Chapter 571: Interlude (2/2)
Dalvanak slowly drew the pistol from its holster, the purple light burning in the dim red light of the room. **High effectiveness matrix** Dalvanak tilted the weapon and examined it, almost as if he was seeing it for the first time. **Weapon is capable of penetrated Substance W as well as phasic shielding at a significantly higher penetration factor than crystalline shard weapons**
One of the Young Ones scoffed, rising. **Shard pistols have proven the most effective weapon for billions of years. Your toy was made by primitive lemurs**
Dalvanak gave the equivalent of a shrug. **Yet these pistols have killed powerful Atrekna**
The Young One sneered as it rose up and floated down to come to rest in front of Dalvanak. **You would have us believe a weapon as small as that, foolishly using both linear accelerators and ring accelerators, is superior to a crystalline shard weapon**
Dalvanak looked at the pistol, then back at the Young One. **Yes**
The Young One brought up powerful inertial dampener shielding as well as thick phasic shielding. **Defend yours...**
Dalvanak raised the pistol, the purple light turned dark blue. There was a loud THA-WACK as a streak connected the end of the pistol's barrel to the Young One's chest. The phasic shielding and inertial barrier shattered.
The Young One's chest exploded into small gobbets of flesh and fluid. The upper torso and head were flung away, the robe disintegrating, the legs standing naked for a long moment.
The gathered audience stared as the legs folded and collapsed.
**Yes** Dalvanak said, putting the pistol back in the holster.
The entire audience had felt the sudden surge of malevolent rage that had spiked when Dalvanak had fired the weapon. It had clawed at them, torn at them, battered them. Like a primal scream from an enraged creature in mid-leap upon a startled and defenseless prey creature.
**Query: Acquisition of weapon** an Ancient One asked.
**Close quarters combat with lemur species member** Dalvanak held up his maimed hand. **Lemur species member bit off part of my hand** he wiggled his remaining feeding tentacles. **Ripped away my face** he touched his head. **Tore a handful of flesh from my skull** he tapped the pistol. **Then suddenly dropped dead as his brain shut off**
**Query: Origin of effect that ceased lemur species member neurological functions**
Dalvanak gave another shrug. **End result of archeoreversion attack. This one was lucky**
**Query: Results of Temporal Research efforts** an Ancient One asked.
**Conclusion: Caution is to be observed in all temporal efforts** Dalvanak replied. **Archereplication causes chronotron cascade ripples observable up to fifteen thousand light years upon replication. System securing methods cause chronotron and graviton flares and ripples observable up to two hundred thousand light years upon system descent**
There was some shock that rippled across the audience.
**Additional Data: Temporal actions by our species causes temporal fluctuations in feral lemur species timeline effects** Dalvanak said. He shrugged again. **Prior to second phase of my plan the chance of the lemur species return within five thousand years was miniscule**
**Query: Statistical chance of lemur species return at present**
Dalvanak shrugged. **Inevitable**
That got more shock. Less than six months ago they had determined it would take the lemurs nearly five thousand years to return even if the Atrekna did not attack and eliminate the remaining lemurs.
**Query: Timetable of lemur return** An Ancient One asked. He was old enough that he remembered fighting against the Hive Lords and Herd Lords.
**Answer: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. The lemurs are a fire that spreads** Dalvanak said. He looked down at the pistol and touched it. **The lemurs are more than they appear**
**Elaborate** the Ancient One commanded.
**Investigative Result: Lemurs of today exist today and tomorrow. Lemurs of yesterday will return tomorrow. Lemurs have returned today with more coming tomorrow from yesterday.** Dalvanak looked up at the gathered beings. **The paradox is obvious in its simplicity**
**Elaborate** another Ancient One commanded.
**Unable to comply** Dalvanak stated.
There was silence a moment.
**Query: Reasons for not joining communal overmind** A Young One demanded to know.
Dalvanak was silent a moment, his long sensitive fingers trailing over the butt of the pistol at his waist as he considered his answer.
**Close proximity to lemur aggressor has caused sentience adjustments in this one** Dalvanak said, watching as small slavespawn came in and licked up the misted parts of the Young One and slightly larger ones devoured the other remains, cleaning the floor. **Possibility of harm to overmind statistically likely**
The Young One sneered, standing up. **I will join with your mind. Prove your fears are primitive and unworthy of an Atrekna**
**Caution is not fear** an Ancient One said. The Ancient One had once worn crystalline armor and faced the unending tide of Herd Lord armies.
The Young One sneered at the Ancient One as it floated down to hover in front of Dalvanak. **Join your thoughts with mine**
**Complying** Dalvanak answered.
Everyone leaned forward to watch carefully. The two minds would be wide open to one another, just as if they had joined the communal mind or the overmind. They watched Dalvanak's thick psychic mental blocks disengage, his thought shield opening, his mental barrier lowering, the carefully constructed tower of iron will unbarring its gates, and the core intellect fortress lowering its defenses.
The Young One eagerly joined Dalvanak's thoughts, rushing forward so that he could prove to the others that Dalvanak was gong senile and that was the reason he was having such trouble researching such a simple and common scientific discipline as temporal sciences.
The gathered Atrekna saw the Young One's mind touch Dalvanak's.
The Young One screamed, a gurgling sound of primal agony and suffering. Its feeding tentacles plunged into its own eyes. Its hands came up, grabbed its lower jaw.
And tore it free of its head.
The Young One began beating at its own skull as it fell to the ground and began writhing.
Finally its back arched, it trembled, and collapsed.
The psychic energy released by the Young One's death spread out.
The gathered Atrekna shut their defenses against absorbing any of the psychic energy.
Dalvanak merely stared at the body, then looked up. **Query: Any others**
There was only silence.
After a few moments Dalvanak turned and floated from the chamber. He made his way to the spaceport, boarding his twisted craft of biological and mechanical systems fused together. It rose silently, leaving the atmosphere, oriented, and was gone in a smeared streak.
The Convention broke up, uncharacteristically silent.
One of the Ancient Ones reviewed Dalvanak leaving. The ship, strange and twisted to the Ancient One's eyes, had been broadcasting on a single electromagnetic frequency. It examined the data, found that the lemur lexicon allowed it to decipher part of it.
It was the howling of primitive instruments, but over and over the same phrase had been repeated in the lemur audible communication.
The Ancient One wondered what it meant, and why Dalvanak had chosen to listen to the lemur screaming out the same words over and over.
LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!