[06/01/06] Friend or Foe?
Three draconic beasts circle the barren landscape, searching for a place far from both the majority of the Koor and the bombardment they were being subjected to. The creatures land and their passengers disembark. The group, eight Soldiers and one base Sian, modified with telepathic genes from the samples collected previously, approach the Horde in a circular formation, with the Base Sian in the center. They move slowly and in near-perfect unison, not saying a word.
Posted Jan 13, 2019, 4:08 AM UTC
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The Horde is different now. They are a bit smaller, a bit less shaggy, a bit less hungry. They still tear down trees in droves, but now they seem to have time not occupied by consumption. Recreation time, almost. It is during this time that one Koor, dirt-smeared with fine fingers and larger head, approaches the newcomers and stares at them. Those with psionic capabilities would feel something like fingertips on the surface of their mind, scrambling for purchase but finding none. Unless, of course, they open themselves.
For the first time since they arrived, one of the Sian speaks. It's the telepath, standing in the middle of the circle. They speak in a language equal parts human and animal; incorporating grunts and hisses alongside sounds more commonly found in language.
<"I can feel them prying at my mind.">
Nothing more is said, the others know what it means. One of the soldiers gives them a look, which is returned. The circle contracts, and the telepath's mind is opened.
Immediately, the telepath is flooded with memories. Some depict common scenes of Koor uprooting trees and the delicious taste of pine. Others are of the Ophite civilization, of the tiny birds and bugs who fear and hate the Koor strength. Others are of the snake-king, who brought food from air but was distrusted by the Rolp. The Sian psion sees themself from a half-dozen angles, and can hardly recall which they were. The Sian was the Horde, the Horde was of many species, the self was erased and the collective was all. It is amusing-foolish-sad to think of when the Horde was two and not one, and the new-body was locked to a single mind. The Koor and the Sian match postures, and understand each other completely.
The Horde, too, receives many memories. Its new body was Argin of the Sian. A female, though little attachment was held to this label. It was meant for reproduction, nothing more. They remember the story of the one called Rolp, though it was not known by any name. They remember the abilities of the Horde, and the sense of wonder and dread that went with it. They remember the mission, to see if they were dangerous. They remember the risks of their task, but accepting regardless. They remember begin engulfed by a thing with clear sides, to prepare them for the task. They remember those with them; their capabilities, and some of their names. They remember that those with them are siblings; not by blood but by united purpose.
They remember memories of a red grove in a red wood, of a star in the night, growing larger by the second, then of a red grove in a green wood. There was fear tied to this memory, though over the years it had begun to be replaced with a sense of wonder. This place had a name, which the Horde now knew: Ao Aurelen. It was home.
This memory was tied to another, one much older. A memory of explorers; faces and names lost to time. A planting of seeds; not for food, but for refuge. These were not Argin's memories, but ones from hundreds of years before her birth. Even so, these memories were treasured, for this event was home.
They remember the future; a planet equal parts red and brown. There is guilt tied to this memory, for it was their own carelessness that had pushed their home to the brink of extinction. They remember other worlds, and their inhabitants. They remember a journey through an ancient, enigmatic place, and its conclusion on a world more alien than they remember ever thinking possible. They remember the ones these memories belong to: once foreigners but now relatives.
They remember other foreigners as well. They remember the Ophites and their desert land. They remember Emissary of MakkheCo, and the repulsion to his mechanical form. They remember invasions, the anger of defeat and the pride of victory. They remember the Vas'ta, the way they were in many ways completely alien but in others comfortingly familiar. They remember engaging in the most intimate form of communication, the feeling of their auxiliary nerves being coated in cold resin. They remember the memories of the Vas'ta, of their icy, colourless home.
A soldier by the name of Lave gives the organism once known as Argin a look. To an outsider this look would lack any meaning, but the Horde knows what it means. It is a look equal parts worried and curious, one that wants to know the result of the connection, but is worried of what the answer may be.
The memories are spread among the Horde. Many are lost and forgotten, as are many of the memories given to Argin. A brain can only hold so much. The meanings, though, remain. Never before had the thousands of Koor considered that a world might not be infinite. That a world could be depleted. They would keep this in mind. Argin, whose voice is more suited for the Sian speech, turns to Lave and speaks in the Sian tongue.
"(Sian are welcomed by the Koor. Come when-if you are mind-right.)"