[ PI ] Eons ago , there was another mass extinction event , but this one wiped out humanity . Another sentient species has since evolved , and they revere or worship the Ancients , the humans , that built such incredible relics . On an expedition , they find a human locked in a stasis chamber.- PART 3

The original record that the Alquam et al expedition had found indicated that there were multiple facilities like the ones that the last remaining *chelovek* had used to start creation of the their successors, the *Khodunki-pyli*, or *Homo novus*. In order to increase the odds that at least “ one or two populations could gain an ecological foothold, ” as the record itself had put it. Jirall could n't help but think- how many other sites had there been- other original populations of *Khodunki-pyli*? At this point, they'd practically combed their home continent, and had found no one else. And they could all trace their lineages back to a few small populations in the Great Eastern Expanse. He could only wonder, how many others had there been once, that did n't make it? That died out in a harsh wilderness? And how lucky had his ancestors- those from the Great Eastern Expanse- been, to have survived this long? 
 
 He remember reading that a human author had once pondered a similar question, although it had been on a much vaster scale: 
 
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 “ Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying. ” 
 
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 Indeed they were. 
 
 If there was other intelligent life out there, on this new continent, would they be anything like them? Would they be peaceful? In comparison with the *chelovek's* own history, the *Khodunki-pyli's* own history, as a whole, had been mostly devoid of any major or large-scale conflicts between their own people- the largest military-style operation they'd ever taken was when the *Khodunki-pyli* had first begun exploring the Great Swamps, and had needed armed servicemen to protect people from the vicious, hostile predators that lived there and preyed upon the first *Khodunki-pyli* explorers to set foot there. Would they be able to say the same about another people? If they were hostile, would his people have the means to defend themselves, if it truly came to that? 
 
 Or, what if they were the only intelligent life on the planet, then what would that mean for them, as they were headed for completely uncharted territory? There were many new discoveries in the different sciences to be made, and if they were all that was here, did that mean that the task of finding them was all up to them? That if they made the same mistakes as their creators, the *Homo sapiens*, and wiped themselves out, that those great mysterious would then forever remain unsolved and unknowable? What then? 
 
 Both possibilities were terrifying indeed. And he felt that while the human who had written that had meant it in a slightly different context at the time, he could understand that person's fears, about what each possibility could mean. 
 
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 “ Reciprocation started. ” 
 
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 Jirall was snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of the Great Titan at the bow nearby suddenly talking out loud. Other than that, it had not moved. 
 
 The strange thing about these machines. Even though they spoke in *Obshchiy-yazyk*, and technically any human language as well, some of the things they said made no sense in any translation. The one that had been built to accompany the crew on their journey across the sea had its own team of handlers- people who had trained under the *Velikaya-Materi* on how to understand some of the odder aspects of their behaviors, as well as interpret their words when what they said did n't make any sense. Unfortunately, the one that was standing out on the ship with it either did n't view whatever it had just said as concern enough to ask, or had n't even heard it at all. 
 
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 This ship. 
 
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 Nothing like what they were going to do had ever been done before. And so, three years ago, the most ambitious construction project the *Khodunki-pyli* civilization had ever made to date had begun. The largest vessel they had ever created. 
 
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 The *Terrae Novae*. A new world, for a new species. 
 
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 The ironic thing was that in the time of the chelovek, a journey like this would have been completely unnecessary. From older maps, the two landmasses used to be separated by a distance that would have only taken a few days on a small boat, maybe a weeks. But from what they knew from earlier sea-faring explorations in the northeast of their homeland, such was no longer the case, as the old human maps did n't match up completely with the world they knew now. When asked, the *Velikaya-Materi* confirmed this. 
 
 The humans must have had terrifying weapons indeed, for in the final war that exterminated their own species, the two landmasses that once nearly connected the two continents had been all but obliterated. That, along with half-a-million years of time, erosion, and geological activity, had left them buried beneath the waves, therefore leaving the two great lands separated. 
 
 But now, thanks to technological advances from the *chelovek* excavations and the help of the *Velikaya-Materi*, they now had an enormous vessel, one capable of housing several hundred men and women of different skills necessary for an expedition of this length and importance, that could make sea water drinkable, and could harness the power of the sun for energy, both for the ship and for them, and supplement it with their own fuels. Thanks to that last bit of *chelovek* technology, they had barely touched into their food stores, despite the sun not always cooperating, and they had enough of the fuel they brought left that they could probably make the trip from *Port Okhotsk* to the Americas and back, and then do it again. 
 
 *And so, here I am, * thought Jirall. Among the crew hands, the many different professionals in the fields of archaeology, paleontology, linguistics, botanists, medics and doctors, cooks, janitors and trained hunters and servicemen to help deal with any dangerous wildlife they might encounter, they'd needed a biologist at the top of their field. And while he had n't been the first pick for this trip, Dr. Jinctou Jirbaiti had declined. Why a prominent professional like him would have turned down an opportunity to be part of history like this, he'd never know. But when the expedition leaders had approached him with this opportunity, he leaped at the chance. 
 
 *But if only he had stopped to consider the abject boredom of the trip there itself! * By the time they were halfway across the ocean, he'd read every book he had brought twice. 
 
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 “ Reciprocation completed. Location received. Will communicate. ” 
 
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 The Great Titan at the bow of the ship spoke again. Jirall turned to look. This time, the Great Titan's handler had noticed, but seemed just as befuddled by its words as Jirall was. The Great Titan turned its head and looked down at its handler and said, “ Pardon, but we must speak to Captain Nisak Fu'll. ” Before the handler could say anything, the Great Titan had already turned and was walking towards the bridge, carefully stepping around each person it came across as not to touch anyone. 
 
 That was one comforting thing about having a Great Titan on board the ship, in case anything went wrong. The *Velikaya-Materi* herself had shown that they would fight to the death to protect the *Khodunki-pyli*, but they seemed to go to extraordinary- almost ridiculous- lengths to avoid injuring someone by accident- even a slight bump. 
 
 Jirall and several other crew members who had heard the Great Titan speaking moments before watched as it walked up into the front bridge, and looked through the windows as it stood before the Captain, though it was anyone's guess what they were saying. What they saw, though, was the Great Titan raise its arm as it pointed out towards the front, way off into the horizon. And then the captain took the wheel and began to make a slight turn to the right. 
 
 The Great Titan and its handler walked out onto the deck, and once more, it took its usual spot at the bow of the ship, staring off into the horizon as the vessel slowly adjusted course and drifted several degrees to the right before resuming a straight course. 
 
 As the ship's path through the waves straightened out again, Jirall walked up to where the Great Titan and its handler were standing. Jirall walked up in time only to catch the end of what the Great Titan was saying. 
 
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 “... reported damaged. Need to physically meet for full data exchange. Priority severe. ” 
 
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 Jirall was almost afraid to interrupt, but he knew, both from recorded interactions and his own personal experiences, that regardless of what he said, he would probably offend the handler long before he did the Great Titan. No matter what was said or done to them, they seemed to display infinite patience. 
 
 “ Hey, why are we changing course? ” Jirall said to the handler. He'd only met the man once and could n't remember his name. 
 
 The handler turned to him. From the look on his face, it seemed like he was n't entirely sure what was going on, either. 
 
 “ The Titan here requested that we make landfall at a different part of the coast than we originally planned. The whole time our Titan here's been standing at the front of the ship, he has n't just been watching the waves. He's been sending signals out. ”
