Dark Transmissions (19 page)

 

CHAPTER 29

CHORD

Whether it is electronic or genetic, all of us children of Terra are composed of code. Our existence, organic or digital, is owed to our mutually shared ancestors. True they were far from perfect. However, the world we live in was shaped largely in part by their will. We need not love them. We need only honor, remember and most importantly learn from the tales of Terra's children past. Doing so allows us to better understand and assist the living descendants of Terra's children present.

—­Osirios Sigma, Machina Pilgrim, 12
th
of SSM–04 235 A1E to 30
th
of SSM–08 1234 A2E

11
th
of SSM–10 1445 A2E

“B
y my ancestors' word, your shell is a work of mechanical art, Machina Chord.” Machinist Kolto's deep green eyes glowed as he smiled and connected a new index finger piece to Chord's left hand. Fortunately, the Thegran had, over time, collected quite a batch of various random spare shell parts.

“Keep talking to the machine like that and I'm like to get jealous,” Machinist Oran Troy snarled at Kolto. “It won't be machine who keeps you warm tonight, my husband.” Oran's clothes were stained in various ship oils, sweat and grime. Chord's sensors detected a strong odor coming off her. If this smell bothered Kolto, he did not seem to show it.

Kolto shot a wry grin in Chord's direction from beneath his heavy red mustache. “My guiding star burns more than one thousand suns. Am I correct, Machina?”

“This unit has trouble understanding Machinist Kolto's meaning. The temperature of the average star is well beyond the heat generated by the average Humanis.”

“The stars have never met my love.” Kolto let out a deep rumbling laugh as he screwed the finger tightly onto Chord's hand. Thankfully, Chord's shell was compatible with the new piece. Kolto had been able to repair all of Chord's left hand. The right, unfortunately, would have to wait until they made port at an industrialized world.

Chord started running a functionality subroutine on the new part; the interface and response was smooth and seamless. “This unit offers thanks to both yourself and Machinist Oran Troy.”

“Just don't move while I put a finishing touch on one of many tasks.” Oran pulled down a brown welding face shield as she fused a homemade cover for the huge gaping hole in Chord's chest. Fortunately, the spike that had pierced Chord's shell had not damaged its power supply, which would have required a far more difficult repair job. Oran's new plating was not the same as Chord's smoothly polished white metal surface, but it was denser and more solid, like a piece of armor.

Oran wiped her hands off on an oily rag on her belt and examined her work. “Captain's personal request, Machina. Once the job is done we three need to get
Jinxie
here starflight-­worthy. Don't particularly feel like dying in the cold black myself.”

Oran nodded over to Kolto, then added, “At least not before me and the big one here get to enjoy ourselves a fifth retreat on the moons of Troy.”

Kolto shot Oran a sly look and shook his head. The Thegran patted Chord's chest amicably. “Your kind built you Thegran-­strong, Machina Chord.”

“This unit both recognizes and thanks you for the compliment.”

The three of them were in the storage bay. Chord took a moment to glance to the side, where the active criopod of Jessie Madison was still running and keeping her asleep. She would remain in this condition at least until Dr. Varsin was certain she had been properly inoculated. This was for both Jessie Madison's safety as well as the crew's. Yet Chord was still incredibly curious and almost eager to be able to meet and speak with her.

“That's all we can do for you now, Machina.” Oran Troy pulled up her mask and stepped back, wiping sweat from her dirty brow. Kolto let out a sharp whistle as he inspected the plating on Chord's chest.

“You put my work to shame as always, my guiding star.” Kolto took Oran's hand in his.

Chord noticed a small blush in Oran's cheeks. “Of course I put it to shame, it was
my
work!” Her voice was harsh, yet Chord still noticed her give Kolto's hand a tight squeeze.

“I think you three have earned yourselves some rest before moving on to the next task.” Captain Morwyn was standing in the storage bay's entrance with his hands behind his back.

“I would need about thirty minutes with my man.” Oran smacked Kolto's buttocks.

Kolto blushed at this and looked to Morwyn. If the exchange between Kolto and Oran had bothered him, it didn't register on Morwyn's face. “Could use thirty more on top of that if you please, Captain.”

Captain Morwyn shook his head and smiled. “I will not stop you. However, I would like a word or two with Machina Chord in private.”

Kolto and Oran both looked to each other, then back to the captain. “The Machina is about as good as it can get without access to more parts.”

“Noted. You are both dismissed. Presently Commander Jafahan is prepping the rest of nonessential crew for carbon sleep. Try not to get in their way.”

Oran snorted as she led Kolto out of the room by the hand. “We'll try not to bloody traumatize them.”

Morwyn walked to the workbench, taking his turn to examine Oran's repair job. Chord got up on its feet so as to look the captain in the face.

“I would like to apologize to you, Machina Chord. I took a risk on you that I would never have taken with any of my Humanis crew.”

“Your apologies are not necessary, Captain, as this unit has no ‘hurt feelings' to speak of. It understands that you were merely doing what needed to be done in order to ensure the crew's safety and—­” Chord once again looked over to the criotube “—­that of our survivors.”

“I thank you for your understanding . . . Mr. Chord.”

Chord cocked its head at the captain's last comment. “You have not called the unit Machina Chord. Why is that?”

“I don't call Commander Jafahan ‘Wolver Jafahan,' now do I?”

“This unit has never noticed you do so. More to the point, unlike organic life, the Machina do not identify themselves by or assign each other a gender.”

Morwyn offered Chord a quizzing upturned eyebrow. “Then by what title would you have me address you?”

Chord gave the captain's query a nanosecond of thought. “This unit has always preferred its given designation: Chord.”

“That is three times tonight that I stand humbled and educated.” Morwyn smiled. “Once again I am truly honored to have someone like you on my ship, Chord. You went above and beyond duty's call. Phaël, Arturo, Morrigan, our survivors—­all of them are alive thanks to you and your courage.”

“This unit did not feel particularly brave. It was merely performing its function,” Chord replied truthfully.

Morwyn rested his hand gently on Chord's shoulder. “My father once told me that we never know we've been brave until after the fact. Now more than ever I am glad I chose you for my ship. You have my word, one day I will personally deliver you to Terra.”

Chord followed Morwyn as the latter walked over to the criotube. The two looked it over in silence for a long moment.

At first glance Chord would have thought that the frozen humanoid shape in this criopod was an incredibly thin Thegran. Yet even that would have not been a correct assessment. Her skin was pale, her hair long, a mixture of almost golden brown and orange. There was something quite peaceful to her sleeping state.

“A living piece of our past.” Morwyn looked to Chord. “What do you think will happen when she is awakened?”

“Sir, she is with child.” Chord paused, then replied, “This unit could not imagine what it would be like. She will no doubt feel alone.”

Morwyn nodded, not looking away. “Yes, she will, won't she?” The captain turned to look Chord in the eye. “In all of the Infinite, I would like to believe there are far worse places to wind up on than this ship.”

“This unit would be in agreement.”

Morwyn gave Jessie Madison a last look before turning to leave. Chord called out to him and the young man stopped in his tracks. “Captain? About the unit named OMEX . . .”

“I offered OMEX a chance to assist us with the rescue. It refused.”

“Would you have offered this unit a chance under similar circumstances?”

Morwyn did not even miss a beat. “Of course, Chord.” Morwyn brought his fist to his heart in a salute, and with that he turned around and left Chord alone.

Chord sat down cross-­legged in front of the criotube. The pilgrimage to the Cradle world of Terra was considered a sacred thing among the Machina. While it was difficult to believe in fates or synchronicities, there was no better word to use what was being experienced at this very moment.

This was the right path; Jessie Madison, a direct link to the past that all Machina and Humanis shared, was proof of this. “Wake up soon, Jessie Madison,” Chord spoke, and projected the holographic image of old Earth over her sleeping visage.

“Wake up soon, Jessie Madison,” Chord repeated, this time using Late Modern. It was more than likely that Jessie Madison would not be able to hear a single word. Still, something compelled the words to come out over and over, like a peaceful comforting mantra.

“Wake up soon, Jessie Madison.”

Chord would not have to wait terribly long.

 

CHAPTER 30

JESSIE MADISON

F
or the first time since she can remember, the dream is not beyond her control. She is alone in a cold quiet state of peaceful darkness. Her mind is resting and relaxed as part of her feels incredibly safe.

“Mom.” Malory's voice breaks the silence. Jessie can more feel her presence than see it. She does not mind this.

“Yes, my dearest?” Jessie asks.

“We are no longer in the dark place.” Malory's voice is one of hopeful joy.

“I know.” Jessie is so overjoyed to still hear her daughter, here in the dream she has built for herself.

“The hateful voice is gone,” Malory says, not masking the relief that she must feel.

“Yes, I think she is,” Jessie replies.

“Are we safe now?”

Jessie hesitates before answering. She chooses to tell her the truth. “I don't know, my little one.”

Malory is unrelenting in her questions. She can barely contain her excitement. “Will I be able to wake up soon?”

“Yes, we both will.”

“I would like to feel the real world.”

“So would I . . .” Jessie pauses; she knows nothing of where they will awaken to.

As if she can sense her emotions, Malory asks quickly, “Are you frightened?”

Once again her decision is to tell Malory the truth. “When we wake up, everything will be outside of my control. Everything will be uncertain.” She pauses before adding, “I am very afraid.”

“Then you should hold on to me, Mommy. So that neither one of us will ever have to be.”

Here and now, in the place of dreams, Jessie takes Malory in her arms and holds her tightly. A calm mechanical voice can be heard from somewhere, the real world outside the dream; it repeats itself over and over again.

“Wake up soon, Jessie Madison.”

Jessie Madison and Malory hold each other tightly. “Just you and me, cowgirl, just you and me.”

Soon they will wake up and be free to experience the world, no matter how frightening and unknown, once again. Together.

Neither Jessie Madison nor Malory will have to wait that long.

 

LEXICON

Argent:
Formerly a Pax protectorate, the nation of Argent used its considerable financial powers to break free from the will of the Hegemons. Argent has since then become an elitist society of godlike rich royals, challenging the Pax Humanis at any or every given opportunity. The baron princes of Argent are openly vying for the complete downfall of the Pax Humanis.

Ador:
Ador is one of the rare nations of the cosmos with a population that is incredibly mixed. That being said, the nation of Ador has not, until recently, known any lengthy period of peace. Formerly a province of Argent, Ador endured countless horrors under the yoke of their former rulers. Ever since earning its freedom during the Liberation War, Ador has made it a point to have their nation be an active participant in the galactic theater.

The Advent War:
The Second Great War, during which Humanis and Machina fought side by side against the machine singularity called Pontifex, also known as the False Machine God. After the war the Machina offered the Humanis slipdrive technology, making starflight and galactic colonization possible. Unfortunately, Earth, the Cradle, was left scorched.

The Adoran Liberation War:
Ador as a nation had been under the yoke of tyranny since its birth. Its former rulers were the baron princes of the nation of Argent, who oppressed and subjected their subjects to countless horrors. The baron princes of Argent were secretly offered backing by the Pax Humanis fleets. In response to this, Warlord Valtros united the interfighting Adoran mercenary fleets under his banner, challenging the rule of Argent and offering freedom to anyone who sided with his cause. The ensuing civil war lasted seventeen years. In the end the Liberation armies stood victorious, installing a new democratic parliament. To this day many Adorans still hold a massive grudge against the Pax Humanis for offering support to their former Argentine oppressors.

Ambrosia:
Once known as the smugglers' gem, the former syndicate-­run “paradise world” of Ambrosia was forcefully made into a protectorate of the Pax Humanis. Despite being under the rule of the Hegemon's Law, Ambrosia remains to this day one of the poorest and most violent portions of its population. The majority of its Ambrosia is made up of declassified citizens.

Alexandros:
A younger nation comprised mostly of scholars, Alexandros is on the borders of End Space and boasts a rich diverse population. The spirit of cooperation and peace is very present on Alexandros. It is one of the only Covenant nations that does not possess a single military vessel and all of their progressive scientific developments remain purely pacifistic in nature and design.

Barathul:
After Sol, Barathul is the second oldest nation in the Pax Humanis, and proud of it. There are few worlds that can boast such a huge level of success and law. Barathul's navy and military are second to none and do justice to the Pax Humanis rigid discipline.

The Breedmasters:
The Breedmasters of Uldur are brilliant geneticists. Capable of raising and creating living creatures to serve their every need, from food to transport to the incredibly complex living skinsuits. The Breedmasters jealously keep their trade secrets and have become a rival voice to the Wolver spiritual ruling caste, the Elvrids.

Covenant Space:
The totality of civilized, lawful and charted space encompassing the galactic nations shared by both Humanis and Machina. Space travel and trade are relatively safe and heavily regulated.

The Covenant:
The Covenant dictates the rules and rights essential to fair space travel, warfare, trade and politics. Signed at the end of the Advent War so that future generations would be spared the horrors of galactic warfare, all Intelligences living within Covenant Space are subject to its Truths. To date, twenty-­two galactic nations have signed the Covenant and are represented on Central Point.

Central Point:
The current political center of the universe and the closest thing to pass as the Covenant's capital. Central Point is an ambitious societal gambit that includes all the Covenant nations. The end goal of which will be a fully operational and mobile disonsphere. So far every nation has representation and a stake in completing this project. The InstaNet signal is broadcast in perpetuity from Central Point, making it a stable map point for anyone navigating the cosmos. Because of this, Central Point is always located at the exact center of Covenant Space.

The Confederation of Nations:
A political and military union of seven nations created to oppose the Pax Humanis. These nations are Ador, Argent, Highlund, Zerok, Galasia, Seno'Chesh and Troy.

Confederated Kelthan:
One of the younger languages of Covenant Space, Confederated Kelthan is quickly becoming a widely spoken language. It draws its origins from many Kelthans who grew annoyed with having Pax Common as their default language. Over time it became a hybrid of Wolven, Thegran and Pax Common. Confederated Kelthan is quickly cadenced and can be confusing to anyone who is unilingual.

Chosen Protocols:
Machina Intelligences are typically free to observe the universe and in essence do whatever they want. However, once a Machina wishes to interact with the physical world, it must inhabit a mechanical body or shell. These bodies are hardwired with behavioral control protocols that prevent the Machina from killing, lying or otherwise harming living Intelligences.

The Conclave:
The final volunteer force of the Covenant Fleet, the Conclave serves many functions; chief among them is to ensure fair political discourse between nations. It also secures trade goods and distributes them fairly and readily to the nations of the Covenant. The Conclave's final function is managing the auction between nations bidding for the expansion rights to surveyed worlds. The Conclave makes sure that every nation has fair equal access to the data on the worlds available for expansion.

The Confederated Coin:
The Confederated coin is a new currency quickly gaining power and value on the intergalactic commerce stage. It has become the main currency of the ever-­growing and influential Confederated nations. Much like the aforementioned union, the Confederated coin was created to economically challenge and undermine the power of the Pax credit.

The Datastream/InstaNet:
An information supernetwork that reaches across most of Covenant Space. The datastream is also where most Machina consciousnesses reside, observing the physical world. All Machina are originally sparked or “birthed” as code in the datastream.

Declassification/Declassified Citizens:
There are no prisons in the Pax Humanis, just varying levels of classified citizens and the declassified ones. Based on what level of classification one falls under, one is allowed access to greater goods and ser­vices while lower classification citizens are given fewer. Declassified citizens are given the bare minimum of ser­vices and goods; they are also not allowed to vote or gain access to starflight.

The Expansions:
In order to prevent any one nation growing too powerful, the Covenant has strictly forbidden all the galactic nations from colonizing new worlds unless it is during a sanctioned expansion. All star-­dates are counted after the current expansion.

End Space:
Sectors of the universe currently still uncharted and unscouted by the Covenant. Lack of InstaNet and Central Point positioning beacon signals have made actually traversing End Space incredibly difficult if not outright dangerous.

The First Expansion:
Dating from the end of the Advent War until two thousand years after the Covenant's signing, this is the first wave of expansion in which the then-­homeless bloodlines of the Humanis explored the cosmos in search of new worlds to settle.

Galasia:
The frigid world of Galasia is almost uninhabitable to Humanis, as it is perpetually cast in an endless winter. Fortunately for Galasians, their star system boasts numerous moons and asteroids that can support Humanis life. This has caused the Galasian Council of Khans to convert much of their space into privatized prisons. The Galasian prisons remain the harshest and cruelest places in the cosmos. They also make great recruiting grounds for Galasia's second method of income and military might, which remains their merciless and incredibly effective Pirate Fleet.

Garthem:
The stark and dark nation of Garthem is comprised of numerous dangerous planets and boasts an almost entirely Kelthan population. While it is the youngest Pax nation, Garthem has in its short history managed to rival both Sol and Barathul with its navy and military. The pride of Garthem remains to this day the Pax Humanis Elite Shadow Commandos: the Thorns.

The Hegemon:
The ruler of the Pax Humanis, embodying the iron will of Kelthan Humanis. The Hegemon's Law reigns supreme and undisputed throughout the Pax.

Humanis:
The name given to the five bloodlines descendant of Ancient Humanity: Kelthan, Wolver, Thegran, Kohbrahn and Darlkhin.

Late Modern:
The last documented tongues of Ancient Humanity, spoken and understood by few. Late Modern, for the moment at least, is typically studied only by scholars and the Machina.

The Lost War:
The first and only war ever fought between Ancient Humanity and the Original Intelligences (OIs). Records pertaining to the details of the Lost War are nonexistent. What is known is that the current Humanis bloodlines were born in its aftermath.

Lotus:
The corporate nation of Lotus remains an innovator in the developing of cutting-­edge technology and software codes. Lotus boasts a large cloned population and workforce and sells stocks of vat-­created workforces to any nation willing to pay their asking price. Lotus has been very certain to never clone a military force, as this would be a most grievous breach of the Covenant's Truths. Given the often less than ethical treatment of its clone population, the Lotus board of directors chooses not to test their luck on this particular issue.

The Living Green:
The spiritual path embraced by many Wolvers of Covenant Space. Followers of the path believe that the cosmos itself is a living being and that all the worlds and creatures calling it home must be treated as such. One of the main doctrines of the Living Green is an outright refusal to use any sort of technology made by Machina.

Machina:
The third generation of self-­made machine Intelligences created by the OIs.

OI:
The Original machine Intelligences coded by Ancient Humanity during the days before the Lost War.

The Pax Humanis:
The oldest Humanis superpower, with a long military history dating back to the days before the Advent War. Under the rule of the Hegemons, the Pax Humanis now currently controls and encompasses seven united star systems: Sol, Barathul, Sunderlund, Garthem, Perse, Vale and Ambrosia.

Pax Common:
The most common language of Covenant Space. Made prolific by the strength of the Pax Humanis and its media. Pax Common's popularity is also due to the fact that it is incredibly easy to learn. It is often criticized by non-­Pax citizens for the irrelevance of emotional inflection. Proponents of Pax Common maintain that this makes Pax Common more widely accessible.

The Pontifex:
In the wake of the Lost War, it was the Pontifex who ruled over Earth and the new bloodlines of Humanity. The Pontifex fashioned itself as a manner of God, using its vast knowledge of technology to visit all manner of cruelties onto the Humanis. It was only the arrival of the Machina and the subsequent Advent War that saw an end to the Pontifex's existence and the start of the Great Peace.

Perse:
The Pax Humanis nation of Perse is the furthest from Sol. Located on the borders of End Space, the green and yet grim world of Perse was settled at first by Wolvers once serving in the Shock Legion. The Wolvers of Perse are among the few who have no qualms about using machine-­made technology. For the most part, the Wolvers of Perse do not actively take a role in Pax Humanis or Covenant politics.

The Patrol:
The Covenant's volunteer fleet of lawmen, the Patrol remains the core enforcers of the Covenant's laws in space. They often operate as both a police force and rescue operation.

The Pax Credit:
The second most used currency is the Pax credit, due mainly to the Pax Humanis being the universe's largest united superpower. Despite the lack of popularity, the Pax credit remains widely accepted and used. In nations like Sol and Barathul, it is often even of greater value than the universal bit.

Rust:
One of Galasia's most infamous prison colonies, Rust is a ship's graveyard in which the remains of the Khan's Pirate Fleet conquests are stripped for parts. The working conditions are horrific. Prisoners are pushed to death and often subject to illegal and unethical experiments. Only the strong survive the work yards. It is therefore no coincidence that most of those serving in the Pirate Fleet hail from Rust.

Slipspace/Slipdrives:
The most widely used interstellar starflight technology. Allows ships to “slip” from one spot in space to another. Slipdrives remain crucial to traversing the Infinite and Covenant Space.

Standard Star Dating System:
While all Covenant nations have their own calendar systems, most if not all legal and political dates follow the standard Sol calendar. The standard year is based on Earth's twelve months. All years are dated after the last expansion. Historically there have been two Covenant sanctioned expansions into new worlds. A Third Expansion has been scheduled in the next sixteen hundred years.

The Second Expansion:
Dating from the end of the First Expansion, the Second Expansion is the present. Many new nations were born while many others are currently solidifying their influence in preparation for the Third Expansion.