Timemaster

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

Kayla shook the One's hand and that was that. An alliance has been established. Time will tell if the One took the right side in the war.

" We learned that it's better in situations like this to act in haste. The sooner we get the transfer on, the sooner we can save your people. 
Please follow us, we shall make sure that Hanson and the protector will be locked up and safe " they said as they guided Kayla to the original Vault as others led the prisoners to a safe place 
Soon the original Vault appeared, just a few kilometers away from the Library. It was the most imposing building in the city or it would've been if it wasn't fully demolished. Before the extinction, it probably would've towered over the whole city. Hundreds of meters tall. 

Now, only a small door leading down a stairwell remained and debris which was cleared as much as possible by the One.
“ We are very sorry for what we are about to do Ambassador Kayla. But, it’s for your safety...as well as ours ” muttered the lead Grant under his breath.

Kayla looked at them confused but before she could reach or say anything the butt of a spear knocked her out.

Multiple Ones approached and lifted her body up, two on each side and carefully brought her down in the vault. A vast underground place, many kilometers wide in every direction with doors leading to long-collapsed tunnels. Before them stood the cloning vats. They looked small in comparison to the Vault, 3 meters tall and 4 wide. The Ones were all over the Vault, moving constantly from those that would redirect the clone as soon as they were made, to guards, to Williams which were ready to sacrifice themselves at a moment’s notice if a cloning machine would require a boost of power until the next power core would be brought in. 

The lead Grant moved forward with Kayla’s unconscious body and her carriers behind them. 

“ It’s time! We are not going to make a long speech my brethren. We have known from the moment we made ourselves that this time will come. Today, we will allow a new mind to join us. We have been alone for a long time, more than any human is entitled to. Today marks the first time in our history, in which One becomes Two. 
Soon, we will be Three and then Four. We know no limits. The Immortalis have shown us this. The Immortalis have given us the greatest gift which humanity has ever received…WHO ARE WE? ” addressed the lead Grant towards all of the present One. At the next update, the whole One will know about what has transpired in their place of birth. 

All of the present One stopped in their tracks, listening to the lead Grant speak and at the end gave a loud but solemn shout. “ We are ONE. ” 

Shortly afterwards, Kayla was put inside a cloning machine. Her unknown body was scanned, pickled by needles as they drew her blood. Scanning it, making it One then her brain was scanned. All her knowledge, all her memories and everything that made Kayla, Kayla.
And as James William Grant in ages past, Kayla screamed for as long as she could. The pain was unbearable. She was deconstructed to her DNA and then rebuilt. Piece by piece. DNA strand by DNA strand. The One memories flooding Kayla’s brain.  They’d come and go, in flashes. Seeing everything that the One lived, from the first moment until the present.

Earth. London. Trees. Life. Struggle on the streets. First time he stole to survive, the first time he spent days without food. Hustling on the streets. A one way ticket to America. A new life, a new James. Earth was slowly becoming uninhabitable. Opportunity arises, a job on the colony ships. Another one-way trip. Explosions. Death. A foreign planet. An unknown city. Confusion. Murder and more death.  Survival at the price of everything. Kill, eat, hide and kill again. Loneliness. Alone. Hope and then no longer alone. He became them. One purpose. One person. 4 billion times. Same as before. Kill, eat, work, survive. Kill, eat, work, survive.

These last words would be printed in Kayla’s mind like a mantra. Kill, eat, work, survive. Repeated again and again and after what felt like hours but in fact were mere minutes, the cloning machine stopped. 

Kayla fell from the cloning machine, a new bruise on her forehead where the One implant was put, deep inside her brain. Giving her the ability to update her information as the One and to send her information as well to the others. 
A freshly created One jumped straight towards Kayla and caught her. Nodding to the lead Grant, they brought her outside and put her on some pelts. Ones brought her food and tea for when she’ll wake up.

Stage one completed, stage two was about to commence. The update of the One with Kayla’s brain. The lead Grant would be the first to update their knowledge. The first in billions to become Two. They went inside the cloning vats, a look of fear but also resolve on their face. The process that became as normal as breathing for the One was unusual this time. Memories flew in their head. At first their own, then more. Someone else’s. Alien. Foreign. 
Kayla. 

Memories of childhood. Years spent studying believing in the ECU propaganda. A family striving to do whatever is needed to see their daughter succeed. Love and hatred for the ECU. Her anger towards the Oligarchy. Every thought or feeling she ever had, forgotten or not. First kiss, first love, first betrayal. Looked down upon by the others. Seen as less for not being born in the right family. First words she ever said. The loving figure of her mother. Thoughts of rebellion. Everything and anything that made Kayla. All joining the mind of the One. Everything joining the memories of One. Expanding their mind, making them more. 
And as Kayla, the lead Grant fell from the cloning machine. Their mind trying to make sense of the new knowledge. In comparison to Kayla, the lead Grant was still conscious. Their mind was more attuned to the transfer process, unusual as it was. 

In only a day, 100000 Ones had their knowledge updated. Each going through the same confusion as the lead Grant but still maintaining their One mind. As they assembled in front of the Behemoth, the biggest and only ship that the One had, the lead Grant walked in front of the others.

“ Everyone! Listen. We understand Kayla’s motives better than anyone can. We know what we have to do. New Beijing will be our first target. Our homeci-- Her home city. Her knowledge of the city’s inner workings will help us secure a foothold on their planet.

We will be bringing Kayla’s unconscious body with us, hoping that she will wake up and 4 of our cloning vats. We know how dangerous that is but they will be required to make sure we will not lose. ” as they shouted the words, they One boarded the Behemoth. All of them armed with spears, swords, bows and dressed in hardened bones. Enough to withstand a few bullets before eventually breaking. 

The ship felt smaller than before, as it was filled to the brink with the One. Never meant to house this many James at once and Williams to provide power. 
And on they went. A chant of war on their lips. Remembering the days of Old Earth and Kayla’s childhood. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ECU homeword

The Behemoth went through the Gateway with no issues. The black pyramids inert as always, only allowing ships to go out of the system. 
The ECU homeword, New Hollywood laid before them. Shining lights and the occasional explosion marred the surface of the beautiful planet. Memories of Kayla’s first ascent into space came to mind but were quickly suppressed by the One. As they prepared for descent, warnings came on screen as they were hailed by an ECU spaceship orbiting the planet.

“Unknown vessel. You are not cleared to approach New Hollywood. Identify yourself” 

“ This is Oligarch Kayla’s allies. Security code 124-521CB. She has purchased our services and we are ready to descend on New Beijing in order to overthrow the insurgency which has taken place. Do you want us to wake her up to prove this? You might well know how quick the Oligarchs are to anger...if they’re woken up for small nothings like this. ” answered the lead Grant on the Behemoth. Mimicking the speech of protectors to the best of their ability, using the same voice tonality and words as Kayla.

“There’s no need for that. Code went through with no issues. Happy hunting.”
After the initial chat, the Behemoth descended upon Beijing. The lights and loud sounds of the ECU’s psychological attacks could be seen/heard as soon as the ship approached the closest abandoned spaceport. 

“ You hear that? They’ve prepared music for us and a nice light show. These people are surely happy to see us ” joked the lead Grant which made the Ones on the bridge laugh out loud. 

As soon as the ship touched ground, the Ones stepped out in a blur. Hundreds of One started securing the spaceport. Makeshift barricades were raised and anything that remotely looked like a security camera or loudspeaker was destroyed.
Accessing Hanson’s infopad, which they brought over, they sent out a message to the White Flowers. 

“We are here to help. We need to speak.“ 

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Ashevelen

Void. Everywhere. No light. No sounds. Nothingness. Peace. Calm. Safety.

And then, suddenly...Awareness. Pain. Sounds. Light !

Shards of light. Falling and falling, constantly. One by one. Some would take different shapes, some would have steady form. Some had internal wars inside them, each fighting to survive. Each fighting to exist.

A voice. Rising above everything, encompassing the darkness.

’My subjects, I am your creator, you Lord. Know that my will shall be done and there shall only be my will. You shall be my instruments, my hands, of creation for this world - for Galbar. The work that remains for us is indefinite, yet such is the nature of my realm.’

A message, a divine command but ‘alas for nothing.

One shard would fall and fall, a small light inside. Like the charcoal after the fire was spent. Burning, yet not burning. An unconstant flow of existence. Yet not enough for the small globe of light to take shape. Not enough for divine life.

This one shard would end up dying. Spent and wasted into nothingness.

“ NO! ” a voice. Her voice? Maybe just an echo? Probably more nothingness.

“ I SAID NO! ”.

HER VOICE.

Suddenly other shards fall past hers. One hits another and then another and somehow, luck one might guess, hit hers and gets absorbed.

The light grows stronger and stronger. By every second the light grew more and more until a shape was formed. A perfect sphere. Emanating yellow light.

The Monarch of All stood in front of her and others. Shards? Siblings? Others. As He finished His speech, Ashevelen looked at Galbar as it turned from brown to blue as the others went towards it

“ Creator. I give you my thanks for my creation. Long may you reign. I should join the others as well. ” her voice was ethereal and the echo of her voice resounded throughout her immediate surroundings.

With another bow, which involved her floating orb form to touch the ground in respect, she plummeted down to Galbar.

“ Voligan, I pledge you my support. May you be blessed with luck. ” shouted Ashevelen as she flew towards Voligan.

Vigor

10 total.

+10 Gained from the Monarch.

Gives Voligan 1 vigor to assist in making the world.

9 left.

Summary

Ashevelen got lucky and didn’t dissipate into nothingness.
Showed respect to the Monarch of All
Gives Voligan 1 Vigor for assistance.

Blighted Etherea: The Champions of Hope

Bump :)

Blighted Etherea The Champions of Hope

Putting this one here as well. Please see below link to original RP!

roleplayerguild.com/topics/186734-bli…

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Lady Luck

6

Ashevelen

Lady Luck
The God Child
The Mischievous One

Aspect
Luck

Ashevelen is the literal incarnation of luck, be it good or bad. Everywhere in the world, there will be a mortal or a minor deity requiring her favour at one point or the other. Ashevelen’s ability to control statistical outcomes comes from the force of creation itself, while it can happen on it’s own, she can influence it as much as she wants.

Luck is split in two different domains itself :

Good Luck - From the simple things, like finding a coin on the ground to narrowly escaping a cave-in, good luck is necessary in anything one might do. It is said that everyone was blessed by Ashevelen at least once in their existence.

Misfortune - The second side of Ashevelen is rarely seen by mortalkind and there’s a reason for it. Whenever Ashevelen curses a mortal with misfortune, the mortal, if lucky will die fast. Those that don’t are doomed to see everything they do end in tragedy. Series of unfortunate accidents and deaths will follow the mortal until inevitably they kill themselves or are killed by their own kind.

Her ability is not limited to mortals, as she can influence the outcomes of a multitude of domains unless they’re directly controlled by a fellow God. A storm could be deviated at the last minute by a strong wind, a thunder will miss the body of water next to where it would land and other outcomes can be influenced by her power.

Persona
Ashevelen is a childish Goddess, often seen more like a mortal herself than a real God. Not one thing holds her interest for too long, as she can always be found running around the mortal realms.

She isn’t known to do anything in particular in the mortal realms, only wandering from place to place. Ashevelen can usually be found watching out for fools and simple people but adventurers and rogues get special attention, as they tend to be bold and outrageous, and she loves anyone willing to put everything on the line.

Occasionally she’ll find a mortal which she deems luckless and will transform that person into the luckiest being in existence, changing their destiny forever or she will meddle in the affairs of other Gods, influencing the outcomes of their subjects in good or bad ways. All depending on her whims.

One thing Ashevelen has always looked for is the unluckiest creature in existence but somehow managed to persevere. Someone who got everything taken away from them but still managed to win everything back.

True Form

Appearance

Ashevelen appears as a child of whatever mortal race looks upon her, in the cases of other Gods, she will be a shining orb of golden light.

Musical theme
The Fortuna Chant/Prayer

Blighted Etherea: The Champions of Hope

Popping my head here :)

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

Lady Luck

6

Ashevelen

Lady Luck
The God Child
The Mischievous One

Aspect
Luck

Ashevelen is the literal incarnation of luck, be it good or bad. Everywhere in the world, there will be a mortal or a minor deity requiring her favour at one point or the other. Ashevelen’s ability to control statistical outcomes comes from the force of creation itself, while it can happen on it’s own, she can influence it as much as she wants.

Luck is split in two different domains itself :

Good Luck - From the simple things, like finding a coin on the ground to narrowly escaping a cave-in, good luck is necessary in anything one might do. It is said that everyone was blessed by Ashevelen at least once in their existence.

Misfortune - The second side of Ashevelen is rarely seen by mortalkind and there’s a reason for it. Whenever Ashevelen curses a mortal with misfortune, the mortal, if lucky will die fast. Those that don’t are doomed to see everything they do end in tragedy. Series of unfortunate accidents and deaths will follow the mortal until inevitably they kill themselves or are killed by their own kind.

Her ability is not limited to mortals, as she can influence the outcomes of a multitude of domains unless they’re directly controlled by a fellow God. A storm could be deviated at the last minute by a strong wind, a thunder will miss the body of water next to where it would land and other outcomes can be influenced by her power.

Persona
Ashevelen is a childish Goddess, often seen more like a mortal herself than a real God. Not one thing holds her interest for too long, as she can always be found running around the mortal realms.

She isn’t known to do anything in particular in the mortal realms, only wandering from place to place. Ashevelen can usually be found watching out for fools and simple people but adventurers and rogues get special attention, as they tend to be bold and outrageous, and she loves anyone willing to put everything on the line.

Occasionally she’ll find a mortal which she deems luckless and will transform that person into the luckiest being in existence, changing their destiny forever or she will meddle in the affairs of other Gods, influencing the outcomes of their subjects in good or bad ways. All depending on her whims.

One thing Ashevelen has always looked for is the unluckiest creature in existence but somehow managed to persevere. Someone who got everything taken away from them but still managed to win everything back.

True Form

Appearance

Ashevelen appears as a child of whatever mortal race looks upon her, in the cases of other Gods, she will be a shining orb of golden light.

Musical theme
The Fortuna Chant/Prayer

Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk. VI

I'll throw some interest around as well.

Always wanted to be part of the Divinus series, ever since the first (second?) one.

Got two ideas in mind. Either the Goddess of luck/chance or the God of evolution. Let me know which one sounds more interesting.

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

The One went on the ship, everyone taking their positions like a well oiled machine. A James would open a door while another one would close, it was all clockwork. No talking, no signs, everyone would instinctively know what the other would do.

Kayla and her team would be led towards the bridge of the ship which occupied a very big part of the front of the ship. Screens everywhere showing each part of the ship but the kitchens. Ones would move between each other relaying messages from one side of the ship to the other, in constant motion.

A different Grant than before, guided Kayla towards a seat right next to the Captain’s seat.

“ Ambassador Kayla, if there is something that you’ll need from us, please let us know. Food is being prepped as we speak and refreshments are on their way. ”

Ambassador? That was a new one. Kayla had been Citizen, Candidate, Student, Oligarch, and Liaison. The ECU was full of titles. But ambassador has a satisfying ring, doesn’t it?

Well, the- ahem, ambassador- was too busy to really respond. She was engrossed in watching the news feed she’d downloaded just before heading off the Meeting Place, one loaded with the most recent events on New Hollywood- and delivered with the usual theatrical flair. Everything was monumental, the way the anchormen presented it. Everything was huge news.

Except for one thing, that is. It scrolled by the bottom of the screen with no pomp or presentation, a simple footnote, as if they barely wanted you to notice it at all.

It said: “The Office of the Savant accepts military aid from the Matuvistans.”

The anchorman kept talking about other things. He did not acknowledge the bombshell that just scrolled by underneath him; nobody did. But Kayla read it again, and it was still there.

“Military aid from the Matuvistans.”

Kayla gripped the arms of her chair. She released. She breathed in deeply, and let it out slowly. She tried to stifle the chill down her spine. A foreign army, on New Hollywood. Probably killing citizens. The ones the government wanted killed, that is.

She shook her head violently. “Um, yeah,” she asked a nearby James. “Maybe… maybe I could get some water? I’m sorry, I’ve- received very bad news.”

The lead Grant watched Kayla with interest the whole trip. Any minor movement of her eyes would make them think about what she was thinking about.
As soon as she opened her mouth to talk, half of the room turned almost at once towards her. Almost immediately, a bone-cup was handed over to her. Hot tea, still steaming hot.

“ We are very sorry to hear that. Is everything alright? We hope we haven’t offended your leaders somehow by taking you here. ” genuine concern in their voice.
Almost at once, a dozen of James approached Kayla. Ready to assist in whatever she’d require.

Kayla laughed. No, she reassured them, her leaders weren’t offended. They’re crazy, is the problem, that rebellious part of her mind thought- the same part that prompted her never to complete her tasks, or to assist the government in anything that didn’t interest her on a personal level.

Was it laziness? No, that can't be. Back in her teens, she could spend hours rigging up a prank. Or helping a friend with their school project. Or studying for her own school work. Her grades were top notch!

But then, that was the problem. She started studying ECU history, government, culture, the economy- and suddenly it all disgusted her. Enraged her. The more she learned about the way her nation truly functioned, the less she wanted to do with it. 'It's all a scam,' is what she told her non-Oligarch parents, who were so heartbroken when they realized their daughter didn't have that faith in the system they tried to instill in her. 'It's just about keeping everyone the same, acting the same, with their heads down.'

Over time, she learned to hide her rage. Manifest it in other ways. But reading about what was happening now, with the government bringing in armed soldiers from who-knows-where, made her blood boil up fresh again.

If only there was something that could be done about it.

“Yeah,” she lied to the One. “Everything is alright.”

“ As you wish, but don't be afraid to ask us anything. We are more than happy to assist our, hopefully, new ally. ” a short reply and all the James continued their initial jobs.

If the ride through the Gateway would be called bumpy, it would've been an understatement. The whole ship shuddered and metal would pop from time to time. More than once a James would fall from their seat, only to get back on it a few seconds later.

And the worst didn't happen at first, as soon as they passed through it and laid eyes upon the One planet, the thousands of the black pyramids that surrounded the space around the Gateway activated.

The same EMP pulse that brought down the first colony ship threatened to do so with the second one. All over the ship lights went off and life support would soon follow.

The Ones were calm. A few minutes after every system would turn off and the EMP pulse passed the ship, a faint screaming could be heard all over the ship for a few seconds then it would stop and start again. Kayla gripped her seat- why were they screaming?

This happened again and again, until the lights turned on.

" We are very, very sorry you had to go through that. As you can see, our "friends" left gifts for us ages after their extinction.Luckily, this time, we were prepared. "

“I wonder how much trial and error it took to get that right?” asked the one other diplomat on this meeting, a bearded man named Hanson. His lone protector muttered: “I wonder why they were screaming?”

The lead Grant smiled passively and answered the questions.

“ Up until the Gateways opened, we didn’t have any spaceships. The materials were always high in demand and we’ve decided it’s pointless. As for the screaming, it was our unique way of solving the issue with a large burst EMP pulse. ” the answer to Hanson’s question was obvious after that. It was the first time the One tried the trip.

The planet showed itself to the Ones and they've put an image of it on screen for Kayla to see.

True to the One's words, the planet was on one side painted in white and on the other side bright red. Separating them was a circle, going from one side of the planet to the other. Small writing could be seen on it, marking certain parts of the city. But the biggest label was on top of the city, it read : "Circle of One".

With their arms spread wide, Grant looked into Kayla's eyes and said, with tears of joy in his eyes " Welcome home. "

“So glad to be back?” Kayla thought that was funny. Any planet that forced someone to clone himself like this could hardly be so great. “Well, thank you for having us.”

“ Glad to be back? We’d say no but yes at the same time. Half of us felt relief when we left and the other half were homesick. ” answered a nearby James. Conflicting feelings were rare between the One but would occasionally happen.

The ship started its descent to the city, to an area called, “Market” as seen on the map. The only place the One cleared out completely of debris upon the Gateway’s opening. Ruins tall as skyscrapers were littered everywhere one could see but this one place was empty.

Upon landing, hundreds of thousands of Ones were waiting outside. Most didn’t wear clothes and those that did, had only the bare minimum on them. Upon inspecting their body, one could see burn marks, scars and old-healed bullet holes.

Kayla and the other diplomats were led outside where the Ones were all watching. Confusion turned to understanding in seconds as they watched the lead Grant with other humans.

“ We, the One, welcome you home! ” shouted the Ones around the ship.

"Oh, by Earth," cried Hanson and the protector; Kayla used a harsher word. They shielded their eyes with their hands, and sometimes each other's hands, when they walked off the ship. "By Earth," repeated Hanson, his diplomatic reserve fighting against his natural horror. They stepped onto the floor of the Market. "Sir, why do you... why do you all not wear clothes?"

The lead Grant laughed out loud and realised their mistake.

“ We completely forgot that other people need to use clothes. Sorry about that, we’ll get that issue “a-dressed” for you.

Why aren’t we wearing clothes? Why would we? Are you afraid of watching yourself in the mirror? We aren’t. ” a minor break and then the lead Grant approached Handson, looked him square in the eye and said “ Not sir. Sirs. ”. His voice was dark and the threat was clear.

“Ah, yes, of course, I apologize… sirs.” Hanson was a sociologist and anthropologist. He’d never before encountered a society like this- but then, who had? He decided it would make for a brilliant paper, to be published under the name of some Oligarch or other, if nobody stabs him with a bone knife first.

The Ones who weren’t dressed soon left the market, only to be replaced by others with clothes on.

“ Ambassador Kayla, what do you wish to see in our city? We can show you everything that we’ve explored so far. There are still places very dangerous for ourselves which will be off-limits, of course. ” the lead Grant said, smiling at Kayla.

“Oh, anything, as long as you’re all wearing clothes,” she half-joked. “We should see the ruins, yeah? The alien ones.” She laughed. “Well, I guess they’re all alien. But… the ones with the writing? See if I recognize it.”

“ We cannot promise that everywhere we’re going to go, you’ll find us wearing clothes. Resources aren’t something we have to spare but we will try to notify the others to avoid our group. ” said the lead Grant then chuckled as Kayla asked the other question.

“ This whole place is a ruin, Ambassador Kayla, but we understand what you mean. We’ll go to one of the many Vaults we’ve discovered, it’s been long abandoned even by the Immortalis. It’s about 3 kms north from the market. ” said Grant as he started walking towards the Vault.

As they were walking, groups of One would come and replace the original party of guards. One by one, all but the lead Grant was replaced by another One. They’ve gathered new knowledge and it had to be uploaded and shared with everyone.

On their way, they’d occasionally see Ones disassembling different objects, alien in origin and from time to time, explosions could be heard in the distance.

The other Ones tried to keep their distance from the party but one, dressed differently than the other Ones, could occasionally be seen watching from afar. Spear in hand and vaulting over buildings and sorts, following the group.

The ECU protector, one of the relatively few left employed, thought he recognized that kind of behavior. “Them with the spear- they’re like security?”

“ Yes and no. They are...One. We require no security here as you pose no threat to the One. We cannot say more until later. ” muttered a James which was near the soldier.

They finally approached the Vault. A massive door awaited them. Burn marks and holes in the door would make most understand that whatever opened it, wasn’t peaceful.

“ Here we are. Watch out on what you’re stepping on, sometimes automated defences will activate when pressure plates are pressed. Most are deactivated but just in case it happens, move the group behind us. We’ll gladly give our lives. ” said the lead Grant.

As they went inside, the vault lit up. Small globes light up around them making everything shine blue. Most of the corridors have been closed off due to internal damage while some had a simple skull drawn in red “paint” on the wall next to them.

Reaching inside the core of the vault, one could see hundreds of shelves going down.

“ We aren’t sure how far down it goes but watch your step. We’ve sent a few of ours there and they haven’t found a way back yet. ” mentioned Grant in passing then stopped.

“ Ambassador Kayla, welcome to the Library. We’ve come to call it as such due to the shelves or whatever purpose they might’ve served ages past. Feel free to look around, you’ll find Immortalis's writing everywhere. ”.

Kayla did look around, and it was an eerie experience. The symbols she found on the walls were not completely familiar, but it was that constant sensation of deja vu. She would bend to look at a bit of “Immortalis” writing, and suddenly remember the ruins she saw as a girl. Flashbacks. Each mark was like a little piece of memory.

“I think…” she pointed to one crumbled section of wall that still had deep writing on it. “I think this looks the most familiar. Most like what I saw. As a kid. Have you learned how to translate?”

The lead Grant watched Kayla with interest, following her around the library.

“ We can then say that your Bezians and our Immortalis are in fact one and the same? If that’s the case, our theory holds. We are dealing with an empire that spanned multiple solar systems. ” they said, face full of wonder and concern over the implications of this discovery.

“ Over the past 300 years, we’ve devoted ourselves to understanding their writings, culture, history...but without proper resources, we barely managed to scratch the surface of the great people the Immortalis must’ve been.
Their alphabet and the very way their word structure works is very different from any language we know from Earth. ” they took a sharp breath and showed Kayla, once again, the symbols on their arm.

Pointing at one of the symbols, they said “ This one can mean danger but can also mean safety. Depending on how long the symbols are. We’ve learned that the hard way. ”, he continued and pointed out a few other letters that they managed to translate in words for a few minutes.

“A language where danger and safety are synonyms,” Hanson mused out loud. Kayla finished for him: “The Immortalis sound very… exciting.” Or, she thought, totally suicidal.

“I know a linguist on New Hollywood, he works with unusual samples,” Hanson spoke a little more loudly than before, taking a step forward between Kayla and the lead Grant. “He reconstructs rare Old Earth languages. We should take pictures of all this and send it back to him. Protector Jones! Jones! Listen, Jones, where’s your holorecorder?”

The Grant lifted a finger in the air and the surrounding Ones put their hands on their weapons.

“ We haven’t agreed with you that taking pictures or filming the Circle of One is allowed but...we will let this slide this time in exchange for a favor in the future.” smiled the Grant at Kayla.

The holorecorder was on Jones’ back, inside his backpack, within a metal case in a sealed compartment. It was a very important piece of equipment; and took five minutes to get fully out of its many containers. Half the contents of Jones’ backpack were sprawled onto the ruin floors, extra clothes and snack bars and all, before it could be retrieved.

Hanson stepped over Jones’ socks and grabbed the holorecorder from him. It was a small, black box not unlike the handheld cameras of Earth- but with the ability to take and render images in three dimensions.

“Now,” Hanson spoke to the Grant with a tone of authority, “hold out your arm so I can get a clear image…”

The One followed the actions of Kayla and her crew with great interest, memorising every single detail of their equipment, movement and weapons they might’ve carried. A nearby James poked Hanson with the back of his spear, gently and said with a threatening voice “ We don’t know how you do things in your own world but here, in our house, we don’t forget that you have to treat your hosts with respect when addressing them. Please, don’t make us have to answer to the ECU later as to why their diplomatic envoys have mysteriously disappeared on an alien planet”.

Hanson, ironically, went spear-straight. He didn't say a word. Neither did Kayla, but in a different way: she was getting used to the ever-present threat of conversation with the One. It was like talking to a soldier, or a psychopath, or a king. You were in a cage with a lion.

Could be useful. Could be dangerous.

“That won’t be necessary,” Kayla said. She kept her voice from shaking with some effort. They were so willing to kill. What could the One do, if someone pushed them to do it?

The same James took his sleeve off and showed his arm to Hanson. This James’s arm had less symbols than the lead Grant and in a different order.

A tradition which the ECU wouldn’t know about but which became used more and more to determine the age of a clone was the inscribing of the alien letters every year on their skin. The older the clone, more symbols would appear.

The image was taken, and then with three taps on a screen, projected in front of them. It was a miniaturized hologram of the James’ arm, presented in perfect detail.

The One was amazed by the technology of the ECU.

“ We can only say wow to that. The Immortalis’s technology in your hands is a thing of wonder.

The cloning vats, holograms, interstellar space travel. We think we can all agree that this civilization was more advanced than humanity by far, now or in the past. ”

Another James approached the hologram of the symbols and watched with interest. They traced a path with their finger on symbols and rearranging them in a sentence.

“[color=word] Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. If we’d have access to this technology, we’d be able to extend our knowledge tenfold or more.

We are willing to work for it, of course. Name something...[/color]” they paused and looked straight at Kayla, “ you require from us, Ambassador Kayla.”.
Kayla thought. And thought, and thought, and realized her mind kept going back to one thing. Anything else she asked for would just end up benefiting the Savant and the other Oligarchs: and they’re the people who just invited armed, foreign soldiers onto New Hollywoodite land. But there’s another request that can be made. One which actually benefits the people, instead of only the rulers.

“Yeah, there’s one thing. But it’s-” she glanced over to the protector and Hanson, shamelessly leaning in- “uh, top secret. Here-” she whispered into the lead Grant’s ear.

The lead Grant understood immediately what Kayla meant and in a loud voice, for everyone to hear said “ Ambassador Kayla, we completely forgot. We are truly sorry, there’s something else we’d like to show you. ” he then took Kayla by the arm, in a polite way, and guided her towards a remote part of the library.

The other Ones casually started speaking with the other ECU representatives, asking them questions ranging from food to reproduction of the ECU citizens.

As soon as they got close to a turn, leading deeper in the library, the lead Grant pulled Kayla in the tunnel.

“ Yes? Do you require something from us? Workers? Meat? Killing those buffoons from outside? Sex?” asked the lead Grant with an amused look on his face.

“Fighters,” Kayla answered, with a much more serious voice than usual. “The others wouldn’t tell you, but my planet is stuck in... honestly, it’s in a rebellion. A full-scale rebellion. Neo London and New Beijing, two big cities, both about to be taken over by the rebels. They’re called White Flowers. Called that because we-” she caught herself using that word- “they lay white flowers on the graves of people murdered by the regime. I’m supposed to be on their side- the regime, that is. But.” She shook her head. “Well, it’s never been on my side.” She looked the Grant in their eyes.

“I want you to help the rebels. And when we’re in charge, we’ll share all our holo-technology with you.”

The lead Grant listened to Kayla and then they were silent for a long time, thinking about the path the One will take. On one hand, if they help the White Flowers and they win, they’d receive long needed resources and new technology but if they help and they lose, they’ll stand on making an enemy of a more technologically advanced nation. Or, they could follow the third option, do nothing. Let them sort themselves out and ignore their situation.

Suddenly the One from before makes their presence known from the back-end of the tunnel by striking their spear on the ground, rhythmically.

They advanced towards where Kayla and the Grant were. Their face being more and more illuminated as they approached, one would notice that this One looked different than the other Ones. Older, hair gray and wrinkles covered their face. Stronger, their body was full of muscles. Confident, the way they walked expressed it with every fiber of their being.

“ Grant. ” they said with a curt nod then turned to Kayla.

“ Kayla, ECU representative, wants us to kill people in her name. We’ve heard that before, many times before. ” took a sharp breath and a mocking voice continued, “ Please, steal from Devon’s group. He has so much food. ”.

Kayla had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. (An instinct, from dealing with other Oligarchs.)

“ You remind us of ourselves from ages past. A group of people just trying to survive against nature or empire in your case…We agree to help but not only for the holo-tech. We’ll require something else as well. A volunteer that will wish to transfer their information to the One and raw materials. Metals and the sorts”.

“I can give one. Not the others. Till after we win, anyway.” She sighed. “The other two here wouldn’t ‘volunteer’ for a- brain transfer, or whatever- with a gun to their head. And I didn’t bring my gun. So… you can have my information, I guess.”

The Old One approached Kayla and walked around her for a second or two then stopped and looked her square in the eye.
“ We don’t need guns to take information from others, Kayla . We can take what we need by any means necessary. Always. ”

At that, the lead Grant stepped in front of the Old One.

“ Enough of that. We don’t need to scare her for no reason. We already agreed that we are going to help. Do you understand what it means to transfer your information Ambassador Kayla? If not, let us explain. Your mind will forever be part of the One. Your knowledge, your memories, your life will be known to us. Perfect recall of every memory you ever had. Are you sure you’ll subject yourself to that? ”

Was there another option? She nodded, quietly.

The Old One started laughing as Kayla agreed.

“ Fool. You don’t know what you’re subjecting yourself to. ” they said as they walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the library.

Those words almost struck Kayla. People have told her those things forever- that she doesn’t know enough, that she’s too brash. But this is important. It’s, perhaps, the one totally selfless thing she’s done in years. The girl hardens her heart into iron. “Yes,” she muttered, as the Old One vanished away, “I do.”

The lead Grant watched the Old One walk away, a scowl on their face and only when they were sure they left, they looked at Kayla.

“ We are sorry but this is the only way we can agree to it. The Old One speaks the truth, it won’t be nice for yourself but if it helps calm your mind...We risk a great deal as well. We don’t know what this will do to us either. It can potentially help us or destroy all that we’ve built.

Now, what will we do about those two from outside? Do they need to be killed or incarcerated? Surely they’ll inform your leaders that an army of One will aid the rebels. ”

“Not possible to keep it a secret, is it?” Kayla frowned. “You know, Hanson isn’t really a bad guy. He’s actually really, really smart. That’s why he’s so bitter. He’s not an Oligarch. So it doesn’t matter how smart he is- he’ll never get real, I don’t know, respect. He doesn’t know it, but this is for him, too.” She shook her head, and the next words she said tasted like bile: “Yes, incarcerate them. But keep them alive. Let them eat that weird meat you’re always giving us. We’ll take them both back when this is over.

“ Unfortunately, it’s not possible, no. If we are to succeed in winning your war, we need to have the element of surprise. We have no weapons other than what you’ve seen and we haven’t managed to understand how to program the black pyramids. Secrecy and numbers are our only weapons. ” explained the lead Grant.

“The protector will try to fight, but-” she hesitated. Would she really tell them this secret, too? But yes, she will. It sounds like they’ll know everything soon. “Most protectors are indoctrinated in very specific ways, to obey Oligarchs. It’s all subliminal stuff. If I use certain special phrases, he’ll do what I say.” These codes were called the ‘command phrases’ among the Noocracy, and most every protector had them trained into them each time they used a holosuite. It was a safeguard- a way to keep the soldiers on leashes.

“ Your protectors can’t do much against us, as you might’ve seen. Our city has many hiding places and some, we haven’t even discovered yet. We will incarcerate your scientist, no problem. ” they smiled with a predatory grin.

The lead Grant then took Kayla by the arm, in the same fashion as before and walked towards the main group. They muttered words and made sounds to indicate that Kayla and themselves were in a very deep conversation

“ Everyone! Listen to us! Kayla managed to convince us to show you our cloning vats. We fought against it, as we need to protect our only source of reproduction but your ambassador really earned her title and managed to convince us. Please, follow us. ”

Without waiting for a reply from the others, they pushed forward with Kayla still on their arm. As soon as they left the temple, the lead Grant stopped. They let go of Kayla’s arm and let out a warcry. A sound they’d use to terrify their prey, the other colonists, in the first years of the colonisation process.

Immediately, the Ones around the main party had their spears at the ready and pointed towards Hanson and the protector. Others appeared from nearby streets wielding swords, spears and similar weapons. Soon the area around the temple was surrounded by the One. A few hundred James mobilised in a matter of minutes to respond to the warcry.

Unfortunately, ECU protectors have a fight-or-flight response that could be triggered by even a leaf scraping against the ground. Jones transformed into a blur of motion- the gun drawing from his hip, the half-sprint across the courtyard, the duck-and-roll up to the lead Grant. And in a flash, Jones held his gun to the clone’s head.

But when he spoke, it was clear he was not okay. There’s the other side of the token: where every skilled protector stands, so does a man with a broken mind. Already, his eyes were wide, and his voice trembled in terror, “Stay back, stay back, I’ll kill him! I’ll kill all of you- all of you fu- freaks- I’ll kill-”

“Shhh,” Kayla raised her hands calmly, to the protector and to the clones. “Everybody, slow down. I am an Oligarch. Nobody needs to get hurt.” Is this how the One deals with situations? By Earth.

The lead Grant was taken by surprise by the protector. He was faster than anticipated, but his actions were useless. One can die and another will take their place. The Grant went rigid as the gun touched their head. They had a smile on their face, looking at Kayla. Waiting to see if her plan did work.

The protector’s eyes were screaming, promising murder. He looked at Kayla. “You’re their- their friend, right? Right? Make them put down those weapons.”

“Shhh,” she hushed again. “They’ll put them down, but only if you come quietly. You and Hanson need to be kept here for a while. It’s… top secret business. Just trust me.”

Hanson (who was kneeling with his hands in the air, hoping not to be skewered) and the protector both looked truly horrified at the idea, but when the latter opened his mouth to argue, she cut him off: “Listen to me. Sold cold bold. An Oligarch is in danger. I am an Oligarch. Yellow meadow. Look me in the eye.”

He looked her in the eye.

“Sold cold bold. An Oligarch is in danger. I need your help. I need you to do something for me. Put the gun down. Put the gun down gently. I am an Oligarch. Put the gun down gently, and go with these men without fighting.”

The very perceptive would have already noticed the protector’s breathing slowing down, and his eyes glazing over. He took a long, deep breath, and suddenly, it seemed that he was not there at all anymore. A different man was in his place. The person who used to be Jones stepped away from the lead Grant, placed the gun on the ground, and waited to be led away- to wherever the One planned on storing them. He stood with no trace of resistance left.

Hanson could do nothing but cover his face with his hands and wail in such a despairing way, Kayla couldn’t help but feel awful.

“You should hurry,” she whispered hoarsely, to a nearby One. “It won’t last forever. The mind always wants to reassert itself. Go back to normal. That’s, uh, what I was taught, anyway.” You’ll know soon enough, thought another part of her mind.

The One watched with great interest the exchange and way the protector complied with all the commands Kayla spoke. It was surprising.

They've read about brainwashing in books and seen movies on old Earth centuries ago, but they never saw it in action. Truly it was a terrifying way to go down but in the same time, it seemed more peaceful than the usual way of stopping someone from killing you.

The lead Grant applauded silently as the protector put the gun on the ground and immediately, a few nearby One took it away.
" Wonderful exchange. Absolutely wonderful. If we had that technology a few hundred years ago, we wouldn't have resorted to cloning ourselves. We would've simply took control of everyone.

Don't worry, they took us by surprise once. It will not happen again. We’ve seen how they move and with your knowledge, we'll know how they think. "

The One around Hanson and Jones approached them quickly and held their hands and legs while another two Ones would put them in a chokehold, slowly knocking them out.

As they would fall asleep, they lifted them up in the air and then up their shoulders. They would go into another vault. One which long collapsed with only one corridor above the ground and the entrance to it.
40 James would be their guards and combined with the hundred more in the nearby vicinity, it would make the old vault a good prison.

The lead Grant approached Kayla and put a hand towards her to shake.

" May this be the first step in a long relationship between our two people. ".

Through the Gateways: Humanity [Closed] [Soon to be Concluded]

@Liotrent Yes. That was their name. Haven't played Universe at War in ages.

Those walkers were quite awesome 👌