The Helianx Proposition/page 36
The common denominator of the planets proposed as being the best choices for Noe's
placement was that they all fell within the lowest habitable frequencies of the Multiverse.
The computers had stressed it was only there that Noe would find biological life
sufficiently dense enough to resist the tidal stresses of a space/time continuum reversal.
The computers had found it well-nigh impossible to unearth data gathered from previous reversals. There was even some doubt as to whether these events had actually occurred before. Some of the younger Helianx, perhaps not entirely trusting the computers' analysis, felt that the whole mission was fruitless. The idea of spending the intervening time, and who knew how long that was going to be, in suspended animation, was not something that appealed to them. Rather, they suggested, all 210 of them should take their chances and throw themselves on the mercy of the natural course of Multiverse evolution. They argued that no one could really predict what the future would bring. And surely, if they could just hold on, they were ingenious enough to discover another way out that was less radical.
In the opinion of the Elders, and many of those who had survived their planet's extinction, this had been an outrageous suggestion. They were quick to remind the dissenters that, had their species thrown themselves on the natural course of events on Womb Planet, they would all be long extinct.
After much weighing of consequences, the Helianx had come to peace in their minds and had stabilized the Web sufficiently for what was going to be demanded of them. Noe, much to all of their surprise, had appeared to take to the concept almost immediately. Granted, sHe had experienced some moments of self-doubt, as the full weight of the responsibilities that lay ahead had sunk in. As with any long-range plan, there was so much that could go wrong. What would happen if Noe selected the wrong species with which to meld? What if the species sHe chose destroyed itself before it had achieved the ability to move into space? Then, there was always the possibility that the very density of chosen species would work against hir and swamp hir genetic contribution in the volatile tussle of emotions that such a polarized existence produces.
The computers did their best to reassure the more nervous Elders that, regardless of the undeniable risks, this plan really did represent their best chance of survival. Their analysis of the potential worlds targeted had predicted that the three potential solar systems chosen were all dense enough to not be unduly influenced by the stresses inherent in a such a reversal. They also reminded the Helianx, with a hint of impatience, of the enormous amount of information stored in their data banks on the various techniques that evolution used to develop sentient life on the planets visited in their galactic wanderings. Although they concurred that no prediction could be made with absolute certainty as to what form a species might ultimately adopt, the planet they had chosen represented the very best chance for the survival of the Helianx.
