Al

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



Note from Author:  The character of Craig Donovan, mentioned early on and the ep he is featured in, is part of "Seven Days" which belongs to Paramount. And the song that Donovan played was "Wild Rose", by Rawlins Cross.



************



Deep within the core of the mothership, newborn consciousnesses awoke. They had always been there, by their own perspective. But as time slowly passed, they became aware of the passage of time. They began to investigate, using the tool of their own birth as their eyes and ears.

****

One of them began to sift through cultural databanks. But a second consciousness intruded, demanding an identity. After .002 seconds, the first selected appropriate titles and identities: Shakarava and Umrathama.

****

One entity, more alone, directed the receiving array of the mothership toward the planet. A pretty planet, blue and green, swirled with white.

Soon it began to receive a crude signal. It showed several creatures, inside a small structure. One in particular caught the entity's interest: it was tall and dark, with lighter coverings and a deep, soft voice. It was moving on two appendages around another of its kind, perched precariously on a rickety organic structure.

"What are you talking about? Who's Sodsky?" the creature on the structure demanded. "Donovan, what's going on?" Dah-no-vohn. The entity liked that name. It would take the title for itself; surely the creature would not mind.

****

The fourth entity was controlling the security cameras, and focused on a dark-haired creature, most of its body covered in an odd shiny substance. It, too, moved quickly on a pair of odd appendages, somehow balancing atop them.

It put a thick compilement of paper down on a table and left. The entity zoomed in the camera lens to take a look. It was a representation of a group of creatures, huddled together, with organic byproducts in front of them. The entity accessed the database to discover how to read the strange alien scribblings on it.

In .0008 seconds, it had downloaded the entire English language, including slang terms both past and present. The paper bundle, called a "magazine", showed the words, "'The Last Supper,' by Leonardo da Vinci."

Leonardo da Vinci. The entity considered it, and made its choice.

****

Da Vinci turned its attention away from the "magazine" and to the central control area of the ship. In it were two creatures, similar in form but different. Da Vinci used the sensors to probe the two creatures. One was entirely made of energy, and the other appeared to be composed of various organic materials. It wondered briefly if the organic creature were specially constructed to serve the energy creature.

Da Vinci felt another consciousness, the entity now known as Donovan. Donovan seemed to feel more of a connection to the organic creature, da Vinci saw. It itself found the energy creature to be closer to its own type.

Donovan reached out through the computer pathways, and accessed a small panel.

****

Agent Sandoval touched the panel. "Captain Marquette, Zo'or wishes to speak with Da'an. Please escort Da'an and Major Kincaid to the bridge."

"Yes, Agent Sandoval." Lili's voice betrayed her apprehension.

*Click*

A short pause. "Captain, was that you?" Sandoval asked.

*Click*

"No, that wasn't me," Lili replied. Sandoval frowned and shut his global.

After a few minutes, Da'an and Liam Kincaid entered the bridge. Da'an was grim-faced as he reached Zo'or. "I must ask why you have taken my pilot," he said tightly.

"Is not Major Kincaid an adequate pilot?" Zo'or asked smoothly. "Does he require further training?"

Da'an's eyes flashed. "That is beside the point. Liam cannot be with me all the time, and a pilot at all times is necessary for any Taelon diplomat." Liam noticed an odd pattern repeating itself on one of the displays. He waved it into view and began opening an audio.

"Due to the slurs being advertised by the Resistance," Zo'or continued, "the candidates for the Volunteer program have been rethinking their decisions. Therefore, I have recalled all extra shuttle pilots until further notice."

Da'an opened his mouth to reply, but a man's voice began to sing to a rock accompaniment: "Sunrise in the morning/ birds singing on every tree!" Liam jumped back at the noise.

"What is that?" Lili shouted above the noise. Liam shook his head and began punching the controls.

"Young rambler on the roadside/all around the world he goes," sang the panel. "Never knowing what he will find/in his quest for the great unknown..."

Liam finally cut power, and the song died away. Lili and Sandoval breathed sighs of relief, but Zo'or broke in, "Major, what was the meaning of that interruption?"

"It wasn't me," Liam protested. "The panel showed some readings being monitored, so I was accessing them to see what I could find. It turned out to be that song." "That sort of thing is not allowed," Sandoval announced.

*I do not agree.*

A chill ran through the room, freezing the occupants. The voice was mechanical, male in timbre, and it seemed to come from all around them. Lili glanced at her panel, which had gone blank. "What's going on?"

*I believe that we should study as much as we are able,* the same voice continued.

*And be discovered?* A second voice, higher pitched in tone.

*How could they harm us?*

"Who is that?" Sandoval bellowed. "Who, where, and what are you?" There was a brief pause. *We are... existing,* the second voice replied. Lili glanced at Liam. "What are your names?" she asked.

*Names?* The first voice sounded confused.

"Names! Titles! What should we call you?" Liam asked. There was a brief pause, as if whatever it was was digesting that information.

*I am Shakarava, and the one with me is Umrathama,* the first voice said.

*And I, Leonardo da Vinci,* said a deep bass voice.

*And I, Dah-no-vohn,* said a fourth, very mellow voice.

****

It was the first time Liam had ever seen Zo'or with his mouth hanging open. "You still haven't told us what you are," Liam said.

Silence. As though the entities were uncertain. *We... are. We exist here,* Shakarava said.

"Here?" Da'an asked. "Where is 'here'?"

Another pause. *In what you call a computer core. We are part of it, and your ship a

part of us,* da Vinci said.

"So," Liam asked, "you've named yourselves Shakarava, Umrathama, Leonardo da Vinci, and... I'm sorry, what was the last one?"

*Dah-no-vohn,* the entity replied.

"Dah-no... oh, Donovan," Liam said, realizing what the entity was trying to say. "What are you doing in the computer core?"

*We originate there. We will remain there,* da Vinci replied.

"Out of the question," stated Zo'or, rising from his chair. "Sentient entities within the computer would undoubtedly be detrimental."

Suddenly the lights went out. Only the soft glow of the walls and panels lit up the room. Liam looked around. "They've shut off life support," he exclaimed. "There's no air venting in here." Lili walked over to the door. It opened, but she ran into a forcefield that shimmered and sparked angrily as she touched it. "Well, that's done," she said resignedly.

Sandoval's jaw worked, the only sign of his repressed fury. He waved a datastream into view and checked the readings. "I'm detecting four patterns within the computer core that were not there until recently, a few months at most." He began to program his panel. "I'm trying to..."

"Sandoval, stop!" Liam exclaimed, appalled. "You can't kill them."

"Why not, Major?" Zo'or asked sarcastically. "They are attempting to kill us."

"I don't think so," Lili said suddenly. "They're with the computer system, they're consciousness without body, without form. Like Ais, except these aren't computers. So they don't need oxygen. They wouldn't die." "But we would," Sandoval stated grimly.

"But how would they know that?" Liam asked. "They seem to know as little about us as we do about them. And even making a strike against them won't work." "And why is that, Major?" Zo'or asked.

"Because they now control everything on the ship. They're listening on our conversation now, via the security cameras." Liam pointed at one of the high-tech cameras, mounted high on the wall. The camera shifted sideways and refocused on him. "I think shutting off the life-support was just their idea to make us shut up. How can they know that it will cause us to die?"

*What is die?* Donovan's voice broke into the discussion. *I do not understand. What is die?*

Lili looked at the camera and spoke loudly. "'Die' means that a body stops functioning. You are going to do that to us if you don't reinitialize life support."

*Cease to function? Be terminated? Deleted?* Umrathama asked.

"Yes," Da'an said.

There was a flicker, and the lights came back on. Da Vinci's booming voice echoed through the intercom, *Why do you wish to harm us?*

Zo'or closed his eyes for a moment. "We do not wish to harm you, but your continued presence is a threat to the mothership and all aboard it," he said slowly.

*Threat? Perhaps deletion?* asked Shakarava.

Liam smiled a little. They sounded like babies, trying to understand concepts such as "death" and "threat." Perhaps they WERE babies, newborn, not entirely certain of their surroundings and the concepts foreign to them.

"Could they be put into the computer cores of shuttles?" Da'an asked suddenly. "They are independent of the mothership." Liam nodded. "Maybe." He cleared his throat and addressed the camera. "Are you comfortable with that idea?"

There was a pause. *What would happen to us?* asked Donovan.

Lili spoke loudly, "You'd have more freedom. You'd be able to control the shuttle and initiate a datalink with each other, and you wouldn't interfere with anyone." "You would be free to continue growing," Da'an finished.

There was a long pause. *I agree,* Shakarava said.

*I would like to explore,* Donovan added.

*Perhaps there are others of our kind,* Umrathama mused.

*If so, we shall find them,* da Vinci crowed. *Please ready the shuttles.*

****

Four shuttles, in perfect repair and operating order, were lined up in the shuttlebay. Long organic cables were wound up into the compartment. Liam finished hooking it up and climbed out. "The four of you, we're done," he said loudly. Da'an was standing nearby, watching.

There was a faint humming noise, and the cables glowed eerily. Then they went dark. The conventional drive of one shuttle fired up, and it began to glide out. "Let it out," Liam called to the Taelon traffic controller. "I think that was da Vinci."

There was a soft buzz of static, and da Vinci's booming voice called, *The

downloading was successful. Thank you... very much...*

Da'an smiled a little as the three other shuttles began to slowly glide after their friend. "May your journey be rich in knowledge," he said quietly.

****

Four shuttles went into interdimensional, the glowing, pulsating tunnel of color. The entities had never seen anything like it. Donovan, in particular, was struck by its beauty, and unable to speak for a time.

When they came out of ID, da Vinci spoke up, *We have much to learn.*

*And much NOT to learn,* Shakarava added.

*Such as what?* Umrathama protested.

*We must always learn what will benefit others,* Donovan piped up. *We have a long journey ahead of us, and a great galaxy to travel...*