Renewal

Prologue

It was forty-three years since they left Mars, and just under two before arriving in 55 Cancri. The Phoenix had travelled well, better in fact than some of the passengers. Despite all medical expertise, anti-ageing gene therapy included, Daniel Carvalho was ailing. He was now one hundred and six years old and was in need of regular maintenance, as if he was a veteran automobile.

He knew that he was just wearing out, and gene therapy was not a panacea in terms of longevity. Even young people suffered cardiac arrest, strokes and embolisms. He was lucky to be as fit as most Humans half his chronological age, but he was no longer a Human, he was now a Sapient. He could not accept that he was so close to stepping out on Nexus, the home planet of the Axis race, and that he may not make it.

Stella, his life companion, continually kept his spirits up by reminding him that their ‘children’ would all be well into their forties by the time they arrived, and they had only known life aboard Phoenix.

When they were young they pleaded with him every night to recount stories of life on Earth and Mars. Although there was video footage, and hundreds of movies to enjoy, they never seemed to infuse the wonder of Daniel’s tales. He admitted that he liked to recount them again. He was considered by both the Axis and Symbiant species as the father figure of that part of the Human race which had transformed Mars. Testament to this affection was the lakeside virtual reality station aboard Phoenix. The Axis had constructed a living version of the inscribed obelisk which was Carvalho’s parting gift to the Martian colony. It was the most popular programme on the VRS, and kept every passenger’s mind on why they had undertaken this pilgrimage. The portrayal of the spirit and factual events mentioned in the inscription were delivered in the context of a play, authored by the younger of his two sons, Rafael. The final scene was a scrolling replica of the actual edifice, which they hoped had inspired the Martians to avoid past mistakes. The scroll was in both Human and Axis language. The great appeal seemed to be the ever-present danger, from those first moments of Copernicus countdown to Mars orbit insertion, all the way to Phoenix leaving orbit decades later. They had not perceived any danger as the Quantum Spatial Distortion craft pulled the galactic content toward them. All three species were relishing the prospect of uncertainty again.

This Martian history had chronicled some unlikely if not preposterous timelines. The Symbiants were individual members of The Continuance. Over four billion years ago the Cosmos had been seeded with red crystal by Progenitors. These elusive entities apparently designed the crystal to emerge to an amorphous form whenever temperature and data sources were conducive to this metabolic transformation. The amorphous material was enabled to replicate sources of data and identify promising species which may be of interest in the Progenitors great campaign of preserving cosmic balance. The Progenitors’ residence was in dark matter and their nemesis was dark energy.

The Symbiants’ knowledge of their masters was sketchy. They were aware of other agents of this gravitational alliance, and the struggle to rein in uncontrolled forces of expansion to ensure the contest was never actually decided, as that would be the worst possible outcome.

The Interference, The Amalgamation, The Elimination and The Subtraction were all registered within the data cell structure of the Symbiants. There had however, been no record of possible contact with these agents in the registry of the Martian source of the Continuance, until now.

The timeline indicated that they had fleeting interaction with microbes and simple plant species on early Mars over four billion years back. The molten core dynamo was small and therefore did not generate adequate magnetic protection from the solar wind; this had gradually seen the atmosphere disappear and the active amorphous form had responded to the plummeting temperature and data desert by recrystallising, and ‘hibernating’ until Humans decided to colonise the planet in 2033.

The crystal was concentrated in West Candor Chasm, part of Valles Marineris canyon. The lodes were around five miles down, but discovered by Alex Redgrave – Science Officer of the Copernicus colonisation mission.

He brought samples to the warm lab and the abundant Human data physiology triggered the awakening. Accidental passage of these unique materials into his bloodstream caused a bizarre replication of Redgrave as predominantly inorganic data cells. The replicant was designated Alex 2. These antimony based distibines, bonded loosely to elemental silicon, were similar in principle to Human computer MRAM memory functions. However the Continuance was much more than this. Their elegant registry and sentinel cell architecture enabled regenerative ability to modify immune systems and the data retrieval capability was one of truly astounding scale. They had been programmed to assist promise of species which they had replicated, or move on. They had been the key to realisation of Human objectives in the rate of terraforming Mars.

Three million years before Humans landed on Mars, another species had colonised the planet, but strangely had not encountered the Continuance there. The Axis had been forced to leave 55 Cancri because their home planet Nexus was being dragged into oblivion by neighbouring gas giants with unstable orbits. They had created a wormhole and as their four spacecraft had entered, they witnessed a consequent and colossal release of negative energy. The threatened fate of assimilation by gas giants was overtaken by an extinction event of their own making. Ironically, the technology which had enabled the wormhole creation had come as a strand of cooperation with Nexus based members of the Continuance. The horrendous result was predicted by these agents of the Progenitors, but ignored by the Axis scientists.

The four ships were confronted with multiple choice exits and decided to separate. Epsilon Eridani, Gliese and Sol produced survival exits, but tragically the fourth ship was destroyed in an unstable domain.

Having made their way from the extremities of the solar system to Mars, the Axis remained there for almost three thousand years. Considerable sophisticated underground infrastructure was built before the species was driven back to Europa by an onslaught of Legionella Pneumophila, for which they had no treatment. Their time on Mars was also a watching brief on primitive Earth evolution and a strict policy of non-interference. These highly intelligent, marsupial-like creatures travelled back to Mars every 555 years to maintain their legacy and wait for Humans to discover it.

They had erected giant visual display units in Candor Chasm, yet they never analysed the red crystal, presumably considering it unremarkable. The Human pioneers did not recognise the screens as anything other than blue-green crystals. The millions of years between these events had seen erosion of the shape of the VDUs and it had been the replication of Alex Redgrave which kick-started the cooperation with the Continuance, and through these individual Symbiants, the subsequent discovery of the Axis. The odds against the Axis working in close proximity but ignoring the red crystals, and the curiosity of one Human to prise them from a highly inaccessible mother lode, on his first Martian foray, did not seem to favour future connection.

The discovery of Quantum Spatial Distortion (QSD) propulsion as a safe means of interstellar travel was made by the three Martian species some thirty years after the first Human landfall on the red planet. A combination of factors led to a desire to return to 55 Cancri. The Axis had never found real purpose after the accidental genocide of millions of their brethren left on Nexus. The species had also suffered mass infertility prior to the cataclysm and could not procreate. Immortality by scientific application was remarkable but did not replace the loss of ‘belonging’. Earth society’s facade of extolling the moral, religious and political high ground was often exposed as hidden diversity, such as crime, greed and parading of Human rights. The threshold was crossed for the Continuance when North Korea detonated a nuclear device, killing countless numbers of their own citizens. This also had the effect of encouraging the Axis to meet with their other colonies back at Nexus. The Continuance re-prioritised their assessment of promise and deleted assistance to Humans, except those on Mars who wanted to join the pilgrimage. This was quite a small band of souls, whose affiliation with the aliens had grown in inverse proportion to their shame with Human duplicity. Most of them had already benefited from hybrid genetic code insertion by the Symbiants. This not only conferred paradigm leaps of understanding, but effectively created a branch in Human evolution. They referred to themselves as the Sapients.

As Phoenix had engaged QSD on leaving Mars the individual Symbiants had received two discrete data transmissions. The first was a re-configuration of registry, and the second implanted data concerning the Nexus cataclysm. They had figured out from circumstantial evidence, provided via the Axis archive on Mars, that there had been interaction between the species on Nexus. Now they had terabytes of detail. They had decided not to share this until they reached Nexus, because of a discovery by the Gliese based Axis. Their two kilometre ring of advanced telescopes had now shown Nexus to be in a stable orbital relationship with the gas giants, and more importantly, radio wave sources emanated from the planet. The Symbiants did not want to offer more false hope.

With two years to go at just under light speed, a third transmission was received. The stabilising influence for 55 Cancri was not accidental. A brown dwarf had become a companion star with the secondary sun in what once was a binary system. This celestial harmony was filed under ‘The Interference’. It was the first time that the solar system branch of the Continuance had ever been officially connected in this way. They had always ‘known’ of the other agents but didn’t know exactly how they knew. The message also carried a warning that under no circumstances must the brown dwarf be approached. It was delivered as a message to which there was no reply or further inquiry option.

Chapter 1

As leader of the Symbiants, Alex 2 consulted his kin about what this could mean for the mission, and particularly the Axis. The first two transmissions, forty years ago, had afforded the privilege of merely confirming what was already theorised. This had other possible implications for the return of all Axis clans, not just the Martian branch. Alex 2 saw no merit in deflating their new-found energy to restore Nexus, yet he could not assign much weight to the Progenitors employing the Interference, in the form of a brown dwarf, simply to correct the wormhole mishap of three million years ago. He deduced that there must have been some unfavourable chain reaction prognosis between then and now to invoke such action, particularly as it was accompanied by a warning.

With two years to contemplate the puzzle, the Symbiants elected to annex the detail for now, but initiate comprehensive study of the new orbital paths of the 55 Cancri planetary bodies – all of them. The Earth database could allow calculations to actually reveal the presence of a new gravitational force.

The radio signals emitted from Nexus should also become a priority for gathering intelligence on what could be expected before arrival. Until now, all individuals aboard Phoenix had assumed the ‘noise’ was attributable to surviving, indigenous Axis groups.

The Sapients had more appetite for such distraction; the Axis had already engaged countdown mode and said they would rely on their friends to conduct the study. Kipchoge Yamamoto relished this stage. He had been the first Human to accept Symbiant modified genetic code insertion. Pascal 2, first generation replicant of Pascal Dupree – the Copernicus Doctor, had developed this procedure. It marked the first deliberate branch in Human evolution. Yamamoto, Red, (second generation replicant of Alex Redgrave) and Dan (first generation replicant of Daniel Carvalho) would act as the spearhead of the numbers research.

Carvalho still had a keen sense of detecting signals of clandestine activity and he approached Alex 2. How about we take a stroll around the lake my friend? The Symbiant recognised the bogus invitation and knew he couldn’t avoid the question, or more significantly, the answers. It would be better in my quarters Daniel.

Yes, I thought it might. The body language of some of our fellows betrays concern. Is there a problem? Alex 2 requested that the discussion should wait until they reached the secure location. When he next spoke, the Symbiant said, I do not have evidence of a problem, but that does not mean there is no problem. Considering that the Progenitors deemed it necessary to make three transmissions and a warning, we must take it seriously.

When he had recounted the detail to Carvalho, he paused. A silence prevailed for several minutes before he continued. Red, Dan and Pascal 2 are all of the same opinion as I am. This would not have occurred only to remedy a release of negative energy, albeit a devastatingly destructive quantity. Without wishing to insult the Axis it would not have been triggered because several million individuals perished. Probability analysis is not helpful because of lack of hard data. Apart from confirming the brown dwarf conferred the new stable orbits, we may be able to determine when this occurred by extrapolation of Earth observations in our database. The early indications are that it was a considerable time after the wormhole cataclysm and the dissipation of the resultant energy release.

Carvalho interjected, How long after?

Alex 2 was untypically evasive. It may have been half a million years - or even longer.

And this is your concern?

Alex 2 spoke slowly. Of course, if such a period passed before the Progenitors intervened there must have been escalating adverse trends for some time after the Axis exodus. As you know we are uncomfortable with speculation, but if the developing critical point was due to purely cosmic aberrations there may still be ‘residue’ to be dealt with. Alternatively, if the cause was unpromising life forms ‘rocking the boat’- it may have been their radio noise the Gliese Axis reported. I do not need to elaborate on the effect such news would have on our friends aboard this vessel.

Carvalho reflected on this momentarily and then nodded in recognition of the utter demoralisation this would inflict on all of the Axis clans.

Alex 2 was not finished. I cannot stress too much that the delivery of the third message, some forty-three years after the first two, is part of our concern. It logically suggests that something may have been upgraded in status during that period. We have not ruled out a fourth message. The uncertainty they craved had been delivered.

This however, had to be viewed against the backdrop of a burgeoning period of recovery in procreative potential during the voyage. The first Martian born Axis – Renewal, had been a ‘test tube’ success, albeit with Pascal 2 genetic enhancements and super stem cell grafts. Since then many offspring had survived with reduced laboratory intervention. ‘Rene’, as the Sapients referred to her, was good friends with the Carvalho children in their early years, as she was the only Axis juvenile to survive at that time. The friendship had endured long after the increase in Axis adolescents.

Daniel Carvalho was beginning to wish he had never asked the question. Apart from the hopes of the Axis being dashed yet again, if Alex 2’s first scenario proved correct, his own family was hurtling toward a potentially uninhabitable domain. This gave him the extra nudge, to suggest to Alex 2 that everyone should be informed of the situation, as a precautionary measure, and plans would only be adapted if new incoming observations warranted action.

I realise I no longer have authority, and I can’t even speak for all Sapients, but my gut tells me that being prepared is of value – even if it carries emotional burden. Something you may not fully recognise, my friend, is that the Axis now have something extremely valuable to protect – their children. The Sapients have that too. That just leaves the Symbiants, and you already know.

You have always managed to confuse me Daniel. When we first worked together I would have communicated this out of logical necessity. Having got to know Humans and Axis, I began to feel I had gravitated to a more sensitive level of compassion – something not conferred to us by our masters. Now you confront me with another layer of emotional complexity. I am relieved to have got it wrong again.

They looked at one another and needed no words of mutual respect. They departed to inform the Axis leader. As anticipated Fav was initially dumbfounded and as angry as either of them had ever witnessed. Slowly, he acknowledged they all faced the same fate and echoed Carvalho’s galvanic declaration around the children.

The sombre mood around the vessel persisted for several weeks. A scheduled drop out of QSD to normal propulsion coincided with an opportunity to ‘clean up’ incoming radio noise and the decoding marathon eventually yielded absolute verification of Axis symbols.

Hours of analysis revealed two important points. Firstly the language was considerably different to classical Axis at the time of the exodus. These survivors had been dwellers on the fringes of society, and living in deep caves had been their salvation. The second, more sobering revelation was that they were no longer the top evolutionary species. They had never been the dominant species; even the Martian Axis admitted that. That honour had fallen to the Ebexx. They were remembered as barely sentient, but very powerful carnivores. They used to fear the Axis technology which could more than compensate for physical deficiency. They used to avoid confrontation. They were likened to polar bears, but twice as big and with very short fur. They had apparently acquired sentience via a parasitic mechanism. A virus which had altered its metabolism and consequent relationship with hosts, to control them rather than kill them, was the real enemy. The virus had prospered through very efficient species jumping. It hadn’t been successful with the Axis on the planet because of natural immunity, but this may not last. In settling for the Ebexx, the virus had endowed them with sufficient cerebral stimulus to farm the Axis. As they were dealing with the outlying remnants of post-apocalypse individuals, there was no real resistance in the beginning. Gradually, escapees banded together and built fortresses in the mountain caves. The Ebexx didn’t have sufficient flexibility in cerebral physiology to defeat their defences, despite the enhancement of the virus, which was known as ‘Avezzc Kaschh’. This term was not known to the Axis aboard Phoenix. The predicament of being either livestock or cave-dwellers had seriously restricted the evolutionary development since the apocalypse, yet they had done remarkably well. There was no information as to the origin of the virus, so it could mean that it had come from impact fallout from the ‘good shepherd’ brown dwarf.

This was a lot to digest, but it was regarded as if it could have been a lot worse. At least they knew the planet was habitable and the atmosphere supported life. QSD was resumed.

The timeline for the transmission was not completely clear but it appeared to be between groups of Axis ‘commandos’. The natural immunity of the indigenous Axis did not imply that any of the species on Phoenix would carry such defence.

Chapter 2

The Axis had often apologised during the voyage for their frequent and elaborate references to how Nexus used to be. The others had come to believe there would be no surprises, but this news changed everything. Instead of daydreaming of red mountains and burnt orange evening clouds, they suddenly realised that such scenes were theatres of war. It now seemed less important that there were no oceans, only rivers and lakes. High, snow covered peaks and prodigious waterfalls were now perceived as hideouts and sanctuaries rather than natural wonders.

The patience to see the journey through had been tested many times, now it gnawed at the cohesive force between the three species. The almost sacred Axis belief in never employing lethal force to sentient beings was at the heart of the squabbles. There were no weapons on board to fuel the dispute, but the radio messages which had been intercepted indicated that the hunted were developing a new retaliatory device. Constant refusal to discuss this nurtured an ulcer in everyday communal activities. Being a tiny minority the Sapients began to bypass the issue except in discussion with the Symbiants. Alex 2 and his cohorts saw the situation as simply one of survival and proposed a typically pragmatic solution. If they could isolate, capture and replicate one of the Ebexx, the problem would take care of itself. Carvalho asked Alex 2 to sketch in some detail to support this ‘bloodless campaign’.

If we are interpreting the intercepted data correctly, then the weakness of these aggressors is their interdependence with the virus. Replication does carry the risk of infecting the replicant, but if we can control this by disabling specific sentinel cells we can lure the virus to that decoy point of weakness. Subsequent amputation in the region will regenerate adapted cells and we then have one of their own to instruct in their midst. Study of the amputated part will give us the time to develop genetic code to insert immunity for all of us who may be at risk. If the replicant is not infected we have an even better scenario to dilute the effectiveness of the virus. This way the Sapients have their aggressive nature satiated and the Axis do not have to betray their cornerstone philosophy of turning the other cheek.

Carvalho and Fav said in unison, Who are ‘we’?

Initial exploration should be done by Symbiants who are replicated from Axis. This will produce less visual concern for the indigenous Axis and should still attract curiosity from the Ebexx. We need to know as soon as possible if there is an infection issue for the rest of our passengers. The Axis commandos do not need to know they are being assisted by the Continuance at the outset. It was agreed.

In the remaining time to Nexus orbit insertion, the ruffled feathers were gradually smoothed. Rene had resumed her regular evening activities with Anna-Severine - Carvalho’s daughter. Both carried some conference of Pascal 2’s genetic code. Rene had direct insertion and Anna-Severine, unlike her two brothers, had been conceived after Carvalho himself had undergone the procedure. The two females had discussed the conferred features of their code and now brought up the question of how it may help in ‘outwitting’ the Ebexx. It was a valid point and it was encouraged by the Symbiants. Only a few Sapients had not yet opted for the procedure but there were hundreds of Axis who remained unconvinced.

The Sapients registered immediately, the Axis postponed their decision until they had more concrete information on the infection risk, and surprisingly, how their return would be perceived by their commando hosts.

The programme also spawned another discussion. Alex 2 took his turn to ask Carvalho if he would accompany him on a walk around the lake. The invitation was accepted. I wanted to ask you to allow a final replication of yourself.

Why the hell would I want to do that?

I think it would be helpful.

Carvalho laughed out loud. I don’t know what you have brewing in that registry of yours, but Stella and the family would be horrified at such a bizarre proposal. I don’t want to discuss this any further unless you are completely open with me. First of all you rarely make suggestions, choosing ‘assisting promise’ mode. When you do make overtures they are invariably on very important issues. You have just made one with respect to the Ebexx; don’t you need a recovery period?

Alex 2 ignored the sarcasm and replied, I am almost certain I will receive another message. You notice the use of the personal pronoun?

Go on.

I have new first tier registry space of very significant capacity, and it is different. I have cautiously and indirectly determined that the other Symbiants have not been affected in this way. I do not know why I did not ask about this openly, I just did what seemed appropriate. It concerns me that I acted this way and even more that I am now discussing it with you, yet that also feels right. Could you think about my request, and keep this between the two of us for now? A worried Carvalho nodded affirmation.

It was Red who reminded everyone that a brown dwarf had been registered by Earth astronomers in the Gliese system. He suggested asking the Axis from that settlement about any observations they had made which could be useful.