Anyone who tells you the war went according to plan is a liar. - Bo'okdu'ust, Lanaktallan socio-mathatetics psycho-historian and researcher

It was called, by the being who created it, the Cavern of Night Stars. A place where the creator could have fellow Atrekna gather in something that the maker had created, with his own genius, a thing that the maker called the "Speaker's Circle."

A highly advanced social activity that allowed the Atrekna to use their largely atrophied ability of verbal speech to communicate ideas, thought positions, while keeping their own thoughts inviolate.

It used the cleverly discovered "Speaker's Stick" to ensure that every Atrekna present was aware of which Atrekna would be speaking.

The gathered Atrekna were clad in finery. From wedding or prom dresses to tuxedos to coat and tails to even suits decorated with precious gems and metals. Slippers or shoes were sparkling in their comfort and luxury. Some wore veils, some wore feathered masks, others wore terrifying masks of the front of lemur skulls, decorated with jewels and feathers. Three stood out. One that wore loricated armor with a fan of blades behind them, another that wore only a bandoleer decorated with skulls, and a third that wore nearly nothing, only a chest covering and groin covering of fine lace arranged in strange patterns that showed off the flesh of the sexless Atrekna.

All of them had seen beyond the commonly held Atrekna wisdom that a universe was nothing more than a collection of resources for those powerful enough to seize it.

They had all discovered that the universe was aware in some strange and unknowable way.

And it was actively malevolent.

"Cult of the Defiled One" was one moniker they had been known as.

They had no concerns of what lesser, ignorant beings called them.

The one other Atrekna called "The Defiled One" they knew simply as Dalvanak the Maimed One. An Atrekna that had faced the Mad Lemurs of Terra in hand to hand combat and barely survived, but in doing so had his mind opened to the secrets of the Young Universe.

They had gathered within the chamber, where gems were held up by phasic power in the air above the Atrekna, each glimmering gem representing a stellar system. Each gem held all the needed relevant data on the system for any Atrekna who chose to examine it.

It was called "Freely Available and Exchangeable Data" and Dalvanak was proud that he had invented the philosophy and shared it with his fellow Atrekna.

Hundreds of the gems were giving off a soft purple glow. Random ones lit up softly then dimmed again when the Atrekna who had touched them with psychic power had 'read' what they wanted.

The Speaker's Circle was quiet as the gathered Atrekna looked over the data carefully gathered in the last few months.

"They're all gone," the one in the scanty attire said softly. She was proud of her attire. The treasure vault that the attire had been held within was heavily guarded, with many murals and paintings and holograms of nearly nude lemurs, all baring their teeth in aggression, all wearing different styles of the attire she now wore. She knew that the finery was worn only by the most powerful and wealthy.

"Our people are gone. On every world I surveyed, our people are beyond dead. Even temporal replication cannot save them," she said. She touched the end of the Speaker's Stick with two feeding tentacles, then handed it Dalvanak, who stood silently.

Dalvanak nodded sagely, holding onto the Speaker's Stick for a moment. "Indeed. If there are any of our people out there, they are either solitary or too cautious to move."

One of the Atrekna, wearing a full head covering mask of the fearsome Hamburger King, snapped their fingers several times.

Dalvanak handed over the Speaker's Stick.

"The Confederacy obviously had one last horrific weapon in their arsenal. Possible even a Mad Lemur Extinction Response weapon," he said. "This weapon not only wiped out our people but caused mass casualties even among their allies. The worlds inhabited solely by reanimated lemur dead are now nothing more than massive graves."

The others nodded sagely as the Atrekna touched the Speaker's Stick to the crown on the top of the full head mask, then handed it back to Dalvanak.

Other crystals lit up, softly glowing, then dimmed.

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

The one in loricated armor snapped her fingers several times and Dalvanak handed her the Speaker's Stick.

"This latest lemur weapon paid no attention to whatever allegiance the victims held. It simply killed without mercy or concern," she said. "I have fought a lemur. They are careful in their target selection and seek to minimize collateral damage."

The one wearing only a bandoleer nodded. "Free candy," it rasped.

"I have surveyed nearly a hundred worlds. Of those held by our people, they are nothing but tomb worlds at worst, slavespawn and servitor populated worlds at best," she continued. "I believe, with what limited evidence there was to be found, that the higher phasic energy level a being had, the more the weapon concentrated on that being."

She handed back the Speaker's Stick.

Dalvanak walked back and forth, impressing the others with how strong his legs had become. Only The Hunter and the Queen of Blades had such strongly muscled limbs.

"If it was a Mad Lemur weapon," he said. He looked up and a crystal gleamed.

"My examinations of the evidence, along with my meditations and my visions, have brought me great wisdom," he said softly. "That system, that system there, is where it all stemmed from."

The others touched the crystal with their power, reading the data.

A research system, devoted to discovering how to burn the hyperatomic planes known as hyperspace and jumpspace. It had been under heavy attack by Inheritor forces.

"Someone panicked," Dalvanak said. "A gate was opened from this world, to this one," Dalvanak waved one hand and another crystal lit up. The others all nodded. One of the Cult's research worlds, where they sought to understand the Mad Lemurs of Terran and the Inheritors of Madness by examining their culture and society.

The world was dangerous. Full of phasic imprints of furious Terrans and reanimated Terrans as well as automated military war machines and security devices.

"The gate was a high end space-time bridge, using the technology they had developed. A purely phasic bridge," Dalvanak said.

A line connected the two crystals.

"I have determined, through careful examination, that at the same time the research facility had open portals to what is called 'Hellspace' by the lemurs, as well as to hyperspace and jumpspace," Dalvanak stated. He lifted the stick to call careful attention to his next words. "The facility believed that we had a stealthed ship in the location, and when the bridge opened it washed the entire planet with phasic energy in a hope of causing our shields to drop.

"They believed that the phasic energy would have no effect upon the reanimated lemurs," he stated.

He paused for a moment.

"They were right, but that correct assumption doomed them," Dalvanak stated. "The phasic pulse energized and, in many cases, created phasic shades from particularly horrific or enraged deaths suffered by the Lemurs."

There were several snaps of fingers, hands held low, to signify disapproval. An Atrekna with a flute played a somber slide-whistle sound.

"The phasic shades, following the highest energy source, swarmed through the gate, replicating and increasing in strength," Dalvanak said. "They quickly overwhelmed the research facility and, drawn by the phasic energy, flooded through the open gates to other worlds."

More crystals began to light up.

"Then, somehow, the phasic shades began traveling across our own phasic knowledge and intellect communication network," Dalvanak stated. "As if that wasn't enough, they propagated through the Lemur hyper-com network."

There were gasps of shock.

"The phasic overload was so strong that it allowed the phasic shades, which I have termed 'ghosts' - a term I made up - to replicate themselves by the hundreds," Dalvanak said.

The crystals rapidly began to connect to one another until soon, the entire base of the galactic arm spur, as well as the far end, were all connected.

"Within hours, days at the most, nearly every world held by our people, the lemurs, or the Inheritors, was under assault by ghosts. I have named this event The Great Ghost Dance, as they 'danced' through the systems," Dalvanak said.

"Approximately nineteen days later, the Stellar Mass Visible Light Explosion Event, which I have named 'The Great Thrum' happened. This released rapid and opposing pulses of phasic energy from every stellar mass in the galactic arm spur at the same time."

The entire crystal arrangement flashed bright white.

"That pulse was nearly a thousand rapid pulses, each one in opposition to the one before it. When the Great Thrum was over, the shades had been cleared, as the phasic power penetrated physical objects easily, allowing even the sides of the planet facing away from the stellar mass to be showered with the phasic energy," Dalvanak finished.

He looked around.

"Our people's own hubris has killed them," he stated. "Our people's blindness to the way this Young Universe operates caused their own downfall."

He looked around. "Has everyone here taken precautions, as broadcast by the Inheritors of Madness, to protect their fortresses and redoubts?"

One by one they all nodded.

"Remember, my equals, that chronotron or temporal operations results in the worst outcome possible for you, for us, for our people," Dalvanak warned. "We are now the lone remaining population of our people."

There was silence for a long moment.

"We have voted to retreat to our fortresses, our redoubts, our secured laboratories," Dalvanak reminded the assembled members of his "Think Tank" (he invented that nomenclature) gravely. "Now, I must urge you all to set aside what we have always perceived as our greatest strength.

"The ability to manipulate time itself."

The others nodded. The one with the flute made a quick trill of assent.

"We will separate. Meet sparingly," Dalvanak said. "We will return here, once a year, where I will host a Grand Ball, so that we may consolidate our knowledge and share our discoveries. Those who wish may interact with the outside universe, but I would caution you against that activity."

The others all nodded.

Dalvanak let the Speaker's Stick go, where it hovered in mid-air.

"Let us adjourn for tea and crumpets," Dalvanak said.

The others all nodded.

After all, tasty refreshments should always follow such deep and important discussions.

As always, the crystals suspended in midair were silent and kept their own counsel.