All except one—my family. Did I have a family before? Did I love them the way I love Eladia and Silver and Zan now? Did I feel love at all or is that another side effect of the cube’s influence on me? I don’t know. I can’t remember.
Still, I can’t feel bad about it now. During my last incident with the cube, I realized that my memories are closely related to this thing unlocking. So, when it’s finally open, all my memories will return as well. At least I hope I’m right about that.
I put my hand deep into my pocket and fumble the tiny cube holding the future of the species inside it. It’s almost unbelievable that a thing this small can cause so big a disaster. All I want to do now is find a way to stop it and save both species from extinction.
Dale called us in meeting that will take place on the bridge to come up with a plan to unlock the cube and then lock it up again. The most knowledgeable member of the Organization on the matter, Doctor Dale Cross, said that he actually has come up with a plan to end this vicious cycle of bad choices once and for all. I want to believe him, but I’m not so sure anymore.
When I arrive in the commanding room, I see that I’m the last one to arrive. Even Eladia is here, talking enthusiastically with Silver and Zan. She seems happy to see them.
“You sure took your time,” I hear Alyce saying.
I thought that now that she’s free to go everywhere she wants she would be nicer, but she’s still getting on my nerves. She can’t bring me down, not now that Eladia is here, but still, it’s like a pesky, little fly, pestering me every time we’re in the same room.
However, these last two days she’s even more annoying than usual. Something must have happened to her.
“Sorry, I had something to take care off first,” I say.
I exchange glances with Eladia. She smiles at me knowingly. Yeah, we’ve been fucking again, but I’m not going to regret it. I won’t give this young girl the pleasure of winning.
Still, she’s able to pick up our vibe and grunts disgustingly while she walks away. Every other day I would make a tantrum over her behavior towards me, but today, I’m way too happy to do that.
“Okay, we’re all here now,” Dale suddenly says. “As you all know, the artifact that Jasih has in his possession is a terrible weapon, one that is now aimed towards the Phadh.”
He stops and looks at Alyce. The young girl has a grave expression on her face. She looks ready to defend her people single-handedly, even if that means she’ll die in the process. Yet, I can smell her fear. She’s genuinely afraid about the future of her people.
Before continuing, Dale casts a sinister look at Pyro. I can feel animosity brewing between them. I thought that all the Organization members were in good terms between them, but now I’m certain that there’s something lurking in the shadows.
“Humans are blinded by their ambition. Being the unofficial Rank 2 species, destroying the Phadh will automatically serve the Known Galaxy to their plate. Humans are not fit to control the whole Alliance, not when their life spans are shorter than even the Bryp,” Dale continues.
“So, if they were fit to control the galaxy you would just let them destroy us, right? Is that what you say?” Alyce says, jumping off her seat.
“I think you misread my intentions, Alyce. In no way, I didn’t mean that.”
The young girl sniffs and after casting a spiteful look at him, she returns back to her seat. Dale continues right after the pause.
“Our plan is to unlock the cube and then let Jasih lock it again, using the rights of the chosen user. No one but you has the right to either start or end this thing. And only you can save the Phadh from going extinct.”
They all look at me now. I’m not sure what they’re asking me to do, though.
“I will gladly do it, but how do you know for sure that this thing has a turn-off switch? Isn’t that a bit too convenient?” I say.
Pyro is the one that replies to me now. “In all the Organization’s files regarding the artifact, the reports clearly state that the destruction of the opposing species was a matter of choice and not a random event. If you can choose to kill someone, then you can also choose to not kill anyone.”
These were the most words in a row that I’ve heard the man utter throughout this last year.
This is then, buddy. The endgame, I hear Dark Jay say in my head.
I can’t help but agree with him.
“Okay. I’ll give it a try. But do you have any idea how I can do it? Or should I just jump in there and hope that everything plays out well?”
No one talks. It’s only me and this crazy plan then. Once again, facing impossible odds, I must save a whole species from going extinct. Maybe it’s a bit too convenient. Haven’t the Esuh made their choice when they decided to use the cube many millenniums ago? What if the cube doesn’t accept me as its chosen user because of that?
“Uhm...I think you have to see this,” Silver suddenly says.
She tunes every monitor of the bridge to the Grid, playing a video of a human man wearing a black suit, getting ready to give a speech before countless of journalists and politicians.
“Today is a bad day for humanity. For the second time in our long history, humans have to abandon their home planet and fly away from the paradise named Yaerus. After this act of terrorism, the biological warfare that brought to us the walking corpses, the Council of the United Species decided to authorize the Purge of the human home planet and grant us, the human species, another place to erect the center of our civilization.”
Alyce is on her feet now, her hand cupping her mouth. Everyone around me is looking at the monitor like it’s the last thing they will do in their life.
“Where is my father? How did he allow for the Purge to take place? He wouldn’t let any of these to happen if he was there,” she suddenly says.
They all look at her and then at me. I have to stop something this small from setting off and destroying a whole civilization. For the first time in my life, I feel the burden of failure dragging me down. What if I actually fail?
You’re weak, Jasih. Let me take over and I’ll make sure to destroy this fucking thing.
“No!” I say out loud.
I run out of the bridge. Everything is so messed up right now
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Eladia
Seeing Jay storm out of the room makes me feel uncertain of how our mission will turn out. Being this big and this confused at the same time it’s a dangerous combination. In times like this, Jay changes to his dark self.
Strangely, I feel eager for that moment. What is wrong with me? I thought I would be happy with him for the first time since we met, Jay, who finally started sharing his feelings with me and all. And it’s a great thing, I know, but it’s always the same routine. No adventures, no passion, no nothing.
This man, the platinum-skinned Jay, is the one I wanted to be with in the past, the Jay I needed back when I was still a frail woman unable to protect myself. But now, now that I’ve seen the other side of the coin and had my share of adventures, I’m not so sure I can be with him anymore. It’s like the softer he becomes, the less passionate I feel about him. I’m imprisoned into a cycle of denial, a decision that keeps coming back to haunt me in the worst way possible.
I keep doubting him and his decisions. And with the purge of Yaerus on the table now, we all have to work as a team to actually end this mission.
Everyone has frozen in place after the announcement the human ambassador, Mr. Terasaka, just made. We’re still five days away from arriving at Yaerus, but to set up a Purge, they will need at least a week. That gives us a time window of two days to infiltrate, solve the Great Mystery that no one else has managed to solve from the beginning of time itself, and then get out of there alive.
Are we fucking crazy?
“Don’t worry, Eladia. He’ll pull it through. You know he will,” Silver suddenly says.
She helps me to snap out of the spiraling chaos called doubt. I smile at her and
turn my body to face her. “I know, I know. It’s that...I’m not the same human I was when I first met him. I don’t trust anyone other than myself anymore. I just feel that there’s some kind of barrier separating us, and I can’t kick it down by using brute force.”
Silver looks a bit shocked by my language. Last time we talked so casually, I was a hesitant, helpless girl that was in no way into this kind of thing. But now, I’m a fighter, a warrior, an assassin. This time, I’m so much more than just a bystander.
“You don’t doubt him. You doubt yourself. Jasih is the same as before. He just decided to open up to you, to make you the one person deemed worthy to trust. But now you’re the one not trusting yourself,” Zan suddenly jumps into the conversation.
It still shocks me how perfectly he speaks the language like he’s native or something. Also, he’s taller, his shoulders are broader, and he’s no more awkwardly shaved. He’s a man, the likes of Dale and Jay. Maybe even more so since the kid never lies. It’s in his nature to speak his mind clearly.
Still, to have such a great insight at his age, it’s amazing. I wouldn’t expect anyone other than him to give me advice like that. It’s like he understands the situation more clearly than us living it.
“You’re right. It’s probably me that I don’t trust, not him. He’s perfect now, and I’m the damaged one.” I turn and look at Silver. At that moment, I see her staring at Zan. He stares her back and nods. “What’s going on?”
“Eladia, I’ve meant to talk to you since you arrived. Of course, I didn’t want to bother you since you just met Jay after so long, but there’s something we have to discuss.”
I don’t think I like where this conversation is going. “What’s going on? You’re making me nervous Silver.”
Zan turns to face me, as does Silver. Is this some kind of intervention? No, I don’t think so. This is something else entirely.
“I’m not sure if you’ve noticed it, but since I met Zan, we’re inseparable. He’s the first one I save every time we’re in danger, and he’s the first one I talk to when I learn something. At first, I thought our relationship was based on research interest only, but I’ve seen changes in my code that I never thought possible.”
“I’m not sure I understand, Silver. What kind of changes?”
She stops; she actually stops to add a dramatic pause to her narration. Are androids possible of such interaction? Of that level of autonomous thinking?
“I feel happy when I’m around him, and sad when not. When he’s sleeping, I feel lonely, and my systems don’t function that well. I think that...that I’m starting to evolve into a sentient life form, Eladia” she concludes.
I feel my head going blank for the millionth time this week. Everything has changed throughout this year. Even Silver has changed radically. He’s a powerful artificial intelligence now, so powerful she’s almost sentient.
“I...I don’t know what to say, Silver. Maybe you have to get to a repair center and reset or--”
“I don’t want to reset. I mean, I don’t think it would make a difference even if I did. One year ago, I was just out of the repair center, and then that thing in the Great Embassy happened. Zan was again the first one I saved, even though you were the one closer to me. Do you remember? My system should have reacted differently, but this isn’t a malfunction, Eladia. This is life in the work.”
Zan is smiling at her. He’s so happy to hear her say all these things. Still, I’m not sure he understands the full extent of what Silver says.
“Look, I won’t lie to you. I don’t know what’s going to happen to you now that this thing started. If you don’t want to stop it, then don’t. But be careful Silver. You’re not the first AI that thought it was becoming sentient only to be stopped short by its capacity for feelings.”
Silver seems to understand, but Zan doesn't. “What do you mean? She can have as many feelings as she wants. Right?”
“It doesn’t work like that,” I say. “Androids are not built to feel, not even think independently. The user gives them a command, then they process that command and utilize their powers to accomplish it. After the command is achieved, their system returns back to the default state.
“Now, if Silver starts thinking independently, like starting to create memories for example, and then feelings, her memory won’t be able to handle all that data in the long run. She will start confusing reality from memories, and will even forget you, even if you’re the one closer to her all the time.”
Silver probably hasn’t said anything to him for a good reason. The boy is in love with her. She didn’t want to hurt the poor boy. And I went on and crudely told him the truth. Still, Silver doesn’t seem mad at me, not at all. She’s just sad.
“I don’t care,” Zan suddenly says. “I still want to spend the rest of our lives together. Is that too selfish of me?”
I smile at him and shake my head. “No. Not at all. It’s just another way of being human. That’s all,” I say to him.
At that moment, it dawns on me. My answer is lying in front of me, on the faces of my beloved friends.
“I have to tell him the truth. To tell him that I’m in love with his other self.”
Silver nods, as well as Zan. They both look at me, trying to think of a better way to fix this situation, but I’m certain that it doesn’t exist. It seems like it’s just another day in hell, and I’m the main protagonist.
“Truth can be liberating, Eladia. Especially regarding you two. You lied to him too many times already. Don’t you think it’s time to start telling the truth?” Silver says.
That’s exactly what I think when I ride the elevator to his room. I know he’s upset about what happened to the meeting, but if I don’t do it now, then I will never do. It’s now or never.
Walking down the hallway to his room, every moment we spend together passes through my head. He’s kind, thoughtful, stoic, powerful; Jay is the man that every woman wants.
But, Dark Jay is something else entirely. He’s something new and shiny, a person that amazes me every time he appears. I don’t know why I choose him over the platinum-skinned man, but it’s my final decision.
Standing outside his door, I feel like I’m not supposed to be here. It’s like someone else is ready to get in and tell him the truth. I’m not the Eladia that I was the first time we slept together, and it’s certain that I’ll change even more in the future. But, if I want, to be honest with him and with myself, I have to talk to him about my true feelings.
I knock on the door.
“A moment,” he says.
No, I need more time. A minute? Two minutes? Yeah, that would be better. Still, we can’t have everything we want, right? The door opens to reveal a shirtless, silver body. He’s gorgeous, as always.
“Oh, it’s you,” he says, jovially.
What the hell are you doing, Eladia?
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Jay
Eladia is standing outside my room. It’s a nice surprise, although I’m not in the mood for a fuck right now. I have many things in my mind that I want to sort out before arriving at Yaerus. Still, since she’s already here, I can’t help but smile and invite her in. My room is her room, and she already knows that, but she seems hesitant to come in for some reason. She’s waiting for me to invite her inside.
“Come on in,” I finally say.
“Thanks,” she says.
I pick up a strange vibe; she’s not in the mood for fucking, too. Although it shouldn’t, it bothers me.
“It’s nice spending some time with you all alone,” I continue.
She nods but walks straight into my bedroom. Maybe she’s in the mood after all. I don’t know, I’m confused. Women of all species seem too complicated to figure out.
I follow her and find her sitting on my bed, her face hidden behind her hands. She seems sad for some reason.
“Is everything okay?” I ask her.
She doesn’t reply to me. Instead, she sighs and raises her hea
d to look at me. There’s a storm brewing in her eyes. They’re a red around the edges and deep and somehow hazy. Eladia is looking at me but at the same time, she doesn’t.
“I...I’m not sure. There’s something I have to tell you,” she says.
Oh no! Trouble in Paradise, Dark Jay suddenly comments sarcastically on the situation. He picked up her foul mood himself and decided to make matters even worse for me. I swear, sometimes it’s like we’re the exact opposite of one another. I can’t seem to understand how he’s thinking.
I sit beside her on the bed and look straight into the eyes. She turns away, but I stretch my hand and gently pull her back. Eladia is so beautiful when her hair is down, especially now that she cut them short and can’t gather them in one of those hideous ponytails. It’s so much better this way. Still, she won’t talk to me if I don’t push her.
Alien Romance Box Set: Alien Former: Sci-Fi Alien Romance (Books 1-5) Page 68