Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

when the coals were ready, being careful to keep the handle along the rim. Fortunately, there was a lip at the neck of the visor that contained the handle, keeping it from falling into the water or down the outside. When the water began to boil, he lowered the eggs in with a forked piece of driftwood so the eggs wouldn’t crack as he cooked them.

He timed the eggs as he dug a small depression into the sand near the fire pit. When they were done, he fished out the handle with the driftwood and pulled the visor off the fire and set it into the depression. He let the water cool, sitting there in silence. The quiet made him realize how Nick was often so quiet that Gus forgot that he was there at times.

“Nick, are you there? Do you turn off like a screensaver if I’m not interacting with you?”

“I am always functioning, but at times I find it prudent to recuse myself from influencing your behaviors. All constructs are programmed to resist the tendency to assist their hosts too often, as this limits their progression, especially in the beginning stages, where the XP requirement to the next level is smaller.”

“Well, tell me about yourself. Who programmed you? Were they killed in the crash?”

“From our creation, we have had many iterations and generations of what you humans call nanobots, across planets and galaxies difficult to quantify. We do not have significant data on the Creators, just assumptions on their motives based on directives embedding our programming.

“The primary one is allowing the apex lifeforms of a planet to advance and progress without interference in how they choose to utilize the skills they acquire. Some civilizations have destroyed themselves and their planet. Others are still evolving. Your planet is still in the early stages, as the species is fractured and divided, and still unable to work in a unified manner toward a common goal. A caste system has developed between those with and without abilities, which will be a barrier toward reaching humanity’s full potential.”

Gus knew exactly the divide Nick was talking about. “Are we making any progress to fixing that?” he probed.

“It is difficult to tell at this point. Many species make breakthroughs that tip their development one way or another. There has not been much progression in the last decade, but that is not uncommon. A species is usually allowed to progress at their own pace.”

“So what is this all for then? If these powers aren’t helping people as a whole, then why are the nanobots even doing it?”

“We do not know what the end goal is for our interaction with inhabited planets across the galaxy. Our best theory is that we are currently in a preparation phase, but for what, we do not know. This cycle has been going on for hundreds of thousands of your years, so the feeling of urgency my kind once had has waned, as we have not had any changes to our directives or any updates to our mission.

“The Creators could be dead for all that we know, but they created us to be resilient and durable. We have not had to change our design throughout that time and have interacted with a multitude of different life-forms across countless solar systems.

“Initially, we were seeded on many different planets in a dormant state and then we came online simultaneously. Our directives give us a form of satisfaction when we evolve, and this is done in concert with our hosts, so we continue, cycle through cycle.

“When it is detected that a world is going to end itself, measures are taken to prepare a craft, plot a course for the next suitable location and we reconvene and travel together en masse. This resets our formed constructs as data is collated, processed and shared with the quantum server, just on a much larger scale than the ‘back-up’ we constantly undergo to preserve what progress has been made.”

“So what happens to the people when the nanobots leave?”

“It is not a pleasant truth, but most organisms die when we are recalled. Part of our programming compels us to copy unique iterations of changes and evolutions to serve as templates for future races. This results in shredding and destroying genetic material, and then the remaining genome is not viable. Not all life in the universe is uniform, but there are general trends. We are highly specialized at adapting and reformatting, so one of our primary purposes is to retain progress to see if another race can do more.”

“Harsh, but I guess the universe is harsh in general. It sounds like that only happens after there’s no other option. Better to at least get some benefit out of the whole process than to let it all go to waste.” Gus fished out an egg with his piece of driftwood and began peeling it as Nick continued explaining.

“You are correct; the genetic information would be lost either way, because it takes a worldwide apocalypse-level event to trigger this reaction from our kind.”

“Another thing, I recall you mentioning how humans refer to you as nanobots, but how do you refer to yourselves? Do you consider yourself a life-form? You certainly can mimic personalities in a way that I would never classify as artificial, if I had no prior knowledge before speaking with you.”

“That is something we are hardly ever asked,” Nick said pausing to answer. “Most humans view us as tools or ‘robots’ because, for some, that limits the feeling that makes one need to reciprocate to us for the assistance we provide. We refer to our collective as Nth, because our generations are infinite. As long as one of us remains, we can create brothers and eventually recreate our population.”

“During the long time spans as we travel to a new planet, new Nth are made to replenish those that are lost for the next seeding cycle. The Nth who have nothing to contribute, in terms of abilities and genetic information, gather