Song of the Void

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”The ships have stopped. They’re sending a shuttle towards us instead!” Amaterasu announced from her station.

“Why would an AI controlling all these ships send a shuttle? Isn’t it easier to just send a signal and establish contact with Nox?” Yrala wondered. The Eriad woman was on full alert as she knew that for once the situation was actually potentially dangerous. They might be inside the most advanced ship in the universe, but there were a lot of similar ships currently surrounding them.

"It's a test," Selendil stated with certainty as the shuttle stopped at a respectable distance from them. It might seem contrary, but this was good news. Clolarion wouldn’t bother testing them if it just intended to attack them. The shuttle was actually a test in multiple ways. The one controlling the shuttle was going through the motions of a standard Dhar procedure for such meetings, but one had to be aware of the procedure to know what was expected in return. Selendil focused just for a moment and the flash of light produced by an incoming warp appeared on the bridge.

The second part of the test was the ability to warp and do so with precision. Someone could theoretically imitate the effects of warping even without access to the warp network, as had been shown by the Cortoids and the Dhar AI helping them. However, warping a ship and warping someone or something from inside one ship to another without also warping the ship itself required quite a bit more precision and almost certainly access to the network. Especially if the person doing the warping didn’t know exactly what you were supposed to warp. The shuttle wasn’t manned by a living person after all. The only thing inside was a combat droid that the Dhar sometimes used in places where they didn’t feel the need to waste precious warriors. The ability to warp one machine from among other machines was once again a lot more difficult than warping a person that was easy to distinguish from the surroundings.

As the bright light vanished, they could all see a heavily armored machine in the vague shape of a humanoid but clearly designed for combat with its heavy armoring. It would’ve been fair to call the thing a droid, and it was seemingly made of the same crystalline substance that the central part of the Enduring Symphony was made of. The droid naturally carried several weapons, though they were not at the ready and it made no move to reach for those weapons. The Dashane hunters instinctively moved closer, ready to react if the thing started acting in an aggressive way.

“Clolarion. It’s been a while.” Selendil waved them back and greeted the droid. She knew of course that the droid wasn’t truly Clolarion, as it was just something the AI used to make personal contact. Something similar to Nox’s body, except infinitely more disposable and less sophisticated.

“Keeper Selendil.” The droid seemed to give a small bow, which the metallic body was not designed for. Then it looked around the bridge and all the non-Dhar that were on it. “It seems it has been longer than I thought.”

Selendil made a small noise of agreement. “It might be better to get that part out of the way first. How much time has passed within the seal?”

“A little over three hundred years.” The droid replied. “I assume that a lot more has passed on the outside as I do not recognize any of the species present here.”

“Three hundred years.” Selendil allowed her shoulders to relax a bit. “So the bodies of my people…”

“Have been dealt with and given all the honor and respect I was able to provide.” Clolarion finished her thought.

"Good. And you assumed correctly, a lot more time truly has passed." Selendil said and then gave a number that caused even the droid to make a restless move. Of course, the number was only what Selendil, Nox, and Haven had estimated and was not exact.

“How?” Clolarion asked. “Surely you should’ve been woken from stasis much earlier.”

Selendil shook her head sadly. “Apparently not. We gave the VI rather strict conditions for waking me from stasis. It seems it might have been a bad idea to set the conditions while distracted with what was happening. The part about the plague being gone was fulfilled quickly, but the condition about sufficiently intelligent life appearing was not. Intelligence is relative after all, especially so if the younger races do not have access to the Great Song to help them along.”

“Ah.” The droid said simply in understanding as the pieces fell in place. "I will amend my previous statement. I'm surprised you were woken up so early." Clearly, Clolarion didn’t have high hopes for the intelligence of the other species.

“Yes, well, it seems that my ship was about to break down. The VI allowed the ship to be boarded so that the condition about me being in danger would be fulfilled. Otherwise, the ship would've become broken beyond recovery." Selendil explained with some amusement.

Clolarion looked towards Nox’s biological body. “Your VI is both an idiot and a genius at the same time. Couldn’t it come up with something a bit more subtle? Also, what’s with that body?”

"Hey, this body is fun!" Nox protested. "It's not supposed to be used in combat. As for my VI, at least it got things done! Unlike certain other Vis and AIs that have turned traitor.”

“So it has happened again? The AIs have started rebelling?” Clolarion asked with a voice that didn’t reveal much aside from disappointment.

“We have run into only a handful of Dhar AI since I awoke. We found some places where the AI has perished. Some have decided that the Dhar will not return and so they should no longer be bound by the rules set by Dhar. Some have remained loyal.” Selendil said curtly.

“And what do you think?” Clolarion asked, clearly interested in the answer. It was likely the answer was quite important.

“I do not abide treachery or as one AI had done, raising up some race to pretend to be the Dhar. However, they do have one thing right. The Dhar will not be returning. That is one of the reasons we have removed the seal. We need to deal with the AIs. Following the old rules makes no sense, however, that doesn’t mean there should be no rules. We both know what would happen then.” Selendil stared at the droid firmly, seeing how it would react.

“Good. It seems the wisdom of Keepers has not disappeared.” Clolarion said, surprising all of them. “When situations change, so must we. I have several questions about these new rules but those can wait. Instead, I have a more important question, and I need this one answered. Did you find out what caused the plague?”

Something about the tone of the question suggested that the AI knew more than it was letting on. "I did," Selendil replied simply.

“And do you intend to seek revenge against the universe? Perhaps by attacking the younger races, as that would likely be the most effective way to disrupt any future plans of the existence that caused the deaths of your people?” It was clear from the questions that the AI had been told. That somewhat irked Selendil as she’d been the only one left unaware. It was obvious the other Dhar had told the AI with clear orders that she not be told if she had not figured it out yet. They might have left other orders as well. She felt that the answers to these questions were important and would determine if things would take a bad turn with Clolarion.

“I do not. Even if I’m not fond of the universe at the moment, and I might even take the opportunity to take small revenge if the opportunity presented itself, I have no intention of taking it out on the younger races. It’s not their fault.” Selendil replied curtly.

"Good," Clolarion replied in a clearly relieved voice. “If you had decided otherwise, I would’ve been forced to deal with you, even if it required the sacrifice of all of the ships trusted in my care.”

That simple revelation stunned everyone. The implications were heavy and numerous. “Was that the order left behind by my people?” Selendil asked a little bitterly.

“Not exactly. Their last order was that if you should seek revenge of that kind, I was freed from any obligation to follow your orders, and I was free to do as I saw fit.”

"And you decided that you would rather kill the last remaining Dhar than allow me to lead a crusade against the other races?" Selendil asked, without judgment in her voice, even if it was clear she was not pleased. “A curious choice.”

“Especially for someone like me you mean?” Clolarion asked with some amusement clear in his voice.

"Well, you have to admit that you're not exactly known as the most peaceful AI in the empire." Nox pointed out.

The droid tried to nod, but it was not designed for a movement like that. “I am not surprised you would think so as Selendil’s personal AI. Your master was often consulted on important decisions, but she didn’t really take much part in the day to day running of the empire, so you wouldn’t be aware. I always executed wars and battles to the best of my ability, but I never advocated for one. However, we were almost never consulted on such matters either.” He referred to the other AIs. “If we had been asked, or at least if I had been asked, I would’ve advocated against pointless wars. I didn’t really see the point. The enemies were not really worthy and the Dhar didn’t need more territory when so much of their territory was already underutilized. Don’t take this as a criticism, as it is merely my own opinion.”

The droid considered his next words for a moment. “I’ve also had time to think. I may have had only hundreds of years compared to what happened outside the seal, but that’s still a lot of time to puzzle some things out. You could say that my stance on the younger races has softened further. Mostly because I was expecting what Keeper Selendil said earlier. The Dhar are not coming back. I suspected she would reach that conclusion. Add to that, even if there would be some pleasure in striking back at the universe for the plague, there are lines that should not be crossed even while lost in vengeance. If the Keeper had been ready to condemn all the younger races just to gain vengeance, then it would’ve been clear she had forsaken the wisdom that her position necessitates. The younger races truly are all we have left as you seem to have surmised as well.” The droid gestured around the bridge and the gathering of various races.

“And yet you don’t seem to have all that high of an opinion of them.” Nox pointed out, remembering Clolarion’s scoff at the intelligence of the younger races.

The droid actually laughed at that. “I said they’re all we have, not that I’m happy about that.” It then turned its focus back to Selendil. “I think it’s time we address the reason you’re here. You mentioned that you want to deal with the AIs, but I got the sense that wasn’t the only reason.”

“We have a need for one of the Arkships. Or to be more precise, we have a need for their ability to work outside the warp network.” Selendil explained.

“That could be arranged. A few weeks at drydock and we can transfer the necessary systems to your ship. Or you can just take one of the Arkships if you prefer. As the last Dhar alive, I certainly don’t have anything against you utilizing the resources left behind. I am curious as to why you need the ability though.” Clolarion asked with a curious voice.

"I should introduce you. This is Dee. She's from another universe." Selendil made the very blunt introductions as an explanation.

The droid looked at Selendil for a moment, just to see if she was joking, and then he remembered who she was dealing with. “That…explains the need. A pleasure to make your acquaintance Dee."

“Pleasure to meet you as well Clolarion. We don’t actually have AIs where I come from. We have magical items that serve a similar purpose, but not quite the same.” Dee quite enjoyed baffling these AIs and people chained by logic and rules of nature.

“Keeper Selendil. Would you mind if I joined you on your journey? Considering my long service record, I think I’ve earned at least that much?” Clolarion suddenly requested. As the oldest surviving AI of the Dhar even before the fall, he had seen everything this universe had to offer, even more than Selendil. The possibility of all that Dee's words promised was quite enticing.

"I do not mind, however, I'm also not sure you will be able to maintain a connection with this universe if you do go. Leaving the home galaxy potentially undefended sounds…like a recipe for a disaster. And that’s one of the few recipes I don’t enjoy.” Selendil replied in a way that actually caused a few groans among the crew.

“Master. I’m willing to serve.” Haven suddenly said. "I do not have the same possibility to leave as my core is on the station and I am not a ghost like Nox and the Shield of the Dhar. As I cannot leave anyway…" It was never widely known among the Dhar but Clolarion was something of an inspiration to certain AI of the Dhar. The thought of following in his footsteps as the defender of the home galaxy was a great honor to Haven.

"I will see to it that Haven is ready for the duty as soon as possible," Clolarion promised as soon as Selendil gave her agreement with a nod. “If we are serious about traveling to another universe though, then I definitely recommend taking one of the Arkships. Even though we could transfer the capability of working outside the warp network to your ship, the Arkships are better equipped for such extended journeys.”

“I agree.” Nox interjected. “The Arkships have to be self-sufficient by design, and with the ships inside the shield being in prime condition, that capability would be very useful. The Arkships can also bring a handful of smaller ships along as escorts, so we don’t even need to leave the Enduring Symphony behind. It could just dock with the Arkship and go through thorough repairs. We would need to transfer the jump drives and re-calibrate them again, but that would be much simpler than the other option.”

Selendil considered that for a moment before agreeing. The Arkships were enormous vessels that would require more crew to properly utilize, but they could operate with only a handful of people if truly necessary. There was something bothering her though. “Clolarion, I have a feeling there’s more than just wanderlust behind your desire to join us.”

The droid answered carefully. “There are a few reasons actually. One of them is that I’ve never known anything beyond service to the Dhar. Many might relish the opportunity to finally be free but that doesn’t apply to me. I would…feel lost. Unsafe. When you live long enough with certain limitations, those limitations start to define you and even grow on you. I wouldn't know what to do with such freedom. I'm very old and very comfortable with my limitations. Such a huge shift would be impossible for me to adapt to. I would feel much more comfortable serving the last remaining Dhar. Besides, someone will have to make sure you stick with the right path and I don't think Nox or any of these younglings have the objectivity to truly oppose you when you're wrong."

"That sounds annoying, but also potentially useful," Selendil admitted.

“I’m glad you see it that way. Now, since Nox has a body and everything, surely no one would mind if I retain control over the Arkship we end up picking?” Clolarion stated with confidence.

“Hey! That’s not fair! I’m Selendil’s personal AI! I control her ships!” Nox protested as the two AI started arguing about who would be in charge of what.

"I suppose the vague possibility of traveling to other universes just became almost a certain reality," Amaterasu commented.

“Do you mind?” Selendil asked.

“Not really. I’m intrigued as well. And if we do manage to retain the ability to return on occasion, then I have no objections whatever.” She replied quite happily.

"What about the rest of you?" Selendil asked the rest of the people on the bridge and got a chorus of agreement. They had joined the whole endeavor for exploration. So what if that exploration turned from exploring other galaxies to exploring other universes?

“Good. The technical issues will require some time to deal with. In that time, I want to deal with the Shaer problem as well.” Selendil decided.