by Alex Kings
“You may want to prepare for a move to Blindness,” he said.
“Okay.” Mr. Soul nodded.
“And Mr. Eye? Could you keep Mr. Soul up to date with all news about new attacks. If the front line is about to move, we want to know about it.”
“Of course,” said Mr. Eye.
“Thank you. Now, gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, it looks like I'm about to get another customer. We'll talk soon.”
Chapter 6: Growing Up Albascene
The floating island was only a couple of hundred metres across, but it was connected to a vast network of undersea structures – airtight corridors and rooms stretching for miles. Once, when Petaurs lived on Laikon as indentured servants, these structures were essential. Now they were nearly abandoned.
Rurthk followed Euron, the other Albascene, and the sarcophagus down one of these corridors.
“The ceremony will be performed underwater,” said Euron matter-of-factly. “I'm afraid we don't have Tethyan-style globe generators. You will have to use something rather simpler.”
Something simpler turned out to be waterproof smart matter suits, which another Albascene presented a moment later. The fabric was a clean white. They were loose, and adjusted easily to fit over Rurthk's coat and Dr. Wolff's physique. The helmets followed the Albascene's preferred design aesthetic – they were dodecahedra, with transparent faces.
While Rurthk was putting the suit on, Euron explained, “You will not need to swim. The suits can propel themselves in all directions. The controls are in the gloves.”
“Not too different from an eva suit, then,” said Rurthk. The theory held: He activated the comms in the same way he would an eva suit. “Eloise? Doctor?”
“We're here,” said Eloise through the comms.
“You've lost your stylish black,” Rurthk commented to Eloise.
She smiled faintly. “Well, when in Rome …”
They followed Euron and the other Albascene into the airlock. The door behind them slid shut, the chamber filled with water, and the door ahead opened. Euron glided out into the open water with the sarcophagus.
Rurthk tested the controls in his glove. On his command, it pushed him smoothly forward through the water. The suit seemed to have adjusted to give him perfectly neutral buoyancy.
Up above, the surface was a quivering fluid mirror, with sunlight dancing on its surface. Below, Rurthk couldn't see far, but what he could see was busy with activity. Albascene moved back and forth lengthways to minimise drag. Finlike effector fields coruscated down their suits to push them along. Rurthk noticed the same effect on Eloise's and Wolff's suits as they moved forward.
Albascene kept their suits on almost all the time, even in the water. It was essential for them to stay intact. Without suits, their components could disperse or become mixed up with those of another Albascene, and their individuality would effectively dissolve.
In fact, the suit was the first piece of Albascene technology, like fire was for humans and Glaber. The earliest suits were nothing more than woven structures of kelp leaves and thick clay. But they were enough for sentient beings to emerge from the giant schools of small fish that formed the Albascene. And once that step had been taken, the road to a spacefaring civilisation opened up.
Rurthk and his crew followed Kaivon's relatives through the sea at a leisurely pace, eventually coming to a structure composed of a line of giant dodecahedra connected to each other by cables. They looked like beads on a hanging necklace. They went up as far as the surface, and down as far as Rurthk could see – perhaps all the way to the seabed.
Euron led them to one of the dodecahedra, through a door, and into a large circular chamber. The ceiling was a gently curving dome, white and glowing with a diffuse light. The “floor” was the same, just in a mirror image. In the centre of the domes above and below, a pillar emerged, each tapering to a point just before it met the other. The gap between the two pillars was in the very centre of the room. It was about two metres high.
As the sarcophagus entered the room, all the Albascene stopped moving. They floated in place as the sarcophagus glided through the water. It stopped in the gap between the two pillars in the very centre of the room.
“The ceremony will begin at the midday eclipse,” said Euron. “First, there will be a speech. Everyone present will be given a chance to speak into the sarcophagus individually about their connection with the deceased. Guardians will go first, then siblings, then friends and other associates.”
“I take it we're in the final category,” said Rurthk.
“Yes,” said Euron. “Then we will eat together. Then, after the midday eclipse has ended, those of Kaivon's siblings who wish to host his remains will be asked to put their names forward. His guardians will discuss the matter until evening. There may be significant disagreements and arguments. We will make a final vote at midnight. The integration ceremony will take place at sunrise. Until the ceremony begins, you may talk with the others.”
With that, he glided away.
“Well,” said Eloise. “There's someone who knows how to organise a funeral.” She sighed. “Maybe it's just his way of dealing with grief,” she said, more to herself than anyone else.
“I suppose we should go talk with the family,” said Wolff.
The only time Albascene spent a significant amount of time without their suits was at the beginning of their life. Ancestral Albascene spawned in Laikon's equivalent of mangrove swamps, where their young would be safe from predators; nowadays, they used safely walled-off pools. Either way, the eggs hatched into infant components, which then began to assemble themselves into schools. The schools – young Albascene – had no suits and regularly exchanged components by accident or design. Sometimes they even combined and reformed. In a very real sense, they shared minds and thoughts. They knew each other intimately.
They were attended to by adult Albascene responsible for their upbringing – sometimes parents, sometimes not. It was impossible to tell exactly who was whose parent, anyway. These adults would sometimes give a few of their components to help teach the young, and absorb a few of the young's components to see how they were doing. Eventually, when you young were seven or eight years old, counting by Earth time, they were given their first suits, and became true individuals.
This was the basis of the Albascene family unit. Young Albascene growing up together, sharing components and minds, were siblings. They had a more intimate understanding of each other's thought processes than any other Albascene ever would. The adults who looked after them were their guardians, and had a similar, though not as strong, connection.
The link between siblings meant that an Albascene could host the surviving components of a dead sibling: They would be placed in the suit of a surviving sibling, and whatever thoughts, feelings, knowledge, and awareness remained with them with merge with the living sibling. In a very real sense, part of a dead Albascene would live on with its family.
Chapter 7: We Haven't Been Discovered
“You were Kaivon's … workmates?”
The first Albascene they met didn't even bother to introduce him, and instead began with this question that, even though it was spoken in the standard calm Albascene synthesised voice, seemed to be lined with an acidic accusation.
“Yes,” said Rurthk. He introduced himself and Eloise and Dr. Wolff.
“Kalver. Kaivon's sibling,” said the Albascene. He didn't seem to be in the mood for pleasantries. “How did he die?”
Rurthk hesitated. He'd already explained the circumstances of Kaivon's death as best he could: He had been shot during a routine mission. “He was …”
“He was shot, I know,” said Kalver.
“I killed the … person who shot him right away,” said Rurthk – and immediately regretted saying such a thing. It was the sort of thing he'd say to another Glaber – a swift and deadly vengeance to honour the deceased. He didn't know if Albascene, with all their emphasis on order, would feel the same way.
&nb
sp; “A little too late, it would seem,” said Kalver.
“Yes,” admitted Rurthk.
“Kaivon was an engineer. He had no sort of combat training,” said Kalver. “Why would you put him in a situation like that?”
Rurthk stared at the Albascene. Why had he put Kaivon in that situation? Because he'd asked to come? Then why had he allowed him? Because he was useful? But that seemed more than an excuse than anything resembling a good answer.
Eloise spoke first: “Look,” she told Kalver. “I'm sorry. I really am. I wish it hadn't turned out that way. But Kaivon was there because he was part of the crew. He knew the risks – we all did – and he chose to come along because he had something to contribute.”
Wolff glanced at her and raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
“No,” said Kalver. “I do not accept that. He died as a result of whatever sordid, possibly illegal schemes your crew was taking part in. You are responsible for this.” Effector fields ripple sharply down his sides, pushing him away from them before they could respond. He moved off to the far side of the room.
Dr. Wolff cleared his throat. “Perhaps, Eloise, that was a little too blunt, considering you were speaking to a grieving relative,” he said softly.
“If he's going to come here and lay the blame at our door … ” Eloise let the sentence hang. “We lost Kaivon trying to save hundreds of lives.”
“He doesn't know that,” said Wolff.
Eloise sighed. “I know,” she admitted.
“He's right, anyway,” said Rurthk.
Eloise and Wolff both stared at him.
“That heroic attempt to stop Vihan Yvredi,” said Rurthk. “That was a one-off. The norm is sordid, illegal schemes. Remember when we were on Nereus? That old friend of yours, Doctor, came aboard to kill you and Kaivon. He could have easily succeeded. That wouldn't have been a heroic death. It only happened because we took a job from Sweetblade.” He sighed and looked at the distant Albascene figure. “He's right in principle, even if he doesn't know exactly what happened.”
They moved slowly, talking to Kaivon's guardians, siblings, and friends. None of them made accusations like Kalver's, but they were never more than cooly polite.
“You know,” said Rurthk as an Albascene glided away from them after a brief introduction, “I'm starting to get the feeling that we're not quite as welcome here as Euron claimed.”
“We're here to represent Kaivon, regardless,” said Dr. Wolff. He looked around. “Although, another few conversations like the last one and I'll start to worry we've actually been discovered, and they're just waiting for someone to come and arrest us.” He shrugged awkwardly inside the suit. “We have just arrived on the Outsider using our real names …”
“No,” said Rurthk. “Most of the galaxy is too busy worrying about the attacks and the war with the Glaber to notice our brief appearance on the news. We haven't been discovered.”
Another Albascene came gliding up to them. He introduced himself as Naskis, another of Kaivon's siblings, and said, “Kaivon's humans friends. Pardon me, but I believe I have seen you before. Captain Rurthk and Miss. Eloise, were you not on Mars during the attack?”
Chapter 8: Fire Burns Indiscriminately
There was a moment's silence. Rurthk stared at Naskis, wondering whether he should even try to deny it.
“Uh … no,” said Eloise. “We were … on Cantor at that time.”
“Oh!” said Naskis. “I'm sorry. Don't worry. I have no intention of telling anyone else.” He paused. Ripples of effector fields fluttered down his sides. “You were on Mars, though. Your message, Captain, said that Kaivon was shot when you were attacked. Was that on Mars”
Rurthk saw no point in keeping up the pretence. “Yes,” he admitted.
“By whom?”
“A Blank. I killed it immediately afterwards.”
“I see,” said Naskis.
“I'm sorry,” said Eloise sincerely. “I know it's not the sort of news you'd want to hear.”
“I would rather my sibling were not dead at all,” said Naskis. “But … now at least I know he died while trying to save others. Thank you.”
They floated in silence for a while, looking out across the room where Albascene assembled in small groups, some entering and some leaving.
“You know,” said Rurthk, “you're being a hell of a lot friendlier to us than anyone else here. What's up with that?”
“Oh, quite possibly,” said Naskis. “It is hard to explain. Many in our family are civic-minded. Our guardians, especially, had a strong belief in making up for the mistakes of the old Albascene Nation. We had a real sense of ourselves as rebuilders, socially if not physically. Kaivon turned away from that. We still care for him, but …”
“Black sheep of the family,” said Eloise. “We get it.”
There was a brief pause. Naskis must have looked the phrase up in his suit, because he then said, “Yes that is an appropriate human term. And your presence here reminds many of us of that uncomfortable truth. Some may see you as enabling his rejection of our values. And then … you are more like him than anyone else here.”
“Really?” said Rurthk. “Because from what I'd read about Albascene siblings …”
“We know each other intimately, but we are still individuals,” said Naskis. “We can be very different. Kaivon was always the most rebellious, and the least interested in finding a place in traditional Albascene society. He chose his own goals for what he wanted out of life, rather than accepting what was given to him.”
“Well,” said Rurthk, smiling faintly, “I guess that's what drew us all to the Outsider.”
“And that is why it is so important you are here,” said Naskis. “It was a pleasure to meet you. I hope we can talk again before the ceremony is finished.”
“You too,” said Eloise.
His effector fields fluttered as he began to glide away. After a moment, he stopped. “I considered leaving Laikon, but instead I became a civil servant,” he said. “I was successful, but sometimes I find myself envying Kaivon.” And with that, he glided away.
*
“So you did send all those people to kill me?” said Felix Zino.
“Of course,” said Mr. Hand with a faint smile. “You are unpredictable and dangerous. I thought it better to be rid of you.”
They were talking over a bulkwave link. Zino was in a small ship in orbit around one of the minor Varanid worlds. All he could tell by the background was that Mr. Hand was in another of his generic basements or back rooms. It had cost him some time and quite a lot of money to get in contact with Mr. Hand – he had had to go through an Information Broker front and pay them to pass on his message.
“A shame you lost the Operator,” said Zino, with a faint grin. “You'd have been better off leaving me alone.”
“Perhaps,” said Mr. Hand. “But he was no great loss.” He leaned in and smiled at Zino. “Is this the real reason you wanted to talk to me? To recount old conflicts?”
Zino laughed. “Of course not. What you did with the Blanks, well …” He shook his head in disbelief and gave an impressed whistle. “I want to be a part of that.”
“You want to work for Vihan Yvredi?” said Mr. Hand. He didn't seem at all surprised.
“Yes.”
“Being your employer is a dangerous situation,” said Mr. Hand. “Tell me … will I meet the same fate as Sukone?”
“Only if you're boring,” said Zino, and laughed. “No … I think you're smart enough not to let me anywhere near you, or anything truly important to you.”
“Fire burns indiscriminately,” mused Mr. Hand. “But so long as one knows how to handle it, it can be quite useful. Yes, Felix Zino, I think we can find a use for you.”
“I knew you could,” said Zino.
“Can you make it to the Glaber territories? We have some scientists in our care, and they could use some protection.”
Zino nodded. “Not a problem. Now, let's talk about payment.”
Above the surface of the Hykean sea, the sun crawled up through the sky, approaching the pale gas giant that hung motionless in the sky. The gas giant itself showed up a white crescent larger than the sun, growing thinner and thinner as the sun approached it. At last, the sun met the razor-thin crescent and slid behind it. They vanished together, and darkness swept across the ocean. The only light came from a ghostly red circle floating above them – the glow of the gas giant's atmosphere in the sunlight.
The midday eclipse had begun.
Rurthk, Eloise, and Wolff lay on the surface of the ocean with the front of their helmets open to the air. There were a couple of other Albascene floating on the surface around them.
“An excellent suggestion, Ms. LaBelle,” said Doctor Wolff. “That was well worth seeing.”
Rurthk couldn't see it, himself. But he knew Eloise enjoyed it, so he nodded.
Euron's voice came through their comms. “The ceremony is about to begin,” he said.
The Albascene around them began to descend.
Rurthk flipped his helmet closed, made sure it was watertight, and descended with them.
They gathered in the domed chamber again.
*
Euron floated in the middle of the chamber, by the sarcophagus. The rest of the Albascene, plus Rurthk and his crew, settled by the outer walls surrounding him. The speech was in Albascene; Rurthk had his comms run a textual translation in Isk.
“Listen, all assembled here,” said Euron. “For this is the truth of the universe. All across the cosmos, things emerge from their components. All across the cosmos, things return to their components. The fundamental quanta give rise to space and time. Fields, to particles. Hydrogen, to stars. Matter, to life. Our own components, to Albascene. And Albascene to family and society. This growth and beauty suffuses everything and flows through the universe. Thus we grow towards unity. Each level is more complex and beautiful than the last. But each in time will return, until time itself is no more. We assemble here because one of our own has returned. His name is Kaivon, and our family is diminished by his loss.