…like, a couple dozen of them
The Doclopedia #3,032
366 Days, 366 Paragraphs: #271
Chapter Forty Five: History Lesson
The GHC once again chuckled as he reached over to pat Seyan’s hand. He turned to the Sky People and Helma and said, “As I told you, she is so very smart, and she is just getting started.”
Turning his attention back to Seyan, who now knew, somehow, that his real first name was Tharlo, he began answering questions.
“You are quite right about Helma and myself. Upon our apparent deaths, we were reborn, although that is not really the right term, as two anmals that could most help both you and Dree on your missions.”
His use of the plural stood out in Seyan’s mind
“As for where we are right now, well…”
Seyan interrupted him.
“This all has to be some sort of illusion in my mind. Maybe all of our minds. I’d bet that I’m still standing there with the crystal in my hand.”
Tharlo nodded. “And so you are, while I’m perched in a pine a few yards away, Sunset is lying down next to Dree, and our two friends here are inside the crystal in your hand.”
Seyan sat up and started to say something, but thought better of it and just sat back again. She was pretty sure that Star People in crystals was only the start of the strangeness.
Tharlo looked at her for a moment, then spoke.
“I’m afraid it’s time for a quick history lesson. We’ll all be speaking, so it might seem a bit strange and disjointed, but when we are done, you should have plenty of information to make some deductions.
Seyan had enough time to nod before the lesson began.
Ba’ Alinka: “Thousands of years ago, our people destroyed the web of life on our planet by waging war on many levels. War on different religions, war on the less privleged, war on the wealthy, war on natural resources…if there was a way to hurt, pillage and destroy, we found it.”
Wu’ Jafru: “Only when it was in the late days, beyond the time to repair what we had done, did the survivors realize that they had to leave a dying world. We left for our moon, where the last great starship was waiting.”
Ba’ Alinka: “We left and traveled for over 800 years, rebuilding our civilization into something better, there in that massive ship.”
Wu’ Jafru: “We vowed to not only never let ourselves return to those ways, but we would help other civilizations who were on the brink.”
Ba’ Alinka: “Over the course of the next few millenia, we helped many civilizations as best we could, but noticed that the iron fist often worked much better than the gentle hand. It seems that civilizations on a deliberate path to destruction do not appreciate what they consider weakness.”
Wu’ Jafru: “Indeed, if we offered them any sort of advanced technology, they just used it against each other.”
Tharlo: “I believe you got some indication of that reading bits of ancient texts.”
Helma: “Even today, any sort of advantage one group might gain will sooner or later be used as a weapon against another.”
Wu’ Jafru: “Decades before we actually entered your solar system, our monitoring of your communications told us you would be a dangerous and duplicitous species to deal with.”
Ba’ Alinka: “So we sent scouts ahead, then used what they learned about you to to formulate our plan.”
Wu’ Jafru: “And then we put on the iron glove and went to work.”
Seyan was following things well enough, but then information started coming in much faster from all four of them. Words, images, shared memories.
“…announced our presence about 2 months out…vicious reaction to us…agents on the ground started gathering up humans…first robots almost destroyed…governments offering up their foes to us…revolutions everywhere…death and destruction…alteration of gathered humans via genetic manipulation and nanotech…nuclear weapons had been rendered harmless…suicide attacks against robots and androids…60 million humans altered…Museum Agents activated…diseases from secret stockpiles killed millions…we unleashed nanotech…removal of human cities and towns…retraining of some humans as Ongoing Watchers…ecosystems destroyed, altered, repaired, renewed…300 million humans ready for New Start…human civilization effectively destroyed…Roadrise begins…First Century of the Museum…placement of New Humans begins…Townies, Roadbound, Offroads, Storytellers, Imperials, Museum Staff…all had their place…adaptation happened very fast…humans did what they do best: build, breed, learn…religion and politics shunned, for the most part…Star People get ready to move on, but leave 500 behind…safeguard/study/document/prepare…Museum preserves some old, not good, ways but crushes them when they become a threat…contains the worst that way…centuries pass…a new plan is formulated…time to let humans learn more of their world…time to release people from their boundaries, slowly…VERY slowly…time to rehabilitate the image of the Museum…time for Star People to join the Universe…time for Agents of Change to take over here…time for you and your friends, Seyan Sandel…time to travel far and wide.”
It would be fair to say that Seyan was struck dumb by all she had learned. Without speaking, she reached for her drink and drained the glass.
A minute or so later, she noticed that the two Star People were looking somewhat translucent. Tharlo and Helma seemed a bit blurry.
Tharlo took one of her hands and Helma took the other.
“It will be necessary to remove a few of your memories of this meeting. Still, know in your heart that we will be looking after you as best we can. Go now, and start your new life.”
With that everything went blurry for Seyan as she again felt the crystal in her hand.
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