My name is not important, nor is the name of my race, for I doubt all who read this can comprehend the true names. But in recent years I have been called Lord Nibbler for the benefit of one with a lower mind, and so shall I call myself.
All my life has been spent in search of the Mighty One, the one who, due to his lack of the Delta Brain Wave, is completely immune to the evil Brain Spawn. And it has indeed been a long life, spanning over three millennia, though I am scarcely middle-aged among my people.
A life so long has its shortcomings, one of the more obvious ones being that my memory does not last as long as I do. The images are stored in my brain, but I cannot access them. And so I shall perform the sacred ritual known as a 'memory dump', such as has not been performed for thousands of years. Few of my people have the time to spare for these, and indeed the last time I performed the ritual was my first time, when I learned to use it at the tender young age of 800. In those days I was being schooled for my life as a scientist, though I cannot physically remember.
Ah, yes, the ritual. I know it well. Even when it is not used, the motions remain imprinted on the mind. It is important that we recall the ritual, for how else can we recall our many-thousand-year lives? It is simple. The stalk eye must be closed. The right paw must be raised in the air. The left paw must be held out from the body at a distance. Now the right paw must be brought down swiftly, onto the glowing lavender button that reads, 'MEMORY FILES, DO NOT PUSH UNLESS YOU INTEND TO USE'.
Now my mind blanks, and I watch my memories go by as they are downloaded into the computer.
My schooling days ended swiftly, and I, like all our scientists, was stationed in a research lab to work endlessly and fruitlessly at uncovering the weakness of the Brain Spawn. I cannot say I was pleased with my work. Everything was guessing, all theories. No one knew a thing. I wanted to know, to be positive. And I wanted to fight. Oh, how I wanted to fight the Brain Spawn. I longed to attack them vicsiously, and consume their remains. My elders all told me it was natural and normal to hate the Brain Spawn, and also very natural for a male of my age to have a lust for violence. I no longer think that was true. I was an impulsive little creature, always behaving rashly and preferring to behave as our primitive ancestors did. I cared little for science. But my elders always insisted that I had the greatest scientific mind our people had seen for generations, and so I was forced into being a scientist.
I doubt many of the other scientists enjoyed the random theorizing we did. It was not the most entertaining duty. So we worked in pairs and in shifts, with two always at work, while the others could enjoy recreation. I bored more easily than the others, and none much cared for being paired with me. When we received word of the discovery of the Delta Brain Wave, that which held thoughts together and was the one way the Brain Spawn could sense thought, we were all discouraged. How could we make a discovery greater than this? What could we find that could possibly be of any use? All sentient creatures had the brain wave, and that is what drew the Brain Spawn to them. Surely that could only mean one thing—the universe was doomed to be overwhelmed by the Brain Spawn.
I said as much on my shift, one day in my 897th year, to my current partner—whose true name I cannot divulge here, but for the sake of clarity I shall call him 'Socks'. He did not appriciate my doomsaying, but as we were on duty he built off of it and began theorizing. That was when it began, when he spoke the fateful words that would forever alter my fate and indeed the fate of all races in this universe—
"Maybe not all sentient creatures have the Delta Brain Wave."
It annoyed me that he found something other than our doom to speak of, but his words both intrigued and confused me. "What do you mean?" I asked him.
He raised his paws in a gesture of not knowing. "Well, we believe there are infinite genetic possibilities spread across the universe, correct? So therefore, sometime, somewhere, there must be a sentient person born without it."
I regret to say that I scoffed at him in disbelief. "Ridiculous," I told him. "How would they be able to think? They would not be sentient, they would be no more than an animal."
Fortunately for all thinking creatures, Socks was not convinced by my ridicule. "That is not what I meant, and you know it," he replied irritatedly, glaring at me. "An intelligent being, say, a human for example, who lacks the Delta Brain Wave but still manages to have a working mind."
I found it strange that he had brought up the human race in this, as we had recently completed our research on them and concluded that they were sentient, but just barely, and perhaps if they survived another couple of millennia might come to be known as a functional society. I laughed shortly, and again, I scoffed at his theory. "Humans, intelligent? And one with an even less efficient mind?" At this point I allowed my voice to take on a sarcastic tone. "Oh, we'll all have to bow before the awesome power of the Mighty One, the human who lacks the Delta Brain Wave."
Socks was not amused, and rightly so. "I'm being serious," he insisted, though at that point I did not see how he possibly could be. "This person would be immune to the Brain Spawn. If we could find him..."
It was precisely that moment that my personal perception of the universe was turned upside down, as I suddenly began to seriously consider this theory, and the possibility that a secret weapon against the Brain Spawn might be found. I stared at my partner, and I am certain my eyes were at least twice as wide as his. My heart pounded as I thought of it: finally, a way to defeat the brains! But I could not allow myself to be swayed so easily, without even weighing all the possibilities.
"It would take an eternity, and would rely mostly on chance," I informed him, though surely the same thought had occurred to him.
He smiled at me, much to my surprise, a half-hearted, wistful smile. "What else do we scientists have but time? There is nothing left for us to find to fight the Brain Spawn, except this person."
Oh, how I longed to believe him, to cling to this shred of hope. But there were so few such things that were deeply true, and my cynical mind refused to let myself be convinced. Regretfully, I said, "Yes, but who are we kidding? It is but a theory."
"Theories can be true. And what else do we have to hope for?"
There was a tone to his voice I had not heard before, which made me look at him in a new light. He, too, had longed for this day, when we would find something solid, a true cause to search for.
I find it hard to believe my own memories. How could it be my very words that transformed into our sacred prophecy over the millennia? I am no sage, just a creature doing his duty to protect the universe. And above all, I cannot believe how bitter and cynical I was. Surely the thought of protecting the universe with my knowledge filled my heart with the same pride I feel today, instead of the selfish feelings my memories claim I had, wanting to personally destroy the Brains Spawn so I could be something else—a hero. The arduous task of defeating that evil was not meant for one creature. Not even the Mighty One could do it alone—and here I pause, for that too was my own phrase, and one used in a sarcastic jest, no less.
But I must go on. If I do not view the remainder of my memories, all that knowledge may be lost, trapped within my own skull. I must, even if it contradicts my people's deepest beliefs.
Socks and I rushed to present our theory to the Council. It was most vexing, as they were more concerned with strategies and the war effort than our theory, and so we were made to wait. But when at long last we were admitted to the Council chamber, we made sure they heard and understood us.
And they did indeed. But they did not believe us.
As the female Council member whom I shall call Queenie told us, "It is not that we do not want to believe you, but as Council members we cannot act without solid proof, which you do not have."
"But we will have it, if you grant us permission to research further!" I insisted, shocked at my own passion for our discovery.
"We cannot grant this," she replied solemnly.
"I regret that it is so," added a male Council member who will be known as Buttons. "Imagine, one being who is the last hope for all the universe... It sounds destined."
"Indeed, it does," Socks said, still trying though I know he was most dejected.
The Council members looked at each other, and I knew they conveined silently. At long last, Queenie leaned forward in an imposing manner.
"The Council has decided your fates!" she declared regally. "Socks, you shall be reassigned to Specialized research regarding the Delta Brain Wave."
Socks bowed his head in acceptance of his fate, and I braced myself for my own.
"As for you, Nibbler, you shall be stationed on a distant world known as Vergon 6, where you will study the indigenous lifeforms, keep watch for the Brain Spawn, and where you may perform whatever independent research you feel nessesary."
In confusion, I stared at her. "You are granting me permission?"
She rose in her seat and stared down at me, sniffing. "The Council cannot condone research on a mere theory when said research would take so much time and effort. However, you may research whatever you like independently, so long as you take full responsibility for it."
"I will do so," I assured her. "And I thank you."
And thus I found myself stationed on Vergon 6, endlessly searching for this 'Mighty One', as I came to think of him. I cannot say I did not tire of the seemingly fruitless research occasionally over the next thirteen hundred years of my life. But I never ceased believing in my work; indeed, it was during this time that my theory was respoken and reworded so often that it grew into the prophecy of my people, and those who believed it regarded it almost as a religion. I knew little of this at the time, of course. I knew only my own devotion to the cause. In my heart I knew there could not be a worthier cause, and that strengthened my resolve. I never regretted my actions. Even when I received word that the Brain Spawn were beginning construction of a device known as an Infosphere, which once completed would give them another reason to destroy the universe, I still felt I made the right choice.
Still, I felt momentarily despondent as I thought of what the future would hold. Reportedly, the Infosphere would take at least 1000 years to construct, and by the end of that time we had to have a plan. The universe now had numbered days. I suppose anyone might be discouraged by that. But then...
I do not know what it was. I believe it was destiny... some things are simply too astonishing to be coincidental.
My computer picked up a genetic abnormality.
Now, of course it was not the only one I had ever encountered, though they were naturally a mere scattering of lives against the millions of trillions I had scanned. Still, a certain excitement gripped me as I read the scanned information. And yes... when I read the vital portion, I felt as if my heart would stop. Yes, this person, this human male... lacked the Delta Brain Wave. It was inconceivable to me, that after so many centuries of searching... I could not bring myself to act.