Chapter 22

Woo hoo! Another trip to Arkadia and another step closer to moving there permanently. I do my usual morning routine and then sit with Sam at the table for breakfast.

“Good morning Sam, how’s things this fine day?”

“As good as can be expected DD. Nothing going on in this area of space and everyone is looking forward to seeing Arkadia and Guardian City again.”

“That is good news, Sam. Hey, can you find out how many of the employees from Arkadia R&D want to migrate and how many we want to take? And I have another question but it’s about Arkadia and our solar systems.”

“Ok DD... 68% of the scientists and researchers want to go to Arkadia for the opportunity to study advanced tech. However, only 32% of staff want to go right now. The numbers of those wanting to go vs stay are the exact opposites of each other. Of those that want to go, only 5 of the scientists should not be invited to go as they plan to ask to return after learning all the advanced theory they can in 11 months.”

“Yes, you better believe they will not be invited. Make sure they are on the “no way Jose” list.

The other question I have this morning is about the planet Graylia. I have read about the planet being on the exact opposite side of the Sun from Arkadia, and how it was used as a vacation planet for Arkadians, but I have not been able to find any recent information about it.

What happened to it during the Arkadia civil war and what is its status right now? Is it habitable or can it be made habitable?”

“Wow, you are studying Arkadian history! I haven’t thought of Graylia in a long, long time. Graylia as you probably know from your reading has the same orbital path around the Sun that Arkadia has, it has the same axis tilt, gravity, etc and they remain the same distance from the Sun while orbiting around it.

Graylia is a nice planet with only a single large continent. The planet has some beautiful flora but as far as I can remember there has never been any fauna. Arkadians took their pets to Graylia with them when they went on vacation and the pets were never adversely affected but Arkadians never thought to introduce animals permanently to the planet.

At first, during the civil war, neither side bombed the planet because people from both sides had vacation homes there, and it had no strategic significance. That ended the first time the “expand and conquer” group blockaded the planet and refused to allow other Arkadians on it. Once all was said and done the structures on Graylia were all destroyed but the flora and planet itself had not been damaged beyond repair.

I don’t have any current information but will ask Ryker if he has anything he can tell us...”

“Good evening DD. Sam tells me you would like to know any current information about Graylia. I can tell you that Graylia at the moment has no structures of any kind remaining. The structures that were destroyed in the war have been reclaimed by the planet since the war’s end.

There is no fauna, though the flora is thriving and the planet is in a virgin-like state. I can send a couple ships there with some video drones and have them video the entire planet if you wish. The video would be available in 2 days. I will also have the info on the data crystals updated concerning Graylia.”

“Good evening Ryker. Thanks for updating me so quickly. Yes, get the video done of Graylia. I would love to see it and please ensure the data crystals are updated.

Is there anything else that should be looked at and updated on the data crystals? Is the data on the old GCAP races, systems, and planets up to date? Is there any race, system, or planet that any Furst can think of that has data older than say, 100 years and should be updated? If there is please have that done as soon as possible and see if we can figure out some way to keep the data up to date.”

“That will be quite a task and take quite some time to complete Sire. We will start updating the most recent data crystals first and work our way back from there if that is ok with you Sire?”

“I figured it would take a while to complete but it will be worth it in the long run. The first data crystals I’d like updated are the ones concerning Arkadia, the old GCAP, and the races that once belonged to the GCAP, their systems, planets, etc.

Second, update the data crystals that pertain to everything within say a 1000 light-year radius of the Guardian Solar Systems.

Once this has been completed and we know about everything that’s going on in our neighborhood, we can continue in an outwards pattern and update the remaining crystals. Of course, Furst that are outside of these areas can update the crystals for the areas they are in.

Put as many Furst as possible updating the data per my first and second requests so they are completed as quickly as possible. I want this done asap for Security reasons. We don’t need a surprise from something or someone in our own backyard.

Does that sound feasible and how long do you think it would take for the first 2 parts to be done? Ryker? Sam? Tell me your thoughts about this.”

“I don’t know where you come up with these ideas so quickly DD, but these are something we hadn’t thought of before. Especially the first 2 requests. Maybe because we are energy beings we don’t think of these things, but the information is definitely important for the Security of Arkadia and future Arkadians. Maybe all that sleep training you’ve been doing is responsible?

We usually update the data crystals as we come across new information but I can see a reason to have them updated in a more orderly fashion.”

“Anything else Sam?”

“Nope, I just said all I had to say. Ryker will be taking care of it and will be able to keep us up to date on how it is progressing.”

“How about you Ryker? Anything?”

“You have good points DD and I think Sam may be right as to why we Furst don’t think as you just did. The information on Arkadia is current and updated daily if required. I started updating Arkadia data more frequently when Sam first contacted me about you.

I can tell you that the information on the Elven is 3 years old, and the information on the Darien is 8 years old. It will not take long to update the data crystals for these 2 races, and I believe we can have the remaining 2 races completed within 2 weeks. I’ll also have the 2 systems where the suns went supernova checked out as well.

Updating the data crystals for everything within a 1000 light-year radius will probably take 10-12 months depending on how much things have changed.

As far as the rest of the data crystals I cannot begin to give you an idea as to how long it will take to update them all. The task will be worked on continuously, but I don’t think you know just how much data you have access to. Think 100 million times more than what is on Earth’s internet and then triple it.”

“Thank you, Ryker. I know to update everything will take an enormous amount of time. We will get it done eventually.

It is good to know the information on the Elven and the Darien is so recent. I have been reading a lot lately about Arkadia’s and GCAP’s histories, and am also reading about the Elven and their history in GCAP. I am looking forward to reading it even more so now.

While I got you, Ryker, can you give me an update concerning our stabilizing the Byorn sun and the 3 Byorn Ore Refineries?”

“Yes Sire, the Furst have assessed the Byorn sun and say it can easily be stabilized as it is in the very early stages before going supernova and would probably have lasted another 300-400 thousand years. They believe they can have it stabilized within 3 months and will monitor it afterward.

The Byorn are ecstatic and have released the 3 Refineries to our ship Commanders who are now on the return trip to our system and Earth’s system, and should arrive in 2 weeks. The Byorn wanted to give the Commanders their remaining 2 Refineries they were so happy that we could save one of their suns, but the Commanders had to decline as they would not be able to tow all of them at once.”

“Ryker please contact the Byorn and thank them for the 3 Ore Refineries. Let them know I am very happy that their sun could be stabilized and that with all respect, I would not feel right taking advantage of their happiness by taking their other 2 Refineries. We made a deal we were both happy with, and it appears we both are still happy with, and that is the best kind of deal to make.”

“I will do as you say, Sire.”

“Thanks, Ryker. I guess we shall see you again very soon. Later.”

“DD, a couple weapons techs would like to see you.”

“Sure Sam, I will see them anytime. Do you know what it is about?”

“They are here now so I will let them tell you.”

“Good evening Sire. We have been working on the ND Mk4 and have been able to make it both lethal and non-lethal. The default is non-lethal however if you think ‘lethal” when using it, it will switch to having a lethal result on the target. When it is re-holstered it reverts to its non-lethal setting. Of course, we have not had any “field” tests but it has worked every time during Virtu tests.”

“Wow! Thank you. I hope I don’t have to test the lethal setting but it is good to know it is available if needed. Is this the only one or are the more already made?”

“This is the only one we have made at the moment Sire. It is yours and more can be made if you say so.”

“I don’t see any need to make any more at the moment but we made need them in the future. Sam, ladies, I am off to crash for the night. I’ll see you bright and early in the morning.”

“Good night DD!”

“Good morning Chef! How are you doing today? I’ll have a DD coffee now, then in 5 minutes 3 large eggs scrambled, 3 slices of bacon, a side of hash browns, and a 355ml glass of pineapple juice please.”

“Good morning DD. Here’s your coffee and the rest will be ready in 5 minutes. And I am doing great thank you for asking.”