Plate 5   Cybergal arrives at the Tharsan Connector

The trip was instantaneous.  Cye appeared in miniature above the Tharsan Connector, a football-like metallic object suspended among power toroids built long ago on this lonely island. (Plate 5)  Cybergal thought of the remaining miles of flight she must make, but first she elected to reconstitute herself on the island.  Connection was a safe mode of transport, but not completely passive.  One received assistance from the Connector gained through resonance with one's own thoughts.  Arrival was often like emerging out of cramped quarters.  Everything was stiff. (Plate 6)

Cyberscott paced back and forth at the edge of the Argolan Barrens, hundreds of miles from the Tharsan Connector.  He had served by Cybergal's side for millennia.  They had been through so much together.  He remembered with fondness and pride his assistance in her great victory in the Council of Creos when his support was instrumental in the decision to move forward with the Lifecode Project.  Today, his Princess was the most loved head of state he had ever dealt with.  How sad that she could never be queen. 

Plate 6   Cybergal reconstitutes her form after arriving at Tharsas

In Cyberian law, the royal princess had to marry into royalty, and she was the last of her line.  The only available male heir to the throne had been particled in the early years of the Great Confrontation.  The Prince had not been to Cybergal or Scott's liking in the first place, although he had certainly died with honor.  The early physical conflicts with the Doitmey Way systems had resulted in severe losses for the Cyberians.  This was due at least in part to the Prince's lack of accurate intelligence on the strength and singular conviction of the Doitmey Way League.

The Princess and her entire planet's remaining population had been forced to retreat under cover to what some referred to as the dust bin of the galaxy.  Most of the high technology had been recreated since those days, but at times Scott thought with regret about those past eons of glory.  No matter.  His feelings for the Princess went beyond royal law.  He would stand by her side to the death.

There in the distance!  Yes, it was Cye.  As her flight slowed and she righted herself Cyberscott greeted her.  "Princess, thank you for joining me here on Tharsis."

"What is the meaning of this, Scott?  We have so many new projects about to be born and the timing is unusually critical.  Plus, the Council is hearing strange reports that recent templates have had difficulty taking root on their assigned Real Worlds."

Scott did not know how to tell Cye what he truly feared.  He hedged, "Yes, I understand that, Cye.  Those stories underscore the criticality of Tharsis' protective systems.  Let's travel to one of the World Lifecode nurseries on the Gracian Plain and I'll explain my ideas to you." 

"Very well, Scott, but why this interest now?  Your true message remains hidden."

Scott levitated easily into the cool thin air.  "Please, my Princess, bear with me.  I will tell you everything." 

She sees through me so easily, he thought.  As they rose into the air and skimmed low across the Argolan Barrens, Scott was still unsure how to frame his concerns to Cybergal.  Princess Cye was a noble deep-feeling Cybernaut.  She felt the nervousness of her Scott through the wind that made normal conversation impossible.  She could do no more than attend by his side and wait.

Silent minutes later they reached World Lifecode Template Nursery 3 in a remote corner of the arid Gracian Plain.  Shining world templates hovered within their individual incubators as they wafted in invisible gravitational compensator fields. (Plate 7)  

Together they slowed and felt the deep emotional bond that all Cybernauts had invested in these shining orbs.  Each orb had been set on a specific path, linked to the experiences of an evolving world that would one day shelter lifeforms.  At the moment life began to appear on each chosen planet the orb would be placed in a Connector and be sent in exponential expansion to surround the planet.  When released, the local gravity would effectively shrink-wrap the planet in a field of awareness, to be ingested by the emerging lifeforms like mother's milk. Other nurseries on Tharsis and those on Gorcon were reserved for planets where life had already gotten started on its own prior to Cyberian involvement.

Plate 7  Nursery 3 on the Gracian Plain

"They are indeed beautiful and precious," said Cybergal.

"And, a marvel of organic engineering as well," said Scott.  "Their ability to modify their encoding on the fly in response to unpredicted intra-planetary events is awesome indeed.  And, their connection to the Infinite; Well, life is amazing."

"Do you really think we are doing the right thing?" asked Cybergal.  She had often mused about the interference the Cyberians were effectively imposing on other worlds.

"I think it is the right thing to do," said Scott.  "We are not imposing a set rule on these planets.  In many ways we are presenting them with a challenge; the challenge to be free or be enslaved.  Many have continued on freedom's path.  Some have fractured into enclaves of freedom fighters contesting regressive Samebrain strains.  While it may come down to war between these two ideas, then so be it.  We love who we are, and how we see the universe.  We can do no less than provide our example and hope we can achieve at least an eternal balance between us and the Doitmey Way type of systems."

"I agree.  It is ironic though that many of our oldest councilors are quick to point out that the massive populations of Doitmey Way planets are often among the happiest we have ever encountered, while we often seem to be eternally striving to fulfill an unsatisfied urge."

Scott considered this for a moment.  "... and the response I always give is to compare their idyllic happiness to the thrill that comes with achieving a goal, overcoming a hardship, or gaining an insight that suddenly fills you with so much joy that you find yourself jumping up and down, and looking for a companion to share the feeling."

Cye stared at Scott with bright eyes.  Scott was stopped in his tracks as their communication took an unspoken turn to an open conduit of pure energy.  "... or a companion to simply be with, fully." she said finally.

For a moment they were both overwhelmed by each other's presence, entering a new dimension of fullness in the here and now.  In the midst of their joy intruded the reality of their physical form, and with it the sweet pain of longing to be one.  It was not yet the time for this.  They both knew it and broke their gaze.  A long moment passed as each stared at the far coastal mountains, barely visible over the horizon.

"As painful as life can be, we must support our way", whispered Cye.  Striding around a pilonia and shaking out her limbs, Cye gently brushed the mossy green cap of a nearby pilonia.

"Scott, what are we doing here?  What peril are we facing?"

"Not here, my Princess.  I was in error.  We should not risk the effect our discussion will have on these orbs.  Come with me to Oasis2.  It is quite near."

The Cyberpair could see the marker cairn in the distance.  A collection of interlocking rocks and polished minerals from various worlds had been brought here to create some additional shade at Oasis2, one of only five on the planet.  Except for the one worn coastal range, there were no mountains left on this ancient world.  This coupled with the planet's almost zero axial tilt resulted in both no seasons and effectively no weather in the temperate zones.  No weather, no rain.  This moisture was coming underground all the way from the poles. (Plate 8)

Plate 8  Cybergal and Cyberscott arrive at Oasis2

Under the marbled arch of the huge cairn, Cyberscott told Cybergal his informant, Lieutenant Jorl's story. (Plate 9)  "Our agents on the planets bordering the Terronian region of Doitmey Way, have reported the emergence of a new being known as Starm-D.  It is female, and has earned the title 'The Planet Cager'.

Plate 9  Lieutenant Jorl’s story

She has developed a force which can control the presence or absence of life on an entire planet.  And, she has begun to use it, both within the Doitmey Way and on the border planets we thought safe from Sameness."

"Crojan Marge!" said Cye under her breath.  "How did this come to be?" 

"We believe she is actually of Cyberian origin, Princess.  She has all of our powers and apparently has developed a few new ones."

"But if a Cyberian, why take this turn to simple temporal power?"

"It is said that she is the historian, Cyberstyrra, who volunteered to go undercover into the Doitmey Way back during the early years of the Great Confrontation.  We were unable to extract her.  Fortunately in a way, we lost contact before we developed the Lifecode Project, so the details of our operations should still be hidden to her."

"Isn't she the one who caused us so much trouble in the Post Confrontation years?" asked Cybergal.

"You remember well, Princess.  Her chronicles continued for some time.  Our analysis of their content revealed a trend toward empathy with the Sameness.  It was indeed her writings which were used by some council members who sought to oppose the Lifecode Project.  Then the transmissions simply ended.  Since then no Cyberpilot has ever made it in or back on pure Spirit Mind focus.  We thought her dead, or defeated by Sameness.

With her apparent reappearance we can only postulate that her natural Cyberian desires brought her into conflict with the Doitmey hierarchy.  If she was not subdued by Sameness we can only guess that she was somehow able to subdue their masters and then bought into their lust for purely physical experience."

"Scott, if what you say is true, this mad Cyberian is going to be incredibly difficult to stop.  Do we know anything else?"

"We have two recent MindEye records.  I don't know how Lieutenant Jorl did it, but one of the visions is through Starm-D's own eyes!  He transmitted that one first, then this one." (Plate 10)  With that he raised three fingers to within an inch of Cybergal's right temple and silently let the image flow.

Plate 10  Starm-D as a Buddara God