A Short Story by W. Steve Wilson
Facing failure in their assault on the invaders, Shimmery5 divides their forces.
Shimmery2 broke off from the combine and headed to the flyer. They traveled through the ripple roughness, moving parallel to the ridges, navigating the low troughs between the ridges where moving was easier.
As their planet’s star rose above the horizon at the dawn of the third rotation of travel, Second stirred and connected to Fifth, rousing them from their nighttime torpor. “Fifth, I can’t go on. I’m drained, and even with the lengthening light periods, I’m not able to recharge completely. I’ll never make it through the rocky barrier.”
“But Second, we have to reach the flyer. First is counting on us to destroy it.”
“We can’t. You remember what happened when you tried—nothing. It healed itself. You didn’t stop it. Maybe you injured it or drew off some of its energy. But it’s still flying.”
“We have to try. We have to stop the invaders.”
“I’m sorry, Fifth. I believe they are invaders, but I don’t believe we can stop them.”
“Then why did you come? Why did you lie to First and the others?”
Second coalesced around their center and loosened their connection to Fifth. A wave of guilt and remorse flowed through the link. Fifth recoiled.
“Second, what’s wrong?”
“I need your forgiveness. I’m so sorry, Fifth. I thought if we got away, your youth could help me heal. I fear I’m dying. I just don’t have First’s strength. As the second oldest, I should have. But I’ve never been strong like First. Every rotation, every season, I feel weaker. The trip north and this campaign against the invaders have sapped me. Even relying on you to move us through the ripple roughness and resting has not helped. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“Oh, Second. Of course, I’ll forgive you, but you could have asked. I would have shared my energy. But you’re not dying. You just need to rest and recharge. And you need to tell First that we should stop. Let’s go home.”
###
Combined as Shimmery3, First, Third, and Fourth pushed their way along, traveling through the ripple roughness. It was easier than expected, and on the afternoon of the fourth rotation of travel, Shimmery3 reached the edge of the ripple roughness.
“Third, send up a tendril and locate the crawling beast. We’ll support you with our energy before we sleep for the night.”
“I found it,” said Third. “It has moved only a short distance south from where we last spotted it. We should be able to catch up after one more rotation.”
“I need some rest,” said Fourth. “We shouldn’t rush into this until we’re ready.”
First sent a soothing calm across to Third and Fourth. “We’ll rest tonight, and if you feel ready, Fourth, we’ll attack tomorrow. We’ll be relying on you to send up a thick tendril and see if you can push it over.”
“I’ll try. I’ll do what I can.”
Third sent a spark of encouragement to Fourth. “We can only try. We’ll be here to help.”
Dawn brightened on the fifth rotation since Shimmery3 began their journey to attack the crawler. First roused Third and Fourth and sent a calming greeting. “Today, we’ll know if we can resist the invaders. If we succeed, we can show the Council what they can do.”
“I don’t think they’ll ever believe us,” said Fourth.
“The Collective thinks we can’t resist the invaders, so they delude themselves, thinking the invaders will help us. If we can show that we can resist, they’ll change their minds,” said First.
“I guess,” said Fourth. “But I’m afraid if you’re wrong, we’ll be turned out and never reconnect to the Collective.”
“We have to try,” said Third. “We can’t delay any longer. It’s time to fight back.”
Shimmery3 moved along the edge of the ripple roughness and approached the crawler. Fourth hung back and let First lead. A wave of doubt and anxiety rippled through Shimmery3, but First damped it down and sent their stored energy to the rear to strengthen Fourth.
Fourth moved to the front to a position directly under the crawler. Mustering all their strength, and with the power from the combine flowing through them, Fourth reached up with a thick tendril and slammed the back of the crawler.
The tendril passed right through the crawler’s skin and struck the inner core. The shock of energy pierced Fourth’s being and sent a bolt of energy through Shimmery3. Fourth’s tendril heated, and a scorching pain raced down the tendril and flooded Shimmery3 with nuclear fire.
The massive crawler remained fixed in place—unmoved, unchanged, oblivious to the attack.
Their star lightened the horizon on the sixth rotation. Shimmery4 wakened, refreshed, energized, and well. The shock of attacking the crawler had incapacitated the combine, and they’d slept through almost an entire rotation. With the dawn, First noted the change—they detected a fourth member. Polling the combine, First recognized Third and two Fourths.
How could it be? The Collective had not added a new member in five hundred million revolutions.
###
Ten rotations had passed since Shimmery5 had separated to attack the two invasion monsters. As agreed, they returned to the starting point.
Second reached out to connect to First and flinched. Finding a fourth entity in what Second expected to be Shimmery3 startled them. First sent a soothing spark of comfort to Second and Fifth to ease their anxiety.
“We have great news,” said First. “When Fourth struck the crawler, the surge of nuclear energy forced a division. We now have two Fourths in our combine, and all of us are well and full of energy. This might be the answer to our survival.”
First could not sense relief or joy from Second. “What’s troubling you, Second?”
Second remained silent.
Fifth sent him a tiny spark of forgiveness that First felt as well. “Second is sick. He took me away to see if I could help him heal. I’ve forgiven him, but he won’t forgive himself.”
First understood. “Second, if Fifth has forgiven you, you need to forget your guilt and join us for a trip back to the crawler.”
“For what purpose?” asked Second.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you. The crawler has an energy that we can use to restore ourselves. We can heal and become vigorous again. And we can spawn new members like Fourth has. We can become Shimmery400 like we were in the beginning. We can resume our proper place in leading the Collective. We can save our race.”
A wave of relief, joy, and celebration cascaded over the combine. Second finally joined in, and the group recombined into Shimmery6 and headed back to the crawler.
On the second rotation of travel, Fourth One began to lag and Fourth Two, who someday might become Sixth, faded almost to decomposition.
A torrent of fear and dread flooded the combine. Not even First’s attempts to counteract it or Fifth’s sharing of energy were effective. Fourth Two was dying. They needed to get to the crawler, but it had moved farther south—they would lose Fourth Two before they could catch it.
###
NASA/JPL-Caltech, Pasadena, July 20, 2021: NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has begun its search for signs of ancient life on the Red Planet. Flexing its 7-foot (2-meter) mechanical arm, the rover is testing the sensitive detectors it carries, capturing their first science readings. Along with analyzing rocks using X-rays and ultraviolet light, the six-wheeled scientist will zoom in for closeups of tiny segments of rock surfaces that might show evidence of past microbial activity.
[Ref: https://mars.nasa.gov/news/8994/signs-of-life-on-mars-nasas-perseverance-rover-begins-the-hunt/]