July 10, 2019

The White House

After a long day of negotiations with the Russian President, President Keener retired to his office in order to review some documents. A pile had grown on his desk, most of them reports from the Gaerran planet. He sighed as he analyzed the first one: strategic resources. The Russians were grateful that the United States came clean regarding the announcement of the portal, and were even willing to support them in the upcoming UN Security Council meeting, as long as they received mana crystals and data relating to native flora and fauna. If he agreed to this, the Russians would effectively be receiving as much as loyal US allies, such as the United Kingdom. Well, at least this would bring the Russians closer into the Western fold, something President Keener prioritized. Of course, he would have preferred to wait a bit longer before announcing the existence of the portal, but the planned Area 51 Raid in just a few months from now represented quite the wrench in his plans. Even disregarding the planned ‘raid’, any large scale operation involving the exploitation of strategic resources and colonization of Gaerra could not have progressed without the announcement.

He grabbed his phone, quickly typing in a set of reminders and notes. Reflecting on his recent discussions with the Russian President, he muttered to himself, “Gotta remember to reach out to foreign corporations, get ‘em on our side… Also need new agreements ASAP; I should send Perry to sort this out! But then that means I won’t have an experienced diplomat to send to that other country up north. What was it, the Eanif Imperium? Hmm, that can wait a couple weeks.”

Many other nations on Earth would certainly be jealous. America having total access to an entire world, without having to worry about observation? For all the other nations know, the U.S. could have found a gold mine of new technologies and resources, enough to start a war over. He gave himself a reminder to set up a meeting later on to work out the details. After finalizing his notes on his upcoming foreign policy strategies, President Keener began flipping through the pages of the document.

“Working in tandem with Sonaran officials, our researchers have stumbled upon an ancient system of dungeons after reviewing scrolls and tomes provided by Sonaran wizards and scholars. The dungeons contain ‘mana crystals and treasure, dropped from slain monsters’ according to one of the scholars. The data has been corroborated by Nobian scholars, who have also…”

President Keener smiled at this revelation. Exploring dungeons, slaying monsters, collecting loot, and leveling up. Some of the forces stationed there would certainly love to give this a shot. As he continued to read through the accounts of the Gaerran natives, he realized that the functionality of Gaerran dungeons were quite similar to the imagining of fantasy dungeons present within modern media. He wondered about the types of artifacts they might be able to find, and the potential boon this could represent for science. President Keener typed a note to recommend dungeon exploration, although this might mean having to redeploy some special forces teams to help out with the more difficult dungeons. The Mekkanese could also have more detailed information about these magical dungeons, assuming they also exist on their continent. Other sections of the report detailed slow progress with ongoing surveys, as their presence in Gaerra was still not enough to thoroughly explore the newly acquired Ecith and Arasol territories, gifted by the Nobians and Sonarans, respectively.

President Keener finished up the report regarding strategic resources and moved on to the next one: trade. The report was relatively short, on account of the U.S. being a new player in the Gaerran economy and the low output of native preindustrial societies. Despite this, President Keener felt a smile growing on his face as he saw that Ambassador Perry was able to iron out a complete trade deal with the Mekkanese. The report detailed several tons worth of mana gems arriving at Fort Grenden within a few days, exchanged for American industrial equipment and infrastructural development. Additionally, American diplomatic teams were able to secure mining rights to several rare metal deposits, including mithril, lithium, and uranium. Securing the latter was incredibly easy due to rumors of the site being cursed. With trade growing at a surprising rate, American logistics in Gaerra would need to be expanded in order to accommodate road development, trucks, and cargo planes. To Keener’s dismay, the report concluded that shipbuilding would not be an option for at least a few months, until the ports can be properly surveyed and developed.

Moving on from the trade report, Keener leaned back on his chair, picking up General Harding’s report. After the events in the Mount Loe Facility, General Harding submitted a request for a meeting with President Keener and the Pentagon in order to review U.S. military presence on Gaerra, which consisted of 5 thousand personnel. Mostly split between security teams and patrols, General Harding hoped to increase this number in order to better handle possible hostile incursions, such as the Battle of Fort Grenden.

Makes sense, President Keener thought. This could be a perfect opportunity to hide additional troops and stockpiles from the prying eyes of Russia and China. I should probably authorize more storage and research facilities there; we can finally test new equipment without having to worry about the prying eyes of spy satellites or drones. That only leaves the possibility of spies on the ground… Perhaps there’s a lie detection spell or something like that? I’ll need to have General Harding ask the natives.

Letting go of his train of thought, he returned to the report. The operation at Mount Loe ended with only a few injuries and was a complete success. The gravitational anomalies ceased immediately, with a company of General Harding’s men assisting the small town of Felomia with reconstruction and security against monsters. Kelmithus’ condition stabilized over the past few days, causing President Keener to breathe a sigh of relief. The special exploration teams have been given a short break in order to recuperate, with new missions scheduled for the next week.

Mapping of the area around Fort Grenden proved to be a tedious and slow-moving task, but constant reconnaissance flights were able to produce complete geographical knowledge within a 400 mile radius of Fort Grenden. This process will be expedited by the introduction of two RC-130 reconnaissance aircraft, which are expected to arrive in two days. Thanks to Fort Grenden’s near-equatorial location, construction of a launch platform has progressed smoothly, with SpaceX receiving a development contract. Placing satellites into Gaerra’s orbit might be possible in about a month’s time.

General Harding concluded his report with an analysis of the current political climate in Gaerra. Emperor Lonad’s efforts to unify his father’s empire have been successful thus far, with no threat of civil war. The Bractin Gang, according to the Sonarans, has been mostly dissolved after the devastation of their camp. However, surviving groups still roam the wilderness of the Arasol province, harassing merchant convoys. Since Arasol is now an American territory, they have a responsibility to secure the area. Refugees from the now-fractured Beastia Alliance have begun to seek asylum in the Ecith territory. From their accounts, the Eanif Imperium is a highly militaristic and expansionist nation, which might prove to be an issue later when it comes to diplomacy.

President Keener frowned; the Eanif Imperium dwarfs the Nobian Empire in size, taking most of the northern half of the continent. Estimates from American allies on the planet put their population in the hundreds of millions, with a standing army of at least 2 million combat personnel. If they decided to launch an assault to conquer the rest of the continent, they would likely succeed because American forces are constrained by the portal and rising tensions back on Earth.

Finally, he selected the rather chunky report on his desk, which was a translation of a diary. The diary was written by a researcher named Maniss Lore, working in one of the Homagus outposts, particularly the one in which Alpha Team discovered a group of Nobians. Some of the entries contained words arranged in a peculiar manner, untranslatable by magic or technology, although the linguists working on the alien discoveries should be able to work out a structure eventually. Words that the translators were uncertain about were placed between brackets. The rest of the text however, was in English.

“Upon landing on [Gaerra], I immediately felt ashamed for having scolded my peers. I told them that such a discovery was impossible; outside the laws of science. Peering into the event horizon of a black hole? Child’s play. Building a [Nicoll-Dyson Beam]? A smaller megacorporation could do that easily. But this, I must admit, is unbelievable. Not because of the properties and readings — although that’s a large portion of the surprise — but because I now owe [title of authority] Val Amoure my antique rifle collection. The damn bastard knew what he was going for when he made that bet, and I can’t believe the universe rewrote inherent laws just to let him win. What is this, some sort of cruel joke? I digress. A few hours after we landed, we were directed to a newly built outpost, close to our base in the second continent. After downloading the information on this world, I began to have second thoughts about my assignment. The sixth continent seemed much more promising than the others, with pre sapient life on it. If anything, those strange blue creatures with mandibles most likely developed in the presence of the unusual gems found on this planet, making their research value even greater! Speaking of this planet, I found it a bit odd that the gravity is similar to home, despite the world being much larger. I am now going to board the transporter and receive my directives.”

The second entry was written several days later.

“Calamity!”

An indecipherable block of scribbles followed. The quality of the writing diminished, the ink becoming faint. The next paragraph though saw the return of legible writing, consistent with the rest of the diary thus far.

“I have returned from my treatment! I had to be placed under stasis; the doctors required time to synthesize an antidote. Certainly, I shan’t find myself exploring alone ever again. If only I could’ve seen the face of my adversary before passing out… Nevertheless, my strength is restored. I did hope to exact revenge upon the beast that harmed me so, but I am content with the knowledge that my coworkers were able to wipe a good lot of these vile arachnids from their nest. I shall be leading the exploration team back into that cave in order to conduct research upon a cache of tools and gems, long abandoned by the pre-sapient natives that once called the cave their home.”

Keener, finding himself amused with Lore’s adventures, decided to grab snacks as he read. Pringles, a fine choice, he thought to himself. Satisfied with his selection, he returned to his seat in order to continue his presidential work. The third entry was dated the following day, presumably after Lore had completed his exploration of the cave.

“A fascinating discovery! My colleagues from the archaeology department have uncovered several shrines dedicated to the worship of a deity born from the gems. My initial impression of their analysis was that of suspicion: how could a deity spawn from gems? My sarcastic remarks were quickly shut down when they brought up my missions prior to this expedition. I suppose this might not be as far-fetched as sentient organisms living in the atmosphere of a red giant…”

President Keener skimmed through the plethora of the ‘far-fetched’ examples that Lore wrote in his diary. Good ideas for some Star Trek episodes, he thought. Eventually, Lore either became tired of listing his extravagant discoveries or ran out of them, as Keener was finally able to return to the point brought up by Lore’s archaeologist colleagues.

“Their claims became more believable as the minutes passed. I can’t shake the feeling of something watching me as I write this. Even the sensors on our mechanisms are going haywire! Readings from the void, inconsistent data which violate established scientific laws, the list goes on. I’ve met non-corporeal beings before, and this feels quite similar. I am going to pull my expedition and send mechanicals in our place, at least until my paranoia has subsided.”

The next entry was written several days later. “The mechanicals found nothing; all scans reported the same uneventful readings. I theorize that this is because the mechanicals don’t have souls. I shall steel myself in order to test this hypothesis. I have now gathered a few volunteers and a security detachment to venture back into the anomalous region.”

“It seems I was correct! The anomaly only surfaces itself in the presence of living beings of at least a certain intellect. It remained dormant in the presence of critters and insects, and I theorize that the blue pre-sapients must have used this cave as a place of worship before being driven away by hostile fauna. Whatever this entity is seems capable of communication, as it has been sending us a variety of signals. I will try to decipher the entity’s speech.”

“In the midst of my work, I began to hear voices. Faint, but coherent. The voice sounded like a chorus, monotonously speaking in perfect unison. The language seems familiar, almost like Galactic Standard, but wrong somehow. Maybe this has something to do with these gems?”

“I tested my hypothesis using several test groups with varying proximities to the gems. The groups closer to gems heard louder, more coherent whispers. This effect seems correlated also with how many gems are present. More gems, more voices.”

“It has been several days and the voices have only grown louder, despite our best efforts to distance ourselves from the gems. Harp decided he had enough of the voices and placed himself in stasis, asking me to pull him out once a solution was found. Naturally, I wondered if the voices could penetrate stasis, so I preemptively pulled him out. Apparently, my suspicions were correct once more, much to Harp’s relief. Having voices inside your head is one thing, but having voices inside your head while you’re not able to do anything else? While these voices are the only things you can focus on? I pray that these voices will not accompany me to my grave.”

“After much discourse, the research team and I were able to come up with a series of tests, all derived from the trends that we’ve seen. The first test was to move away the infected via ship. Of course, we will be quarantining ourselves in case this affliction is contagious, but I stand by my determination that the cause has something to do with contact with mana gems. I confirmed our flight with the superiors and my research team, along with the affected security team, will be traveling on board the Sentinel for a quick jump. We will be traveling to the Bask System, about 5 light years away. I wonder what effects an FTL jump will have on our condition…”

“The experiment has resulted in some truly fascinating results; results that I could have never anticipated in all my years of discovery! The voices immediately vanished as we entered jumpsapce, and to everyone’s relief, this effect was permanent! We felt no difference when we exited jumpspace, but I still ordered a week’s long quarantine as per protocol.”

“I found no anomalous readings; everything seemed to be normal. Of course, this was until Sola ran full body diagnostics on the crew. Evidently, our exposure to the gems seems to have altered the physiology of our brains, and she was also able to identify minute traces of an unidentified particle within our bloodstreams. The only reason she was able to detect these particles is because they did not emit any radiation known to us. I will attempt to conduct some tests tomorrow.”

Sola? Keener rubbed his head. Must be a coincidence. Keener paused for a second, having been reminded of the theory that Gaerran humanoids are descended from the ancient Homagus. Before his train of thought spiraled out of control, he returned to the diary.

“We conducted a series of quasi-particle tests and attempted to isolate these unidentified culprits. This proved hard to do as the particles bonded with our biological matter almost completely. The particles also behaved erratically, minimally tied to universal laws. Centrifuges did not work. Chemical solutions did not work. Eventually, we had to resort to a shield generator to manually cut through the individual particles. With these painfully acquired samples, we discovered that the particles had to be operating under some new universal laws, perhaps even those not of our own. Working through this will help us determine why these particles bonded so easily with our forms, and what the bonding itself could mean.”

“I awoke to an argument outside my quarters; Sola and Nobi were at odds once again. Nobi wanted to place the entire crew into stasis in order to slow down any mutations that might be occurring. Sola wanted to continue research, as we represented the only live subjects who knew of this occurrence. In an attempt to find a solution, I suggested informing the superiors. Both seemed satisfied with this compromise, although neither backed down from their claims. Still, it is nice to enjoy some peace while we wait.”

“The superiors ordered us to return to the planet, which they are now referring to as Gaerra. All colonists and research personnel are to be quarantined on the surface; the superiors will be beaming down supplies upon our request. They will also be sending a group from the Galactic Health Organization in order to investigate.”

“Upon our return, we half-expected to hear the voices again. We were half correct. The voices returned, but in a limited manner. No longer did the voices pester us consistently with gibberish; they spoke with a degree of clarity akin to a professional orator. The voices came to me as I was pondering the functionality of the previous particle, which they described to me as a magitron.”

“Several days have passed since our return. Since then, the mutations have grown rapidly, changing us. Our appearances looked no less human, nor did the overall physiology of our bodies. Rather, our brains seem to have… evolved. This is evident in my test subjects’ higher reasoning capabilities and in more extreme cases, inexplicable arcane summonings and violations of the laws of the universe. Earlier, the colony experienced a power outage as old generators were replaced with new ones. At this time, Sola was in the medical laboratory and she subconsciously created a ball of light in order to illuminate the room. The event was indeed magical.”

The diary continued with entries detailing more subconscious spellcasting and voices before eventually culminating in a final experiment.

“Over the past couple of weeks, many of us developed ‘powers’, for lack of a better term. I didn’t suspect it would be long until one of us became curious enough to seek one of the gems that had granted us such boons. I eventually contacted the group from the GHO, who thankfully authorized the experiment. I will be conducting it tomorrow, returning to the same cave where we found the pre-sapient shrine. Unfortunately, this diary is now running out of space, so I shall detail my discoveries in a new book. I do hope the nano-printer has the design I like.”

President Keener raised his eyebrow, a quizzical look of shock written over his face. He needed to know more about this “Maniss Lore” and his discoveries. According to the diary, it seemed to him that the Homagus were normal humans, albeit notably advanced, until they encountered this planet. How did the mana gems give the ancient Homagus their magic? Does that mean that the archaeologist with the staff is undergoing a mutation? What about the American forces stationed in Gaerra? Too many questions plagued him, and he shook his head, placing the documents in a cabinet as he retired for the day. As he left his office, one thought remained stuck in his mind: What is magic?