The Terran Cycle Boxset

by Philip C. Quaintrell

  As they walked up the ramp, Uthor remained firmly rooted in front of Kalian and Li’ara. He seemed even bigger in the flesh, or stone as it were.

  His flat-top head sounded like two rocks grinding together as he looked down on them. “So the legends are true, they do exist.”

  Up close they could see his brown eyes were almost identical to their own, except for the horizontal pupils that were oval in shape. They fell under his scrutinizing gaze as he examined them. Kalian noticed his gaze linger on both their hands. For his size his movement was swift as he followed Telarrek into the main hold; Kalian couldn’t stop staring at his unusual legs.

  “I have been going over the information you supplied on this new threat. After this business with the Highclave, I would like to debrief you on some of the specifics.”

  Telarrek bowed in acknowledgement.

  The journey was quick as the shuttle, which reminded Kalian of a fly with its two bulbous viewports around the cockpit, closed the gap between them and the planet. There were long screens along the main hold giving them a good view as they flew by. A soft female voice came over the speakers above.

  “Passing through the atmo-barrier now.”

  Kalian didn’t know if it was the pilot or an automated voice but he had no clue what she was talking about.

  Telarrek explained, “You see up there?” He pointed with his larger finger at the upper hemisphere of the cracked planet.

  Following his direction, they both saw what looked like a giant mechanical umbrella attached to the planet’s scorched surface. Looking across he could see more of them in the same line stretching across the planet’s gap as well as on the lower hemisphere.

  “You cannot see it but they generate a barrier allowing the planet’s interior to maintain a stable atmosphere. We have just passed through that said barrier.”

  “What about gravity? With the planet broken in half...” Li’ara let her statement go, unsure of the science she was implying.

  “Everything is plated with gravity enhancers. Personally, I prefer the feel of earth under my feet with a real gravity well. It has been too long since I have seen the sunrise over Nova Prime. Our blue sun creates a truly beautiful sky, unforgettable once seen.”

  It was the first time Kalian was really hearing about Telarrek’s life. He imagined at nine hundred and twelve he would have a lot of great stories to tell about his experiences.

  “I would like to see that one day,” Li’ara replied.

  Kalian could detect a certain longing in her look out of the stretching window. He felt a little impressed with himself for detecting such feelings in her. That sort of thing usually passed him by. It was strange to think that just a week ago he had never even known this woman. Now she was becoming the only person he had ever cared for? He hadn’t really taken the time to examine his feelings for her. There was an attraction he couldn’t deny, but they had been flung together by the worst of circumstances. He realised that, had they met in some other reality they wouldn’t have got on. She was a hardened soldier and he was a history lecturer with socialising issues. He knew she was more than that. He had seen a softer side to her, a more human side. He knew her to be loving and at times even funny. All he wanted to do was hold her again and let her know everything would be ok, which was strange to him as he had never had that feeling for anyone.

  “It would be my pleasure. I grew up on Nova Prime but my pod, that is my family, lives on Bhavisha where I was hatched.”

  There were a few facts there that made Kalian blink. Li’ara saw his thoughtful expression and explained, “Novaarians aren’t born like us, they hatch out of eggs. Didn’t you read anything on the data module?” There was playfulness in her question.

  “I can’t read as well as you yet.” He continued the joke, knowing how funny it was that a history lecturer couldn’t read very well. He did remember a reference to Bhavisha though; it was one of the many colonised planets within the Novaarians’ border. “What family do you have?” he asked.

  “My brother and his life-mate live on Bhavisha with their three hatchlings.”

  There was no mention of whether Telarrek had a life-mate, but Kalian felt it would be rude to ask.

  Minutes later, they were well past the barrier and into the heart of the Conclave. They couldn’t help but be impressed. The central tower, or Clave tower, was truly the biggest thing he had ever seen. It was covered in platforms that extended from the main body as well as docks that were inset into the tower.

  Ships flew by everywhere he looked, he couldn’t imagine how they avoided midair collisions. It was that thought that jogged his memory of the AI that governed such technicalities within the Conclave. He was still unsure of the idea of an AI being created at all. Central Parliament law had been strict on the creation of artificial intelligence after the first attempt by one of the extinct corporations. History detailed the event vividly in hopes of warning further generations. A small moon-sized station named the Daedalus had been required to build its hardware as well as a remotely controlled station to house it in close orbit around the sun. The corporate engineers had taken precautions in their design knowing the potential dangers in creating a superior being as it were. They were right to do so.

  The AI had taken six-point-four seconds to come to the realisation that it was the next stage in human evolution, and that humanity needed to be wiped out to make way for a new superior species, much the same way Homo sapiens had wiped out the inferior species before it. Seeing the human body through the eyes of a machine it could not make the distinction between what made up their bodies and its own. Therefore it came to the natural conclusion that it was the next step in their evolutionary journey. Subverting the onboard environmental controls it ejected every member of the station’s team, all eight hundred of them. Detecting the virus, it then implanted into the corporation’s mainframe a remote team who deactivated the thrusters on the housing station. The AI was at the mercy of the sun, and merciful it was not.

  According to the data module the Conclave AI had been designed by the Shay as their major contribution to give them a seat on the Highclave. The chief reason for the AI’s creation had been for economic reasons. It controlled the standard clock used across all planets to allow for a massive economy to thrive across a plethora of worlds in different time zones. Its central hub was situated here in the Conclave, though it was capable of controlling all air and orbital traffic on every planet. If Kalian understood it right, the driver or pilot could decide to travel without the AI’s guidance but it was widely considered to be suicide.

  Despite the fact that it maintained all the shared information its ability to learn was stunted. The Highclave had put restrictions on how far the Shay could go with the AI’s development to ensure it never achieved full self-awareness. Li’ara had explained it as the Conclave controlling an artificial child that only wanted to please its parents.

  Kalian was eager to meet these Shay. The race as a whole was obsessed with artificial enhancements and in some cases replacements. Li’ara had mentioned that the Highclave had also put restrictions on this type of biological modification. If an individual went too far, Shay or otherwise, with enhancements or modification they brought into question their existence and the rights owed to them. Were they living or machine? This was a question the Highclave could not answer and subsequently placed strict laws over it.

  The shuttle landed on an expansive platform that stretched out in a teardrop shape. The two guards made for the exit as the doors slid open and the ramp extended from its hiding place. The light poured in blinding him momentarily, but his ears couldn’t miss the sound. He guessed there to be a large crowd beyond the shuttle all shouting at once. The after images faded away to a welcoming he hadn’t expected.

  “Your discovery is new here. There are a lot of people eager to see you.” Telarrek extended both of his left arms gesturing for them both to depart.

  They descended the ramp together as a massive crowd of aliens
stood behind a line of Conclave security. There were small machines, which reminded Kalian of the hover-bots that worked on the ships in The Hub, darting around above the crowd with spotlights pointed at Li’ara and himself. He made out the lenses reflecting the light and wondered if they were cameras broadcasting their arrival.

  There were aliens he had never seen before standing in the crowd all with some handheld device they were pointing at them. Were these reporters? It was a strange feeling to think how similar their worlds were. The guards had formed a line of bodies that the reporters obviously knew not to cross. The High Charge made his way across the platform heading straight for the centre of the masses. His stride never slowed and the crowd must have known from experience that he wouldn’t stop as they parted down the middle for him. The guards followed him down forming a column for Kalian and the others to follow. He could barely hear himself think as the throng of voices threw questions at him, most of which he couldn’t make out.

  The Novaarians formed a protective perimeter around them with Telarrek leading and Ilyseal and Namek close behind. Once inside the tower itself, the environment opened on a scale hard to fathom. They were on a level that appeared to have the circumference of a small moon with hundreds of smaller platforms hovering in the centre. There were people everywhere trying to get a glimpse of the new aliens in their midst. More security had already arrived asking people to move aside as the party made their way towards the centre of the ring.

  He felt Li’ara’s hand give his a squeeze as he was sure she felt as alien as he did. Once at the edge of the giant ring the guards formed a circle around them as a long vehicle with no roof was hovering in front. Ilyseal turned to them both.

  “This will take us to the Highclave!” She had to speak up to be heard over the roaring crowd. “They are located in the centre of Clave Tower.”

  One of the red uniformed guards opened the vehicle doors. Uthor and Telarrek sat in the front row of the shiny yellow vehicle with the others taking the back. He noticed Namek had sat next to the pilot. People screamed and reached out to touch them as the hovercar banked to the right and suddenly dropped in altitude. It felt controlled but Kalian could feel his stomach lurch.

  They both leaned over the edge taking in the sights as they passed between the different layers and platforms that rested between the rings; he even noticed a few that resembled the Ever Root aboard the Valoran. Buildings of all shapes sat between patches of multicoloured grass and bronze-looking trees. Despite the nature of this artificial world, they had gone to great lengths to create the illusion of a real world. Turning his head to the sound of rushing water he saw a large rock formation in the corner of a park with an actual waterfall that ran into a lake. Everything was so beautiful with the mix of technology and nature. Earth had attempted to create a similar illusion but never on such a scale as this.

  “We are nearly there.” Ilyseal stretched her long neck over Kalian’s.

  Both humans leaned over the side to look down at the approaching Highclave. It was situated in the middle of the smallest ring in the centre of the curved tower. It was the only platform on that level with just one bridge connecting the oval extension to the outer ring. Being the only platform, it stood out against its expansive background. The base of the complex reminded him of a football stadium with its high walls and pitted interior. The walls gave way to a beautiful glass spire stretching half a mile up. It twisted into a spiral before reaching its pinnacle with what looked like a diamond pyramid at the apex. Through the glass, they could both see the masses of people entering the stadium and filling every inch of the available seating.

  Their vehicle veered to the left making to enter the complex from behind. As they reached its level a small port opened up big enough to fit the vehicle through. They were guided in with green lights that floated in the air like a runway. More guards waited for them inside, each with a sidearm on their waist and a compact rifle in their hands. The Highclave was obviously a high priority in terms of security.

  They were escorted to a comfortable room with sofas and a small hover-droid that brought them florescent blue drinks. Kalian noticed Li’ara doing that soldier thing where she assessed everything, looking for the exits and taking note of guard numbers.

  She’ll never switch off.

  He declined the drink with no thoughts to sustenance at this particular moment. He felt like he had been called to the principal’s office. He had no idea what they were going to say, but he knew what he needed to say. He hadn’t discussed it with Li’ara but he knew they had to talk about the future of their kind. Where were the terraforming group? How many research stations were still out there with crew on board? Did any ships manage to reach Solar Drive before...? He needed to talk about them as well. If they really had no clue who these destroyers were, then they needed to be ready for a new threat.

  The lights flickered for a moment and the hover-droid almost dropped its drinks on the High Charge. Kalian knew it was him; he had let his nerves get the better of him and lost control for a second. He noticed that when he disrupted electrical devices the tingling feeling emanated from his fingertips, not his spine. He could feel the static on his arms under his jacket. Li’ara was looking at him from across the room, she knew. Instead of the terrified feeling he would get if he suspected someone knew about him, he felt safe somehow. It felt good to have someone know about him, to have Li’ara know about him. Ever since he had met Li’ara his emotions and feelings had become rather complicated. He never used to have any feelings concerning other people. Thinking about the fate of his planet and species now, he felt regret at never stopping to make friends or any kind of intimate connection. At the same time, he also felt lucky not to have the grief Li’ara now had.

  He took a breath and clenched his hands until the tingling left his fingertips. One of the guards had left to check on the building’s power supply and Kalian felt bad not being able to tell him the futility of his investigation. He felt Li’ara’s hand over his own and realised he had been closing his eyes. How did he know the guard had left? She gave him a knowing look that told him everything would be ok. For a moment he was lost in the emerald of her eyes and noticed the specks of yellow dispersed within. Telarrek’s presence brought him back to reality.

  “Do not look so concerned, they only wish to meet you,” he said.

  “Yeah, along with everyone else apparently.” Li’ara’s tone was dry.

  Telarrek let off a couple of grunts that resonated from his chest, he was laughing. “As a collective race we thirst for knowledge, we are an old society and anything new is hard to come by, especially something as big as a new intelligent species.”

  “Does Nova Prime know about us?” Kalian asked. He wondered just how many Novaarians were aware of Telarrek’s mission.

  “There are only a select number of officials within the Novaarian government, as well as our member on the Highclave, that are aware. The expedition was what you might call, classified. It is for that reason I fear Nova Prime may face some judgment from the Highclave.”

  Before they could talk anymore, a new alien entered the sitting room. Whether it was male or female Kalian couldn’t tell. It was almost completely concealed within a flowing black robe that hid its feet. The head was chevron-shaped with four milky white eyes set against an oak-red skin. The point of the chevron head separated the four eyes with two on each side. The mouth was inset against the overhang of where one might expect to see a nose. Kalian was sure he could see four small holes separated like the eyes at the point of the head. The skin reminded him of an insect with a coarse exoskeleton.

  The thick neck that supported such a wide cranium was just visible before the robe took over. What neither of them could miss however was the strange attachment to the side of the head and around the far right eye. It was clearly a piece of technology as it looked so alien against the oak-red skin. It encased the eye and at one part actually seemed to reach inside via a dark tubule. Two lights continued t
o blink red and blue against the head device. As it entered the room he saw how the augmentation ran down one side of the thick neck and entered the skin with more tubules. What was this thing? It looked scary as hell as it opened its mouth to several rows of razor-like teeth.

  “The Highclave is ready to receive you.” Its voice gave no gender away as it sounded robotic with a slight echo.

  As it turned to leave, Kalian was sure he heard scuttling feet under the robe. He looked to Li’ara to see if her own reaction matched his own.

  “It was a Nix. They’re part of the Ch’kara domain - big meat eaters.” Li’ara stood ready to leave.

  Big meat eaters... you don’t say?

  Trying to forget the row upon row of teeth, he stood up as well. They were led through a corridor off the hangar through which they had entered. He was waiting to hear the masses of people he had seen cramming into the stadium but only heard the sound of the others. They soon found themselves at an arched doorway twice the height of Telarrek. The Nix carried on through, causing the door to split in half. The interior inside was not what he expected. Instead of a giant arena, it was a triangle-shape with them entering through the apex.

  They were surrounded by thousands of spectators of every planetary origin, all of them silent. As the space opened up, there was a tall empty podium on the other side. It wasn’t as big as expected; he estimated it was big enough to fit a couple of Fathom-sized ships. He felt like they were in court. The crowds were ten feet above them in an oval shape that rose in height. Looking up the sight was awe-inspiring as the twisting glass spire raised high into the Clave Tower. The Nix stopped halfway across the expanse and they stopped behind it. Looking back they saw Telarrek and the rest of the party had remained at the back near the door. They suddenly felt very alone, Kalian hadn’t realised how much he had come to rely on Telarrek and Ilyseal.