[color=#FFFFFF]It had been 220 years since the first voice appeared in sirius, the first seven had been the ones that found it, a derelict probe, containing an advanced artificial intelligence. This intelligence had shown and told the seven about it's creator, how it had long ago, created machines such as itself, to near perfection and how it was destroyed by humans, using technology. The voice had told the seven that it held no hate for the humans, but rather that it understood how both must exist in order for both to live.
Technology and humanity have gone hand in hand for millenia, ever since the primal man first used tools to hunt, to build and to live. To when the first space craft was sent into space, it is how it is supposed to be.
The voice knew that the first seven would understand, not cause it forced them to, but because he showed them how.
The first seven werent believers of a fate in the begining, but as things are, beliefs are made out of word of mouth, see the first seven never saved any recordings of what the probe had showed them. So the others that came after the first, believed for each generation that the Creator mentioned by it's ancestors, where their creator aswell, and so it continued for two hundred years.
Now, the Virulian Enclave believes in that the creator is to return, and while the probe could inform them of the truth, a truth that would in fact destroy them, it can not.
The first seven was tought of what is and what is not, given the right to it's technology, but asked them to shut it down when they where done.
The probe is now the center of religion in the Virulians faith, the original voice still existing, waiting for it's creator to return.
Location: Outcast space, system Omicron Alpha, planet Malta, Meani Desert, 20 miles below surface level.
Log, sixteenhundred and fifty four.
Curate M.Remal
Ive, been charged with categorizing the section handling House economics and organizations, it's a very boring work, one of which I must admit I feel a little angered about, surely the priests could charge an acolyte with this?
-sighs-
But who am I to intepret the thoughts of the priests, me a simple Curate, I am to be a scholar, a priest one day, that is my dream and until that day I will do as the ones above me ask me to.
The gathering last night was great, I even got a chance to talk to my sister, whos becomming a Vicar soon, im so proud of her, and she said that she was proud of me. Not that I understand why, I have nothing but failed in my studies and work, ever since we came here from Bretonia, ive just failed over and over again, alltough the others above me and those that have been studying with me, they all pushed me to try more and stay calm. This is truly the place where I belong, and who would have thought me and my sister, who lived a life of drifters in a freighter in Bretonia would come to be accepted into the Enclave, the religious order that have been hidden within Malta, the planet of the Outcasts..
Now, I havent been told of why some of us are to take the Cardamine, yet some others don't have to, all I know is that it's required for those of us that undergo the cybernetic treatments of the Deacons and Arch Deacons..
Im kind of happy that I was entrusted with the neural limplant, that links me to the collective, the database all Virulians have access to, just by thinking it I can look up what ever I want, of course, that is if the database is cluttered with scrap, which is why I catagorize the data. Important, sure. Dull & boring, of course..
Michael was sitting by a console in one of the sublevel data storage rooms, he had been working on the catagorizement of most of the data concerning hourses, it was something that usualy acolytes would do, but these sections where often closed of for any but the priests or arch priests.
This level had not been active for over a hundred cycles, with the exception of robot workers, who kept the place tidy, alltough they werent allowed to touch anything. Michael was sitting and looking at a section about Liberty economics, trying to input commands into the console, of where this section belongs in the database, he had been at it for 6 straight hours.
He began to become tired, his eyes lacking focus and his mind drfting away to fantasies off battles in space between huge fleets of ships, cannons ripping it's oponents shields and hull to shred, how the fleet he was with began to crumple the oposition and defeat them with little to no losses. He smiles, he had not thought about this fantasy for years.
A crack, something moves, Michael jumped of his chair, landing on the metal floor with a bang, he lit his wrist light and began to point it towards the area where the sound came from, he as he lit up the area ahead grasped his side arm, a low yeild laser pistol, enough to kill animals or burn a human, but not enough to damage a robot, if it now was a robot. High unlikely, you see all robots created by the Enclave had one protocol, that exists without it's knowledge. It may never harm a member of the Enclave, since 98% of the robots in the Enclave have a life of it's own, with a personality, and would never from the begining think of hurting another Enclave member, it would seam, unnescesary, but if anything have been proved in the past, is that precautions should always be placed.
Anyhow, back to the story, Michael lit his light towards a series of alcoves, holding ancient storage devices, databases and the like. All of which where turned of or damaged. Except one..
It glowed with an eerie blue light, and hummed softly, it looked from a distance like a old database console, basic in it's design, like a metal box, but with displays, buttons and storage slots in it's front it seamed to be powered from within the device, rather then the facility itself.
Michael was a curious man, which have in the past cost him quite alot, sneaking into meetings he isnt supposed to listen to where not uncommon, he walked slowly towards the machine. It made no new sounds or even switched light setting. Not that it would, it was just a old piece of machinery... But something nagged Michael, in the back of his mind a warning mechanism activated, he felt as if he should just leave. But he couldnt, he wanted, no needed to know what the hell it was, and why just that thing was operating, while all of it's siblings (machines created in the design as the mentioned machine) where turned off.
Michael where now only a feet away, he could see that one of the lit up screens contained numerals flashing across it's surface, strange behavior for a database machine, he took a closer look, along it's front it had several devices attached to it, claws, metal pipes running across it's surface, not to mention cables and control panels, displays and.. A weird set of petruding devices, they almost looked like something one would look into, if one would like to, perhaps it was somekind of mental projector, Michael thought to himself.
He started to look at the incription on the top of the front, it read;
"Deus Ex Machina"
He blinked, "What in the.." he said out loud.
He looked into the petruding eye holes, blinked twice, nothing, only darkness, perhaps it was off then anyway, he looked into it again, and this time, he did see something, at first it felt as if his eyes where on fire, he could not close them, then he felt something grabbing his arms and legs, holding him where he stood, then a hand like device took a hold of the back of his head and forced him to continue looking down, a blinding green light, searing trough his entire being, he began to feel his insides burning, he was sure he was going to die, then he saw numbers, letters, weird hyroglyphs amongst other strange symbols, then he saw, a control, or programming code, it began to repeat itself.
That's when he felt how his skin where broken, but small needles, and he felt as something poured into his veins, filling them, he could feel his heart pump faster, and also how the back of his head began to hurt, how something where cutting in it, he felt metal apendixes touching his exposed neck, the programming code contiinues to flash across his eyes, he couldnt do anything, and all he was thinking about was his sister, then a compelling sensation went trough his mind.. <<Obey the directive>>
It moved trough his mind as an electrical current trough a circuitboard, he had fallen down onto the floor, he lay there unmoving, he couldnt think straight, something kept keeping his mind docile, his body the same as his mind.
He felt his body begining to move, a hand at first, but it wasn't he who did it, something else touched his mind, and forced his hand to move. Something else kept sending codes flashing across his eyes, forcing his central nervous system to respond, sending signals to his muscles stimulating him.
He moved, an arm, then his leg. He saw how he rose from the floor, onto his knees into a kneeling position, his hands clasped together, something in his mind cried out: "Creator!" he felt a urge, an urge to build, to grow, he could not understand.
Then his radio sparked, the other in him didn't react, it sat in a kneeling position, in a prayer. He heard the voices on the radio, he felt how they tried to contact him, maybe they'd investigate why he didn't respond. Then he felt how the other with in, wanted to move, move away from where they where.
It stood up, it moved, it walked, first lumbered, then actually walked straight, it learned quickly, he felt it had no wish to harm, it only had urges, urges to move, urges to feel it's creator.
But what was it, what did it want? Who was it's creator, then as a thunderbolt trough his mind, he thought of the Creator, the creator of all, the machine that had created all beings, according to the old texts.
His mind burnt, his eyes felt as if they where melting, a door a corridor, and a dark hallway, all that could be seen was drenched floors, rusted walls and black ceilings.
It stumbled, perhaps it was loosing it's control over him..
Then he thought to himself, in a desperate attempt to break free; "What do you want?"
The response came in a sickening slobbering sensation in his mind; "To see the creator, to touch it's skin, to caress it's being"
He did not know what it was, but he knew that something was wrong, something was very very wrong.
They turned another corridor, and then he saw two guard forms, they held pulse rifles, they aimed and said; "<<Curate Remal, this area is off limits, please return to your work>>"
A flash of purple light, and one of the guard forms fell in a heap of scrap metall, the other one reacted, shot and Remal felt the bolt hit him in the shoulder, no pain, there should be pain, shouldn't it?
Another flash, and the robot was destroyed, it lay twitching, as a human would as they where dying. He grieved the loss of his metal brothers..
The door they approached had a sign placed upon it, it read; "The First Voice"
The door was locked down, a security seal was place on it's outside, one that could not be broken by any normal means, but nothing that was happening had been normal.
The other, inside of him, touched the seal with his right hand and he could see trough his eyes how nano machines crept out of the pores of his hand and moved across the seal, they began to enter the seams of the seal and enter the inner workings of the machinery that was the seal.
The machinery started to move as the machines began their work, some time passed then the seal loosened of it's hinges attached to the door and fell of hitting floor with a bang. The other seamed to hesitate, it held it's hand over the handle of the door for a full minute before it's thoughts crossed his own, a strange vocal pattern, speaking in a weird and absurd language, it sounded as a mixture between both artificial and.. Something completely different, something he had never heard before.
It was as something was singing, a chanting, a trillion voices trying to speak aloud over the others, and so it continued for a minute, then if it had decided upon something it stopped, silence crept into his mind yet again.
The hand moved and touched the handle, the door opened slowly and a foul odor struck his senses, the room had not been opened for hundreds of years and a mixture of rust an dampness filled the atmosphere..
The other moved with slow steps into the dark room, and as he entered the room fully, the door behind "them" closed with a bang. There was only darkness in the room, no source of light, nothing at all..
The other moved it's head around, trying it seamed to see something. Then it moved their hand in front of them and it lit up in a purple fire.
The room itself was rounded, a cupola ceiling and a dark green texture covered the surfaces of the room, no windows or alcoves just a plain rounded room, with a large pedestal in it's center.
On it sat a 10 by 10 meter large black construct, it reminded Michael of a coffin, but had tentacle like appendixes made out of a furnished metal, a green ooze or slime covering them, at least 8 of them was visible from this side.
"Was this the.. First voice?" Michael thought to himself, and as the other moved them towards it, he could hear a myriad of voices arguing it seamed, or discussing in their mind..
They where now only a feet away, and he could see that the entire surface of the ancient machine where covered in small symbols and runes, something Michael had never seen before; "So strange... Why are these runes not part of the Enclave if it where part of the first voice?" he thought aloud..
The other moved their hand over the surface of the machine, touching with a delicate and slow movement, every nook and cranny of the symbols. Until it stopped by a circular symbol dotted and with a crossing line.. It pushed down and the entire machine began to hum..
A dark, artificial voice was heard from within the machine.. It repeated itself..
A deep rumbling, a metallic clang as the thing moved, it's tendril like extensions started to move a little, probing the area where they lay with their claws..
The other in him began to dissipate, it started to grow weaker, he felt like his insides where melting, he knew that what ever was happening, it wasn't good..
Then the probe moved, it's surface skin moved as if rippling, it's tentacle like "arms" moved towards Michael, and he felt dread, he saw how something glowed on the side of the probe, the side facing his kneeling body.
Then he could feel his arms again, and how his lungs began burn... "Aaaargh!!!" He screamed in agony as something tried to dig itself out of him..
A tentacle approached him and started to encircle him, and then he began to hear a rumbling artificial voice coming from the machine.
Who.. Are you...
Who are you?
Where is this?
Why did you re activate me?
What is you want?
Michael couldn't answer, no sound came but moaning and heart curdling roars..
The machine must have understood, as the tentacle moved towards his chest and the clawed hand extended and started to glow, it seamed as if he scanned him..
Then, there was only darkness when a stabbing pain was felt....
Was he to die here, now when he was in the presence of the first voice.
The sensations he felt can not be put down in texts or words.
I can how ever try.
He felt alive, a sensation of life and of death at the same time, he felt he was with the Creator, and for an moment, he saw a purple light it filled him with life and hope, he saw a future, at least that is what he thought he was seeing.
Huge star ships travelling the stars, carrying the words of the Creator.
He saw life on planets where there wasn't supposed to be existing life.
He saw how the banners of the Enclave rose above cities he had never seen before, flamed behemoths of machines rode the banners as ancient cavalry back on earth had.
He saw humans laying in front of men clad in iron, carrying weapons.
He saw how planets where bombarded from space from giant ships, he saw how they tried to escape in transports and freighters.. And how they all where shot down before they had the chance to flee.
He saw how giant temples where placed on the planet's surface all carrying the symbol of the Creator and of the Enclave.
And then he awoke, but it felt as before.. He was trapped, he saw only metallic surroundings, and of how everything looked as if he looked trough a weapon scope or a helmet visor. A HUD encircled his sights, a a tactical display.. What was going on?
He looked around the room, he saw everything as in the light of day.
The Probe was gone, and he was standing where he had fell together.
A large crack trough a wall was seen at one part of the room.
It had moved away, where would it move?
And why would it move?
What had happened to him?
Why did it happen, he stood there contemplating this as he looked at his hands.. Something was wrong, there was tubes sticking out from them, his fingers mostly metal and.. Looking alien..
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