Part 24: Mar 24 2157 - More Juffo-Wup

Thread decision was to research the Mycon. What better way to do that then by saying hi to their only known point of interest?



It's a long journey, so I'll kill some time by chatting with my new friend!



NOW, Captain! It is foolish to resist!... Hmmm... it remains more effective than I had thought, you are still able to disobey. Ah, well. What can I do for you, Captain?



It is cold and empty. I could use a thermal blanket. Since it is incredibly boring down here, I am using the opportunity to try and get some sleep.



I consider such a question to be intrusive and impolite, but that is consistent with your behavior. What do you want to know?



Over twenty thousand years ago, my species was happy and carefree, living a life of peace and contentment on the surface of our world Benteflork. We spent our time gathering foods, creating art, and compelling each other to do the boring chores. Then a ship from the Sentient Milieu landed, and well, things got pretty complicated.



The Sentient Milieu were a blood-thirsty Empire that ruled a large section of the galaxy for thousands of years. If you heard that the Milieu was a cooperative union of sentient species, it's LIES, all lies! The Ur-Quan were just a part of the Milieu, but their dark and evil hearts infused the entire association with a sinister ambience.



Well, after we had been in contact with the Milieu for a while, they decided to kill all of my species! Now does that sound like a reasonable, friendly bunch of aliens, Hmm? Huh? Does it Captain? No! It does not!
Well the war was over pretty quickly, and my species lost. Instead of just killing us, the Ur-Quan modified our genes. Our children were born non-sentient, dumb animals. For the past twenty millenia, we Dnyarri have been serving the Ur-Quan in the most demeaning way they could imagine, acting as mindless translators who communicate the words of inferior races.



You mean my superior brain, my mental prowess? I don't want to talk about it.



Captain, I don't think you meant to ask about my powers.
-<DIDN'T YOU MEAN TO ASK ABOUT FLOWERS?>-



Flowers are beautiful, and smell nice. Now be a good human and
-<LEAVE ME ALONE!>-



An excellent idea, Captain. You must have a great deal of work to attend to. Goodbye.



What was I just doing?

Oh right, flying to Beta Brahe.



Surprisingly, no ships here.



Mining.





Hopefully this goes well.



...filled with Juffo-Wup. We must not allow it to be soiled by the Non. You must go. Now.



Juffo-Wup is the power of life... hot warmth in the cold Void. It flows through all things, binding them together, making them one. You are Non-Juffo-Wup, you cannot understand. Below is the pod of Juffo-Wup -- there for a thousand centuries. When we are cold, the pod opens and warms us. When it is dark, the pod clenches and lo, there is light. You are the Non. The pod is not for you. You must leave.



You are the Non. You must go now, and never return.



Well, that was less productive than I was hoping.

Time to explore!



This system is a lot more populated.



The Mycon seem to like talking before battles, so maybe if I talk to them enough times, they'll let something slip.



Pulsing hot liquid flows through my outstretched tendrils, sending thrills into my interior. The moment has come. I swell and burst. Above me a cloud of whispering life whirls through the air. I am content.
Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.



Killing them is not very hard at present - a volley of triple Hellbore shots can take out a Podship in two hits.





So, I'm gonna be doing this for a while now. Talk to Mycon, kill Mycon, hunt down more Mycon.



The Juffo-Wup is strong in this place.
Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





Your simple sexual process produces random mosaics of genetic instructions, yet with the simplicity of breath, I modify my own patterns. You humans improve a tool and double your capabilities. We Mycon improve ourselves and increase a thousand-fold.



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





The Deep Children! Spears of light in the darkness! Their discarded husks speak of joy to come.



I have chosen my offsprings' memories carefully from my set of remembrances, the sweet and warm times of my existence and those of my parents parents parents, the bits of a million lifetimes coalesced into a birth gift of complete awareness.



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





In the dark they grow, the deep fire feeds the Children. Their birth breathes warmth across a cold world.
Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





'...the system requires more energy. A convenient source lies beneath the crust...'



We look to Juffo-Wup for direction, and it provides the pattern. Endless expansion with purity of achievement and intolerance of error.
Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





I am Shloosh. I was incinerated fourteen thousand Earth years ago. I live now, for but a moment, and then, I am gone.



'...incorporation of dense amphibole fibers ensure survival in environmental extremes...'



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





I yearn for magma, the flowing warm basalts, the red glow of the lava pools.
Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





When we encounter the Non, we must absorb the Non or reject the Non so that it is no longer Non.



'...entry of noise into the signal is unavoidable. We must include a filtering mechanism...'



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





Cessation of an individual is unavoidable, a consequence of existence. Yet with the birth of life, individuality is transferred in part, and may occasionally gain dominance for an interval, achieving a kind of shared immortality.



'...Survival is a priority. Expansion is a priority. Processing is a priority...'



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





Juffo-Wup acknowledges the existence of un-Voidable Non. When we are faced with such, we join, absorb and wait for our opportunity to learn the weakness that will allow us to Void the Non.



At times, I meet another, who shares with me the life of a parent inside the mind, and if we speak this fragment becomes predominant in the both of us, and self meets self with occasionally enlightening results.
Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.





The Podships thrum with the plasma containment field whose offspring seek to transform the Non to Void. The fields grow tighter, and tighter, the bass rumble of the generators rises gradually to a high burning scream. Sudden silence and a flash of light announce release, the hot pulsing subsides slowly.



The Deep Children fall from the Void, gathering speed for the penetration. The tough casing warms as it passes through the atmosphere, glowing white as it hits the surface, solid rock flows like liquid, and the child slips into the warm, safe depths beneath the crust.



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.



Bingo. We have our proof.



Time to get out of here!



Before I leave the system, this first planet looks suspect.



A second egg fragment!

Maybe someone else will want to take this one off my hands.



I run into more Mycon on my way out.



'...look... think... act... look... learn... remember... teach... repeat...'



The implantation fleet has assembled in orbit above the green world, the patterns of weakness reveal the point of introduction. The Child is prepared for its birthing trip. Release!



Juffo-Wup fills in my fibers and I grow turgid. Violent action ensues.



I get the hell out of dodge.







Fuel restored!



Back to Earth!



The Shofixti have returned! Their ships can now be built in our shipyards. With their vast numbers swelling our ranks, we won't have to worry about running out of able-bodied crew, and I'm sure their volunteers will reduce the cost for new crew.



Ironically, the RU cost for crew actually didn't change. There are two primary events that affect crew cost - reviving the Shofixti (-2), and reaching 1000 casualties (+2). I hit both simultaneously, so they balance out, leaving the cost back where it started.



The Heart of Gold is now complete. I have no need for further lander missions.



So, let's talk goals.

My objective is to stop the Ur-Quan, which I can do by destroying the Sa-Matra. I need three things to accomplish that:

• First, a way to get the Chenjesu and Mmrnhmhrm to cooperate. I may be able to do this by accelerating the fusion process using the device that the Mycon are guarding - Tanaka described its effect as being like a second sun. However, this would also risk annihilating both races.
  
• Second, a way to distract the Ur-Quan fleets surrounding the ship. I already have that on board - the Talking Pet.
  
• Third, a way to destroy the Sa-Matra. The Utwig have my answer here in the form of the Precursor bomb they found. However, I need to repair the Ultron to get them to part with it, and I still don't have the parts for it.
  

So, what's next?

• We've confirmed that the Deep Children destroyed Syra. Tell the Syreen about it.
  
• The Shofixti have returned. Let the Yehat know about it.
  
• We have a second shell fragment - an artifact we're willing to part with. Trade it to the Druuge.