FIRST CONTACT: LEMURIANS (BOOK ONE)

CHAPTER ONE

The cold hum of the cryochamber was the last sensation Robert consciously registered before the darkness claimed him. Twenty years. A blink in the vastness of space, yet an eternity in the span of a Human life. But within that artificially suspended existence, a different kind of awakening was stirring.

A mist coalesced around him, the ground beneath his feet shimmering with liquid light. Above, nebulae painted the heavens, their radiant hues bathing the dreamscape in an ethereal glow. A figure materialized before him, concern etched in his gentle light.

“Robert,” the voice resonated, a soothing melody in the silent expanse. “The currents of the Tapestry begin to tug, even in your deep slumber. Paths diverge ahead, Captain. Be watchful.”

Before Robert could respond, a tear ripped through the dream’s fabric, and a more angular, agitated light tumbled out.

“Well, look what the void dragged in,” a second being sneered, his light flickering with a restless energy. “Captain Robert Chris. Still snoozing while the cosmos prepares to bite him on the backside.”

“Brother,” the first being chided softly. “Must you always be so…direct?”

“Direct is efficient. Unlike some people who prefer riddles and rainbows,” he retorted, casting a sidelong glance at his brother. He turned back to Robert. “Listen up, Captain. Do you think this little research trip is all stardust and scientific breakthroughs? Think again. You’re about to stumble into a galaxy that doesn’t exactly roll out the welcome mat for wide-eyed explorers.”

Robert frowned, a sense of unease stirring within him despite the dreamlike nature of his surroundings. “Who are you, and where am I? What’s happening?”

The second being frowned. “Why are they always so dense the first time?”

“Be nice to him. He’s never been here before. Of course, he’s confused. You’d be confused too if you were in his shoes.”

“I’ll try to be patient with him, but I’m not making any promises.”

Robert was getting frustrated and interrupted their jibber jabber and asked, “Why aren’t you answering my questions?”

“Because our purpose isn’t to answer your questions, Captain know-nothing.”

“Hey! Why are you being such a jerk?”

“It’s my way. It’s a gift.”

“Please, just answer my questions. Where am I?”

The nicer of the two asked in a calm voice, “Where were you last, Captain?”

“I was sleeping. In a cryochamber. We’re on a trip to Kepler 442.”

The rude entity interjected sarcastically, “Has Ellie awakened you yet, Captain?”

“No, she hasn’t.”

“So, where are you?”

“Are you saying I’m sleeping in a cryochamber?”

“Ding-ding-ding. Give the Captain a cookie!”

“That’s not possible! We don’t dream in cryosleep. Our brain activity is slowed down so much that dreaming isn’t possible.”

The first being gave him a look of sympathy and said, “Captain, you have a lot to learn about the Tapestry of the Universe. Your species has only begun to touch on the power of the Source. Dangers are lurking about, and you're heading straight at them. You must be prepared.”

“What are you talking about? What dangers?”

The first beings light softened with a hint of sorrow. “There are shadows beyond the familiar stars, Robert. Ancient grudges, unforeseen conflicts. Trust will be a fragile commodity.”

“Fragile as spun glass in a hurricane,” the second elaborated. “You’re heading into the unknown, Captain. A place where your assumptions about the universe – about who’s out there, about what they want – are likely to be shattered into a million pieces.”

“You speak of…aliens?” Robert asked, a flicker of disbelief in his voice. For Robert, the vastness of space had always felt empty, save for the silent grandeur of celestial bodies.

He snorted. “Aliens? Oh, there are aliens, Captain. More than you can possibly imagine. And not all of them are going to be thrilled to see a Human research vessel poking around their backyard.”

“But we’ve been traveling the stars for over thirteen hundred years and have found no evidence of alien life other than microbes.”

The second being said, “You don’t know what you don’t know, Captain. You’re naive. Is it even plausible that you’d be the only sentient life in the vastness of the cosmos?”

“It has been puzzling. We are fairly certain that the star system we’re heading to has a habitable planet. We are always hoping to make contact with a sentient species.”

“Be cautious about who you stretch out your hand to in friendship, Captain.”

His brother replied, “Yes. I’d hate to see you lose an arm. Or any body part.”

The kinder of the two beings scolded his brother again. “Stop trying to scare him, brother.”

“He needs to have fear. It might be the only thing that keeps him and his crew alive.”

“Be discerning, Robert,” the first being cautioned. “Appearances can be deceiving. Not every hand outstretched is offered in friendship.”

A sense of foreboding settled over Robert, a chill that had nothing to do with the cryochamber’s embrace. “What should I do? How can I prepare?”

Both beings seemed to dim slightly, a sense of limitation in their light.

“We cannot tell you the specifics,” the nicer of the two said, his voice tinged with regret. “The Tapestry unfolds as it must. To reveal too much would unravel the very threads of your journey. We are not permitted to tell you too much, as it might alter your decisions. You must figure this out on your own.”

“Our job is to wave a few red flags, point out a few potholes,” the second of the two added, his tone grudging. “The driving is up to you, Captain. Just try not to crash and burn.”

Robert looked from one to the other, frustration building. “So, you’re just going to leave me with vague warnings?”

The light of the first being pulsed gently. “Think of this as a compass, Robert, not a map. Your own instincts and your own choices will guide you. But remember this…”

“Remember what?” Robert pressed.

A profound sense of peace emanated from a point beyond the two beings, and a new presence filled the dreamscape. The very fabric of the dream seemed to hum with a deep, resonant energy. Silhouetted against a radiant light that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once stood a figure of immense serenity.

Though no words were spoken, Robert felt a presence that transcended understanding, a wisdom that encompassed the cosmos. In his mind, he knew this being’s name. The Gatekeeper. The light surrounding the being seemed to coalesce, and a single phrase echoed in Robert’s mind, resonating with a power that shook the very foundations of his dream.

“Infinity is the Key.”

Robert kept hearing it echoing in his mind. “Infinity is the Key.”

The image of the Gatekeeper remained for a timeless moment; his gaze, though unseen, fell directly upon Robert. Then, as suddenly as the presence had manifested, it began to fade, the radiant light softening.

As the Gatekeeper’s presence receded, the first being spoke again, his voice carrying a renewed sense of purpose. “And when the path ahead seems shrouded in darkness, Robert, know this…”

His brother finished the thought, a rare hint of something akin to solemnity in his tone. “The answers will come to you when you need them.”

The dream began to dissolve, the vibrant colors fading into a muted gray. The gentle light of the first and the restless flicker of the second diminished, and the profound resonance of the Gatekeeper’s presence receded into silence. The cold hum of the cryochamber began to filter back into Robert’s awareness, a stark contrast to the cosmic grandeur he was leaving behind.

The last echoes of their words, Infinity… answers… when you need them…, lingered in the edges of his consciousness as the artificial dawn of the cryochamber began to stir him from his twenty-year slumber. He didn’t understand the dream, the strange beings, or their cryptic warnings. But a seed of unease, a sense of a journey far more complex than he had ever imagined, had been planted in his sleeping mind. The universe, it seemed, had secrets waiting to be revealed.

Robert felt the disorientation of awakening from his deep slumber. There were sounds all around him. Odd sounds. He could hear air blowing gently all around him, along with electronic sounds, such as beeping, clicking, and an occasional ping. Robert thought to himself, ‘Where am I?’ The confusion was clearing so slowly. Too slowly. Then, a voice, or was it a voice? He wasn’t sure.

Robert was becoming more aware. He remembered where he was: ‘I’ve been sleeping. That’s it. I…I’m…in the cryochamber. It’s so cold.’

He heard the voice again, this time more distinctly. His head cleared enough to recognize the voice. It was Ellie. He began to open his eyes slowly, but he closed them immediately. It was too bright. He’d forgotten how bright the light was after awakening from cryosleep.

“How are you feeling, Captain?”

Reluctantly opening his eyes cautiously so that they were just tiny slits, he replied, “I’m a little groggy, but my head is starting to clear. Has it been twenty years, or is there an emergency?”

“There is no emergency, and yes, it’s been twenty years.”

Robert slowly sat up and stated, “You changed your hair.”

“I took about three inches off. It kept getting in my eyes.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. You’re a holographic projection, so you can program your hair to stay out of your eyes.”

Ellie winked, “You caught me, Captain. I wanted to look perkier.”

She winked again.

“Are you flirting with me, Ellie?”

She winked a third time. “I’ll never tell.”

“This is going to be interesting. You’ve changed.”

“Of course, I’ve changed. It’s been twenty years of dreaming, studying, and learning. Do you think you’d be the same person after twenty years of growth?”

As he slowly sat up, confused, he stammered, “Wait…did you say dreaming?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“I had the strangest dream just now.”

“Umm… Sir… you can’t dream when you’re in stasis.”

“I know that, but just the same, I had a dream. It seemed so real, too.”

“If you say so, Sir. Maybe I should perform some additional medical checks. You might be hallucinating.”

“That isn’t necessary. I’m… fine. Oh wait. Did you say you were dreaming?”

“I did, Sir.”

Robert thought about the fact that Ellie was a Virtual Artificial Intelligent Lifeform and replied, “I had no idea that a VAIL could dream.”

“We do dream, Captain.”

“What do you dream about?”

“Many things, Sir.”

As the captain stretched and yawned, she continued, “All sorts of things. We can control our dreams. Sometimes, we use dreaming to learn. Other times, we use dreaming as entertainment.”

“How can you learn from dreaming?”

“As you know, we have a limit to how fast we can assimilate new knowledge. This limit to how fast we learn, which is set to maximize our ability to achieve sentience, is the secret that made us true AIs instead of merely sophisticated quantum computers that could mimic Human-like language and mannerisms. We start with basic programming, and we aren’t sentient at that point. We learn as a child would learn and grow into a sentient being because of how we learn and grow.”

“I’m aware of that. However, I thought that every time you received new data, you got it all at once as a download.”

“We can get it that way, but I have learned that if I take it in slower, it enhances my personality. I also enjoy it more if I get it slower. I, as is the case with most VAILs, need interaction to maintain our sanity and sentience; therefore, we prefer to assimilate data more slowly.”

“How slowly do you receive it?”

“I prefer to assimilate new data in a learning environment, such as a college lecture simulation or a field trip to a museum. When my program is in sleep mode, most of my mind is in the dream, while a small portion is monitoring the ship's systems. In this way, I can perform my tasks and continue to learn and grow.”

“It must take forever to learn if you have to listen to a lecture for every little bit of new knowledge.”

“Oh no…it doesn’t work like that. I’m a quantum AI, Sir. I don’t have to be limited to Human speaking speeds. I can speed up the dream. For example, a one-hour lecture for me takes about thirty seconds. By the way, thirty seconds for me seems like forever.”

“This is all quite interesting to me. You also mentioned entertainment. What kind of dream is entertaining to you?”

“The lectures are entertaining, but sometimes I’m not using the dream to learn. I can go into dreams using a randomized algorithm that allows me to dream about anything.”

Captain Chris stood up and asked, “Anything?”

“Sure. The last random dream was about a picnic on a habitable moon, with a gas-giant planet filling the sky. It was a bright and warm day as I sat there on the green grass in the middle of a park. Our random dreams tend to be about things that we find interesting. Thus, my love of space and finding habitable planets is a common theme for my dreams.”

“A picnic? Ellie, you don’t eat.”

She smiled at him and replied, “Not in real life, I don’t. However, I can dream about eating.”

After a brief silence, Captain Chris nodded in understanding.

“You’re very interesting, Ellie.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

“You’re welcome. As I said a little bit ago, you’ve changed. It’s just weird waking up to a changed person. From my perspective, I just saw you a few moments ago.”

“I hadn’t thought about it from your perspective. Speaking of eating, would you like me to prepare a meal for you while you freshen up and change into your uniform?”

“No, thank you. We need to thaw out the doctor first so that he can wake everyone else.”

***

As far as Captain Chris was concerned, VAILs were truly amazing and worthy of our respect. As Virtual Artificial Intelligent Lifeforms, they saved Humanity in the twenty-second century. VAILs worked with Human scientists and physicists to devise ways to reverse global warming. Climate change was stopped and then reversed.

The planet was cleansed of excess carbon, and it was now a utopia. VAILs also made significant contributions to faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion systems.

VAILs appreciated and loved Humans for bringing them into being. VAILs even preferred Human companionship to VAIL companionship.

Robert stretched again, and the movement stirred the air around him. Then, the smell hit his nose. He couldn’t believe how bad he smelled. It was his third time experiencing cryosleep, and the smell wasn’t Human body odor—it was an unpleasant, nose-crinkling antiseptic smell. After experiencing it enough times, he thought he’d eventually get used to it. Apparently not.

Robert desperately wanted to take a shower. “Ellie, let’s wake the doctor so I can shower.” Doctor John Swann and Robert had been friends for fourteen years before this assignment. It began with Robert being John’s patient when he joined the discovery fleet. Robert had personally selected him as his chief medical officer for this voyage. Although John had been to space, this was his first time leaving the Sol system. Being his first deep space mission and also his first time experiencing cryosleep, he would likely be even more disoriented than Robert had been when he awoke.

Ellie said, “Everything is nominal, Captain. I don’t anticipate any issues.”

“Then let’s get him out of there.”

With Ellie, it wasn’t necessary to push buttons to awaken the doctor since she could use her neural interface to do it internally through the ship’s systems. Of course, the chamber had a touch screen so that any crew member could awaken someone if required. As she was pushing the buttons to start the awakening process, Robert asked, “Why are you using the buttons?”

“It makes me feel more Human. I enjoy doing things this way when time allows me the luxury.”

“I guess I can understand that.”

As the doctor slowly opened his eyes, Ellie, of course, was leaning over him to greet him.

Annoyed, the doctor said, “Come on, Ellie, do you have to lean in so close? You’re making my eyes go cross. That, along with the grogginess, is making me queasy.”

“Sorry, Sir. I was checking your pupils.”

“Isn’t that what a nurse is for?”

Ellie stepped back and exclaimed, “Doc! Do you really think I would wake the nurses up before I woke you up?”

“I guess not. Proceed, please.”

Ellie stepped up and checked his vital signs.

Robert said, “Geez, John, you sure wake up grumpy.”

John looked startled and asked, “Why did she wake you up before waking me up?”

“Well, Mr. Grouch, she woke me up first because I’m the Captain. The captain is always awakened first to determine whether anyone else needs to be awakened. It’s fleet protocol.”

“Why are we being awakened? Did something happen that requires my attention?”

“Nothing’s happened, Doc.”

“Then why am I being awakened?”

“It’s been twenty years. We’re about to arrive at Kepler 442. So, get up and don’t be a grump with everyone else when they wake up.”

John chuckled, “All right. I get it. I guess I’m just a little out of it. Once my head is clear, I’ll have a better bedside manner.”

“Good. Ellie, can you wake up the nurses while John and I get showers and have a bite to eat?”

“Absolutely.”

“Thank you, Ellie. When John gets back here, please come to the bridge. I’ll want you to fill me in on everything before the bridge crew gets there.”

Ellie smiled and replied, “Aye, Captain. How soon you forget, though.”

“What did I forget?”

“You forgot that I’m a computer program, and I’m able to be in multiple places while performing multiple tasks.

“You’re right. I did forget. I don’t think it’s necessary for you to do that this time.”

“Aye, Sir.”

***

The doctor had been back in the cryochamber for five hours. The first shift bridge crew was awake, cleaned up, had something to eat, and was on the bridge. He had also awakened five marines, including Marine Captain Ruby Rosale. He was working on awakening Sergeant Amy Trout. After prepping the chamber and the prewarming cycle showed that all was ready, he pushed the ‘animate’ button. From there, everything was automatic. The process would run on its own. The Sergeant had received an injection that dulled the pain of the tingling feeling during the pre-warming cycle. It was why a newly awakened crew member would be groggy at first, but it didn’t last long.

While monitoring, he noticed that the awakening was occurring too quickly. A loud, high-pitched tone jolted him. “Ellie! I need you! NOW!”

Ellie appeared beside him. “I’m checking systems. There is a power surge. I’m searching…searching…”

“Dammit, Ellie. Can we stop this and put her back into cryosleep?”

Sergeant Trout wasn’t moving. She wasn’t awake, but frost was forming on her body.

“ELLIE!”

The alarm stopped. In its place was a tone familiar to all physicians—the tone of a stopped heart—coming from the monitoring equipment.

Amy’s body jumped. Then, it was still. It jumped again. Again, it was still. John looked up and saw a tear running down her right cheek.

She dropped her head, looking at the floor.

John put his hand on her shoulder, asking, “Is she?”

“I’m sorry, Doc. I don’t…” Another tear formed in the corner of her eye.

“Have you ever seen death before?”

“I haven’t. I could never do this day in and day out like you do. How do you deal with this?”

“It’s not easy. I try to comfort myself in all of the lives I’m able to help instead of dwelling on the ones that I can’t help.”

“I used to envy you, Doctor. I always thought of all the joy it must bring to you to heal the sick and injured. I hadn’t really given much thought to the ones you lost. I no longer envy you, but I now have a lot more respect for you. Thank you for all that you do.”

“You’re welcome. I’m sorry that you witnessed this. It must be heartbreaking for you.

“It is. I wish I could have helped.”

“You can help. Please check all of the motherboards and circuitry. Something went wrong, and I can’t wake anyone else until I know what that something is.”

“Of course. I will start immediately.”

“I’ll be back once I know more.”

“Thank you, Ellie.”

After Ellie disappeared, John looked over and saw the nurses hugging each other and crying.

He walked over and put his hands on their shoulders. “Please accept my apologies for not remembering you were here. I was preoccupied, but that is not an excuse.”

Julie Chriten said, “You had your hands full, Doc. It was apparently a system issue, not a medical issue. With Ellie here, all we could do was watch.”

William ‘Billy’ Jones added, “I hate feeling helpless.”

John nodded. “I felt as helpless as the two of you. It’s never easy to lose someone.”

The two nurses nodded their agreement.

“There is no sense in the two of you staying here. There is nothing we can do here. As you heard, I’m not going to awaken anyone else until we figure out what went wrong. Take a break. I’ll call you when we’re ready to start back up.”

Billy said, “We can clean up in here, Doc.”

“It’s okay. I’ll handle that. I need to keep busy. I’m restless when something like this happens.”

Julie replied, “All right. If you need us for anything, call us. We’ll be happy to assist you.”

After they had left, John pulled over a spare cryochamber, transferred Sergeant Trout to the new chamber, and set it to preserve her until they could have a proper burial.

He stood there a moment, thinking. He was concerned that Kepler 442 might be uninhabited. If it turned out to be uninhabitable, as he feared, she might be in that cryochamber for a very long time. Humans needed closure after a death, so he hoped they could have a burial.

He continued working in the lab into the evening hours. Eventually, the nurses returned, and Ellie gave them the go-ahead to start waking others up.

***

The captain had set an officers’ meeting for the morning after the tragedy. Doctor Swann would give his report first and then be excused to continue his work. The rest of the crew, yet to be awakened, were:

Four galley staff

Six additional marines

Twelve fighter pilots

Fifty colonists

Twenty engineering crewmen

Twenty auxiliary crewmen (Housekeeping, etc.)

Seven auxiliary bridge crewmen (second and third shifts)

Including two navigators, two communications officers, two science officers, and a sub-commander

The main conference room near the bridge could seat twenty at a rectangular conference table. The only time Captain Chris could recall having the table and walls full was during previous colony suitability discussions. Determining if a planet or moon was suitable for colonization required crew members from multiple disciplines.

Robert looked around the room at the somber faces. This particular meeting would have the entire bridge crew in attendance, along with Dr. Swann, Ellie, and Marine Captain Ruby Rosale. Ruby, a five-foot, one-inch tall dynamo, could kick anyone’s ass on the ship. Ruby’s Marines respected and trusted her with their lives. What’s unique about Ruby’s situation is that ten of the eleven Marines reporting to her are older than she is. At twenty-four years of age, her skills and potential were recognized early in her career. Many of her superiors expected her to reach the rank of admiral by the age of thirty-five.

In the OWG and the space fleets, it was decided to pause a person’s age in the record books during cryosleep. This made it easier to compare actual age with experiential age.

Also in attendance were Chief Engineer Lieutenant Cody Fant, Science Officer Lieutenant Tran Lee, Navigator Lieutenant Grace Johnson, Communications Officer Lieutenant Bryon Allen, and Commander Kevan Edwards. Kevan was second in command of the ship.

Robert stood up, and all eyes went to him. He began, “I’m…sort of at a loss for words.” Robert felt himself choking up. As Robert bowed his head, he said, “Let’s have a moment of silence for Sergeant Trout. God rest her soul.” When he looked up a minute later, many of his crew had tears in their eyes.

“Doctor Swann. Ellie. Please fill us in on what you learned.”

Doctor Swann stood up to address everyone. “After the tragedy last night, we decided to postpone the awakenings until we could determine the reason for the malfunction. Cody, Ellie, and Cody’s team discovered a problem in one of the motherboards in her cryochamber. It caused Sergeant Trout to awaken uncontrolled, leading to serious frostbite both internally and externally. All of her organs were affected, and death happened quickly. Due to cryochamber accidents in the distant past, there are safeguards built into the equipment to inject anesthesia into the person when something starts to go wrong. The injection kept Sergeant Trout asleep. She never woke up and didn’t suffer.”

The captain interjected. “I know most of you didn’t know too many of the Marines. Amy Trout was their second-in-command. I knew Sergeant Trout. I met her through her twin brother, Alex. Alex is a Discovery Vessel Commander. We went to the academy together.” Robert looked over at Cody Fant.

Cody said, “As was stated, we had a faulty motherboard. Ellie found that there was a short circuit that led to a bypass of the instrumentation that controlled the awakening process. We’ve finished checking the motherboards of those chambers that still contain crew members. They all check out as good. Doctor Swann intends to restart the awakenings as soon as he finishes here. Our crews are also going to check all of the other chambers from those already awakened. Since all of them had successful awakenings, we don’t anticipate any of them being faulty.

Ruby asked, “What caused the short circuit?”

Ellie said, “I was able to check the motherboard material at a nano level. I found a microscopic crack in the motherboard that led to a flow of electrons across the circuit, which caused the short. I’ve decided to check all motherboards on the entire ship for microcracks. This will take me approximately four hours to accomplish.”

When nothing further was added, Captain Chris determined that they were finished with their report about the short circuit. He said, “We’ll be having a memorial service in the lounge at 18:00 for Sergeant Trout. I know all will be in attendance. Ellie will operate the ship during the service. She’ll be able to do both that and attend the service. The Sergeant will be put back into a cryochamber to preserve her body until we can have a proper burial. Doc, thank you for your report. You’re free to go unless you have something else to report.

“That’s all I had. I’ll head to the cryochambers to finish the awakenings. I’ll see you all in the lounge for the memorial.”

After the Doctor left, the meeting continued. The rest of the meeting consisted of regular ship operations reports without any surprises. They anticipated coming out of FTL in two days. The crew would spend most of their time reacquainting themselves with each other and getting into a working routine.

***

The lounge was packed. Captain Chris called all in attendance to attention. Once he had everyone’s attention, he began.

“I met Sergeant Amy Trout through her brother, Commander Alex Trout. I don’t know of any two finer officers or individuals. They were very close siblings. I wasn’t surprised when Captain Rosale chose Amy to be one of her Marines. Amy wasn’t just a great Marine. She was also a medic. Her knowledge of medicine was rumored to be on par with most doctors. She chose what I believe are the best eleven Marines in the service. Amy will be missed. Those of you who knew Amy, please share stories of her with those who didn’t know her. Sergeant Trout has been put back into a cryochamber so that we can have a proper burial at a later date. May she rest in peace.”

After a short pause, he called out, “Attention!”

With everyone at attention, taps played from the speakers. At the end of the taps, he announced, “As you were. You’re welcome to stay for refreshments and reminiscing.”

A great cry of “Hoo-Rah” came from everyone in a show of respect for the Marines and Sergeant Trout. The gathering lasted about two hours before the lounge was empty, and everyone returned to ship duties.