Now that everything seemed to be under control, Denise said,

"OK. I want some answers. Linda, you and Connor figure out where we are. Graham, you and Martine get me a bio work up on this planet. Yalp, get back to that power supply and figure out how it works. Christine, you and Aleerin try to get into a computer and find out what you can about this place. Pogo and I are going to look around and see if there are any Syndicate flunkies around."

They all moved off their separate ways.

Linda and Connor set up outside. They needed to find a recognizable constellation, but it was still too bright out. They sat there eating and Linda said,

"What do you think they looked like?"

She nodded yes and he continued,

"By the looks of their buildings I would say most of them are at least bipedal, and anywhere from about 1.5 to 3 meters tall.:

"No, that's not what I meant. Did they love, what dreams did they have? Things like that."

"Well, I would probably say there were much like our hopes and dreams. Maybe a little different but much the same."

They were both quiet after that until dusk came. Then they started to look for constellations they could recognize. It took awhile but they finally found a couple. Using these and a computer they calculated their position. When the answer came up, Linda could not believe it. They were 1026 light years from Penates. They had moved deeper into their galaxy than anyone had ever gone before. Connor looked at the holodisplay and said,

"Wow, that wormhole generator really works well. Are you sure those numbers are right?"

"I double checked them. They are right."

"OK then, let's head back."

Graham and Martine had headed right out of the hospital and started collecting plant samples. Graham had noticed that most of them had a chloroplast system for generating food. There were a few that had flowers on them and Graham thought this was most unusual because flowers were thought to attract bugs for cross pollenization. They had not seen any bugs so far. Maybe they were remnants from when beings lived on this world. Plants for decoration. Some of the flowers were quite beautiful and Martine went to smell one. Graham quickly pulled her back and said,

"Before you do that, let's see what is in there."

He scanned the plant and flower. Looking at the reading he told her,

"Don't sniff that one unless you really want to get stoned. It has a very high content of hallucinogenic. You would probably be stoned for a day or more."

She backed away from the flower and said,

"What would a plant need with that?"

"The plant? Nothing. But it adds credence to a theory I have. This whole planet seems to be one big pharmacy. I would say this planet was set up as a medical research facility or a regional hospital."

"And the wormhole generator was the medical e-vac?"

Graham nodded.

"You can see how practical that would be. No long space trip, just walk through or even be carried through, and you are at the hospital."

"Wow. We should try to get a look into the computer system. Just imagine what we might find."

"Yes. We will look into that later, but for now let's get some more samples."

They went on collecting samples well into the night.

Christine and Aleerin walked to the reception area. Christine figured there must be a computer here with access to a central system. When they looked all they found was a counter with a very wide, low chair. Christine figured the unusual shape of the chair was to accommodate the alien that worked there. The counter was of a marble type of rock with a polished and smooth top. Christine said,

"There should be something here. You are the expert, why don't you check it out?" Aleerin moved up and looked under the counter. There was definitely something there. Reaching up towards it he began to sense it's power and complexity. He touched it and Christine saw a keyboard of sorts form on the marble counter, also a holographic screen appeared. Christine said,

"Aleerin, you should come up here." He lifted his head and smiled. Then he tried to interface with the top, but it was only a hologram. He looked confused then went back under the counter. It seems the circuitry was in the marble so he connected from under the counter. Christine was watching on the monitor as Aleerin worked his way through the system. They found billions of medical records, as well as billions of deceased and treated. Then he entered the area for research. The last file that had been opened was regarding a biological weapon that had been used to attack the planet and how they could defend against it. The last entry was;

"Virus is much resilliant. 99% of population is dead. I will probably

not last much longer."

That was the end of it.

Christine quickly looked up the make up of the virus and then did a scan. She checked her reading three times to make sure they were right. There were no signs of the virus. She figured it must have died off when there were no more hosts to invade. She looked through the information on the virus and thought, `how could anyone make something so destructive?' They then went to a file that had been closed just before the last file. This one caught Christine's attention. It was a project called "Life Extension through Soul Transfer". She started to read it and was amazed at the whole concept. Take a soul and transfer it into a computer. Then, from the computer into a robot. The person could then be transferred as many times as necessary. If a body wears out or is damaged, a new "body" is found. This idea had been experimented with by numerous people back in the Stellar Ring, but no one was ever successful. According to these records, just before the end a transfer was attempted, but it does not say if it was successful or not. She read on and found it was to be done in Sub-Level 13 and that was about it.

Christine looked at Aleerin and said,

"Can you access the computer in Sub-Level 13?"

He went to work and Christine could not follow on the screen. He was moving through the system too fast for her. After about 10 minutes she was getting a headache from watching and turned away. She watched the young Mechalus and was amazed to see he just looked like he was sitting there daydreaming. She was not sure how long they had been at it when suddenly Aleerin spoke.

"Statement: Sub-Level 13 not accessible/separate system. Must move/go to level to access/use that system/computer."

"OK. Let's head back and meet up with the others first."