Re: Rise of the Remorhaz Society
Unrest
2414.4
One side effect of the defeat of the Rage empire was that the Remorhaz Society added twenty-one worlds populated almost exclusively by Rage to her rolls. Since the Rage were a race of semi-sentient robots, this presented a number of challenges to the Remorhaz leadership. While the ultimate question of how to incorporate these beings into the citizenship of the society was still an open issue, often referred to as �The Rage Question�, the day to day operations of these colonies had to continue. The reality of the situation was that the industrial output of these worlds was impossible to ignore, and so a solution was needed. Late in the war, it was discovered that the Rage were controlled by a being known as a primary sequencer. The primary sequencer had total control of the actions of every Rage under its control, and instant awareness of everything any Rage drone was experiencing. While no one was quite sure how the primary sequencers were able to exert control over millions of drones, it was obvious that there were vital to their society. During the war, Remorhaz forces learned that if the primary sequencer could be destroyed, the drones would cease operating until another primary sequencer could be found. In many cases, the Rage drones would substitute a single human for a primary sequencer, most often if they were out of range of a superior primary sequencer. This was quite a hazardous role for a human, since if the drones detected another primary sequencer that conflicted with their own, they would attempt to destroy it, not to mention the strain a human would be subjected to trying to control an entire planet filled with sentient robots. The Research Guild quickly produced a substitute sequencer facility, called a sequencer station, and installed one in each of the newly controlled Rage colonies. This allowed the human leadership to direct the efforts of the drones without subjecting themselves, and the drones, to the hazards of primary sequencer conflicts.
For Governor Hanna Wentworth-Bay, life among the Rage was an odd experience. She was raised in the metropolis that was Turian, the capitol of Remorhaz. Life in a human city was colorful, loud, and electric. Things were happening everywhere you looked. There was a hum, and it was comforting to her. Here on Sutran, one of the Rage worlds, things were different. Other than her staff and the thousand-odd human scattered across the surface of the planet, there was very little happening, other than labor. The Rage drones worked. That was it. They had no need for entertainment, they did not seem to need rest. They carried out their orders without question or hesitation. Their communication was silent and only took place as needed. Other than the din of production, there was no noise. It was quite unnerving at times, and was part of the reason her predecessor resigned his post. She hoped that these feelings of strangeness and isolation would pass soon, and her resolve told her that she would be able to deal with it. After all, the were advantages to governing a planet filled with tireless workforce. Efficiency topped 97% in her first three months on the job, which was unheard of on non-Rage worlds. With some improvements to processes and equipment upgrades, Sutran would easily become one of the top mineral producing worlds in the Society. A few years here would help launch her into the Senate, and maybe one day into the Chairman�s seat. So for now, the unease was the price to pay for advancing her career.
She was preparing her status report for the Senate when her datapad chimed a tone that took her a moment to recall the meaning of. The efficiency rate for mine 233 was dropping. She frowned and watched it for a few more moments as it continued to fall. Some sort of accident, she thought, and then saw that the efficiency rate for mine 234 was dropping though the floor as well. She activated her com unit.
�Hi Josh,� she said to her chief aide as soon as his face appeared, �anything I need to know about at 233?�
Josh looked concerned as well.
�I�m checking it out now, governor. We haven�t heard back from Imbawa yet,� he said, referring to the foreman of the mine.
�Can you open a feed and pipe it up to me?� she asked.
Josh nodded. �Right away.�
The feed snapped into view in moments, and Hanna feared what she would see. In her mind, she expected to see fire, or signs of an explosion; something that would explain the drop in efficiency at the mine.
Instead, she saw nothing. Well, she saw something, but all that she saw were hundreds of drones standing in the shaft, frozen. She stared at the screen, eyes darting back and forth, watching for something to move, but nothing did. They had just stopped.
She brought up the efficiency stats and superimposed them over a planetary map. From the center point at mine 233, the efficiency was dropping in all of the mines and factories around it.
She keyed the com unit to connect with the sequencer station. A technician she was not acquainted with answered the channel.
�Sequencer station, Jax speaking,� the technician said.
�Jax, I am governor Wentworth-Bay,� she said. The technician looked nervous. �Can you tell me how things are going down there?�
Jax looked off screen for a moment, then back at her.
�Well, governor, we aren�t quite sure what�s happening. The drones are dropping offline. It started about ten minutes ago, and it appears to be spreading out from a central point in..mine 233.�
Hanna waited for him to continue, and nodded to let him know she was following and not going to interrupt his train of thought.
�Our signal is still going out, but the drones are no longer responding. Not only that, but we�re getting no data return from them.� He looked back off-screen. �Let me let you talk to the senior tech, ma�am.�
Before she could respond, the channel changed and she was connected with Lars Demien, the head sequencer technician. Demien had been part of the prototype testing of the sequencers, and he knew it very well. His face betrayed his concern.
�Hi, Hanna,� he said, never one to stand on ceremony, �I�m not exactly sure what�s going on here, but my best guess would be that we have a new pri sec out there,� he said, referring to a primary sequencer.
Hanna drew in a breath. Lars� words gave life to the worst fears of everyone on the Rage worlds, if not the entire Society. The Rage were defeated and their worlds captured. The war was over when the last primary sequencers were hunted down and destroyed. There was no doubt that they had all been destroyed; until now.
�I think we should start moving with that hypothesis,� he said.
She nodded, but hesitated.
�You need me to confirm this for you,� he said, a frown on his face. �Let me tell you something, Hanna. If there is a sequencer, things are going to happen quickly, ok? I�ll try my best to get you hard proof, but we don�t want to get caught with our pants down. The drones have no loyalty, as you know. They�ll do whatever they are told by the most senior pri sec. My guess is that we are still safe, but I don�t know for how long.�
She nodded. They had contingency plans, but they weren�t very well thought out, because no one really knew how the Rage operated.
�Keep me informed, Lars,� she muttered.
�You need to get the humans together, governor, at the very least.�
She nodded.
�Consider it done, Lars.�
He stared at her for a hard second and then cut the com.
Hanna put her head in her hands to let out a deep breath.
If there were a new primary sequencer out there, the entire planet could turn hostile in moments. However, if there were some other explanation and she rounded everyone up and called out the troops it would make her appear foolish at best, and weak at worst.
Minutes passed as she weighed her options.
Finally, she keyed her com once more, and Lars face appeared.
�I was just about to com you, Hanna,� he said.
�Good news, I hope,� she chuckled.
�The drones from mine 233 are moving, governor,� he said.
He eyes widened. So fast, she thought. She quickly opened the feed to 233, and saw that he was right. The shaft was empty.
�Where are they headed, Lars?� she asked.
His eyes remained calm as he spoke.
�Here ma�am. They�re going to destroy the pretender,� he said. �But at least you have proof now.�
Thanks to the quick action of the garrison on Sutran, the crew at the sequencer station was saved before the drone army destroyed the station, but across the planet, there were casualties. All of the humans in the mines where the new primary sequencer was created were slaughtered, over 150 in all. Hanna and the rest of the humans were evacuated off planet into the Sutran shipyard, where the Rage drones were quickly dispatched by the garrison troops. From here Hanna learned that a similar fate had gripped the colonies of Gordov and Isla Bella, but advanced warning had helped save most of the human lives on those worlds. In the space of a week, Remorhaz had lost three worlds to the Rage; an enemy whom they had thought defeated.
Tolland, the last human-held world in the Sutran system, was being used as a staging point for the Army. Since there were no weapons for the Rage to use on the three lost worlds, retaking the planets would not be as tough as the initial invasions had been, but troops had to be mustered before any sort of offensive could be mounted. Worse, they were not able to detect the new primary sequencers, which meant that the Rage had learned a new way to hide them from prying eyes.
On every Rage colony around the Society, garrison troops were to be deployed as soon as possible, even as troops prepared to return to the fray and hunt down the new sequencers; by hand if need be. �The Rage Question� was going to need to be resolved much sooner than anyone thought.
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