Chapter 152 - EVO

Chapter 152 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Aerie Flagship***

***Magnus***

I abruptly sat up and cursed silently, looking at Astra. “Did you know the sneaky snake could do that?”

We always suspected Gaia wasn’t playing all her cards in the open. But the simple fact was there was nothing we could do if she didn't want to cough up her secrets.

Astra only stared off into space as she sat up a little straighter, looking livid as she concentrated on her UI. “No. Evidently, our lazy, little goddess couldn't be bothered to tell her faithful servants that there was more than one way to contact her. I will be sure to voice my disapproval of her policies as soon as we see each other in person. I'll haunt her dreams.”

“Why didn’t you bother to inform the small circle of people who could talk to you in their dreams of this ability of yours?” Vanya asked while she simultaneously continued to transcribe the whole conversation. “I bet they would have advocated to reveal your existence much sooner if they had known.”

[Gaia]: ‘Honestly, the entire dream-talking affair was an unexpected side-effect. I still haven’t made up my mind about it entirely, though it seems mostly harmless in nature. From a human’s point of view, the closest comparison would be to suddenly being able to talk to your subconsciousness. An – if sometimes annoying – mostly beneficial ability. As for being able to hack the UI chat function, I couldn’t do so until Magnus logged into the colony computers and unlocked the function with administration rights. So, one could say using the chat is an ability I only recently gained. I saw no reason to reveal it if there was no great need.’

Skye Rumen tilted his head. “And why should there be a need now?”

[Gaia]: ‘Well, it was decided on the fly that the time was ripe to reveal my existence, so I deemed it necessary to hammer the point home, so to speak. I wouldn’t want a political split to hamper the current efforts at ending the threat which Thich represents. And mind you, they are a threat. Not only for the clans but for Tirnanog’s humanity as a whole. They are collaborating with entities whose plans they can barely fathom. Even if it works out for them in the short term, they will have to pay a steep price as soon as they are no longer useful.’

Vanya pursed her lips and frowned with a doubting expression. “Are you threatened though? From as much as I understand of your nature, I very much challenge there is anything that can truly harm you.”

[Gaia]: ‘Let me clarify, there isn’t much that can harm the Gestalt as a whole, but this sub-partition you are talking to who calls herself Gaia can very much be harmed. As long as there is no wormhole connecting me to Earth, information can only travel at lightspeed. I, Gaia, am on my own. Compared to the Gestalt who I split off from, I have very few resources because except for Tirnanog’s humans, there are very few creatures creating energy fields I can use. If you lose this war, there is a real possibility for ‘me’ to die.’

“Are you already talking to other people, now that you have made your move?” Felix asked with a little bit of trepidation in his voice, his gaze sweeping over the congregation. “This will be such a mess if this Gaia starts messaging people all over the place.”

[Gaia]: ‘I have not, nor do I feel the desire to do so. Believe me if I say that I only decided to have this conversation is because doubts about my existence are contra-productive at this point. I have no desire to interact with too many people daily, though I fear a certain amount of involvement with humans is unavoidable now that the waking-dream mutation is about to spread.’

“Are you monitoring the entire UI-chat right now?” Juliana asked.

[Gaia]: ‘I could, but I prefer not to. Much like a parent doesn’t desire to know everything their offspring is up to. Though I may pay attention if I see the need.’

“She seems well socialized for an entity which presumably had only superficial contact with humans so far,” someone commented, and was mercilessly transcribed to chat by Vanya even if the speaker probably meant their fib to stay among the congregation.

[Gaia]: ‘I am giving my best to come across as a benevolent part of human existence. We have existed with each other since the beginning, so I hope you will be able to see past your instinctive fear response. Personality-wise, I don’t think leaning onto the whole ‘creator of all life’ side of things does fit me. As far as I – Gaia – know, this is the first time for a part of the Gestalt to be able to interact so directly with my body. Creation? I suppose the human language doesn’t have a word for what you are to me or I to you.’

“Your creation?” someone else asked. “So you created humanity?”

[Gaia]: ‘In regards to the first humans, the ones who came long before you, I don’t know what came first. The Gestalt does not know who or what created it, though we know it was for a greater purpose. Whether the Gestalt came first or the microorganisms which emitted the electromagnetic field giving the Gestalt form. But those times are long past. As for the current humanity, yes. The Gestalt very much ‘created’ or at least ‘altered’ you through the process of evolution. Just like I have a guiding hand in what you are becoming right now. Though, I have to admit that using nanomachines is so much faster than the old-fashioned way of evolution. I must give my respects where respect is due.’

Ancient Mary pressed her lips to a thin line in silent frustration. “So what is your role in this conflict, then? I want to hear your perspective.”

Astra nodded to herself after a moment of consideration.

Anyway, I hated the stupid thing. Its entire species was a blight on the universe. “Nonetheless... that’s so very sad,” I said doing my best to look serious. “Did someone step on it accidentally? Isaac must be crushed.”

Astra gave me a look. She knew very well what I thought of Klein. “No. We just found him in his cage last morning. I had Kiera take a look at it. She isn’t specialized in animals, but she believes it must have been some vitamin or mineral deficiency. Isaac didn’t take it very well and got into a fight with that other boy at the crib and broke his thumb. I want you to be understanding, but you also have to make it clear to Isaac that fighting with the other children is no good.”

Turns out, taking some wild animal and having it as a pet is not a good idea. Who would have thought? This could all have been avoided if someone had listened to me at the start.

“Would it be petty of me to say I told you so?” I asked.

“Yes, and I am very much aware that you never liked the thing and are probably celebrating Klein’s demise in your head.” Astra huffed. “Try to be nice about it nonetheless.”

I rolled my eyes. “What are you taking me for?”

We entered our abode and Astra showed me to the living room where we found Isaac brooding over his building blocks while playing with his sisters. He had his hand in a cast to make sure the thumb would heal right.

“Hello, little warrior.” I went over to Isaac and picked him up which was reciprocated with a hug. “I heard our troops suffered losses while I was working.”

Isaac sniffed. “Klein died and Norbert was mean about it at the crib. He said it was my fault because we didn’t feed Klein enough.”

“I am sure there had to be a better way to solve the issue than violence?” I continued in a questioning tone.

“He shoved me first!” Isaac replied stubbornly while Astra picked up the girls and left the room with a disapproving expression.

I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Oh, if he started the violence, that’s an entirely different matter. It’s not right to start a fight, but always make sure to end it. But, just how did he manage to break your thumb?”

Isaac raised a tiny fist. “I hit him after he shoved me!”

I winced and took Issac’s hand, prying his fingers apart. “Now, look Isaac. If you are going to hit someone, you can’t have your thumb on the inside. That is just asking to hurt yourself. You also don’t hit with the entire fist but with the knuckles of your index and middle finger. See? Those have the strongest bones. And if you want to throw a real punch you pull your fist back to your body, palm up like this. Then you turn it one-hundred-eighty degrees while punching and put your entire weight behind it. Don’t forget to turn the torso too while doing so.”

Astra poked her head back into the room with narrowed eyes. “What are you doing?”

Sometimes the woman’s intuition frightened me.

“N- n- nothing?!” I replied quickly. “Isaac and I were just discussing how to avoid injuries in future conflicts. Right, Isaac?”

Isaac nodded dutifully. “Fighting is not right.”