Chapter No.64 Quest

The devil is still alive.

We decided to explore the stars around the galactic center, but with caution in mind.

"There are about ten million stars within a parsec of the galactic center, which as you know is home to a supermassive black hole," Molly said. "Many of the stars are old red giants, but there are many OB and Wolf-Rayet stars. There are also many relatively young massive stars that closely orbit the black hole. I'm not sure what sort of planets we'll find around any of them, especially considering that they're close to the black hole, which is streaming relativistic jets of energy. We also should watch out for zombie and vampire stars combinations that are sucking gas from their partners. Some of them could supernova at any moment and blast us with a powerful gamma ray burst."

I had to throw my two bits in. "We'll just have to be careful how we make our way through this area. We also don't want to get sucked into the black hole."

Molly gave me a rebuking smirk. "Take us to the center region of the galaxy, Judy."

"Yes, Molly."

We soon slipped into warp, which would protect us from any obstruction or intense radiation. Our problems with those dangers would come when we drop out of warp.

We dropped out of warp near a white dwarf star, which is essentially the remnant of yellow dwarf star like the Sun. There was only one planet still orbiting the white dwarf, and it was an Earth-sized planet with most of its atmosphere blasted off.

"Take us into orbit, Judy," Molly said.

We achieved orbit around the planet without incident.

"I've detected a large domed structure on the surface," Molly announced. "There is no energy signal, but I think there is life inside it because I can detect light coming from slits around the dome's circumference."

"So, you think someone's home down there?"

"Yes, but there is no way we can get a probe into that dome. I can't find any openings."

"Who in the hell could be living on a planet orbiting a white dwarf?" Margaret asked.

"Actually, a white dwarf is not a bad kind of star to hang around," Molly said. "It's no longer fusing matter and is composed of electron-degenerate matter. It will be stable for billions of years, only losing its heat over a very long time."

"It's much safer than a neutron star," Marie added. "The main problem is that it's not putting out a lot of heat, so some other source of energy would be required."

"That might be the case for whoever is living in that domed structure," Molly said.

"How large is that structure?" Alexa asked.

"It measures at two hundred kilometers in diameter."

"Wow!" I exclaimed.

"I have received a video request," Judy announced.

"Put it on," I replied.

The image on our main screen was mesmerizing. The creature had an oval shaped face that was approximately hominid, but it had primitive characteristics. The eyes were oval and black like a squid's. The mouth was small but had sharp shark-like teeth. It had ears on top of its head and its nose was just like a sphere attached to its face.

"Welcome to our home," It said in perfect English. "We have been expecting your arrival for some time."

Molly and I exchanged glances before I turned to the screen. "I assume that you wish to converse with us."

"We would be delighted," it said. "You may land your shuttle at the designated location."

The image changed to the dome and a small light illuminated what appeared to be a landing site. After a few moments the link was broken.

I sighed. "Well, here we go again."

"How should we handle this?" Molly asked.

"I don't believe that this is a trap. I think this species knows a lot about our situation and could provide us with some knowledge about the Scath." I turned to Margaret, Marie and Alexa. "I don't think it's wise that we all go down there. Molly and I will be the guinea pigs. If we don't come back in a reasonable time or you come under attack, allow the androids to handle it." I turned to Judy. "We'll take Alice and Ellen down, but we won't go armed."

"Yes, Jason."

The trip down to the landing zone was uneventful. When we landed on the pad, an opening appeared and our shuttle was pulled inside the dome. We disembarked into an unbelievable scene.

The dome's apex majestically loomed up above us into a virtual sea of light, which had no obvious source. A levitating transparent platform appeared and descended to our location. Three creatures stepped off it.

The three thin aliens had two arms and legs, and were attired in what appeared to be reflective suits that covered all but their faces and hands. One of the creatures was slightly taller than the other two at around six feet. I got the feeling that it was a male, but there was no way to determine gender.

"Welcome," the taller alien said in a lower pitched voice. "Come, and we will converse."

We followed the aliens to the platform and stepped up on it. The device ascended and flew off at a fairly high velocity, but we didn't feel the G-forces at all. We soon descended near a transparent cylindrical structure and stepped off the platform. We were then escorted into the cylinder to a large open area that had a fountain in its center, surrounded by vegetation that none of were familiar with.

We sat down on shiny metal chairs near the fountain.

"How do you know of us?" I asked.

"We have the ability to see throughout the universe," the taller alien said. "We are aware of your attempts to preserve life and your conflict with the species you refer to as Scath."

"We came into the center region of our galaxy to find their home world," I said. "Not to destroy them, but rather to assimilate them and establish peace."

"They do not have a home world, as you term it. They are an artificial species like you and reside on their vessels."

"We saw them retreating into a portal to another universe," I said. "Did they come from there?"

"What you observed is a gateway to a distant part of this universe."

"Are you inferring that it's a wormhole?"

"A gateway is a relativistic structure that contains no spacetime. It is a quantum structure."

I turned to Molly. "Well, that's not what I expected."

She just gave me a smirk.

I turned back to the alien. "Have the Scath tried to attack you?"

"No. We are invisible to all, unless we permit contact."

I didn't quite understand what that meant. I assumed that they had some cloaking technology that would hide their domed city.

"You are fortunate," I said. "We will assimilate the Scath and stop their madness. Then, we will attempt to keep all life in this galaxy safe."

"We have existed as a species for two million of your years, and you are the first species we are aware of to ever attempt to save the universe."

"I think that saving the universe is a bigger job than even we could tackle. One thing we would need to know is when does the gateway open and close."

"We discovered the portal ten thousand of your years ago. All that you need to open and close it is a strong focused signal at precisely the frequency of hydrogen."

I smiled. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome."

The aliens didn't appear to be dangerous, but you never know. After exchanging peasantries, we took our leave and returned to our ship. Neither of us said anything the entire time until we got back on board.

We decided to explore more of the galactic center region, especially on the opposite side. I wasn't convinced that the aliens really understood the portal concept. I had this feeling that they were just placating us.