Build a Better Mouse Trap [1]

Liam didn't even blink at the revelation of what he was. It wasn't like he was trying to hide that he was a human. As someone who's race dominated the planet for all of the history of sapience, why would he be afraid of being recognized?

Liam spoke, "What I want to know, is why you said you HAVE something that can defeat the Swarm. A relic that is untouchable to most people other than possibly me wouldn't be something you would consider to be your own possession."

'He picked up on my secret with just that! I should have known, he is an ancestor, how could they be foolish…' As Dakkon's mind went into a spiral of disbelief he realized that his slight mistake in wording had given away his most damning secret.

Taking deep breaths, Dakkon visibly steeled himself. "The Swarm…it fell victim to the ruins in the past. Noone knew it, but it had been sleeping due to the effects of the ruins. It had apparently gotten too close during its last feeding and was in a comatose state. If not for me, it would have never awoke again…"

Dakkon's eyes flashed in deep sorrow. He had been out on a hunt and decided to climb a tree to get a better view of the landscape. When he was climbing he had stepped on a branch that was actually rotten and broke away under his weight. He fell down into a gorge, but the years of leaf litter had created a cushion and he survived without injury.

Unfortunately, the gorge he fell into led into the back of the Ancestor Ruins that everyone called 'The Final Resting Place'. He didn't recognize it either until he was deep into the ruins. He had been feeling more and more tired, and just needed to sleep. He realized something was wrong.

Struggling with the last of his mental energy he pushed into a towering ruin, only to find that there was a strange humming sound inside.

When he ventured around he found that the humming sound seemed to be coming from a table built into one of the rooms. The table was covered with dust, but on top of it was a spinning and glowing…thing? He picked it up and when he did the humming stopped.

Furthermore, he no longer felt sleepy. As he watched, the place on the table where the strange object was glowed faintly before it flickered and the aperture closed right before his eyes.

When Dakkon left the ruins, he felt normal and walked out through the front. As he walked out, he saw a horde of Shu that were shaking their heads in confusion and a massive blob of flesh. Dakkon fled quickly and reported what he saw to the village Chief.

Liam listened patiently trying to figure out what was going on. He had never heard of such a thing. As he was confused, Noona helped everyone solve the dilemma.

<It was a Pacifist.>

Dakkon and Luna looked confused, but Liam's eyes lit up. He had heard about the Pacifist system.

After the war had gotten nasty, but before the war went nuclear, many people were trying to find a solution to the bloodshed without it escalating to nukes. The pacifist system was one such invention.

The pacifist system was simple on paper. It vibrated multiple parts using a quantum computer to create a frequency that was imperceptible to human ears, but caused the brain to increase in Theta, Beta, and Gamma wave production. It put people exposed to it into REM sleep.

It had a wide area of effect and was a sonic weapon designed to control battlefields. Unfortunately, once it began being used it had limited impact due to the escalation of the war being too quick.

Liam's question was, how was one still operational and had been running?

Dakkon continued after hearing Noona's explanation followed up by Liam's. "The core of the device that I took with me, I buried to show my respects to the Ancestors. I had only grabbed it as a life saving measure, but in doing so I damned my entire tribe…"

Dakkon's crestfallen face withered and crumpled. Yes. He had caused The Swarm to awaken again. He had caused it to seek the village and wipe out his tribe. All because of his own selfish desire to live.

Luna looked at Dakkon's broken countenance and berated him, "What nonsense! Everyone has a right to live don't they? As long as you strive to live, there is nothing wrong with what you did. After all, you didn't directly condemn your tribe. The Swarm did that. Don't mix up the two. All you did was find a way to survive, The Swarm destroyed your tribe. But it's not over yet…right Liam?"

Luna had been watching Liam's countenance and when she saw the sharp air of a predator in his face, she knew he had a plan.

"Lets go build a better mouse trap."

The trio set out from the town and moved toward the ruins. They were to the Northwest, which was the opposite direction of the refugees, but the distance was less than an hour.

As Liam moved forward, he thought in his mind about the geography of the area they were in. 'This is Hickory, NC…'

Looking at the low rolling mountains around them, it was obvious to Liam the only reason they could make such a straight move here was the remnant impact of the highway system from the past. Even after all these years, the way the land had been leveled for the highways was still prominent.

As they moved forward, Eventually Dakkon stopped the group and started digging under a large tree. He dug out a shiny orb about the size of a baseball. It glowed with a faint blue light and the contrasting black of the body of the orb made it seem as if a galaxy was contained within.

"What is that Liam?" Luna's eyes sparkled. She had never seen something so beautiful, and knowing its deadly secret only made it more incredible.

Liam stared at the orb as he took it into his hands. After a few moments, he spoke out loud without seeming to realize that he had, "Noona, what in the hell is this thing? It's like a magic 8-ball ate a box of Christmas lights and someone shook it really fast."

Dakkon and Luna both looked completely baffled by Liam's words.

"Liam, I've pored over the records of the Ancestors that we have kept for thousands of years, what is a magic 8 ball?"

Before Liam could answer, Noona spoke up <Ask Again Later.> [1]

[1]: This is one of the classic answers from a magic 8 ball. For those that don't know, a magic 8 ball is an old toy shaped like a billiard ball and with a panel on one side. You shook it up and asked a question. One of the sides of the floating cubes inside would come up on the panel and give you an answer.