Galactic Breach by JN Chaney & Christopher Hopper

Author:JN Chaney & Christopher Hopper [Chaney, JN & Hopper, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2019-08-10T06:00:00+00:00

Awen, Ezo, and Sootriman lounged along the ground surrounding the orb, their legs hanging over the floor of the first row of workstations, backs resting against the railing’s upright posts. TO-96 faced them, his back to the orb.

“I guess my first question—our first question—might be where the Novia Minoosh came from,” Awen said.

“A very insightful starting point,” TO-96 replied. “The Novia, as I shall henceforth refer to them since the name is rather cumbersome and you already know—”

“We’ve got it, ’Six. Good call. Move along.”

“Yes, sir. The Novia feel that conveying their entire evolutionary history is unnecessary at this point. Suffice it to say that eleven hundred years prior to this date, they were technologically advanced enough that an evolutionary leap into a quantum state was the next logical step in their development as a species.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Ezo said. “You mean to tell me that they willingly left their naturally evolved bodies to… become a collective consciousness?”

“In a manner of speaking, that is precisely what they did.”

Ezo was slack-jawed.

Awen felt her own disbelief picking an ethical fight with this alien species. “Why would they want to do that?” she asked, trying her best to hold her incredulity at bay.

“Their society had long since incorporated the many benefits of their technological affluence into their daily lives. As I am informed, the final leap was not as drastic as you might imagine.”

“Uh, leaving my body for a computer system seems pretty drastic,” Sootriman said. “Anyone?”

Ezo nodded emphatically, but Awen did her best to exude a nonplussed disposition.

“You mentioned the ‘many benefits,’ Ninety-Six,” Awen stated. “Am I correct in assuming there were also detractors?”

“There were. The Novia became so reliant on their advancements that certain elements of natural life became vestigial.”

“What elements?”

“Chiefly, organic forms of communication.”

“Organic forms of communication?” Awen asked.

“Spoken dialogue, physical touch—”

“Excuse me?” Sootriman said, leaning forward. “They stopped talking to one another? They stopped touching?”

Ezo gasped. “You mean, they stopped having sex?”

“Speech became too slow, contingent upon even slower means of assimilation and transmission. It was subject to gross misinterpretation as well. Visual stimulation, however, required less work and increased the rate of transmission. Most Novia began living more connected to their infrastructure than not, though several of their kind resisted the evolutionary move.

Once it was discovered that data could be sent through optic nerves and eventually directly into the brain, devices were replaced with code. It was then that the prospect of a single interconnected state of existence emerged as the most logical and viable step forward. The natural body was regarded as inferior—prone to disease, age, and inevitable failure. But a quantum existence eliminated those realities altogether. So the move was made, and the Novia divested themselves of their bodies in favor of the singularity.”

Awen actually thought she might be sick. She was not trying to judge this species—truly, she wasn’t. What they chose to do was their decision. She just couldn’t believe that they’d chosen to do it. Then again, she didn’t know what they’d faced in the natural realm.

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