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Encyclopedia Alendia

Progons – A race of pure electricity that houses itself in great machines.

Home planet: Tiel, which means “One”

Progons are often mistakenly thought of as a collective because of their basis in electricity. However Progons are individuals and do not and cannot merge into larger collective existence.

Unlike most biological entities, the Progons evolution was not driven by replication. While Alendans evolution centered on replication, electrical impulses did evolve in support of that. Progons early forms were driven by circuit completion with replication later supporting that.

The major step for Progon civilization was inhabiting Proroqs which allowed them mobility. Proroqs are a feature of Tiel that are natural formations that can move easily.

Primitive Progons were limited to inhabiting Proroqs but eventually learned to construct larger and more efficient machines. Eventually Progons created automata that could follow programming to build amazing cities and vehicles to leave the planet.

Actual protons exist in circuits in the great machines on Tiel. The protons most Alendans might encounter are simply robots or other automata controlled from Tiel.

Communication

Progons can send electrical signals instantaneously over long distances as well as through time. This capability has plowed them to explore the universe without leaving their home planet. Their automata expand and sometimes conquer while under homebound Progon control.

While Progon circuits can travel off planet the Progons themselves dislike travel greatly and it is an extreme rarity for an actual Progon to leave the planet.

Evolution causality controversy

Because Progons can communicate through time, some theories suggest they have caused their own evolution by sending instructions to the primitive Progons to guide them in creating machines outside the Proroqs. The Progons deny this saying it is impractical to communicate anything of significance to primitive Progons.

Most scientists believe the paradox could not be balanced and accept the Progons assurances. Alendans ave visited Progon history and have not found any evidence of interference from the future in their evolution.

Diplomacy

Critics of Progon society say the regime has eliminated all society in order to create a culture of soldiery. Progon automata are warlike and the Progons have expanded to rule over large mounts of space centered around Tiel and the other central worlds.

The Progons and Sensaurians have no diplomatic relations but keep an uneasy distance between their two cultures. Alendans have fought fierce wars with the Progons at times but also maintain large amounts of peacetime as well. In peaceful sections of time, diplomats are often placed on Tiel, though most do not stay for extended periods for various reasons.

Accusations of a secret time war have persisted against the Progons by many sectors of Alendan and other society but no evidence for such a war has yet been uncovered.

It was a dirty planet. Young but unorganized. Its inhabitants would not be civilized for centuries and not respectable neighbors for centuries more after that. Eventually though they would become the most respected species in existence. The Ambassador knew this because he was one of them.

The Secretary made his office in this space-time point because of just this juxtaposition. Any arrival had to observe the planet in its ancient state. The Guardians of Alenda should never forget their heritage.

It didn’t hurt that it was an unfixed point in time. In fact, the Ambassador might have visited before on this very day and not remember it. The conditions were such that nothing future visitors could do would cause any permanent effect on any significant events. Butterflies flapped their wings in vain here. The outside winds were too strong.

The Ambassador landed his ship, ‘The Verity’ just outside the rough wooden shack the Secretary called an office. He went inside and once again saw the rough interior. The Secretary easily could have constructed a modern technological space that any natives would have been shielded from seeing. Instead, he lived, dressed, and the Ambassador was reminded pointedly, smelled, in period-appropriate conditions.

“Ah, Ambassador, please come in. Have a seat. Apologies as usual for the lack of comforts, but— well you know the reasons.”

The Ambassador had heard the reasons. The Secretary wanted as little pollution of the planet as possible. Not for worries of effecting the timeline, but just for the ecological sensitivities of it. He also liked to feel the discomfort of his visitors.

“I’ve asked you here because it’s time for you to take a very difficult journey, the end of which I can’t even see.”

This was not the usual opener.

“The Progons and the Sensaurians are on the move. Both in different eras, but the effects are spread out over a vast amount of space.”

“You think we would have noticed that before,” the Ambassador ventured.

The Secrteary nodded. “A few of us have. Certainly. But only in the corners. It’s like that old adage about our home planet. If an alien landed blindfolded in the Jerendran Desert and took off his blindfold, he’d think he landed on a desert planet. Ladn in a forest and think he’d landed on a forest planet etc. We travel all through space and time, but we still only see a corner of it.”

“So what’s this issue then?” the Ambassador felt a little impatient with the Secretary sometimes.

“A war. The greatest war we know ever existed. A secret war meant to end the Guardians protection of the universe and change every unfixed point. A war only you can prevent or end. I’m sorry.”

The Ambassador bowed his head. His annoyance and mirth all fled.

“What do I do?”

“You start with a mission of piece. First to the Progons. Then to the Sensaurians. There is a possibility you can rearrange their motivations in such a way to limit the war to a more conventional size and save the universe.”

“And if I fail? Do I fail?”

“Even I don’t know if you do. It’s that obscured. But if you do, you’ll have another option. You’ll learn it in time.”

The Ambassador got up to leave.

“Oh one more thing,” the Secretary said. “Two more actually. One, hold on to the Verity tightly. You’re a pilot at heart. Don’t forget that.”

The Ambassador nodded. “And the other?”

Don’t trust the Vice-Counsel’s plan. That’s all I can say. All I need say, I think. Good luck, Ambassador X.”

Luck. It was a word the Secretary never used. It was frightening that he did so now.

“Did you hear the Ambassador arrived?”

“Yes, he flies alone you know. So unusual. But then I’ve heard he carries a singularity in his cabin. So it’s a bit done for show I should think.”

“The Verity has a singularity on board?”

“So, I’m told anyway. A whole pocket universe if the stories are to be believed.”

“Seems dangerous, if You ask me.”

“Well perhaps that’s why they don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Ask you.”

“Fair point.”

“So is it true about the treaty?”

“If anyone can pull it off peace with the Progons and Sensaurians, it’s the Ambassador.”

“Only Bolger can go to Nollisar, eh?”

“Something like that. He’s not like the other diplomats. Wasn’t born into it.”

“He’s a Guardian though, no?”

“Oh yes, from the central planet and everything but not one of the favored houses if you catch my meaning. Not a house at all really. Worked his way up. He’s been at all sorts of jobs, Instructor, Secretary, even Pilot I hear.”

“Would explain the small ship I suppose.”

“Explains the peace possibility too. Takes an outside perspective like his. That’s what he’s been doing the whole war. Wracking that clever brain of his to find a solution. Apparently he’s hit on it, or that’s the buzz anyway.”

“Have you met him before?”

“Once. He’s a charmer that’s for sure. And a fast-talker. It’s no exaggeration that he can talk anyone into or out of doing pretty much anything. I knew he’d untie this not we’re in.”

“So what happens to the generators then? And uh, you know the uh, conscripts if you will?”

“I expect it will just be wound down now. Less said about all that the better. Ah here we are. Mr. Ambassador, a pleasure to meet you.”

The Ambassador who is just stepping down from his ship turns to greet the two men with a menacing smile.

“Ah gentleman, just in time for some pinball,” said the Ambassador. The two other men looked puzzled. “Be with you in an Instant.”

“Commander I’ve got something. ”

“What is it Specialist?” Commander Ngtyllik moved over to Scanning specialist 12’s station.

“It’s a match for a surveillance order. The Verity.”

“The Verity? Don’t know it. Who gave the order?”

The specialist hesitated. “Uh, it says here you did sir.”

“What? I have no memory of that. When?”

“I don’t know, sir. In fact I don’t remember entering it myself. It just popped up like its always been there.”

“Nonsense. Maybe it’s from upstairs. Damned odd to slap my name on ot of ot is. Don’t worry Specialist. Good work. Do try to pay more attention when you’re authorizing orders though. Could sound sloppy not to remember orders.”

The Specialist looked doubtful. “Yes sir. I’ve sent acknowledgement and provided approach for now.”

“Good good. What else do we have on it?”

The Specialist poked around on his interface for a minute.

“Not much sir. The order only calls for an alert if the vessel is matched. it’s called the Verity. No known origin. No known crew. One race. Alendan?”

“Never heard of it.”

“And that’s it other than, oh! My apologies sir. It’s a level one alert.”

“What?! That’s ridiculous.” Level one was an all hands emergency if spotted. The idea that a level one could be spotted but nobody be expecting it or even remember entering the order was the most disturbing thing the Commander could think of.

“Well– Capture it. I’ll head upstairs and try to get to the bottom of this.”

The Commander ran up to the Captain’s office but he had already headed off to the Admiral’s Ready Room as soon as the alarm sounded. the Commander raced down the corridors to catch up and came barreling into a room filled with top officers all staring at him.

“Ah, Ngtyllik, I assume you can explain this?”

Crap.

“Somewhat sir,” this brought a perturbed look to the Admirlas face. The rest if the officers look less than pleased. Nobody joked ant a Level 1 and they all seemed to know even less than he did.

“Specialist Ramsey spotted the target just now on a ship called. The Verity. Records show I gave the surveillance order at Level 1 signed off by you Admiral. Neither the specialist nor I recalled the order, which is damned odd in this case. The ships only details are a race of origin called the Alendans. I’m not familiar.”

A Captain from another part of the operation laughed. “You don’t read fairy tales then?”

“What’s that supposed to mean Fergranters?” The Admiral snapped.

“Sorry sir. The Alendans are characters from children’s stories. A once powerful race that could travel in time but reached too far and brought their entire people to destruction. Typical moral lessons and such,” the Admiral cut him off. Captain Fergranters was from the Cultural Relations arm. They could talk at length if allowed.

“And that’s all we have? Please tell me this isn’t some kind of joke Ngtyllik–”

An aide interrupted the Admiral. “Sir we ‘re getting a transmission from the ship.”

“Is it already locked on approach?”

“Yes sir. It’s been captured on my orders,” said the Commander.

“Ok, so they can’t pull much. At least we did that part right. Let’s hear it.”

A burst if static filled the room followed by a perfectly normal sounding voice speaking the dominant language of the Fringe. Cascade.

“This is Pilot X of The Verity to the command of the Fringe Cascade. I mean you no harm. Doubtless your records are in disarray or even missing about me. I can clear up the confusion. Please allow me to land peacefully.”

The message repeated.

“All right,” said the Admiral. “Peacefully. But make sure a well-armed battalion meets him to make sure it’s stays peaceful.”

His flight was timeless. The Verity was equipped with all manner of features to pass the time, entertain, research, educate and more but he made use of none of them.

Mostly he wept. Not so much for what he’d done but for the need of the doing of it. And for the fact of his survival. He could have thrown himself out of protection and disappeared like the rest of it. Often he wished he had.

But he hadn’t. It was his punishment and his reward. He must live with the guilt of surviving. And also, he must live. That was his reward. The purpose of living to tell the tale, to help the others, to see it was not all in vain.

Hence his flight to the Fringe Cascade, the most advanced civilization left. If anyone knew best how to continue afterwards it would them. Even if they didn’t know why, which they wouldn’t, to them, existence would always have been like that, but even so, they would be clever enough to know something had happened, and how to deal with it.

A light when on at the console. A very important light. A light that usually demanded immediate attention. Pilot X looked at the light and laughed. He had been detected. The Fringe Cascade were still expecting him. They had scanned him and a
Proved his approach, even though by all rights they should have no idea who he was anymore.

He reached to acknowledge the signal, and the Verity lurched and threw him away from the console. Another series of lights went on. These did not make hi laugh. These were bad. The Verity had been captured and was being pulled in. So he was expected but at the same time no longer welcome. Either they knew almost nothing or somehow they knew everything. Either way they weren’t pleased. He’d find out why soon enough.

An echo rumbled through the tower as The Verity settled into place outside the command center. Its arrival added to the clamor and noise of the ongoing battle.

“What is that?! A ship? How did it get in here?!”
“Is that Ambassador X?”
“He’s not Ambassador anymore. He’s gone rogue didn’t you hear?”
“Citizen X, please cease your activities and vacate at once!”
“Citizen? No need to insult the man if you want him to comply.”
“What’s he doing?”
“Dear stars in alignment, is that the Harmony Device? How did he get it?”
“He’s not going. To use it is he?!”
“Ambassador X, stop this minute ,”
Foomp
Or maybe mor like a shoomp sound.

Whichever it was it was a small sound as he pushed down the plunger activating the device. The Verity protected him in a chrono-neutral envelope as the wave spread out from the device freezing everything. The people in the tower’s command center stopped. The battle outside paused. He cried. The wave was unstoppable now, rippling through space and time to the fringes of the universe, destroying almost all of them, rewriting history in the rest.

But he was stopping them. His people. And their enemies. A war that had unleashed a million maniacs on unsuspecting worlds. A war that would kill all the innocents, leaving him no choice but to take this action, at this moment, irrevocably.

The tower was dark now. He saw the wave returning. He couldn’t really see it, but he could catch hints of its progress as the stars went out. He knew he’d have to leave before it converged back here at the center. Even the chrono-neutral field would be wiped out then. He hadn’t stopped crying. He almost decided to stay and pay for his crime. But he knew he had one last responsibility to those left in this universe he had just remade.

He dragged himself into the Verity and told it to set course.

“Where?” It asked reasonably. Always reasonable, his ship.

He looked out at the spreading darkness and saw a twinkle of light. Stars still existed. A few. Not caught in the wave. Space travel would take ages now. People living among those stars would think it had always been that way. Because of him they would never remember the teeming life of the galaxies as they were. But they would survive. The madmen would not rule them.

“There” He pointed at the distant twinkles. “We’ll start there, I think.”

“Course set for the Fringe Cascade.”

Pilot X fled from the dark tower as it faded and disappeared into never having been.