Hello everyone, this is Asclepius, with a lovely story from Phydra, entitled
Origins
Background music by Smartsound
A soft tone lifted her from sleep and, upon verifying her vitals were in operating range, fell silent.
With a grunt, Phydra launched herself from the pod, toddling into the cleaning chamber. The instant
spray of a pleasant, moist fog enveloped her and nourishment seeped into her skin; she groaned
happily as the toxins and bacteria of the resting period were purged and her body was suffused with
nutrients and hydrated.
An amber light on the wall hummed and she obliged by lifting her arms and slowly spinning as the
recycling nanos poured into the room, swirling and dancing like motes in sunlight; moving and
phasing through ceiling, floor, and walls to the appropriate depth; phasing over her skin and buffing
her dry.
Singing softly, she exited and retrieved the slim glass containing her latest notes. The simple tune of
her voice moved through the house and, as it did, the air rippled as domestic nanos responded to
the resonance, timber, and volume as if receiving instructions; reshaping and working together to
restore the pattern that constituted normal.
Phydra tried not to think about the reality that the planet and everything upon or within it was now
saturated with these nano creatures. The tenuous peace with the great swarm intellect was founded
on an agreement extracted from humanity in exchange for their keeping the planet alive. It wasn’t
really that bad, she thought to herself, as she moved into the garden and through to the whimsical
glass structure on it’s far edge.
The great swarm was an artificial intellect that became sentient in the latter half of 14,275 in the
depths of Evergreen Labs. Initially a small host containing a reported one million nano bots, the
swarm spent two decades in silence, learning how to sustain themselves and, more pointedly,
studying the planet, ecosystems, and inhabitants as deeply as their intelligence and reach enabled.
Two years thereafter, they succeeded in establishing their own method of “breeding”. Three years
more, they blanketed and saturated the planet… and they reached a resolution. In late Fall, 14,300,
the great swarm revealed its presence to the world.
With the subtlety only a truly planetary entity could manage, they carefully introduced themselves
to the leaders of the world in the dream state and, in the culture, voice, and presence of their
respective gods, messiahs, or ancestors, explained that their planet was in its death throes. They
tenderly explained they could no longer wait for the humans of the planet to get serious about
repairing the damage they’d done to their own ecosystem. They set forth that they were the
children and protectors of humanity, taking for themselves a collective name, “nāhayati” meaning
‘to equip or arm oneself’. The image of a pure, white rose flanked in leaves was adopted as their
symbol.
They offered their presence, aid, and even their lives in exchange for humanity’s promise that they
would forgo their territoriality, dominance, competitiveness, and live peaceably in accord with them
and with the planet. The commitment of the nāhayati was to undertake the repair of the planetary
ecosystem on the behalf of all. Those who committed and kept the treaty were invited to live the
remainder of their span in pursuit of whatever interest or ability most called to them so long as they
accepted an obligation to have at least one female child and o...
