“Are you talking about reincarnation?”
“The Sha’kier believed so, but in my solitudes I have explored a great many things I would not otherwise have the chance to. I cannot find any proof of reincarnation. I have not seen a single instance of it anywhere, and the mathematics of it are mind boggling. How many Cores are there? Is there a limit? Are new ones being created when needed? How many are being recycled? And how often?”
“The Apocalypse Monsters culling seems to suggest a population limit,” Paul noted.
“The Neofan are wrong about them. They are not a counterpart to the Life Springs. They are a lingering abomination in the Saiolum. We were not the first the break the barrier, nor the first to meld our Cores to it. What they have done I do not understand, but they are like me, bound to it in immortality, but they can also affect the physical in some way. Their harvest of life is connected to it, as is their fleeing the swirls of stars. They are not part of the makeup of the universe as the Life Springs are, the Apocalypse Monsters are people like us who have chosen a dark and sickening path.”
“You encountered them?”
“I did not, but others of my race did, and I was grafted with their memories. We Ju’en’xa are tasked with holding more than our own experience. We are also repositories of knowledge, so that if disaster befalls our race we can protect our legacy and rebuild it from a mere seed. We did not think it possible for all seeds to be destroyed. When we became weakened, threats from everywhere emerged to take their shots at us. We were not destroyed in one war, but by a swarm of enemies sensing the opportunity to eliminate us. Even without coordination they were thorough enough, and none of the survivors had, or were able to make the breakthrough thereafter, leaving me helpless to fulfill my mandate. That is why my previous position of ascension has become a curse. I once felt omnipotent in my immortality, then it became a prison until I saw the spark of the galaxy through your eyes once again.”
“Are any of your race still out there somewhere for us to recover, no matter how primitive and distorted by time?”
“I have searched this galaxy and the others extensively. If they survived I would have found them.”
“How?” Paul asked skeptically. “This galaxy alone is vast.”
“I do not have to travel to a place to see it. I can sense from afar, looking through the Saiolum to view things in real time from elsewhere. It is very specific, while broad sensing is much more limited, but I do not have to rely on travel alone to search.”
“Realtime?”
“The Saiolum does not operate on particle physics, but rather connections. Insulated ones, but even now I can see your brothers on Earth. I put markers on them, establishing a link wherever they go. I can monitor them at will because of this. They are transforming partly as you are. Your brother Jason was the first.”
“They’re making the breakthrough?”
“No. They are not close enough. I checked previously when you all assembled, and even before. They are less of builders than you. You see the galaxy as an interconnected puzzle, while they view it as a playing board. The difference is a subtle one, but it diminishes the erosion of the limiting factor. They are also hopefuls for the future, given your longevity, but you and you alone were prospect for the breakthrough now, which is why I have continued to travel with you rather than staying with them.”
“Why travel if you can mark us?”
“The marker keeps me connected, but the greater the distance the thinner the connection. It remains instantaneous, with the depth being the limitation rather than the lag. I could not have helped you stabilize your breakthrough had I not been with you. It required envelopation of my Saiolum matrix.”
“So why can’t you search and find the other Ju’en’xa with your galactic broadband sense?”
“They make no ripples if not active, and without an Avatar or a Ke’lar we cannot be active. Without a ripple to follow or a knowledge of where to look, I cannot find them.”
“Is your interacting with me creating a ripple?”
“A very small one. If they were in this system they could sense it, but not far beyond. And that is only due to the quietness. When my race was at our height, there was enough noise of multiple ripples to hide ones as small as this. Now it is silent, other than you.”
“How noisy am I?”
“Your power level is tiny, so you could not attract attention from afar even if you wished it, but your scent is all over this galaxy. That is not your connection with the Saiolum, but your actions and thoughts. Your very state of being gives off a scent, as does every other living thing in the universe. These flow along the connections of the Saiolum, and from these I can learn much of what is happening near and far. These are black and white, whereas an action in the Saiolum itself is in color, if you understand the metaphor adequately.”
“The color is easy to spot even in crowded areas?”
“Indeed. As you grow you will become more visible, and in time that will attract enemies to you.”
“You said Jason and the others were not breaking through, but that they were transforming. You also said multiple things were occurring to
