The Kallu and the Sokallu

[Cybergod]

Hi everyone! This is my first proper posting to the fiction thread so the next post will start off the story.

I never really knew where to post it since it isn't very SMAC-related but I came up with an idea while looking at the "Beyond AC Sign-up" threads where someone said: "the galaxy is very big". Well, it's about to get bigger

[Cybergod]

Data Type: Intercepted Thought Transmittion
Location: Intergalactic space, roughly in between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies
Human Date: Uncounted

The Collective – pleased. This universe – much beauty, more than the Collective’s previous one. Also more treacherous – primitives roam freely and are constantly at states of annihilation, endangering each other’s existence. No threat to the Collective – we exist on the margin of these universal dimensions. No matter to us – matter or energy, time or space – capabilities to coexist in all. Yet our thoughts constantly encounter the Entity.

The Entity of no threat but of much mystery. Certainty that It existed even before this current universe – much like ourselves. Belief – the Entity create the matter and energy around in this universal dimension. We co-exist in it – use it as a refuge from our collapsed and diminished home. The Collective and the Entity – mutual awareness, obstinacy and tolerance. Both value perfection and creative thought patterns.

To create and procreate – cause stirring in our fears. Fears of imperfection – such as the primitives we see. Such primitives we once were. The Collective – symbol of perfection, but how can imperfection perfect itself to pure perfection? Or how can perfection create imperfection without itself being one? Not much known about the Entity’s intention of the primitive’s creation. Please? Curiosity? Or a demonstration of power designed to endanger the Collective? Purpose – unknown. Urge of various Collective sectors – to commence in such creating ourselves.

[Cybergod]

Data Type: Specie Study
Specie Name: Kallu (Progenitor name)
History: Unknown
Type:
Forms made of energy pulses that distribute a truly massive neural network – not even Planet compares to it. No resources consumed or affected for existence.
Sightings:
The Progenitor race has so far been the only specie to come into direct contact with the Kallu – the contact being their first with an alien being, with the word “Kallu” literally meaning “alien” in the main Progenitor language. During the early Progenitor exploration days, one exploration ship sighted a mass of energy moving across interstellar space. The resonance was heavily and indirectly disrupted by it and the Progenitor – thinking that they are under attack, open fire, which just bypassed through the field, having absolutely no effect on it whatsoever. Progenitor Psych Analysts detected thought waves and tried out establishing contact – disastrously. Most of the Analysts were overwhelmed by the sheer energy the thought patterns carried with them, they died of neural shock (or short-circuited nervous system). Some lived to tell the tale of what they have learned but not much was known of their fate. Some sources say that they killed themselves, making sure their shocking knowledge is never learned of, and others that their rulers executed them under the account of heresy. No other “direct” contact is recorded except for some Gaian Empaths, on board three Gaian Scout ships, who listened in on a one-way communication of the thought-pulses. They and their ships suddenly disappeared out of mysterious circumstances.

Galactic Significance:
They are believed to have come from a decaying outside universe or possibly the one before this. The Sokallu and the Mirnians are thought to be their “creations”. So far known, they have not been involved in any military, diplomatic or economic galactic/intergalactic event.

Possible Future Developments:

They are what they claim to be supreme beings and their evolutionary path is presumed totally complete. The “Collective” have secretly implanted the “Sleepers”, who are yet to be born into the Sokallu and the Mirnians. Their purpose is to regain control over the two species, as it was before they defied their will.

[Cybergod]

Data Type: Event Account
Location: Nearby Progenitor interstellar space
Human Date: 8 000 BC

The Progenitor captain swivelled his mandibles like a young hatchling would, as he sat in his heightened seating. He had light grey carapace, suggesting his old age, and had red overalls. The feeling of being on board one of the first scout ships, just being “out there” – exploring. It was a feeling of great pride and of adventure. It felt good. He gave a faint joyful alteration to the command chamber as he stared at the big resonance hologram in front of him. The chamber itself was of a hexagonical shape – the Captain in the centre, the resonance screen in front of him, and a specialist at each corner, each adjoined with a bio-netic link with the ship. The walls were light blue-green – symbol of Progenitor power, and the rest of the room were very colourful, with dark green being the most dominant shade. The Captain’s resonance was joyfully received – each one of them worked hard to get into their high ranks (and receive grave respect in society) at the Progenitor Starforce, and they too felt a wave of goodness surround them.

The happiness was stirred when the alter-claxon altered the room: “Warning, unidentified object approaching at position A03-439.” The Captain commanded: “Switch to res-screen!”

One of the specialists moved about, gave off a little resonance to the ship and the res-screen changed view. Suddenly, an air of shock filled the room. Captain’s jaw gave a little primitive yelp of disbelief, and everyone turned to face the screen.

It was huge, like a gas giant lost floating about in the inter-stellar space, losing it’s star. And yet it resembled evidence of artificiality. It was a perfect sphere and it’s overall colour was light, fluorescent blue and some yellow, green and purple streaks stretching across, in every direction on it. It seemed to glow in it’s own light – suggesting a possible small nebula trace, collapsing into a celestial body, but the on-board ship’s instruments showed no signs of even remote gravity near it. There was nothing in it’s surroundings except the Progenitor ship – it looked unnatural, weird and, most of all to Progenitor, alien.

“Second?” Captain asked his second-in-command on his left.
“I do not know. But it resembles no natural wonders we have encountered so far,” he altered. The second-in-command was noticeably more physically built and younger than Captain, and had an orange carapace and blue overalls with a single white line running across his torso.

“Third?” Captain questioned the other, on his right.
“This might seem questionable but…” he altered carefully as he resonanced. He was about the same size as Captain, had bluish carapace and similar overalls to Second but with two lines running across his torso. “… I would suggest a highly technologically advanced creation by an alien species…” there was an arousing of discontent at the word ‘alien’ in the room – the only ‘alien’ they encountered so far was a deadly microbe that nearly wiped out two of their colonies. Third continued: “Or perhaps this… filed of energy is or are the aliens themselves?” The arousing ceased, to be followed by a grave inactivity that continued for a couple of metric minutes. Another alter-claxon changed the room’s resonance:

“Warning! Undocumented activity being undertaken in ship’s immediate surroundings,” and the res-screen zoomed in on one of the streaks – it was stripping itself off the object. It looked like a star eruption, but on a low-key scale. And the bright yellow streak was hurling through space at incredible speeds, as if it defied laws of space and time. It was approaching the ship very fast. Captain issued an order:

“Manoeuvre and bypass the approaching object – additionally transfer energy to the shields” he resonanced and the six specialists had to work. The ship immediately moved about and out of the way of the streak but the streak pulled back and forth as if it was directing itself to the ship directly. No matter where the ship went, the streak followed, no matter what speed, it moved faster. Third felt a sudden lack of energy as a thought-wave intruded his mind.

“We do not have enough energy for FTL!” one of the six altered nervously.
“Cut the shields and direct power to the engines,” Captain added.
“No! Stop!” Third cried and Captain and Second looked surprised at him.
“Excuse me, Third?” Captain asked angrily.
“Please pardon my rudeness Captain, but i just received a thought-send… from the object,” he shut his receptors and sucked mandibles in. Captain starred in horror as Third started shaking his body resonance, loosing grip. Second stood in a flash and shook him hard until he stabilised. Captain asked Second frantically:
“What in the Manifold just happened?!” Second’s reply was interrupted by one of the specialists:
“The streak is closing in extremely fast! Embrace for impact!”

The streak finally closed in on the ship, wrapping itself tightly around it. Ship’s defence matrixes burst and damage was taken. Everyone on board felt as if an alien, intruding mind, much more developed, was sweeping over them. Then the streak faded away. It took several more moments until the ship was fully back in power. Second was standing before the intrusion. Now he lay motionless on the floor in front of the res-screen. His carapace was whole and body resonance could still be felt – signalling that he was still alive. Captain called at the ship-link:

“Medic team – two possible casualties on deck. Requesting assistance immediately!” His resonance was bewildered and out of control. Then Third opened his receptors and relaxed his mandibles. He looked around the room until Captain was in his view. Then he altered:
“I felt it! It was sentient…”

* * *
Captain requested immediate nano and medical repairs to the ship and the crew. Second was taken by the medics to the restorations bay. Third was sent to the Psych Analysts team to learn more about this… thing, which engulfed the ship. Captain ordered detachable weapons fired to the object but the projectiles just seemed to phase out in its closeness. More was to be learned of it.

Third was seated in a brightly lit white chamber. He was surrounded by two analysts wearing white-grey overalls, and one armed guard who was protecting a little hatch that served as a door. In a small room next to this, was an observation room, where res-recorders fed back directly what was happening with the subject. These rooms were usually used for interrogation, but since the Progenitor Empire unification (although it’s politics had more holes than Milky Way had stars), rooms were rendered useless and many ships had either had them disposed of or recycled them. This one served as rather like a psych ward, at the moment, with Third being an object of observation. There was a possible charge on him cooperating an ‘attack’ on the ship with ‘unknowns’, as he stopped the Captain from carrying out the order to enter FTL. If he was innocent, he was still observed under the symptoms of mental destability, something very dangerous in the Progenitor world of resonance.

A young analyst asked Third many questions and listened to the responses with grave attention. Her name was Yatta. When she was done, she left, along with her assistant, through the hatch, leaving inside the chamber just Third and the guard. She walked into the darker room. It was filled with res-screens, some showing different three-dimensional aspects of the room, and some medical data on the ‘subject’. The signs were perfectly normal and average for a Progenitor. Only his thought waves seemed higher in frequency than usual, but that was to be expected from the shock of the attack. There were three more personnel in the room, which had poor lighting, except for the screens. They all looked similar, according to their assignment. The chief of the operation looked at the young analyst, in expectation of a report.

“He’s perfectly normal,” Yatta started altering. She has a beautifully smooth purple carapace with white overalls. The lower part of her head was decorated with silvery jewellery. “His diagnostics, both medical and psychic, show nothing out of the ordinary. His own account of the events is rather… disturbing…”

“How so?” the chief questioned his subordinate.
“He mentions these spiritual beings, whose minds think completely differently than us – new depths and peaks, different values and orientations. He says that they are transcendent beings and exist outside our special or timely dimension,” the room was filled with suspicious feelings. “I know this is peculiar but let me finish… He says that the energetic object that launched that streak which hit us was their creation, the Flame, as the closest translation would be. It was created in our dimension so it can carry out their tasks… or something along these lines,” she stopped and looked as stirred as the rest if the group.

“Is that all?” the chief altered with sarcasm. Yatta looked slightly agitated.
“This isn’t a joke. And with all due respect, after all that has happened, what is there now reality?”
“I do not want a philosophical discussion. I want a simple answer,” he altered coolly, which frustrated her even more, but the tension in the room reminded her of the situation, and she was herself again.
“Third wishes to commence Empath contact with the Flame. To establish contact with the first alien intelligence known to Progenitor – so that we gain knowledge as a better species,” and just then Captain appeared in one of the screens. He was calm now, and in control.

“Your report?” he requested.
“It is being filed to you as we communicate,” the chief analyst resonanced. “As you see, he is…” he started but was interrupted by the Captain.
“Do it,” his command was short and simple.
“I’m sorry?” the chief was surprised.
“Do it! You have orders!”
“But Captain…”
“After what has already happened, even a darkest thought sheds a new light. Now, do it!”
“Atol, Captain,” and the screen went back to data. The chief looked at his young subordinate, who was exhibiting the rude ‘I-was-right-you-were-wrong’ attitude, although she tried hiding it.
“Proceed, analyst.”

* * *
They decided to commence the Empath contact in the white interrogation chamber, since situation would appear easier to control in there. Six Progenitors were standing in a hexagonical shape, filling the room – Second, Third, Yatta and her three colleagues. Each shut off their receptive organs. The lights were dimmed and all movement and resonance harmonised into silence.

And then, there it was! The Flame! They could see through their closed eyes, feel it’s heat, hear it’s thoughts. Colours danced vibrantly in front of them. Emotions took such a swing it totally destabilised the six. Then the ‘face’ of the Flame appeared. It was… horrible yet beautiful. Frightening and yet somewhat sympathetic. And it was of an alien shape, darkest black, with flaming white eyes. These pierced their minds deeply. Then their minds touched.

It was… but then it couldn’t… yet… how… why… and it was completely beyond sane understanding. This sensation lasted until the Flame’s voice boomed itself to life, like the biggest nova ever: “Progenitor! You will reach peaks of material greatness, yet you will crumble under the wrath of my children, which is the punishment for your future arrogance. You will think that you are the masters of this dimension but, although I shall repeatedly warn you, you will shut off and silence all creative and independent thought. Only your ‘might’ and ‘power’ will be valuable, lest alone an innocent’s life. You will grow fat and weak and then wars will sweep over your might. That is the doom that awaits you…” and then it was gone with an even louder bang.

Three of the Progenitors screamed and tore their resonance field – they were dead and their hard carapaces burst open like popcorn kernels. Third collapsed, still with the living, while the remaining two, Yatta and Second, were spared and stayed in their place, extracting valuable information from the massive neural network of the Flame. And then everything ceased.

Second opened his receptors, only to see three corpses, Third collapsed on the floor and Yatta starring at him straight ahead, her emotions beyond shock.

* * *
They both saw what happened to Third – he was rendered mentally unstable. He was unable to control his own thinking or alterations, let alone the rest of his resonance. When he was ordered to the psych ward, he made an object fly, using powers of resonance never seen before, into the Captain, nearly missing him, but hitting and killing one of the specialists working at her console. He was systematically executed but his words still echoed in their minds: “Crumble under my children, oh mighty Progenitor! You are doomed… we are doomed…” followed by hysterical Progenitor laughter.

Yatta and Second were next to be ‘interviewed’. As their minds touched the Flame, they learned much more… much more. This was their curse – knowing. Only death would secure that no such knowledge was available to curse anyone lese. The thought crossed their minds.

“Yatta, don’t think about such things,” he resonanced to her, caringly.
“You know as well as I do that we must. Not one Progenitor deserves such a curse as ours is!” she altered in a higher pitch. Yatta approached Second and she showed Progenitor emotion similar to sobbing.
“Yatta,” he let her head rest on his front, while their hands held each other. After she calmed down a bit, he continued: “Yatta, this is heresy.”
“So is what you felt in that room!” her control almost relapsed again. Her eyes looked straight to his. Her smaller mandibles moved around out of nervousness.
“I cannot stand it either, but we must fight on,” his mandibles approached hers but she pulled away before they touched. Yatta ran towards the security guard at the door and jumped at him. He was startled and fell to the floor as she started hitting him. She overpowered him and he was struggling. Second saw a second guard come now, with his weapon pointed at Yatta’s back. Second couldn’t take it no longer and he leaped after her, trying to shelter her from the blast. It cut through both of their bodies, killing them in an instant. They died together, almost in each others embrace – from what Captain gathered, as he wondered what else is going to happen. He lost seven members of his crew, suffered hull damage enough to rip the ship apart, and the alien object seemed to have disappeared. The dead specialist’s replacement asked him:

“Where to, Captain?” she felt enthusiastic, even though what she went through.
“Away from this cursed space.”
They left and the contact was archived, but not believed by anyone. It was simply labelled: ‘Encounter: Kallu”.