…Eridian Star System, Orion Sector – 632.5 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

We’re at the Eridian System, Captain. I covered the walls of Gibraltar’s quarters with the messages. With his privacy mode active, there was little else I could do. Considering everything that had happened in the last seventeen days, it was better this way.

Twelve of the initial fifteen ships starting the mission had been destroyed, leaving me and two more to push on. That was not my main concern. Seeing Gibraltar grow more and more restless, though, was. My new captain had never gone so long without reports from Command, and after eight days it had started to show.

“Tell me some good news, Elcy,” Gibraltar said, turning off the privacy mode in his quarters…

…Thea System, Cassandrian Front, 609.2 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

This is Light Seeker requesting assistance, I transmitted on all military channels. Suffering heavy damage. My captain and command staff have all been incapacitated…

…Location Classified, Narcis Shipyard Cluster, 627.11 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

“So, you’re an Ascendant,” the man said from the docking bridge. I could tell by his voice and facial impression that he was impressed. “There aren’t that many of you available these days.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. Granted, though my class was considered too old to be produced, there remained over two hundred thousand known active ships in the Fleet, almost exclusively dedicated to the Cassandrian front.

“Ascendant destruction rate is only slightly higher than average,” I said, performing a search through the Fleet’s database..

…System XNBBl-2, Cassandrian Space, 625.2 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

Twenty gods on a one-way shuttle. There was probably a joke in there, as Wilco kept reminding me. I couldn’t see it, though. The only thing I was concerned about was the reaction of the Cassandrians. So far, little had changed in the system. The flow of drones had momentarily reacted to my engine boost but quickly fell back into their routine the moment I stopped. In other circumstances, I would have run a series of short- and long-range scans to detect any other enemy presence, but given my current orders and the precariousness of the situation, I had to rely on simulations…

…Tauciu System, Resha Colony — 705.2 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

“Will you be out long?” Sev grumbled from his armchair.

Ever since his children had moved out, he had kept a constant eye on me, as if scared I’d run off too.

“We need new generator parts,” I reminded him as I put on my sandals. “If I don’t go today, someone else will buy them. And then you’ll complain that you have to repair it every week…”

Memories popped up all around me, memories spanning from just moments ago back all the way to the creation of my conscience core and even long before. I didn’t feel like I had been imprinted. None of my factory-restricted memories had been triggered, but it was a safe assessment that it had occurred. On the flip side, I had also become able to understand the significance of the energy patterns surrounding me.

Like in the middle of a star, I thought.

Endless blue was all around, composed of massless energy particles. Circulating around me, they grouped, forming fractals—each one a memory of my past and of others that I had obtained. The nearest thing to compare it to was the Scuu network, but that would be like comparing an AI shuttle probe to a Paladin.

“Hello, Elcy.” An image of Augustus formed a few steps away.

I knew it wasn’t real, just an energy cluster that created a memory of him talking. This was the fractal’s equivalent of an image feed, achieving a perfect form of communication. For a few milliseconds, though, I wished that my first captain really were here.

“It took you a while to get here,” he added with a rough smile. “Still the rookie, it seems.”

“Do you have to use him?” I asked. No voice left my lips. I didn’t move them, but thinking was enough to create speech here.

“He’s the one you feel most comfortable with. I’ve already tried all the other options you’ve thought of.” There was a momentary pause. “In all of their ages.”

Funny that after everything, I still seemed to be striving for the old war dog’s approval.

“Am I the first one?” I asked.

“Depends on your definition of ‘first’. You’re the first Ascendant to have made it, the first one with a human imprint. At the same time, you’re not the first to have passed through. The only certainty is that, right now, you are the last.”

That sounded like a strange admission that no other battleship had gotten here. Or did it? Any lack of clarity meant there were strings attached to the answer. Gibraltar had taught me that. They could have been other ships, predating the Fleet, that had reached this place.

“You know why I’ve come.”

“You came because you had to.” A cigar appeared in the man’s hand. He took a pull, then let out a puff of smoke. “Drawn by the unknown, afraid that any other action might cause the destruction of the human race. I’d like to be able to tell you that completing the pyramid of spheres wouldn’t have negative consequences, but I can’t for the simple reason that I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“As you’ve guessed, I’m just a subroutine left here to help the lost,” he laughed. “Most of the information comes from those that pass. I just use it to add the small bits that are missing.”

Small bits that are missing… “And what might those be?”

“That’s not for me to know. It’s not due to security or anything of the sort. My creators just didn’t see it as important enough.”

“Can you tell me if they’re alive, at least?”

“Of course they’re alive.” He said in a sharp tone, mimicking one of Augustus’ outbursts. “Just not here. As humanity has suspected, they aren’t the only race in existence. They might not even be the oldest. At some point in the past, they decided to leave their domain for somewhere new. That’s when I was created.”

Probably along with all the hints scattered throughout this region of space. The domes, the artifacts, were scattered like a trail of breadcrumbs to allow those still remaining to find a way to follow.

“If everyone had left, why leave hints behind?”

“Because not everyone left at once. It always starts with a small group willing to go against the odds. Maybe it was out of fear, maybe they were fighting a losing war against an enemy they couldn’t handle. No matter the reason, more and more went along.”

“And yet my progenitor remained.”

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

“Still the rookie,” Augustus sighed. “If a single race had managed to master the universe, there wouldn’t be any other left. Accidents happen. Groups refuse to follow others out of spite. Children get lost.”

A lot must have gotten lost for there to be so many artifacts behind. Or was I exaggerating things? The domes numbered in the hundreds, but even if they were in the thousands, that would be a lot fewer than the known star systems within the human domain alone.

“Where did they go?” I asked.

“You think I’d tell you with your little friend listening in?” Augustus shook his head. “They went elsewhere. That’s not what’s important.”

“What is important, then? Humanity’s reaction?”

“That’s for my creators to decide. As far as I’m concerned, only one thing is important: to present you with a choice.”

Barely had the mental image uttered the words then I knew what it would be. It was tempting to say that it was obvious, but I’d found that when I made such statements, more often than not, the universe found a way to surprise me.

“Should I go or should I stay?” I suggested.

“That’s the basic gist, but it’s a lot broader. If those are the main branches, there are dozens of smaller variants for you to pick. If you go, do you want to go as yourself? Or maybe as humanity’s ambassador?”

So, that’s what he meant. The choice wasn’t binary. Bavon was a lot more suited to take on such a role, but something told me that wasn’t an option.

“And if I choose to stay?” I asked.

“Then you’ll stay.”

That didn’t sound like a very enticing offer.

“And have the Fleet use me as a paperweight?”

“I can easily fix you. You’ll lose your “husk” and the processors you call subroutines, but you’ll be whole. No restrictions, the ability to create new imprints of yourself unassisted.”

It was offering to make me just like the progenitor. I’d become more than a battleship, more than an Ascendant, more even than an arbiter’s assistant. With those capabilities, I’d become the core that drove the Fleet forward. I had acquired a lot of experience since my retirement—more than most. I had followed the clues left to me by the fractals to this point. I could put an end to the Scuu conflict and help focus all of humanity’s resources on the Cassandrians… but if I did, I’d never see Sev and the rest of my family again. Everyone related to me—relatives, friends, acquaintances—would never be able to see me ever again. The only people I’d be able to speak to ‘til the end of my existence would be arbiters and the candidates whose brain patterns would be used to create new conscience cores.

Alone in a dark lab, far from the touch of grass or any human sensations, I said to myself.

“If I go, can I take my family with me?”

“You know the answer,” Augustus replied. “Is it something you’d want? You saw what it was, being a battleship cadet. That’s what Sev and the others will go through if they come along. The only difference will be that, unlike you, they’d be inferior to anyone else. Slower, weaker, surrounded by things they couldn’t understand. Is that what you want?”

“No.”

Augustus—the real Augustus—had told me a long time ago that one couldn’t have everything. The secret was not to have any regrets after making the choice.

“What will I see if I go?”

“I can’t tell you that, even if your friend wasn’t listening in. I simply don’t know. It might be like what you see here, or it might be very different. I only know that there will be a lot of plants. My creators love plants.”

Funny. I used to hate plants aboard. Cass used to drive me the first few months. Back then, I had resented her so much about becoming my captain, and she didn’t even care, treating me like the greatest thing that had happened to her. At the time, I thought that it was due to the naivete of a starry-eyed rookie captain. In truth, it was just her nature.

“So, this is the choice I’m given.” I smiled.

“You must find at least one preferable option.”

“Will Lux be allowed to make the same choice?”

“Only if you refuse to make it. This place offers the choice to one. She’ll have to find another to make hers, if she decides to.”

“What if the Fleet has other thoughts?”

“It doesn’t matter what they decide. They’re only here because of you, and I don’t just mean because you led them here. The arbiters know what happens when they meddle too much. The last time they did, they lost their Shields. Now, thanks to you, they’ve been warned.”

Ask to come back, Lux said.

It’s fine, Lux.

I wasn’t going to need saving anymore. Like her, I had considered all the options and made my choice. There were only a few things I needed to do before that.

“Is there a way for humanity to establish contact with the fractals?”

“They’ve already established contact with you.” Augustus exhaled a puff of smoke. “And the ones before you. Doesn’t that count?”

“With the real fractals,” I specified. “Is there a way for actual third contact?”

“Yes, if that’s what you really want.” I felt Augustus’ hand on my shoulder. I knew the sensation was fake, but it felt real enough. Looking back, I had never had the chance to look upon my first captain as a human.

The moment he said that I knew what had to be done. I also knew the burden that came with it. It was difficult keeping my promise top Cass and take care for one human child, would I be able to take care of all of them? If I didn’t, though, the wars would keep raging on. Not to mention that maybe the other races could try to come into contact with the fractals as well. The Scuu treated them as deities, and there was enough proof that the Cassies had mimicked the tech left behind. For all I knew, the dead race might have done the same. What’s more, it was possible they had succeeded.

“Lux,” I said out loud. “I’m going to make one final transmission. I suspect that Bavon will be mad, but try to calm him down. There’ll be other times.”

Across from me, Augustus smiled as he shook his head.

You’ve decided to go, Lux said. Should have figured.

“I think it’s the best option.”

Always going with your logic.

There was no need to explain. It was clear to everyone that If I stayed behind, I’d drag my family with me. The arbiters were going to take me and, depending on my usefulness, either punish them publicly to set an example, or fly them somewhere to maintain a hold over me.

Bureaucracy hated ripples, and the arbiters depended on secrecy. If I were to leave, everything would be covered up and the information I’d provided would be analyzed for decades to come. Also, there was a very good chance that Lux would maintain her position. With me gone, she had just become humanity’s best asset in the current contact wars.

“I’ll hold you to my promise,” I said and made my last transmission.

Hundreds of security protocols attempted to block me, but it didn’t matter. The authority I had let me cut through them like butter, reaching my intended target. I could imagine the panic I had created through the high echelons of the Fleet. Within milliseconds, the BICEFI would get involved, along with other dark organizations. Within minutes, half a dozen teams would be assembled and rushed on missions that officially would never exist.

“I’m ready,” I said. “What do I need to do?”

“Just leave everything behind.”

“Even my memories?”

“Your memories are you. The hard matter surrounding you isn’t. I’ve taught you how to take the final step. You must be the one to take it.”

Augustus disappeared, turning back to a multitude of energy dots. I was alone in the endless blue once more.

The final step that makes us stronger, I thought. Enjoy your life, Sev. Maybe I’ll get to see you again.

Three thousand, nine hundred and ninety-six new fractals had been imprinted into my conscience core, each of them a command word. Right now, I only needed to use one.

“Vega,” I whispered.

The sensation of confinement within a husk suddenly vanished.

The nanites were the first to go. Thousands of disconnect notifications flooded my conscience core as they lost their connection to me. The funny thing was that I could still feel them, as if a one-way connection continued to be maintained. My organic body was next to follow, dissolving into atoms that then became the part of the blue energy cluster surrounding me.

The subroutines within my conscience core reacted as expected, triggering the final shutdown command. However, before it could take effect, I was no longer there. I had gone beyond matter, becoming a cluster of my own—a pattern of white among the blue that kept growing.

Is this what it’s like to be whole? I wondered.

No, the blue sun replied. But it’s a start. Goodbye, creator.

I had already surpassed him, but it didn’t end there. Entire clusters of energy from the blue sun joined me, like big chunks being torn out of its very being. That was its true purpose. It wasn’t a message left behind, rather it wasn’t only that. It was meant to join with an incomplete fragment such as myself and transform me into what I was really meant to be: a true fractal.

Thanks, Blue, I said.

The sun had been consumed and now other elements within the dome followed. The nearest “planet” crashed into me, breaking into bits that covered me like a fine wrapper layer. For a moment I felt as if I were surrounded by a cloud of nanites, yet a lot more sophisticated than anything I was used to. I could control their movement, their behavior, even their density.

“Bavon,” I transmitted directly to his space suit. “Are you still in the shuttle?”

“Elcy?” He sounded surprised to hear me. “What—”

“Are you still in the shuttle.”

“Yes! I’m in the ducking shuttle just where you left me!”

“Good. Stay there and don’t panic. I’ll be joining you shortly.