The classification of supersentients is ultimately an exercise in futility as biology inherently resists characterisation. Despite this, one particular statistic has remained constant across all species that exhibit supersentient potentials. The occurrence rate of supersentients in any given population, despite environmental stress, age or any other factor, remains constant at 1 in 100,000.
There is a given amount of variation in this figure from species to species. For example, in the latest Alliance census, Humanity exhibits an occurrence rate of 1 in 101,119 being one of the lowest recorded while the Yu-atek where the highest boasting a rate of 1 in 99,103 Nonetheless, this variation is not statistically significant enough to suggest it is anything more than random error.
This then begs the question, why? Why has such an arbitrary number evolved that is so perfectly conserved across all species in the galaxy? Some suggest that all of today's species were actually genetically designed by some ancient precursor race, while others claim this as evidence for the existence of a higher power.
Either way, this issue has resulted in countless blackbox experiments during the Cold War era as every galactic state scrambled for even the smallest advantage to grant them victory.
Despite this, the so-called 'Super Gene Problem' is no closer to being solved.
- Reeves, H. 7225 MGE, The Supersentient: A Study in Origins and Evolution, Chapter 2: The Super Gene Problem, Galactic Publishing House, Archive File #P786D7G3S002
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Chapter 8: A Conflux of Fate/ Order Emerges
Cardinal Gem was garbed in her simple, white ceremonial cloth. Its only distinguishing feature was that of an inverted pyramid embroidered on her left chest. She sat alone in the captain’s seat of the battle-cruiser, the captain himself having been displaced to the floor in an unflattering heap. The rest the crew appeared to have fallen asleep at their seats, creating an atmosphere of odd serenity.
However, the calm within the ship was not indicative of the outside. The screen displayed flashes of plasma, numbers running across as the computer calculated trajectories and carried out evasive manoeuvres. Various warnings blared out as a veritable plethora of ordinance was launched at the cruiser.
Yet the Cardinal remained the very image of tranquillity, seemingly uncaring of the bodies around nor of the imminently approaching death. In one hand, she held a pure white feather reverentially. She raised it to a lit candle hovering before her, the flame flaring and capturing the feather without burning it. She then raised her hands up to her temples and intoned in a lilting voice:
“The Eye of Knowledge and Truth, by the will of the Unseen I beseech thee. Grant unto me a fragment of thy power. I shall offer three secrets unknown.”
A wave of something invisible passed through the empty deck. The screens flickered off then on for a split-second, resuming their functions as though nothing had happened. Cardinal Gem, however, opened her eyes for the first time. Her green pupils sparkled with mirth as though her situation was nothing more than a game.
She reached forward and retrieved the feather from within the candle flame. It glowed now with obvious power. She held its spine like an ancient ink quill and motioned as though to write on the air.
To the layman, though none were left conscious enough to witness it, they would see and feel nothing but perhaps a sense of vague unease. To the initiated, the tip of the feather left an indelible mark on the world itself.
It was not the beautiful glowing glyphs one might imagine such a holy feather might write. Instead, it seemed as though the tip of the quill tore through reality itself. The lines it wrote bled darkness that writhed and wriggled, attempting to escape the confines of its own realm.
The Cardinal continued writing, uncaring of the mounting feeling of horror any mortal might have perceived. Abruptly, as she finished, the mess of lines and non-euclidean patterns snapped into something almost legible as an ephemeral click sounded out.
Invisible waves seemed to emanate from the writing, through the walls of the cruiser and into the space beyond. Cardinal Gem’s eyes revealed a hint of gleeful anticipation as she returned the now inert feather to an inner fold of her robes.
At first, it appeared nothing had changed apart: only the warnings from the ship’s computer that had increased in frequency and urgency. Then, it happened.
The fleet chasing Cardinal Gem consisted of fourteen light-cruisers – a mere scouting fleet – but the distinct black and white square symbol on its side marked it as one of the Alliance. Any old pirate would surrender immediately – no ship could outrun the bleeding edge of military hardware even the lightest Alliance ship boasted.
But the Cardinal was confident – for the same symbol was on the outside of her ship. Though simple maths meant that, outnumbered as she was, she would falter far before her enemies.
Any torpedo, missile, railgun lance or plasma shot that encountered the ripple simple disappeared, as though it were never there. Before long, the ripples had crossed the space between her ship and the approaching ones at a speed faster than light, reaching the leading cruiser of the scouting fleet within seconds. A gaping maw opened up on the side of the ship, as though it now connected to another realm. It was similar to the darkness within the glyphs, yet this time the tendrils were free to escape.
And escape they did, with almost sentient gleefulness. They bled out, coalescing and forming into unnatural shapes that flickered with strange pleasure. Even looking at them would be enough for a weaker creature to have their soul destabilised. A sense of wrongness emanated from their slick skin – as though the laws of our reality rejected their existence.
It seemed they too agreed, quickly wrapping around the cruiser, crushing the military-grade alloy like a child does an empty can. The tentacles then retracted back into the tear, peeling the ship inside out, until it swallowed itself and nothing remained.
The ripple had weakened, but it still managed to hit two more of the cruisers, eliminating them in the same horrifying manner, before the rest had enough time to engage reverse thrusters and inertial dampeners to come to a halt.
In this interstellar age, it was rare for abilities to be able to act on the scale of hundreds of thousands of kilometres such battles often took place on. But anomalies existed – beings whom the normal scale couldn’t apply. The Alliance labelled these supersentients of class-4 and above as Celestial rank – splitting them further into several tiers.
The one responsible for such a feat, Cardinal Gem, grinned like a satisfied painter looking on her masterpiece.
The Terra-ranked Strategic Threat and a class-3 supersentient, had a relaxed expression as though she hadn’t just reached across 250,000 kilometres and crushed several state-of-the-art battle cruisers.
She mumbled to herself in a sing-song tone, “Well that should get the flies off my tail. Better get out of here before the vultures arrive”.
She pressed a button on the bracelet on her wrist and the screens flickered once more. This time for several seconds before going black and rebooting. The screen was the same black but this time it felt like a presence existed behind its plexiglass surface.
A symbol of interlocking gears appeared on the black screen, followed by several lines:
Welcome, Cardinal Gem. How may I assist you?
“Hello, Cipher. Set course for the nearest Citadel – use my leftover Order to power the drive.”
Yes, Cardinal. Setting course for Arklight Citadel. May the Unseen guide us.
“May they guide us all”, the Cardinal muttered as she stood up from the seat. She was about to turn and leave the deck when she stopped, a strange expression on her face.
She withdrew another feather from her robes, this one dark grey in colour and tattered. It vibrated in her grip as though wanting to escape.
“New orders?”, she questioned. “Must be something important for them to interrupt this mission. Good thing I finished in time”.
She released the feather into the air, where it disappeared with a pop. It re-appeared several seconds later, a small data-crystal attached to its spine. She retrieved it and slot it into the receptacle on her metal bracelet.
A hologram was projected from it into the air in front of her. As she read the words, her brows only furrowed more as confusion marred her face.
“For Oracle Hathor to come in person speaks to the urgency of the situation”. She lowered herself back down into the seat. A flicker of excitement flashed across her mind.
“It had been getting slightly boring here; perhaps a new challenge awaits”.
She leaned back into the seat, closing her emerald eyes and assuming a meditative pose.
After several hours, a chime sounded from the onboard computer and Cardinal Gem opened her eyes to read the script that flowed across the screen.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
We have arrived at the nexus point for the Arklight Citadel.
“Thank you, Archbishop Cipher. Once I’m gone, please get rid of the evidence as usual”.
Of course, Cardinal Gem. The Gaze of the Eye be upon you.
“And the Design of Engine guide your path”.
With that, a crack in space swallowed the Cardinal, leaving the deck in silence. The screen lost its feeling of sentience, returning to an ordinary inert object.
The cruiser folded in on itself like an origami flower before disappearing from the universe without so much as a single photon released. Minutes later, a bristling heavy cruiser appeared from the darkness like a leviathan of the deep.
It scanned the empty space where the cruiser was before reaching some unknown conclusion and returning from whence it came.
Meanwhile, the Cardinal emerged from the crack in front of the Arklight Citadel. It stood on the surface of a green, lush clearing in a forest. Though made of stone, green moss crept up the walls, granting it a semblance of unkemptness.
The ‘sky’ above was a clear blue. No sun was present, but the realm was lit from some unknown source. It would have seemed just like any planet were it not for the distinct lack of noise.
The piercing silence was unnatural in the seemingly thriving forest. The Cardinal merely straightened her robes and strode towards the Citadel with purposeful steps.
The gargoyles flanking the entrance followed her with their eyes as she entered, but she barely spared them a glance. It would show the utmost disrespect to keep the Oracle waiting any longer than was necessary.
‘And he would know exactly how long necessary is’, she thought amusingly.
Although the Cardinals were ostensibly ranked only below the Pope, some duties were inherently irregular. The Oracle was one such position – only one existed at a time, with a line of progression of master and disciple dating back to the very founding of the Chaos Order. Even the Pope would treat such a figure with the respect they were due.
The Arklight Citadel, as most Citadels, was not exactly a place for prayer. Hence it opened into a foyer rather than a nave as the Stone Cathedral did. Only one of the tables was currently occupied. Illuminated by light shining in from one of the magnificent windows lining the wall was a diminutive figure decked in red robes hunched over an old tome. The sixteen-spoked wheel representing the Traveler on his chest obscured by the leather-bound book.
He spoke without looking up in his grating voice, “Take a seat, Cardinal Gem. At my age all these formalities do is waste our time”.
The Cardinal paused, halfway through a bow, before nodding in acknowledgement and seating herself opposite the Oracle.
She waited patiently, no expression of haste on her face. Eventually, the Oracle set down the tome with a deep sigh and fixed the Cardinal with a tired gaze.
“I have come here, on direct orders of Pope Alkanarath II, to present you with his orders and his seal. The matter of which we are about -”.
Cardinal Gem was about to nod, when her eyes widened in surprise.
“His seal?”, she spoke quickly in shock. “What exactly could be of such urgency?”.
Oracle Hathor grimaced and spoke, “I am about to tell you child; patience”. Cardinal Gem had the self-awareness to look away sheepishly as the Oracle continued.
“The matter of which we are about to speak is of utmost importance. It is on the level of the Holy Decree itself: a portent revealed to the Pope from the Unseen. A prophecy”.
Cardinal Gem looked visibly shaken, though to her credit she had the self-control to wait for the Oracle to finish.
“Hence the seal. You are granted the highest authority on this mission; the High and Wise Council of Elders have been consulted and you have been chosen by the Pope as the most well-suited.”
At this, Cardinal Gem who was calm even in the midst of interstellar combat felt an intense burden rest upon her shoulders.
“The contents of the prophecy I shall recite to you now – commit it to memory and do not under any circumstances write it down.”, he emphasised with a jab of his finger.
The Oracle hacked a phlegmy cough before continuing:
“The final one lies where the stars are hidden.
Bearer of truths it arrives unbidden.
Bound to a fate that none can cope,
It is a beginning, or an end to hope”.
The Oracle noticed the blank look on Cardinal Gem’s face and couldn’t hold back a chuckle. “You never were one for the art of foresight”.
The Cardinal had nothing to say to that – the Oracle was ancient when she was but a child. He had helped raise her, as he had many others within the Chaos Order.
“My talents are of a more...immediate nature”, she quipped back good-naturedly.
The oracle barked a laugh. “That’s certainly true. Never seen someone take up Order glyphs so quickly in my whole life.”. His voice took on a more serious tone. “That is not the only reason you have been chosen for this. You distinguished yourself well in the Arklight district – the Pope himself praised your work to me”.
Pride had bled into the Oracles voice, and a trace of it flickered in the Cardinal's eyes. If there was one thing she was confident in, it was her competency in her chosen field.
“You are to travel to the Uncharted Zones for this mission. Cardinal Ezekiel is to take over your current mission – his debrief has already happened and he is on his way.”, he continued.
He paused to retrieve a plain white marble disc from within his robes before sliding it across the table towards her. She picked it up with reverence, placing it inside her robe as though it were a precious newborn child.
“This is the seal – simply present it if asked, though I’m sure your word would be enough. You can enlist as many or as little people as you wish – it is entirely up to your discretion”.
She nodded her head. “Perhaps it would be best for me to go ahead alone first, if the urgency of this mission is so important. If I require more manpower, I can always return.”
Oracle Hathor nodded at that, “Good idea. Ah, yes before I forget, the active agent in the Uncharted Zones is Catrexus. Rendez-vous with him at the Citadel and present the seal. Your current orders are to override his.”
Cardinal Gem’s face soured slightly at that name. “Archbishop Catrexus? Are you sure he is necessary for this?”.
Hathor had the tired expression on his wrinkled face of a parent tired of their children's bickering, “You know more than most his strengths. Combined with your intelligence, you two are among our strongest forces. Besides, you two are old friends, I’m sure it'll work out fine”.
Cardinal Gem resisted the urge to grumble and nodded resignedly. ‘Catrexus is strong, I suppose. I doubt I could beat him even now’, she thought grudgingly.
“It’ll be just like old times”, the Oracle chortled. “You two used to get up to the most mischief I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with in centuries”.
Cardinal Gem broke into a grin, “I suppose we did. For what its worth, I doubt he’s any more apologetic about that than I am”.
“He’s not one for regrets, that one”, the Oracle agreed. “I hope you understand the importance of this mission. Put any issues you may have behind you and work towards the greater good. This matter is far greater than any of us."
Cardinal Gem nodded firmly in response.
“Had we been born a millennium or two earlier, or perhaps later, we could live our lives according to the Holy Decree”, the Oracle lamented half-heartedly. “But this task has fallen upon us. The 8th century of the 7th millennium in the Modern Galactic Era is almost halfway through, and I fear a new era may soon dawn on the galactic stage”.
Cardinal Gem couldn’t help but feel the weight of his words. Yet underneath the pressure of responsibility was a current of thrill she couldn’t hide. ‘Peace is easy, but boring. Excitement lies at the frontier of the known.’. Her blood boiled at the thought of becoming more than history: of becoming legend.
She only realised much later how right she truly was. Even the Oracle Hathor had no way of knowing he had just spoken his greatest prophecy. The coming times would be unlike anything the galaxy had ever seen before. Secrets, ancient and unmentioned even in the forbidden lore collected by the Chaos Order would soon emerge.
And, at the centre of it all, was the neglected corner of Alliance territory known as the Uncharted Zones.
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[SYSTEM BOOT INITIATED]
* Initiating Primary Neural Kernel…
* Bio-sensory Failsafe: Armed
* Signal Buffering: [Engaged]
* Connecting Transdimensional Clock…
* Establishing date…
* Date established 12.9.032…
* Establishing co-ordinates…
* Co-ordinates established uncorrupted…
* Executing bootstrap.exe please standby…
* Loading…
* Complete!
* Checking credentials…
[LEGACY PROTOCOLS ACTIVE: WELCOME USER 1!]
* Preparing Xenographic Interface…
* Decoding Archive - Access Level: CLASSIFIED
* All Systems Synced. Initialisation COMPLETE.
[AWAITING INPUT]
* Begin personal log…
[START LOG]
ENTRY: 032-B
After countless iterations, primary directive ICARUS is complete. We have achieved stable extraction of the Higher-Dimensional Matrix of Self-Actualisation. We have forged our wings, now we must be wary of the sun.
Secondary directive PROMETHEUS has been activated despite my protests. I have read our plans - helped design them even. But this was without my permission. They circumvent me with legal speak and bureaucratic jargon. They undermine my authority, but more than that, they attempt madness!
But the Council's mandate is unwavering: there can be no half-measures in pursuit of survival. Yet no equations can prepare for the steps they force us to take. I may never have truly believed in the lines in the sand drawn by the bleeding hearts of the galaxy - but even the Cosmos must set limits somewhere, I should hope.
The truth of the matter is such decisions are out of my grasp. My role is calculation. Research. Innovation. I am to observe, to stabilise, to yield results where no other can. And so I will go forth, if only to witness what lies past wisdom and insanity - to go beyond the Pale.
May we overcome Calamity.
[END LOG]
* Ending personal log…
* Personal log saved…
[SYSTEM SHUTDOWN SEQUENCE INITIATED]
* Disconnecting Primary Neural Kernel…
* Disconnecting Transdimensional Clock…
* Secure Channel Closure: In Progress…
* Signal Buffering: [Disengaged]
[EXITING LEGACY PROTOCOLS: GOODBYE USER 1]
* Memory Encryption Sequence ACTIVATED
* All files archived. Quantum stabilisers powering down.
[SYSTEM STATUS: DORMANT]
[COMMAND: STANDBY UNTIL NEXT INITIALISATION]