Chapter 26: Agata Erugam

“Well done, you have done outstandingly well,” said the Admiral, raising a glass to toast them. “Zyla had a more powerful version of the psychic enhancer than you. That was why you couldn’t subdue her. These recent battles and retrievals provided salutary lessons for us.”

“Were the codes worthless?” Lisirra asked.

“As you suspected, the codes she gave you are toxic; they will either switch on the process or worsen it.”

“Frichy, are we getting close to the end of this unsettling plan? I am getting tired of it all.” Horti asked.

“Horti, your mother said she would tell me when it’s over.”

“When will she be back?” Horti asked.

“She is due today; she can tell you herself,” said the Admiral, covering her smile.

The door opened, and in strolled Agata Erugam, Horti’s mother. Everyone automatically stood. Horti ran to her mother, put her arms around her, and hugged her tightly.

Agata was a slight, delicately built woman the same height as Horti with dark brown curly shoulder-length hair.

“Please sit, and remain at ease. You can all call me Agata. You have made a valuable contribution to our people, and I thank you. We are not formal with friends.”

Her voice was melodious and pleasant.

“You asked about the plan, Horti. I will tell you what happened and the background of the project. A long time ago, we became increasingly concerned about our future. We were complacent for too long. We discovered many ways to extend our universe’s life by enlarging it to slow its contraction until we could do no more. We knew we must leave this multiverse,” said Agata sipping on her water before resuming. “Our universe could not survive with our multiverse crashing around us.”

“We explored the void, and after many years of research, we found a way to travel in space, the gap between multiverses. It took a long time and was very difficult. We began trying to find a multiverse with potential to which we could readily adapt. We thought it would be easy as multiverses have many universes, but most were poor long-term prospects. We became desperate. Finally, we found your multiverse, which was at an ideal stage of evolution and had suitable universes.

“We were secretly working with the Colza. Our oracles warned us of the problems that developed and warned if we sent other craft, we would never succeed. You know we sent you to build a first small gate and start preparations for an enormous gate?

“We endured a seemingly endless wait. As anticipated, Zyla attempted to abduct me, but I was able to evade her. Before the attempted kidnapping, I had switched consciousness with my sister. The oracles had warned us that things would not bode well if we failed to rescue my sister and Ajende before your arrival. However, to our surprise, when you entered the Colza gate, you established a positive relationship with them. You exceeded our expectations by capturing Zyla’s clone, and we are now focused on accessing her financial resources and mitigating any potential damage to our infrastructure and services. We are well aware of her misdeeds and will work tirelessly to undo her acts of sabotage.”

“I suspected we didn’t catch the real Zyla,” said Heather.

“It appears that Zyla is still on the loose. It seems that the clone may have created a distraction before Zyla made their escape from the second safe room in the house. Zyla was likely not concerned about the clone possessing any valuable information, as the codes were outdated and had the opposite effect of what the clone believed. It’s worth noting that the clone was unaware of Zyla’s presence in the house. While searching the premises, we discovered two safe rooms,” said Frichy.

“The clone told us the potential problem areas and the point where the codes trigger their problems through backdoors in the AI programming. Zyla was getting desperate, and she was making mistakes. She gave the clone too much information,” said Agata. “The oracles told us Zyla would remain deep undercover, and we would not reencounter her until a critical event occurred. Frichy, please continue the briefing.”

“Horti, you did make a significant impact. Zyla was enraged to such a degree and became so unbalanced her secretary risked her life to copy her slate and sent the information to us through two guards. She did not know they were our agents deep undercover. The secretary did not escape,” said Frichy. “Zyla killed her simply because she looked at Zyla’s slate. We saw it on the security holo-vids.”

“Could you retrieve the contents?” Heather asked.

“Most of the contents weren’t encrypted. Nothing of value was encrypted. The slate contains Zyla’s company’s assets, banking details, properties, codes, contacts, areas of sabotage, and even what was done. It will take some time to check if it is valid, but even if not, it checks out with what the clone told you and us,” said Frichy. “It did not contain information on the locations of the clones. It did tell us where the clones were to go once activated. We retrieved the activation codes and learned how to use them. We triggered the first and captured her. We captured all but one. She disappeared. That was the one that surprised Zyla and provided a diversion. Zyla had created an escape tunnel that led several levels down to an area with a portal. Zyla went to the spaceport and eluded us.”

“What now?” Asked Annjus.

“We drained her accounts and sent our people to her companies. Zyla’s people infiltrated every area Zyla sabotaged. We are searching for those who did the work and what they have done.”

“What happened to my mother’s and Ajende’s imposters?”

“We detained them after you arrived,” said Agata.

“We will broadcast together and see if we can get Zyla to make another grave error. You did far more than the oracles expected. Let us see what else we can do?”

“How many gates do you have?” Horti asked.

“We can build a new gate in two days. We had a spare one. You were not to know about it. You did know about it; how?” Agata asked.

“I can listen in and converse fluently on AI and machine networks. I knew everything happening here and with the Colza as I heard what was happening. Maslav did not realize we could find their secure communication bands, the ones they use with each other. They use two or three networks. All of us can find these networks. Aubrey, Charlie, and I can listen in on all AI and machine networks we have encountered here.”

“Surely security picked up on what you were doing?” Asked Agata.

“Security here is not excellent; people have become slack over the years. The Medical AI answered my inquiry about how you were through the network. I knew Craig was still sick, but people used time condensation as we did in our universe to solve the problem. You guys dealt with him fast. I asked the base AI where you were. The AI told me you and Craig went to our universe with a few hundred thousand scientists.”

“I am shocked to hear how much you knew Horti!”

“It was a great relief to know I could concentrate on Zyla. I noticed we had more light, and many people had gone, including most of the Colonel’s team. I hope the mushrooms from my grandparents have been helpful. I was amused to hear the oracles are happy as they can use psilocybin to augment their prophecies. I laughed when I learned that our magic mushrooms helped power the Enphaet Dominion and the Colza Dynasty. Who would ever believe psychedelics provide an essential catalyst to the power systems of the most advanced people? The mushrooms were in the game that you guys sent us. I recognized them immediately after my grandparents grew them.”

“Horti, you are a remarkable young woman!”

“So tell me, how was the trip, and when will Craig make his fake recovery?” Horti asked.

“Horti, you impress me,” said Agata. “How did you learn to use these networks?”

“Our Emperor’s grandchildren taught us how to access the machine networks, and I discovered I could access the Colza network the first time I met the Colza. The Colza in our universe subsequently taught us how they set up and use their networks. We have crystals that do the hard work. Can you tell us about the trip?”

“Craig and I took some of my guards, some of yours, and twenty of our most senior scientists with us through the gate, followed by a steady procession of hundreds of thousands. After the gate guards called them, your grandparents recognized me immediately. Your parents also identified several scientists.”

“Who did you see first?

“We met with Queen Basarab, her staff, the Emperor, and a large team he had assembled. Our scientists met with a team from the Colza while I met with Mother Superior. I had known her previously; it was a pleasant reunion.”

“Did any in your party have any problems?”

“Several people did not feel well and visited the Dinnion medical pods. If the DNA they gave us does not work, we may need new bodies.”

“How long were you there?”

“We were only there for two days. Since we opened the gate, a hundred and forty-three thousand scientists, engineers, and construction specialists have gone through the gates.”

“Who else did you meet?”

“We met with a delightful woman who speaks highly of you, Orma Chatzke, the leader of the Collective.”

“She is one of my favorite bugs!”

“Yes, Horti, she told me how surprised she was when you turned out to be an insect that is not present in the Collective. The Mother Superior told us about their beliefs based on their early history. Advanced people approached them early in their development and were much like predators who fed on them. These Hornets were different and assisted them much as the Uzliumbax did with your Collective. They refused to be called Gods but were considered to play such a role in the life and development of the Colza. When you appeared in that form, Maslav said she nearly collapsed, as did her guards. She and Monra recalled the words of the Oracles who predicted the hornets would return to save them.”

“I will never forget that moment!” Horti exclaimed.

“Maslav was greatly relieved to find it was you, Horti. She wasn’t expecting you to reach her so quickly. Your Colza body and ability to change quickly was a second shock. We all expected you to come through our gate and then do the trial in our humanoid form.”

“As Moksur, you saw the presentations?”

“Yes, of course, but I did not know how the Colza reacted to you and the details and what went on underground from the perspective of the Colza. I did not appreciate the depth of feeling you invoked. The rank and file regard you as a God. They replay your discussions and the flight as a hornet continuously. We can now publicize this section of your trip over here. I know you deliberately left it out during the broadcasts. Maslav believes it will help our relationship,” said Agata smiling.

“The more time I spend with the Colza, the more I like them,” said Horti.

“I heard I have spiderling grandchildren and thousands of them. Maslav insisted I receive the full range of other bodies while on the other side so I would not be vulnerable to the Colza poison.”

“Who else went across?”

“I took a team of our doctors across. They can modify the pods here reasonably easily to rebuild but will need supervision and training. We brought thousands of Collective doctors back to educate our doctors and take them through the processes. They are curious people. They couldn’t wait to see what we could do and taught us how to reconstruct bodies and add the bodies of other species. Our doctors say we can rebuild our people. They didn’t think of doing it before you showed them the Collective gave you a new body. With the help of the Collective, the conversions won’t take us long to sort out. I spoke to Orma Chatzke and suggested we send many of our doctors to the Collective to help with reconstruction on that side rather than do the majority here. We will change back once we are on the other side. Orma Chatzke was like a child given a wonderful new toy.”

“The Colza may adapt better on the other side,” said Horti.

“The Colza body is a short-term option for us in your universe,” said Agata.

“What about the scientists going to the Dinnion and Uzliumbax?” Horti asked.

“We made the same arrangement with Jason. The Dinnion and Uzliumbax will build bodies for our scientists,” said Agata. “The older ones in our group did poorly. Jason said he suggests we send our most valuable people across, and the Empire will rebuild and integrate them into the Empire in the short term,” said Agata. “I suggested the scientists and academics could remain in the Empire for ten years as repayment for the reconstruction. Our people will enjoy a sabbatical and change from how life has been here.”

“I hope we will warn them how terrible the rehabilitation is.”

“It won’t be a problem. Our doctors quickly produced a solution. They will implant a low-level crystal that will undertake the rehabilitation. Once that is done, the scientists will transfer their consciousness. They will continue as previously. They will replace the rehabilitation crystal with their own. We have people billions of years old. Over the next five years, I want to replace our most valuable people older than a million years. We don’t have enough resources to do it here. We will start preparing people for your universe today using DNA templates the Collective gave us, and keep an eye out for Zyla,” said Agata.

“How did you get on with my father-in-law?” Horti asked her.

“I like him; he is like Craig, a man who says what he means. They are both handsome and polished men. Our women will be falling all over them,” said Agata. “Do you know they all have our genes?”

“Yes, our genes dominate others but do not change their nature; our genes augment them and aid learning and retention. Our genes also contain knowledge.”

“I met many Uzliumbax, and they impressed me. We have nearly fifteen women for every man. Very few have a husband as you do. The Colza queens do not have many powerful kings. Your husband impresses the Colza. Women here swoon when they see him.” Agata grinned.

“So many women live with one husband?” Horti asked.

“No, it is more like how it is with the Dinnion. The men who impregnate women do not usually form long-term relationships. Men remain with their family of origin and help raise their sisters’ children. Having an uncle is seen as a wonderful privilege. Your father was like Craig; he had eyes for me only. He died soon after you were born. He died in an accident. I never got over him.”

“Mum, how is Craig, and how did he cope?”

“Horti, Craig is improved but is not back to normal. He was exhausted and slept for much of the day. When he came back with me, Craig could barely walk. He returned to the pod. The Colza and the Uzliumbax also examined him. The consensus of the doctors is he was lucky to survive. He was fortunate to have Sammy, Mismy, Griffexor, our doctors, and the Colza working on him. The work your friends had previously done and the work on Chak helped them find a solution. Sammy is well advanced in designing additions to our AI-controlled immune system that will deal with any such future attack.”

“How is Chak doing?” Horti asked.

“Chak is physically well; Zyla did not trigger her illness. The experience with Zyla and her long-term undercover work has affected her.”

“What about her mother?”

“Ajende decided to be rebuilt on the other side. She chose to do it as you have done.”

“Mother, how is the project going on the other side?”

“They are setting up and making up teams and project groups. It has barely begun. The groups are exploring how they will work together. We found unexpected help. The rocks the Emperor found, and the other rock his mother brought from Norbut 19 will add enormous computational power to our project. The creators are also consulting on the project. They are extraordinary beings, the Vostes and the Creators. I wondered what happened to our creators and Vostes. The creators and Vostes told me they are in every multiverse.”

“I meant to ask you if you or the Colza had ever met such beings here; you answered the question,” said Horti. “I hope the Vostes and the Creators also come across. I have no idea how to contact them.”

“Jason had an idea. I will talk about it later,” said Agata.

“Are you and the Colza the only sentient beings left in this multiverse?” Horti asked.

“No, there are several who will die here. They are not as advanced as ours; both groups would be pests in your universe. We will make every effort not to let them through with us. I expect trouble as they watch us; I know they maintain scouts close to our gates,” said Agata.

“Is Craig ready to go home?” Horti asked.

“If he passes his medical check today, he can return home.”

“Is there anything you want me to do after I return?”

“Horti, of course, there is. I want you to manage the project to build the gates. You are a personable young lady. It would be best to involve many groups in successfully undertaking the construction within the time constraints. Not only that, but you must keep everyone happy and working together while facing the inevitable sabotage.”

“What will we give the Empire to compensate them for people-power and resources?” Horti asked. “I licensed the game we played as children and various other bits and pieces.”

“I agreed to give the Empire fifty million years of education and license the rights to make our learning machines in return for their help. Horti, I will give you a new version of the game. I will also give you a server for it. I met with Porquenta and arranged to house the server with him.”

“How will our universe grapple with such advanced educational input?” Annjus asked.

“We are sending university academics to work in their universities to help them. I met with the old Empress, who recently arrived from Norbut 19. We got on well. They are keen to learn how to help your universe to thrive as long as ours did. Your multiverse has several smaller multiverses that are worth considering moving into your multiverse,” said Agata waving her arms, her eyes glittering. “Your father would have loved such a project.”

“Monra will send Maslav over to work on the gates on our side,” said Horti.

“Everyone knows you are responsible for our people, and Maslav oversees the Colza. She will work with you. She and many of her Queens find Craig fascinating. He produces a better quality of Colza,” Agata grinned. “To that end, they set up the coordination center where you will work on a Colza planet.”

“Jason told me he found adjusting to more than one wife difficult. He said Craig would have even more trouble than he did. He finds it all highly amusing. He was less amused when his empresses suggested he should consider an Enphaet wife. I wouldn’t mind; he is an interesting man and has been helpful without expecting us to give anything in return. The one who is businesswoman, Philippa, proposed and outlined the eventual deal we made. The small gates operate twenty-four hours daily, and we are building thousands more. The primitive planet you come from is also growing fuel for our reactors. They can produce far more than we ever could. Your parents and grandparents are coordinating the project with the daughter of the Emperor.”

“Jason’s mother, Azanelja, is much like Jason; she offered considerable assistance. Did you know they travel in living ships?”

“Yes, I went on one of them. We traveled to the other side of the universe in hardly any time. She and Lassadar are generous, warm people and welcomed me into the family. Did you know both of them also carry creators?”

“No, they didn’t mention it, but they know you will be there liaising with everyone, and they like you and will support you. They are taking some of our teams to identify and map suitable solar systems. We will bring the planets over, and the Azayal will tow them to their final destinations. They have a large new fleet of excellent tugs and are accustomed to moving planets,” said Agata.

“Yes, I heard all about it from Kalalal, who is Azayal and part of our group. They even move planets between universes,” said Horti.

“Can someone please explain what living ships, the rocks, and the creators are?” Asked Aubrey.

“The Uzliumbax from Norbut 19 uses spacecraft that are living beings and procreate like giant fish,” said Horti. “They can travel the universe in half a day and fly between universes. The Uzliumbax believe they come from another multiverse but do not recall where they are from or any more about it. A massive explosion hit them after they entered Norbut 19. It affected their memories and their stored information. Some believe they flew from this other multiverse in the living ships. The creators are advanced beings who build and maintain universes and multiverses. They have counterparts called the destructors—the Vostes are sentient rocks that complement the creators’ work. When we return, I will introduce our group to the creators and the rocks.”

“Horti, is there anything you want to do before you return?”

“Mother, I want my group to see the gates.”

“Horti, that goes without saying. I expect them all to come along. We will squeeze them into the dreadnaught. If it is not big enough, we can take a carrier.”

“We must see what we are trying to build. I would love to see Craig and take him with us. Can we go after lunch? I am going to the hospital to find out how he is doing. I will also ask about Chak. I must find out what she wants to do. Will she stay here or come with us?”

“Horti, Chak risked much for you. However, I wouldn’t expect much from her if she went with you. She will take some time to recover,” said Agata. “Horti, I am sorry we deceived you. The oracles deemed it important. If you knew the plan, you would have achieved far less. None of us expected you to return as the God you have become,” Agata laughed loudly. “None of the oracles foresaw you as a Colza or a stinging flying insect.”

Horti left, shaking her head with her group behind her.

“Hi Sammy, I am pleased to see you guys are no longer in that uncomfortable-looking biological warfare suit,” said Mystera, flicking her hair behind her ear and smiling flirtatiously. She licked her lips.

Sammy looked flustered.

Annjus nudged Horti.

Horti smiled. “Hello, Sammy, we are all here. Can you do your flirting after you tell us what is happening?”

Sammy blushed a bright red. Mystera laughed, held Sammy’s arm, and leaned into him. “You must be famished. Tell us how Craig is and when Horti can see him. Then we will take you for lunch. Horti’s mum is taking us to see the gates this afternoon.”

“Horti, Craig is doing fine. He will be tired for a month or two. He lost a lot of weight and needs to build himself up. He can go home with us whenever we leave. Craig will be out of the pod after lunch. I will grab Mismy and Griffexor. We are shattered; it has been difficult,” said Sammy. “I want to sleep for a month.”

“My mother said you are doing excellent work,” said Horti.

Sammy smiled. “We set up a team to augment the immune system against similar biological weapons, so even if Zyla finds a way to launch the plague in the future, we won’t have a massive problem. If she triggered a plague today, we could cope with it.”