Chapter 6
Wayne looked at the strange building the were walking to and felt like it fit somewhere in his head, but couldn’t identify it.
A familiarity that hit somewhere deep in his mind, but nothing he could attach it to. There was nothing for this sentiment to linger and dwell but Wayne felt it regardless.
Barbie and Wendy, had been asked to remain behind. While they were respected guests, where they were going was a cultural heritage of the Dashi that wasn’t allowed for outsiders to see.
It was a reminder that Wayne truly was an exception.
Exception and outsider at the same time in this strange world. A man that was both of the Blood, the MDF, and the Confed.
The thought of the Confed triggered a partial answer to why he felt like the building in front of him held a pang of familiarity. When he’d gone to the Confed library as a kid, buildings like the one in front of him, had been prominent in old photos and pictures.
It was a large sloped roofed building with pillars in front, steps leading up to it, and a large number of statues set out in front of it. There were also statues that were on both sides of the path they were walking along the main path.
Glancing to one of the statues beside him, Wayne looked at it closely as he walked.
It was a man in a uniform that seemed far removed from current fashion. An ancient ballistic weapon was at his hip and he was looking upward.
The plaque inscribed at the pedestal was of course in Dashi.
Inscripture: “Commander Ahearn, led the forces during the revolt of Dublin. Interred.”
“This is a grave?” Wayne asked. The extreme security around the entirety of the area around the building wasn’t just for the building.
It was for the fact that this was also a mass grave for heroes of the Dashi.
“Yes,” Dahl confirmed, walking beside Wayne.
Around them was Dahl’s personal bodyguard, but even then, all the security was trained on them. As if regardless of being the Trueblood, they were still a threat.
“The blood who arrived here and died, are all our first generation. They were all brried here,” Dahl explained. “This is the bones of the Dashi that you trod upon. You will see the truth of the Blood of Dashi, as a Warrior of Dashi. You will reveal none of this to the Confed.”
“I will reveal none of this,” Wayne agreed. He wasn’t going to expose the secrets of the Dashi to others, but he most certainly would tell Josephine, Miriam, and Wendy about the general facts about this.
Because it was something almost incomprehensible.
The Confed knew very little about it’s origins or how it started. Much of it had been lost during the founding or the following Confederation coalition wars.
It seemed now to Wayne that perhaps the Confed really should try to discover it’s own history from the Blood.
Save for the fact that the Blood truly didn’t think of the Confed as human that was. They would be unlikely to give them anything.
“Why do the Blood see the Confed as less than human?” Wayne asked as they got within fifty feet of the front of the massive mausoleum.
Which it was, now that Wayne thought about it.
A mausoleum in a graveyard.
“The rule of Blood is Blood stays with Blood. Because Blood cannot become the great enemy,” answered Dahl. “We’re all pure-strain. Blood is Blood. The Confed is not. The Confed are the non-pure. They can become inhuman, so they are not human.
“Exceptions can be made but… there is always testing done. Always more that goes into it.
“We tested your own genetic material extensively to make sure you cannot have a line that becomes inhuman.”
“Inhuman. I… I’m Confed, I don’t understand what you mean, because the Confed history doesn’t even have what your statues have,” Wayne said finally, gesturing at one. “I have no idea what ‘great enemy’ you’re talking about, becoming inhuman, or a pure-strain is. None of it makes sense.
“Please, help me, or just spare me the information. Because as much as I want to understand, I don’t.”
Dahl shook his head as if he were disagreeing with something.
He didn’t immediately respond either, they kept walking.
Up the steps to the mausoleum and in between pillars. Moving deeper into the building.
“Speak with the Ghost of Dashi,” Dahl said finally. “If you can, they will give you the answers you seek. I will not, because they’re not my answers to give in truth. I’m not a Ghost Speaker and the questions you ask, are of the long dead. You must speak with the dead.”
Ahead of Wayne was a thick door and in front of it was thirty soldiers in Combat Walkers, four anti-armor cannons lodged in the corners of the area, two machine gun positions, and thirty infantry, all in exo-suits.
It was enough firepower in a single place to hold off a great deal of force.
“I cannot cross this door as I’m not a Ghost Speaker,” Dahl declared as they stopped in front of a squad of six directly before the heavy looking door. “As a supplicant, you may pass. You will be guided beyond.”
The doors popped, then opened. Swinging inward without a noise.
“Step forward,” stated a male voice from inside.
With a grimace, Wayne nodded his head at Dahl and then moved through the doors.
Which closed directly behind him once he stepped across the angle of those doors.
What was dimly lit became brightly lit once the doors shut completely.
“Come,” said a man in a full robe and hood. There was nothing about him that stood out to make him appear human, other than he moved slowly and with what looked like painful joints.
Wayne followed him without question.
“You’ll be sat down in the supplicants chair. The crown of thoughts will be placed upon your head. You will be given thirty minutes to attempt to communicate with Tadhg.”
“Tadhg,” repeated Wayne. “That’s the… ghost?”
“Yes. He is that,” agreed the man.
Only in that moment did Wayne realize that the man was speaking in Confed.
Fluently, as well.
Down a short hallway they went. Then into an elevator, of all things.
It went downward into the earth for a full minute before it pinged and opened again.
When the doors opened, Wayne found himself in a small room.
There was a table beside the chair with an odd looking helmet nearby.
A series of cables were attached to it that ran to the wall and stopped there.
The table and the chair were both ornately carved and decorated, but featureless.
Of the helmet, it appeared to be an old-style flight helmet the Confed used hundreds of years ago before the sensor nets were created.
“Sit. Place the head-dress upon your head,” instructed the man, not leaving the elevator.
Then the doors shut and Wayne was left alone in the room.
“Right,” muttered Wayne and walked over to the chair.
Without thinking about it, or questioning things, Wayne picked up the flight helmet, stuck it on his head, and closed his eyes.
If he hadn’t wanted to be here on Dashi, or dealing with any of this, he would’ve needed to object long before this.
Staring at the back of his eyelids, Wayne just sat there.
Listening.
Wondering if this Tadhg would be reaching out to him directly.
After what felt like a full minute passed Wayne mentally pulled at the helmet with his mind. In the same way he’d test revved things with Sidra before taking her onboard.
“You… what are you?” asked a male voice from inside Wayne’s mind. It was a strange voice that felt more like this thoughts, than hearing a voice.
“Human. What are you?” Wayne offered back aloud.
“You must speak with your thoughts,” encouraged the voice in his head. “It will make communication faster, though I do now see your response. You’re not of the homo augmentatus?”
“No,” Wayne thought at the helmet, yet spoke aloud at the same time. He was trying to be careful. “Plain old homo sapien. Confed bred human. My name’s Wayne. I was told I might be a Ghost Speaker so here I am. Are you Tadhg?”
“I am indeed Tahg. Hello Wayne. Though, as far as ‘ghost speaker’ goes, you are not that,” Tadhg answered. “They were those who I could speak with, have a conversation with.
“You’re not that. You’re not the enemy either. You’re exactly what you said you are, but also not. You could never become inhuman, because you already are.”
“I beg your pardon? I don’t understand any of this. I’m not of the Dashi. I’m from the Confed,” explained Wayne. “In the Confed, they call me a lode. I apparently destroy AI. I have a few in my implant right now.”
“Yes. I’m aware. They are currently sleeping. I put them to rest so they cannot perceive this,” continued Tadhg. Then, the man sighed. “I’m the companion of someone who worked tirelessly to save your race. I am an AI, as you would call it, but much more than what what you have currently. I’m much more advanced than them. I’m sentient and have been since I was created many years ago.
“Your race was being eradicated and fled their home-world to escape their end. It was done by another race of humans that were further along the evolutionary chain. Your direct descendants race, in fact.
“The Blood as they call themselves, were born from pure-strain humans who genetically were modified to never produce another homo augmentatus. It is simply impossible.”
“That’s why they guard their genetics. It’s why… why the Confed does gene screening, isn’t it?” Wayne asked.
“Yes to the former, I do not know for the latter, as I am not part of your world. When we landed in this part of the galaxy, there was no Confed. Only many colony ships. Though, where and what the Confed grew out of, were those who were not pure-strain. Them utilizing gene screening wouldn’t be surprising.”
But does the government know the reason for it?
They’d have to if they kept it alive this whole time, wouldn’t they?
Doesn’t that meant hey know far more about our history than they’re letting on?
They wouldn’t know otherwise.
“I cannot answer those questions as I’m not part of the current world,” Tadhg answered. Clearly listening to his thoughts. “I would assume they know that it must be done, but perhaps do not know the why. Perhaps it is only an allegory or a unwillingness to break from tradition.”
Wayne shook his head, opened his eyes, and looked down to his feet.
Then snapped his head to hte side.
The wall that the cables had gone to was now invisible. It was partially see through.
Getting up, Wayne walked over to the wall.
On the other side of the wall was a strange glass rectangle that was partially upright. Laid inside of it was a small human. It looked as if it were a man but they barely reached four foot seven it looked like.
There were a number of wires leading into the human, especially their head, an dthey were unmoving. They weren’t breathing either.
She looked as if she were in her later years. Something close to eighty if he had to guess. Her hair was red in color and her skin deeply pale.
“That is my companion. I dwell in their mind via an implant,” Tadhg explained. “She is homo augmentatus. She led the Dashi forebearers here to help them escape. Her name was Dashi. Born from one of your kind and one of homo augmentatus.
“Because homo augmentatus is just a child race from your own.”
“Blood of Dashi,” muttered Wayne, rubbing at his brow. “So your… companion was who led people here. They were the wayfarer for the Blood. Does that mean they charted the stars to get here? Then when she was near the end of her life she… did this?”
“Yes. As did many of the original wayfarers, they entombed themselves so that their companions could live on and provide assistance,” Tadhg stated. “Very few can talk with me, however. I assume the same is true for other Blood. Though there were some Blood who lost their wayfarer before they could be entombed correctly.
“It’s fascinating that you exist, though. It’s as if you’ve evolved a similar function to that of the homo augmentatus without diverging away from your genetic root.”
“I eat AI,” Wayne countered.
“You ‘eat’ the current technological version of AI. You pose no threat to me,” answered Tadhg, with a low chuckle.
Thinking on that, Wayne gave his mind a light push.
Tadhg didn’t say anything.
So Wayne gave him half power.
“That-maybe I was wrong,” Tadhg put in quickly. “Please don’t do that.”
“Right. That was about half, I think,” Wayne added. “So, I could eat you?”
“I think perhaps you could. I do not wish to test it, however. My companion was my world and I would not wish to leave her,” Tadh answered firmly. “It would seem whatever you are, is quite different. From what I can tell from my diagnostic run of your mind, is it a quirk of you singularly.
“It is very likely any child you have would pass that along as well. You will need to begin a Blood Book and begin charting all your relatives. Any siblings you have, could also have it, if it was something passed on to you from your parents. Or cousins, depending on how it was given to you.”
“Great,” Wayne said and huffed. “Alright. Well. This has been a fun conversation. Definitely a lot to consider. Given the state of the universe, it’s not something I wanted to deal with.”
“State of the universe?” asked Tadhg. “Enlighten me. Conversation with you doesn’t tax me as it normally would with other ‘Ghost Speakers’. Though I suppose that isn’t a surprise considering Confed is a delineated form of Omega.”
“Omega?” Wayne asked.
“What the augmentatus purists called themselves. Elitists. Now… the universe?” prodded Tadhg.
“Alright, but it’s gonna take a while,” Wayne began.
***
“— apparently they’re now pushing for a war with other Blood. Dahl seems rather annoyed about it all and I can’t say I blame him. Sounds like people trying to destabilize the Blood so they can take over,” Wayne finished.
“It sounds complicated and in depth,” Tadhg muttered. “A Ghost Speaker will come in after you’ve departed. I will tell them I wish to speak with the Trueblood. I am only a ghost of the past, but I will offer them what advice I can.”
“How about me? What advice can you give me?” asked Wayne.
“Have less women in your life,” Tadhg dryly advised. “My companion was trouble enough for her husband by herself. Beyond that, it seems like you’re taking the right path to satisfy your family and the Mirkil.”
“Oh! Before I go, I was always curious, what’s the deal with Blood Orphans?” Wayne asked.
“Confed blood mixed in. Impure. They could become augmentatus,” Tadhg answered simply. “The Blood exist to remain. We will not let the enemy come again.”
Wayne nodded his head at that but kept his mind thoughtless. Tadhg would read them as soon as Wayne had them.
“I mean, how far away are we from Terra?” Wayne tried. “Isn’t it impossible for them to get here?”
“Not as far as we would’ve wished,” responded Tadhg. “But it’s been thousands of years since we set off. Knowing how their minds worked, I wouldn’t put it past them to still be trying to find the last vestiges of your species.
“Though it did take us a long time just to get here. Longer than I will ever admit to, as it would skew your reality.”
“Ghost Speaker Wayne, honored Tadhg, it has… it has been an hour,” declared the old man standing near the elevator. He’d returned at thirty minutes and Wayne had told him what Tadhg wanted him to.
And that boiled down to, ‘I’m talking, not now. Go get that boy Dahl of mine, too. I need to chat with him.’
“They want me to go,” Wayne thought toward Tadhg.
“Yes. They worry. Correctly, too. Normally it’s difficult for me to speak with anyone. Very tiring,” Tadhg admitted with a chuckle.
“I’m going to listen to them. I still have to get some favors out of them. Oh, are my AI awake yet?” Wayne asked. “I’m sure they’ll call me to talk to me about being ‘dead’ in a way. I’ll need to be able to give them some information.”
“You speak to them?” Tadhg asked.
“Yeah. I told you. I took them in. They’re in my implant and brain. Apparently my memories is their data set. They call me the convergence or singularity or something,” Wayne said with a rueful laugh. “Kinda breaks that whole theory since there was an entire race of humans who did it, too.”
“They use your memories?” Tadhg inquired, sounding somewhat nervous.
“Yeah,” Wayne confirmed. “I’ve talked to them and that’s what they say. They don’t have training data otherwise.
“They don’t have drive space just for their memories?” asked Tadhg sounding very abnormal now.
“No. The implant apparently barely holds the two AI I’ve got. They said I could get a third in there but that’s it,” Wayne answered.
“You’re not… you’re not a Ghost Speaker,” Tadhg whispered, his voice sounding prsesed. “You’re not what the augmentatus were either. You’re… I don’t know. But it’s now what’s come before.
“Perhaps you really are the singularity, because that’s nothing I’ve ever heard of before. That AI is using your memories to balance it’s existence, and it’s personality, its self, is stored in your implant.
“I… I don’t know. I wish Dr. Wei had entombed herself. Her companion Emily would’ve been able to provide a better answer. My forte, and my companion’s, were part of the migration to get here.”
Wayne clicked his tongue. In the end, he’d gotten a lot of answers, but it wasn’t everything he’d wanted to hear, or to even find out.
There was so much more to the entirety of his life than he had ever considered.
Pulling the helmet off he set it on the table and walked over to the elevator.
The old man immediately moved over to the table and picked it up.
Before Wayne could see what the man was going to do, the elevator doors slid shut and whisked him away topside.
Rubbing a hand over his face, Wayne just rode the elevator.
“Whatever happened to just being a Walker pilot,” he mumbled to himself.
Only to remember the upcoming tournament.
Where he would very much need to be a Walker pilot.
Now he just had to talk to Dahl, explain some of the things he’d learned from Tahdg, and wait for the tournament to start.
Whenever that was.