“Well?” he asked after a long period of silence. Captain Steele remained motionless for another full minute before finally standing.
“I’ve seldom found myself at a loss for words,” she said, then stopped speaking and sat down again. Another minute passed before she stood again. “I’ve lived in Civica my entire life, and assumed that I would one day die here,” she said. “Not that that doesn’t apply to every person here. It’s just a lot of information to process in one sitting.”
Jake waited to make sure there wasn’t more before replying, “I hope you understand, in fact, I hope everyone in the colony understands that if I hadn’t made this deal, we would now be under attack, by not only the Ascendants, but the isopods as well.”
“I think I get that, Captain Stone,” she said. “It’s just, as I said, a lot to process all at once.”
“And the torus is beautiful,” Vee said. “Words can’t describe it.”
“There’s another aspect to this that we haven’t discussed,” AJ said.
“What’s that?” Steele asked.
“The Ascendants will be back someday. The Mind Ship transmitter will eventually run out of power, or it will malfunction, or something. Even with Jane helping, we have to assume that they will be back one day.”
“I think that’s a valid assumption,” Steele said. “Your point being?”
“I think we don’t want to be here when they come back.”
“Assuming we get everyone to agree,” Steele said, “and that’s a very large assumption, logistically speaking, how do we move a hundred thousand people and their belongings, five thousand kilometers?”
Raines answered. “I think it’s safe to say that the isopods will be willing to help us. Since they want the structures of our cities once we vacate them, I think the simplest solution would be to move the city domes to the torus, with our citizens inside.”
“Is that possible?” Steele asked.
Jake nodded. “There are a lot of isopods, and some of them are quite a bit larger than the ones out there. I think moving our domes wouldn’t be much of a challenge for them, to be honest.”
“So, we move our colony there, transfer every man, woman, and child to this torus of yours, and then what? They destroy our domes?”
“Most of them are falling apart as it is,” Raines said. “I think it’s safe to say that the isopods are saving our lives in more ways than we realize.”
Steele looked at Jake. “You made a critical decision in a dire situation, Captain. I both commend your actions and fully agree with it. I will be at your side when we break the news to the rest of the colony.”
He swallowed hard. “We?”
Steele went on to explain why no one would believe the story if it came from any one person. However, coming from two major characters in the war could make all the difference. When he asked who the other major character was, he was shocked to learn that his name, and even likeness, had been used as a “call to battle” by the civilian population in his absence. He wasn’t happy with the notoriety, but if it helped convince people to stop fighting each other, then he would accept it.
With damaged communications channels, and so many ships and city domes damaged from the war, it ended up taking more than a week to get the word out to the rest of the colony. Both Jake and Captain Steele agreed to modify the story told to them by the Ascendant leader, choosing instead to say that everyone in Civica, including those with Beta markers, were all equally human. The Ascendants were the manufactured people, and therefore, the true enemy of humanity.
The Council, or at least what was left of it, was officially disbanded. Since many of its members were either dead or still missing, that wasn’t too hard. Most agreed that a fresh start would be best in the difficult days and months that lay ahead.
There was a short ceremony in Capitol City, once it was fully operational, to swear in a temporary, interim Council. Both Jake and Captain Steele were asked to join. During the hours-long celebration that followed, as the new leaders discussed how best to handle the upcoming relocation, Jake quietly slipped out and returned to the hangar where the Rogue Wave was docked. He found AJ next to the ship, working on repairing one of the legs of their Jumper.
“I thought you were at the party with the rest of the crew,” he said.
“I’m not big into mingling,” she replied, wiping a grease smudge from her cheek. “I assumed you would be whooping it up with your fellow council members.”
He pulled out a wrench and handed it to her. “I’m not big into whooping,” he said.
She took the wrench and placed it on a bench. “But they offered you a seat on the Council, didn’t they?”
“It’s a temporary seat,” he said, handing her a screwdriver. “They agreed to hold elections as soon as the move is finished.”
“You could do a lot of good,” she said, taking the tool and placing it next to the wrench. “Who else could act as a mediator with the isopods?”
“No one, I suppose.” He picked up a splitter and handed it to her. “I did help in one way. I told them what the leader said about us, that we were once the builders of this world. I think that with the machine’s help, we can be builders again.”
“See?” she said. “That’s why you belong on the Council.”
“I guess. So, what about you?” He handed her a voltage tester. “What are you planning to do?”
She took the device and looked up at the ship. “I imagine there will be a lot of work for a cargo hauler in the months ahead. We can’t expect the isopods to do everything, you know.”
Jake looked up at the Wave. “She’ll need a captain.”
“I happen to know a good one,” she said. “She’s been working as the first mate on a similar vessel. Lots of experience. Single-handedly saved her ship and crew countless times in the past year.”
“Single-handedly?” he asked as he handed her a torque driver.
She took it and then looked down at the small pile on the bench. “What are you doing here, Jake, besides giving me a bunch of tools I don’t want?”
He picked up a gap sealer and handed it to her. “I’m actually here to apply for the captain’s position as well.”
She raised an eyebrow, making the tattoos on her temples wrinkle. “You? A captain? I thought you were a Council Member now?”
“I didn’t take the job.”
“Why? You know they need Betas on the new Council, otherwise everything could go back to the way it was.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t like the hours. Besides, I nominated someone much better for the job and he accepted.”
“Who?”
“Norman Raines.” He winked at her. “I guess we need to start looking for a new engineer.”
“And a new cook. He’ll be hard to replace,” she said, tossing the sealer back to him. “A lot of changes coming, you know; moving hundreds of domes, thousands of people, everyone getting used to life inside the torus.”
“Not to mention Alphas and Betas working side by side for the first time.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it.”
“So, what are you getting at? Are you saying that I can’t handle these changes?”
She smiled. “I think you actually prefer a routine. You know, always knowing what tomorrow brings in advance. It won’t be like that for some time, maybe never again.” She took a breath. “Everything has changed, Jake.”
Those words reminded him that, among those changes, Jane was no longer in his life. He had also accepted the fact that Stacy was just a recreation of the girl he had once loved. For the first time in a long while, he was looking forward to what the future might bring. Without thinking, he reached out, took AJ by the hand, and said, “I’ve been told that change is good.”
THE END
A
note from the Author
In 2012, after taking a 4-year break from writing my first science fiction novel, Cyberdrome (published in 2008,) I decided to begin a new journey:
to create an original science fiction saga by writing one novella per year for five years. With this “5-books-in-1” edition of the series, that journey is now complete. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of Jacob Stone and the crew of the Rogue Wave as much as I enjoyed writing it.
About the Author
Joseph Rhea is a scientist, science fiction author, computer game designer, and believer in moving humanity forward, not backward. He was advised by his high school English teacher to pursue a life of writing. Instead, he chose a career in engineering and science, driven by a need to explore the world and help create new technologies. Now, three decades later, he has come full circle as a new voice in realistic science fiction.
Learn more at JosephRhea.com
Acknowledgments
My brother, Dave Rhea, and I have been working together on creative projects for as long as either of us can remember. In the early 90’s, we started a company called Rhea-FX and created one of the first true multiplayer 3D computer games, which we called "Cyberdrome," and even trademarked the name. A few years later, we created a far more complex version of the game featuring a massive, fractal-generated digital world, filled with hundreds of genetically evolving artificial life forms. Since then, our creative projects have included completion of the Cyberdrome Novel (a story loosely based on the world behind the games), the beginnings of two digital comics, and more recently, a CGI movie based on my Novum saga.
While we had many plans for the years ahead, sadly Dave passed away in June of 2019 after an 8-month battle with Leukemia. His memory will live on with me forever, but I hope some of what he and I created together will inspire other creative people.
Rest in peace, Dave.
Credits and Permissions
Lyrics from “20 Years” by Kawehi Wight.
Copyright © 2014 Kawehi Wight.
Reprinted by permission.
(www.kawehi.com)
Copyright
NOVUM CHRONICLES (Third Edition) Copyright © 2021 by Joseph Rhea. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this eBook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the author, who can be contacted by email at: [email protected]
Sections of this novel were previously published under the following titles: Novum: Genesis © 2013, Novum: Exile © 2014, Novum: Rubicon © 2015, Novum: Revelation © 2016, and Novum: Apocalypse © 2017
Book cover by David Rhea. © 2017 All Rights Reserved.
Also available in print worldwide. Learn more at JosephRhea.com
Novum Chronicles: A Dystopian Undersea Saga Page 46