The Uplift Protocol: Issue 24

Issue 24: Io

“Life is an endless dance. The Scholars knew this quite well. Its why we find their footsteps sprinkled throughout the Multiverse. From our greatest halls to our lowest caverns. A pattern is there for all to see.” –Typherian Science Council

“We were meant to find this. Cooper and I. Now we must keep it safe. The enemy must not know. Across all lines and universes. Life will prevail. To think otherwise is folly. Hope is eternal. The bonfires will outlast even me.” –Horus

Legacies. Signs and Portents. Whispers of a bygone age. We walk among the stars, hearing the echoes, wondering what we will bring to the great tapestry. Even now, all these years later, I am still searching. Finding new meaning every day. To relinquish life because of a cause? That is easy. But to live? To continue when all other stars go out? One must stare at that abyss and say, “No more.” Not one more innocent. The line must be drawn.- Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 22^nd century.

Io (Orbit of Jupiter)

Entryway Marker

February 8^th, 2100

Q’vera stared at the ancient metalworks. Even in this hostile environment, this doorway was unblemished. Beside her, Guards-The-Stars aka Cooper aka Emerald K-9 danced around with carefree enthusiasm. <<We were meant to find this!>> Horus, no longer in the guise of a common Terran probe, his white plating reflecting the planetscape around them, his red iris contracted with disquiet. ((I concur but how will this help the Captain?))

The Typherian woman placed a palm along the entryway. It hummed in sync with her belt. Sending out pulses to Cooper as well. It opened with a faint melody. “Looks like it wants to say hi. I’m game if you boys are.” She walked inside. Cooper on her heels. Horus gave the area another good once over and floated within as well. The doorway collapsed behind them. Fading as if it never existed. There were countless murals on the walls. In so many languages that even the F.R.A.M couldn’t detect them all. Q’vera gasped. Even the very floor was changing. “I think it wants us to go this way.” She indicated the main corridor in front of them. Four other doorways remained locked on either side. They were as smooth as stone. No wording or imagery to be seen.

A man with a black suit and red tie materialized. His blue eyes were intense with a swirl of power. “Welcome Defenders. Ascended. It has been a while since anyone trod these hallowed halls.” Horus landed delicately upon the man’s shoulder. His size that of a baseball. ((Ah! Would it not be better for the captain to be present?)) The man put a finger to his lips with some thought. “Not as of yet. This place must still slumber. But you three must help me hide it even more so. Terran tech is expanding at a greater rate than even the Forgers know.”

Q’vera inquired, “So you are the little surprise my sister was eluding to. Is the Uplift Council that compromised then?”

A small grave shake of his head confirmed her worst fears.

“How deep does the rot run?”

He replied, “To the point where your parents hold council with a scant few.”

She winced, “Well then, I’m glad my niece can escape her cage.”

The man hesitated, a trace of happiness and guilt ran across his features. Q’vera blurted out, “You know how my niece pulls off her magic act don’t you?” He said nothing. His very stillness was quite unsettling in this place. Her red armor contracted, hardening to the point where she let out a grimace. The man tapped it lightly with his walking cane. “There are no enemies here Defender of the Red. Rest now.” She let out a gasp of relief when her belt responded to his request. She took a hold of the cloth. It’s red and gold symbology inert for the moment. “These things have a mind of their own.”

He tipped his hat, as black as the suit, “Indeed. One should hold their belt in high esteem but remember, you are just as vital a component. One cannot function without the other.”

The Bardaxian nodded as if this made as much sense as the sun rising. <<My belt tells me many things. Good things. Keep Eliza safe. Keep the Ouro safe. Listen to the King and Queen of the Multiverse. Consume much bacon!>>

His black bushy tail was sticking straight up. Alert to any trouble. He bellowed out a few pleased barks. Horus was glad for his friend. He was still quite confused though. He posed a question for their host. ((Excuse me honored one but what do we have to help seal away then? Why am I here?)) Mr. Apple grinned boyishly, “You dear Horus are about to get a nice upgrade.”

The room behind them shifted. Now they were in an enormous amphitheater. Various displays of information looped and swirled around them. Galaxies and stars. Things they had no name for. At the center of it all: The White. The Everlasting Connection. Q’vera nearly lost her footing. Faint bursts of laughter escaped. “Oh my. And my sister knows about this?” Mr. Apple bowed. “I allowed her to perceive it for a moment. She destroyed the instrumentation nearly instantly. The King and Queen know as well. Along with one other.”

Q’vera knew who he referred to.

Crafty old warhorse.

No wonder she such a keen eye on certain parts of the Utasa sector.

She regarded the Scholar for numerous heartbeats, “What does the White do?”

A simple reply coated the air, “It guards all Life. The Void Walkers exist outside that paradigm.” Guards-the-Stars bared his teeth, <<I will help Eliza catch them!>>

More barks. Each one rising in pitch.

Q’vera cocked her head to the side, “That isn’t all of it though. There are only so many colors named to the Defenders. Red for Blood, Yellow for Intellect, Green for Faith, Blue for Hope. The Omegas upon the Ouro. Orange for the Acquisition of Rarity and Delight.” She waited for the Scholar to fill in some more blanks. He held out his hand. The centerpiece of the White manifested there. Its white and gold symbology was half-formed in the brilliance of the library. The Red Defender placed the end of her belt, its cloth responding in kind, wrapping gently around the White.

Images rose before her. Illarium.

Its skyscape was as pristine as Typha itself.

The vast network of the Markav Hegemony. Countless lives caught in amber.

Waiting to be reborn.

The Scholar continued, “Eliza is the Shield. But without her Spear. Until that happens, we must guard this place.” Cooper spun around the room, the shimmer of the Green resonating in harmony with everything around it. He exclaimed, <<The White will reinforce the Wall! It is the Wall!>>

Horus emitted a series of beeps. His outer shell absorbing the various instrumentation within this room. ((Fundamental stage achieved. Closing all back doors. The Hidden House will no longer have access to this platform. Shall I reinforce Uplifted matrixes?))

Mr. Apple paused. Considering the situation. “Monitor those channels for now Horus. If we close off certain avenues the enemy will become aware. We will have to counter them in other ways.”

Q’vera stomach did a flip. The All-Father. Typha exiled his ill house with good reason. Raising unprepared civilizations. Using them for unseemly gains. Abusing other developing systems. His wife was no better. An intergalactic assassin. Training her Children of Chains to his will.

“So how do we close this thing up? What’s that one earth creature? Goes quack?” The lithe woman flapped her arms about. When in Rome as the humans said. It gave her a sense of pleasure just to be ridiculous for once. Her kinsmen wouldn’t take kindly for someone her station to act so childishly. But this planet and its people brought out a dash of wonder in her.

Cooper barked out, <<TURKEY! We will close this like a Turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes. Can we have some on the ship later? I am suddenly very hungry!>>

Mr. Apple scratched the german shepherd behind his black triangular ears.

Horus stated, ((I don’t know if such a saying is native to Earth, checking INET records! There is mention of Turkey’s voting in elections at Christmas. Religious Holiday. Accessing: Another option mentions “Sealing the Deal” Related to Housing. This is a home for a Belt. Summation: We must seal this house until the owner can take residence.))

The scholar laughed, the sound was rather awkward. 

Like he didn’t remember how it felt.

Cooper floated next to him, right at chest height, his tail dashing back and forth.

“I will order the feast myself. I just need you and Q’vera to link your belts to the White Maxtrix for a moment. Then Horus can help me seal the data points.” 

Once the trio was finished the world shifted. The curvature of Io was serene from this vantage point. Q’vera’s messager went off, her sister’s face filled the screen, “How goes the duties of the Red today?”

“About as normal as it could be dear sister.” From the looks of it, they were at the Embassy. She saw her nephew in the background, he came racing over, “AUNTY! Did ya see? I made a pattern match!” He showed off his new datalink. It was affixed to the top of his spine, right near the nape of his neck, flashing a solid green color of lights. Q’vera’s delight shot over the Family line, >>Greetings young one!<< It was tempered by the realization that J’dax would have to hide her nephew’s full parentage. What a strange universe this was, one child covered to be assumed human while the other was cloaked as a regular full homegrown Typherian.

His young voice cascaded down the line, other members welcoming him into the fold, his grandparents as well, >>HI! Mama, how’s it go again? OK! I am I’arvan Ayeer. Nice to mind greet you all. Where’s Diamond lady and Wolfman!?>> Her father’s mirth traveled along with the earnest greeting. Exploding over his grandson. He was currently wrapped in his mother’s arms. Her nephew’s hair was changed, not the black of the father but colored like his mother’s. With more traces of sandy blond.

Her sister reached out, >>Can you come to Earth? It might be a long assignment. Bring your husband and children, if they wish. We are going to need more Defender assistance sooner rather than later.<<

Q’vera nodded.

This looked like a job for….

*****

            I sneezed.

Dad was reclining in his favorite rocking chair. Looking quite pleased with himself,  “Hey Marshmellow Man, what’s the news?” He came over and showed me the missive. I was being assigned to Area 51 as NASA's Action Team contact. Listed under the Jumpstart Program. An adjunct. Oh my! Whatever that meant. The first thing that popped into my mind was, “I want to poke that orb you know. The one on the first level. In the main foyer. I remember that last visit.” He grinned, “Poke away Space Cadet, poke everything! You have my tacit approval to do that.”

            “The Eggheads that single-minded?”

My father’s lack of expression revealed more than my empathy sense for once.

“Wow. Prep the Jar. This thing says it's clearing my whole crew for it. The Jonas Olsten Apocalypse. He wants to free all the little green ladies.”

I cackled. The tears running down my face nearly made my stomach hurt.

Dad joined in.

            Now, this was going to be an adventure.

            INET was going to go crazy with more theories. I kept bugging Horus about it. I had a feeling he was participating in some epic chess game with other VIs or AIs out there. I wasn’t blind. I knew on some level that my mind was Swiss Cheese but like everything else in life, tackle one thing at a time, with everything you have.

            Dad ruffled my hair. Bringing a lump to my throat. Couldn’t say why though.

            His eyes locked onto mine for a moment. Something must have shown on my face.

            He picked me up in a bear hug. “Area 51 is no moon but it’s a start.”

*****

            Hilary Brookes snarled.

She discarded her high heels and hurled them across the room. A daddy’s girl for the A51 advisory council? What kind of universal joke was this? Jumpstart Program my ass, she thought viciously. It was all arranged. To give that General Murphy more pull. An auto vote to swing his way the whole time. We will see about that. Murphy wasn’t the only one with paternal connections. Hilary smiled.

A cruel glint to her nearly black eyes.

She imagined her father had quite a few more gifts than a common Earthling. Even if he didn’t fully trust her. She would have the secrets of Unity and destroy all the Shimmers at Area 51. Those were the true threats to mankind. Not this pie in the sky entity her father worshiped. They would rue the day they laughed at her. Especially that impotent man they called a US president. His mind was never on Earth but the endless Sea of Stars. She would gladly watch it all burn.

All would love her and despair. Just the way she liked it.

Even Anna would have to admit to her right to rule.

She might even earn a spot on Hilary’s advisory board.

Useful pawns like Thoth would pave the way for Brooke’s emancipation from this rock of dullards. There would be no salvaging his snake slaves though. Especially the sorceress. The brother was tied to the sister. The only thing that would make this all perfect:

A red, white, and blue smudge on the bottom of her boots.

Issue 23: Here

Issue 25: Here