Chapter 2: Experiments

In the narrow confines of the ship’s laboratory Alexander convulsed and went limp. The two slight figures standing alongside exchanged meaningful, but silent glances.

“Extraordinary,” the Scythian, a telepath, thought to its companion. “I cannot recall ever seeing one cognizant of the probe at such a high level. Was that level five as anticipated?”

“It was,” the other replied. It scanned a series of screens, shifting the patterns with thought keys. At length it thought, “We have nine millennia worth of data on this species, but I have no record of any cognitive activity for Terran subjects above level four, however, this is the Terran male’s third capture. It’s possible the male is developing resistance to the probe.”

“Impossible,” replied the first. “Many Terrans are captured dozens of times without any increased resistance to the probe. Still, it is unusual, and this is one of our profile cases, not a random subject, is it not?”

The second Scythian watched a series of lights wink in response to his mental commands, and the screens displayed a new set of data. “Yes, the Terran caught the attention of the profile protocols. Prior to the initial capture the subject was a gladiator in one of the more violent entertainment spectacles.” The Scythian pointed to a screen with a long thin finger. The screen showed Alexander in purple and white armor, with horns on his helmet, battling with other gladiators in silver and white. Alexander stood in the snow over his fallen foe, bloody, muddy, with his breath smoking from beneath his helmet. He raised his arms to the adulation of thousands.

The Scythian keyed the computer, and the scene shifted to a series of warplanes. “After a short period in the games it became an officer in the atmospheric arm of one of the nation states. That is where the protocol made the first identification.” The Scythian turned to another screen that displayed personality categories and their scores. “As you know the protocols routinely scan the Terran’s battery of intelligence and personality tests. The information is primitive, but still useful in tagging those individual Terrans which, under the right conditions, could cause significant upheaval on a planetary scale.”

The Scythian left the displays and returned to the prone body of Alexander. “This subject fits many of the alarm categories. Strangely enough it is considered highly intelligent, even by galactic standards. Although its education is understandably primitive, the subject held advanced degrees in the sciences including physics, mathematics and astronomy. The subject’s unusually high level of aggressiveness, demonstrated leadership skills and its high intelligence flagged the subject. From the protocol’s point of view there was great potential in this individual.”

“Where does the Terran’s career stand at this time?”

A mental note of surprise emanated from the second Scythian. “It is in transition. The Terran is no longer in the military, but there seems to be no particular reason for its departure in the Terran records. Records indicate a swift rise in positions of responsibility—as our observers expected. The Terran had considerable expertise and command experience, as noted by its superiors, but in the end he failed to advance to the upper echelons of command.” The Scythian stepped away from the screen, his thin arms spread wide. “I cannot interpret this data.”

“I can interpret this for you,” the first Scythian thought as he looked over the data. “I have seen this before. This particular Terran meets the classic personality profiles for times of conflict. In its career no conflicts of significant scale occurred. Often Terran military institutions quietly discourage aggressive strong willed officers during such times. Apparently, the more politically oriented Terrans are threatened by this aggressive type of Terran. This Terran, which thrived in Terra’s gladiatorial games, only aggravated its situation. Events have already quelled what potential it had, without our intervention. What else is pertinent in the Terran?”

The second Scythian changed the data displays, and thought, “The Terran is consistent with its personality profile. Records indicate it is an expert in physical warfare, as well as with assorted weapons. It is highly intelligent, as mentioned, possessing degrees in advanced science. Interestingly enough, its work focused primarily on space travel. The subject is well above the average in size and as expected it is physically quite powerful. There is, however, a noticeable decline in physical capability primarily due to age and various injuries. If you will address the medical scan we’ve highlighted the major areas of difficulty.”

The second Scythian moved over to the table where Alexander lay. A blue swath of light enveloped his body and he rose about a foot off the table. Portions of Alexander’s structure became transparent down to the level of the damage. Symbols floated in the blue air next to the injury explaining the extent and nature of the problem. Slowly, as if on an invisible spit, Alexander’s body rotated while the second Scythian studied it.

“There is major connective tissue damage to nearly every joint. There is evidence of primitive replacement surgery on the right knee. The artificial joint is a metal alloy, heavy and crudely manufactured, but apparently serviceable. The Terran has multiple injuries to the spinal column. There is a significant amount of scar tissue in the extremities. Incredible! A Scythian would terminate its life cycle rather than endure such physical difficulty.”

“The injuries undoubtedly originate from the Terran’s career in the games. Perhaps that is why there was a change in careers. That is enough on this subject; do we have access to the Terran’s memory patterns? Good. What do the previous core scans reveal?”

“This is interesting,” the second Scythian thought, moving in a short clipped motion as if unused to unsettling events. “Normally we gain access to the memory core of the brain on the initial study. It is noted, however, that the Terran’s resistance to the probe on the previous two studies was significant enough to bypass the memory scan routine. This is then our first memory scan for this individual.”

“Really, that is quite unusual,” the first admitted.

Images came through on the screens. The pictures were incoherent at first, but after some telepathic adjustment the Scythian announced success. “I have accessed the portion of the memory with previous personalities.”

“Find the oldest coherent fragment,” the first ordered.

“Identified, and stimulated,” replied the second. Screens previously dark sprang to life within the room. The two beings glanced at images of mountains and the sea. There was a woman with hair of gold, and lovemaking. Multiple scenes of primitive war followed, all in different locales. The Scythians witnessed dozens of towns burned, towers stormed and the great crush of steel clad men savagely hacking away with blood drenched blades. There were gray skies and mountains. There was the sea. There was the woman and his children.

The second Scythian said, “It is an older persona, by Terran standards. But there is nothing extraordinary in the observations: the particular mate, mating and offspring are constant themes amongst the Terrans.”

“That is a failing with the two sex species. I see no relevance to these images,” the first replied with repugnance.

The images shifted to the woman again, as if the memory was taking a long last look at her. A cold fog enshrouded morning replaced the woman. A growing battle scene erupted out of the glooms, this time in greater clarity and detail than ever before. It swiftly formed into an image of the man, his beard red with blood and his armor rent. He stood alone on a bridge while a horde of enemies tried to cross it. His notched ax rose and fell amongst the ranks of his foes leaving a mound of tangled dead.

“This must be the death memory,” the second noted.

“Shocking, make a note of it for the Bureau of Information. I can think of no better example of Terran ferocity.”

“As you wish,” the second said. The image went on, giving an interminable sense of time, until finally another warrior stabbed him from underneath the bridge. The image faded, but before it went completely dark there was a dim picture of two women dressed in glowing metal scales. They came to the fallen man. Beyond them a huge red bearded Terran waited. The image disappeared.

“What was that last portion?” the second Scythian asked.

The first answered, “Possibly a primitive ritualistic belief. Often the Terrans attempt to explain the unknown with a set of beliefs based on identification—I believe they term the concept religion. It is prevalent in all of the thalamic driven races of the galaxy. Catalogue it and move on to the next.”

The Scythians continued with the memory scans. The life memories of Alexander varied, and they grew sharper and more complex as they climbed into recent Terran history. The exercise took some time, and by the end of it the first Scythian was disinterested.

“Catalogue what we have, then prepare the male for return.”

The Scythians’ colleague, however, appeared agitated, thinking, “I believe there is something noteworthy in this Terran.”

“What do you mean?” asked the first, its thoughts perturbed. “The memories were not so different from the thousands of others we have catalogued.”

“I believe there is something else,” the second replied. “The computer has run its correlation scan against recorded Terran history and has found matches.”

“So the Terran has been noteworthy in their history on more than a singular instance. I admit it is unusual, but,”

“You do not understand,” the second thought, interrupting his superior—a highly unusual act for a Scythian. “The significance is in the consistency of this Terran’s affect on Terran history. These are not insignificant life events. The Terran is linked in all of its life memories to Terrans identified in their own recorded history. In other words this Terran made a significant impact upon his world in every lifetime.”

“All of them?” the first Scythian thought, stiffening perceptibly.

“All of them,” the second Scythian replied firmly.

“We have seen this before. Certain Terrans, as did Alexander the Great, make their presence felt in each life experience. Is this one of those Terrans? What do his current life memories tell us? How do they compare with our current observation of Terra?”

“There is nothing which correlates this Terran with records of present history outside of his performance in the gladiatorial games. That facet of his life is insignificant and can be discounted. Gladiators of this world are lauded and admired, but never remembered. However,” the second Scythian thought, but there was a lapse, and an incomplete thought.

“Well?” the first pressed.

“There are many images of what they call dreams,” the Scythian replied. “The empathic charts also show extraordinarily high readings of frustration. Apparently, the subject is agitated over his lack of signature success. Although there is evidence of significant accomplishment associated with the gladiatorial games the Terran appears to views these glories as irrelevant. There are also images of events that have not occurred. There is a great deal of mental energy expended on these pseudo-memories. There is one other thing I feel I must point out.”

“Proceed.”

“You mentioned with great accuracy that such a being as this could not succeed in times without conflict. He is ambitious, aggressive, intelligent, and a leader. I’ve run a comparator protocol. The subject does compare quite favorably with the personality profile of the Alexander of two millennia past; that is, Alexander the Great.”

“Comparisons are one thing, however intriguing; association to past personalities is another. There was no indication in the memory scan that this being even had an ancestral personality in Alexander’s time.”

“That is not unusual,” the second said. “We ran only a surface scan to the oldest coherent fragment. If there were a memory pattern dating to Alexander’s time it would undoubtedly need to be rebuilt. That could be done with an in depth catalogue of the core. Of course, such a scan would take time.”

“Yes, we would undoubtedly spend more than the allotted time on this individual,” the first thought uncomfortably. “Without further proof of identity I cannot justify the deviation.”

“Yet his first cognitive thought trigger was an identification of self. It was identification not of Alexander Thorsson, but simply of Alexander!” the second thought, uncharacteristically and earnestly pressing its point. “Meaning that even if this is not a continuation of the personality of Alexander the Great it could very well be a being who at least sees himself as the next Alexander. It is a lengthy supposition, but one with merit.”

“Shall I set the scanners for a prolonged study then?”

The first Scythian hesitated. It turned, and in a very unusual display of physical agitation—for a Scythian—it paced. Round and round the laboratory it went. Finally, it stopped, and thought, “Set the scanners for a fragment search. Often old psyches can be identified from a fragment of a pattern; a single visual cue momentous for a particular life cycle will identify the general time frame of the psyche. We might investigate a dozen such visualizations in the time it would take the scanners to catalogue a single memory pattern. Proceed.”

The second Scythian did as he was told. They ran through several images, each of some import to its owner, but none enlightening. Then a silhouette of the man appeared on their screens. He looked over a darkening landscape from the vantage of a high mountain pass. Beyond the stars shone fitfully over a slumbering world.

The Scythians stiffened bolt upright as if hit by an electric shock, but any further inspection was interrupted. Their screens went suddenly blank and flashed on again. When they brightened the image of one of their own people appeared. Its thought-expression instantly demanded their attention. A telepathic carrier wave addressed them.

“This is the Scythian High Council with an urgent update for all Scythian citizens, especially those outside the home territories of Scythia. After lengthy negotiations with the Chem, we regret to inform you that the Chem have thus far refused our calls to open their borders. As you know Chem is the only civilization completely outside our sphere of influence. Our only protection from this thalamic race is through self imposed Chem isolation, which has lasted since the termination of their wars of expansion thirteen millennia past. There is increasing doubt as to Chem reaction. At this point in time, there is any number of possible Chem reactions, including punitive action. However, our calculations view this possibility as remote.

“Heretofore, our approach with the Chem has embraced the logic of our proposals as the central reasoning behind acquiescence. The ineffectiveness of this direction of negotiation can be blamed on the Chem weakness of linking emotion and reason in policy. The over-emphasized sense of honor the Chem hold as their primary dogma makes them jealous of incursion and has been particularly difficult to overcome. We therefore conclude that we must invigorate our approach with an emotional argument.

“Our ambassadors are approaching the Chem with the intention of using the Terran stratagem. As you well know we used this technique of negotiation on the Golkos, who are our closest approximation to the Chem. We experienced markedly successful results following an initial negative reaction. The Chem are expected to react with extreme emotion to the threat of Terran mercenaries being used against their empire. We predict such a reaction will be short-lived with no serious repercussions.

“Despite this assurance all Scythians are to be on the alert for aggressive Chem activity, especially along the Scythia-Chem frontier.”

The message went on, but the first Scythian commanded the ship’s computer to send the tapes to the Homeworlds. “We must inform the Council of our findings. This particular Terran, if his records are manipulated correctly, could be used against the Chem . . .”

#

The two beings turned away from him, watching another of their kind on the view screen. Alexander saw his chance. He felt ill with exhaustion, but he had no choice. Carefully, he slid off the table. His legs were rubbery and it took a concentrated effort to stand, but the aliens were still engrossed in their communication. He took an uncertain step, then another, creeping up behind them. Alexander was going to take their two melon heads and smash them together. He doubted if he had the strength to kill them, which was just as well—he might need them alive.

He reached for their heads.

A hammer blow shook the ship, jarring Alexander painfully. He reeled across the metal deck, careening into the instruments and sending them crashing onto the floor. Alexander tried desperately to extricate himself before the aliens saw him; he needn’t have worried.

The shock sent the aliens skidding across the deck as well, crashing violently against instruments and bulkheads. Their little round mouths warbled hideously, as if they were terrified animals not sentient beings.

Alexander found the irony momentarily intriguing.

He didn’t have time for further reflection; something was happening to the ship, and he had to at the very least maintain his freedom. Alexander scrambled up through the tangle of metal, screens and cables and headed for the aliens.

One of the aliens saw him. It howled in a high keening way, eerily in synch with the ringing hull. It reached for something in its belt and aimed it at Alexander.

Another blow hit the ship, and the alien’s blue beam sailed wide. The gun flew out of the alien’s slight hand, and instinctively Alexander snatched it out of mid air.

Alexander reached the alien and backhanded it across the face. Despite Alexander’s weakened condition the alien cart wheeled across the deck. It crashed into a wall of screens, and Alexander froze.

The images on the screens were unimaginable. They were all of him, or so it seemed. It was as if he was watching movies of himself in different times. He saw his football days; he saw himself as Viking warrior; he was a general; he was a king; and in the center plate he saw himself looking over a broad valley from a high pass—lights twinkled in the distance.

“Have mercy, oh Alexander!” said a high sing-song voice, breaking his reverie. He looked down to see the one alien helping the other to its knees. It prostrated itself before him.

Before Alexander could say or do anything a loud hissing noise began behind him. The aliens covered their faces.

He looked back to see a red light force its way around the rim of the chamber’s hatch. A bright flash erupted, blinding Alexander, and a shot split the air as the clamps gave way. The hatch spun off its mounts and whirled across the short space, crushing one of the Scythians’ against the wall. A dark pool of sluggish blood spread from underneath the twisted metal.

A menacing figure stepped into the chamber. Though almost as tall as Alexander the being was markedly slighter in build.

“Alexander save us!” cried the remaining alien.

“Who the hell are you?” Alexander demanded.

The new alien stood scarcely three yards away. He drew what looked to be a pistol and shot Alexander.

Alexander twisted away at the last second, but the shot hit him on the right side of the chest anyway. It whirled him around, burning his chest and shoulder with a sharp electric sizzle. His head swam, and his eyes lost their focus, but as he fought the urge to fall into unconsciousness. Going on pure instinct, Alexander bull rushed the new alien. He struck the lighter alien with his shoulder, knocking him easily aside. Alexander headed for the glimmer of light that must be the hatch; he had to get out of there.

His vision started to come back, at least enough to see that there were two other tall dark figures entering the hatch as he was trying to leave it. He plowed through the bodies as he used to do with the behemoths of the NFL. There was no resisting him. He burst through, staggering down a bright green corridor, bouncing off the walls like a pinball.

Alexander’s vision began to clear. There were hatches on either side of him. He passed by several closed hatches, then he stopped. A hatch on the right was open. Within, on a huge screen, was the unmistakable horizon of the Earth. He ducked in and found a long curved panel littered with panels and lights tucked beneath the screen. It had to be the bridge.

First things first, he muscled the hatch closed. He didn’t know how to operate the automatic mechanism so he forced it closed, spun the latch, and locked it. Then he turned to the control board.

“Alexander, if you can’t figure out the door how are you going to fly the ship?”

He’d just started to scan the displays when a familiar hissing sound turned him around. He leapt out of the line of the door as the hatch came free. It crashed into the control board. Alexander rushed the figures beyond the open hatch, but three bright blue beams hit him in mid stride. Everything instantly went black.

#

The Chem warrior stepped onto the bridge and stood over Alexander. He wore a mottled suit of metal-like armor and a close fitting helm. Luminous blue eyes stared down at Alexander with satisfaction.

“So this is a Terran in the flesh,” he said, rubbing his jaw where the Terran struck him. “Impressive. Signal Lady Nazeera. We’ve accomplished our mission. Bring him and let us go!”