Interlude 10: Sha-ush of the Tan-Teen

Tan-ish, my home planet – a harsh breeding ground.  Few were the life forms to survive.  Other worlds, more benign, fostered the symbiotics of mutual benefit.  Arboreal flora bearing fruiting bodies, designed for consumption and the propagation of their gymnosperm.  Not so, on my planet.  Predation was the norm.  The lower gravity, the higher oxygen, and the heat fomented rapacious growth. 

Observation of carnivorous beasts on other worlds, and without satisfaction, I must compare – few were more malicious.  We, of the Tan-Teen, were weak in comparison, yet we coexisted.  Singularly, with obeisance to the Three, we survived through the acquisition of territory and its protection.  And we did this via the evolvement of our intellect and senses.  Ever vigilant, with eyes always swiveling and appendages quick to spring.  Yet that was long ago, in a place no more.

From our protected territories, we grew.  We grew in number, and we grew in understanding – comprehension of the Three in All Things.  And we prospered and expanded.  Acquiring awareness of The Eternal Truths, we joined with the Great Continuum.  Journey’s end for the Way of the Trinity.  In time, we became — “As One.”

Bliss, such was life in the Locus.  An adjustment, yet exaltation.  Changing Times, convoluted Spaces arranged for a purpose; to maximize felicity.  But there was order, and there was regimen.  And encountering the Presences of the Old Ones – exuberance was maximized.  Experiencing the nearness of Those Who Came First.  Comingling our consciousnesses.  Basking in their aura.  Races: like the Ang et Setem, the Sung-horn, and the Bree-e-ee.  Eternity offered the pleasant prospect of rapture.  With them, we found a place, as Observers – ever vigilant.

And then came “Others.”  An unknown entity of extermination.  Destruction; our Locus and our Progenitor almost.  A force beyond comprehension. 

At this present time, we of the Sha’ush Tan Teen dwell within an artifice of new design.  Orbicular.  Very many were built.  Their purpose: to restore and to protect the Progenitor, from without.  In addition, to learn of and seek out the Others.  But craft were granted for personal use.  This honor was given to us – the First Observer.

Large, the size of a small moon, the edifice embodies a science new to we of the Tan Teen.  The hull made of fused Space-Time, various configurations, interlaced with filaments of exotic matter.  The power source – the regulated explosion of a moderately sized gravitic globule.  Comfortably ensconced within, we of the Sha’ush securely travel the Cosmos and beyond.  Many of “We Who Came First” chose to re-corporealize and enjoy the amenities of ancient habitats.

Enigma faced my species.  Where to go?  For what purpose?  We traversed the Great Barrier and observed the galaxies, many billions.  Our home star, long perished, gone nova, taking Tan-ish, our homeworld.  Questions abound, answers unknown.  We meandered and observed.  And paired with “recomposed” old ones.

And we observed the young civilizations, newly arisen and newly emerged.  Progeny of the Progenitor, by definition, our siblings, bonded we are, by parentage.  Joy infused our being.  For in them, “Those Who Came After,” we found purpose.  And so, we turned our gaze inward, focusing on the wonders of this new life.

The “Continuum” declined.  Only vestiges of the Caretakers remained.  Many were expended while performing their tasks – reparations to the Progenitor – The Great Restitution.  For those that remained, for those that survived, a proposal, a new purpose, a new function was put forth.  They were to moderate and monitor the Star Fields.  And rectify a great wrong tolerated too long.  Tasked, the Caretakers would be, to quell the explosions of the massive stars and to terminate their gamma-ray bursts.  The source of the Progenitor’s pain.  For such should be our duty, for alleviation is the right of every sentient entity.  The long travail of our Parent was to cease, along with the attendant extermination of much life.

            And what of the Young?  Many Caretakers shall remain to care for the progeny, the embryonic civilizations.  And those prodigious artifacts shall be augmented by the new arrivals – “We Who Have Returned.”