Chapter 15: I am Neon (SOTU)

=Chapter 15=

Hzzzagthy had coordinated operations here at this pleasant and long colonized planet himself. It was easier than he imagined. Altering the works of a few dead Xeno biologists to make it appear they had already come to the conclusions Dr. Bloch made and reported as her original work did not even require hacking into secure systems. The stuff was on unsecured library access banks and according to the access records had not been checked on by anyone in decades. The new access records now did show Dr. Bloch being the one retrieving these works. That did require a little hacking but nothing complicated at all.

He found it even easier to spread a few rumors. It turned out the woman did not have close friends. Lots of professional admirers with a few hiding thinly veiled envy. In other words fertile ground to a few words here and there. Spread by conversations held close to potential listeners, notes left here and there and similar well proven methods.

It was not as easy to do such a thing to someone with a big circle of friends and family, however in this case he almost felt a little sorry for the woman. She would been utterly and completely destroyed and no one would even care.

-Stormrider Hangar Bay-

Chimeer was now wearing the HERMES unit, the helmet had not been engaged yet. He looked like a robotic centipede and was about to begin his sample taking mission.

Claudia was buzzing around him repeating her instructions.“We need to establish the basic factors for life. Does Neon reproduce?If yes how? Are there more Neons? Does it consume? If yes what does it consume to support its existence? Also we must give some evidence of its sentience. The ability to communicate somehow would be a great of course.

But how does it store memory? Where does it think and how does it influence the electric discharges?”

Chimeer knew these questions long before she even came to the station but he signaled repeated understanding as he knew how detail oriented she was and how her mind was focused on this single task and reduced any other matter to a state of unimportance. She would get worse until Neon, had been found and could be presented by scientific evidence to the academic community. This would close Shirrocco planet to any exploitation and no claims could be made.

“Yes, Claudia.” He repeated to the tenth repetition of her instructions. “I am going to take samples of discharge path residue, if there is any. Measure the presence of ozone or whatever gas might be present, after such a discharge. I am going to use the Arti grav generator with various intensity settings and see if it will react to it. I have understood all instructions I assure you.”

Chimeer was cleared to use the HERMES equipment and had received instructions how to use it at the Field mission training camp like every member of the science corps cleared for field assignments. However he barely passed the class. Unlike humans who seemed not particular specialized in anything, but able to adapt to almost any environment, Kilonians who were exceptionally equipped to survive in sweltering jungles and able to navigate through the most difficult terrain with ease, were terrible swimmers and apparently equally unsuited for working in deep space under zero gee environments. Now this was far from a zero gee environment and the suit would do most of the flying, it was still something Chimeer would have rather avoided. Flight suit operations weren’t his strong suit for certain.

The outer doors opened and the Holdian used a tractor beam to lift the suit wearing Kilonian past the door halves.

The HERMES suit worked flawlessly and its Artigrav generators kicked in to keep Chimeer from descending and micro pulse engines kept him stationary.

While gravitation gave him a general sense of up and down, there was nothing his eyes could focus on for reference other than the station. There were no constant geological features like on a rock core planet. There was nothing but constantly moving cloud bands.

The station quickly became smaller as he moved away, not really feeling that he was moving at nearly 600 miles an hour. The small engines of the suit had to operate at high output to keep him from going much faster.

The Kilonian eyes were not particularly well suited for the task at hand either. His species could not see colors as for example humans did. His composite eyes created quite a different image in his brain of the surroundings than the eyes of other beings. Union adaptive technology had somewhat erased this visual handicap by compensating display outputs into images he could clearly see, but this technology apparently wasn’t suited to convert the shapeless, formless environment tinted in thousand minute pastel shade differences mostly in the red color spectrum into easy to understand images.

Chimeer experienced a sense of vertigo, a fear of falling combined with a spinning sensation. Claudia’s commanding voice repeating instructions wasn’t helping his state of mind.

The female scientist who had always been his mentor and idol fell silent for a long moment. He felt ashamed of himself, because he was actually thankful for that. He tried to focus on the task at hand. As he tried to approach one of the small cyclones it moved away from him. Not that the cyclone was small compared to him. It was still bigger and spinning faster by magnitudes than any storm cyclone on a standard garden world, they were only small compared to storm cyclones usually encountered on gaseous planets.

-Shirrocco Planet-

It was certain it had experienced it before but was then not able to discern the sensation, but there was suddenly a second source of pain. It was much less intense than the other but it was definite the same kind of pain and it moved directly towards it.

While the existence of a second source of pain was not a welcome occurrence, it’s existence overwhelmed its mind with new concepts and ideas.

More than one. The concept of one and two suddenly appeared and made instantly sense. With the idea of things existing beyond the state of one, it discovered its perhaps most significant new concept ever, the concept of math. Because if two appeared out of one then perhaps two could dissolve back into one or maybe produce another source of pain. The source of pain was independent of it as it could move away from it, but could not move or influence the source itself. There was it and there were two sources of pain separated in space. His mind expanded instantly. There was ‘it’ and ‘not it’. Two separate states of not it but only one state of it. Where there more it? Would there be more ‘not it’ creating more sources of pain? That idea created its first emotion, fear!

It had to get away! It fled as fast as it could.

-Stormrider Station - Observation lab-

Claudia could not believe her senses and yet it was clearly evident. The small storm cyclones had formed an organized cluster, almost like a herd of sheep and was now moving fast away from the station and Chimmie. It did not stop moving and the entire ‘herd of cyclones’ slipped past the visual sensor horizon. The remote satellites in orbit however confirmed the storm cluster had slowed down but was still moving in the general direction of planetary west.

“Chimmie!” She yelled in the voice pick up.“It is organized and responded directly to you by removing itself. I was right, the creature is able to feel the gravitational energies produced by our equipment. Chimmie this is proof, Neon exists!”

Dr. Sudvahl entered the lab and looked at the same images. “I agree, these are compelling reasons to intensify our efforts to proof your ‘Neon creature’ is indeed a life form, but your explanation of that reaction is conjecture at that point.” The Blue wanted to add that he found her reasoning quite good and wanted to ask her how she came to her conclusions, but she didn’t wait for him to continue to speak. “Oh shut up, Dr. Sudvahl. I had about enough of the un enthusiastic sentiment of this science team. No wonder you were not able to find anything on your own. I understand the reasons now for Chimmie to drag me out here.”

“Dr. Bloch, I resent you speaking to me in that way. I was about to...”

“I don’t want to listen to your negative comments. It is evident I am on an entire different academic level than you. You are so stuck in your conventional approach that you are blind to something new. Yet this is why we are out here, to find the new. Not to proof the old is valid but the new is possible. You, that impertinent Voltar and that lazy Stellaris disgust me. I will speak to the supervising body of the corps and make sure you won’t be on another field assignment. Who knows how many new life forms and conditions you have already missed and doomed in the process?”

The Blue took a step back. “And you are annoying, inexperienced, ill prepared for field work and may I say not even a part of this team or officially sanctioned to be here, Dr. Bloch.”

She had paid only partially attention to the insulted meteorologist. “Yes, yes whatever you say Mr. Sudvahl now you better leave real scientists to do their work.” She had deliberately left out his academic title, looked up from the display with a cold sneer. “Good day, Mr. Sudvahl. It appears you are as good a meteorologist as you are a shuttle pilot. You don’t excel as either.”

Sudvahl didn’t even have a response to that. He shrugged and left.

Outside the lab doors in the corridor he saw the Stellaris stepping out of the IST. “Ah, Robert good to see you. You might want to have a word with that Dr. Bloch. You are the Assistant lead of this assignment after all. I didn’t object to Chimmie’s idea bringing in that renowned Xeno biologist, but she is doing way more than just consulting. She is issuing commands and dishing out insults.”

The Blue talked himself into a rage.“She wasn’t assigned to this or sanctioned to be here by Sci Central.”

The Stellaris said.“I am not the assistant lead anymore. Dr. Chimeer has replaced me with her, but that is just the start of it.” Dr. Hilburger pointed past the doors to the observation lab and with his gesture suggested the Blue to follow him to Command and Control. There all the stations operational and technical functions could be monitored or changed if the need arose.

Both scientists stepped into the small room filled with technical duty stations, system operation terminals. The master interface to the stations AI was here as well as the main GalNet terminal for official translight communications.

The Stellaris went to the small serv-matic.“How about a mug of coffee, Urf ?”

“I am too upset for coffee.” The Blue answered, responding to his first name.“But I wouldn’t mind a tumbler of Flavo-Fanta on Ice.”

“One Flavo fruit flavored soda pop coming up. This stuff looks as sweet as it is, how can you stand it?”

“I love Fanta ever since I was a child and my father would get it for me when I was upset. Memories of my father always have a calming effect on me. “That Chimmie replaced you with her is news to me. I was under the impression he would need two signatures to request it?”

“He had two signatures. His and hers and the whole thing was approved by Sci Central.”

The Blue sipped on the cold drink and exhaled deeply. “Yes it still works.” Pointing with the glass towards the Stellaris. “This is highly irregular. No one should be able to sign their own transfer papers.”

“No one should indeed, but the Sci Central is an AI, it doesn’t take unwritten moral or ethical reasons into account.” The Stellaris took his coffee mug from the Serv-matic and added.“However Kakli Jenga,Master PhD 1st Class does.”

“Isn’t that the active science counselor of the Assembly at the moment? How did he get wind of all this? The SII man perhaps?”

“No, H’Thichi and every head of the support team reported it to the OOCA.”

“Wow, but you should have told me too. I would have added my name and signature for sure. I am certain Dr. Yolti as well.”

“I didn’t know H’Thichi was serious until I was contacted by the ASCOTA himself. He apparently is a Voltar too by the way.”

“I think I recall that fact about the councilor when he was appointed last Union Week. So what he had to say to you?”

“He promised an investigation and follow up and I just came up here to C and C to wait for a communication from Seneca. I was told by the system to be at the main terminal.”

“Then you better answer it as I see there is a com request waiting.”

The Stellaris discarded his coffee, mug and all into a recycler and touched the terminals ID verification sensor.

A beautiful Saresii female appeared and greeted him friendly. “A good sixth hour to you, Dr. Hilburger. Ah and I see Dr. Sudvahl present as well. I am Larina Silir, the regional project supervisor that includes the recently surveyed Aplarox system and Shirrocco planet.”

The Stellaris noticed the Master PhD Third Degree rank pin and to his delight he noticed that her original field was planetology as well, as she wore still wore the truly ancient icon patch of a stylized globe on her right sleeve just below the Union flag. The icon once stood for geology but that physical science had evolved to be called planetology even before Union was founded.

He bowed slightly, as Stellaris emphasized emotions with body movements, due to the fact that the metallic shield skin could not translate facial emotions very well.“It is a delight to meet you MP Silir.”

The Blue also greeted the woman that had established her avatar and appeared to be physically present.

She gestured with an open hand wave.“I am here to express my apologies on behalf of the Science Corps. The requested and automatically processed change of your assignment perimeters has been rectified. You are as of this hour the scientific lead and in command of the science mission as well as Stormrider Station. You have been asked to C and C to make the command code switch as it can only be made via the master terminal of the computronic.”

The computronic verified receiving the new assignment designations and confirmed Hilburger in his new role as mission lead.

The Saresii then made the Blue the new assistant lead, apologized again and added.“I am unable to give you any details regarding the current investigation, but I assure you there is an active investigation.”