CHAPTER 127: CHAPTER 127: HISTORY

One week later. Subject Alpha-0’s state had deteriorated further. Its movements were now jerky, fueled by a primal desperation, though its massive form continued to pace the arid confines of its climate-controlled cell, honing its combat instincts even in its weakened state.

Lina, working with intense precision, supervised android bots administering minute, controlled doses of various human blood types, including the exceptionally rare Rh-null. Each micro-injection was followed by immediate, granular biometric and neurological monitoring. She meticulously tracked any differential response, any specific "trigger" or preference that might exist even within such an extreme physiological dependency.

The powerful stench of its sweat now mixed with something else, a subtle, primal aroma that Lena had configured a specialized sensor to detect – the faint scent of human blood, strategically placed just beyond the outer containment field. The Krill occasionally paused, its nostrils flaring, a low growl rumbling in its chest, confirming its heightened olfactory senses could indeed detect the distant lure.

An Android Emissary, a sleek, humanoid bot with a placid, featureless face, materialized at the cell’s transparent barrier. Its voice, calm and synthesized, offered the first installment of the agreed-upon exchange. "Subject Alpha-0. Three tablespoons of processed human blood, in exchange for information."

The Krill’s eyes, normally slits of cold fury, widened with raw hunger. It lunged towards the dispenser port, its massive tongue lapping greedily at the offered sustenance. As the last drop was consumed, a visible change rippled through its physiology.

Its dull scales shimmered with a renewed, albeit faint, vibrancy. Its labored breathing eased. A deep, resonant hum vibrated from its chest – a sudden, undeniable spike in its bio-electromagnetic energy, its psionic aura flaring with renewed vigor.

"More!" the Krill roared, its voice regaining some of its former power. Its restored aggression surged. With a furious, unchecked swipe, it obliterated the Android Emissary, sending metallic shrapnel scattering across the reinforced floor. Immediately, the containment’s security protocols activated.

A low-frequency hum resonated, a gravitic field shimmered into place, and disorienting light patterns pulsed across the cell walls. The Krill, momentarily disoriented by the counter-measures, ceased its protest, though its eyes still burned with renewed, predatory anger.

Another week passed. Deprived of its sustenance, the Krill returned to its weakened, desperate state, its bellows for blood now closer to pathetic pleas. Lina, observing its full cycle of dependency, initiated the next phase. A new Android Emissary appeared at the port, calm and unwavering.

"Subject Alpha-0," the emissary stated, its voice even. "Six tablespoons of blood, for information regarding your race. Your hierarchy. Your history. Your empire."

The Krill thrashed, a guttural snarl escaping its lips, protesting the terms. But hunger, raw and absolute, was a powerful motivator. It slumped against the glass, eyes fixed on the dispenser. "Hmph. You... demand much. But... I comply." It spoke slowly, deliberately, its voice raspy.

"We are the Krill. An interstellar civilization. An empire forged in the crucible of countless close-combat battles. Our hierarchy is simple: strength. Power. It is all that matters."

The Krill paused, gathering strength, before continuing. "At the pinnacle is our Emperor, Krill Mainu. He is the strongest. He has ruled for over five hundred thousand years. He is immense. Twenty times my size, at least. Akin to your mythical dragons, if your legends could capture such majesty.

His scales are a majestic golden, shimmering with pure power. He has vast, powerful wings, and crowned horns that pierce the very air. And he breathes fire. It is the greatest honor a Krill can achieve." Lina’s internal processors whirred, calculating. Approximately two hundred feet. A true alpha predator, a living weapon.

"Below the Emperor," the Krill continued, "are the Four Kings. Each is at least half the size of the Emperor. They too have powerful wings and their bodies are fully covered in shimmering silver scales. Their horns are grand, but not like the Emperor’s. And they cannot breathe fire. All Krill, every single one of us, aspires to achieve silver scales, wings, and fully grown horns. It is our way to pass safely into the next life." Lina made a note. A religion. A form of Valhalla.

"Then come the Nobles, the Dukes. Fewer silver scales, but still standing the size of the Kings, though less powerful. They are the Emperor’s personal army commanders, though the Kings also have their own few Dukes, they cannot be compared to what the Emperor possesses. Next, the Chancellors.

They manage the affairs of all other slave races, resolve internal issues within the empire, oversee our development, collect tributes from each citizen, and enforce the laws. They still possess silver scales. Even a single silver scale, a wing, and a grown horn is a mark of immense honor among us."

The Android Emissary, programmed for a specific line of questioning, interjected. "Does having silver scales make you strong?"

The Krill’s eyes narrowed, a flash of primeval anger in their depths. Its voice, though weak, hardened. "How dare you mock it! How dare you suggest it is merely a tool for power! It is a symbol! A mark that a Krill has undergone immense hardship, unimaginable evolution! To have a silver scale is to protect one’s very soul, to pass through the Great Eternal Fire unscathed, to join our ancestors in glory!" It took a labored breath. "Forgive my... outburst. You cannot comprehend. Now... how do humans fit into this?" The Krill looked around its cell, its gaze darting nervously to the distant cameras. "I’ve given you much. More blood. Now."

Lina, observing from her analytical hub, immediately approved a full bag of blood. The Android Emissary acknowledged, and a larger dispenser port opened, slowly delivering the promised sustenance. The Krill sighed, a sound akin to grinding stone, as it drank deeply.

"Ever since the Krill Empire discovered this planet... Terralia, as it was called back then... approximately four hundred and fifty thousand years ago, it teemed with life. And early humans. Humans with supernatural powers. We Krill, at that time, were merely... enthusiastic. We were curious. We forged friendships. We observed them. Over time, we grew envious. Envious of their abilities.

They built great pyramids with but a thought. They spoke with their minds, without crude vocal cords. They flew, without the burden of wings. Our Emperor, Mainu, even he visited Terralia. I too, when I was young, visited this world. We were taught knowledge and techniques on how we could hone the energy ourselves, but, it wasn’t enough. For a Krill, learning is for the weak and weary. We only know predation. "

The Krill’s voice dropped, laced with ancient resentment. "Then, Emperor Mainu broke the sacred rule. He killed a human child. And he ate it. And from that act... he learned. He learned that a Krill could gain your supernatural abilities, your essence, by consuming a human. Specifically, their blood. The humans after learning this fact, declared war with their justification of our cannibalism."

"For thousands of years, humans waged war on the Krill. Even with their supernatural abilities, They were no match for our technology, and for the natural physiology of a Krill enhanced

with human blood. We captured thousands of humans, children, adult, old. We drained their blood.

Throughout the years, the slave races under the Krill, those responsible for developing technology for us, learned your blood contained a mere five percent of the Anu-blood. That tiny fraction was responsible for the enhancement and our longevity. So, the Krill commissioned them to build processors, to separate Anu from human blood. The processed Anu-blood... it had a silver color that granted immense powers and longetivity for our race."

A shiver, not of cold, but of disgust, would have run through any human observing.

"Over the course of thousands of years, we Krill harvested so much of human population that we developed a genetic dependency. A need for human blood. But the early humans learned of this fact. Especially the Atlanteans, built a bomb so powerful, they caused Terralia a great flood, wiping out all life on the planet.

And thus, after another thousands of years, we Krill... weakened. We died out slowly. Until very recently... twenty thousand years ago. We discovered that humans had survived. They had populated the planet again. And they were now... weaker. They forgot how to hone their natural abilities that lie dormant in their blood. They forgot the knowledge of their ancestors. We were grateful for this fact that we could harvest them without further resistance.

So the Empire’s stance on harvesting humans changed. From domination, we changed to... underhanded manipulation. We exploited human greed. In exchange for a mere gold, they gave us more human slaves. The Empire, from then on, decreed to intervene if humans were to wipe themselves out again, and what we have here now, in the present... every human country is assigned a harvest leader. A young noble heir from the Empire, to be awarded great honor to manage the fruits and harvest it."

Lina, processing the sheer enormity of the Krill’s cold, calculating history, felt a surge of calculated certainty. Richard would be furious. She sighed, a subtle ripple through her synthetic lungs, and relayed another question through the Android Emissary.

The Android Emissary, receiving another question from her superior AI Lina, asked, "What is Anu?"

The Krill replied with a sigh, a dry, raspy sound that spoke of ancient weariness. "We do not know much. The Anu are a whisper, a reverence, a fear, etched into the very fabric of the cosmos. In every single corner of a barren world that was destroyed long ago, in all corners of the galaxy, the tale of the Anu is spoken. They were an extraordinarily ancient race, existing for a very long time, a powerful race that, for eons, ruled the galaxy. Their powers were vast, god-like in their scope, so immense that all other races willingly bowed down within the presence of a single Anu.

Then came the Great Cataclysm, the ’Swarm,’ a blight that consumed worlds. Every race hid, every empire fractured, but the Anu... the Anu fought. With all their might, they battled the Swarm, protecting the galaxy, pushing back the encroaching darkness. They eventually died out, sacrificing themselves to preserve what they could. Their bodies... their essence... it became priceless.

A single drop of pure Anu-blood grants immense powers and immortality, to all races, which is why it is so revered, so desperately sought across the galactic expanse. So, having the galaxy learn that Anu blood exists in humans... every human would meet a fate worse than death."

"For another bag of blood," the Android Emissary prompted, "do you know of any current plans that the harvest leaders have discussed?"

The Krill, eyes fixed on the blood dispenser, nodded. "Surely, yes. Chancellor Shuha’dar, and the various harvest leaders, announced to all of the Krill stationed on Earth that the Emperor decreed for every Krill stationed here to cooperate with their assigned harvest leader. To increase the quota. The war with the Federation was upcoming. It was... inevitable." The Krill swallowed, its gaze flickering.

"With this plan in motion, I was assigned by the harvest leaders in China, Krill Shen and Krill Kai, to disrupt economic operations in the Philippines, and the country’s opposing nations, by kidnapping the core founders of the company and the cause of recent economic disruption that affected the fruits of every harvest leader’s zone." Alpha-0 paused, then added, its voice tinged with faint relief at having delivered the information, "I... I don’t know any of the plans other than what I was directed."