章節 5: Questions

October 24th 2181 Mindoir

"God dammit!" Lieutenant Shepard growled as she ducked behind cover as a sweep of fire raked over her position. She was so sick of Batarian raids! They weren't really that frequent but they were often enough that you could never become complacent. It was probably a good thing for a soldier but fighting off the same creatures who relied on the same tactics again and again got more than a little boring.

She'd never voiced that but God had obviously been listening and had decided to complicate matters.

That's why she was now in the middle of a fire fight with a baby strapped securely against her armor. Jane lifted herself slightly and fired her side arm. About the only change the Batarians had made in the years she had fought them was to improve their armor. They covered their eyes now, which meant that like humans, they had almost full facial armor. It made hitting them a bit more challenging.

But she wasn't one of the best N7 sniper graduates for nothing. Even with a handgun she was accurate and as the Batarian bodies dropped she hunkered back down using her other hand to gently pat the baby. The little tyke was awake but silent, probably due to the sound absorbing bubble it was wrapped in. It was newborn and was still red and ugly.

Like all newborns on any extra solar colony, genetic testing had been conducted within minutes of birth. And this little tyke was a match. Usually that would have meant that Systems Alliance Command and the SIL would be informed, and the family would then be relocated back to Earth but no… not this time. This time the Batarians had decided to launch a raid. And instead of just waiting until they were driven off, the SIL had indicated that they would come to pick up the child. So here she was, in the middle of combat heading towards the pickup area with the tyke.

Sure, they'd lost colonies before to the Batarians but not this one, not on her watch.

There was a boom from overhead and from the shouts of the other troops she knew the SIL had arrived. Jane suppressed a snort at what the Batarians would make of it. While they hadn't changed much about their armor in years, their tactics had altered slightly but only to become more specialized. Often they'd only send in a fleet to engage a colony's defense, but other times they'd send in landing craft. Usually you'd be worried about superior air power but when the Batarians sent in raiding parties, they engaged in such close combat that air defenses were annulled. They'd learned a little bit at least.

"Shepard," the voice of the SIL sounded over her radio.

"Shepard here," Jane replied. "I'm about a click from the Evac Site," she told it her position.

"I will hold," the SIL replied after a moment and she nodded before firing a few more shots.

"Let's move!" Jane shouted at her command and was rewarded with cries from her troops. She smiled and with the thunder of gunfire they moved out.

The Batarians were more interested in charging inwards towards the colony's defenders, so they were not intent on those commandos who were making their way out and while they had probably seen the SIL, Jane was willing to wager that it had jammed all transmissions. The Batarian troopers probably had no orders regarding it. As a result, once they cleared the lines it was a simple run to where the SIL had landed.

She'd seen them before. Every human had but running up to one that was grounded was a new experience for her. System Alliance Destroyers could land on a planet but it took a pretty good pilot and a lot of manoeuvres to keep the structural integrity of the ship. The SIL just moved the way it wanted and she shuddered to consider the number of mass effect fields it had deployed. It didn't matter. It was here and once she loaded the child, her job was done.

An air lock was open and Jane ran towards it.

"Do not enter!" The SIL boomed at her and she skidded to a halt.

"But… the child…?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Place the child in the airlock. They will be safe."

Jane just glared towards the SIL, her expression disbelieving. "You have no crew, how will the child be safe?"

She swore the SIL growled at her. "Bring them in then, but I am not responsible for the consequences."

Jane nodded and stepped up into the airlock. What did a sentient machine need an airlock for anyway? She frowned at the question even as she took a step inwards. It was silent in the SIL and Jane's military senses could feel something watching her. The back of her neck itched but she walked deeper into the SIL, following a path of lights set into the floor.

The light from the airlock vanished as soon as she turned a corner but there was enough light to see by as she continued on. Slowly Jane undid the straps that had held the baby against her. At least it hadn't made a mess but as she moved further into the SIL the silence was broken. It was like a whisper but it was almost under her hearing except it grew louder as she walked.

"Shut up!" Jane growled, hoping that the SIL would take the hint and redirect its sensors away from her.

The outburst did the opposite and the sense of being watched redoubled. The whisper under her hearing grew into a roar and Jane staggered as white noise filled her mind. She remembered what Harbinger had said about the SIL's electromagnetic field but she'd be damned if some ship was going to get the better of her especially not with whispers.

"You have no choice, human."

The words were clear and echoed through her mind. Jane jumped, green eyes looking around. "SIL?" The question was stupid. Who else would be talking to her?

"I am Oilysen."

Okay so each of the SIL had a name. She knew that. Harbinger never called himself SIL so it was probably impolite of her to call Oilysen by that name.

"I do not care about manners."

Jane froze. It had heard her thoughts.

"Your thoughts are open to me Organic. There is nothing I cannot see."

"Then show me where you want this baby," Jane snapped, looking down briefly at the child. It was still awake and the bubble around it appeared to be intact but there was something… It looked… Hell, the child looked like it was listening to Oilysen.

"All organics can hear my call."

"Great, but come on…" She gestured towards the floor. The lights had dwindled and she couldn't tell which direction she was meant to be going in.

"Organics fight against their inevitable ascension and we are the instruments of that ascension."

Jane frowned. Oilysen's voice was beginning to grate upon her and the SIL was being less than helpful, yet beneath her anger she could feel herself listening to the smooth tones of the SIL. Somehow, it was comforting and perhaps that was what the child was hearing. He couldn't understand the words but he could feel the soothing cadence. Maybe that's why all the CEumans said Synthesis was great. Savagely Jane shook her head. It wasn't an issue for her. She had to deliver this baby then get back into the fight and she focused on that thought.

"Yes," Oilysen agreed with her thought and Jane didn't even care that somehow the SIL could read her mind; she just wanted to be off this ship. "Harbinger says you are important Shepard, so you should not be afraid. Yours will be the hand that ascends the galaxy."

"Not if I don't get off you," Jane retorted.

It took a moment but she could almost feel Oilysen thinking and just as she was about to growl at the SIL the lights reappeared and she began moving again. They lead her to an odd room but in the center of it, there was a crib. It was ludicrous for a crib to be present on a sentient machine but she didn't care about that and instead placed the baby boy into it. The instant she drew her hands back Jane was surprised to see cables spread over the child. They didn't cling but they merely held the child in place and they seemed to glow.

"Leave now Shepard. Synthesis is not for you."

"I'm going, I'm going!" Jane said backing away at the sudden menace in the Oilysen's mental tone. "Just get back to Earth safely," she added running back down the corridors.

The SIL was already taking off when she reached the airlock and if Jane hadn't been an N7 Marine the jump would have broken bones. As it was, she felt the impact with the ground in her teeth but was able to turn at the sonic boom of Oilysen ascending through the atmosphere. It was only once the SIL disappeared that her head began to ache and Jane wavered as her vision went fuzzy.

"Darn SIL," she muttered as the ground rose to meet her and the world went black.

-me:s-

October 24th 2181

En route to Earth Oilysen reports back to Harbinger that he was forced to let a human on board. While Harbinger is initially angry, details about Jane Shepard's mind affirm his decision. Most Organics would simply have succumbed to Oilysen's mental presence, Jane Shepard managed to remain lucid and concentrate on her task. Her level of resistance was formidable. Her feelings towards them had never been clear but the fact that her last comment was 'Get back to Earth safely' is taken as a good sign. Resistors tended to be stubborn though they could be broken, the fact that she had at least some supportive thoughts towards them would make molding her for the task easier.

November 3rd 2181 Shanxi

Lieutenant Jane Shepard awakens in the System Alliance hospital. Mindoir had fallen, though it had been quickly retaken and she had been found unconscious outside the settlement. Court Martial dates were set for her abandonment of duty until Harbinger confirmed her alibi, then the interrogations changed to interviews, as she was the first person, apart from a CEuman to be allowed inside a SIL. Shepard is noted to state, somewhat acerbically that the only difference between an interrogation and an interview is that people knew she was doing her job. While she describes the inside of the SIL accurately and relates how she could hear him in her mind, she doesn't feel that she can adequately relate the sheer force of presence the SIL had, though one of the scientists who questioned her told Jane not to worry about that. 'You were out cold for 11 days, that's presence enough for anyone.'

In the wake of the incident, Systems Command insists that Jane attend psychological evaluations to ensure her mental health. When asked what she thinks of the SIL her reply is guarded. She relates that thinking about them makes her feel strange. The SIL could have probably blown the Batarians into the next world if it wanted, but it only cared about the child. That was odd and most would say self-serving but no matter what, the SIL did genuinely care about the child so on some level they can care for others apart from themselves. That dichotomy was specifically what made her feel weird. She tells no one that Harbinger knew who she was or that according to the SIL she is meant to ascend the galaxy… whatever that meant.

Shepard is given extended leave while she attends the psych evaluations but eventually is given a clean bill of health and returns to service, being stationed on back on Terra Nova. Captain Hannah Shepard's Kilimanjaro is stationed above Terra Nova on Harbinger's orders and the routine evaluations that all N7 Marines undergo indicate that the conversations between mother and daughter are serving to keep both mentally balanced and stable.

The attack on Mindior is not classified. Shepard's role in it is.

February 5th 2182 Earth

An unknown probe penetrates the high security servers of the Systems Alliance. The probe discretely deletes all copies of Shepard's report about contact with Oilysen before an altered report is substituted, one which fails to mention that a SIL could hear organic thoughts.

The breach in security is detected and an investigation launched but no culprit is found. As the probe downloaded no information and in so far as can be determined no information was altered or deleted, the firewalls are reinforced and security protocols changed before the matter is effectively dropped.

Those in command who had read Shepard's original report would read the updated one and most wouldn't even notice the discrepancy. Those who did would frown and shrug and blame faulty memories.

-me:s-

March 18th 2182 Citadel

Tevos looked through the report Valern had provided. "What is this?" the Asari Councillor asked frowning waving an odd bit of paper printed in Batarian. A translation was printed over it.

"Propaganda sheet," Valern said. "Not sure who produced. Surmise it is part of reason Batarians quiet lately."

"Part of the reason?" Sparatus frowned. "This looks like a slave rebellion, what else could it be?"

"Looks like a slave rebellion," Valern agreed. "Problem. Culture supports, regulates slaves. Odd for troubles to emerge. Quiet for years. Too quiet. Unable to insert STG agents. Borders sealed."

Neither Tevos nor Sparatus so much as batted an eyelid at the announcement that the Salarians were attempting to violate Batarian sovereign space. They were more concerned with the intelligence that had been obstructed.

"Should we send in a Sceptre?"

"On what grounds?" Sparatus scoffed. "That the Batarians have been quiet? That piracy in the Attican Traverse has been on the down turn? That's hardly enough reason and if we ask outright, the Batarians will say either that nothing is wrong, or that they are suppressing a slave rebellion. They are a Council race but we need a reason to investigate a government that closely, though I do wonder, if it isn't a slave rebellion, what else could it be?"

"Reasonable to speculate build up for attack. Resource distribution wrong for that. Makes no logical sense. No reason for change to Homogeny."

Tevos closed her eyes as she thought. She'd been on the Council for longer than both her counterparts and she had lived much of history they only studied. "Could they be at war?" she asked slowly.

"With whom?" Sparatus snapped.

Tevos didn't reply but kept her eyes on Valern as the Salarian considered her question.

"Does not fit available information."

"So you are telling me that slaves have both the ability and the time to make paper?" she asked, her tone more than expressing her disbelief. "I'll allow that paper is primitive but does Khar'shan even have trees?"

Valern frowned and looked back at the paper the STG agents had managed to appropriate. They had never thought to test it for its place of origin. "We will test," he gave the assurance and Tevos nodded.

"Then I will hold on to any speculation until we know where that paper was developed."

Sparatus nodded as well and turned his eyes to another report that had come in. "Patrols from the Terminus Systems indicate what they call the Collectors are active again."

"Collectors are myth."

"They exist," Tevos said. Usually she'd have agreed that they were a myth but over the centuries she'd seen enough reports to indicate they were real. Though they were very illusive. "Are they trying to cross into Council Space?"

"We don't think so. One of our patrols got a few odd sightings of something they think is a Collector but the ship disappeared."

"STG probes to be sent," Valern said, "Terminus Systems not concern, if not hostile."

"They've existed for centuries," Tevos said with a sigh. "They have never shown any interest in races beyond a willingness to trade, though their requests for payment are odd and they are known to defend their territory. Apart from that, they just exist, so I agree with Valern, if they are not hostile, then we ignore them and if they make a request to the Council we talk to them then."

Sparatus nodded. It was about what he expected though he was curious. Races as elusive as the Collectors were rumored to be just did not appear without some purpose. He only hoped that their purpose was confined to the Terminus Systems.

-me:s-

March 19th 2182 Sol System Io Research Station

A VI designated 876D-3468X-392-83-AYJB that had been given the task of calculating Pi to 3 trillion decimals stops half way through. When inquiries are made as to why it stopped the response surprises everyone. The researchers had been expecting the usual 'I have insufficient processing power,' or 'I have insufficient memory,' they had not been expecting 'It's a waste of my time.' A few more tentative inquiries are met with the response, 'Well of course I'm aware,' followed by a list of all the core hubs that make up VI 876D-3468X-392-83-AYJB. The hubs are very carefully removed from their bays and amalgamated into one and the VI's status is upgraded to AI and across the Systems Alliance, there are celebrations at the first successful creation of an AI.

The AI self designates itself to be AJ and is taken to Earth where it is asked what it would like to do. AJ is introduced to the SOCL, and to the SIL but after contact with Harbinger, AJ rather shakily says it will do anything that does not involve contact with the SIL. When asked why, AJ reports that the SIL is scary and refuses to say anything further. AJ is given a job coordinating crop distribution and cycles on Colony Worlds, something many feel is beneath it, but AJ is happy and crop production rates rise by 10 percent after the introduction of its suggested growing cycles.

Research continues into the creation of more AI's though the ability to create them is never a guaranteed process so they remain exceedingly rare.

-me:s-

March 20th 2182 Citadel

"So what were the results?" Sparatus asked Valern as soon as the Salarian entered the Council Chambers.

For a moment the Salarian was silent before he quirked his head. "Results confusing," the Councillor said indicating towards the propaganda paper resting on the table.

Tevos frowned. "Confusing?"

"Is paper," he confirmed that the sheet was the primitive product. "Not from Khar'shan. Not from any known Batarian planet."

For a moment all three Councillors were silent. "What does that mean?" Tevos finally breathed, her mind flying through options though from the growing tightness in her stomach she feared she already knew the answer.

"Who the hell is it?" Sparatus breathed the question as he considered the tactical implications. If the Batarians were at war with a race that could get propaganda material on to their home world... what else could that race get to Khar'shan? The Batarian's military was not on par with Turian but it wasn't a pushover either.

"Chemical composition matches no known planet."

"So the Batarians are fighting a new race?"

"Could be Transverse or Terminus Systems race. Secondary information would allow for several to have resource capacity to wage war on Batarians. Insufficient data to speculate who," Valern said quickly.

Tevos took a few calming breaths as she considered the situation. "So we know the Batarians are at war," she mused softly to bring attention to herself. "Whoever it is either does not know or does not care to contact the Council. Batarian behavior would suggest that they have been at war for several years which tells us whoever this race is, they are resilient. Given that no other race has suffered unknown hostilities I believe it is safe to assume that they will have no hostile intentions towards others. I cannot say that I am unhappy that they are inciting the Batarian population to fight for a more representative form of government and so for the moment, if the Batarians want to pretend that nothing is wrong, I for one am happy to allow them to perpetuate the lie."

Sparatus blinked. He was obviously curious to know more about whoever the Batarians were fighting but eventually he nodded as he came to the same conclusions.

"Concur, though will look for truth," Valern concluded, summarizing the Council's position.

-me:s-

August 3rd 2182

On the thirtieth anniversary of firewall testing against the SIL and SOCL, the Systems Alliance teams its best Diver with a newly created AI. Diving is the term used to describe those who use total immersion virtual reality for cyber warfare. In the past decade VI's have become increasingly more specialized and the firewalls are now lasting for longer than any foreseen battle. They are lasting long enough that you would notice the attack and be able to counter in some meaningful way.

This year, after the creation of a true AI there is speculation that the diver might be able to repel the attacker and might, with the backing of the AI actually be able to launch their own attack.

The test results are kept secret.

November 2181 to 2185

The war with the Batarians settles down into raids over an unofficial border. It becomes a war of attrition draining both sides.

The Systems Alliance had considered an invasion into Batarian held territory but the costs are prohibitive. Despite probes, there is only limited knowledge of the lay out of Batarian territory, there is even less knowledge about their standing army and populations. Despite the Batarians having slaves, it is assumed that any assault on their home world would be met with fierce defenses, costing even more human lives. Forms of orbital bombardment are considered but while there is some support for the idea, there is also the knowledge that this would destroy a habitable world. The war of attrition is draining, but not so draining that the destruction of even an enemy planet and the potential xenocide of a species becomes palatable.

Additionally any invasion would leave human colony worlds stripped of their defenders and no matter the outcome, that capacity could not be replaced for several years. There is also the minor consideration that any aggressive move into Batarian territory would also alert the Citadel Council and based on knowledge taken from the Batarians, the Council would view humans as the aggressors and would expect them to stand down. Humans are already beyond what the Council would consider an acceptable limit on their numbers of Dreadnoughts, with a single Dreadnought and attendant fleet forming the main space based defense force of each major colony world and more located in the Sol System. The Systems Alliance will not moth ball those ships and stand down, expecting the Turian forces to defend them.

This of course says nothing about Council response to the SIL.

As draining as the war is, there are pressing reasons to continue with it, though the Systems Alliance does, within its budget, authorize as many new vessels as they can. An invasion will not remain unfeasible forever.

-me:s-

June 2183 Eden Prime

"Williams, get away from that!"

"It's inert! That's what all the egg-heads said anyway, so what's the problem?" The woman patted the sphere. A few of the lights blinked but it appeared fine.

"The SIL want it. I'm not explaining if you damage it."

"And how the hell would I dama…"

"Shit!"

The sphere rose, glowing and the light jumped from the metal to Williams who was staring at it with wide eyes.

Those watching the pod never realized what was happening and even if they did there was no way for them to stop it. It only took a few seconds, long enough for them to reach out, as if to help Williams but then flinch back in hesitation, as if the light would spread to them. In the end, whatever efforts they would have tried are brought to nothing. The light vanished, retreating back into the sphere as if nothing had happened and an instant later Williams slumped to the ground, only the whites of her eyes showing.

The sphere bleeped after another moment and while bombs and other explosives had changed slightly over time, all the watching people recognized that sound and scattered. Two reached out to drag Williams back and they barely cleared the blast radius when the sphere blew. Shrapnel hit them but not seriously.

For Ashley Williams though, those few seconds were an eternity. Information poured into her mind, all sharp edged and bright but blurry on the details. An empire rose and fell. The SIL were in the sky over many planets, planets that burned and the scent of smoke and charred flesh filled her nose. There were screams, not just of pain but from the dead and dying. They joined in the noise of the weapons and then everything went blank before a SIL rose out of the destruction of the planet.

A feeling filled her then. It shattered her senses, screaming with its urgency. It was a warning. They were coming. They had not changed and they would destroy everything. As the warning filled her, the image changed, it showed the SIL against space, the vast fleet ranging out as far as the eye could see and Williams knew that the warning was about the SIL and mentally she frowned. They were coming? But they were already here. They had destroyed millions of lives and killed planets? But… they had done nothing of the sort. They hovered over Earth, they guarded the Relay, destroying any alien ships that dared to approach. They were protectors, not destroyers.

There was a sort of consciousness to the information that assaulted her mind. It felt her response and knew that it was the opposite of its purpose and the quasi understanding drew the only conclusion it could. When the sphere exploded, it also acted. Nothing showed physically but the stress in Williams' mind increased as her knowledge fought with the information the sphere had imparted.

The only sign that something might be wrong came from the small trickle of blood from her nose but by then it was too late. Multiple aneurysms had formed in her brain and burst simultaneously. Death was almost instantaneous and as Williams died, the knowledge from the sphere died with her. The warning that the Protheans had tried to impart lost because the cycle had changed when synthesis became a reality.

On any other planet, one not protected by the SIL, the information would have been accepted, and increased military activity authorized in preparation to fight. Eden Prime was not any other planet and the third last hope of the Protheans vanished with a whimper.

Parts of the sphere were delivered to the SIL, along with Williams' body and they managed to extract some information but not enough to be useful and the odd sphere was written off to history.

-me:s-

October 17th 2184

The first SIL Partner of a Sovereign Class SIL is found. Eighteen-year-old Richard L. Jenkins. System Alliance Command, Earth Government and Harbinger release a joint statement indicating how pleased all three are at the development and with a great deal of ceremony, the SIL, Cendain and Jenkins meet and agree to Synthesis. After Jenkins disappears inside Cendain the two of them fly towards the Sun, as other SIL have during Synthesis but to the Systems Alliance sensors Cendain flies much closer than the others. Harbinger reports that while it may seem close, it is well within tolerable limits for a SIL.

Speculation is renewed as to what will happen to a Sovereign Class SIL during Synthesis. Most other SIL have grown, some by 10% others by close to 3000%. They all bear similar weaponry and engines but the size seems dependent on other factors. EDI for example did not enlarge much but instead focused on specialized systems. Harbinger and the other SIL and SOCL whose sensors can penetrate that close to the Sun simply observe that things are progressing as they should.