Alien Courage (Rise of the Empress) (14 page)

Torquay held up his hand as if to avoid the question.
“We are already in a great deal of trouble. Are you sure you want to know? It
could result is a worse than death scenario for both of us.”

“Of course I want to know,” gasped the Administrator,
his eyes watering at the amount they were flickering.

Without looking at the Administrator Torquay sat down
and kept his gaze looking down between his knees at the floor. “Well, the
Trigeals operate on the principle of three. As you know they ‘
intervene
’ lower life forms as a survival mechanism much
like a farmer intervenes the lives of his animals. They let the Great Houses of
the Confederacy tear each other to pieces in a war they initiated...”

“Hang on.” The Administrator interjected. “They came
after the Great Wars and settled the disputes between the Great Houses and
created peace, but it was only a peace on their terms.”

“That would be nice to believe wouldn’t it?” Torquay
said now raising his eyes to survey the Administrator. “They have been visiting
this part of the universe for many millennia, well before the Great Houses ever
existed. They maintained only a general interest in our activities up to such a
time as when we started to develop highly advanced technologies. That was
something they had a use for, but they could control us better if they diverted
our attention and so created conflict between us, such as the war between the
Great Houses and maintained tension between them during the ensuing peace. The
rate of technological advancement is very fast during times of war, conflict
and the inevitable cold war. It motivates us and they took advantage of that
weakness; very clever really and enhances their advancement. Also, they don’t
want us stumbling onto any meaningful spiritual advancement; they keep us well
away from any truth. You as a Norfian must be aware of that, your persecuted
ancestors and quarantined home planet are good evidence of how much the
Trigeals repress the truth. However, we must make this brief. The Trigeals are
not only masters of manipulating the humanoid mind but also of time itself.”

The Administrator almost fell off the platform. “What?
Time travel?

“No, not time travel as you might think,” Torquay replied.
“But the tactical use of time.”
Torquay could see the
Administrator did not understand what he was saying. “Let me explain. You saw
that T334 disappear when it went onto defensive mode. You couldn’t see it,
except you could make out where it was by the very so slight distortion in the
parallel lines in the floor pattern, right?” The Administrator nodded, totally
absorbed by what he was being told.

“Well, the T334 has the ability to resonate itself
between the past and into the future and stay in either at its own discretion.
That’s why if you shoot at one the chance of your shot actually arriving at the
same time as the T334 is actually there is very remote. That is of course if
the shot could get through its conventional force field and shields. In combat
mode its sensors are so finely tuned to the arrival of any particle, energy
beam or anything in this universe coming its way that the automated system
simply puts itself a second or two into the future when something dangerous
strikes its shields. The T334 basically isn’t there when something truly deadly
arrives at its location. That’s why they were so happy to let us humanoids
develop all that wonderful technology. The Trigeals just waited for us to catch
up with their ability to manipulate time and the mind. Now they use them
against us.” Torquay said to his new friend but was now beginning to get
concerned with what to do about the present situation with an Earthman still
inside a T334. “For your information an organic body cannot be transported
through time, they simply fly to pieces. Far too many cells in different stages
of development lose control of their stamp of genetic time sequencing, very
messy. That’s why it takes a specially trained pilot who can exteriorise, think
and operate away from their organic bodies; a whole Trigealian created
Priesthood exists just to accomplish that. 

The Administrator gripped his arm console, it was
vibrating very quickly, “So, that’s how they do it but how is it possible that
multiple numbers of them can just turn up almost anywhere. Whole armies have
been destroyed in the most remote locations by multiple T334s and you yourself
said they don’t like to get on spacecraft. I’ve read reports where they can
just multiply at any given instant,” the Administrator asked totally committed
on this talk with Torquay, “with no apparent transport deployment.”

“Oh, now that is going to make you go a bit cuckoo
trying to work that one out. Even with the explanation, it’ll keep you awake at
nights trying to understand it. I suggest leaving that one alone, I do not
understand how it is done, just that they do it,” Torquay said trying to
disabuse the Administrator from asking such questions.

“Well, tell me... please,” pleaded the Administrator.

Torquay relented, took a deep breath, sighed and
simply told the Administrator what he knew. “Over many, many countless eons the
Trigeals under the greatest of secrecy took three T334s and momentarily placed
them on just about every known heavenly body in this sector of the universe.
They still carry out that mission today. Once a T334 has been in one location
at a particular time it is marked at that point of time and location as a known
reference point. Then it can then be made to come forward in time from that
original reference point and can be materialised in present time from any point
forward of the reference point to create another reference point. Theoretically
they could have the same T334 reproduce itself from the past in the time stream
an infinite number of times. It is actually the same T334, except it originates
from a slightly different time in the past. It depends how many reference
points are made. That’s what those Priests do behind closed doors and with the
Trigeals zooming all over the Galaxy. The problem they are still working on is
the pilots. They need to be specifically trained beings able to operate away
from their organic bodies and to accept the alteration of time and not get
caught up with ‘multiple of themselves in the one location’ without going insane.
I believe the pilots are limited to how many T334s they can run at the same
time and location but it’s quite a few I believe. Also, if the organic body
dies or is damaged the pilot can lose their ability to function correctly, it’s
a wild variable. However, most of their operations are done with automated
systems with minimal pilot intervention, especially if wholesale slaughter is
required. They are a creation capable of the utmost destruction and evil. It
makes one wonder about the sanity of the pilot by bouncing them around the time
stream, creating multiples of themselves. This incident with the Earthman is
exceptional. The Pilots are monitored closely as are the Priests. Does this
make sense to you Administrator?”

The Administrator felt weak and sat stunned. His body
calculated the information and his arm console hummed but no solutions would be
immediately forth coming that would make any sense. To alter one of the basic
fabrics of existence, time, throws out all computer computations. It’s like adding
a random zero into a mathematical equation. He straightened his uniform,
cleared his throat and decided the present thinking had resulted in an
incomprehensible. I will work on this problem later he decided and his arm
console ceased humming. He felt better but leaned towards Torquay, who was
sitting silently staring forward and uttered with a whisper, this question.
“So, just how many T334s do the Trigeals possess?”

Torquay brightened up and grinned. “You have most of
them right in front of you, fifteen to
be
precise,” he
said pointing to the row of T334s. The three used for colonisation I have never
seen. But like most Trigealian technology it is based on extreme simplicity.
They hide almost everything is plain sight.”

The Administrator stood up, stretched his back and
studied the row of T334s just across the floor with renewed wonder. Right under
his very nose was the bulk of the Trigealian firepower; it’s been there the
whole time. His arm console vibrated and the Administrator looked at it with a
quizzical expression most unlike a Norfian. He asked one more question. “Why
don’t the Trigeals pilot the T334s themselves, why do they need organically
based Pilots?”

“Good question,” replied Torquay. “We have studied
that very aspect many times. It appears the Trigeals have as their objective an
automated, self sustaining environment with little or no active involvement on
their behalf. They deplore the daily or more mundane aspects of materialistic
existence. However, they not only create the rules of life for us but also the
police to enforce it. They minimally do it themselves unless they get
interested. What interests a Trigeal does not follow any logic as it applies to
organically based life forms; therefore it’s all too random for us to
understand or predict. Hence the Articles of Intervention, which are really
just a collection of experiences and observations of what to avoid so as not to
get intervened. Yet, occasionally the Trigeals do whatever they please and contradict
their own previous interventions. One Scholar put forward an interesting theory
in that Trigeals are abhorrent to and very much fearful of experiencing
materialistic death or failure. Perhaps a Trigeal can be ‘killed’ or be made to
think they have been killed or failed; we just haven’t found out how yet. There
is much we don’t know.”     

Torquay realised they were out of time and must do
something or perish at the hands of the Trigeals. He was now in a position
where he had use his last resort and reached into his bag and pressed the
tiniest of buttons sewn into its lining. Almost immediately the communications
console on the Administrator’s platform starting blinking with an incoming
transmission. The Administrator stood up and rushed to his work station. He
pressed a button and the message played.

“The Imperial Band Commander sends his complements and
apologises for the faulty android. He is sending over an android transport
cylinder for immediate retrieval.” End transmission.

The Administrator pressed and held down the
communications button to reply. He had destroyed the android as it was critical
evidence in a break of Academy security and was about to refuse the Band
Commander’s actions but Torquay stood up and placed a finger up to his lips
indicating silence. The Administrator released the button and looked in a
quizzical manner at Torquay.

“I was hoping not to have to do this as the
consequences could be disastrous but we have no choice but to attempt to remove
the Earth being from that T334. It’s only a matter of time before it wakes up
and that T334 will go insane, there is no question about that now. As you are
no doubt aware our situation here is probably going to end in absolute
termination for both of us. My only option is to attempt to remove the Earth
being by installing it in another body and hope it will go unnoticed or at
least give us a chance of saving this planet or learning something useful. The
transport cylinder contains a living organic humanoid body I am going to use as
bait to lure the Earthman out.” Torquay said solemnly. “Do you agree
Drex
?”

Without hesitation the Administrator nodded his
agreement. This situation was well beyond anything he could suggest and he knew
from the very beginning he would have to trust the Emperor and whatever he
arranged without hesitation. He was in far too deep but for the first time in
his life he felt he was becoming part of something with a far greater purpose
than being a puppet for the Trigeals or their Confederacy. In his own way, he
was fighting back!

“What is it you want me do Torquay,” he said with a
renewed energy.  

“Please communicate to the Band Commander that his
android technician has deactivated the malfunctioning android and understands
his request that the android must be returned to the ship. Have him deliver the
transport cylinder somewhere we can easily access it without interference.”

The Administrator sprung into action. He activated the
radio. “Commander, please deliver the transport cylinder to the visitor’s
chamber immediately to the left of the main entrance to the Great Hall. Your
technician has deactivated the android due to its instability.”

“Understood, complying now.” came the response over
the radio.

The Administrator returned to Torquay who was signally
him. I need to know a little of Earth history,” he said.” A Lieutenant is some
kind of rank I assume but who are the Marines and Japanese?”

The Administrator adjusted his arm console and data
flashed across the screen. “They are called US Marines and are from The United
States of America, a powerful nation of Earth which was recently engaged in a
global conflict. One of their enemies called Germans capitulated and these
Japanese, another country opposed to the United States of America have recently
capitulated after they had nuclear weapons used against them. Apparently they
didn’t possess any of their own so their complete destruction was eminent. The
US Marines are from what I can make out some sort of amphibious infantry component
of their ground or naval forces. They contact their enemies directly and
destroy them with explosively dispensed pellets, blasts from explosions or
direct contact with basic hand operated weapons.”