Starship Odyssey | ONC 2021

Chapter Ten - No Better Off

<Well I finished making sense of the alien data. It's a starmap alright. It's also entirely unfamiliar. It would also appear that our working theory was correct and we are, in fact, in another galaxy. Or at the very least somewhere else where I don't know where we are.>

"I can't decide if I'm excited or terrified," said Dr. Eisenstein.

Dr. Fido had apparently chosen 'excited' and was running laps of the room.

<The map is enough to oriented us to local space but that's about it. I can only guess where we are in relation to the rest of this galaxy, let alone our own. We're no closer to getting home than we were before. I still can't even set a course.>

"That is... disappointing," said Lulu.

It was an understatement.

"I would have to assume our best bet for returning home would be the hyperstar," said Dr. Fido, after a brief silence.

"We can't rely on that," said Dr. Eisenstein. "We have never encountered a stellar event comparable to the hyperstar in the entire history of our meta-species. We cannot begin to speculate when another might occur."

"If this star achieved that state once in the past, then it seems like our best bet for reproducing the phenomenon," said Dr. Fido.

"We could be here for centuries and be no better off for our efforts," explained Dr. Eisenstein. "Monitoring the star for signs that the 'hyperstar' event is repeating itself is something that can be accomplished with probes. Otherwise I think our best course of action is to exhaust all of our other options before we commit to focusing our efforts on studying the former hyperstar."

"I defer to your expertise then."

<The starmap contains notations,> offered Odysseus, <I have all kinds of theories about them. I am 91% certain one of the symbols indicates an inhabited world. We could look into them one by one. See if we can establish a working relationship with any of the locals.>

"What, start over?" asked Lulu. "After we worked so hard to develop a rapport with these current aliens?"

We really need to ask them what they call themselves, she decided.

"I think the effort-to-rapport ratio we're experiencing here is one of the better arguments for trying to find another species to have first contact with," said Dr. Birdwhistle. "This is a new galaxy; first contact opportunities here are plentiful. Our cup runneth over. We'll likely be sick of first contact by the time we make it home. There's no reason to let some kind of sunk cost fallacy tether us to these frankly hostile people. They are, after all, the entire reason we're lost in this galaxy in the first place."

"We wouldn't be starting over from zero either," added Dr. Fido. "Since we have a working translation of a local language we could use it as a sort of lingua franca when dealing with any new species we encounter."

"They could still be helpful!" insisted Lulu. "They were studying the hyperstar at the same time we were. They might know things about it we don't."

"These people haven't mastered 6d hyperdrives," said Dr. Eisenstein. "Trust me, they have nothing to teach us about hyperspatial physics."

<We took our shot at them. They really just don't seem to be friendly. I say we move on. At this point I think our primary mission has to be getting home.>

Et tu, Odysseus?

"I mean, yeah, let's get home and everything," said Dr. Fido, "but we can't ignore the unprecedented opportunity this extra-galactic excursion represents."

"Dr. Fido is right," said Dr. Eisenstein. "I, too, would like to find a way home but am in no hurry to do so. Every second we spend here, accumulating scanner data from a foreign galaxy, is a win for science. If we take full advantage of this... this gift then our names will go down in history."

"Not if we die here," said Dr. Birdwhistle, coldly. "If we never make it home than nothing we do means anything. Data about this galaxy isn't nearly as groundbreaking for the people of this galaxy, I'd wager."

"I think there's a happy medium here," said Lulu. "The most obvious path forward is we start looking for a way home immediately, taking advantage of extraordinary opportunities for study as they present themselves. Once we know how we're getting home we'll have the luxury of discussing when we should go home."

<That satisfies me,> signaled Odysseus.

"Me too," added Dr. Eisenstein.

"Before we go we should say goodbye to the aliens," said Lulu.

"Do you think they care?" asked Dr. Eisenstein.

"It's only polite."

* * *

The dome-shaped Nexus of Altars was dominated by three circular speakers, each representing one of the Axiomatic Trio. More speakers representing the fourteen full members of the Gerousia Generic were positioned equidistant from each other just above the main speakers, while those representing the fifteen adjunct members were similarly arranged below. 35 additional tiny speakers were also scattered about, one for each of the 9 Logoinquisitors and 26 Sacred Virgins of the Records.

When the entire room was brought to bear against a single individual the effect could be overwhelming.

Five-Cs perched with great dignity at the center of the Nexus of Altars, deep within the bowels of her ship, her many tentacles holding her body high and proud. The judgement of her peers held no fear for her, for she was unshakeable in her convictions.

"It is the judgement of this Conclave that your assessment of the alien equation is in keeping with prophecy. Although the equations provided still prove insufficient data to conclusively determine the names of God they must certainly play some part in God's plan for our people. Therefore you are innocent of blasphemy," boomed Two-As, through one of the three large speakers.

Five-Cs was unmoved by the news; to her mind this outcome was entirely inevitable.

"As for your remaining claims: they will require further study. However it has been adjudicated that, true or not, they are non-blasphemous."

"Further study is of immediate importance," agreed A-Three-Bs, through another of the giant speakers. "We must ascertain these new aliens' place in the universe, and in the Holy Path of God."

"The linguistic analysis of the alien transmissions by the Deep Core has revealed heretofore unanticipated insights," explained Four-Bs-D, the senior-most Logoinquisitor. "Part of the communication was previously interpreted with a lack of sophistication. It is our concurrence that in their second audio transmission the aliens directly claimed to have produced the holy equations themselves. 'We do it all the time,' this is an exact quote."

"Empty boasts!" exclaimed Two-As.

"Nonetheless!" A-Three-Bs interrupted. "We cannot take such a risk as to ignore it. If the alien claims are accurate, and aliens are capable of producing the holy equations, then our goal is manifest: we must acquire our own alien and use this alien to produce all possible holy equations."

"Yes!" agreed D-C-B-A, the third of the Axiomatic Trio. "With our own alien there will be no further obstacles on the path of learning the names of God!"

"We shall hear which way the winds blow," said Two-As, "once we have our alien."