Dadr'Ba (36 page)

P’Ko, Su’Zi, and Tn’Ya crawled through the thick scrub bushes near the forest not far from the beach. They narrowly escaped the O’Mi’s that had been watching the landing zone and had waited until the three of them had begun to feel comfortable, then ambushed them as they started to move down the beach to their hideout. Fortunately, one of the O’Mi’s got trigger-happy and tried to take a shot from too far off and missed. The three of them ran for the cover near the trees, as other O’Mi’s opened up shooting wildly and fortunately missed.

P’Ko, Su’Zi, and Tn’Ya dove into the brush cover and tried to be as quiet and still as possible, holding their breath as the O’Mi’s passed through and around them shouting and beating the bushes with their weapons trying to force them to give away their hiding spots.

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The CASS’ reports painted the O’Mi’s as a pestilence, a mistake of nature, genetically flawed but prolific enough to overwhelm all other strains of intelligent life.

At first, there was debate among some experts whether the O’Mi species is truly genetically defective. But as time went on, and the CA’s propaganda and public information “filtering” campaign progressed, O’Mi defenders “disappeared.” The O’Mi genetic story evolved into one of an intelligent cancer bent on self-destruction and destined to ruin a wonderful, near-perfect world that doesn’t deserve the treatment it’s getting.

If they had some positive genetic traits, must have died off during one of the many conflicts the creatures brought upon themselves. The reports went on to posit that the O’Mi’s would be centuries more advanced had not so many of their kind fallen victim to their own genetically innate, selfish, violent nature. It was only the planets abundant natural resources, and resilience, that prevented the O’Mi’s from already killing the planet, on the way towards killing themselves.

The whole intent behind Dadr’Ba was to discover, colonize and husband a magnificent, peaceful oasis, but the world they found had a cancer. Evil and disease had infected a good and pure world, exploited the fair benevolent nature of the planet. The cancer worked its poison, turning a thing of beauty into what will become, unless something is done to intervene, dead rotting flesh. The propaganda the CASS began to churn out was that good doctor or a decent gardener upon finding a diseased limb on a patient or plant would treat it or cut it away. And soon anyone that voiced sentiment otherwise fell silent.

Chn’Gi and her team, couldn’t argue with the data. Their analysis, models, and predictions came to approximately the same, though not as extreme, results. Chn’Gi couldn’t help but see and reflect on their own history, her ancestors and how very much like these O’Mi’s her people were, or are but she dare not reveal it.

On the contrary, to make the situation a thousand times worse was that most of the reports, even the greatly exaggerated CASS reports were attributed to Chn’Gi and her team and their passive collection of signals collected from O’M. The CASS signals specialists were hidden, protected, a CASS secret, unknown to everyone but a few within the CASS and Chn’Gi. She saw and read reports attributed to her, and suffered.

She began to feel that the fate of the entire O’Mi civilization, the whole species, come to rest on her shoulders. She began to spend more and more time practicing, mind clearing exercises and drinking more of Mi’Ka’s tea, forcing herself, more and more often unsuccessfully to avoid liquor, and she attended more church services. 

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As the three of them huddled in the tall weeds and brush, fear and loathing dominated their emotions, as they waited for the O’Mi’s to pass by so they could make their escape, and get to their safe room hideout.

P’Ko couldn’t help but recall the similarities to their early history. P’Ko had viewed some of the historical archives using the reader and data cartridge he held on to when he had scavenged the same device for that D’En woman.

It was a good thing that he kept a reader and a set of data cartridges, not long after he got the thing and around the time of the T’Bm break in, the CA had seized control of the D’Po. Now there exists a copy of at least part of the previous history the CA has been withholding. Luckily Lu’Gs wasn’t arrested, but he was placed into a sort of caretaker status, and not allowed to roam the yard unaccompanied.

The explanation was, and P’Ko believed it, at least in part, was because of the need to safeguard materials for the CA’s weapon development program. Though, he didn’t trust the CA and guessed that there might have been more to the D’Po take over than what the CA revealed.

What sorts of weapons they are developing has remained secret, but it is clear that the manufacture of soldiers increased, before rarely seen, soldiers have become more and more visible. They’ve even started patrols, not too frequent, on a set schedule and path, and programmed to ignore just about everything except an attack or perceived attack, but of tremendous concern to the resistance.

There were a lot of complaints at first, but after a while, most of Nu’Tn hardly notices them anymore, but for the people of Ol’Tn, the patrolling soldiers are a festering wound. The experts within the resistance say that the soldiers have been modified and improved, and are placed in the general population on patrol during the later stages of software checkout to assure their ability to function safely and reliably and distinguish between friend and foe.

Since the start of the patrols, there had been some “accidental”, injuries but so far no deaths. Sometimes somebody intentionally or accidentally makes a hostile movement near a soldier, which results in an instantaneous, violent response. Some of these “hostile” actions are rumored to be only a show or gesture of disrespect, often when the provocateurs thought the soldiers couldn’t see, even when behind cover, the soldier’s sensors have somehow picked it up.

The injured are cited and made to pay for their own medical treatment, then threatened with more severe consequences for a repeat offense.

P’Ko felt it hypocritical that the CA imposed a double standard on the O’Mi’s, our ancestors lived through and survived a very similar sordid past, an ignoble past that is now forbidden knowledge. At first, P’Ko didn’t know what to make of the history; it bored him. His respect for the knowledge ban and penalties kept him from sharing with anyone yet, but now P’Ko began to see the twisted rationale behind the knowledge ban.

The CA was attempting to rewrite history by abolishing it, by abolishing anything that may detract from the CA’s holier than thou stance, that we are great, powerful, flawless, and perfect. The CA is not dealing with reality, but a reality of their own making, history is written by the victors, the ones in control.

P’Ko began to realize more so than ever before that people; all people have flaws. We’re not perfect, and we have no right to come to an alien planet and sanitize it, expunge or cure the O’Mi cancer, but that is exactly what the CASS seems to be preparing for.

These thoughts and emotions began to crystallize within P’Ko in spite of the fact he and his friends were now being hunted by (from all appearances, an accurate representation) O’Mi’s he was thinking might be worth saving.

The O’Mi’s, are rather weak and slow, noisy, dirty, cannibalistic, often diseased, and it’s rumored that they stink. If the wind is blowing in the right direction, their putrid odor can be detected from far away. Here on the coast, the breeze was predominately from the ocean, and the three of them didn’t pick up the O’Mi smell.

They did hear them speak; it’s difficult to describe, but it sounded like what P’Ko would imagine a microphone and amplifier very close to someone eating in a hurry, interspersed with yaks or gagging like they were belching or spitting out a large swallow of something nasty, on the verge of vomiting.

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The CA started publishing a series of information bulletins by CA experts on how these O’Mi’s came to be the dominant species. The focus on how a vermin genetically lazy, seek out and exploit the weaknesses of the other species on the planet. Like a virus infiltrates, exploits and takes over a host cell, forcing it to the diseases’ purposes, ultimately destroying the cell and eventually by their sheer numbers, excessive consumption and waste products kill the host.

In this case, the entire planet is at risk. The “experts” claim that the O’Mi’s are incapable of any higher-level thought patterns, that they don’t recognize or comprehend what they are doing to the planet and can only focus on the satisfaction of biological, animal needs, self-satisfaction, and greed. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have destroyed the world’s ecosystems, exterminated many of its species and killed so many of their own kind.

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All was quiet. Su’Zi motioned that they should make their way out and try to double back to their hideout. P’Ko and Tn’Ya nodded agreement. The tight quarters and the chosen direction dictated that Su’Zi take the lead, followed by P’Ko then Tn’Ya. They made their way out of the brush, crouching low, followed a path through tall grasses and down the beach.

They got to an area where there was a break in the shore grass and stopped. The rest of the way was exposed to the beach, but their hideout wasn’t far, running they would make it to their hideout in seconds. Hunched low, with the O’Mi’s out of sight, they started to skip down the beach. Skipping allowed them to move quickly and stay closer to the ground (in the light gravity) rather than running.

They were almost to the hideout. Su’Zi began to enter it when several shots rang out. P’Ko turned to see Tn’Ya fall, a large bloody, ragged hole clearly visible through her chest. P’Ko sprang to her, making it in one small leap. He crouched beside her when a burst of weapons fire ripped through P’Ko in multiple places, and he fell beside Tn’Ya. O’Mi yells of apparent joy, rang through P’Ko’s ears, then fading as the world went dark.

P’Ko recovered in his quarters with a mixed feeling of hate for the O’Mi’s and the CA; he cursed the CA for ruining Vr’Chm by populating it with so many armed and hostile O’Mi’s. His feelings are not unique, there have been many other visitors to Vr’Chm that have also complained, but the CA’s claims that Vr’Chm is an accurate representation based on what they’ve learned about the planet and its dominant species.

P’Ko quickly messaged Su’Zi and Tn’Ya making sure they were okay and passed the code phrase that they would have to meet in person at the regular place and time in Ol’Tn.

They should’ve known better than to attempt making it to their virtual hideout in broad daylight, the CA set up an O’Mi city nearby. The O’Mi’s soon discovered the people of Dadr’Ba’s visiting them, and the O’Mi’s automatically started to hunt them setting up watch posts and patrols.

It wasn’t clear whether it was the CA’s programming within Vr’Chm or the O’Mi’s own maturing artificial intelligence, but the O’Mi’s haven’t yet taken any prisoners, not even those wanting to surrender. They simply kill first, and it’s said that they attempt to perform autopsies on them to learn how to better kill them and try to capture and exploit their technology.

So far the O’Mi’s have been frustrated because shortly after the murder of a visitor from Dadr’Ba the virtual body disappears. The O’Mi’s latest tactic is for the hunters to carry ice chests and have been trying to cut off a piece of the body, usually the head and ice it down. Hoping that it will prevent the body from disappearing.

P’Ko wondered how his ancestors would have reacted to off world visitors at the same point in their history.

Tu’Tan, P’Ko’s father, used to like his job, but not anymore. Ever since Gn’Da
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was assigned to his team, despite his continued rejections she keeps trying to come on to him. Now he dreads coming to work, and be subjected to her smiles, winks, and veiled sexual innuendo laced comments.

In the beginning he tried to remain cordial and friendly and ignore her advances, but when no one was present she’d come on to him, he’d refuse she’d feign hurt feelings.

Then she began taking credit for his work reporting his accomplishments as her own or by claiming that she had directed him to do the tasks as if she were his supervisor and then came on to him even more.

Tu’Tan didn’t know what to make of the situation, was she attempting to repay him for letting her take credit for his work with sexual favors? Or was she retaliating for his refusal to notice her in that way?

She wasn’t his supervisor, if anything Tu’Tan should have been her supervisor, he had more time on the job, was older and had more training and certifications. He was told by their supervisor they were supposed to be equal coworkers.

When Tu’Tan reported her inappropriate advances it to their boss, he was told to not to worry about who gets credit for the work getting done. His boss went as far as to suggest that if Gn’Da wanted sex, to just give it to her; that should make them both happy, and she’ll probably treat him better.

There’s no way Tu’Tan would do that; Gn’Da had already been playing the lead role with work, if Tu’Tan had sex with her it would only exasperate things and cement the dominance Gn’Da was attempting to establish. He would be submitting to her in the workplace and sexually.

Driven by the reaction from his supervisor, Tu’Tan knew that he needed to get out. He needed to move out of this work section completely.

Tu’Tan began biding his time, seeking a way out. After a few weeks Tu’Tan came to realize what Gn’Da is doing; she joined his group and made friends with him creating a multiself. Multiselves occur all the time and are a natural, healthy, good thing, a virtual being or person made up of the shared awareness, knowledge, influence and control of her and her (victim Tu’Tan). But, instead of sharing the awareness, knowledge influence and control of a healthy multiself, she’s trying to take over and dominate the relationship.

Tu’Tan asked around and discovered that she’s tried this on others. She seeks out and preys on nice guys, makes friends, then twists and exploits that friendship into a virtual multiself enslaved to her will.

Tu’Tan saw this as a particularly heinous kind of evil. Taking a friend, or mate, or group, and stripping them of their self-determination and self-control. The evil person attracts others to form a virtual being bond, perhaps at first sharing but then takes over offering little if any, awareness knowledge influence or control to their victim(s). Like a biological cancer or virus, that infiltrates the cell, and seizes control, using their victim’s resources to proliferate and spread.

The worst of these evil ones, if they can’t have or take what they want from their victim(s) try to destroy them.

Tu’Tan wondered, then decided that in other places in the universe, or the past or future, there must exist these heinously evil multiselves on larger scales. They might be, communities, societies, nations, governments, even religions, that come into being and gets twisted by powerful individuals or power drunk and take control of others without sharing control. These virtual evil beings once established, will seek out new individuals for membership. If a person sought for membership refuses and can’t be taken by force, the evil will kill or destroy them. The same fate goes to an existing member that renounces membership in the evil multiself. That which the evil multiself cannot possess and exploit it destroys.

The thought that such entities exist out in the universe was scary, and it occurred to Tu’Tan that the O’Mi’s might very well be one of these evil, malignant beings, or have fallen victim to such a one. It made Tu’Tan shudder and thankful that the CA was stepping up weapons production. And it helped put his situation in perspective; Gn’Da is a temporary problem; he’ll eventually be able to escape, either by avoidance or transfer, and he wouldn’t miss this job. 

Tu’Tan hoped that he could last out the rest of the year and apply back to Field Service Repair, back in the general population working on escalators one day and changing lighting modules the next. He loved the freedom of getting around, working on a broad range of things, talking to people, feeling their appreciation when he fixed something for them or built something that made someone’s life easier.