"Is everyone asleep?"

The voice roused Jejliard. He looked around the lab. The lab walls had been finished to separate it from the rest of the warehouse where the workers had bedded down among the boxes and supplies. Nobody wanted to venture outside to the tents. Tajlon and Hal were asleep in their cots in the lab.

"Wake up."

"I am awake," Jejliard whispered to keep from disturbing the others. He realized the voice he heard must be in his head. "Widhbo?"

"Yes. I have something for you. Over in the ship."

"I can't just go over to the ship."

"No. I'll come get you. Thought I'd mention it first. No surprises."

"I appreciate that. How are you going pull this off?"

"Teleport. Unless you want to tippy toe past the machine guns out there."

"Just do it." Jejliard steeled himself for the experience and waited.

There was flash of light and a tingling sensation as an electrical field flowed around him. His body levitated momentarily above the cot and he was swept up in vibrational cloud of energy. Widhbo deposited him on his feet in the Sora control room.

"Have a seat," Widhbo said as though nothing special just occurred. "I have something to share with you."

Jejliard decided he would have to get used to such weirdness from now on. "I'm listening."

"I have the goods on Colberton I promised. To summarize; after tomorrow, you're all disposable. They plan to take the Sora to some top-secret location and then wipe Turodey off the map, alien and all. The Sea Grinder will never make it back home. I'll play part of it back and you can form your own opinion."

Widhbo played back the recorded message.

****

A deep raspy voice spoke first. "Do you have an update for us, General?"

"Alien is still missing. Calling off the search for tonight," It was Colberton's speaking.

"Chances of recovery?"

"It could take several days to comb the island," Colberton replied.

"Not enough time. Stand by."

A period of silence, broken by static.

"Are we still on go for the nuclear test tomorrow?"

"Affirmative," Colberton replied.

" What is the status of the alien vessel?"

"Damaged. Needs extensive repair. Sealed at present."

"Advance plans. We're sending a team to remove the ship tomorrow," The deep voice said. "Plan to strike Turodey in two days. I want a show of destructive power big enough to send a clear message to the Council. Have your fleet clear."

"What about the locals?" Colberton asked.

"Proceed according to plans," the deep voice instructed.

"We may still need them for technical support, Commandant," Colberton countered.

"Negative. They are a liability, General. We have our own resources. Any word from the Captain's party?"

"Negative."

"We'll stage the Turodey attack from Agartoon and intercept De'Marc at Catsapaw," the deep voice said. "Get your ships out of the fallout zone. Meet in Casgora. Acknowledge."

"Affirmative. Colberton, out."

***

Widhbo switched off the recording.

Jejliard put his head in his hands and pressed his thumbs into his temples. "I didn't want to believe it, but the message is clear. They plan to drop a bomb on Turodey."

"Nuclear war is about to break out," Widbho said. "They appear to have a working bomb or will have in two days."

"All Tajlon gave them was a sketch." Jejliard replied.

"He won't give them the real thing, but they have good scientists. Tajlon gave them the missing piece to the puzzle. It won't take long," "Widhbo said. "I'm sure the Theopians have much more radioactive material stockpiled, or they would not be making such ambitious plans."

Jejliard stood up and paced the floor in agitation. "There was no effort to negotiate. The conference I attended was worthless.What does Colberton hope to achieve by teaming up with the Theopians?"

"Isn't it obvious? This whole thing was a ruse. He plans to use their own resources to overthrow the Council of Nations. He has sold out to the enemy. Thanks to a mutual lack of scruples, he believes he will come out on top."

"On top of what? A destroyed planet?" Jejliard asked.

"A nuclear winter. They'll have to go underground."

"We have to warn the others on the Sea Grinder," Jejlard said.

"Done. I called this evening," Widhbo said, "They're too far away for us to intervene in time."

"The Solar Wave could reach them. That sub is also our best chance to survive. We can all ride it out underwater."

"No. We can't let the Sora fall into Colberton's hands. We need to take this spaceship and leave," Koutou said.

"Leave on the Sora? You mean leave Beldora?"

"Of course. Why not?"

Jejliard turned to face Widbho. "I feel responsible in some part for all of this and because it's our home."

"In a few days' time this planet will be uninhabitable."

"How do I know we have a chance up there?" Jejliard asked. "You don't even know if this thing can get off the surface reliably."

"It can and it will. I'm leaving after the show tomorrow," Widhbo said. "I suggest you come along. Bring anyone who wants to live."

"For how long, Widhbo? How long can we survive on this ship?"

"You could more or less live out a normal lifespan if the hydroponics garden takes off."

"And if it doesn't, we're all dead."

"Not exactly." Widhbo was twitchy and picking at his feathers.

Jejliard recognized the behavior from Koutou and knew what it meant. "What are you not telling me?"

"I could save your programs and regenerate you later."

"Humans aren't programs, Widhbo."

"No, but you can be digitalized and regenerated." Widhbo began a flurry of activity and tapped out sequences of commands on the console. A device lowered from the ceiling over Jejliard's chair. "With your permission?"

"What are you doing?"

"Sit down. I'm going to record you. Your personality, memory, your brain essentially. Given that information and a sample of your genetic material, I can make a new you," Widhbo explained. "Of course, it is not allowed to make duplicates until the mortal template has died and then only one duplicate at a time. You can imagine the mess it would make to have multiples of everyone running around."

Jejliard contemplated what Widhbo was telling him. "This ship can generate a new person? What about my son and the others?"

"They're next on my list. Well, Tajlon and Hal. I may not be able to get the others in time. I'm working on it."

"If this is true, it's mind-boggling in potential."

"You'll be happy to know I've made preparations. The ships files contained detailed information on creating individual storage units. The units are called magitons."

Jejliard sat down in the chair, stunned. "This technology really exists?"

"It does." Widhbo replied. "Apparently magitons are in common use out in the galaxy. Each contain their own tiny nuclear power source. Such a unit will preserve an individual personality and prevents jumbling you up with anyone else, I've prepared several for our voyage. Once recorded, the ship can project your form onto its energy grid. It uses plasma projection to manifest a being physically."

"So, what you are saying is I can be taken off the shelf, go for a walk, and go back into storage?" Jejliard asked.

"It's very safe and you will have a key, like a key to your house. You could come and go as you like as long as there is sufficient energy to support the projection grid. No matter what happens, the master copy of your original self is stored away and nobody, including the ship, can tamper with your program."

"The ship?"

"It's creative. I think it gets bored."

"You talk as though it were alive."

"It's complicated," Widbho said. He fiddled with a couple of dials. "Well?"

"Tell me where this ship came from."

"I'd be more concerned with where it's going if I were you. Or don't you want to come?"

"Don't dodge the question."

"It belongs to the Ancients. I borrowed one of their ships for my own purposes."

"You've mentioned them before. Who are the Ancients?" Jejliard persisted.

"Universal beings who rule the galaxy and travel between dimensions. The ship is actually a living being called a crymax. It is a primordial creature present in the early days of the galaxy. The Ancients harnessed these creatures and adapted them for transportation."

"This is a lot to digest, Widhbo." Jejliard said. "You stole this ship, didn't you?"

Widhbo shuffled his feet uncomfortably. "I was planning to steal it, then Gengor stole it from me. Now I have it back. In any event, it was fair compensation for putting up with the daglyrs on Corrudi. I paid myself in trade for services rendered."

"Okay. But you took it without their knowledge."

"Minor detail. They have more. It doesn't pertain to the situation at hand."

The helmet twinkled above Jejliard's head as he looked up at the helmet. The circuitry inside was glowing.

"You can record my brain with this?"

"Yes. Your chip will produce a perfect digital copy. And for those without chips, better a fuzzy analog copy than certain death."

"I would essentially be immortal?"

"As long as the magiton or the ship exists. Crymax are very resourceful creatures, quite skilled in adaptation."

"Incredible." Jejliard took a deep breath. He would have liked more time to make a decision of this magnitude, but time was running out. If what Widhbo said was true, there wasn't much hope for Beldora. He couldn't do anything if he were dead.

"I want to live."

The helm lowered and covered his head. A blinding flash of light and the sound of a thousand hammers pervaded his brain before he lost consciousness.