"They didn't tell us their names, and they killed anyone who tried to stop them. But we recorded their faces."
Superboy is frowning. "So the kryptonians didn't take everything with them when they left?"
An optical recorder of some sort, at the least. I bet they had to leave some infrastructure in place too. Can't really pull buildings out of the ground, even with Kryptonian super-strength.
The Captain glances at the lake. "No."
"Do you know why they didn't?"
Ah. Something in the lake. Or rather, about the land that existed where the lake now occupies.
The Captain shakes his head. "That was a long time ago. It always seemed to me that it wasn't valuable enough to them to bother with." He smiles wryly. "People used to visit us to see the 'great crystal castle'."
I look at the lake. Was it at the bottom? "What happened to it?"
A base of some kind then, made of crystal. No doubt any functional devices were ripped out in the withdrawal, but the walls remained. and even walls of kryptonian-made crystals can be valuable.
"The other aliens scooped it out of the ground and loaded it into their ship."
What? "What about the local Green Lanterns? They should have stopped something like that."
...All right, must have been one
big ship to haul that much stuff.
"The Green Lantern beacon is halfway across the continent. We've been lucky before; the few aliens who've visited us since the kryptonians left for good have been friendly. The people with the beacon wouldn't have called a Green Lantern in unless they knew for certain that the visitors were hostile. The aliens left before our messenger could reach them."
...And since they're barely pre-industrial, they lack something like a continent-wide
telegraph. So it would fall to a '
Pony Express'-like system of couriers to get the word out.
"And you didn't call him afterwards?"
The Captain shrugs. "What for? We know what alien ship-weapons can do. If they'd wanted us dead then we would be dead. They took everything they wanted, and then they no longer cared about us at all."
Fortunate. They were confident enough of their power to dismiss you as a threat and unconcerned enough to not kill you for fun.
"He could have chased them! Maybe gotten the crystal palace back, or at least stopped them taking anyone else's things ever again."
"Maybe. But no Green Lantern has visited us since my grandfather was young. Activating the signal might have called the aliens back, angry that we called for help. We didn't think it was worth it."
That's a long-ass time. And probably a good call on expecting reprisals. If they couldn't alert someone, they were no danger. If they could, then those who took the base would brook no witnesses.
Oh.
That's the problem with primitive worlds. They should all have a way to call a Green Lantern, but not everywhere on the planet would be able to actually send that message. Anywhere that wants to call one of us in has to send someone riding on an animal towards the beacon, if they even know where it is.
Which must mean a lot of crimes go unnoticed or reported after-the-fact because of the delays in such a system.
If they even know that it exists.
A hundred Earth years ago, humans wouldn't have been able to contact the Corps with their own technology. But most places could have sent a radio message… If they could have trusted any country with the beacon, which they… Probably couldn't.
Late Nineteenth and early Twentieth century Earth?
Hell no would any power trust any other power with such a 'privilege'. EDIT: Oh, yeah,
Norway.
The Captain pushes open the door to the large building, and inside… It's a library! Well, there's lots of large book shelves, anyway, and they've got large books on them.
"Our forebears knew that the kryptonians weren't interested in raising us up to their level, but they got in the habit of recording everything they let slip. We have germ theory, safe biological waste disposal and simple chemistry as a result." He glances down. "And we know what we will never have without burnable fuel."
Or at least the infrastructure and knowledge to make the industrial means to convert such fuels. When such things come down to people writing down things they overheard or politely nudged a Kryptonian to explain... That's barely a crutch. More like a
splint.
A man in robes walks out from the stacks, looking at us curiously.
"Ah, grandfather! They want to see the pictures of the aliens who took the crystal castle."
"Mm? Oh. Certainly."
The guy's age certainly hits home how long its been since a Green Lantern actually visited, if he was
young when it happened.
He walks over to one of the shelves, runs a hand along several tomes and then pulls one out and walks over to a reading desk. Superboy and I follow him as he open the book, carefully turning the large pages covered in beautifully calligraphed writing. My power ring translates it, but I only get a few words here and there before he stops-.
Their own language, no doubt. Though depending on how much impact the kryptonians had, it could well resemble Kryptonian script.
Oh dear.
Superboy and I look at each other, nodding. That's a big problem.
Oh, that's not good. care to share, little lady?
The old man looks at us curiously. "You recognise them? Who are they?"
I guess explaining that is my job. The odd-shaped body armor isn't an immediate giveaway, but the yellow skin, gumless mouths set with sharp pointy teeth combined with the small red dot on the laborer's forehead is.
Oh hell...
Them with kryptonian tech, even just construction methods?
"Dominators. They're Dominators. And if they're doing the sort of thing that they usually do, they stole the kryptonian's technology so that they can study it."
"'Dominators'? Is that a literal translation?"
It may as well be, given that's their culture's goal as well as their method of operation. Dominating themselves, dominating others...
I shrug. "That's what they call themselves. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be their species or their culture; they don't bother to distinguish."
"Is their world near to here?"
As if that would stop them. A chance to get access to technology from one of the most advanced cultures of the galaxy? They'd cross the
universe for that.
I shake my head. "No, but they have ships over a large part of the galaxy. But you shouldn't have to worry about them coming back."
Superboy peers at the book. "Kryptonese…" He turns to the Captain. "How long ago was this?"
Not unless there's more Kryptonian stuff hidden that they
didn't find.
"About forty years ago. Is that important?"
"That's when Krypton exploded."
...Huh. Suspicious timing. I wonder if the theft was before or after the detonation?
"What? Exploded?"
"Yeah. The core transformed into radioactive crystal until the planet burst. Do you have a list of the people who died?"
Oh? Where's Conner going with this hunch?
The Captain looks at the archivist, who nods. "The next page."
Superboy turns it, looking down-. "Lyla."
Just one person? Or did her name stand out because he thought to look for it?
The archivist leans closer to check, then nods. "Yes. Do you know something about her?"
"It looks like the Dominators took her to Krypton for some reason. Are your people usually strong telepaths?"
A bit of a jump, but given the evidence presented so far, it's a reasonable one. Things are taking shape...
The two local people share a glance, then the Captain shakes his head.
**No. We can send messages a short distance, but that is all.** He takes a few steps back. **Even going this far away, you can hardly hear me.** "Why do you ask?"
Yet Lyla was able to apparently modify memories and influence decisions. I get the feeling some tampering was involved.
"Lyla ended up a whole lot more powerful." Superboy frowns. "Arisia, do the Dominators have any telepaths?"
"Not that I know of." But I'll check the database… "No, but they've studied telepaths along with everything else."
So naturally they'd work out how to amplify her races' rather weak innate capabilities. Possibly
badly.
"Could they have made Lyla stronger?"
"I don't know, but it's a possibility."
Not out of the realm of reasonable doubt, but not one hundred percent confirmed. Still, it's a good theory to work with.
"So… Okay. The Dominators are interested in kryptonian technology. But they don't want to go to Krypton. They try the possession worlds, but there's nothing much there because the kryptonians took it with them. They capture Lyla… Maybe they want to dissect her. Instead, they improve her and send her to Krypton. But they don't know that Krypton is going to explode."
And Lyla uses Jor-El to get into the Phantom Zone when she discovers that detail. It's a loose timeline, but a plausible one...
I nod. "That-." I gasp. "Wait. Would they have gone to Timaron too?"
Superboy frowns. "I dunno. It would make sense. Do you think.. they made Dru-Zod attack it?"
But for what reason... Unless...
"Dru-Zod told the Science Council that the navy left things there. He said it was a lie, but what if it wasn't and the Dominators wants to cover up the fact that they had… Whatever it was, and had Lyla make him forget?"
He thinks, then shakes his head. "We're just guessing. We need to get back to Xudar." He turns to the archivist and the Captain. "Thank you for your help. We'll let you know what we find out."
Yeah, too many 'maybe's and 'what if's for a solid case. And that still leaves the matter of where the Dominators involved went next...
12th August 2013
22:18 GMT
I stare at the man staring back at me.
"Non-Du?"
Huh, OL's present. But Arisia knows Non somehow? A relative's case files maybe?