The Secret of the Ancients, Part 2

The crew continues their journey to the distant past.

This chapter is based on Kay’s and Carl’s notes from our June 11, 2023 session. Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other.

Continued from: The Secret of the Ancients. Part 1

Location: The planet Cordillon, on the edge of the Droyne Empire.

Date: about 305,000 years ago.

We have been tasked to engineer their culture to produce artists. Getting the leaders to work together will be a challenge.

We’ve rounded up most of the local leaders and taken them to our spacecraft in orbit. Our plan is to improve trade without getting a backlash.

Trade has historically made different nations and states more interconnected and interdependent, so let's promote trade. Better ships would help, even if that only means showing them a better way to configure their sails, or adding a keel board.

There’s a good sea route between Jol and Dunsan. Perid and Thalio are both isolated but we can increase overland and sea routes for them as well. Getting the isolated groups involved will be more complicated, but we persist.

Eskekuk has a plan to encourage positive behavior and discourage negative behavior using a light touch to show them how to do things, see the benefits, and sabotage negative behavior in the shadows. 

We planned free schools, but they weren’t as successful as we wanted, running into some cultural problems that would have to be worked around. We added libraries, art schools, introduced medicine and clean water programs. All of these take time to succeed, but long-term payoff is what we are going for.

10 years later
We have started seeing our programs paying off; there is a measurable increase in artists and creativity already. We have been assigned as overseers and observers of the projects we started.

The fleet we arrived with has moved on.  We now have an orbiting starbase with a network of observation satellites.  Planetary security is provided by 12 system defense boats. Each of us has our own jump-capable frigate or yacht as well.

We got an alert from the automated defense grid; multiple contacts were reported as having jumped in-system. They were of an unidentified configuration, and had moved to the system’s gas giant. Estimated time to Cordillon was just less than a week.

Eskekuk used his own yacht with remote control to go out and meet them. The yacht was destroyed without warning. We did get some information from it. There were about 20 of them, of various sizes and are self-similar, like fractals.  Their ships have Droyne level tech, and are way more maneuverable than ours. They would overwhelm us easily; too bad the fleet left; we could have used them right now.

Ayude’s analysis of the scanning data: There is no crew; they are robots, just AIs interested in building more of themselves.

Urd’s analysis: A hegemonizing swarm like this cannot be reasoned or negotiated with; they are locked into their programming. 

A message courier pod arrived in-system. It informed us that a new and hostile species had been encountered. They have attacked several Droyne colonies, but skipped worlds inhabited by primitive transplanted human or Vargr colonies. Yaskoydray has dispatched a task force to deal with the crisis. We are to hold out for as long as possible and gather information about the invaders.

The message called these things, Dyapyuse, Death Machines (We had no reason to disagree with that term). A Droyne exploratory voyage into the core drew their attention and now their scouts have reached Droyne space.

Gvorr and Urd independently contacted the invaders, hoping they’d open communications so we could upload a virus that they developed. Urd failed to get a fully working virus uploaded; their anti-virus measures must have caught it. Gvorr succeeded but it only slowed them down some. Their incoming missiles targeted the positions where we transmitted the messages.

Their ships approached Cordillon and start taking out everything in orbit. We took lifeboats to the surface while our ships  were on the far side of the planet. We set up in a cave between Jol and Dunsan, away from the human population, since we would be a danger to them.

Gvorr took remote command of the other frigates, and headed out-system, to draw at least some of the ships away from the planet. He was successful, as some of the ships chased him, while others surrounded the planet.

The invader ships sent harvesters down to the planet to extract ores, likely for making more of themselves. They also took some random people, for who knows what purpose.

Our group communicated with the locals. In order to hide, we used psionics, and discovered the machines also have telepathic tech.

A week later, locals reported some of their ships produced humans in black webbing and communicated with humans. They offered locals gold and bounties for information on any Droyne; no one is cooperating so far. The language they speak is the same as that of the missing people.

We avoided using high tech in order to hide from their sensors. 

Ayude discovered that their communications use a form of technological telepathy. We can hear, but not understand their transmissions; they feel unpleasant and discordant. He thinks it’s possible to use powerful psys to attack them, but we have no such.

We continue to keep our heads low, using humans to communicate with the locals while collecting data on the invaders.

Emyakoy verified that they had no interest in primitive cultures, but wanted to wipe out Droyne.

Weeks later, Gvorr was still leading some ships away, out to the Oort Cloud.  He noticed that most have given up but one ship was still tracking him. The option to take it out and analyze it was tempting.  Gvorr developed a clever plan to use his 3 frigates to set a trap and destroy the ship. He was successful and got some info from the wreckage, but not much as he had hoped. Most of the wreckage was beyond analysis.

Several weeks after that, those of us inside the cave, as well as Gvorr still in space, felt a telepathic contact growing. It felt benevolent, paternal, and comforting.

The contact grew stronger and then a figure teleported in using psionic power. 

He exuded power, authority, intelligence... even divinity. At first, we thought this was Yaskoydray himself, but he detected this and cocked his head. NO, he signals, “I AM ONE-SEVEN-FOUR. YOU WILL ACCOMPANY ME AND AID ME”. 

He pulled out a teleport disk portal. Gvorr also saw this out in the Oort Cloud where he detected a fleet jump-in.

All of the group teleported to a Droyne warship of a new type. It has integrated telepathic controls, a more advanced design than anything we have seen before.  Among other innovations, there is a FTL ansible communication system that can transmit over tens of parsecs instantaneously.

One-Seven-Four is a clone, one of 400 Sons of Yaskoydray; he’s immortal, looks like a young and proud god, not old like Grandfather. He asked about the invaders.

We told him all we had learned about the invaders, and each of us got a small warship to command. 

Dyapyuse ships are advanced, and the intel we had been collecting helped in the fight.

One Seven Four was able to outwit the enemy and trick them into an englobement that allowed many Droyne ships to concentrate fire on the robot’s weak points, thanks in large part to the information we gathered.

Both Emyakoy and Eskekuk’s ships were destroyed in the battle. Once things settled down, their clones were activated and reloaded with their mind-state, recorded before combat started.

The war with the Death Machines continued for 100 years until the last of the swarm was destroyed.

Part 3: SHADOW OF THE SUN

Time Period: -302,000
Ancients Tech Level: 26+ at the core; 23–24 at the fringe systems

At this level of technology, teleportation portals are ubiquitous. Whole planetary systems can be crossed with a single footstep. While some ships still have their own jump drives, it is more common to use interstellar gates to travel from system-to-system. The ansible network links the entire Ancients civilization together.

Notable Recent Events:

• The arrival of the Sons has transformed the Empire. Now, there are several hundred districts, each commanded by a Son, each mimicking the structure of the old centralized government.

• Technological progress has increased in speed but each Son is following his own line of development. Debates on how to integrate the various technologies from the different districts are ongoing but hampered by the fact that only the Sons understand many aspects of the new technology.

•Cordillon has fulfilled its potential – thanks to ongoing manipulation of the culture, psychology and genetics of the inhabitants, it is now a world of brilliant artists. The planet has been allowed to advance to TL8. A flying Droyne city, Thuat, now hangs in the skies above. This city is the site of a grand celebration of the arts.

• One Seven Four has established a research station close to the system’s star. This base is called Ei’a; the PC's have all visited it several times.

We got back together back on Cordillon, guests of honor for the grand celebration of the arts festival. Gvorr and Eskekuk had reserved a meeting room to share some things that they had learned in the last 3,000 years. There is a growing difference between the Sons and Yaskoydray, increasing hostilities. Sons ignore Yaskoydray’s uplifted species; the Vargr and human worlds are left to decay. There are traces on data networks of the old League of New Thought. It either still exists or may be a cover for Sons who oppose Yaskoydray. We find this disturbing. 

Some celebrants come in by jump ships but more come by teleport disks. There is a carnival air and we’re central to the celebration. Absent so far is One-Seven-Four and his absence was remarked upon by the guests. He could show up any time.

Eskekuk decided to network with human and Vargr planets for mutual aid in case anything goes wrong.

Everyone and everything in the Empire has a data halo, an aura of associated information, software agents and authorizations. Whenever one Droyne looks at another, they see not only the other’s physical appearance, but also the public aspects of the other’s data halo. In a crowd like this, the sheer informational density is staggering.

Urd noticed three Droyne step out of a portal and for an instant they have no halos, then they just popped up. It might have just been a glitch, and most software would not even have noticed it, but Urd systems are military-grade and raised a red flag.

Only outsiders to the Empires don’t have halos. Rumors of renegade Droyne have been circulating, so this could mean trouble. We keep an eye on them; Gvorr and Emyakoy get closer. They smell like Droyne to Gvorr. 

While we were surreptitiously watching the strangers, Ayude was contacted over the ansible by an AI aide to Thirty-Two, another Son. The AI’s master wanted to speak privately.

We found a meeting room and Thirty-Two showed up by hologram.  He looks very similar to One-Seven-Four, but wore Vargr armor and had two Vargr near him, looking like an honor guard. He imperiously demanded to know why One-Seven-Four is refusing to answer ansible messages. The FTL communicator on Ei’a station is off-line.

Ei’a Station is used by One-Seven-Four for solar research.

The Son instructed Ayude to contact the station using local channels and find out what was going on and fix it.

We called Ei’a station but were rebuffed by one of the AI aides. Gvorr forced the AI to route a message to One-Seven-Four, who was angered by the interruption; he’s arrogant and condescending, “This is an important experiment and can’t be interrupted by the prattle of lesser beings.”

We explained that Thirty-Two was trying to contact him. One-Seven-Four got defensive, almost paranoid. “I’m busy; go away,” he said.

Ayude called Thirty-Two to update him, and suddenly the com closed off; all teleportal disks closed, including one where a ship was halfway through and was cut in two, one half plummeting into the harbor. The power went out all over.

Eskekuk theorized that it was caused by jump space that was warped by a tachyon burst. The ansible network was also off-line which was consistent with his theory. He said that the teleporters would be on line soon, once the burst disperses.

The three Droyne that we had been watching were panicking. They didn’t expect this, so were probably not responsible.

Four minutes later, we all felt warm and ill. Sensors showed an intense dose of X-rays and gamma radiation. Everyone on the day side of the world was dying. We all have backup clones, but all the native humans are doomed. The sun is changing, intense red color and sun spots are visible. Eskekuk realized the huge solar flare is not a natural event; there is only one obvious candidate – One-Seven-Four.

Urd had kept track of the suspicious three, and they spoke to him. They said they were members of the renegade League of New Thought. They had found secret records; the original Yaskoydray was an ordinary Droyne; the council created a myth of a super being, and then created a super Droyne to add to the myth. They have the genetic ability to create another Yaskoydray. They need labs to create more. They want a deal: give them access to a lab and they can enhance one of us to Yaskoydray level to help resolve the crises.

We turned them down.

Evacuate the night side?  We have very few jump-capable ships, but we could get many into space and on the far side of the planet.  Eskekuk coordinated the evac and was largely successful as the teleportals started to come on line.

We tried putting up survival construction quickly, but could only save a small fraction as the sun sterilized the world as it rotated into the day side.

 By this time, we had succumbed to the radiation poisoning from the initial burst. It would be weeks before our new clones would come online and be programed with our recorded mind-states.

Part 4: GRANDFATHER’S SOLUTION

Months later we’re contacted by Yaskoydray himself; he looks older and tired. He said his Sons were a failed experiment and wanted our input about whether it was worth it to try and stop his sons. He said that his sons had his intelligence level, but lacked wisdom. 

He asked us if he should wipe out the Sons at the risk of destroying the Empire. At this point, his sons are blowing up stars with inhabited planets; if we don’t stop them, the Empire is dead either way. One-Seven-Four deliberately destroyed the sun and planet of Cordillon.

Yaskoydray’s plan is to kill them off. We were on the side of wiping them out to save planets and people.

The threat of 400 mad geniuses is worth the cost to stop.

We discussed ways and means. Teleport them into a prison of some kind? How do you kill immortals, especially with the clone facilities that no doubt exist?

---

Back in the present.
Fig wakes up in a forest sitting on a log with no idea as to how he got there.

He is now in different clothes. His arm is now flesh and blood instead of artificial. He feels good and has more muscle mass than before. In fact he feels better than any time since basic training after he first joined the Scout Service.

His last memory is that he landed in the spaceport and the air/raft lost power and then he was being scanned.

It is night and there is a teleporter disk nearby. It is not totally dark; there is sky-glow from a nearby city.

He feels a little disoriented. He has a weird memory of being a Droyne for 10,000 years. He realizes that he now knows the classical Droyne language as well as how most ancient tech works, so maybe it wasn’t a dream.

 

Continued in The Death of Grandfather.