[OC] Type A and Type B (pt.4)

The story so far: Khaine and Maia, a married couple from Earth, have woken up finding themselves abducted by a psychic alien species that resembles octopus-headed nagas. The species was investigating Earth a possible colony world and was surprised to find sapient life on the planet. After time it is concluded that some members of the Human race generate a psychic field that is effectively a psionic dead zone over the whole planet. Other members of the Human race are basically a psionic sound bomb. This report has prompted the ‘Nagas’ to make contact with Humanity, but only after an observation and study period to assess their threat and value.

NOTE: All time and distance measurements are translated to species specific equivalent.

Tyrndarian Research Vessel Crashing Wave Currently landed Martian Moon Phobos

-Khaine-

As Khaine and Maia sat on the floor talking to each other the door hissed open and 'Wave' (as they have taken to call their handler) slithered in. He…it?...was flanked by two more Nagas carrying a set of boxes with screens on it. They set down the boxes, one in front of the couple, and the other in front of Wave. Wave coiled down in what they assumed was a comparable sitting position. Wave took a wire lead attached to what looked like a sticky pad, and attached it to the side of his/her/it’s head.

Damn, that was fast, Maia only gave them her cell about 3 hours ago. I guess time to see how well this works.

“Uh…test?”

There was a faint hum and Wave stared at the screen, and his/her/it’s face tentacles writhed in what Khaine hoped was joy.

EXCELLENT, IT WORKS

The words flashed across the screen.

“Well, holy shit. Nice job.”

THANK YOU, MAIA’S DEVICE WAS VERY USEFUL, THERE ARE SO MANY APPLICATIONS FOR THE TECH INVOLVED. JUST THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE POSSIBILTY OF USING SONICS TO COMMUNICATE ALONE…FASCINATING.

“You are welcome, I guess. You should thank Maia really for being obsessive about tracking her run distances.”

Wave nodded and turned to Maia.

YES INDEED, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAIA. YOU HAVE ENABLED ME TO BE THE FIRST TO COMMUNICATE WITH A NULL.

“There is that word again…hey Wave, just what the hell is a ‘Null’?”

Wave stopped and looked pensive for a moment.

AS YOU MAY HAVE FIGURED OUT, MY SPECIES HAS PSIONIC CAPABILITES. MOST OF THE SPECIES IN THE COALITION ARE EITHER PSIONIC OR HAVE LATENT PSIONIC ABILITIES.

“A Space-faring psychic alien UN. Sounds complicated.”

INDEED, ANYWAY. SPECIES THAT HAVE NO ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH PSIONICS ARE LABELED ‘NULL’. NULLS FOR THE MOST PART SHARE SOME CHARACTERISTICS.

1. THEY ARE NON-SAPIENT
2. THEY ARE HIGHLY AGGRESSIVE TO NON-NULLS, ALSO CALLED ‘BROADCASTERS’ OR ‘COMMUNICATORS’

“So that’s why you thought I was hunting Maia.”

INDEED.

3. THEY ARE TYPICALLY USED BY THE NULL COLLECTIVE.

“Wait…the what?”

THE NULL COLLECTIVE IS A HOSTILE FORCE WHICH SEEMS TO CONSIST OF ONLY NULL SPECIES. IT IS ANTAGONISTIC TO THE COALITION AND WE HAVE BEEN IN A STATE OF WAR AGAINST THEM FOR THE PAST 2000 OR SO YEARS. TO DATE, NO ONE HAS BEEN ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE COLLECTIVE OR EVEN KNOW ITS’ AIM.

Khaine stopped to consider, noticing that Maia had scrunched up her face, obviously thinking.

“And you are worried that we might be part of the Collective.”

THAT HAS BEEN RAISED AS A CONCERN.

Maia spoke up, “…But…I’m a ‘Broadcaster’…does that mean anything?” She paused and got a mischievous grin on her face as she turned to Khaine. “I guess I really am more mature and advanced than you, babe. Girls are better than boys!”

Khaine turned to his wife and deadpanned.

“So good of you to slum it up with us primitives, luv. You truly are a shining example of human generosity and caring.”

“Someone sounds mad that they are less evolved.”

“Bitch.”

“Ass”

Wave, to his/her/its credit was doing the best it could to keep up. Looking back and forth between the couple.

FASCNIATING. IS THIS HOW A PAIR BONDED COUPLE INTERACT IN YOUR SPECIES? I AM LEARNING SO MUCH MORE AND FASTER NOW THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND YOU BOTH. HOWEVER, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MAIA. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT EITHER YOU OR KHAINE IS AN ANOMOLY…ALSO, GIVEN THE FACT THAT THERE SEEMS TO BE A FIELD SIMILAR TO THE ONE KHAINE PUTS OUT, BUT ON A SUBSTANTIALLY LARGER SCALE AROUND THE WHOLE OF YOUR PLANET, LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT IF ANYTHING, KHAINE IS NOT THE EXCEPTION. ALSO, JUST BECAUSE A SPECIES IS A ‘NULL’ DOESN’T MEAN THAT THEY ARE MORE OR LESS ADVANCED. JUST THAT EVERY NULL WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED OTHER THAN YOUR SPECIES ARE NON-SAPIENT AND AGGRESSIVE…ALTHOUGH….

Khaine considered, then he understood.

“Maybe you had no way to communicate with them…maybe there are sapient…”

THAT WOULD BE...THE IMPLICATIONS…

“It would change your world…” Maia finished for Wave.

INDEED.

-Wheyvuhshine-

This was truly an enlightening experience. Khaine was remarkably insightful and thanks to his ‘Null Zone’ communicating with Maia like this no longer gave him headaches. It was less demanding to talk like this as well. Little surprise this species used it. Their interactions or ‘conversation’ as the humans call it, seemed like a cross between a sonic battle and a mating dance. The jests and jabs exchanged seemed deep and insulting, given the nature of the words, but they were not received as insults.

Khaine and his fellow human ‘Nulls’ are going to change the Coalition. I am literally going to see the world change as a result of my discovery. It was almost humbling. Words from the humans communication were flashing across the screen and into my brain almost faster he could process them. How can they process data this fast? Maia and Khaine were talking amongst themselves and I am lost in just observing.

As if the mere thought of his name drew his attention, Khaine turned to me.

“So what is so different about me? What makes a creature a ‘Null’ and one a ‘Broadcaster’?

His question was direct and to the point. I stopped and considered. Then communicated through the device.

INITALLY IT WAS THOUGHT TO BE TIED TO THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT OF THE BRAIN, BUT NOW I AM NOT SO SURE. KHAINE, YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY A CAPABLE INDIVIDUAL, AT LEAST AS EQUAL TO MAIA.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

POSSIBLY IT MIGHT HAVE TO DO WITH MINDFRAME AND PERSONALITY OR VIEW. IT HAS BEEN NOTED THAT THE MOST COMMON TRAIT OF ‘NULLS’ IS THE FACT THAT THEY ARE OR HAVE EVOLVED FROM COMPLEX PACK OR SOLITARY SPECIES, WHERE AS MOST ‘BROADCASTERS’ COME FROM A HIVE OR COLONY SPECIES.

“Makes sense, early humans were a pack species, you have to know who you are and what your role is, but it can flex and adapt depending on the situation.” Khaine stopped, and chuckled for a moment. “I guess men really are from Mars and women are from Venus.”

The saying confused me.

I DO NOT GET THE MEANING.

“Right…um…ok, so Maia is woman, and I am a man. Our species has long noticed there is a distinct difference between the two sexes…or genders…or whatever you wanna call it. Certain aptitudes, mind frames, lines of thought, concerns…there are marked differences between the two. A running joke is amongst men, is that you will never understand women and you will never get a woman to shut up.”

MAIA’S MIND DOES SEEM TO BE CONSTANTLY RUNNING AND SHE DOES CAUSE ME CONFUSION AT TIMES.

“HAHA, see that babe!”

“Bite me.”

“When, where and how hard?”

“Dick.”

“Yup, I have one…”

Maia glared at her mate, and he chuckled and raised his hands defensively.

ARE YOU SAYING MEN ARE EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND DO NOT CONSTANTLY THINK ABOUT THINGS? THAT SEEMS…WORRYING.

“I know right?!”

“I can’t speak for every man, but I know that I can just not think and go through things, blissfully on autopilot. In fact I rather prefer it. It's the 'Nothing Box'”

'NOTHING BOX'?

"Ya, you know, where you just quiet your mind down and chill...you think about nothing..."

YOU CAN WILLFULLY INDUCE A COMATOSE STATE?

"Coma? No dude, I am up and walking around, just not thinking."

AND YOU HAVE HAD NO CYBERNETIC AUGMENTATIONS?

“Wha-? No…it’s like muscle memory, -“

IMPOSSIBLE, THERE ARE NO PLACES FOR YOUR MUSCLES TO STORE MEMORY.

“Huh? No…dude, it’s an expression. Means you can act without thinking, like reflex. Man, I’m just a Soldier, I shouldn’t be the one explaining this shit.”

Solider? Maia had mentioned that before. He was part of the military caste? Wait…did they even have a caste?

“OH! Babe, maybe that’s it!”

“Huh? What’s it?”

“You’re a Soldier…you, for the most part, are in sort of a ‘standby’ mode…”

He nodded…

“Ya, hurry up and wait applies often enough.”

I AM NOT FOLLOWING.

“A majority of Khaine’s life is spent training up his body and mind until he gets sent on a mission. He is like a computer. I mean, sure he has a personality and jokes with me and has his hobbies, and likes travel and our kids and stuff like that, but it can mostly be viewed as a standby mode.”

“Damn, luv, it sucks when you put it that way…but that standby is what I love.”

“I know, babe. I know.”

I thought for a moment.

SO YOU ARE AWAITING ‘MISSION’ OR STIMULUS FOR A LARGE MAJORITY OF YOUR TIME, YOU HAVE ADAPTED TO OPERATE, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, AUTOMATICALLY. PERMENENTLY AWAITING STIMULUS…IF OUR PSYCHIC COMMUNICATION IS A STIMULUS…THEN YOU AND YOUR ILK ARE LIKE PSYCHIC BLACK HOLES FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM. THAT COMBINED WITH A STRONG NOTION OF SELF…MAYBE…THIS WILL REQUIRE MORE TESTS…

Khaine looked uncomfortable.

WHAT?

“Look man, this is cool and all, but Maia and I have stuff we need to take care of at the home, it’s been what? 2 days on this ship? A day and a half? You need to release us. Or is kidnapping how you treat all sapient life forms?”

I considered. With all had been going on, I had forgotten that they had mentioned returning.

PLEASE GIVE ME A FEW MINUTES. WE SHALL WORK OUT A COURSE OF ACTION.

“As long as you can get us home, I am sure we can work something out, man. I think I speak for both of us when I say this is some of the craziest stuff we have seen in a while. I know personally I am down to continue this, but we have responsibilities. We can make this a weekly thing, or a monthly thing or whatever, but we need to handle our own shit. Comprende amigo?”

WHAT WAS THAT LAST BIT?

“It’s Spanish, another language, there are quite a few on Earth…I ask if you understood what I meant.”

YES, I ‘COMPRENDE AMIGO’

“Perfect.”

Maybe research could wait, but if it means I can break the mystery behind 'Nulls' and figure out these wonderful puzzles infront of me, I can be patient.

---

As always, please feel free to critique or comment below. Thank you for your time.

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