Chapter CXI: The Devil's Daughter
Soo-young stood in a broad open chamber within the breeding complex. The floor of the chamber was a solid concrete ring around the outside of the chamber rebuilt and reinforced from where it had previously collapsed before. Within this oval shaped ring was a pit which dropped down about seven feet into darkness. On the side of the chamber opposite Soo-young were also two gently sloping staircases leading down into the pit which also contained the sole entryway into this chamber, now sealed off by a vaguely visible door of alien design. The floor over where Soo-young stood was over twice the width as the rest of the elevated ring around the pit. The top of the chamber was curved upwards like a partial sliver of a dome with glass skylights on the roof that had been covered by a sort of rubbery, yet firm dark greenish-black bio organic material. The same material comprised three of the walls of this chamber while the rear wall behind Soo-young was made of steel and glass and looked out over a ruined cityscape now twinkling with the lights of alien structures that had risen up in their place. The evening sun had set and the residual light was fading leaving only the alien glow from outside shining into the darkened chamber. The chamber was at least two or three stories off the ground and one standing at the edge of the reinforced windows could see mechanized looking alien gun turrets which had been built into the ground below. There were also "feeler" looking weapon emplacements that protruded from the sides and above the window that grew from the bio organic material encasing it. These resembled a greenish black version of a fiddler crab's eyestalks with glowing blue-green orbs on the ends of them. These could produce a beam weapon as well as project a temporary energy shield to protect the exposed opening to the outside world, an outside world that from the looks of it did not require much protection against. Looking out from behind where Soo-young stood the human world was crushed, and a new world, one not of this Earth was rising up in its place like the Phoenix of yore.
Beside Soo-young stood two skitters which had knelt down in a crouched position with their arms crossed in front of their heads which they bowed down between them. In front of Soo-young on the opposite side of the room standing in the veil of shadows was a tall, lanky grey creature clad in full body armor distinctly different from that of the skitters. It was humanoid but definitely inhuman. Its form was like that of a stick, far too slender for any realistic human proportions. Its arms were almost the entire length of its body and ended in small hands with long skinny fingers. It had no discernible neck; its bullet shaped head merged directly into its shoulders. Its exposed skin was a pale grey and leathery in texture. It had no nose or ears, only barely noticeable nostrils and little more than an immobile slit for a mouth. Its eyes were large vertical ovoids and solid black and its emotionless gaze was unflinching and menacing. The creature exuded a presence far beyond itself which Soo-young and the skitters could all sense. For the uninitiated it was a presence that would instill fear but for Soo-young it was something to revere. She had learned much since she was taken. With the innocence of a child she accepted the revelations as truth. The concept of life and death, the vain struggles that had defined humanity down to its core had not had a chance to ingrain themselves in her during her comfortable, sheltered youth. In spite of what it might have appeared to the outside world Soo-young felt no malice from these aliens. She saw their minds and they saw hers. There was no darkness, no fear, no sadness and no cold hate, none of those negative human emotions which the outside world was drowning in. She accepted the new reality presented to her with gusto. For her the harness on her back was more like training wheels when learning to ride a bike. It guided her when she was frightened and alone, welcomed her with open arms into a broad community deeper than any human relationship could delve. It wasn't that she had a new family that she was close to, but rather that she had a new family that was within her, and she within them. They were many, and they were one. The sensation was, indescribable to say the least. It was like nirvana, a state of absolute being and nothing more. And thus she learned, she grew and she embraced her new purpose. No longer was she forced like a puppet on a string but she did her duty willingly and joyfully because she knew without question she was serving a higher purpose. Even when she had killed her father it was not a tragedy in her eyes. He was liberated from his ignorance, from his limitations. Her father, herself, the world, the universe, all realities, it was all but energy, being, existence in a constant state of transition; it had no beginning and no end. Life and death of a single body apart from the whole, it was more a human concept and something she had willingly cast aside. Soo-young had a higher duty towards the evolution of an expanding sphere within this existence into something better.
The spindly creature was the director of this facility and Soo-young served as the mediator between him and the captured humans, those whom they were unable to welcome into their harmonious circle because of the limitations of their technology. Soo-young felt saddened that so many of her kind were excluded from feeling the joy that she had experienced in this new life. She lamented the fact that there was such resistance among the captives, if only they could see that what was being done was for the betterment of the world and all its inhabitants. She hoped that the research proved fruitful and soon would be able to be inclusive of all humanity. The creature took broad strides around the outer ring and made its way towards the window. Soo-young continued to look upon it the entire time, unlike the skitters who hid their faces in deference. She held an esteemed position in its eyes or so she believed, favored among her people for her acceptance of the truth which had been revealed to her. The creature walked in front of her, looked down for a moment and then made its way to the window and crouched down. Even on its knees the being was taller than most humans. It looked out over its dominion and surveyed far beyond what its eyes could see gathering a complete picture of the region within its jurisdiction. Soo-young did an about face and turned around to gaze out over the city in transition from behind the being. With one hand the alien scooped up some dust from the cold concrete floor and fashioned it into a ball. Exciting the atoms within the dust it was able to tap into the energy contained within them and the bonds between them and use it as an anchor while it extended its consciousness into a higher plane. Soo-young could feel this happening through the bond she shared with her master and the being did not make any attempt to shield her from the full extent of the communion he was entering. The creature's voice was strong, harmonious and multi-faceted, spanning the full spectrum of her perception. It wasn't so much a sound, but a feeling, a thought, no an experience. It conveyed far more information than words through the direct transfer of mind. Soon the so called voice of not one but many of her masters kind became apparent as did the thoughts and wills of a myriad of other beings all bound together in one grand web of communion. This web was always there between them, joining them, binding them, making the many into one and the one into many. This communing between them, coordinated and focused only made this invisible, subliminal bond more apparent, thus accelerating and intensifying focused intent streams of information. The bond extended over great distances, and while she could not pinpoint the exact locations of the other beings she had some sense of where they were coming from. North America, Europe, elsewhere in Asia and as far away as Mars or some of the moons of the great gas giants. This link did not extend beyond the solar system however. She did not know whether or not this was a physical limitation of something more or less metaphysical or if that was the full extent of this link and there were a great many of these links all functioning like separate individuals throughout the galaxy or even beyond. There were clues she had picked up to both of these theories from the sessions she was joined with her master in the great communion with his people and those above them in a cascading hierarchy throughout this solar family. This time however the discussion was concerning activities on Earth. There were so many different conversations going on at once Soo-young couldn't possibly make sense of them all. Her master was communicating with the other's of his kind, their overseers and the masters of their overseers as well as those subordinated to his command. Every minute detail of the process was under consideration. The aliens were able to think on such a level that allowed them to process a vast number of independent thoughts and functions simultaneously on a quantum level that exceeded the processing power of even humanity's best supercomputers before the fall. Soo-young however had learned to isolate one of the many trillions of threads of shared information being transmitted to and from her master's mind and listen in on it. Many of these strands of information involved concepts Soo-young was unfamiliar with or could not possibly understand. It was all a confused jumble but once she locked in on one strand she could understand a small portion of the data being conveyed. From there it was just like changing the channel until she found something that caught her interest.
"11-337-0041001 is departing the fourth planet now." Soo-young focused in on a statement in mid stream.
"There is a disturbance on the daylight side of the planet at coordinates.."
"Grid lattice 44 by 129 construction is on schedule…"
"The timelines favor an improved outcome by 3.1002%"
"Seismic activity has damaged harvest facility San Francisco. Requesting supplies from subsector 41B be sent to.."
"Otherspace nucleation accelerating as the models have predicted within a .004% variance."
"Requesting permission to utilize medium yield armaments to pacify location formerly designated "Kandahar" in sector 12, subsector 4B"
"Transmissions from system 10014-35002-93543-77751-06060 have ceased. Advise sending a cruiser from the third planet to investigate."
Soo-young switched between the various "channels" of thought going between the aliens until she found one that referenced her home, Seoul. Curious to learn of the developments in her birth land she listened in, hoping that it was closer to being reborn than other places she had peeked in on during these communion sessions.
"Joined and allied forces are in complete control of 68% of urbanized area. 71% of transit routes are deemed 100% secure with 94% of transit routes deemed 80% or higher. Resource utilization at 52%. Joined and allied losses are most significant in the south, far southeast and far northeast regions of the urbanized areas. Threat levels do not warrant airstrikes with minimal weapons above level 6. Ground forces remain at level 2. Harvest probability exceeds threat potential. All units are advised to use restraint against native unrest in these areas." The statement just sounded like an average mission report. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't all that good either. There were still sore spots slowing down reconstruction efforts in some areas. Listening in further she learned that in secure areas her joined brethren's designs were proceeding ahead of schedule. She lamented the shortsightedness of those among her people, in her birth land no less, still left out in the cold and unforgiving world. She listened more intently in hopes that more of them would come around and join them.
"At the center of the disturbance the native infection has turned against itself. Your report 23-03?"
"It is the malignancy within the organism which is striking at itself. The non malignant portions are not engaged against itself."
"This organism engages in self harm? This concept defies all explanation."
"You do not understand them 41-13. The infection does not understand the concept of one. The many are naught but many."
"But why? Why would one harm their own kind."
Soo-young could not make out the voices as to who was speaking but was able to discern at least three distinct entities conversing here.
"It is their way. They have always done so." Soo-young recognized that voice as the one belonging to her master.
"Such a peculiar, illogical behavior. I suppose one should expect as much from beings guided solely on the basest instinct. What is your recommendation 23-01?" one of the three asked.
"Your strategy is sound. Contain the malignancy and use your ground forces to protect the benign native cells from further harm pending future growth and collection. Continue to hold your defenses around the primary supply lines and protect the secure areas from further intrusion." Soo-young's master answered.
"I disagree. Containment would be inefficient. We should stamp out the malignant cells now while they are all gathered together. Request permission to authorize light airstrikes up to level 12." A fourth, more aggressive voice spoke up.
"Conservation of resources 23-03-07. The malignancy will eliminate itself if kept contained. Your previous airstrike damaged much salvageable materials which will require further reprocessing to be put to good use. I cannot authorize another temporary increase in response magnitude." Soo-young's master rebuked the seemingly junior member of the group.
Soo-young had gathered that her master was the central authority over the Korean peninsula. 23-03 was specifically the overlord of Seoul and occasionally she had heard the voice of another that seemed to be directing affairs in North Korea though that voice was not present among the four today. 41-13 seemed to give off the impression of an off-worlder, possibly an advisory role on Lunar base 6. One of the other members of the three was coming from Norway while the third one's location remained indeterminate to Soo-young.
"You are becoming too much like them 23-03-07. Remember we are not to be so apt to violence." the Norwegian based entity ridiculed his junior colleage.
"Malignant cells can still be harvested in a weakened state. Have patience and allow them to burn themselves out." Soo-young's master stoically advised the junior member.
"Permission to utilize allied forces to accelerate the depletion of the malignancy." The junior member asked again, this time taking a more soft handed approach to the increase in applied force.
"You may speak to your liaison concerning applied force so long as our manufacturing facilities are kept protected." Soo-young's master approved the request.
"Also, advise an increase in recruitment among the unjoinables scattered in the unsecured regions." 23-03 advised.
Soo-young tuned out of the conversation as her mind was beginning to tire. She skipped through a few more messages concerning things on a higher plane she did not understand and of monotonous technical details before she completely let everything fade into the background. In spite of all the voluminous amounts of information that was transferred the entire communion session lasted only 3 minutes 57 seconds. After which her master disconnected himself and dropped the glowing ember from his hand which returned to a state of fine dust. Her master walked back around the ring to the far side of the room and stood still and silent. Soo-young then walked to the edge of the pit, jumped down and landed unharmed. Her two skitter escorts followed behind her and the three of them passed through the doorway beneath her master's feet.
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Author's Note: I haven't been able to update for a long time and frankly I have lost track of this one, so I am going to have to reread some of it before I rejoin the main plot. I kind of went off the rails here in what is the "3rd season" of this story and want to try and bring the "Silent Enim Leges Inter Arma" arc to a close as gracefully as possible. (I'll be going back and rewriting parts of that as well at some point once I have furthered the story well into the next phase or "season" or two when I can start getting some crossover action going on between the various FS stories I've started.) But for now since I haven't given you all an update for several months I decided to post something from the alien perspective. I'll try to make a full update as soon as I catch myself back up on the details I had forgotten with this one and am able to update a few of my other stories as well. Thank you for your continued interest.
