Wave Again

The night was cool and damp, the river warm from a sweltering day. The last of a thunderstorm rolled out over the ocean, flaring white now and again like a dying lamp. Stars filled the sky, Milky Way strewn from here to there. The moon was missing, the camp-fires were long cold, and the lights were shut off. Only two pairs of glowering eyes gave any more illumination than the starlight, one a gentle cyan, the other soft yellows and greens.

Symbians congregated. At first, the original gang members arrived to make it four. Cindre grunted in greeting to Ben. Adia silently leapt at Ringy to hug. They sat by the rivers edge, on flat boulders damp from the storm. Water and conversation alike quietly burbled. Memories, worries, laughter, growls and purring and rumbles.

A wet slosh gave away Tyorl. Mute, as always, he gazed at the river, sprawled comfortably, within sight, but away. Separate. Cindre locked eyes with the narg for a moment, exchanging wordless expression.

Rose was next, tromping through underbrush and tree, diving heavily into the water, surfacing with a laugh. Climbing free of the water, she joined the gang in stories and laughter.

Edolin was next, dutifully followed by Bastion, both panting with the heat of exertion. Ben and Ed wandered off together, two dataetrics buzzing with holos and figures.

Dere showed next, porting in equipment. She held open a rift, allowing Litany and Pan to calmly step into sight. Unpacking began, and a circle formed around the setup.

Symn curled into view from a container, quickly pounced by Adia, and the pair began scans, picking through boxes and trays, as the lape sat on the dae's lithe shoulders.

Veriah appeared with a swirl of smoke, and dragged Pan's attention to the river. The two studied the rushing water, murmuring in calm voices, pointing. Shards were dipped into the current, causing light and rolling hums.

Baz leaned close to see, entranced, and fell in. Applause and argument rippled through the gathering. Acetica and helping hands pulled the great beast out along with a wide sheet of water.

The circle of Symbians - and one human - reformed and calmed. A great sphere centred within it began to glow, surrounded by smaller dots of light. Adia and Baz cooed together, enraptured. The rest set to work, baring shards and personal perella, scanning, meditating. Preparing.

Soon eleven soulstones where held toward the enormous computing gem, each silver and glinting;

A fat cross, a feathered wing, a dotted circle, a bulked chest, a curved oval, an intricate weaving, a harsh tooth, a scrambled symbol, a narrowed eye, an angled pane, and a warped square.

Jumping and craning forward as one, a wall of acetic power glared, as snapped twigs and tussled grass made the crowd gasp, and growl.

Unseeing, Zel waved, mumbling apologies, holding up his own shard, an pointed arrow. Henna padded into sight behind him, a fat leaf set in silver at her chest. She strode to join the circle without a word, and the blind 'netic was coaxed into his place. The spooked solfolk chattered into a calm buzz.

Dead silence draped over the scene. The perella-peta cooled to a dull glower, its satellites dimming out of sight, Symn kneeling to rest.

Cindre rose in a hover, and looked over the group, a shadow of black against black night, stars blotted out to shape his presence, two bright yellow eyes peering. Twelve faces rose to regard him.

And he spoke.

"It is my hope that this evenings efforts will not be in vain. I thank you all for being here, for donating your time, ard, and skills. What we propose to do has only been achieved once. And it was quite by accident.

We stand now on foreign soil. Alien soil on an alien planet. Given that undeniable fact, it could be said that what we are about to do here is sacrilege. I could be said that it is not our place. But wiser voices have been heard, and they say otherwise.

I did not ask to be marooned on this plane. I did not request to be released, either, although I would have. My escape from placeless imprisonment meant the systematic disassembly and reconfiguration of an entire life. Ben's life. I did not receive the option, it simply happened.

And lastly, perhaps most importantly, I did not design nor employ the total morphic-detail that befell hundreds of thousands of sapes on the face of this Earth. Changed. Left to fend for themselves, and each other, in a harsh and unhelpful environment.

However. However, what I choose to do tonight is within my selection. I have concocted and designed a scheme to resolve the debacle that stands as an excuse for status quo. Two worlds, brushing up against each other. Mingling. Polluting each other. Destruction, creation, misunderstanding, hate, contempt, and lies. So, so many lies. Chaos, in a word. Unmitigated chaos.

One world ravaged by greed and war, the other by ignorance and apathy. One spilling over with weak bodies, the other crackling with wasted potential. Yin, and yang. The dark, and the Lit. The unvaried masses, and the rainbow conglomerate.

Us. And them.

I mean to put an end to this mess. Tonight, we recreate The Wave. We aim it, and we use it.

Wave Two. My fellow solfolk. Ready your acetica. Still your hearts. Grasp this globe within your mind.

And pollinate this barren field.

Let's show this omniverse we mean business."

No more than a tingle. That was all that could be said, as Second Wave rolled over the world of Terra. People shifted in their sleep. Clocks stopped. Children shivered and didn't know why. Dogs barked and birds flocked in confusion.

Rippling around the globe like an invisible satin sheet, untold numbers of entomnis leapt into being, giving birth to shards within the hearts of Changed within every nation. Solid, heavy shapes hanging in the chests of every furry, scaly or feathered Terran who had felt the kiss of First Wave. Within a day, the underground chatrooms and meetings were buzzing with fevered pitch.

It had worked. The first question had been answered, and the answer was clear and true: not a single Changed had ducked the swirl of influence.

A million questions remained, a million unknowns, but for now, hope pumped powerfully through Terra's newest minority. Reasons to live, reasons to be proud, reasons to be brave.

They had power. Potential. Responsibility. Family.

A future.