Chapter 9

“To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.”

― Sun Tzu

“Jason you remember Adm. Gaborak Pikoularatas and General Sherule Gabriokus? I invited them over this evening so we can give you an update and pick your brain,” said Pleb at their weekly meeting.

“How was your trip to the mini-universe?” Pleb asked.

“We discovered three separate factions of Uzliumbax. They were from the original fleet that left Norbut 19 and disappeared during some unknown event in space. They were displaced to the universe I visited and have been stuck there. Two of the three groups decided to rejoin us. The third Queen disagreed and decided her role was to teach us all the proper use of the runes. It was the same old familiar story. She was much like the Dinnion academic. The factions split into three over arguments about the language.

“Her daughter killed her in the middle of our conference. A small war broke out that soon extended to a full-scale coup d’état on their home world. Someone shot the young Queen. Annjus and I brought her back and she is in hospital having a rebuild.

“Ouma Chatzke, Cassius and a group of other Kings and Queens are there discussing the terms for the two groups joining us.

“The Dermon I told you about turns out to be a good guy. His whole group of infiltrators are loyal to the local planet called Groompt Plut. The planet is at a stage of evolution between Cassius’ Empire and the Collective. Some of our scientists are still there with our Gazronnaas equipment to see if they can help us. I asked Queen Iltani Alittum Ahassunu to speak to the ancients and find out if they are able to help us. She is going to negotiate with them to join us. Our scientists are already talking to theirs.

“We don’t yet know the level of evolution of our Uzliumbax counterparts. We are going to find out as soon as we can, but Brecht Chatzke, Cassius and Ilty say we need to do things in the proper order. We will get two-thirds of them on board within a week. I don’t know if the coup d’état has been successful,” said Jason.

“Kalalal was hopeful she had found one of the locations of the Gazronnaas?” Jason asked.

Adm. Gaborak Pikoularatas laughed.

“Jason, I wish it was so. The group she identified are Zaos. They are fine students and are family of Zaos military scientists. They were given the latest experimental shields and cloaking devices their parents had built. Their parents were worried about them and wanted to protect them. Thirty of them had shields. We watched them for several days and interviewed all of them. They were concerned they could be in trouble, but we have reassured they can continue to use their own cloaking devices.

“The Zaos make outstanding equipment.”

“Are we making any progress?” Jason asked.

“The Gazronnaas are capturing fewer students,” said Adm. Gaborak Pikoularatas, “many of the students are still dying despite the new device inserted in them. They have stopped trying to get into our facilities through the front doors. On Porquenta they drilled their way into a research facility from below. They were driven off, but not before they had stolen some equipment and several AIs. Two of the three AIs self-destructed in the tunnel. We don’t know what happened to the third. They are still successfully blocking our scanning. They also broke into the nearest hospital facility to the University campus. They used the same technique of drilling in from below. They stole several medical pods with people in them. They managed to get away after a furious firefight.”

The Admiral sighed.

“We successfully managed to intercept one of a pair of gunships heading for Porquenta, the second managed to evade us and disappear. We briefly detected the parent craft which was as large as our battleships. We shot at it but it disappeared before we were able to intercept it.”

“How are our scientists doing?” Jason asked.

“They tell us we are millions of years behind the Gazronnaas. Our scientists are learning the new science material as fast as they can, but they say they have an enormous way to catch up before they can be useful,” said Gen. Sherule Gabriokus.

“I will try and get you the top scientists from Norbut 19 to this universe as soon as I can. Let us see if I can help speed our progress. The doctor at the hospital told me we can transfer their consciousness to bodies. If they can’t help us, we will continue to do the best we can. I suspect the mini-universe people will help us more effectively and earlier.”

“Come and sit around the table,” Pleb suggested, “we can continue to talk. I would like to hear a little bit more about this other universe.”

Several servers walked into the room and provided the guests with drinks first and then starters.

“The world you first visited is called Groompt Plut?” Pleb asked.

Jason nodded.

“What do you notice is different in that universe?” Pleb continued.

“I noticed I could not use my usual powers. My crystal does not operate there. That is true in part. It doesn’t help powers but I can locate memories. The AI doesn’t function. I subsequently learned the dimension through which the power arrives here does not exist there. I knew from Prof. Omulix there is more magic in that universe and sure enough I could see more of it around me. Do you know what I mean?” Jason asked.

“All of us are learning to make use of the runes and most of us can locate magical sources ourselves,” said General Sherule Gabriokus nodding.

Pleb also nodded.

“Here they are thin streams of magic and an occasional thicker trunk. On Groompt Plut there are trunks that are 10 times thicker than here and the average stream is thicker than our trunks. On Groompt Plut they can’t generate the power nor are they able to collect it. Magical practitioners store magic in metals to store it to power lights and a few devices. They can generate other sources of power that is used for most day-to-day energy needs. The world is much more oriented to magic than any other technology. Many day-to-day devices are switched on and off using magic. I didn’t encounter that in my original castle as the person in whose body I manifest there did not trust or use anything that was magical. He was a pleasant person of integrity, but an odd eccentric gentleman,” Jason explained.

“What about on the demons’ world?” The Admiral asked.

“Master Saulius Kerivas told me they can collect magic and utilize it. They are unable to generate magical power. They use different energy systems for most day-to-day applications. Magical power is everywhere in their world. He told me that as universes age the available power distribution alters. The older the universe the more magical power is evident. The demons take great pleasure in using magic enhanced swords, hammers, axes and bows and arrows. They also have other sophisticated armaments, some of which are powered by magic. They make extensive use of runes to channel power into their weapons. He told me they simply like the idea of a weapon that appears to be from a bygone era, that may be more powerful than a sophisticated cannon. He told me magical power is considerably more efficient and effective than any other form of power, but even after millions of years of work they have not managed to generate such power.”

“Would he be able to help us?” Pleb asked.

“He is willing to help, and he is willing to enlist the help of his colleagues. He did say they did not have advanced scientific training as it was not part of the work they were intended to do. He did say that if the Gazronnaas equipment made use of magic he would be able to help us find how to switch it on and off. He is not able to survive in this universe, so we would have to take whatever it would be to him to look at. We have a team of scientists on Groompt Plut looking at the Gazronnaas equipment. We have not enlisted the help of the demons so far,” Jason added. “We are yet to get fully involved with the scientists of the ancients.

“Pleb, have you heard from the Uzliumbax AIs about making use of the information on the Norbut 19 crystals and migrating it to our crystals and education systems?”

“I last heard they also recruited the Dinnion AIs and the AIs of the warriors. I have farmed it out to the Safion planetary AIs and all the rest. They are struggling to find a way of converting it to a usable form in our octagons. They also involved many scientists and educators.” Pleb observed.

“I spent a lot of time in one of the Norbut 19 education machines and I do have a crystal. The education machine put me to sleep so I don’t know how I learned. That is no different from our machines. I had no experience of using a simulator on Norbut 19.

Internally it feels to me as if I am using my other crystal. It is no easier nor is it more difficult. It teaches me at night just as the other crystal did. I haven’t asked it to provide me with simulations, perhaps I can try and see what happens.”

“I did speak to my mother. She tells me time is highly unstable on Norbut 19 at present. She says it is not a good time to visit. I wanted to go back there to fetch a bigger supply of crystals and take some scientists and medical people. I want to understand what difficulties we would face if they wanted to leave Norbut 19 and I also wanted to try to understand how they use technology to learn.

“My mother found my questions highly amusing. She told me the fundamental nature of Norbut 19 was inconceivably different to anything I could understand. She told me they derived a unified science and mathematics for our multiverse. They could make things we could use, but their day-to-day life could not be perceived by us. She told me that for our visit they had constructed a virtual world that was familiar to us and we saw only the avatars of them as we did not have the ability to sense them in their true form.” Jason explained

“How can you help them when they want to move?” Pleb asked.

“My mother explained she clearly understood we were at a level where we could create bodies for them according to a DNA template. They would send a template of each individual along with the consciousness. More arrives than the consciousness. There is a lot of identifying and historical information as well. She tells me we all have it. That is how they know who is who when they meet with us regardless of appearance.

“When they are ready to move, they will travel through the portal system as we did, and we would shift their consciousness when ready into bodies. They would not lose their memories, but my mother said they would be woefully unprepared for life in our universe. The best preparation we could make for them was to derive programs for them to learn to live in our universe.”

“What did she mean?” The Admiral asked.

“They would be in the body of an adult with the maturity and knowledge of an adult but would not know how to use their body and understand the world any more than a baby.

“She told me they live an entirely different kind of life and are very different kinds of beings to how we are now. They are not bound to planets or any form of celestial object. They live in huge forms that can move purposefully in their universe and to other similar universes. They don’t feed as we understand it and their daily activities would have absolutely no meaning to us and she had no frame of reference to talk to me about it.”

“We should get our early childhood educators involved sooner rather than later,” said Pleb. “I have enough information to brief them. It is a worthy topic to consider. I can imagine them salivating at the prospect of all the research they can get out of such a project.

“I suspect the Safion when they return could well benefit from the same program. They are intending to move back to their bodies, but they would have been in other forms for a very long time.

“Marcela and the other priests and priestesses must have had an incredibly difficult time in the beginning,” said Pleb.

“They had some opportunity to observe other species live in Bekta Delta, but there’s a big difference between watching and doing. We can see how difficult the Gazronnaas are finding the adjustment to this universe,” said Jason.

“I wonder why they didn’t establish a base in a remote part of Bekta Delta or Nasta 9 and spend some time adapting. If they had approached it that way it could’ve been a nightmare for all of us; the Destroyers, the Dinnion, the Azloc and the Uzliumbax,” speculated Adm. Gaborak Pikoularatas.

“It’s been a tiring and difficult week. Please excuse me all of you I am struggling to keep my eyes open. I will try and give you all as much support as I can as soon as I can,” said Jason reassuringly.

Jason stood and hugged Pleb, kissed her on the cheek nodded to the General and the Admiral and walked towards the portal in the atrium.

****

“The sessions in the gym get harder and harder,” remarked Corvus at breakfast.

“You probably spent too much of the weekend partying,” Julia remarked.

“No, I didn’t, I had dinner with my aunt the famous practitioner of magic Prof. Omulix. She returned from Groompt Plut inspired and is considering a forum of magic that will include people from Groompt Plut and some of the ancients. She told me they have legends about dragons who are practitioners of magic and they are eagerly anticipating a visit to Gromelikine. She wants me to help organize the event and participate. Griffexor was of course happy to help her which made me look incompetent,” said Corvus.

“That is gross misrepresentation of your views. You were dying to meet these practitioners of magic from another universe. You then roped me in by trying to sweet talk me into how great it’s going to be,” said Griffexor. “I knew nothing about these people. You told me how important it was for me to get exposed to different views and different ideas and now all of a sudden, I am behind your problems. I am going to have a chat with your wife if you try and blame me because you are spending time helping your aunt and not visiting on the weekend.”

Corvus looked nonplussed. He turned to Jason. “Don’t ever try to argue with Griffexor. She will tie you up in knots and you won’t even know your up from your down and one side from the other.”

“I gather you are somewhat confused,” said Lisirra sarcastically. “You are like Jason, you need Griffexor to keep you on the straight, and narrow. She knows what you need and how you should achieve it. Stop complaining and get with the plan.”

“Corvus, do as your aunt asked you to do and stop complaining,” said Griffexor giggling.

Jason looked at Corvus and raised his eyebrows. “I hope you received the message loud and clear!”

Corvus grinned. “Received loud and clear on channel 1. I will be forced to eat a big breakfast to provide me some comfort in these troubled times.”

Griffexor raised her eyebrows and sighed as she ordered on the holographic menu.

“Has anyone heard how we did on the mathematics and physics assessments?” Razza asked.

She looked around the table. Everyone shook their heads.

“Does anyone know what is happening with our new curriculum?” Julia asked.

Everyone shook their heads.

“We are heading for mathematics. We then have physics directly afterwards. I hope we find out what’s going on,” said Julia smiling. “Life has speeded up again. There is so much going on I need something simple and uncomplicated like mathematics to get my teeth into.”

Jason followed the others into the mathematics lecture theater. Their usual professor stood on the podium. An older man with wild white hair stood on the stage but faced away from the audience. He was looking at a large holo-projection.

“Welcome back, all of you. I am sending you the results of your mathematics evaluation. Today we will tell you about your new curriculum. The new curriculum was created by Prof. Ladovaz Überschär from the Azayal who has been able to resolve most of the difficulties that were blocking our way. Prof. Überschär is well known for deriving the mathematics that was used to move solar systems and planets between universes and within solar systems. He derived the theory that underlies travel between dimensions and between universes. He was as famous in the Uzliumbax Empire as he was in the Azayal.

“Prof. Überschär will be taking a five-year sabbatical on Mars where he will continue his pioneering work. Our physics department will be similarly honored having his great friend and colleague Prof. Annika Nathanaëlle, Professor of Physics working with them. She has worked with Prof. Überschär for well over a million years and has helped develop the theoretical physics that would allow us to create entirely new weapons and energy system. You will meet her in the next session. Prof. Überschär the floor is yours!”

Ladovaz shuffled to the podium and shortsightedly looked over it.

“What I have done in the past is my old reputation and the old reputation of my colleague Prof. Annika Nathanaëlle. A year ago, I was working at the University of Merka at the war college. I take Junior students at the war college approximately every 10 years. For the first time in a long time we had students from another universe. They proved to be exceptional students and performed remarkably well. Most of them solved unsolvable mathematical and physics problems and one of them solved all my unsolvable problems.

“This last couple of years have been filled with turmoil and war. As the turmoil cleared, we faced the daunting task of creating an education system for a new and enlarged Uzliumbax Empire. The social, biological and medical sciences went ahead rapidly while the hard sciences were bogged down by arguments around the future language of our science. These issues were resolved in two ways. One of the ancient priestesses who is the custodian of the knowledge of the Uzliumbax pointed out the error of the ways of several proponents of dubious theories. This priestess then organized a trip to Norbut 19 the universe of origin of the Uzliumbax in order to obtain their current education content and systems. The priestess was proved correct, but now we have a massive volume of advanced knowledge at our disposal. We needed to find a way to move ourselves not a million years ahead, but twenty to twenty-five million years.

“I was one of the privileged few to be given one of the crystals containing all of the valuable information from Norbut 19. I shuddered at the enormity of the task ahead of us.

“I could have immediately launched into the educational programs to update me to the level of the knowledge as it exists in Norbut 19. Instead I established a working relationship with the AI resident in the crystal which is many leagues past any AIs I have previously encountered.

“I asked the AI to look at the progress the Azayal have made in the last few years as a result of the entirely new mathematics that has been derived by the student who attended at Merka and the Uzliumbax mathematics largely derived by the AIs while the people slept, the Dinnion mathematics and the Azloc work. I gave the AI all the content we have received and integrated into what was the proposed curriculum that was due to commence today.

“Since we were apprised of the situation about the runes all of our mathematics has been translated into the ancient Uzliumbax runic system.

“There is always good news and bad news. I will give you the bad news first. The group on Norbut 19 have derived the mathematics that describes our multiverse, the related physics, chemistry, biological, medical and other sciences. I can only comment reliably on mathematics and with some reliability on physics. I can’t speak for the rest. The people from Norbut 19 know how the multiverse forms; they know how the diversity of universes form and collapse.

“The good news is we are not far away from a complete description of several universes with which we are familiar. We will not need the complete understanding of the multiverse in order to win the war with the Gazronnaas. They must adapt to fight on our turf not vice versa. The second part of the good news is the power system that was implied by the mathematics was created by my student. We didn’t know it then but we do now know it is the magic power which we are all battling to learn about. That same student derived the related physics theory as well.

“We also found we have the theory to generate the power system augmented by our existing crystals. That is a power system that has much less potential and is not worth our full attention at present. The AI from Norbut 19 was impressed with the work done on the theory of magic. I learned who had derived the theory on Norbut 19 and remarkably it was the same person who derived the theory on Merka. I was surprised to discover this person is a cousin of mine. We have a common ancestor. He had no memory of having done the work previously as he had descended as have many of the Uzliumbax. As you know when people descend, they lose their memory. He derived the theories of mathematics and physics in an entirely different way from the method he used on Norbut 19.

“I looked over the results of your assessments. Those same exceptional students are in your class and I hope they will continue to do good work. I have always wanted to work in one of those places where the most exceptional people are trying to solve problems. I can’t think of any better place to be than Mars while we face our most challenging enemy.

“I reworked the Uzliumbax AI work, using the runic systems. They did the work while the Uzliumbax were in stasis. The runes help us derive efficient mathematical theories. It is not difficult to learn but it is powerful. I established we have what we need to defeat the Gazronnaas in a form we can use. The AIs and my mathematical colleagues are relieved I was able to provide them some relief from what appeared to be an impossibly daunting task.

“Much of the work that they did on Norbut 19 is not relevant for us in the short term. It will be of enormous value when we are looking at travel through the multiverse. It is important for us to ensure the Gazronnaas do not acquire the Norbut 19 information as it will help them adapt to this universe and we certainly don’t want to give them any help whatsoever.

“That ladies and gentlemen is all I have to say in the short term. I will be seeing you in tutorials. Your schedule of work is currently loading onto your crystals. Classes will continue smoothly from today.”

The class stood and applauded Prof. Überschär.

The students began to file out of the room. Jason walked up to Ladovaz together with Julia and Razza.

“Greetings cousin, I am incognito! I certainly am delighted to see you. I will send you an invitation to visit us in the palace this weekend. Has your good wife joined you here?” Jason asked.

“Jason what a pleasure it is to see you” – he hugged Jason tightly – “of course she came along, I would not be able to manage without her. She is establishing a shipbuilding facility here and is looking forward to seeing you. She had no doubt we were related.

“The grandchildren are managing the business at home. It is about time they had some responsibility. My wife can’t babysit them forever. Of course, several of the great-grandchildren elected to join us on Mars with their families.

“I met a great chef called Robert who told me he knows you. He gave me a collection of some of the chilis from Earth, he is growing here. I am sure I will enjoy the food,” said Ladovaz. “He and I have cooked together and I have shared some of my favorite recipes with him.”

“We had better make our way to physics professor, will we see you on the weekend?” Julia asked.

“Of course, Julia we wouldn’t miss it for anything!”

****

“So much for your story you are a simple man from a primitive planet who is greatly privileged to receive the indulgence and education of the Uzliumbax Empire!” Annjus exclaimed. “Jason you never cease to amaze me. I would be annoyed if what you said was not so funny in retrospect. I have only realized today you are constantly joking, but you do so with a poker face. You also say the most outrageous things!”