Humans Don't Hibernate [Part 35/?] (Patreon)

To say that we were at the end of our journey would be a complete misstep. For as much as we were well and truly at the end of the line now, so too was the story we had yet to even fully grasp. The necessity of weaving a cohesive narrative now fell upon us, and the clues that lay within this grand space we’d just forced our way into.

Like the compositions of the great contemporary works of Vanaran literature, it was only towards the end did things begin to truly come together. Indeed, the phenomenon was so well known that entire figures of speech revolving around the notion of a tail-heavy tale became something of an aspect of everyday vernacular.

First and foremost however was the task of ascertaining the threat the massive pile of flesh posed, as I felt the ship itself vibrating and jostling beneath my feet, hinting at my AI partner’s uneasiness at the implications of what we’d just come across.

“That’s an interloper.” The AI surmised in a matter of seconds. There was no buildup, no long drawn out pause, as the AI spoke without even mincing his words as the mood of the whole room took a dive towards one of complete and utter dread.

“How-”

“There’s a latent signal being emitted by it. A signal that corresponds to the anomalous ones I’d logged during our encounter with the Interloper flotilla from those cargo vessels later ascertained as interloper control vessels. It also corresponds with the data cache gathered from the satellite, which provides as much elaboration on the specifics of the thing as much as it does raise even more questions.” Vir spoke succinctly, very much shifting back to that no-nonsense delivery of information that spoke to the severity of the situation.

“Elaborate.” I chimed in.

“Here.” The AI responded, bringing up an overlay of the world from his perspective. As the dark cavernous room lit up only by the scant few sources of light emitted by the drones was quickly enhanced by an overlay of a thousand different other sets of information. From radiation to acoustics to active radioassays to everything else in between, it was overwhelming, but was quickly isolated to a few choice overlays that was soon augmented by the appearance of another screen that seemed to be referencing the information provided by the second satellite. What was highlighted now was several different signal waveforms, as two were picked out from either screen, and superimposed on one another, glowing green as if to indicate they were an identical match. “This signal matches what we know of the interloper control signals, ones designed specifically to be picked up by a Vuark. The signal currently being sent out is a distress signal, but it's weak, way too weak.” The screens quickly shifted to display the signal intensity of the interloper in question, compared to that of a regular interloper. The differences were staggering, if not entirely insane as the latter practically ballooned to the point where the x and y axes were increased to such a scale that the signal emitted by the interloper in the cavern was reduced to mere pixels compared to the dynamic ranges of the standard strength of their signals.

“I’m assuming it has something to do with it being here, potentially completely cut off from the world for so long. Hunger, starvation, all of those factors?” I proposed.

“That’s what I was thinking as well, but there’s more to it than that, a  lot more. For one, let’s focus on the life cycle of this interloper.” Vir replied, as yet more data from the satellite was brought on screen which displayed several minor details regarding the specifics behind the signal being produced. Each peak and valley on the graph was correlated to yet more datasets, which was meaningless to me but clearly meant more than I could imagine for the AI who had been exposed to… well, an entire era’s worth of data backlog. “This interloper is a young adult. Compared to humans this thing would be in its early 20s. Which might not mean much to you, but according to the research within the satellite, these types of Interlopers were rarely seen anywhere near the frontlines. I’m not sure how much you’re aware of this but the life cycle of an Interloper is better measured on a geological timescale than anything we might conventionally understand as a typical living thing. Everything, from their reproductive cycles and growth is excruciatingly slow. The same used to go for their perception of time as well.  This is why you’d never find one of these out here.” Vir surmised. Before he could continue further however, I interjected, taking note of one, very crucial detail.

“You said used to.” I attempted to clarify. “Are you saying that’s no longer the case, at least with their perception of time?”

“Yes. I… assume your only knowledge on the Interlopers is isolated to Elijah’s era?” Vir attempted to clarify, which prompted me to nod firmly in response. “Right, well, that used to be the case, yes. Which was why humanity had so many successes at first. There was a distinct shift in their doctrine however, more than likely being developed as a direct result of humanity’s string of military successes. This was also what I took note of within the Interloper control ships during our encounter with the flotilla, and was later confirmed by the data cache from the satellite. The interlopers, at least with what the later humans were able to observe, had effectively augmented themselves so that they could perceive time in our frame of reference. In effect, they cybernetically augmented their brains to run at a higher clock speed. However, we’ve only observed this phenomenon in older Interlopers.” Vir soon gestured back towards the screen and the blob of flesh in question. “Not one this young.”

A number of thoughts flooded into my mind as a direct result of this additional piece of information. Though I quickly silenced them as I stared on at the screen in front of us, and regarded the pulsating mass of flesh with trepidation. “What else can you tell from the scans? Is it still a threat?” I shot back.

“Well alongside the cybernetic augment, this thing seems to also be equipped with a signal booster.” Vir explained, highlighting two thick, cable-like wires that seem to be directly connected to either side of the pulsating mass. “There, and there. Those two wire-like constructs you see emerging from it? One’s for the neural augment, and the other seems to be for something similar to the signal booster I observed from the control ships.” Vir continued, quickly jumping to the next point without me prompting him to. “And before you ask, yes, I’d always assumed that what I saw from the scans of the command ships we took down were indeed signal boosters of some sort. However, I wasn’t sure, as at that point we were working with a sample size of one. Now?” Vir gestured to yet another screen, which highlighted his points as he opened up an entire file highlighting scan after scan of interloper after interloper. “We have a sample size large enough to really work with, and I can say for certain that what we’re looking at are two distinct systems attached to the interloper. A neural augment, and a signal booster.” The AI shifted gears back towards the main screen, zooming in closer to a particular attachment point of both wires which seemed to have been completely sheared away not by progressive wear and tear, but by signs of some purposeful force. “Both of which have been effectively compromised.”

It didn’t take long for me to start piecing the story together after that crucial revelation. “Does that mean this… this fleshbag is not a threat then?” I asked, making sure that we had our bases covered when it came to our collective safety before moving on to the next phase of the information gathering process.

Vir’s expression shifted to one of surprised bemusement, as he nodded once, then twice, maintaining that smile all the while. “Yes. For all intents and purposes that thing is as threatening as a fleshbag as you say. It’s a sitting duck, stuck in its own thoughts. The signals its sending out didn’t even breach the walls of its mausoleum. That’s why I was a bit thrown off when we first entered.” Vir chuckled. “Sorry, that was a bit unprofessional of me, I never assumed you’d ever use colloquialisms like that.”

It was at this point that I sighed out and shrugged, realizing that I’d been increasingly letting go of the social conventions that had acted as a filter between my thoughts and the world for as long as I could remember. “I’d chock it up to the increasingly unconventional circumstances we keep finding ourselves in. But, I digress, let’s get to the real work now shall we?”

It was with that single proclamation that the real archeological work began in earnest, as the drones began zipping back and forth throughout the room, pausing when they arrived at areas I deemed as vital points of interest.

The first of which was the periphery that surrounded the empty chasm where the massive interloper was suspended. This massive space, five miles in diameter, had what could only be described as an outcropping that connected directly through the entryway we’d forced our way into. This ‘balcony’ of sorts had been completely overlooked when we first entered, which wasn’t surprising since the main point of interest was a massive pulsating mass of flesh in the middle of a chasm. However, upon closer inspection, it was clear now what we’d purposefully missed at first.

Along this periphery were rows upon rows of computers. Primitive computers, but computers nonetheless. Alongside this were a litany of various primitive scanning devices, all of which seemed to be pointed directly at the interloper in question. The computers matched what we’d seen in the base above, and what’s more, there were an array for far less peaceful implements that likewise lined the periphery of this five mile long outcropping.

Positioned and spaced out barely thirty or so feet from each other were primitive weapons platforms. Some seemed to be gunpowder-propelled kinetic weapons, others were much larger, clearly some sort of a recoilless rifle meant to propel explosives. Regardless, we counted a total of at least 900 of these emplacements. Each and every one pointed towards the Interloper.

Each and every one seemingly untouched, having not been fired even once, save for at least a quarter of them. Upon closer inspection, it was clear where the impact craters and bullet holes were. None of them were anywhere near the interloper however, but instead, all along the facility itself, some damage even being present on the alien’s own equipment, indicating some sort of an internal struggle with no real concerted efforts in dealing with the interloper.

None at all, save for the two, crippling blows which had cut the interloper off from both its enhanced cognitive abilities and its signal boosting capabilities.

Beyond this, we started to find more and more bodies. Some in civilian, some in military gear, all suited however. Each and every one having succumbed to their grievous injuries, all stemming from gunshots of some kind, though a few were clearly hit by the explosives that had clearly been meant for the interloper.

The bodycount continued to stack the further our drones kept exploring, until finally, we reached another room.

The door to this room was of a similar make to the main entrance. Without much prompting, we torched our way inside, revealing a gruesome scene that could only be described as a blood bath.

Within this room were a good number of the base’s inhabitants, with yet again two distinct groups, both vying for what seemed to be a strange cargo pallet in the middle of the entire space.

Upon closer inspection we discovered what exactly it was that was within this crate, and after several more scans to confirm exactly what it was, both Vir and I couldn’t help but to feel as if the narrative behind this whole place just got a lot clearer.

Inside the crate was a primitive thermonuclear device, with enough yield to turn this entire place, along with the base above it to ash.