Project Urth

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say, blazed across the holographic monitor above the π-shaped council silicate table. The council chamber embedded deep in the rippled ridge of Stilbon, also called Mercury, overlooked the battered surface of the planet through the protective nickeled glass.

In the distance, a Solar Sail Ship glided toward the Caloris Montes receiving port, and the terminal doors beacon strobed red against the rocky gray surface in warning. A crash appeared imminent. The broad, translucent sails of the ship feathered closed like a bird of prey and accelerated toward the target. The gateway of the port opened at the final critical moment of impact, received the ship, and closed like a space whale swallowing its meal. The total exposure to the surface elements was one second. Another Solar Sail Ship appeared in the distance as the capital of Stilbon’s sail port was the busiest on the planet.

"Ahem," said Garr, the Cirillian Senator who stood before the council, "May I have your undivided attention please. I am impressed with the mesmerizing ballet of travel as you, but we have critical Galactic 5 business to attend to now."

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say, reappeared on the monitor.

"This is the seed of proof. Urthling’s are self-serving. Moon missions of Urth's 1960s and '70's unified their intent to explore the universe for the betterment of their species and to join with other intelligent civilizations. By 1979, their entertainment philosophers demonstrated a paradigm shift; exploration of the galaxies was for their own benefit. Any non-human, in substance or appearance, was declared an Alien and an enemy of Urth." lisped the Cirillian Senator and flicked his tongue, and the monitor displayed another image.

Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist.

"By Urth year 1996, a new propaganda film convinced their inhabitants that non-human entities were the aggressors and must be annihilated. Though they do not know we exist, the planet earth continues to declare war on us as an enemy."

The Senators of the galactic council waited for him to continue. Bole of Mars leaned his furry red body back in his seat and stretched his long legs under the council table. Bored, he closed his Wolfen eyes and yawned. A third eye on his titanium breastplate remained alert to the tense surroundings.

Aton of Saturn, one millimeter tall, stood on a Magni-platform at the center of the table and fidgeted. The image amplifier magnified and displayed her ebony, oval hard-shelled face on the back of her designated council seat. Her red orbs were void of any tell, but her antennas twitched.

Lord Dhar of Stilbon, Facilitate of the Galactic Council, waddled in his seat, twiddled the triple claws that protruded from his fat paws, and waited for the Cirillian to ignite the long-predicted galactic crisis.

Quag of the moon Titan, eyed the oppressor of his people, Aton of Saturn, with suspicion. His mind conspired and measured the distance between the Magni-platform and his oxidized cast-iron fist. So close, dare I assassinate her now? No, now is not the time. He restrained his thick short arms, leapt to the floor, and bumped his head on the table's edge. Angry, he paced the floor.

The presenter, Garr, a three-meter-long, silicone and iron scaled Cirillian, uncoiled his blue-green tubular body to its maximum height. The internal orange hood encasing his head flared open. He flicked his forked tongue and peered down at his fellow Senators through penetrating amber eyes.

"This is the level of ignorance the Urthling’s retain. Each Senator is aware of the terror throughout our five galaxies. Urthling’s disgorge their ignorance into their historical literature and confirm they are not worthy of becoming citizens of the Galaxy. The savage inhabitants of the orbital paradise of Urth do not have the means or technology to comprehend the realities surrounding them. The parasites only perceive their own screams and arrogantly assume no others exist. We are their declared enemy. Urthling's have rejected a unified language which we know is the ultimate key to Galactic unification. The Galactic Intelligence Service office, based on Urth's behavior, has lowered their Galactic Security Rating to -9. Urth is a threat to our existence." he said.

"Thank you, Senator Garr," said Dhar.

"Gnosis, as our Constitutional A.I., what is the Urthling language status?" said Dhar and scratched his hairy snout from the stress.

The voice of Gnosis droned it’s neutral toned machine language into the council chamber.

The denigration of the language we inserted millennia past continues in parallel with the physical deterioration of the planet. The Urthling’s bias and prejudice toward biological and cultural differentials remain in the negative to Galactic acceptance. The Urthling language score is negative five.

"Lord Dhar, hahkd hfkopsdp0 ehad a akdh ilfkiw. Ghlaa bnaldeo dkjdfghapo dkaje alcialaiogjher. Hghaoe j al qllahe ud aldje dlguw," lisped the Senator of Cirellia, "Hela ehhdl uiidlq elllsjsh thks...."

"Garr, we agreed to use the Universal language for this council," Dhar interrupted, "Please restate."

"Lord Dhar, my apology, did we not also agree to the use of formal titles?" as his snake eyes glared at the Stilbon Ice bear.

"My apology, Senator Garr, please continue," said Dhar as stress-induced methane escaped his exit port.

No one in the council module escaped the putrid evidence of his disdain except Garr, who could not sense odors. Bole laughed at the trumpet blast, and Quag inhaled deeply to enjoy the scent that reminded him of home.

"This is the Galactic Council of Five, not a youngling academy yard," said Aton, "Speak on, Garr."

"Why do we care about the Urthlings? We advance their technology and gift them our unified language; they have discarded the knowledge the same way they've destroyed their host planet. Throughout the Galaxy, they are the only life forms in ethos retrograde while advancing their comfort by our cloaked gifts of technology. These savages were given fusion, and they made bombs. The Galactic 5 shared the ancient knowledge of DNA, and the primitives have utilized the science to capitalize, weaponize, and segregate their world. They will do the same to the Galaxy. Urthling's are a hindrance to our existence, and the balance of the universe does not tolerate enigmas. We must act. I speak for Cirellia of the constellation Grus. We invoke the First Rule of Equivalence and propose the council terminate the Urth Project. By this tenet, we shall retrieve all advisors to Stilbon before the human BepiColombo probe arrives in the Urth year 2025. The human's mental impurities, like their grotesque bio germs, will infect the universe if we proceed with this project." lisped the Senator of Cirellia.

"Gnosis, state the First Rule of Equivalence," said Lord Dhar.

Gnosis:

"All creations are one. Any threat to universal unity will be isolated from the whole and left in darkness."

"The matter is before the council. Each Senator will vote emerald for yay or ruby for nay," Lord Dhar said, "Proceed."

Translucent consoles rose from the Pi Table before each representative. Icons of emerald and ruby were displayed on the crystal monitors, and each council member cast their vote.

Gnosis:

"The proposal is split two votes to two, Lord Dhar, you must cast the deciding vote."

Dhar understood his decision as the Facilitate of the Galactic Council 5, the Supreme body of the universe, would determine a continued peace or an interstellar civil war.

Every council member turned their eyes, orbs, and antennae toward Lord Dhar. The oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon ventilators cycled off and generated a vacuum of sound, but the tension was palpable and oscillated through the chamber. Garr's silken metallic skin glistened though he did not perspire. Excretions of musky silicate oil beaded on his head. Bole of Mars, the project director, deep red prior, paled to pink, and his third eye twitched. Aton's antennae danced in agitation. Quag stopped pacing and locked his allied eyes with Garr.

Gnosis:

"Lord Dhar, we must have your vote. Procedural rules require an instant decision to eliminate influence."

Dhar held his paw up for a moment of deference and debated the issues in the deliberate Ice Bear way.

Saturn's long-term Iron-Nickel contract for geomagnetic diversion shields made their vote purely economic. Titan, a moon in perpetual conflict with Saturn over sovereignty, sided with Cyrillia, the sponsor of their weaponry. The Cyrillian's true intent was to destabilize Stilbon as a galactic leader, eliminate the galactic vote of Urthling's in the future, and corner the Nickel reserves of Saturn for their own expansionism in Grus. Mars would benefit from the continuation of the Urth Project as the future host of Urthling Immigration and Integration and increase their depleted population.

A Nay vote supported the Urth Project but would trigger a galactic civil war.

A Yay vote would terminate the Urth Project, but we would maintain a tentative peace and purchase needed time to prepare for inevitable war.

I have no choice but to accede to the termination of the Urth Project, though this decision would imperil my son, Dhar-two, the Project Director on Urth.

"I, Dhar-one, Facilitate of the Galactic Council 5, cast my vote, Yay!" said Lord Dhar to the equal pleasure and disdain of the council members.

Gnosis:

"The Urth Project to accelerate the assimilation of Urthling’s to parity with the Galaxy is hereby terminated. All Project agents on Urth will be repatriated within ten axis turns of the sacred star Centrus. If any are irretrievable, The Fifth Rule will be invoked."

"Gnosis, cite The Fifth Rule," said Lord Dhar.

Gnosis:

"The Fifth Rule; any entity, being, or planet, whether a Galactic citizen or not, imposing a threat to the security of the whole will be carbonized with prejudice."

"So be it," said Lord Dhar.

The council responded in one voice, "So be it."

***

Alone in his private chambers, Lord Dhar stood tall on his third set of legs before the star gazer dome overhead and gauged Centrus and its motion, the center of their existence. The Paynim of Urth blasphemed and called the fiery orb the Sun.

Stilbon, his home, was the antithesis of Centrus in size and structure. Dark and sub-frigid temperatures froze Stilbon one cycle and emblazoned the surface with record-high heat the next. The perfection of Nickel shields, mistaken for water ice by the Urthling probe Messenger years prior, had created a deflection shield to ward off the perpetual solar winds from Centrus. This allowed the planet's molten iron core to increase rotation and maximize the geomagnetic field for protection from the onslaught.

The third phase of the Urth project would transfer the needed top crust from the Urth moon to Stilbon. The long-range goal, now delayed, was to generate a protective atmosphere to encompass his planetary home for the relocation of Stilbon citizens to the surface. The project to remodel Stilbon, patterned after the exotic Urth planetary structure, would have to be delayed.

"Dhar-two. in ten turns of the Centrus or two hundred and seventy Urth days, you must come home, my son. I pray to Centrus you do not resist," he said, and turned to his humanoid servant droid, Coolie.

Humanoids were the first invention of Dhar-two as servants. Mass-produced militarized versions of the droids provided the sole advantage Stilbon enjoyed within the Galactic 5 as star pilots and Galactic marines. The common droids also prepared the way for Urthling acceptance as their appearance was odd to the masses.

"Coolie, I request the presence of my daughter,"

"Yes, Lord Dhar," said Coolie as he entered the chamber.

***

"Master, your guest has arrived," Coolie said, "I present Dhar-Sheena, the daughter of Kwan-Sheena, the princess of Stilbon and Memphis of the first blood."

"Enough, Coolie. I do not need a lesson on my daughter's ancient Stilbon/Egyptian origin."

Dhar's coarse furred body supported a sloped flat forehead with a nose snout protruding from folded jowls and beady eyes. He was a perfect specimen of a Stilbon Ice bear and a direct descendant of the Tardigrades of the universe.

Most Tardigrades were microscopic animals throughout the universe and gatherers of intelligence for Stilbon. Dhar's heritage came from the opposite end of the evolutionary spectrum and stood at 2 meters tall. Ice Bears easily adapted to all heat, radioactive, magnetic, and cold extremes. Dhar dehydrated his body at will to prevent internal ice damage lethal to all other organisms and allowed him to withstand a nine-hundred-degree temperature range.

Ah, my daughter, what a unique creation of my loins, he thought and turned from the star dome to greet her.

Unlike her father, Dhar-Sheena exulted her mother's features. Her eyes glistened like the star Sirius ornately embedded in organic olive skin as smooth as Saturn's surface. A purple pyramid tattoo on her upper chest displayed her crest through the imperial hair cascading from her shoulders. Her mane shone purple raven like the depths of the Milky Way, and her face mirrored a painting of the Urthling goddess Isis. The portrait of a direct ancestor.

Dhar-Sheena radiated a universal beauty celebrated by many, an abomination to others, and envied by some. Her mother's genetics were generated a millennia past in the first Urthling assimilation in the great hope of advancing the savages within the cosmos. Controlled assimilation was the only path to a constructive completion of the millennial mission through offspring to endure the environments of both Stilbon and Urth. In times past, princes, like Dhar of Stilbon, were betrothed to the princesses of kings and queens of Urth.

"Greetings, Dhar-father. You requested my presence?"

"Yes, Sheena, Greetings. I hope you are well. Your radiance rivals Centrus and rumors of its vile temper as well. Please sit."

"Father, chastisement and corrections are reserved for the mother."

"I understand, but cleaning up your messes in her absence, falls to me."

"What does my egocentric father want from me?" as she sat on a futon.

"The Galactic 5 have voted this day to terminate the Urth Project, and retrieval of all participates must be completed in ten axis rotations of Centrus."

"No! They cannot do this. The Urthling are my ancestors and I hoped to visit the primitive world before my marriage."

"Dhar-Sheena, you are also of Stilbon heritage and a full Galactic citizen. This is where your first duty lies."

"Why do you speak to me of the council tonight? This news will be broadcast soon enough. Why am I here for this rare audience?"

"You wish to visit the planet of your heritage, and I am here to grant it."

Dhar-Sheena rose before her father as tears welled in her eyes.

"You will do this for me? Permit me to travel to the Urth? You do have fatherly feelings for me?"

Dhar-one turned away to the star gazer dome and the full view of Centrus as coronal bubbles of plasma pulsed on its surface.

"I need you to travel to Urth and retrieve your brother before time expires. He is your twin and will listen to you. If you fail to return with him before the turn of the ten rotations, the Fifth Rule will condemn you both."

"Father, what makes you think Dhar-two will listen to me? Though twins, we are different. He derives physical pleasure from the ways of the Urthling and has fathered many Urth children. My brother exploits the Urthling's ignorance of the universe and is the wealthiest man on their planet. He has taken an Urth name and is revered by the Urthling’s."

"Sheena, I know well his Urth name. My nine grandchildren are fully citizens and protected by the citizenship Code of the Galactic 5. You will instruct Dhar-two the Urthling mother hosts must remain there as they cannot survive this planet. Your departure is tomorrow. The Stilbon Weather Agency predicts the next favorable coronal ejection to erupt from Centrus tomorrow. You will travel aboard the Talis Solar Sail Ship captained by your Dhar-Uncle to bring your brother home. I beg you not to fail, my dear daughter."

Moved by his unexpected emotion, she stepped toward her father but stopped. External affection was not the way of a Stilbon Ice Bear. Instead, she stepped to his side to share the view of the universe from the star dome. In silence, they absorbed the pulsing art of their fiery orange dwarf star Centrus, set against the infinite velvet canvas of a billion plus twinkling cousins.

An explosive blast of plasma arched from Centrus into the vacuum of space like a mark of time. The superheated fountain of energy radiated on a fixed path at hypersonic speed towards infinity or any object in its way. It would reach the planet Urth in two days.

"Dhar-one," interrupted Coolie, "You have received an urgent message from Urth, coded status one from Dhar-two."

"State the message," Dhar said.

"The mission to Mars is a go. The Urthlings have launched."

"Elon, my son of Urth, what have you done?" Dhar said as a massive ejection of methane escaped his exit port.

***