Thought this up recently and gave it a bit of time….so thought I’d post it here.
PROLOGUE
The Logon civilisation was at one point in their own history, very much like us.
They inhabited what we would say was a bleak planet, in an equally bleak system, much of which they had inhabited because for the Logon’s, bleak was good because it showed progress, and the Logon civilisation was all about progress.
But like us, they were trapped there. The technology they possessed could aid them within their home system, but the exploration of anything further away, across the vast distances of space, was closed to them.
They could scan the heavens in exquisite detail out into the furthest reaches of the universe, even divining the very chemicals and molecules existent on other worlds through what they called Orgospectular Ananomitry, but at that time they had no way of stepping out amongst those stars and planets, so all they could do is watch.
But they were a long-lived race and knew that one day, their reach would grow with the discovery of higher technology. It was all just a matter of time.
The problem though, was that the Logon system didn’t have much time left.
To us it might have measured in roughly a century or two, but the Logon civilisation saw this as merely decades in their perception. They were faced with the total extinction of their race, as their mother star would go supernova in those decades and make its system uninhabitable for any form of organic life.
Many theories for deliverance from this disaster were postulated in the highest levels of government and science, but in the end, everyone had to admit that the solution was simple. They would have to find another potential home world and leave the doomed Logon system behind.
It was an extremely tenacious young astrologist named Beesum Oi who discovered the planet that soon overwhelmed the hopes of the Logon race. It was named Oi, and was 205,000 light years away. Obviously the distance was a problem, but taking on an attitude of blind hope and natural confidence, the Logon scientific council declared the ability to reach such distance was only a matter of time.
The other problems, as discovered by hundreds of Orgospectular scans, with the planet Oi was its prolific covering of a strange organic infestation whose dietary expulsions took the form of a vile gas that was toxic to the Logon’s. Also the indigenous population of warm blooded hairy creatures who appeared to be the dominant species on Oi did pose some concerns, but this was something that started off as a problem but soon became the solution to all their problems.
And finally was the envelop of radiation that seemed to form an outer barrier against biological matter, that effectively sealed the planet Oi from any plans the Logons might have about physically landing on the planet.
It was an insanely annoying paradox.
A perfect but poisonous planet.
It was a few solar cycles later that the Scientific Council were approached by a group of theologists called the MindSet, a largely dismissed section of the scientific community that had invested their efforts in psychic research. They claimed that they could project the mind over great distances, and according to their research, would be able to touch the minds of those on the planet Oi.
It was a startling claim.
But Breod Hinster, Chairman of the council gave them his support.
His theory being that they could use this research to control the minds of key figures on the planet Oi, with the ultimate aim of having the inhabitants of the planet terra-form it themselves by systematically destroying their own ecosystem through unsustainable resource harvesting, consumption of natural resources and pollution, and so making it habitable for the Logon’s.
The Logon’s meanwhile would increase their space travel research and so by the time the terra-forming was practically complete, would have discovered the ability to reach Oi, pass or remove the planets radiation barrier and colonize it, eradicating the remaining organic problems and the original inhabitants in the process.
It was a master stroke.
And so the whole of Logon society switched to scientific research of both mind projection and the ability to move between Logon Prime and the planet Oi.
The initial mind projection tests were not promising, and it was noted of interest that most of the Oian’s, as the furry warm blooded dominant species of Oi were now known, who succumbed the projection either went insane or killed themselves.
For a brief periods, some played with the idea of mass mind projection as a weapon, but this was quickly dropped when some of the more vocal members of this theoretical idea died in blatantly unforeseen circumstances due to having gone over their ‘freespeech’ allowance for that lunar month.*
Logon society as a whole throughout the system turned their attention to this one great purpose. The destruction and colonization of Planet Oi.
* In Logon society, opinions without a permit remained a serious concern and so infringement was swiftly and often fatally punished. Rumours persisted on this occasion each infringer was personally visited by Breod Hinster himself and beaten to death with an unabridged version of Peod Thanist’s The Origin of the Line, the largest known scientific text ever published in a single volume. But supporting evidence or witness’ were never found to support this claim.
SUBSECTION ALPHA - The Long Dark morning of Beesum Oi
It was a warm evening, the moons of Logon Prime gently rising above the dark horizon which took the form of a long jagged line, revealing the distant mountains.
Beesum Oi padded softly along the path and then took the stairs to the dome and its long balcony terrace. A few figure above turned as he reach the terrace, but disregarded the younger scientist and returned to their conversations. Beesum weaved through the small crowd and entered the dome, the gentle hum of the air con greeting him as he entered. The rooms lone occupant turned and strode purposely forward extending a hand. Beesum took it and briefly shook it before letting go self-consciously, his head slightly bowed.
‘My young friend! Why the look of one first meeting another. Ha! I might as well be your uncle with all the attention I’ve placed on you. Your work…what joy it is.’
Beesum bowed a little lower. ‘I am…’
‘With one exception Beesum’, the other speaker added abruptly.
Beesum forgot protocol and looked up at his opposite. ‘What exception?’
The other Logon frowned slightly and turned away walking back to a large desk, where he stopped and held up a number of data disks. ‘Your quarantine theory…most unfortunate my dear Beesum.’
Beesum quickly held up his PDA, his fingers momentarily flickering across the touch screen. Then he sighed briefly with satisfaction and once again confronted at his companion.
‘I feel that my data is correct and that my speculations, though subjective at times raise a very important question. If, as I have discovered, that the bio toxic radiation layer around the planet Oi, is in fact artificial and beyond the planet Oi’s inhabitants at this phase in their technological understanding, who put it there and why?’ he blurted out.
The other figure turned slowly and glared at him.
Beesum swallowed.
The other figure dropped the discs on the table and almost ran up to the now trembling Beesum. His only action was to raise the PDA and turn its screen towards the rage contorted face of his companion, who in turn glared at the screen for a moment and then appeared to make a conscious attempt to regain his decorum and pose. Then a thought seemed to occur to him and with a slight tilt of his head he looked at Beesum and asked. ‘You have actually managed to accumulate over 200 hours of Freespeech?’
‘I don’t talk much!’ the young astrologer answered quietly and with a hint of pride.
