Soulseeker’s Resolve

“Soulseeker”.

Before the Seat of Lavender became known as the “Empty Seat”, that was what those hold the Seat were known as. Even among the often eccentric members Council of Seven, which included anyone from an AI that survived the fall of the Kexteran Empire and a runaway Elven princess, the Archons of Lavender were special.

One, the Archons of Lavender were dedicated to the study of the ‘soul’ and the power it entailed. In other words, they studied psionic powers like telepathy and psychokinesis, powers that are attached to the scientifically ambiguous ‘soul’ rather than the materialistic vessel it occupies. Often, they would dive deep into religious texts and doctrines of various beliefs from civilisations alive and dead, modern and ancient, to find their answers --- a concept that runs against the Kexteran belief that religions have no scientific basis.

Second, the Archons of Lavender would always be an organic individual that inherited the memories of their predecessors, instead of relying on written records. From a Kexteran scientist during the Final Imperial Cycle, to an Elf older than the Chinese script, to a Genetian that poured his decade of life into the research, to the human Elisabeth, individuals with psionic powers and good compatibility with the memories advanced their research over tens of thousands of years.

And the goal was the “Ascendance” --- the attainment of an unknown power, since we could never forget the sight --- the sight of void swallowing the mighty Kexteran fleet, of the angel of death that claimed our brethrens, of our home and cradle --- the planet Kextera --- shattering, and of the immense power that torn open a scar on space-time itself.

That power was the Power of the Ascendance, the power that led to the collapse of the Kexteran Empire. And to prevent that tragedy from striking again, we must understand it. We must attain the Ascendence.

And to the research, generations of bright scientists were sacrificed. The first Archon of Lavender conjectured the Powers are psionic in nature, which an AI will struggle to understand. The 34th proved it, and the 52nd theorised such powers came from a soul’s connection to a different dimension. The 105th confirmed the coordinates of that dimension, and the 125th established the rituals to acquire the connection.

The 168th Archon of Lavender, Elisabeth, attempted the ritual and almost succeeded; the ritual destroyed her body. But now, having absorbed my predecessors’ memories over six years, and with Archons Indigo and Amber’s help, the final puzzle had been solved.

to my predecessors, I made a promise: I would achieve their dream. Our dream.

That was my job. My duty. My reason to exist.

-------------------

As soon as I arrived at the bridge of the Charon, Reina stood up and approached me.

“How are you doing, Connie?” Her anime girl-like voice was as energetic as ever.

“Still a bit sleepy and confused, but good. How are you, Reina? Excited for an Akihabara shopping trip?” I attempted to reciprocate the energy.

“Great! If the humans give us the landing permission, then I would go buy bags and bags of merch after the mission succeeds.” The mushroom girl either didn’t notice my conditions, or did not want to mention it to preserve the mood.

“You should be careful. You really shouldn’t push yourself. Even with how strong your psionic powers are and how compatible you are to Elisabeth’s memories, you absorbed them way too fast and run the risk of-”

“The boy of the Red Mountains. Have I never taught you how to read the room?” I replied in a voice Archon Burgundy would recognise.

“…Don’t scare your seniors with a dead woman’s voice, please.” Archon Burgundy was obviously taken aback by my imitation of Elisabeth.

“Well, I am the senior now,” I chuckled, “I guess going through memory transplantation at least gave me the bragging rights. Speaking of which, Kante, are you excited to visit the Genetian branch here?”

“…That Lady Constance permitted this old man to leave the Bibliotheca and return to a sea is already beyond my words of appreciation. I cannot thank you enough for allowing this old merchant to do one final transaction.” Kante di Aqua, the vitality in his voice sapped by time, still had the burning passion of a merchant in his voice.

“That’s great. Let’s party with everyone after the mission finishes. The booze money will come from the sales of Elisabeth’s unpublished memoirs.” I replied. “By the way, are Paddington and Amber’s relics ready?”

“Paddington is undergoing final modifications,” Emerald spoke through his green AR window, “she is blessed with an excellent ancient AI core, far beyond what modern drones have. I am extremely curious how Indigo found it…” The AI paused a bit, before continuing his explanations.

“But my own computational powers are still much higher. To allow her to be my co-calculator, some more modifications are needed. In 86,842 seconds the modifications would be finished.” Emerald said.

“So in about a day. What about Amber’s ceremonial staff and dress?”

“The Elves have supplied them, albeit reluctantly. I have inspected the inventory and found them to be in excellent conditions, as we requested. I brought them here for Archon Amber to double-check.” Kante pointed at a white silk dress, decorated with gold and gems of seven colours, and a long, wooden staff equally adorned with crystalline, glowing flowers.

“How nostalgic! I remember wielding the Staff of Crystal Bloom and wearing the Grace of Seven Stars and hosting ceremonies in front of Elven television. The dress’s design is a bit… embarrassing, but I enjoyed hosting the ceremonies… ah, it’s not the time to talk. I will practice those later, once the Terrans give us permission to land.” Amber’s face was obviously lit up by the sight of the artefacts.

“If they give us permission to land, that is. Burgundy, have we managed to obtain a direct line with the Federation?” I inquired.

“They have agreed to meet in ten minutes. I have also contacted the Bibliotheca, and the Council have just voted unanimously for your immediate accession into the council and you as the temporary primus inte pares.” Archon Burgundy gave me a somewhat complicated look. “You have been granted the authority to conduct diplomacy on Kextera’s behalf. Our future is in your hands, Archon Lavender.”

…Look at how my girl’s all grown up, was what his face told me.

“Thanks, Lord Admiral Burgundy. We still have time for a tea, then.” I closed my eyes and began to read my companions’ minds. “Reina wants matcha. Burgundy wants a good Kexteran Reserve Brew. Kante wants to try the Dahongpao. I’ll settle for Darjeeling and Amber can have the same. Emerald… can have some electric currents.”

“Isn’t that too mean?” The green window protested.

“I can pour some boiling water into your AR window if you want.”

“I will have the extra electricity, thanks.”

A drone soon came and brought forward the beverage, as we sank deeply into our comfortable seats. Enjoying the beauty of Mother Earth and the boundless ocean of stars that she floated on through Charon’s panoramic dome, we enjoyed a moment of respite, as silence enveloped us. But we needed no words; everyone knew their duty and had fulfilled them to the best of their abilities. The only thing we needed to do was to wait, wait for the Blue Marble to become bigger and bigger.

The line to Earth was finally open. Presiding over an understandably restless Parliament, the President was a middle-aged man wore countless wrinkles and white hair as medals for his faithful service. Under immense stress, his eyebrows locked against each other, yet he still managed to squeeze out a smile. He had decided to listen to us carefully and without prejudice.

Even if the wound of Constance Rainsford’s abduction was still fresh.

It’s time, I thought. At my command, the previously cloaked Charon began to reveal itself. I began to speak into Charon’s panoramic dome, into the image of the Federal President.

“Mr. President of the Earth Federation. Esteemed Members of Parliament. Thanks for agreeing to meet us on such a short notice.” In Kexteran I spoke.

An unpleasant shock went through the President’s face, ruining the smile he forced himself to put on. Several MPs went through the same reaction, the rest too confused to act. The reporters began to frantically yell into their phones, as the cameramen affixed their cameras at my face on the other side of the screen.

“I am the Archon of Lavender, Primus of the Council of Seven, representing the Kexteran State. Today, on behalf of our allies, the United Elven Kingdoms, we demand you return their national treasure, the Flower of Yggdrasil.”

The mention of “allies” and “United Elven Kingdoms” in the same sentence sent the Parliament into full panic, and the President held onto his nerves by the thinnest line.

“Please comply and place the Flower at the designated spot. Otherwise, please prepare to face the full power of this Systemcraft Charon. You have twenty-four hours to reply. Please let me hear your answer,” I continued in English, taking a pause before delivering my final line.

“The representative of Earth --- Professor, no, President Jason Goodenough.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The story is finally reaching its climax, and please enjoy the rest of the journey as Connie strives to achieve her goals.

A few notes:

Primus inter pares: First among equals. The rotating presidency of the Council of Seven.

Cloaking: Some Kexteran vehicles are capable of stealth, which will make them invisible to most methods of detection. Their full functions, including their weaponry, remain operable, but Connie chose to reveal the Charon as a show of force.

Co-calculating: The act of incorporating an AI into an AI network. The stronger the AI network is, the more throughput and computational power individual Ais must have. Paddington’s AI core needed some extra changes to network with Emerald due to the latter’s immense computational power.