Colonies

Time. Time had obviously passed since the last memory. The campus was now home to nineteen Lores and nineteen Chars; it had grown somewhat, now sporting a more asymmetrical design with the living quarters on the left and the courtyard and Slingshot on the right.
“Ah, the nineteenth cycle…” The Hologram smiled. “This one was fun…” They took Lore’s hand, causing them to recoil, and dragged them to The First’s meeting room.
The table and room had been extended more than a few times; each extension could be seen by the weld lines running the circumference of the walls, floor and ceiling, the wood of the table had changed twice. The First, sat at the head of the table, their Char beside them, as they waited for the others to join them.
“What do you think of the two newcomers?” The First looked between the door and Char. “Tree got to them first so…”
“Elle is pretty nice and they’re both out of the box thinkers which helps.” Char paused. “And Sam’s pretty handy. Average intelligence for a Lore but way off of the charts socially. I’d say they’re likely the most rounded Lore.”
“Really?” The First looked almost offended.
“No one can say no to that accent. Plus, all that time they spent in Cardiff really paid off on the emergency transport situation.” Char took a metal cylinder from her belt. “Who knows, maybe there’s more to this Prydeit they’ve synthesised?”
“Perhaps.” The First took the cylinder, rolling it between their fingers. “How much did they say they can make at a time?”
“With our current materials and equipment… Not much.” Char shook her head.
The other Lores and Chars joined them. They took their seats.
“Thank you for assembling.” The First groaned as they stood. “First of all, I’d like to welcome our newest additions: Sam and Elle who will be joining Ant, Pepp, Potts and Truly in our development team. We’re glad to have your expertise.” Most of the attending Lores and Chars clapped with the exception of Tree. “Now, we’ve got a fair bit of time left this Cycle so has anyone got any ideas?”
Tentatively, Sam raised their hand. The First nodded. “We’ve skimmed your research and found something that might be of interest.” They set their Breacher on the table and activated its holoprojector. “One of Pott’s early ideas was to swap Quatarr’s past with its present using Breacher technology.” They opened a file that displayed a monolith, nearly twenty metres tall. “The idea was to use this device to create a Breach in both versions of the planet’s orbit then let the planets follow their paths and exchange places. While there isn’t enough Tempora on the present version of Quatarr for this to be viable, we could substitute the difference for Prydeit…” They were about to continue when a voice stopped them.
“Prydeit isn’t even worth mentioning.” The unmistakable accent of Tree cut through the room. “We’d have to double the size of The Conduit for it to even be viable… Not to mention we’re not sure how Prydeit is affected by scale.”
“That’s enough Tree.” The First stood again. “Potts, Ant; could it work?”
“Theoretically, yes. We’d just need a way to synthesise that much Prydeit.” Potts started counting in their head. “Assuming we were able to work out the impurities and it remains stable in massive quantities, we’d need three times as much Prydite as Tempora which we could fit into The Conduits but… It would still be near impossible to make it all.”
“For us maybe.” Tree spoke up again. “I’d like it on record that I’m against this plan but. I know a cell of Amalgam that might have the tech.”

The meeting room rather harshly transitioned to a planet of metal and smog. The earth below them was dry and devoid of anything of use to anyone; the air carried a harsh tang that, even as a memory, clung to the back of Lore’s throat; there was something else in the air, a static electricity, charging all it touched. Lore and The Hologram wandered the seemingly abandoned settlement. “What is this place?” Lore finally spoke.
“This is an Amalgam outpost.” The Hologram looked displeased; Lore still looked confused. “Fine. The Amalgam are a BioMechanical race; their bodies function much like the average organic one however, they are one hundred percent artificial. They live a nomadic life and usually fall into one of three categories: Helping those in need by trading technology with them, conquering and enslaving civilisations for their technology or they hide from the world, ‘borrowing’ any technology that they can use to improve themselves. They’re a species with a need to constantly try and better themselves.”
“And what is this faction?” Lore worried they already knew the answer.
“Tree found them a few Cycles ago, relatively speaking.” The Hologram gestured for Lore to enter the building. “These ones were the sharing kind until they were discovered by a conquering clan so they chose to run and hide for a bit.” Lore was about to speak but The Hologram put its finger on their lips. “Shush.”
“So, that’s the proposal. You come live with us, in safety, and we’ll provide you with a new power source and the technology you need to keep yourself hidden forever.” Tree ended their speech with a bow.
“Hold on.” Lore shook their head. “Tree doesn’t even like Prydite.”
“Tree doesn’t like Sam. They wanted to be the only Lore with an accent.” The Hologram sighed.
They snapped back to The Campus but rather than being inside, they found themselves by the main entrance, the rocky ground now covered with a metal walkway. A flash of blinding, electric blue, light filled their vision for a moment before the Amalgam at the centre came into focus. The First and the other Lores and Chars appeared around them.
“We have decided. Consensus reached. New deal required.” The Amalgam spoke. “Division from Prime Amalgam required.”
The First stepped forward. “Consider it done. Your clan are welcome to enjoy the safety of Johned while we do.” They smiled; it soon dropped when they saw a single word cross their Breacher. Tewkesbury.