28.

Diego awoke to find a furry face staring at him. The Sulivans’ nose was inches away from his own, causing Diego to jerk and shriek in a manly way in his surprise. The alien jerked and fled from the room, moving quickly. Diego quickly got out of bed and dressed, with the first item he put on the device that allowed him to speak with Bob.

“Bob, is it normal for the Sulivans to sneak up on humans while their sleeping and … I think it was sniffing me,” Diego said while looking for his shirt.

“Indeed, it very likely was acquiring your scent for future reference,” Bob agreed. “To answer your question, no. It is not common for a Sulivans to sneak up on a human, neither while they are sleeping nor at any other time. It is, however, very common for a Topokan to attempt to stealthily acquire a male Yonohoan’s scent after confirming their identity and bloodline. Your bloodline is presently unknown to them, but you have been declared the brother of the last son of Eodar, and so you are legally a Yonohoan now.”

“And I am grateful for that honor,” Diego said. He found his shirt, and pulled the stretchy and flexible material on over his head. “But what does that have to do with them sneaking up on me?”

“The Topokans are very skittish around humans that they do not know. They are afraid that you will kill them,” Bob said. “Unfortunately it returns to the Liberation Wars, during the time in which the Yonohoan were accepting Veterans into their clans. Some of the veterans would respond with violence at times when the Topokans were unprepared for it.”

“I understand. The Liberation Wars sound like a very nasty thing to have fought in and I can imagine that the surviving veterans would have some nasty PTSD,” Diego said.

“Define PTSD please,” Bob said.

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It’s recognized psychiatric matter in our society that someone who goes through something traumatic, like being a soldier in a war or even the victim of a violent act, will often develop a recognizable group of symptoms in the aftermath. It’s a recognized illness and handicap on our world,” Diego said.

“I understand,” Bob said. “There is a similar group of illnesses that is recognized by the galactic community. They all are characterized by the difficulty involved in treating them, as it is not as simple of a matter as medicating the patient, or correcting an injury with medical nanites.”

“Yeah. It sucks,” Diego said, exhaling. “Bob, do you think I screwed up during the Rocktala ceremony? I had no idea that it was such a solemn occasion, or that it would be taken so seriously by the Yonohoans. I’m worried that I might have jumped into the deep end after forgetting that I cannot swim.”

“There is no expectation that you will transition seamlessly into Yonohoan society and life, Diego. Your obligations are largely symbolic as there are so many layers of defenses that exist for the protection of planet Totola that the idea that you will actually be called in its defense is laughable,” Bob explained. “I cannot say whether you acted in error or not. You were told to act naturally. While you did not understand the scope of the importance of your participation in the ritual, you performed exactly to the expectations of Eolai, going beyond them with your solemn oath of brotherhood.”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t expecting an oath between two men to have such a widespread impact between our entire societies,” Diego explained. “Aside from seeing him as my counterpart in this experiment to see whether or not Yonohoans and Earthlings can survive in the same environment or off of the same food, I had no idea that Eolai was an important person in Yonohoan culture.”

“I assure you that even if Eolai were not the last son of Eodar, the Yonohoan would have taken oaths of brotherhood or sisterhood from any of the members of the fleet in the same fashion.” Bob paused. “Each member of the fleet has an important ancestor. Eolai is unique in his situation in that when he was born, he was the only member of his bloodline of his generation. The blood of Eodar was never widely spread on planet Totola, but the discovery that it was about to go extinct meant that both of the governments of the Yonohoan and the Topokans took measures to ensure that it would continue.”

“And that is why Eolai is expected to have one hundred children,” Diego said. “Yes, I understand that.”

“I am not certain that you do, but it has been explained several times,” Bob agreed. “It is important to the Yonohoans that the blood of Eodar always lives on somewhere in this universe.”

“Who was Eodar?” Diego said.

“He was many people,” Bob answered. “A warrior and a scholar, a politician and a diplomat, a conqueror and a revolutionary.”

“So it’s more like a title, or a common name? Was it a name bestowed upon someone posthumously?” Diego said.

“No,” Bob said. He was silent for a moment, then said, “Ah, there is a technology of which you are unaware of. It is an illegal technology to use in the modern universe, but was commonly used to reinforce the swarms during the Liberation Wars. It is the same technology which the first Liberator used during the transition from phase one to phase two of the wars to create clones of himself throughout the universe. Eodar was a Yonohoan who was subjected to this technology, and many versions of Eodar were spread throughout the universe.”

“Oh, I get it,” Diego said. He frowned. “You say that the person was duplicated. Does that include their memories and pasts?”

“Yes. Their mental engram was copied perfectly,” Bob explained. “Many of the duplicates had no idea that they were not the original person. It is one of the reasons that that the technology is illegal in the modern universe, as it prolonged many conflicts pointlessly and brought about much suffering.”

“I can imagine,” Diego said.

“Whatever you are imagining, I doubt you grasp the scope of it,” Bob said.

“Hey, me earthling smart!”

Diego made his own way to the dining area, looking for Eolai. Twice he spotted Topokans, who were slowly returning to the ship now that Diego had declared brotherhood with Eolai. He spotted one who was comically attempting to hide behind a corner despite half of his body being exposed.

“I’m not going to bite,” He told the skittish alien. “I understand that many of you want to come and get my scent. I don’t mind. You don’t have to be frightened of me.”

The alien, rather than seeming reassured, vanished behind the corner. Diego sighed.

“Please do not take offense to the Topokans. It will take them some time to adjust to your presence,” Bob told him. “They are trying very hard to be brave for the sake of Eolai.”

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

“I understand. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do to make the situation easier for them,” Diego said.

“It might be best if you simply pretend that they are not present at all,” Bob suggested.

“It’s a little difficult to ignore a nine-foot tall creature that looks like a monster from a child’s dream,” Diego said. “But okay, if you think that’s for the best I’ll stop trying to engage them unless they engage me first. How are things aboard the Seeker ?”

“Your former captain has announced that she is accepting the first of the Toormonda ships and plans to incorporate its use into the primary science mission of the Seeker ,” Bob answered.

“Hey, that’s great!” Diego said.

“Indeed,” Bob agreed. “There has been a significant amount of traffic between the Seeker and the Toormonda. I have been approved to inform you that each of the member of the Seeker ’s crew has been instructed to undergo a medical examination aboard the Toormonda. The preliminary results show various levels of the same neural degradation which was noticed in you, Commander Anders, and Liu Wei.”

“Yeah. We were expecting that. The Tunnel Drive, right?” Diego said.

“Indeed, that is the most likely explanation. Your captain, Liu Wei, and Trenola are working to come up with a treatment plan for the members of the crew who have begun to show symptoms or are showing the most damage to their neurons. There is an information packet for you to review at some point regarding your medical options as well.”

“It’s not urgent, is it?” Diego asked.

“No. The damage to your body is not at a stage where treatment is a priority,” Bob agreed. “Not unless you have been suppressing symptoms.”

“If I have been, I remain unaware of it,” Diego said. He was looking around the dining room. He was hungry, but had no idea how to get food for himself. He was about to ask Bob for help when the door opened and Eolai approached, one of the Topokans following behind him carrying a tray with several dishes and covered plates aboard it.

“Good morning, brother, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Eolai said.

“Good morning, brother,” Diego greeted back. He scratched his head. “Do we have to be so formal all of the time now?”

Eolai laughed. “No. I am simply excited to have a brother. I know that you did not understand the significance behind your words last night, but they were spoken earnestly by both parties and your innocence on the matter only makes my responsibilities to you and your people more binding. Come, let us eat.”

The breakfast contained several dishes for both of them. Diego was served a bowl of what looked like grits but tasted like bananas, as well as a fruit full of yellow seeds that tasted tangy and vaguely bitter. There were three drinks, one of which was a hot black liquid. He frowned before taking a sip of it, then made a face.

“If that’s an attempt at making coffee, it has a way to go,” Diego commented. “It’s far to strong and bitter.”

“Ah. My apologies,” Bob said. “I am attempting to replicate the samples that were brought aboard the Toormonda for analysis. Several members of your crew have been enjoying the opportunity to explore the technology aboard that ship by experimenting with the food replicator, and this was the closest approximation to your favored drink that they were able to create.”

“Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad with some cream and sugar,” Diego commented before setting it back and drinking one of the alien beverages instead. It was a blue drink, slightly thickened and tasting like a sports drink from Earth.

“My people are very excited by your existence, Diego,” Eolai said. “Many are entering places of gathering around a rockata to watch the recording of our ceremony. Your words were far more powerful than you knew at the time that you spoke them. You have created a bridge between the people of Earth and the Yonohoans which we are very excited to reinforce and strengthen. I believe that involving you in our sacred traditions was the right decision to make for both of our peoples.”

“I hope you’re right, Eolai,” Diego said. “So, let me get how this works right. Every Rocktala on the planet recorded our message, but it will only repeat it one time, right?”

“That is true,” Eolai agreed. “There is some consternation that the message cannot be transferred to newly manufactured Rocktalas due to the way that it was encoded. Some of my people are upset that, eventually, the original transmission will die out and fade away, and that the ceremony of brotherhood between us will no longer be viewable. There has already been many efforts made in order to preserve the recording.”

“You know, I don’t know that I’ve actually ever seen a Rocktala message,” Diego commented. “So I have no idea what it is that the recording of our ceremony would actually look like.”

“I thought that might be the case,” Eolai admitted. He placed a small disk on the table, and suddenly before them was the face of a small boy. “This is my youngest son,” Eolai explained.

“Viloran ta zephari ora tularin so ti coda mavolio …” the boy said, and he continued speaking for several moments. Diego realized suddenly that the translation device on his ear was not translating the words for him.

“I have no idea what he is saying,” Diego said.

“He is saying ‘hello father, I love you. I am so excited that you have found a brother, and that Eodar has one more son in the universe. I look forward to the day in which I am able to meet my new uncle.’” Eolai translated once the message ended. He shrugged. “This is a very typical Rocktala message. A simple message passed from a child to his family or friends. The devices used to send these messages can be used for many other functions as well, of course.”

“But they’re unsecured. Anyone can see a message sent by a Rocktala, correct?” Diego said.

“Yes. The message you have just watched has been watched by at least three hundred million other people.” He laughed. “I must confess that the messages sent to me by my family are presently getting a lot of ‘hits’ since our ceremony.”

“There’s a view counter on them?” Diego asked.

“Yes, that is right.”

“Why didn’t Bob translate it for me?” Diego inquired.

“It is customary for artificial existences to refrain from interpreting or altering the messages sent by Rocktalas in any fashion,” Eolai explained. “That includes for purposes of translation.”

“So the people who watched my ceremony have no idea what I was saying?” Diego asked.

“Unless they were one of the very few who have been learning English, then no,” Eolai said. “They understood only my part of the message as it was broadcast. Most will have immediately sought out the fully translated transcript which the government released afterwards, so that they might understand why I was willing to make such a significant decision based upon your words. It shall be the same when your ‘Project Radio Tower’ begins. The people will listen to the sounds of your people, and then seek understanding after having heard it.”

“I see,” Diego said. “Do you think that a lot of people will be tuning in?”

“Yes.” Eolai answered. He grinned. “We are very, very excited to listen.”

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