Page 239 - The Chronicles Ser2 (6-10)

Volanz called her Felicia Kang. Helen was called Woman Yem. Arthur had chuckled at that thinking
of how Helen would have reacted. He had tried to explain to Karda; but the alien had no concept of
Human humour so didn’t get the irony. He was satisfied in the end that she hadn’t given up hope
that she would see Arthur again. As it turned out another team of Volanz had “acquired” her as a
Specimen. She was taken one summer evening a year after Arthur. However that team had “bugged
out” for Hylon not too shortly after that. Hylon was an “artificial” world designed for long term study
of “Oxygen breathers”. Hopes were held that the world would become a “generational” colony. The
Volanz did their best to synthesize many food and dietary requirements for the specimens, but relied
on them to help develop things like taste and textures. They were caring “zoo keepers” after all.
When Arthur had heard about Helen being taken to Hylon he
had requested that he could be sent there at some point to be
reunited with her. But initially the Volanz refused; there
appeared to be some sort of friction between the two teams.
Arthur had completely forgotten about that till now. Probably
down to some kind of impressed amnesia on their part. He had
been in a Sarcophagus before so knew what to expect, but it
still freaked him out a little. He got the impression that all this
haste in preparing the specimens for transit meant that their
journey was being forced on them by external pressures. He
managed to glimpse a group of Volanz who were armed with stun wands. They seemed to be in a
hurry. The field cut in and he was oblivious to all that happened next, but he had heard Hylon
mentioned before he went into stasis…

… The team entered the chamber at the end of the light corridor. Inside was a large domed
room with instrument consoles around the outer walls. Various doors lead off at intervals and a
central hexagonal console surrounded by a number of low benches and tables. There were eight
occupants in the room. The aliens appeared to be of a similar age to Zuul though a couple seemed to
be younger. Two more entered from one of the doors. Twinkle greeted all of them individually as
she had Zuul. There were five other females and five other males. All were naked apart from
headbands or in the case of the last two to enter; silvery tabards with tool belts. After the greetings
were over Twinkle explained about the pride of children in front of them. She explained about their
ancestors. How they had modified themselves so much they could no longer reproduce normally;
like the Unat and The Osir they sought new means to perpetuate their species, and some new means
to pass on their vast accumulated knowledge. Eventually; thanks in part to the discoveries made
during the “gatherings”; the choice boiled down to two options. One was to de-evolve; the other
was to create a new species to take on the mantle and move on. A decision could not be made and a
conflict began. Two factions with two agendas; diametrically opposed. The group to which Twinkle
and her family belonged were the descendants of the group in favour of de-evolution. They
originally called themselves the Aradash; however over time they realised that they could not do
what they needed without the genetic data of an “evolving” race. So; like their opponents; they set
out to find viable specimens. Their opponents called themselves the Hurabash; and collected and
manipulated the DNA of many species. In the process they created Monsters; demons and half-

breeds, or altering the brain capacity and mental abilities. The Aradash
found these practices abhorrent and shunned away from the regions that
the Hurabash spread into. It was the Hurabash that had aided the
evolution of one of the Universes’ most hated species. They had created
the Gantrax; originally to be intelligent slaves. But they had not expected
the speed at which the insects evolved. The Hive mind was almost
impossible to control or manipulate so the Hurabash banished them to a
galaxy and a system surrounded by energy clouds and barriers. They
thought the prison impregnable. They were wrong and the scourge of the