Trazyn the Infinite
Trazyn felt thrilled. A museum wasn’t quite a museum without visitors. History was meant to be appreciated, not forgotten or destroyed like so many of the short lived races tended to do.
A civilisation that didn’t learn and honour their history was a civilisation doomed to repeat their mistakes until they eventually resulted in the downfall of their civilisation.
It was inevitable. Short sightedness was also inevitable when one lived for a scant few decades and had to worry about daily sustenance.
Unfortunately, despite Trazyn’s Infinite Galleries being the most expensive and — if he was being honest with himself — greatest museum in the galaxy, it hardly had any visitors.
Not of his own fault of course. Few among his fellow Necron saw the appeal of his collection. Many only wished to look into the future and forget the past ever existed, like that damned Orikan.
Other races were even worse. He would sooner send his collection into the nearest black hole than invite an Aeldari into his sanctum. Orks were not the best crowd for an intellectual conversation and humans … well, they were the most receptive, though still lacking in many ways.
He had to threaten the last group of visitors every few minutes with a painful death so they would stop trying to kill him. Then he put mindshackle scarabs in their heads, but that only made it worse. He felt like a fool, showing around a group of puppets who let his words go in one ear and out the other.
Anyway, with all that said, one could easily understand why he was delighted to show around his newest visitor.
The manner in which she got here was … well, unconventional. Usually visitors were supposed to enter a museum on their own volition, not through a Prismatic Labyrinth.
Oh well. He wasn’t one to care about such little details. The female being of a yet undetermined species was a willing visitor. No, she was better. She was paying attention, asking questions, and learning.
She wanted to be here and seemed to enjoy herself.
Then it became even better. He learned she had the memories of a human from the early 21st century. The how didn’t matter to him as much as the well of new information her mind represented.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
And what a well it was. Humanity first caught Trazyn’s attention during what they now called the Horus Heresy. He had only a scant few historical records and artefacts from before that.
Even the humans barely understood their own history, especially from before the 30th millenia. Such a shame.
The day just kept getting better. One of the high points certainly was when she recognised one of the ancient paintings in the human section.
To think he had such a thing lying about in a simple stasis field. It would have to get an exhibit of its own. A relic from the personal collection of the Sigillite, one older than most civilisations alive today deserved that much at least.
He worried initially that his initial rough treatment of her might have left some sour feelings behind — as it usually did with humans — but he was pleasantly surprised.
Well, he would have been more surprised if he wasn’t made aware that the only thing human about his newest visitor was the shape of the body she seemingly preferred to take. Aside from those memories she had of course.
His running theory was that she was some ancient being that once devoured a human that lived in the 21st century and absorbed the human’s memories.
As for what exactly she was? He had no clue. It was exciting. A unique being. There were very few of those in the galaxy. It also made her a perfect candidate to be preserved in the galleries …
It would have been such a waste if some short lived imbecile killed this unique being. The only member of a species. Gone. Just the thought of it was revolting. He had to somehow convince her that remaining here was for the best … she seemed reasonable enough so maybe it wouldn’t come down to a fight.
He had little doubt about being able to overpower her. She would surely be able to wreak some havoc, maybe even destroy some of his artefacts, but the containment in which her ‘avatar’ was held had been made to restrain Star Gods.
It would hold.
Still, he’d rather it not come down to that. He suspected she would be much less amenable after being roughed up by a phase-sword. He could lose his new favourite visitor.
What a dilemma. What a brain-twister.
Then she offered an alternative- No, it was partly a threat, wasn’t it? Hmm, he wasn’t sure whether it had any teeth to it. Could she really do anything to Solemnace, even if that ‘avatar’ was just one of many she controlled?
He doubted it. Solemnace held a Star God prisoner. It was one of the most magnificent pieces of Necron ingenuity and technology in existence. An entire planet made of living metal powered by a star at the core of it all.
No upstart bio-morpher — or whatever she was — would bring it down after having stood the test of time for 60 million years.
Still. She mildly resisted the containment field, and claimed to be capable of detonating her body. Some exhibits could be damaged as a result. That meant negotiation it was.
As for the danger she posed to his person? None. Trazyn long mastered transferring his consciousness. If, by some miracle, she managed to destroy his body, he had millions more all around the planet he could inhabit in a moment. Echidna was hardly the only one who could play the multiple body card.
Not that any of those considerations mattered in the end. Her offer was good. Stellar even. She would willingly leave her avatar behind, and if he wanted, she would fight for him for compensation in the form of organic samples.
It was better than what he originally wanted. Some drops of blood were hardly important to him. He also understood he was partially ensuring she would never have all of her avatars destroyed this way. Perfect.
And he could take her out of stasis to get her opinion on new exhibits too. Another impartial opinion was always useful and that one Magos he tended to bother with it was dreadfully dull when anything other than fiddling with organic matter was concerned.
Trazyn agreed to her terms with barely contained glee. Things didn’t tend to go nearly as well for him as this had, but he would be taking a free win when offered.
A single thought ran through his mind as he watched the strange woman’s still constrained avatar freeze as the stasis field came online.
Her help might be more than useful when the time comes to visit Cephris. I imagine the tomb of Nephret will be heavily defended, even after all these years and with the planet having suffered an Exterminatus.
Yes, I think I will take her with me.