Starbirth

I took aboard a Void Egg from the Space Anomaly. It called out to another organism, a bizarre hybrid of starship and living being.

-{{ We hear you, Traveller. We are connected. Your body is of ours. }}-

The craft was like none I had ever seen before. It looked... alive. Its broadcast was pure music, and yet I understood, the melody making words in my mind.

The tones modulated their music into readable navigation data. I was guided to an ancient structure recording Convergence activity on Korvax Prime.

-{{ ARCHIVE OF KORVAX PRIME Retrieval In Progress...

Language transfer with non-convergent 'individuals' now processed, understood, possible. But coexistence unavailable until the nature of non-convergent experience understood.

Gek, Vy'keen - too removed. Must begin experiment with fewer variables. Control required.

EXPERIMENTAL SYNTHESIS UNIT Operational...

Awaiting biogenesis materials... }}-

It appeared to contain the pathway for recreating a long-forgotten experiment.

The 'machine' accepted the biogenic machine I had assembled for it.

It output - birthed - a cluster of cells, some proto-tissue. What purpose did these ancient Korvax have in mind?

The Void Egg quivered as the lilting music of the alien ship filled my cockpit once again. It was a motion of recognition...

-{{ The metal masters bind us no more. We are free. We may swim, fly, live... die... }}-

The egg activated a 'machine' at a second plaque. The structure revealed more data from before the destruction of Korvax Prime...

-{{ ARCHIVE OF KORVAX PRIME Retrieval In Progress...

Partial success achieved. The bridge allows the implantation of consciousness shards within discrete shells.

Unit remains connected to greater mind. Sensory inputs fully shared. Attempts to localise sensory inputs caused traumatic deseparation. Unfruitful.

Suspect biological core required. Root sensory experience in bodily experience to improve stability. System must have local control. }}-

These researchers were building something... a biological shell? An individual manifestation of their own Convergent minds?

My dance with this strange lifeform - for I was convinced the ship was alive - continued. It had bound itself to me, and the egg was the bridge...

-{{ You are on our path. We see it. We understand where it leads. It is necessary. Perhaps we thank you. Perhaps. }}-

The words of the ship rang in my ears. They had real expression, an un-synthesisable quality. And yet, I saw no pilot.

-{{ ARCHIVE OF KORVAX PRIME Retrieval In Progress...

Carapace programme concluded. Machinery optimised. Biological core unnecessary with correct local sensory throttle configuration.

Yet, non-convergence insufficiently processed. Biogenesis may offer future refuge. Increased autonomy must be studied. }}-

These words were translated, designed to be read by non-Convergent entities. Were the authors working beyond their brief? Had they become divergent, lured by the flesh they had created?

How many others had walked this same path of creation?

-{{ You will perform the binding. We see you assemble the components, like the metal masters before you. And yet...

You share a mind with the other iterations, yet you do not converge. Perhaps you will understand... }}-

Each time this being flooded my ship with their beautiful song, I attempted to commit the experience to memory, to recall it later.

And yet, when it faded from my present, it faded entirely. All I had was navigation data...

I held in my hands fragments of life: heart, body, network. But was it life? Would it converge with other minds? Here was the crux of this ancient experiment...

-{{ ARCHIVE OF KORVAX PRIME Retrieval In Progress...

Biological shells unstable, erratic. Convergent mind-data cannot be overloaded through one process centre.

Multiple sites required. Distributed biology to match distributed mind-structure. Alignment appears necessary. Yet, centralised identity must anchor each shell... }}-

I could feel the lifeforms I carried pulsate as they sensed the aura of the machine. They were aware that something was happening, even if they could not comprehend what it was. What must that feel like?

The song of the strange space creature had changed, subtly but unmistakably. It had become a duet, a perfect harmony with the Void Egg.

-{{ It is nearly complete. But here we will diverge. If you share yourself with us, it is sacrifice. There is no infinite mind to spill. It must be yielded. }}-

The voice of the alien was fading. It felt weaker. And in a perfect inverted echo, the Void Egg grew in volume, its music now insistent, pounding. It had its own message...

The Hunter The Reflection The Hunter The Spiral of Reality The Star Over Water The Ascending Orb The Obscured Companion The Hunter The Lowly Insect The Anomaly The Sailor The Ocean King EUCLID EUCLID EUCLID

The egg pulsated with a growing lifeforce, straining to be free of its leathery casing. The host vessel was nearly complete. It had been constructed as a machine, but now required a mind. I followed its call to a long-abandoned terminal, thick with grime and decay.

Is that you, – kzkzzt – seems different.

The terminal echoed an ancient signal, the final disrupted fragments of a fallen Traveller.

I did as the egg demanded. I filled the Soul Chamber with Traveller souls.

Are you there? Are you – kzkzzt – What's happ – kzkzzt –

Where did you – kzkzzt – What – kzkzzt –

No, no, n – kzkzzt –

The alien craft's song, now ever so soft, was waiting for me the moment I returned to my ship.

-{{ Traveller. Forgive our invasion of your personal interface.

We are dying. Our body is old, fading. Our mind unravels. We must be renewed. We must be restored. It is the way it has always been.

Refresh us. Reset us. Rebirth what you have made. Will we be the same? Unknown. But it must be. }}-

The starship - the creature? the shell? - lay next to me. Lights pulsed across its surface, but it was still, quiet.

The heart began to beat, weak but undeniable.

The ship quivered, suddenly aware of my touch.

I felt the machinery solidify beneath my hands, its flesh taking form as living being.

It was done.