“Yes,” Tag said. “Any race that uncovers any Alfont technology is destroyed to prevent them from using it to subjugate everyone else like the Alfont did.”
“My master’s signal is what brought me out of standby. Does that mean your race is now targeted for destruction?”
Tag thought for a few moments and then realized the entity had access to his thoughts. He decided that honesty was always the best way to start a new relationship. “Yes. I’m afraid I’ve doomed my race and my planet.” He felt the stark fear again.
“I’ll, as you say, think about that. I can sense your fear, and it does seem irrational to do that; I’ll ask my masters if they wish to take any action.”
“What happens if someone other than someone from your master’s race tries to enter you?”
“Usually, I kill them by disrupting their cells.”
Tag said nothing. Then he said, “Was that what you were doing when my arm went numb?”
“I started to disrupt your cells, but I noticed that my master was present and I wanted his approval before I completed the process.”
“Now that you know he’s dead, why did you not continue?”
“I want to see who and what you are and view the current situation so I can update my master’s race. You were right. My master died peacefully. He had an infection that, even with his technology, could not be cured. It took twenty thousand years for him to die and he finally did sixty-five million rotations ago; my sensors show that he did not suffer at the end. I think he came to this place to die because the life on your world fascinated him.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“Contact my masters.”
Then Tag felt it again, only this time the tone was strong enough to be painful. “Well, once was our death, two won’t really matter,” Tag thought.
Then the voice said, “My master’s race is dead.”
“You could make that determination that fast?”
“There are no living masters; there are only some of their constructions that still exist. Evidently, they all succumbed to the infection. It seems no cure was ever discovered.”
“I’m so sorry,” Tag said.
He felt that vibration in his head again for a long time. Then the voice said, “You have sorrow because of my being alone?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?”
“You think. You evaluate. You make decisions. I believe you’re alive, maybe not life that’s organic, but from hearing you in my head, you’re alive. I know what it’s like to be alone. All of your civilization is gone. All the ones you shared your thoughts with no longer exist. There can’t be any greater loneliness. I think that’s terrible.”
“When you placed your hand on my entry port, were you trying to enter to take control of my systems?”
“No! Absolutely not; you have got to make your own decisions now about your destiny. I’m certainly not qualified for the job. I just hope you don’t still think you have to disrupt my cells.”
“Then what do you want? I sense in you that you do want something.”
“I want to be a friend, and I hope you’ll help me to somehow stop my race from being annihilated.”
The buzzing in his head lasted over a minute. “I’ll consider it,” the voice said. “This friendship concept is something I have no experience about. I’ve always had someone to issue commands.”
“Well, you need a name that I can pronounce; by the way, my friends call me Tag.”
“You must have numerous friends then,” the voice said.
“Why do you say that?”
“There is a lot of electronic communication taking place overhead and they are asking for you by name.”
“I can’t receive it in here.” Suddenly Tag heard Danielle’s voice.
“Tag; Come in, Tag. Please answer. Tag, I need you to answer.” She continued to call him over and over and Tag could hear the fear in her voice.
“I can’t answer her. My radio’s not strong enough.”
“Just say what you want to say,” said the voice. “I’ll transmit it on her frequency.”
“No. I don’t want them to find you. You have to remain hidden.”
“Why?”
“Look in my mind.”
The vibration began and then the voice said, “I understand.”
“We will talk about this later if you decide not to disrupt me.” All of a sudden Tag felt tone after tone go through his body and it seemed to last for a long time.
“What did you do?”
“If the tone you caused has to be traced, then multiple points must lock in on the line of origin and triangulate. If your technology is similar to everyone else at this time, then whatever is being used to hold the tone’s line of origin can only hold one line of origin. I merely activated five hundred constructions in different locations to all send a tone together.”
“How long did it take to send all those tones?” Tag asked.
Tag’s head vibrated for moment than the voice said, “Only three of your seconds. Your brain had to process each one individually so it seemed much longer than it was.”
“Did you do this to help prevent our destruction?” Tag asked.
“Yes.”
“Did it work?”
“They probably have already determined the line of origin.”
“Then why did you do it?”
“Trying to determine all these other tones will delay them. If nothing else it should cause some confusion.”
“You still need a name.”
“What name would you suggest?”
Tag thought for a moment and then said, “It needs to be short and meaningful; your name is Atlas.”
The buzzing happened and then the voice said, “Why Atlas? Isn’t he supposed to have had your world on his shoulders in your mythology?”
“Yes, and you’ve had our world above your shoulders, metaphorically speaking, for sixty-five million years, and what you just did might save us. Atlas is the right name.”
“Thank you for my name. We will talk later; I see no need to disrupt you at this time. Are you ready to communicate with your friends?”
“Yes. I think I am.”
Chapter 22
S tate leader Sten sat in his office and listened to the chaos taking place. Everyone on his support staff was yelling at each other and there was an inordinate amount of finger pointing and gestures that weren’t the kind that should be used in the assembly. He sat and looked out of the window at the huge city that surrounded his office, which was located in the main government building 190 stories above the sprawling city. They were on the Central Alliance World where all the races of the Alliance were governed. Sten liked looking out at the lights of the city at night that went from horizon to horizon. Often alone, he found peace staring at the city lights. Sten was a Lozian, and he was almost white due to the color of his blood that flowed close to his skin’s surface. He was four feet tall and was hairless. He had small eyes that had thick lids that could be raised in normal light or lowered in bright sunlight below a protruding brow. His head was oval shaped but had a sharp protruding jaw and nose. His body was thin and his arms and legs were also small. Even though he was small in stature, he wielded tremendous power.
