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Post by Araxis on Dec 23, 2003 16:15:48 GMT -5
Cethyn pulled himself warily into the dark interior of his crashed ship. He looked about, making certain that no fell beasts awaited within looking for prey. Several scorpions of normal size registered under black light, and Cethyn decided to leave them to their rests for now; their stings would not harm him, and they could help in ridding the ship of unwanted pests, both sentient and non-. Unlimbering his gun, he set it next to the dead computer console then pulled himself onto the chair designed for his humanoid figure. Without his legs, it was an odd thing to sit in it, but not uncomfortable.
Head bowed, Cethyn began to brood. He was alone; there was no Overseer, no chatter from his brothers and sisters. Distance had never affected the Hive mind of the Cython before--they had sent ships across the galaxy and communicated just as well as if they were no more than a foot away. There was no way biologically or cybernetically to dull, numb, nullify, or terminate the ability to communicate telepathically with the rest of the Hive except by killing the Cython or rendering it incapable of thought--through unconsciousness or death or total labotomy, and it was quite a deed to render a Cython unconscious, and even harder to keep them out. Besides, Cethyn was fully conscious. There was no explanation as to why Cethyn was unable to communicate with the Overseer--unless the Overseer was dead and the Cython were extinct.
Cethyn felt something well up deep in his guts, an alien feeling akin to the pain of a lost limb. He wondered what it could be. Perhaps an . . . emotion? Ridiculous, but . . . there was no other explanation. No one had ever talked to a Ghost, no one knew if they developed emotions. Indeed, only one Ghost had ever been allowed to live, and it had proved to be little more intelligent than a larvae, unable to communicate even some of the most basic things. And now Cethyn was a Ghost, alone in his mind. Alone. There was no Cython word for that, it didn't exist for a Cython. Only one word related to it; Ghost, a Cython not part of the Hive. Cethyn would have to develop new words with which to better communicate with the other species here. He would have to reprogram his translator. . . . But why did he want to communicate with the other species here? They had done this to him, destroyed his leg, and it was here that he was alone and made aware of this grieving pain! A new emotion welled up in Cethyn, a burning fire that would not be quenched. But it quickly subsided as he thought of that girl that had grieved for her love. He had felt sympathy for her, and did not want to cause such pain to anyone . . . except perhaps DarkUmbra. The fiend that had sparked recent events.
Cethyn began work on his translator, on the new words he would have to use, and waited patiently as his legs slowly continued the regeneration process. In time he would return to Fyia, healed and more aware . . .
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Post by Triunis on Dec 23, 2003 23:54:56 GMT -5
"Why . . .
. . . Is it so . . .
. . . damn . . .
. . . HOT ? ! ? ! ?"
Triunis walked through the desert, complaining loudly to anything nearby. Kings did not frequently get the opportunity to complain, and he was savoring it. Looking up with his living eyes, he saw a ship, and noticed that he was closing his distance with it rapidly.
He broke into a run, and came upon the object quickly. He found what appeared to be an entrance and peeked his head inside.
"Hel - oh."
He saw the insect, and a quizzical look crossed his face.
"Is sitting in a derelict hulk in the middle of the desert how you normally spend your time?"
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Post by Araxis on Dec 24, 2003 14:36:18 GMT -5
Cethyn turned his head slowly to peer at the newcomer. Its head, the only thing within the crashed vessel at the moment, was saurian in appearance. The Cython extended his antennae and tasted the being's scent; it was new, and Cethyn locked it away with the various other new scents of this world. Replacing the translator over his mandibles, Cethyn answered the creature's query.
"Normally spend our . . . my . . . time? I do not think so. Lack of purpose is a dilema that . . . I . . . have not yet overcome."
Once again, Cethyn removed his translator and continued tinkering with it, programming in the new words he had so far developed to convey things unknown to the Cython species.
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Post by Triunis on Dec 24, 2003 19:25:15 GMT -5
"'Lack of purpose?' If you want lack of purpose, you should see my Elite Guard." Triunis shook his head in dismay at the thought of the pitiful creatures that had once been considered his Elite Guard. Of course, they had all been replaced by the actually elite, and were now nearly invincible. "So . . . without a purpose, you decide to sit in the dark and punch buttons?* Why don't you go out and enjoy yourself?" ((*This comment was intentional and BRILLIANT, if I say so myself. Go me. ))
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Post by Araxis on Dec 27, 2003 14:49:20 GMT -5
((Isn't that from Ozy and Millie?))
After tinkering a moment longer with his translator, Cethyn looked back up, replaced the translator over his mandibles, "What is that of which you speak? I am afraid I do not understand you. Furthermore, it is rather difficult for me to commute, for you see my legs are missing. I am yet waiting for them to regenerate, and it will be some time before they do." Once again, Cethyn removed his translator to tinker with it.
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Post by Triunis on Dec 27, 2003 15:21:16 GMT -5
Triunis looked at the creatures legs.
" . . . I see . . ."
He came into the spaceship and started looking around. He ran his hand over the metallic walls, and examined the dust on his fingertips with mild interest.
This ship is obsolete beyond compare! How could you get something like this off the ground?
"Where do you come from? I've never seen technology this . . .
Worthless.
" . . . unusual . . ."
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Post by Araxis on Dec 27, 2003 15:30:52 GMT -5
Cethyn felt an odd feeling of slight irritation with this saurian being, wandering about his ship and interupting his work, rise up within him. Nevertheless, he hooked his translator up again, this time with the intention of letting it remain there for a time. Answering the creature's quesion, Cethyn stated, " . . . I . . . am from the first planet of the Orion star system. Orion Prime is its official name." He twitched his head at the lizard's comment curiously. "Indeed, many species think that Cython technology is unusual. Our scientists were rather lacking in creative, individual thought, and were far more engrossed in the biological sciences than the advancement of mechanical technology. Cython starships are among the slowest and most uselessly obsolete in the Arm."
((the Arm refers to the arm of the Milky Way in which Orion is contained.))
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Post by Triunis on Dec 28, 2003 3:29:24 GMT -5
Triunis wiped his hand off on his robe.
"Were. This is outdated by thousands of years. It's so obsolete I'm having trouble understanding the most basic principles."
He sat down on the floor, resting his back against the wall of the spaceship. The king was beginning to sense that he was not welcome, but decided that he didn't really care all that much.
" . . . Orion Prime? What galaxy is that in? I don't believe I've heard of it . . ."
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Post by Araxis on Dec 29, 2003 22:58:16 GMT -5
"Orion Prime is part of the Orion system in the Milkyway Galaxy," Cethyn stated in his translator's buzzing monotone. "You do not know of it? It contains the two most powerful civilizations of the Arm." The Cython and the Orions were undoubtedly the two most powerful races; how ironic that they were such bitter enemies, and that they had evolved in the same star system. Cethyn was confused by the lizard's previous words about the excessive obsoletedness of his vessel. He knew that the Cython lagged far behind in starship technology, but they were not thousands of years behind anyone. Not even the Orions, the most advanced in the Arm, were so advanced to claim what this lizard had. "What do you mean that this ship is obsolete by thousands of years?"
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Post by Triunis on Dec 30, 2003 1:01:26 GMT -5
Triunis looked over at the insect, a quizzical expression on his face.
"I mean what I say. This ship is thousands of years old."
He felt his eyes swich perception modes, as he so often did. He now sensed age, seeing new things in a bright magenta or white, and old things in a deep violet. The walls of the ship were almost black.
"Most certainly. This ship is ancient."
He stood and looked about. He didn't like the entrapped feeling he got in this room . . .
"Milky Way . . . Haven't heard of it. I come from the Anoronti galaxy*, far away. I don't even know what dimension I'm in anymore . . ."
The monarch sighed. He frequently found himself irritated at the primitiveness of those around him, and wondered if it was simply him or all of Isonia had lost its mind.
((*For those that care, I finally have a name for the central galaxy in my game! Enjoy.))
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Post by Araxis on Dec 30, 2003 12:32:29 GMT -5
"Interesting," Cethyn stated as the lizard explained that he meant what he said. Perhaps, if this ship truly was that old, Cethyn had been in coldsleep longer than he'd believed. It was possible, but no one had ever experimented that much with coldsleep . . .
Nevertheless, Cethyn was curious as to who and what this creature was, considering that it did not know what the Milkyway Galaxy was. "Who are you; what are you? We . . . I . . . am Cethyn, a member of the Cython race."
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Post by Triunis on Jan 1, 2004 16:18:07 GMT -5
Triunis nodded.
"I am Triunis, lord of my race, the Treachus. Wait. You said Milky Way?"
Triunis thought about this for a moment. Suddenly, he remembered the one planet of any use in that galaxy.
"Right! Earth is there. That tiny little planet . . ."
The monarch nodded, and then thought about Cethyn. He was a Cython? What was . . .
"Erm, I have never heard of the Cython. I don't think anyone from my galaxy has."
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Post by Araxis on Jan 2, 2004 16:28:14 GMT -5
"Earth. It is in the Milky Way," Cethyn reiterated. "How do you recognize it? There is nothing significant about it . . ." The Cython was somewhat confused. The Orions too had always shown interest in that green and blue planet, but it was useless as far as Cython intelligence had ever discovered. "You do not know of the Cython?" Cethyn became even more lost. Aside from the Orions, the Cython were the only Power in the Arm. Nevertheless, he would describe them for this Triunis creature. "Cython are a race of highly evolved insectoids. We are . . . no, they were connected by a massive telepathic network run by the Overseer, a kind of supreme leader whose orders were followed without question. However, it would seem that the Overseer, and indeed the entire rest of the Cython race has disappeared, for I am . . . alone . . . my siblings no longer sound within my mind." Cethyn tried out the new word--"alone"--tentatively. It sounded odd, but he was glad that he had created it; it may yet prove quite useful for his new individuality.
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Post by Triunis on Jan 11, 2004 0:32:11 GMT -5
Triunis nodded. The Cython seemed almost Creed-like. Unusual, he thought.
"So . . . you have nothing to rely on. It's like removing the support beam from a structure . . ."
He contemplated this.
"Do you have anything planned? What will you do? Where will you go?"
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Post by Araxis on Jan 12, 2004 20:34:34 GMT -5
For a moment Cethyn was confused as to why Triunis was speaking of something totally irrelevant; what did support beams have to do with the current situation. Then he realized that the lizard was using a metaphor. A small effort in thought and the insect realized that Triunis had been likening Cethyn's predicament of the loss of his Hive to removing the support beam of a building; in both cases, something came crashing down. But now, Cethyn continued thinking, extending the metaphor further (he realized that he actually found amusement in thinking thusly) he had the chance to build a new building, one with supports that would not waver--or so he hoped.
"An interesting way of putting my dilema," Cethyn stated before moving on to the next part of the conversation. "I have nothing planned but to continue here until my legs heal, and all the while I shall attempt to understand these new feelings that have come over me, as well as continue work on my translator. What of you? Why are you here?" Irritation drained from Cethyn a little, replaced by a healthy curiosity for the creature standing before him.
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