Ralph jumped out of bed, dressed in Suit, and ran to his home office. He sat at the computer and pleaded for Suit to help him discover a program that would be able to reproduce the clan song of life. Obsessed, the First worked the rest of the night and the next two days, not stopping for food or sleep. Pam brought him water and made him drink it.
Ralph and Suit explored multiple music and sound-producing programs that could produce the ancient language and clan song. At last, they discovered the best program currently available and began writing the algorithm to reproduce and maintain the clan song. With Suit's built-in AI and computer interface, the Remembering program was created at a speed far beyond human abilities.
When Pam came into his home office with water, she could hear what he labored on, and it sounded familiar, like she should know it but couldn't quite place it. One day, she carried a crying Alphy into Ralph's office, and the baby calmed and listened to the song.
Finally, Ralph exited his office and said, "I have recorded what I remember of the clan song. Now, it is all the other Heroes' turn to record theirs. Pam, come and listen and record your remembered song."
His wife went into the room and listened. She did not understand the words but could recognize the song. How did she know this? Not music, as humans know it, but more poetry in an ancient language that all green guys can subconsciously identify, with intense images and emotional impressions.
Pam's memories of being a green-guy female flooded forward. She was the primary female, bearing her mate several healthy children. He worked for the local magistrate. From a proud family, his song would be placed with long entries in the clan song. The more prominent your life and accomplishments, the more extensive your entry to the clan song of life.
A messenger came to the door and told her that her male was hospitalized. Attacked by a large green guy when he attempted to arrest him, the villain's riding beast trampled her mate. She ran to the hospital, but her mate was dead. She wailed and cried for her mate. His song was included in the clan song, at the family's Remembering ceremony.
Later, she agreed to become the second female to a young male within her former mate's family in exchange for him taking her children in and providing for them. When she was too old to perform her female duties, the family placed her in the family ancient female house, and she died at the establishment. Her song was added to the clan song.
Pam sobbed from the emotions that she remembered as a little green guy female and told Ralph her memory. He demonstrated how to add her memories to the clan song, and she performed the steps.
Ralph told the Hero League director about the Remembering and the need to record and maintain the clan song of life. Eric didn't know what he was talking about. He assumed the First was having some strange junk gene episode and played along to appease him. Ralph sent Eric the program with the tribal song to listen to. He knew that once Eric listened to the chorus, he would approve of its use for all the Heroes.
The director listened to the song, remembered a life as a little green guy, and entered his song into the clan song of life using the Rememberer program that Ralph and Suit created.
Eric remembered overseeing a military unit of little green guys. They had to be more innovative because they were less robust than the large green guys, and their tribe didn't believe in killing unless necessary. Each of his regiment of males was a specialist with non-lethal weapons. These devices could render an enemy immobile without killing them.
A war had erupted with a nearby territory of large green guys. The little green guys had to protect their territory, females, and children. The large green guys were reported as being on the other side of the hill. Eric's unit drove their vehicles to the indicated location and quickly set up their weapons while waiting for the attack. The large green guys attacked in such force and numbers that the regiment of little green guys was utterly overwhelmed, and most died during the battle. The intelligence on the number of large green guys had been incorrect, and his squad paid with their lives for the false information. Rememberers assigned to the military unit went among the bodies, collected the memory songs from the soldiers, and added them to the clan song.
Eric asked Ralph to make a Hero-wide announcement about the clan song of life and asked that each Hero listen and remember their part of the chorus.