Artifact from Another Universe – Short Story

Status alert: IVR-2 has been found on planet 12-Suicury g. Subatomic string scans and history logs provide the following timeline.

High orbit scans suggest the planet was nonvolatile and non-hostile at the time the bot’s capsule crash landed in a valley on the planet’s surface. Local biological scans revealed that the local fauna discovered the crash site and probed the capsule until they unlocked the cryo-sealed exhaust hatch. A primitive bioluminescent species, the natives managed to access the internal cockpit and drag out the bipedal bot. The natives, themselves bipedal in nature, used their primitive tools and webbed appendages to drag the bot from its capsule and back to their cave hovels.

Over several galactic decades they were not able to understand the bot’s purpose and built a shrine around the bot in the deepening cave systems. 12-Suicury contained within its atmosphere a higher ratio of methane during the season when the planet was farthest from Calibran Prime, their galaxy’s sun. This winter period caused many of the Suicurians to retreat underground where they experienced a season of procreation. They worshipped at the altar of the robotic android, owned by the Intergalactic Earth Union, and appeared to become aggravated by its presence, appearing to be divined from the gods. Infighting created a schism among the Suicurians whereby the weaker of the groups was expelled from the cave system located in the valley.

At the epoch of the fiftieth methane season another tribe took root in a northern mountain. It is unknown why this tribe chose such inhospitable conditions but these mountain Suicurians became violent and warlike, likely out of spite of the artifact owners, the valley Suicurians.

A galactic century had passed when the valley Suicurians managed to prosper scientifically from the inspiration of the foreign artifact. Their architecture, culture, and populace advanced at an exponential rate, in a desperate attempt to understand IVR-2. During this period the valley natives were besieged by the mountain natives, leading to multiple wars between the ever-advancing nations. Primitive catapults and rock launching weapons were used in these conflicts. Oxygen based gas bombs were developed and deployed against the mountain natives, which decimated their ranks in battle. Both nations agreed on a truce for a seven galactic year period.

The truce failed when the valley natives managed to awaken IVR-2, its power cells still being active, although heavily deteriorated. IVR-2 was able to use logical AI systems to understand their language and deduced that the mountain inhabitants were suffering from a disease related to the exposure of biological warfare. These weapons weakened their immune systems and nervous systems, causing them to become even more aggressive and desperate. Due to a leak of information from the valley nation the mountain natives developed their own technology-based countermeasure, using a phosphine substance as a way to communicate with each other telepathically.

The valley Suicurians lost valuable technological discoveries to this leak, as they were no longer hidden, and many more lives from a genetically-modified plague. In the valley cave systems they pleaded with IVR-2 for a way to survive. IVR-2 decided to provide them with data on cold fusion and nuclear reactors. Within the mountain cave systems a warrior king rose to power and, using the information purged from the valley stronghold, developed a weapon that would annihilate the opposition.

2-Suicury g became consumed in a nuclear winter, many natives on both sides succumbing to radiation and slow death. The casualties were in the millions, sending the population back to a stone age. As the nuclear winter continued the Sulphur weather systems that provided the inhabitants with vitamins and protection from the sun were decimated, leaving them struggling in outdoor environments. Massive hurricanes swept through the planet and sent tsunamis across the continents, destroying life, and the sustenance that the Suicurians needed to survive.

With the ally of IVR-2 they were able to replicate food, Sulphur, and water through fabrication machines. The valley Suicurians traveled deeper into the planet and build larger and larger colonies, diversified and exponentially numerous. An imbalance of rock sentiment that protected the planet’s core became unstable. To galvanize a healthy and planet-centric belief system the natives promoted an eco-friendly lifestyle and, again with the help of IVR-2, moved to the topsoil once more.

Possibly for the sake of the native’s perseverance they engineered and deployed large-scale robotics to traverse the hostile planet, living in contained biospheres. Conflicts broke out between the patriarch of the mountains and the peaceful democracy of the valley. Crablike mechs were used in various battles between the natives. Violence ensued for another galactic decade.

The planet became uninhabitable once more, the planet’s core became exposed to chemicals from the Suicurians cave systems and caused the tectonic plates to shift suddenly. Internal planet temperatures rose by 200%, killing off most of the Suicurians underground. Aboveground tectonic plates exposed magma flows. During this period of global chaos, war, death, and stratospheric turmoil the mountain Suicurians confiscated IVR-2 and dismantled it. The resulting subatomic gas and dark matter explosion, due to IVR-2’s volatile power cell, decimated 90% of the planet and flattened all landforms. The last signal from IVR-2 was sent through several cosmic relays until arriving at Omega Alpha Station, where it was deciphered.

Retrieval not recommended. The remains of the device that survived offer no value. Human involvement should be removed from all databases to prevent damaging publicity against the Intergalactic Earth Union. Press ENTER to delete all records.

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