The Zia'n Legacy

Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

         “Our... host race is all but extinct. The symbiosis failed. We have... nothing left!”

The Collective felt the power of the statement blast through them carried on the wave of thought, some visibly recoiling from the force as the Elder’s words streamed into their minds.

         ”We are all aware of the situation. Our founders here chose poorly.”

Soothing waves surged outward from the speaker, attempting to calm the surrounding beings.

         “What we have to do now is concentrate on finding a new species to join.”

         “It has taken... only three generations for our symbiosis with the Laars to degrade their DNA... to this degree, and you say they chose poorly?! We... have caused the eradication of the entire race here!”

         ”Be calm... please Lord Ess’Gah. It is true that the Laars are mere cycles from expiration but... some will remain. We will remain.”

         ”You say that as if complete genocide matters nothing to you! No matter... Some will remain? Elaborate...”

The addressed member of the Collective blurred slightly, shifting position into the middle of the group. It floated a few feet above the ground, rotating slowly. It’s lower three limbs glistened in the dull light, almost metallic. The tips described small circles in the air with the six small tendrils of each bunched into knots. All over the creature it’s silvery skin rippled as fluid pulsed beneath it. The three sleek lower legs joined the spherical torso of the being, covered in the same writhing skin. There were no eyes, no features, nothing but the smooth glistening skin. Leading from the top of the body were a further three limbs, directly mirroring it’s lower half but currently twisted together in an upright extension, signalling complete subservience. The tendrils at the tips of the plaited limbs were splayed outwards, waving in the air gently.

When the words next flowed forth from it’s mind, they were light, placid.

         “All throughout our history as a race, the Zia'n have survived and propagated by bonding with other species. When our host being reaches the end of it’s useful span and expires, we maintain our Essentia-Link with the vessel until a new host can be brought to us. This is something you are all, of course, aware of.”

Feeling spikes of irritation surge into it, the creature flinched back from the others of the Collective, stuttering in its flowing movement briefly. Under the intimidating attention of the other members, the creature knotted its upper tendrils, moving its bottom limbs in wider circles, an apologetic action.

         ”Our founders here picked the Laars after only very scant trials, not knowing the full effects of the joining. The Zia'n outpost in this sector needed to be established, so they made a decision. Only then, soon after we had fully colonised, did the ramifications of that decision become obvious.”

The youngest being of the Collective felt the air fluctuate, sensing the other members suddenly encircling her, shimmering in the air as their forms moved back into phase with their surroundings. Tai’Kin steadily rotated in the midst of their thoughts, feeling their every emotion wash over her.

         ”We hope you are getting to a point...”

The statement hit her from every angle, emitted from the entire surrounding Collective simultaneously. She shrank back, both upper and lower limbs twisting together in defence.

         ”My point will be soon, Lords. When the first Laars hosts started to perish, we were presented with a dire problem. Something to do with a base genetic incompatibility between the Laars and the Zia'n meant once the life force had ebbed completely from the Laars, with it went our ability to maintain the Essentia-Link. With no way of holding the bond, for every Laars that died, so too did a Zia'n, our essence dissolving completely into the ether.”

Tai’Kin felt the Collective tighten around her, the force of their will a crushing presence in her mind as she tried to supplicate them. Some of the beings around her had twisted their limbs around their torso and were rotating faster, a sure sign of agitation.

         ”Word of our failing here was sent to Zia long ago. Our own home planet chose to send no help, leaving us to die as punishment for our judgement when inhabiting the Laars planet. On this news, and as our numbers started to dwindle, I personally set about a way to save our colony here, to save this outpost, to save us.”

The soothing emphasis on the last word flowed out of her mind, sweeping over the Collective. Its effect was immediate and obvious as several members extended their lower limbs to her, an encouragement to continue. Warm waves of thought filled her with a new confidence, the pressure around her easing gently.

         ”Tell us… what you have, child,” sent one of the elder members of the Collective, the tone dripping condescension from the flat burst of thought.

Instantly enraged, Tai’Kin span round on the culprit, shooting a spike of white-hot contempt into the centre of its torso. Ripples of joyful malice erupted forth from her as she sensed the Elder fly back from the circle, feeling its pain as the creature flailed its limbs helplessly.

         ”Though I am the youngest of the Collective here, you will regard me with the respect I am due. And when you hear what I have to say, you will offer your sincerest apologies.”

She pulsed a regretful pattern to the rest of the Collective, re-twisting both sets of limbs into plaits and attempted to regain the calm she felt earlier.

         ”We are an ethereal species, possessing no physical form of our own. We have been this way since our beginning, and will be this way until our end. Through our years, and spanning all the systems under our dominion, we have joined with many different hosts, but always have remained an intangible parasite to their body. If they die, we either join a new host, or succumb to the pull of the universal ether ourselves. We rely entirely on others for our sustenance, resigning ourselves to passing if another cannot be found.”

The Collective swirled around her expectantly; all limbs now angled inwards, yearning for more. She felt several undulations from those surrounding her, edging, almost prying her open for details.

         ”It has always been this way, there has never been a choice...”

Tai’Kin slowed her rotation, coming to a halt in the centre of the Collective’s linked consciousness. She untwisted her limbs slowly, spreading them wide around her torso, extending the tendrils at each tip. Feeling the power surge inside her, she built up the thought, charging it with energy and importance before releasing it in a sudden jolt that shook everyone around her.

         ”Until now.”

* * * * *

Later, Tai’Kin remembered feeling the Collective erupt around her as she spoke those final words. Thoughts and questions flew back and forth, penetrating her mind-state all at once. Her mind had throbbed as it was completely bombarded with the mental force of the gathered Collective. In a vain attempt to block out the barrage she had arched all her limbs into her torso, entwining them tightly. She tried to discharge a sedating rhythm as she tumbled over and over, before becoming overwhelmed and slipping from consciousness.

That was then; the Collective had calmed themselves now, and awaited her return. Heat waves shimmered in the air as she dissolved into place among the other members. The cool feeling of gladness at her return was welcome, and served to increase her almost tangible enthusiasm for the information she would relay. She pulsed a greeting to the Collective, readying herself to continue the discussion. Her six limbs splayed outward widely this time, open and receptive to questions that were bound to follow.

         ”I, along with few others, have been studying the Essentia-Link with the Laars, and the reasoning behind our failure to maintain it once the host dies. Unfortunately, I have found no way to prevent the loss of the Essentia-Link once the body perishes. My research has not been in vein, however. Whilst analysing the composition of the Laars body, I came across a molecular construct that seems to repel the essence of a Zia'n when not joined with a host.”

Tai’Kin felt chilly clouds of thought pass through her, excited questionings from the Collective gathered within her research chamber. A ripple passed over her skin for a moment as she blurred, position shifting to the front of the room. The trails of thought she detected from all the Elders wound around her, encasing her body completely, their attention fully focused on the enlightening news she brought.

         ”This molecular construct was not a difficult one to replicate. Once I had produced a suitable amount, I put into action a rather interesting idea that occurred to me. If this construct repelled Zia'n essence so vehemently, could I exploit this fact somehow?”

She pulsed a narrowly directed frequency towards a display emitter in the centre of the room. The tendrils of the Collective’s attention slackened and uncoiled from around her, snaking their way over the emitter, though some remained loosely covering her. Another oscillation span outward from her, signalling the emitter into action. She felt a small vibration all throughout her body for a moment before the visage of a huge chamber manifested itself in her mind. A mammoth cube rotated slowly, walls of jet-black surrounding the emptiness inside. Flat bursts of confusion quickly hit her from all sides as the same image materialised for the entire Collective.

         ”What... is the meaning of this?”

         ”Explain yourself, Tai’Kin... We... are unsure.”

The Collective shimmered slightly, bodies suddenly pressed together in a tight helix. The thought slipped into her mind smoothly at first, but as more emphasis was added from the different members, it became stronger, searing her senses almost unbearably.

         ”How will this save us?”

         ”Lords, Elders of the Collective, welcome to your tomb.”