The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani (story reading .TXT) 📕

Paul was almost asleep when the sound of the waves and wind cut out. He was curious and sat up to see what the change was, noticing that the distant horizon was foggy as an individual walked out from behind a nearby tree trunk and stood in front of him.

The Archon looked around, taking some mental notes for future use as he was pretty sure this was another vision even before the Zen’zat appeared.

“Been a while,” Paul said, not bothering to stand up from his seated position on the sandy dirt. “Do I get some answers now or are you just stopping by to say hi and run again?”

“Not as many as you would like, but your connection to the Saiolum has increased enough that I can force a connection for longer without damaging you. I have no current warnings to give. Your progress is steady and you are no longer being impatient. Ask some of your questions. I will answer what I can.”

“Who and what are you?” Paul said bluntly.

“I am real…not a vision. I once had a body such as yours, but I ascended into the Saiolum a long time ago. My Core is now rooted to it, and because of that I cannot die, but I also cannot communicate with others. I have no body and thus no physical connection. All I see is a shadowy reflection of the physical and the mental. That is why I can see your thoughts and those of others, but I cannot touch them. You broke through the barrier, essentially reaching out to me, and I returned the contact.”

“That answers the ‘what,” Paul pointed out. “Who are you?”

“I am of a race that no longer exists. We were called the Sha’kier, and our civilization rose and fell before Humans or Ter’nat existed. My name is Azoro Hikeer Mi’da’ruun.”

“How are you traveling?”

“An apt question. I can move through the Saiolum, but I have been riding on you for a very long time. Where you go, I go. Your physical position pulls me through the Saiolum similar to how you managed to pull your body a short distance earlier. When you travel between the stars, I am dragged with you.”

“Are you damaged?”

“No, nor am I fatigued. I do not have a body to register such things. The Saiolum sustains me similar to the way the air sustains you with oxygen. It is everywhere, deeper in some areas than others, but a planet such as this, or close proximity to a person like you, keeps it deep enough for me to exist within in perpetuity.”

“Explain the Saiolum,” Paul asked, not wanting to waste any of the apparently limited seconds in this conversation on small talk or trivialities.

“It is not your Essence. The Sha’kier had no knowledge of Essence, nor your self-sufficiency. We tried to prolong our lives through many means, but never could any of us live longer than 640 solar cycles. We would die, new generations born, as is the way of the universe, but only so much knowledge could be passed on in texts and training. Our civilization rose as far as we could in this manner, but we were capped. The Saiolum was our solution, and as you have just done, some of our people broke through the barrier and were able to sense it. Then use it. Our intergalactic civilization was based on the Saiolum, for without it we could not communicate with one another, among other things. Eventually we discovered how to transfer the attachment of our Core from our body to the Saiolum itself. When our body died, we survived, and through us the knowledge and experience of the Sha’kier continued on and the cap on our civilization was removed.”

“Where is your brain located? Your memories? Your skills? Your experience? Those should have been destroyed with your body.”

“The first ones suffered from that very problem, but not all is contained within the body. Some is contained within the Core, and that is not lost. We eventually learned how to take most of the rest with us, and even now my ‘brain’ is made up of constructions within the Saiolum. It is not the same, for I am using your brain to do many things right now that I cannot, but when connected to one, my full knowledge reappears. I was never meant to be without a body, and when mine died another was created for me. And another, and another. But we did not master this early. Until we did, we had to see through others, such as you, only to a far greater extent. And we could take control of them if necessary, and save them, in many cases. It was not until late in our civilization that we gained the knowledge to create avatars. Biologicals without a Core in them are tricky to construct, and we needed to connect and disconnect at will, but we eventually discovered the key.”

“Without knowing anything of Essence?” Paul asked. “Essence is what binds the Core to the body. What binds you to the Saiolum?”

“Most likely Essence. You do not have to understand or know of something in order to interact and use it. We learned a method and replicated it. Understanding was wanted, but not required. And where you have learned of Essence, you know nothing of the Saiolum. Nor do any in this galaxy that I have found. You are as ignorant to it as we were to self-sufficiency. In hindsight we missed the obvious, and it still baffles me how we could be so blind…yet you are blind to Saiolum.”

“Explain it further.”

“Biological life creates it. Both those with and without a Core. It is an energy field much like your Star War’s Force, except it cannot be used to affect the physical. I am helpless to do anything unless there