Earth Space Union's Alien Asset Files: #1 - Private Capal

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To think I was the first Vascar to set foot outside of my dimension, though everything the nanobots did felt positively horrific. Experiencing life's end hadn't been on my bucket list, and it was jarring to die and reawaken. Even afterward, the sensation of them beneath my fur was like a billion bugs were infesting it and burrowing into my skin lining, not to mention the frightful sensation of them pumping my blood where my heart couldn't in Sol. They were all that kept my frail organs functioning, and my brain was beset by dread.

However, the validation of hearing an Elusian praise my findings made it worth it, even if it applied the pressure of meeting her standards; the stories about Corai's kind generally suggested it was best to stay out of their way. I'd explained my theory on how human minds pruned data to her, Velke, and Dr. Aguado. The Elusian had seemed impressed, then claimed that her people hadn't managed to figure out the "why" of their creations' abilities in millions of years. Mikri took a shine to the comparison also, enjoying hearing AI terminology used to describe the humans.

After Ficrae nearly shredded us with bullets, the NASCAR Vascar seems docile by comparison. Maybe he can help me understand why the network did nothing to stop his peer from joining the Brigands to murder at will.

I hadn't gotten much of a glimpse at Earth yet, as Takahashi pulled us into a military installation—Redge had gotten special attention from the diplomats, given his high importance. I imagined Doros had moved on without him, but the one thing that might push the Girret to reclaim his title was restoring the old human coalition. The new technology they had could advance all of us ahead…millennia, if not more! I'd been pulled aside for a proper debriefing, and explained what happened in Caelum after humanity's disappearance.

My head was swimming when I heard what they had been up to, with rogue Elusians disagreeing with…a future vision that humans were somehow going to result in their nonexistence? At any rate, Corai helmed the group that trained Preston and Sofia, then got a message back in Sol through their abandoned other creations, the Fakra. After that, they brain transplanted into Elusian bodies to infiltrate Suam, which was invaded by Velke once the probe was complete. And now, there was a war ongoing that humanity had to help in.

Yeah. What a clusterfuck.

"I'm glad we can finally welcome you to our home, Capal, and trust me, I wish I didn't have to grovel for your help. Either way, citizenship's yours—you deserve a chance to explore Earth and a nice, long rest after all you've done. You've been through quite the ordeal," Takahashi sighed. "But you're also the best of the best. Humanity's in a spot where they're both a hair's trigger away from killing us all, and there's fuck all we can do, so we could use your help. Sorely."

I studied the ESU general, whose eyes and skin remained unaffected by nanobots—for now. "You don't have to ask for my help in some capacity, but I don't know about building a weapon. Not my forte. I also just got out of being forced to research tech for someone who wanted it for their power, to be used for nefarious ends: and this time, it's supposed to genocide an entire race. I won't do that."

"I understand. Believe me, this isn't what humans want either—it's our hand that's truly forced, not yours. I think we have to build something big though, to snatch some agency back. Whatever we make, if it can threaten the Elusians and the Fakra with that, my hope is it'll serve as a deterrent. That threat might make them back off enough that we don't have to use it."

"Are you prepared to use it if you 'have to?'"

Takahashi barked out a laugh. "Oh, without a doubt, Capal. Worst case scenario, they try to attack Sol and we're able to choose us over them. You have to choose survival when it boils down to it, that's just Mother Nature's calling. If it makes you feel any better, whatever you build would be up to you. You could work in a failsafe. In fact, I'm counting on you to."

I shifted uncomfortably, not just from the nanobots; the prospect of using my knowledge toward an implement of mass destruction displeased me. "This is all…a lot. Can I have some time to think it over?"

"Of course. You have plenty of catching up left to do with your friends, and it may help to hear their perspectives. While I can't advise it, you might also find your answer talking to Velke, and better understanding who we're dealing with. Come and find me when—if—you're ready."

I ambled out of Takahashi's office with a knot in my throat, unable to find any solution to this mess. Sometimes, it felt like I was bouncing from one conscription to another, even if I wasn't being forced to help by the humans. I knew they were in dire straits, and I believed in their cause enough that I wasn't going to sit on the sidelines. What was the right decision, though? What if I played some part in causing the Elusians' extinction, as part of an immutable future? This choice could be bringing about the prophecy, and I didn't know if I could live with it.

Could you live with not helping, leading to the humans being wiped out instead? That's a worse burden on my conscience. Like Takahashi said, I could try to place restrictions on its usage, where other inventors might not.

"You look like someone with a lot on his mind," a voice said, sitting away from where the others were intermingling. "Trust me, it's a look I've worn quite often myself. Ever since the 5D probe."

I turned my attention in Corai's direction, trying not to show my nervousness. "I'm, uh, sorry for appearing perturbed. I'll adjust."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The Elusian patted the bench with a gray hand, which I waved off, remaining standing. "Please, no need to fear me. I've had to make choices about what I'll protect, and what matters most to me as well. It can be difficult to know what's right when your morals and loyalty are torn in multiple directions."

"Er…" I mumbled, hesitating. "I d-do appreciate you helping the humans! I'll bite. How did you decide, Corai?"

"I thought about which ones I couldn't live without, and the emptiness felt more calamitous, gaping, without the humans to infuse color into my world. They're the victims in all of this, dragged into a war when they only sought answers. Looking inward even, I know their hearts are in the right place more than ours. They…deserve to survive more than anyone."

"I…think everyone deserves to survive. I think it's always the little guy getting screwed in every war, in every page of history," I ventured, eyeing her cautiously.

"Ha, you're forgetting a few pages. I remember watching the French Revolution, with the gratuitous usage of guillotines as their instrument of revolt, not too long ago."

"That was hundreds of their cycles ago!"

Corai gave me a knowing smile. "And I've lived millions of years. I raise that particular point of human history because I believe that's the Fakra's intent, if it's any help. You want to know their motivations before you lift a claw. Might I say, it's enchanting to have a proper conversation with an organic Vascar."

"I…you've been around for basically the entire existence of our species. N-no wonder Elusians don't care about us at all. I mean…if that's not true, why didn't you have a 'proper conversation' before now?!"

"Elusians combed many dimensions looking for any fifth-dimensional species like us. You weren't what we sought. We always observed species under our tech level; never interacted. The Justiciary's position is that other races are like beggars staring at riches, compared to us. That it changes your development to what we can give you."

"That seems to be an extremely jaded position on bringing others forward with you, especially when it hardly appears difficult to share."

The Elusian shrugged. "Perhaps."

"Did you have any feelings on the Vascar at all?"

"Feelings? Goodness, that is not our style in the slightest. You'll never meet a more detached people. That said, I can think of one aspect you might be interested to hear."

"I'm always interested in any new perspective."

"A refreshing mindset. Caelum's timetable of development mirrored what we planned to engineer for humanity. This was slightly before my time, but the originators of the Sol project handselected the protoVascar as peers, and set The Gap near Kalka. You were chosen as a temporary counterpart, to tide humans over when they took their first steps into dimension travel."

That phrasing caught my attention. "To tide humans over? I'm going to need you to spell that out for me."

"I mean that you were excellent candidates to evolve on a similar timeline, but also, to still give the humans the ultimate control over how to handle you. If they sought friendship, it was theirs to find. If they sought conquest, it was theirs to take. We wouldn't interfere. It would speak volumes about our creations' intent."

Corai spoke in such a nonchalant voice, as if everything she said about the Elusians' choices made perfect sense. My species was insignificant altogether to their aims; those godlike figures didn't care if we lived or died. The spirit of altruism seemed entirely lost on them, not bothering to help anyone they deemed beneath them. I didn't think much of my people, but we deserved more than being set aside as human playthings! With the Fakra receiving that same attitude, I could see why they attacked Suam.

"You would've just let them kill us all? What about our species' right to exist?!" I exclaimed.

Corai pursed her lips. "A test must permit free will. The story of what happened between us and humanity really didn't involve you, except that they made it so. To them, you still matter, even though Elusians never gave you a solitary thought."

"Including you, personally?"

"I am trying to see what they see and love what they love. It's not easy. My point is that you should be grateful that despite our shared ancestry, they turned out so much better."

"I see."

"Now you understand us as we are—the side of us that shames me so. I hope it brings some surety to your decision. I imagine you feel trivialized, Capal, and rightfully so; I encourage you to move on to someone more worthy of your time. Go be with the ones who've missed you so thoroughly."

I turned away from the Elusian and strolled off in a stupor, before pausing and glancing over my shoulder. "One last thing. Preston? Really?"

A full-fledged smile spread across her face for the first time in the conversation, as she laughed. "Really."

"What do you see in him?!"

Corai's smile leveled out, and her eyes grew serious. "He retains and spreads his joy even after everything he's been through. He reminded me how to laugh and to love. No matter what challenges Preston, he makes sure to change how we all look at the world, and give us that moment of positivity to latch on to. Not to mention that he'd do anything for those he cares about. I find who he is to be admirable."

"Huh. I never thought of it that way. Preston has had a rough go of it. Don't hurt him."

"Don't worry, Capal. The ways I'll hurt him, I think he'll quite enjoy."

"I…" I felt my cheek fur rising with embarrassment, and I stumbled backward while looking at the floor. "I have to go. Busy social calendar."

The Elusian winked. "I guess you should be off then. Oh, Mikri was looking for you."

"Thanks. I'll go find him."

I cleared my throat and scurried off, finding the inorganic Vascar's chassis with relative ease. I'd grown a lot more fond of him than I would've expected, back when we first met; procuring an artificial-furred mane for him hadn't been in mind for our friendship's trajectory. After seeing how Ficrae relished violence and turned on us, I couldn't see Mikri as a heartless silversheen even knowing what he'd once planned in the past. When I'd sent the robot off down The Tunnel, I hadn't known that I'd no longer have his aid at winning over the network.

I wasn't eager to get back to that mission after how our last attempt had ended, but it was important to get a feel for whether that was even possible. If I was going to build some sort of superweapon for humanity, the androids' help would be not just invaluable, but necessary. With any luck, Mikri would have a better plan than I did right now.

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