The Mobile Exploratory Research Station hung motionless over the Ephres Ridge, hidden from psychic and physical probe by an impenetrable shield encompassing the planet of Izorach below.
The relay facility on board the MERS lay in darkness, empty of life save for the artificial intelligence of the NMIP, the Neural Matrix Information Processor, which performed millions of computations simultaneously, providing data to the five inhabitants of the Environmental Research Laboratory buried in the gut of the Ephres Ridge.
From one moment to the next, the relay facility suddenly erupted with the shshshsh sound as five separate Hyper Spatial Transports opened within fifteen seconds of each other. Their blue-white glow announced the arrival of the two Anorasian geneticists and the three humans.
They had been summoned by the Neural Matrix Information Processor. The information to be imparted must be of great importance.
Being the first to arrive, Emmanuel took a position directly in front of the main vid screen. He had been in his quarters, staring unmindfully at the wall, fear causing his heart to thud almost painfully in his chest when the MERS communicator strapped to his wrist began to pulse. His eyes closed in prayer and his heart rate accelerated, causing him to become light-headed as he touched the HOME button on his transport belt.
Without conscious thought, his left hand clutched his thick, curly beard, his fist coming to rest over his heart while his right hand encircled the bioinoculator on his transport belt. Excitement warred with fear in his dark brown eyes, their gold flecks catching the light from the many LEDs imbedded in the panels before the screen.
He felt the warm hand of Siddhartha, one of his two soul brothers, gently rest on his right shoulder. The Joining it engendered gave him a measure of peace and calm, the touch so reassuring and comforting. It was something he had come to count on over the past two thousand years.
A firm grip on his left shoulder brought with it a Joining that imparted excitement and elation. His second soul brother, Al-Amin, was a treasured ally in his struggle to remain optimistic since the discovery of the one who had come to mean so much to him.
The two Anorasian geneticists, the last to arrive, stood behind the three, their faces a mixture of emotions. The tension of the humans before them was palpable. The air registered their breathing in various stages of excitement, agitation, and trepidation.
The Neural Matrix Information Processor recognized the DNA signature of all five inhabitants from Izorach. And then:
I HAVE RECEIVED A DOWNLOAD FROM PS ORBITER THREE.
The voice of the NMIP seemed to vibrate with animation in the stillness, but it was only their imagination. The NMIP was not programmed for emotions.
Ton Re’Sateron grinned, his mahogany skin almost black in the near absence of light. His exultation was tinged with some apprehension. “Proceed,” he said, his voice rumbling. All present held their breath.
A three-dimensional image began to coalesce on the screen. Five pairs of eyes stared with varying degrees of emotions as the scene before them played out, ending twenty minutes after it had begun. The screen then blanked to its normal quiescent gray.
The expression on Ton Re’Aleris’ face warred between hesitation and joy. “Would that we could be certain. That before us is the answer to The Prophecy for which we have waited millennia.”
But the humans were done with caution, and would not be denied. Loud cheers of jubilation filled the room, causing the two geneticists to smile in spite of their uncertainty.
“Now is the time to watch and wait. Surely there will be something in the near future that will wipe all doubt from our minds,” said Sateron, his happiness abating as reason and doubt returned. He locked eyes with his partner. “But one thing is certain: if we have witnessed the ascension of the Man’asorai as foretold in Netsor’ah, we have much work to do in preparation for the inevitable confrontation. If we have been deceived ... if this be the second entity so named in the Prophecy ... may the Great and Glorious Shen’dalah provide us the means to defend not only our race, but the entire galaxy.”