Darkworld: Earth

2.13.

“The quest for life in space has taken a surprising turn recently when the Earth Space Force and a number of their member organizations released an official statement moments ago. They have confirmed the rumor that the Seeker of New Discoveries , the interstellar mapping and exploration vessel which was launched just a little under two years ago, returned ahead of schedule to announce that they had made contact with an alien civilization.

“The organizations confirmed that two delegates from the alien government are aboard the Seeker and have been engaged in preliminary negotiations with the governments of Earth. The aliens claim to be friendly and have offered to extend Earth significant aid in the form of advanced technology, medicine, and resources in exchange for nothing more than sharing our culture with them.

“According to the officials, this announcement was made in preparation for the arrival of alien ships in the system. These ships are said to contain a delegation from the aliens, who call themselves the Yonohoans, as well as containing the remaining crew members of the Seeker who remained behind.

“More details are expected to arrive in the coming hours, so stay tuned to KXKRN for--”

Olivia Nunes turned the radio off. Aliens, really, she thought to herself, scoffing. While KXKRN was usually reliable, the absurdity of the DJ’s falling for a prank like that made her shake her head with amusement and disbelief. She sighed, turning her attention back to the reports. She picked up the recording device and began her dictation.

“This is the admission notes on patient John Doe #20495. Patient is a twelve year old male found wandering in Echo Valley Park by a group of boy-scouts on a camping trip. According to the scouts the patient was found without clothes, but examinations have found no other signs of abuse. The patient is currently nonverbal, although according to initial reports he initially greeted his rescuers by repeating any word spoken to him. We are uncertain why he stopped doing that, but it proves that he’s capable of talking. We just have no idea what he wants to tell us.

“Patient was taken by park rangers to the emergency room, where he was evaluated. The patient appears to be in perfect health for his age and was compliant with the authorities. We didn’t even find the usual signs of deprivation from being out in the wilderness alone, suggesting that if he was abandoned there, it wasn’t for very long. He was admitted to Shadow Lake Children’s Hospital for evaluation and is currently under observation.

“The child does not appear to understand english, but follows non-verbal instructions and cues quite well. He has shown little interest in participating with the attempts to get him to draw or participate in arts and crafts. He listens to the other children when they speak to him but no longer attempts to respond to them.”

She paused, thinking about her words. “I think he’s watching us watching him. Like he’s trying to figure out what we’re going to do about him. He does not seem frightened or concerned by his situation at all. He enjoys watching television and listening to music and the radio, so we’ve given him a portable radio for his room, which has led to the only behavioral issue that has been reported so far when he refused to allow staff to turn the radio off at bedtime.

“Until we know why he has gone nonverbal or identify his origins I recommend that he remains hospitalized. If he starts communicating, perhaps we can discharge him to a foster home after ensuring that he’s not at risk for elopement. At present his fingerprints do not match any in the database for missing children. We are awaiting DNA results to see if we can find his family.”

She ended her dictation and adjusted her papers, moving on to the next case.

~~~~~~~

In another hospital, many light years away, Diego sat with his brother-by-oath and helped him with his physical therapy. It seemed strange to be playing patty-cake with a grown man, but it was literally doctor’s orders to perform the exercises involved to help Eolai recover his dexterity. The Yonohoan had been clumsy to start with, but interestingly enough when Diego had included the melody of the children’s rhyme his performance had increased significantly.

They continued for some time before Eolai sighed, leaning back and returning his new-arm to its sling.

“I have failed one of my oaths,” he commented.

“One out of thirty-two thousand isn’t so bad,” Deigo assured him.

“Yes, and the exact circumstances are exonerating as well. I came to the surface of planet Totola not to live but to receive medical care to prolong the duration of my life. As such my other oaths remain intact. But the fact that I wasn’t considering it while I was under sedation shows how significantly my judgment was impaired. And my still be impaired,” Eolai said.

“You had your arm ripped off by a highly trained and dangerous combatant who also fried your body’s nanites,” Diego pointed out. “You can’t let this make you doubt yourself, Eolai. I’m not used to being the confident one in our relationship. I know this situation is difficult, but you don’t have time for self-doubt.”

“You’re right,” Eolai agreed. Then he sighed again. “The question is what to do about this situation. Our obligation to our father exceeds all other oaths, and so we must set out on a quest to find him. The problem is, I have absolutely no idea where he might have gone.”

“I do,” Diego said.

Eolai raised an eyebrow.

“A figure in power armor stopped the Keeper of Dreams not long after the attack,” Diego said.

Eolai rose in concern. “Your crew was not harmed, I hope!”

“Nobody was hurt. A figure who was described as being 5’1” in body armor interrogated the crew, forced a download of the experiment’s data, and left. Nobody really knows what the hell to think about it, but according to Gabriel the data could be used to figure out Earth’s location, so Captain Anders decided to return to Earth. The Keeper is en route, along with an escort this time.”

“You believe that Eodar is targeting Earth?” Eolai asked.

“I can’t think of any other reason why they would have made a clone of him in this day and age,” Diego said.

“I can. And it would be my fault,” Eolai said, sighing. “I believe that this stems from my decision to name you brother. If Eodar would have killed one of us, then he would have slain his son and faced disgrace in the eyes of many societies. It would have weakened many of the treaties that hold our delicate peace in place.”

“But he didn’t kill you, and he left me alone completely,” Diego said.

“Indeed. You must understand … there is a reason nobody resurrects Eodar beyond respecting his religion. If it was just that, then he might still be called in service to humanity,” Eolai said.

“Okay, I’m listening.”

“Eodar has a tendency to kill the people who do so,” Eolai said. “And possibly do exactly the opposite of what they resurrected him to do. It depends on the exact circumstance, normally he waits to understand what is happening before acting. But when he understands who it was who overrode the lockouts on his imprint, he almost always has them executed, including everyone who was involved in the decision.”

“Do you think that’s why he attacked you?” Diego asked.

“Perhaps,” Eolai said. He scratched his replacement hand nervously. “I do not know, Diego. He is so young this time. The youngest imprint that I know of of my father was taken at age sixteen. I am appalled that there was one even younger. While they were in an untenable situation, I still find the actions of the High-Command during the opening stages of the Liberation War to be appalling with its use of child-soldiers.”

Diego’s throat was dry. “Tell me again how an imprint is taken. It’s not just used on people, right? You can duplicate weapons and other items with the same technology?”

“An imprint is a perfect record of matter on a subatomic level,” Eolai explained. “It can be used to duplicate that item endlessly provided you have the mass and energy to print the imprint. However, it has been illegal to take an imprint of a living human being since the middle stages of the Liberation Wars.”

“Because it kills them,” Diego said.

“In order to create the perfect record that is used to create a perfect copy, the matter is destroyed utterly. The measurements taken during the destruction of the matter are what allows the recording of the imprint,” Eolai said. “It pains me that the original Eodar was murdered by his commanders as a young child.”

“And you didn’t know that there was a version of him that was this young,” Diego said.

“I did not,” Eolai agreed. “I mistook him at first for a regular scout trooper because his armor was more modern than what was available during the time when Eodar was born. When he told me his name, I grew excited because I realized, despite the tragedy, that I might have a relationship once more with my father. Not through recorded messages but through flesh and blood. Our roles might have been reversed, with me the elder guiding him the way that his messages from the past once guided me, but it would have been the bond of family. I should have handled the situation better.”

“Let’s not focus too much on the recriminations, Eolai. Let’s think things through. If an enemy of the Yonohoan resurrected Eodar to use him against your people, then what are the worst case scenarios. Aside from killing one of his sons,” Diego said.

Eolai considered. Then grew more serious. “I believe we should go to Earth now.”

“Why?”

“Because your family may be in danger. And possibly your entire world. If Eodar walks planet Earth, then it becomes a potential target for a preemptive strike by a number of vast powers which your people cannot hope to overcome.”

Diego paled. “That’s not good, is it?”

“The Yonohoans will stand with the people of Earth, Diego. We will defend your world as we would defend Totola. But if the universe finds out that Eodar once more walks a darkworld, they will send fleets from galaxies far and wide to ensure that the war does not restart once more. They would consider the death of your people as a small price to be paid.”

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