The Power of Gnaris
Read The Power of Gnaris Online
Authors: Les Bill Gates
Tags: #universe, #president, #sciece fiction, #worlds, #united states, #milky way, #science and gods
GNARIS
Copyright 2016 Les Bill Gates
Published by Les Bill Gates at Smashwords
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Table of Contents
Chapter 2:
The Speed in
Darkness
Chapter 3:
Two are One, and One is
Two
Chapter 13:
The Meeting of
Leaders
Chapter 14:
Like a Message in a
Bottle
Chapter 18:
The Saviour’s
Demise
Prologue
“Ladies and
gentlemen, the president of the United States.” The Speaker of the
House turned to his right while making the formal
introduction.
Piotr Wojciech
Kowalski, fifty-fifth president of the United States of America,
received a standing ovation as he strode confidently across the
dais. He shuffled his papers, and prepared to deliver his State of
the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on
Capitol Hill.
The president
entered into a long speech, outlining his administration’s policies
on domestic and foreign affairs, emphasising the successes and
ignoring the failures.
He was ready
to wrap up when his Chief of Staff, James Donahue, entered from the
rear of the dais and whispered into the president’s ear.
The president
smiled and cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have a
special announcement. This House is the first to hear this news. I
have just been informed that NASA has today launched KEO 3.”
A buzz of
excitement echoed around the auditorium. Everyone knew about the
two previous time capsules. Nevertheless, the president gave a
brief overview. The first president of Polish descent did not have
a reputation for succinctness.
“As you
probably know, KEO 1 was launched sixty-one years ago, and is due
to return to the Earth fifty thousand years from now. It carries
messages from the people of Earth, and contains samples of various
minerals from our planet, a drop of blood encased in a diamond, and
human DNA. When it eventually returns, it is intended to inform
humans of the future of the life we led here in the early twenty
first century. KEO 2 was launched in 2036. It is much more
sophisticated. It includes a detailed history of the Earth and its
human population, with messages from world leaders of the time, and
recordings of sounds and images portraying the diversity of life
and culture on Earth.
“KEO 3 is a
different proposition altogether. It has a sophisticated system of
computers. If any human, or other alien being of even rudimentary
intelligence, should come across KEO 3, the computers will give
them precise instructions on how to access the information the pod
contains. They will be led step by step through the process,
firstly by teaching them the English language, and then how to
apply that knowledge to follow further instructions, gradually
being educated and informed of every known fact that we in the late
twenty-first century Earth are aware of
everything. Nothing will be left out. If the human civilisation as
we know it should be eliminated, then someone or something else
will be able to rediscover the roots of our civilisation, and even
replicate it.
“Members of
Congress, this is a historic day for our nation and for the whole
wor . . .”
The
president’s last words were drowned out by another thunderous
standing ovation.
Chapter 1 – The
Sunless World
“
Beware of
your friends. The enemy within, whom you thought you could trust,
is deadlier than any foe.”
The Book of
Karavec (37, 11)
Jethrow, chief
embryculturalist for the Karavec, arrived later than usual at the
Regional Embrycultural Centre on the planet Arion. The centre
housed all the cradles on the planet.
In his haste
to make up for lost time, Jethrow dropped his key card. When he
stooped to pick up his card, he spluttered and choked. A strange
foul smell came from under the door. He fumbled to swipe his card,
entered his PIN and waited for the sensor to do a retinal scan.
The door
opened, and he passed inside. Jethrow’s heart missed a beat when
his gnaris failed to sense any of the nurses who should be tending
the embryos. A deathly silence pervaded the room. He grappled in
his pocket for the torch he rarely used. He flicked the switch of
the torch and took a few seconds for his under-developed eyes to
become accustomed to the light. His worst fears became a real
nightmare when he saw puddles of emerald green fluid, the colour of
Karavec blood, on the floor.
Jethrow took
just a few moments to assess the situation. The body of a nurse lay
on the floor just a couple of metres to his left; another slumped
over the bench where he had been working. A third body filled the
entrance to one of the cradle repositories. All the nurses had
their throats cut, a crude method of annihilation not often seen
anywhere in the Milky Way in the thirty eighth century. A look of
horror was etched on their gaunt, bony faces.
The chief
embryculturalist did not touch a thing, but moved to enter one of
the repositories. When he did so, a stench the like of which he had
never smelt before, overcame him. He felt nauseous and began to
retch. He held a cloth to his nose, and edged his way inside. All
the embryos lay dead in their cradles. Their bodies appeared
emaciated and anaemic, but Jethrow knew they had always been
well-tended. Severed limbs and other body parts littered the floor.
Murder? An attempt at annihilation of the Karavec race? There
must be some other explanation
.
Jethrow exited
the room gasping and choking, trying to breathe freely again. All
of the embryos in all of the repositories of the Regional
Embrycultural Centre had been murdered, and their blood had been
taken.
* * * * *
Jim Forster
stepped down from his starship onto the surface of a planet he had
never before visited. Apart from the darkness that surrounded him,
broken only by the dim light of a torch he held, what struck
Forster about the strange planet was that it seemed cool, but not
icy cold as he had expected. Arion also remained in constant
darkness apart from a tiny crimson ball that rose and set in a
continuous cycle every twenty eight hours, but otherwise did not
function as a sun to its eighth and outermost planet.
The Karavec
had populated many worlds in the north-west sector of the Milky
Way, all of them sunless. This planet was the second most important
world the Karavec had settled in the Milky Way. The Great Savant,
Barrow, leader of the Karavec since the time they had departed from
their original home many galaxies away, spent several weeks every
year visiting the other planets of his empire, and these brutal
events coincided with his yearly visit to Arion.
“Welcome to
Arion, Captain Forster. As a citizen of our allies on Earth, I bid
you welcome.”
Forster
strained to see the owner of the voice. In the gloom, all he could
determine was a shadowy figure. Despite the welcoming words, he
couldn’t help but fear for his safety on a strange planet. Instinct
told him that the person who had welcomed him must be the one who
had sent for him, the Great Savant.
“Thank you,
Barrow, Great Savant of the Karavec, thank you for your welcome.
May you always find favour with the gods, and prosper.” Forster had
done his homework, and knew the correct way to address the great
leader of the Karavec.
“Follow
me.”
Forster
followed the shadowy figure through a narrow doorway and onto the
top stair of a flight that led downwards. He was glad to see dim
lights above shining down on the stairs to give him some assistance
to see his way.
When they
reached the bottom of the stairs, they passed into a room that was
poorly-lit, but with sufficient light for the visitor to see his
host clearly for the first time. The Great Savant was not tall. He
wore a brown leather body armour and thigh length brown boots. His
face was lined and wrinkled, light olive green in colour, and his
face and head were hairless. In many respects he resembled a very
old member of the human race, but there were two other significant
differences: the poorly-developed eyes had large widely-separated
sockets, and his hands each had only four fingers.
“Please be
seated.” The old savant indicated a chair on one side of a circular
table for his visitor. He himself sat on the other side.
“You speak our
language?” Forster asked.
“Yes, I have
some knowledge of English, but please speak slowly. Would you care
for some refreshment?”
The Great
Savant knew that his offer would be declined, but protocol demanded
that he should offer. He understood that his guest would not accept
food or drink from anyone without being sure of its efficacy. They
were allies, but trust between allies can sometimes be wafer
thin.
“No thank
you,” Forster replied, “I have had ample refreshment on board my
ship. Shall we begin?”
“This is a
matter of great concern to me and to those few of my people who
know of this. So, how shall I begin? This is a very delicate
matter, and knowledge of it must be kept from my people . . .”
Forster held
one finger to his lips. “I will, of course, treat this with the
utmost confidence. Please rest assured that I will share what you
have to tell me only with those whom I can trust, and there will be
very few of them. None of your people, except those who already
know, will hear a word of this. Please go on.”
“Karavec do
not reproduce like humans.”
“Yes, of
course I have a rudimentary knowledge of Karavec biology. But,
please continue.”
“Male and
female Karavec do not mate like humans do. The Karavec reproductive
organs produce two kinds of seed that are planted in an artificial
environment in the Regional Embrycultural Centre. If a seed from a
male Karavec comes into contact with a seed from a female Karavec,
they fuse together to form an embryo encased in a thin egg-like
pod. Nurses transfer the embryos to cradles in one of the
repositories in the centre. The Karavec embryo grows for up to two
years inside the pod, which expands while the young Karavec grows.
During that time, they are tended by nurses under the direction of
the chief embryculturalist. After two years, the young Karavec
break out of their pods. They are fully developed and able to exist
independently in the world outside the centre.”
A cough from
Barrow jolted Forster back to the present. He ran his fingers
through his grey beard. “Can you please get to the point? Why did
you seek my help?”
“As you may
know, because we come into season so rarely, Karavec embryos are
very valuable. They are often bought and sold for large amounts of
money. The richer Karavec even own their own cradle and grow future
servants and guards for themselves.”