The Vault

Child of d'Dahjloncia

"The time has come, Child of d'Dahjloncia," the Archon said, gesturing his jade crystalline hand towards a throne-like chair surrounded by thousands of cables, ready to pluck into my body. "It's time for you to take place among the sacred Hive and take over a responsibility for the New World."

All my crystalline facets illuminated brightly with a warmth of pride. This was the moment I had been preparing my whole life to. Destiny I was chosen to fulfil. I looked over to my Maker. She was beaming with pure happiness, her light so bright it reflected from all other Crystalians nearby.

D'Dahjloncia gene was increasingly sparse as the centuries passed. Our kind was dying; there was no denying that. But we had not lost hope. As long as Crystalians preserve, we will search for a way to save us. To protect the last remaining planet in our system and new-made, barely crystalised and helpless members of society. Our minds were strong, and we possessed knowledge that had no match in the universe.

I was the Child of d'Dahjlonica, and my mind was the strongest among my people. Strong enough to reach through the galaxy to the new worlds that possessed the knowledge we lacked. And today, I would join the Hive to help search for the cure.

I raised my head and made the first step towards the chair. My crystalline foot made a loud noise on the stone floor, like a beautiful song of neurobirds. The lights made my body gleam cerulean, the shade almost nobody could muster. But it was my moment. I could embrace it without false humbleness.

After all, I could be the one who finds the cure for our dying planet.

I walked to the dais and sat on the chair. It was made for the purest white crystal and fitted perfectly to my current size, ready to accommodate my every curve and edge. I rested my head on the back and relaxed my body, making it ready to accommodate the new additions.

Without hesitation, three attendants surrounded me and started plugging the cables into my body. After initial shock and distress, I calmed my mind again and let my body become more plastic, accepting the foreign objects connecting to my sole being. After just a moment, I felt it. The most beautiful thing words could not possibly describe.

A connection to the Hive.

I immediately felt warmth surging through my body, and with every plugged cable, my mind expanded, opening to all the collective knowledge gathered by my kind through generations. Hundreds of other Children of d'Dahjlonica sat in respective rooms, all prepared in the same way creating our all-powerful collective consciousness.

When the last cable connected, I finally felt whole for the first time in my life.

"It's time to fulfil your destiny, Child of d'Dahjlonica. Like our holy ancestor and all her children made after her likeness. Your chosen planet is Earth in sector RT-238740. Initiate contact."

I closed my eyes and let my mind wander. Alone I could never achieve such a feat. I could project my mind to explore short distances, but the vast expanse of the cosmos? That was even beyond the Child of d'Dahjlonica abilities.

But it was a trivial thing for the Hive.

The combined strength of hundreds of extraordinary minds of Children allowed my mind... no, our collective mind to soar through the unending darkness of the universe. It was astounding with so many different galaxies, stars and planets. Our consciousness stopped at the small world that was our destination. It was blue and white with smaller patches of green, orange and yellow. We dived closer to see countless lights illuminating its surface.

It was stunning.

After allowing ourselves to appreciate the beauty, we dived closer till we could touch the minds of Earth's inhabitants. And for a moment, we were stunned. There were so many of them! Millions... no, billions of creatures living their lives, each and every one with unique experiences and knowledge on different aspects of the universe.

We felt overwhelming excitement. If there were answers somewhere in the universe that could save our world, they had to be here. We focused our consciousness, and gently as the first rays of light on the crystalline surface, we touched humans' minds.

It was incredible. Rarely did we feel such a rapid transfer of knowledge, and we had visited many planets before. Our mind stretched and expanded even more, absorbing all the information from Earthers faster and faster.

"Syphoning initiated," Archon's voice said somewhere close and far at the same time. But it was inconsequential.

We were busy reaching out and acquiring all the knowledge, searching for traces of anything useful. But even with the vastness of Earth's population, soon humans' minds started to disappear one by one.

Our search became more frantic. With every consciousness going out like a flame, our hopes were shrinking. There was no resistance, no one who could stop us. For them, it was like falling asleep, never waking up again.

Some might think that what we were doing was cruel, that we committed genocide on countless different species. But it was not true. We weren't killing them. We were assimilating their minds and everything that made them who they were.

They would live forever through us.

What could be better?

When the last little light of consciousness faded away from the planet's surface, we felt overwhelming disappointment. We didn't find the answers, after all. With all the vast and diverse knowledge the human species acquired through millennia, it was still not enough to save us.

We let our consciousness slip away to get back to where all our bodies were stored. I opened my eyes but looking through one person's eyes hurt. To be contained in this small and puny body when your mind was the size of a galaxy was atrocious.

"Did you find the answers?" the Archon asked, his body glowing with the steady green of anticipation and blue tones of hope.

"No," I said in a voice that was no longer mine but rather the combined sound of countless voices of all Children.

The sparkle of the Archon's body dimmed as he bowed his head. "I see. That is unfortunate. Proceed to prepare the next Child of d'Dahjlonica."

I... We barely listened to Archon's words or other Crystalians hastily leaving the room as the lights began to dim. As we joined the Hive, there was no need for separate entities when we all possessed unlimited knowledge. Once you entered the collective, you could no longer keep your individual consciousness. Your body or mind didn't matter when you were part of the biggest collective of knowledge in the universe.

Yet it was still not enough to save us.

"Initiate the acquisition of the next planet on the list," Archon's voice announced, but we barely heard it. Our consciousness was melting, unable to keep focus any longer. The burden of searching for answers will fall on another Child of d'Dahjlonica.

Until we find a cure.

Or until we, too, turn to inconsequential stardust. Pretty to look at, but dead. 

THE END