CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: THE STARGATE
Noma headed back into space, vis multitool’s data storage full of information ve hoped the Gek in its strange space habitat would find useful. Ve could see its vessel ahead, the sunlight casting a dull glow on its metallic surface.
The Pillar passed through its circular entry port and was guided into its interior. Noma headed for the dome-shaped room where ve had last encountered the Gek, and found it still in position studying its tablet. On a raised platform above the Gek, partially obscured by a shaft of white light that passed through spinning brass discs, was another alien. It was as tall as Noma, with an inscrutable black visor that covered its face. It remained silent and showed no apparent interest in Noma’s arrival.
As Noma approached the Gek, the little alien looked up from its work and its eyes lit up with excitement. “We are pleased, delighted, renewed, to see your return, stranger”.
Noma was quite surprised by this response. The creature’s ability to speak Noma’s language had improved markedly since their last meeting. Noma inquired after the Gek’s name, but the little alien remarked that Noma would be unable to pronounce it correctly due to vis not being able to emit the necessary smells in combination with the vocalisations. It suggested that Noma refer to it as ‘Polo’.
Polo was not much interested in idle chat, however, as evidenced by the way it eagerly gestured toward Noma’s data banks. Noma downloaded the data to Polo’s tablet, and the little Gek began pouring over the data, excitedly chirruping at new discoveries.
At last Polo turned its attention to Noma. “The data you fetched has turned up a remarkable pattern. At last, we can visualise loops and swoops that bind us together in time. This knowledge I now give to you in portable form”.
Data was transmitted back to Noma. It contained coordinates to a sector in space and….something else. A sequence of hieroglyphs whose purpose Noma did not understand.
The Radiant Pillar set off in the direction indicated. An undiscovered planetary system was coming into view, the Sun setting behind one of the larger worlds and casting its orb in a fire-tinged silhouette.
Noma guided the Pillar down to the planet’s surface, watching as a twilight world of forests and grasses passed below the speeding craft.
The coordinates indicated that Noma had arrived, and ve stepped out. Ahead there was a vast structure like a gigantic monolith with a circle cut into its base. A flight of steps led up to that circle, flanked on either side by pillars slightly taller than Noma.
As Noma approached, the monument came alive. The Pillars rose into the air, their base an inverted pyramid that glowed with white light. A cylinder rose out of the ground, ringed with the same hieroglyphs that the Gek had transmitted.
Realisation dawned as to what this strange structure was. It was a stargate, a portal to another region of space. The hieroglyphs were the coordinates through higher-dimensional space. “How many others have been here like me?”, thought Noma as ve inputted the sequence of symbols and the stargate activated, ready to take Noma wherever Polo’s coordinates were sending vir….
Thanks to Hello Games for the Images.
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