Prologue
Deep in the bowels of a building that would much later be called Mayan in appearance, a young clerk struggled to compose a report on the findings of a recent probe. It was late and the rest of his peers had long gone from their labors of the day. He worked in the Ministry of Vital Resources and the probe had found a planet rich in several of the elements that were desperately needed to repair the dying atmosphere.
The young man gathered all the available information, and then molded it into a respectable presentation before storing the huge amount of data. The large amount of mental energy expended so late in the day exhausted him. Instead of going out to a meal with his father and mother, he went straight home and fell into bed.
Since he was a researcher, he was required to maintain an open link with the data net. That supplied all the information for him to sift through and report his findings to the Elders. There were millions of probes searching the universe for viable worlds rich in the glowing yellow metal the processors needed, and the power generation abilities to drive the great machines.
Tonight the data from that one small probe remained in his mental eye as he drifted off to sleep. He immediately began to feel better as the trickle of meta-energy from the neural network served to revive his flagging reserves. The probe's data painted a beautiful picture of the bright blue skies and the plush green of the plant life. Lastly, his mind focused on the somewhat disturbing visage of the semi-intelligent inhabitants using stone tipped spears to hunt for food. The fact that they were using crude tools argued well for them being trainable as a labor force to build the accumulators and to mine for the precious ore.
22 years later
"Are you sure these beasts are trainable, Visnue? Our scans show only a very low level of intelligence, though they have almost unlimited metasynth ability. How they haven't developed any mental abilities is giving our trainers fits!"
"Yes, they will be trainable, Metzil. I've received permission to enhance them so we can finally start to produce Augore. We will have to leave some of them in their current state however, since we need their strength to build the accumulators. But we can always put them down once they've moved the largest of the stones."
"Enhancement? What are you going to do to them?" Metzil asked.
"We are going to splice a limited amount of our own essence into theirs. It will raise their base intelligence and possibly allow them to finally develop their metasynth. Who knows? In two or three thousand years, they might make excellent soldiers. The forecasts say that the females will be more intelligent, and the males stronger. They will look like us, and even be able to breed with us, if we need."
Metzil shuddered as he looked at one of the filthy females being instructed. "The need would have to be very dire, indeed."
Visnue chuckled as she walked away; she knew Metzil would have problems with his xenophobia once the enhancements had been completed. Her studies revealed that these almost-primates would be only slightly different from her own race. The major difference between them would be a pale or brown skin pigment as opposed to their golden one.
497 years later
To: Sire Horus, Chairman of House Clandau, Lord of planetary exploitation
From: Mitnue Allias, Head of Sol Three exploitation expedition
Ref: Withdrawal from Sol Three
My lord, Sire Horus. This report is to inform you that the enhancements done to the inhabitants of Sol Three are starting to show unexpected promise. The latest generation of offspring is showing a three hundred percent increase in overall intelligence as well as a full two point increase in metasynth ability. Unfortunately, not one of them has displayed a single mental ability. Our scientists are still at a loss to explain this seeming impossibility.
We feel that the order to withdraw from this planet is premature and implore you to reconsider this decision. We have just begun to educate different tribes onto diverse factions of metasynth disciplines and would like to remain to see if our instruction is taking hold. We feel that, if a breakthrough with the abilities of these humans can be achieved, it could be of great value to the Emperor in our fight against the Antioch.
Your faithful servant, Mitnue.
To: Mitnue Allias, Head of Sol Three exploitation expedition
From: Sire Horus, Chairman of House Clandau, Lord of planetary exploitation
Ref: Withdrawal from Sol Three
Mitnue, it is with deep regret that I have to inform you that your evacuation will be delayed. Metasynth transport is no longer safe as the Antioch have disrupted too many power transmitters in this sector. As you hear this I fear that the capitol world itself may have fallen under attack. I have dispatched one of our older colony ships with only an artificial mind at the helm to retrieve you. I can only hope that it arrives before the Antioch discovers Sol three. They have already destroyed most of our other worlds. It is the darkest of irony that we finally repair our planet only to fall at the hands of one of our oldest allies. May the light be with you,
Horus.
927 years later
The great ship floated silently in deep space near the Oort cloud that was the remains of the formation of this small solar system. It had waited in silent observation since its arrival hundreds of years before. Shortly after arrival, it detected the presence of many Antioch warships orbiting the third planet. While waiting for them to depart, it received confirmation that the Empire had fallen. The golden age of the Illuminati had ended. Other than the possibility of survivors on the tiny planet currently under enemy surveillance, the race that built the old ship was gone. Seconds before the sender was vaporized by the bombardment, a metasynth launched message capsule was thrown from the planet. The ship intercepted it. The message had been simple, and terrifying. The Antioch had destroyed every member of the Illuminati on the planet. The planet was lost. The Antioch seemed to be trying to avoid destroying the humans. A last attempt at awakening the mental abilities of the humans had been created, but no time had been left to try to enable it. A small probe with a quantity of Illuminati essence had been placed at the largest of the metasynth accumulators, since it was thought that facility had the best chance of surviving the attack. The probe would never be sent on its mission if not activated by the expected transport ship. It was suggested that activation be delayed until after the Antioch departed the system.
So the great ship had waited. The ships of the Antioch did depart; however, they kept a close eye on this small planet, as if something on it made them uneasy.
Finally, after almost a thousand years, the great ship knew its time had come. The Antioch had not returned to the planet in over two hundred years. The ship's mind, affectionately called 'Father' by its original crew, reached out and activated the almost microscopic probe hiding in the big pyramid in what would later be called Egypt. It watched as the little probe sent out small metasynth sensor waves, turned, and shot east and slightly north.
9 months later
The poor carpenter led the tired donkey toward the lights of the city. He was newly wed to the plain looking girl currently riding the donkey. Not for the first time did he wonder about her, she was clearly with child, yet he had known her since birth, and knew she was untouched by man. He had wed her as a courtesy to a friend, and part of the reason for the trip they were on was because he had wed her only a fortnight before. How her father had kept her condition hidden was another mystery. However, it wasn't in his nature to brood over much on these things. At heart he was a good man, not taken to the extremes of some, and treating all with equal kindness.
A barely audible gasp behind him caused him to turn. "Are you well?"
"I think we should probably hurry, Joseph," the girl said as she held her swollen belly. "I think it's time."
Father heard the mental birth wail of the infant all the way out to the Oort cloud and knew that the experiment had worked. It immediately began preparing more probes to spread the effect. The essence of the Illuminati it would need was stored in the same building the probe had been housed in.
As it began preparations to break orbit and head in to the planet, it detected the approach of an Antioch scout ship. Cursing the timing of that arrival, the old ship aborted the preparations to head in system, and again waited.
The weeks stretched into months, the months into years. Still the ship watched and waited. The child was growing and learning from his father, both the skill of carpentry, as well as how to treat those around him. Father almost dreaded the day that the onset of puberty would activate the innate abilities currently lying dormant in the young man. The Antioch had maintained a scout ship in orbit since the night of the young man's birth. Father had noticed that a few times there had been ion trials indicative of a craft entering the atmosphere. He wondered what the Antioch thought they could do since they were only remotely humanoid in shape. Their gray skin and large heads on almost frail looking bodies would frighten most people on the planet. Finally, the day Father had been worrying about arrived. The boy's mental signature was bright and strong. Father gritted his mental teeth and tried not to reach out to him.
Almost frantically, Father worked through several hundred scenarios
of ways he could communicate with the boy. So intent was he that he
wasn't watching the events unfolding on the far distant planet. He
decided upon a course of action. One of his own small scout craft had
been refitted with shields and an experimental cloaking device. As far
as Father knew, the device worked, but it had yet to be tested when he
had been sent out. He used his remotes to load the craft and prep it
for flight. Once he had it refitted the way he thought he would need,
he placed some of the remotes aboard, then transferred himself into the
tight confines of the smaller craft's crystal lattice. Father left the
big ship and, using only a minimum of power, launched himself on a
course for Earth.