Chapter 505 - Far Future Ch. 215 – Disappearing into a Void (1/2)
-I have the Braincase telemetry,- Sheba's sly razor of a voice confirmed it was operational.
-Look for any codes or maintenance that have to be done to keep this place active, and any self-destructs we need to disable.- he /replied promptly.
There was a /relayed click as Cat inserted a relay drive into a data socket, and Goldilocks crews half the Sector away began to work on the systems here through her Mark and Band. -Taking down the Interdiction in three, two, one... Kitten, time to cyberpath.-
He felt the mental shift as the petite psion teleported in right beside Sama several hundred feet above him. At the same time, schematics of the base were downloaded to him, and he processed them quickly, knowing where and what to look for.
He left the Braincase right where it was. The mouth of the Mentat was gaping open, frozen in a scream as his eyes quaked and twitched, the device going about its work and not needing Frank to be present.
The man could only watch him go, screaming where no one could hear him, no one cared, and his duty to his Empire and Order would be lost, unknown to anyone.
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-This can't be the only such place, can it?- Cat /asked him. -The Sector is a big place, and the births of Voids can't be that uncommon.-
-Standard protocol should be at least three backups for any kind of in-depth, long-term reconnaissance mission,- he /answered as he headed for the self-destruct circuits that were currently having to deal with some cyberkinetic interference from a very deft cyberpath helped along by a roomful of some of the best hackers in the Empire.
Cat's attention was drawn to an area of the schematics, drawing his attention by the way the razor of her thoughts turned on it, like a tigress about to strike. She swirled away from Kitten's power-dozing of the systems here as she went to investigate it.
Cooling units, Frank noted, and had a good idea of what would be found there.
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Kitten had already linked into the Braincase, which had already sifted out some important, recurring memories, including quite a few passwords and authorizations. Psi-active circuits might have tried to resist her, but under the correct codings became complacent... and then were pragmatically fried completely, so they wouldn't be a problem in the future.
What they wanted would be hard-coded by configurations and equipment, not wrapped up in circuits molded from metals taken from the brains of dead men.
Cat tore open the vaulted door and walked inside, her Trembling Domain spreading out to gift her with an awful awareness of all the contents of the place.
Babies, dead babies, both male and female, frozen in preservative gels so that they could be retrieved and studied by the Mountain and the Silent Temple when contact was re-established. Why kill them and dispose of them? The secrets of their genetics were still unfathomable after all this time, could not be truly replicated by other powers or technology, but there was always hope as long as there new material.
If the Empire could truly make new Voids at will, instead of having to rely on culling those randomly born from the masses of humanity, that would be ideal, after all. They could already do it to a degree by using parthenogenesis to grow new Vortices, but such artificially-conceived women were noticeably of lower potential and skill than those naturally born, and basically just formed a disposable troop and servant division of the Silent Sisterhood.
It was now well over two decades since the Rift had formed and cut the galaxy in two. There were hundreds of babies in this room...
-They have multiple teams out there harvesting Voids,- she /stated in no uncertain terms, her /voice cold enough to form a new polar cap. The sensation flowed through Markspace with her awareness of this place, and to those watching, razored silence swept through millions of minds in Markspace in almost no time at all.
-I want those teams found. I want their bases found. And then, they are all going to die,- Cat /stated.
Frank stared at her awareness of all those babies, feeling a sickening nausea rising in him, and a terrible, greater awareness sweeping through him with a killing intent that promised death to the powers that be on this planet.
-Our little Brothers and Sisters...- My Queen Egil /murmured from the depths of an irradiated hellhole under a bombed-out kiloplex on Janus III. It was the closest anyone had ever heard him come to showing emotion.
This was the dark side of the Empire they lived in, burying hope and possibility in favor of preserving the power and authority of the Emperor over all, forcing everyone into the path the Emperor predicted and was making happen, uncaring of the chance it might just be a horrifically wrong thing to do.
A voice of gossamer over adamant drifted through the entire Markspace. -Take that planet. Wipe those crews. Find the other locations. Repeat.- Her /voice echoed throughout the Markspace, and things began to move and change as Ranthas scrapped some new plans and made some others with terrifying speed and purpose.
-Hala, you've got the senior Goldilock Curseline. How long before you can get into this side of the Galaxy and compromise that information system here?-