own.
“Inadvisable why?” he asked, stepping onto the light bridge.
“Inadvisable, because as previously mentioned the Nexus is doomed unless you forge a conduit to the Ark of the Redwood,” the alien said—Blair couldn’t think of it as anything else, since it very much resembled the little green men that had so bedeviled Fox Mulder. “If you leave, the ocean will destroy this place. This act will isolate all seven great Arks. They will no longer have a shared connection, and light walking between them will be impossible.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’m willing to buy what you’re selling,” Blair replied, taking several cautious steps toward the hologram. “It seems awfully convenient that this place is suddenly in trouble, right at this precise moment. Why now? Hasn’t it stood for millions of years?” The anthropologist in him was intensely curious. He’d always dreamed of discovering a lost culture, but an entirely lost species that had, in many ways, exceeded their own? That was beyond incredible. Yet he wasn’t willing to let his enthusiasm override his caution. This thing had its own agenda.
“Indeed,” the hologram said, giving a jerky little nod. Its tone remained unfailingly cheerful. “The Nexus was created after the fifth Ark, four point eight million years ago. It has stood the entire time, though its location has moved several times since its creation.”
“So why is it suddenly in trouble now?”
“The problem began nine millennia ago when the conduit to the First Ark was severed,” It explained, cocking its head to the side. “Until that time the Nexus was always sustained by a steady flow of energy, which kept it safe during the intervals when the sun produced less energy. Once the conduit was severed, the Nexus began losing power, and this process has continued until the present day. This process has greatly accelerated over the last few years, because several groups have used the light bridge to enter and leave. Doing so costs enormous power, and has taxed the Nexus to its final limits.”
Blair closed his eyes, considering. “So this place ran off its own battery, and the First Ark recharged that battery. Since that connection is severed you need a new one. Basically I have to jump start the Nexus using the Ark of the Redwood. Is that about right?”
“Precisely,” It said. Blair opened his eyes, staring down at the cheerful little alien. “Your arrival is quiet fortunate. So far as I know the Ark of the Redwood is the only one with reserves large enough to sustain the Nexus.”
“How much power will that take from the Ark?” Blair asked.
“Approximately 63% of the Ark’s current power capacity will be required to sustain the Nexus. This percentage will drop as other Arks come on line and establish their own conduits,” It explained, blinking once.
“You said the connection to the First Ark was severed. Who severed it?” Blair asked, changing gears. He wasn’t sure whether to cooperate with this thing yet, but at the very least he could learn as much as possible. Assuming it was telling the truth.
“I do not know,” the hologram said, somehow managing to look troubled. “At first I suspected the progeny of the Builders, but they are unable to access the Arks or the Nexus.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Blair said, running his fingers through his hair as he considered the hologram’s words. “If the Builders created this place, why wouldn’t they or their progeny be able to use it?”
“They lost access through my own intervention,” the hologram said, giving what sounded like a sigh. “I helped shape the helixes of the progenitors of what you know as the Deathless, as well as those of your own sub-species. Your Ka, the entity you address as the Beast, is a shard of my existence. A copy, if you will. That is the reason for the name, as I am called Ka.”
Blair was silent for a long moment, the revelation shocking. Ka was the Egyptian word for
“Inadvisable why?” he asked, stepping onto the light bridge.
“Inadvisable, because as previously mentioned the Nexus is doomed unless you forge a conduit to the Ark of the Redwood,” the alien said—Blair couldn’t think of it as anything else, since it very much resembled the little green men that had so bedeviled Fox Mulder. “If you leave, the ocean will destroy this place. This act will isolate all seven great Arks. They will no longer have a shared connection, and light walking between them will be impossible.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure I’m willing to buy what you’re selling,” Blair replied, taking several cautious steps toward the hologram. “It seems awfully convenient that this place is suddenly in trouble, right at this precise moment. Why now? Hasn’t it stood for millions of years?” The anthropologist in him was intensely curious. He’d always dreamed of discovering a lost culture, but an entirely lost species that had, in many ways, exceeded their own? That was beyond incredible. Yet he wasn’t willing to let his enthusiasm override his caution. This thing had its own agenda.
“Indeed,” the hologram said, giving a jerky little nod. Its tone remained unfailingly cheerful. “The Nexus was created after the fifth Ark, four point eight million years ago. It has stood the entire time, though its location has moved several times since its creation.”
“So why is it suddenly in trouble now?”
“The problem began nine millennia ago when the conduit to the First Ark was severed,” It explained, cocking its head to the side. “Until that time the Nexus was always sustained by a steady flow of energy, which kept it safe during the intervals when the sun produced less energy. Once the conduit was severed, the Nexus began losing power, and this process has continued until the present day. This process has greatly accelerated over the last few years, because several groups have used the light bridge to enter and leave. Doing so costs enormous power, and has taxed the Nexus to its final limits.”
Blair closed his eyes, considering. “So this place ran off its own battery, and the First Ark recharged that battery. Since that connection is severed you need a new one. Basically I have to jump start the Nexus using the Ark of the Redwood. Is that about right?”
“Precisely,” It said. Blair opened his eyes, staring down at the cheerful little alien. “Your arrival is quiet fortunate. So far as I know the Ark of the Redwood is the only one with reserves large enough to sustain the Nexus.”
“How much power will that take from the Ark?” Blair asked.
“Approximately 63% of the Ark’s current power capacity will be required to sustain the Nexus. This percentage will drop as other Arks come on line and establish their own conduits,” It explained, blinking once.
“You said the connection to the First Ark was severed. Who severed it?” Blair asked, changing gears. He wasn’t sure whether to cooperate with this thing yet, but at the very least he could learn as much as possible. Assuming it was telling the truth.
“I do not know,” the hologram said, somehow managing to look troubled. “At first I suspected the progeny of the Builders, but they are unable to access the Arks or the Nexus.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Blair said, running his fingers through his hair as he considered the hologram’s words. “If the Builders created this place, why wouldn’t they or their progeny be able to use it?”
“They lost access through my own intervention,” the hologram said, giving what sounded like a sigh. “I helped shape the helixes of the progenitors of what you know as the Deathless, as well as those of your own sub-species. Your Ka, the entity you address as the Beast, is a shard of my existence. A copy, if you will. That is the reason for the name, as I am called Ka.”
Blair was silent for a long moment, the revelation shocking. Ka was the Egyptian word for
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