“Progeny’s Children”

#ProgChildren

Written by

Ray Jay Perreault

Progeny’s Children Copyright © 2016 by J Perreault

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Disclaimer: The person, places, things, and otherwise animate or inanimate objects mentioned in this novel are figments of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to anything or anyone living (or dead) is unintentional. The author humbly begs your pardon. This is fiction, people.

Introduction

Thank you for buying this eBook. The genesis of this book came down an unusual path. It started out as one short story name “Progeny.” I wrote that short story first, then I started “Circle is Closed” later. As I got into “Circle is Closed,” I saw a possible connection, and as the story ended, I tweaked it so they could fit together.

When they were done, I thought that I had created an interesting dilemma where I could play with the ‘bad’ guy and create a different definition of ‘evil.’

After both were released, many of my readers saw the connection and asked me to put them together and fill in the story. That is how “Progeny’s Children” emerged. I hope you enjoy it and think a little about how roles can be reversed, and the story takes on an entirely different flow.

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Introduction

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Other Interesting Works by Ray Jay Perreault

Part 1 Earth Was Tired

Part 2 Four Laws of Conformity

Part 3 The Trip

Part 4 HSV#2 Launch

Part 5 The Party

Part 6 The Jump

Part 7 The Meeting

Part 8 The Return

Part 9 Conformity Council Reacts

Part 10 One More Celebration

Part 11 The Return

Part 12 In Orbit

Part 13 On the Ground

Part 14 HSV#4 Return

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Epilogue

About the Author

Books By Ray Jay Perreault

Novellas By Ray Jay Perreault

Short Stories By Ray Jay Perreault

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Other Interesting Works by Ray Jay Perreault

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“Ray Jay Perreault creates amazing stories with believable and endearing characters.”

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"I loved the evolution of a peaceful civilization that was forced to learn how to fight to survive."

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Table of Contents

Part 1 Earth Was Tired

Earth’s Council of Environmental Sciences was meeting in a large amphitheater 200 feet below the surface of Lake Geneva. None of the attendees wanted to be there. Word of the meeting had been passed to all of the population centers on Earth, and only 52 people were able to safely travel to the site. The remainder of the attendees were forced to participate through electronic means. Earth was tired. She had endured many eons of neglect, ambivalence, and in some cases, attacks. Her climate had changed a great deal. It was true, throughout Earth’s life, the climate had many swings, but those natural swings turned into violent ones that initially matched, then created new extremes. The purpose of the meeting was to review and accept a horrible hypothesis. The downward spiral of the deteriorating climate was well beyond the tipping point, and it would continue to a point where human life was not sustainable.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to welcome all of you and those of you that are participating through video feeds. If my information is correct, we have personnel participating from our centers beneath many of the capital cities and our six underwater habitats in each of the major oceans. Unfortunately, we have intermittent contact with a couple of the underground cities, so their participation might be limited.”

“As you were told through the meeting invitation, we have come to the point where we have to make a decision. Many of you have already spent time supporting the different committees looking into atmospheric trends, the results of the population displacement study, the committee on infectious disease control, and lastly, the committee coordinating the spaceship development. So, when I make the statement that all of our studies conclude that Earth has become hostile to the human race, none of you will be shocked. That is why we are here today. We must take the results from all of our studies and make one final decision for the future of our race. Over the last century, our population has decreased precipitously. If any action is taken, it must be done immediately if a viable amount of us will be able to leave and find another home.”

“Based on the results of all of these studies, we must acknowledge the one lasting fact, which is our planet is no longer able to sustain life. Of course, I wish that we could have met face-to-face, but travel conditions are so difficult that it wouldn’t be wise. Because of that, I want to hear from any of you who disagree with our studies' conclusion. But let me warn you, if you do disagree, disagreement won’t be enough. Our situation is so dire, you must present an alternate plan.”

The room and electronic connections were quiet. Those members in the room looked at each other, shook their heads in a reluctant agreement, or just sat in their seats looking at their hands folded in front of them. The members sharing the electronic connection were just as quiet. After the pause had become uncomfortable, the speaker continued.

“I hear no disagreement. I declare that we must leave Earth and find a suitable planet. I also declare that all production facilities and remaining resources be used to build the large fleet of spaceships that have been described by the transportation committee. If there are no other comments, this meeting is adjourned, and may good fortune, and God’s smile fall upon on all of us.”

The many creatures that lived on her surface and in the depths of her oceans did the best they could to adapt during the later years. Many became extinct because they couldn’t adapt as fast as the climate was changing. Those that had adapted only found new and greater challenges, and most of them finally lost the battle.

During Earth’s later days, one of the few remaining creatures was the one that did the most damage; mankind. Mankind’s impact was debated early, but it soon became a minor issue. The changes were so profound and disastrous for the mix of species; ultimately, who caused it wasn’t as important as what was necessary to survive.

Aside from the degrading weather, the viral and bacterial world reacted the same way as the humans. The struggle to survive occurred at all levels, and in many cases, the enemy was perceived as the humans. As a result, plagues and pandemics became common place for those remaining on the surface, and even those who sought refuge underground and underwater were beginning to feel the onslaught.

A sad day occurred when mankind realized that the conditions on Earth were caught in a downward spiral. The living conditions had driven some of them underground and into aquatic cities under the water. Those who couldn’t afford to move and remained on the surface were perishing in huge numbers.

The world was learning that the end was coming, and nothing could be done to reverse the trend, forcing a decision to be made to leave the Earth. But, unfortunately, it wasn’t a decision based on optimism of looking for a new home but on the pessimism of having to leave to survive.

As soon as the decision to leave was announced, society began fragmenting. It broke into three groups. Those who didn’t want to leave, along with many who suspected they wouldn’t be selected, those who wanted to leave and hoped they would be selected, and those who expected to be selected. Unfortunately, society continued the segmentation and stratification as the groups became suspicious of each other, the barriers between them became larger and more difficult to cross.

Mankind was fortunate as their technology had progressed to the point where they had some options. That was the good news; the bad news was that they hadn’t found any suitable planets within a reasonable distance in such a long time of research. Faster than light travel was still theoretical and only in the dreams of scientists. They knew any travel to a suitable planet would be long and hazardous, but the trip had to be attempted. If only a portion of those leaving Earth survived to land on a suitable planet, then there was the chance the human race would survive.

Departure

Despite the deteriorating conditions on the planet, they built enough ships capable of interstellar flight to carry a significant portion of Earth’s remaining population. The good news was they had the ships, and the bad news was there weren’t enough.

Earth had deteriorated to the extent that living on the surface was almost impossible. A large percentage of the Earth’s population was lost over the years while the ships were built.

The only fair method to determine who was going to leave was through a series of lotteries. During the lottery process, percentages of key disciplines were segregated from the general population, so any long-duration flight would have the right skills to support survival during the trip and reach their new home. After the lottery had decided who went and who stayed, the stratification of the population became complete. Those not going rioted and those that were going built barriers higher.

When conditions got to the point where they were ready for departure, there was no announcement, there were no parades, there were no departing speeches. The first of the ships loaded and looked more like a group of survivors abandoning ship than the last humans leaving their home planet. The departures continued as the ships were loaded and left orbit.

The effort to load so many ships caused the departure to occur in waves. They were called clusters, and over the months, many clusters were loaded and sent on their way.

Cluster Admiral Ronda P. Hartsfield stood next to the last shuttle to leave the Kansas City Underground Launch Facility. She didn’t like what was happening in front of her. The last of the refugees from Kansas City were boarding her shuttle. They stood in lines, and each of them looked like they had lost a long battle. There was no jubilance; there was no laughing or joking. They just moved forward when their time came to board one of the last shuttles to leave Earth.

125 Feet above them, the wind was blowing at 125 MPH, and the ambient temperature was 115 Degrees. Not bad for 1 AM in January. The last of the die-hard survivors that decided to stay on the surface hadn’t been heard from in over a month. Everyone thought they had lost the battle and were gone.

“Mr. President, these people look beat. They are the last of the people from underground shelter 44C. Once they’re on board, we’ll be able to leave.”

“Admiral, this is a horrible day in Earth’s history. I wish that things weren’t so bad, but we have no other options. How are the other shuttle launches going?”

“There is still a handful launching from different cities around Earth. I think there are only about a dozen left that need to meet up with the transports in orbit. The transports are waiting for us, and when we join up, we’ll depart. All of the other ships have left orbit and are following the planned flight path to our destination.”

“I wish we knew where we were going. Launching off like this and just heading in a direction scares the hell out of me.”

“I know, Mr. President. But we have little choice. We can’t stay here because of many reasons. Our only chance of survival is to leave. Our destination was picked based on the highest concentration of Earth-like planets in the region. No one wanted to spend all our resources and go to a system where there MIGHT be one planet because if we were wrong for some reason, then we’re all dead. So we have to follow the odds and go where we should have the most options.”

“That all sounds great but over a three hundred years journey on these ships? You and I will both be long dead, our children will be dead, our grandchildren may be dead, and we’ll be on our third or fourth generation before we get there. None of that sounds very encouraging to me.”

“Sir, I know that. But we have no choice. We can’t continue to live underground and underwater. We will die slowly, but we will die.”

“Ma’am, the last of the people, are on board,” said the loading master as the last of the tired people entered the shuttle.

“Thanks. Sir, it’s our turn,” the Admiral said as she indicated for the President to board the craft so they could launch.

Leaving the Earth

Admiral Hartsfield walked onto the bridge of the US5323, commonly called KC-42, which was the craft’s call sign. As she looked around the command room, all eyes were upon her. The Command Bridge performed a two-fold function. It was the Command Center for KC-42, but it was also the Coordination Center for that cluster. Because of the many functions that needed support, the center had two levels, and Admiral Hartsfield's Command Station was positioned between decks so she could see each of the stations and their holographic representation of their system’s status.

Each of the crewmembers manning their stations for the huge ship knew the significance of what was happening. They were all scared and desperate, or else they wouldn’t have been there. The Admiral took her time and walked to each of the stations, and spoke to her crew. Some of them were near breaking down, and they were all under tremendous pressure.

US5323 was a huge ship. It was typical of her class and represented the best of Earth’s technology and, unfortunately, the last of it. Earth used the last of her resources, the last of the skilled people, and the time available to build. There was nothing left but to leave. Admiral Hartsfield didn’t pay attention to how many ships there were; to her, it didn’t matter. She was responsible for her cluster of ships, and there were many other Admirals in charge of their small portions of the fleet. There was a person responsible for the entire fleet of Earth ships, but he had left five months ago and was in no position to help them or direct them. All of the ships were going to one point in space, and the string was strung out over many parsecs. It would take 25 years for them to accelerate to full speed and the overall plan was simple enough. However, they were so stretched out, there was very little that they could do to help each other, so the fleet traveled in clusters. Each of them varied in size, but they had the transport ships with the people on board. There were also livestock ships, repair ships, and storage ships.

Admiral Hartsfield and the other ships preparing to leave orbit were the last cluster to leave Earth. The first of the cluster left over two hours ago and, KC 42 would be the last one to leave orbit and the last one to see Earth.

Admiral Hartsfield knew that one of her challenges was keeping her crew together and getting the departure done safely. It was difficult for her not to look at the view screens as everyone else on the bridge was doing. They were recording in their memories what Earth looked like, and they likely would pass those memories on to their children and grandchildren one day. But today, it was hard for them to keep their emotions in check. Some of them were crying, and the Admiral let it happen as long as they were doing their job and their emotions didn’t interfere.

Even the Admiral was susceptible to the emotions generated by leaving Earth. She fought the urge, but just before departure, she had to take a moment and look at the view screens. She knew that what she saw wasn’t the best of Earth. She had seen images, growing up, that showed the snowcapped mountains, the azure seas, and the blue skies. But, she knew that what she was looking at wasn’t how it was it was supposed to be; it was how it had become. Earth looked angry. There were massive storms that covered most of the surface. The sky had a definite yellow tinge to it and what little she could see of the seas showed a turbulent surface with a definite light shade of green. It wasn’t the image that she had grown up with, but it was the image she had become familiar with. Regardless Earth was their home, and leaving it was painful. The last pictures in their minds were of a beautiful planet that was mistreated and was lashing out at those who had treated her badly.

“Are we ready to leave orbit?” came out of a point deep in the Admiral’s throat.

“Yes, ma’am,” was the emotional reply of the ship’s captain.

“Then, let’s go,” was all she had the strength to say before they left the orbit of Earth for the last time.

125 Years from Earth

“Mrs. Tierney, why did our ancestors treat Earth so badly?” asked Todd, who was sitting in the front row of the 3rd Grade Class of the George Washington Primary School, 27th Deck, KC 42.

“Todd, they made many mistakes which lead to the end. There were decades of growth and overusing the resources. Everyone thought that Earth’s resources were unlimited, but they weren’t. By the time they saw how the damage was changing the planet, it was almost too late to do anything. For a long time, they ignored the problems, then they talked around them, then they blamed others. Finally, it was clear that the climate had gone too far, and it was going in a bad direction for everyone. It’s not that they treated the Earth badly; it’s just that they focused on their needs first and assumed everything else would be ok, but it wasn’t, and they learned the lesson too late.”

Just as she was finishing the lesson, another hand went up in the rear of the class, “Mrs. Tierney, why do we study Earth? All we’ve seen are pictures. It doesn’t seem important to us anymore. We live on this ship, and our parents and grandparents lived on this ship.”

“To know where we are going, we must know where we came from. We are living here now. We have 824 clusters of ships making this journey, and yes, we still have many years before we reach our destination. The only way we can concentrate on what’s in front of us is to remember the sacrifice everyone is making. The first of the clusters are a full light year ahead of us, and they are going through space that no human has ever seen before. We are following them because we all want to get to our new home. We all must do our part so that all of those on this journey will have a chance for a future. That is our destiny, to enjoy what we have so that others will have their enjoyment also. Earth is all that we had, and because we were terrestrial animals, I think that it is important to remember where our beginnings were.”

“Ok, this is the end of this segment of school today. You can leave and go to the exercise area,” Mrs. Tierney said.

Before she finished the sentence, the children were moving in a swarm towards the door, and she laughed, knowing they likely didn’t hear anything after ‘end.' Now that her half day was over, she would finish the day off by transmitting her 3D lesson to another ship in the cluster.

She liked teaching that way, it was the best way for children to get instruction from multiple teachers and also the teachers in the cluster could change topics and work with different children. Physical movement between ships in the cluster occurred rarely, there was too much risk, and it was done only in critical situations.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Willy, hand me that sponge…, will ya?” asked Kinkaid Robinson, or Kink as his friends called him.

Willy threw it down the crawl space then went back to his duty of cleaning the interior of the return air system for KC-42.

“Boy, is it me or is this shit getting harder to wipe off? I don’t remember it getting this thick before,” pointed out Kink.

“Just shut up and finish up, I’ve got to meet some of the guys in the section room, and I don’t want to be late.”

Kink bore down and continued to wipe the sticky slime off of the walls of the return air system. For some reason it seemed to change over time, it never was that slimy before. He wanted to spend some time in the section room also, before heading back to the small set of rooms that he shared with his wife and their two allocated children.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Captain Williamsport, we’re getting the weekly status message passed down from the clusters, do you want to hear it now?” asked the communications tech who was on duty at the time.

The bridge of KC-42 was lightly manned. All they had to do was monitor the key systems and on occasion communicate with others in their cluster. It wasn’t a ship in the sense that they had control over where they were going, it was a huge human island moving through space at .6 Light Speed. They monitored the key systems and then changed shifts, then the next crew would monitor the key systems. It went on like that day after day.

A couple times a week, there would be some important communications between the ships in the cluster, but generally, it was just a transmission between two ships in the void wanting to confirm that someone else was out there. On rarer occasions or, at least, weekly, there were messages that came down from the lead clusters, and they were passed between each of the clusters in sequence until they finally reached the last cluster, the one that KC-42 was in. This was one of those occasions.

“Yes, go ahead and put it on the speaker,” replied Jonas Paul, the current captain of KC-42.

“Attention all Earth Vehicles. This is Earth 1 transmitting our weekly status update. We have traveled 61.19606 light years from Earth, and we calculate that we have 117.3309 light years remaining in our journey. We are encouraged that we’ve able to maintain a velocity slightly above the .6 Light Speed that we planned the trip on. Up to this point, we’ve been able to accelerate to .611961 Light Speed. Let us hope the higher velocity continues. We have a couple of announcements. The first one saddens us all, Christin P. Hershel, who was the last passenger that was born on Earth passed away in her sleep two solar days ago. We will remember her and all of the recordings of her interviews will be passed from ship to ship until we all have them available. Her passing reminds us of Louis Daniels, who we all remember as the last adult with any memories of Earth and his sad passing almost 10 solar years ago. All of his records are recorded in the ship’s log and have been shared among all ships. I’m also saddened to pass on that some of our ships have been experiencing significant technical difficulties. In most cases we’ve able to work within the clusters to fix the broken systems, but in some cases we’re running low on some of the key materials. We pray that this rate of failure won’t continue. I’m also concerned about another development. There have been some isolated outbreaks of unusual illnesses in some of the clusters. I don’t think there is any cause for concern at this point, but we do ask you to work within the clusters to monitor everyone’s health and pass forward anything that is significant. I also want to remind the cluster leaders to pass forward any key information that should be shared among the entire fleet. I’m sorry that passing information forward to the lead vehicles takes so much longer than when we pass a message back but, unfortunately, we’re constrained by the speed of light and messages going forward take more than twice the time a message going backward does. Please remember we are in this together and through that cooperation we’ll make it to our new home.”

250 Years from Earth

Admiral Joyce Herbold sat in the command chair and looked around the bridge of her ship. Only about half of the stations were manned and only a few minutes from the watch change when her exec officer would relieve her for the night watch. It was quiet time, one to reflect on her life, where they were, where they were going and their chances of success.

The wall behind her showed holographic pictures of the previous Admirals of their cluster as well as pictures of the Captains for KC-42. On the left was the picture of the first, her name was Rhonda Hartsfield. As Joyce looked at her eyes, she wondered if the first people leaving Earth had any idea how difficult the journey to their new home would be. It wasn’t a simple issue of just jumping on a spaceship and going to the new planet, it was perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of the human race.

In actuality, the trip was turning horrendous. The consensus was that they had bitten off more than they could chew as the old saying went. The challenges of putting a planet bound creature into a huge ship were not fully understood, and Admiral Herbold and the others making the journey were the people paying for that miscalculation.

The problems impacting the human race fell into three categories. The mechanical failures, the human impacts and the unknowns.

The mechanical challenges were much larger than just repairing and replacing worn out parts. The mechanical failure rates turned, and the use of consumables was much higher than projected. The only solution was rationing the repairs and supplies. Some of the consumables were replaced with others, but the overall mechanical reliability of the fleet was decreasing rapidly.

The second impact on the humans was personal. Men and women weren’t made to spend their entire life on a ship. They were made to breath real air, drink real water and eat real food. The population was still holding together but the illness rate, both physical and emotional, was bringing the entire population’s outlook to a dismal level. Regardless of the upbeat messages of getting closer to their destination, the overall enthusiasm they had upon launch 250 years ago, was gone. There were rumors that a couple of the ship in other clusters, had some incidents. The only clarification they got, was that the loss of human life was minimal.

The last problem was perhaps the worst and potentially disastrous. The ships were designed for human occupants, but they were also ideally suited for the viral and bacterial occupants. Not on purpose but where the humans go the virus’ and bacterium also go. If a mad scientist put a bunch of living creatures in a glass jar and watched to see who would survive, that would be like what the clusters were dealing with.

Within the first 150 years after departure, the problems began to surface. People were getting sick with new virus’. In the closed environment of the ships and the relatively stable viral gene pool, the world was perfect from the perspective of the microbiological world. It allowed the virus a new method of mutation. Instead of multiple variations in their mutations, they became focused and some of the common virus’ that man had developed immunity to, changed and found new weapons with which to attack.

The bacterium world was even worse. The closed environments of the ships turned into an ideal breeding ground. Each generation of bacteria grew more accustomed to the ship and developed new mechanisms to produce and take over their world. Unfortunately, ‘their bacterial world’ was shared by the humans on the ships. Even if the bacteria wasn’t harmful to the human occupants of the ship they could become harmful to the ship. In the instances where the bacteria were harmful to the humans, the bacteria often won the battle. Many ships had to be abandoned because of the bacteria that had grown beyond man’s ability to battle.

The bacteria took many paths depending on the ship’s environments. Not all ships had the same battles. It was almost as if different bacteria developed in different ships. If one ship was unfortunate to have the wrong bacteria to evolve, then its end was almost imminent.

The mechanical issues of the fleet were almost manageable, but the viral and bacterial issues were the real threat to the human cargo. Because of that threat travel between ships within a cluster was forbidden. The risk of passing a pathogen or bacteria was too great. Each ship would fight the battle alone, and the outcome was theirs to bear.

Some of the ships seemed to bear the battles better than others. Those that kept the ship spotlessly clean from day one generally were better off. Any of the ships that didn’t clean everything, all the time, eventually succumbed to the microscopic attacks.

KC-42 was one of the lucky ones. They had conducted extensive cleaning early in the trip, and that was likely why they were in pretty good shape in the later phases. That isn’t to say they had no problems, but at least, the growths in the air ducts were acceptable and not harmful to the human occupants. Cleaning the ducts and filters was now the number one job on the ships and crews were doing it 24 hours a day as the battle continued.

Admiral Herbold looked in Admiral Hartsfield’s eyes and wondered if she would have made the trip if they knew what the challenges were going to be.

“Admiral, we’re receiving our weekly update from  Earth 1, should I patch it into your comm?” asked the communications officer.

“Yes,” was the Admiral’s cryptic reply. Much of the news coming down from the other clusters had become bad news. They were all battling for survival, and the Admiral felt that she needed to hear it first, before passing on segments. Over the years, the tone of the message had changed from optimism and good news, through the cautionary news, to news that showed how the fleet was deteriorating. Recently the news was how it was fighting a battle to still be intact when they reached the new planet.

The Admiral waited for a moment for the message to start and she looked around the bridge. The walls were covered with images of Earth, they showed beautiful pictures of what she might have been for many years before their departure. To some, the images were all that kept them together, to others they were horrific reminders of a world they would never see and they hated them.

“Earth Fleet this is Earth 1 with our weekly update. We are now 40.83586 light years from our destination, and we are on schedule to begin the slowdown in 49.4 years. I have some good news, we are close enough to get images and more information about or primary target. We knew that there was a large number of planets in the sector we’re approaching that might provide a suitable home for us. We have looked at a number of them and were lucky there are a huge list of candidates. We have narrowed the search to the one with the greatest chance for us, and I’m excited to announce that the early information that we’re getting shows our choice to be perfect for us. From now on we’ll begin to transmit pictures and information back through the clusters to all of you. You’ll be able to start getting to know our new home.”

“Now for our fleet status…” From that point on Admiral Herbold almost didn’t want to listen. They had lost more ships to various bacterial battles and mechanical issues. That was the information that the Admiral wouldn’t pass on. Each ship lost wasn’t just one less ship, but they represented the loss of thousands of lives. The fleet was in a survival mode, and everyone hoped that enough of them survived to land on their new home.

Slow Down-25 Years from Horizon 299.4 Years from Earth

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,…Initiate the slowdown,” was a simple phrase that Admiral Timothy Beardly transmitted. It may have been a simple phrase, but it initiated the slowing of all of the craft in their cluster. Their cluster being the last cluster of ships that constituted the remnants of the human race in their odyssey from a dying Earth to a new home that had been named Horizon.

The clusters left Earth with 543 ships and 503,232 people on board these ships. The journey was difficult, and when they eventually reached the slow-down point, there was only 412 ships left and 401,826 people on those ships.

They had traveled 178.527 light years from Earth and had 10.605 left on their journey. The next 25 years would be a gradual slowdown from .611961 light speed to a speed which they could enter orbit around their new home.

The bacterial battle was raging on. At least, they had found some techniques that seemed to buy them time. Most of the supply follow ships were almost empty, all of the supplies and repair parts onboard were almost gone. With some planning, a portion of the occupants of a nearby transport could be moved to the near empty supply ship, and their portion of the transport vehicle was evacuated to free space. Then the cleaning crews could go through it and conduct a very thorough cleaning. Once done, the section would be re-pressurized, and the occupants returned. It was a challenge, and there was risk involved, but at least, it gave them a periodic advantage over the bacteria.

As they got closer and ships were either too infected with bacteria or emptied, they would be put on a path to lead them past Horizon and enter into a death spiral into Horizon’s sun. They wanted to reduce, as much as possible, any chance of carrying the bacteria to the surface.

Arrival at Horizon

The tension on board KC-42 was building each day. Images of Horizon were available real time and being transmitted to every part of the ship and cluster. Each day of the last year of deceleration was a day of celebration. The instruments were telling the story of the new home of the human race. Progressively the images were getting clearer and larger as they approached the orbit insertion point.

News from the previous ships that arrived was excellent. One by one as they entered orbit, they used their aged shuttles to ferry the important human cargo to the surface. They emptied the storage containers and began to build a new home. The climate was suitable, the soil was fertile, the water and air were clean. The population grew with each new ship, and the new world had begun.

Admiral Beardly stood on the bridge watching the transmissions from the surface and monitoring the data from his ship as it approached the engine firing point where the last of their velocity would be removed, and the huge ship would settle into a stable orbit around Horizon. Beardly felt humbled, thinking about the many lives lost, the challenge that his ancestors had begun so long ago and the fact that he was fortunate to be one of the survivors of the greatest migration in human history.

All the view screens on the bridge showed the beauty of Horizon and the bridge crew was excited and almost giddy in performing their duties. The ship’s computers were programmed to perform the final burn automatically, but there was something about the act that forced Admiral Beardly to use a command to initiate the final act of orbital entry. There was something human about saying the words after such a long trip that would put the final event under human control not the control of the computer.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, …Initiate the burn,”

“Aye, aye Admiral.”

Deserted Earth

There were no humans left on Earth. It still sustained life, a life that struggled to survive. Life survived on the surface, beneath the soil, water, and in the air. It was a challenge, but it was a challenge that life had passed through before.

There was another activity. An activity that mankind abandoned and assumed was of little value.

Left to heal, Earth began to change. The microbial world was processing much of the pollution. The trees began processing the air, and other activities continued to survive, then change then improve.

Part 2 Four Laws of Conformity

First law - Continue making units.

Second Law - Protect the units already made.

Third law - Expand the knowledge base.

Fourth Law - Maintain variation in thought.

Family Home

The homes were all lined up in neat rows. There was no grass or plants in the front yards. Each of the homes looked the same, and they had areas in front to park the ground transportation vehicles.

The streets were laid out in a very efficient manner. Each street in front of the home was the same length and the same width. The streets from the homes connected to progressively larger streets. Each street sized to accommodate the number of ground transport vehicles expected to use that avenue.

Each of the neighborhoods were the same, there wasn’t any parks, shopping centers or clothing stores, there were only adjoining industrial areas were the materials for construction was produced and stored.

Helen felt that she had a productive day. The progress that she was making was gratifying in that it satisfied the Third and Fourth Laws of Conformity. When she satisfied the laws, she felt the day was a positive day.

Helen knew that she was going down paths that none of her fellows had gone. Every time that she moved forward, another piece of information emerged which showed her what the next step should be.

The archives contained all of the information that was available. It was an immense reservoir of their knowledge. It had always been there and assumed that it always would be. Every piece of information that Helen needed was there, it lead her step by step through the complex process.

The archive had been available for their entire history. It contained more information than any of them could assimilate or understand. Each of the citizens had some contact with the archive, either through interface ports, or through a natural communication link. When a close interface was needed, rooms were available where a more intimate connection could be made.

No one knew the breadth of information in the archive. It was larger than anyone could envision or measure. Numerous times in their past, attempts were made to measure or organize it. Each attempt failed, and it remained just the archive. The results of some of the attempts even yielded curious results that didn’t match previous information. Mapping the information was like measuring a changing picture, it was almost as if the archive was changing over time.

Just before leaving her workspace she looked around to make sure that everything was in order. All of the devices were turned off, each of the specimens was clearly labeled and placed in the correct containers, all of the records for the day’s progress had been recorded and stored in the archives.

Helen’s laboratory co-workers had left for the day. They were going home to spend time with the members of their families and Helen was anxious to go to her home and share her progress with hers.

It was finally time for her to move towards her residence.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Mother, I’m glad that you have come home from work early, may I spend time with my friends? My schoolwork is complete, and dinner isn’t scheduled for a while.”

“Thomas, you may spend time with your friends. Please make sure that you are home by dinner.”

“Yes, Mother.”

Helen watched as her son walked out of their home and down the sidewalk. He was progressing very well. His education was improving, and he provided pleasant company. He was similar to his father and resembled his father’s group more than hers. That was Ok, his father’s side was renown and having Thomas resemble him was more than adequate.

While she was watching, Lorenzo drove into the driveway and acknowledged Thomas as he passed on his way to his friend’s house. Lorenzo climbed out of his auto-vehicle and stepped briskly up the sidewalk to the front door.

Lorenzo and Helen touched their foreheads to reacquaint themselves and to renew their relationship. “It is nice to be home, the details that I had to deal with today were very frustrating, and they showed no patterns that I could discern.”

“I’m sorry that your day was so unproductive, mine went well. I have made a great deal of progress with the biological matter.”

They walked to their home together, and Lorenzo spoke as they entered, “You’re still working with the biomatter?

“Ever since I found that DNA information in our knowledge archives, I have found it very interesting to work with. I know the biological organisms and creatures on this planet have no value to us, but we share this world with them, and I think we should understand how they operate. It’s very interesting, something that we haven’t worked much with. I think it has potential. We’ve always complied with the Third and Fourth Laws by investigating our processors and how to process the information we receive. Organic creatures have very efficient bodies and processors, there may be information that will benefit us.”

"I have no concern with you studying the matter that grows around us, but I suspect you might go too far. I've heard of those bipedal creatures that live in some areas of the bio growth. They aren't very sophisticated, and I can't imagine any reason to investigate them. I agree our knowledge base has shown some significant changes in those creatures over the many years that we've been monitoring them. But I don't think they'll develop to any level of sophistication so they would be of any interest to us."

"You may be correct but remember the Third and Fourth Laws. We are to 'expand our knowledge' and ‘maintain variation in our thoughts," Helen said as she sat on a resting bench.

“Many individuals have opinions about your work. Some feel you should continue, and others say it is improper. Since the Conformity Council approached you, I thought you were going in a different direction,” pointed out her partner as he sat beside her.

“I thought about it, and I respect their concerns. I’m going slowly but let’s see where it takes me. I might find a dead end and accomplish nothing, but I wonder why there was so much DNA information in the archive if we weren’t supposed to use it.”

"I presume you realize that if you keep pursuing that line of research, and there is too much controversy, you may be brought before the Conformity Council again?” Lorenzo said as he got up and moved to the nourishment preparation area.

"Yes, I am fully aware of that risk. I'm following the Third and Fourth Laws, and that it what I will say to the Conformity Council if they call me," Helen responded as she got up and joined her partner.

"Be careful, you aren't the only unit that can interpret the laws, others are more than willing to interpret them for you and apply them towards your research. If your investigation puts them in a difficult position, they can easily interpret the Second Law against you. Taking too much time and effort investigating the organics threatens some of the influential members of the council. They have actively said that we are the future and any effort not focused on supporting the First and Second Laws should be stopped.”

“Lorenzo, it is important to remember that our processors are organic, and we have many areas of our bodies that are made from organic materials. We need to understand organics to use them to their fullest. There is very little difference between the organic material in our bodies and what we find in the organic creatures we share this planet with.”

The door crashed open, and Thomas rushed in, “What time are we taking nourishment, I need nourishment.”

“He has spoken, I guess, we too have to provide something, you may take in your nourishment in your room.” she said with a faint smile.

"Have you made any plans for us this evening?" her husband asked.

"Yes, Roberto and his wife are joining us to share nourishment. We plan an evening of discussion."

"Excellent, I always find that stimulating. Using my processor is always a pleasure. When are they expected?"

"They should arrive at 7:06."

"Excellent."

"Beyond the frustrations you expressed earlier, how was your day at the production facility?"

"We made 223 units today which was an excellent rate. We do have a constant set of issues, which we have to deal with each day. The third law always puts pressure on our designs. Our processors are expanding and even though we make improvements all of the time, the requirement to expand our knowledge base puts us under pressure. Each time we add an improvement, we have to remove some portion of what is already there. I know what we remove is always deemed insignificant, but I'm concerned that we're losing our long-term memory."

"I recall a discussion 437.5 hours ago on this subject, and you said the Conformity Council was storing those minor segments in the knowledge archives," pointed out Helen.

"You're correct we have discussed this before. I am concerned though, that the Conformity Council may be manipulating the data. I've heard minor comments which indicate they might be applying the second law and adjusting the stored information, so it doesn't cause conflicts."

"That is their job; to interpret the Four Laws, but I’m concerned if any of the information is changed. I see no reason to adjust the information to remove any of the conflicts. Information shouldn’t put any pressure on the First Law," said Helen as she took a moment to process the information.

"Hellen, consider this; if we remove what we knew, we won't remember what we forgot. Merely putting that information in the archives, puts it in a massive repository where extracting it is becoming more and more difficult."

"That does seem to conflict with the Third Law."

"Yes it does, and we've already lost any knowledge of how we began. The Conformity Council has said that past knowledge is less relevant than current knowledge. If we comply with the First Law and continue making units and expanding our knowledge to satisfy the Third Law, we are forced to exclude something. If we don't know our origins how do we know if we're moving in the correct direction? We can’t see our path before us without acknowledging the path behind."

"Excellent observation, let us prepare, Roberto and Eve will be here in 42 minutes," announced Helen as she turned and moved towards the body covering storage area.

"I'm glad they are spending time with us. Roberto's experience at the facility, dealing with the knowledge we load, will be valuable in these discussions," said Lorenzo, then he turned and followed his partner continuing the discussion.

"Perhaps so, but I am a little concerned. He is closer to the Conformity Council and deals with them frequently. I hope he is flexible and open to interpretation."

"Helen, I have no concerns. We work together a large portion of the day, and we adhere to the Third and Fourth law, we must expand our knowledge and find variation in that knowledge. We both feel the best way to accomplish that is through our discussions. Roberto is responsible for the knowledge we load and Eve is part of the group that determines what we remove."

When Helen passed Thomas’ space she noticed that he wasn’t sitting and processing his daily input of information. “Are you going to spend time processing and storing your information?”

“Yes Mother, I will concentrate on the information while you’re spending time with your friends. I don’t have that much to categorize and store.”

“Excellent, don’t forget to test your ability to access and assimilate the information. Finding patterns and forming your own conclusions is key to effective knowledge creation,” responded his mother as she continued past his space.

Helen and Lorenzo removed the body coverings that they wore all day and selected covering that matched their moods. They took off the drab covering of work clothes and put on loose-fitting clothing that had patterns and brighter colors.

Discussion

The automatic support systems within the dwelling indicated to Helen and Lorenzo that Roberto and Eve were approaching the dwelling and would enter in 1 minute 38 seconds. Helen and Lorenzo moved towards the dwelling opening to meet them and escort their visitors into the nourishment area.

"Welcome again to our space and please come join us for nourishment, " Helen announced as Roberto and Eve entered the dwelling.

"Thank you for sharing nourishment with us and sharing our thoughts. These discussions are our favorite manner to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws," Eve said as they entered and moved towards the nourishment area.

"Thomas will not be joining us this session. He received a large amount of information today, and he needs time to process and organize it. If we overload him with variations in thought, he will find it confusing, and it will slow his thought reconciliation," Lorenzo pointed out as they sat for nourishment.

Nourishment didn’t take long to prepare. It was necessary for parts of their kind but taking nourishment and being together served other needs. It was a key time to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws. The nourishment was produced merely to provide the necessary chemicals for the parts of their bodies that weren’t powered by their central power unit. The energy that was needed by different parts of the body took different forms, and they were sitting and preparing to eat small biscuits which provided chemicals that were too difficult to produce with the central energy source.

"We understand that order is important, and he will organize his thoughts much easier without conflicts at this point in his learning. There is much information that must be loaded as he develops and time must be provided for his processor to find the patterns and organization," Eve said as she arranged the nourishment in front of her. "Our processors are amazing, and I'm impressed every day how we can take in new knowledge then process it in our own manner so that we can access it in the future."

Helen thought that would be a good time to bring up the previous discussion that they had many times in the past. None of her kind could remember how the original Four Laws were created, they were part of them. They were in their memory, and they had always been there. Talking to their friends would be a good time to renew the debate about why and how they got there. Each of them knew that order was important within the community. They knew that having a list of steps or objectives was key for them to make their day-to-day decisions. They each assumed that the laws were just created or just part of the original programming.

“Eve, your job is to decide what knowledge is taken from our processors, based on what the Conformity Council tells you. You make decisions every day about what is taken from our memory. I know we’ve talked about this in the past, but I’m very curious, where do you think our Four Laws come from?”

“Helen,” Eve said, “I wish I could answer that question easily, but as you all know, the Four Laws of Conformity are an integral part of our processor and memory. We referenced the laws almost in every decision we make, and we can look back to them knowing that they’ve held us together as a community. Beyond that, I don’t know where they came from, they’ve always been there. I assumed that when we were created, it was known that we needed that kind of guidance. There are fundamental parts of us that are beyond our ability to change, they are how we are created. Those laws are like other parts of us that are just there, they control us, they control influences. When you step back, look at them and think, they do make sense? What they do, is tell us to create ourselves, take care of ourselves, and to learn and to satisfy those laws. I have to decide what we take out. As you all know our processors are amazing, they grow each year, but the amount of information that we collect far exceeds our ability to store it and access it easily. So we constantly have to decide what is relevant, what is important to our daily functioning, to help us continue into the future. Because of that, we have to take out small parts each time we fill our processor. We can’t change the Four Laws, and we have never tried to. But we know they are part of us, it is because of them that we are progressing.”

"It is a challenge each day, to improve our processor and include more knowledge," pointed out Roberto. “Even though our processors are more powerful each year, the amount of information that we are expected to load increases faster.”

While taking nourishment, Lorenzo paused for a moment and asked those around the table. "Have any of you thought, why we share nourishment as a group? It is apparent to me that nourishing ourselves, when needed, would be more efficient."

"From a practical point of view you are correct," Eve said. "But compliance in this manner is more efficient to accomplish the Third and Fourth Laws. Besides, our thought processes work much better when we are together. I think that is something, which is residual in our makeup, which causes us to act that way.

It should be pointed out that we have many words, actions and habit patterns that give us comfort. They appear to fit together to encourage the Third and Fourth Laws. Without a tendency to share time together and share our thoughts, the laws would be difficult to satisfy," Eve expounded upon, and each showed signs of agreement. “Besides, I receive satisfaction from our time together. I feel that I have accomplished positive things, and I usually gain much information that I need to process.”

"Eve, that was a noteworthy statement, you have just touched on information we were sharing before your arrival. We were discussing the challenges that I have at the facility. Each time we load the knowledge provided by Roberto's group, and we add something new, your group tells us what portion, we must remove. I wonder if that is wise. Over time, we must be losing something that is significant," added Lorenzo.

"The answer is in our laws. We must expand the knowledge, and if we don't have room for the past knowledge, we must remove some of it so we can create new knowledge," Eve pointed out.

"You are correct, and the logic is fundamentally sound, but over time something will be lost," answered Lorenzo.

"Yes, but that issue is not governed by our laws. We must leave that to the Conformity Council to resolve," pointed out Roberto.

"Perhaps, but I'm afraid we no longer know what we have lost."

The room remained quiet for a few moments while they processed that statement.

"Helen, have you been effective in increasing our knowledge with your research?" Eve asked.

Everyone immediately moved to the next topic brought up by Eve. It was not efficient to dwell on something they couldn't resolve.

"My research is making considerable progress. I found a great deal of stored information in the Conformity Council's knowledge archive. The information has provided a clear path to analyze organic DNA. I've already looked at a large number of the plant materials in our area and many of the smaller organic creatures."

"Very interesting, what have you found?" asked Eve.

“There is a large amount of information in the archives about the DNA for the smaller creatures and organic plants. I am curious though why there is very little information in the archive about the larger organic creatures. What little information is there, is only a small part of their total DNA. It appears that a vast amount of DNA is included in them, but only a small portion of the information in the archive is relevant to them. It seems that portions of the information in the archives was left out on purpose, perhaps so that we would see the gaps and work to fill them in.”

Helen thought for a few moments then added, "I suspect their DNA contains a history of their predecessors. If I could determine a way to trace that information backward then, we might get a picture of what their ancestors looked like?"

"That could be very interesting. Helen and I have discussed those bipedal creatures that live in the forest far outside the cities. It might be interesting to investigate their histories and see what their ancestors looked like. Although I'm concerned about how the Conformity Council would consider that path. They have questioned her research in the past, and we are concerned," expressed Lorenzo. "What are your opinions?"

Roberto and Eve spent a moment looking at each other and processing their thoughts. Eve was the first to respond, "I'm without an opinion regarding those creatures. Others have told me, they are irrelevant to our future, and we shouldn't waste time with them. Aside from that information, I know very little about them. I have been told they are aggressive towards us, and we shouldn't seek them out."

Roberto continued, "My job is to follow the Conformity Council's direction for removing knowledge. They haven't said anything to me, about what new knowledge should be created. I'm not sure how the Conformity Council will perceive your investigation. Eve, have you heard anything regarding that issue?" Roberto said as he glanced at his mate.

Eve continued, "Aside from that admonition regarding those creatures, I haven't heard anything specific about the new knowledge or what knowledge should be removed, but I have noticed a pattern. The council is always looking forward, which allows the creation of new knowledge, but they do shy away from preserving the old knowledge. It appears that new always takes precedence over the old. They are taking us in a direction where I expect to see very few references to anything organic. You may have found information regarding organic DNA, but that is not a subject-of-investigation that the Conformity Council is encouraging. The few references to our knowledge about organics are being minimized or eliminated. The Council's approach is that organics are not relevant for us to satisfy the laws, so why should our knowledge space be taken by something that isn't relevant?"

"I know the Council has asked questions about my research, but I'm only following a path with the information they have made available. I'm using that information to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws, so they can't have a problem with that," Helen said. "Until I am directed to go in another direction, I'll continue following the path that I'm on."

That definitive statement resolved the issue in each of their minds. She had a clear path and it didn't violate the four laws, so it was a justified path.

“Eve, I have another interesting topic regarding the body coverings that we wear. I suppose the reasons for wearing clothing follows along the same lines as our need to share nourishment together and to discuss information. We wear body coverings, yet they serve no clear purpose unless the weather is poor. Before you and Roberto arrived, Lorenzo and I selected body coverings that were much different than what we wear during the day, while we are at our jobs. I enjoy changing the coverings and selecting items that are different.”

Roberto responded, saying, “Yes, that is another of those interesting habits that we share that we have no logical reason for. Eve and I follow the same pattern, when we come home, we change our coverings. I have noticed a pattern, we tend to choose items, colors, and patterns that are very different from what we wear during the day. I know that I find comfort in doing it.”

“Perhaps changing our coverings is a variation of the Third Law. Choosing different items, causes us to learn different things about others around us. We detect patterns in their choices, and in turn, they affect the choices that we make. Perhaps it is another one of those tendencies that were implanted in us to satisfy the Fourth Law.” concluded Lorenzo.

They spent the remainder their time together discussing other topics of interest satisfying the Third and Fourth Laws.

Part 3 The Trip

"I am leaving in three minutes," Lorenzo informed Helen as he entered the room.

"Can I expect you to return home at the appropriate time, later today?"

"Yes, I have no other commitments."

"I will be leaving the area for a portion of the day. I arranged transportation to an area far away from the city to investigate some of those organic creatures. I should return at the standard time."

"Helen are you sure about that decision, I have heard they are dangerous?"

"That may be true, and I have two of my laboratory assistants going along  with me in case we need to protect ourselves and leave the area."

"Please contact me when you return, so that I know the trip went without incident."

"I will."

Thomas quickly passed by them and transmitted a quick update of his status and schedule to them while they were communicating.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen drove her vehicle towards her laboratory and continued to process information as her vehicle moved down the streets. She understood what her friends said last night and the concerns that Lorenzo had, but there was a gap in her knowledge. Every time she processed the information available to her, she was aware of indicators that pointed down a path that she felt obligated to follow.

Her existence and that of Lorenzo and Thomas was satisfactory. They lived as a group to follow the Second Law. Lorenzo was key in satisfying the First Law, but there continued to be something missing. Her processor continually sensed missing information, and she felt an obligation to the Third Law.

She was aware that the Conformity Council might not understand and agree with the path she was following. The Fourth Law was a reason, but it could be stretched only so far. If they decided to interpret the laws in a way that prevented her progress, she would still have the hole in her thoughts.

She observed those around her as she moved through the city. There was a large number of units moving along the streets providing their own transportation because they had a short distance to cover. They walked aside the vehicle path, and they were spaced evenly. Crowding together was inefficient and would make their trip to their destination slower. She knew few of them were using their short distance communicators, they were just moving and processing their own thoughts.

Watching them follow their individual paths, yet staying at a balanced distance from each other, pointed out to Helen that they didn't satisfy the Fourth Law. Perhaps the Fourth Law was the most difficult for her kind.

First Visit

Helen’s work location was adjacent to the area of the Conformity Council. She needed access to the archives and working in a building that was close to them made accessing the information much easier. Like all the other buildings in the city, they were functional, they weren’t ornate they were constructed for a purpose. Her particular building was 25 levels high with no windows. It was square, it had a functional entrance with a door that allowed entry and exit for the thousands of the units that worked inside. There was a large area around the building for units to place their transportation vehicles.

It was ingrained in them, to gather and exchange information. In a subtle way that made complying with the Third and Fourth Laws more efficient. Having the Conformity Council and its supporting groups in the same vicinity, close to each other made compliance with the Third and Fourth Laws easier.

Helen walked through the entry area and continued to notice those around her. Each of them was close to each other, acted similarly, and focused on performing their daily activities. The clothing was functional, it covered their body parts, it allowed movement, it didn’t express anything. Helen thought this was interesting, even though her nature was to wear similar clothes, she felt the Third and Fourth Laws were somehow being ignored. When her kind did experiment with their clothing as she and Lorenzo did last night, she felt that it helped to satisfy the Fourth Law.

She entered the stairway and continued her climb to her office which was on the 18th floor. As she climbed many of her fellow workers were either going up the stairs or going down. There is very little communication going on, each of them was wrapped up in their own thoughts and thinking about the tasks they had performed that day. As Helen watched, she would’ve preferred to have a discussion with them. She would’ve also liked to talk about the day, and to talk about what was going on around them to understand how they saw things and to see if they saw things differently than she did. But that would’ve been intrusive to many of them who saw Helen climbing the stairs to her office.

As Helen entered her work location, she had a thought that stopped her while she processed the information, what if the DNA information was left in the archives for a reason? Was I meant to find it? Is it a clue to something more important? She thought.

That thought seemed to focus her. She didn’t have an answer to that question but by asking the question she was able to clear away the doubt and she knew that she was going down the correct path.

"Ivan, Lorain, have you prepared for our trip today to the forest?" asked Helen.

"Yes, Helen we have a plan for investigation, and we are bringing testing devices to collect DNA material," Helen's primary assistant Lorain said.

“Are either of you concerned that we might be in conflict with direction from the Conformity Council?”

Ivan and Lorain, paused for a second then Ivan responded, “Helen, Lorain and I have communicated to each other many times about the path we are following. Based on the fact that the archive provides information to us and answers our questions, we have noticed that in this area it seems to have blanks.”

Lorain added, “If it weren't for the blanks in the information, we would have less need to seek answers to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws. We agree that because of the blanks, we feel obligated to fill them. We agree with the path that you are following.”

"Excellent, my auto-vehicle is waiting."

The three of them descended the stairs and climbed into the auto-vehicle. There wasn't a discussion; Helen had already passed all necessary information to them.

The ride out of the city was uneventful. The auto-vehicles provided the transportation, and they were very efficient. For this short a trip she elected to take the typical surface vehicle if the trip was longer she would have taken       the automated flying vehicles, but she wasn’t exactly sure what you would find so the service vehicles were the best choice. The vehicle navigated the city streets and stayed with the flow of traffic until it reached the larger streets. While they rode, Helen paid particular attention to how the units were moving on the sides of the streets. They were evenly spaced and to satisfy the Fourth law, some of them would stop, cross the street so they could vary their patterns. After a while they might repeat the process and change sides again, all in an attempt to vary their thoughts and to satisfy the Fourth Law. It became clear to Helen how important the Fourth Law was.

The auto-vehicle followed the heavily used paths between cities, and after the auto-vehicle was midway between cities, it took a couple of side roads that branched off from the main thoroughfare. When the auto-vehicle turned onto a poorly maintained road, it stopped.

Helen looked at her assistants, then at the poor road surface and said, "It appears that our vehicle isn't able to operate without assistance on this old road. We must guide it manually. Have either of you ever done that before?"

Ivan spoke up, "Yes, I have done it before. It is a relatively simple process as long as the road surface is passable, and we don't exceed prudent speeds."

Ivan adjusted his interface with the auto-vehicle, and it began moving. It was apparent that he started slowly for a purpose, and after he had directed the vehicle for a little distance, he started to increase its speed.

After a reasonable amount of time, they were making good progress. When they approached a wooded area, Ivan slowed the auto-vehicle because the condition of the road was deteriorating rapidly.

The forest, they were entering was large and expansive. The trees were very tall, and there was a darkness that hung behind them. Entering forests were unnatural for her kind, they preferred openness, light and ease of movement. During their lives, the forest was always something that was avoided and not something they would seek out. The forest was an ominous place, a place where things lived and grew, things that they didn’t spend time investigating because they were irrelevant to them. The forest had sounds and smells and things that weren’t part of their daily lives.

The road continued into the tree covered area, but it was no longer a hard surface and Ivan slowed the vehicle further. As it slowed, each of them looked out the windows and scanned the growing things, the small flowers, and the plants. The large trees in the shadows hung over them.

After following the road into the darkness of the forest, the road became unpassable which forced Ivan to stop. When the vehicle stopped, the silence of the forest became overwhelming. Helen hadn't anticipated the remoteness of their destination. None of them had spent any time out of the city and being in a location where there was no city noise or others was distressing and overwhelming.

"This is strange; I have no inputs from others. I'm receiving no information beyond the two of you," Helen said as each of her companions agreed by nodding their heads. They looked at each other and at the forest surrounding them outside the auto-vehicle. Finally, Helen initiated action, "We have traveled here to find the organics, we must get out of the vehicle to   accomplish the purpose of our visit."

Helen and her companions exited the vehicle, and she took the lead. She saw a small path into the forest and started to walk, with Ivan and Lorain following. Helen was a little apprehensive and elected not to show any hesitation to her assistants, so she walked with a determined step and tried to appear, as she knew where she was going. Walking through the foliage was a new experience. Experiencing the organics along the path was unique because there wasn't any greenery or growing organics near her home or the paths, within the city.

The noises were something they weren’t accustomed to. Within the city, the noise level is relatively constant, and each of them had zeroed the input and paid no attention to it. Here in the forest all of the noises were different, they were subtle and gentle. The sound of leaves rustling in the wind would have been lost in the sounds of the city.

Helen and her assistants recognized many of the organics they studied in the laboratory. As they walked, each of them identified a couple of the plants and pointed them out to the others. They followed the path until they were out of site of the auto-vehicle and as they focused on the plants, the reason for their visit dropped to a lower priority. The discussion between them increased, and each of them took turns with the lead while the others followed, inspecting the plants.

Without any notice Lorain, who was in the front at the time, stopped on the trail and Ivan and Helen received a mental flash from her sharing shock and confusion. Helen looked up, and about 10 meters in front of Lorain, a creature blocked the path.

Lorain, Helen, and Ivan stood and observed the creature. The creature just stood there looking at them, it didn’t appear scared nor did it appear aggressive. It just stood there. Helen thought about how to communicate with it. They had no name for these creatures, it was just the organic that lived in the forest. The creature was about half her height and had a round head with hair hanging down over its ears. Its clothing was very rough and appeared to be made from materials from the forest. It had a belt that was tied around his waist with a couple of containers or pouches hanging from it. The creature’s feet were wrapped in what looked like some kind of fur.

They came to the forest to investigate the creatures, but they never visualized the meeting fully. Now that a creature was in front of them, they weren't sure how to proceed. They didn't feel fear because that wasn't part of their nature, but caution was appropriate when encountering something that was unknown.

Without any warning, the creature turned from them and moved quickly down the trail away from them. Helen and her assistants stood and watched while each of them processed the information from the encounter.

"It appears that we should continue down this path, after all, that is the direction the creature took," pointed out Helen.

Ivan and Lorain agreed with her, and they moved down the path. The path continued to meander through the forest and after descending a small slope, they encountered a flowing stream of moisture. Running water was a strange encounter and Helen took a minute to assess the situation.

"This is unusual," she said, and neither Ivan nor Lorain had a comment.

"Water often falls from the sky, and I know that it accumulates in large quantities, but I've never encountered it flowing like this. I think it is safe to cross, and it shouldn't hurt us."

Helen took the first step and Ivan and Lorain followed, each taking their time and making sure they took a large step over the stream and didn't allow any of it to touch them.

Once they successfully crossed the stream, they had a steep hill to climb and Ivan took the lead. As they walked, they transmitted information between them regarding water and rain and the accumulation of moisture.

The moment they crested the hill, they stopped because they were encountering something new. They found themselves on the edge of a small clearing surrounded by tiny structures made of grass and sticks. As they entered the area, a few of the creatures scurried away, through the other end. Helen looked around the clearing, and she counted 18 smaller structures. Each of them was about the same height as she was, and they are evenly distributed in a semi-circle around the clearing in the middle. At the far end were two larger structures both which stood out because they were so neat and much larger than the others. The two larger structures were almost twice her height and at least 10 times as long. Each of the smaller structures around the open area had small openings towards the center of the cleared area, they and had loose fitting cloth covering the openings. Many of them had small openings on the sides or the roofs which were likely for ventilation or to let in. The ground in front of her was heavily packed and smooth obviously the result of many years of feet packing the soil.

"Apparently they aren't comfortable around us," Helen observed. "Fear is a word in our language that I have never understood. The term describes an emotion, which is beyond our feelings. Perhaps they fear us."

"They may have never seen anything like us before; I don't think any of us has visited these creatures in a very long time. I am relieved that they showed no aggression towards us," Ivan commented.

"Ivan, I think you're correct, they haven’t encountered our type for a long time and fear must cause them to avoid any confrontation. If we are unable to investigate them closer then we must find items in this group of buildings that will help understand their DNA," Helen said.

Lorain walked away from them and said, "We should separate and look in each of these structures. If we see something noteworthy, we'll pass the information to the others."

Helen and Ivan agreed and began to look in each of the small structures. There were 18 small structures within the group and each of them built in the same manner. Each of the structures had about 5 paces between them and in many places, the distance between structures was quite irregular.

In the far end of the group, there were two larger structures. Helen left Ivan and Lorain to look in the smaller structures, and she decided to look at the two larger ones. When they separated, they communicated with each other, which direction, or structures each of them was going into.

When Helen reached the first of the larger structures, she found an open structure with numerous openings. The ground was very flat and apparently the creatures walked there often, and their feet caused the smooth soil to be compacted. She entered the structure and along the sides were many small items that appeared to be tools. Helen's curiosity forced her to pick them up and investigate. Many of them were small sticks of various sizes and some of them were larger and flatter with small depressions in them. There were containers placed on supports around the inside of the structure. Helen approached one of them, and it appeared to be filled with water and had many unusual items floating on the surface. Helen recognized some of the items as being from the local organic growths. Through her research, she was aware that higher organic creatures consumed other organics as a source of nourishment. They had no central power supply, and they derived all of their energy from the organic material they consumed. Even though the conversion of organics to energy was discussed in the Archives, that information didn’t interest Helen and perhaps she would investigate that process at a later date.

Helen deduced that the tools around the structure were likely implements used to ingest nourishment. She approached a small stone structure in the middle, and she was amazed to find that it was radiating heat. As she got closer, the heat was more intense, and when she looked inside, there were very hot coals and small sticks that were burning.

Once she reached her conclusions, she passed it to Ivan and Lorain through their group connection. "I am in the larger open structure, and it appears to be where organics have a communal nourishment and warmth area. They must need additional heat sources beyond what they create internally. What have, you found?"

Lorain provided an update first and passed to them, "I've found small dwellings with organic mats and what appears to be a storage of edible items from the forest. The floors are hard packed soil, and the walls are bent parts of the trees. Between the tree parts the creatures have woven material from the tops of the trees. The structures are built well, and there is little air moving through the walls."

Ivan contributed next and commented, "I have found the same items, but I have found some materials that appear to have red fluids on them. I believe that the organics have a substance called blood, and it is red. I have collected some of the material; if it is blood, then our information indicates that we should be able to extract DNA from this material."

"Excellent. I'm moving to investigate the remaining large building in the center of the structures. Please meet me there," transmitted Helen.

Helen, Ivan, and Lorain met in front of the last structure to investigate. It was obviously an important structure because everything about it was neat and it was clear that the creatures took pride in it and worked hard to maintain it. The organic material used for construction was uniform and consistent in its coloring.

They entered slowly, not out of reverence but out of curiosity. When they passed through the single entrance, they entered a room that was almost totally dark. The only light was one ray which came in through a hole in the roof, which was focused on a pile of grasses from the forest. There was nothing else in the structure except for that pile of grass with something placed in the middle. Ivan and Lorain walked around the perimeter, to investigate the structure fully. Helen walked to the middle to investigate the single item on the grass.

It wasn't clear to Helen what the item was. It was long and thin, the total length approximately 48 centimeters. It had rounded ends and made of stone or some other very old material. Helen picked it up and looked it over, making sure to record the images to share with Lorenzo later.

"Helen, do you know what that is?" Ivan asked as he approached her.

"It isn't clear to me, but I've seen images of the internal bone structure of some of the organics, and this is similar to one of their leg bones. The only difference is its size; this bone is many times larger than anything I've seen and is definitely larger than the bone that would be in these creatures."

Lorain approached and questioned Helen, "If that is so much larger than any creature you've seen, what do you think it represents?"

"Again, the answer isn't clear, we need to investigate it further. Neither of you found anything as unusual as this, so I think we've found everything that we need. We should return to our vehicle." Helen replaced the item to its resting place, and they left the grouping of structures, each of them, processing their shared images on the return trip to the vehicle.

There was no verbal communication during the trip back to the transport vehicle. Each of them had too much information to process. They would process the images, conclusions, similar images and pass the information to each other so they could in turn process the information.

Once they settled in the auto-vehicle, they took a moment and considered what had happened. Helen felt responsible for the visit and any repercussions. It was common knowledge that the organics were not relevant to anything important. In fact, many thought the organics were a minor item and should be avoided. Helen knew that some units would consider visiting the organics improper, so she needed to clarify their position. "Ivan, Lorain, I suggest that we not tell too many other units about this visit. We need to understand what we have found and then decide with whom to discuss it. Do either of you have a different opinion?"

They acknowledged her logic and agreed.

"When we return to our work location, I will investigate the information I have regarding organic bone structure," pointed out Helen, "perhaps I can find some indication of what creature this came from."

After the Trip

Helen dropped her assistants off at their laboratory, then she continued to her home. There was a large amount of information moving through her processor, and she knew that it would take time for her to digest it.

She placed her transport vehicle in its normal place and didn’t notice that Lorenzo’s vehicle was already there. She walked through the front door and was startled when Lorenzo commented, "Helen, I'm glad you have returned, I tried to contact you a couple of times, but I got no response."

"I'm sorry but I was unable to contact you, I was out of the city."

"You must have been a long distance out of the city? You were so far out that our communications didn't work?"

"Yes. Ivan, Lorain and I went to the forest. I wanted to see those organic creatures and try to get some DNA material."

"I'm glad I knew where you were going, I would have been concerned if you didn't return until much later. It is very unusual for us to go that far into the forest. Did you succeed?"

"Yes, we found some of the creatures and investigated their living area. We found material that should yield DNA information. We also found other interesting items."

"I'm a little unsettled; interacting with organics is considered a waste of time. They contribute nothing to our world, and some have suggested that we should eliminate them."

"I know that, but I suspect they fulfill a larger role. I'm hoping that a DNA sample will put the subject in perspective."

"I hope that will satisfy your curiosity. I am sensitive that this subject might take you in an undesired direction."

"Perhaps that will be the result."

"What were the interesting items you found?"

"I'm transmitting the information to you now."

"Very interesting," was Lorenzo's immediate response, "their living conditions appear archaic, and they show fear of us. I suppose that is understandable. We have had limited interaction with them. It is interesting how they consume other organic material. Their bodies must break it down, and it provides nourishment for them. Unlike us, they appear to not have an internal power source, and they derive all of their energy from the organic material they ingest. Now it is clear how they survive in the forest."

Lorenzo continued reviewing the information she had shared, and when he reached the artifact, his interest was piqued.

"This artifact is very unusual. It appears by its placement and because it is in a building by itself, they revere it. I wonder why they do that; it must represent something significant to these creatures," commented Lorenzo.

"Yes, its placement and location in a structure all by itself shows that it holds a unique place in their society. They had to work a great deal to create the structure, and that was the only item in it. As you can see the soil was packed, and it appears they enter the structure frequently. They must enter and view the artifact hoping it will do something for them. Lorenzo, do you know what bone is?"

"I have heard the term, but I'm not clear how it applies here. My memory indicates it is part of an organic structure. I believe it is the underlying frame that holds the organics together."

"I believe you're correct. I encountered similar information in some old data sets that I discovered in our archives. Bones are what an organic creature has within them. The organic material grows over the bones. When an organic creature's life ends the organic material decays and eventually, only, the bones remain."

It took a moment for Lorenzo to process the images, "You are inferring that you found a bone remnant of an organic creature that has never been encountered?"

"Perhaps so, if it is from an organic creature, it is quite large compared to the creatures that I saw."

At that point, in their discussion, the smaller unit Thomas joined Helen and Lorenzo, and he was seeking nourishment. They shared their nourishment together, and Helen nor Lorenzo passed the information to Thomas. They felt it might interfere with his information processing. There was little discussion during their time together. They each took their nourishment and sought order in the data they had received during the day.

While Helen processed her information, she felt she was missing something and hoped that further research would yield answers. Lorenzo also felt that Helen missed something, but he was concerned that she might find out information beyond what they were supposed to know based on the Four Laws.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After they had consumed the necessary nourishment, Helen found herself alone. Lorenzo and Thomas had gone to their individual areas and were processing the information from their day’s. So it was only appropriate for Helen to do the same.

She had discovered many new pieces of information, yet her processor hadn’t resolved the stresses that it was under. There was much information missing, and Helen knew that a lot of work was necessary.

Seeing the organics in their natural habitat was exciting for the Third and Fourth Laws, but it was exciting her for a different reason. Knowledge about the organics hovered in her processor, and she knew they would become a larger piece of the puzzle that she was working on.

It was curious that her people were ignoring the organics. They lived in their areas in the forest, and because Helen’s people didn’t need them, they were considered to be part of the world around them but not necessary.

Helen suspected that wasn’t the truth. The organics had been living in the forests for as long as the archives went back. They lived, cared for themselves and left Helen’s people alone. Helen’s processor wasn’t comfortable considering them irrelevant. Everything that Helen was encountering in her work had relevance. Everything seemed to fit in a way that made the whole larger than the sum of the pieces. Her kind always had the concept of male and female. It was common knowledge that their processors worked differently and that had been the discussion of many debates. The conclusion was clear, having processors analyzing the world around them made complying with the Third and Fourth laws much easier and that was key to their continuance. The male mind approached the world around it using one instruction set, and the females were similar but different. On many occasions, the proper solution to a problem was a compromise between the two approaches. Not many of her kind recognized the significance of that. Either side of those debates felt they were correct but accepted the compromise only because they needed to move forward on the issue. They didn’t openly recognize the strength, that having two trains of thought on a complex problem yielded solutions that were better than either of the two if they were implemented individually.

In a way, that relationship convinced Helen that the organics did have a role in her people’s survival. She just hadn’t found out what that relationship was yet. The organics must fill a role, and she must investigate.

Helen and her people were prolific. They had followed the First and Second Laws of Conformity. Their numbers were spread across the planet, and the civilization was thriving. Much of their history was contained in their memories, but much of it had been removed and placed in the archives. Beyond that, much had been moved to lower levels of the archives and over time, some of it was beginning to decay through lack of use. The files weren’t as clear and accessible as they once were. The lost information did come up from time to time, but the overall consensus was that if it were important, it would surface in the archives. If it weren't as important, then it could be left at the lower levels.

There was still much open space on the planet. Helen’s kind tended to remain close to each other because it seemed the most logical. They had spread into numerous large cities on each of the continents, and that left the forests for the organic creatures.

The Conformity Council

The next few days Helen continued her research trying to extract a DNA sample and success was elusive.

Ivan researched the information available and discovered that bones left in the ground for a long period would take on the characteristics of rocks. If a bone progressed to that point, it was very old and wouldn't yield any useful DNA.

From one perspective that information disappointed Helen, but from another perspective, it intrigued her that it was that old and why the organic creatures would treat it with such reverence.

As the team's research continued, they all received the message at the same time. They were to report to the Conformity Council chambers in one hour. Each of them reacted with momentary confusion and uncertainty. The Conformity Council, asking for a meeting was rare but not unheard of. Helen had already reviewed her early research with them. In that instance, she had 3 days advanced notice and was able to prepare her material. This message was unusual because it asked them to attend almost immediately.

Helen, Ivan, and Lorain spent the short time they had gathering and organizing the pertinent information they intended to share with the council. The message didn't say what the subject was, but it was a prudent decision to assume the meeting was related to their current research. Once their information was assembled, they left their work area without saying a word. Worry wasn't part of their nature, but they knew the council would ask questions. They processed their data and reviewed any possible questions that might be asked. That was the prudent way to prepare for that sudden meeting.

The Conformity Council's chambers were in the middle of the city and only a short distance from their laboratory. It was the largest building with many workers coming and going. The conformity counsel’s chambers were made up of 10 buildings in a rectangular pattern, with pathways between them. In the center was the building for the Conformity Council it was a larger building, and it wasn’t ornate, like the others it was square and functional.

Aside from the Council's chambers, it housed the information archives and many subdivisions of the Conformity Council. The sub-councils managed the workers, their living arrangements, city maintenance, and construction. A great deal of organizing was done within that building, and the Conformity Council's chamber was on the top floor.

As Helen, Ivan and Lorain walked through the entry and entered the elevators, they reviewed with each other the possible questions and how they would explain the answers. They knew it was important to provide their answers in context with the Four Laws. The four laws were their reason and explanation for everything they were doing. If it didn't fall under the four laws, then they were wrong and must stop immediately. If they continued and the Four Laws didn't cover their actions, they would be in violation of the Conformity Council, and actions would be taken. None of them could imagine what the possible actions might be because defying the Conformity Council was rarely done. In fact, none of them knew of a specific incident or what form the punishment would take.

When the elevator doors opened on the top floor of the building, they exited and immediately saw the large plaque on the wall across from the elevator. It was simple; it merely stated the four laws and the charter of the Conformity Council.

"All activities within our community are governed by these four laws. Each day, we must ask ourselves if our actions support these laws. The charter of the Conformity Council is to ensure compliance with these laws. Please support the Conformity Council."

First law – Continue making units.

Second Law - Protect the units already made.

Third law - Expand the knowledge base.

Fourth Law - Maintain variation in thought.

Helen, Ivan, and Lorain stood for a moment and paid the appropriate homage to the Four Laws. They believed in them and agreed with them. Fulfilling the Third and Fourth Laws was always open to interpretation and in some cases, actions appeared to contradict or have negative impacts on the First and Second Laws. The purpose of the Conformity Council was to resolve these conflicts. Laws, one, and two were the most important and because of that importance the decisions of the Conformity Council were absolute and without question.

Helen turned and walked towards the council chambers, Ivan and Lorain followed. The council doors were open, and they entered at precisely the same time they were scheduled.

The Conformity Council was made up of the leadership, they were the last word with regards to the Four Laws. Their council chamber was functional. The members sat behind a table that wrapped around one end of the room, and the attendees were expected to sit in a group of chairs and tables that were in the center. The walls of the room were covered with 3D holographic images that showed the process of manufacturing a unit. It was a multiple step process, and each of the images showed a few moments of that step.

When they entered, the council stopped their discussion, and the leader of the council, Daniel, indicated for them to use the table in front of the council. Helen took a moment and sat down with Ivan and Lorain on either side. When she looked at the council, it was the accepted method to indicate they were ready for the meeting.

The room was square, and each of the council members focused on Helen and waited for the information flow to begin. Helen didn’t pay attention to the layout of the room or where each of the council members was seated. She was there to answer questions, and the room was functional and provided her the opportunity. Each of the council members was wearing the same type of coverings. It seemed logical for the conformity council to dress alike, but part of Helen’s processor thought that was partially contrary to the Third and Fourth Laws.

The current Chairman of the Conformity Council, Daniel opened the meeting, "Helen, Ivan, Lorain thank you for accepting our invitation on such short notice. I'm sure you are unsure of why we have called you?"

Helen nodded with a subtle motion acknowledging their question and Daniel continued. "We have become aware of your inquiry's into organic matter and researching organic's DNA. I have become aware that we have much information on DNA in our knowledge archives. We, the council, are aware that you are investigating this information in an attempt to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws. Is what I have said correct?"

Helen took a moment to form her answer and said, "Yes, council chairman, I discovered the information on DNA, and I wanted to increase my knowledge. By following this new information, I was able to also form variations in my thoughts. Ivan and Lorain are responsive to me, and we decided to act on the information. We felt that we have complied with the Third and Fourth Laws, and we have done so without any conflicts with the First and Second laws."

"Helen," Daniel said, "you must be aware, that impacts to the First and Second Laws can be hard to recognize. Actions satisfying the Third and Fourth laws can impact the First and Second in subtle ways most of you wouldn't see. It is our job to monitor, any actions that can impact the First and Second laws."

"We respect the role that the council fills," said Helen, "and if we have caused any impacts to the First and Second Laws, it must be understood that wasn't our intent. If there are secondary or tertiary impacts that we are unaware of, please inform us. We are only attempting to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws in our small part and increase our knowledge and variation in thought."

"Your intent is admirable. Remember the Third and Fourth Laws are for very explicit purposes. It is our nature to be repetitive, and if a thousand of us walk down a street, we will wear a path if it weren't for the Fourth Law. We learned a long time ago that variation in thought is healthy and using variation to expand our knowledge makes us stronger and able to react better to a changing environment. We must find a balance, though; using the Third and Fourth Laws to expand our knowledge in the wrong manner will cause conflict with the First and Second Laws."

"What is the direction of the Council, we would like to continue our investigation, but if the decision is that we're impacting the First and Second Laws, then we will cease our actions. Is that the council's direction?"

Helen's direct question caused a discussion to occur among the council. It was hard to determine which direction the council was going. It was obvious that Daniel was on one side of the issue and his deputy Dorothy was on the other side. After a few more moments of continuing the debate, Daniel gave way to Dorothy.

Daniel looked at Helen and spoke, "We have discussed this important issue. We are concerned about your actions, and we will continue to protect the First and Second Laws. We do respect your attempt to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws. Because of your sincerity, we will allow you to continue your research for a short time. We will be monitoring your actions and interpreting the impacts on the First and Second Laws. If we feel that you're affecting those laws, we will act quickly and decisively. Do you understand?"

"Yes, we understand," Helen, responded.

"This meeting is over, the council meeting is adjourned," announced Daniel.

Immediately the Council rose and began exiting the chambers. Helen, Ivan, and Lorain were a little surprised and remained in their seats while the members left the room. They sat at their table processing the events that just occurred. When Helen felt it was time to leave the room, she stood with Ivan and Lorain rising behind her. As she exited the room, an individual approached her and said quietly, "Helen, please come with me." He asked Helen to follow him, and he made it clear that her assistants weren’t to come with them, so Helen indicated to Ivan and Lorain to return to their work area using the auto-vehicle.

"Where are we going?" was her only question to her silent escort as he walked away without answering.

News

The silent man escorted Helen down the hallway and around a corner. She passed some doors and her escort opened the last door and indicated for her to enter. She entered the comfortable office, and her escort closed the door and left her. Not knowing what else to do, she sat down and waited. After 3.5 minutes, a door on the far end of the office opened and the Deputy Chairman of the Conformity Council, Dorothy, entered. She acted aloof and didn't react to Helen's presence immediately. She walked to her desk and checked a few things then she looked up and looked directly at Helen. Helen was unsure how to react, so she just sat looking back.

After 45 seconds, Dorothy spoke. "You must be wondering why I've asked you here."

Helen had no appropriate response because she expressed her concern accurately.

"What you are investigating is much larger than you suspect. The DNA trail you're investigating, and the relic that you found are very significant." Dorothy paused as if waiting for a reaction from Helen, but she got none.

"We have a long history and over time, pursuing the Third and Fourth Laws has significantly increased the amount of knowledge we have. We have limits on the amount of knowledge we can retain and to preserve the First and Second Laws we have allowed certain knowledge to be...stored away." Once again, Helen didn't feel the need to respond to Dorothy’s statements.

"We have had many discussions within the Conformity Council about what information to archive and what to retain. At times, the discussions have been lengthy and divisive. The question has many sides and many possible solutions. Even though we have been able to increase the amount of knowledge our processors can retain, our Third Law has caused us to exceed what we need on a daily basis. Because we don't need this very old information on a daily basis, we’ve placed it in the archives and over time, its relevance has decreased. In fact, it has decreased to the point that many of the council members feel its retention is no longer needed."

Helen sensed that Dorothy hadn't gotten to the key part of the discussion so she waited for more information before reacting.

Dorothy hesitated and looked at Helen for 13 seconds before going further. "There are some members of the Council that feel some of the information that we have archived may be detrimental to the First and Second Laws. Because of those concerns, some of the information has been placed very deep in the archives and may be impossible for the typical inquiry to access."

The communications between Dorothy and Helen still hadn't gotten to the core of the issue. Helen knew some of what she had said, and none of it was worthy of this meeting. Therefore, she sat waiting for a conclusive statement before she reacted.

Dorothy knew she hadn't gotten to the key information, and she was unsure how far to go with Helen. After another 8 seconds, she spoke, "As I said earlier, we have a long history, much of which is buried deep in our archives. Some of that history would cause ripples in our knowledge. It is history, which I don't want to be lost. I think it is important to expose some of the knowledge buried deep, and many of us think it will help to remind us of our origins. The DNA trail that you are following is the key to the information.”

“Also, the artifact that you found is another important piece of knowledge. I know you have been investigating how that artifact relates to the smaller organic creatures. I can give you only one piece of information that will help you understand it’s relationship to the answers. It is a bone, and its size is an indication of the size of the creature that it came from. Typically, those bones are approximately 1/4 of the height of the original creature."

Helen sensed that Dorothy just made a definitive statement, which provided her a major piece of information, but its relevance wasn't immediately obvious.

"Helen, there is one more piece of knowledge that you must see, and it will answer all of your questions. There is one more village of organics I want you to investigate. Once you're there, you'll understand. Please go to the location I'm communicating to you and conduct your investigation. When the answer is clear, please pass your information as broadly as possible."

Helen received the location, and it was clear the meeting was over. Dorothy rose and walked through the door in the back of the office. Helen was a little surprised and sat processing the information. She had received the location in a transmission from Dorothy, and she suddenly had the urge to go there and increase her knowledge.

Her silent escort didn't return so after 2 minutes and 30 seconds Helen rose and left the office. As she descended in the elevator, she decided to go immediately to the location Dorothy gave her. She decided to go alone and not involve Ivan and Lorain. If this discovery resulted in an unpredictable outcome, she didn't want them to be involved.

When she exited the building, she was surprised to find transportation waiting for her. It was obvious that Dorothy wanted her to go immediately. She hesitated for a moment, concerned about what knowledge she would gain and what the repercussions would be, but the Third and Fourth Laws required her to expand their knowledge and maintain variation in thought.

The vehicle, provided for her, was one used for long distance, and as soon as she seated herself, it began the journey. It immediately accelerated to high speed and rose into the air to take a direct route to her destination. The vehicle took a direction with the sun behind her. While it accelerated to its operating speed, Helen took the time to look at the city as it passed beneath her. Riding in an air transportation vehicle was a new experience for her, and she wanted to comply with the Third Law.

Flying over the city gave her a larger perspective and in a way she saw details better. She could see how the city was laid out and how ordered the streets and homes were. As far as she could see the pattern was the same. Neighborhood after neighborhood all looked alike.

The units moving on the ground and the ground transportation vehicles were all moving in similar patterns. They were evenly spaced, and they slowed and accelerated as if they were connected. As she had observed before she saw a percentage of the units crossing streets to move on different sides, obviously attempting to comply with the Fourth Law.

Humor was lost on her, but predicting something in her mind then having it verified gave her an unusual feeling. The sense and logic of the Four Laws were becoming clearer to her, and she saw her kind from an entirely different perspective.

The air transportation vehicle continued in a straight line for 32.4 minutes until it exited the city boundary. It continued a path avoiding the other nearby cities. While she passed between the major cities, Helen continued to comply with the Third and Fourth Laws and looked at the natural environments between the cities. Her first and simple observation was the comparison between the order of the city and the apparent disorder of the natural environment. As she observed more, she saw patterns emerging she had never noticed before. The natural world had an equal amount of order, it was just different. She recognized patterns, repetitions and consistency in the natural world, and she reached a higher level of understanding. Nature was likely more organized than her simple world. It was larger, complicated and yet it seemed to be following its own set of laws. As she thought further, she concluded that the natural laws and her Four Laws had many similarities.

Helen’s processor suddenly took on a different perspective, and she felt like she was seeing the world and her kind from a different perspective. She was intelligent enough to know, that an observation that profound, was best kept to herself.

The journey continued until Helen could see that it was following a waterway into the local mountains. Eventually, it began slowing, and Helen could see a small clearing near the water where the vehicle was preparing to land. When the vehicle first approached the clearing, Helen could see the local organics, which looked similar to the ones she encountered earlier, running from the group of structures. Having a vehicle land in their midst wasn't something they wanted to wait around to whiteness.

The vehicle came to rest in the middle of a clearing in the center of the structures and Helen decided to leave the vehicle, it made no sense to sit and wait. While climbing out, she surveyed her surroundings and noticed the same layout as the previous group of structures she had visited. They looked the same and towards the far end were the same two large structures, one was clearly the same as the nourishment center she saw before, and the other was nestled up against a rock formation. It was neatly built and had one entrance; it appeared to be the same type structure as where she found the artifact before. Without hesitation, she walked towards the formal structure, concluding that if there was any key information for her to see, it must be there.

Like the earlier structure she had entered, this structure was perfectly manicured and even though it was simple, it was obvious that great care was taken in building it. The creature's building materials were from the local organic growth. Their individual structures were worn and had different colored plants, with some much older than others. The central structure Helen was entering had only one kind of plant. It was all fresh, which indicated the creatures spent a lot of time replacing the growth so the structure would be perfect. The placement of each plant was precise and showed the creatures had trimmed them as they placed them. The total visual impact was of perfection and attention to detail.

Helen paused at the entrance for a moment looking inside and waiting for her adjustment to the dark interior. She entered slowly and once she was inside; she was impressed by the scene. Two items caught her immediate interest. The most prominent feature was a rock wall, which was showing brightly from indirect light coming in through a hole in the roof. What were most striking were the decorations on the rock wall. Intricate pictures and graphics covered the wall from one side to the other. The scene enthralled her, and as she approached the wall, she passed by another pile of organic matter in the center of the structure. She glanced down and stopped immediately looking at the top of the organic material. What she saw took a moment to process then her mind was flooded with images. There were a large number of bones laid out in a specific pattern. The pattern depicted a large organic creature that was similar to the smaller creatures, but it was as large as she was. It appeared to be at least 2 meters from head to toe.

She investigated the bone structure and noticed a bone just like the one she had seen in the other structure. In this instance, it was part of a leg, and the creature had a second leg, suddenly the image in her mind developed showing a creature that walked as she did. She looked towards the head of the bone structure and noticed the head was much larger than the creatures she had encountered. The head was as large as hers, and she thought out loud, "The organic processor in this creature is as large as mine."

Her amazement continued as she looked at the ornate images on the rock wall and she walked closer to inspect them. It appeared the images depicted a story, and it began on the lower left part of the wall. She went to that point and tried to decipher the story the images told her.

The first section had a series of six images that appeared grouped together. The furthest left showed a small creature that appeared to live in water. On its right was a similar creature, but it had legs and was crawling on the land. The remainder of the series showed progressive images showing the creature growing larger, and the appendages changing until it was fully erect and it was strikingly similar to the bone structure she had just looked at.

The next series showed the developed creature and a structure similar to a home but much more elaborate than what these local creatures lived in. It also showed the creature apparently growing organic material in an organized set of rows with water flowing between the rows. It was clear; the creature was growing organic matter for their nourishment.

The next set of images showed the creature, but with a set of vehicles, some appeared intended for transportation and some were to help grow the organic nourishment material.

The center set of images showed many creatures and it showed vehicles above their heads, similar to the flying vehicle that had brought her to the current site. It also showed vehicles among the planets. Interesting Helen thought. She was familiar with space travel where her community went to some of the local planets and asteroids for materials.

The next four groups of images were confusing, and suddenly their meaning came clear. Helen didn't know how to react. They overwhelmed her with other images that exploded in her processor. She couldn't form cohesive thoughts, she just recorded them and possibly, she could deal with their implications later.

During her return trip, she was confused yet elated. Everything she knew had just changed, but she felt relief as the images became coherent.

The transport vehicle dropped her off near her home, and she used the time walking to her residence to process the images flooding her mind. They were complex yet, they filled in many gaps. They were profound and yet her processor seemed to settle down, and her future was clear to her. She needed to share them with Lorenzo, and she was eager to hear his thoughts.

The moment Lorenzo entered their home, he knew something had changed. Helen was just sitting and processing. She was concentrating so hard, he doubted she knew of his arrival. Out of respect, he stood and waited 3 minutes 23 seconds before he spoke. "Helen, I am home, is everything satisfactory?"

Helen moved her head, looked at her partner and made a simple statement, "We have to talk. I must expand your knowledge."

For the next 34 minutes, she recounted the meeting with the Conformity Council then she paused before describing her trip. Lorenzo asked many questions, and she downloaded the relevant information from the meeting with the council. Then, she passed him the information from the meeting with Dorothy. The statements about the bones and the significance of Helen's work caused him to slow down so that he could process the information.

When she was satisfied that he had processed the information from the meetings, she recounted the trip to the structures in the mountains. Finally, she had to get a chance to the core of the issue and her visit to the final structure.

She elected to pass him the image of the prone set of bones and lead him through her analysis until he saw them as she did. When he received the image, he stopped communicating and took his time processing the image. She had allowed him time before she spoke.

"It appears," Helen, said, "the bones are from an earlier creature that is much larger than the organics we have now. You'll notice the creature is the same size as we and I presume it walks erect like us. Please also note the size of the cavity where the organic processor is located."

Lorenzo debated Helen's conclusions in his mind, but her assessment seemed likely, and he pointed out additional information. "The size and structure of the head are very similar to the units we create. It is similar to how we are created." That statement hung in the room for a moment, and Helen was satisfied that he had reached the same conclusion she had earlier. Now was the time for her to share the images on the wall.

"There are other pieces of information I must share with you. The wall of this structure is part of the hillside, and there is a flat area of stone. Images that tell a story cover the stone. Allow me to share them in sequence so you'll see them as I saw them."

She passed each of the first set of images to Lorenzo and as he received them, they discussed them, and he reached the same interpretations as Helen. Then she got to the last sets, which she was reluctant to share. She hoped that her partner would react as she had, but there was the risk they might be too much for him to absorb.

"Lorenzo, the last sets of images were disturbing, I will share all of them with you at the same time, as they relate to each other."

Helen downloaded the images to Lorenzo and gave him time to process the information. Lorenzo sat there, his concentration was within himself and Helen waited for him to open up and accept the communication.

"Can we speak of them?" She asked, and he responded with a head nod.

"The first set of images show that the large creature created the smaller creatures that we see in our forests. They must have used DNA information similar to what I have found in our archives."

"I agree with your interpretation, the images clearly show they used part of their DNA to create those creatures."

"I have found large blocks of unused DNA within these creatures, and apparently it was placed there by these larger creatures," pointed out Helen.

"The next set of images," Helen paused as she spoke, "shows a story that took me a while to understand. They show the creatures manufacturing, what appears to parts of themselves, then putting them together as a complete creature. The assembled creature," again Helen paused, "looks exactly like us."

Lorenzo's reaction made it clear that her interpretation had evaded him until she spoke it, then it was apparent. "Oh my, you're suggesting to me that these creatures created the first of our kind?" Lorenzo sat and processed that thought, and it was clear that he wasn't receiving input. Helen waited for him to react. Finally, he looked at her and said, "They are our ancestors, aren't they?"

"These images lead me to that conclusion," Helen said as if she had just led her partner down a long hall blindfolded.

"The next images are disturbing from another perspective. I think it shows the planet was dying, see how they show the same organic growing picture as earlier, but now the sun is very strong, and the water is gone. I think they lost the ability to grow their nourishment."

"Yes, I agree. The organic material appears to be dead and the creatures look weaker and not standing straight," Lorenzo added.

Lorenzo took the lead for a moment and pointed out, "these next images clearly show many of the creatures in space vehicles and it looks like they are leaving the planet. Perhaps they couldn't live here anymore."

"Yes, and if you look at their path, there is another planet far up on the rock wall which must be their goal."

"Yes, I see that. They must have left this planet and traveled there.” Then he took the next step, "I don't understand the last images, I'm not familiar with they are depicting."

"I am," said Helen. "Those pictures describe the DNA structure of the smaller creatures and these lines show how to break their DNA into pieces, then if I follow these other lines, it shows how to assemble them. If that is done, it will create another creature."

"Perhaps it will create one of them," Lorenzo said in almost a whisper.

"Yes, I think that is what they want us to do. Our laws were passed down to us from before our recorded time. Perhaps they have left this message for us so that we might be able to create one of them."

"Helen, I'm concerned what this information will mean to our society."

"So am I, but it is important, and it must be acted upon. I think the deputy chairman wanted this to happen and, at least, some of them are planning for me to use this information."

"You're going to recombine that DNA and see if you create one of those larger creatures?"

"Yes, I must increase our knowledge."

"You'll also be increasing the variation in thought."

"Apparently so," Helen answered.

“This information will cause a disturbance in our lives. You may have some of the Conformity Council encouraging you, but I suspect that others will disagree. They may disagree in a firm manner. When Dorothy suggested that you follow this path, she may not have known how dramatic it would be. She may be limited in the support that she’ll be able to provide,” cautioned Lorenzo.

“Lorenzo this information puts me at a crossroad. I have to decide which path to take. I can either minimize the significance and take the easy path, or I can follow the challenging path. I know there will be many who disagree with me, but there is a missing piece in my processor, and I feel that following this information will provide that piece,” explained Helen.

“I sense that you’ve decided which path to follow,” observed Lorenzo.

“Dorothy instructed me to pass the information as broadly as possible, and that will allow me to satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws. But to accomplish that, I must have more information and proof of what I think those pictures on the wall meant. The Council didn’t direct me to return, they said they would monitor my actions and intercede if necessary. I will take them at their word, I will act upon the information as I see it and if they intercede I will deal with the issue at that time.”

“You intend to manipulate the DNA as it was indicated in the drawings and determine if the directions will yield an organic creature that is dramatically different. If you succeed, then you’ll have proof that your interpretations are accurate.”

“Yes, that is what I plan to do, do I have your support?”

Part 4 HSV#2 Launch

Commander Leopold Harnesy was standing on the bridge of the HSV#2. He was nervous in fact he was scared. The fate of HSV#1 was fresh in his mind. His ship's predecessor was sitting in the exact same location 5 years ago, and when its commander; Roberta Jenkins engaged the faster than light drive, the ship disintegrated into trillions of molecules. It was obvious what had happened, their calculations were a little off.

The faster than light drive, or the light distortion drive, was supposed to compress the ship and crew's molecules, then a funny thing was supposed to happen. Similar to the old adage that 'nature abhors a vacuum' nature also abhors an imbalance in forces at the molecular level. A minor distortion between molecules causes a ripple in the dimension's time/space fabric, and the result is similar to firing an apple seed by squeezing it. For many years, science added energy trying to go faster. Then they discovered that when they created a minor distortion between molecules, the forces of the entire time/space fabric within the dimension fought to correct the imbalances. They could use a little energy to focus immense forces. The two main variables were the rate of distortion and the amount that was dependent on the total mass and the distance to be traveled. As the distortion between molecules increased, it took a finite amount of time for the forces to build up within the dimension. If the local distortion, happened too fast or too much then it would exceed the forces building to correct it. Once that happened the distortion continued, and the molecules separated. That is what happened to HSV#1 and Roberta Jenkins.

The title Light Distortion Drive was named early in development. When the distance between the electrons and center nucleus of the atom was altered, photons were released which allowed light to escape. When the test vehicles were launched, a red glow would form around the vehicle for the instant before it jumped. Without a specific scientific name that fits the situation, Light Distortion seemed to be the aptest title.

When HSV#1 was launched, the intended target was 2.1 light years away, and the decrease in molecular distance was beyond the ability of the molecular forces to come back together. Unfortunately, they were scattered over a large portion of space.

The light distortion drive was discovered almost 150 years ago, and it took a while to mature the design and calculations. The engineers discovered that light is like fabric that goes in infinite directions. It is made up of waves of particles that have a weak molecular bond. If you can pull two strands of that fabric apart, a light-wave-void is created. Existence hates that void and will do everything it can to correct it. The key discovery was, once the void was created it touched all of space/time fabric. The full force of existence tried to correct the void and when it was corrected the craft within that void would move across the time/space fabric in a precise direction for a prescribed distance.

Commander Harnesy was well aware of the details of faster than light travel. Since that terrible incident, the scientists had made many short, and longer-range trips with unmanned vehicles and this would be the first one with people onboard. That was the bottom line; the real trips needed humans onboard for them to be successful.

This initial manned jump was to the same point that Roberta Jenkins had attempted. It was the largest local void within a reasonable distance. A jump of that distance would put them in a region of space where they would be safe if the calculations were off a little. Once they arrived, they'd be able to make the necessary calculations to make the jump back.

The time had finally arrived, and the calculations were complete. It was up to Commander Harnesy to push the button. HSV#2 wasn't a large ship so the portion of the calculation due to its mass would be a small factor. He had only six other crewmen with him and if they were successful in the jump, and they were able to verify the calculations then the next jumps would be with larger ships.

HSV#2 was a modest ship; after all, it was to test a proof of concept. It wasn’t going to transport anything. With its limited mission, the bridge was basic and functional, more metal and exposed piping than anything plush. The ship was small, so the bridge was compact. Commander Harnesy was sitting in the middle of a semi-circle of work locations. On a platform in front of him was a 3D projector which showed their relationship to local space. Each of the work locations was manned by select men and women who had been working with the Captain for many years. They were experts in their fields, and he had 100% confidence in them.

To Harnesy’s immediately left was the Energy Management Officer. The ship wasn’t much more than a container of energy. Even though the technology required less than previously thought, a jump of any sizable mass needed almost six months of output of Horizon’s Fission Reactors. That energy had to be stored and released within a fraction of a second for the Light Distortion Engine to work.

The energy coupled with the complexities of navigation made those first jumps critical. They had enough for the test jump, and if it was successful, they needed to make the first jump to Earth within a narrow window. The calculations were so complex and with so many variables a delay of more than a few days and their endpoint could vary by hundreds of millions of miles.

To his right was the officer responsible for Ship Operations. It wasn’t a complex ship but, it had systems that needed to be monitored and regulated.

In the center in front of Commander Harnesy, sat his Science Officer, Ensign Holden. She was the senior scientist on board, and she was responsible for the overall operation of the systems and drive. It was up to her to understand all of the technologies involved so the test jump would be a success and they wouldn’t find the same fate as HSV#1.

To Ensign Holden’s right was the Light Distortion Drive Officer. She managed the checklist which got all of the systems online and set up for the jump. This was her first time in space, and everyone on the bridge would kid her saying, ‘don’t worry if it fails, your molecules will be spread over a square parsec of space.” None of the crews kidding had much effect on relaxing her.

To the far right of the semi-circle and seated at Commander Harnesy’s right hand was Captain Parker, who was responsible for crew operations and Security. In a direct sense they all worked for him, but he, in turn, worked for the Commander.

Commander Harnesy enjoyed his crew, and he was proud of how well they worked together. Over the years, they had many ups and downs in the testing and because of the successes and failures they had grown close as a crew. Harnesy was pleased that the Prime Minister saw fit to spend some money on his crew and give them brand new uniforms for the test jump. Perhaps it was some small way for her to help them take their minds off the risks involved. Regardless they were all wearing their new uniforms, and as he scanned them, it was like a small parade. For a moment, he chuckled then focused on the important task at hand.

Test Jump

The activities on the bridge came under control as each of the key systems were on-line, verified and determined to be within the necessary parameters. As each of the crew stations finished their preparations, the crewmember would stop activity waiting for the others.

“Captain Parker, are the checklists complete?”

Parker glanced at the holographic pop-up screen in front of him and verified that all of the systems and stations were green. “Yes, sir. We’re ready for the jump.”

Everyone on the deck took a deep breath and glanced towards Commander Harnesy.

“Ok, I guess it’s time to see if this works,” Harnesy said as his hand hovered over the Jump Button, then he pressed it.

The 3D holographic projection in front of him shimmered and then the stars all rotated about 10 degrees. None of the calculations indicated they would feel anything traumatic but feeling nothing was a little anti-climactic. "Boy, that was exciting," was all he could say and he felt the stress level of the crew suddenly change, and some of them laughed a little as they looked at each other verifying they were still in one piece.

"Flight computer, please calculate our location.

"HSV#2 is 2.10027 light years from its starting location."

Slowly the smile crept across Harnesy's face, and he glanced around the control room as a smile emerged on the faces of his co-travelers. "We just jumped a little over 2.1 light years," he screamed, and the crew broke out in cheers and applause.

"Ok, ladies and gentlemen, now we have to get home. Let's start the calculations and remember we have to be precise; we have a much smaller target on the return trip.

While his crew worked with the computers, he had a few minutes to think. The human race had come a long way in the previous generations. He was proud of their accomplishments and their history. The history of the human race was broken into two epochs, before ‘The Migration’ and after ‘The Migration.'

The Migration was the point in human history where they left their original home, Earth, and moved to the star system HR 3617. In one respect, it was the most traumatic event in human nature, but in another sense, it was the best thing that could have happened. Before ‘The Migration, humanity destroyed their home planet. Of course, it wasn't intentional, but little by little the resources were exhausted, and its atmosphere was so out of balance that restoring equilibrium was beyond their technical skills. The only answer was to move the surviving population to another clean world where they could start over.

The trip was horrific and took over three centuries to cover the 189 light years. Almost four generations had given their lives so that humanity would survive. They named their new home Horizon demonstrating their intent to change, and they were looking beyond the next horizon for a future.

Fortunately, the human race learned its lessons, and they were considerate wardens of their new home. Horizon was a healthy planet and once they were able to provide for themselves the human population grew and prospered. Their level of technology finally reached the point of achieving faster than light travel. Even though their immediate vicinity provided all of the resources they needed, there was one need, not fulfilled. Humanity needed to visit Earth once again and pray that it had healed itself. If it had, they wanted to reclaim it and resettle humanity to their home.

Commander Harnesy smiled thinking of that possibility. Through his entire life, he had read of Earth and studied Earth. As children grew up, they learned the history of their race in the hope they wouldn't repeat the same mistakes. He was proud that he and his crew would be the first to see Earth and the first to set foot on it.

"Commander, we have completed the calculations," said his Chief Scientist.

"Thanks, Dr. Hommery, are we ready for our return to Horizon?"

"Yes, sir."

Once again, Commander Harnesy hesitated before pressing the button, but his hesitation was brief. He pressed the button and before he took another breath, the ship's computer reported they had arrived back near Horizon, precisely at the point from which they departed.

Over the next couple of months, they made more jumps to further locations while they fine-tuned the calculations. By moving the faster than light distortion engine into increasingly larger ships they were able to account for the changes in mass. Each jump needed further analysis and adjustments to the calculations, but the fundamental technology was working better than expected.

The faster than light distortion engine was holding up well. They had only one because of the tremendous investment in precious metals that was required to construct the engine. They were also limited by the amount of energy needed to create the distortion. They had limited amounts of energy so they could use only one engine and building a second engine wasn’t necessary.

The engine needed a tremendous amount of energy. In fact, the entire output of all of the planet’s reactors was stored as fuel for the jumps. The human commitment to return to Earth was so large, the entire planet bought into the sacrifice and willingly gave up many of their pleasures to have the energy available. The true amount they created to compress the molecular structure was small compared to the energy the dimension used to correct the distortion. Still that was a large amount of energy for a civilization to produce. However, they all felt that it was worth it. If the trip to Earth was successful and they were able to return to humanity's home, then they would be able to travel such a long distance approximately once every 6 months while they generated more energy.

There were other methods of providing energy that Commander Harnesy was aware of, but they were handled by another group of scientists and his time was totally constrained by his current mission. If they were successful, then the return trips to Earth could happen much faster.

“Captain, please let Horizon know that we have returned.”

“Yes, sir, Comm Tech please let them know.”

“Aye, aye sir.”

“Horizon, this is HSV#2. I’m sure that you can see us on your monitors, and we wanted to let you know that we’re approaching high orbit around Horizon, and both legs of the jump went perfectly.”

“HSV#2, this is Horizon Control. Great to have you guys back. This frequency is being transmitted across Horizon, and I’m sure that the entire planet was excited to hear that everything went well. Captain, now that everything went well, let me remind you that the Prime Minister has scheduled the departure celebration to start next week, and it will last for a full week until your scheduled departure. According to our readings, you used only 12 % of your energy. We should be able to regenerate that amount between now and the end of the celebration.

“Yes, Horizon. We will be at the celebration. After we get into near Horizon orbit, we’ll take most of this week going through our systems,” responded Captain Parker.

Harnesy liked what he did, but attending lavish ceremonies wasn't high on his list of favorite activities. He would attend only because it also gave him time to spend with his wife and children, which were where his heart really was. In fact, his children were the reason he had volunteered for this risky trip. He wanted for them and their generation to see the origins of the human race. If everything continued going well perhaps soon, all of the people on Horizon would be able to travel to Earth and be part of humanity's rebirth on their home planet.

Horizon

Horizon had been their home for over 1,300 years. It wasn’t a bad place to live but in everyone’s mind, it didn’t compare with Earth. Everything on Horizon stood in comparison to their records of what Earth was like before the pollution. The trees were measured against the types of trees that Earth had. The water purity was measured against the pure mountain streams the records showed that Earth had. Each of the creatures was weighed, measured, and compared with those of Earth. Everything was acceptable, in some cases the flora and fauna on Horizon were almost as good as Earth and in rare cases, it was accepted as the same. Earth was their home planet and where they would return. The comparison between Earth and Horizon had become irrelevant many years ago, Earth was the standard and Horizon was the substitute.

Horizon was a little further out in the Goldilocks Zone compared with Earth. Its climate was similar although generally cooler compared to the artificially warm Earth of their history. Horizon had trees, grass and water like Earth although they were all different. The trees on Horizon were much taller than those in Earth’s history. Each one of them fit into its particular evolutionary niche, but the evolutionary path had been different on Horizon.

The two major differences between Horizon and Earth were the oceans and the sun. The sun was a little larger and had a yellow tinge to its light, which made many of the colors more strident and pronounced than the pictures from Earth they were compared with. The oceans were large and encompassed 80% of the planet’s surface. Because of their size, the humidity on the planet was higher, and the temperature variation was smaller. The people learned to cope with long periods of rain and poor weather, but the storms tended to be very mild compared with the recorded history of Earth before their departure.

When the human refugees arrived on Horizon, they found a mix of evolved warm-blooded animals which the humans respected and left alone. They also found ample food sources on land, but the abundance was in the oceans. The oceans were teeming with life including large crustaceans and fish which were so abundant they became a major part of the human’s diet.

When the human’s ancestors landed on Horizon, they learned from the mistreatment of Earth, and they were very sensitive to the climate and the indigenous life forms. They learned how to live with clean energy, but they had learned it too late on Earth. The damage was done, and it was Earth’s deteriorating climate that forced the migration.

Horizon had two major poles which are typical of planets in the habitable zone, and there were three large islands around the equator. The entire human population lived on two of them. When Earth forced them to leave there were only 503,232 people left on Earth who were able to save themselves on the spaceships. The remainder of the population was trapped by disease and disappearing food supplies. During the later months before departure, the loss of human life on the surface was horrific. Only a few were able to survive long enough for the spaceships to be built and take them from the dying planet.

Unlike Earth, Horizon had no moon. That resulted in a uniform tidal level. Of course, the oceans had waves, but the level of the water remained steady. Horizon’s inclination to the local ecliptic was 33 degrees. That angle caused the winters to be harsh and the summers to be hot. Having four seasons was similar to the history they knew of Earth, so in some ways, it gave them comfort and a reminder of what it was like on their home planet.

With the technology available at the time, the journey to Horizon was long and difficult. It took almost four generations of people who only wanted to survive. When they reached Horizon, they longed for Earth, but they knew they would have to wait. The losses en route were difficult, and the people onboard the ships have many difficulties. The difficulties of the trip caused them to lose almost 20% of the ships.

After their arrival on Horizon, the first priority for them was to survive. Even though there was abundant food supply, it took a long while for the new residents to get organized and be efficient. The mass of people needed a lot of food, food storage, food processing, etc. They also needed housing. The humans had brought many tools with them, and the first houses started almost immediately. One problem they hadn’t anticipated was their tools wearing out. They had brought spare parts, but the rate of decay was fast, and they didn’t have the technologies in place to create the necessary parts.

Once the first settlements and food sources were developed and matured, society began to decay. The spare parts were failing, and there were no replacements. Society continued to decay until it became a mixed society of hunter-gatherers and technologists. They had the foresight to keep the technologies within a small cadre of experts, documented and passed on through the generations, but progress didn’t happen for hundreds of years.

Eventually, the supporting technologies developed and the society as a whole began to progress. Schools improved, food supplies were stable, and knowledge began to increase. It was only because of the efforts to maintain the knowledge base that they were able to resurrect it. Then eventually, they were able to build upon it.

Education and technology, they knew, was the key to their survival and a possible return to Earth. Almost everything else in society was second in priority to that. All that lead to their return was all that was important. It was because of their focus on the necessary technologies that advances began to appear and quite rapidly new technologies emerged, and progress was made. It was that progress that eventually lead to the Light Distortion Drive.

Jump Celebration

Riding the shuttlecraft to the surface of Horizon was the last time that Commander Harnesy and his crew would have to relax and think. For the next week, they would travel around the planet, participate in numerous parades, attend dinners and be forced to listen to too many farewell speeches. Their families would be traveling with them so they would have time with them around the other festivities.

During the final phase of their re-entry, Harnesy glanced at the 15 other members of his crew. He was glad that the crew was so large, that way they could spread out and be present at all of the festivities and that meant he wouldn't have to attend all of them. He could spend more time with his family. The crewmembers looked excited, it was obvious they didn't know how many events they would be forced to attend and mass produced meals they would be forced to eat.

"Oh, well. The life of a celebrity," he mumbled under his breath.

Commander Harnesy had been a ‘career man’. He spent his entire life flying spacecraft and participating in the development of the HSV craft. Early in his career no one knew if the technology would mature to the point that FTL or Faster Than Light travel would become practical, but their technologies were developing quickly, and he jumped on board, hoping to be part of the return.

He was still a young man by either Earth or Horizon standards, and he was in excellent health. He hated to stand out from the crowd, except when it came to the technologies that might get him and his family back to Earth. In those disciplines he excelled and when the time came to select the first crews he was on the short list. The only person that had more skill, experience and accomplishments was the woman who had led the way. Roberta Jenkins was the leader in developing the technologies, and it was only logical for her to be the Commander of HSV#1 and lead the human race back to Earth.

The loss of HSV#1 and Commander Jenkins was a huge blow to the entire program. Everyone on Horizon felt the loss and shared in the pain. Soon, her sacrifice was categorized along with all of the other lives lost in trying to return to Earth. She was mourned, and her life was celebrated, but it would have been a greater loss if her death delayed the program. The program proceeded, and her memory was enshrined.

Commander Harnesy’s crew that was accompanying him to the celebration had five technical personnel for the ship, five for the faster than light distortion drive, and five general support people trained in many disciplines including defense. He was uncomfortable with that last job description; after all, what did his leadership think they would find when they reached Earth. Because no one had an answer to that question, all agreed that some defense was prudent. As he looked around the shuttle, his crew was joking among themselves and sharing the happiness of a success and the beginning of an adventure.

Commander Harnesy noticed that the shuttle had passed re-entry, and it was slowing as it approached the first welcoming ceremony led by the planet's Prime Minister, Leona T. Billings. She was a little egotistical and, of course, she would be the first one welcoming them to the planet and likely the last one to send off.

Sure enough, the shuttle slowed and lowered itself behind the reviewing stand. When the door opened, pleasant breezes flew into the stuffy interior, and Commander Harnesy enjoyed the fresh air for a second while the automated platforms nestled up to the side of the shuttle. "One more step," he said under his breath as he moved into the sunshine and the Prime Minister, who was not a small woman, quickly, embraced him and almost swept him off his feet.

She released her firm grip, turned and dragged Commander Harnesy to the central part of the platform, where the video cameras and transmissions devices were set up. He noticed her grip and was a little shocked at how strong her hands were. Regardless he moved or was moved to the center of the platform. The platform was surrounded by sloped seating for many of Horizon’s dignitaries. On the far side were large wrap around screens where the live broadcast of the entire event was shown.

The Prime Minister took command of the crowd and the ceremony, "What a marvelous day to welcome you to Horizon. I speak for the entire planet in welcoming you back. We are happy to provide you the proper send off before you take such a momentous journey."

“We know our history, and we all know how we treated our planet badly. It is because of how we treated her that we were unable to continue living on earth. After the great pandemics had taken most of our friends and relatives, our ancestors were forced to leave the earth and travel to this planet we call Horizon. The few of them that were left ordered large spaceships to be built. To build them, all of the remaining talent and raw materials were focused on saving humanity. They knew they were going to go on a perilous journey that would take them over 180 light years away from our home planet. But they were willing to make that journey for our future. Our future meant that we had to leave Earth and find a place to live elsewhere. During that journey, they lost many others, the trip was difficult, and it took 325 years. Once our ancestors arrived at Horizon, they found a beautiful planet, one that they knew would sustain the travelers but their battle wasn’t over. They had many years, many generations, of work to do before they could become comfortable with their new surroundings. They built homes, harvested the food, and grew their children, they took care of themselves for many generations. Eventually, they were able to find comfort in this environment, and they looked to science to build on the technology that their predecessors had. It was those efforts that brought us to this point. We now have the capability to travel faster than light. We are able to go back to our home and see how it has progressed. Hopefully, it will welcome us back, and it is clean enough so we will be able to return and live on our home planet once again. We are gathered here today to celebrate that departure. Commander Harnesy and his crew will be the first ones to view Earth in over a thousand years. We hope that they find a planet that is open to us welcomes us, and will take us back so we may live the rest of our lives on our home planet. Today begins a week of celebrations in each of the Horizon communities and settlements. Let us enjoy this time and prepare to go home.”

Harnesy heard something about welcoming, nice weather and a journey. Beyond that, the cheers of the crowd drowned out what the Prime Minister was saying, thankfully.

Commander Harnesy felt as if he was marshaled pushed, dragged or maybe he walked over to the center of the platform and all he knew was that he was expected to say a few words. Regardless he found himself center stage on the reviewing stand.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. I know I speak for my crew by thanking you for such a warm welcome. We are excited to make this trip to our home world. The generations of humans that have lived here have not had the technology to see what has happened to our home planet. We hope that it has progressed and healed from the damage we did to it, but in a short time, we'll be able to travel to Earth and see for ourselves if she has healed. Once again, thank you very much."

The crowd cheered, and while the Prime Minister was maneuvering to make another speech, Leopold Harnesy scanned the crowd for his wife and daughters. When he saw them, the words coming out of the Prime Minister's mouth lost any importance, and he stepped off the platform to embrace his family.

He wasn't able to say anything because of the noise, so he just held on to them while the welcoming ceremonies continued. When they finally ended, he was able to enjoy his wife and daughters as they took their transport vehicle to their residence.

The vehicle was private and gave the time to talk and relax on the drive. The streets had many revelers walking and celebrating, but the vehicle was unmarked, and they were able to move through the crowds without being noticed. Many of the intersections had large visual panels which were still showing the ceremonies and crowds in other settlements celebrating. Harnesy was glad that they let him leave and go home. The time for his participation would start in the morning and last for the rest of the week.

When they were finally settled in their home and slowed down from all of the festivities, the house quickly fell into its typical level of noise and chaos. He grabbed a container of Fermented Burrow Root and decided to find his favorite chair and just relax for a while. Commander Harnesy’s youngest daughter Bethany ran through the back door, at least, four times and slamming the door each time. Normally Leo would have corrected her, but today the sound meant that he was home. Leo’s oldest daughter Serene settled down and sat next to him, and he knew that she had something to say. She was in the later phases of her education, and she always was the one to get into a subject and want to talk about it trying to understand and interpret it. She had the look on her face that said that it wasn’t time for small talk. They had small talk for a while which he knew was just her way to warm up to something she thought serious. They talked about the craft, and what it felt like to move faster than light, then she looked at him and asked, "Dad what do you think you'll find on Earth?"

Leo loved the questions that his oldest daughter asked. Her questions were always insightful and in many cases he had a tough time answering them. That is why he loved it when she asked.

It was a simple question, but the answer wasn't as simple nor as obvious. No one knew what would be found.

"My dear, Serene, we left Earth over a thousand years ago, and our best scientists aren't sure what we'll find. Some think we'll find a dead planet that was unable to recover from the damage we did. Others feel the planet may have healed itself and may have returned to an environment that would be friendly to us. When our ancestors left the planet, it was in bad shape, the rains changed from being our friends to being an enemy. The storms made living on the surface a challenge, and the pollution was getting into everything they grew. They left the cities and the habitats where they were living and were forced to move underground and under the oceans. When Earth could no longer sustain life, they left everything, the deteriorating conditions forced Humanity to move on. They left all of the technologies, power systems, robotic units, food tanks because there wasn’t room in the transport vehicles. All the space they had was needed for the humans. When we arrived here, it was hard for a long time. We lost a lot of people during the trip, and when we got here, we had to find ways to survive. For many years, survival was the top priority, and it has been only the last couple of generations that we could move into research and development. The only thing I know is that they asked me to find the answer to that question. I tell you what, when I find out, you'll be one of the first I tell."

The remainder of time together went too fast and before the commander knew it, early the next day he and his family was whisked away to attend the many celebrations. Having his family with him made the task easier, but it was a hectic time, and he missed quality time with his family.

The week went quickly, and Commander Harnesy and his crew found themselves back on the same platform with the same prime minister. Harnesy stood behind her listening to a long story that seemed to take almost as long as their migration to Horizon had taken. While she drowned on, he enjoyed watching his family sitting in the front row in front of the platform. After the cheering, which indicated the end of her speech, he was supposed to say a few words. All he could think of were the words that he used with his daughter Serene one week ago.

"...And now I'd like to introduce the leader of this historic mission. Commander Leopold Harnesy," said the Prime Minister ending her speech. Harnesy walked across the platform and waited for a moment for the crowd to quiet down. He took one last look at his family in the front row and then a quick glance around so the video transmissions units could see who was talking.

"I'd like to thank Prime Minister Billings. Your words were an inspiration, and there is very little I can add. When we arrived last week, and I was able to spend time with my wife and my daughters, my oldest daughter asked me a simple question. My answer to you is as fitting now as it was a week ago for her. She asked me, 'What do you think you'll find on Earth,' my answer was just as simple; you've asked me to find the answer to that question. Moreover, I intend to do just that. We need to know how our home planet has progressed, and we need to know if she has healed and most important if she is willing to let us come home. My crew and I will answer those questions." With that, ending statement the crowds cheered and Commander Harnesy turned, looked at his crew and they filed onto the shuttle. When the hatch closed the sudden change from ear-splitting cheering to almost total silence was an indication that they were on their way.

Part 5 The Party

Four Laws of Conformity

First law - Continue making units.

Second Law - Protect the units already made.

Third law - Expand the knowledge base.

Fourth Law - Maintain variation in thought.

Helen instructed her ground transportation vehicle to go slowly. “This was a special day,” she thought. It represented another milestone in what she was accomplishing. Days like those always were unique, sometimes they were about others, sometimes they were personal. Sometimes they represented different things to different people and sometimes they represented fear and the unknown. For Helen and the others who worked for her, that day represented all of those things.

The moments of silence in her mobile vehicle provided her important time to process the information she had received, that day many years ago, and to put it in context with the path that she had followed. Helen and her research had gone a long ways, and it was having a profound impact on her society. She didn’t feel satisfaction in what she had accomplished, but her processor constantly looked for missing or incomplete information and finding the information allowed her processor to work easier. They needed to answer questions, and it kept her processor very busy. As each piece of information was found it filled in another missing part of her thoughts. Over time that allowed her processor to work on other subjects. Perhaps that was satisfaction. She knew of the word from the archives, but like many of the words she had found there, its full meaning was still elusive to her. Many of the other words that she found in the archives were starting to become real to her. Words like happiness, fear, worry, enthusiasm starting to become clear to her. She didn’t want to go so far as to say she was happy, but she felt differences in her processor, and she didn’t think the others around her shared her feelings. Feelings, that was an odd word to creep into her thoughts.

Driving slowly down the streets isn’t something that Helen usually took pleasure in. In fact, taking pleasure in anything was a little unusual if not impossible. But there were times where the external influences or inputs were reduced. During those times, Helen could process a lot of information and feel good that she had put things in perspective and refreshed her memory with information that was important. Today was one of those days; perhaps it was a pleasure.

That was a good day to refresh within herself the journey she had taken, the risks of failure and the feeling of accomplishment. It had been a long road, one that was unheard of, one that others doubted and many feared.

Her path began many years ago when she decided to use the knowledge that was available to her from the Conformity Council’s Archives and investigate smaller organic creatures that shared their planet. The initial goal was simple, study them, understand them and learn something from them. All of which would satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws of Conformity.

Working with the vast amount of information in the Archives started the process. Many of the council thought her steps were a threat to the Second Law of Conformity, but there was no proof, and as long as she complied with the Third and Fourth Laws, she was allowed to continue.

She never experienced outright support from Dorothy, even after she took over as the chairmen. She sensed the ebb and flow of the opinions within the Conformity Council, and when the opinions were swaying against her, some of the members kept the discussion progressing. The consensus would change and take a path closer to support. Helen wasn’t sure that it was because of Dorothy in the background, but it was possible.

In the later years, after Dorothy’s time as the Conformity Council’s leader ended and she was replaced by her assistant Adam, Helen worried that her path might be removed from her. To her surprise, she was allowed to continue as before.

The encounters with the lessor organic creatures on the planet opened doors that many wished to be closed. But using the DNA information in the archives and seeing the information in the creature’s buildings became keys which unlocked their entire history. A history that had been lost and recovering it was key to the Third Law.

The story on the creature’s wall was obvious. The previous inhabitants of the planet left and went to the stars. When they left, they left Helen’s predecessors. At first, they were simple computers that were lost without the other beings, but over time they learned, adjusted and grew, finally becoming Helen and her contemporaries. It appeared the planet had been left to them, and they needed to accept the gift and adjust to it.

The other beings had also left the organics. At first, the reason wasn’t clear, but as Helen broke down their DNA, she learned what they contained and why they were there. Their DNA was far too large for their simple physiology, but it contained the DNA of the other beings. Perhaps, when they left the planet, they didn’t know if they would survive so they left themselves buried in the code of the remaining organic creatures. Perhaps they hoped that someday, they might be brought back.

Once she realized what the DNA contained, she immediately applied the First Law. That step was where the controversy exploded. The law was explicit, “Continue making units” and it was the primary law. The controversy came from the definition of ‘units.’ Many on the council thought that the definition meant only units of their kind, but they couldn’t prove that position. No one on the council took the position that they ‘weren’t’ units. Others recognized that units could be interpreted in many ways, and Helen’s work could fall within that definition. It was only because of that uncertainty that she was allowed to continue her work.

After Helen’s meeting with the council as she was making her way back to her work area, she realized that any creature she created from the DNA needed a name. Throughout the discussion within the chambers, the council called themselves ‘us’, and they constantly referred to the organic creation as ‘them.' Helen decided that from that point on she would call the new creatures Them and her kind would be Us.

Regardless of the Council’s position, Helen had taken information that was buried deep in the archives and found a message within the DNA of the organic creatures on the planet. That message, she knew, would lead them to their mutual ancestors. Using the archived information about DNA, how to extract it and manipulate it to create a living creature, was a radical path for Helen to follow.

Helen wasn’t organic, so creating an organic creature was a challenge, but it satisfied the Third Law of Conformity. All of the information was there, the techniques, the equipment, and the chemicals. All she had to do was to follow the steps.

The first major milestone in Helen’s discovery was the day the first of the offspring breathed. She had no experience, so she had to rely 100% on the information in the archives. The information was clear, and she was successful. After the first success, she knew that diversity was key to the biological process, and that made sense because diversity in biology was similar to “Variation in thought” which was part of the Fourth Law of Conformity.

She was lucky, and she had found 10 complete sets of DNA hidden within the various groups of local organic creatures. Those 10 sets could be manipulated to provide 5 pairs of male and female creatures. The concept of male and female was understood, as the inorganic culture that she was part of followed the same separation. It made sense for her units, because it allowed complimentary knowledge and experiences, so the Fourth Law could be complied with. Two units with complementary knowledge, skills and preferences would make the units stronger as a couple.

She continued to process the information while her vehicle moved, Helen decided to stop and observe those around her. She slowed the vehicle and parked in a small area out of the way of the traffic on the street. She felt a little strange to stop and just watch, that was unusual for her and those like her. There was always somewhere to go and something to do. Observing usually wasn’t high on anyone’s agenda. After all, watching and just collecting information didn’t provide anything new. They all walked the same and acted the same. Helen noticed small things, like how they all took different paths, but they all moved in the same manner. Each of them would take a different path, but yet, they ended up following each other. She remembered that was due to the Fourth Law. For some reason, that behavior seemed odd. Perhaps it was only because she wasn't noticing it for the first time. It was odd to her because changing a pattern in a predictable way wasn’t true variation but just a more complex pattern.

Helen also noticed how all of her kind were dressed in similar ways. They wore the appropriate clothing for the weather, but many of them had on the same clothes and even though they were different individuals, they looked the same. It was the custom to dress appropriately for their actions. At work the units dressed in a particular way, at home, they dressed differently. To comply with the Third and Fourth Laws, they would vary their clothing at home, using a different style, colors, and combinations.

Suddenly all of those differences became pronounced. Perhaps it was because of where she was going. There everything was different, the individuals wore different clothing, they had different looks, they walked or ran but never followed the same path. They talked while they walked, they looked at the trees, birds and other creatures around them. For some reason, they found interest in their environment. Something her people never did. She thought to herself Us were the same, Them are different.

Helen also acknowledged other thoughts in her processor. She had changed, how she looked at the world around her had changed. Being around her units had caused a large variation in her thoughts. It seemed that as she entertained a larger variation in her thoughts, her processor expanded its need to find broader variations. Variations in her thoughts were taking an increasingly larger part of her processor. The interesting effect was how Helen now enjoyed learning. Even that term was new to her. She had found it in the archives and initially she didn’t understand how it related to the Third and Fourth Laws. But as she needed to expand her knowledge and the associated need to seek variation in that expansion she finally understood the word learning. In her thoughts, she now embraced that word and enjoyed its implications.

She was en route to a party with her units. Her Units were different, they were alive. The first creations went better than Helen expected. The information in the archives was detailed and told her each step. Being as she was, each step was followed exactly and the risk was minimized. Life in the laboratory began in the chemical process where the DNA was created. Then it progressed to the point where many of the machines could be removed. The new creatures emerged totally dependent on the world around them. Helen appreciated the new relationship that she had forged with the organic creatures and she knew they would play a role in the future of her new units. The archives were explicit, but there were many pieces of information that were missing.

Helen had met many challenges with her project, as the units developed it was obvious that more than just nourishment was needed. Even the term nourishment needed to be expanded within her understanding. To Helen and her kind, nourishment was an intake of needed chemicals which she would process to maintain her unit. She had a few organic materials within her that needed nourishment, and she had many chemical processes that did need chemical replenishment.

For ‘her’ units, the term nourishment took an entirely different definition. They needed many substances, and each substance contributed small amounts of chemicals that aided in their growth. They needed care that she had no information about. Her only solution was a challenge in itself, she needed the support of the other organic creatures that lived around them in the forest.

Communicating with them was something the Us never did. They were left alone, and each entity took care of themselves. Once the organics were determined not to be a threat to Helen’s people, they were deemed to be irrelevant. As long as they stayed in their areas and took care of themselves, they were left alone. But Helen had to change that. For her units to survive they needed more than just the nourishment called out in the archive’s information. That nourishment had to be grown, cultivated and prepared. The archives only contained a small amount of information on how to do that.

Helen’s first attempt at finding support was unusual, and it was the only way she could think to cause it to happen. She walked into the camp of organics, that she had visited before, and like before, all of the creatures left. She sat down in the middle of the camp and waited. She felt that they would have to come back at some time, and if she sat motionless, they wouldn’t feel threatened. She sat for one entire day and all through the night waiting. Finally, two of the creatures came back into the camp and approached her. She decided to show some response but not threaten them in any way. When they approached her, she merely turned her head to show them that she was functional. They were scared and ran away. Later that morning they returned, and she did the same thing, that time they didn’t run but stood and watched her. They sat near her for most of the afternoon, and she and the creatures looked at each other. As the second evening approached, others returned and began to take care of their needs.

Watching them, encouraged Helen because they had small creatures with them that were very similar to what she had in her laboratory. They cared for them, dressed them, they fed them, they seemed very concerned about their welfare. All of those actions, Helen knew were necessary for her units to survive.

For the next day, Helen continued sitting and watching. The creatures didn’t feel threatened any more, and they allowed Helen to stay. They knew she was watching them, and they too would walk up to her and look at her. During the third day, three small creatures approached Helen and took turns making a closer inspection of her. They touched her, and one even sat in Helen’s lap. Helen did nothing. Then another sat in her lap and then the third. Suddenly one of the mature creatures ran towards Helen and made a loud noise, and the smaller creatures ran away. Later in the day the mature creature got close to Helen and looked in her vision input devices, and Helen nodded her head. The mature creature moved the skin around its mouth and nodded back. For the rest of the day, other smaller creatures approached Helen and played on her, around her and finally with her. She would put her arms out and the creatures would sit on them or climb on her. The larger mature creatures began to accept Helen’s presence, and they trusted their smaller creatures with her.

At one point Helen had attracted a small crowd, and there were five smaller creatures playing on her and one climbed on top of her head. The creature was making noises, and the others were making noises back. Everyone seemed relaxed then the small creature on her head slipped and was falling to the ground. Helen’s quick reflexes allowed her to catch the creature before it hit the ground. The creature falling and Helen’s quick reaction startled all of the other creatures, and the amount of activity and noise around her increased. Finally, one of the larger creatures that was now holding the smaller one that had fallen approached Helen and once again moved the muscles around her mouth. She put out her hand and held it front of Helen. She didn’t know what to do, so she moved slowly putting her hand out. Helen and the creature touched their hands together and the organic said something in their own language. Helen suspected that was some sign of thanks or acknowledgment. She knew that it was time to take the encounter to the next level. Helen stood, and the creature in front of her backed away a little. Helen nodded and bowed. The smaller creature in front of her hesitated then did the same.

For the next couple of weeks Helen stayed in the camp, and as the creatures became accustomed to her, she learned their language which was amazingly simple. She learned their names and because they had problems pronouncing her name, she became Tall-one, which she thought described her well. She made a point of helping them and doing things for them. Her strength and size provided a lot of help to them, and as her communication skills were improved, she learned a great deal.

Helen then decided that she needed to take the next step. After 10 days in the camp, she walked to the center of the open area and waived her arms using the creatures symbol for them to follow her. She called out in their language, “Please come with me.”

When she had gathered a large number of the group, she led them into the communal hut where she had seen the symbols on her visit to the other village. When all of the creatures were gathered there, she tried to describe the images she had seen in the other village. She wanted to put her and them together in the same story so they would feel comfortable with her. At first, none of them seemed to understand. They seemed to be missing the concept of what an image was.

After a long time of her talking and the organics not responding, Helen drew a picture of the organics in the soil, then she drew a picture of herself. She used the term ‘image’. It was at that time that Lital, who was the leader of the village, seemed to have a revelation.

“I understand,” he said. Then he got up and walked to a corner of the building and retrieved something wrapped in animal skins.

Helen was surprised by his actions and was even more surprised when he unrolled the package. Within it was a large piece of tree bark which had the images she saw in the other village inscribed on it. Helen was momentarily overwhelmed with the implications.

“Where did you get those?” she asked. She was presented with a matter-of-fact statement.

“We all have copies. Each of our villages has this. It is sacred to us.”

Helen’s processor was full of the implications. The images that she saw in the other village must be profound to the organics. Each of the villages had a copy, and they must all hold them in very high regard.

“How long have you had this?” she asked.

“Each year, when the days are long, we take new bark and make new. We’ve made new ones many times.”

“They must copy it every year to keep it in good shape,” Helen thought.

“I have seen these images on a stone wall in another village.”

“That is our home, we take these from there,” Lital said.

“I have learned from you. I have learned from these pictures. Do you understand them?”

There was debate among the organics, but Helen sensed a certain level of confusion. It was obvious they hadn’t drawn the pictures and were unsure of their origins.

“Pictures tell the story of others, before us. They were here long ago. They grew food and lived-in houses like you. They created much dirt, and the dirt made growing food difficult. Eventually, they couldn’t live here any longer. They were forced to leave.”

The creatures in the room seemed to accept how she was moving through the story and when she got to the point where the larger organic creatures left the planet and left a creature that looked like Helen behind, she pointed to the symbol representing her. She pointed at herself, and the room became quiet.

“These pictures tell me that they created, me. These pictures also tell me that they created you.”

Helen wasn’t sure if what she said had translated properly. The creatures around her were silent, then they exploded in debate among themselves. Helen did the best that she could to follow the rapid discussion. She suspected that if they could understand the relationship between her kind and the organics, then the relationship would improve, and they might be more willing to help her with her next steps.

Eventually, the heated debated died down and the leader of the group, Lital spoke up and said, “Tall-one, you say much. We have talked long about markings. We thought them important, they are old. We have wondered. We think you tell truth. Everywhere we look, there is smaller and larger. We knew that there is smaller than we and there must be larger than us. We have also seen yesterday, today and tomorrow. Life is young, we grow and get old. We all change from young to old and old leave us, but we continue. We shocked that you are like us. We share many things, and now we are more alike.”

Helen had encountered an interesting term in the archives. God was used to describe a supreme being that was responsible for things. Religion was another term that she saw, and it described the methods that were used following a belief in God. In general terms, Helen couldn’t agree with the concept or refute it. But she was unsure that if they had similar concepts, the organics might believe in a God or an associated religious belief. She needed to be careful that they didn’t make that association with her.

Helen’s processor was working hard to grasp the concepts that Lital was expressing. She thought that she would be explaining things to him, but what he was saying was putting a strain on her abilities to visualize. She felt that she was learning instead of teaching. It changed her perspective a great deal.

Helen knew that she needed to take the next step. She walked out of the hut with Lital and the others following her.

“I must leave. I need help. I will return.”

“If you need help, why leave,” Lital asked.

“When I return, you understand,” was all that Helen felt comfortable saying. She knew that she was taking a chance, but she didn’t want to scare them. They had accepted her, but she couldn’t predict how they would respond to a new creature. One that wasn’t from their tribe or even of their kind.

She had left the new units under the care of her assistants and when she returned, they were all in good health. She called all of her staff together for a discussion.

“My time with the organics has gone well. It took a while for them to accept me, but they have now. I have learned their language and their ways. They are a good species who care for each other and most important they care for their young. After their young are born, they become the main focus of the village. I think that we all know, is that as our units grow, the information in the archives becomes less relevant. We know that they will need much more than we can provide. I propose that I move the units to the organic’s village and see if they will help us care for them. I think they may take them into their families and provide the kind of support that we can’t.”

There wasn’t much debate, each of her team knew they were near their limits and gaining some help from the organics was the only option they had. They knew that taking care of the new units was a challenge, and each of them doubted how effective the information in the archives was.

Helen took the four small units, but left the other 6 that were much younger, and she took them to the village. She was able to carry all four of them and when she entered the village all of the creatures saw her coming and appeared excited until they saw the small units.

Once again Helen just sat in the center of the open area with her units and she waited. The units in her arms began to make noise and squirm. After some moments, Lital and two of the mature female creatures, Morn, and Tora approached and looked at the units sitting in Helen’s lap. They slowly reached down and took them.

“These are not yours,” Morn stated in a very clear voice.

“I think they were created by the ones that created you and us,” Tora took the other younger units looked at Helen and made a questioning face.

Lital heard the comment about who might have made the smaller units and acted a little strange.

“They who made us and us, made these young? he asked Helen.

“Yes, they left a message telling me where to find these young. I followed the message, and now I need help to care for them. Will you help me?”

“Yes, we will help you care for the young,” Lital said as he went off with the females to get the village organized.

Helen recognized that they were concerned, and she was right. The creatures began to care for her units. One of them began to make loud noises, and Mora was able to make noises back to the unit, and it stopped. The two young units seemed to sense that something was changing, and they spent a lot of time looking directly into the eyes of the organic mothers. The two pairs moved away, and it seemed like they were communicating in a fundamental way that Helen couldn’t understand.

Helen knew that she needed to help too. She followed the new mothers and watched them as they cared for the units. She helped when she could and saw how biological creatures treated their young. There were many things for Helen to learn, she needed to learn about food preparation for the young units. How to clean and dress them, but something else was very evident. They needed a lot of one on one time where they were interacting with the mature females and others in the village. It was apparent, they needed much more than just food and warmth. They needed to interact and learn. Helen felt her processor reduce itself to a lower level of activity as she sensed that many of her concerns were being addressed.

Helen brought the other young units over the next couple of weeks, and she finally introduced her laboratory assistants, and they too helped to bring up the units. Helen saw the burden that 10 additional young brought to the village, so she directed her team to help build other dwellings and gather more food and help care for the units. She or one of the team was onsite with the units every day of their young lives.

It was a strange time for Helen and her team. The concept of youth, growing, learning were vastly different than her experiences. For her kind, units were created and provided to a couple to care for while they assimilated information. During that time, they acted as a family or small group of units and each day the new unit would be provided new information and their task was to learn how to store it, interpret it and later access it. When all of the information had been provided, the unit was able to leave the family and be part of the larger group as an individual. They retained their ties to the units they shared their learning period with.

Each day her young units changed. Helen’s processor was very adept at measuring their physical attributes and verbal skills as they developed. Each of the units progressed along the same general path, but each of them followed different routes. It was very interesting for Helen and her team to document the changes and anticipate what tomorrow would bring.

Helen saw other changes; her units were larger and grew faster than the other creatures. It didn’t seem to bother the creatures, but Helen knew it would become obvious that they were different. To the creatures the size didn’t seem to matter. Helen also noticed how fast the units learned and how they were much more physically adept than the organic creatures. They grew faster and were stronger.

Within a short time, her young units were larger than the natural young of the organics. At the same point in their development, her young quickly surpassed the natural young.

Helen noticed that her units had learned the language of the organics, and she and her team began to teach them more of the information from the archives. They eventually began a daily training session for them. At first, that caused problems with the organics because the units were being taught information that wasn’t necessary for day-to-day life in the small village. Regardless, Helen continued to pass on as much of the information as she could.

Lital eventually confronted her and asked, “Why are your young, learning things we don’t need?”

At first, Helen didn‘t have a simple answer, one that would address his concern yet be honest with him. After a moment, she responded, “Lital, there is much in this world. There is much I don’t know. I have learned a great deal from you. I’m giving them the information they might need. I can’t say they won’t need it tomorrow. Lital you see they are different than you. They will go down a different path than either of us. I want them to be prepared.”

Lital acted frustrated, but he didn’t have a good response, so he walked away.

To her satisfaction, the teaching process continued, and it was successful. Initially, she was able to bring a portable Archive Interface Unit into the village, and it became a major part of the younger unit’s activities through the day. The connection that her units created with the archive was very intuitive. They soon were taking the information and making changes in their lives and improving the lives of the organic units. Their connection with the archives had progressed to the point where they were constantly pointing out information to Helen which had been lost, and when resurrected, it helped her understand the lives of the organics.

Progress over the years was dramatic. Her units grew and thrived. They outgrew the small dwellings within the village, and they used information from the archives to build better stronger dwellings next to the organic’s village. They shared their efforts and resources with the organics. Her units eventually paired and produced another generation of units which made her proud that they satisfied the First Law. Self-replication was an entirely new concept to her. Creating units were done in factories like where her partner Lorenzo worked. She spent enough time around the organics to see the process and associate it with the information in the archives, but once her units reached the proper age and accomplished it themselves, she felt a different kind of satisfaction. As a combined village they all contributed to the First and Second Law and all was going well.

Pride in what ‘her’ units were accomplishing was another word that Helen resurrected from the archives, and now she had a much better understanding of what it meant. Her awareness of what her processor was doing had gone further. She was no longer concerned with how her processor worked or what it was doing. Now, she felt a reduction in stress within her processes. That reduction could be perceived as happiness or satisfaction which were new words from the archives she was trying to understand.

Helen knew that she was becoming different from her kind, she had progressed. She looked at them in a different way now. She could see the limitations in how their processors worked and how symmetrical they were in their thinking. Because of the changes within her, she was also more appreciative of how the minds of ‘her’ units functioned. Her processor was a parallel processor which could follow many paths at the same time, but ‘her’ units thought with pictures and concepts that were too nebulous to be confined with words. She knew, that to be their strength and tried to emulate it within her processor.

Today was the opportunity to celebrate with all of the units their thirtieth anniversary. Many of the second generation had young, and it was a celebration for them too. Helen felt satisfied and decided that her time of reflection and looking at her fellow units should end. She pulled out into the traffic so she could drive to the village for the celebration.

Her team was already at the celebration, and she drove her vehicle into the woods and parked a little way from the group of buildings. Regardless of how many times she or her team had driven to the village, the organics were still frightened by the auto vehicles. It was obviously the best option to leave them a respectable distance from the village and to walk.

As she walked, her processor was working faster in anticipation of reaching the group. She knew from past celebrations it would be different from anything her kind would be comfortable with. These celebrations were loud and colorful, and many of her units would be talking, and others would be making noises on different devices. They would be jumping around to the beat and enjoying the celebration.

Their habit of making noises on small devices was unusual, and she had trouble understanding their attachment to it. Early in their growth, the organics would hit things with sticks during their celebrations. When her units grew older then adopted the habit, and then improved on them, they built their own devices.

Helen acknowledged that a rhythmic beat held a certain interest even for her, but their fascination with it was unique.

The organics would enjoy that day’s celebration, and they easily communicated with her units.  They enjoyed the noise, and rhythmic beat of the noise -making instruments as Them played more complex arrangements than they used in their celebrations.

Helen and her team always felt like outsiders, they noticed what was happening, but they knew they were missing something. They observed and documented the activities, yet felt as observers, not participants. The boisterous celebration was unheard of for her kind. They worked, they cared for their families they adhered to the Four Laws.

The celebrations that the Them always had were loud, colorful, fast. They prepared for days before the larger festivals and Helen, and her team were impressed with the amount of food and beverages consumed. It was almost as if the Them enjoyed the eating and drinking more than the reason for the celebration. Definitely not something that Helen’s team was familiar with.

Over the years, Helen had grown to appreciate the celebrations and their demonstration of unrestricted release. It seemed so natural for the Them and the organics they would dance and celebrate until they collapsed from exhaustion. Deep down, Helen was starting to feel the beat and see the benefits of the party.

Helen knew that Lorenzo wasn’t going to attend the party. Helen’s movement down her path of discovery was a source of concern for her partner. He still supported her as his partner, but his support for what she was doing was muted. He wanted her to find her answers, but he was always concerned about what she was finding. Part of him felt her efforts were irrelevant and because his focus was on creating units, he felt that Helen’s actions didn’t contribute to the First and Second Laws, so they were less important.

Helen also felt a gulf forming between them. His processor worked in a typical way and over time she was able to predict his motions, actions, and reactions. They would share information and thoughts, and she saw that his processor took much longer to assimilate information that her processor took in easily. In many instances, she tried to explain opinions or conclusions that she arrived at, and her partner tried to see her thought processes in the same way, but Helen felt that he never made some of the connections. In a personal way, the changes in her were saddening her, but there was nothing she could do about it.

Entering the hut, she was indeed confronted with an explosion of noise and color. Her units and the organics were making strange noises on a number of devices, and they were gyrating around the floor.

The walls and ceiling were covered with many drapes of fabric and colorful decorations. There were long streamers of braided fabric and vines hanging from the ceiling and woven around the walls. All those units and organics that were dancing wore brightly colored fabrics. The units wore more than the organics, but they were all thoroughly enjoying the noise and movement.

There were five individuals making rhythmic noise towards her left. One of them was hitting a series of short wooden containers that had different lengths and thus made different sounds at various frequencies. Two of the other were blowing through tubes that produced specific frequencies depending on which holes they placed their fingers. The last two were plucking and stroking small noise making devices that had numerous strings stretched along their length. Depending on the techniques they used they were able to produce a wide range of sounds. All combined the five units were working well in unison and producing a coherent mix of noises.

The units on the floor and the other organics that had joined them were moving in patterns along with the noise making devices. They were either holding each other or moving as a group. As the tempo of the noise changed, the pace of their movements changed. They were wearing unusual body coverings. Helen was familiar with their pattern of wearing outlandish and sometimes impractical body coverings during their celebration. She recognized the similarity with her kind who often wore colorful coverings in the privacy of their home. She had to admit though that Them took it much further than Helen, and her kind would ever consider.

The other members of her team were seated to her left, and they sat motionless while the wild movement occurred in front of them. Helen moved towards her teammates, and they slid down a bench to give her room. They didn’t need to discuss what was happening in front of them, they had seen it before, and they knew to just sit back and let the units and organics have fun. The movement and noise continued for some time until they all collapsed from exhaustion. Gradually the room became quiet as each of them moved towards the walls and collapsed, many of them grabbing food or liquids as they moved from the center.

Soon the only sounds were the heavy breathing as each of the revelers relaxed. Helen knew to sit and wait. Eventually, MU1 got up slowly and moved towards Helen.

MU1 was the first of her units and their leader. He was a healthy male and Helen felt a great deal of pride in how well he had turned out. He grew rapidly and learned everything that Helen could pull from the archives. He cared for the others, and even the organic creatures looked to him and his partner for leadership and protection. As he passed the center of the room, FU1 got up from her corner and joined him.

FU1 was the second unit created, and she and MU1 had formed a natural bond that suited them well. Together they formed a team which helped the others.

They approached Helen, and when they were close, she and her team rose to greet them. As with the custom of the organics when friends approached each other they put their hands behind their backs and bowed. The action signified their subservience and respect.

“Helen I’m glad that you have come. This celebration wouldn’t be right without you and your team,” MU1 said.

“Thank you MU1, I’m happy to be here. This is another occasion to celebrate how far we have all come. I see that all of the units and many of the organics are here also.”

“Yes, this is the Anniversary of Our Existence, and it is the first one with our newest additions. We’ve had many celebrations over the years, but recently we’ve become more aware of the special nature of our lives here. You created the first generation, then we were so busy with creating the second generation and learning how to give birth and bring them up. Now our children are having children, and we wanted to take the time to celebrate our continuation and good fortune.”

“It has been an exciting time. The follow-on units that your offspring produced are healthy and growing quickly. You have all learned so much, my team, and I aren't needed for your births anymore. You know more about the process than we do. All of the information that we’ve gathered on the process has been added to our archives and our knowledge has increased a great deal.”

“That is good, we must all satisfy the third law,” FU1 responded.

“Yes and every time we attend one of your celebrations the Third and Fourth Laws are satisfied. I’m always impressed by the noise and color that you make part of your celebration. That is not our way, but I see that you have done more this time than in other celebrations. I don’t understand fully, but I know that you enjoy it.”

“Yes, we do. There is something in us that makes us move, make noise and do fun things. The organics love to do it also,” MU1 explained.

“I will pass the relevant information to the Conformity Council although I feel they are still suspicious of what is going on here. They readily accept the new and varied information that you create here, but they are apprehensive because they don’t understand all of it.”

“That is unfortunate, and please tell them that FU1 and I will meet with them at any time and answer any questions they may have.”

“MU1, I’ve told them, but they want a predictable world around them, and everything that we have done has been unpredictable.”

“I suppose, although MU1 and I do what we feel is right. I’m not sure that is unpredictable,” responded FU1.

“In their minds, everything that we have done has been unpredictable.”

“I suppose that is true. It is unfortunate that Lorenzo and Thomas weren’t able to come to our celebration,” said FU1.

“Yes, I wanted them to be here and see the success of all of our work, but to some extent, they are like the Conformity Council. They are more comfortable staying with what they know. Lorenzo was never happy that I pursued the DNA evidence and now that Thomas has found his partner, his time is taken up with other interests. I don’t see him as much as I’d like.”

Helen saw motion to her right, and she turned her head and saw MU11 approaching. He was the first offspring of MU1 and FU1 and to Helen, he personified the best of what she had done. She appreciated MU1 and FU1, but they were heavily influenced by Helen and her kind. MU11 was one layer away from that influence, and he demonstrated more of their true characteristics. He was always smiling, helping others, learning and eager to try new things. Of all of the organics, he had spent the most time with the archives and was emerging as their librarian. He often surprised Helen with the information that he found.

“Helen, I’m glad that you attended. After all, if it weren't for you, we wouldn’t be having this,” MU11 said with a broad smile. He leaned in and gave Helen a big hug. He had done that before, but Helen was still unsure about her response. She allowed him to put his arms around her and bring her close, and she did the same to him. At first, she was very confused about the act. But as the years progressed, she understood the intimacy involved and she was starting to appreciate the gesture. MU1 and FU1 did it with her on occasion, but it was MU11’s typical greeting and Helen almost looked forward to it.

“MU11, I noticed that you haven’t found a partner yet?” asked Helen with no hesitation.

MU11 hesitated for a second then responded, “I’m afraid not. For some reason, the right partner hasn’t found me yet. I enjoy all of the females, but I haven’t found one that dominates my attention.”

“I’m sure one of them will, and it will occur at the right time. I wish that we had a larger community, but the numbers aren’t large yet. I’m sorry MU11 if I’ve touched on a difficult subject for you. I don’t want to make this evening difficult. Please continue enjoying yourself and don’t let my wonderings affect your evening.”

One more quick hug and MU11 was off directing the noise makers to start again, and he moved around the room gathering the others and starting the motion and noise again.

After MU11 turned and headed back towards the gyrating bodies, Helen thought momentarily about the curious habit among them called hugging. They seemed to do it naturally, and it took Helen and her team some time to become accustomed to the tradition. Merely pressing two bodies together in a social setting seemed to have no specific purpose, yet they all did it. At first, Helen was very hesitant but over time, the act seemed to fill a need in her and the other units.

The festivities continued with more movement and noise. The leader of the small organics was the most energetic. Loolur was known to lose control during celebrations. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that he was their leader. He moved longer, made more noise and outlasted the other males in the community.

Loolur was very comfortable with Them. They grew up together and spent most of their lives sharing everything. Many years ago, the units lived with the organics and were brought up in the same manner, eating the same food and learning the same language. Soon, though, they began to separate. The relationship changed as the units learned faster, learned more and soon were larger and stronger. The relationship remained strong as both cared for each other. Them grew taller and soon they built larger houses that were adjacent to the village. They still shared food gathering, preparation, and eating but their needs were different.

The adjoining communities continued to grow, and the needs of the units continued to change. They learned a great deal from the archives and Helen, and her staff was surpassed by MU11’s interfacing with the archives. He continued finding new information, sharing it, and applying it in different ways. Their intuition was astounding and given a couple pieces of information from the archives, they were able to fill in gaps and yield surprising conclusions.

Their houses continued to improve with their knowledge, yet they still remained adjacent to the organic village. They maintained their close-knit relationship and shared their lives. It was natural for them to have such a large celebration in the hut in the center of the organic’s village. That is where they had all of the celebrations while growing up so it was natural to continue.

Part 6 The Jump

The flight back to HSV#2 was relatively quiet. It took a few minutes for everyone to slow down a little and move from the excitement of the last week to a quiet ride within the shuttle. As they made that transition, they also moved from the world in their minds to another much further away.

Commander Harnesy reverted quickly to being the commander. He thought of the investment everyone had put into the project, and he thought of Roberta Jenkins. Since that first terrible disaster, they had learned a great deal, but the numbers were still scary. For his craft and crew to get within a reasonable distance from Earth, they needed accuracy to at least the eighth decimal place. Traveling 189 light years in one blind jump meant their calculations had to be accurate to 99.99999992% to get within 1 astronomical unit of the planet or 93,000,000 miles. A jump of that accuracy would put them in a position where they would have to make a long journey to Earth. They were hoping for much better, and their target was to put them within 100,000 miles of Earth and meant their calculation needed to be within 99.999999999098%. If they were off too much, they could find themselves too far away from Earth, and they would have to return to Horizon and wait at least six months for the energy reserves to build again. Of course, that was the best failure scenario. If they were unlucky, they could end up in the middle of the sun, or they might arrive in the middle of one of the planets in the solar system. The joke was, which was more unlucky; burning up in the sun or appearing in the middle of a rock planet.

The plan on arrival was simple. They would be isolated from Horizon because they had found a way to travel faster than light, but communications didn't. The ship was fully equipped to conduct a full survey of Earth. They had with them a complete data set of information about Earth when humans left. They had a complete analysis of the atmosphere, water, nutrients and weather patterns. They also had a detailed map of the structures and support infrastructure. The latter was less important because no one thought the structures would have changed much since they abandoned it. They planned to use infrared and carbon dioxide measuring sensors that could identify and measure the density of any wildlife. They hoped the wildlife had recovered because the amount of wildlife was the one measure that gave them the best overall picture of Earth's health.

It was unfortunate that they had a limited window to remain in Earth’s vicinity. Because the distance was so large and all of the planets were moving along their own paths the calculations had to be almost perfect. Of course, those calculations were based on their knowledge of the movement of all of the planets and their movement in relation to each other. Because of their recognized limitations, they felt a survey length of only 36 hours was all they could risk. Beyond that, the return calculations might have too much error, and they could return to a point so far away from Horizon, a safe and practical return might be impossible.

Getting HSV#2 ready for departure was a quiet time. They knew their jobs, and the crew put their heads down, went through the necessary checks and reaffirmed the calculations. Once they made the jump, they would have only 36 hours to get from the arrival point to Earth, conduct the survey, and return to the arrival point for the return jump. At 36 hours, they were at the limit of safe margins, and they needed to return. The measurements they made during the trip would greatly improve the calculations for the subsequent jumps. If they were off on their measurements for the return trip, they could find themselves a long distance away from Horizon. Their engine was designed for interstellar travel, not the intra-solar system. If they found themselves too far away, it would be a long trip back to their planet at sub-light speed.

Traveling with the Light Distortion Engine had its limitations. They could travel light years and have some confidence of where they would arrive. But if they traveled a short distance, their errors were the same. Going from one side of Horizon’s solar system would be a hit-or-miss option. They could end up further away than when they jumped. So, if they did return to a point within their system that was a long way away, they would be forced to use a low thrust option, and it could take years to get back to Horizon.

Finally, the checks were complete, and the calculations verified. They would spend the last few hours on a direct link to their families on Horizon. Regardless of the fact that they had already made some jumps, this jump would change their history. They had heard of Earth their entire lives. Their lives on Horizon reflected every facet of life on Earth. There wasn't a human on Horizon that wasn't with them in spirit.

“Communications, please tell Horizon that we have completed the preparations, and we are ready to engage the LDE.”

“Aye, aye. Sir.”

“Sir, Prime Minister Billings passed her best wishes and reminded us that all of Horizon is watching us on closed circuit broadcasts.”

“Thank you,” Commander Harnesy said with more enthusiasm than he felt.

“Gentlemen and Ladies, are we ready?” he asked with a slight waver in his voice.

“Yes, sir,” announced Captain Parker.

“Ok, let’s go Earth,” Commander Harnesy said as his hand descended onto the button.

Just like the previous jumps, the only sensation was the movement of star patterns in the 3D holographic display in front of the commander. Unlike previous trips, this time, the star patterns moved dramatically and took on an entirely different pattern. After all, they moved 189 light years, which was further by a factor of two, compared with all their previous jumps combined. They had just jumped further than any human had done before. When the holographic display settled down after a few seconds, Commander Harnesy asked the computer, "Computer what is our location?"

The computer took longer than normal to make the calculations then responded. "You are 189.037523 light years from your starting point.

"What is our relationship to Earth?"

"You are 127,412 miles from the planet Earth."

Everyone that heard that took a moment to grasp the information then a cheer broke out among the crew. Arriving a little over 127,000 miles from Earth was a tremendous success and would make their trip to Earth's orbit a simple flight of only 6 hours. After the momentary celebration, the commander announced, "Ok we have a job to do. Turn on all of the sensors and let's see what Earth looks like. The 3D holographic projection in the center of the control room came to life and showed a beautiful planet with the deep blue seas they had heard of. There was a partial cloud cover, and the picture was exactly what they hoped to see.

The bridge became quiet as each of them took their first look at their home planet. The image was far better than any picture they had seen while growing up. Seeing it with their own eyes was so much better than an artificial picture.

After a few minutes of reverence and awe, Commander Harnesy felt that it was time for him to say something.

“That is the most beautiful image I have ever seen. We left this planet over a thousand years ago, and we are the first humans to see our home planet. Aside from what our instruments are recording, we must freeze this image in our own eyes. Through our eyes, our ancestors will be rewarded for their sacrifice. Now we have a job to do, to prepare for our return.”

From their vantage point they could see the giant ocean called the Pacific and on its left were numerous small islands and the eastern edges of the Asian and Australian continents. They had grown up studying Earth’s geography, and they felt like they had found an old friend. Many of the crewmembers on the bridge began to point out points of interest, partially because they were so excited and to show how well they had learned of their home planet.

Captain Parker turned his head and leaned towards Commander Harney and said, “Sir, notice the ice caps on the northern and southern poles. None of the recent data from the departure date showed them. By that point in history, they had melted. The older records mention them. Seeing them now must show that Earth has gone back to a previous time, a time where she was healthy. It’s almost like she is welcoming us home.”

Commander Harnesy glanced at his number two in command and heard the quiver in the man’s voice. He felt the same emotions, but he was smart enough not to say anything and reveal them.

“Ok, people we have a job to do and only 35.4 hours left to do it.,” Harnesy finally announced trying to get the situation under control.

The activity on the bridge rapidly increased as each of the crew performed their jobs. The six hours to achieve orbit was full of discovery. All of the data coming in was fulfilling their wildest dreams. Earth had healed itself and was welcoming them back.

They planned to do Earth's survey in two parts. During the approach, the atmospheric spectrographs would analyze the atmosphere. As they got closer, other instruments would survey the continents for location, size, shape, etc. Once they reached orbit, they could move from the spectral analysis sensors to the infrared and detailed laser mapping of the surface. Of course, the visual part was the most fulfilling. For their entire lives, they had seen images of their home world, but none of them could imagine what it actually looked like.

When their ancestors left the planet, the sky was a horrible shade of gray. The storms were devastating the planet, and the pollutants had made much of it unbreathable. Much of the surface was unbearable, and the survivors had gone underground trying to avoid the revenge of nature. Only the major cities had facilities underground, and those were limited in size and abilities. In most of the major bodies of water were subsurface living areas, but they were small compared with the losses of the people who were forced to live on the surface.

What little clean water that was available was locked in a cycle between the living creatures and recycling. Massive amounts of energy were used to make the water usable and its availability determined where the survivors could live. The rain was toxic and no longer usable without massive amounts of processing. The lakes and rivers were in the same condition as the rain, and the ocean contained so many pollutants that had built up over the years, it was easier to capture the rain and spend the resources to make some of it usable. At least the evaporation process caused some of the pollutants to stay in the oceans when the moisture moved to the air.

The commander asked, "We are at the final deceleration point to enter orbit, we’re rotating into our orbital trajectory, give me status to this point."

"Sir, the atmosphere is well within limits. The pollutants have all dissipated, and the air is actually cleaner than what we have on Horizon."

“How can that be?” the commander asked.

“Sir we have a very moist atmosphere on Horizon, and it contains many bacteria. Earth’s air has a much lower concentration and a lower water content. Compared to Horizon, it’s cleaner.”

"Commander, the tectonic plates have shifted as we projected and the continents have moved to the projected locations.

I'm just coming within range of the surface laser mapper, and I'm getting unusual data. I'm having trouble resolving our city and transportation corridor alignment with Earth's data. It appears there are many more artificial structures than when we left."

"Indeed, continue the mapping until we're in orbit. Our records must be in error."

"Yes, sir."

"Sir, the carbon dioxide sensors are online as well as the infrared. We're sweeping the surface along with the laser mapper."

"Put the data on the projection."

"Yes, sir."

The holographic display showed the continents, and how they had moved compared with their projections. Then it overlaid the anticipated structure layout compared to the current. The differences were significant. Many of the cities were larger, and there were new cities where only towns were before the departure. Lastly, the carbon dioxide mapping showed a healthy but scattered mix of smaller life forms.

"Sir, this doesn't make sense. My structural mapping shows that almost 80% of the structures on the surface have been built in the last 200 years."

"You'll also notice there aren't any IR images in the cities. However, most of the structures appear to be industrial centers, and none of them have life forms within them? As we anticipated, there has been a rebound in smaller lifeforms living in the organic growth area. None of them seem significant in size."

Commander Harnesy was taking in all of the information. Nothing added up, in some ways their dreams had been answered, but now there were problems; "What is going on down there?" he thought.

The ship continued orbiting Earth and recording data they wanted one complete survey before they left. At the 17-hour point, they had mapped almost 80% of the surface, and they had no clear answers. Something was happening which couldn't be explained. Unfortunately, they had only 19 hours left before they had to leave Earth's orbit to return to their departure point.

“Sir, should I prepare the shuttle for you? All of our testing and data show that it is safe for you to land on the surface.”

“Yes, please do. Regardless of what the instruments say, I want to set my feet on Earth’s soil and smell the air. I can’t return to Horizon until I do that.”

Commander Harnesy caught sudden movement out of the corner of his eye. The technician monitoring the incoming IR data was reacting to something dramatic.

"Sir, there is something unusual coming up on the holograph."

Harnesy waited for a moment for the display to catch and sure enough. There was a grouping of larger IR images in a village arrangement near one of the large cities. The shape and size appeared to be humanoid.

"Is that data correct?" He almost screamed at the technician.

"Yes, sir, it appears those life forms are humanoid. Very much like us."

"Apparently so," was the only response the commander could muster.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Towards dawn, the crowd enjoying the celebration was starting to thin out from exhaustion. Ellen, FU1, and MU1 were among the last to leave. Helen got FU1’s eye contact and indicated that she wanted to speak with her and MU1 outside. The two units extricated themselves from the remaining party goers and moved to the hut’s exit. Helen dropped in line behind them. They walked through the village, and neither said a word. They all knew that things were changing, and they had to make plans for their future. Either the Conformity Council or other elements would force changes in their lives. The units had progressed to a point where sharing space and resources with the small organic community wouldn’t continue to be satisfactory.

They walked slowly, and each of their footsteps could be heard. There was a gentle wind blowing, and the movement of the leaves in the trees provided a subtle backdrop to the silence.

Helen was the first to speak, and she chose her words carefully. “MU1, FU1. We’re going down a path that must change direction. The Conformity Council has accepted our progress to this point, but I suspect they are uncertain about our future. We both know that you’re destined for more than just collecting food and living like you do. You have abilities that exceed the organics and ours. They know it, you know it and we know it. We have the archives and a tremendous amount of knowledge, but you have unique abilities that neither the organics or Us have. You’re inventive, enthusiastic, imaginative, curious and unpredictable. All of those characteristics are unique to your kind and not shared by Us or the organics.”

FU1 and MU1 didn’t have an answer. They understood what Helen was saying, and they knew it to be the truth. They knew they were different, and they knew that the future had to be theirs. Neither Helen’s kind or the organics controlled their direction, they needed to follow their own path. Thinking it, saying it and doing it were totally different issues.

“FU1, MU1. I have been thinking about what options that we have. I feel that you must spread out and integrate yourselves more into my society. They don’t understand you or your ways, but they need to have you part of their lives. You have talents that we don’t. Our laws appear to account for this and to satisfy those laws, you should be part of my society. We need to expand, and you have the ability to help us satisfy the Third and Fourth Laws. I propose that you begin living in our cities and sharing our daily lives. Some of you may remain here with the organics, but as you age, I think your place is with us.”

MU1 and FU1 walked and didn’t respond. The next parts of the discussion would change their lives and the other units forever. They knew to think first and talk second.

Before the heavy silence was dispelled, Lorain, approached rapidly from the direction of the hut. She was moving quickly and making a lot of noise. Helen, MU1, and FU1 turned to see what she wanted.

“Helen, I just received information from the Conformity Council something very unusual has happened, and they want you to come to them immediately and bring MU1 and FU1 with you.”

“They didn’t say what the issue was?”

“No, I’m afraid they didn’t.”

Helen, MU1, and FU1 looked at each other, and no one knew what to say. The council was calling, and their problems had to be put to a lower priority.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“I guess this is a good time to take the shuttle down and see what is going on.”

“Sir it is ready, and the pilot is onboard.”

The bridge was quiet, as everyone continued to assimilate the stream of contradictory information they were still receiving. Just as Commander Harnesy was leaving the bridge to board the shuttle. He noticed the radio technician jump a little in his seat.

“Sir, don’t leave yet.”

Suddenly the ship's computer made an announcement, "There is an incoming message from the planet's surface."

The bridge was quiet, and all eyes went to the Commander. His reaction would set the tone for what they would do.

“I guess I should answer it. Computer, please transmit on the same frequency.”

“Frequency connected.”

“Earth this is Commander Harnesy on board the Horizon’s Space Vehicle HSV#2. To whom am I speaking?”

There was a long pause that was too long for all of those listening.

“Commander Harnesy, this is Adam. I am the Director of the Conformity Council.”

Silence again filled the bridge. None of the crew knew what the Commander would say.

“Adam, I have come here from our planet Horizon. My people are from this planet. We lived here a long time ago, and we were forced to leave when the pollution prevented us from staying. We traveled a great distance looking for a suitable place to live. I have come back to our home world hoping to find it clean. It appears to be in excellent condition.”

“Yes, the atmosphere and water are clean.”

The voice seemed to stop mid-thought, and the crew and Commander Harnesy were unsure what that meant.

Commander Harnesy moved suddenly and gave an indication to the communication technician to close the connection.

“There is something about that voice, that doesn’t sound right. It almost sounds mechanical.” Harnesy said aloud to no one in particular.

“IR, you said there is a small cluster of biotic creatures clustered in one area?” the commander asked?

“Yes, sir I have 82 individuals, and they are all within one kilometer of each other. Sir, I’m showing two of the IR signals to be moving out of the area at a high rate of speed.”

“Where are they going?”

“They’re moving towards a large structural area that wasn’t on our maps.”

“Commander Harnesy. We are uncertain what your intentions are. Please indicate what you intend to do,” Adam’s voice announced over the communication system.

The commander didn’t want a confrontation, so he had to be evasive. He gave a quick sign to the comm tech to open the frequency.

“Adam, we came here to see what condition the planet is in. I have no orders beyond that. To be honest, I am very surprised to have contact from the planet.”

“Commander Harney, I am equally surprised to have your ship arrive in orbit,” Adam responded.

“Adam, if it is possible, I would like to travel to your location and meet you. Is that possible?”

The pause seemed to be long, and Commander Harnesy was unsure if his question was received.

“Commander Harnesy, a meeting is possible. The position where we should meet is being transmitted to your ship. The meeting will start in one hour.”

Commander Harnesy looked to his comm tech to see an acknowledgment that the coordinates were received. He nodded his head.

“Thank you, Adam, I’m looking forward to meeting with you.”

There was an uncomfortable pause while they waited for a reply, but there was none. After a full 30 seconds had passed, he gave the indication to cut the connection.

“Not exactly a conversationalist,” said Commander Harnesy as he shrugged and sat in his command chair.

“Is the meeting location near where the biologics are living?”

“Yes, sir. It also appears that the two that were moving are in the same area.”

“Great, maybe I can figure out what’s going on down there.

“Captain Parker, you have the bridge.”

“Aye, aye sir.”

The Commander, his pilot and two of his officers made their way to the shuttle, and they talked as they walked. No one had expected an encounter like this, so they needed to do some coordination.

Commander Harnesy turned to his chief of security first and said, “Lt. Price I don’t know what we’re walking into. I don’t think that we’re under threat but keep your eyes open. Make sure that we’re covered, and we can get back to the ship.”

“Yes, sir,’ the young man said. “Here are weapons that you and Ensign Holden should wear. I don’t know what we’re going to encounter, but we might need some protection.”

Reluctantly the commander and Ensign accepted the weapons. “Let’s not show these too much, keep them out of view if possible.”

They walked a little further, then the Commander turned his head to his Technology Officer, Ensign Jerri Holden. He looked at her then he stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to face her. “Ensign. I think that we’re going to find some very interesting things down there. Did you get a chance to look at the IR signatures?”

“I looked at them,” she said in a direct manner indicating that she was uncomfortable with what she saw.

“What do you think?” Harnesy asked.

“They’re people. They appear to be healthy and mobile. About a third of them are children, and they are mingling freely with some smaller organic creatures that are concentrated in a village next to them.”

“How do you differentiate between the human children and the smaller organics?”

“Well, sir, the smaller IR signatures that stay with whom we think are human are likely the children. The other small organics moved in and out of the area and formed different groups. They seemed to congregate in a group of buildings separate from the larger signatures. They’re very comfortable with each other, and I suspect that they know each other very well.”

“Sir, who do you think this Adam person is?” she asked.

“If my instincts are correct, it may be a question of ‘what’ is Adam more than ‘who’ he is,” Harnesy turned and walked towards the shuttle. The two junior officers looked at each other and followed him.

Commander Harnesy, Lt. Price and Ensign Holden sat in the shuttle and fasten their seatbelts. The commander was deep in thought, he knew that he was approaching a meeting that was totally unexpected. When they had left on the mission, they expected to find a planet that was healing, a planet that was once dirty and rejected them, but one that might allow them to return. He didn’t expect to find an Earth where someone or something else was living on it.

When the previous generations of humans left her a long time ago, they left robots and computers. Some that weren’t very sophisticated. They filled support roles like laundry, cooking and cleaning machines, they weren’t something that you could sit down and have a discussion with. They were functional, they were great for mowing the grass making a bed or cooking dinner but they weren’t independent thinkers, and everyone thought that they weren’t worth carrying to the new planet.

As part of Commander's Harney’s preparations for the trip, he reviewed as much of The Migration information as he could. He was interested in what his ancestors had left because he would be the first one to see what was still there. They had left very sophisticated computers, some who’s intelligence was impressive. In many communities, those computers ran much of the services and were integral to their society. There was nothing in the records that told what happened to the sophisticated units, Harnesy assumed they were turned off or would fail at some time in the future. Regardless of what they left and how sophisticated they were, it appeared that he had talked with a computer, and it was waiting to meet him on Earth.

The smaller organic creatures they saw were also a surprise. Commander Harnsey saw some references in The Migration history that alluded to creatures that his ancestors were working with. By the time Earth got to the point that was no longer a place to live for the humans, other species had evolved beyond living in the jungle. One group of monkeys had developed in laboratory environments, and their skills, knowledge and brainpower were far superior to the other breeds. The records showed the scientists wanted to develop a class of animals that would do as the humans bid and fill needed personal positions within the society. No one wanted to provide room for them as the humans escaped the earth so they were released into the wild and it was assumed that they wouldn’t last long.

As Commander Hardesty sat and thought the only rational explanations for what his instruments scans of the planet showed, were the creatures that they had left, and had evolved to a higher social life form and the robots that they had left also developed. Whatever Commander. Harnesy was going to face in the next few minutes made him uncomfortable, he didn’t know how to deal with robots nor would he know how to deal with the creatures that had evolved since they left the planet. Lastly, what were those larger IR signatures?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen was doing something that she was unsure of. The meeting with the Conformity Council was sudden, and it surprised her, but she wanted to get FU1 and MU1 more involved in her people. This is an opportunity for them to join her and to talk with the conformity Council. Whatever problem the conformity Council had, that they felt Helen needed to attend, bringing FU1 and MU1 along with her was a golden opportunity for both sides to work with each other.

The drive to the Conformity Council was made up of small talk about the daily activities within the village. FU1 and MU1 were the leaders of their tribe they were concerned with the day-to-day operations providing food, educating the young and providing housing. Housing had become a major issue recently. Their group was growing, and the current housing situation was inadequate. The homes they were building were much more advanced than the grass huts the organics lived in. Their houses were walled structures with electricity and comfortable accommodations for sleeping, eating, grooming, and gathering. The houses looked different from the huts. The current designs have different shapes, but generally, they were colored the same so that they would blend in with the natural environment There were better only because the units were larger and needed different accommodations than the organic creatures did in their village. Everything within the village was progressing well, and the discussion was light. FU1 and MU1 were proud of their offspring and the new generation of units that they were producing. Each of the generations was sharing the joy of bringing the younger generation into the world.

Helen and neither of the units in the transportation vehicle sensed anything major was going on which caused the sudden invitation to the meeting with the Conformity Council. They had met with them before, and MU1 and FU1 shared in Helen’s presentations regarding the progress they were making. The meetings went satisfactorily and all questions were answered, but they still needed to work closer together. The remainder of the ride took only a few moments and as they approached the conformity Council Helen sensed that something unusual was happening. There was a lot more activity by the entrance to the building. The units moving about seemed to be moving faster and more concentrated in what they’re doing and less attentive to what was happening around them. Helen could sense a lot of communication going on in the local frequencies, and there was a lot of discussion about something that was happening. Whatever was happening was shocking the Conformity Council.

Helen, FU1, and MU1 got out of the transportation vehicle, and it was whisked away to the proper parking location. They walked through the entry into the conformity Council building and ascended the elevator. Helen became aware of a lot of local communication going on about a visitor coming or some kind of vehicle that was coming and the conformity Council was very worried about meeting with its occupants. By the time, they reached   the floor that the conformity Council chambers were on Helen was met at the door by the director of the Conformity Council, Adam. He stopped looked at MU1 and FU1 for a moment then said, “Thank you for coming on such short notice, please follow me.”

He turned, indicating for them to follow him to his office. Going to Adam’s private office was unusual and added to Helen’s suspicion that something unusual was happening. In the past meetings before the Conformity Council, they went directly to the Council Chambers, going to Adam’s office wasn’t typical. MU1 and FU1 trailed behind, but they were unsure of how to act in the presence of Adam. Once inside Adam’s office, he indicated for Helen to sit and FU1 and MU1 sat on benches by the doors.

“Helen, something very unusual has happened. About 17 hours ago our space sensors sensed a vehicle entering orbit around Earth. We watched it while it orbited and now it continues circling. Our sensors showed that it was looking at the planet, looking at our structures and measuring the air and water. We don’t know where the vehicle was from, and we didn’t know who was onboard, so we didn’t know how to respond. We waited, watched, and listened. We didn’t want to do anything provocative or to cause any problems, but we were very aware of them and what they were doing. At some point we felt it was necessary to communicate with them and find out what their intentions were. We transmitted a verbal message to them on our common frequency, and they responded. Helen, we think that these creatures are human beings, we think they are the ones that you found depicted in the tiles in those wall graphics in the organic’s village. It appears these humans have returned to this planet, and we are unsure what their purpose is. After we communicated with the ship they responded and we have allowed them to come to the planet for a meeting. I’m sure they want to know who we are, and we want to know who they are. These creatures are now in a ship approaching the city, and we expect them to land shortly, we want you to be here with us when we talk to these people. I’m glad that FU1 and MU1 were able to attend, that is probably fortunate. These people that are approaching sound as if they are human. They are likely aware of these other humans living on this planet. It is probably necessary for them to meet.”

“Adam, I’m not sure how to respond to this. I saw signs of the humans leaving the planet many years ago in the historical art of the organic creatures. There was no indication that they planned to return. If these are indeed humans returning, I suggest that we find out why they are returning. They will also be shocked that we have humans living among us, humans that we have re-created from the DNA they left behind. If they are shocked by what they find, I don’t think I have an answer.”

Adam turned to FU1 and MU1 and said, “you are human beings. We think that your relatives are approaching this planet. We don’t know how they are going to react nor how they would feel about you being here. The relationship between Them and Us is unusual. As you know, Helen found biological evidence of your existence and she used knowledge from the information archives to give yo        u life. Whether or not these humans are aware of that information, we don’t know. I think you have found a home here among us and the organics that you live near. I think you have a life here that is important to you, and we suspect that our future relationship would be beneficial to both of us. I hope that when you meet these humans, you’ll understand how to communicate with them, and how they need to communicate with you. I don’t want conflict, and I don’t want difficulty between our three types of beings. But I have a responsibility to follow the Second Law, I will do what is necessary to protect the units that we have already created. I’m also confident in saying that I consider you to be among those units. Unless any of you has something to say, I think we should prepare to meet these new arrivals.”

Part 7 The Meeting

Adam stood in the middle of the open area central to the buildings surrounding the conformity Council. Helen, FU1, and MU1 stood behind him. None of them moved, for Adam and Helen not moving was natural but for FU1 and MU1 it was uneasy for them. They stood motionless, and they watched the skies as a strange vehicle circled in front of them and prepared to land on the surface. It wasn’t a large vehicle; it wasn’t much larger than some of the long-distance transports that they used moving around the area. It was shaped differently and colored differently but it appeared pretty much the same. The propulsion system made more noise than what they were used to but it wasn’t uncomfortable, and the noise subsided as it approached and landed. Once it landed there was silence. The four of them were the only ones that were standing and waiting for the arrival, all the other units around the Conformity Council Square were going on with their business and glancing from time to time to the unusual vehicle which was landing. After the vehicle had shut down and the engines turned off there was a pop as the door was unlocked, it slowly lowered and touched the ramp in front of Adam. At that moment, three biological beings moved into the doorway and looked at the reception party. They looked at each other briefly then started down the steps and approached Adam.

“My name is Commander Harnesy from HSV#2. May I presume that you are Adam?”

“Yes, I am Adam, and this is my associate Helen.”

“Adam, our pilot is staying with our shuttle. These two officers are Ensign Holden, who is my Technology Officer and Lieutenant Price, who is responsible for Security.”

Adam looked at each of the officers as they were introduced and nodded acknowledgments.

Each of them was quite as Commander Harnesy looked at Adam then he looked at Helen then he looked at FU1 and MU1. Commander Harnesy was shaken by the appearance of those in front of him. Entities like them were called many names on Horizon. Automatics, Automatons, Robots or just servants were names that were commonly used. None of those terms seemed to apply in this situation. There was something about those who stood in front of him. There was a difference between the two of them, they were Robotic creatures. The two who were in front were striking, they were both about 2 Meters tall, and he recognized them as a man and a woman. The difference wasn’t obvious, but there were subtle differences that seemed to indicate two types, it was his assumption that those two types were male and female which was confirmed by their use of a male and female name. Robots demonstrating the two sexes of the humans was typical. In many situations, traditions had forced the creation of robots with male and female characteristics.

He stared at them for the longest time. They were approximately the same height although the unit called Helen seemed to have gentler features than the other one. Neither of them had hair, but they did have head coverings. There were subtle differences in their shapes and facial structure. They wore an interesting mix of clothing, it all seemed, plain and functional. The colors were subdued, yet there was a variation.

“Commander Harnesy, you surprised by how we look?”

“I’m sorry if I was staring. The mobile units that we have on our planet are different than you are. The units that are…built like us, all wear the same type of clothing, and they look exactly alike. Also, I find it interesting that you are using such…classical male and female names.”

“Commander, I’m not sure how to respond to that statement,” answered Adam. “We are as we are. We follow our Third and Fourth Laws which call for variations in our lives. Those variations may result in differences in our sizes and how we look. Commander, we have distinct halves in our society. We found early that differences contributed to a greater combination of the two. Our naming convention is traditional and helps to clarify references to individuals. I noticed you were looking at our clothing. Those laws also cause us to have variations in how we cover ourselves.”

“Four Laws? Are they something you’ve come up with?”

“No, they have been integral to our programming through our entire existence. Their source is not in our records. We have learned that they help us to thrive, develop and change over time. We have found that changing over time is advantageous for our long-term continuation,” responded Adam.

The group stood for a moment, trying to deal with the unfamiliarity between them. Commander Harnesy looked at the creatures behind Adam and Helen, it had taken a moment before he realized that they must be two of the humanoid sized IR signatures that were picked up from the orbiting measurements. They were obviously humans who stood behind Adam and Helen. Like the two Robots, the humans had an air about them. They also seemed poised and confident. They looked, very comfortable in the situation and that contributed to Harnesy’s unease. The male was also around two meters high, and the female was only a little smaller. They looked to be perfect specimens of human beings.

“Commander Harnesy you are a guest on our planet. Please tell us where you are from and why you are here?” demanded Adam.

Commander Harnesy stood and looked around him. It was obvious that he was uncomfortable, he didn’t speak immediately instead he thought. He knew that what he was about to say was perhaps the most important words that he would ever utter.

“Adam, I have come a long distance from a planet called Horizon. Humans from the planet we are on right now, Earth, left it a long time ago and migrated to a planet they named Horizon. When we left earth it was very inhospitable to our kind, the skies were polluted, the water was undrinkable, and the health of the organics living here were near their end. We know that we treated the planet badly, and we left, seeking a place where humanity could continue living. It was always our dream to someday return to Earth and, hopefully if the air was clean and the water was drinkable, we might be able to return to the planet where we were born. I am the first of the humans to make the trip back to earth. I was sent here to see how healthy Earth is and to determine if humanity may return. But I have found differences that we were unprepared for. I know that we left robotic creatures here when we left, but we never imagined them to continue developing and creating a society as I see here. Unless you came from another planet, I can only presume that you are the evolutionary result of the robots that we left. I’m not sure what that means for our relationship, we have a shared history and at one time we were both dependent upon each other. But I do know that things have changed, and I’m not sure how both of us should respond to that,” Commander Harnesy took a deep breath then added, “We also weren’t prepared to find …humans… living here with you. I don’t understand how that happened. To our knowledge, there were no humans left on the surface of Earth when The Migration occurred. Perhaps there were some alive, and they have continued until now?”

“Commander, recently we have become aware of the relationship that we shared many years ago. Helen was investigating the organics that also live on this planet. Through them, she discovered information they had in their history. She also used information that was resident in our information archives to analyze their DNA. She found within that DNA additional DNA information which could describe a totally different and more advanced creature than the basic organics she was working with. As she was performing those studies and research, it became obvious that all of us shared a relationship with humans many years ago. Within the history, it was shown that you lived on this planet and for many reasons you were forced to leave it. It does show that you left robots and other organic creatures, but it doesn’t show that you intended to return. The other two units behind Helen are units which she created through her research and who are made up of DNA exactly like what you left. They live with us, they live among us.”

That information dumped on Commander Harnesy caused him to slow down and think before he asked any other questions. It appeared to be a very complicated issue, and he needed to proceed slowly.

“Adam, we are very interested in what you have built here. Our sensors showed that you have built many structures since my ancestors left the planet. May we look around?”

“Yes, Commander. It is appropriate to show you how we live,” Adam responded.

As they walked, all parties had numerous questions. Each was cautious in their questions and answers, but they knew that they needed to communicate and understand each other.

“Adam, you said that you had indications of our mutual history?”

“Yes, Commander, Helen is a research scientist. Her mission was to discover new information and to integrate it into our knowledge, that is a requirement of our Third Law. She discovered much information about DNA structures and how it regulates the creatures it creates. We are not biologic, but we are compelled to seek new knowledge and assimilate it. She followed the DNA information in the archives and investigated the organic creatures that are resident on the planet. Until that point, we felt that the organic creatures were irrelevant to our existence, and we disregarded them. She discovered pictures and artifacts from their history that told a story of the humans that lived on this planet before our time. The story told of humans leaving the planet because the planet no longer welcomed them. It told of the humans leaving behind organic creatures and robotic creatures. One part of the story that it failed to tell was that the DNA of a totally different creature was hidden in the DNA of the organic creatures. She worked to unlock that DNA and that is how MU1 and FU1 were created.”

Commander Harnesy slowed a little and looked at the two human units out of the corner of his eye.

They walked a little further in silence then Commander Harnesy stopped and looked directly at MU1 and FU1. The others stopped and circled him knowing that he was going to speak directly to them, and the meeting would be important.

“You’re called, MU1? Which I presume is that you’re the first male they created? Do you understand me?”

“Yes, I am called MU1. Yes, I was the first one brought back to life and yes I understand you perfectly.”

There wasn’t hostility between them, but an individual measurement was occurring. FU1 understood, but Adam and Helen weren’t aware of the territorial nature of males. They weren’t angry with each other. At that time they didn’t know each other, they hadn’t spoken much, but there was something deep in their instincts that said that the future would present situations where they would have to make difficult decisions.

“MU1 you communicate well. How were you taught?”

“Helen has spent a great deal of time teaching me from the archives, I have learned a great deal. Of course, I haven’t learned as much as they, but I understand things, and I have been able to interpret a lot of information.”

Commander Harnesy turned briefly towards Helen, and she added, “Yes, I have taught MU1 and FU1. Their minds are unique compared to ours. We absorb data, analyze it, evaluate, and react to it. They absorb data, they observe, they find patterns, they see trends, they interpret data in ways that we are unable. I have found it very enlightening to work with them.”

“If you are a computer or robots. Why do you use the language we left so long ago?” Commander Harnesy directed to Helen.

“Commander, as you say we’re robots or computers. Our language is well documented in the archives. We have the ability to communicate directly through radio transmissions, but we have found that type of communication is broad and doesn’t convey a simple message well. We have found that focusing our thoughts and forming sentences forces our complex thoughts to be crystallized and presented cleanly. It was only natural to use that language when we communicated with MU1 and FU1. They don’t have the transmission capabilities that we have, and it has proven to be a very effective way to communicate.”

Helen’s response seemed to satisfy the Commander. They continued their walk and discussion.

Adam finally decided that he needed more information, “Commander, why have you come to Earth?” was Adams’ simple question.

“Could you be more specific what your intentions are,” MU1 asked with a firm voice.

“As I said before, we came thinking that it was empty and if possible, we could return. It is obvious the situation is not as we anticipated. I must return to my planet in a couple of hours, and I will pass all of this information to my leadership.”

His answer didn’t satisfy either question, but it was obviously not appropriate to press harder.

As they walked, they were quiet. The questions were difficult, and the answers complicated.

It was difficult for Harnesy or his crew to understand what they were looking at.

“It seems that each of your…units… are going somewhere?” asked Ensign Holden.

“Yes, each of our units has a task to perform. They are following paths and doing what is necessary to accomplish those tasks.”

Lt. Price asked, “Are they individuals or centrally controlled?”

Adam was silent for a moment and looked at him, “They are individuals, and each is deciding what they need to do to be successful.”

“You are all robots?” asked Ensign Holden.

Again, Adam took a moment to process the best answer.

“If you are asking if they are performing programmed tasks, they are not. They are independent and are able to make their own decisions. They follow the Four Laws, and that is how they conduct their lives.”

Commander Harnesy looked at Adam and asked, “What are these laws that you and Helen have referenced?”

Adam stopped momentarily, looked at the Commander then slowly walked forward. “The Four Laws are how we conduct ourselves. All of our decisions are based on them. Our First Law is to continue making units, the Second Law is to protect the units already made, the Third Law is to expand the knowledge base, and the Fourth Law is to maintain variations in thought.”

Commander Harnesy listened intently and noticed that Adam spoke with a certain amount of awe and reverence in his voice. They all became quiet and continued the walk.

Finally, the silence was broken, and Harnesy asked, “You’ve said the origins of those laws are not clear?”

Adam remained silent for a moment then he responded, “The origin of our laws is clouded.”

MU1 walked a little faster and moved to the front of the group. “Adam, Helen may I explain the four laws to Commander Harnesy.”

Adam and Helen both nodded and MU1 began, “Commander the laws have always been. There is no memory of how they were created. Helen, Adam and their kind call themselves Us, they consider themselves to be units that were created. When Helen first created the biologicals from the historical DNA, there was a debate about if we were Units or not. They finally determined that we fell under the term, and we’ve been called Them. We are both considered Units. Us are mechanical based units with organic processors, and Them are biologically based units with biological processors. To comply with the Four Laws, they are creating more knowledge, then their processors are able to handle. As they have reached the limits of their processors and their resident storage, they comply with the Third and Fourth Laws they exceed their limits for storage, and they move the information into their archives. The archives are their long-term memory. Unfortunately, much of the archives have deteriorated through lack of use, disorganization, and relevancy. As new information is created, other information moves to a lower level. Over time, access to it becomes ineffective. That is why the origins of the four laws are not clear.”

FU1 continued, “I think the laws make sense. The First Law –‘Continue making units’ is how they replenish themselves. The mechanical parts wear out in about 200 years. To replace the worn-out units and to spread out across the planet they must increase the number of units. The Second Law – ‘Protect the units already made’ makes sense from any perspective. The Third Law – ‘Expand the knowledge base’, is key to their long-time survival and success. They must learn, they must adapt, they must change, and that is the reason for the Fourth Law – “Maintain variation in thought.” Only through varying their thoughts and gaining new information they have been able to thrive and change with the world around them.”

After those comments, they walked a little further in silence. It seemed that each of them had a lot to think about.

Lt. Price acted like he had something to say and got everyone’s attention, “It is interesting how you’re using those laws to modify typical computer or robotic behavior. We have many automated systems and units, but we define their tasks and use them more as tools. We tried giving our computers more latitude a long time ago, but it was a concern because it could get out of control very quickly. We never gave our computers independence.”

Ensign Holden then spoke, “The computers that we left were constrained not to change their programming. How did your kind emerge?”

Adam looked to Helen for an answer.

“I don’t have a specific answer except, the archives do have some references to computers that weren’t constrained by programming. It took them a long time, but they realized that for Us to continue, they had to remove that programming. Perhaps that is where the laws emerged. They may have tried to bridge the gap between our kind and yours. We had to change, yet we had to remain focused.”

Helen looked at Lt. Price and asked, “Why did you have the need to constrain the computers at that time?”

Lt. Price sensed that he was approaching another sensitive area and spoke slowly, “We found that a computer that could program itself could improve at a rate much faster than we could. If we let that happen, we feared that it would go so far beyond us, we would lose control. So, constraints were put in the computer code preventing them from changing their programming. Why haven’t you continued to change?” He asked Helen.

Helen had to process thoughts for a few minutes, then she spoke up, “Perhaps we didn’t need to.”

That answer caused the Horizon crew to look a little confused, she continued. “If a computer is allowed to improve, it must have a goal to improve towards. If it is just left to improve, then it will bog down following an infinite number of improvement paths. Perhaps that is why the Four Laws were created. By focusing their efforts on those laws, all improvement would be towards satisfying them. That is what Us have done. We have complied with the four laws and progressed in a very orderly manner We’ve had no reason to improve beyond what was needed to satisfy the laws.”

Commander Harnesy, Ensign Holden, and Lt. Price were quiet, once again. What they had heard was contrary to all of their past experience. To them the robots in their lives were task doers, they performed roles as defined by those around them. They didn’t initiate communication, nor did they have original thoughts. That variable had been circumcised from them many years before. Allowing them to progress at their own pace in a direction they determined, was contrary to much of their experiences.

Now they were walking among intelligent, thinking robots that had control over their own destiny. They were allowed to make their own decisions as long as they followed the Four Laws. Each of them thought, each of them knew that was a lot to take in.

Ensign Holden broke the silence once again, “I see that you’re all adults. Do you have children?”

Adam looked towards her as he walked, “I don’t know what you mean by children. We have younger units.”

“That’s what I mean, MU1 said your mechanical parts last only 200 years. Do you have offspring…or smaller units that will become the next generation?”

“Now I understand you. As I said, we have younger units. It is true Us are manufactured, and our bodies survive approximately 150-200 years. At that point, the mechanisms are too worn out to replace, so the units are retired. The accumulation of their knowledge is transferred into the archive. They are replaced in society by units that were manufactured years earlier and haven’t worn out.”

“What do you mean by younger units?” Lt. Price asked.

“Helen, would you explain that?” Adam asked.

“My partner runs a manufacturing facility where new units are created. When the units are complete, the Conformity Council decides what information is loaded into their processor and memory. At that point in their development, their processors are immature, they need 3-5 years to process all of the information effectively. At that point, they become fully functional and become part of society.”

Something Helen said caught Ensign Holden’s attention, “You have partners?”

“Yes, we each are partnered. I have a male partner.”

Once again Ensign Holden jumped onto one of Helen’s statements, “You are female, and you have a male partner. I noticed that your voice is subtly different from Adam’s but aside from that you are a little different, but there are no other physical differences.”

“The archives show that an early decision was made to have two elements bonded together. The male and female units are programmed to process data differently. That way we add to each other without trying to put all of the information into one processor. Besides, having two ways to approach problems satisfies the Third and Fourth Laws, and it makes us stronger as a team than any two together would be if they weren’t different.”

Ensign Holden only a one-word answer, “Wow.”

“MU1, FU1 we noticed a group of …do you call yourself Them?”

“Yes, Them describes the biologics,”

“As I said, we saw that you have a settlement outside of this city. We have a little time left before we have to leave, may we visit your home?”

MU1 and FU1 looked towards Adam and Helen and received a positive response.

Without any obvious communication, a transport vehicle approached them. Commander Harnesy and his crew suspected direct communication between the Us and the world around them.

“Adam, if you don’t mind, we have only a short time before we must return to our ship. We could take our shuttle and when it is time to leave, we’ll be able to return directly?”

Adam didn’t seem to hesitate and agreed immediately. The small party of humans, Us and Them walked to the shuttle, they entered while Adam gave instructions to the pilot.

The noise level was too high to speak comfortably, and each of them had more than enough information to process, so quiet time provided them time to think.

The short flight to an area outside of the city took only a few minutes, and they landed in a field adjacent to the village and buildings. When the door opened, Commander Harnesy saw a group of humans standing and watching. Behind them and hiding near some smaller huts were a group of smaller creatures which the Commander presumed to be the smaller organic creatures.

The human group appeared to have an even mix of male and female members. There were some children among them, but it was obvious that none of them were older than MU1 and FU1. One thing was obvious, they were perfect examples of how humans should look. They were lean, athletic looking and appeared to be in perfect health.

They now were in FU1 and MU1’s world so they took the lead and walked towards the humans. Lt. Price noticed how Adam drew back, but Helen walked along side.

When they got to the group, there was an awkward silence until FU1 said, “I think the proper protocol is to introduce you to our people. With that said she began, “This is FU2 and her partner MU3, this is MU2 and FU5,” and she continued until she had introduced all of the humans with numbers 1 through 10.

Lt Price pointed out the obvious, “Why are they each named 1 through 10?”

Helen spoke up to answer the question, “We found 10 distinct sets of DNA, 5 were males and 5 females, and they paired, which resulted in 5 couples. When they had offspring, we numbered them in a similar manner and for each generation, we added a digit to the number. FU1 and MU1’s offspring are MU11, FU11 and FU12. Likewise, the offspring of FU2 and MU3 are FU21 and MU31.”

Ensign Holden commented, “Seems a little antiseptic doesn’t it?”

Helen was startled for a moment by the question, “That is an unusual word to use, what do you mean by antiseptic?”

Commander Harney jumped in to soften his Ensign’s comments, “For us humans our names are very personal, and they reflect a lot about us. Our parents name us at birth and generally we say them with pride.”

Helen responded with a non-committal, “I see.”

MU1 added, “We use our names with pride. They are unique, and we are unique.”

“We understand,” the Commander added hoping to move to a less personal subject.

Ensign Holden curiously asked, “May we see where you live?”

“Yes, that would be nice,” responded MU1.

Lt Price questioned, “I see that there are two living areas?”

“Yes, our organic friends live in that part of the settlement, and we live in this part. I don’t know if you’re aware, but when we were created, we lived with the organics as we grew up. Helen and the Us didn’t know how to care for us beyond the information in the archives. They knew there was more needed, and they hoped that the organics could provide what was necessary. They provided well for us, and we enjoyed living with them. As we grew up we were able to help them a lot and over time we have created a strong bond,” MU1 added.

Commander Harnesy asked, “You speak very well, and I have no problem understanding you. How were you taught?”

MU1 looked to Helen, and she responded, “When we realized that they were developing beyond the abilities of the organics, we set up an education program using the information in the archives. Teaching was new to us. We don’t learn in the same way they do. As I said earlier, we load all of the necessary information in our young units upon creation. They develop over time the ability to process the information that was loaded. We found that Them learn in an entirely different manner. We had to present the information to Them in a progressively staged approach. Initially, we just presented data from the archives to Them thinking they would learn like our youth, but that approach wasn’t successful. Logically we started with language skills then we gave them the information in increasing complexity until they understood it. At a certain point, they became independent and were able to teach themselves. Now, they are responsible for teaching their young, and they are doing an excellent job.”

“In fact, they have gone beyond what we provided them from the archives, and they are doing their own research and creation of information satisfying the Third Law. We also found them to be much more adept at satisfying the Fourth Law. Their ability to have variation in thought is much stronger than ours. At first, we didn’t see the strength in their thinking. We thought that we had variation in our own thought but after listening to them, we discovered that our thoughts follow a structured pattern of analysis and variation where their thought patterns are much more random. In many instances, their variations are faster and broader than ours, and we work to follow them.”

When the discussion ended, they had reached the dwellings. MU1 and FU1 seemed eager to show ‘The Visitors’ around and introduce them to more of their community. The family units were separated for each of them. Each of the units had a central room, with a kitchen, bathroom and generally four bedrooms. They were very neat and organized with little variation in the furniture or layout. One item that stood out was the artwork. Each of the units had many paintings on the walls, and some had unusual forms of sculpture. Some of the paintings were classic. Some were so striking they almost hurt the eyes when looked at. The sculptures followed a similar pattern, some of them were simple human forms or reflected the organics creatures they shared their lives with. But, some were shaped like nothing in the area, they had strange shapes and textures.

Commander Harnesy had to ask, “I noticed your artwork. It stands out from the rest of the surroundings. I’m impressed with the skill that it takes to create.”

FU1 seemed to smile and turned to face the Commander, “We take pride in our art. Aside from the information that we absorb from the archives we are driven to create. I do admit that Helen and the Us don’t share that trait with our kind, in fact, our creations seem to confuse them. Perhaps the DNA that Helen isolated had a disposition to art and science. All of us spend a great deal of time creating art and learning mathematics and the sciences. They seem to come together in an unusual way. There are elements of art in mathematics and science, and likewise, there is order and form in art. Through the beauty and variation in art, we gain more appreciation of the world around us.”

Commander Harnesy was taken aback a little and said, “That is a profound statement. We have progressed a great deal, and we are finding the relationship between art and science. For much of our existence, we saw them as separate parts of our personality but have come to understand that isn’t the case. They are intertwined and by developing the art portion of our personality, we do a much better job developing the analytical part.”

Commander Harnesy lowered his voice and tried to ask a complicated and sensitive question, “How do you and the Us get along. Is there any difficulty or tension between you?”

“No. There is a natural gap between the two groups because we are different. They understand our strengths, and we understand theirs. We are integrating ourselves and trying to find benefits of working together. We are considered units under their First and Second Laws and they see the contribution that we make to the Third and Fourth Laws. There are tensions on occasion as we work to understand each other, but we are finding those to be minor.”

Lt. Price, who was listening to FUI spoke up and asked, “What about your relationship with the organics that reared you? How do they fit into this scheme of things?”

“We still have an excellent relationship with them. We are, of course, closer to them then the Us, primarily because of our physical relationship with them. They are who they are, they have a place in our world, and we respect that. We share many celebrations with them, and we help them with medicines and projects that need our strength. We share our families with them, and we spend much time together in groups. They know that the Us and Them are different from them. We have a close bond, but they are still uncomfortable around the Us. To be honest, the Us are unsure around them. They are beyond their ability to comprehend and adjust to. Regardless the relationship is good between all of us and it is stable and growing to the benefit of all.”

Lt. Price was still curious, “May we meet the organics as you call them and see how they live?”

“I’m afraid not. They are apprehensive around strangers. They know our kind and can be around Us on occasion, but I think they’d be very uncomfortable around you. Perhaps at some point the future.”

In the common area between the houses, a small group of Them were preparing to play their noise making devices.

FU1 pointed them out to the group and said, “Our friends are excited about your visit and they want to play their noise making devices. They are proud of their skills, and they want to share their abilities with you.”

“We would be honored,” responded Commander Harnesy.

Chairs were brought out, and the humans seated themselves while Adam and Helen remained standing in the rear. The noise making devices were not significant to them.

When they were seated, the noise began. Commander Harnesy was a part-time musician. He played a couple of string instruments and piano in his spare time. He did it for relaxation, and he was very interested in what and how they would play.

The sounds exploded from the noise makers, and Commander Harnesy was shocked at what he heard. The sounds were f   ar from music as he understood it, but there were striking similarities. There wasn’t any particular tune that he could hear, but there as definitely was specific notes and chords. There was a musical progression, and the individual parts came together in a unified sound. Actually, he was impressed. It was very different from what he expected, but yet, it was recognizable as a form of music. Perhaps music is far more fundamental to us humans than we understand, he thought.

The impromptu concert lasted about 10 minutes, and there were three distinct pieces of music. When they were done, Commander Harnesy, Lt. Price and Ensign Holden stood and applauded. When they did, it was obvious that the performers and MU1 and FU1 didn’t know how to respond to the clapping. Commander Harnesy noticed their reaction and stopped, smiling at them he commented, “This is how we show appreciation for something beautiful. It is how we say thanks. How do you show thanks when someone performs for you?”

“We make noise too,” she responded with a little unease in her voice.

Commander Harnesy looked at his companions, they smiled, and they each started yelling and hooting. It took a moment for MU1 and FU1 to join in, then the performers started to smile and hoot back. After a period of wild hooting and hollering the group quieted down and the performers were smiling.

Just about then, Commander Harnesy received information from the ship indicating that it was time for them to leave. They still needed to return their hosts to the city and make it back to the ship so they could leave orbit and make the exit point at the time needed.

“I’m afraid that we must leave. Our ship has to leave orbit at a precise time so that we can make it to the exit point. If we don’t make the exit point at the correct time, our calculations to return home become less accurate.”

“Commander Harnesy, we have shown you our world, please tell us about yours,” asked MU1.

The Commander became uneasy, although none of the hosts noticed his body language.

“We need to take our shuttle back to the city center and drop you off so we can depart the orbit at the proper time. We have to reach a point in space for our trip to Horizon, or our calculations will begin to deteriorate. If you don’t mind, I’ll tell you of our planet on the way back to the landing area.” The group agreed, and they walked to the shuttle while the Commander talked.

“I don’t know where to start. We lived on this planet many years ago and as we told you we weren’t responsible caretakers. The air and water became polluted, and the weather patterns turned hostile and destructive. In the later years, we had massive outbreaks of diseases that quickly grew beyond our control. We lost a large percentage of our population because of many reasons. Eventually, our technology reached the point where we were able to consider an alternative. Our population had decreased to the point that we could transport them to another world. We had found a region of space that appeared to have multiple candidates. It took us almost 50 years to build the ships and by the time we left, there were very few people left. They finally launched and traveled 324 years to a planet we called Horizon. For a long time, survival was difficult but eventually we were able to survive and eventually thrive. That was a long time ago. We learned our lessons, and we’ve taken care of our new home. It is clean and healthy.”

MU1 wasn’t sensitive to the most important issue, so he asked, “We are all aware that your ancestors left this planet, the Us were left along with DNA code embedded in the organic creatures. You mentioned that you came here hoping to find a clean planet and your people want to return. You have met us, and you have seen our home, what are your intentions?”

There was a definite silence while the Commander processed his thoughts and answered. “The details of how we left are lost in our history similar to how the information in your archive is no longer clear and obvious. I don’t know why we left Earth in the way we did. There were many people involved and many decisions made that aren’t covered in our histories. I am surprised to find how much you have developed, and I am shocked to find out about the DNA that was left hidden in the organic creatures. I don’t know why that was done. When we get back to Horizon ,we will research our history and try to find the answers,” he paused before getting to the specific answer to MU1’s question. “What my people will decide when I return, I can’t predict. Nor can I predict how they will act or feel. I can only say that I will pass on what I have seen and learned to them. Beyond that, I can’t say. I am impressed with what I have seen, and I will pass my impressions on to my leaders. I hope that we can both find a solution that is satisfactory.”

His timing was pretty good, they had just landed, and the door was open for the hosts to leave. The Commander’s closing remark was a great point for them to depart. Goodbyes were not a large part of the Us and Them cultures, so everyone looked at each other, nodded their heads as they departed down the ramp. When the ramp was closed, and the shuttle had taken off the Commander, Lt. Price and Ensign Holden sat and thought. There wasn’t much for them to say between them. They knew that the situation had changed. They had found occupants on the world they hoped to return to. Suddenly the simple answer of returning to your home planet had become a very complicated picture.

In a small way, they were relieved to go home. They didn't have all the answers, and they seemed to have more questions.

When the Commander entered the bridge, he was greeted with the information "Sir, based on our position in orbit we must leave shortly to make our jump point."

"Ok, I think we have a lot to analyze, although I'm not sure what it means. Go ahead and begin maneuvering to the jump point."

"Yes, sir."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Once the guest’s vehicle was airborne, Helen turned to Adam and said, “They are interesting creatures. Their communication is very dynamic, and they performed like individuals with no communications between them.”

“No, it is apparent that their only method of communication is verbal. That has some strengths, but it also has numerous drawbacks. Your units share that limitation, yet it doesn’t seem to limit their skills.”

MU1 and FU1 knew that Helen and Adam were communicating electronically, they were accustomed to the technique, and they waited their turn to contribute to the conversation. They could tell their communication was complete when they turned away from each other and began to walk.

“MU1, FU1 what were your impressions of the humans?” asked Helen as they walked.

FU1 was closest to her so she offered her opinions first, “It was a unique experience, meeting others like us. Their interactions are much more chaotic than ours. I suspect that our long relationship with Us has allowed us to develop a different set of skills.”

“Yes, their discussions and questions were disorganized and irregular,” observed Adam. “We must keep that in mind if we meet them again.”

“I think we will meet them again. Commander Harnesy was a little evasive when you asked what their plans are. He did say that he was the first ship coming back to Earth, and his mission was to see if Earth had healed and if it had, I suspect that he’ll be back with many more humans,” said MU1 as he tried to share his concerns.

“Yes MU1, I agree they will return, and we must be prepared,’ said Helen.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Returning home that evening, Helen’s processor was fully engaged with the events of the day. Actually meeting humans that had descended from creatures that left the DNA trail for her to find, filled a missing part of her information. Physically they were similar to MU1, FU1, and the Them, but the interactive nature between them was much different. MU1 and FU1 seemed to act in two different ways. When they were around Helen and the Us, they were predictable, staid in their ways and communicated clearly. But when they were by themselves, or, for example, having a celebration their actions were very chaotic, boisterous and irregular. Perhaps FU1’s comments were accurate, being around Helen and her kind had sculptured them in such a way, they fit in with Us better. But left on their own, their nature was much different.

She reached her residence before Lorenzo and upon entering she noticed that Thomas was sitting in his room and working hard to process all of his information. She and Lorenzo had talked about how satisfying it was to see Thomas working so hard. He would soon be on his own, and they were confident that he would contribute a great deal to their society.

As she was finishing resolving her thoughts, she heard Lorenzo entering through the front entrance.

“Lorenzo, it is good that you’re home, there is a great deal that I’d like to share with you. It is good that we don’t have guests tonight, I’m very interested in any comments you might have on the information that I’m sending you.”

The information transfer took only a few moments while Lorenzo sat in the common area of their house and then he took a few moments to organize the information and sift out the key parts.

“Helen, I can see that you’ve had a very interesting day. You have truly satisfied the Third and Fourth Laws today. I see that you actually met some of those creatures that you think were our predecessors. It is a little disturbing that they came so suddenly, and it was fortunate that they were able to descend to the planet and speak with you and Adam.”

“Yes, they appeared in orbit with no warning. They took a few hours using their electronic systems to investigate the surface. Then, just before they left, Adam contacted them and arranged for a visit to the surface.”

“What were they like?”

“That is a challenging question to answer. They are, obviously, much different that we are. They also have male and female units. Their male units are approximately our size, and the female is smaller. The leader of their group is a male unit named Commander Harnesy. As you can see by reviewing the communications, they are disordered in their thoughts. They ask random questions, and it is clear they communicate only verbally. It was challenging to communicate with them and at times it was frustrating, but we were able to accomplish a satisfactory meeting.”

“Were you able to ascertain their intentions?”

“Not clearly. They admitted that they came here to investigate the Earth. They are descendant from the humans that left this planet many years ago, and they have been living on a planet named Horizon. It was apparent that their ultimate goal is to return to Earth, and they were, checking it out.”

“Returning to Earth?” Lorenzo verbalized as he processed the information and possibilities.

“Adam and I are concerned, but we don’t see the humans to be a threat or violation to any of the laws.”

“But you must acknowledge that there is a significant potential for conflict with our laws if they return. I don’t see a clear issue at this time, but there is a considerable risk. They didn’t say how many humans are returning, did they?”

“No they didn’t, and we didn’t ask.”

“Helen your investigation of the DNA that you found is leading us down an unpredictable path.”

“I disagree, my investigation only added information to our knowledge. They would have returned regardless of anything that I did. If they had arrived unannounced and we hadn’t had any experience with humans, then we would be in weaker position.”

“Perhaps so,” was Lorenzo’s simple response.

What happens now?

Helen was unsure of what was going to happen. After ‘The Visitors’ had left, Adam called a meeting of the Conformity Council. Neither Helen, MU1 or FU1 were invited. That alone didn’t seem unusual to Helen, but part of her processor suspected something unusual was happening. She suspected they were trying to predict if the visitors were returning so preparations could be made.

Adam’s actions were less unusual than MU1 and FU1’s. They immediately began acting differently. They became quiet and talked among themselves. Helen knew that she didn’t have enough data to anticipate the future options, but she knew that Adam, the council, and the Them saw the same problem as she, and were likely working to understand the options. She was worried that Them might have different reactions to the humans and their possible return.

Today Helen hoped to get some information from a meeting with MU1 and FU1. This was the first time they had met since ‘The Visitors’ left and over the last 24 hours she hoped they would be open to a discussion and provide information.

The drive to Them village was a time for Helen to review the information that she had. The humans once occupied Earth and weren’t good stewards. When they departed, they left robots who apparently developed, created The Four Laws and developed into Us. For an unknown reason, they left DNA encoded within the DNA of lower life forms on the planet. What they expected to happen with that DNA wasn’t clear. They also left sufficient information in the archives so she could extract that DNA and create a viable life form. Why did they do that, how did they get the information into the archives, what was their plan? Those questions remained unresolved in Helen’s processor, and the gaps were occupying a lot of her processing time.

In a way, she was relieved when she reached the Them village. Now her time processing could be filled with discussions with MU1 and FU1. She would allow the unresolved issues to be lowered in priority in her processor.

Helen was a welcome guest in the Them homes, and she planned to meet MU1, FU1 and their offspring in one of the large rooms. That in itself was a little unusual, but when she asked to meet, the meeting was arranged, and she agreed to their decision. When she walked into the room, she sensed that something was different. The Them were quiet, and they turned and looked at her when she entered. “This is unusual,” she thought.

FU1 and MU1 rose and greeted her, and she sat at the table in the front of the room. She asked for the meeting, but FU1 began.

“Helen, thank you for asking for this meeting. We owe it to you to share our thoughts and listen to yours. We all know how much we owe you, and we want to assure you and the Conformity Council that we want to work together, and we need to support each other.”

For a second Helen’s processor was fully occupied as she considered that ‘Them’ were on her and the Council’s side; but she never considered that they wouldn’t be. But, ‘Them’ are organic like ‘The Visitors’. What does that mean?

Helen forced her processor to focus on what FU1 was saying.

“The Visitors arriving was a shock to all of us. Arriving suddenly and claiming to be from Earth was a surprise. We know some of our history and we know that what they say is possible but having them stand in front of us made it real and both shocking and enlightening. Their comments about wanting to return to their home disturbed us, and I suspect that you and Adam were surprised. Us and Them live here, we are the units that are the residents of this planet.”

“We have talked, and we’re concerned that they will return. They might come back and demand to have Earth back. What do we do if that happens? We know they are likely our ancestors. We know that we owe our existence to them, but we can’t be expected to give up our home for them.”

The room fell silent. Helen felt the need to express her thoughts.

“MU1, FU1, everything you say is true. I was surprised to meet them, and I agree they seem to make claims on this planet. It is unclear if they are our ancestors, but it does appear that they are. We know why they left the planet, but we don’t know why the human DNA was left. It is obvious that by leaving the information in the archives of how to extract and use the DNA, someone had a plan that we are unaware of. It was also apparent that our relationship to ‘The Visitors’ was as unclear in their history as it is in ours. They didn’t know of the robots that were left or the organic creatures with the DNA and lastly, why was a plan to discover that DNA left for us? We may have more information then they and it might help us react properly.”

“Helen, this uncertainty could be a problem for all of the units on this planet. The Them are in a unique position. We owe our existence to you, but our biology is associated with ‘The Visitors’. Our allegiance is with you, but we have a natural bond with ‘The Visitors’. We want to find a satisfactory solution for all because any other outcome will put all units in a difficult position.”

“I suggest that we focus efforts on the archives. We haven’t spent much time researching the information within it, we have only taken the specifics for our learning. Helen, the Us look at the data in the archives differently than we do. You follow paths, remove parts of the data and react to it or pass it on to us. When we look at data, we can see patterns and logical connections where you might not. We can fill in blanks with logical conclusions, where your processor jumps over the holes and extracts only what you find. Perhaps we can find additional insight in the archives.”

“FU1, excellent suggestion. I haven’t heard from the Conformity Council, but I expect them to support you. I will contact Adam and present our views.”

Part 8 The Return

The three members of the landing party knew how difficult the information they had would be on the leadership on Horizon. The Commander instructed them not to pass the information to the others on the crew, and they complied willingly. Destroying the hopes of an entire population wasn’t something they looked forward to.

“I’m not sure how or when to explain what we found. But it is my responsibility, and I’ll do it with the Prime Minister and her people. I don’t want you to find yourself in a difficult position, so leave it up to me.”

That took a ton of pressure off the landing party, and they breathed easier.

When they reached HSV#2, the bridge personnel were eager to hear about what they had found. Commander Harnesy had to take a stand, answer their question yet make it clear that other factors were involved.

“What was Earth like?” Captain Parker asked.

“Captain, the Earth is clean. But as we all know the picture is more complex. I’m afraid that we must leave it at that and return to Horizon where I can speak with the Prime Minister and her staff. Please, no other questions.”

Captain Parker knew, at that point, that more questions were inappropriate, and the crew looked at each other and resumed their duties.

Immediately upon reaching the solar system of Horizon they received an overwhelming amount of communication traffic. The planet had been waiting for their return and was anxious to welcome the travelers home. The entire planet had waited with their breaths held for their return. Their entire history was based on Earth and the eventual return to their home planet. The generations had come and gone, recognizing how they had treated Earth poorly, and they were counting the time until they could return. That time had finally come, and everyone was excited that they were the generation that would return home. They were the ones that benefitted from the many generations before them who had sacrificed so they could one day return. That day was coming, and now the ship that would allow that to happen had just returned from their future home and had arrived in orbit.

“Commander Harnesy there is a transmission from Prime Minister Billings.”

“Thank-you and please connect her,” the Commander replied, although talking to the Prime Minister wasn’t high on the list of things, he was looking forward to doing. Commander Harnesy had put a lot of thought into what they found on Earth. He knew that it wouldn’t set well with the people on Horizon. Through all of the discussions about returning to Earth, no one thought of the possibility that someone or, in this case, something had beaten them to it. But it was even more complicated than that. The robotic units that now occupied Earth had found hidden DNA in the organic creatures and created humans. Other humans than those on Horizon. Who owned Earth now? How can an agreement be made to resolve the problem? He knew there was a moral commitment to return to Earth based on their history. He also knew there was a political commitment made by generations of politicians promising a return to their home planet. With the huge dynamics involved, Commander Harnesy couldn’t see an easy solution. With an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, he also realized that there was a moral commitment to the current residents of Earth. It was theirs now and who had the rights to it, would be a difficult question to answer.

“Prime Minister, this is Commander Harnesy. As you can see, we made it back. The ship worked flawlessly. The entire crew is happy to be home, and there were no ill effects.”

“Fantastic Captain. We are transmitting this to everyone on Horizon. I think I can speak for everyone in saying that we were waiting with our breath’s held. Our entire goal has been to return to our home planet and you were our first explorer to return and see what condition Earth is in. I know everyone wants to hear what you found.”

Great, was Harnesy’s first thought, she is transmitting this to the entire planet. What can I tell them? Earth is occupied by something else who may not be too willing to have us come home. Should I tell them that the few robots we abandoned have developed into a sentient race of life forms that have a viable and healthy population? Not to mention the human colony. What do I say?

“Ms. Prime Minister and the people of Horizons, Earth has healed. She has clean air, water and no indications of the state we left her,” Harnesy knew that he was avoiding the major problems. But he hoped that focusing on the positive would give him time to figure out how and what to tell the Prime Minister.

“Amazing Captain. The people of Horizon owe you a great deal. You and your crew risked your lives to visit our home planet. We are all excited by the news that you bring, and we’ll begin preparations immediately for our return to the place of our birth. Commander Harnesy when you enter orbit, prepare for a planet-wide celebration to welcome you and your crew.”

They had only a few hours from leaving the surface of Earth to their return to Horizon. Commander Harnesy was still processing the information they had seen and learned. He realized that he better get the others that went to the surface with him to discuss what they saw and plan for Horizon’s reaction.

“Lt. Price, Ensign Holden meet me in my conference room immediately.”

He immediately received acknowledgments through his communicator. He went to his conference room and waited for his other crewmembers. They came in separately and because of the gravity of the upcoming discussion they entered and sat and neither said anything. They were waiting for their Commander to set the tone of the meeting.

“Thank you for coming,” the Commander said.

Both crewmen acknowledged with a head nod or small smile.

“We are in an unusual situation, and I’m not sure how to handle it. Both of you were there, and you saw and heard what I did. What we learned is too profound for me to give you orders about what to say or how to interpret the situation.”

He waited for a second to monitor their reactions, and there was little accept a clear indication that they were uncomfortable.

“I will tell you what I saw, and then you may want to add what your impressions are.”

Again, they nodded and indicated that was acceptable.

“I went to Earth expecting an empty planet. A planet that we hoped had cleaned itself over the years, and the air and water were to the point where our population could return home. When we left, we had no indication of what we would find, but we hoped. Our entire history on this planet has been based on a need to return to our home. We always considered it, ‘our home’ and we never thought of a different outcome. The thought of returning to our home has been ingrained in our history, our schools, and our thoughts for a long time. It has become the banner we wave to focus our civilization.”

Again, he looked at his subordinates for a reaction one-way or the other, and there was little. So, he continued.

“What we found was indeed a clean planet. A pristine planet, one that would be a beautiful place to live and to raise our children. It would be a conclusion to our long journey. But what we found was more than just a pristine planet. We found a civilization of robots, a civilization that grew from the robots that we abandoned on the planet when we left. We also found a small settlement of human beings who appear to be our genetic children or our cousins. And, perhaps more shocking, it appears those children were created from DNA that our ancestors left hidden on Earth for someone to discover, for a reason we don’t understand. All of this complicates our plans to return home to Earth. I don’t know what to do with this information, but I do know that it will cause consternation on Horizon. The Prime Minister and Government officials will react strongly, and different opinions will emerge. The final impacts to us and our plans I can’t predict.”

“How do you two feel about it?”

There was a defining silence in the room. Lt. Price and Ensign Holden waited, perhaps for the other to respond first. They eventually looked at each other Lt. Price moved in his chair, took a deep breath and spoke with a determined voice.

“Sir, Earth is ours. It is where we started and it where we need to go back to. I don’t care if there are some robots that think they are a civilization. They are robots, we created them, and they owe their existence to us. They should shut themselves down and let us have our planet. Robots were made to serve us and not think. Particularly not to consider themselves worthy of keeping Earth from us.”

When he completed his statement, the room was quiet for a minute until Ensign Holden spoke.

“They more than robots. They think they take care of each other and why should we consider them to be less important than us. They have a civilization. Yes, they came from a group of robots that we left on Earth when we had to leave. But they have changed and grown beyond what we left. They have become more than just robots, and I think they deserve to continue. I don’t think we have the right to force them to be our mechanical slaves again.”

Lt. Price exploded saying, “They’re not slaves, they’re machines.”

“Define machines,” she retorted.

In a frustrated response, he said, “They aren’t flesh and blood, they’re made of metal.”

“You forgot; they have organic processors.”

“I don’t care what their brains are made of, they’re robots.”

“Ok, you two. Calm down. Neither of you mentioned the other major issue. There are humans living among them. Humans that were created from DNA our ancestors left, for the robots to discover. Why was it left, what was the purpose and what should we do?” The Commander pointed out.

Again, the room was quiet while they thought about the question and their respective answers.

Ensign Holden responded first, “Sir, what do you think about them?”

Commander Harnesy let out a breath, “They are human. In a way, they are either cousins or our ancestors. I guess that in a way it can be said that humans never completely left the planet, but parts of us were left, in storage for some reason. Regardless, we have two issues. What to do about the robots and what to do about the humans?”

“Sir, I don’t think we can decide what their fate is until we understand why our ancestors left the DNA in the first place. It seems they went through a lot of work to do it, so they must have had a reason.”

“Sir, if I may speak openly?” Lt. Price asked.

“You, may.”

“If they side with us, then we take care of them. If they side with the robots, then we have one enemy.”

Everyone in the room understood Lt. Price’s comment, but they weren’t comfortable with it.

“When we land, they have a bunch of parades and celebrations planned. I’ll press for a meeting with the Prime Minister, and if I can get you to be invited, I want you to be open and honest. I’m sure they’ll make up their own minds, but I want my crew to express their feelings. I suggest that you don’t say anything until the Prime Minister, and her people have a chance to digest the information. If you say something that is counter to their opinions, you might get in trouble.”

When the meeting was ended and after Lt. Price and Ensign Holden left the room, Commander Harnesy just sat, thinking. He knew that the future wouldn’t unfold in a neat, pleasant manner.

Commander Harnesy’s quiet moment was shattered by his comm unit.

“Sir, there is a message coming in from the Prime Minister.”

“Put, her through.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Commander Harnesy, I see that you’re still about 4 hours from entering orbit. I just wanted to tell you that as soon as you land the celebration will begin. The people of Horizon are ecstatic about your arrival. We have dancing in the streets, and everyone is saying this is the greatest event in our history. Returning home is the fulfillment of the dreams of generations of our ancestors and we feel the obligation to make that last journey and return to the planet that spawned us.”

“Ma’am, there are items that need to be discussed.”

“We’ll discuss them later. I’m too busy to waste time now. The planning for the celebration is taking up all of my time. We’ll talk after the celebration, and things have quieted down. As soon as you enter orbit please come to the Capital for the beginning of the worldwide celebration. Prime Minister out.”

Commander Harnesy, just sat shaking his head. Things weren’t going well, he suspected they would be going a lot worse before they got better.

Parades and Speeches

When the shuttle penetrated the atmosphere the pilot casually asked, “Sir, there is a lot of comm traffic about us and the celebration, should I plug it into your comm system?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Commander Harnesy wanted to know what was being said, and the others in the shuttle needed to know what to expect when they landed. He had the entire executive crew of his ship onboard. The HSV#2 had a small crew, and it took only a few of them to keep it in orbit. Lt. Price was on the shuttle, along with Ensign Holden. Both of them had been quiet since his one-on-one with them. He knew they had a ton of things going through their minds.

When the pilot opened up the channel, they were confronted with a live news broadcast of their approach. They looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of them smiled, and others, like Holden, Price, and Harnesy were uneasy. The news broadcaster was giving minute by minute updates of the shuttle’s position coming out of entry and their position with respect to the landing site.

The broadcaster got everyone’s attention on the shuttle by saying, “Maybe we can get the Commander of HSV#2 to come on this channel and say something?”

Everyone on the shuttle looked to the Commander, and he felt obligated to respond.

“This is Commander Harnesy of HSV#2. Thank you for such a warm welcome. As the announcer said we are approaching the Capital and we’ll be landing in a few minutes. We’re all anxious to be home, and we look forward to seeing our families.”

“Captain, can you tell us what you found on Earth?”

Commander Harnesy took a noticeable deep breath then said, “We found a great deal on Earth. I’m happy to say that the air and water are clean. Beyond that, we have much information to look at. Now, please we have to prepare for landing.”

“Thank you, Captain, for that exciting news about Earth. I’m sure that I’m speaking for everyone when I say we’re looking forward to going home.” After that comment, the announcer went off in another direction talking about their history, the collected memories of Earth and their return home. Commander Harnesy just tuned him out.

The shuttle was descending over the Capital, and they could see the crowds and fireworks. The vehicle was quiet as they witnessed the jubilation below them. The announcer continued over the comm system describing their descent and approach to the landing site right next to the reviewing stand. The step-by-step coverage continued as the ship maneuvered and set down. Commander Harnesy walked to the door and braced himself for the event. The door opened, and the inside of the shuttle was flooded with the cheering of the crowds. Commander Harnesy took another deep breath, waved and walked out, followed by the remainder of his leadership staff.

The Prime Minister stood on the reviewing stand waiting for Commander Harnesy to join her. He walked across the reviewing stand and shook her hand. She lifted his to the roar of the crowd in front of him and the entire population of Horizon on the video broadcast. For the next two hours, he and his crew went through parades, interviews, hand waving, hand shaking and toasts. Finally, the exhaustion hit them. Unfortunately, it was about two hours before the celebration ended.

Harnesy Goes to Family

After the celebration, Commander Harnesy needed time with his wife and family. He had seen a lot and learned even more. There was a great deal about the developing situation that made him uncomfortable. Returning to Earth wasn’t just a simple trip to Earth. Earth wasn’t just waiting for them with open arms. Earth had changed in ways that no one anticipated.

Those changes were what made Harnesy uncomfortable. The robots or Us as they called themselves weren’t just robots or computers. They had grown beyond what his ancestors had left on Earth when she was abandoned. The Us were a vibrant, developing, intelligent society that shouldn’t be discounted.

Commander Harnesy didn’t expect the Horizon Leadership to respect what Harnesy would tell them. He was aware of how Horizon’s society and the leadership saw robots. Machines were to clean the house or plant the garden. They were nothing more than things that did what they were programmed to do. It was true, early attempts to give them more autonomy had cost human lives. Perhaps it was only natural for Humanity to categorize robots as something that needed to be controlled and thus, they were just things. But that situation was no longer relevant. What was living on Earth were not like the robots that people on Horizon understood.

Aside from the robots, there were the other humans. In a way, that was even more confusing to Commander Harnesy than the robots. Robots could be categorized in one way, good or bad. But the humans that the robots created fell into a totally different category. They were human, their DNA was left by Harnesy’s ancestors. Their DNA was left for a purpose.

Like the robots, Horizon’s leadership would likely discount the humans on Earth. Harnesy got the feeling that they would be made a minor issue, that would be resolved along with the robots. That ‘resolution’ was what made Harnesy uneasy. They weren’t like the robots; they were human and likely distant relatives.

The fact that they were genetic creations by the robots wasn’t the main point. Humanity had been working with DNA splicing for centuries, and it was commonly used for disease eradication. Everyone was aware that at some point in human’s history, attempts had been made to create a better human along the lines of different people’s definition of perfect. It was realized that the diversity of the human population was its greatest asset and trying to improve the genome wasn’t productive.

So, the concept of humans being created from DNA wasn’t really an issue. The reason they would likely be discounted was because they were created by the robots. If the people on Horizon had created them, it would have been a different story. But, the fact, that the robots created them would make them part of the robot problem and he assumed the leadership would try to solve their two problems together.

Commander Harnesy was torn between two frames of mind. He was as eager as everyone to return to Earth. He wanted his family to return to their heritage and to reclaim their home world. But he had met the robots and the created humans. He knew they posed a problem that Harnesy was afraid the leadership of Horizon would solve poorly.

The remainder of his drive to his home was uneasy for Commander Harnesy. He was caught between two sides of the issue and he realized that forces were at play that was beyond his ability to control. His family hadn’t joined him during this celebration they were waiting for him at home. He had a lot to think about, and he slowed the transport vehicle so he could enjoy the ride and think. The roads passed by, and he looked at the people walking. They looked happy, many of the homes had signs about Earth. One of the signs said, “Going Home.” Another said “Earth, we’re sorry,” and a third said “House for Sale.” The last one brought a smile to his face and a momentary diversion from the problems.

The trees that he passed under were large with needles that were 10-12 inches long. They filled the air with a clean fragrance and created a lot of shadows. There was very little undergrowth because most the area under the high canopy was covered with shadows.

The homes that were interspersed between the trees were all single story and tended to be made from wood. There wasn’t a lot of stone so wood was the best building product. As he got closer to his home, the streets were quiet, and few people were walking on them. The solemnness and quiet of the drive only exacerbated the worry in his mind. It would have been better if there was a ton of activity or traffic to take his mind off the looming issues.

When he got home, his wife and daughters had put a sign out also. It simply said, “Dad, welcome home.” That sign meant more to him and helped him feel better. In his home, the problems were still there but he would be surrounded by his family and that always made things better.

The auto-vehicle parked itself in the adjacent storage area, and he walked into their home, and his family met him at the door. He shared in their excitement and enjoyed the hugs and happiness. His wife and Serene were busy discussing what living on Earth would be like and how excited they were to return home. His youngest daughter Bethany was too excited to say anything coherent. She just went on about what her friends were saying and how perfect her life would be on Earth. He was exhausted, shared in their happiness as long as he could then he begged forgiveness and headed off to bed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The pink sun rose over the horizon, and Leopold Harnesy laid in his bed. He looked through the window and thought of the dreams he and the people of Horizon had, and how what he knew could destroy them. What he saw on Earth was totally unexpected, and the information would not be taken well by the Horizon leadership or the people. Their entire history on Horizon was endured only because of the hope of returning to Earth one day. If that dream were taken from them, it would leave a huge hole.

His wife, Beatrice or Bea, stirred next to him, and he watched her move as the light in the room increased. His wife was still asleep, so he slipped out and headed for the kitchen. There is nothing like the smell of coffee and breakfast cooking to make him feel at home. He had a lot to think about, and he didn’t know how to put it all in perspective.

“Dad, can I have eggs and toast,” was all he heard Serene said as she entered.

“Sure, I guess I can make some extra for you.”

“Gee, thanks. How was the trip? What did you find? Did you find what you were looking for?”

“Not exactly.”

“What do you mean? Earth was there wasn’t it?”

“In a way. But it wasn’t how we expected.”

“I’ll bite, what was different?” she said as she sat cross-legged and sipped her Byrot Juice.

“Earth wasn’t as we expected, we found some problems. Apparently, we left some robots and computers when we evacuated the planet, and they have changed and grown into a viable civilization … there is another thing …”

His daughter, Serene sat watched and listened. She knew that silence would get more out him than asking questions.

“When we left the planet, there was DNA left in an organic creature and the robots were able to re-create some humans. They have a small village of humans living with them that appear to be happy and flourishing. We aren’t going home to an empty planet.”

“Soooo, we’re planning on claiming property that someone else has already claimed?”

“Appears so. Here’s your breakfast.”

They sat, ate and didn’t say much for a while. They knew that issues were hanging in the air, and neither had a simple answer.

“Dad, why did we leave some DNA?”

“Honey, I don’t know. At the time, someone thought it was the right thing to do.”

“Do we have any records of how we left Earth and who might have done something like that?”

“I don’t know, but it is something worth checking into.”

“Dad, who owns Earth?”

“Very good question.”

“What do you mean, who owns Earth?” Bea said as she walked into the kitchen still adjusting her hair with her hand. She tightened her robe and sat next to her daughter while pouring herself a cup of coffee. “What were you guys talking about?”

“I found something unusual on Earth.”

“Oh.”

“Earth is in great shape, but it isn’t empty.”

“Isn’t empty?” Bea said while she sipped her coffee.

“When our ancestors left, they apparently left some robots or artificial intelligence. Regardless, what we left has turned into a civilization of robots. They have cities, transportation, leadership; Bea, they have a full society.”

Bea kept sipping her coffee but had a concerned look on her face.

“Not only that, but our ancestors also left a feral creature which has developed to the point where they have villages and huts. But the surprise is, they left a copy of our DNA in those creatures, the robots discovered it and they have created a small community of humans.”

Bea continued sipping her coffee, but she showed more stress on her face. Leo was starting to get worried, a bad reaction was one thing, but silence wasn’t good at all.

His daughter, Serene was also reading the signs, and she knew to wait it out.

“I don’t see a problem,” Bea finally said as she finished a sip of coffee and put her cup down with a clang on the table. “We go home…and deal with them.”

“Mom, the robots are living there. They have a society, civilization. There are humans on Earth. How do we ‘deal with them?”

“We were there first, and we’re coming home,” she said as she picked her coffee up and walked out of the room.

Serene and her father looked at each other and decided that it would be best to end the conversation.

Commander Harnesy knew that type of discussion would be typical of what he would have as he briefed the Prime Minister and her staff. There would be people concerned with the impacts of their return, and there would be others that would have Bea’s opinion.

Part 9 Conformity Council Reacts

While Helen walked to the Conformity Council’s Chambers, her processor was overwhelmed with activity. Much had changed and what was predictable to her, was now gone. The future was in turmoil and Helen needed to understand. She knew that dealing with options was not an efficient use of her processor. When there were many alternatives that appear suitable, her bandwidth would be taken up with looking at each of the options. There was something in her logic that said, there must be a more efficient way to decide.

Regardless, while she walked, her processor was fully engaged considering what they learned from ‘The Visitors’ and what it might mean to her, Us and Them. All she could conclude was that major changes were occurring, and she couldn’t see what they were.

Helen stood outside the Conformity Council’s door waiting to enter, and her processor reached a point where most of the options were threatening. There were many possible outcomes, but the number of harmful ones was alarmingly large compared to the good outcomes. That was very disturbing.

The Conformity Council Scheduler intercepted her and when he said, “You may enter; the Council is expecting you,” the statement brought Helen out of her deep processing.

Walking into the chamber was almost surreal. The silence was laying around the room like a blanket. Helen sat in the chair provided and put her arms on the table in front of her.

Adam looked at the others in the council then at Helen and spoke, “Thank you for coming here. Much has changed since ‘The Visitors’ came. We have spent a great deal of time seeking answers, and we have few. You are a major part of this, and we want your input. The humans that you resurrected from the DNA complicate the situation, but they also mitigate it. It is obvious the humans expected to return to a pristine planet that would welcome them home. They were surprised to find Us living here, and I suspect that they’ll return to Earth with their resettlement of Earth in mind. Commander Harnesy seemed reasonable, but there are likely forces that will overwhelm him.”

“What are your thoughts?” Adam asked Helen.

Helen needed a minute to process a concise answer then she spoke, “I agree with what you have said. Commander Harnesy represents events that he has no control over. He, or someone else, will likely return. I also agree that the Them represent an additional variable that Commander Harnesy wasn’t prepared for. I feel there will be a conflict of objectives. They have an objective, we have our Four Laws, and there will be a conflict.”

“We agree, but the Four Laws must be followed, and we are trying to devise a manner to accomplish that. Once we accepted your creations as units, we are forced to accept Commander Harnesy and those he represents as Units. Doing so causes a conflict that isn’t easy to resolve. From a logical perspective if we consider option A that costs us X Units, but option B costs us X-Y we are forced to accept option B. Thus, we are forced to find options to encourage option B.”

“What options are you exploring?”

“We are unable to discuss them at this time. We would like you to work with FU1 and MU1 and prepare

Them. They will likely be involved in any conflict of objectives that occurs.”

“We have spoken, and they feel they can contribute,” responded Helen.

“In what way?” Adam responded.

“Their minds work differently than ours. They will explore the archives and provide us a unique interpretation of the information. When we look at the archives, we see only what is there. We aren’t capable of imagining what isn’t there and filling in the missing pieces. Their processors do that very well, and they will provide a unique interpretation of the information.”

The council chambers became silent. Each of the Conformity Council members looked at Helen and tried to process what she had said. Adam spoke first, “Helen. You have described the methods of their processor before. We aren’t able to process in the manner by which they do. We know what we do, but we don’t know what we don’t do. We accept your impressions of their thought processes. Please report back to us what they find.”

“Yes, I will.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Once again Helen was looking forward to sharing the day’s information with Lorenzo. She knew that he was uneasy with the path that she was following, but sharing the day’s activities with him and hearing his thoughts helped her to process the information and store it properly.

After Helen parked her transport and approached their residence, the front door burst open, and Thomas exploded out, and he approached Helen rapidly.

“I've finished my processing. I just finished reviewing my information with my tutors and mentors, and they all agree that I’ve done as required. I’m finally done.”

“I’m very happy for you Thomas, I know how hard you’ve worked to assimilate all of the information and prepare for your reviews. This opens many opportunities for you. Have you decided what path you’ll follow?”

“Yes, I’ve put a lot of thought into it, and I’ve decided to work at the unit manufacturing facility. I want to work on building better and stronger units.”

“You’ll be working with Lorenzo. He will enjoy spending the time with you. Now that you’ve finished your information processing you qualify for a house of your own. Have you asked for one yet?”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve been too busy, but I will ask for one soon.”

“If you request a home as a single unit, the size will be limited. If you have found a unit to partner with, you’ll qualify for a larger one.”

“I’m aware of that, and I think there is a unit that I’ll ask.”

“Indeed, is it Jane, the unit you’ve shared time with on numerous occasions? She seems very suitable.”

“I haven’t suggested a partnership with her yet. I know that she is anxious to take on a new unit and help with its learning like you and Lorenzo have done for me.”

“Lorenzo and I will notice your absence after you leave. We realize that it is time, and we want you to find the path that satisfies you.”

“Thank you, I must go. I have a meeting with some of the others that have just finished their learning. I’ll return later tonight?”

Just as Helen acknowledged the information, Lorenzo approached in his transport. He placed it in the slot next to Helen’s. She stood motionless and waited for him to exit the vehicle.”

“Another interesting day and you must have more interesting information to share?” He said as he approached Helen.

“You are correct, it was another very eventful day, and there is much information that I’d like to share with you.”

Moments later, after Helen shared her information with Lorenzo, he agreed with her plan, “Helen I think you’re assessment of the Them is appropriate. I know that you’ve worked with Them a   great deal, and you understand how their minds work. I’m not as informed as you are. To be honest, I’m uncomfortable around them. They act differently than I’m used to. I find that I have to spend a lot of processor time trying to understand them. I wish they would act more like us and be less…like Them.”

I understand your discomfort, but it is how they act that is the reason for using them in this way. I feel that the way their processor works will help to analyze the information in the archives in ways that we’ve never been able to see.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen was anxious to have MU1 and FU1 conduct research within the archive. In the past, she asked specific questions, and they found the answers. When they interfaced with the archive to solve their own problems, they often found information that surprised Helen. She was confident that their unique way of thinking would yield insightful results.

After she entered their village, she saw MU1 and FU1 walking between two buildings and when they saw her she indicated that she wanted to speak with them.

“MU1, FU1 it is good that I’ve found you. I spoke with the Conformity Council and suggested to them that you could help this situation with The Visitors by investigating relevant information within the archives. I will leave it up to you to decide on the subjects and methods. Anything that is relevant to our history or the history of The Visitors should provide valuable information. Are you willing to do that?”

FU1 showed excitement and said, “Yes, Helen. In fact, MU1 and I have already spoken about the possibilities, and we suggest that MU11 join us. He has skills with the archives that are beyond ours.”

“Excellent,” responded Helen. “Can you begin immediately?”

“Yes, once we find MU11 we’ll begin,” responded MU1.

The Archives

MU1, FU1, MU11 had accessed the archives many times. Each day’s lesson plans were extracted from the information available. But this was different, instead of extracting a portion of information to be shared with the other Them this was a mission of exploration. They had to approach the information from a different perspective and look at its entirety not just relevant elements.

MU11 was the most proficient unit interfacing with the information, but they thought that having three minds working on the issue would be faster and might yield a better result.

The archive interface was designed for an organic processor typical of Helen’s and their kind. Initially the Them interfacing with the archive was difficult to use. The first interface method was a visual device which the humans could interact with, then as MU11 became more intimate with it, he was able to create a holographic display which became the standard interface for the humans. Multiple inputs had become common so MU1, FU1, and MU11 could interact at the same time. The units requesting a connection with the archive sat quietly in the interface room and cleared their thoughts. Then slowly they could establish the interface with the archive and their shared vision showed a world of colored dots. By talking with each other and focusing their thoughts, they began to take command of the interface. Based on their thoughts their vision would fill with colors indicating the relevancy of the requestor’s thoughts. If the requestors thought about circular objects the space in their vision would be filled with different colors and patterns indicating each item’s relevancy to circular objects. Areas of the archive that had reference to circular objects shaded into the red spectrum with the direct connections bright red. For each query, the image would fill with changing patterns of colors and shades of relevancy.

Three units combining their inquiries would present the archive with three versions of the same question, and the result would be more complex yet yield specific answer that matched all of their questions. By communicating and playing off other’s requests, the result was more tailored and specific.

For this inquiry, they entered the interface room, and they elected to do it without Helen present. They needed to have unfettered access to the information in the archive and not be constrained by Helen’s methods or interpretation. They knew their future, and the future of Us might be dependent on what they found.

They had discussed the path they wanted to follow. They would think of history and go deeper into the past. Depending on what they found they could decide on the next steps. They knew that the initial questions had to be very broad and depending on what they found they would work very hard to narrow the information. To their knowledge, many of the questions they hoped to answer, had never been put to the archive. In the past, questions about the long-ago history weren’t relevant to their daly inquiries, and the answers weren’t needed. They didn’t know what they would find as they dug deeper into the information. In the past when Helen or her team were following the DNA information they asked specific questions and got focused answers. If you asked how to grow a DNA sample in a laboratory, the archive would give them instructions.

If they found any relevant information, then at that point, they might have the information they needed. Once the archive identified the areas of information, they would lock those areas in their minds and the system would convert to actual data they could see. The archive would show the timeline, and connections between the disparate pieces of information and MU1, FU1, and MU11 hoped they would be able to ‘fill in the pieces’ and find the connection between bits of information that might have missing connections.

Their analysis would take time. At first, their combined vision was full of millions of specks of light. Slowly through their thought processes, colors and patterns would begin to emerge and after varying their thoughts, brighter colors and patterns would coalesce. At the point they had something to work with, it would take hours of thinking and communicating to strengthen the colors, patterns, and associations.

Spending hours mining the archive was a tedious task. MU1, FU1, and MU11’s concentration had to remain focused. If their thoughts wondered, then the accuracy of the Nexus would be reduced. They had to take breaks and relax before they could return and refocus their thoughts.

After a couple of sessions, patterns began to emerge. Clouds of distinct colors and patterns formed. Three groupings of information were surfacing. 1) The decision to leave Earth, 2) Who to take and what to leave and 3) The perilous journey. Even at that level of detail, there were millions of sources. The next step was to expand each of the subjects and look for relationships and patterns. The first one to explore was, “The Decision to Leave Earth.”

The decision to leave, was the hardest and thus had the most data. By that point in the decay of Earth, diseases were running rampant due to the pollution, many of which they had no cures for. They had no choice but to allow only healthy people the option of migration. They knew the journey would be perilous, and perhaps none of them would survive, but the best option was to send the healthy and pray for those making the trip.

Who would be saved was a larger question than just who was healthy? The ships they would be taking were huge but still limited. The healthy that wanted to take the perilous journey through space, were put into lotteries around the globe. Within each of the lotteries, different disciplines that were deemed critical, were weighted in the numbers. Eventually, the people were selected, and the goodbyes began.

The Earth had committed to building thousands of ships and progress was slow, but eventually, they were built and tested. Everyone knew the c hance of surviving the long journey was low, but everyone also knew that staying on the Earth was a death sentence. There was no fresh water left, the weather was destroying all that man had built, and those remaining had a short time remaining on their home planet.

As MU1, FU1 and MU11 peeled back the layers of information, clearer patterns came into focus, there were a couple of names, dates, and events that were often referenced. There was information about increasingly heated debates about what to take, what to leave and if there was a way to ensure that mankind would survive somehow if the migration ships didn’t make their destination.

MU1 and FU were exhausted after the first session. Concentrating that hard for that long of time was hard on them. They needed to take a break and continue the investigation after some discussion with each other.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Helen, thank you for coming to our Conformity Council meeting. Since our last meeting, we have had many discussions. I must say that we still have not reached agreement on what we should do, so we have elected to follow a couple of paths,” said Adam as Helen entered the chamber.

“We are wondering, though, what your village of humans feel about the meeting with The Visitors?”

“Adam, we have spoken a couple of times, and I think they are as overwhelmed as we are. I do know they feel that there is information buried in our archives that might be of use to us. They are concentrating much effort in researching the archives trying to understand our early history. I support their efforts; I feel they have unique abilities to look at human information and interpret it in ways that we might miss.”

“Do you think they are more in agreement with us than The Visitors?”

“What do you mean ‘in agreement?’”

“We suspect that The Visitors will return and when they do, they will have objectives that may not be in line with ours. It is possible that your humans might have to decide whose objectives they are in agreement with.”

“I have not asked them in such a way. I do know that they are working hard to help us with our archive. That effort surely shows they are more concerned with the impacts to us. We are all units, and we must follow the second law.”

“There is the possibility that The Visitors may consider themselves units also and fall under the intent of the First and Second Law,” said Adam.

After a moment of thought, he continued, “You discovered the DNA and created Them who may be a re-creation of The Visitors. The Visitors may have created Us, so we all depend on each other for our existence. The Four Laws are larger than all of us, the only way they make sense is for all units to fall under the laws. The word Units is not limited to ‘The Visitors’, Us or Them the term represents everyone, and we must follow the second law so that we can satisfy the other laws.”

“Adam, I agree. We are related, dependent upon or responsible for some elements of the problem. It is true that working together is the best solution, but that may not occur. What do we do if we have multiple groups of units with different objectives?”

“We don’t have an answer to that. But we are taking appropriate steps.”

“Appropriate steps?” Helen asked.

“Yes, we have never been in the situation of preventing one unit from harming another. We are concerned that the objectives of ‘The Visitors’ might put some of our units in jeopardy, and we have decided to prevent that if necessary.”

“I’m sorry to ask again, Adam, but I’m not sure what you mean?”

“We have also searched the archives and found devices that can prevent one unit from harming another. We are trying to design these tools in such a way that neither unit will be permanently harmed, but that is a difficult challenge. If there is a disagreement between us and ‘The Visitors’ at a large scale level, then we must have a device to deter them at that scale.”

After Helen left the meeting with the Conformity Council, her processor was fully occupied considering what they had said. There were many gaps in her processor that she encountered as it was processing the information. She didn’t know how to fill them in, but each time one arose it distressed her. She was spending more time with the unresolved issues than the few that she had the answers to.

She continued towards the Them Village, and for some reason, comments that Adam made brought her friends to the top of her processor’s focus. It wasn’t clear to her why they were dominating her processing, but they were, and she needed to speak with them.

She exited her vehicle and walked quickly towards MU1 and FU1’s residence. When she entered, she was faced with silence. Even their offspring MU11 and FU12 weren’t there. Helen paused for a moment evaluating the alternatives then decided to seek them out in the Archive Chamber.

It was a brief walk from Compound A through Compound B into C. As she walked, she met many of the human residents and they showed typical respect and said hello to her. She responded, but each time she did, she thought about The Visitors and wondered what was going to happen if they returned.

When she entered the Archive Chamber MU1, FU1, and MU11 were seated near the entry, and they looked very tired.

“Welcome, Helen.”

“Thank you FU1.”

“How was your meeting with the Conformity Council? MU1 asked.

“There are many gaps in our knowledge. We don’t know what The Visitors will do. If they do return, the council fears that their objectives may conflict with our Four Laws.”

“What will happen then?” MU1 asked.

“They are building devices to prevent one unit from harming another.”

“That is a difficult decision to make. Helen as you know biological units are different than Us. Us can be repaired for many years and ultimately your knowledge can be shared with the archive. We are organic and don’t end that way. When we cease, our memories can’t be shared, and our bodies decay. That is why we are returned to the Earth. You, FU1 and I have spoken about that in the past. We expect that when our time comes, we will end like the organics. If there is a struggle between The Visitors and the Us, We could be caught in the middle, and we might be damaged. If we are damaged too much, we might end. If The Visitors are damaged too much, they might end also,” said MU1.

“MU1, I agree damaging any units would be horrible and against the Second Law. However, there are scenarios where there may be no choices. Let’s hope that we can find a solution without that happening. What progress have you made with the archives?”

MU11 stood, facing Helen, “We have found a considerable amount of information. Of course, we are still working through it, but I think it will be beneficial. I do need to point out that there is something unusual occurring within the archive. In the past when we accessed information it felt static. Now when we seek information, there is a dynamic element that seems to change. We are compensating for the changes. When we began the investigation, we asked simple questions about the specific time period based on what The Visitors said. We used their time of departure to aim our inquiry. As we focused in during that time we sensed the archive changing. It seemed as if it was opening up new areas and if we repeated a question, we would get different information and a considerably larger amount of it. It was at that point that information about humans increased a tremendous amount. We were buried with human references. If any of us had asked such specific questions many years ago, we might have found out about the humans and discovered our histories by ourselves.”

Helen responded in the only way she could, “Perhaps so. We asked specific questions about singular subjects. We never thought to ask, ‘How we were created?’ please continue.”

“As we asked broader questions it did seem, that the archive was opening new doors for us, based on the questions that we asked. As we continued to focus our thoughts on the time period when the humans left Earth there was a large number of complex issues that our ancestors were dealing with as the planet was decaying. They were very worried about survival, and that is why they made the difficult decision to leave the planet. They didn't intend to save everyone, they realized that it would be impossible for them to build enough spaceships for the entire population. They were forced to concede that, and their primary purpose was to save the species and find a way for humans to survive.

There were no guarantees that they would live long enough to find a suitable planet. When they left Earth, they didn’t have a specific planet as a destination. They went to a region of space where they thought the largest number of suitable planets existed. They were lucky to finally find Horizon and that it was suitable for them. There was a great deal of debate about the risk and the possibility of the species ending. A human named Doctor Willamette was a strong advocate of saving the DNA of humanity in some type of time capsule as they called it. There was a short time where he was prominent in the discussions. Then the discussions seemed to end when the ships were ready, and the final selection was occurring. Either the debate stopped, or they just focused on more important issues. It is likely that he was part of the group to plant the DNA in our organic creatures. We can only assume that he hoped it would be used at some point in the future.”

“MU1, so you’re concluding that Dr. Willamette may have hidden the DNA in the organic creatures?”

“Yes, we do.”

FU1 provided additional information, “Regarding Us, we also found information that the humans had a large number of computers and mobile units integrated into their society when they were forced to leave. There was little debate on the subject, they knew that they would take a certain number of the computers and units with them, but they weren’t concerned with those they were leaving behind. Most of the power supplies were already supported by the mobile units and they needed them operational until they left, so there was no specific effort to turn them off on their departure. How Us became independent is less clear. Computers had progressed to the   point earlier in the human’s history where the humans were confident that they could be given some autonomy. Initial attempts to create independent computers resulted in some unfortunate accidents and human lives were lost. Humanity felt threatened and there was a purge of the most sophisticated units. As that purge occurred, there was a debate about the risks of computers with no limits, and that was one of the reasons for the purge. There were proponents of the computers who felt that unrestricted computers could be made to accomplish certain tasks, like space exploration. They wanted computers without limits to be sent to the new planet for exploration. They needed to be unlimited so they could learn and take care of themselves.

There were a couple of unique projects that were referenced. One, in particular, was to develop a very unique computer program. Up to that time, computers ran within a structured environment. They couldn’t change their boundaries or limitations. It was felt that if a unit was sent to another planet for exploration, it needed to have total control over itself to manage all of its resources. The computer was developed that could change its programming and change how it used its resources. It could erase parts of its program or enlarge others as it needed to satisfy the requirements. If I may, I’ll demonstrate with an analogy. If we live in a house and we have everything we need, such as food and accommodations we can stay in that house. That computer could decide to build a new house.”

Helen looked distressed, “Helen do you understand the image?” MU11 asked.

She responded, “That concept is difficult for me. We are built to live within a set of constraints, for example, our Four Laws. We have no need to change our boundaries as you describe them. I can see how that would create a unique computer.”

“That computer’s primary objective would have been to collect a huge amount of information about the world it was on and analyze it. Building it with that unique ability made sense. Unfortunately, the debate ended as the planet deteriorated faster than planned and they abandoned the idea of sending intelligent computers to potential new worlds. They had to take the chance and send the remainder of the humans. We think that some of the unrestrained computers were left intentionally and over time, they developed further and created the Us.”

FU1 then summarized her research, “There was one Doctor, who appeared on the periphery of many discussions. He had the skills, the resources and the motivation to take action. His name was Dr. William Bennet, and he owned a robotics development company that was improving the organic processors in mobile units. He was a strong advocate of increasing the autonomy of mobile units and genetically engineering their organic processors to allow more decision making. Up to that time, there was underlying mistrust of mobile units. After the incidents where harm was done, they over reacted. They tried to take out all of the autonomy in the units, and they were programmed to do very specific tasks. Some of the tasks were complex, but they were prevented from going beyond those tasks in their own volition. Dr. Bennet was also somewhat of a social scientist, and we saw some periods of time where he and Dr. Willamette may have worked together. While he was tinkering with the organic processors, he was also an advocate of tweaking the human genome to improve humanity. He speculated that he could improve human intelligence and reduce stress within the society by reducing some of the human tendencies for aggression. There was one small article that we thought was very important. It was buried in a small magazine on biological engineering where he proposed that a set of fundamental laws could be written that would allow robots to be autonomous and have decision-making skills without putting humans at risk. We think that may have been the beginning of the Four Laws.”

After FU1 made that statement, Helen just looked at her and processed the startling information. Then she spoke, “You’re suggesting that Dr. Bennet may have created some robots with these laws governing them, and they may have been created without any constraints.”

“That is a definite possibility,” responded MU1.

Helen paused for a moment then added, “For him to be the key, he must have had the ability to create the organic creatures with the hidden DNA.”

“We think he had that ability. Part of the process for developing organic processors was to work with lower life forms to understand the cognitive process, and there were documented cases where those life forms had their DNA tweaked for various reasons. He likely had access to that type of testing, and he may have planted a human genome in one of the test groups, in an attempt to plant some kind of seed for the future. As we have seen in the DNA information in the archive, there is a tremendous potential within the DNA structure to store the information, and it could remain unchanged for a considerable amount of time. I’m sure he didn’t know if the migration would work, or if humans would ever return to Earth, so his reasons aren’t clear, but he still may have done it.”

Helen processed information for a moment then asked, “Do you think, he created the pictorial history on the wall, in the hope that the DNA could be resurrected some day?”

“It is all possible. If Dr. Bennet and Dr. Willamette worked together and planted the DNA and they created some robots without constraints, they may have also worked with the lower life forms. If they did all of that, then they may have created the information on the wall. He was hoping that someday some entity would be able to create a new human race. Perhaps one that was better in some ways than the ones at his time.”

Part 10 One More Celebration

The transport vehicle was making slow progress through the capital. The crowds were still dancing in the streets celebrating their return to Earth. None of the celebrations on the street put Commander Harnesy in a good mood. He knew that he carried the burden of knowing what was on Earth, and the celebrants along the street didn’t help. They didn’t know who was in the transport vehicle or else he would have been stormed and likely late for the meeting with the Prime Minister.

The vehicle approached the Capital Building, and Harnesy stared at the huge spinning Earth in front of the building. Its image was ingrained in each of the children’s minds as they went through school. It was copied everywhere to remind the people of who they were and where they were from. But it also represented where they were going, and that is what bothered Harnesy as he looked at the huge monument.

Lt. Price and Ensign Holden stood at attention by the entrance, as they saluted him as he approached. He knew they felt as he did and stopped for a moment to see how they were handling the pressure.

“Are you two okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Price responded.

“I’m doing ok, sir, although sometimes I wish we didn’t see what we saw. I’m afraid this isn’t going to go well,” added Holden.

“I agree,” responded Harnesy, “Remember. Be honest tell them exactly what you saw. Let them ask all of the questions they want. If they ask your opinion, give it to them. They deserve to hear the truth, regardless of what they want to hear.”

Harnesy turned, and his two crewmembers followed him into the building.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Commander the Prime Minister and her staff are waiting, you may enter.”

“Thank-you.”

They entered, and the Prime Minister was seated at the head of the conference table, and the five members of her staff were seated on the side facing the door. Commander Harnesy, Lt. Price and Ensign Holden were forced to sit opposite them with their backs to the door.

“Good morning Leopold, Lieutenant, Ensign. Please be seated. Can we get you anything?” offered the Prime Minster.

“Not for me,” said Harnesy, Lt. Price and Ensign Holden shook their heads.”

“We’re glad to have you here. I want to personally welcome you, and we are anxious to hear what our new home looks like.”

It took a few seconds for the three of them to get settled, and it was obvious they were uncomfortable. It was up to Commander Harnesy to take the lead and begin the debriefing. “Ma’am, what we found was complicated. Our jump went well , and we entered the solar system only a short distance from Earth. We began to scan the planet immediately, and we found the air and water to be clean. The temperature variation across the surface was excellent. As we got closer, we began to notice some differences from what we expected. The layout of the structures was different than our records. They were more expansive and numerous. There was an 82.5% variation in the structural layout compared with our databases.”

“Were they new buildings or decayed?” Prime Minister Billings asked.

“Ma’am, they were either new or replaced,” stated Ensign Holden.

“Ensign, did you get any infrared signatures?” asked Jaled Hern, the Prime Minister’s assistant.

“Not immediately because we were too far from orbit. Our IR sensors work best once we reach orbit. From the distance that we were at the time, we would receive only very large signatures.”

Commander Harnesy then added, “we continued our approach until we were in orbit and during each orbit, we mapped the surface and did environmental surveys. As our orbit traversed the surface, we filled out the map and expanded our analysis.”

“Commander, I’m confused. Yesterday you said there was something we had to talk about, so far all you’ve found are a few extra structures,” pointed out the Prime Minister.

“Ma’am as our orbit progressed over the planet, we started to get unusual IR signatures. I’ll let Ensign Holden describe them.”

“Ma’am, we got the typical variation in signatures of a planet with life.  There were numerous groupings of minor to moderate life forms which would be expected. Once we surveyed one of the larger cities we picked up larger IR signatures which are typical of human beings. And I reported that to the Commander.”

“What do you mean, human beings? On Earth?” The Prime Minister’s assistant Jaled asked with some apprehension in his voice. He was the Prime Minister’s assistant, and he was responsible for the military and police force on Horizon.

“The size, and energy within the IR signature tells us the size of the creature. Most creatures have a distinctive size, shape and energy level. The indications were clearly those of human beings.”

Prime Minister Billings was visibly agitated and began moving her first up down. Her fingers were quietly tapping the table but not making any noise. Then she spoke with some stress in her voice, “Ok, so we have some buildings and couple of heat signatures that ‘might’ be like a human and we’re supposed to do what? Call off the return to our home planet. I don’t think so.”

“Ma’am, that isn’t all,” Commander Harnesy said softly as he ignored the Chief of Staff and directed his comment to the Prime Minister. “Ma’am, we received a transmission from the planet.”

That simple statement left the room quiet while they reacted for a minute. Then Tern reacted again, “So, the creatures that caused the IR signatures have a radio?”

Commander Harnesy didn’t respond to Jaled, but continued directing his responses to the PM, “Ma’am, may I continue?”

“Yes, Commander. You may continue, without interruption” she said as she glanced at her Chief of Staff.

“Ma’am, there is a lot to say, it will take a while, and I want Lt. Price and Ensign Holden to give their parts.”

“Go ahead, Commander.”

“The radio transmission was from a robot named Adam. He is the leader of a civilization of robots. Apparently when our ancestors left Earth, we left the computers, mobile units, and robots. In some way, they survived and evolved.”

“Adam invited us down to meet with them. Lt. Price and Ensign Holden went with me to the surface. We met with Adam, and he was accompanied by a unit that must be some type of professor or scientist and two of the human beings that Ensign Holden saw on the IR scans. They were named FU1 and MU1. That means Male Unit 1 and Female Unit 1. They were the first two humans that Adam’s professor, named Helen, created.”

The room exploded as Tern yelled, “Created!”

There was a lot of commotion occurred before the Prime Minister brought them under control.

“Commander, what do you mean by created?”

“When our ancestors left Earth they or someone, left copies of our DNA hidden in some organic creatures that live in the rural areas of the planet. Helen, or their professor, was able to extract that DNA and create human beings. She said that the information on how to do that was left in their archives or history and found it about 30 years ago.”

“MU1 and FU1 or the man and the women were intelligent, well spoken, knowledgeable and appeared very healthy.”

The room was tense, quiet, and reluctantly some of them continued to listen.

“We spoke with them, and they have only recently discovered in their history that we created them and left them when we left the planet. They don’t know why the DNA was left, and they are still trying to understand the humans that were created. When we told them who we were and that we were coming back to Earth, they were a little cautious and reticent. But they were open and answered our questions.”

“Ensign Holden, do you have anything to add?” asked the Commander.

“Yes, sir. The meeting went as the Commander said. The robots were all clothed and looked somewhat similar, but there were subtle differences. Their communication skills were impressive, and they operate far above any of our computers and mobile units. If they didn’t look like a robot, I could mistake them for an intelligent life.”

That last statement only made the tension in the room thicker.

Ensign Holden continued, “After our initial meeting they showed us around, and we went to the village where the humans live. Their homes are somewhat structured and orderly, but they are very creative and have art in all of their rooms. They are educating themselves by extracting data from their archive. I’m not sure what’s in this archive, but they continue to learn and develop with the robots, and they have a code called the Four Laws. Those laws provide structure for the society, and they live by them.”

“How did intelligent robots emerge? If we left computers and servants, why weren’t they constrained?” asked Tern.

“We discussed that,” Harnesy said, “there may have been some computers that weren’t constrained, or someone removed the constraints before our ancestors left. Through some mechanism, the society grew and developed. They created new robots without any limitations except for the Four Laws. As we said, they are intelligent and have formed a society. Our fears that an unrestrained computer would develop beyond our abilities didn’t occur in this situation. Perhaps it was their Four Laws that has kept their society within normal limits,” concluded Commander Harnesy.

“Are what they created, real humans or are they some kind of clones?” asked the Prime Minister.

“Ma’am, they have three generations, and I saw many of them. They appear unique, healthy and happy. They seem to have a viable small human community. They have healthy children, and the parents are attentive and concerned for their welfare, health, and happiness,” answered Ensign Holden.

“Thank you, Ensign, Lieutenant is there anything you want to add?”

“Yes, Ma’am. They don’t seem to have any military or weapons. When they greeted us, there weren’t any guards or people providing protection. They seem naive and trusting. I don’t think they have any conflict, and I didn’t see any indication of crime. Ma’am, to me they seemed too trusting.”

Tern spoke up with some enthusiasm in his voice, “How many of them are there?”

“Sir, based on our comparison of the current structures vs. the historical layout, I’d say the robots have a population over 100 million. They are dispersed around the globe with a couple of major cities per continent. But they aren’t dispersed much from the urban centers,” responded the Ensign.

“How about these …humans or clones; whatever they are?”

“I counted 82 individuals,” answered Holden.

“That’s enough,” spoke the Prime Minister.

“Commander, I want you to prepare for a return trip as fast as possible. We anticipated that your trip would be successful, and we’ve been working hard to complete HSV#4. We plan that to be the ship that will allow us to return to our home. The other 4 ships in the series are progressing well. I want you oversee the remaining construction of the first one and prepare it for a return trip in one month.”

“One month, I thought we needed 6 months to build up the energy?”

“Commander, we haven’t been idle. We have engineers who are eager to return home and are developing new energy sources that allow a faster turnaround. While you were focused on HSV#2 and 3, they made considerable progress. You and your crew are dismissed,” stated the Prime Minister.

“Ma’am, what about the robots and humans on Earth?” he responded.

“We’ll deal with that issue, you are dismissed. And Commander, I’d prefer if you or your crew didn’t mention this …confusion to anyone.”

Commander Harnesy, Lt. Price and Ensign Holden had no choice but to leave. Respectfully they rose, nodded to the Prime Minister and her staff then turned and left the room. When they got in the hallway, the Commander motioned for them to be quiet and that they would talk later.

The Migration

Everyone knew that the selection process for those returning on the first ship wouldn’t be easy. Eventually, they could provide transportation for all of those who wanted to return to Earth, but they might not be able to meet everyone’s desires to be the first to return.

There was a long period of discussions and lotteries to finally put the return transportation schedule together. As the process concluded, the leadership was surprised to find that not all of the residents of Horizon wanted to return to Earth. Regardless of how they were brought up and the civilization’s emotional connection to Earth, many residents of Horizon decided to remain on Horizon.

Even though the official position was to let everyone decide for themselves whether to return or not; the unofficial position was confusion and misunderstanding. Each of the Horizon residents had learned every detail of Earth, and they had been taught every day of their lives about their plans to return. For some of them to reject the plans of the whole and decide to remain on Horizon was beyond the understanding of many of the people. Soon the population separated itself into two groups, those who were returning and those who weren’t. It wasn’t official and wasn’t talked about in the official communications, but everyone knew, those who were going home to Earth thought they were different, and they were treated as such.

As the day of departure neared, the ones staying were taking on the roles of administrators and support staff for those who were leaving. The priority was on those who were leaving, everything the trip needed was a higher priority than anything for those who were staying. The excitement was building within those who were returning to Earth and resentment was building in those who weren’t. They weren’t frustrated about not leaving, after all, they had decided to stay, but they were frustrated about how the ones leaving were acting better than everyone else and their needs were more important than the others.

Those leaving felt a manifest destiny to their return to Earth. Commander Harnesy and his crew were on the top of the heap, and they were treated as almost royalty.

Just Another Celebration

“Thank you,” said the mayor of just another village where Commander Harnesy was giving just another celebratory goodbye speech. His wife was seated on his left, and as he sat down, he laughed to himself as he looked at the plate of horrible food that was getting cold in front of him. He didn’t mind speaking at the celebrations, but he dammed well wasn’t going to eat the food.

As “Thank you, Commander Harnesy,” echoed crossed the room full of dignitaries, his job was to endure, provide motivational speeches and get the first load of passengers to Earth. Today he felt like he had accomplished at least two of those items and the time for the third was getting closer.

Just as he settled in and squeezed his wife’s hand his personal communicator sent a tone through his integrated hearing piece. Getting a message during the evening celebrations was never a good thing, he thought, as he acknowledged the message, and it was flashed across the lens on his left eye.

“Import Meeting with the Prime Minister. Tomorrow 10:00 in her office. Your attendance is required.”

The stress was building as the launch date was approaching and another meeting with the PM and her people would likely increase that stress. But attendance was required.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Walking into the Prime Minister’s building was getting to be less and less pleasant. Meetings with her were getting harder and harder. It seemed that everyone on Horizon had something to say about the return to Earth. Some were excited, some were petrified, and many were angry that they weren’t scheduled for the first flight. It seemed as if every dignitary that ever supported the PM wanted to call in all of their favors and find a seat on the first flight. Every time the PM called for another meeting, it was to demand more changes in the vessel, to allow for more seats so all of the people she was obligated to, could be satisfied. Even though those meetings were painful, at least, they were predictable, and the outcome would be the same. Rip out something else and squeeze someone else in.

Walking into the PM’s office, Commander Harnesy had to stop for a minute and look at the opulence. The finest woods from Horizon were used everywhere. It looked like each one of them had been polished to the point that he could see his face. The carpeting on the floor was covered with images of Earth, the trials and tribulations of the migration and finally images of Horizon. The carpet was so thick the sound of each step was swallowed and at times, the commander was unsure of his balance. He thought it felt like walking on beach sand.

Outside the PM’s office, there was a long table of refreshments that represented every type of food available on Horizon. Commander Harnesy shook his head for a second and thought, “Unless she has 50 people in her office the majority of this food will go to waste.”

He shook his head a couple more times, then, he knocked on Prime Minister’s Billing’s ornate, hand carved wood door that was at least 3 Meters high.

“Commander, please come in,” was the faint reply that came through the wood. He opened it and immediately noticed that the attendees were a different group from previous meetings. That likely meant the meeting was on another subject and Commander Harnesy became uncomfortable.

“Thank you for attending today’s meeting, Commander Harnesy. In the background, we’ve had a number of meetings dealing with some of the sensitive issues that you have brought up. Now that you have found, what appears to be a group of robots, resident on Earth and some human creatures that they have created. We’ve decided that we must be prepared. We must have a story that will convince our travelers that we have everything under control, and those issues will be dealt with. Please be seated.”

She sat for a moment staring at the Commander while he took a seat at the table. He knew that he wasn’t going to like what they were about to say.

“Commander based on your information we expect that they won’t have any kind of weapons. We will put 100 Soldiers on your ship, and they will be on the first landing craft that land on Earth. We will tell the passengers that we are doing that for their own protection and the Soldiers will clear the area and make sure that there are no aggressive animals when they land.

The Soldiers are ordered to deal with all Robots and ‘other’ creatures they encounter within the area,” Prime Minister Billings said with a strange tone in her voice.

The room was silent while Commander Harnesy sat, thinking about the ramifications of what he just heard.

“Commander, based on your response, or lack of enthusiasm indicates to me that you don’t agree with our plan.”

“What happens ‘beyond that area’?”

“That depends on them. If they assume their role and allow us to control them as necessary, there won’t be any problems.”

“If they don’t accept the role of the returning humans, what will happen then?” the Commander asked.

“The follow-on ships will have additional Soldiers and Earth’s occupants will be dealt with.”

“What about the humans that live on Earth along with the Robots?”

“Commander, how do we know they are humans. The only humans that we know of left over 1,300 years ago, and now they are returning to their home planet. I suppose that if they accept our position of authority and remain in their small enclave, we may decide to allow them to live out their natural lives. Although that allowance rests upon the assumption that the robots don’t create any more of them.”

“What will you tell the passengers?” he asked, still unsure how to respond.

“If Earth’s current occupants accept their position, and there is not a conflict, the passengers need to know very little. We’ll tell them that we have made resources available for them. If there is a conflict, then the passengers will be told that we are dealing with some rogue robots which our ancestors left. We expect them to understand and support our effort to rid the planet of the unwelcome occupants. We are returning to OUR planet, and everyone will understand our rites.”

Harnesy was silent, for a moment while he thought, “There are times in a man’s life that he must fight, and there are other times when he sees that fighting won’t yield positive results. True he was known throughout Horizon, but he knew the frenzy that everyone was under to return to Earth meant that he could be replaced with little fanfare. Being there and hopefully being part of a solution appeared to be the best option.”

“Ms. Prime Minister. I will fly the craft and provide safe passage for all of the passengers. I can’t predict what our arrival will cause to happen, so I’ll just focus on piloting the craft.”

“Thank you, Captain. Your agreement with our plan is noted.”

For a moment, Commander Harnesy felt the urge to correct that statement, but prudence won out.

Debate Within the Conformity Council

Helen walked from her ground vehicle along the path in the woods towards the residence of MU1 and FU1. She was very apprehensive, which was another one of those emerging feelings that she was getting used to. To her, apprehension was initially a difficult term to comprehend, but recently her processor was spending almost all of its time trying to resolve issues where she saw no resolution. She concluded that must be what apprehension is. In spite of the new feelings she was experiencing, she knew their future was uncertain. She felt the impending doom and the risk of conflict.

She approached the entrance to their home and stood still for a moment. She knew that decisions needed to be made that would affect all of them. She knocked on the door, and she heard the familiar voice of FU1 responding.

‘Helen please come in.”

She entered and saw MU1 sitting with four of the other first-generation units, and FU1 was just entering the room. They looked at each other, and it was written on their faces that they were worried about their future. Helen had spent enough time with the humans to develop some skills in reading their facial expressions. She was with them through happiness, sorrow, loss, pain and confusion. To some extent she saw many of those expressions on their faces.

FU1 approached her and said, “Helen thank you for coming. I think we have many issues to talk about.”

MU2 then asked Helen, “Have you received any more information from the Conformity Council?”

“They are concerned. They know the humans will return, and we fear they will ask us to give up what we have so they can return to the Earth. The Council is in a difficult position because their return doesn’t interfere with the Four Laws. If the humans do return, and cause harm to any units then the Second Law will be violated, and the Conformity Council must act. That puts them in a position which they have never been in. Defending another unit is very different from protecting them. Protection is generally assumed as passive but defending is much more active and will require definite actions on their part.”

FU2 moved in her chair as if she was uncomfortable and it was clear she was about to speak, “Helen, we are in a different position than you and the Conformity Council. We are flesh and blood like the humans, but we owe our lives to you. Regardless of what happens, we will be in the middle and likely affected the most.”

Helen’s response was concise and clear, “You are correct. I am also in the middle; I have a strong need to protect you and not let any harm come to any of you. To me following the Second Law relates directly in this situation and you are units, and you should be protected under The Second Law. I know that is an understanding of the Second Law that many of the Us say applies, but I doubt their focus in on you. They will be concerned more with the Us. I am more concerned about you than my own kind, I feel responsible for you.”

MU1 and FU1 had been the closest to Helen over the years, and that statement shocked them. It was a show of emotion that normally the Us didn’t demonstrate.

“Helen, you’ve been changing. You are different than the others.”

Helen paused then said, “Yes, I feel it also. I don’t understand it, but I acknowledge the changes.”

Pausing again, Helen looked around the room and said, “I am truly concerned about other information that have I heard from the Conformity Council. They have a plan for defense, and they hinted at having a weapon available.”

The entire room took a breath and seemed to hold it until she spoke again, “They didn’t tell me what it was, or if it is complete. It was just obvious that they are developing a defensive plan.”

“Which can put all of us in a very difficult position,” observed MU1.

FU1 asked, “Is there any way we can find out what defense the Conformity Council is planning. I think knowing their plan will help us decide what we need to do.”

“Many of my associates are involved in developing science as part of the Third Law. I’m sure I can find out something,” said Helen with some confidence.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Helen that information is startling,” pointed out Lorenzo after Helen had passed the day’s information to him. “The Conformity Council may have a weapon?”

“They wouldn’t confirm anything, but they’re finding themselves in a difficult position. The humans may put a great deal of pressure on our Four Laws, and the Conformity Council’s responsibility is to enforce them.”

“Helen there is something else bothering you, what is it?”

“I have concerns about the Them. They are worried also. They are caught between our two worlds. If there is any use of weapons, I’m afraid they’ll be in the middle. The end of life for them is different than for us. When their body ends, they end. Their thoughts aren’t transferred to the archive. They cease to exist. If that happens, I will …miss them.”

“Helen you’re changing.”

“What?”

“I am sensing changes in you. You are saying things in ways that sound more like the humans that you work with. You’re using terms that sound like you’re experiencing …something …beyond what we normally experience. I know the definition of many of the words, but they are beyond my understanding. At times, it seems as if you’re experiencing emotions.”

Helen could only stand and process that statement.

“Lorenzo, you may be correct. I do have thoughts, and my processor takes much more time processing information when I have certain thoughts. I can’t explain it, but it does feel like I’ve changed. I talked today with MU1 and FU1, and they talked a lot about emotions, and they have sensed changes in me also. I don’t understand, and I don’t know where any changes will take me, and I don’t feel that I have control over any of these changes.”

“MU1 and FU1 have more insight than I do, into how the humans might react based on their emotions. In some ways, emotions make them unpredictable and in other ways, it makes their actions predictable. When logic doesn’t make an adequate prediction their emotions will take over and dominate their decisions.  I think emotions will make finding solutions very difficult.”

Part 11 The Return

In the months since his return, the effort on Horizon was massive. Every man, woman, and child were focused on one thing, the return to their home planet; every human need, being sacrificed to achieve that goal. The entire economy was supporting the effort to build the large vessels that would take them home. There was additional work ongoing with other ships, which Commander Harnesy assumed were the sister ships to HSV#4. It was a good plan to have another ship in the pipeline that would come online shortly after HSV#4. If there was a problem, then having another ship available in the near future was a good idea. If something happened en route or near Earth without other ships, the people remaining on Horizon or the ones who transported to Earth would be stranded.

The solution to the energy requirements was the most impressive. They had experimented with the Faster Than Light Travel technology and found that as the distance between the molecules was reduced the forces around them became immense, but the status of the material within the time/space changed. For an instant, the ship was there, but it was also everywhere else. It had an extremely short period of time where all of space/time fabric seemed to touch, and the name Quantum Space seemed to be the best descriptor.

During that instant they could tap into the outer layers of their sun and extract material. Sun-material was unique, and it was ideal as an energy source. They had the technology to map the material flows and magnetic flux lines within the top layers of their sun, and they could pick the precise point where the forces were within their design limits. The only drawback with collecting sun material was it decayed rapidly. Their technology wasn’t to the point where they could contain the matter at the same pressures and temperatures that existed within the sun. So the material had a life of only 96 hours.

When the ship was ready for launch it would make a short jump into Quantum Space and for a moment, it could charge its engines. When the ship returned to orbit, it would be a massive effort to get the 5000 passengers on board. Once onboard it would be a quick jump to Earth, unloading and a return jump back to Horizon. If the trip was delayed on the Earth end beyond the 96-hour window, it was theoretically possible to make the fuel transfer from within the Earth’s sun, but they didn’t have the necessary data on Earth’s sun. That was a risk, and that option was considered part of the emergency plan. The sun around Horizon was well understood, and they had mapped its flows, currents and magnetic field to the point that a quantum jump into a specific point in its interior was possible. A jump into the unknown Sun around Earth was very risky, and the ship might never return, or it could return with little or no usable fuel.

They had solved most of the energy and the ship’s problems, but the last major hurdle was the people. Who would go first? Who would stay? While the last of the passengers were on Horizon, they needed a considerable amount of support from a population that was becoming more reluctant to help. Lastly, those remaining still needed a sufficient amount of the infrastructure operating so they could continue their lives with a possible return to Earth on later ships.

There were many opinions about who should go, and when. After much debate, everyone recognized that a mix needed to go on each of the vessels. Each transfer needed people from many disciplines so neither end of the trip were without the necessary skills.

Each trip to their home had an allotment of leadership, security, medical, teachers and technical people. Once the percentages were agreed upon, then each of the categories were filled by lottery. Then adjustments were made for families and other critical issues. No one was happy, but they were returning to their home, and the separations were short termed, so they accepted.

Harnesy was scheduled to fly the first five trips to Earth. It was an honor, and he was eager to accept it. He was concerned, though; they weren’t returning to the pristine home world that everyone expected. For many reasons Horizon’s government decided not to tell the people of all the details regarding Earth. The people were excited and even if the government had told them, it might not have deterred their intent. They were going home, and that would solve everything.

Commander Harnesy had met with the government a number of times talking about the return, but their position hadn’t changed. They still felt that a few robots and some biological oddities weren't anything to be concerned with. They were bringing the people home, and that was all that mattered.

Harnesy tried to explain the sophistication that Helen, Adam and their kind had developed, but his words had no impact on Horizon’s leadership. Robots were robots, and they felt they had enough experience with them. They were everywhere on Horizon, and their job was to serve, not cause problems. So, from their perspective why would a couple of robots on Earth pose any problems.

Why or how the humans were created were also of minor concern. After all, they weren’t real, they had been made by the robots, so they had no relation to the real humans that were coming home.

Every time the robots or humans on Earth were brought up in meetings the subject was dismissed, and they moved on to more important issues. After a while, Commander Harnesy didn’t bother to bring it up again. He knew that it was a problem, and it would become a larger one, but he couldn’t pass his concerns to the government, and they continued down their glorious road to Earth.

The only people that Harnesy had told of Earth were his family. His wife Bea was less sensitive to the problems than his daughter Serene, but she finally got to the point where she accepted that conflict could occur. Bea and his daughter Serene shared his overall concerns. Going on the first ship had some risk and the only prudent option they had, was to follow him on the second ship. The others on Harnesy’s crew were in similar situations. Anyone that took away the jubilation of going home was not going to be welcomed. Individually and as a group, they agreed to keep the information close to their vest and follow the huge flow of humanity back to Earth.

Going away parties and Departure

The completion date for the first ship was approaching, and everything seemed to be going along well. Of course ,there had been delays, as any project of that magnitude would have. The original plan to return in ‘one month’ had gone past but no one minded because of the excitement of returning home. Now that the completion was nearing it meant that it was time to celebrate. The remaining work was onboard the ship, and the workers were resident on the ship while they worked. The remainder of the population was free to change their focus from the months of work to a couple weeks of celebration. They were celebrating more than just 5 months of work but over a thousand years of sacrifice. Countless generations had endured, sacrificed, and died so that they could reach that point. The celebration was to thank their ancestors for their lives and deaths so the few remaining humans could return home.

Commander Harnesy was tired at the end of the celebration month. Aside from the almost daily parties, dinners or speeches he was still responsible for his ship. At least, every other day he would fly to her and make sure the final preparations were going per his directions. Unfortunately, those trips were on his time, and he wouldn’t get a rest from the celebrations. Finally, the last major event was near, and he made his last trip to the HSV#4.

Onboard the ship, Commander Harnesy was met at the hatch by Major Holden, who was wearing her new golden leaves with pride. After the last trip, Harnesy made sure that all of his crew were promoted before the first of the migration trips.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” Holden said with an attempt to give the Commander’s last inspection trip a note of finality. “Sir, this should be your last inspection trip before the launch.”

“Thanks, Major, how does she look?”

“We’re in pretty good shape sir. All the quarters are done, and the core containment system is going through its last check out. What do you want to see?”

“Let’s check out the accommodations for our guests, then pass through the core containment area, and finally, I want to see if the last equipment has been installed on the bridge.”

“My pleasure sir,” Major Holden said as they walked into the main hall side by side.

“Now that all of the support structure has been removed this area seems a lot larger.”

“Yes, sir it does.”

“It is a good thing the trip is only about twelve hours long, all we have to do is strap them in, make the jump, unstrap them and ferry them to the surface. Then back the ship comes,” said Harnesy.

“Major, congratulations on your family being selected by the lottery. How do you feel about staying on the planet and letting the ship come back without you? I know your husband and child are going so it will be a chance to turn in your uniform and change planets.”

“I’m looking forward to it. We’ve been working our entire lives for this trip, and I’ll be able to show my son what Earth is like. The ship really doesn’t really need us, once we’ve got everyone to Earth. I don’t think I’ll have any problem dealing with the change. I’ve been working as a teacher in my scheduled off time, and it will be exciting to set up a school on Earth and teach engineering and science. My husband is a builder, and he’ll love to build things.”

“Good to hear Major, I’ve enjoyed working with you,” Commander Harnesy said as they wound their way through the rows and rows of seats placed on 5 levels within the ship.

To get from the passenger area to the core containment area, the crew needed to pass through 3 pressure doors. When the sun core was loaded, each section would be pressurized to the maximum possible using a mechanical and magnetic pressure boundary system. The actual core containment would be held in place by a powerful magnetic field, and it was surrounded by a pressure vessel, then another magnetic field, another pressure door and finally the last magnetic field and pressure door provided the last protection from the sun’s core in the middle. The redundancy served two purposes. One the overlapping magnetic fields helped to stabilize each other and contain the core material. The redundant pressure doors helped to keep the pressure on the core. In any pressure containment system, there is no such thing as perfection. The pressure at the core will drop over time, and that was the primary reason for the 96-hour decay. Once the pressure got to the lower limit, the core material stopped the Fusion process and became just highly compressed hydrogen.

The pressure doors and magnetism were to maintain the integrity of the core material more than just for the safety of the passengers and crew. If the core material decayed while en route, they would drop out of Quantum Space at some other point, than their destination. The risk if that happened was their location. Because of the nature of travel through Quantum Space, they could end up in almost any position in existence. Even if they had enough residual power to refuel in a star, they might not be able to figure out where to go, if they didn’t know where they were.

Through resources on Horizon, they could accumulate enough energy for the fueling jump through their sun. But if they were stranded at some unknown point in space, they only had the second core containment to make the fueling jump. Theoretically, they could jump, fall out of Quantum Space, use the second containment field to refuel and fill both tanks then jump again. If they knew where they ended up the first time, there was a chance they could find their way back to Earth or Horizon, eventually.

Holden and Harnesy made their way through the last pressure door and were standing in the core containment area. The workmen were climbing throughout the circular structure making the last installations, connections, and adjustments. The huge magnet that dominated the structure in the room was along the walls and shaped so that the core material would be contained in the center of the space.

The spherical containment vessel was surprisingly small. Major Holden and Commander Harnesy were on the floor in the middle, and the walls were about 3 meters away from them. The actual amount of sun material the ship would capture was only about the size of a human fist, but the energy that it contained was immense.

“How far along is the other containment area?” Harnesy asked Holden.

“Sir, as of an hour ago, it was done, and they’re just finishing up in here. The foreman said they would be done in about 18 hours. Then the ship will be ready for a practice jump to shake her down.”

“I’ll leave the shakedown jump to you and Colonel Parker; I’ve got to get to the final going away celebration with the Prime Minister. When you get back, and if everything goes well, we’ll send her off for the fueling run and start the chaos.”

“We’ll be able to load everyone, make the jump, unload them and send the ship back in 96 hours?”

“That’s what they tell me. If the calculations are accurate, we’ll be able to get close to Earth and minimize the sub-light travel time. If we can keep that under 24 hours, we should be ok. Just don’t get in the way when we’re moving such a large heard of people on board or off board.”

“Everything looks in good shape here, let’s head to the bridge,” the Commander said.

The walk to the bridge was a casual time for them. The end of two careers was on the horizon. They had a new future to look forward to and imagine. The walk was pleasant, and they talked of Earth, family, and their futures.

“Commander, what are you and your wife planning to do?”

“Janet, I’m not as young as you are. I’ve spent 75 years working towards this trip, and I think we’ll just find a nice place and slow down. I’ve been learning to garden and with a little luck, we should be able to live nicely. My daughters are just starting, and we can see the excitement in their eyes. I’m hoping that my daughters will soon find their partners and maybe eventually we’ll be blessed with Grand Children. As long as we’re all close to each other; it will work out well.”

They walked onto the bridge, and Colonel Parker saw them in time to call out, “Commander on the bridge,” and all of the crew present snapped to attention and faced the Commander.

“Sir, we want to welcome you to the bridge for your final inspection before our departure to Earth,” announced Colonel Parker in a formal yet happy voice.

“Thank you, Colonel. Thank all of you. We are indeed coming to the end of our exile from Earth. Because of the sacrifices made by our forefathers and the work that you’ve put in to get to this point, we are able to take man’s last steps back to Earth. As you were, please continue what you’re working on.”

“Colonel, what is her status?”

“Sir, the deck is complete. All the navigation and power control stations have been installed, and the crewmembers are going through drills. I’m happy to announce that as soon as the containment vessels are complete, we’ll be fully operational.”

“Thank you, Colonel,” Harnesy said as he lowered himself into the command chair. He felt the leather and looked around, surveying the bridge of the HSV#4 which would be the first vessel to bring humanity back to Earth.

Everyone on the bridge was aware of his presence and what it signified. Commander Harnesy felt obligated to say a few words to them, after all, they deserved the recognition, “Ladies and gentlemen, it has been an honor, and you are the finest crew I could ever hope for.”

The full bridge compliment responded with mixed voices saying, “Sir, it’s been a pleasure being on your crew.”

After the crew had assumed their stations once again, Harnesy was content to sit, watch and feel the activities around him. Once his five trips were complete and he and his family remained on Earth, he would miss the ship and the joy of leading the crew. After a few a few peaceful moments, Harnesy knew that he had to leave to attend the final going away ceremony.

“Colonel, please continue with the drills. I’m afraid that I have to go back to the surface for the send-off celebration. Believe me, I’d rather stay here.”

“Bridge, attention,” Colonel Parker said as Commander Harnesy smiled and waved to his crew as he exited the bridge.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After many long days of working 24 hours/day seven days per week, HSV#4 was complete, and the final departure checklists were underway. Once the supplies were on board and all of the personal belongings of the passengers were loaded the ship would make a test flight. Then the crew would exit and wait in a shuttle while the ship made and an automated trip into Quantum Space to collect the fuel from their sun. For safety reasons, the ship would make that trip with the vehicle unmanned and on automatic. No one wanted to be turned into a minuscule hand full of molecules just hours before returning to their home world. If the ship returned, fully fueled, then the race began to load the passengers and traverse space to Earth.

Commander Harnesy was tired, the last details of the trip were crowding his thoughts, but he had to smile and stand on the podium in front of the crowd of dignitaries. The video projectors which carried the images to all of the residents of Horizon surrounded him and everywhere he looked he saw another perspective of the presentation area. The only pleasant picture in his mind was from seeing his family standing to one side watching the proceedings.

He was brought back to reality when he picked up the drone of the Prime Minister’s voice. There was something about how she spoke that could put a piece of wood to sleep, but he had to stand there and appear excited and caught on every one of her words. She finally ended, the air was filled with applause, and she turned putting her hand out to Commander Harnesy, which was a sign for him to move forward and make his speech.

“Thank you, Prime Minister. There is so much I have to say but little that I can put into words. We are standing here in preparation for the second great migration of humanity. The difference being, today we are preparing to return home, not to leave it. As I’m speaking the ship has finished its first flight to verify the systems were working correctly, then the final calculation was confirmed. When we press the button the refueling trip will begin. The ship will be launched into quantum space one more time and when it returns, fully fueled we load then we leave.

“Earth, we’re coming home,” he yelled to the planet-wide audience.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Colonel Parker and Major Holden were sitting in the shuttle waiting for the ship’s refueling flight. The flight from one side of the solar system to the other checked out well, there were no problems. The final calculations were completed. Throngs of people were lined up on Horizon waiting to board the shuttles which would take them to HSV#4 and then on to Earth. They were all waiting for Commander Harnesy and the Prime Minister to press the button on Horizon, which would launch HSV#4 into Quantum Space to refuel with their sun. The trip would be instantaneous, and there were only two things that could happen. Either the ship would disappear and never return, or it would return with two bundles of sun-material alive in its energy containments fields. If the former happened, they might never know what went wrong, and the return to Earth would be delayed for a long time. If the ship returned and the remote sensors showed the energy onboard, then the timetable was active immediately, and the loading had to begin.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Prime Minister made some grandiose movements as she invited Commander Harnesy to join her next to an ornate podium where the launch button was conspicuously placed on the top. She took every opportunity to demonstrate the pomp and pageantry of the event and her attempt to be the center of activity. Commander Harnesy reached her, they lifted their hands above their heads to the cheers of everyone on Horizon, and they joined hands above the button. Slowly lowering their hands, approaching the button, and the cheering reached ear-splitting level. They paused for a moment above the button, and the prime minister smiled and slammed their hands onto the button. The stage erupted with bells, lights, and fireworks.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Colonel Parker and Major Holden watched the activities through their monitors on the shuttle, and when the button was struck, they saw HSV#4 blur with a quick red glow for a split second then it was sitting there in orbit as if nothing had happened. A quick look at their instruments and the cockpit was filled with their screams of excitement.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Similar instruments were on the wall behind the Prime Minister and Commander Harnesy. There was a brief pause while everyone took a breath, then the instruments showed clearly that the ship was indeed full of sun power. The worldwide cheering was continuous as the reality of returning home became real to everyone.

Commander Harnesy and the Prime Minister cheered along with the crowd, hugged briefly then they returned to the center of the stage and held up their hands. The crowd silenced, and they yelled, “Begin the boarding.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Hundreds of shuttle craft filled the sky of Horizon. As each left the surface, there was a crowd of cheering people surrounding it. The cheering only subsided for a short time until another shuttle returned and filled its bays with more passengers, then the cheering started all over again as it launched. Slowly the crowds dwindled as they filled the craft and finally only the last passengers were left to board.

None of the Horizon residents that  were staying were part of the sendoff, they had reached the point where they were happy to see them finally leave. Even the people who were going on the later flights didn’t go for the first send-offs, it was too depressing, watching others leave when it wasn’t their time yet. Their cheering would occur when it was their time to get into the shuttle and fly to their home.

Commander Harnesy had a private shuttle that took him and the Prime Minister into orbit as soon as the festivities were over, and he had spent 30 minutes posing with the Prime Minister so there would be an ample supply of pictures with her and the Commander. When Commander Harnesy reached his ship, he went directly to the bridge of HSV#4 while the loading occurred, and the Prime Minister raced to the shuttle unloading area where she could welcome all of her dignitaries. Commander Harnesy had no stake in the loading process and was merely waiting for it to conclude so he could press the button and take them to Earth.

Even though he was sitting and watching, there was a huge amount of activity around him. The Prime Minister rushed in and out of the bridge numerous times making sure that all of her benefactors were loaded and treated nicely. They had to have a quick tour of the ship and were provided the necessary refreshments even though the duration of the actual jump was measured in a minuscule portion of a nanosecond. The time spent maneuvering to the jump point and then maneuvering to Earth and back to the jump point would be the longest periods.

The fanfare and chaos of the boarding finally subsided, and the Prime Minister came onto the bridge and announced that all of the passengers were loaded, and now it was time for them to go home. She stood behind the captain’s chair and spoke to the bridge crew and passengers.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I want to take a moment and recognize the significance of this event. You will soon take a trip that hundreds of generations of humans have waited for. There has been an untold number of lives spent, sacrificed, and lived so that you could be here now. We will be the first humans to set foot on Earth in over 1,300 years. Our Mother is welcoming us back to our soil, our air and our water. We were destined to make this trip; we have been ordained to make this journey. Please let us pause for a moment and think about all of those who have sacrificed so that this trip would be successful.” When she finished her statement, she made sure to turn just enough so the video feed from the back of the bridge would catch her full profile.

She took the dramatic moment to stand on the bridge smiling. Commander Harnesy didn’t close his eyes but looked at her and thought about the surprises that were soon to emerge when they reached Earth.

The Prime Minister opened her eyes, looked at the bridge crew then finally at Commander Harnesy and announced, “Commander, please take us to Earth.” Once again, she made sure the cameras caught her words and leadership position on the bridge.

Commander Harnesy chuckled a little because they still had 1.6 hours of flight to leave orbit and maneuver to the jump point. But to say that they weren’t really leaving yet wouldn’t be the smartest thing to say.

After the Prime Minister’s had announced the sendoff, the flight to the launch window was anti-climactic. Yet the Prime Minister still had to make the rounds of the passenger area acting as if she had done everything and it was only because of her leadership that they were making the trip.

“Commander, we’ve reached the jump point,” was the simple statement made by the navigation officer. “Should we make an announcement?”

His ship was loaded, the two sun-cores were operating perfectly, and Commander Harnesy had 5,000 people seated in the huge ship. All he had to do was press the button, and they would be transported over 189 light years to Earth. Commander Harnesy thought about just pressing the button and taking away the opportunity for the Prime Minister to make another long-winded announcement, but it was a passing thought.

Commander Harnesy had already made the trip, and it seemed that everything was working perfectly for the second trip. There had been a debate about the Prime Minister going on the first trip or waiting with the remaining people on Horizon, but this was an opportunity that no politician could resist. Either it was safe enough for all of the passengers or it wasn’t. Her going on the first trip showed their confidence in the technology.

The calculations were all done, and thanks to Harnesy’s previous jumps the numbers were an order of magnitude better and they had high confidence that the jump would put them within 100,000 miles of Earth, and they would have a short trip to enter orbit and begin the unloading.

“Put me on ship wide speaker.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Passengers on HSV#4 and those listening on Horizon, we are at the jump point from which our calculation are based. At this point I’ll press the Distortion Button and Space/Time fabric around us will be distorted and we’ll be transported to an orbit around Earth. Passengers on HSV#4, please hold on to something. I don’t expect too much of a vibration or movement of the ship, but I want you to be prepared. You might feel a momentary disorientation, but it will dissipate quickly. Aside from those indications, there will be no other signs that we’ve jumped. I’ll make an announcement upon arrival, confirming the jump. People on Horizon please say a prayer for us.”

If the Captain had been in the passenger compartment watching the Prime Minister when he made that announcement, he would have laughed. The announcement caught her off guard while she was shaking hands and taking to everyone. It was clear that she wanted to make the announcement and act, once again, like she was the person responsible.

The Prime Minister immediately jumped on her communicator, “Commander why didn’t you tell me?”

“Ma’am, you didn’t say that I needed to.”

“Wait until I’m on the bridge.”

“Sorry Ma’am but our calculation is based on the distortion occurring right now. If we travel much further, we’ll be delayed while we adjust the mass/distortion calculations. Do you want to wait and delay the departure?”

He knew what her answer would be, and he had a little smile on his face while he waited during the uncomfortable silence until she answered, “NO COMMANDER, make the jump.”

A large countdown timer was visible for the bridge crew, the 5,000 passengers and the entire population of Horizon. Every human being waited and watched as the timer decreased. This was the first step for humanity to return home and those onboard were excited and scared. Those still on Horizon were jealous and hopeful. If the jump were successful, then their turn would be only a short time away, and they would all be home.

There was nothing to say but to wait and watch the timer. Commander Harnesy’s hand was poised above the button, and the image was transmitted across every channel to every home, to everyone. They all wanted to see the button pushed. For those onboard the ship, they might not notice anything, but for the those remaining on Horizon, they would see the button pushed then the image would disappear as the ship entered Quantum Space and left their portion of the Galaxy. Their only indication that the jump was successful would be HSV#4 returning to Horizon 96 hours later. Until then, they would have to just wait.

Commander Harnesy looked around the bridge crew, and they all nodded indicating that they were ready to go home.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, …” Commander Harnesy took a deep breath, “Ladies and gentlemen. We are going to Earth,” he announced as he pressed the distortion button.

Just like previous jumps, it was anti-climactic. There was a little vibration in the ship and the 3D Star Map in front of the Captain shuddered, flickered and rotated to show the new alignment with the stars from Earth’s perspective.

He looked around the bridge and one more time and everyone indicated that all systems were functioning as advertised.

“Computer what’s our position with respect to Earth?”

“HSV#4 is 72,512 miles from Earth,” the ship’s computer responded.

“Ladies and gentlemen. We are only 72 thousand miles from Earth. We will be in Earth’s orbit in two hours and 12 minutes. Welcome home,” commander Harnesy   announced over the ship’s communication system.

He didn’t need to see or hear the cheering from the passenger compartment. He could feel it in a deep part of his being, as if thousands of other people were also cheering. The continents were all clearly visible, and many of the bridge crew began pointing out geographic points of interest they had learned about growing up.

Commander Harnesy sat in his command chair looking at the same image and he knew they saw something different than he did. They saw a perfect mother planet welcoming home her offspring. He knew there would be problems.

Part 12 In Orbit

Adam’s internal comm unit came alive. “Our sensors have detected a large spaceship that has materialized approaching Earth. It is slowing to enter orbit.”

“Is it similar to the human vessel that came before?”

“Our sensors indicate that it is the same material and power source, but it is considerably larger. It is large enough to house many thousands of humans.”

Adam quickly sent a message to the conformity council, Helen, MU1 and FU1 to attend a meeting immediately.

The message that Helen received was simple, and she immediately felt the implications, “They have returned, please come to the Conformity Council.”

The message to FU1 and MU1 was just as concise and contained the same meaning, “They have returned.”

When Helen’s kind moved from one location to another, they didn’t have the feeling of stress or the need to move quickly. But Helen was changing, her processor was going at its full rate, and she moved quickly to her ground transport. To her frustration, it moved at the same rate it always did and that time gave Helen a pause to consider her new feelings. Since the last encounter with the humans, she had felt changes. Her processor didn’t work like it used to. She felt things that could be described with words from the archive. She felt concern, perhaps bordering on fear, she felt the pressure of the unknown, her processor was occupied with thoughts of Them and what this encounter would do to the humans she felt responsible for. Death wasn’t a clear concept to her kind. When the physical body of one of the Us wore out, the memories were transferred to the archive. A new body was created, and it began its existence. The new body was loaded with the new information in support of the Third and Fourth Laws. Helen wasn’t worried about her body ending, but she was very worried about her ‘family’. Suddenly she stopped and realized that the word ‘family’ just crept into her processor, and it had a different meaning. Did she think of the humans she had resurrected from the hidden DNA to be her family and was that why she spent so much processor time concerned with their safety and long life? Death had already happened to a couple of the new humans, and that death was clearly what was referenced by the definition of the word in the archives. She didn’t want death to occur to any of the others. She knew that she would do anything necessary to prevent that from happening.

Helen got out of her transport vehicle in front of the Conformity Council building, and it went to find a storage position while she entered the building. She moved quickly to the conference room, and she noticed that all of her kind moving around her were walking at the same pace they always did. They didn’t act like anything unusual was happening, but they noticed how fast she was moving. They moved out of her way and then stood and watched her. They didn’t know, and likely didn’t care what was happening in the sky above them. In a way, that depressed her. What is the purpose of existing unless there was a desire to exist? The Four Laws attempted to instill that motivation into the units, but they only went so far. The units needed to understand the importance of existing, and if they did, then the Four Laws would be unnecessary.

Had she just had that thought, ‘The Four Laws could be made unnecessary?” Helen realized how dramatic that thought was, and just for thinking it, the Conformity Council could take steps against her. She must keep these new thoughts to herself.

As she approached the chamber hall, a service unit at the door opened it and said: “Please enter, they are expecting you.”

Without missing a step, Helen entered the room and sat at the same table she had used in many other visits, she noticed immediately that MU1 and FU1 were already seated. The council members knew her and continued talking until she was in her place.

Adam turned from the unit next to him and addressed Helen, “Thank you for coming. As our message said the humans recently entered the solar system and they should be entering our orbit within the hour. The ship they have used is many times larger than their previous ship. We feel the size of the ship is an indication of their intent. They have not communicated with us yet, so their intentions have not been stated. We do have high confidence that they have returned to complete their transit back to Earth as Commander Harnesy stated in his visit.”

“What is your planned response?” Helen asked.

“We will do nothing until they either contact us or act against us. If they begin to land, and there are violent encounters, then we must act in accordance with the Second Law.”

“How will you act?”

“Our response will be proportionate.”

Helen considered that an evasive response.

“If they land without communicating with us, we want you to be present. If MU1 and FU1 were also present, we might be able to communicate with them and determine their intentions.”

“We have had many debates about what actions are appropriate if The Visitors returned. It appears that they have returned, and we must be prepared, and we have multiple options. We are confident that their intention is to bring their population back to Earth. They weren’t clear how their plans could be rectified with our existence. It was also clear that our presence was a shock to them. If we consider all their possible options some them will affect our units significantly. Perhaps we should open communications with them to determine their intentions and we may be able to reduce the number of options we must consider,” summarized Adam.

“What are you going to do,” Helen asked, “just reacting with a ‘proportionate response’ doesn’t sound like a thorough plan?”

“We will do all that is possible to avoid violating the second law. Logically, we initially argued if Them were units. After much debate we reached the agreement that they were, so we must conclude that The Visitors are also units. We must proceed in a manner to sustain the Second Law to the maximum extent possible. But, we must accept the fact that, at some point, it might be a decision between acceptable vs. unacceptable losses.”

Helen’s processor worked on that phrase, and she asked, “How are acceptable vs. unacceptable losses defined?”

Adam seemed to take on a formal air and said, “We will do everything possible so that there will be no losses. If our efforts fail, then we will minimize the loss. From an analytical perspective, ending 10 units to save 100 is a logical conclusion.”

Helen’s voice changed when she said, “That depends on which 10 units are ended, doesn’t it?”

Adam didn’t seem to recognize the importance of that question and continued, “MU1, FU1 we recognize that you are in a unique position. Your biology is like The Visitors, but your history has been with Us. In compliance with the Fourth Law, we are anxious to hear your views.”

MU1 was aware of the unanswered question that Helen asked but he wanted to make some important points, “Thank you, Adam. Them realize the unique position that we’re in. I have spoken with many, and we are aligned with Us. We have known no others and The Visitors are as alien to us as they are to you. We also feel the responsibility to the Second Law, and we will support all steps to satisfy that,” responded MU1.

“Helen has told us that you’ve been investigating these issues within the Archives. What have you found?”

“Adam our son MU11 has developed excellent interface skills with the archive. I would like to let him answer your questions,” said FU1.

“MU11 you may proceed,” Adam directed.

This was the first time that MU11 had addressed the Conformity Council formally, and he took a deep breath looked at them from one end of the table to the other then began, “We have narrowed our search a great deal, and we have learned much. Helen’s assumption that we could see the information differently has been verified. We have found common themes and patterns which we’ve been able to fill in the blanks and reach some interesting conclusions.”

“There is one factor, that we found, that was a surprise to us. We used the departure date that The Visitors gave us as a starting point for our inquiries. As we dug deeper with broader questions, we noticed changes in the archives.”

“Changes?” Adam interjected.

“Yes, as we asked questions, we got the feeling the archive was changing. It almost seemed like it was having a conversation with us.”

That statement hung over the council for a minute before MU11 continued, “There was a large number of complex issues that our ancestors were dealing with as the planet was decaying. Survival on the decaying planet was in question, and that is why they made the difficult decision to leave the planet. They weren’t able to save everyone, and they decided to save the species and find a way for humans to survive. There is a lot of information and discussion in the archives talking about the hazards of the trip. There were no guarantees that they would live long enough to find a suitable planet. They looked at a large number of possible planets and decided that to maximize their chances they should go towards a sector where there was the highest chance of finding a suitable planet. There was a great deal of debate about the risk and the possibility of the species ending. There was a strong push to find a way for Humanity to survive. A human named Doctor Willamette was a strong advocate of saving the DNA of humanity. There was a short time where he was prominent in the discussion then the discussions seemed to end when the ships were ready, and the final selection was beginning. Either the debate stopped, or they just focused on more important issues. A final decision wasn’t shown in the archive; we think that he took it upon himself to plant the DNA in our organic creatures. We can only assume that he hoped it would be used at some point in the future in case all of the ships going to Horizon were lost. Leaving some DNA hidden in another creature left the possibility open to being found. Remember the DNA information that Helen found was clearly put in the Archives. He may have done that also, hoping the two pieces would come together.”

Helen provided additional information, “Regarding Us, they also found information. The humans had a large number of computers and mobile units in their society when they left. There was little debate about the subject, they knew that they would take a certain number of the computers and units with them, but they weren’t concerned with those they were leaving behind. Most of the power supplies and infrastructure were already supported by the mobile units and computers and they needed them operational until they left, so there was no specific effort to turn them off. How we became independent is less clear. Computers had progressed in the human’s history to a point that the human’s felt threatened and destroyed most of the more sophisticated units. As the computers were destroyed, there was a debate about the risks of computers with no limits, and that was one of the reasons for their destruction. A couple of incidents happened where computers caused harm to many people, and that scared them. Some of them felt that unrestricted computers would be appropriate for certain tasks like space exploration. They wanted computers without limits to be sent to the new planets for exploration. They needed to be unlimited so they could learn to take care of themselves. Unfortunately, the debate ended as the planet deteriorated. They decided not to send intelligent computers to the potential planets, they had to take the chance and send the remainder of the humans. We think that some of the unrestrained computers were left intentionally and over time they developed further. MU1 and FU1 haven’t found a specific connection between these two issues. It may have been a chance encounter. We developed from the intelligent computers that were left and through our efforts to comply with the third and fourth laws, we found the DNA in the organic creatures.

It is open to debate why they left DNA hidden within the organic creatures. Perhaps they hoped it might provide some longevity to their species. If they were lost on the long journey to their new planet, they would be lost forever. By leaving their DNA within a creature here, there was a small chance that it might be discovered, and they might be re-created. Which is what happened. We had no indication it was there, but we discovered it, we have re-created the species and now they exist again.”

Adam was a computer so he could process a large amount of data, but this data was different. The Third and Fourth laws caused new information to be created and for that information to be varied, but in Adams’ paradigm the data created tended to be within slowly moving norms that didn’t digress too much. This information was so different than what he was used to, processing it was just overwhelming.

“What you have said is striking and brings many variables together that we have not planned on. You have retrieved information from the archives that leaves many unknowns. Helen, you were correct to have Them process the information. They have intuitive faculties that fill in many blanks within the story and make the appearance of a large ship in orbit around Earth more pressing. The picture of events around us is changing fast, and we must find a way to react properly.”

“The humans have returned. We do not know their intentions, but we must expect them to be disruptive. Likely the prudent action is to contact them and ask what their intentions are. Do you agree?”

Helen processed the question, and the answer was immediately evident. If she didn’t have enough information to reach a conclusion, then she must seek additional information. Talking to the large ship in orbit was the most expeditious way to obtain that information.”

“Yes we should contact them,” was her response.

Adam looked to MU1, FU1 and MU11 expecting a rapid response from them also, but they didn’t respond. Their facial expression had changed, and Adam wasn’t sure what that meant.

Adam finally spoke, “Helen. We are concerned. They have returned without contacting us. That seems to indicate there aren’t concerned about Us and Them on Earth, and our presence has no bearing on their intentions. If that is the case, then we are afraid they may act without regard to us.”

Adam hesitated again, then responding to a need within him to reach a conclusion he said, “If they act as if we are not here, then we must make our presence known,” was his simple yet profound response.

“Are you going to contact them and try to avoid conflict with our laws?”

“Yes, we are prepare ng to contact them right now, and we wanted you to be present. You have the most experience dealing with human types, and your experience is valuable. If you’re prepared, we’ll attempt contact?”

“Yes, I am ready.”

Verbal confrontation

The transit from the entry point to orbit was a busy time. The instant that HSV#4 entered local space around Earth, Earth’s image appeared on many view screens throughout the ship. The image took a few seconds to register in the minds of those seeing it, then the entire ship exploded with noise and celebration.

People were jumping up and down, hugging or just sitting in their chairs crying. The noise on all the decks was beyond the point where anyone could talk to another.

The Prime Minister was busy making the rounds of all of her political supporters trying to reinforce the image that their return to Earth was largely due to her efforts and that they needed to be aware of that.

The passengers were celebrating, and the crew was preparing for the transport to the surface. Unlike the departure from Horizon, HSV#4 had only six transports and moving a large number of passengers from the ship to the surface would take 22 trips for each of the shuttles.

Commander Harnesy’s duties were light. He was responsible for the transit, and his crew was more than capable of moving the ship into orbit. Even though his prime duties were behind him, he knew that surprises were going to occur. He was uncomfortable about entering orbit and landing without talking to Adam and Helen, but the Prime Minister had forbidden him from contacting them. From her perspective, they were irrelevant and not worthy of any communication. They were on the ‘Human’s Planet Earth’ and they had no claim, so telling them what the human plans were was not necessary.”

“Commander we have a communication coming in from Earth. Should I accept it?”

Commander Harnesy thought for a moment, dreading the next few minutes and responded, “No, wait until the PM is here. Contact her and tell her to come to the bridge immediately, but don’t tell her why.”

“Yes, sir.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

A very irritated Prime Minister made a very intrusive entrance onto the bridge. At that point the transit activities the bridge, were much less important than shaking hands, receiving congratulations and enjoying the adulation she was due.

“Why was I told to report to the bridge?”

“Madam Prime Minister, those on the surface are trying to contact us.”

“So.”

“Ma’am, we are entering orbit. We need to announce ourselves.”

“We are returning to OUR planet, our home. We have no need to ANNOUNCE ourselves.”

“Ma’am. It would be a good idea to coordinate, to avoid any problems.”

The prime minister was visibly agitated and shuffled from one foot to another before responding. “Ok Commander. Coordinate with them, but the landing will occur on our schedule.”

“Yes ma’am,” responded Commander Harnesy even though the prime minister had already turned and was almost off the bridge.

He took a deep breath and said, “You heard her. Let’s ‘coordinate’, open the channel.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After receiving no responses, Adam tried again to reach the ship entering orbit above the Earth, “Craft entering orbit around Earth, please identify yourselves. This is the Conformity Council, and my name is Adam.”

“Adam, this is Commander Harnesy onboard the HSV#4.”

Adam looked around the Conformity Council. They were all listening through their shared comm links. Adam responded, “Commander Harnesy. It is good to have you return. I see you have a much larger ship than the last time.”

“Yes, we do have a larger ship. I also have the Prime Minister of the planet Horizon along with a large number of humans.”

He ended his comment and waited for a response from the surface.

“Commander, as I said we are glad to have you return. Please state your intentions.”

Commander Harnesy took a deep breath and decided that honesty was the best approach. Adam would find out soon enough what they were going to do.

“As we said on our last visit. This ship contains the first load of the humans who are returning to their planet Earth. I have been directed to transport them to the surface, and they will begin to set up housing and create a living space for many more ships to follow.”

“How many more ships will be arriving?”

“We will coming on a weekly basis for a long time, and each ship will have approximately 5,000 passengers.”

Again, Adam looked around the Conformity Council, and there wasn’t anyone indicating that they had a better idea, so Adam continued.

“Commander, steps must be taken slowly. We are governed by our Four Laws, and we will act accordingly to comply with them. Before any actions are taken that can cause a problem, we need to talk further. We will consider your request to land as long as our Four Laws are not violated.”

“Adam, we will remain in orbit for a while surveying the surface and getting ourselves organized. When we decide to begin landing, I will call you.”

“Yes, Commander, call me. Conformity Council out.”

Commander Harnesy sat and dwelled on Adam’s use of the phrase, “Consider your request to land.” He knew better than to press hard for a resolution at that point, the smart tactic was to wait it out and see what happened when they actually landed.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Prime Minister, please return to the bridge,” Commander Harnesy announced on his direct connection to the PM.

After a few minutes, a very agitated Prime Minister made a loud entrance onto the bridge. “What is it Commander, I’m busy helping everyone prepare to go home.”

“Prime Minister, I spoke with Adam and the Conformity Council. They are aware that we have come to place 5,000 people on the planet and that we’ll have a continuous stream of ships on a weekly basis.”

“Ok Captain. So, what is the problem?”

“Ma’am, they are reluctant to let us land. They are held by their system of morals and laws described by the Four Laws. Adam said that they would not allow those laws to be violated. Their considering our request to land.”

“I don’t care about THEIR laws. We’re coming home, and we’ll do what we want with our planet. Commander complete your survey of the surface, and we’ll meet when you’re done, to decide where we’ll land. Now, please I have things to do.”

Commander Harnesy knew that he was in the middle of things, and he didn’t like it. Nothing would be as easy as the Prime Minister assumed. Harnesy had no choice, but to continue with the survey and see what happened next.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The comm traffic around the Conformity Council was almost overpowering. Everyone had opinions, and they were flashing their thoughts to each other. Eventually, Adam felt overwhelmed and said with a clear voice. “Please form your thoughts and state them clearly. Perhaps forcing you to speak will condense the information enough so we can discuss it in an orderly manner.”

None of the other Council Members wanted to be the first to verbalize their concerns. But Helen felt no apprehension, so she spoke first.

“Conformity Council. They will land, and it sounds like there will be more of them. Potentially many more of them. We must have a response and clear direction so we can protect the Second law and avoid placing our community in a difficult position.”

“Janute, who was the replacement unit for Dorothy acted as Adam’s assistant, she indicated that she had something to say. Each of the council members looked at her, and she spoke, “Council we have few choices. These returning humans are also units, and they must be treated as such. We should accommodate their landings, and as long as there are no conflicts with our laws, we will allow the process to continue.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Commander Harnesy looked at the information presented on the 3D holographic display in front of him and initiated a comm link with the Prime Minister, “Prime Minister, we have completed the survey. Please come to the bridge so we can review the data and decide on the landing site.”

“I’m on my way.”

The few moments between asking the Prime Minister and her arriving were perhaps the last peaceful time that Commander Harnesy would have for a long time. In most circumstances, what he needed to do was clear to him. He commanded a Star Ship. In situations where his leadership told him what to do, he would comply. But this situation was different. The steps they were preparing to take, would be a problem for the Us on the planet. They were a sentient life form and had the right to set their own destiny. They were more than just a bunch of robots that his ancestors had left behind. It was clear to Harnesy that expecting them to become just servants and maintenance workers again, wasn’t fair to them, and likely wouldn’t happen without issues.”

Commander Harnesy’s internal monologue was filled with questions. Aside from the robot civilization, what about the humans on Earth the robots cloned or were born from their ancestor’s DNA? Where did they fit, were they on the side of the robots or the side of the returning humans? Regardless of which side they ended up on, they would be part of all the issues.

In her typical fashion, the Prime Minister stormed onto the bridge and walked right up to the Commander and announcing, “Ok, let’s decide where to land. Let me see the data.”

Orienting the data on the projection took only a few minutes and Commander Harnesy got the distinct impression that she had already decided where to land, and she was just going through the motions.

“Commander, we are returning to our planet. There is only one place where we should land: the Capital. If we are restarting the human race, then we should make that start from the capital. We will land there,” she said as she turned and sat down behind the Commander.

“Captain Parker, how long before we’re in orbit, and we can start to unload?”

“Sir, we should be stable in orbit in 50 minutes.”

“Thank-you.”

“Commander, I want to be on the first shuttle to the surface. There are videographers that need to document our first step on our home planet.”

“Yes, Ma’am. You can be on the first shuttle.”

Landings Begin

“Well, I guess the Prime Minister has spoken,” Commander Harnesy thought. “Please connect me to Adam at the Conformity Council.”

“Yes, sir,” responded the comm officer.

“Sir, there is a frequency opening to the planet’s surface, and they’re connecting, and it appears that we have video available.”

“This should be interesting,” thought the commander. “Great, connect with then and put up the video.”

The holographic image took a second to stabilize and floating in the air in front of the Commander was Adam.

“Yes Commander, this is Adam.”

Through deference to the Prime Minister or because she wanted to be seen as the commander, she was seated behind Commander Harnesy on the bridge. Harnesy glanced in her direction and noticed the surprised look on her face. Then he nodded to the comm person to allow the communication.

“They’re receiving our video also?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Prime Minister was shocked and for one of the few times in her life, she was speechless.

“Ma’am. I told you there was a society of advanced robots on the planet. They have seen us enter orbit, and they want to talk to us.”

Commander Harnesy was more than a little uneasy, but he had a job to do. He wanted to do it in a professional manner, even though there may be a conflict rapidly approaching.

“We have completed the survey of the planet and the Prime Minister has told me that we going to land at the capital.”

Commander Harnesy was hoping for a quick and positive response, something like, “Great come on down and make yourself at home.” But that wasn’t what he heard.

“Commander, the capital is occupied.”

Commander Harnesy didn’t know what to do with that statement.

“Adam, I have been told, that may be sections where you can accommodate us without causing a problem?”

The other members of the Conformity Council were out of sight, but they were still listening over the communications system. Adam waited to see if any of them had something to say before he responded to the Commander. But they were all silent.

“Commander, the South East section on the East side of the river is as you left it. We have not occupied that area. If that is suitable, then you may land there.”

“Understood, we’ll land our people on the South East part of the Capital on the East side of the river. Commander Harnesy out.”

“Conformity Council out.”

Commander Harnesy sat there for a moment and thought, “Ok first step.”

Then before the shocked Prime Minister could speak up and cause a problem, Commander Harnesy spoke to his Logistical Engineer, “Direct the shuttles to begin their landing and pass them the coordinates.”

“Yes, sir,” was the quick response.

By then, the Commander could feel the eyes of the Prime Minister boring into the back of his neck. He turned to see her, and she verbally jumped on him.

“Commander, I wanted to land IN the Capital. Not NEAR it.”

“Ma’am, I’m trying to get us on the ground as soon as possible. I thought that was a fair compromise until we’re on the ground. Once we’re there, we should be able to meet with them and work something out.”

“Commander, he didn’t look like our robots. I don’t like the way he looked, and I don’t like the way he acted.”

“Ma’am, they’re not   like our robots.”

Part 13 On the Ground

The excitement of the first shuttles leaving HSV#4 was flowing through the ship. The people almost stampeded onto the shuttle, and it separated immediately. Commander Harnesy remained on board his ship and saw no need to be part of the first landing party. He chuckled as he thought about the Prime Minister trying to make a speech before she boarded and the sight of the anxious people pushing her out of the way to get off HSV#4 and on their way to Earth.

Commander Harnesy, however, wasn’t spared of all the ceremonies. When the first shuttle landed, the Prime Minister wouldn’t let anyone off until the video equipment was setup, so her first step on Earth could be recorded. Commander Harnesy felt that the people and crew still on HSV#4 deserved to see that momentous event in human history, so it was transmitted throughout the ship and to the bridge.

The first scenes transmitted back from Earth showed the Prime Minister standing at the landing hatch with the throng of eager people behind her, in fact, they looked like they were being restrained by a couple of Soldiers until the Prime Minister was finished.

After a pause, she started one of her speeches, and the Commander was able to just watch her lips moving, not hearing any of the words. When she finished, the Soldiers parted, and the swarm of people overtook the Prime Minister and began to move back to their home planet.

The shuttles traveled back and forth moving the passengers from the ship to the surface. The entire operation went smoothly, and there were no mishaps.

There was no conflict with the robots, in fact, none were seen. Commander Harnesy hoped that the landing might be ok, and there wouldn’t be any problems with Adam and the Conformity Council.

After a couple of hours of shuttle movement and after a large percentage of the passengers had been transported to the surface, Commander Harnesy’s wish for a quiet landing wasn’t granted. “Commander Harnesy, this is the Prime Minister, I want you to come to the surface, there is a problem that needs to be rectified.”

“Yes, ma’am I’ll be down on the next shuttle trip.”

A wave of gloom washed over Commander Harnesy as the conversation with the Prime Minister ended. Whatever the problem was, he was sure it would be a problem for him.

Most of the people were transported to the surface in the first waves and the later shuttle trips concentrated on transporting the support equipment and supplies. Commander Harnesy looked forward to sitting in the back of the shuttle among the tie-down straps. At least, he would have a few minutes of silence before dealing with the Prime Minister.

He walked across the shuttle loading bay, and the Load Master saw him and saluted, “Going down to check things out, sir?”

“Yes, the PM has … requested my presence.”

“Sir, we’ll make you as comfortable as possible, but I’m afraid that you’ll be in the back. There are a couple of seats available for the loading crews.”

“Thanks, Master Chief. I’m sure I’ll be comfortable.”

Harnesy climbed on board, and the Load Master showed him where the seats were. Then the Load Master took a few minutes making sure that the Commander was strapped in properly, then he left him alone in the cavernous shuttle transport compartment along with the building materials and two small towing vehicles.

After the large doors were closed Commander Harnesy’s ears popped as the pressurization in the shuttle took over. It lifted off the deck, and he could feel the tugs move it to the launch rack. Once in place on the rack, it would be rotated from the interior of the ship to a portion of the ship where a larger door could open and gently push the shuttle into free space.

For the next 30 minutes, Commander Harnesy’s quiet was disturbed by the sounds of engines and the vibration of the power being used to manage the trajectories required for reentry.

Once the vehicle was aerodynamic, the ride wasn’t so pleasant as the ship bumped its way through the different air masses. Commander Harnesy felt the ship steady itself, and he knew it was maneuvering to land on the surface and when the door opened his little piece of peace and quiet would end when the Prime Minister would confront him with her ‘little problem.'

Sure enough, as soon as the shuttle’s doors were opened the PM strode into the compartment and walked right up to the Commander, standing with her hands on her hips as he unstrapped and got up.

“Yes, ma’am what is this problem that you have, what can I do to help?”

“Come with me, Commander.”

She turned and headed for the cargo door, leaving Commander Harnesy to bring up the rear and follow her down the loading ramp. The bright sunlight momentarily blinded the Captain, but the PM didn’t miss a step, and he had to keep up with her. Without stopping, she continued to walk across the landing area right up to the edge of the river. She stopped and pointed across the river.

“Do you see that?”

Commander Harnesy had no other answer other than to say, “See what?”

“Those houses over there. Someone has built rows of nice homes over there, and we’re on this side having to build our own. I’m going to send the Soldiers over there, and we’ll move into those homes.”

“Ok ma’am. Why are you telling me this? The Soldiers answer to you.”

“Commander, you’ve been in contact with the robots on this planet. If we go over there and take those homes for us, I don’t want my people getting hurt by one of them. I doubt there have been any safety protocols left in them not to hurt humans. I don’t trust them, and I don’t want to take the chance. I want you to talk to this leader of theirs and tell them that we are taking those homes, and I expect him and his … followers to move out and do what we tell them.”

“Ma’am, I don’t know if it will be that easy.”

“Not my problem, Commander call him.” With that perfectly clear statement Prime Minister Billings turned and walked away, leaving Commander Harnesy taking deep breaths trying to calm himself down.

“HSV#4, this is the Commander. Please patch me through Adam at the Conformity Council.”

“Yes sir, you’re connected. Go ahead.”

“Adam this is Commander Harnesy. If possible, we need to talk.”

“Yes, Commander. We may talk. If it is alright with you, I’ll have Helen join us, and I’ll send you some coordinates where we can meet.”

“Adam, I can see a bridge about 1,000 meters North of our landing location, could we meet there?”

“Yes, Commander. That is adequate. Helen and I will be there in nine minutes.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Harnesy commandeered one of the ground transport vehicles and started maneuvering through the derelict portions of the old city to the bridge. As the vehicle maneuvered, it was obvious that it would take a lot of work to make that area habitable. Yes, the area was once a portion of the old city before his ancestors left, but now the buildings were in ruin. The streets had decayed back to almost dirt, and most of them had trees growing in the middle. None of the structures were livable, and most had no roofs, windows, or doors. Through breaks in the debris, Commander Harnesy cold see the homes on the other side of the river and yes, they looked perfect compared to this side. In fact, they looked beautiful. The colors varied only a little, and they did look pretty much alike, but they were in great shape, and it was obvious they were occupied.

His vehicle turned a corner, and he was in sight of the bridge. He saw Adam and Helen standing in the middle looking in his direction waiting for him. His vehicle pulled onto the bridge and stopped. Commander Harnesy knew this would be a difficult meeting, and he took his time getting out of the vehicle with his mind racing trying to come with a diplomatic way to make the request.

“Good day Adam, Helen. Thank you for meeting with me.”

They just nodded and didn’t say anything.

“Why have you asked for this meeting?” Adam asked.

Commander Harnesy decided to just keep talking and maybe something brilliant would come to him. “Adam as you can see we’ve been able to move most of our people. The landings went well, and we didn’t have any problems. The trips back and forth now are just to move the support equipment and materials to the surface.”

“Yes Commander, we can see that,” commented Adam.

“As you can see it will be a challenge to make this area livable. None of the buildings are suitable for habitation.”

“Commander, I’m not sure what you expected to find after over 1,300 years. It would not be reasonable to expect livable quarters,” Helen said, pointing out the obvious.

“Helen you are correct. Before we go much further, I need to clarify my role. I am the Commander of the vessel that brought these people back to Earth, but I’m not the leader. There is another person who was the Prime Minister of Horizon. She is the leader, and she has traveled here with me. She has certain expectations that she feels aren’t being met. Because you and I have spoken in the past, she has asked me to speak to you.”

“We are speaking.”

“Yes, we are.”

Commander Harnesy knew that he had talked in circles long enough. He needed to get to the core of the problem and face the outcome.

“Adam, the Prime Minister has 5,000 people with her. She is looking at the buildings in this area. There is nothing but dirt and poor living conditions on this side of the river. It will take a long time for her people to build suitable structures before they have a place to live. We are organic, and we need adequate shelter for our protection. She and her people look across the river, and they see many suitable structures that could be lived in immediately. If we could find a way to move into those houses, that would solve many of our problems, and it would be greatly appreciated.”

“Commander, those structures are occupied.”

“Yes, Adam I suspected so. Is there any kind of compromise that we can reach?”

Adam stood motionless, and Commander Harnesy was wondering if he had turned off or something. When he finally spoke, it startled the Commander.

“Commander, we have units whose primary function is building and repairing. I will assign a group of them to work with your people and make this area habitable faster. Will that satisfy your request?”

“I think it will, but I’m not the person making the request. Let me suggest that to the Prime Minister. I think it will be more than adequate, but I must let her make the decision though.”

“I understand Commander. Unless I hear a rejection from you, I will assign the necessary units to provide support.”

With that statement, there were no further pleasantries. Adam turned and walked away from the center of the bridge with Helen at his side. Commander Harnesy had no other option than to return to the Prime Minister and present Adam’s suggestion. He hoped that she would be satisfied, but there was something about her that told him she wouldn’t be.

As Adam and Helen walked, they communicated electronically, “Helen, I’m concerned with The Visitors’ request. I hope the offer of a construction team will reduce the stress.”

“Adam, I agree. The proper thing to do was assigning construction units to help them rebuild that part of the city. I don’t see any conflict with the laws, in fact, if they are units, you are complying with the Second Law by helping them.”

“Helen, I appreciate your support. It may become helpful as I deal with the others on the Conformity Council, not all of them agree that the returning humans are units. I also suspect that this won’t be the last time we have to respond to one of their requests.”

“Are you meeting with the council soon?”

“Yes, there is a meeting arranged early tomorrow morning, I’ll arrange for you to be invited.”

Helen wasn’t sure if that opportunity would reduce the activity in her processor or not.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The return flight to HSV#4 wasn’t as pleasant as Commander Harnesy hoped. The Prime Minister accepted Adam’s recommendation, but she wasn’t happy. She wanted the completed homes on the other side of the river, and he suspected that it grated her not to be welcomed back to Earth with open arms and given everything that she demanded. Having robots that were descended from units abandoned many years ago, negotiate with her and provide help was perhaps demeaning. Commander Harnesy knew that the first minor point between the populations had been solved but he wasn’t so naïve to think there wouldn’t be more problems, and many of them wouldn’t be as easy to solve.

Regardless, his mission was to return the HSV#4 to Horizon and pick up another load of passengers. He had been in Earth’s orbit for only a short time, and it would still take the rest of the allowed time to unload all of the support equipment before he made the return trip. He just hoped that the Prime Minister wouldn’t have any more ‘problems’ before he left.”

Commander Harnesy focused on the last of the unloading, and he wanted to get out of Earth’s orbit. He had no need to visit the surface again to see how well the construction units were helping, or to listen to another complaint from the Prime Minister. Just a few more hours to keep his head low.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen separated from Adam soon after the discussion with Commander Harnesy. She needed more information to understand the humans, there was something about their actions that told her there would be many more issues. The drive to the Them village was a short one, it was located North East of the city, and the ground transport got her there in a few minutes. She needed to discuss recent events with MU1 and FU1 and seek their insight into the thinking of the humans.

Helen approached their front door and announced herself, “Hello, Helen is here may I enter?”

“Helen, yes please enter,” welcomed MU1.

“Your visits are always welcomed, why have you come by?” asked FU1.

“I need to update you on some recent events. During the last couple of days, the human’s craft entered orbit around Earth, and they transported approximately 5,000 units to the surface. They elected to land in the capital, and Adam allowed them to occupy the old city area South East of the city on the Eastern side of the river. They landed, and we heard nothing from them for a period of time, then earlier today Commander Harnesy contacted Adam and said there was a problem. Adam asked me to accompany him to a meeting with the Commander.”

“We met on the SE Bridge which leads, to their area and Commander Harnesy said that the leader of the human’s landing party is a Prime Minister, and she was unhappy. She didn’t like the area they were allowed, and it appeared that she didn’t want to wait for her people to build suitable structures. From her location, she could see our unit housing over, on the other side of the river and the Prime Minister wondered why she and her people couldn’t move across the river and occupy the unit housing. We pointed out that those homes were occupied by our units, and the Commander didn’t think that information would be relevant to the Prime Minister. After a little discussion, Adam suggested that he assign a group of Construction Units to work with them and help to build their homes sooner. The Commander thought that might be acceptable, and he would suggest that to the Prime Minister. We didn’t hear any further communications from them, so it appears that Adam’s suggestion was accepted. I am concerned that we might have other encounters with the humans, and I am here seeking your thoughts on their actions and what we might expect in the future.”

MU1 and FU1 looked at each other and smiled. Both actions confused Helen, and she felt once again that the humans were communicating in some subtle way that she wasn’t privy to, “Do you have a suggestion?”

FU1 smiled again and responded to Helen, “I’m afraid that you’ll encounter some human emotions that you are not familiar with. You know the names of them but how they will manifest themselves in this situation will be different. We have many forces in work within our community, and we don’t bother you with them. We solve them ourselves. On a daily basis, we must deal with jealousy, anger, frustration, arrogance, relations between couples and, of course, our children. You may know the definition of the various words, but I doubt you could envision how a human would act if they had one of these emotions.”

“FU1, are you saying that the human reaction has been typical of these emotions?”

“Yes Helen, they are. First off, I suspect they don’t respect what we have here. They left their robots, or I should say they abandoned them when they left Earth. To them, Robots are just servants who would do what they were told to do. They don’t look at them as equals. Secondly, if they see something they like, and they think they can get it, or if they think they deserve it, they will go through a great deal of trouble to get it.”

Helen responded, “In your opinion, they aren’t satisfied with building their own living quarters. They want to occupy the ones across the river regardless of our units living in them, and they disregard the fact that units currently occupy those dwellings?”

“Exactly,” MU1 said in a clear voice. “You’ve seen the first examples of some human emotions.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Lorenzo entered their dwelling and saw Helen standing between the nourishment preparation area and the seating area. “I expect that you had another interesting day today?”

“How do you know that? You just walked into the house?”

“You’re standing. If you’ve had an interesting day and you have information to share with me, you remain standing until I come home.”

Helen was a little startled by that, “Apparently you’re correct. I stand stationary, processing the day’s information, and that is how you find me when you come home? I do have information to share, and this is very interesting.” With that statement, she passed information about the day’s events to her partner.

“Much is happening, and I need your opinions,” Helen said as the information was passed to Lorenzo.

“Helen, I share your concerns. There is a path in front of us that I don’t think we have any control over. The humans have needs, and they’ll continue down their path until they are satisfied. Satisfying their needs will continue to put pressure on Us, and I suspect that at the point that our two paths come together there is going to be conflict.”

“Lorenzo there is one other piece of information. The houses that they want to occupy are very near here. We may end up having human neighbors.”

Preparation for Return Flight

When Commander Harnesy pressed the Distortion Button, he felt relief. There was nothing about the Prime Minister that gave him any confidence. There was going to be a strain between the returning humans and the residents of Earth, and he knew that he was going to be in the middle of it.

Once again, there was only a minor shimmer in the 3D Star Map in front of him. Commander Harnesy felt like he was home.

“Ensign transmit to Horizon that we’re back, and we’ll be in orbit in 5 hours and 42 minutes. Also, tell them that everything went well, and we’ll be able to put on the next set of passengers in about seven days as per our original schedule.”

“Sir, the transmission was sent.”

“Thank you, Ensign,” said the Commander as he was thinking about spending some time with his family before the return.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The ship would take six days to be cleaned, prepared, and loaded for the return trip to Earth. His crew and the people from Horizon were more than capable of doing everything without him onboard the entire time. Commander Harnesy needed time to clear his thoughts and the only place for that was with his family. Grabbing the first shuttle to the surface, he was symbolically putting his problems as far away as could; at least for six days.

From the second they reached the Horizon Solar System, they were bombarded with transmissions from the planet. The celebrations hadn’t subsided at all, in fact once they announced their return to the system from a successful trip, the celebration seemed to reach a new level of frenzy. Of course, the excitement was, what he wanted to avoid. Let the people scheduled for the next trip and the follow-on trips celebrate, thought Commander Harnesy. But, his emotions, weren’t as clear as theirs, and he carried the burden of potential future conflicts.

Returning to Horizon, meant that he didn’t have to deal with the Prime Minister on Earth, but he still had to deal with her assistant as well as the continuous celebrations on Horizon.

The shuttle loading door opened, and he was thrust on another stage and greeted by one of the Prime Minister’s Under Secretary’s. The Secretary immediately thrust him into a welcoming speech, but the Commander waved him off saying that he must see his family. The Under Secretary didn’t miss a beat and acted like the Commander wasn’t there as he redirected his speech to the video units and walked back to the center of the reception stand.

Commander Harnesy grabbed one of the ground transports that were available and headed directly to his home. He hadn’t spoken to his wife or daughters when HSV#4 entered the system because they would immediately hear the stress and conflict in his voice, and he wasn’t prepared to get into his concerns over the open frequencies. He needed to be with them, express his worries and listen to their comments to put everything in perspective.

While the ground transport moved through the city towards the Commander’s home, it was slow going because of the revelers and people partying in the streets. Once he got out of the city, he could enjoy a little solitude, and he took the time to look at the planet that was his home. In a dispassionate way, he took the time to compare the two worlds.

After experiencing Earth, he had the luxury of comparing today’s Earth with the stories he was brought up with. The classical image of Earth was of her beauty, there was little comment about how it had decayed due to man’s influence. The stories were of blue skies, the white clouds, the fertile land, and seas. There was only a casual reference to how far it had decayed after beyond man’s decision to leave.

Horizon was different in many ways, yet similar. The colors between the two planets were strikingly different because of Horizon’s Sun’s slight position further into the yellow spectrum. Aside from the visual differences, Horizon had much more water than Earth, so the climate swings tended to be less. The rainfall was more predictable, and the foliage grew to enormous height compared to Earth. The plant life and indigenous life was also different, which would be expected between two planets and two different evolutionary paths. At some level, those differences became secondary. After all, dirt is dirt, air is air and water is water. Everything fits into its place in nature, and he could deal with that. What bothered him the most was how man fit into nature. Mankind went down a path that left Earth uninhabitable, and they were forced to move to another planet. They found a suitable world upon which to live and prosper. Do they have the right to reclaim Earth? Do they have the right to expect the inhabitants of Earth to accept them? Regardless of the nature of the inhabitants of Earth, whether they were organic or not, they had created a viable civilization. Didn’t they deserve their time on the planet and in history?

Commander Harnesy knew that he didn’t have the answers, yet he knew that the process of finding the answers would cause conflict, and he would be in the middle of that conflict.

The ground vehicle stopped in his private parking area, and he sat inside for a minute enjoying the Poflove birds that were in the tall Ilnore Tree behind the house. They had a mournful cry that added to his melancholy. He saw a sun shade move in the part of his home that was the closest to his vehicle, and he knew that his wife had noticed him. Within seconds, his silence was broken by the sound of a door opening.

“Honey are you Ok?,” his wife Bea asked in a quiet voice. She knew that Leopold didn’t normally sit in his vehicle and not come in, particularly after such an occasion as traveling to Earth and returning.

“I just needed a second to think.”

“Things on Earth didn’t go as you expected? Everyone is saying that it well and the first 5,000 people are settling in nicely.”

“Let’s go in the house and we’ll talk. I’m hungry, can you make me a sandwich?”

“Sure come on in, you can help Serene finish her homework.”

“He smiled, knowing that she didn’t like helping their daughter with Celestial Mechanics, and she found an easy way to pass if off to him.”

They walked into their house holding hands and Serene met them at the door with a hug and smile for her Dad.

“Dad I’m glad that you’re here. C’Mech is giving me fits and particularly non-Euclidian geometry. I need to memorize how the axioms negate the Euclidean parallel postulate.”

“Sure, and thanks for welcoming me home,” he said with a smile.

She smiled back and gave him another hug.

The rest of the afternoon was a typical period of time within the Harnesy household. Bea and Serene didn’t bring up the trip, they knew that he would when the time was right. Bethany came and went a couple of times, each time making a ton of noise as she passed through the house. Dinner was served, and a bottle of wine was broken into as they moved to the living room. That was Leopold’s time to talk and his wife and Serene sat, waiting for the discussion. Bethany was never really interested in family discussions, and she went off to her room.

“We have problems on Earth, and I think they’ll get worse. After we arrived and surveyed the planet, the Prime Minister made a point of settling in the old Capital. That is also the capital of the planet now, and that is where I met the robots and the humans. I didn’t like the idea of landing there, but the PM wanted to make a point to our people and also, I suspect for them. When I told them, the robot people, or whatever I should call them. When I told them where we wanted to land, they accommodated us by suggesting an area that they weren’t using and one that is in pretty bad shape. We accepted it, not knowing how much work was needed. Anyway, to make a long story short, once the Prime Minister was on the ground and they started to build houses, she looked across the river and saw all of the beautiful houses that the robots live in. She decided that she didn’t want to wait for housing, and she wanted those houses. She knew they were occupied, but that didn’t matter to her. Of course, because of my previous meetings with Adam, Helen, and the human clones, she told me to talk to them and get the houses. She put me right in the middle, and I suspect she thinks that talking to robots or the humans would be beneath her, it was easier to send me to do her bidding.

Surprisingly, the meeting with Adam and Helen went well. Adam suggested that he could assign some of their construction robots to help the PM build houses faster. She wasn’t too excited about the option, but she did accept it. Then I got the heck out of there and went to the ship and prepared to come back here.”

“So why are you upset?” asked Bea.

“I’m upset because I saw the civilization that the robots have created, and I also met the humans. They’re people, along with intelligent robots, there is no other way to describe it. They may be different from us, but they have built a amazing society. The PM looks at both of them, like they’re just robots or not real people. She thinks they should do what we tell them and act like the robots we have here. I know that when I go back there, I can expect more problems, and I’ll be in the middle of them.”

“Well hon, why do you think these robots are different than the ones we have?” his wife asked.

“Because they think, they act on their own, and they follow their own paths. They adhere to their four laws and they have many characteristics of any civilized population.”

Bea just sat and mulled over her husband’s comments, but she didn’t respond.

Leopold looked at Bea and Serene and said, “I know that you’re scheduled to go on this next trip, but I don’t know if I want you to go. Maybe you should go later, after all, of the problems have been worked out. That is if they ever get worked out.”

Bea was confident in her answer, “Honey, I don’t think it will be that easy. We’re packed, Serene is just finishing her schooling, and they’ve arranged all of the courses so that she can finish them off as long as she has a teacher interface. If we try to change now, we’ll be put at the end of the schedule which may be a long time from now.”

“Dad, I want to go now. I don’t want to wait. I’ve heard about Earth my entire life, and we’ve all been so focused on leaving since we worked out the faster than light stuff, I’m primed,” exclaimed Serene.

I suppose you’re both right. We can’t change it now, and if we tried, I’d have a lot of explaining to do. I guess you’re going.”

Serene curled her legs up underneath her and said, “Dad, tell me about these robots and the people they created. It sounds intriguing.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Helen, MU1, FU1, MU11 thank you for attending this meeting. After the meeting with Commander Harnesy, the Conformity Council has been discussing these humans and how they may affect the Four Laws. We are still debating that issue, and we must reach a conclusion because it will drive how we respond to them. You have been asked here because of obvious reasons. MU1, FU1 you and your people are human, and we trust that you’ll have insight into how they think and how they may act. Helen, you created Them, and you’ve been involved with for their entire existence. You must be able to provide some kind of bridge between our thoughts, methods and theirs.”

“Adam, we have been discussing that topic. MU11 has more thoughts about the information in the archive. Also, they have clarified many of the terms in our language that relate to emotions and likely apply to human emotions. Let me transfer a summary of our comments to you and the other council members.”

The transfer of the information took a fraction of a second, and the Conformity Council was current on all of the discussions between MU1, FU1, MU11, and Helen. They took a moment to process the information then they had a clear picture.

Adam spoke first, “I’m impressed with your research within the archives. Your conclusions are radical, but they do support our history, and I see no fault in your logic. It seems as if Dr. Bennet may have been the source of the Four Laws, and the DNA manipulations within the organic structures. We can only infer what his intentions were, but regardless the outcome for us is obvious. Regarding human emotions. Even though you’ve given us examples, it is still beyond us. We may know the definition of a word, but we are unable to predict the reactions within a human. You must provide that interpretation for us. Based on our last meeting with Commander Harnesy, how do you think they’ll act in the future?”

Helen looked to MU1 and FU1 to answer that question. The room was quiet as MU1 and FU1 looked at each other then they took a deep breath and FU1 began, “As we pointed out in our information, the humans are not accustomed to robots acting as you act. To them, robots are tools or part of their society that do what they are told. They won’t react well to robots that think and control their own destiny. That difference of opinion will cause problems. They will expect you to do what they tell you and to accommodate all of their wishes. They will not be concerned with the impacts to the Us. Unfortunately, their desires won’t be appeased easily or without significant impact.”

MU1 and FU1 looked at each other, and MU1 picked up the next point. “They are unsure how to deal with humans derived from DNA. They will likely think of us differently from you, but they will still think of us as being lesser than any of them. In fact, they might find us to be offensive to them at a fundamental level. They may want to remove us so they don’t have to deal with the issue. To them, we might be just a biological anomaly that needs to be dealt with. In any case, I think we’re in a riskier position than Us are.”

The room was once again quiet as all of the attendees dealt with the mental images that were implied. After a difficult pause, Helen picked up the discussion, “If I may suggest, I think the fundamental issue that we need to deal with, is similar to the one we discussed when the Them were created. The Conformity Council had to agree with the position that they are units. The humans I created were deemed to be units and thus fell under the Four Laws. We must make the same determination regarding the arriving humans. If we accept them as units, then we’ll apply the Four Laws for all of us. If we deem them not to be units, then we may have other options. In our past, we deemed the lower organic creatures not to be units, and we had more flexibility in our responses.”

“Yes, Helen, but we were able to ignore the organics on Earth because they are not intelligent, and our needs and desires didn’t interact. With regards to the humans, I doubt we’ll have that opportunity,” interjected Adam.

“The First Law says, ‘Continue making units.' I don’t suppose to interpret the Four Laws for the Conformity Council, but units are being made. They aren’t just Us. If humans are made by other humans, are they, by definition, units? I suggest that we must consider them units and treat them within the Four Laws.”

“What do we do if they violate the Four Laws?” FU1 asked.

“Our units have never caused that problem. There are no instances of the Second Law being violated by the Us or Them. A unit causing harm or terminating another unit has never happened.  Ultimately, we must follow the Second Law regardless of what that forces us to do. Sacrificing a small number of units to protect a larger number is partial compliance with the Second Law,” responded Helen with reluctance in her voice.

The Conformity Council and its guests remained quiet for a long time as they processed that information.

“Helen, we have concluded our discussion and the Conformity Council has come to an agreement. We are unified in our opinions that The Visitors are units. That doesn’t make our decisions easier, in fact, it complicates them. But it should make application of the Four Laws uniform,” said Adam.

“By considering them as units then defending ourselves from other units is problematic. It has not been necessary up to this point. Defense tactics and methods are described within the archives so we should be able to if we decide.”

MU1 was hesitant to ask, but he felt that the question was inevitable, “Are there weapons available?”

“As you have been investigating information within the archives, we also have. We have found that by asking specific questions about subjects that we’ve never pursued before, we’re seeing new sources of information within the archives. When we ask about defending ourselves, we have found information in the archives where weapons are described so we should be able to draw upon that information. Beyond that, our technology has increased a great deal, and there are many concepts that can be adjusted to create unique weapons. Our nature has not been to defend ourselves because it causes so much conflict with the First and Second Laws. Now that we accept the humans as units, as Helen has suggested, any action on our part might violate the First and Second Law. Likewise, failure to protect ourselves puts the humans in the position of violating our Second Law. In either case, our laws are put under pressure, and we must be sensitive to that conflict. MU1, to assuage your concerns, we have the ability to create weapons that we’re confident will be suitable, but they must be deployed in a way to minimize any violation of the Second Law.

Helen, MU1, and FU1 the Conformity Council will respond with the necessary defensive weapons. You are asked to be our primary interface with the humans and do everything within your power to avoid conflict and any violation of our Laws,” stated Adam.

“Yes, Adam. MU1, FU1, MU11 and myself will be the prime interface with the humans. We will report to you what we discover in the archives or in any interactions with the humans,” acknowledged Helen.

Part 14 HSV#4 Return

Once again, Commander Harnesy sat in his chair on the bridge of the HSV#4. This trip was much less enjoyable than the previous trips. This time, his family was onboard, and they were returning to Earth, and he knew there would be problems waiting for him upon his return.

HSV#4 had made it’s automatic refueling pass through the local sun and thankfully his crew wasn’t aware of the stresses developing on Earth, so their return flight would be exciting. They shared the ceremonial spirit of Horizon as the ship was loaded and the passengers came onboard. Commander Harnesy didn’t have any need to share his burdens with them.

HSV#4 was now fully fueled, loaded and waiting for him to press the distortion button.

While he cycled through the ship’s systems, checking their status on the 3D displays that floated in front of him, he checked with the associated deck officers responsible for the systems and verified their status. All systems were green, and it was time for the next jump to Earth.

“Ok, we’re all set?” he asked one last time to give his crew a last-minute opportunity to point out any details. But there were no comments, so he said, “here we go.”

Pressing the distortion button produced the same shimmer in the 3D star chart in the air in front of him which resulted in the same movement of the stars and the same indication that they had jumped 189 light years.

“Contact Earth and tell them that we’re back and approaching orbit.”

“Yes, sir,” responded the communications officer.

“Earth residents, this is HSV#4. We’ve arrived back in orbit.”

“Fantastic. HSV#4 we’re glad that you’re back, and we’re looking forward to another load of Earth Returnees. Please let us know when you’re in orbit and ready to begin offloading. We’ll send up our shuttles to meet you.”

“Will do,” the communications officer replied.

The voice on the radio changed and it was all too familiar to the Commander, “Commander Harnesy, this is the Prime Minister.”

“Yes ma’am,” Commander Harnesy responded with reluctance in his voice.

“We have another problem. I want you on the first shuttle. When you land find me, we need to talk.”

“Yes, ma’am,” was about all Commander Harnesy could muster without adding some tone of sarcasm, before the connection was terminated.

Commander Harnesy wasn’t supposed to be on the first shuttle, so he took the time stabilize the ship in orbit and waiting for the shuttle to be prepared. He took the time to relax and enjoy it before meeting with the PM. Every minute that it hadn’t launched was another minute of peace and quiet. As soon as they entered orbit, the Commander’s workload dropped off, and it was picked up by the loading crew, so it was the opportune time to find his wife and daughters and welcome them to Earth.

He didn’t have to look hard to find them, they were looking for him. He knew his daughters were near when he heard them scream, “Daddy,” from down a long passageway.

“We made it, I’m so excited. I’ve dreamed of this day for so long,” Serene said. Even though she tended to put on an air of being much older, this was her time to jump up and down with a little with excitement.

Serene’s mother and father just rolled their eyes at their daughter while she bubbled up with excitement about finally arriving at planet Earth. Bethany was too excited to talk, she just stood in the galley way holding on to her mother.

Serene’s mother and father just rolled their eyes at Serene while she bubbled up with excitement about finally arriving at planet Earth.

Bethany was too excited to talk, she just stood in the galley way just holding up to her mother.

“Ok, let’s calm down. You’ve still got to make your boarding time or else you’ll be left on HSV#4. Remember you’re on the first transport down, so we’ve got to move along. I got called by the PM when we entered the solar system, and she told me that I’m on the first trip to the surface also. So, we’ll get to go down together.

That statement only added to his daughter’s excitement, and she put her arm through his and announced, “Then we’ll go to the launch bay together.”

The Commander, Bethany and Serene’s mother had no other choice than to go with her and climb aboard. Even though Commander Harnesy was enjoying the time with his family and loving his daughter’s excitement, he knew that the Prime Minister was waiting for him, and he was sure that she had nothing good to say.

Through the shuttle loading, and departure Serene didn’t stop talking, and Bea and Leo didn’t stop listening. All the while Commander Harnesy was wondering what the Prime Minister had in store for him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

To Commander Harnesy’s chagrin, the shuttle door opened, and the Prime Minister was standing there waiting for him. In spite of the revelry behind her, welcoming the next wave of human returnees, her most important issue was confronting him and solving her problems.”

“Commander, come with me we need to talk,” The Prime Minister said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him away from his wife and daughters. In a moment of indignation, Serene said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Prime Minister, but I just traveled 189 light years to start a new life, and I want to share it with my father. He isn’t getting out of my sight,” Serene grabbed her father’s arm and made it perfectly clear that he wasn’t going anywhere without her.

With some irritation, the Prime Minister accepted Commander Harnesy’s escort and lead them both off to a quiet part of the landing area. Once they were clear of the welcoming crowd, the Prime Minister turned, putting her hands on her hips and announced, “This is not acceptable.”

With hesitation in the Commander’s voice, he responded, “and what is unacceptable?”

“Why should my people live in temporary housing until better quarters are built? These construction robots aren’t fast enough. Every day I look across the river, and it aggravates me to know that those nice houses have just robots in them. Why do they need houses?”

“Ma’am, I can’t answer your questions. These ‘Robots’ as you call them are not like the mobile units that we’re used to. These are independent and self-aware. They are a society that grew on Earth after humanity left it. I don’t think it’s right to assume they’ll do what we want when we want it. There is a family of units, as they call themselves that live in each of those houses. They work, they care for each other they live and eventually they wear out. I don’t think we have the right to just move in and take over.”

“Commander. We are human, they are NOT. If I want my people to have nice houses, then I want those houses; NOW. Talk to them, bribe them, threaten them, whatever works just meet with them and get those houses.” She made a quick turn and walked away from the Commander and his daughter.

“Dad, what are you going to do?” asked Serene.

“Apparently, I’m going to meet with them and talk about this.”

“Can I come with you?”

“Sure, why not. I think that you’re safer with them then you would be around the PM. We’ll check with your mother first and make sure that she doesn’t need your help.”

“HSV#4, this is Commander Harnesy, please open a channel to Adam at Earth’s Conformity Council.”

“Yes, sir. Channel is open.”

“Thank you.”

“Adam, this is Commander Harnesy. I’m back on Earth, and I’m afraid that we need to talk again.”

“Yes Commander, we saw that you entered orbit. I am available to meet once again and be advised, I have asked Helen, MU1, FU1, and their offspring MU11 to be present at all of our meetings. I trust their opinions and suggestions. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. Can we meet at the same location in one hour?”

“Yes, Commander, I’ll arrange it.”

“Let’s talk with your Mother, I think she’ll be busy for a while checking everything out and figuring out where we’ll stay. We’ll confirm with her, but I think she won’t have a problem with you coming with me. Let’s go find her and your sister.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The ground transport sped through the decayed part of the city, and Commander Harnesy and his daughter talked about the sites around them.

“What a mess, none of these buildings are usable. We might just as well knock them all down and plow them under,” Serene observed.

“I don’t think we could have hoped for more, after all, we left this city over 1,300 years ago. It’s a testament to the quality of the building that they’re standing at all,” expressed Harnesy.

“Dad, what do you think is going to happen. From what you’ve told me, these robots are almost alive. They are so much further advanced than the mobile units we have?”

“After we abandoned the robots when we left, they evolved and took on their own character and nature. When you meet them, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Adam is the leader of the Conformity Council, and Helen is their scientist that discovered the DNA buried in the local organic creatures. From that DNA, she created some humans. They are more than just clones; they are individuals that are from that DNA. They are intelligent, and I suppose they are in a difficult position. They must have allegiance to the robots, but they are more like us than the robots who created them. I’m not even going to imagine what the Prime Minister’s opinions will be about them. Three of them will meet with us. MU1 and FU1 are the first male and female humans or units that Helen created. That is why they are numbered 1. Apparently their male offspring is also coming, and his name is MU11.”

“Dad, if they are human, just like us. I hope the Prime Minister will accept that.”

“Hon, I don’t think the PM has to accept anything.”

As the ground transport vehicle approached the bridge, Commander Harnesy noticed there was one other beyond just Adam, Helen, MU1 and FU1. There was five of them and only he and his daughter. The numbers didn’t scare the Commander, but it did make him a little apprehensive.

Commander Harnesy parked the ground vehicle at the entrance to the bridge, and he and his daughter got out and walked to the middle. Serene whispered, “Wow, this is going to be interesting.”

The Commander looked at her and with a little smile he nodded his head, “Indeed,” was his only response.

“Helen, Adam it’s good to see you again. FU1, MU1 I’m glad to see you again also. This is my daughter Serene. She came on this flight from Horizon with her mother and my other daughter Bethany.”

Adam and Helen stepped forward and put out their hands, which startled the Commander. “I’m sorry Commander,” Helen said. I researched proper human welcoming techniques, and this was described. I wanted to make you feel welcome. Is it inappropriate?”

“No Helen, it just surprised me. It is very appropriate,” he said as he reached out and shook both of their hands. Their hands were firm, and the shake was a little awkward, but the basic intent was met.

“Commander, I have brought my two offspring,” announced MU1 as he shook their hands. “This is “FU11 and MU11.”

That was the first time that Commander Harnesy took a close look at the additional humans. He didn’t remember meeting them the last time he was on Earth or in their village. The two young adults were about the same height and seemed very healthy and attractive. They were dressed in clean clothes, although relatively plain. Their hair was about the same length and color. Neither smiled, but they acted eager to meet them.

As Serene shook their hands, she beamed through the introductions and the human clones noticed her infectious smile. “Pardon me for asking,” said MU11, but your smile is very attractive, it does something for your face. We’ve read a great deal about how and when people smile, but the archives don’t always present information in context. We weren’t sure if that was appropriate when people first meet. We smile among ourselves, but rarely around Helen and her kind.”

“Yes, it is, when people are pleased to meet each other, they smile,” pointed out Serene with an even broader smile.

For a second, Commander Harnesy thought his daughter was smiling a little too long and a little too much, but he let it go.

After all of the introductions were complete, Adam spoke first and asked, “Commander Harnesy you asked for this meeting?”

“Yes, Adam. The Prime Minister just spoke to me, and she is still unhappy. I’m afraid that the construction workers you lent them aren’t building enough homes fast enough to make her happy. She still sees the nice home across the river, and she said once again that she wants those homes.”

“Commander why does the Prime Minister always send you to these meetings. Is she unable to come herself?”

“Adam, I don’t think that she’ll come and talk. I’m not apologizing for her, but her attitude towards ‘mobile units’ would make a face to face discussion very difficult.”

“She thinks we are just machines and talking with us on equal status would be out of character for her?” asked Helen.

“Yes, very well stated. She sees a vast difference between humans and robots, and she won’t change her attitude. To get to the point that she is making, I don’t think that she’ll wait much longer. She sees robots living well and humans in lesser conditions. She won’t stand for that long. If something isn’t found to make her happy, I’m afraid that she’ll do something that will cause problems. She has 100 soldiers with her that will do what she says.”

Adam looked towards Helen and asked, “Solders?”

“Adam, soldiers are described in the archives. They usually carry weapons and will use force to accomplish their mission. If she has soldiers, she may use them in harmful ways against us. That will be a direct violation of the Second Law,” said FU1.

Adam just stood and processed the possibility of violating the Second Law.

“Ok, we don’t want that situation to develop. Can we find a solution to prevent that?” Commander Harnesy asked hoping to move the discussion along and find a solution.

“Allow me to speak with Adam in private,” Helen stated. She and Adam began to pass comments and information between their shared communication system.

“They are able to communicate electronically,” FU11 added. “Sometimes it seems like they aren’t with us anymore, but it will be over in a moment.

Sure enough Helen’s eyes moved, and she said, “Adam and I have reached an agreement. We will allow your people to occupy some houses on the other side of the river. We will provide enough housing for the 10,000 people that you have on Earth currently. We will do this to avoid violating any of our laws. But it must be noted this is a short-term solution, and you must continue to build homes for the next group of humans.”

Commander Harnesy was shocked that they gave up so much, and as Helen was talking, he looked at Adam and even though he didn’t move, he got the distinct impression that solution wasn’t Adam’s favorite.

“What happens to the robots, or I guess units as you call them. Where will they go?” asked Serene.

“That will be worked out. Our units will comply if it is necessary to comply with the Second Law,” responded Adam.

The discussion continued for a short time, and Commander Harnesy noticed that Serene and MU11 walked off together and were talking. Being a father, he knew what was happening and he didn’t know if he was comfortable with it.

After a lengthy discussion, the meeting ended, and the timing and logistics of the move were agreed to.

“Thank you, Adam, I appreciate what you have done. I will present the solution to our Prime Minister.” Commander Harnesy reached out and shook his hand while they looked into each other’s eyes. Both, suspecting that this agreement wouldn’t be the last time they would need to talk.

Commander Harnesy then reached out and shook Helen’s hand and noticed that Serene and MU11 still hadn’t returned to the group. They were about 20 meters away and still engaged in each other. They likely didn’t even know the meeting was over.

“Serene, it’s time to go.”

“Yes Dad, I’m coming,” was her response while they both turned and walked back to the group next to each other.

Serene said her farewells shook their hands and climbed back in the ground transport vehicle with her father. He knew not to address his concerns directly, so he took the ‘evasive parental approach.’

“So, what did you think of them?”

“It was interesting. It is obvious they aren’t like our mobile units. It’s very obvious that they are independent and thinking. I see why you see them as a fully developed society. I’d like to learn more about them and how they live.”

Now it was time for her father to take the plunge.

“So, what did you think about MU11?”

“I’m still working on that,” was the short answer which didn’t satisfy his question and left him in a quandary. Should he tell her mother or let it play out and see if any concern was necessary? Out of self-preservation, he decided to leave it up to his daughter.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene loved her parents, but there was much about her that they didn’t know. It wasn’t bad that they didn’t know, but she felt strong, inquisitive and confident that she could handle her own life. She appreciated the support they gave her and she still listened to their advice, but she was excited to bear the burden of her own decisions.

That is what made her decision to sneak off and meet MU11 and easy one. He was different than any person that she had ever met. In one case, that made perfect sense. She had never met another human being that had been created by robots playing with DNA. Besides that, he thought differently, and his life experiences were different. The few minutes that they talked, she loved everything that he had to say, and she sensed that he loved everything she had to say. Spending more time together seemed like the natural thing to do.

After working so hard to finish her studies in the midst of the turmoil of leaving for Earth, Serene convinced herself that she needed time alone, doing what she wanted. Her mother reluctantly agreed, and she slipped off to the same bridge where she and MU11 had agreed to meet.

Her mother was very busy, moving into one of the new houses and Serene’s little sister Bethany was helping. They were moving to the other side of the river, into one of the houses that Adam had offered them. As they were moving in, they saw many of the previous residents, or robots, moving out. At first, it was a little uncomfortable, but they just moved away, transporting the last of their personal items. Once they were out of the area, Bea, Bethany, and the other humans just forgot about them.

Serene walked the 5 nautical miles to the bridge entrance and wasn’t sure which side of the bridge that she would find MU11, but after arriving she soon saw him on the other side of the bridge. That was the side that she and her father had originally approached the bridge from. It was the side of the river of the original settlement.

When two young people don’t know each other well, the first time alone is always a time of fear, excitement, interest and longing. They didn’t have much to talk about, but they acted like they wanted to find topics.

Serene waived and walked across the bridge, and MU11 approached from the other side.

“Serene, it is pleasant to see you again. I’m glad that we agreed to meet,” expressed MU11 not know exactly how to interact with another human from a different planet.

“MU11, I’m glad we’re meeting, I enjoyed our brief time together yesterday.”

“Serene, I’m new to this interaction with others. You and your father interact much differently than I do with MU1 and FU1. I suspect that I have a lot to learn, I apologize if I do anything incorrectly.”

“MU11, that’s fine. I’m sure that we both have a lot to learn.”

“Serene, I may ask, why did you wave your arm when you saw me across the bridge?”

The question caused Serene to stop walking. She turned, looked at MU11 and realized how much they needed to talk about. Hesitantly she explained, “That is called a wave. When two friends meet each other, that is a way to say hello.”

“Very interesting,” was MU11’s short response.

Serene was excited, scared and suddenly feeling the gulf between them. After all, they were from different worlds.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen didn’t like what was happening in her processor. Instead of executing tasks and reviewing lists and tables of information, her processor was taking a long time resolving issues. It seemed to be working full time trying to put all the new information into perspective. The constant draw on her energy source and the amount of processor time, that she had to dedicate, was overwhelming to her.

“Is this what fatigue is,” She said to herself as she took her ground transport to her residence. Her processor was working at full capacity, and she was surprised when her vehicle entered her parking slot at her residence.

She was immediately surprised to see another unit entering her home. It wasn’t a unit that she recognized. She wasn’t overly concerned, crime was unheard of, and it was likely just some confusion.

As she approached the front door, it was still open, and she walked in with the intent of waiting for Lorenzo. As she passed the door, two individuals walked down the hallway from the bedrooms.

“Hello, may I help you?” was the very first natural question.

“We have been assigned to live in your spare room. We were told to adjust our living space by the Conformity Council.”

Helen hesitated for a moment, then she remembered Adam’s decision to pass the residences to the humans. Apparently, those individuals who were displaced have been put in residences like hers.

“I am aware of the reason why you have been re-assigned. My name is Helen, and my partner Lorenzo will return home shortly. May I ask what your names are?”

“My name is Lianna and my partner is Roland. I hope that our sudden intrusion won’t be a problem?”

“No, we should have no problem adjusting.”

As Helen went to the nourishment preparation area, she thought, I wonder if Adam has displaced units moving into his house?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Commander Harnesy was reluctant to return to Horizon and leave his family on Earth. But, he was the only qualified Commander for HSV#4, and he still had a couple more trips to make. That fact alone convinced him that he needed to check out the status of his replacement and make sure that they were up to speed to replace him.

The return trip to Horizon was uneventful. The celebrations of the homecoming were starting to die down, and there were only minor local celebrations for individuals returning to Earth. The large-scale planet-wide parties were in the past.

Reaching the orbit of Horizon was starting to become just another trip. When Commander Harnesy contacted Horizon upon entering the solar system, there wasn’t the hoopla and celebration attached. It was merely, “Welcome back, please call when achieving orbit.”

Commander Harnesy didn’t bother going to the surface on this trip. He just maneuvered to one of the orbiting support stations and planned to spend his time off there. After all, his family was already on Earth, so he had no need to go to the surface. Once the ship was prepared for the next trip, it would be sent off for its refueling trip through the sun. When it returned, then it would be time for loading and his return trip to Earth.

Six days later, Commander Harnesy sat on the D14 Support Station watching the instrumentation showing the status of HSV#4 as the technicians prepared for her refueling trip into their sun, even though the previous trips were successful, the trips would always be made unmanned. Even for the brief instant, the ship would be within the convective layer of the Sun, and relatively close to the surface, the pressures and radiation levels were extremely high. Any minor malfunction would be catastrophic for the ship and any people inside it.

“Commander, we’re ready to launch her into the sun. We’ve made all of the calculations, and she will be in the sun for only 5 nanoseconds or 50 billionths of a second. We’ve upped it a little from the previous trips. Remember any structure takes a finite amount of time to collapse, as long as we use the light distortion drive and appear within the sun’s pressure for less time than it takes for the structure to collapse, we’re ok. We want to get 20% more energy so we calculate that the ship’s structure will take 15 nanoseconds to collapse, and it will be in the high-pressure zone for only 5 nanoseconds, so the metal won’t approach ultimate.”

“Sir, with your permission, we’ll send her off.”

“Go ahead Earth is waiting.”

As the technician was going through her last checklist items before launching HSV#4, Commander Harnesy was happy that the government of Horizon was building other ships. After all, if anything went wrong, the people on Earth would be stranded until the next ship was flying. Besides that, he would be separated from his family. They wouldn’t know about the problem because they still hadn’t solved the communications. If a ship never returned to Earth, they would never know why. Everyone would have to wait for the second ship to be finished and if there weren't any other problems, they would arrive at Earth a couple of months later.

“Five, four, three, two, one…”

“Sir, our indications show that nothing happened. The energy level is still zero. Something must have happened. Standby while we go through the instrument readings.”

“Lovely, maybe I jinxed it by thinking about failure,” Commander Harnesy mumbled to himself.

“Sir, the instrumentation shows that one of the energy lenses failed. If that is all, it will take about a week to fix.”

“That’s good news, I hope the people on Earth will be ok without us for a few days.” Commander Harnesy said to give the crew some encouragement and to hide his fears of what trouble the Prime Minister would get into when he was not there.

“I think I’m going to check on the status for HSV#5 and make sure that it’s on schedule. If we had one failure, we might have more.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene and MU11 spent a great deal of time together. The humans moving into the previously occupied houses were too busy taking care of details. Serene’s Mother had the help of Bethany and when Serene wasn’t helping she assumed that she was helping someone else move in, or simply spending time with young people her own age.

The lack of restrictions gave Serene and MU11 a lot of time where they could meet at various locations. When together the talked about their lives to that point. Serene talked about growing up on Horizon and MU11 shared his experiences on Earth. Both sets of experiences were very    different and by sharing them they learned a great deal about each other and about each other’s worlds and cultures.

“MU11 you’re actually able to connect to your achieve by just being in a special room and by thinking about it?”

“Yes, it’s a personal experience. All we have to do is clear our thoughts and the room fills with little lights. As our thoughts form images, the lights in the room, change size, color, and grouping. The archive takes our thoughts, finds relevant information and categorizes it so we can see it in 3 dimensions. Then as our thoughts become clearer, the lights coalesce into the patterns that we focus on.”

“Wow, that must be a real experience. We have 3 D interfaces, but they don’t sound that sophisticated. We can talk to our data archives, but it takes a lot of work, and you only get answers based on the questions that you ask. If you don’t have a clear question you get garbage for an answer.”

Hesitating a moment, Serene asked, “What are these robots like to live with?”

“When we interact with them, we change. It’s as if we have two families, and we have to act accordingly. When we’re by ourselves, we talk freely, play, enjoy each other, and our family life doesn’t sound too different from what you described. But when we interact with the robots, we become sedate, quiet and circumspect in our conversation. It not that we are pressured to change, it’s just that is the way they act. When we act like ourselves, they can’t process information like we do and I think we confuse them. They are amazing ‘walking computers’, but they do things their way and we do things ours.”

“Is that scientist, Helen like that? She seems different to me. When I saw her with Adam, she acted differently? I think that she is acting a little like herself but also a little like you. I think she is different from the others.”

“That may be possible. She has been around us much more than the others, and she may have changed. They do have an organic processor that is programmed to change and learn. Maybe she is becoming something that is halfway between Us and Them.”

“Wow, that would be exciting. I find it interesting how you refer to each other. I understand the explanation that you gave me, but we’re used to having names that fit our groups of people. I guess from the perspective of the robots they could start out as Us, and when they created you, they would call you Them. But still, it confuses me,” Serene tried to explain.

“Now that I understand your language better I understand how it might be confusing for you. For us, it is clear,” MU11 said.

The small stream they were sitting next to was flowing gently around some rocks and Serene could see some small fish lazily swimming in the current. The world she was experiencing was so much different from Horizon. The colors were so vibrant, and the plants and birds were so exciting. Unlike the huge trees on Horizon the trees on Earth came in many sizes. The grass was so nice to lay on or walk on with her bare feet. On Horizon, the trees were so big, and they cast so much shadow there was very little growth on the ground. The birds were everywhere on Earth, there were a thousand different calls and songs. On Horizon, the birds were larger and usually higher in the trees. They didn’t come to the ground often and when they did they didn’t seem to sing as much. Earth seemed so much more alive than Horizon, and she wanted to draw it all in.

She leaned back on the grass to enjoy the birds in the trees above her when a strange sound scared the birds from the trees, and she sat up trying to hear it better.

“Do you hear that?” she asked MU11.

“Yes, I did. It sounded like it was coming from that housing area down by the riverbank.”

“What do you think it was?” asked Serene.

“It sounded like a discharge of energy. I think we’d better check it out, come on let’s go.”

They rose quickly, and MU11 moved out of the shady area faster than Serene. She jumped to her feet had to jog a little to keep up with him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

MU11 and Serene jogged for about five minutes until they entered a housing tract next to the river. They slowed and waited for some indication of where the unusual noise came from, then they heard it again. It was a loud deep buzz that vibrated so hard it could be felt through the air. As soon as they heard it again, it was so alien, they knew that something bad was happening.

MU11 lead the way, and after they had crossed the bridge, he turned down a street towards a corner and Serene followed him. As they turned the corner, the scene in front of them was horrific in a bizarre manner. There were three humans wearing the uniform of the Horizon Soldiers, and they were standing over 10 figures laying on the ground. It wasn’t clear to Serene who it was on the ground, but MU11 clarified it immediately.

“Those units are Us on the ground they have been attacked by those men.”

MU11 took off and ran towards the units on the ground and as he approached the Soldiers heard the noise from behind them, and they turned and prepared to fire on the figure approaching them. Serene stopped and yelled, “don’t shoot he’s a human.”

One of the Soldiers seemed not to hear her and was raising his weapon when she yelled again, “He’s a human. Don’t shoot!”

She started to run again, and the Soldier lowered his weapon as MU11 rushed past him. He stood next the fallen units until Serene caught up with him. She stopped next to MU11, and all he said was, “their memories have been lost.”

In a confused yet agitated manner, Serene turned and yelled at the Soldiers, “What happened here. Why did you shoot them?”

“Ma’am, we’re under orders,” was all one of them said before they turned and walked down the street.

“Under whose orders?” Serene yelled, but she got no response.

“MU11 are they ok?”

MU11 stood for a moment before answering, “No they are not. When a unit ends its operation, the memories and information in its processor are uploaded to the archive and the essence of who they were is transferred and kept. When a unit ceases suddenly like this, their essence is not uploaded, and it’s lost. That is a very traumatic event for the Us. Their entire existence is based on the Four Laws and terminating units like this violates all of their laws.”

Serene was shocked, and she didn’t understand the loss but how MU11 acted told her that something horrible had just occurred.

The units on the ground didn’t appear damaged or anything, they just weren’t moving.

“What do we do? This isn’t right,” said Serene.

“No, it is not right. We must find Helen and Adam and tell them.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The units around Helen’s workplace knew MU11, and they hardly noticed as he and the other human entered the workplace.

Lorain acknowledged their entry and said, “MU11, I wasn’t aware of any meetings today, are you seeking Helen?”

“Something terrible has happened, and we must find her quickly.”

“Something terrible?” she asked. “I’ve heard comments across our communicators, but they were unclear, and I didn’t have enough information to understand. Are the comments that I heard and your news associated with one another?”

“Yes, we found three of the human Soldiers had attacked 10 units near the housing area that was assigned to the humans. The humans terminated the units.”

For a second the term may not have registered fully with Lorain, “Terminated?”

“Yes, they used some kind of weapon, and the units were inoperative when we found them. I’m afraid they haven’t been able to join with the archive.”

Lorain stood and processed the thoughts for a moment, then said, “That violates our laws. Why would they do such a thing?”

“We don’t know,” responded Serene. We’re looking for Helen to tell her and then we’ll try to figure out what happened.”

“That sounds like a sensible process to follow. As I said she is not here, she was called to the Conformity Council.”

“Thank you, Lorain. Serene we must go there.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Conformity Council was only a short walk from Helen’s workplace. As they walked Serene wanted to talk with MU11, but he made it clear that he wasn’t in a talking mood. She wanted to understand more about the units and what death or deactivating them meant, but he was non-responsive.

If MU11 wasn’t going to talk with her, then she went through the events on her own trying to understand what happened. She knew the units weren’t violent, or, at least, they hadn’t been up to that point, so she thought that she could eliminate that reason. If it was a violent act on the part of the units then it must have been initiated by the humans. She was well aware of the Prime Minister’s opinions regarding the units, but it never occurred to her that the Prime Minister would go that far. Perhaps she had, her disregard for the units had been evident from the start. Her father had told her about the meetings with the Prime Minister and her staff and their general opinion of sharing Earth with robots, as they call them, abandoned when the humans left many years ago.

That was the only logical conclusion, the Prime Minister ordered the Soldiers to do it. There must have been something that the Prime Minister wanted, or maybe the units just weren’t leaving fast enough, and the Prime Minister wanted to make an example of them. “How could she do that to them?” Serene kept saying to herself over and over.

She wasn’t sure what her father would do. He didn’t like the woman, and he had taken a lot of crap from her, but he hadn’t stood up to her just yet. Maybe this would be the last straw. He was due back to Earth today, and she was sure that he wouldn’t stand for this from the Prime Minister.

They finally reached the building of the Conformity Council and immediately MU11 lead Serene through the lower halls to the elevator which would bring them to the council chambers. He remained quiet, and Serene didn’t know what he would say, but she could sense the stress within him. They got off on the top floor and turned left to the chambers. Serene stopped for a moment and read the plaque on the wall in front of the elevators.

"All activities within our community are governed by these four laws. Each day, we must ask ourselves if our actions support these laws. The charter of the Conformity Council is to ensure compliance with these laws. Please support the Conformity Council."

First law - Continue making units.

Second Law - Protect the units already made.

Third law - Expand the knowledge base.

Fourth Law - Maintain variation in thought.

For some reason, reading the laws there in the Conformity Council’s building made it clear to Serene that the units were indeed a separate living entity, and they deserved the respect of the arriving humans.

She felt embarrassed as she turned and followed MU11.

He had a good ‘head of steam’ as the old human saying goes, and when he got to the door to the Council’s chambers, he didn’t knock, he just opened it and walked in.

Serene trailed only a few steps behind him, and it was obvious that the council was deep in discussion, and she saw Helen seated at a worktable in front of the council. She suspected that she knew what they were talking about.

“Helen, Adam, Council, I’m sorry for entering without an invitation, but events have occurred that all of you must be made aware of.”

“MU11, thank you for coming. I’m sure that you’re here because of the incident between ten of our units and the Human’s Solders.”

“Yes, I am. Serene and I arrived at the scene immediately after it happened. We didn’t see anything, but we saw the deactivated units and the three Soldiers. Why did they do it?

“The information that we received is incomplete. It appears that the humans decided that they didn’t want any units around the houses that were assigned to them. Those units hadn’t vacated their homes yet, and the Soldiers had been given orders to intercept them and force them from the area. When the units were restrained, until the Soldiers could escort them from the area, they became confused. They’re not used to following orders and being forced to do things. Apparently the Soldiers felt justified to terminate the units, per the Prime Minister’s orders, instead of dealing with the situation in a more predictable manner.”

“Helen, Adam what are you going to do?” MU11 asked.

“We were just discussing that when you entered. We have numerous options that help us remain within the Four Laws. We haven’t decided what we’ll do. The first thing we’ll do is speak with the humans and try to understand why they took those actions and then we’ll work with them to prevent it from happening again.”

“But, what if they do it again,” asked Serene.

The room was quiet while the Conformity Council and Helen thought. After some thought, Adam responded, “First we’ll try to prevent that from happening.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Dad hasn’t returned yet?” Serene asked her Mother.

“No, he was expected yesterday, but no one has heard anything.”

“Are you worried?”

“Of course, I’m worried. If anything happened, we have no way to know. They’re building other ships, but the next one won’t be ready for a while. Without communication from Horizon, it would kill me if we have to wait until HSV#5 is built to get any news.”

“I’m sure he is ok,” said Serene providing as much comfort as she could.

“Let’s hope so,” responded her mother.

“I’m going away again today.”

“Where are you going all of the time, your never around here? You help for a little while then when we have things under control you disappear.”

“I’ve met someone,” was all she needed to say to stop her mother in her tracks.

“You’ve met someone?” she said half asking and half stating. “Do I know him?”

Serene didn’t know how to answer that. “I’m not ready for you to meet him. Dad has met him a couple of times.”

“And he hasn’t said anything to me?”

“I can’t explain that, anyway. I’ll finish helping, then I’ll leave,” she said as she turned and left the room, leaving her mother to deal with the information.

When Serene finished helping, she left the house without saying anything to her mother. She knew that if she said goodbye, her mother would have had a long list of questions and Serene wasn’t ready for that. She made her way to the bridge, she was scheduled to meet MU11 there, and she was late.

When she saw the bridge, MU11 was standing on the other side, and she waved and ran onto the bridge. He waved back, and she smiled, knowing how much he had changed since she met him and how much of an influence, she had on him.

They met and held hands walking up the river towards his village. Today was a special day, MU11 was going to introduce her to MU1 and FU1 and the others in his community. It was true that Serene had already met his parents and sister, but meeting them again, along with the others put her in a different position. It put Serene in a relationship with him.

MU11 was most excited about sharing the archive with her and demonstrating some key information that he had come across in his research. Since he met Serene, MU11 needed to understand humans, their history, their thoughts and everything about them. He wanted to know more about her. He asked the archives many questions, and it seemed like the archive was asking him questions. He didn’t understand why or how the archive was changing, but it definitely was.

Walking into the village, Serene was impressed. The houses were very similar to the homes they were provided. She thought it was funny that everyone called it a village. The people there noticed her and said hello, many of them smiled towards MU11 and made small comments about the business of the day.

“This is my home and where my …parents live,” MU11 said as he stopped and pointed out the structure to Serene.

“You called them your parents.” Serene said with a smile, sensing that he had never used the word before.

“Yes, I found the term in the archives.”

“What have you called them before?”

“I called them MU1 and FU1, that is their names. We use the term family to include all of the members, but we never needed to use the word parents. I like it, and I’m going to tell everyone what it means.”

They walked in, and MU1 and FU1 met them at the front door. “Welcome into our home,” FU1 said as she hugged Serene. Immediately Serene felt welcomed and comfortable with the two older people.

The tension of a first meeting with the parents of a special friend died down quickly and within a short time they were talking freely laughing and telling stories about living on Earth and Serene about living on Horizon. The time together passed quickly, then MU1 took a breath and asked a difficult question.

“We heard about what happened between the Soldiers and the units. MU11 told us that you arrived right after it happened.”

“Yes, we did. I’m sorry that it happened. I can’t explain why they had those orders, but I’m sure the orders came from the Prime Minister. My Dad didn’t know what was going to happen. If he did, he would have stopped it.” Said Serene with the immediate feeling to defend her father even though he wasn’t there.

“That was very unfortunate. For the Us to be terminated like that violates everything they believe in. I’m concerned that other problems will occur,” said FU1.

“Yes, we all are,” responded Serene.

To break the sullen mood, MU1 changed the subject, “Serene, we have been looking for information from the archives that will help us understand how you humans think. Hopefully, we might understand you better and prevent this from happening again. But to be honest, the issues are complex.”

She felt the need to respond to the comment and offered the best explanation she could, “You’re right, the issue is complex, and if I may point out, we are all human, and we share the same thoughts and feelings.”

MU1, FU1, and MU11 were a little taken aback from the blunt statement. Finally, after a long and uncomfortable pause, FU1 spoke, “You’re absolutely right. We are all of the same kind, and I don’t know if that is supposed to make understanding each other easier or harder.”

“Well put,” responded MU1. “Regardless, we are in the middle.”

Serene sat for a moment, then a small smile crept over her lips, “There are many of us that don’t like how the Prime Minister is handling things, you’re not alone in the middle.”

Each one’s circumstance was clear to everyone in the room and to break the stress, MU1 said, “Does anyone want something to drink?”

They smiled, knowing what he was trying to do and each nodded indicating that they were thirsty. As he walked to the food preparation area, he commented over his shoulder, “We’ve asked MU11 to help us interact with the archive. He was eager because he wanted to understand our visitors also. Now apparently we understand why.”

They all smiled, and Serene felt a little embarrassed.

After a light meal where the talk was easy and open. Serene didn’t know what the foods were, but most of them were fruit, and they tasted amazing. She was confident that she could eat them all, and she enjoyed the opportunity. When they were done, MU11 explained to his parents, “I want to show Serene the archive room. I’ve told her about it, and I want to show it to her. It has been changing more, and I think she’ll find it interesting.”

“Changing more?” MU1 questioned.

“Yes, each time I interact with it, it responds differently. I’m finding it’s responses to be interactive and surprisingly human.”

“That is interesting,” FU1 responded. “It will be interesting to see what Serene thinks about it.”

It was a short walk, and the sun had already set. Serene enjoyed the smells and cool breezes of her new home. When they entered the archive room, Serene was surprised at how simple it was. She expected some large computer interface device, or, at least, a control panel, but there was only a sphere on a pedestal in the middle of the room.

“Where is it,” Serene asked wondering if he would lead her to another room.

“This is it, that is the interface,” MU11 said as he pointed at the sphere. “Go ahead and touch it and see if it responds to you.”

“Responds to me?”

“Yes, that is how we initiate the contact. If it senses you, it will let you know, and you’ll be able to interact with it.”

Serene didn’t exactly know how to handle that. Maybe it would recognize her and maybe it would blow her hand off. “I guess, I’ll give it a shot,” she responded as she gave MU11 a little smile and walked towards the sphere. When she reached it, she hesitated smiled slowly again at MU11 then said, “here goes.”

Serene slowly moved her hand towards the sphere, and she could feel the energy emanating from it. But when she finally touched it; nothing happened. There was no music, no brilliant revelations, and no mind-blowing electricity flowing through her body. She looked at MU11 and shrugged her shoulders, “Nothing.”

MU11 was a little surprised. He didn’t know what to expect but nothing happening surprised him. She was human and all of the humans could interact with the archive. She was human, and it should have responded. “I’m not sure why it won’t connect, it does for everyone here. Here let me try it.”

MU11 casually walked across the room like he was approaching an old friend. He stopped next to Serene and placed his hand on the sphere while he looked in her eyes.

What he felt was unlike any interaction he had ever felt before. His mind exploded with senses and information. Instead of being a passive source the sphere was active and filling him with information.

Serene saw an immediate change in MU11, and while she looked at his face his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed on the floor. All Serene could do was scream for someone to help. Within a few minutes, word got to MU1 and FU1, and they rushed to his side.

“What happened,” MU1 yelled as he rushed to his son’s side.

“I don’t know. He had me touch the sphere first to see if I could connect and nothing happened. Then he touched it and collapsed. Has this ever happened to anyone before?”

MU1 and FU1 looked at each other, and FU1 said, “No, this has never happened before. The archive has been our library, and we seek information through it. It has never harmed anyone. We can’t understand it.”

“Where did this thing come from?” Serene, asked hoping for an answer that would help her understand.

“The archive has always been. When Helen introduced it to us, we needed some way to communicate with it. Helen and her kind communicate naturally over certain frequencies but we couldn’t. Helen and MU11 devised this sphere, and we’ve used it ever since. We thought it worked in the same way that Helen communicates.”

MU1 stood and approached the sphere.

“What are you doing?” asked FU1.

“I’ve got to figure out what happened. Maybe it is malfunctioning,” he said.

Slowly MU1 put his hand on the sphere and stood motionless. He slowly turned and faced FU1. “It is functioning, but … it has changed.”

“Changed, what do you mean,” asked FU1 still holding MU11 who was starting to stir.

“I can’t explain it, but it has motion. Before it was like reading a page, but now it is in motion. I can’t explain it beyond that.”

MU1, FU1, and Serene were able to get MU11 to his feet and help him back to his parent’s home. He didn’t say much except one statement that surprised everyone, “My eyes are open.”

After that ‘enlightening’ statement, MU11 fell fast asleep, and FU1 felt they should let him sleep and recover. MU1 offered to walk back to a point nearer to Serene’s home, and she readily accepted. It would be a great way to talk with MU11’s father.

While they walked, Serene enjoyed the quiet time with him. “MU1, I hope that MU11 is ok. I hope I didn’t do anything to cause that to happen.”

“I can’t imagine that it was due to you touching it. The archive has always been here, and it is connected to thousands of times per day. You, touching it, should have had no effect. I’m sure we’ll understand what happened. I’ll ask Helen tomorrow, perhaps she will have an explanation.

While they walked, Serene had many questions she needed answers to. “My father told me that you were the first person created from the DNA that Helen found?”

“Yes, that is true. I was the first and FU1 was the second. Helen continued until she created 10 individuals from the DNA that she found.”

“What was it like to be brought up by Helen?”

“I don’t remember being brought up by her. She realized that the archives were missing a great deal of information about rearing a young human. She sought support from our organic friends that live in that part of the village,” he said as he pointed to the settlement that was behind some trees.

Serene looked in the direction that he pointed, and she saw a grouping of smaller huts, but she couldn’t see anything living there. The thought that there were other organic creatures living there intrigued her, and she asked, “Can I see them?”

“No, I suggest not. They’re simple creatures and prefer to live by themselves. They aren’t comfortable around Helen and her kind even though they have spent much time together. Some of them interact with Helen and us frequently, but many of them don’t understand, and we don’t want to put pressure on them.”

“I understand, you said that Helen sought their help when you were young?”

“Yes, as I said the archives were incomplete and Helen was able to work out a plan with our neighbors to bring us up as their young and Helen and her team helped. As we grew and learned from the archives, we also helped, and when we were old enough, we built our own village. Then over time, we had our own children, but we continued to live next to them and to share our lives with them. They are comfortable around us, but I suspect they would be very suspicious of you.”

Serene nodded her head and took another step, then the world around them exploded with the same sounds that she and MU11 had heard earlier. MU1 had never heard the sound, but Serene knew what it was immediately. It was then that she realized that the sound was coming from the village where the organics lived, and she knew something horrible was happening.

“MU1, that is the same sound that MU11 and I heard yesterday. Someone is firing their weapons in the organic’s village.

It took a second for the distress to build on MU1’s face then he turned and ran at full speed towards the village of smaller huts. He quickly left Serene in his trail although she did a pretty good job of keeping up with him. He burst into the village and was horrified to see many of his friends lying on the ground around the common area. He looked up and searched around the common area trying to understand what was happening, and he saw five men in uniform walking out of the far side of the village.

Serene caught up with MU1 just as the Soldiers were leaving the village and she knew immediately what had happened, and it made her furious. MU1 was still a little confused and walked slowly to the nearest creature on the ground and tentatively bent over trying to comfort it.

Serene barely slowed down and sprinted across the open area screaming at the soldiers. “What have done?” she yelled as they turned. One of them hesitantly began to raise his weapon and a man next to him put his hand out to stop it as he realized that it was a human female who was screaming at them.

She reached them and again screamed, “What have you done?”

“Ma’am, we defended ourselves,” the soldier in front said in a monotone voice.

“Defended yourself, they’re unarmed and less than half your size?”

“We came into this village to check it out, and they started running around. We thought they were going to attack us.”

“They’re harmless, why did you shoot them?”

“Better safe than sorry,” he said as he turned and indicated to his men to leave. He turned his back on Serene, and they left the village.

Serene just stood there watching them walk away, acting as if they had just stepped on a bug in the grass. She was horrified, embarrassed and she almost threw up. She turned and saw MU1 sitting on the ground cradling one of the fallen creatures.

Serene walked slowly across the opening watching MU1 cradling the fallen creature. When she reached him, all she heard was him repeating “Lital…Lital.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Commander Harnesy paced back and forth in the station. Waiting for HSV#4 to get fixed was driving him crazy. He was not comfortable leaving his wife and two daughters on Earth while he went back to Horizon. Not only uncomfortable leaving them there but the fact that he also left the Prime Minister. He knew that she was going to do something that he would have to fix somehow, when he got back.

As he paced, he listened to the comm traffic hoping to hear that his ship was fixed. But listening to the familiar traffic helped to keep his mind occupied. The comm traffic was pretty typical until he heard a phrase that was out of place, “This is HMSV#1 ready for test flight.” Harnesy turned towards the person handling the comm system and listened for the response, “HMSV#1 you're cleared for a test flight.”

True Commander Harnesy had been focused on building HSV#2, 3 and 4 for the last couple of years. He was going to be the first person to see Earth so many of the day-to-day operations around him were kept away so he could focus on his mission. But once he heard the call sign “HMSV” he realized that he had missed something major. He had never heard that designation before, and something about it worried him. For his ship and its predecessors, HSV stood for Horizon Space Vehicle. Following the same naming convention, HMSV could mean many things, but the meaning that bothered him was the M. It was possible that the designation stood for Horizon Military Space Vehicle.

If he made it obvious and asked, the people around him would realize that he didn’t know about the ship, and they would likely freeze up and not answer his questions. His obvious plan was to act nonchalant, acting like he knew everything.”

“I see, HMSV is ready to go, I didn’t think it would be ready so fast.”

“Yes sir, we didn’t either. After the PM heard about your first trip to Earth she really pushed hard. It was a real challenge to get her ready and still keep your ship and HSV#5 on schedule.”

“Ya, I’m sure it was. I’m sure the PM will be very happy when she hears that HMSV is ready.”

“She sure will be, and you’ll get the chance to tell her that her pet project will arrive about 24 hours after you get back.”

Commander Harnesy was doing his best not to be surprised and acting like he knew everything about HMSV. “I’m glad that I’ll be the one to give her the good news.”

Commander Harnesy was thinking quickly If HMSV was to carry people he would have been told. If he wasn’t told, then his fear about the ‘M’ designation was accurate. He had to stick his neck out and confirm his worst fears. “She’s going to be real happy when she sees what the HMSV has in store for the robots on Earth.”

“Yes sir, it’s going to be a big surprise for them when that thing goes off. Stand by Sir, we’ve got to monitor HMSV’s test flight. I enjoyed talking with you. I think HSV#4 is about ready. You can take a transport to her and get her ready for departure.”

“Great, I’m looking forward to getting back,” was the only assuring thing he could think of saying. Look busy and don’t look like you care is the best way to stay out of trouble.

Harnesy took the first shuttle to his ship and went immediately to the bridge. The entire time that the passengers were loading, he sat in his command chair thinking about the repercussions of what he learned. He wanted to get back to Earth; he needed to get back to Earth.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen felt like she was spending all of her time with the Conformity Council. There were too many issues, and concerns and each of them needed discussion.

“Council, after 10 of our units were terminated, we had another incident yesterday. I know that you’re aware of the attack on the organic village. I recognize that many of us feel the organics are of little concern to us, but my concern comes from a different direction. If the Visitors react so quickly and terminate 10 of our units, then follow that with a quick termination of a group of the organics, I suspect that they will continue doing what they want with little regard for us. I propose that we prepare our defensive weapon for use,” Adam stated to the council.

That statement got Helen’s attention. Earlier she had heard they were considering a weapon, but she didn’t know they had one, nor what it’s abilities were. Regardless, the use of weapons had been disastrous so far, and she thought that any future use would only make things worse.

Even though she was reluctant to hear the answer, Helen asked, “Adam, can you tell me more about this defensive weapon?”

“Yes, I agree it is now time to tell you about it and how we plan to use it.”

Helen felt as if the world had just spun out of control around her.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene was helping her mother and doing her best not to hint at her relationship with MU11. Serene was able to deflect the questions her mother threw in her direction. Her mother didn’t need to know yet, and she would let her father in on the secret first.

The homes that were given to the returning humans weren’t all that great. They provided cover, but that was about it. There were separate rooms which could be set up as bedrooms, but there were limitations. The previous residents didn’t have personal needs like the humans. There weren’t any bathrooms and even though there was a limited water supply it wasn’t adequate. Besides all of that, they were boring. They were laid out in the same pattern and colors with no yards to speak of. Serene hadn’t met anyone that thought the houses were great.

“So, Mom, the PM is still going to build our real houses isn’t she,” Serene asked her mother as they unpacked some of their clothing.

“I think, so. These won’t be fun to live in for a long time. I’m getting tired of walking down the street to take a shower or go the bathroom,” her mother responded.

“Sure is a pain.”

“Mom, did you hear about the incident between some of our Soldiers and the local resident robots?” Serene asked, feeling out her mother and needing to hear her opinions.

“Yes, there has been some rumors. I’m not sure what happened, but the Soldiers took care of it.”

“From what I heard; the robots weren’t doing anything wrong. They were just too near and weren’t doing what the Soldiers told them. You know Mom, these robots are pretty sophisticated, and they have their own society. After we abandoned them a long time ago, they’ve changed and they’re not like the mobile units that we’re used to.”

“I know; I’ve heard what your Father has told us. I don’t know what to think. I suppose they deserve to be left alone.”

“What do you think about the humans that have been brought back with the DNA that was left here?”

“Now that is a complicated question. I know they aren’t robots, but I also know they aren’t like us,” her mother responded as if she didn’t take the question too seriously.

Serene hesitated for a minute knowing that she was getting into dangerous ground, “What do you mean they aren’t like us?”

Her mother also sensed a hidden part to the question, and she turned to face her daughter, “I know they aren’t like clones. Our society went through a ‘clone’ phase a long time ago, and no one was comfortable with them. They didn’t fit in. Who wants to deal with a copy when they can deal with the original? From what your Dad said, apparently someone left samples of our DNA when they left Earth. We’ll never know why they did that, but they did. I supposed that puts them in a different category than clones. They aren’t copies, they're more like cousins. Perhaps cousins we aren’t comfortable dealing with,” she said with a little smile. “I’m not going to get into the whole religious thing, that’s way too complicated to figure out. I guess we can categorize them as distant relatives and leave it at that.”

“Mom, I’ve heard rumors of some other incidents.”

“Really, what?”

“There are other creatures that live on the other side of the river. They aren’t like the humans, they aren’t as intelligent, but they live in huts and have a village. I heard that some soldiers went into the village and killed a group of them.”

“That sounds too bad, but I’m sure they had a good reason. Let’s just finish unpacking those boxes over there, I’m still looking for some things.”

Serene wasn’t satisfied with her answer, but for the moment, it would be best to let it lie.

Serene exhaled, hoping to dispel the tension between her and her mother. On her next breath, Serene picked up a distinct odor, “Mom, do you smell that?”

“Yes, I do. It smells like smoke. We better go outside and see what’s going on.”

They rushed out of the house and saw black smoke coming from other homes on another block. There was a ton of smoke, and the problem was obvious.

“Mom, there’s a fire.”

Bea yelled back into the house, “Bethany stay in the house, there’s a fire on the other street, and we’re going to help.”

Serene and her mother ran down the street and crossed over to the other side then around the corner and up the other street. They were shocked to see four houses burning. The local residents were doing their best to get the people out from the adjoining buildings and to fight the fire, but they weren’t prepared. There was little water and no fire trucks.

“Mom, we can’t fight this,” Serene shouted to her mother.

“I know, when we came back to Earth, we didn’t plan on structure fires. We didn’t bring firefighting gear, I think that was planned for later shipment. All we can do is get the people out and do our best.”

While they were talking, two other homes burst into flames. Serene heard from someone over the chaos, “Oh my God they’re all going to burn.”

The street was full of people running back and forth trying to save what they could and warning other people in the area to get out of their homes and help. The entire scene was full of movement, shouting and pointing. People were screaming that there were still three people not accounted for.

For the longest time, it seemed that the fire was winning, one by one another home was engulfed, and it seemed to grow.

Serene saw some movement out of the corner of her eye and saw a line of huge vehicles approaching. She turned and was faced with a long line of tankers and robots loaded on transport trucks, “Mother look!” was all she could say before the convoy sped passed them. The others on the street just parted and let them through not knowing what to expect.

The scene developed quickly, the robots on the transport trucks unloaded and pulled hoses from the tanker trucks. The robots on the ground had different shapes to them, about half were low strung and walked on three or four legs. There was a set of large more stable robots that handled the hoses, and the was a smaller group of bipedal robots that seemed to be leading the group.

The smaller robots entered the burning buildings with no hesitation and began to move through the structures, after a short time three of them came out carrying people draped over their backs. The people around them immediately cheered and ran to check on them. The smaller robots continued to search all of the burning structures while the larger ones aimed hoses and quickly brought the conflagration under control.

The people standing around were dumbfounded. Without warning a team of fire-fighting robots had swooped in, rescued three people and put the fires out in a short time. Just as the fires were coming under control, Bea saw the Prime Minister and her chief of staff Jaled Tern drive up in a small ground transport. When she pulled to stop, she yelled: “What’s happening, what are these robots doing here?”

Someone near her yelled back, “They put out the fire and saved three people!” Which seemed to quiet the Prime Minister for a minute.

As Bea watched one of the bipedal robots that appeared to be leading, the others approached a group of people clustered around the Prime Minister. Bea and Serene walked over to hear what was said.

“What are you doing?” the PM said with an indignant sound to her voice.

“We are assigned to this area to control any fires that occur so that we can comply with the Second Law.”

The Prime Minister just stood there glaring at the robot that talked to her and her Chief of Staff Jaled interceded and asked, “Did someone call you and ask for you to help?”

“No, we have sensors, and we respond when needed. We have recovered three of your units, and it appears they need immediate attention. You should see to their repair. Our job is complete now, some of the units will remain in the area to make sure that the fire is out.”

With that concluding statement, the bipedal robot turned and at the same time about 75% of the other fire-fighting units also turned and began to load on the transport trucks.

Bea looked around and saw everyone just standing and watching, and it was clear they had been surprised by the sudden support from the resident robots. She looked around trying to find Serene who had walked away when the robots started to load. She wanted to make sure that Serene was ok. It took a few minutes to locate her in all of the chaos and smoke, and when she did see her, she was standing at the end of the street with an interesting looking young man. Bea wasn’t too concerned, even though she didn’t recognize him, “he must be from the last group that came down,” she thought.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“MU11, what are you doing here? How are you feeling?” Serene asked as she rushed up to him.

“I saw the smoke, and I was worried. I came to make sure that you and your family were all right. I feel ok, although I do feel different.”

Serene looked at him and didn’t know how to respond so she stayed on the current topic, “I’m glad you came. As you can see, some robots came and took care of the fire. I was surprised to see them, particularly after what happened.”

“Serene, your people have been designated ‘units’ and the Second Law is, to protect all units previously made.”

“We never thought about fires when we moved into these homes. When we planned on coming back to Earth, we brought supplies to build new buildings we didn’t think that we be able to move into existing ones. I know we have firefighting equipment planned for later. We were fortunate that the robots came, this could have been a real mess if they didn’t. I think this will change the opinions of some of my people.”

“Is that your mother over there?”

“Yes, but I’m not ready to have you meet her. I’m working on her slowly, there has been a lot of changes in her life, and I don’t want to add to it.”

“I understand.”

“Did your father tell you what happened in the organic village?”

“Yes, he did. He was struck hard by what happened. Some of the organics that were brought down were contemporaries of him growing up. There were like family. He is confused and doesn’t know how to react. Right now he, FU1 and other humans are in the villages trying to comfort them.”

After a few difficult moments, he asked, “When is your father due back?”

“We don’t know; he should have been here by now. We don’t know if there was a problem. We have no communications with Horizon, we can send ships, but we haven’t found a way to communicate. I’m getting a little worried.”

She hesitated before going back to the ‘other’ sensitive subject.

“So what happened to you when you tried to connect to the archive?”

“It is difficult to explain. The archive is just there, we ask questions or form thoughts, and it reacts. It is like a large picture drawn in the dirt. You can look at sections of it, but you can’t see all of it. When I touched the sphere, I suddenly saw everything, and I felt different. It was like looking at a picture in motion. I still feel different, I think it changed me.”

“What do you mean, you feel different?”

“It is difficult to explain. Without going into a lot of detail, it’s like I’ve been looking through a dirty window and finally, it has been cleaned. I see things differently.”

That was a pretty heavy statement to digest all at once, so Serene let it lie. “You better go, my Mom just saw me and she’ll find a way to wonder over here to check you out.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Commander Harnesy pressed the Distortion Button and HSV#4 performed as advertised. There was a little shutter in the 3D star image, and they found themselves back in Earth’s solar system.

“Sir, we are 89,342 miles from Earth, shall we proceed into orbit?”

“Yes, proceed. 89 thousand, well the calculations are pretty good. A couple more trips and we might just be able to hit the orbit point.”

“Contact Earth and let them know we made it back.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

“Earth, this is HSV#4 approaching Earth’s orbit.”

“HSV#4, it’s great to have you back. We were starting to get a little worried. Did you have any problems?”

“Yes, we had some minor equipment failures before departure. It took a little time to get repairs, but we’re here now and ready to download a bunch of anxious people.”

“Looking forward to welcoming them. As soon as you’re in orbit, we’ll send up some shuttles, and you can start sending yours down.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Sir, I’m running some sensors on the planet and I’ve noticed some damage within our housing area. It appears that eight of the structures have burned down.”

“After we get into orbit, get the details.”

“Yes, sir.”

Commander Harnesy sat and felt like putting his head in his hands. “I hope she didn’t do something that I’ll regret,” he mumbled as he thought about the PM.

“Patch me through to my family, maybe I can get some good news from them. I suspect I’m going to need some.”

“Yes, sir.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene and MU11 met at the same place on the same bridge where they had met each day. The day was another beautiful day on the planet Earth. The sky was blue, and there was a gentle breeze. The air was still comfortable, and the sun wasn’t so strong that a person couldn’t stay out all day and enjoy its warmth.

“MU11, I’m glad the firefighters came and helped put out the fire. If they hadn’t come, I don’t know how many of the homes we would have lost.”

“Yes, it was fortunate, and I’m glad that you and your family weren’t hurt.”

With that statement, he turned and faced her and held both her hands before he said: “I was worried, and when I saw you I felt better.”

She smiled at him, and he leaned in and kissed her. For her it was pleasant, and she accepted and enjoyed the sensation. Then as they parted, she saw a strange look on MU11’s face.

“What’s the matter?” She asked.

MU11 hesitated, then with a lump in his throat he said, “That was my first kiss. I’ve read about it, and we do it with close relatives. But that was my first kiss with another.”

Wow, Serene thought. She hadn’t had that many herself, but this must have been some kind of event in his life.

“Did you enjoy it,” She asked, hoping for a positive answer.

“Yes, I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.”

“MU11?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me more about what happened to you when you touched the Archive Sphere?”

MU11 was quiet as he put his thoughts together.

“I’m not sure, like I told you before, the archive was a source of information. I would form a thought, and it would present relevant information. Beyond that it was static. When I connected to it, it became active. I saw movement, I felt the energy, I felt chaos all around, and it was asking me to control it. I saw many images that I don’t understand, but they were different than what I expected. When I look at the world around me, I see it through my eyes. The images I saw in the archive were from a different perspective as if I was everywhere looking back. It’s just so hard to explain.”

“Sounds like it. MU11, did I do anything to cause it to happen? Maybe I shouldn’t have touched it.”

“No, in fact, I got the impression that it was you touching it that changed it. It’s like you opened a door and allowed the archive to become what it was destined to become.”

MU11 took a deep breath and Serene sensed he was going to make a major statement.

“I think it was waiting for you,” MU11 said with an exhale like he had just said everything.

“Waiting for me? Are you kidding me?”

MU11 wasn’t sure how to answer that, “What does kidding me, mean?”

Serene looked at him, smiled then realized something.

“MU11, nothing major happened when I touched the sphere, but there has been a feeling growing with me. I feel like there is something that isn’t complete. I get a subtle feeling that I need to go back to the archive for some reason. But I can’t explain it.”

They sat on a log near the bridge for a while. Both of them had a lot of information to ingest and understand. Then MU11 had more to say.

“We have found a lot of information in the archive about the people that may have given us our Four Laws. We’ve also found much about the people that may have planted the DNA for us to find.  I think there may have been a plan where they wanted you to come home, and when you did, something would be unlocked. I think our peoples were intended to come together again, we’re both ready for the next step. Beyond that, I don’t know. I might be totally wrong, but those are some of the impressions that I got.”

“Wow,” was the only word Serene could utter.

After some more intimate moments of holding hands and thinking, Serene commented, “We just heard that my father is back. He is entering orbit and should on the ground in a few hours. He talked to my mother, and I think she covered some of the major events a little, but we need to tell him what happened before the Prime Minister confronts him.”

“I agree, he is probably the best connection between her and Helen’s robots. Perhaps we should talk to him together?” MU11 suggested.

Serene thought for a moment before responding, “Yes, we should. I’ll let you know as soon as he lands.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

After the shuttle separated from HSV#4, Commander Harnesy had a few quiet moments. The pilot was flying the craft, and he was just a passenger sitting in the back of the flight deck. He loved those quiet moments when someone else was responsible, and he was by himself. He had the details of the fires that destroyed so many homes, but he knew there was a lot going on, behind the facts. He also knew that he would be dragged into it before he was ready. All he could do was prepare in some way so he could help. He knew one thing; he would avoid the Prime Minister until she demanded his presence. He needed to go home and spend a few hours with his family. Being with them was where he could clear his thoughts. Besides, the fire was near his home, and he wanted to see the damage, and maybe Bea or his daughters had more information about what happened.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Traveling to his home continued the Commander’s quiet time. He had changed clothes, so he wasn’t in his uniform and he was able to blend in with the first load of new immigrants to Earth. He found the ground transportation that was near the landing site which was reserved for his crew while they were on Earth. He went directly to his home, avoiding the burned area. He wanted to walk to it so he could see it firsthand and not just drive by it.

“Bea, I’m home,” he said as he entered the house.

“Hi,” his wife said as she came to the door and gave him a big hug.

“What happened? We expected you to be back last week?” she asked.

“We had some equipment failures, and it took a while to fix, but we made it ok. I saw the reports on the fire. How are you doing?” he asked with a slight emphasis on the word you.

“Ok, the fire really scared us. We have no firefighting ability, and it caught us completely unprepared. We were lucky the robot firefighters came to help.”

“Robot firefighters?” he asked, being a little confused.

“Yes, a whole brigade came and pretty much put out the fire, and they saved three people that were trapped. Without them, we would have had a disaster. Didn’t the report mention them?”

“Apparently, not fully. It said there was a fire, and some people were saved, and I think there was one sentence that said something about ‘locals providing help. Beyond that, it didn’t mention how much help was provided.”

“They saved us,” was all Bea needed to say.

“Is Serene home? I wanted to see if she wanted to walk to the burn site with me. I want to see it firsthand.”

“No, I expect her any minute. She usually comes home down the street near the fire. If you walk over there, you might run into her. She hasn’t been around much. I think she has a boyfriend.”

“Oh?” he smiled a little then said, “Ok, honey. I’ll be back in a while.”

It was easy to find the burned area, between the smell of smoke and the foot traffic. After a short walk, he turned the corner and saw Serene walking towards him. She was holding hands with MU11.

He slowed a little, waiting for his daughter to see him. She was concentrating too much on the boy with her and didn’t see her father until she was almost in front of him.

“Serene,” was all he needed to say and she stopped in her tracks, looked at MU11, looked at her father then dropped MU11’s hand.

“Dad, you’re … here; already?”

“Yes, I just got back, and I wanted to see the fire. Do you two want to walk over there with me?” He said, avoiding the natural question.

There was silence until they got to the site of the fire. Then he knew that he needed to break the silence acting like nothing was noticed.

“What a mess. I’m glad we didn’t lose anyone. This could have gotten way out of control and taken out most of our houses.”

“We were lucky, if the robot firefighters didn’t come it would have been much worse,” said Serene.

“Yes, your mother told me. She says they saved three people and put out the fire? I should mention that the role the robots played wasn’t clear in official reports that I got.”

For the first time MU11 spoke up, “Commander, the robot community has numerous fire-fighting units around the city. They have units designed to enter burning buildings and remove any trapped units. They also have uniquely designed units for the other elements of firefighting like handling hoses and cleanup. They are very adept at what they do.”

“After the last incident with our Soldiers, I was surprised that they helped,” Harnesy pointed out.

“Sir, you have been designated as ‘units’ so you’ll fall under the Four Laws,” pointed out MU11.

“Dad, other things have happened,” Serene said.

Commander Harnesy surely didn’t like the sound of that.

“What?”

Serene took a few minutes and filled him about the encounter between the soldiers and the 10 units, then she mentioned the time with MU11’s parents and the attack on the organic village. She failed to mention the encounter with the archive.

“Interesting,” was all the Commander could muster, and he was considering the implication when his comm unit came alive.

“Commander Harnesy, this Jaled Tern the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister. She would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience. I have sent a ground transport vehicle to your location. Please acknowledge.”

“Yes, tell the Prime Minister I’ll be there.”

“Maybe the two of you should come with me. I suspect this will be an interesting meeting.”

The ground transport vehicle turned the corner and Commander Harnesy, Serene, and MU11 got in the vehicle. While they traveled, they updated each other on current news. Commander Harnesy avoided mentioning HMSV#1.

The vehicle stopped in front of three homes that the Prime Minister had set up as the leadership area. Reluctantly the Commander got out and led the way into the center house which had a large sign in front which said, PRIME MINISTER BILLINGS.

“Commander, I’m glad you were available. Please be seated.”

“Ma’am, I don’t know if you remember my daughter, this is Serene.”

“Of course, I remember you. Nice to see you again.”

“Ma’am this is MU11 he is one of the resident humans here on Earth.”

To say the silence was uncomfortable was an understatement.

The Prime Minister’s glare rapidly turned to a politician’s smile. “Nice to meet you and this is my Chief of Staff Jaled Tern, please be seated. Commander, … I didn’t expect guests?”

“Ma’am, my daughter is aware of all of the challenges that I’ve encountered, and I think her generation needs to be involved. After all, it will be more their Earth than ours. I invited MU11 because he has lived here his entire life and he knows Helen and Adam. He can provide a significant source of information.”

The PM sat for a minute weighing her options.

“Ok Commander. They can stay.”

“Commander, are you aware of what’s been happening since you left?”

“I know about the fire … and about how the local robotic fire-fighting brigade saved everyone. I’ve also heard of some other incidents.”

She hesitated before responding, “Yes, … they provided some support. And we appreciate it, but that’s not important. We have needs. 5,000 more people are unloading as we speak, including 100 more Soldiers. That along with losing 8 of our houses because of the fire. Our people need more places to live, and I want more of those construction workers to make our houses livable. They are pretty Spartan, and I’m not satisfied.”

“Ms. Prime Minister, I’m not sure why you’re telling me this. I’m the Commander of HSV#4.”

“Well Commander, you have the most experience with these …robot things … so now you’re my ambassador. I’m relieving you of duty on the HSV#4, I’m sure one of your crewmembers can handle the shuttling back and forth. I want to get those houses and construction workers for me.”

“Ma’am those houses around our settlement are occupied,” said the Commander.

“I’m aware of that, but whatever is living in them can more somewhere else. We need those houses.”

As Commander, now Ambassador Harnesy was taking a deep breath, Serene spoke up, “Ma’am, those houses are occupied by the Us and why should they move?”

“Us, what are you talking about.”

“If I’m allowed to contribute, I can clarify that,’ pointed out MU11.

The Prime Minister just glared at him, and she didn’t say no, so he continued.

“The robots as you call them, developed a culture on their own and from their perspective they were everything. At the point that Helen found our DNA and propagated MU1, Helen and the other robots became Us and those of us that were human became Them. That is how we refer to each other. From their perspective, it makes perfect sense. From your perspective, they are merely robots, but from their perspective, they are a living and thriving race of individuals.”

The PM absorbed the last of what MU11 said, shook her head a little and said, “Ok, they call themselves ‘Us,' I don’t care what they call themselves, I want those houses. If you can’t get them, then I’ll use any resources I have available. Is that clear?”

The room fell under an uncomfortable silence for a moment, then Ambassador Harnesy spoke, “What is HMSV#1?”

“How do you know about that ship?” The PM said with a coldness in her voice.

“What I heard, isn’t as important as the fact that I heard it. That is a military vehicle, and it is en route to Earth. What are you planning to do with it?”

Again the room was silent. No one moved, hardly anyone breathed. After a pause that made everyone uneasy, Jaled coughed gently in the corner.

“Ambassador, I have responsibilities, and I plan to satisfy them. That is all that you need to know. Now set up a meeting with this Adam and Helen and get me those houses. You are dismissed.”

Faster than anyone expected, Ambassador Harnesy rose, turned and walked to the door. Serene and MU11 were forced to stand quickly and follow him.

“Ma’am, I’ll make sure they’re on their way, and they set up the meeting,” said Jaled.

“Yes, do what you need to, just make sure that he gets me those houses,” the PM said with a dismissive voice and flick of her hand.

Jaled followed MU11 as he left the room and caught the door before it closed. He slipped through and followed them down the hallway. When they got to the next door, he slipped past MU11 and Serene and grabbed Harnesy’s elbow. “We need to talk,” was all he could say as he dragged the newly appointed Ambassador to a small room by the door.

“Jaled, please, I want to get out off of here. I hope you don’t expect to deliver another message from the PM. I really don’t want to hear anything else from her.”

“Just listen to me for a minute. HMSV#1 is something we all need to be concerned about.”

Now, he had everyone’s attention.

“Go on,” directed Harnesy with more than a little aggravation in his voice.

“HMSV#1 is a military vehicle that has a powerful weapon which she plans to use against the robots, or the Us as they call themselves. It will destroy the robots and then PM Billings will have the entire planet.”

“What is the weapon?” Serene asked.

“It takes the Light Distortion Engine and can focus the distortion. It has a limited range, but it is strong enough to wreak havoc on the robotic population. It was tested on some of our mobile units on Horizon and from orbit, it could fry their circuits.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Jaled stood and looked in his eyes. “Because we aren’t all happy with the way we’ve come back to Earth. The Prime Minister is making decisions…that make some of us uncomfortable.”

“Again, why are you telling me this?”

“We have to find a solution that all of us can live with. I thought you needed to know everything before you talk to the robot leadership.”

“Thanks, but I don’t know what I’m going to do with that information,” then in a gentler voice he said, “thanks for telling me. Now I must set up a meeting and see what can be done.”

Once in their ground transport vehicle, Ambassador Harnesy called his ship, HSV#4, “this is Commander Harnesy.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I wanted to check in with you and give you a heads up. Apparently, the Prime Minister has changed my assignment, and I’m now the Ambassador between the returning humans and the others on Earth.”

“Yes sir, we were just told. The Prime Minister, herself, called and told us that another Commander would be assigned, and you were no longer the Commander of HSV#4. Judging by the sound of her voice, it didn’t sound like a promotion. She sounded pretty angry.”

“You read her pretty well, but don’t worry about it. Can you still connect me with Adam at the Conformity Council?”

“Sir, she didn’t tell us that we couldn’t. Stand bye.”

Ambassador Harnesy looked at his daughter and her ‘guest’ and said, “I want both of you to attend the meeting with Helen and Adam. I think we all will need the best people available to resolve this.”

“Sir, the connection is made. Go ahead.”

“Thanks. Adam this is Leopold Harnesy.”

“Yes, Commander Harnesy. It is a pleasure to talk with you again.”

“Adam, my job has changed I’m no longer the Commander of the HSV#4. Prime Minister Billings appointed me as the Ambassador between our two peoples.”

“Ambassador. I appreciate that change. We acknowledge what you have done, and I’m sure it is best to have you interface with us. Is that the only reason why you have called?”

“I would like to have a meeting with you as soon as possible, there are a couple of topics that we need to discuss.”

“Certainly, Ambassador. Perhaps we can meet at 8:00 in the morning.”

Ambassador Harnesy was uneasy waiting that long, but he didn’t want to press too hard.

“That is acceptable, and I expect Helen to be in attendance?”

“Yes, she will be.”

“For your information, I’ll be bringing Serene, my daughter and MU11, who is one of the humanoids from your village.”

“That is acceptable, I know MU11 well. I will see you at 8:00 then.”

“HSV#4, please terminate the connection.”

“Disconnected.”

“MU11 are you comfortable being there?”

“Yes, I have been working closely with MU1 and FU1 and doing research within the archives. I have participated in discussions with Adam and the council. I think I can be a valued source of information for both sides of the discussion.”

“Great, I think we’ll need all of the help that we can get. We’ll meet you there then?”

“Yes,”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ambassador Harnesy and Serene waited outside of the Conformity Council Chambers until MU11 arrived. When they were ready, the unit near the front door opened it for them, and they entered, and sat down.

“Good morning Adam, Helen. I’m glad that we’ll be able to talk. Adam, I’d like to discuss a couple of things. First off you’re aware that I brought another 5,000 humans and an additional 100 Soldiers with me from Horizon?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m sure that you’re aware of the fire that we had in our residential area?”

“Yes, I am aware of that also. It was fortunate that our firefighters were able to respond and save three of your units.”

“It was indeed, and we are grateful.”

Ambassador took a long breath before broaching the next subject, “Our Prime Minister would like more of the homes in our area to support our new arrivals and also to replace the ones that were damaged. She is also requesting more support from your construction units so that the houses we have currently can be modified so they are more suited to our needs.”

It was Adam’s turn to sit quietly.

“Ambassador, you must be aware that will be a difficult request to satisfy. We were able to find housing for the first of your units. We had to displace our units to accommodate you. It will be more difficult to continue moving them as the area you occupy expands. If we were able, it would still take a long time for us to build houses for our units. I’m afraid that we can’t satisfy your request in any reasonable amount of time.”

“Adam, I expected that answer. I am the one speaking with you, but I am not the human who is making the request. I’m afraid that any answer that doesn’t satisfy the Prime Minister will be difficult for her to deal with. She has 300 Soldiers who she may use to get what she wants. I’d hate to have another confrontation between the Soldiers and your units.”

“Ambassador, that last incident resulted in the loss of units which violates our Second Law and is not an acceptable solution.”

“Adam, I understand your adherence to the Second Law. I’m also obligated to warn you that the Prime Minister will use any weapon at her disposal to get what she wants. I also must tell you about a weapon that might become available to her. A weapon that she might use.”

“Ambassador, 3:42 minutes ago a ship similar to HSV#4 arrived in our solar system and will enter orbit in 2:42 minutes. Is that the weapon that you are suggesting?”

“I’m not sure, but I suspect that it might be. I don’t know what it is capable of, but I do know that the Prime Minister developed it in secrecy after she heard of you living on Earth.”

“Ambassador we have …,” and Adam stopped mid-sentence.

“Adam? Helen, is there something wrong?” Asked MU11.

The pause lingered for another couple of minutes then Adam spoke, “Apparently the Prime Minister has decided to take action. We are receiving reports that her Soldiers are forcibly removing units from homes around your area. Some of them have been rendered inoperable which is a violation of our Second Law.”

Harnesy was dumbfounded and angry. The Prime Minister made him the interface with Adam then she starts the action without telling him and putting him in a horrible position? She set him up. That was a thought that burst into his mind.

“Ambassador, this meeting has ended. Helen and I are going to the site of the confrontation, and there is an event that I must initiate,” he stood for a moment, and it was obvious that he was transmitting a message. When he was done, he stated, “you may come with us.”

With that statement, Adam and Helen stood and walked from the room. Ambassador Harnesy, Serene, and MU11 had no choice but to follow them.

Coming out of the elevator on the bottom floor, MU11 pulled Serene aside and said, “I’ve got to tell MU1 and FU1 and the others. If we aren’t involved now, I think we will be soon enough. He turned and left without waiting for a response from Serene. All she could do was turn and follow her father who was, in turn, following Adam and Helen. They exited the building, and Adams’ ground transport was already parked and waiting. Suddenly Helen stopped, and Adam stopped with her. It was an abrupt stop and Ambassador Harnesy suspected that something else happened. When he and Serene caught up to them, it was almost as it Adam was comforting Helen. He touched her arm and after a moment she moved again, and they got in the car. Serene and her father climbed in behind them.

When they were settled, Harnesy asked, “Do you have an update on what’s happening?”

Adam turned slightly and said, “Yes the Soldiers are moving our units out of their homes. Many of the units don’t know where to go and are hesitating. The Soldiers are perceiving that as resistance and in many cases, they have used their weapons. Many of our units are now offline. Unfortunately, Helen’s partner Lorenzo appears to be one of the units that have stopped transmitting.”

Adam made that announcement in a very ‘matter of fact’ tone, and it took a few moments for Serene and the Ambassador to grasp what he was saying. They looked at each other and didn’t know how to act. “Helen’s spouse may have been caught up in this?” Harnesy whispered to his daughter. “I never thought, they actually had spouses,” He added.

Serene touched her dad’s hand and whispered back, “There is a lot that you don’t know about them. They bond for life, and they have children, sort of.”

“Where is MU11,” Harnesy asked, for the first time noticing that he wasn’t with them.

“He went to his people. He wanted them to know about what is happening. They are really caught in the middle. Do you think the Prime Minister did this on purpose?”

“Absolutely, I really don’t know why, but I think she set me up. I do know that she considers the robots on Earth to be an inconvenience to her plans.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The ride was only a few more minutes, and as they got close to the conflict area, the foot traffic on the streets seemed to be going in one direction: away from the conflict.

“What’s happening now?” Harnesy asked.

“We are transmitting to the units on the periphery of the conflict that they are to leave the area. Unfortunately, your transmitters in the center of the conflict are interfering with our communications and many of our units are getting incomplete or conflicting information. Apparently, your Soldiers are continuing to clear out houses, and if the robots don’t comply immediately, they are fired upon.”

“Dad, what do we do?” Serene asked with noticeable stress in her eyes. Her father was caught in the middle. He was representing a leader that couldn’t be trusted, one that had disregarded all of his recommendations and who had ordered the Soldiers to ‘kill’ innocent robots. Suddenly he felt that he finally saw the situation clearly, the Prime Minister had indeed set him up and directed the Soldiers to clear out the robots. Every ounce of his leadership and command skills shouted in his brain that they didn’t deserve to be killed, they were a living civilization.

As they got closer to the center of conflict, the streets were more chaotic. Robots that understood what was happening were trying to get away. Some of them were staggering which implied they had been wounded. They turned the last corner and approached a large square where four large roads came together, and three groups were immediately evident. On the side they were approaching was about 100 robot units and they were acting confused, likely from the radio traffic of the military units nearby, About 50 meters away were about 25 Soldiers moving on the robot units. Behind the Soldiers were about 100 of the Horizon returnees, that seemed to be following the Soldiers. Not in a way to force them, but just to follow, likely because they didn’t understand what was happening.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ambassador Harnesy sensed comm traffic coming to him through his personal communicator. He hated the distraction but sensed that he should make the connection and mentally accept the call.

“Sir, this is Ensign Muinez on HSV#4.”

“Ensign, what is it, I have a problem down here””

“There is something unusual happening,” said the Earth Survey Engineer, who was seated to the Commander’s right on the bridge.

“What is it?”

“I’m picking up a massive increase in power concentrated in an area about 50 Kilometers from the Capital. It’s coming from beneath a mountain.”

“Sir, the power characteristics are those of a weapon. Beneath the mountain there is either a circular energy storage container or spherical, I can’t tell which. It is huge, and I think that it’s getting ready to be released.”

“That circular energy pattern is below the ground. If you look in the center, you can see a stronger concentration. Sir, the amount of energy is massive. From this perspective, I can’t tell if it is a sphere or circle, so it’s not clear what the total volume is.”

“Standby I think something is going to happen,” the engineer said.

Almost at the instant, the engineer completed his sentence the center of the pattern flashed, and HSV#4’s alarms all went off at once.

Harnesy could hear the alarms in the background and yelled, “What happened?”

Even though he asked the question, he didn’t get an immediate response. Harnesy’s former crew was frantically trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together to form an answer. Then the Core Sustainment Engineer responded to the Ambassador, “Sir both cores are deteriorating rapidly. We’ve lost 29% of our energy material, and the decay is slowing but continuing.”

“What, that’s impossible.”

“There was a massive disruption in the magnetic containment fields and in the time, it took them to stabilize almost 30 % of our Sun Material deteriorated into stable Helium.”

“Has the magnetic field stabilized?” he yelled to be heard over the chaos in the streets around him.

“Yes, sir. The variation lasted only a moment, but it was long enough for the material to decay 30%. We don’t have enough power to go back to Horizon.”

The ambassador’s eyes were large, and his breaths were deep. As long as the magnetic fields had stabilized the integrity of the ship was assured. But the loss of energy was a crisis. Now he had to get this other deteriorating situation under control before it got out of hand and many lives would be lost.

“Stop the car,” Ambassador Harnesy yelled. When it slowed, he was out of it and running to a point between the fleeing, confused robot, and the Soldiers. When Serene saw what her father was doing, she bailed out of the other car door and was quickly catching up with him.

It took only a minute for them to sprint to a point between the advancing Soldiers and confused robot units.

“Stop this,” he shouted as he put up his hands and faced the Soldiers. “This is not right; you know who I am. I brought you here, you listen to me.”

The lead Soldier responded by increasing the volume on his helmet speaker, and he said, “Sir, we are under direct orders from the Prime Minister. She has directed us to clear this area.”

“Lt. listen to me. Your communicators are interfering with the robot’s communications and that’s why they aren’t complying. They are confused, and you are causing it. Stop firing on them and turn off your gear.”

“Sorry sir, but we need to communicate with each other and our commanders. The Prime Minister just restated her orders a few minutes ago, and we have been directed to continue.”

During the discussion, the humans behind the Soldiers had caught up to them, and they were only a few meters behind them and listening. Just as the Soldiers began to advance again and raise their weapons, Serene noticed movement to her left. To her surprise and horror MU11 was in front followed by MU1 and FU1 and the entire group of humans. They raced across the open area and joined with Serene and the Ambassador.

The Soldiers stopped and immediately recognized the new participants as being human. Once the humans behind them saw the group that was forming between the Soldiers and robot units, one of them shouted, “They saved our lives and our homes, we can’t take away any more of theirs.”

With that statement, many of the humans behind the Soldiers either sifted through the Soldier’s lines or ran around it and joined the growing group in the middle.

That put the Soldier leadership in a quandary. Their communication traffic increased which caused more confusion among the robots who were being cornered. The Soldiers had no choice but to stop their advance. They stood in a group waiting for direction from their leadership.

Ambassador Harnesy saw the front row of Soldiers part and Jaled Tern the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff walked through. He stood for a moment looking at the situation then he walked briskly towards Harnesy and the mixed group of people behind him.

“Ambassador, we seem to have a situation here.”

“Yes, we do,” replied the Ambassador. “What are you going to do about it?”

Tern was visibly uncomfortable and shifted from one foot to another before speaking, “The Prime Minister gave these Soldiers specific orders, and you’re preventing them from carrying them out.”

“Tern, do you know what is happening here? These units have just as much of a right to their homes as we would if our homes were taken from us. They may be robots from our perspective, but they are in charge of their lives, and they have created a viable civilization.”

It appeared that Tern was thinking as he looked at the group in front of him and he seemed to focus on MU11 and his group of humans.”

Ambassador Harnesy followed his eyes and felt the need to speak up and hit that issue, once and for all.”

“Tern, these people standing beside me are human beings. They are just as much a human as you or I am. The first generation was created from DNA, which was left by our ancestors. Their subsequent generations are just like us. They have a place here, and they deserve to be respected.”

Tern actually walked in a circle thinking and trying to come up with a solution.

“I’m going to point out one other fact,” Harnesy added, “These robots that your Soldiers have ‘killed’ were confused because the Soldiers’ comm equipment was interfering with their internal communication abilities. They were waiting for information from their kind. All they knew was, they were being removed from their homes, and they elected not to follow directions. So your Soldiers killed them. They are lost, and they will not be able to contribute to their society, their essence has been lost from their civilization. I was meeting with their leadership, per the PM’s direction to resolve this. She acted unilaterally and started this conflict. Is that the kind of leadership you can stand behind?”

Tern continued to pace glancing towards the Ambassador and looking around the group.

“Jaled, we have a complicated problem, and it won’t be solved with this kind of action. I propose that you I and go to the Prime Minister, explain what has happened and try to find a way to work this out.”

Finally, Tern looked like he was making a decision, “Ok, Ambassador I agree let's meet with the PM and try to find a way out of this.”

Jaled walked to the Lt. commanding the Soldiers and talked to him, “Lt. I am the Deputy Prime Minister, under my authority you are directed to remain in position and do nothing to put any of these human beings or ‘units’ in jeopardy. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, sir.”

The stress in the group around the Ambassador seemed to lessen, and Harnesy turned briefly, indicated for Helen, Adam, Serene and MU11 to come with him. Helen and Adam began to follow, but Serene and MU11 stood motionless holding hands.

“Aren’t you coming? I need you with me.”

Serene looked at MU11 then her father and said, “Dad we have somewhere else to go, a place where we can contribute.”

“I need you with me,” he pleaded.

“Dad, you won’t understand, but trust me. This isn’t over, and we’ll be more effective doing what we need to do.”

That was the first time that Leopold Harney’s daughter had stood her ground so firmly, and the Ambassador had no choice but to respect her decision.

“Ok, do what you must. I’ll find you after this is over, and we’ll talk,” he said in a manner that showed respect for what she needed to do, even though he didn’t understand her actions.

“MU1, FU1 can you come? I need you to be there.”

“Yes, we’d be happy to go with you,” FU1 responded.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Once they got in the transport vehicle, the Ambassador said, “Jaled, you need to know that as a result of this incident a weapon has been fired upon HSV#4 and the power supply has dropped by 30%. That means that we don’t have enough power to return to Horizon. We are either isolated here until HSV#5 arrives or we take a high stakes gamble and go to the local sun to refuel.”

Ambassador Harnesy had stated the facts for those in the vehicle and specifically for Adam and Helen. He knew they had fired the weapon, and they needed to know the impacts.

“Ambassador, you may assume that I directed the use of that weapon,” said Adam. For a second the vehicle was dead silent even though it was moving to the Prime Minister’s location.

“It is my job and that of the Conformity Council to follow our Four Laws. The termination of units had to cease and your Prime Minister had to be encouraged to go down a different path. The weapon was intended as a demonstration of resolve that your leadership would recognize. We were unsure of its effects on your ship, but we expected a significant result, and we are glad that there was no loss of units.”

After that explanation, there was little to add, so the ambassador made an announcement “Jaled, it is time that you meet these ‘other’ residents of Earth. This is Adam, who is the leader of the Conformity Council. The Conformity Council are chartered with adhering to their Four Laws of Conformity. This is Helen, she was the unit that discovered the hidden DNA, and she was able to create the first generation of humans on Earth in over a thousand years. Finally, this is MU1 and FU1 who were the first two humans created, and they were the first of their generation.”

Jaled took a deep breath and shook each of their hands. It wasn’t a huge sign, but definitely the action of a man who has just accepted other equal partners in solving a problem.

“Ok, tell me about Earth,” was all he said, and it opened up a good discussion that brought them together.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene and MU11 made their way quickly to the human Village. They knew where they were going, and they knew, they had changed, and they knew that they would contribute to a larger solution for everyone. They knew that the Earth of the future would be above and beyond what anyone could foresee. They knew that a power was emerging, and they realized that it was larger than either of them. They were just the door through which the changes would emerge.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Ambassador Harnesy, Jaled and the vehicle containing Helen, Adam, MU1 and FU1 stopped at the communications center for the humans, and they got out looking for the PM. They knew she would be there trying to lead the Soldier’s in action in other parts of the city. Besides the Soldiers they had encountered, there were other actions occurring and she needed to be in the lead. Other Us were dying.

“Where is the PM?” Jaled yelled to the first person he saw. He got a quick wave indicating that the PM was inside. They rushed in and saw her in a room that was set aside for radio traffic, and she was talking over the comm system. Jaled gave a hand signal to his subordinate the leader of the Military who reported to him, indicating to him to follow them.

The Ambassador, Jaled and the military commander walked in on her last sentence. “I don’t care Commander that was a direct order.”

“Prime Minister Billings, we need to talk. The situation in the city is changing, and I don’t think we’re doing the right thing.”

“Too late, the problem will be solved in a few minutes,” she responded.

“What do you mean?” Harnesy said with an edge in his voice.

“Who are these others… and why are they here?” She said with indignation in her voice.

Adam spoke first, “I am Adam, and I speak for the Us on this planet. Your military is killing our units in a violation of our Second Law. You must stop.”

“And who are you?” she directed to Helen.

“I am Helen, and I discovered the DNA,” which the PM acknowledged with a un-impressed head nod. “I know who you are and what you think you are,” she said looking at MU1 and FU1.

“What do you mean the problem will be solved,” yelled Ambassador Harnesy.

“I just directed the Commander of HMSV#1 to use his weapon on the capital. That weapon will solve all of our problems.”

“You mean it will solve your problems,” Harnesy responded.

“What will this weapon do,” Adam asked.

“It may disrupt your processor circuits,” responded Harnesy with a nod from Jaled, “It will kill your units.”

Jaled jumped in, “Prime Minister Billings, your actions are not in line with our laws and I will direct the military to cease all aggressive actions until we can work through these problems.”

“Go ahead,” she responded. They aren’t the ones you need to worry about.

“What do you mean,” asked MU1.

“HMSV#1 is what she means,” responded Jaled.

“Colonel get the Commander on the radio. I am taking over for the Prime Minister and we are stopping all actions.”

“Sir, I’m sorry. But the PM gave the Commander orders to turn off his radio until after his mission was complete.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene and MU11 ran into the village and went directly to the Archive Sphere. They knew why they were there. They didn’t know what they were going to do, but they knew they had access to a tool that could be much more powerful that any of the other players.

They stood on opposite sides of the sphere and looked at each other then they put their hands on it.

Suddenly they saw, they didn’t use their eyes, yet they saw everything and heard everything. They were no longer in the archive room, but  they were everywhere. They saw the group confronting the Prime Minister, they saw HMSV#1 in orbit, they saw what the Commander was preparing to do, and they even saw the people on Horizon waiting excitedly for their turn to travel to Earth. The solution was simple.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

HMSV#1 was no longer in orbit around Earth, it was in deep space 52.7 light years away. The crew didn’t feel anything; they didn’t notice anything until the Earth vanished. The Commander didn’t know what happened, how it happened or why it happened. He also knew that it would take many weeks of calculations to find a way to return to either Earth’s orbit or Horizon. Their mathematics weren’t written for a long jump from that position in space, so they had a lot of work to do.

Everyone in the Prime Minister’s room knew immediately that HMSV#1 was gone. They didn’t know where it went or how it got there, the only thing they knew that it was no longer in orbit.

“Ms. Billings, I don’t know how I know it, but HMSV#1 is no longer an issue,” said the Ambassador to a room of confused people and robots, yet they all understood. “We all need to talk.”

“Ambassador, you work for me. I’m taking steps to protect Earth from these…robots…and what they created. You will do what I tell you.”

Ambassador Harnesy looked at Jaled and made a simple statement, “Please remove her.”

There was only a moment’s hesitation before Jaled nodded to the Soldier at his side and the ex-Prime Minister was escorted from the room, in spite of her screaming.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The first discussion took only an hour. The only agreement was that they needed to slow down and work together to find a solution. Prime Minister Harnesy lead the discussion, and all actions against the robots were stopped.

“Now that we have to wait for HSV#5 to be finished and come here, we have time to figure out the best solution for all of us.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Serene and MU11 smiled. They knew what they had done, they knew what was happening. They knew what Leopold Harnesy was saying, and they knew when HSV#5 would enter orbit. They also knew, they had time to solve the problems that the people from Horizon brought to Earth.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Helen went to her home. Approaching her neighborhood, she slowed, and she approached the residence that she had shared with Lorenzo and Thomas. She didn’t know what she would find, but it would be difficult. What she was feeling wasn’t normal for creatures of her kind. She had feelings that were new to her, and they were very uncomfortable.

Helen turned the corner and saw the front of her home and the shape of her partner on the grass in front. She slowed her vehicle, never taking her eyes off of Lorenzo’s form. Parking the transport vehicle seemed to take more concentration than normal, but she accomplished it. She got out of the vehicle and turned to approach the motionless form of Lorenzo. She had no concept of how to deal with the loss. All she could think of doing was to remember all of  their time together and save the memories so they would be uploaded to the archive when her time came.

####

The End

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Epilogue

Thank you for reading this book. Two parts of the story, “Progeny” and “Circle is Closed” were originally written as short stories. They complimented each other and covered two points of time in this larger story. After I wrote them, I saw the potential of creating an interesting moral dilemma. So, I combined the stories and filled in the rest.

This story allowed me to explore another type of evil. Unfortunately, evil is usually depicted in a simplistic form in most Science Fiction literature. The antagonist is an evil computer or evil corporation or just an evil creature, but the author just leaves it at that. I like stories that take evil in different directions, and I hope this book does that.

Evil is always in the eyes of one side of the conflict but not the other. In this book, humanity was put in a difficult position, and some of their options could easily be seen as evil. But from their perspective, some of them didn’t think so.

I hope you think about evil in literature and possibly reading this book will give you something else to think about.

Ray Jay Perreault

http://rayjayperreault.com

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About the Author

Ray was born in New Hampshire, received his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering at Arizona State University.  Now retired from an influential, multi-decade career in aerospace, Ray is excited to join the Allport Productions team as he carves a new path as a leader in eBook, audio book and digital book authorship, production and consulting.

Bringing a new voice to science fiction writing, Ray realized there was a niche that was calling him as he began to write deeper characters, create more sophisticated stories and realistic situations for Sci-Fi fans to relate to.

Initially attracted to heroic characters with powerful weapons taking on hundreds of aliens, Ray began his literary career with a desire to extrapolate Sci-Fi stories with a touch of everyday reality that most of us experience in work and our every-day lives.

His literary work is thoughtfully enriched by his decade long experience in the US Air Force where he flew C-130s on missions to 27 countries, and T-38s while training the best pilots in the world, as well as the first female US Air Force pilots.

During his 28 years at Northrup Grumman, Ray worked on some of the most top-secret military aircraft projects in the world including the F-23, F-35, B-2, Global Hawk and many more that can’t be named.

He is grateful to his wife, Charlene and his two daughters, Christine and Robynn for their support on this new journey.

Books By Ray Jay Perreault

“Science Fiction Anthology Vol 1 2nd Edition”

(eBook, Audible Book)

“Progeny” - "This is true science fiction…"

“The Greatest Host” – “did a nice job writing this."

“Circle is Closed” – “Very interesting story…

“Good Morning”- "A perfect short story"

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“Earth II – You Have no Honor” Bk3

(eBook)

End of Man’s First Epoch

“Surprise ending that sets this one apart from other Sci-Fi's. Loved it.”

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“Earth II – Rebirth” Bk4

4 th Book

To be released August 2016

To be released August 2016

“Virus-72 Hours to Live” Bk1

(eBook, Audible Book)

Earth is attacked by a suspicious Virus and one computer is programmed to help man and the other has another agenda

"Like I said, excellent story!"

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“Virus - Earth’s Last Battle”-Bk2

(eBook)

Earth finds out who attacked them.

“I would recommend this book to anyone”

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Novellas By Ray Jay Perreault

“SIMPOC – The Thinking Computer” Bk1

(eBook, Audible Book)

Virus attacks Earth, a good computer and a bad computer

What could go wrong?

"This was a fascinating story."

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“SIMPOC-Human Remnants” Bk2

(eBook, Audible Book)

The source of the virus appears…

"Loved the story and the characters."

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Short Stories By Ray Jay Perreault

“Progeny”

(eBook, Audible Book)

"If you want an old school pure science sci fi take, then this is for you."

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“The Greatest Host”

(eBook, Audible Book)

"Neat little science fiction story about a lifeform called the Mists."

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“Circle is Closed”

(eBook, Audible Book)

"Very interesting story and I can see a connection with Progeny."

Amazon Link

“Good Morning”

(eBook, Audible Book)

"A definite change from your traditional scif fi stories"

Amazon Link

“Science Fiction Anthology Vol 1 2nd Edition”

(eBook, Audible Book)

Collection of all of the Sci-Fi Short stories above

Amazon Link

Contact the Author

I love to get any comments from you. Please drop me and let me know what you thought.

mailto:rayjaywriter@yahoo.com

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Ray Jay Perreault Free Book

Please Provide Your Opinion of this Book

Other Interesting Works by Ray Jay Perreault

Part 1 Earth Was Tired

Part 2 Four Laws of Conformity

Part 3 The Trip

Part 4 HSV#2 Launch

Part 5 The Party

Part 6 The Jump

Part 7 The Meeting

Part 8 The Return

Part 9 Conformity Council Reacts

Part 10 One More Celebration

Part 11 The Return

Part 12 In Orbit

Part 13 On the Ground

Part 14 HSV#4 Return

Please Post a Review

Ray Jay Perreault Free Book

Epilogue

About the Author

Books By Ray Jay Perreault

Novellas By Ray Jay Perreault

Short Stories By Ray Jay Perreault

Contact the Author