AN: In case you haven't noticed, Stellaris draws a lot of inspiration from 40k with some changes.
"Is it truly progress if a cannibal uses a fork?" - Unknown telepath
深渊城市 (Abyssal City,) 新大西洋 (New Atlantic,) Delta Pavonis system, 7:30 am local time, 03/04/2545
The first jaunt
An alarm brings a young man back to the world of the conscious. He sits up and looks around his cell, his home for the last six years, although the word "cell" is a harsh term; he has everything he could ever want here. Gourmet food at the touch of a button, the latest entertainment options, the best video games, and even a balcony overseeing the beautiful coastline that was secured by a transparent force field. All that was missing was a way to open the main door from the inside. He chuckled at that. If this was the Technocracy's apology for taking him away from his family when he was sixteen, consider it partially accepted.
He could still remember it as if it was yesterday. They were seeing his doctor in an attempt to treat his schizophrenia, a condition he had suffered with for as long as he could remember. Halfway through their appointment, three men in suits entered the room and told his family that he needed to come with them. Seeing as they represented the Yang Dynasty, neither his parents nor their doctor were in a position to refuse them. The three men then led him to a dropship and made him get in, before taking off into the distance. During their flight, one of the men, evidently the leader, told him that he was "special" but wouldn't elaborate as to why.
That was before they injected something into him that made him unconscious before he woke up here. The first year was difficult, as he had to get used to his new environment, although he was allowed parental visits once per week for four hours at a time, which was a plus. As he aged and grew accustomed to his environment, the men who took him revealed more details to him. He was a psion, part of the first few ever found in humanity and the Technocracy had plans for him. When he turned eighteen, he began training with an alien dressed in all red robes who didn't or wouldn't tell him their name. He began to explore and master his psionic abilities at this stage, all under the strict gaze of the red-robed figure and his superiors.
He stood on the balcony and looked out in the distance. A storm was approaching, and it would be a normal day, then. His thoughts were interrupted by the hiss of his main door opening.
"Thinking about escape, Daniel?" The voice of a woman asked. "You know you can't."
"Why would I?" Daniel asked back, turning to face the voice. He could see that the woman was flanked by two Home Guard members and she wore a lab coat with a painfully familiar logo; a black flat hand with an eye in the center of it, the symbol of the Imperial Department of Psionics Affairs. "I have everything I want here, and you seem well enough. Besides, even if I did escape, where would I go?"
"Good. Anyway, we have a new assignment for you. Your first one, to be precise."
Daniel looked at the approaching storm. "Now? Seriously? You know there's a storm coming in, right?"
"All the more reason to follow me," the woman said before walking away. The guards went to grab his arms, but he followed her before they could get a chance. The four exited his building and walked towards another building in the distance, the wind from the storm hindering their movements somewhat.
"So what is it you want me to do?" Daniel shouted over the wind.
"You'll know it when you see it," the woman shouted back. The group walked for a few more moments before they reached another building where the woman and Daniel entered while the guards stood at the door. Walking down a flight of stairs, the woman handed Daniel a robe to wear. It was blue and purple, and in a similar design to the Punitive Corps' Bastille exoarmor, only it was made of soft fabric.
"Wear it, and quickly," the woman said. "The others are waiting for you."
"Who's waiting for me?"
"Your choir, of course."
After Daniel had put on his robes, the woman led him to a large chamber that had a swirling purple light within, as well as eight people sitting cross-legged on the floor; four on the left, four on the right.
"These people make up the telepathic choir and are meant to guide a telepath through the realm of the Shroud so that they may get a vision from their voyage," the woman explained before looking at Daniel. "You are that telepath."
He looked at her in bewilderment. "Me? But how can I possibly withstand the stress?"
The woman snapped her fingers and a scientist handed Daniel a wide tank with a blue stripe that was attached to a mask.
"This canister contains zro, a highly potent, highly addictive drug that'll stabilize your mental state as you make your journey. Now get in the chair." She pointed at a large seat near the back of the chamber. Daniel put on the canister and mask and then sat on the seat before a scientist placed a visor on him as well as attached a cable to the back of his neck. He heard a hiss as the mask was filled with the dark blue substance.
"See you on the other side," the woman said before the scientist pressed a button and everything turned black.
Daniel woke up in a desert, the hot sun beating down on him. He opened his eyes and immediately squinted them, the glare proving too uncomfortable. He sat up and scanned the area, finding a large cliff face in the distance and seeing the rusted remains of an aquatic vessel to his right, the body torn in half. He saw smoke in the distance as well. The new telepath inhaled deeply, the taste of orange from the zro filling his mouth, as he got up and walked towards the ruined ship. There weren't any bodies, but Daniel knew that there was a massive battle that occurred. Approaching the bow of the vessel, he brushed off some rust and sand that obscured the name of this ship.
"ITAS Neptune," he muttered to himself. No, that couldn't be right, from the books and reports he'd read, the Neptune was part of the aquatic naval forces stationed on Earth, but this couldn't be Earth, could it?
He headed for the cliff, its sheer size preventing him from seeing beyond it. After an arduous climb made worse by the zro canister he wore on his back, he was greeted by a gruesome sight. Hundreds of millions of corpses, all human, scattered the roadways as immensely tall buildings were covered in flames and smoke. Daniel silently thanked that the mask made it so that he couldn't smell his surroundings. So it was true, this is Earth.
Looking up, he saw that the orbital ring surrounding the planet was shattered, flames spewing from holes in the megastructure, and pieces rained down only to be burnt by the atmosphere. There was also a blue and purple rift where the sun was supposed to be.
"YOUR FUTURE," a voice echoed in Daniel's mind, a mixture of male and female, young and old, familiar yet alien.
"One possible future if we're not careful, yes," he admitted, voice echoing through the desolate streets.
"NOT ONE OF MANY, IT WILL COME TO PASS," the voice continued. "AS SURE AS THE RISING SUN. IT IS YOUR DESTINY."
Daniel pressed on, passing by the burnt-out remains of tanks, crashed fighters, warship corpses, and actual corpses of Planetary Guard and Punitive Corps soldiers as a broadcast sounded through the air.
"注意力。 这是疏散警告。 所有幸存者都应前往最近的太空港。 前往最近的方舟飞船的疏散班车将会到达和出发。 任何和所有怀疑裹尸布腐败的人都将被杀死。 那些遭受裹尸布腐败之苦的人应该注意以下步骤； 进入隔离房间以保护他人和您自己。 蜷缩成胎儿的姿势，一旦实体从你的身体中出现，一切就结束了。 一旦声音音量增大，就接近出现。 保持胎儿位置直至其完全出现。 家庭物品可能会减轻痛苦并带来接受。 如果痛苦难以忍受，请利用手头的一切来终止自己。 此消息将重复，直到没有人听到为止。 重复，此消息将重复，直到没有人听到为止. (ATTENTION. THIS IS AN EVACUATION WARNING. ALL SURVIVORS SHALL MAKE THEIR WAY TOWARD THEIR NEAREST SPACEPORT. EVACUATION SHUTTLES TO THE NEAREST ARK SHIP WILL BE ARRIVING AND DEPARTING. ANY AND ALL PERSONS SUSPECTED OF SHROUD CORRUPTION WILL BE KILLED ON SIGHT. THOSE SUFFERING FROM SHROUD CORRUPTION SHOULD HEED THE FOLLOWING STEPS; GET INTO AN ISOLATED ROOM TO PROTECT OTHERS AND YOURSELF. CURL UP INTO THE FETAL POSITION, ONCE THE ENTITY EMERGES FROM YOUR BODY, IT WILL BE OVER. ONCE THE VOICES INCREASE IN VOLUME, IT IS CLOSE TO EMERGING. MAINTAIN FETAL POSITION UNTIL IT FULLY EMERGES. FAMILIAL OBJECTS MAY EASE THE PAIN AND BRING ACCEPTANCE. IF THE PAIN IS TOO MUCH TO BEAR, USE WHATEVER IS AT HAND TO TERMINATE YOURSELF. THIS MESSAGE WILL REPEAT UNTIL NO ONE IS LEFT TO HEAR IT. REPEAT, THIS MESSAGE WILL REPEAT UNTIL THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO HEAR IT.)"
The announcement sent chills down Daniel's spine. Continuing with his exploration, he came across two tanks that seemed to have been destroyed by each other. Was there infighting between the defenders? The other tank had an odd symbol on it; seven arrows coming out of a circle, a similar symbol that he saw on various ruined buildings. Gone were the golden Technocratic symbol, gone were the red and black colors of the Yang Dynasty, only warped and twisted structures and that odd symbol on them.
Clearing some debris, Daniel entered what appeared to be a makeshift laboratory, its occupants dead. Going through the various notes scattered about, most of which were mad scribblings and utterly useless, some described a "flood" of entities coming from a rift in space that was linked to the Shroud, and how they overran Earth's defenses by corrupting the population and entering reality through those that were "corrupted." Taking another deep breath of zro, he turned his attention to a monitor that was monitoring the situation on Earth.
Total population: 40 billion individuals
Total dead: 28 billion
Total escaped: 12 billion
Leaving the laboratory, he returned to the main street, bodies scattered about. An atmospheric climate control station, one of many that controlled the temperature across the planet, lay in ruins on the ground in the distance. The corpse of a massive warship, a titan-class, lay on the ground in the distance, its frame resembling a mountain range. Daniel looked up and saw that the rift was twisted in the form of a grin as if something or someone was watching him, and found his behavior amusing. He knew of the Shroud, the source of his power, during the second year of his training, but never considered that something could be watching him. Someone or something wanted him to see this.
Before he could wonder what or who, though, his vision began to blur before everything went dark.
Daniel collapsed from his seat to the ground and tore his mask off, retching and wheezing as he tried to regain his breath. He could see the other members of the choir in a similar situation, with some wheezing, others throwing up, and others sobbing. The only door into the chamber opened, and the woman who had led him here entered along with two scientists who picked him up and sat him down on the ground.
"So?" The woman began. "How was it?"
"...fucking awful," Daniel replied.
"What did you see?"
"I... I saw... I saw a desert. Earth, I'm sure of it. Wait, didn't you see what I saw? Why would you need to ask me?"
"We did see. We needed to confirm that your mental state was still stable." She brought out a syringe. "Now then, since we've confirmed you're a viable telepath, your assignments will officially begin."
She injected the contents of the syringe into his neck, causing him to pass out.
Brain poaching
Two weeks later, Daniel had recovered from his initial jaunt and the choir had regained their mental strength as well. During the period between assignments, he continued to train with his psionic powers. He fought against other psions in friendly mental and physical competitions, used his powers in surgery, and even helped to stabilize an admiral who had experienced uncontrollable mutations to normal levels, which may have saved their life. It might have taken every ounce of strength and ability he had since the admiral's soul had been corrupted somehow, but he did save him at the end of the day, even if he had to be dragged from the room. He was also reminded to not use such "unscientific language" when describing the admiral's condition and replaced "soul" with "genetic structure" in his report.
He saw his parents twice, who were very proud of him for moving up in the world, although he couldn't tell them what exactly he was a part of. Somehow, he knew that if he were to reveal his true operations, the Technocracy would make sure that he and his family would disappear, rarity be damned.
He also used the time to better know the members of the choir to better coordinate their psionic strength and boost their overall strength as well. Although they spoke using words, they also telepathically communicated with each other as well, usually about topics about their abilities. It turned out that they shared a similar story; they were all taken from their families at an early age, they thought that their powers were mental disorders, and all were trained as telepaths, but unlike Daniel, they weren't exactly perfect.
"So how's life here?" He asked a choir member. "Must be tough, knowing that you're different from others."
The member shrugged. "I can't complain. I much rather live here than out there, paranoid of every move and hearing voices in my head. Besides, what if I had lost control of my powers?"
"It's on you to create regulations for yourself, and to know your limits."
"Fair, but still..."
"I mean, I was part of my planet's medical team," another member said. "I was fully aware of my powers and had developed a system of checks that I made so that I didn't go off the deep end, and helped the surgeons and doctors to heal people." They looked around. "So for me, this is a bit of a downgrade, but I still can't complain."
Daniel shrugged at that. As he and the choir continued their verbal and mental conversations, they were interrupted by the woman entering the room and handing him his zro canister.
"So soon?" He asked the woman. "I thought I'd get more time to relax."
"Nope," she replied. "Get on your seat, your goal is to test the viability of using a telepath for information collection." She faced the choir. "All of you, get to your positions!"
The choir then sat cross-legged on the ground as Daniel sat on his chair, just as he did two weeks ago.
"Any specific thing you want to be retrieved? And from whom?"
"None and any being will do."
With that, Daniel connected a cable to the back of his neck and closed his eyes, sending his consciousness through the Shroud.
Daniel could sense his body flying through space, away from the planet he was on. He flew past planets, stars, systems, galaxies, and then universes until he reentered another universe. The sensation was... indescribable, and each breath he took filled his mouth with the taste of orange from the zro. Still flying, he passed by more planets and stars before thinking about slowing down, and he did so, although he was still heading towards some unknown destination. Passing by a tropical planet, he observed the planet as he moved, taking note of its lush forests and thick atmosphere before he thought about increasing his speed and flying off again.
Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, he realized where he was going; a massive, continent-sized ship made from a bone-white material with membrane-like domes. Daniel flew through one such dome and saw a massive metropolis below him. Elf-like humanoids scurried below, oblivious to his presence. He thought back to Admiral William's guests, the same admiral he'd assisted, and recalled that he called these figures the "Eldar." Flying into what he considered a capital complex, he landed inside a wide, empty hallway. Getting his bearings, he noticed a psionic signal and a trail leading him to it and decided to follow.
Sensing the immense psionic strength of the Eldar, Daniel attributed his concealment to the steady amount of zro he was breathing in.
Walking through the complex, he passed by numerous Eldar, all not realizing that a human was strolling through their sacred domain. Smiling, Daniel found an Eldar in their battle armor and weapon and waved his hand in front of them. No reaction. Stepping back, he took the time to observe his surroundings. The complex was truly a work of beauty, with designs that seemed to have been grown in their forms. He also saw a symbol plastered to a wall; an ancient Egyptian ankh, but the loop on the top was replaced with a red heart, akin to the one you would see on a Valentine's Day card.
"Heh, so stupid," Daniel muttered to himself. Following the psionic trail, he reached a gate that was flanked by two guards, which he simply walked through. Within, he saw three Eldar in green robes. Farseers, by the look of it. They were talking to each other, probably on matters of state. He decided to listen in.
"This is a disgrace," a farseer said. "Imagine if the others, the Yngiract, or worse, the mon'keigh realize we barely understand our technology! We must..."
"...no matter," another replied. "The mon'keigh are too busy fighting each other or other aliens to notice. We just need more time..."
"They're growing more powerful," the third farseer added. "The council is determined to..."
There. In the mind of the farseer who was seated; technological secrets, military techniques, and a figurative gold mine of data were all within his reach. It bloomed from the farseer's mind like a flower in springtime. Daniel reached forth and plucked it from the farseer's mind, as easily as accessing an unlocked computer. As he reveled in his success, the trio stopped talking.
"Wait," a farseer said. "I sense someone. Can you feel it?"
"Yes," another replied. "Someone's watching us."
As Daniel froze, the trio of farseers scanned the room before all three laid eyes on him. There was an awkward stillness for a while and as the trio drew their weapons, Daniel departed from the complex and the craftworld and flew through space once again.
That was close, too close. He, or his consciousness rather, was once again soaring through space toward an unknown destination, his only control being how fast or slow his speed was. After a while of passing stars, planets, and odd cathedral-like ships, he felt like he was drawn to a specific planet. Sure enough, Daniel saw that he was approaching a planet, flashes of light appearing on its surface indicating conflict. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, the zro flooding his system and stabilizing his mind.
The telepath opened his eyes and found that he was in a massive conflict. On one side, the warriors of the Eldar that he was familiar with, and on the other, a literal tide of humans in green armor trying desperately to push against the Eldar defenders. Or were the Eldar attacking? In any other scenario, he would be terrified. If he was a normal human being, he would've probably passed out from shock. But he wasn't a normal human, nor was he perceptible to both sides, as the green-armored humans charged straight through him, firing their laser rifles and driving their armored divisions right through him. Deciding to gather information about this conflict, he decided to skip over to the Eldar side.
Taking another deep breath of zro, he found himself within the ruins of a temple, evidently of Eldar design, where a council of Eldar war leaders was coordinating combat strategies. Learning from his previous mistake of poaching information from a farseer, which was successful, Daniel decided against robbing them. Instead, he spotted an Eldar warrior standing guard outside, who did not realize he was there.
Perfect.
Reaching out his hand, Daniel saw as his hand sank into the Eldar's skull and their mind. If plucking information from the farseer was like picking a flower, this was like skimming a lawn for weeds and removing them.
The Eldar guard, meanwhile, felt like they had a massive migraine, their hand rubbing their forehead, completely unaware that their thoughts were being pillaged by a human telepath from right in front of them. Smirking, Daniel withdrew his hand, finding what he needed, and took another deep breath of zro that took him to the human side.
Compared to the Eldar, the human command center was a literal trash heap. It was akin to a WW1-era trench command post, with dirt walls, shoddy construction, and even more shoddy troops stationed there. Looking them over, they were dirty, tired, and wore the green armor he'd seen when he was in the middle of that suicidal charge. As he looked on, Daniel noticed that only a human in an officer's cap was speaking with everyone else saying either "Yes, commissar," or merely remaining silent. Looking over, he spotted at least two dozen errors and tactical mistakes that this "commissar" made.
For example, while they had artillery, the commissar ordered the troopers to charge ahead as the artillery supported them instead of using the artillery from a safe distance to break the enemy and pick off any survivors. Although, judging by this "commissar's" treatment of his men, casualties weren't a concern to him.
Sighing, he proceeded to a makeshift barracks that was occupied by a sole trooper, sleeping on their poorly made bed with his rifle by his side. Taking an interest in the rifle, Daniel took a closer look. Although the Technocracy's ballistic weaponry is rightfully feared throughout the galaxy, laser weaponry took somewhat of a backseat in development as early issues with heating caused all development to be shafted and an increased focus on ballistics. Even when the Technocracy developed a laser rifle, only synths used them as heating was still a problem.
As he touched the rifle, however, Daniel got the equivalent of a highly detailed schematic directly into his mind as if he made it himself. Turning his attention to the sleeping trooper, he entered their mind and tore them apart, having no respect for these humans. This wasn't a delicate plucking as it was with the farseer, nor was it a trimming like with the Eldar guard, this was the equivalent of tearing up your lawn to search for a tool you lost. The trooper's mind was figuratively and literally shredded in a search for information, of which there was expectedly little. Sighing again, he noticed that his zro supply was running out, and as such, he departed the planet, and blackness filled his vision.
Daniel woke up in his seat, head pounding, and blinked a few times to get his surroundings. It wasn't nearly as disturbing and awful as the first time he walked the Shroud, but it still was an experience. that he hated. As both he and the rest of the choir recovered, the woman, whom he came to know as Lisa, entered the choir chamber.
"Well?" She asked. "Did you find anything of value?"
"I sure did," David said with a smile as he tried to catch his breath. "Lots of good stuff."
"Good. I expect your report when you wake up." Lisa said before she plunged a syringe into his neck, instantly knocking him out.
Encounter with the Whisperer
The telepath never understood why they knocked him out after every "jaunt" as he called his assignments, but he felt like it was better that way. He heard that increased psionic activity causes severe mental issues for the victim, and since his assignments caused an increased psionic sensitivity, and so he attributed it to that. It turned out that Daniel didn't need to directly write out his report, but he reported in person with representatives of the Imperial Armed Forces, the Imperial Ministry of Defense, and the Yang Dynasty. He told them about the laser weaponry he encountered and the technology, military doctrine, and general details of both the Eldar and the humans present within that universe, respectively. He never knew what became of his information, but he was sure that it had been put to good use.
Back in his cell, he stared out at the shoreline, looking at a pair of ekranoplans. The weird craft had not been used since the times of the USSR and their Lun-class, but the Imperial Punitive Aquatic Navy tended to use them for rapid assaults and patrols. It had been three weeks since his last assignment, and he was getting a bit bored. He'd met Lisa in the cafeteria during lunchtime and decided to ask her some questions.
"How many telepath choirs are there?" He asked her. "Surely mine can't be the only one, right?"
She paused for a moment, indicating she had not expected his question.
"No, you're the only one, for now."
Daniel knew she was lying but decided not to show it. Instead, he asked another question.
"Who's telling you the assignments you give me? I mean, surely you didn't come up with them on the fly."
Lisa's face went pale at that and she cleared her throat. "All assignments come directly from the Imperator himself, I merely run the department responsible for dealing with your kind."
Another lie, partially this time.
"What's the end goal here, if there's even one?"
"For you or the department as a whole?"
"Myself."
The director paused, evidently trying to come up with an answer. "That's classified."
Of course, it was.
"Well, do you have an assignment for me, then? I'm getting bored."
"I do. Head to the choir chamber, I'll explain more then."
"So this is a what into where?" Daniel asked in disbelief.
"An expedition into the Shroud," Lisa confirmed. "Just go where you like, do what you like, and if you encounter an entity, do not speak to it."
The telepath drew a long breath and sighed. "What do you mean by 'entities?'"
"Contrary to what we once believed, the Shroud is not an empty void. Some entities dwell within, and you just didn't notice since you never spent enough time in the Shroud for them to impact you. This time, however, you will be venturing into the Shroud, not just passing through it."
"And if something happens to me?"
"You'll be replaced with a fresh psion," Lisa replied matter-of-factly. Sighing again, Daniel took his spot on his seat, the zro he inhaled stronger than usual. Closing his eyes and with the help of his choir, the telepath once again sent his soul into the Shroud.
The Shroud was surprisingly calm today, much unlike its normal self. From the few glimpses he had of it, Daniel knew it was a chaotic place, where energies clashed and waned, and where nothing remained the same for long. It's almost like something or someone was expecting him, akin to setting a dinner table for expected guests. As he continued, Daniel noticed that his environment had changed into the equivalent of a plateau, everything a shade of purple. Deciding to sit down for a moment, the telepath used this opportunity for self-reflection. After a few moments, he noticed a group of blue entities running towards him. They must've been the ones Lisa warned him about, and they didn't seem to have noticed him yet.
Daniel decided to duck into cover as the entities ran past him, their chortling grating his ears as they went. The telepath silently thanked that the zro Lisa had given him was enough for him to maintain his sanity during his stay, as well as thanking his choir that their psionic abilities were enough to stabilize him.
There was no point in trying to understand this, he thought. It's akin to an ant trying to understand humanity; foolish, dangerous, and costly.
Taking a deep breath of the dark blue substance, he felt himself calming down immediately. That is until he felt a chorus of voices in the back of his mind. No more than whispers at first, it gradually grew in volume; a thousand voices speaking in unison. The telepath recognized it as the voice that spoke to him during his first-ever vision.
"We are the Whisperers in the Void," the voices introduced themselves.
"The Sussurus of Secrets," a voice said.
"The Throne's Shadow," said another.
"The Master of Puppets," yet another voice spoke.
There were so many voices, and so many names to describe this one thing that Daniel felt his mind expand to accommodate all of them. All of the voices spoke independently of each other, but the majority of them mentioned the "Lord of Change," "Changer of Ways," or the "Great Deceiver."
"Don't be afraid, mortal. You seek knowledge and knowledge we shall give your kind. All we need is to latch a small part of ourselves to your kind's consciousness." Daniel couldn't confirm it, but he felt like the entity was smiling, although he could hear a slight tinge of anxiety in its myriad of voices. "For what you can achieve with our knowledge, such a price is minuscule when compared to the benefits."
"You go by 'the Great Deceiver,'" Daniel shot back. "Why should I trust a word you utter?" The voices giggled.
"Because we embody the very concept of knowledge," a voice spoke.
"Mortal qualities like alliances or moralities do not bind us," another added.
"You do not fool me, I saw what you did to one of our admirals. I do not wish to share his fate."
The tone of the voices darkened a little.
"That mortal was the first encounter we had with your civilization," a voice admitted. "He was bold, yet stupid. Not even our servant could persuade him."
"But you, on the other hand," another voice purred. "Seem much more... agreeable."
"I will not be your pawn to do whatever you want with." The voices laughed at that.
"What is existence, if not but a grand game? We all have our role to play in it, from the microscopic organism to beings like us."
A beeping sound pulled the telepath from his conversation. He looked at his wrist and saw that his zro level was dangerously low. His vision began to darken.
"It seems like we'll have to cut this conversation short," the voices said with genuine sadness. "Know that our offer still stands."
That was the last thing the telepath heard before everything went black.
Having his consciousness returned to his body, Daniel groaned as his vision adapted to the light. As he looked around the choir chamber, he noticed that the other psions that made up the choir were unusually still and quiet, whereas they were usually disoriented after using their psionic powers for such a journey. Getting out of his seat, he noticed that Lisa was standing in the doorway of the chamber, evidently waiting for him.
"Well? Was your trip eventful?" She asked, evidently expecting him to encounter what he did.
"You knew I would meet whatever that was!" The telepath said. "You knew! And you never told me!"
"I know. If I had told you, you'd never would've agreed."
Before the telepath could object further, the now-familiar sensation of a syringe entering his neck caused him to pass out.
Encounter with the Instrument
Daniel has been spending the majority of his free time in the division of the Grand Archive and going over everything the Technocracy had regarding the Shroud and its inhabitants, and finding expectedly little. In their infinite wisdom, the Technocracy deemed it necessary for every colony to have a division of the Grand Archive when they were capable of supporting one, linked to the main Archive on Earth. One of the entries that irked him was: "The Shroud is a realm of nothing but a vast repository of psionic energy ... nothing can exist, nothing remains stable ... full of potential for exploitation." The article stated that it was created two days after he'd encountered the Whisperers. It didn't say who made it, but the telepath strongly suspected that it was Lisa.
As he skimmed through the Technocracy's entries into the Shroud, Daniel found that all of them were either wildly inaccurate or details were omitted entirely. For example, where an entry relating to the denizens of the Shroud should've been, all that was there was "The Shroud is an empty dimension, devoid of what can be considered 'life.'"
Lies, he thought to himself. Whoever was making these entries was either thoroughly incompetent or actively trying to get the Technocracy to dedicate more resources to harness the realm, which would lead to unforeseen disasters. As he continued to skim through entries, he overheard Lisa and another person talking with each other. Looking over, the telepath could tell that said person was a representative of the Yang Dynasty, and by the looks of things, they weren't happy at all.
"...what you're proposing, director, is not progress, but madness!" They exclaimed. "The Imperator has already generously funded your department's operation from his coffers, no less, and yet you require more?!"
"The Imperator is a short-sighted fool who cannot see the bigger picture," Lisa shot back. "Embracing the Shroud will result in nothing but boons for all of our citizens, alien or not, and not doing so would be the ultimate disservice to our race."
"Have you not considered the risks?! Have you not thought that maybe, just maybe, entering a pact with one of the entities who dwell inside would bring about a price too big to pay?!"
"Frankly, I haven't, nor do I care. The benefits far outweigh the risks, and soon enough, the Imperator will realize that."
"We will not tolerate such brazen defiance, director. You will not risk the entire human race for personal ambition. Can we trust you to fulfill your duties?"
"Of course. Despite everything, I serve humanity and the Technocracy. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to resume my duties," Lisa said before she walked away.
The telepath knew she was lying; he'd sensed that her mind was on personal power but knew better than to openly confront her about it. Instead, he went along with her plan, only trying to subvert it in subtle methods. Meanwhile, he had another assignment she'd given him before he overheard her conversation with the representative, another Shroud expedition. Although every expedition carried very high risks, even with the stabilizing effects of zro, Daniel enjoyed the sensation, as uncomfortable as they were. As he headed for the choir chamber, he passed by a high-ranking scientist and grabbed their arm.
"Keep an eye on your boss," he whispered. "I don't trust her. She has to be hiding something."
The scientist nodded, more out of fear than agreement, and the telepath entered the chamber and took his seat, the zro flooding his senses.
The telepath felt comfortable in the Shroud, as crazy as that sounds. It was a second home at this point, the swirling purple environment coupled with flashes of lightning soothing his mind, or was it the zro doing that? By now, he'd long since given up on comprehending the Shroud and mainly focused on exploring its swirling depths, unlike many others within the Technocracy. This time, he landed on a floating island, one of many in a chain of islands in the swirling purple environment. It was akin to a tropical island on pre-unification Earth, with Shroud-warped flora and beige coastlines. Despite the uncanniness of it all, it was oddly comforting, knowing that even in this chaotic mess, life, or some perversion of it, can still exist.
As the telepath explored the island, Daniel noticed something not far from the coast; one of those cathedral-like ships that he saw during his brain poaching assignment was stuck here and he could sense a panicked psionic signal emanating from it.
Although he hated the empire that it belonged to and its ideals, no one deserved to be trapped here as even he had to admit that it could drive any sentient creature mad. Floating towards the ship, the telepath recognized the signature psionic traces of another telepath somewhere within. Finding the source, Daniel realized that it was a three-eyed human who was panicking and desperately trying to find a way to escape from the Shroud. As he continued observing, he noticed that this mutated human was acting akin to a hyperdrive installed on a Technocracy ship.
Sending soothing psionic signals to the other telepath, Daniel managed to calm them down long enough for him to tell them a path back to realspace, to which they thanked him profusely and gave him "the Emperor's blessing," whatever that meant. It might not have been their original destination, but anywhere in realspace is better than being trapped here.
Returning to the island, the telepath could see the ship phase out of the Shroud as he smiled to himself. Even the most backward of fools didn't deserve to be trapped here. Sighing, he let his legs dangle from the edge of the island as he sat, observing his environment once more. The purple hue of the Shroud had turned a light pink, akin to a beautiful sunrise or sunset, and he spotted pink, claw-handed humanoids on a distant island chasing something or someone. As he went to stand up, he sensed someone to his right. Facing whoever was there, he saw a similar humanoid being in front of him. It was both hideous and beautiful.
Before the telepath could speak, the being's thoughts intertwined with his. Glory, prestige, fame, wealth, every single desire both he and the rest of the Technocracy had and all they would ever have.
"So who are you?" Daniel asked. "At least you have the decency to meet me face-to-face and not just be a voice in my mind."
"I am the Instrument of Desire," the entity spoke. "But your kind knows me by many names; Venus, Aphrodite, and many others~"
"You seek to seduce me with promises of my desires?"
"Not merely promises, my dear mortal, everything your kind could ever want, and would ever want, I can provide~"
"Like what?"
"You seek knowledge~? Your scholars will be the greatest in existence~ You seek glory~? All shall sing your praises~ You seek fortune~? Gold shall appear everywhere you look~"
"And what do you want?"
The Instrument laughed, voice angelic and grating at the same time. "I am still deciding that part, but whatever it is, I promise it'll be minuscule compared to my gifts, all you need to do is to accept me into your hearts~"
"And if I refuse?"
"You won't~ You'll say yes, how can you not~?"
"If you won't elaborate on the cost of such an agreement, consider this conversation over."
"You think too much, mortal. Why not just embrace what you want~? I promise you it will all be worth it~"
Recognizing that he wouldn't get anywhere by talking with this... thing, Daniel decided to cut his visit short. He took a deep breath of zro and left the island behind as everything went dark.
When he returned to realspace, Daniel found that besides his choir, there wasn't anyone there to greet him. Normally, Lisa would be there with her syringe filled with something that would cause him to go unconscious. Instead, he was greeted with the confused glances of his choir.
"Did the director forget about us?" One member asked. "There's no way, right?"
"She probably went for a smoke break," another member said.
"Should we just leave, then?"
"I mean, what else are supposed to do?"
As the telepath stepped out of the chamber, he was greeted by the sight of a Punitive Corps member who aimed his weapon at him, to which he raised his hands in the air.
"Identify yourself!" They yelled, their voice slightly robotic due to their helmet.
"Telepath Daniel Xiu," he quickly got out. "What's going on here?"
"We're trying to find Director Han, she's gone AWOL and we've been unable to locate her. You should stay in your cell for the month, I'll escort you there."
As the telepath and the soldier walked, Daniel couldn't help but wonder if the director's disappearance was linked to her ambition of harnessing the Shroud for her benefit. No matter what, he would write his report to the Imperator himself, urging him to be more cautious of the sea of souls.
Information Data Logs
Psions: A relatively recent appearance in humanity, some are gifted with the ability to channel the energies of the Shroud through the power of their minds to either harm or heal others in their vicinity. Although it is much more common for psions to be born, some can become psionic via prolonged exposure to the Shroud, given that they aren't mutated into some horrific mass or some entity doesn't devour their soul first. Although psions first appeared when the Riftjumper gate was ignited, they have only been reliably discovered relatively recently, as the majority of them were written off as mental health cases, and were either treated or euthanized. The Technocracy has separated psions into six distinct classes, with the last two being the most dangerous. They are, in order: Ignorant, Experimental, Stabilization, Application, God-Wannabe, and Gateway.
The first stage in a psion's development is the ignorant phase, in which, given its name, the psion is unaware of its abilities, either by lack of knowledge or outright denial. Being psionically sensitive involves symptoms such as hearing voices, paranoia, insomnia, and increased aggression, common traits of various mental disorders, and as such, they're commonly misidentified as simply possessing these disorders. Some psions can actively deny their abilities so hard, that they use said abilities to perpetuate a cycle of self-neutralization that prevents their powers from manifesting, and can even become psionically inert. The Technocracy and the Imperial Department for Psionic Affairs keep a close eye on Ignorant psions and only intervene when they progress to further stages.
The second stage of development for psions is the experimental phase, where the psion is aware of his/her/their abilities and is actively experimenting with them. This can include manipulating the gravity of certain objects, shooting lightning from their hands, or reading and affecting the thoughts of other individuals. This of course can lead to serious harm, but mostly for the individual. The Technocracy and the I.D.P.A. usually intercept psions and take them to specialized training centers for future development of their powers at this stage.
The third stage is the stabilization stage, in which the psion has recognized the upper limits of their powers and has established regulations for themselves to not lose control. They still rarely, if ever use them and only do so in private or with few people nearby for fear of ostracization, and mostly for their own or relatives' benefits. For example, children may try to get others to become friends with them, teenagers and young adults usually use their powers for sexual activities, while more mature adults use their powers to further their financial or social standing. The Technocracy and I.D.P.A. usually don't bother with apprehending psions in the stabilization stage, and it is more often that psions ask the I.D.P.A. to take them in because of social isolation.
The fourth stage is the application stage, where not only has the psion harnessed their abilities, but their community has also accepted that the psion can help, not harm, and actively integrates them into society. They can be seen working normal jobs, just at a rate higher than the normal individual, often drawing jealousy from their peers. The Technocracy has started to employ numerous psions for various positions. For example, a psionic admiral or general can lead his/her/their fleets or troops at a highly skilled level, using their powers of foresight to accurately predict where the enemy may go and how to best counter them, while a psionic governor might use their empathic abilities to better the mood of the citizens under their control, or simply suppress discontent, and a psionic scientist might discover or invent an item previously thought impossible. Although many psions reside in this level, it is only possible if their communities accept who they are, otherwise they will remain in the stabilization phase.
The fifth stage is known as the God-Wannabe stage, and it is when a stage four psion starts having megalomaniacal ideas or dissenting thoughts about their position in society. Psions in this stage often are anti-social, very violent, and often unreasonable, only wanting to further their own goals at the cost of everyone else's safety and well-being. A fifth-stage psionic admiral or general may defect or desert with their entire fleet or army, becoming warlords or pirates, while a fifth-stage governor might cause an entire sector to fall into chaos by spreading fearful messages throughout the populace via their powers. The Technocracy and I.D.P.A. usually capture, rehabilitate, or euthanize psions who reach this point.
The final stage, and thankfully rarest, is known as the Gateway stage. This is when a psion, either through improper regulation, abnormally strong powers, or lack of training, becomes a conduit of pure Shroud energy that allows Shroud entities to pour through the unfortunate psion. Death is usually the only effective solution to combat stage six psions, often referred to as "sixers" by responding troops.
Imperial Department for Psionic Affairs (I.D.P.A.): Established in the year 2522, just as the first psions began popping up in the Technocracy, the I.D.P.A.'s main goals is to locate, capture, train, or euthanize psions when they are discovered in the Technocracy and to utilize their powers to benefit humanity, and to explore the Shroud and try to utilize it for the benefit of the empire, although the latter has ceased due to funding cuts after the director, Lisa Han, went AWOL and a recommendation from a certain telepath caused the Technocracy to reassess the viability of the department's secondary goal. The I.D.P.A.'s current activities are to train and utilize telepaths for the benefit of advancing humanity's skill in the field of psionics, although many suspect other reasons, especially with the vanishing of their director.
Telepathic Choir: The process of transferring one's consciousness into the Shroud for either visions, transport, or exploration requires a vast mental load, much more than one individual can achieve, no matter how much zro one takes. Even if one could enter the Shroud alone, with no choir, they would ultimately destabilize and be ejected back into realspace before long. This is where the telepathic choir comes in. A group of eight psions nearly the level of training of a telepath, but not telepaths themselves, their goal is to stabilize the telepath throughout their journey. While technically three choir members are needed for a successful journey, the other five are there for optimal performance or as redundant members who can immediately take over a compromised choir member should something go wrong.
Telepath: The main conduit for any activity involving the Shroud, a telepath is a specially trained psion who is involved in activities involving the enigmatic dimension. Although all psions draw power from the Shroud, telepaths have the unique ability to transverse the dimension with relatively little difficulty, with the assistance of their choir and a generous amount of zro, of course. Telepaths, like other psions, are often taken while the psion is in the experimental stage, or actively seeks the I.D.P.A.'s assistance due to shunning from their community for various reasons. They're used primarily for Shroud exploration but also thought enforcement, vision making, or as elite espionage units, taking thoughts and secrets directly from one's mind and utterly undetectable. Despite not being a combat unit, telepaths are more than capable of defending themselves when needed, and a single blast can send a person flying. Currently, twenty telepaths exist in the Technocracy, but that number is expected to increase substantially. As telepaths are a valuable, but dangerous asset, they usually reside in psionic-nullifying cells that are luxury apartments or cryostorage for those who aren't as stable, although no guards are necessary as they can (usually) control themselves.
Zro: A highly potent, highly addictive drug used to enhance a psion's abilities, zro are the remains of a highly powerful psionic race known as the Zroni, who destroyed themselves in a civil war. Although useless to non-psions, zro can be used by a telepath and is needed for stabilizing their mental state when traversing the Shroud for exploration or assignments. Despite psions appearing only recently, the ability to harvest zro has been available for far earlier, with the Technocracy stockpiling the substance with nothing to do with it, besides selling it on the galactic market. From reports made by zooted-out psions, zro is, quote, "fu[Expletive] amazing and feels like I can [Expletive] fly." Although a psion taking zro normally would result in a high chance for addiction, when taken during Shroud jaunts, the sheer amount of stress a psion's mind cancels out the addictive qualities while providing numerous benefits, like shielding their consciousness from harm or hiding their presence from other psionic beings, to name a few.
XM-600 "Yinglong" Assault Rifle: An evolution of the highly successful Huolong assault rifle, the Yinglong was created with the design of Imperium Lasguns retrieved by Telepath Daniel Xiu. Fusing both laser and ballistic systems, the Yinglong can effortlessly switch between the two modes with a single button, and its las-bolt is stronger than the one from an Imperium lasgun by a matter of three, around the strength of a UV laser, a third-gen laser tech, and capable of burning through enemy armor with ease, although the neutronium rounds fired by the ballistic mode is still capable of armor piercing. As heat dissipation has always blocked the Technocracy development of laser weaponry, the Yinglong gets past this by channeling the heat from the laser into the barrel of the ballistic systems, superheating the leaving round for increased damage. Although laser weaponry is the bog standard for the other universe, users are reluctant when using them, due to laser weapons being "cowardly peashooters," with the vast majority of laser weapon users being synthetic troopers, but the Yinglong is being rolled out, albeit slowly. NOTE: The laser was tuned down from five times to three due to it melting through the barrel when continuously firing.
The Whisperers in the Void: One of the four patron entities dwelling within the Shroud and first encountered by Telepath Daniel Xiu, it goes by many names; the Sussurus of Secrets, the Throne's shadow, the Master of Puppets, the Changer of Ways. More than the other deities, the Whisperers are a deity of change, with no stable form and preferring to contact any telepath via voices in their minds, their very soul. It promises secrets known only to them and knowledge of every mortal who has ever existed, and the ability to better our psionic prowess while making us a living enigma to other empires, as our secrets shall be more guarded than ever before, while our clout and spycraft will mysteriously improve overnight. Official recommendation: Due to the untrustworthiness of this entity, observation with little interaction is recommended, however the gifts it'll grant us may be too alluring to resist.
The Instrument of Desire: Another patron entity of the Shroud, the Instrument is also known as the Herald of Perfection in ancient Hesukari religions. Throughout human history, it has often been revered as a fertility goddess, and as a goddess of love, the most notable being the goddesses Venus and Aphrodite, although there are multiple more that have existed. It was during the 26th century that the telepath Daniel Xiu encountered the Instrument for the first time that its true nature was made clear. It is not a benevolent deity, despite its claims to the contrary, and promises us power, prestige, and wealth beyond all comprehension with a promised small cost. It claims that it can boost the morale and mood of our population and can improve the trade of our empire so that we would become the most prosperous empire in the galaxy. Official recommendation: Ignore it, although depending on the cost, accepting might bring more good than bad.
Message from Telepath Xiu to Imperator Yang XIV:
To: Yang, Adrian
From: Xiu, Daniel
Subject: Cessation of Shroud Rationalization
CC: Imperial Health Bureau, Imperial Department of Psionic Affairs
Date (Sol Standard Time): 26/04/2545 (sent)
Your Majesty Imperator Yang XIV,
I am writing to you today concerning your and the I.D.P.A.'s continued interest in studying the Shroud and its inhabitants. As a trained telepath with experience in the Shroud, I must request that any continued study into the Shroud must either be ceased or noticeably rolled back as the dimension is inherently unknowable, and any attempt to know it will ultimately backfire. I have heard horror stories of Shroud possession and what it entails. With all due respect, Your Majesty, I have far more experience with the Shroud than you and the I.D.P.A. combined, and so you have my word that what I have written, and what I will continue to write is more accurate than whatever you receive from your family's representatives.
The Shroud is, in its essence, a realm of variables and uncertainty where entities, dangerous ones, reside and are free to impact the mortal realm. Forgive my unscientific language, but the corruption of Admiral Victor William's soul is proof that these entities are not something to be trifled with. They are not to be bargained with, for whatever they ask will prove to be far more costly than what they claim.
I also suspect that Director Lisa Han has been compromised by one or multiple of these entities as she has been altering entries to make the Shroud seem less dangerous than it seems. Either she is incompetent, retarded, or compromised, but she is actively trying to subvert the truth with her actions. This, along with her disappearance, is further proof that the Shroud must not be tampered with, and if we are to persist, we can and WILL lose EVERYTHING.
Sincerely,
Telepath Daniel Xiu
P.S. Tell Admiral Williams that he doesn't have to thank me for saving his life.