Neil tried her hardest to comprehend that number. Over seven thousand years. The first one was older than all of humanities civilized history. The knowledge she must have accumulated in that time had to be immense. The memories of hundreds of thousands - no - millions of days stored in that perfect memory. That alone was already inconceivable.

But Nyar had brought all that with her, on top of her own thousand years of memories. And then there even more of her species. At least tens of thousands more. How many were older than Nyar? Her mind was racing and it only now truly hit Neil what immortality meant in this context.

Just trying to get the barest idea of all the time Nyar’s mind held, hit the limits of her imagination and she thought to have gotten a glimpse of what truly could be called eternity. If every single individual of her species also held all that knowledge - well, she found only the entirety of the internet to be comparable in sheer volume.

The humans had meticulously collected so much information through all of their history and in the last two centuries mostly worked on making it accessible and usable by every single individual. And there was Nyar, rivalling all that on her own.

Neil let herself drop heavily into the chair. The weight of the endless questions bouncing around her mind simply flattened her. Her whole remaining lifetime would not suffice to learn all that she wanted to know.

“Nyar, I cannot put into words how little I can comprehend what it would mean to be over seven thousand years old. I hope you agree when I say that comparing our history and timelines doesn’t make much sense.”

She put her hands up and dug her fingers into her curly hair as she continued: “I do know now that it’s impossible for me to learn more than a tiny part of the first one’s life, but I would at least like to hear if she found her child again. If it’s ok, I’d like you to continue the story.”

Behind the barrier, Nyar lowered her head to be at eye-height to Neil.

The booming voice of the translator spoke: “I will gladly tell you.”

“The first one had spent two cycles in a constant state of movement with the goal to find fast breeder nests and her offspring. And in the storm periods she had foregone hibernation and focused her mind on pulling knowledge out of her memories and observations. She found methods to induce order in her mind, which were the early forms of meditation, and proceeded to solve the scientific problems that stood before her. It was her first foray into the discovery of fundamental laws of the mathematical universe.

“The wakefulness came at a great energy cost though, and left her with an intense hunger after the storms. This had significantly influenced her biology and made her body skip the creation of another offspring during the seventh time of abundance. But it had also given her unprecedented understanding about the world and she had improved her armor and fighting technique to a degree where she had become nearly impervious to the fast breeder attacks.

“During the following cycle’s cooling period she was then reunited with her offspring as she attacked a hunting group of predators. “It had been a surprise and also a moment of great joy when her offspring joined her in support.

“Remarkable had also been the change in her offspring, as she now not only displayed a sharp increase in intelligence but also communicated that she had joined in the first one’s agency in the time of separation - to cull the fast breeders and protect the ancestor species. Only after the time in solitude did she become the second one of my species.”

Nyar fell silent and Neil thought for a moment that she was already done with the story and was about to say something, when the translator cut her off: “The time after their reunion is not a time I can speak about lightly. The first one allowed herself to conceive more offspring and so did the second one.

“Of the five offspring becoming independent through the following six cycles, only three returned from their juvenile solitude. The first one understood that for the survival of my species, the fast breeder predators must be eradicated completely as the forest was receding in the endless advance of the desert.”

“Did they kill all fast breeders?”, Neil could not stop herself from interjecting.

A minute passed before the answer came, seemingly turning the booming voice of the translator into a somber shadow of itself: “Yes.”

But Nyar then quickly continued as if the interruption did not happen: “By the time the last predators in the forest were hunted down, my species had understood the principles that governed atmospheric flight enough to build gliding wing craft. With them they crossed the desert expanse to seek out the forest they assumed to be on the other side.

“Though they found fertile lands, they noticed them to be devoid of my ancestral species as the predators had taken down all of them. My species resumed the campaign of eradication there until there were truly no fast breeders left on the origin world.

”The number of individuals had reached seven-hundred and fifty-six and would remain so for the next two millenia as my species worked on conserving the remaining resources. What then followed, you had called the space age.”

Silence, was it another pause? Neil could feel the weight of this story and the things it implied. Nyar’s emotionless storytelling was actually a positive thing in this case as at least it spared Neil the turmoil these memories must cause.

“I’m so sorry”, she said quietly.

---

This reaction was unexpected. The emotions coming from Sam were entirely sympathetic and she so strongly emanated reassuring and consoling sentiments, that their warmth surprisingly pushed away the fear, distress and deeply entrenched shame that had come with these memories.

“I don’t understand”, Nyar unwittingly put her confusion into words.

Sam began explaining, with unchanged emotions, that she had difficulties properly relating to these events - even though she very clearly did not. She continued to talk about the past of the humans, when they had been prey to other animals and as a remnant of that time still feared the darkness. And of different times when the human species as a whole had such an unpredictable future ahead of them that multiple generations were broken by the anxiety.

Though she made clear that there was a great distinction between this evolved fear and the second-hand knowledge of history and what Nyar’s species felt as they had practically lived through it by having these memories.

She made the point again that she could not relate to having to live with all of her ancestor’s memories being available so vividly and still having this kind of impact seven thousand years later. That was why she had expressed her sympathy, as she saw that every individual of Nyar’s species must overcome this entire history as soon as they matured enough to synchronize their knowledge to then hold it as if they had lived through it.

Nyar was utterly taken away by this revelation. She had noticed Sam’s compassion before, but to see that this human, a tiny being with limited lifespan and a past lost to dead memories, could understand Nyar’s species in such a way was astounding.

Right then she felt that she could put the trust of the world into Sam’s hands, but she needed to keep herself from becoming lost in these thoughts. This was a diplomatic meeting between two whole species after all - one that turned out to be much more rewarding than she could have ever hoped when she received those initial transmissions.

“Thank you, Sam. I see now that our meeting must soon come to an end as I need to return to the origin world.”

Worry and surprise swung with Sam’s question if she had said or done something wrong.

“You have not done wrong once since we first met. I merely have the desire to relay what I have learned so our species can truly begin a friendship. Never before have I held knowledge this precious and important, so I am eager to return as quickly as possible. Though if you have any further important questions, I will remain to answer them.”

---

Hundreds of questions popped up in her mind at once, each seemingly more important than the last. And it was hard enough keeping her head straight without the added pressure of Nyar seemingly rather keen on leaving - which she could not quite shake feeling like a bad sign despite the reassurances.

Somehow she did manage to prioritize and first asked: “Do you mind telling me where your origin world is, so we won’t get into your territory by mistake?”

“There would be no issue with human ships visiting the origin world, my species will welcome you even without the knowledge I’ve obtained. Nevertheless, I am unable to provide you the location as I cannot express my system of navigation with language.”

“Well, how far away is it?” Neil asked before quickly adding: “We measure stellar distance in light-years. That is the length of space light travels in vacuum within one Earth year - which in this case is three-hundred sixty-five point twenty-five days.”

She noticed Nyar’s gaze shifting and turned her head to see that those black eyes were probably fixed on the mechanical clock. A long pause followed which made it clear for Neil that there were some calculations going on.

“The distance to the world of origin from here is ten-thousand and twelve point five light years”, the translator interrupted the silence.

When the number ten came, she was surprised - after the word thousand followed, she was deeply shocked. The energy necessary to travel that distance would probably be impossibly large. If Neil were to use her ship, the power needs would probably rival that of entire nations. There was no worry that humans could stumble upon that territory - it was straight-up impossible.

“I think I may have explained it badly. You see, Earth is a bit more than two-hundred light years away and I needed a catapult to come here quick enough. To get back I’d probably need to split the journey into twenty or so parts and it’ll take me about a month.”

And just to verify her assumption she added the question: “Do you know the distance to the closest star from here and how long it would take you to travel there?”

“It is four point two light years away, but since I do not know the path to it, I can only assume from the distance that I would have to travel less than a day to reach it. Please understand, distance is irrelevant in space travel as only the chosen path will dictate the travel time.”

Neil stuck her fingers deep into her curly hair and massaged her scalp. The distance was correct as she remembered from the charts when she looked up the meeting place coordinates. So Nyar also had the ability to travel with breathtaking efficiency. She would leave those questions for the astro-physicists though and asked something else instead.

“Do you want to tell me why you can’t send a message to others of your species about this meeting instead of going back?”

“My species cannot use our inherent ability to share knowledge across a distance that vast and the information density is greatly reduced when translating it into other forms of energy so it may be sent. It would not be befitting the importance of this knowledge to warp it and so rob it of its full context.”

One question crystallized from this reply that she immediately posed: “Your species does not know of this meeting?”

“I was not alone when I had received the first messages and the other individual has taken that knowledge back to the world of origin.”

“Oh, okay”, Neil said in reply while she tried to figure out how to phrase the next question. “What is the name of your species? You keep saying ‘my species’, but do you have a name like you have one for yourself?”

Nyar’s large head turned and she shifted her massive frame before replying through the translator: “We do not have a name. If you need a name for my species to identify us to other humans, you may now select one of your choosing since this language system is yours.”

Did she understand right that she was supposed to give Nyar’s species a name? She had a hard time keeping her voice straight when she asked for clarification: “You want me to name your species?”

“Yes”, the translator replied while behind the transparent barrier Nyar’s head went up and down.

Now she very much felt put on the spot. In official documents they had been named after the system where their first signals had been received - a numerical designation. For a moment she pondered if it would be best that she should just come up with a new word, but then she remembered that she didn’t need to do that.

“What do you think of ‘initaurii’? It’s the name of a fictional race of beings that were in the process of cataloguing all of the galaxy. They appear in a short story where they come upon humans and are utterly baffled by them, as we are too chaotic and unpredictable to properly categorize.

“They remind me of you because they also have a vast amount of collective knowledge and are eager to learn while always travelling the galaxy. Also, their way of working machines with telekinesis is similar to how you do it. In their appearance they are smaller than humans, but they are grey - and they might be immortal.”

---

Sam’s emotions connected to the word she had chosen were pleasant and warm, making it immediately apparent that it was indeed a good choice. Though there was a tint of embarrassment that swung with her words.

“This is a wonderful choice then and I thank you for so carefully selecting the word. I would like to know the source of your embarrassment in connection with the fictional species you have described.”

Now she was properly flustered it seemed and it took a moment before Sam explained that she herself had been the author of that story and she wasn’t sure if it was reasonable for her to use a word that she had made up.

“This has not changed my opinion and I am happy to accept us to be known after a creation of yours. Please tell me if there is anything else you would like to know before my departure.”

There was a tang of anxiety when Sam replied that she had many questions, but did not want to be the cause of further delay. But she did ask what Nyar’s plans were after the meeting had ended.

“I will adapt my ship to the optimal path that will lead me back to the world of origin, which I will reach in twenty-five days. There I will travel to synchronize with as many as possible to spread the memories of this meeting.

“You must expect other individuals of my species to visit this location in twenty-five more days, wanting to further engage in meetings to learn more about humans. I hope you will be as well returning, as you are the sole human individual my species knows.”

Sam expressed that she would make sure the meeting location would not be left empty and that the humans were as eager to continue relations as the initaurii. It was clear that she was holding back more questions.

---

“So this is it then, for now?”

When the translator spoke, it did sound a bit wistful - but maybe that was Neil’s imagination once again. “I have learned more than I have prepared for and am sincerely impressed by the humans’ achievements. Please take my utmost gratitude for your patience in the face of my mistakes and for the presents you have brought for my species.”

“Thank you, but it was you who made it possible for us to even communicate. I am very happy that we could set the groundwork for a relationship between our species. Let me also express my thanks for accommodating me on board of your beautiful ship.”

As she was talking, she had stepped up to the barrier until her face was nearly touching it. Only from this close could she see all of Nyar - a view she had not gotten used to. Without thinking, she set her hand against the transparent material, as if that would let her feel the reality of what her eyes took in.

The nervousness from the very beginning seemed to come back when she added: “On a personal note, I think you are incredible Nyar. And I can’t properly express how fascinating the initaurian abilities are that you have shown me.”

Nyar moved forward against the barrier as well, making her sizable presence very noticable. Surprisingly she then raised one of the four smaller arms and extended it to lightly touch the point where Neil was resting her hand with a single finger that smoothly narrowed down to a point that was twice as large as her palm.

For a moment she held her breath - had Nyar not only noticed but also understood her intention? That would be once again quite embarrassing for Neil. But quickly she pushed those thoughts aside and used this moment to study Nyar as she was closer than she had ever been before.

The size difference between that single hand and Neil was striking. She could easily imagine being scooped up by it as there was probably enough space on the palm for her to sit. From this close she could also see that the grey skin wasn’t entirely featureless - there were several rings and lines where the surface structure seemed different. Neil pondered that those were areas that would extend or contract to make movement possible.

It was also very non-human in other regards, the three fingers were the same length and the hand itself looked symmetrical. It also wasn’t clear if they even had bones inside, as the two retracted fingers were rolled in smoothly.

Slowly Neil stepped back.

“Will I see you again?”

“I will return once every individual on the origin world has learned your name, Samantha Daniella Neil.”

Neil sat in the communication room of her ship, motionless. The larger and, frankly, much more impressive ship of Nyar had long since left without a trace and Neil had just come off the call with her contact.

Half of her mind was still hung up on the exceptional experience of the last two days, the other half was reeling from the new information she had received through the call. She was supposed to lead a newly created inter-species knowledge exchange initiative, overseeing all future dealings and even coaching diplomats and scientists.

In just fifty days more initaurii would arrive and she had no idea how numerous they would be. The only thing she did know - there were also a lot of human spaceships coming her way.