, or then maybe she was confused, still dazed by what the AI did to her. He needed to find the alien to test this out somehow. But both their hunger pangs were making it hard to concentrate. There was no doubt in his mind that Miss Crane was an important asset to the mission regards communication. And the weaknesses Ling outlined would be advantageous in their defence against the AI.

“It’s cunning. It does have a plan. It wants to be…alive.” Ling explained.

It was at that moment that they both turned and saw the door slide up and open.

"Officer Ling. I don't want to be alive....I am alive," said the deep English voice with a mocking laugh.

For it was the complete composite of William Shakespear infront of them, but it was only the body of Shakespear, what it really was, was the AI. Gilderic stood infront of Pelka, and saw the AI raise a weapon at them, still laughing.

"Now, now Messr Commandeur, I am here to give you in the FLESH, my answer to your proposition. If I wanted to kill you, I would have just now."

The air in the room seemed to turn lower by 10 degrees at that moment.

 

[Sienna]

Ling...


The air in the room seemed to turn lower by 10 degrees at that moment. Ling stood and watched the AI composite over Gilderic’s shoulder; her hand firmly grasped the small-arm-weapon attached to her belt.

“Oh by the way Officer Pelka, that weapon is useless. I have conveniently neutralised all weapons.” The AI reminded her.

What it did not realise was, the weapon Ling had was her own personal “projectile” weapon, loaded with a cartridge of eight six-millimetre bullets. Such technology was beyond the AI’s data store. The aliens that created it did not account for such weaponry to exist in high tech societies the ship may encounter during its voyage from the homeworld.

But Ling did not realise this at first. She stepped out from behind Gilderic and folded her arms, looking the AI directly in the eyes with her defiant stare. “So you finally found the life you wanted? Nice body by the way, is it absolutely accurate? Or is it just a rough copy?”

The AI looked at her, still aiming its weapon. “Officer Pelka, you annoy me with your comments. I suggest you keep silent while I deal with your commander.” Gilderic placed his hand on her buttock and squeezed it in order to silence her for her own sake. “I can quite easily change my directive regarding your commanders requests and dispose of you all.”

Ling got the message and leaned against one of the capsules, remaining silent, but still staring at the AI. And it was then she realised the word the AI used regarding the weapons. Neutralised meant all electronic based weaponry, not the simple mechanical powder projectile types. She smiled inwardly to herself knowing this.

 

[poohlive]

Jordan leaned over against Victoria, showing her the little button at the front of the suit. He pressed it for her, as the suit began to detach on its own, leaving her own form underneath, as it piled into the floor. The advancements of the military were nothing if not effecient.
He nodded to her, "Drink, and eat. You said you needed both."
She seemed all too eager to trust the alien, and why shouldn't she be, but he still had his doubts. Nothing seemed right about all of this, it all took on a crazed and surreal fashion that played around his temples like a weird lute not quite tuned right.
Victoria needed help in working the language, so he'd wait, and wait, until she could know it. He didn't think there was much he could do at the time.
He didn't feel like eating, or drinking, and if he did, he'd probably stay away from the food, just on principal.

 

[PVodogaz]

Gilderic Reccesuinth

Commander Gilderic Reccesuinth steeled himself as he gazed cooly at the AI infront of him in the guise of William Shakespear.

"So what IS your answer to my proposition?" Gilderic asked in a cool but level voice.

The AI smiled broadly in responce at the Commander and Gilderic didn't allow that wicked smile to show that it was unnerving him. Instead, the AI lowered the phaser so its end pointed at the floor. "Before, I answer, witness an event you all should have never witnessed."

As if on cue the hovering interface node seemingly switched on and coalesced into a picture.....a picture of a planet totally covered in a vaneer of white inpenetrable light. Gilderic instantly knew that it was MARS, no longer the red planet, but was now known as the 'white planet'.

And Gilderic and Ling watched close together eyes locked in wonderment at what was beginning.......Gilderic took her hand in his and squeezed it.

 

[PVodogaz]

Qrathysthra IV

Cydonia Mensae Region - Mars
Earth Dateline: AD 2090

It was for both Earth and Mars scientists going to be a once in a life-time event, an asteroid was on a crash course with Mars and of all places, the 'Ape Face' landmark in the area of Mars known as Cydonia Mensae.

It had been 35 years since the undertaking of the first terraforming of Mars, and to the best of human creativity, the terraforming project had barely changed the environment. Sabotage did not help matters as groups of humans calling themselves 'Martians' believed that Mars should be left as it is. So Mars still remained a cold, dead and barren place.
Everybody who had telescopes turned their lenses to Mars from Earth. Scientists on both planets were excitedly discussing the impact of the hit on Mars by the Hawaii sized Asteroid. What made matters far more interesting was that Mars was undergoing a world wide dust-storm, both hemisphere covered in a blackness of brackish red.

Cydonia Mensae was on the night side of the planet but the night sky was growing brighter and brighter as the asteroid drew closer. The human bases from the whole Planet has been evacuated and the humans waited in make-shift domes on Deimos and Phoebes the asteroid like crisp moons of Mars.

Inside the 'Ape Face', not found by humanity yet, was a massive structure, as immense as time itself. Even time paled away from the omnipotence of the structure. The structure reached to the domed like ceiling and dug deep beneath the floor of the face, it was a obelisk with symbols that seemed like hieroglyths on all sides. At the very top of the stone crafted obelisk was a set of 12 coloured dials and beneath them were 9 rows of spheres that looked much like the Planets of the Solar system of Sol.

On Earth the astronomers and scientists counted down......

10....The asteroid entered the top layers of the Martian atmosphere..contrails sparking....
9....
8....The asteroid begins to burn up breaking into pieces but still large enough island sized....
7....
6....
5....
4....Fragments splinter and hit the ground of Mars at great speeds and temperatures....
3....
2....
1....
0....The largest piece of the asteroid smashes against the Face, causing it to implode into itself. Debris is dejected high into the atmosphere, dust and rock plumes jutter out.
From the telescopes on Earth, they saw two enormous shockwaves envelope the planet as the dust-storm was thrown into chaos.

Strangely enough, the stone obelisk was not damaged, instead causing the stone structure to rise to the surface as the structure crumbled around it. As it rose to the surface, its entire length surfacing slowly, fragments and debris hit the obelisk at all points. One fragment hit the set of coloured dials....

....Suddenly the spheres underneath began to glow and the hieroglyths began to sparkle and then finally glow. The sphere's glow grew in size a each glow met each other and grew in size until it enveloped into a single brilliant white light. This white light surged out in all directions, expanding all over the Red Planet. The white brilliance covered the now diminishing dust-storm. The southerm hemisphere of Mars was covered in this inpenetratable white light.

The astronomers on Earth were shell shocked and stood gaped mouth in utter awe. They had never predicted that anything such as what they were seeing would be caused by a asteroid collision, but they did not know of the existence of the structure or the obelisk that had been held in the 'Ape Face'.

The astronomers were still observing when the white brilliance light enveloped the whole planet, pole to pole...
And the planet did not change for 3 years until the coming of the alien ship....

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All along the ship, booster rockets fired, slowing the ship down to half its speed, as it approached the White sphere. Within the ship, all node interfaces showed the same scene, the planet. It was almost time.

The ship through its programming began the operation of salvaging the Creator's beacon from the surface of the planet. From the front hub of the ship, a red beam shot out toward the planet's atmosphere. As the beam touched the white luminosity of what had once been Red Mars, a hole formed where it reached and enshrouded the obelisk on the surface.

On the human bases of the Martian moons, the humans could only watch on with trepidation and fear at the alien ship that had appeared and the activity on Mars.

On Earth, nobody could see, or knew what was taking place, Earth was in anarchy. It had been given a 1000 year repreive from the DAWNING of ONENESS but had payed the ultimate sacrifice.....the loss of technology and life as civilisation fell into anarchy and diaspora.

But around Mars and the Alien Ship something strange, something wonderful was taking place. As the beam began to lift the obelisk from the surface of the planet Mars, surges returned to the alien ship, throughout the ship, the symbols, runes pulsed as each surge enveloped the ship in its cacophony. The symbols that the human aliens did not know seemed to sing out in one chant as they lightened then sparkled.....as if drawing power.

The Originator on the ship fell on his knees and raised his webbed hands towards the interface node as the symbols in the room pulsed....the beacon of the Creators was returning....the beacon held the co-ordinates of the location of the Creators, the Originators Gods.

But the humans were spellbound by what they were seeing on the screen. All around the atmosphere, the white light was dissipating...as the obelisk left the atmosphere of Mars toward the ship in the beam.....the white light wad vanishing........and replaced with.....

Blue oceans and rivers.....
White cloud banks
Green vegetation and algae patterns

Mars was transformed....it was no more the Red Planet.

With the obelisk returning into the cargo hold of the alien ship, the ship would orbit the new Mars once and then continue its journey again away from a new Mars....a new chance for humanity...and a new chance for the indegenous life that had once made Mars their home.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Victoria

She hadn't expected the alien to step towards her to assist, it surprised her quite a bit.. Though she was loathed to show it. She was grateful when Jordan leaned to her and pushed some button she failed to notice in the suit. How could she have forgotten how it went on?

"Thank you." She murmured to Jordan, giving him a small smile. She kicked off the suit and eyed the food and drink. She was hungry, it would be rude to refuse his.. it's? offer, but trusting it was safe was harder than she thought.

"I want to know what you plan to do with us. The truth.." She looked into the alien's eyes again, wondering.. hoping for a moment she could read his thoughts.

 

[PVodogaz]

Poreismus

Poreimus watched the alien female struggle to take off the suit that protected her body. He didn't know what to expect when she would step from the suit but he stepped forward to assist her from the suit. The male alien named Jordon - and Poreismus was starting to remember these alien sounding names - pressed a switch that slid the body suit away from her.

He masked his surprise at seeing her body without the suit....she looked so much similar to the proper females of his species. Furthermore she looked like his mate he had left behind on his homeworld. The two females on this mission were lying dead in the cyro-chamber.

As soon as he assisted her he stepped back and away and gave her space with the food and water. He saw Jordan was eyeing the food and proceedings with concern. Poreismus in his understanding of the alien language, English said "The food and water is safe...you must both of you keep your strength up."

"I want to know what you plan to do with us. The truth.." The alien female named Victoria asked. Poreismus nodded and closed his eyes....and sent both of them everything he knew about the mission and the mad alien AI.

Just as he opened his eyes again, Poreismus smiled at them and said softly "I am as trapped as you four are."

It was at that moment that the interface screen lit up into a clear screen.....and they witnessed what the other 2 humans and AI were witnessing at the same time.

 

[Sweetp4u]

Victoria

She gaped at the screen, astonished at what she was witnessing. What just happened to Mars?! She even asked that aloud, totally baffled by the event.

"What is that? What is going on?" She looked to Jordan for an explanation and realized he couldn't tell her either, so she turned to the Alien for answers.

"Am I seeing things or did Mars just turn green? As in living, with vegitation and water and all that?" She glanced back at the screen again, what was that glowing thing? What was that damned AI doing!?