“I thought you were kidding about needing two billion of my children but now I see you were being conservative. One of the tasks of the adolescents sent to the planets to install the red screen generators will be to also find a substitute uninhabited planet and five hundred locations to move the screened planet in five hundred different galaxies. Once they gather the information, we will combine all of their information and send it to every one of those assigned to planet protection. Your Searchers will track the invaders and notify us of the Galaxies that have been examined and we will target those galaxies for movement of the screened planets.”
“Do we have time to make it happen, Sprig?”
“Barely, but this also means that we can save our building facilities and not destroy them. Another ironic twist to this is that we can use the millions of planets my race destroyed in my galaxy that have no life on them only ancient empty structures still standing to reinforce the idea that the civilization had died out. Those planets my race killed may now save life. It is fitting that they be used in our subterfuge.”
Matt sighed heavily, “More work, Al.”
“You must think I get tired,”
Matt laughed again and began to feel hope for his universe.
A ship floated in the void surrounded by nothing but dark black space; there were no stars, galaxies, or even random radiation. This was a universe that had lived its life and died of old age. What matter remained had lost whatever energy it possessed when the last star sputtered it final death throes. Over a billion years the matter had slowly moved together to form a green mass larger than five galaxies, however the giant sphere of matter only had the mass of a medium planet. It was this matter that was used by an ancient race to build its ships and structures. Even the skin of these beings was covered by a thin layer of this green matter. It was unique not only in this universe but in all of creation. Nothing could penetrate it and energy did not affect it. The beings wearing this green matter could stand at ground zero of a nuclear blast and walk away unharmed. This matter was the strength of those that used it.
The ship was more than fifty thousand miles wide and at its center was a giant creature laying on a platform made of thick silver strands with its eight legs hanging over the side. Each leg was in a depression surrounded by electronic devices. The Nest Mother sat on her bed and thought about her appetite; she had not tasted a good meal in a hundred million years and she wondered if her children were harvesting the meals too soon between visits. She remembered the taste of the first meals more than two hundred million years ago when they first began farming other universes and the memory made her shiver; it was so good. Now the taste was barely palatable. One of her large male children came into her chamber and approached a depression slightly below her platform. The male moved quickly forward and turned upside down in the depression. The Nest Mother looked at the male and saw his abdomen was huge and swollen.
“Have you collected all you’ve harvested, my son?”
“Yes, Mother. All of my ships have brought me their harvest.”
The Nest Mother saw that it was a large harvest. Each of the warriors had connected to their leaders and transferred a copy of their feast to their ship leader who had in turn transferred a copy to the Lead Male. She was always surprised at how the taste of all intelligent life in a universe could be reduced to the storage of one male child. Are you ready for transfer, my child?”
The male actually shivered in the depression and answered, “I have looked forward to this exchange my entire life.”
The Nest Mother moved forward quickly and suddenly sunk her fangs into the abdomen of the huge male and began consuming the contents. The male shivered in ecstasy and felt the euphoria that only came during the final transfer. The Nest Mother consumed the male quickly and tossed the dead carcass into a large hole in the floor where the shrunken body was ejected from the ship. The Nest Mother who was ten times larger than the male turned and moved back to her bed. For a moment a large red hour glass shape could be seen on the bottom of her abdomen and then it disappeared as she mounted the platform. Just as she feared, the taste was bland. She placed her legs back in the electronic depressions and wished for a good meal. Her right rear leg started to vibrate. She turned her attention to the vibration and felt the pulses given off when a new universe was created. This was a rare event. The last universe created was more than six harvestings ago. She delayed the consumption of her new meal and focused on the last time she had felt those pulses. “Ahh, that was a good meal.” She used her leg to focus in on the location of the blast that had started the new universe and pinpointed where it occurred. “There has to be an extremely advanced life form to cause that explosion,” she thought to herself. “This last male’s family is finished with its last harvest so I should be able to send them to investigate.” She paused and read her sensors. “Only eight million years ago since we visited.” She paused and thought, “That’s a very short time for a truly advanced life form to develop.” She pondered what to do for a long moment and continued to feel the pulses vibrate her leg. “Perhaps my children missed this life form in their last harvest.” She continued to feel the vibration and decided. “My children need some time to digest their meal. I’ll send them as soon as they are hungry again.” She issued the commands to the new male taking command of the family and then turned her attention to the meal she had just eaten, “Oh for the taste of a good meal.” She began digesting to see if there was anything new she had not learned from a prior meal. The first hundred thousand races she tasted weren’t as developed as the first meal she had eaten millions of years ago. It almost made her delay the harvest she had just ordered but the vibration actually whetted her appetite. “I’ll delay future harvests after this one. I’ll need to reduce the number of families in order to make that happen but I’m sure the males will enjoy the meal that their families will provide them. I know I will.” Population pressures were easily handled in her species.
Chapter 8
“Searcher, do you have time to watch an experiment?”
“Hi, Stem. Of course I do. I’m waiting for a new coordinate to contact so I’ll take my code off the board. Where are you?”
“Al has the coordinates; I’ll wait for your arrival.”
Matt looked at his display and punched the teleport button. Aladdin broke out in normal space just above a planet surrounded by a red screen. Stem teleported on to the bridge and thought, “Thank you for coming.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Why play double shells.”
“Oh boy, I want to see this,” Al communicated.
“Good to see you again, Al.”
“Likewise, Stem. I’m surprised you were able to get a pass from the search.”
“There was another as qualified to handle it. I am better equipped to handle this.”
“Tell me what you’re going to do, Stem.”
“Searcher, I am going to teleport the planet inside the screen to a new orbit around another star. Ten seconds after it’s moved I will teleport one of the dead planets from my galaxy to replace it. We will then go and look at the moved planet to see if it is adversely affected by the move.”
Matt shrugged and said, “Ok, you’re in charge.”
“How come you never tell me that?”
Stem answered, “He’s not that stupid, Al.”
“Oh that’s funny, I’ll just have to write that down and use it later. I’m sure all the plants will just be rolling over at that humor.”
“Who’s being funny,” Stem replied?
“You big sack of weeds; just be glad my commander likes you or I’d trim your leaves.”
“That’s enough, you two. I know how much you two enjoy needling each other but at this rate I’ll never see the experiment.”
Stem leaned back showing his laughter and then thought, “As you wish. I’ll initiate the first transfer and the second will be done automatically ten seconds after the process starts.”
Matt turned his sensors toward the planet and said, Al, I want a good recording of this.”
“Already in motion, Admiral.”
Matt smiled and said, “You may begin when you’re ready, Stem.”
