by Dusks, Rydre
"Bear with me and I will tell you. My first Project came out as an enigma to all of us. White hair, pale skin, piercing eyes… He called himself Velzae. I’d modeled him after SiyariDendo."
"That’s the god of life, isn’t it?" I clarified.
"Yes," Dentrin confirmed. "He astonished us with his acute sensitivity and vast knowledge. He was such a success that I am now growing my second interest… KahRatese. He might seem small, but he isn't a child. The rest of those tanks down there are failed attempts at creating another High Saydea Project."
I let the information soak in for a couple of seconds before guarding my gaze and connecting the dots. "But you never answered my question. Why are you designing them after gods? Are you using these Projects as bio-weapons?"
"Yes," was the short answer, throwing me off with his lax attitude. "I'm harnessing fabricated power that mirrors the abilities of gods. Velzae escaped us, but KahRatese in lore is the god of alteration, which would be a massive benefit to the military and country. He could reawaken all the dead and radiated valleys in southern Iason."
"Your first one... escaped? And you plan on selling these creations to GreyCross’s military?" I exclaimed. There were so many things wrong with this scenario that I couldn't even begin to fit them all into one thought. "That isn’t going to escape the eyes of President Era. That's placing weapons of death right into his hands."
"I don't plan for it to escape his eyes. Era is my buyer," Dentrin commented casually as he glanced at the computer monitor to his right.
"Dentrin! He'll take total advantage of these bio-weapons! There won’t be a single civilization on our continent that won’t have the flag of Iason placed there. You talk about rejuvenating Iason, but the only thing Era will do is destroy what little life still exists here. You can’t let him do that!" Everybody knew that Era was crazy. If someone mentioned mad machines, Era was always the first name to pop up. He was known for having killed hundreds of thousands of people just to get what he wanted, and he was the totalitarian metal heap who had nearly asphyxiated his citizens with overly strict country laws.
Dentrin sighed. "I respect your position, Crow, and I hate to anger an officer of the Strejca, but it appears that cannot be helped. I am a scientist. It is my job to improve the world and the lives of its inhabitants. However, I'm afraid I must ask you to leave now. You are not emotionally stable."
"I'm going to make sure everyone knows exactly what you psychos have been doing here," I threatened.
Dentrin's face started to lose its calm. "Psychos? Hardly. I don't expect you to understand, but I do expect you to hold up your end of the confidentiality agreement I have with your leader."
"You can't seriously expect me to keep my mouth shut when you're endangering all of Kairenz!"
The scientist's mood darkened, and a strange unsteadiness broke through that careful mask he'd worn while Phazer and Va'th were present. "You will do so if you want to stay out of prison. How would your young son cope?"
The fact that Dentrin knew I had a son was startling. My fiery anger snuffed almost completely. "How did you…? Don’t bring my son into this."
In almost an instant, the doctor's expression lifted back into its delicate charm. "You're right, there's no need to turn this ugly. You may go now. However, I will invite you to return at a future date. Perhaps I can show you some things from my standpoint, and then you will understand."
I was frustrated from being blocked at every turn by this man, but knew there was nothing I could do without breaching the contract and other legal boundaries. Making a concentrated effort, I managed to relax my muscles.
"…Alright, doctor. You win. I'm not about to have you forcibly throw me in prison for trying to defend society. I need to go relax before I do something I'll regret." I paused. "But make no mistakes. I will be returning, and I'm going to bring justice down on your head."
Dentrin looked slightly surprised by my words, but he smiled enigmatically. "We shall see. I assume you can find the exit on your own."
"I'm sure I can," I responded icily before storming out.
2
Eyes Opened
I walked through the entry door of the Voelwrath house with a shaky sigh, collapsing on the couch in the living room.
"Papa jome! Papa jome!"
I glanced up as Stelliot raced into the room, his little arms outstretched and an equally as wide smile on his round face. He jumped up on the couch and fell into my lap, hugging me around my chest. I hugged him back.
"Hey, squirt."
Toanwar entered from the hallway, an eyebrow raised and his arms folded. His long red hair had fallen gently around his shoulders, a sign that he wasn't working today. He never had his hair up unless he was busy.
"Back already?"
I nuzzled Stelliot’s forehead before speaking. "There was a big issue that led to an even bigger issue. I decided to go home before things got worse."
"Did you call your boss?"
I narrowed my eyes, giving him a bland look. "Of course I did. Who do you think I am?"
Toanwar shrugged. "Just making sure. What do you mean ‘big issue?'"
I shook my head as Stelliot hooked his arms around my neck and bounced up and down in excitement, letting loose a string of incoherent babble. "I'd tell you, Toanwar, but there's the small matter of a stupid confidentiality agreement. Suffice to say I'll be returning to the job soon enough to get some more answers, and then I can probably let you know what happened."
Toanwar quirked an eyebrow and gave me his signature scrutinizing look. "You sound furious. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Can't," was my short reply. Stelliot bouncing on my lap, while endearing, interfered with my concentration.
Toanwar sighed. "As long as you aren’t in any danger, Crow. In other news, Zlade's heading out to Ckin tonight. He was going to pick up some flowers."
Flowers... for my adoptive father's birthday. Kajaru would have been thirty-seven in a day. The flowers in Ckin, Souloroh were much better tended to than here in GreyCross, so making the three-hour trip to the dusty little south-western town was worth it for Kajaru's sake.
"When do you plan on going to the cemetery tomorrow?" I wondered.
"We’ll head out there early. Are you going to the Strejca headquarters in the morning?"
"I won't know unless I get a call. You know how Insidd is."
Stelliot leaned forward, poking his nose against mine. If there was anything I truly lived for, it was my son. Though he was only two years old, he was my anchor and my sanity. I only had to glance once over his little face to feel a sense of pride swell up inside me.
After I had turned eighteen, I'd met a sweet and stunningly beautiful young woman. Her long waterfall of black hair reminded me of the happier points of my life with the Anli, and her large grey eyes had captured my heart from the first moment I saw her. I fell hopelessly in love with her as only a teenager could. Her kindness to me, her tolerance for my hectic work, and her non-judgmental attitude toward me despite my different skin color made her my perfect match.
It had only been a month since the both of us had graduated from school, and already we'd moved in together. My adoptive father's apartment had become mine when he'd died, and I managed to keep it afloat with my job as a Strejc. Youth and innocence kept us optimistic even if we were only scraping by, until one day reality came crashing down on our heads. She became pregnant.
Unmarried and with a child was a black mark in Iasona society, and I could easily have lost my job, so by the time my girlfriend was six months along we made plans to be married. Unfortunately, as our wedding date neared, an event happened inside GreyCross which delayed any plans for the next few months: The Earthans arrived.
Earth wasn't deemed that far from our world of Kairenz. Normally we were left alone, but every fifty years or so the Earthans showed up in Iason and holed up either in the central Tower or in Saydea of the Future for days, if not weeks at a time. During these t
imes, everything in GreyCross was put on hold and taxes skyrocketed. Even if she and I had a chance to be married, we didn't have the funds.
In desperation I sought out my godfather, Toanwar, after she gave premature birth to our son, Stelliot. Toanwar, along with her family, helped us stay reasonably comfortable, especially as we struggled to keep Stelliot alive. Toanwar had even allowed us to move in with him, and it had been our hope that the shining reputation of his company, Voelwrath Robotics, would keep us out of the scrutinizing eye of the government.
However, with all this happening, our perfect life had been permanently upended. I soon discovered that this girl was not who she'd claimed to be. The entire time she'd been pregnant, and gods knew how much before that, she'd used drugs. The moment I found out, I exploded. Our relationship was damaged badly, and ended as passionately as it'd begun. I cut off all contact to her, vowing to never see her face again or let her near our son.
There would be no support from the government for me, as I was unmarried and startlingly young for a father. Instead Toanwar was my support, and took on the role of being Stelliot's grandfather.
Stelliot's questioning voice brought me back from musing. "Papa?"
I smiled and kissed his forehead. "Yes, kiddo?"
"Mapa pancakes."
I grinned. "They're your favorite, huh?"
"Yes!"
Smiling at Stelliot made me aware of how sore my face felt. I hadn't even looked to my scratches since I'd gotten back, and my clothes reeked of sweat. Setting my son to one side, I asked him to watch TV before I rose and headed for my room to change.
I entered, stripping off my coat and pulling back my hair some to take a look at the nail marks in my bathroom mirror. Toanwar hadn't noticed, to my surprise. He tended to fuss over even the smallest of nicks, especially since Kajaru, my adoptive father, had been killed. I was grateful to have slipped past his watchful gaze.
Wincing, I dampened a washcloth and brought it to my cheek, wiping away the thin smears of blood and faint film of perspiration around the cuts. They weren't deep, though it seemed they'd already reddened and puffed with aggravation.
After dropping the washcloth into the sink I turned to step over to the medicine cupboard before jumping in shock at the sight of something standing near the door frame. It wasn't a human, but a machine. With all the talk of hackerbots today, my own robot's appearance jolted my pulse with a small stream of nervousness. Oh, get a grip on yourself. Click can't hurt you.
"C-Click… You scared me for a sec."
Click’s metal frame entered the bathroom stiffly. He looked up at me with static eyes. When he spoke, his words sounded choppy and disjointed. It was just his programming, but sometimes it bothered me slightly to hear his sentences skip around as if he were glitching. "What is wrong with your face, Master?"
I shook my head. "Nothing, Click. Everything’s okay."
The little bot continued to stare, only he turned his gaze to the mirror instead to inspect my reflection. I stared back and soaked in the appearance of his weird yellow shock of hair and uncanny visible wires.
"How was work?" he asked flatly. Click hadn't been built for conversation, but I kept him around because he was a memento of Kajaru.
"It was... interesting," I sighed before opening the cupboard above the toilet and pulling out the first aid supplies. I opened the kit and removed a large package of gauze with added disinfectant, taping it over my cheek. "Insidd needs to pay us more for compensation. Fifty percent of the time I'm coming home with an injury."
I closed the box and stowed it away, walking out of the bathroom and to my closet. Click followed me with jerky movements, then stopped abruptly in the center of my room. "You said that last week, Master Crow."
"Ah... So I did."
I fished out a lounge shirt and slipped it on after stripping off my gear. Toanwar stopped in my doorway and glossed over Click in the middle of the room.
"Stelliot wants pancakes for lunch. You want any?" he asked.
Pancakes again? That kid... "No, I’m fine."
Toanwar nodded, stepping back, but he hesitated when he spotted my bandaged face. "Crow, you were hurt today?" His voice carried delicate hints of worry as he eyed the gauze.
I cleared my throat and straightened my back. "Just a scratch."
"Why didn’t you tell me?"
"For the gods' sakes, Toanwar!" I started sharply. "I told you I couldn't talk about it!"
He seemed a little taken aback by my sudden ferocity, but then his eyes narrowed. "I'm your godfather, Crow. I have a right to be concerned."
I felt guilt stab at me. Toanwar didn't deserve my anger--Dentrin did. That crazy scientist was the reason I'd been scratched in the first place. I took a deep breath. "Look, Toanwar... Saydea and--"
"Saydea?" Toanwar's alarmed tone cut me off. "What in Sol's name were you doing in Saydea?"
Damn. "I told you I can't--"
"You tell me right now, Crow." His tone booked no argument.
Walking over to the bed, I slumped on it and let out a gusty sigh. "I really shouldn't. Just know that there was a bit of an accident, but everyone walked away from it and we're fine."
"Crow, let me tell you something about Saydea."
"Toanwar, I know about Saydea. You've advised me numerous times not to go there, and now I know why. I saw what's in there."
He shook his head, walking past Click's motionless appearance to sit beside me. "Saydea is full of nut-jobs."
"I realized that. The vice president seems like he's hiding a lot."
"This can be a lot more serious than you think. Messing with Saydea can lead to big problems. They will use you. They're almost as dangerous as the Tower."
Toanwar of all people should have known that I was one of the wariest individuals in GreyCross. I had to be. There were many robot-loving activists in the city who would look for any excuse to persecute the Strejca for what they did to some machines, despite that our jobs kept people safe. It didn't stop the cold glances and antagonism, though.
"Insidd made a deal with Dentrin, and it was he who contacted Insidd with job details in the first place. They needed our help," I attempted to explain, although I was not entirely sure why I tried to defend Saydea.
"I work within the GreyCross Tower, Crow--I hear things. It doesn’t matter whether Insidd believes he is in control of the situation or not. If Allan Dentrin is adamant about needing help, he will go to hell and back to get it. I've met him as well, and even if he's saved many lives, he's also ruined many."
"It's not as if I trust him, Toanwar." I was slowly getting fed up with this lecture. "He brushed off the whole incident like it was nothing and changed the subject to me and my life."
Toanwar's hard stares nearly hurt at this point. He rose to his feet. "If Insidd tells you to go back into Saydea, I don’t want you going."
I guarded my expression. "I’m twenty years old--old enough to make my own decisions. And if Insidd needs my help, then I have to go help. That’s my job."
Toanwar only shook his head. "Crow, there are two types of humans here in GreyCross. I never mentioned this before, but I'm doing it now for your safety." He turned fully to me and raised one finger. "There are the indifferent people--the ones like you and me. The type that understands the facts, understands that machines are the highest functioning part of society and are okay with that fact so long as no harm is done." He raised another finger. "And then there are the lovers of the machines. The ones that will sink entire societies, bury truths, and reduce other human beings to crippling submissiveness so long as it pleases their mechanical friends and masters. That second type plagues Saydea. Dr. Dentrin may have done a lot of good for GreyCross, but if Era were to tell him to go out and kill hundreds of people, he would do it in a heartbeat."
Toanwar didn't wait for me to reply to him. He kept a hard gaze on my face before turning away from me and walking silently out of the room.
I was left tasting something sour on the b
ack of my tongue. I felt like I'd needed this talk with my godfather, but he'd left me feeling extremely uncomfortable. I knew there had been a reason why Dentrin's actions seemed so underhanded. I hadn't even told Toanwar about the project growing in Saydea's basement floors, and could only guess how distressed he would be if I were to do so.
I sighed before glancing at Click. The robot was in standby, so I stood from the bed and walked out to meet Stelliot in the living room. Toanwar was right. Always right. Dentrin wasn't just weird--he was dangerous. If it hadn't been for my strong desire to uncover the truth and expose Dentrin's psychotic work to the world, I would have avoided Saydea altogether. Besides that, there was still his enigmatic hints that somehow he knew precisely who I was, and that worried me. I wanted my family safe and my past to remain buried.
My night was interrupted with a horrible scourge of nausea.
I stumbled out of my bed and raced to the bathroom to vomit, my stomach churning from the onslaught of dizziness. I tried to quiet my actions, not wishing to wake Toanwar or Stelliot up. After several minutes with my head over the toilet I dragged myself into a stand and peered in the mirror. I was ashen with rosy and bruised eyelids. Burning hot with what could only be fever, I worked my fingers under the gauze on my cheek and peeled back the bandaging to check underneath. My scrapes were still infected, this time having taken on a purple hue to match the rest of my ailing countenance. Finding it strange that the antiseptic that I’d used on them hadn’t done a thing, I changed the bandages with shaky hands before the nausea returned.
The only thing I could think of was that whatever had been under that creature's fingernails had infected me severely, and I knew I’d only be in more trouble if I didn’t seek help.
Not wishing to tell Toanwar about this, more concerned about his "I told you so" than my affiliation with robot-loving psychos, I pulled out my phone and connected to the Visphere--Kairenz's version of the Earthan Internet. I looked up Saydea of the Future and entered their main web page, scrolling through a list of names until I reached Dentrin’s. As I touched the screen of my phone, pressing on his name, I memorized his phone number and dialed. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it through the rest of the night without some guidance.