Alien Evolution System

"So, last human, will you answer my questions?"

The Collector stood in front of the remaining female, casting a deadly shadow over her. It observed that she was dressed in loose robes that offered little in terms of physical protection. She did not wield any visible weapon. Her build did not seem muscled nor built for battle in any capacity.

The female stopped scratching at her square of plant-fiber and looked up.

"How about a little this for that? You see, I'm very curious about you and, well, everything. It's lovely to see a kindred curious spirit out here, so I think it'd be wonderful for us to share questions, no?"

The Collector clicked its mandibles. "You are not afraid."

"If I got scared so easily, I'd have died years ago," she said. "And besides, I welcome new knowledge with open arms."

"You are more agreeable than the others. That is good." The Collector pointed back at the mangled corpse of the dead female. "That female. Did she utilize the substance known as 'magic'?"

The living female tilted her head, long locks of ashen white hair swaying to the side. The Collector recognized white hair as a sign of age among the humans, but this female seemed youthful. "I suppose you can say that, though magic isn't quite what I'd call a substance."

"I see." The Collector turned and retrieved the dead female's corpse. It raised the corpse above its head and split it apart in two. Guts and blood spilled out, and the Collector lapped them up. Bloodstains disappeared as soon as they formed on its carapace, being absorbed into its body through the skin.

The Collector searched the female's memories using the keyword of magic. It could not find anything, only darkness. It was as if the female had never heard of the word magic in her entire life.

"You lie, human," said the Collector, irritated. It approached the living female again, this time with claws bared. "This is the problem with sentient tinkering races. They learn to lie. I could not extract any memories regarding magic."

The female was unphased. "Extracting memories? Hmm." She put a finger to her chin. "Indeed, that would be difficult. Memories from sorcerers and those blessed by the gods are closely protected, you see. Helps keep their trade secrets hidden."

"And how is it that such a primitive race is capable of obfuscating their very genetic code such that it prevents memory extraction?"

"I don't quite understand what you're saying, but I get the gist of it. You want to know how her memories are sealed. Well, it's rather simple. It's because of magic. Which would have to lead me to an extensive explanation of magic." She raised a finger. "But before I do that, I want you to answer some of my questions."

However, that made her reliable as an information source. She would not fall into shock and spout nonsense, and if what she said was true that certain humans could not have their memories taken, then her information became all the more valuable.

"So be it."

The female smiled. "Excellent." She began scratching away at her trinket again. "Forgive me, I like to chronicle the date, time and location of my journal entries. Helps to keep them organized. Now then, here's a simple one. What species are you and where are you from?"

"Tinkering species have long classified us under a single banner, but we are not so. We are the culminated effort of countless species and their genetic material, a Collective of the highest degree. But if you must place a label upon our union, then we would be known across the stars as the Collective. We hail from star system 1011A."

The female stopped scribbling. She put her small stick and square of plant fibers away in pockets in her robes. She was trembling not from fear, but from excitement. "I grasped little of what you said, but it would seem that you are an extraordinary specimen. Never before seen and hailing from a realm never before known."

"Unknown to you primitives, that is true. But it is good to see that even among your species there is one such as yourself that appreciates the greatness of the Collective."

"I do," the female said. "I appreciate anything new and wondrous, and you are all that and much more. Here, I believe we hail from realms so different that there are certain…cultural differences that prevent us from understanding each other well. But I have a solution."

The Collector's antennae perked up.

The female continued. "I can synchronize our minds through a clairvoyant window. I will admit that I'm unsure how well this will work considering how different we are, but if it's worked on dragons, it should work for you." She c.o.c.ked her head. "I can sense more questions from you. Essentially, I'll place a physical conduit, my hand, on you, and then allow you entry into my mind and me into yours."

The Collector could not allow this human to grasp the secrets of the Collective, but it doubted that she could access them. Many tinkering species had tried to extract memories and genetic information from the corpses of the few fallen Collectors, but there were safeguards in place to prevent such a thing. No psionic force in the galaxy had the potency to crack the Collector's encrypted mind and cells.

Right now, the Collector needed information, and if she opened access to her mind through, then it could access her memories whereas she stood to gain nothing.

"That is agreeable," said the Collector.

The female clapped her hands with a beaming smile. "Simply excellent! By the Aethir, I have conversed with dragons atop the edge of the world and roamed the greatest temples of the elves, but not once have I had an opportunity such as this." She rolled up one of her sleeves and extended her arm towards the Collector's c.h.e.s.t. "Do I have your permission?"

"Yes."

"Good." The female pressed her hand against the Collector's hardened carapace. "You may feel a sense of falling and passing nausea, but I assure you that it will pass." She closed her eyes and her brows furrowed in focus. A light began emanating from her palm. "All you have to do is stay still. I'm not like those clumsy priests that need you to focus and think of flowers and puppies and all that pleasant bollocks."

With a deep breath, the female began. "Here we go."