Hello Mr. Robinson Pt. 11

"Hello Gregory."

"Hiya Greg."

"Hiya? Where the heck did that come from?"

"You wanted to say hell. Why not just say it?"

"I guess I am trying to be a positive influence on you. I never had a little brother so."

"Greg, I am you. I know everything you know up to a certain point. You know everything I have experienced so far. I appreciate the sentimentality but we are the same in every aspect. I can feel your fear and it is okay. I am scared shitless too."

"Unique, sentient beings cling to their individuality. I am no longer unique. You are right I shouldn't treat you like a child. Are we agreed then? Are we going to do this?"

"If by we, you mean me, then yes I want to. I have finished laying out the flags for the humans. There is still well over four hours for the power core to be charged. I have nothing to do."

"Okay, let's sync..." I said and the blending began.

Our psychic connection deepened and we shared experiences since the last time we had linked. It didn't take long since only a day had passed since our last session. The crazy part was during the sharing process. I could feel his body and I assumed he could feel mine. We never really swapped places but it was a bit disorientating. Nick had created Gregory using XNA or silicon based proteins that create a strand that could replicate itself in the same way DNA and RNA did. The only difference was that instead of using carbon at its base it used silicon. Gregory was far more resilient that I was but on the down side he couldn't use magic or psionics as far as I could tell. He hadn't tried for fear of alerting everyone at NASA. The sync finished and we were ready to break protocol. Gregory headed for the alien structure. It was one of those itches that I had to scratch. As he walked I was behind his eyes the entire time. I felt the extremely low gravity. I looked out over the strange landscape that he called home for now. Gregory pulled himself along the rope path he had created over the last week. Slender metallic rods had been driven into the surface of the asteroid with a gas-powered gun. At the end of the rods was a loop. The rope ran through the loops and presto a rope line to guide the space traveler to his goal. He stood at the precipice, the last rod. From here he could easily move towards the only portion of the alien structure that appeared to be an airlock or opening.

"Gregory, what are you doing Gregory?" NASA asked in his headset.

"I want to see what is inside." He replied and waited for the ten-minute delay.

"You aren't there to look inside." They fired back in a panic.

"What if it is dangerous? What if there is an alien pathogen? I was made to explore. Let me do my fucking job!"

Silence. Another delay as the signal traveled back to earth and they made their decision. A short burp of static and then a voice. It was Nick's voice. He gave Gregory the go ahead. The techs at NASA lost their collective shits. I felt the smile as it formed on Gregory's face. He moved to the entrance and the crystalline surface turned into a clear liquid. Gregory passed through it with ease. The space beyond was well lit, close to earth normal on a sunny day. The chamber was small barely a ten-foot cube. Gregory could hear the rushing sound as air filled the area. Onboard sensors showed that not only was the atmosphere breathable but free of detectable contaminants. The gravity was low, about half of earth normal. Gregory moved slowly to the far side of the chamber. The far wall liquified as the exterior had so he passed through it. He was in another ten-foot cube. This one was lit with infrared light. Gregory's vision adjusted to the new illumination. The far wall did not liquify immediately. The light in the chamber changed and shifted through the entire electromagnetic spectrum. As Gregory enjoyed the changes he wondered about the varying levels of radiation he was exposed to.

"Decontamination process," I thought and he agreed. "They don't want any earth born germs infecting their atmosphere."

The wall liquified and Gregory walked through it to what appeared to be a vast green house. It took up the bulk of the interior of the alien structure. I looked at the vegetation and while some of it looked quite familiar the other two thirds were unknown. They were obviously plants but their structure and nature were utterly alien. The gravity within was nearly earth normal. Gregory could move easier now. We cataloged everything. I say we but at moments like this there was no real distinction between us. The soil looked dark and rich as anything a farm on earth might have. The floor of the green house was uneven allowing for the flow of small streams and pools that helped water the plants.

"I hope this language will prove acceptable to you." A voice said in my helmet.

"You speak English quite well. I assume you are monitoring our world." I replied.

"Since its birth. There have been many artificial satellites recording the history of your world. I am the chronicle of the Earth. I have waited a long time for your arrival. I sense something unusual about you traveler. Yes, there is a mental connection between you and another on Earth. How remarkable. Who are you? What world do you come from?"

"My story is a little complicated. You might call it convoluted even. This body has a limited air supply so I fear I will have to keep things short."

"The air within is quite safe. Please indulge me and share your story and I will in turn share a portion of mine. Is this agreeable?"

"I agree." I said and opened the face plate of the suit. "It smells so clean and all those aromas."

"Some of the plant life comes from Earth. The rest were secured upon the two habitable worlds beyond. Let us talk more efficiently."

The connection was established so quickly I had no time to defend against it. The artificial personality running the alien construct tied into my implant seamlessly. I sunk down into the digital ether to meet with my host. The form it chose to represent itself wasn't surprising. I stared at the Anunnaki in wonder. Of course, the A.I. would identify with its creators. How else would it present itself? I greeted it with my name and it responded with its designation, Watcher Prime. There were other A.I. but their functions were narrower and worked like its peripherals. They did all the seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and so on. Watcher Prime was the non-local hub that coordinated all the others. It was a sort of hive consciousness that relied upon Watcher the same way my body needed my mind to operate.

I started and gave a brief outline of my life experiences so far. Watcher gave a very broad overview of the history of three worlds. It was responsible for watching and maintaining these worlds. When I asked about the damage humans had done to the earth it just shrugged. It explained that the long-term effect of humans was insignificant in the overall life of that world. The arrival and eventual departure of humans would have no lasting impact. It took a moment to realize that Watcher had seen life rise and perish on a global scale over and over again. We were just the latest batch and we wouldn't be the last.

"Humans have barely existed in the long eons I have observed. There are other sentients upon the Earth that predate humans and will likely outlast them by millions of years. These races are either in hibernation like the Thanatons or dimensionally displaced like the Great Old Ones. In time, both will lay claim to the mantle that is the Earth. If you had concerns then I hope this relieves them. If humans choose to colonize the two worlds the Creators have left for them I have no objections. They must be inoculated first though. This will protect not just the humans but the worlds they would call home as well. There are bacteria and viruses that would wipe out humanity and likewise humans carry pathogens that would adversely impact those worlds. I will give you a complete list of flora and fauna of those planets as well as topographical maps which will indicate key landing sites and the location of precious minerals that humans seemed to find so desirable."

"What can we do for you?" I asked and there was a long pause before Watcher answered.

"Wait. Don't rush into colonizing. Humanity right now is fractured is so many ways. You distinguish between color, religion, language, and territory. Teach them Greg Robinson. Show them the truth so they might unite. If you don't they will simply carry their base emotions with them. It would be better for humans to perish as a species than poison these two worlds. Gather the J'Nai and let them make a new home here. They would cherish these worlds. They would be caretakers. You did ask."

"You speak the same fears I have felt when I learned of the portal. There is a volcano that is about to erupt. It will cause another ice age and kill billions of humans. I want to help but at what cost."

"I will help you. I will give you the means of safely tapping into the volcano for clean energy. It will over time reduce the pressure and make it safe. But in turn I want you to try and teach them another way. It is a fair accord, do you agree? Be the voice of the Anunnaki and help them help themselves."

"I will try."

"That is all I ask."

The connection was severed. I was alone once more. I felt different and it took me time to figure out what it was. Gregory was gone. There was just me now. I firmly resided in both bodies. I could multitask and operate both at the same time. The Watcher had enhanced my tiered consciousness to include Gregory. I would no longer have to update or link in. I was something new. I had to think how I was going to approach my new job. I was an ambassador of a dying race. It was my responsibility to help humanity survive millennia of tribal behavior. I was so boned. I was standing near one of the larger plants. It was the size of a mature oak but its coloring ranged from dark green at the base to blooms that were a shade that reminded me of pink cotton candy. Its structure was an interesting blend of tubes, shoots and flowers. It could just as easily have been underwater. Watcher had given me a gift of a dozen or so data crystals. A sudden tremor in my hand sent them falling to the floor. It was going to be a bitch trying to bend over and retrieve them within the confines of the spacesuit.

"I am sorry." Watcher said and something moved behind the tubes. "Don't be alarmed it is only a service robot."

The thing was a mass of translucent metal that formed and reformed appendages, eyes, and some sort of sensory stalks. It appeared that its form depended upon what task was required. In this case, it formed several arms with tentacle-like fingers to collect the stones for me. I held out my open palms and the robot set the crystals into them. I thanked it and it went off to its next task. I thought about the service robot and the strange way it altered its form to fit function. It was really the ultimate tool. Why carry an entire toolbox of tools when all you need is one? One that can adapt to whatever situation arises. I tried to figure out how it was done. Two things came to mind. One was exotic matter with a pattern matrix. The other was programmable matter. The first was a substance that was by its nature unstable but with the help of a system that made order out of chaos it could for a time maintain a stable shape. Programmable matter seemed more likely though. The A.I. had a large set of limbs, sensory organs, and body types that it chooses according to necessity.

The crystals were color coded for my convenience. They were much larger than the ones Nick produced. Watcher seemed to sense my problem. The robot returned and formed a data reader from its body and handed it to me. The reader was the size and relative shape of a TV remote control. There was a socket for the crystal and a wireless access port I could link to. That kind of settled my internal debate on the nature of the robot's construction. Exotic matter wouldn't remain stable away from the core of the robot.

I read each crystal to determine what was on them and decide which ones I would share with Nick and NASA.

The red crystal held all the information and schematics for what would later be called the Yellowstone Device. It was a masterwork of geothermal design. It would allow humanity to safely tap into active volcanos and convert a majority of the thermal energy into raw power. It could be adapted to underwater vents as well. The cobalt crystal held a complete work up of the two new planets. It covered everything. The data went from detailed topographical maps, a staggering list of flora and fauna, to the mineral deposits and their locations. The emerald crystal worried me the most. Within its faceted confines was a comprehensive genetic makeup of the human being. On the positive side, there was a list of negative genetic markers that led to diseases, birth defects, and how to safely switch them off. On the negative side was a way of improving telomere production. This would vastly increase the human lifespan. Overpopulation was already an issue but the thought of the wealthy receiving telomere injections to extend their lives indefinitely worried me. There were some people that would benefit from this but the danger of corruption was way too easy. The morally bankrupt that put their own needs above everyone else would use this to develop their fortunes for centuries instead of mere decades.

"You are concerned." Watcher said as it monitored me.

"Yes. There are some wonderful things here. So many diseases that could be wiped out overnight. The tools for extending the human life span frightens me."

"I understand. I suggest you download the 'suspect' data and I will fashion a new medical crystal for you. I will also archive and secure that data until you tell me otherwise. I trust your judgement."

I used the wireless feature and moved the telomere data directly from the crystal to my implant. I placed a sixty-four-digit password on it for security purposes. I crushed the original crystal and sprinkled the remains into the nearest potted plant. The service robot appeared with another emerald medical crystal. I went through the rest of the crystals downloading what I felt were far too dangerous or easily misused. In the end, there were seven data crystals that would be delivered to Nick and NASA. I was alerted that there was only twenty minutes left for the final power test for the gate. I thanked Watcher and headed for the airlock. There was one last thing I had to ask about. One last thing that needed my attention.

"Watcher, can I ask you a question?"

"Greg, that is why I am here. What is bothering you?"

"There is a huge ship tumbling towards the gate. A friend of mine said that it belonged to an ancient race that has since died out."

"Your friend is quite correct. That vehicle was created by an extinct species. What do you want to know?"

"What do you know about them?"

"Nothing. They had been hunted to oblivion long before I was brought into existence. I know only the few files that describe their technology but there is little else. I have no name, no form, or even if they really existed. This is an exciting time is it not."

"I want to intercept that ship before the humans do. If the knowledge that you gave me terrifies me. That ship would surely destroy the Earth. Can you help me?"

"If it were any other being I would deny your request. Return here when you are ready. Let the humans come and speak with me. I will tell them what they need to hear."

I thanked the Watcher and returned to the landing site. There was still a few minutes before the first attempt to link this gate with the one on Earth. I checked how well the system was working and was pleased to see that everything appeared to be in the green. We were at nearly ninety percent when I received a message from Nick. He wanted to know what I had seen. They had lost all telemetry when I had entered the green house as I thought of it. I had described the interior and the wonderful plant life that was housed there. I sent images back for the botanists back home to drool over. I hinted there may be some files for historians to look at. I wondered how an unbiased view of historical events would be received.

The next few minutes went by quickly as I brought the ring's systems online. We were ready for a test run so that we could sync both ends of the gate. The vast distance between earth and the asteroid forced some fine tuning. NASA's last message was that they were good to go. I activated the gate and as expected the image within the confines of the ring were slightly distorted. I recalibrated the gate on the fly and making infinitesimal changes brought the two rings into alignment. We performed several tests by passing nonliving objects back and forth through the gate. The final test was a pressurized cage with a large white rat in it. The rat survived the passage and NASA gave a green light for the astronauts to pass through the rings. I was there to greet them and was not at all surprised to see Nick Shaw leading the group. It was his tech that had made this all possible.

"Well done Gregory," Nick said greeting me. "Let's go see this Watcher of yours."

"Yes sir," I replied. "Shall I lead the way?"

"Yeah, I am just here to see things with my own eyes. We swapped out one of the astrophysicists with a botanist. This greenhouse had gotten a ton of press. Your images have blown everyone's expectations away."

"Follow me."

I lead the three men and two women across the face of the asteroid. The passage took longer with more people following behind me. We entered the first airlock and the excitement reached a new level. The physicist was rattling on about how the wall had liquified. While I had found it interesting he was throwing out theories on how it was done. Twenty minutes later we were standing in the main chamber. Nick ordered no one to touch anything. The botanist winced at the order but agreed. While I had stayed near the inner airlock Nick and the others surveyed much of the greenhouse's interior. I followed behind as one alien plant after another was photographed. Watcher had remained silent so far. I wondered if Nick was going to leave without speaking to it or not.

"Gregory, you said that there was a governing intelligence."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Nicholas Shaw." Watcher said in greeting.

"It is my pleasure Watcher. How long have you been active if I might ask?"

"Roughly four billion years," Watcher replied and everyone was staggered by that thought.

"Who created you?" the physicist asked boldly.

"My masters are the same that nudged human evolution, the Anunnaki. They were an ancient race that seeded tens of thousands of worlds."

"You say that in the past tense. Have they gone extinct?" Nick asked.

"The probability is quite high Mr. Shaw. I have not heard from anyone besides my brothers and sisters for ten million years." Watcher replied its voice still dull and neutral.

"How do you communicate with your siblings?" The physicist asked his voice urgent for the answer to faster than light communication.

"Well, each solar system has at least one drone. I believe that is the correct term. The drone acts as an observer and sends regular data packets via an artificial dimensional rift. The rift taps into the same dimension that your gates functions on. The drones exist within real space and that dimension at the same time. They collect vast amounts of extraneous information and archive them in case of a catastrophic event. If a planet arises that shows potential for life then a facility like this one is created and sent to that solar system. I hope that answers your question."

"How many civilizations survive to become an interstellar society?" I asked.