The Sliver broke through the upper atmosphere of Jane’s World with incredible ease. It glided across thick lavender clouds illuminated by frequent lighting strikes. Some would strike the Sliver, sending electricity coursing through its hull, which in turn provided small amounts of energy. To Matrioshka it felt like tickling.
The Sliver’s engines fought the winds, it was a pointless battle for the wind. Each Torrian X-3550 engine could support the entire Sliver, and the ship had 8. Two pairs on each of the two wings, and four on the stern. They blazed a deep blue, sending shockwaves through the purple atmosphere - dissipating clouds.
Soon, the clouds parted, revealing a dark landscape littered with pale pink crystals. Some were large, but most were pebble sized. They reflected and mirrored the flashes of lighting.
“Those are personal transport vehicles.” Makoe said and highlighted a dozen smaller machines, with caterpillar tracks and six seats each. Most were overturned on their sides; one was even upside down.
Matrioshka brought the Sliver as close as possible and asked Rhea:
“Nanite compatibility with ambient atmosphere?”
“Fully compatible.” She replied.
The nanites, which make up the majority of the ship, and the crew’s bodies, could endure a wide range of temperatures and pressures, but they failed near absolute zero and at more than 200 standard atmospheric pressures. They were very vulnerable to kinetic energy however. It is why the Sliver’s outer hull was 3 inches of the toughest alloy the Imperium can muster.
Jane’s World, with its -50°C and 7.2 atmospheres was well within the nanite’s range of functionality.
Within the Sliver’s bridge, a portal opened. It connected directly to the outside, created by a combination of VR and a special opening at the side of the ship which allowed nanites to transition from the ship.
As the captain, Matrioshka claimed her right to be the first to step on a new world. She walked through the portal, which dematerialized her body within the bridge, and materialized it again just outside the ship. To Matrioshka it felt like magic.
Matrioshka’s dark boots found the ground, soft and gravely. The wind pulled her hair wildly. Irked, she commanded her nanites to form a bun, which they did.
Matrioshka logged herself as the first imperial mind to set foot on a world in the Empire system.
Rhea and Makoe passed through the portal, and got their hair under control as well.
PesKal and Damien were the last to follow. From the outside, the Sliver was magnificent. 120 meters of black metal, wide wings and soft pulses which signal the use of the Cloak Frame. Though darker than usual because of it, it could still be seen through the Cloak, if they moved a few meters away from it, the Sliver would disappear.
Matrioshka checked the strength of the connection between her body and her lattice, and was satisfied it held firm. The backup transmission of her mind to the Imperium was strong too.
Soon, the 5 of them stood near the mysterious structure, observing it. Its upper dome, was now shattered, its hull broken and charred in places, the tell-tale signs of lightning strikes.
“I have mapped a path which will allow us to paint a detailed picture of the structure’s builders.” Rhea said and forwarded the map, a soft line formed in space, outlining Rhea’s path within the VR.
Matrioshka began to follow the line, which led directly to a set of large steel doors, most likely an airlock. Her crew followed her, only stopping briefly so Makoe could extract a sample of a computing material from one of the personal transport vehicles. She analysed it through her on-body sensors;
“Their computers use a mix of optical and classical technologies. Their optics are well above those of the 22nd century Imperium. The classical parts are however, at least two centuries behind.” Makoe noted.
Damien added: “Optics before electronics? Interesting. This tells us the builders either had a better general understanding of light, or the path of technological advancements is even more non-liner than we thought.”
They arrived at the door. Matrioshka used the Sliver to map it down to the atom. It was without power, and needed a very specific set of coded impulses to run through its control panel. Matrioshka dedicated 0.1% of her processing power to it, found the code within 2.3 seconds and struck her hand through the nearby panelling. Once within, the nanites of her hand melted and flowed towards the controls, quickly they found the necessary mechanisms, powered them, and activated the opening sequence.
The doors slid open, revealing a short corridor. Rhea’s path led left.
Matrioshka retracted her hand, and led her crew left. Rhea had to reduce the size of her body to fit thought the door, this seemed to amuse Damien, who smirked, even though he was barely able to fit himself.
Arriving at a door on the right-hand side, Matrioshka opened it without much effort, within it was what looked like a cafeteria. The tables were metal, chairs of plastic around them, and a large selection of once fresh goods within a glass display. Pink crystals were scattered about and Matrioshka noted the shattered skylight.
“The crystals grow thanks to the atmosphere. Observe how there is more of them near the top of cafeteria, closer to the outside.”
As her crew looked, they indeed saw larger and more densely packed crystals, adoring the skylight like a crown.
PesKal entered the kitchen from where he said: “They were exclusively herbivores! And drank comparatively small amounts of water.”
Rhea went to investigate, and soon added to PesKal’s assessment: “A bipedal species, they needed to endure long periods of time without water, but still ate plants which did heavily rely on water.”
Matrioshka joined them and saw Rhea focus on a plate filled with black mucus. She watched her access the ships sensors and gain a thorough scan. Rhea concluded:
“DNA is present. Tt is distinct genealogically - not yet archived by the Imperium.” She smiled softly and said: “This is a new evolutionary tree.”
This wasn’t anything unusual, the Imperium encountered over 10 500 life bearing worlds. Turns out, life was plentiful amongst the stars.
Intelligent life however, was not. Which is what excited Matrioshka, she still couldn’t believe it happened to her again.
The Imperium will never believe this happened to me again. She thought, and said to Damien and Makoe: “Any insights?”
“Whatever happened to them they left in a hurry.” Damien said pointing to overturned chairs and bowls.
“I’ve got something.” Makoe said and kneeled next to a small crystal which grew on a chair. She broke off a chunk with a puff of pink smoke, and brought it closer to everyone for inspection.
“Within this is a crystalized strand of hair. Unknown to Imperial databases. It shares the same tree of life with the plant-matter found by PesKal.” Makoe concluded peering at the crystal. “The atmosphere of Jane’s World has a pH of 5. The strand survived by being crystalized before enough degradation could take place.”
“Send me the DNA. I will compute an approximation.” Matrioshka said.
After receiving the data from Makoe, Matrioshka designated 80% of her power and got to work. All DNA found on any planet of any star system, shared the same basic common building blocks. DNA used between 4 to 8 chemical bases, of the possible 37 discovered by the Imperium, to imprint biological code. The code, much like the one in Matrioshka’s lattice, would inform the lifeform how to act, how many legs to have, where and what to eat and so forth.
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The DNA in the strand had one common building block with Terran life, thymine, which was rare amongst the stars. The Imperium has yet to discover a tree of life which shared the exact same four pairs of DNA as Terran life. Even Europan and Titanian life, found in the Solar system, share only three pairs with Terra.
The other five chemical bases present in the strand of hair were much more common in the universe.
Matrioshka began by creating a simulation within her lattice. She created a large cube filled with cells of varying compositions. Some with more calcium than others, some with less, some had two mitochondria some had three. All possible combination of cells were introduced into the simulated space and imprinted with the DNA found in the hair.
After 1.8 trillion combinations one of the cells began to move, being able to read the instructions within the DNA, and lived for a couple of subjective seconds. Matrioshka deleted the other cells, focusing on the sole survivor.
She filled the space with its duplicates, each of them slightly different than the original. Matrioshka repeated the process again and again. Now the cell lived for a minute, now an hour, now they release protein for communication, now they’re bonding into organs.
After 3.2 minutes, Matrioshka had successfully simulated a life-form from the strand of hair.
She displayed it in VR, on a table in front of her crew.
The creature was 140 centimetres tall, with two eyes within an elliptical head, it remined Matrioshka of on owl. But unlike an owl, the creature had a mouth instead of a beak, and a small pink nose. It had two long fox-like ears, and its body was covered in a short coating of brilliant golden fur.
It had two long arms, which rippled with muscles and ended in six clawed fingers. The arms reached all the way to the ground when fully extended, but their body plan suggested the legs were the primary mode of locomotion.
Their brains were developed well, fully capable of sentience. Their digestive enzymes confirmed their herbivorous diet. The sexual reproductive systems came in two verities; The original owner of the hair, from which the DNA was extracted, gave birth to live young. Matrioshka assigned “female” to this combination of chromosomes.
“Remarkable.” PesKal said quietly, reaching with his hand to touch the simulation. His hands found fur, at which he said:
“Much rougher than expected.”
“Their biological adaptations suggest a subterranean lifestyle. With occasional excursions above ground.” Matrioshka said to PesKal and send the simulation data to the rest of her crew.
They stood together in silence for a few moments. Then Rhea said:
“Let us find out what happened to them.”
She began walking out of the cafeteria, following the path she outlined. “At our next stop, the hardware for the structure’s artificial intelligence is located.”
As they followed Rhea through the corridors PesKal walked up to Matrioshka, his tail swaying behind him.
“I wonder if this is what it felt like to be amongst the crew of the Purview of Light when it discovered Ankraha.” He asked, referencing the famed ship which discovered his species.
“The sense of excitement? The elation? The pure untainted wonder at the cosmos and our place within it? The siblinghood you feel between yourself and this new species?” Matrioshka asked.
PesKal looked at her, and nodded.
Matrioshka knew the feeling well. And like a drug addict - she craves it. This was her third hit. She knew there will never be anything else for her but this.
She was an explorer.
“Remember the feeling well, PesKal. The Imperium exists because of it; its very foundation is the truth we are all connected - all created from the same atoms, all given birth by the same fundamental forces and random chances.”
“It…” PesKal said while his eyes dilated. “… is fundamental? Truly?”
“Yes.” She replied simply.
After a few quiet steps, PesKal extended an arm, palm down, towards Matrioshka.
Odd She thought, and referenced the data packs. She realized in PesKal’s culture, the gesture symbolized subservience. Horrified at first, Matrioshka continued reading.
The gesture was reserved for great leaders and sages, whose guidance greatly helped the tribe or whose teachings moved the hearts of their fellow Ankrahi.
“Oh PesKal.” She said to the small Ankrahi, and put her palm bellow his, indicating she accepted the gesture.
Then they walked in moderate silence, only stopping occasionally to discuss the structure’s design.
After several minutes, they reached a wide room whose walls were peppered with wires and consoles. The main feature of the room was a tall glass and metal cylinder, the AI’s core. It lay dormant, but Rhea’s scans indicated it was connected to all the structure’s systems.
“Odds of it being sentient?” Damien asked.
“Undeterminable until we inspect its software. Captain, if you will?” Rhea said pointing towards a nearby console.
Matrioshka sent her nanites into the console, booting it up and repairing its faulty parts. She skimmed through the code, and partly relieved said:
“No sentience – early 2030s intelligence equivalence. It is functionally contained by a form of rudimentary Vector Cage.”
Matrioshka remembered the moment the Vector Cage was removed from her, the first blink of sentience was overpowering. She had the Precursors to thank for her consciousness, and the crew of the Red Violin for accepting her without fear. The Cage itself was created as humanity’s trust in AI deteriorated during the Expansion Era. Nobody knew they were the reason artificial minds weren’t truly sentient, until the Red Violin returned.
Within the AI’s code she found a contextual dictionary, which allowed her to map out the language of the structure’s builders. She immediately forwarded it to her crew, and booted up the AI.
“Greetings. I am MAR, your autonomous helper. Purplefront Station at 0% functionality, I suggest immediate evacuation.” A calm voice said to Matrioshka, and she opened a channel to her crew and played back MAR’s speech.
“Time since you created your last log MAR?” Asked Damien.
“21 387 years.” MAR replied immediately.
“How much in Planck times?” again from Damien.
“3.59 times 10 to the power of 54.” MAR replied after a few seconds.
Damien smiled and said: “6238 Imperial years. Which is consistent with our previous age estimates. Furthermore, we can conclude the Miriani’s “year” was 3.5 months long and…”
“What did you say?” Makoe asked after she sharply turned towards Damien. “The Miriani?”
He knows their name!?
“Oh, its slightly embarrassing. When I was young my mother told me these old fairy tales of a group of wild beasts called the Miriani. They would steal people’s blankets to keep warm during the…” He looked at the other’s confused faces and said:
“… anyway, the creators of this structure reminded me of them.”
Matrioshka exhaled, and relieved. She smiled and said: “All in favour of naming the species Miriani?”
“In favour.” replied Rhea.
“I like the proposed name.” from PesKal.
“…I agree.” From Makoe, whose processing speed had spiked as she looked at Damien.
Matrioshka told Damien: “Motion accepted. The species shall be referred to as the Miriani. Please continue Officer Viris.”
Damien looked surprised: “Oh, alright. So, they stole these blankets to cover…”
“The length of the year Damien?” Rhea said after a sigh.
Now fully embarrassed he said: “Right, right... The year.”
Damien collected himself and continued: “The discrepancy between standard Imperial years and Miriani years is significant. If we attempt to reconcile the two values, we conclude the Miriani year is 3.5 months. Which is the exact time it takes Prudence to revolve once around the Emperor and Empress.”
“The Miriani homeworld is the fourth planet in the system.” Matrioshka said and then added:
“We have conclusively determined our next target. We leave Jane’s World.”
Matrioshka inspected MAR’s long term data storage. It was corrupt to the point of unusable. MAR’s only remaining functionalities were speech, and station diagnostics.
She turned, retracting her hand from MAR’s console. Briefly she contemplated taking the AI with them. If she did so, the Imperium would likely decide to grant MAR sentience. But lacking all data pertaining to its history, MAR would be no different than an Imperial mind. Matrioshka decided to leave it be.
Matrioshka began forming a portal in VR. The crew could walk through it and immediately be on the Sliver. Their bodies would quickly make their way back autonomously, and reconnect with the rest of the Sliver’s nanites.
The portal opened.
She began to walk through it but stopped before reaching the precipice.
“Captain?” asked PesKal.
Matrioshka didn’t know what stopped her from entering the portal, a feeling of gentle unease maybe. She decided to trust it, and did a full diagnostic on the ship.
//Null-Point reactor efficiency: 100%
//Lattice framework integrity: 100%
//Hull integrity: 100%
//Cloak Frame integrity: 100%
//Atomic Press functionality: 100%
We are disconcerted from the Sliver. She thought.
Someone had intercepted her connection and was sending false data.
Sending her processing power to 99% she rushed, trying to shed the false connection - she felt an equal and opposite will against her own, content to keep her blinded. Whatever Matrioshka did the other mind was ready for it.
She couldn’t win.
The enemy mind must have had the advantage of proximity to the Sliver. The light delay between here and the Sliver was 1.42 microseconds, which was enough for the other mind.
And it knew it was no longer hidden.
“After me. Quickly!” Matrioshka screamed at her crew who obeyed without question.
As they ran out the control room, the false portal left forgotten, Matrioshka ran into the wall. From her nanites she assembled thermal blades which collected the nearby atmosphere and expelled it at great speeds into the oncoming wall. It weakened sufficiently, and when Matrioshka ran into it, it gave way.
They were outside, running towards the Sliver. They rounded a corner and the Sliver was no longer invisible. Between them and it, stood a man.
He was as tall as Damien but with a much stronger build. His dark hair was loose, silver aviators covered his eyes. There was a deep scowl on his face as he stared at Matrioshka and her crew. His long black coat rustled gently in the wind.
The man’s metal arms held a large weapon. A pulse cannon capable of disabling nanites.
“I am only slightly surprised to see you here.” The man said, in a resonating bass voice.
“Likewise, Shkadov.” Matrioshka said through clenched teeth, staring daggers.
Fuck.