"We shall start by answering the questions in the order they were asked,"
Astra begins. "A lot of it can be traced back to what Jake said long ago
during the time jake first met the Gunslinger out in that desert: ‘There
are other worlds than this.....'"
Jake blinks, wondering when exactly this strange woman heard about that!
He has a feeling, as well ast the others, that the answers will indeed
not be easy to swallow......
What's with this Probe 2 business?
Probe 2 is the commanding officer of the group of AIs that Elrondir
(back when he was an AI himself and calling himself Seeker before meeting
B'elanna in Nod). This is an analogous person from a reality where a Terra
was destroyed by the Lizards. Later on, due to Elrondir (now an elf) approaching
the Military on Terra Prime, the Military used a second wave of Slammer
ships (automated kamikaze spaceships) to attack and cripple this second
batch of Lizards that this *other* Military (surprised the bejeebers out
of them). That was something like nine and a half years ago.
The major differences between this Probe and the other is that:
(1) Probe 2 is still an AI (not a golem), (2) Probe 2 is still in the Military
(not semi-retired), and (3) the universe where Probe 2 comes from still
has the Alliance (the Military was able to do some.....er......corporate
restructuring of the higher management for crimes committed by the Company
in the past).
Who are these Military folk?
They are an inter-dimensional alliance of what was initially 13 parallel
Earths who joined together against a belligerent race who became known
as the Lizards. The Lizards are a race of reptilian humanoids who have
the bad habit of believing that if you are not a Lizard, that you are not
a person....but food stuff.
In other words, they viewed humans as food, and like something like
a bunch of aliens from a bad 1950's film they went about trying to smash
world after world of humans.....to break their ability to resist and fight
for easy harvesting.
Thus the Alliance came into being.
"As for the reality I'm from....." Probe put in. "The Military - One
of two organizations that make up the Alliance, they're brave and committed
and are really good at blowing things up. also good at running to the rescue
of certain Federation people when another group of Enemy show up......and
dump something called Omega all over that universe. The Company - The other
organization that makes up the Alliance. If the Military is like a machine,
the Company is the grease that makes it run smooth. And if you believe
that, I've got swampland in the mythical land of Florida that I'd like
to sell you! We made ourselves, over the course of years, more and more
independent from those bastards (if we ever came to blows with them). Pity
that they took similar steps with us in as far as building their own fighting
forces..... But that's past and nothing to do about it now. A cease fire
has been declared and we now have an uneasy piece between our half of things
and their half of things. Sigh. No longer an issue."
"Some have called us fanatical," Probe finished up, "I prefer to think
of us as.....patriotic and dedicated.....but I'll admit we've gone overboard
on a few things.... We've won the war and now with it over we hope that
we can.....decompress and settle down. We are doing it, but we can not
be lax. If nothing else, the Lizards have proven that the multiverse....as
well as the universe in general......isn't always a friendly and happy
place."
Some back and forth is needed to fill in knowledge gaps, but eventually
the others are in the know.
The discussion then goes into the details of just how Terra Prime got
roped into this war.
"It's all about tiberium," Astra says, "The Lizards came and turned
things upside down. Even if the Military had found us first, they'd have
been forced to make contact with us....which would turn things upside down
because we have so much tiberiium. Too much to be ignored. Too much to
be overlooked, because just as soon as the mere existence of Terra Prime
came out, the Lizards would have been scrambling to take Terra Prime from
the Military was so foolish not to try to bring it into the fold. It was
the means of winning the war in one fell swoop, after all.
"Now, as state, there is a substance on Terra Prime that is about as
common as dirt....that is extremely rare elsewhere. It's called Tiberium
by those of the Alliance and Military. In another reality there is a terrorist
organization called the Sons of Nod who call it tiberian. In the place
some call the Whoniverse, it's called Jethryk. But whatever the name, it's
fuel for the war machine of the Military, the Alliance.....and the Federation
of Star Trek."
"WHAT?!" Jake and Eddie shout.
The others not familiar with Star Trek look at the two New Yorker in
askance.
"Hun, what's the matter?" Susannah asks, perplexed.
"Star Trek is....a TV show," Jake explains, "How can...."
"I spent a few good nights watching the opening credits trying to figure
out which star would turn into the Enterprise," Eddie says softly, remembering
those nights he'd been especially high.
"There is a theory going around that works of fiction are actually glimpses
of other realities," Probe 2 puts in over the PA system, "That's why we
have seem to have encounters with supposedly fictional characters from
Star Trek: The Original Series, Star Trek: the Next Generation, Babylon
5, and Doctor Who."
"And that is brings us to just know why we know so much about
you folks," Astra finishes, showing them a series of books from Stephen
King.
-
 Oh
boy, are Roland and the others surprised when they learn their lives are
chronicled in those books!
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