Remnants of the Past

Jericho stepped forward, his boots clicking softly against the crystal-clear floor.

Beneath his feet, the ocean's abyss stretched out, a world of perpetual night that was eerily devoid of life, save for the Aqualora's carefully nurtured hatcheries near its base.

The observatory was an architectural marvel. Its curved walls expanded up and around them, forming a grand dome that encapsulated the view of the Atlantic outside and the brilliant Aqualora beneath.

Gentle, phosphorescent tendrils of light from the facility painted the room, casting an array of colors across the acrylic surfaces, reflecting and refracting through the dome.

The spectacle, augmented by the occasional flash from the bioluminescent hatcheries below and the clusters of salt which drifted through the water, created an ethereal spectacle.

The room was designed with minimalistic elegance.

There were no fixtures on the walls, all the devices were hidden within the floor or hung from the ceiling.

From the floor, podiums with embedded analog devices would rise, the metallic accents gleaming softly under the aquatic light, their gears ticking and turning in rhythmic harmony. Above, devices hung from the dome, monitors and displays which currently lay dormant, awaiting a signal to display.

Jericho looked at the 6 others sitting around the table as everyone present shared greeting cards, one after another popping up within his vision as he mentally instructed Alice to adjust and order them to be positioned next to the person they belonged to.

The members around the table were the heads of each major department in the Aqualora, though none of them held any official power, they were simply there as being recognized for being the best in their fields among those in the facility, and were here to provide the unique insight from their perspective on things.

There was the familiar Dr. Li Zhou, whom Jericho had met when he went to check in on Lucian DrakeMoore.

Jericho's face grew a little darker as he remembered the unfortunate man he had quarantined to subspace. If not for that, he would certainly be at this gathering right now as he was the brightest mind when it came to the quantum cores and AGI systems.

In his place however, sat Dr. Maya Atwood, a reserved woman with a hint of madness in her eyes.

The others who had been gathered were Ezekial "Zeke" Hawkins, from communications. Klara Schmidt, from the agriculture department. Akio Yamamoto, from Logistics. Hector Novarro, a structural engineer. And Dr. Issabelle Ngo, from genetics.

"As all of you have already been made aware, not long ago a small fleet of vessels which we believe to belong to the Remnants was detected within range of our scanners." Jericho stated loudly for all to hear, as Zeke nodded in response.

"They are currently still within range, and as of this moment, no attempts at communication have been detected." Jericho continued to summarize the situation as those present listened.

There were several others in the room as well, though their presence was not as critically important, they were mostly either here by Jericho's request, or personal curiosity.

After all, it was a public event and the entire Aqualora was made aware of it already, many were even watching or listening in through cameras in the room.

"In case they decide to take hostile action, I need everyone to be aware of the severity of the situation, and to address any concerns beforehand. So if you have questions, please make them known." He finished as he fell silent for several moments.

A slim man with sharp features and glasses spoke up as everyone turned to face him when he did so.

"Why do we believe the Remnants may be hostile towards us?" Akio asked inquisitively.

"Sir, if I may," Alice spoke up to Jericho as he looked towards her and nodded.

Immediately, a hologram of Alice appeared over the table, allowing others to see and hear her as she began to answer the question.

"The Remnants are presumed to be hostile due to their beliefs and social hierarchy. They maintain forms of government, which by nature breeds violence and crime, and it is a way of living which is incapable of coexistence with our own." Her silky voice sounded softly within the room as her golden locks of hair wafted gently by a non-existent breeze.

"What makes it incapable of coexistence?" Akio asked, adjusting his glasses as he did so.

"In order for it to remain a stable form of society, it must have established rules and regulations which are imposed upon people enslaved by the government and forced to adhere to those rules by the use of violence and extortion." Alice responded casually, her expression cold but serious.

"Due to the fact our way of life is entirely free, with no rules imposed upon anyone, it makes it difficult for that government to exist should its slaves learn of our society and attempt to emigrate." Those present listened patiently as Alice answered the question.

"The only methods it possesses to prevent that from happening, would be to manipulate and gaslight them through forms of media or education in order to make them hold a negative view of our own society," She looked to Akio after finishing her response as the slim man seemed satisfied while he pondered the information.

The room remained silent for several minutes as everyone looked upon the 3d model of the vessels in question and pondered the implications of the situation.

It was after all, a very serious situation.

Everyone present was aware of how violent governments were from history, and the current state of the earth was testament to how extreme they were willing to take things.

It did literally take the deliberate act of destroying an entire planet and rendering it mostly uninhabitable to end the constant war which was waged in the name of government.

Their current society lacked any form of government. Everything was simply sustained through automation, there was no need for something like government. If a person needed resources for something, they simply put in a request to the nearest harvesting drones and waited until it was collected for them.

And those alive and present, had never been alive during the time when governments had been around, so none of them knew what life was like within one or around one.

They knew of many of the various forms of government, especially the more prominent ones such as democracy and tyrannies.

But knowing of one, and understanding one were entirely different things, and the life they had all led so far, was one entirely of freedom.

They simply had no way to conceptualize or understand what it was like to be ruled over or be forced to obey certain laws.

After all, the only thing that existed which could be related to a law in any way, were the doctrines established by the Solar Constitution. Which was merely a few short lines that covered basic human rights. They were as follows.

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.

2. The struggle for Justice is ongoing and ever present, and all creatures should strive to ensure it is upheld in accordance with the Solar Constitution.

3. One's own body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone.

4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.

5. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.

6. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

7. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

Through the interpretation of these established principles, which served more as a guideline than they did as absolute laws, many things about society had been outright banned from existence, established government was one of these things, as it's very nature violated several of these principles.

Particularly the third one, as without the ability to use violence or extortion to force others into obedience, governments effectively held no power whatsoever.

Zeke was the next to speak up, as his loud voice boomed throughout the room.

"Why have they not attempted to contact us yet? They have even ignored our attempts at communication."

He spoke from experience as he was a vital part of the communications department which was responsible for maintaining communications with the other installations across the earth.

Though this information was news to many, as they had not been aware that the Aqualora had attempted to make contact with the vessels already.

"According to historical data, that is simply how governments in the past used to work. They would act with caution when encountering something unknown rather than approaching it openly. Though this is largely as a survival mechanism, since unknown things could threaten the survival of said government." Alice replied softly as she looked towards the large man whose voice boomed.

"So then, what will our next actions be?" Maya asked, her frizzled hair hanging about her head as she looked past the AGI woman and towards Jericho, her eyes gleaming with a touch of madness which spoke to the way her mind had been affected from years of working with AGI in subspace.