The Helianx Proposition/page 31

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Commentary


When Noe first became aware of hir inner voices she was both puzzled and confused. SHe wondered whether sHe was losing hir senses. It seemed to occur solely when sHe had detached hirself from the Web and sHe only did that in hir visits to the hold of the Great Ship. SHe had tried to discuss this unusual manifestation with the Elders, but was invariably met with blank incomprehension. It soon became clear to Noe that none of hir companions had experienced anything quite like this. After a few frustrating attempts to describe this ephemeral phenomena, sHe decided sensibly to keep what was happening to hirself.

What had originally been so perplexing to Noe was the manner in which these inner voices had whispered to hir spontaneously and so completely unbidden. One of the voices, however, was quite different from the rest. When it had started this voice had seemed to Noe to be so close to hir own intuition that sHe found it almost impossible to separate it from hir own deepest feelings and desires. Unlike the communication matrix which had developed into the Web, this voice was, quite literally, a Voice, and not the customary sonic holograms so familiar to all Helianx.

Noe was acutely aware that their computers had been laboring long into the galactic night to try to find a solution to the problem of their race's survival. Having been thoroughly trained in the subtle arts of ultimatonic modulation, sHe knew what a lengthy and complex operation this entailed.

As with many intelligent aquatic species, the Helianx had discovered over the course of their evolution that their soundings could be modulated to carry visual images that would flicker on the eidetic screen of their inner eyes. Over time, this led naturally to their ability to manipulate matter according to a design held in their collective imagination. In addition to the clarity of intention needed to shape matter into the required form--for example, the small, robotic base craft that was even now skimming over the windswept sands to fetch hir--Nbe knew that it had taken a minimum of ten Helianx to create it. This group had to be prepared to hold a focussed meditation for the length of time it took to psychokinetical/y rearrange the organic molecules into the desired structure.

This process was psychically and physically exhausting and had ultimately discouraged the Helianx from using their mental powers for anything not absolutely essential to their survival; the sole exception being in service of their obsessive [[anthropology|anthropological research expeditions. So, when Noe saw the base craft, sHe could appreciate the effort that must have gone into manifesting it. And this, coupled with the quiet but insistent counsel of the inner Voice, convinced hir that the computers must have found their answer.

In spite of Nee's idiosyncratic behavior, as odd to hir as it was to the Elders, and the gentle prompting of this strange and unexpected Voice, sHe had no real idea of what lay ahead, or the destiny that awaited hir. But, as sHe heaved hir bulky body into the cramped interior of the base craft, Noe could not help wondering whether all these events were in some way connected.

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