Our Roots
By Peter Smith (Jo_on@synod.freeserve.co.uk)

Disclaimer: Earth - Final Conflict, all characters and images therein are the property of the Tribune Entertainment Company. All characters appearing in this story (with the exception of Da'an of course) are my own creation. Any similarity with anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.

Authors Notes:  First off, some background info, the book I'm reading deals with time travel to explain certain anachronisms (fossilised human foot prints dating back to before the dinosaurs etc.) he (the author) believes they were left by time travellers.  Secondly, I was reading a book on UFO's and a man was contacted by aliens who claimed to be earlier humans.  Thirdly, it has been stated in EFC that the Taelons were once just like us and that we are their equals.  I have combined the three.  Lastly, although most of the characters in this 'chronicle' are of my own design and I do welcome any of you to use them in stories of your own, I ask that you let me know your intentions and let me have a peek at your work.

Anyway, on with the story, when you've finished, drop me a line and tell me what you thought.

 

I am Stra'neem, and I am a young man in his teenage years, I have to record our history for our own sakes.

We are a fairly advanced race, we have just launched our first space vehicle, it will be one of many.

I am concerned, oh, not by the space vehicle, but by our other technology, weapons.

Our race is divided into three 'groups'. the two main groups are what concern me and others, they are building more and more weapons, and are fighting more and more every month.

The other group is what I and those others are concerned and there are a lot of us, are a part of. We see the spectre of war on the horizon and have taken measures to avoid it, we shall take a ship and leave our world, and seek out a peaceful existence....

(years pass)

What a time! It is me, Stra'neem, although I am hardly a young man any more!

We left our planet, there were those who opposed us, but they did not stop us.

We wandered through the cosmos, searching for the right planet to colonise.
We eventually found one....although by that time many of those who were older than I had passed on. I am now considered an elder and am one of the few left that remembers the planet of our origin.

We colonised the planet, bringing it to life.

Over the course of our travels, our science castes have expanded on our technology, trying to find ways so that when we found a planet, we would not damage it.

They came up with 'living' buildings, buildings that can grow and form naturally, therefore, not damaging our new homeworld.

Our new homeworld, or Taelon as some call it now is home to a bustling civilisation.

Our 'grown' homes cover most of the major continents, we do have some outlying cities but we have left a portion of our planet as is. So that we may remember.

Our space program is also progressing, our science castes are attempting to find a faster mode of travel than that which brought us here so long ago.

(more years pass)

I am Nem'sa, offspring of Ta'lont, offspring of Stra'neem and I am carrying on the record of our history as my grandparent has done.

Many things have happened since my grandparent passed on.

For one, we are no longer physical in form as my grandparent was, we now exist as energy and although we can give the illusion of flesh, it is just that, an illusion, a facade.

You see, a generation ago, an alien race sought to conquer us through 'genetic assimilation' those aliens who existed as energy as we now do, possessed chameleon abilities, able to take the form and memories of any living being. They began to infiltrate our society, taking the form of Taelons, as we are now called, and joining with those Taelons of my parents generation, bonding with them, producing offspring, my generation. Those of my parents generation who fought the others eventually succeeded in ridding our society of the aliens, the last one, Ha'gel, was imprisoned in a capsule a few days ago and launched into the stellar seas.

There are but a few left of my parents generation.

One thing, now of our form which we cannot get used to, along with the other traits of Ha'gel's race, is an in built weapon which is powered by our own energy, we call it a shakarava.

It is highly uncontrollable and has already caused some deaths.

I and others in the science and medical castes are working toward a way to control or block these abilities.

But I despair........

(yet more time passes)

Oh, wondrous day! It is I, Nem'sa.

I have to record this momentous day!

In my last record, I mentioned that we were trying to find a way to control our shakarava, well, it has taken us many years, but we have succeeded!

We have found, that in our natural energy state, that we can stem the flow of energy that goes to the shakarava points.

But, the energy had to go somewhere! that was the next problem.

So our ruling body, the Synod, decreed that all Taelons will redirect their shakarava energy to boosting our limited telepathic powers and forming a link that will bind us all.

It is a wonderful experience! I can feel the presence of my relatives very close, but also those of my friends and comrades.

What is experienced by one, is experienced by all.....

We call it 'The Commonality'

(years pass)

I am Se'lim and have just been reading this record that my ancestor started, so many generations ago and I feel compelled to add to it.

My ancestor, Stra'neem, who started this record, mentioned our space program and our attempts at finding a faster mode of travel.

The space vessel that brought my ancestors to Taelon no longer exists but our science caste has found a faster mode of travel.

We call it 'interdimensional' the vessel activates it's drive and enters a dimension that crumples our normal dimension and thus, pulling two points closer to each other. We can travel long distances in a short time. The drive has been fitted to several large vessels and some smaller vessels we call shuttles.

Our ships are made of the same bio-technology that our dwellings are created of, they are grown on the planet and lifted into space where the drive components and other systems are added.

Our crowning achievement is what we call the Homeship, it is our largest vessel and the Synod has made a permanent residence there. It is a part of Taelon as we are.

We are exploring our surroundings, looking for other life....

(time flows on....)

.....and we certainly found it! it is me, Se'lim again.

I very near end of my life, but I must tell you while I have the strength.

We were searching for other life and we came across a civilisation so violent, warlike and full of hatred, hatred of us.

There was a skirmish and although we are a peaceful race, we did install defensive weapons on our ships, but we were nearly overwhelmed! We have managed to hold them off at great expense to us.

We do not have the capability to deal with such violence. There is talk among the Synod about contacting the planet of our ancestors for help.......

(drops writing implement and lays back on deathbed, closes eyes and with a energy release......embraces the void.)

(Generations later)

I am Jo'on, I am not young but not quite old. I am of the diplomatic caste and a new Synod member. Like my ancestor, I am driven to add to this record.

Se'lim, before he embraced the void, mentioned our considering contacting the planet of our ancestors.

One of the science caste, Ma'el, was sent to contact them and instead of finding descendants of our ancestors, we found a young civilisation.

Ma'el investigated and found that indeed, they are related to our ancestors, in that they are like what our ancestors once were, but their evolution spanned centuries not millennia like ours.

We were puzzled by this, Ma'el suggests that after our ancestors left their planet, now referred to as Earth, those that remained must have fought the war that my ancestors predicted and wiped each other out.

Then, Ma'el has discovered, formed a reptilian species that were wiped out by an ecological disaster which led to the evolution of this new race, called Humans.

It seems that they will be our only hope.

But they are still too young for us to contact them directly, we shall wait....

(centuries pass)

Jo'on here again. Although I am now considered old for a Taelon, at a stage in my life roughly comparable to a human in his fifties to sixties and have served on the Synod for nearly two Earth centuries.

I have chosen to add to this record at this time because I am currently on the Homeship, approaching Earth.

We followed the Humans' development and have decided that now is the time to contact them.

We followed their progress through their world wars. they have just been through what they term the 'SI War' and have entered their twenty-first century.

We shall help them with their problems, cure their diseases, feed their hungry and while all this is happening we shall see what the Human genome has to offer us, testing them.

I and many others do not approve of this, we wanted to tell the humans the truth and ask their help. But no, the Synod majority voted in favour of the covert way, a timetable has been drawn up and we must keep to it.

Why? you ask.

Well, although Ma'el, now no longer with us, in his last message stated that we should treat the humans as our equals and let them develop more before revealing ourselves. There have been more skirmishes with the others and all have ended badly for us.

This is what brought about this decision.

Two days ago, we broadcasted a message of peace to the Humans, and it was well received.

We hailed ourselves as companions to them, which is no lie, we shall help them, but help ourselves at the same time.

It pains me, but it must be done, for the others are aware of us and we must move carefully or they will come and not only take us but Earth as well.

I will NOT let that happen!

When we arrive in orbit, I and others of the diplomatic caste, including Da'an, whose acquaintance I have made, shall take a shuttle to Earth to meet with their United Nations and if all goes well and the humans are agreeable, a Taelon embassy will be established in every major city on Earth. I have been named Companion to the United Kingdom and Da'an, my friend, has been named Companion to North America.

'Companion'.

It is a title that both Da'an and I take very seriously and we shall strive to make sure that the humans get everything they need, and Da'an and I have sworn to each other that for every project involving testing on Humans established in our respective protectorates, The humans will gain something, a disease cure, a new hospital, something, anything that will make atonement for our experiments, if anything can.

I must go now and make preparations for my tenure on Earth.

It seems that the fate of the Taelon and Human races are now inexplicably linked and where that fate takes us, we shall go together....

FIN
(for now)