Post by Dominion of Zabéara on Feb 8, 2014 20:09:23 GMT
The 17 Xin’hala of the Naga Shadow Expeditionary Ship met in the cramped executioner’s habitation space to solve the dilemma. Back on Khara-Khum, they had trained for and practiced many of the possible outcomes of an encounter with Other-Forms. Hostile engagement. Peaceful co-recognition. Negotiation, diplomacy.
But nothing had prepared them for this. Upon discovering another vacuum-mobile species, attempts to contact and signal had not been responded. But it was stranger than that. The Other-Forms had a Homeworld almost exactly like the Xin’hala. They had ships that darted to and fro across their system, apparent miners and other ships that lumbered from planetary object to planetary object. And yet, not only did they make no attempt to communicate, None of their forms, nor the whole Other-Form Unity as a whole, seemed to have taken any notice or changed any behaviour based on the presence of an Edifice ship a few sectors from their home world.
How was one to respond to that? One Xin’hala had a radical solution. “No response, no change in behaviour…they may take a hive-mind form, which recognizes the consciousness of other-forms resting also in hive form. Its lesser forms would then be mindless drones, and it takes us for the same. Let us use our atom-spitting force-tools to incinerate some of their lesser-forms, and attempt to provoke a response.”
“Negative.” Said another Xin’hala. “We do not have authorization from the Nests to undertake such radical action. And even if we did, if your Hive-consciousness thesis is correct, then the Other-Forms will also see us in much the same way, and seek to disintegrate or dissect our ship without concern. Let us flee home.”
The form-leader listened to the discussions, before at length making his decision.
But nothing had prepared them for this. Upon discovering another vacuum-mobile species, attempts to contact and signal had not been responded. But it was stranger than that. The Other-Forms had a Homeworld almost exactly like the Xin’hala. They had ships that darted to and fro across their system, apparent miners and other ships that lumbered from planetary object to planetary object. And yet, not only did they make no attempt to communicate, None of their forms, nor the whole Other-Form Unity as a whole, seemed to have taken any notice or changed any behaviour based on the presence of an Edifice ship a few sectors from their home world.
How was one to respond to that? One Xin’hala had a radical solution. “No response, no change in behaviour…they may take a hive-mind form, which recognizes the consciousness of other-forms resting also in hive form. Its lesser forms would then be mindless drones, and it takes us for the same. Let us use our atom-spitting force-tools to incinerate some of their lesser-forms, and attempt to provoke a response.”
“Negative.” Said another Xin’hala. “We do not have authorization from the Nests to undertake such radical action. And even if we did, if your Hive-consciousness thesis is correct, then the Other-Forms will also see us in much the same way, and seek to disintegrate or dissect our ship without concern. Let us flee home.”
The form-leader listened to the discussions, before at length making his decision.