The nine looked at each other in silence at this. Everyone understood that Aeneas Shared Moment during her torture and murder by the Pax and TechnoCore had been shared by every human being in human spacea gestalt resonance along the Void Which Binds that had transmitted the dying young womans thoughts and memories and knowledge along those threads in the quantum fabric of the universe which existed to resonate empathy, briefly uniting everyone originating from Old Earth human stock. But out here? So many thousands of light-years away?
Dem Lia suddenly realized how silly that thought was. Aeneas Shared Moment of almost five centuries ago must have propagated everywhere in the universe along the quantum fabric of the Void Which Binds, touching alien races and cultures so distant as to be unreachable by any technology of human travel or communication while adding the first self-aware human voice to the empathic conversation that had been going on between sentient and sensitive species for almost twelve billion years. Most of those species had long since become extinct or evolved beyond their original form, the Aeneans had told Dem Lia, but their empathic memories still resonated in the Void Which Binds.
Of course the Ousters had experienced the Shared Moment five hundred years ago.
No, we are not Pax, the Helix had radioed back to the three-hundred-some thousand approaching Ousters. The Pax was essentially destroyed four
hundred standard years ago.
Do you have followers of Aenea aboard? came the next Ouster message.
Dem Lia and the others had sighed. Perhaps these Ousters had been desperately waiting for an Aenean messenger, a prophet, someone to bring the sacrament of Aeneas DNA to them so that they could also become Aeneans.
No, the Helix had radioed back. No followers of Aenea. They then tried to explain the Amoiete Spectrum Helix and how the Aeneans had helped them build and adapt this ship for their long voyage.
After some silence, the Ousters had radioed, Is there anyone aboard who has met Aenea or her beloved, Raul Endymion?
Again the nine had looked blankly at each other. Saigyô, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor some distance from the conference table, spoke up. No one on board met Aenea, he said softly. Of the Spectrum family who hid and helped Raul Endymion when he was ill on Vitus-Gray-Balianus B, two of the marriage partners were killed in the war with the Pax thereone of the mothers, Dem Ria, and the biological father, Alem Mikail Dem Alem. Their son by that triunea boy named Bin Ria Dem Loa Alemwas also killed in the Pax bombing. Alem Mikails daughter by a previous triune marriage was missing and presumed dead. The surviving female of the triune, Dem Loa, took the sacrament and became an Aenean not many weeks after the Shared Moment. She farcast away from Vitus-Gray-Balianus B and never returned.
Dem Lia and the others waited, knowing that the AI wouldnt have gone on at such length if there were not more to the story.
Saigyô nodded. It turns out that the teenage daughter, Ces Ambre, presumed killed in the Pax Base Bombasine massacre of Spectrum Helix civilians, had actually been shipped offworld with more than a thousand other children and young adults. They were to be raised on the final Pax stronghold world of St. Theresa as born-again Pax Christians. Ces Ambre received the cruciform and was overseen by a cadre of religious guards there for nine years before that world was liberated by the Aeneans and Dem Loa learned that her daughter was still alive.
Did they reunite? asked young Den Soa, the attractive diplomat. There were tears in her eyes. Did Ces Ambre free herself of the cruciform?
There was a reunion, said Saigyô. Dem Loa freecast there as soon as she learned that her daughter was alive. Ces Ambre chose to have the Aeneans remove the cruciform, but she reported that she did not accept Aeneas DNA sacrament from her triune stepmother to become Aenean herself. Her dossier says that she wanted to return to Vitus-Gray-Balianus B to see the remnants of the culture from which she had been kidnapped. She continued living and working there as a teacher for almost sixty standard years. She adopted her former familys band of blue.
She suffered the cruciform but chose not to become Aenean, muttered Kem Loi, the astronomer, as if it were impossible to believe.
Dem Lia said, Shes aboard in deep sleep.
Yes, said Saigyô.
How old was she when we embarked? asked Patek Georg.
Ninety-five standard years, said the AI. He smiled. But as with all of us, she had the benefit of Aenean medicine in the years before departure. Her physical appearance and mental capabilities are of a woman in her early sixties.
Dem Lia rubbed her cheek. Saigyô, please awaken Citizen Ces Ambre. Den Soa, could you be there when she awakens and explain the situation to her before the Ousters join us? They seem more interested in someone who knew Aeneas husband than in learning about the Spectrum Helix.
Future husband at that point in time, corrected the ebony, Jon Mikail, who was a bit of a pedant. Raul Endymion was not yet married to Aenea at the time of his short stay on Vitus-Gray-Balianus B.