TRANSMISSION 005
The Infiltration
New to the transmissions? Begin here: Transmission 001, Transmission 002, Transmission 003, Transmission 004
Image by Terri Wang from Pixabay
From Naiya in Threa
Cycle 4-Month 5 | Deepnight
(Approx. Earth Date: September 3, 2025)
My name is Naiya. I send this to you from Threa — a mirror world.
What I share now comes from the Great Archives: testimonies, preserved records and salvaged fragments from those early days.
At the time, none of them saw the pattern. Small signs that were easily dismissed…headaches, fatigue, emotional outbursts, forgetfulness. The healers assumed it was the strain of the crossing. The council thought it was grief. Others believed his human side was struggling to adjust.
What they didn’t know was that a shadow had been seeded long before. Something dormant, embedded deep within, disguised as his own flesh.
Even he didn’t know it was there.
What follows are the testimonies of those who witnessed these events unfold, fragments of preserved memories, and records kept by those who survived.
I present them exactly as they were recorded, so you may see what they saw… too late.
[TESTIMONY OF A SERVANT | Solen Wing | Day 1]
I heard laughter coming from the young man’s chambers. When I entered, he did not notice me at first. He was standing on the balcony, facing the trees, still laughing to himself. Not the kind of laugh that comes from joy. It was bitter, almost mocking. As if he was laughing at something no one else could see.
When I spoke and announced myself, he turned. His face changed quickly. For just a moment, it looked like he was angry. Then it passed. He smiled, calm and polite.
He told me not to enter his chambers unless invited. Said he valued his privacy at night. I apologized, said I’d return in the morning. He nodded, but there was something in the way he looked at me that unsettled me.
I didn’t say anything else and just left.
[TESTIMONY OF ELDER MIRAEL | Council Member | Day 8]
The young man has been attending orientation classes tailored to our customs and values. The instructors say he is attentive and respectful. He is eager to learn. He has progressed faster than expected, adapting quickly to the rhythm of Amari life.
Unfortunately, tensions still exist within the Council. Some remain uneasy about his presence. They argue that while we might offer safe passage of sanctuary to hybrids, they should not be allowed within Amari itself.
I understand their fear, but I do not share it. This is not just a matter of hospitality. This is reckoning long delayed. We created this lineage then turned our backs when it was no longer convenient.
I spoke against the abandonment then. I speak against it now. We should never have left those innocent children to face that world alone.
[TESTIMONY OF A GUARD | Inner City Patrol | Day 10]
My partner and I spotted the Guest walking alone near Northbridge. This was not against protocol but unusual. Most guests tend to stay close to the Solen Wing or request escort.
He stopped halfway across the bridge, hands pressed hard to his ears. At first, we thought it might be the wind since our cities are quiet. Then he collapsed to his knees.
His eyes were shut tight, jaws clenched. He was shaking his head like he was trying to force something out. Then he started hitting the sides of his head.
We approached cautiously. He didn’t respond to our voices.
A moment later he went limp. We carried him to the nearest Hall of Healing. The Head Healer was called in and we left as instructed.
[TESTIMONY OF A HEALER | Hall of Healing | Day 11]
The Guest was brought in unconscious by two guards. He was placed in a Restoration Chamber for monitoring. He regained consciousness after six hours and reported severe headaches, localized around the temples, accompanied by persistent ringing in the ears. He mentioned the pain intensified at night and was interfering with his ability to rest.
Initial scans revealed no physiological abnormalities. Vital signs were stable and no neural or energetic disruptions were detected. We considered the possibility that his symptoms were related to transitional strain following the crossing though the onset seemed delayed.
Treatment protocols for cognitive overstimulation were administered. We advised full overnight monitoring and light treatment for the following cycle. At present, we are continuing observation and have marked his file for follow-up. No immediate cause has been identified.
He remains cooperative, though visibly fatigued.
[TESTIMONY OF INSTRUCTOR INARION | Hall of Attunement | Day 13]
I led the midmorning session as usual. The young man prefers the name Kael. Whether it is his true name or not, we do not press him.
He arrived late. Instead of his usual pleasant demeanor, he was quiet. He did not greet anyone. He did not bow nor apologize. He walked directly to his seat by the window and sat heavily.
I assumed fatigue. I had heard about his recent condition. He missed a couple of lessons. His schedule has been demanding, filled with history lessons, translation sessions, orientation briefings, city tours and regular healer appointments, so I was not surprised he was experiencing strain.
I asked if he was well.
“Let’s begin,” was all he said.
We were discussing cultural entanglement and the ethics of non-interference when he interrupted.
“Ethics.” His voice was flat. “You love that word, don’t you? What about empathy?”
I asked him to clarify.
He stood. Slowly.
“You watched us,” he said, pointing at the projection behind me. “You recorded everything, took notes, made your reports and filed them away.”
I began to explain that observation is part of—
“You had the means to help but did nothing. How is that ethical? There was a girl in my community.” He wasn’t looking at me anymore. “We grew up together. She was kind. A gentle soul. She wanted to be a healer.”
The room had gone very quiet.
His voice remained steady, but his hands had begun to shake.
“They took her when she was 12. They bred her like livestock because her eyes glowed. She'd been forced to bear five children before she was twenty. Three of them died because they were not strong enough. The light was not bright enough. Wrong color, wrong…something.”
He paused.
“Her mother tried to buy her back. Sold everything but it wasn’t enough. She died before we could save her. Complications from the fifth birth and grief.”
He looked directly at me then.
“My family was fortunate. We learned to hide, to pass as human, to stay in the shadows. Not everyone could. You—” He gestured around the room, his voice rising now. “You SAW this. You documented it and you did NOTHING!”
“The Accords forbid–”
“DAMN THE ACCORDS!” He slammed his hand on the desk. Several people flinched.
“You created us! You put your blood in our veins and then you abandoned us to THEM! You want to talk about ethics? About non-interference? You already interfered. We ARE the interference! And when it went wrong, instead of being accountable and fixing what you did, you hid behind your LAWS!”
I clarified that we did not create him. “It’s not our place to fix the world, Kael. We cannot interfere with the human race. We made a mistake once. What happened was an unfortunate incident where some individuals disobeyed strict commands and followed their own desires. Our original intention was to help.”
I attempted to explain that the situation was more complex.
“Complex.” The laugh that came out of him had no humor in it. “That’s a nice word for cowardice.”
“Kael, I understand your pain, but the Accords were designed to prevent—”
“To prevent WHAT?” He was visibly shaking now with fury. “More suffering? How much more suffering could there BE? My people have been hunted for GENERATIONS! And you just SAT HERE IN YOUR PERFECT CITIES AND WATCHED while you told yourself it was ETHICAL to do nothing!”
Everyone had gone very still.
“If it were you,” he said, his voice breaking now. “If it were YOUR children being taken, YOUR sisters bred like animals, YOUR people enslaved, would you hide behind your Accords then? Or would you burn the whole world to save them?”
I did not have an answer.
“You people are monsters. You have no empathy.”
“We do not lack empathy, young man. We–”
“If you see something wrong, you act. That is what any decent being would do. Especially when you are responsible for it. With all your advancements and knowledge, you are worse than the humans. If the roles were reversed, if it were you suffering on the other side, I know the humans wouldn’t just sit idle and watch. They would’ve done something. Anything.”
He stared at me for a long moment, breathing hard. Then his expression changed. His hands flew to his temples.
“I—” He stumbled backward, his face contorting. “I’m sorry. I don’t… I don’t know why I—”
He turned and nearly ran from the room.
No one spoke for several minutes.
I have since reviewed human emotional patterns. Trauma, I have learned, can emerge suddenly, triggered by unseemingly unrelated stimuli. The intensity of his response, while shocking, is not entirely outside of documented human behavior.
There was something else. In that moment when his expression changed, when he grabbed his head, it was as though he had surprised himself. As if the words or perhaps the anger behind them had come from somewhere he did not recognize. I reported this to the Council immediately. One member was present in the hall and witnessed the exchange themselves.
Whether this represents a threat, I cannot yet say. I still believe he can recover. He had shown great promise in the beginning.
But I do believe something is happening to him we do not fully understand. I fear we may not have much time to figure out what it is.
[TESTIMONY OF SENIOR HEALER MAELEN | Hall of Healing | Day 14]
The patient was brought in again today following an episode reported by the instructional staff.
He appeared calmer than yesterday though his pulse was erratic upon initial examination. He had informed us of recurring headaches at night and ongoing difficulty sleeping. He said he felt drained and unable to regulate his emotions.
There were no signs of infection, fever or internal imbalance. However, when I scanned him for neurological anomalies, there was a momentary flicker on the cortical harmonics band. It was pulsing in a rhythm I have never seen before. The readings stabilized almost instantly.
I considered psychosomatic stress. Trauma can mimic many things. This was different. It felt timed as if it was triggered.
We ran a deeper scan. Nothing invasive. Again everything appeared normal.
The rest of the team dismissed it as a glitch. I did not. I believe it may be connected to his recent symptoms.
We administered treatment for insomnia and pain. He is scheduled to remain at the healing center for two days for close observation.
[COUNCIL DELIBERATION NOTES | Day 16]
The Council convened following the incident.
Elder Sahren reiterated his position. The young man poses a risk and should be removed immediately. “The outburst confirms what I have been saying. He is unstable. More human than Amari. We cannot trust him.”
Elder Mirael countered: “He spoke the truth. Painful truth. We DID abandon his people. His anger is justified.”
“Justfied anger does not excuse violence,” Sahren replied.
“He committed no violence,” Mirael said. “He raised his voice. He wept. He spoke of atrocities WE enabled through inaction. That is not instability, Sahren. It is grief.”
Instructor Inarion was asked to provide insight. She noted that while human emotional patterns can explain the intensity of his response, there was something else. “Before he left, he seemed….surprised by himself. Maybe he had not intended to speak so forcefully.
After reviewing the records on human emotional responses, we concluded that his human side had overwhelmed his reasoning which was the likely cause of his prior behavior.
From our extensive observation of human cultures, we understand that certain emotions such as anger, fear, love, grief, guilt and shame can become autonomous forces, often overriding logic and destabilizing the individual. In extreme cases, these states have led to violence, collapse or irrational decisions.
It does appear humans are capable of rapid emotional recovery. They can pivot unexpectedly, shift tone and even exhibit remorse or gratitude shortly after emotional outbursts.”
The Council discussed among themselves for a while before the leader spoke.
“We had assumed his Amari lineage would serve as an anchor, granting him greater stability. It seems we were mistaken. His human nature is proving to be the dominant influence. This requires an update to our approach. The emotional volatility of hybrids must be taken into consideration. New strategies will be necessary moving forward.”
The Senior Healer added that recent scans had detected an anomaly although it was brief. “It may be nothing. But I recommend continued observation.”
The Council voted to allow him to remain under close watch. Elder Sahren and three others abstained from the vote.
[TESTIMONY OF ELDER SAHREN | Council Member | Day 17]
I take no pleasure in being proven correct.
The young man’s behavior confirms what I long suspected. Hybrid lineages are inherently unstable, much like the humans we once studied.
We made a mistake many cycles ago when we interfered with human development. That mistake created beings caught between two worlds, belonging fully to neither. The kindest thing we did was contain that mistake by withdrawing. It was a grave mistake to assume his lineage alone grants him balance and clarity. The hybrid condition introduces variables we cannot yet predict or control. Allowing one such individual into the capital poses a huge risk. To invite more of them here now would be to repeat that error on a catastrophic scale.
I understand that some see this as abandonement. I see it as responsibility. We cannot save everyone, and attempting to do so often causes more harm than good.
The young man is suffering. I do not deny this, but his suffering does not obligate us to endanger our entire realm. I have called for his immediate removal to the outer provinces. Four other Council members support this measure.
If the others continue down this path, they will not only tear the Council apart; they will open the gates to forces they do not understand nor are prepared to face.
[TESTIMONY OF A SERVANT | Solen Wing | Day 20]
The young man has started whispering to himself when he thinks no one is watching. I noticed it days ago, but this morning confirmed my concerns.
When I entered his chambers, he was seated at the edge of the bed with his face in his hands, murmuring under his breath. I approached to check on him, but he didn’t respond.
Then he started saying the same word over and over, louder each time:
Stop. Stop. STOP!
His voice was shaking, his body too. He clearly looked distressed. I asked if he was alright, but he did not seem to hear me. Suddenly, he went silent. HIs hands dropped. When he looked up at me, his eyes were…different. Unfocused. like he was looking through me at something else. Then he blinked, and he was himself again. Confused, he asked me how long I’d been standing there.
I told him just a moment. He apologized, said he must have been dreaming.
I left and informed the healers immediately. I do not know what is happening to him, but something is not right. He is not well. I fear if no one intervenes soon, he may become a danger to himself…or to others.
[RECOVERED MEMORY FRAGMENT | Kael, Guest Chambers | Day 21]
I woke up again, head throbbing. The static noise is louder this time.
I sat up and drank the cold water left by the servants. The headaches are more frequent now. The ringing in the ears is constant at night.
I wonder if it’s this place, or worse, if they have done something to me. I was unconscious for weeks when I first arrived, completely at their mercy. Anything could have happened.
My mind has always been loud, busy. But lately it’s worse. The thoughts do not fade like they used to. Now they stay louder, especially at night. They no longer feel like mine. Sometimes, I wonder if something inside me is listening too.
I lay back and closed my eyes, breathing the way the Amari healers taught me. I began to feel steadier. Then I heard it. A faint voice. I could not make out the words first. They were just a sound under the static.
I focused, slowed my breath and tried to still my thoughts.
The buzzing quieted down, just a little. I started to feel dizzy. And as I slipped into the darkness, in the last moment before it pulled me under, I heard it clearly.
It is time.
End of Transmission 005
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Really love the way you've used mulitple pov's to tell this piece of the story. It creates a lovely sense of pace and helps with the subtle world-building you're so good at!