The D.R.U.I.D (Developed Regenerating Intelligence Unit Droid) was at first just the Regenerating Unit made from technology found on Avalon. It was a kind of bio-metal that would re-create itself when damaged. As research continued, we found it could be developed further and even harmlessly adhered to the living flesh of the planet's natives.
As the research continued, it was found that not only the flesh of Avalonians would fuse with the metal, but the organs as well, as a defense mechanism. This led to research with other parts of the Avalon body, mainly the brain. With Augustine and Benedict’s research, it was soon discovered the cranium of the Avalonians could be harmlessly opened while they were awake. From here, we sought a way to tap into their minds. With microchips developed from their nano-technology (which is still in its infancy) we were able to take a simple Avalon alien, clone its flesh and build metal skeletons with bio-mechanic brains. We had made the perfect android.
With experimentation, the Unit Droid--a cloned native fused with Avalonian bio-metal-- was created and fully developed. Thus, the D.R.U.I.D came into existence and has been an irreplaceable Android on exploration space craft ever since. Its knowledge of stars and learning ability are highly prized among starship captains to this day.
From here, it is obvious the route I have taken. Many Avalonians are born every year and every one of them goes through our chipping process and skeletal reconstruction. It is hard to say now which ones are real. What is real?
With their help, I was able to venture out away from our synthetic earth-ship and find a planet suitable to us as human beings. I have planted a large colony of D.R.U.I.Ds there and hope it will become a great new Earth for my people. I cannot beg the pardon from Avalon for the things I’ve done and pray my children do not have justice for that sin brought against them.
Merlin is gone. As I near the end of my life, I wish I had known where he was and wish I knew how to take back what I’ve done. But can I? Should I? The human race would not be where it is now--safe, happy, and free--if I had not done what I had. I look to the stars and the future for an answer. I pray you take heed of my questions and see a better way, my sons. But for now, Avalon is gone. I wish I did not have to record some of these words as the truth is like the Mist: there protecting one moment and gone the next. Take all I say with a grain of salt.
The starship Constantine drifted slowly towards its destination as its inhabitants, roughly 30,000 sleeping souls and two captains, began to stir for the first time in centuries. The ship, set onto its quest by Constantine II, sailed for the planet Camelot, which had been inhabited and prepared for the humans these past years by the working android class.
The ship, long kept in utter, cosmic silence had done its duty in keeping the human bodies alive and well these past years. The journey that had been planned for years by the man known as the first Constantine had taken longer than any of them expected and cryosleep became necessary. Watched over by the reliable artificial intelligence in the ship’s computer, the people slumbered as their new home loomed nearer.
The first man to wake would start a great chapter in history he would never see the value in.
1
Awakening
Uther stirred in his cryosleep tube, waking his fingers and toes with flexes. If it hadn’t been for the muscle supplement they had been living on all these years, he may not have been able to move at all. The lid hissed open and dim, grey light pierced his eyes for the first time in an age. The first thing he noticed was the hum of the ship. His father, Constantine IV, said when he awoke, the ship would be silent and still in orbit around Camelot. But it still it ran. That meant his great father had died and the task to guide the colony to the waiting planet, fell to him. His awakening meant they were close.
He got out, stretched, and pressed the large DNA pad on the wall next to him. It glowed softly, the ship acknowledging his alertness. He had been warned he might feel ill or take days to recover. Uther heard his stomach growl as he stretched again and thanked his lucky stars they had come further in their knowledge and he didn’t need to make use of the white pan attached to his pod.
“Good day, Commander Pendragon,” the ship’s screen said. “First task from Constantine IV: awaken Merlin life-form, base level.”
“No,” Uther said as he hit the glowing text, acknowledging he understood. “The first task is getting my brother up.”
“Already done,” sighed a tall, slender man behind him. His older brother, Constans, with his angular face, high cheek bones, and yellow hair was the epitome of a commanding officer. Uther glanced at his own reflection in another cryotube. The physically stronger of the two, he had inherited his father’s brawn rather than his mother’s charm like Constans. “Father left us a voice recording. The computer says it’s only days old.” He looked up from the tiny screen on his wrist. “He must have disposed of his own body already.”
Uther saw the sadness in his brother’s face. The sensitive one. “We should get Merlin. He’ll know what to do.”
“Can I have a moment?” Uther said angrily. He wished he’d watched his tone instantly. “I’m sorry, brother. What a greeting after all these years, right? How long has it been?”
Constans shrugged then winced. “Take a walk with me, Uther. I feel oddly stiff.”
Quietly, as though they were children in an old library, the two brothers walked out of the room full of their sleeping fellow human beings. All the other
