Ancient Outpost
As she continued down the sloping tunnel, her heart racing with anticipation, she couldn't help but wonder what she might find below. Her hand trailed along the smooth stone wall, feeling the texture of the rough surface against her skin. She marveled at the luminescent flecks embedded in the stone, wondering how they came to be there.
Her mind drifted to the historical records of her planet, which were spotty and incomplete. Inadequate record-keeping extended back three hundred Esteems before The First Empress was enthroned on Kisin, leaving many gaps in the understanding of their planet's history. However, record-keeping improved after the first empress was crowned. Education and science became a focal point of the largest continent, QinMay.
It wasn't until the reign of the two hundredth seventy-first Empress, after the unification of Ksin, that scientists discovered a strong energy frequency emanating from deep within the earth. The discovery of the energy frequency sent shockwaves throughout the scientific community, and expeditions were quickly mounted to explore the source of the mysterious signal. Funded by the most prominent corporate foundation known as OSI, historians and scientists alike embarked on a perilous journey to uncover the secrets hidden deep within the earth.
As they delved deeper into the earth, they stumbled upon an ancient listening post, a relic from a time long forgotten. The outpost was filled with strange technology, artifacts, and bones, all shrouded in a veil of mystery. The scientists and historians were awestruck by the sheer magnitude of the discovery. They spent decades sifting through the ruins to piece together the secrets of this lost civilization.
As they pored over the ancient artifacts, they noticed something strange. The outpost seemed to be drawing power from the minerals in the surrounding geology, including the luminescent Ilvibole and Euchaite. Ilvibole, a metamorphic mineral that was a by-product of changes in Euchaite brought on by a combination of heat and pressure unique to the Toli Forest, was found to have incredible healing and calming properties. It was a discovery that would change the course of history on Ksin and usher in an age of enlightenment, leading to the mining of the unique elements and the birth of an industrial revolution that transformed the planet forever.
For generations, it was used in many different medical practices. A few centuries later, the unique energy field itself was able to be harnessed and converted into a power source, ushering in an industrial age of enlightenment that ended in the destruction of the Toli Forest as wars over control of the mines became commonplace.
With this knowledge, she knew that if what she thought was below actually existed, it would not be a fairytale but instead had been sent to a real moment in her planet's history. The thought sent shivers down her spine as she took a deep breath and stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the dimly illuminated hole in front of her.
One corporation found Euchaite easier to locate and mine. They began to harvest this mineral to refine it and create an artificial form of Ilvibole; this new product was more unstable, dangerous, and even more toxic yet easier to mass-produce. As time passed, the three corporations that mined or created Ilvibole grew to dominate every aspect of Ksin society, becoming fat and corrupt, killing researchers, or destroying companies that attempted to develop new technologies to replace the planet's dependency on Ilvibole.
Despite the warnings of the dangers of the artificial Ilvibole, the corporations continued to mass-produce the unstable mineral, driven by greed and a lust for power. The once-beautiful planet of Ksin became a dystopian wasteland with no clean air, water, or food. The people were dying, ravaged by illness and disease caused by the toxic by-products of Ilvibole production and use. The corporations, bloated with wealth and power, resorted to increasingly desperate measures to maintain their dominance, using any means necessary to suppress dissent and maintain their control.
Ksin became a wasteland dying from the by-products of artificial Ilvibole production and use. The wars over Euchaite became a galactic conflict as the corporations dispatched their armies to the far reaches of the universe in search of the precious mineral, leaving destruction and chaos in their wake. Families were torn apart, whole communities wiped out, and entire planets left desolate and barren.
Her own family had been refugees of such a war. Space-born, she never ran in fields of grass or flowers as a child. All because of corporate greed, yet as an orphan and soldier, she never thought about it like that. Instead, she thought about the need for food and shelter and left the heavy thinking of repercussions to the higher-ups. The part of the discovery that is always only vaguely mentioned, yet what grabbed her heart in a vice was the mention of the ancient black stone well.
As she moved deeper, she could feel the energy of the natural Ilvibole more strongly. It felt like Nana's hugs, her mother's encouraging whispers, and her father's hand affectionately patting her head. The weight of her baby brother in her arms as he cooed and squirmed, smelling of milk. Her feelings of comfort merged past and present, overlapping with the child she was currently and the life she had lived before.
The natural Ilvibole seemed to resonate with her emotions, amplifying them to a level she had never experienced before. It was as if she was reliving those moments all over again, merging past and present in a perfect union. But as she delved deeper into the tunnel, Zalgras's intrusion disrupted her thoughts.
*This feeling is?* Zalgras' intrusion had her shaking her head, forcing her feet to move further down the tunnel.
*Contentment, love, maybe peace, this feeling is hard for me to describe, but it is comforting and makes one feel at ease.* She responded absently as she found where Zalgras had stopped digging. The pain from the serpent's attack was almost nonexistent in the warmth generated from the Ilvibole as she started to dig straight down, hoping she would not fall through a ceiling.
She dug at a sharper angle than the snake could have using a wide flat rock she had found, hoping to break through, finding the soil incredibly easy to displace as she went. It was the larger stones that seemed more problematic. Even so, the Ilvibole's warmth made the pain from the serpent's attack fade away, and the digging progressed quickly. It felt like an eternity had passed before she felt what she had done was entirely too reckless because the ground began to move on its own.
She felt the ground shifting beneath her feet, and she stumbled, trying to regain her balance. But it was too late. The earth opened up beneath her, and she fell into the dark abyss below. She was surrounded by a swirling vortex of sand and soil, dragged down into the depths. She clawed at the sides of the hole, trying to find something to hold onto, but it was useless.
The darkness enveloped her, and she felt herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the earth. The pressure on her chest grew more intense, and she struggled to breathe as the sand filled her lungs. She tried to scream, but the sound was muffled by the earth closing in around her.
For what felt like hours, she tumbled through the dark, uncertain of where she was going or what awaited her at the bottom. Finally, with a sickening thud, she landed on solid ground. She lay there, gasping for air, her body wracked with pain.
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized that she was in a vast underground chamber, illuminated only by the faint glow of the Ilvibole that lined the walls. The air was thick with the scent of earth and decay, and the ground was littered with bones and other remnants of long-dead creatures.
She tried to stand, but her legs were weak and unsteady, and she fell to her knees. As she looked around, she realized that she was not alone. Strange, shadowy figures moved in the darkness, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly light.
She tried to speak, but her throat was dry and constricted, and no sound came out. She could feel their eyes on her, could sense their malevolent presence closing in around her. And then, with a sudden jolt, everything went black.
***
*Yun Val Daiyu! Are you damaged?* Her head was killing her; Zalgras was so loud it felt like her head would crack.
"By the Depths, I live; shut up!" She yelled while reaching up to rub her aching head, spilling gritty sediment out of her mouth. She shot into a sitting position choking on the dirt that invaded her mouth. Spitting and gagging as she tried to clean the grit and grime from her mouth in an embarrassingly undignified way.
Her eyes went saucer-shaped as she glanced around the space she had fallen into, her brain completely short-circuiting for solid heartbeats. This was really the ancient past! She had somehow traveled back to live in the body of another Yun Val Daiyu. Her Nana's book wasn't just a fairytale.
*Very well…this one felt…concern when you were unresponsive after the heavy stone fell and fractured your skull; it took this one a moment to repair your damage.* The creature's internal voice sounded solemn and slightly dejected as it explained why it had yelled.
"It is good you are adapting to my human emotions." She stated with no inflection in her voice, her tone dry and even. Her eyebrows furrowed down, and her eyes narrowed into unamused slits.
*Yun Val Daiyu, this place is?* He had not understood her sarcasm and moved on to inquire at what lay before them like an awed child. Daiyu remained silent, gathering herself.
She was sprawled in a pile of soft dirt that had deposited her into a vast cavern. Bats flittered overhead, casting large shadows in the space as her eyes took in their surroundings.
She stood upon the accumulated soil and small bones that had fallen into the cavern with her. To observe more before seeing what looked like wood fences surrounded by pale green mossy earth. She slid down the hill to the cave floor, feeling her feet bounce slightly as she touched a mossy surface.
Even though they were underground, the air smelled fresh and earthy, and she heard running water nearby; there must be an underground spring. She wandered around the sizeable fenced structure, surveying the area.
She felt a damp chill seeping through her clothes as she approached the mossy surface. The smell of fresh water grew more robust, and soon she spotted the source - an underground stream that flowed through the cavern. The sound of the water was soothing, a welcome contrast to the chaos of the fall.
She followed the stream, stepping over mossy rocks and ducking under low-hanging stalactites. The water was crystal clear, and she could see small fish darting through the current.
As she moved closer to the fence, she discovered that there was a pattern; the borders outlined eight sets of stairs leading down. Between the sets of stairs were hedged glass circles that allowed her to see into a massive compound beneath her feet. She wondered if the cave had been there or if dirt covered the structure over time, obscuring the view of the sky; otherwise, why build glass windows to stare at the stone ceiling? Even with the illumination from the pockets of Ilvibole and the few bats fluttering around, it would be a boring visage. She finally answered the creature's long-asked question slowly.
*The device that forced your ancestors to change was called a Maker Seed and was sent to many planets in our known galaxy. Their job was to make the inhabitants they carried and the planet they landed on compatible; some planets had places like these.
*As far as anyone could understand, some of the worlds were to be specialized and were given 'Observers Posts.' The Maker Seed raised these observers first as scientists, guardians, and sometimes overseers. On some planets, they just recorded the development of civilizations and mutations that occurred after a world was inhabited.
*This dynamic broke down on every planet. At some point in the history, a generation was born with the desire to experience what they observed. I have always found such accounts fascinating, those that stayed isolated from the rest of the developing planet. How the ideas and technologies they brought or sacrificed to integrate into the cultures. Or how some overseers abused the planet's citizens to the point they were overthrown. The accounts varied so much from planet to planet and outpost to outpost.* Daiyu explained to Zalgras as she moved slowly around the perimeter, looking for a booby trap or security device.
*Historians say that this particular outpost did its best to guide the culture and science of the planet. They created a religion around themselves to explain their advanced tools and ideologies. Logs show they were eventually hunted as evil demons; those who did not hide in the outpost died still trying to help the ignorant. And though the origin of the people who started the religion died, cells of the long-dead religion never really disappeared. They just hid until they could openly step into the light again.*
This was really the ancient past, and she had somehow traveled back to live in the body of another Yun Val Daiyu she had to accept that facing the truth before her. Zalgras was not a demon, and history somehow omitted its whole species from the history books in the guise of demons instead of as an extinct race of creatures. They faded from history to fairytale monsters.
*The feeling this one gets here is strong, as if this one is ingesting much energy. Is this also because of your ancestors?* Its tone seemed almost a content purr even though it was asking a question.
*No, that is due to the minerals surrounding this place. My ancestors may have tapped into the mineral to use as a natural power source. We call it Ilvibole. It seems to be the energy you were feeding on as well.* They both fell silent as she continued to gather information visually.
When she was convinced there were no traps, she moved slowly down the stairs, which to her surprise, were made from petrified wood that felt coarse and cold to the touch. At the bottom of the stairs stood tall, dark brown doors. They were smooth with no handles. She could see the seams of the doors, which were clearly inset in the walls.
*So they must open. Yet how?* Daiyu began to stop on the bottom stairs and feel along the walls with her hands.
*This one has heard that your kind 'dance', which is a rhythmic movement of the body to sounds, is this 'dance'?* Zalgras probed while observing her behavior.
*No, this is not dancing. We are looking for a switch or trigger mechanism to open the doors. Inside has things of value to us.* She responded, smiling as she heard a soft click from a wall panel, and the dual doors opened before her.
Cool air whooshed out of the entryway carrying a sweet floral scent with it. Lanterns with an artificial fire lit up as she found herself in a room filled from floor to ceiling with different square devices.
"Fabricators," Daiyu whispered in awe, her eyes growing larger than her face and her mouth forming an O shape large enough for a tiny fist to fit inside.
*Fabricators, what is that?* She felt Zalgras extend his energy range, its way of 'seeing' the area for itself.
*They are devices that can create many different types of items; depending on the recipe and items used, different fabricators create different items. Anything from clothing to building materials to cooked food can be produced with these devices with minimum manual labor or skills.* She answered, her hands brushing the command modules, almost breaking out in dance for the creature when she found devices powered.
She moved out of the fabricator room into a common area, her feet sinking into plush artificial carpet, silencing her footsteps as she counted six circular side rooms. One for medicine production, one for tool creation, one dedicated to storage, and one held herbs and fruit trees she figured must be in stasis if they had not broken through or died of neglect. The final room held strange plants she had never seen before and a large wall with a long black rectangle made of odd smooth stones against one wall. Inside, the rectangle pulsed an ominous purple portal that emitted a thick rotten meat smell.
*This space makes this one feel ill; we should not be this close.* Zalgras warned urgently, causing her to take several steps back. She had never read anything about such a thing in any planet's history. She felt repulsed and drawn to this odd gateway. The more she looked, the more she wanted to see what may be on the other side. She could feel a sickening feeling building in the pit of her stomach. The air grew thicker, and the sweet floral scent turned into a cloying stench.
*Yun Val Daiyu! Your sibling may need us soon. We should complete the objective, correct?* Zalgras urgently reminded her; she took several steps back, listening to Zalgras's warning. The creature's energy range pulsated with fear, and she could sense its unease. She shook her head, her matted midnight blue braid swishing against her lower back as she turned to the fabrication room. She couldn't afford to be distracted by the strange portal and the unknown dangers that lay beyond it.