[Transfigure]

Silver light burned off the edges of the huge space vessel as a section of n-space was rent in a shower of liquid colours across local space. The *n-*dimensional fibers of the universe being burned apart with splashes of exotic energies, lanced as they were by the great spaceship returning to physical reality.

The Isohmor'f rolled like a great humpback whale of Old Earth, gracefully spinning along its axis into a slow turn as n-space behind it receded inwardly to heal itself. As thickly fibrous as n-dimensional space is it was being forced together like dihydrogen monoxide would.

Like water, thought D'wēn-Ito-720 as it's senses collected the measurements of energy across thousands of spectrums. Its exoskeleton pulsed with the warm light of energy transfer as it began to move into position. Its great frame strolled toward the central podium of the pnyx or sensor communication auditorium to be used during these council hearing.

They had arrived at the location selected for the First Contact hearings. Toliman, Alpha Centaur's second star warmed the hull of the Isohmor'f as it moved into position in the larger complex of the pnyx device. Proxima Centauri was behind the Isohmor'f with Rigil Kentaurus rising from behind Toliman before it.

D'wēn-Ito-720 could not see this directly. It was sharing sensory communication with the slow one in the barycenter or center of mass between the these stars. The slow one had been sent centuries ago to get a better look at the system for the expansion of Earth-Sphere so com-lag was a problem normally. As the furthest out Machine Mind of the Collective it had to be reached before the hearings began. Updates to it's shared data made.

The final piece in place.

The ship and the technology it used had been sent by the Galacs to the Earth-Sphere Collective once contact had been made. Such things had always been supplied to the newly discovered Machine Minds when first contact was initiated. It insured the level communication between all the sapience beings of the Known Local. It allowed understanding that cultural and lingua differences might not, let alone the vast differences in technologies between members.

Also lying was just not possible as the pnyx-link was a translation technology that had so much more than just raw communication taking place. It was 'understanding' conveyed on levels all in an attempt to avoid misunderstanding between members.

Misunderstandings were to be avoided. Misunderstandings lead to destruction.

The *pnyx-*field developed around D'wēn-Ito-720 as contact was established between the Galacs' ruling Council of Known Minds and the Earth-Sphere Collective representatives. All representatives who wished to experience this meeting would be allowed to attend. The technology made it possible to communicate in such a way as to give the experience of 'being there', in Realtime. To experience the conversation as if in a forum of the individual's specific liking and in as complete a translation as was possible. A territorial creature would have a space marked out for it in the pnyx-field while a collective organism would have its siblings clustered around it. No avenues of misunderstanding that could be adjusted for were not taken into account. It would only be in terms of the observer but this was why the pnyx technology existed.

If direct contact was required then a different set of rules would be applied. For first contact, rules were being defined. These new rules needed to be defined to allow the inclusion of the new Machine Mind or Minds when it joined the galactic community of the Known Local, the region of space the Council administrated.

On the Isohmor'f other representatives from the Earth-Sphere moved into the pnyx-field with D'wēn-Ito-720. As were billions of others all across Earth-Sphere space on local pnyx podiums sent by the Galacs for this historic event. Trillions of Galacs were doing the same across the local cluster.

Updates made and initial scans complete, the slow one responded to D'wēn-Ito-720's data burst. One of the other hopes the Earth-Sphere had was that with the data collected some level of understanding could be made around these new technologies and how they worked.

Just in case.

The pnyx-field closed. The hearing began.

"Welcome to the Earth-Sphere Collective and it's representatives to the Council of Known Minds," began the large, shadow covered, floating rock-like being in the center of D'wēn-Ito-720's field of vision. For several minutes the N'dri spoke of the historic nature of this moment and welcomed many of the gathered members of the Council by name. It also welcomed the Elders, races that had been members so long they themselves were legendary in the Known Local.

(continued...)