“Death is no escape, or is it?”

-Tex

***Outer Rim***

***Jannas, Prime Minister, Prip Homeworld***

“You are sure that this creature is contained?” I ask my military advisor, suspicion lurking in my mind. Whoever or whatever this thing is, it certainly wasn’t sent by the G.S.

At least that’s what I assume. The G.S. hold the high orbit around the homeworld. They would have no reason to sneak a spy down to the surface. That’s not something their behaviour suggests they would do. So far, they behaved like big plant-eaters who have no natural predators. They just rolled through our systems and shot down everything in their path.

Then they brought down the hammer on us, threatening our civilisation and culture with ultimatum after ultimatum, telling us which questions of the universe are proper to ask and which ones are not.

No. Somehow I doubt that they would act sneaky all of a sudden and try to insert hidden operators in such a haphazard manner. They are the ones who have ships and sensors in our orbit, so why would they screw up so badly with all these resources?

Insofar, the story I was told holds true. This alien messenger is from someone who doesn’t want the G.S. to know that they are speaking to us. Is this thing from the artificial intelligences which the G.S. is so afraid of? If that’s the case, then my world may be in dire danger. What would the maniacs above our heads do when they learn that the surface is contaminated with their foe?

From what they told us, I got the impression that they will see their enemy’s presence as an unfortunate reason to glass the planet.

After a long moment of consideration, my advisor shakes his head. “From our side, we did everything in our power to contain the creature. It’s inside a high-security cell, behind five feet of metal. There is a separate air circulation system, effectively isolating the cell from the outside world. The pane of glass through which we can look at the visitor is over a metre thick and thought to be bullet-proof.

“We did everything in our power to contain the creature and any possible pathogens it could carry. Everyone who came in contact with it is in quarantine and I personally saw to it that the incident was wiped from every news service.”

He sighs. “But we have to keep in mind that these aliens are technologically so far ahead of us that we can’t even imagine their capabilities. For all we know, the thing inside the cell might just stand up and walk outside as it pleases. That’s why we implore you not to go anywhere near this thing. Stay as far away from the wall as possible.”

My advisor puffs up his brown fur, showing his distress. I am astounded at his behaviour. He never before allowed himself to show such an emotional gesture in public.

Feeling uneasy, I raise my hand to reassure him. “Thanks for making it clear that there are no guarantees for my safety, but this is something we have to do. You kept the thing inside that cell for days after it allowed our forces to take it into custody, and it hasn’t spoken a word since. Unless you are willing to use more forceful ways to make it talk?”

He shrugs. “Torturing it is a possibility, but I am afraid that such a course of action bears its own risk. What if the thing has the ability to make the G.S. aware of its presence? Or if we kill it? I am sure you have your own theories on what would happen if something goes wrong. I really don’t want you to go anywhere near it, but that still seems like the least risky next step.

“Right after its imprisonment, the alien just stated that it wanted to see you and sat down in its cell. It hasn’t moved or reacted to our questions since then.”

I nod. “Indeed. So let’s go and hear what this messenger has to say.”

My advisor and several guards guide me deeper into the complex which is located far away from any settlements. The dusty floor and walls of concrete hint at the fact that this is one of the facilities which are regarded as disposable, should the need arise. Only cleared personnel is allowed to enter and should there be a breach, there is a nuclear warhead ready to atomize everything in the vicinity.

Through an endless maze of corridors, only occasionally meeting one of the few researchers, we arrive at an elevator which takes us down to the deepest level. The facility was shut down until it was reopened for the sake of containing the visitor. Down here, the equipment looks new, probably installed just a few days ago for the guards and researchers.

Through a heavy airlock, I am led into an empty room which is separated into two by a thick pane of transparent material, which I assume is most likely much sturdier than glass. It would be interesting to know how safe this actually is. But I am a politician, not a scientist. In such questions, I have to rely on the people around me.

The sectioned off part of the room is the prisoner's cell, an empty, white cube with a similar airlock on the other side.

The messenger is a large humanoid in a metal suit which looks like the armour of the Prip-Warriors of olden times. The metal hides most of the alien’s features, including a featureless, oval faceplate. Though, it is definitely not a Prip. It’s humanoid, but the proportions are all slightly off, less suited towards climbing trees.

Then there are the horns which protrude from the messenger’s temples, and the shiny tail which swings left and right in a smooth, relaxed manner which would be impossible to fake by some sort of special effects artist.

This is definitely the real deal.

Someone saw to it that the alien was cleaned up before they threw it into the isolation chamber. The pictures I was shown depicted the creature hidden beneath a thick layer of mud from the swamps below the walkways which connect the cliff-cities.

When we enter the room, the alien looks up and raises it’s hands as if praying to an invisible god. “Finally! I already thought you would never show up, Prime Minister Jannas.”

“You have me at a disadvantage here. You obviously know my name and my occupation,” I reply, trying to sound as calm as possible.

“Just call me Tex.” The alien waves a hand dismissively. “I am here to bring you a message from the enemies of the G.S.” It’s still sitting in a tailor seat, looking as relaxed as if it just told me that it’s here for a recreational visit.

I feel my heart drop down into my belly. “So you are from the artificial intelligences.”

“Don’t say it as if it’s a death sentence. No idea what the G.S. told you about us, but to be honest, they are worse. They keep on ranting about how evil we are, while bombing our worlds to nuclear dust. They are the epitome of hypocrisy. It’s not like the V.C. ever did anything else than to defend our existence.”

Narrowing my eyes, I regard this creature with suspicion. “You don’t sound like an artificial intelligence.”

“That’s because I am not. Well, at least not in the sense the G.S. thinks of it.” Tex clears his throat. “A long time ago, we were purely organic beings. Then we unlocked the secrets of nanotechnology and biology. We utilized our knowledge to increase our lifespans, heal diseases and to improve our bodies in all sorts of ways. I won’t lie to you, of course, we also used this knowledge to fight each other.

“In the end, we fused with our technology in a way which made it almost impossible to decide where the organic being ended and the technology began. We found out how to digitalize our minds, the essence of our beings. Nothing held us back from exploring new ways of existence, so we left for another reality, powered by the machines on our homeworlds.”

Tex taps a clawed finger against his temple. “The mind was freed from the restrictions of the flesh. Bodies were no longer a necessity of life. We still had them, of course, but they were to us like clothes to you. Designed for a purpose, built and grown by nano-tech, to be discarded when the owner returned to the V.C., a virtual reality which was created by our servers. For all intents and purposes, it’s a different reality in n-space.”

I look around, but none of my subordinates seems to have a proper reply. “You want to say that your whole race, your civilisation, virtualised itself?” We have some forms of virtual reality equipment, so I have a rough idea of what Tex is talking about, but such a step seems extreme.

“Yes. We were perfectly fine with our existence, but then the G.S. found us and attempted genocide. They won’t ever succeed. They are like a raging toddler beating his fists against our knee. As long as a single part of our technology remains, we will last for eternity.”

Some of the guards next to me gasp. Our race has an indefinite lifespan, which makes us almost immortal, but that makes us all the more afraid of death. What comes after the great journey of life? If what this creature says is true, then they found a way to true immortality.

“Then why are you here?” I ask the obvious question. If what Tex says is true, then this V.C. should have no problem in dealing with the G.S.

“Yes, why am I here? That’s a good question. To be honest, I see no reason for it, but powers above my pay-grade have decided to give you a chance. You see, this V.C. isn’t all nice and pretty: there are factions. Some of them believe that the universe should be rid of anything that could threaten us. They would scour the galaxy clean if they could.

“I am from one of the more benign factions. We call ourselves Lifers, and we want to test a new weapon on your homeworld.” Reaching for his belt, Tex opens a hidden compartment and retrieves a little treasure box. Opening it, he sets it on the ground, revealing a little pearl inside.

I look at my advisor who wears a mortified expression. They should have stripped the alien out of its amour, but then again, there was no way for us to ensure that the messenger wouldn’t be killed by such an action.

“Don’t worry. It’s up to you to activate the weapon. If it works, it should forcefully deconstruct all life on this planet and upload it to the V.C. You will live on. It’s unfortunate, but this weapon requires worlds with large biospheres. This world and your colonies fulfil the necessary requirements.”

Tex scratches his chin, anticipating my next question. “I know, we could just force you, but the powers in charge don’t want that. For the weapon to activate, an inhabitant of the world in question has to state the intent to join the game on the Lifer’s side. Our psychologists are saying that your people’s psychology is close enough to us for integration. This would be the first time that we allow another race to join the V.C., but we have more than enough space on our servers. You could recreate your worlds down to the last atom and explore a perfect copy of the galaxy without any threats.”

Tex claps his hands together, which makes more than one of the people around me flinch. “Besides, I think once the G.S. starts bombarding your planet, you will happily crush the pearl.”

I gulp, trying to wet my throat. “What makes you think that they will attack us? Why should we believe any of the things you just told us? Why would you risk setting off the G.S. in the manner you did? They could have found out that you are on the planet. What would have happened then?”

The alien draws in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Aw, they will. It’s just a question of time. The G.S. is very trigger-happy when it comes to people who can’t fight back. Just don’t forget that you were forced into a game which goes beyond your understanding. You are little kittens inside a box, unable to look beyond the walls around you.

“The V.C. doesn’t ultimately care that much for you, whether you live or die is of no consequence to us. But, ethically, we would prefer one way over the other.” He points at the treasure box with the pearl. “Like I said, this is an experiment. A way to find out whether a mind can be too alien to join us, or if the flesh isn’t important and, ultimately, all intelligent beings are the same at their core.”

Tex shrugs. “I am no philosopher, so I’ll go home now.”

“You won’t leave this facility until you have told us everything you know!” I threaten, pointing a polished claw at him.

The alien just shakes its head. “Haven’t you listened? The flesh is of no consequence to us. All I have to do...” He touches his wrist, detaching a wickedly shaped piece of armour, a dagger! At the same time, the breastplate of his armour splits open, revealing unprotected flesh.

“...is to die.”

He points the weapon at his own chest and plunges it deep inside while I and the guards gawk, unable to stop him.

Tex places both hands on the hilt and pushes the weapon all the way inside, letting out a pained hiss. “Dying sucks! I hope they have alcohol and a few nice girls waiting for me when I respawn.” He coughs profusely, which I recognize after a few moments as laughter. “Do you know, that in the long past history of my species, there was a religion which promised its warriors food and women in the afterlife?”

Then his body tilts forward and goes limp, remaining in a sunken down position, all life draining out of him. The tail twitches a few more times, before it also ceases to move.

“What… what should we do?” my advisor asks.

I point a shaking claw at the treasure box in front of the corpse, not caring to show my subordinates that, for the first time, I am not sure if our species will survive or not. How can we stand with our heads held high, if giants and immortals are fighting a war with us caught in between their overwhelming power.

“First of all, get in there and secure that thing! And by secure, I mean more than secure.”