A debate raged among the 77 in the intervening time between the first appearance of the frightful Dru-Earthling that was bigger than the planet Top and also a manifestation of the Quintessence, and the appearance of the First Wave. They gathered in the opulent Hall of the Chosen that was made of shiny white rock that glittered like a disco ball since the craft crossed into the Quinspace, and the gathered 77 Ascendant were striking as a collective of auburn-furred titans with intimidating horns and impressive wings that occurred in many varieties from feathered to scaly.
Neu-Brosme stood before the throne room that was an indoor amphitheater and each seat that faced her was an impressive throne crafted for each of the 77 to sit and attend the words of the speaker. Neu-Brosme stood before them on a simple stage that was positioned to amplify her voice for all to hear.
“We can devise a correction to this. We will launch an offensive when that thing returns, and we will figure out a best move forward. There is only one acceptable outcome. We will extend the life of the universe. I want exploration teams out gathering intelligence to determine the source of the rapid expansion.”
Sil-Prom, the master of communications, interjected from her throne as she stood and her wings spread up and down behind her like four large, transparent petals tinged red, with red veins and lines running throughout.
“We have arrived in a paradox and you all know it. Par-Cell and I have discussed it at length and it seems you know better than all of us Commander.” Sil-Prom looked back and up at master mathematician and engineer Par-Cell who was stunned and embarrassed to be singled out. “You took private counsel with the deep thinkers in this room before our jump to the past and it was brought to your attention that because of our advanced scientific capabilities, the mere fact that we dreamed of fundamentally altering the physical foundations of reality suggests that we had a hand in the rapid expansion. You all developed a contingency to assuage the doubts of the thinkers who tried to talk you out of this, but your contingency proved useless and there is no way to undo what we have done. You brought us here chasing a sensation that only few of us can enjoy, in the name of a lofty principle to honor all of the sentient life that has existed before us. You don’t care to extend the life of the universe, if you had cared to do that, we would have stayed put.”
“Do you forget where we come from sister?” Neu-Brosme asked sincerely. “The end, of everything. And we took a calculated risk. How were any of us to know what would happen until we made the jump? But this is not insurmountable. We can devise a way to stop ourselves from coming back here, but we need to know exactly what it is that causes the rapid expansion. If we can pinpoint it, we can better ensure our successful mission.”
“I believe as our sister Par-Cell believes, that you have created something so essential to the time flow that we will not be allowed to undo anything. We will forever be linked to our own failure. All because of your selfish desire to bathe in this space.”
“I am grateful for my senses in this realm, but I am the Commander of the Ascendant. I do not selfishly satisfy my own whims at the expense of my home, my family. What we have done has proven itself necessary, if we had not traveled to the past, then according to Par-Cell’s theories there could have been some catastrophic consequence that could have doomed existence as we know it. Our quest has only just begun and we will work to do as I say and have said through countless rounts of time now, we will extend the life of this universe, and we will revel in its old age many mega-rounts from now.”
“We should cut our losses and do as little damage as possible,” Sil-Prom said. “But you are our Commander. It is imperative that you share all relevant information with the entire collective. Matters of philosophical science seem esoteric until our home world finds its way to the distant past and becomes entwined in the workings of the universe as it is forming. We should have discussed this as we are now.”
There were rumblings within the hall. Some were confused, others were knowing and judgemental of the Commander who had failed to properly inform her 76, which meant they were all ill prepared to complete their missions. Others still were impressed by Neu-Brosme’s bold action that cemented the Ascendant as the most consequential collective of sentient beings to have ever existed in their original universe, and many others.
The 77 devised the plan to wait until the return of the dreadful and giant Dru-Earthling, and then to seemingly split up to evade the entity that was much more than it appeared to be. They would actually start the work of mapping their surroundings, and Par-Cell would lead a team of the Ascendant on the planet Top to analyze the new data of the space in which they found themselves and devise a plan for a second time jump that would hopefully erase the Ascendant from the past altogether. They had hoped that they could correct some physical deformity of early space and jump back to their proper time. Now it seemed that they would have to exist in the early universe and that would have consequences; Par-Cell knew that it already had.
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