Robots of Lendhalen

by Sabine Vogel

I've been sketching in details about the people who prepare Parthney for his mission to Earth. Parthney's training as an Interventionist agent is the subject of Chapter Three in Exode. For previous stories set in the Exodemic Fictional Universe the Interventionist agents have simply appeared on Earth and gone about their duties. Providing a detailed account of where Interventionists come from was one of my major goals for Exode.

Parthney spends nearly four years in training, learning to read and write and discovering how people live on Earth. During that time he only "interacts" with five other people: two Pla, two other Buld and one human from Earth. I put "interacts" in quotes because during his training Parthney has no nanites in his body and he does not come into physical contact with any source of nanites. The two Pla carry nanites in their bodies so they only communicate with Parthney by electronic communications. The other two Buld, like Parthney, have been cleansed of nanites. They live in the same small community with Parthney and a woman from Earth named Gwyned Iwedon. The Buld call this isolated little community "Lendhalen", meaning, in the ancient Buld language, roughly "tamed spring"; a name applied long ago with the intention that good things would hopefully flow from a place where people could live without interference from nanites. The exact location of Lendhalen is never revealed to Parthney; it has gravity like Earth's but since the Buld have technology that allows them to modulate gravity, Lendhalen might be anywhere in the Koly star system.

apologies to Cornelia Klimek
  and Liz Watt

In addition to the four human residents, there are some robots living in Lendhalen. These robots are of Buld manufacture, but they are not very sophisticated compared to the artificial lifeforms that Parthney has lived among his entire life: the pek. For the past 20,000 years the Buld of Oib have been slowly developing the ability to make complex devices. Initially they worked to build spaceships and by 15,000 years ago they had copied and come to understand much of the spaceship technology that had been originally provided to the Buld Clan by the pek. Originally developed as part of the Buld spaceship technology, they have the means to generate artificial gravity. A major limitation on the pace of Buld science and technology has been the small number of Buld scientists and engineers.

About 10,000 years ago the Buld learned how to make space elevators that were strong enough to lift people off of Oib. As was the case for Buld spaceship technology, Buld understanding of space elevators was possible because they could study and copy the space elevators installed by the pek on worlds like Hemmal.

Another major technology development project of the Buld has been the creation of humanoid robots. The Buld science of robotics reached its peak about 5,000 years ago when it became possible for them to manufacture humanoid robots that could comfortably live among the Buld as servants. It is not difficult to distinguish between these robots and people, but they have proven useful, particularly as assistants for those Buld who choose to live without the conveniences provided by pek nanites.

During the past 5000 years no star system of the Galactic Core has sent more humans to Earth than the Koly system. This productivity in recruiting and training Interventionist agents within the Koly system can be attributed to the strong influence if the Pla and their efficient utilization of humanoid robots. Not all of these robots take human form. Some Buld keep robotic pets that usually take the form of mammals like cats.

During the past 500 years the Interventionist agents from the Koly system have had unusually good luck avoiding capture by Overseers. This has been attributed to the fact that the Koly system has been provided with a fairly steady stream of humans from Earth. Occasionally the  Interventionist agents who are working on Earth teleport an Earthling off of Earth. All three of the Interventionist teleporters on Earth transmit to the main Interventionist base of the Fru'wu. The Fru'wu can greatly influence the final destination of these humans who arrive in the Galactic Core from Earth (see Klyz). In most cases the Fru'wu send these displaced Earthlings on to places like the Koly system where they can help train Interventionist agents for survival on Earth.

photoshop some eyes

Before Parthney arrives at Lendhalen for training, Gwyned has already been living there for three years. During that time, Gwyned has been "debriefed" by the Buld. For Interventionists, such debriefings are the main source of information about conditions on Earth. Gwyned had formed a kind of "family" with the Buld and the robots of Koly, but she is more than anxious for human companionship when Parthney arrives. However, she quickly dismisses Parthney as an ignorant and chubby kid. Also, due to her unusual parents, Gwyned is almost like a different species than Parthney, so they are not physically attracted to each other.