by Fox, Chris
My eyes snapped back to the golden disk as the gemstones flickered to life. A figure appeared over the disk. It looked a bit like the grey men, but was tall enough to be human. The eyes were the same flat black, but the skin was the deep green of summer-cut grass. Its face showed more compassion than the grey men, though it was still very alien. The thing was translucent. A hologram, just like the version of Mom in the memory crystal.
I could feel the disk, and as I studied the hologram I realized I could understand its base code. I could see the signal that was being broadcast from the disk and I understood the technology just as easily as I did my own computer. They were similar at their cores, suggesting a troubling connection.
"If you're talking about my abilities, those were given to me by creatures that look a lot like you," I explained, taking a step closer. The figure didn't react. "They're shorter and their skin is grey, but they definitely look like the same species."
"Ahhh," Ka said, cocking its head a precise forty-five degrees. "Then you are likely the result of the experiments conducted by the Progeny of the Builders. This is troubling. Your presence here suggests they are close to achieving their goals."
"So you're not working with the grey men?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you exactly? What do you mean by 'sentinel'? And what is an Ark Keeper?"
Ka flickered, fading a bit. I looked around and noticed that the lights had dimmed slightly as well. I glanced at the ceiling. We were still safe from the ocean's crushing weight...for now.
"Three Ark Keepers were left behind by the Builders when they departed this world in search of a new home," the construct explained. It flickered again, words a bit garbled as it continued. "We were left to monitor the Arks, to ensure that they remained in working order for the Builders' eventual return."
"What are the Arks?" I asked.
A second hologram appeared in the air before me. It showed Earth with seven red dots scattered across the continents. A third hologram showed a cutaway of a pyramid. It was absolutely massive; if the passageways were to scale, it was at least three miles tall.
"The Arks were created to harness the power of the sun, and to shape the earth's magnetosphere," Ka said, brightening for a moment then dimming again. Maybe it was simple age, but this thing was definitely damaged. I could sense the fragmentation of the code. "They were used as repositories for genetic patterns, and contain the helixes for nearly every species this world has seen in the past six million years. More than that, the Arks are the primary shaping tools used by the Builders to create their greatest works."
"So there's a network of giant pyramids hidden all over the world? And how the hell do you speak English?" I asked, realizing for the first time that this thing spoke perfect American English.
"I have been monitoring your communications for some time now. Ever since your first broadcast roughly seventy cycles ago. These communications allowed me to puzzle out the syntactic guides for a number of your languages," Ka said, flickering again as the gems on the platform dimmed. A sapphire popped and went dark, like a burnt out bulb. "Using this data I am able to render my output in a form you can understand."
I was aware of movement, and glanced over my shoulder to see Kali helping Jillian into the room. They waited near the doorway, close enough to hear but not close enough to join the conversation.
"What is this place? Are we in one of the pyramids now?" I asked, turning back to the construct.
"You are in the Nexus, deep beneath the planet's ocean. All seven Arks are connected to the Nexus, allowing travel between them. From here, you can manipulate the entire network," Ka explained. The flat black eyes conveyed little emotion, or maybe that was just the fact that this thing was apparently some sort of artificial intelligence. "Doing so requires the subject to be a master shaper. Your helixes have been modified to exhibit these traits. You can control the system."
It made sense. Different people had different abilities, but I was still the only person we'd seen who could interface with technology. I examined the hologram showing the Arks. There was an Ark in the center of San Francisco bay, probably fifty or sixty feet under the bottom of the bay. Exactly where Mom had drawn in her sketchbook, and where my vision had shown it.
"Could I wake up one of these Arks?" I asked, glancing back at the construct.
"You could attempt it, but it would be inadvisable," Ka replied, raising a four-fingered hand and offering a grand gesture. Another hologram engulfed the far side of the room. It was clearly our solar system. "The Arks are powered by the sun, but require more energy than it currently produces. The day will soon come when your sun enters its next phase, and will offer the necessary power. If you wake the Arks before then, you risk both catastrophic damage and the death of their occupants."
That explained the part of my vision showing the sun.
"Occupants?" I asked, looking back at the map of earth. "How long have these Arks been submerged?"
"Thirteen thousand years, give or take," Ka said. "Six of the seven Arks are occupied, some with more hominids than others. Nearly all of these hominids are a shaped version of your species. You would not recognize many as human, though all began that way."
I wondered what the inhabitants of these things must be like. Thirteen thousand years was a long time. How old was Egypt? Five or six thousand years? These people had gone to sleep another eight millennia before that. Wow.
"When will the sun enter this next cycle?" I asked. I'd have bet money that Usir knew it was coming, and was using Mohn to prepare for it. I'd also have bet he knew a lot about these occupants.
"The precise date is impossible to predict, but it will come soon," Ka said, offering an apologetic shrug. "Regardless, when this event occurs it will devastate your current technology. Anything that is sensitive to an electromagnetic pulse will be destroyed. Only the areas closest to the planet's equator will escape this fate."
I met Jillian's gaze and found my horror mirrored there. If the planet lost power, that would be the perfect time for the grey men to attack, assuming that was their goal. Who knew how Mohn was planning to capitalize on it? Either way, it would effectively render my powers useless, since our technology would be wiped out.
"I would also caution that this event will wake any Ark still in hibernation," Ka continued. Its mouth tightened, and if I'd had to ascribe a human emotion to it I'd have said it looked angry. "The returning Ark Lords have seeded your world with a virus. This virus alters the host into something you will not recognize as human."
"Come again?" I asked.
"This virus will be activated by the sun's progression into the next phase. The resulting change will introduce a new apex predator," Ka said, words clipped in a way they hadn't been before. "I do not believe the progeny of the Builders are aware of the virus."
"You've mentioned them twice. The Progeny of the Builders are the grey men, right?" I asked. That was mostly for Kali and Jillian's benefit, since they'd missed the first part of the conversation.
"Affirmative. The Builders constructed the Arks approximately six million years ago," Ka explained. "They departed this world roughly three and a half million years ago. They utilized the Arks to transmute themselves into energy, and broadcast that energy to a habitable world. I have no knowledge of their evolutionary path during the resulting interval, but it is reasonable to assume these grey-skinned creatures are their progeny."
"Why would their, uh, progeny return to earth? Why right before the sun changes? And why did they leave in the first place?" I asked.
If Ka was annoyed by my questions it certainly didn't show it. It cocked its head again. "The Builders left because the climate of the planet began to grow colder. This was the beginning of what you refer to as the Pleistocene epoch. The last great ice age. The Builders understood that this climate would persist for millions of years, so they sought a warmer home.
"It is merely speculation," Ka continued, "but I believe that they have returned now because we have entered
a new epoch, the Holocene. The planet has begun to warm, a process your species has greatly accelerated. The planet is now warm enough to sustain them once more, so they have sent scouts to prepare for re-colonization."
"So what you're telling me is that the Builders started out here. They weren't aliens, they were another species on earth," I said, trying to wrap my brain around what I was hearing. "These grey-skinned creatures are true aliens, in the sense that they evolved on another world. But ultimately their ancestors are from earth?"
"That is correct," Ka said, giving a tight nod. The gesture was more human than I would have expected.
"How do we stop them?" Kali asked, taking her first step into the room.
"First, you must break the shackles they have placed on you," Ka replied. The holograms disappeared and were replaced with a giant hologram of the human skeleton. It zoomed in on the neck. "Each of you bear a sliver of imbued stone, which contains very complex circuitry. This device taps into your central nervous system, and allows the controller of the sliver to issue commands to the body regardless of the wishes of the host consciousness."
"That's how they control us," Jillian said, reaching up to rub at the back of her neck. "Can they be safely removed?"
"No," Ka said, shaking its head. "Doing so risks permanent damage to your spinal column, which could cause paralysis. The sliver is programmed to prevent removal, and will burrow deeper into the spine if threatened. However, I can render the control circuitry inert."
The aliens could control every abductee, and every surviving abductee had powers, which meant the human race was in some serious shit. They were building a potent army, one that could do catastrophic damage in a world where the lights had just gone off.
"Do it," I said, clenching a fist.
Chapter 23- Revelations
"Please, hold still," Ka said. I felt something feather-light brush my neck. There was a tingle and something at the edge of pain, but not quite. Sudden warmth suffused my neck, then faded.
"That's it?" I asked, sensing something different from the sliver. It was still putting off some sort of low level signal, but the activity was radically diminished.
"Yes. The receiver has been rendered inert, however the broadcast circuitry has been left intact," Ka explained, gesturing a four-fingered hand at a hologram showing an enlarged image of a sliver. "If the Progeny of the Builders perform a cursory examination my modification should go undetected."
I turned to Jillian, who looked a damned sight better than she had a few minutes ago. She still cradled her shoulder, but her face looked relaxed, without a hint of pain.
"Do either of you have any other questions?" I asked, shifting my gaze to encompass Kali. The pair finally approached, joining me near Ka's golden platform.
"I do." Jillian looked up at Ka. "Quite a few actually. How long have the grey men been here?"
"Indeterminate," Ka said, cocking its head. "I cannot establish with certainty the date of their arrival, but a cursory examination of your internet suggests they have been here for at least several millennia.
"Their communications suggest they arrived before the change of the cycle to measure climate and monitor the development of your species," Ka continued. "More than that, they have conducted a systematic program of genetic manipulation to breed desired traits into your species."
"What traits are they breeding us for?" Kali asked. She dropped her arms to her sides, and darted occasional glances at the ceiling keeping the entire weight of the ocean at bay.
"There is both a primary and secondary objective to their breeding, which are necessitated by my direct intervention in your species' early development," Ka replied. A map of the globe popped up with numbers superimposed over every continent. "Your species is vast, far too large to wage any sort of conventional warfare against. The Builders kept their numbers small, and I cannot imagine their progeny are all that numerous. It makes sense that they would force you to kill off your own species, rather than risk themselves."
"So, they're going to start a war." I said.
"Indeed," Ka said, nodding. "They will wait until the sun vents its fury on your world. Once your power grid has been destroyed, they can unleash their soldiers upon your leaders. They will systematically eradicate all organized resistance, gradually creating more soldiers until all surviving members of your species have been enslaved."
"Is that their primary objective?" Jillian asked.
"No," Ka said, shaking its head. Those large black eyes settled on me. "Their primary objective is communication. They seek to alert the Builders, to inform them that the conditions of this world are ideal, so that re-colonization can begin."
"That much we knew. They want Initech's faster-than-light transmission tech so they can broadcast a message home. My question is why? Why can't they do it themselves?"
"Their primary means of communication is blocked," Ka said, with the first smile I'd seen it give. It was rather creepy. "Their original goal was access to the Arks, which would allow far faster communication than the rudimentary technology you have created. I have prevented access, forcing them to find alternative means."
"If their ancestors built the Arks, why can't they get access?" Kali asked, adjusting her glasses. She'd taken several steps closer to Ka, and was staring at the hologram curiously.
"As I stated, this was caused by my intervention," Ka said, shifting its gaze to Kali. "Once the Progeny of the Builders learned that I had sealed the Arks, they began to study that seal. They realized that I had genetically locked them, and that only your species could gain access. This is why they began their experimentation. Their goal was to create a member of your species capable of accessing the Arks, one that they could control. If they achieve this end, they will be able to communicate with the Builders, and the eradication of your species will begin."
We were all silent for a moment. How could we not be? The plan was audacious, brilliant, and terrifying.
"What about these Arks you mentioned? You said they were occupied by things that used to be human," I said, forging ahead with my idea. "Surely these things don't want to be enslaved or eradicated. They can help us, right?"
"Can, yes," Ka said, giving a slow shake of its head. "Will they? I do not know. They are willful, independent beings who spent millennia warring upon each other. If the threat is made clear they may aid you, but you will need to convince them."
"And their Arks return after the sun goes through some sort of change?" I asked.
"All save one," Ka replied, gesturing as another hologram appeared. It showed a mountain range, then zoomed into orbit to show South America. "This one, the Ark belonging to the Ka-Ken known as Isis, will return before the sun changes. It was set to awaken earlier than the others, a ploy by its Ark Lord to steal a march on her opponents."
"So this would be the first person we'd want to recruit then," I said, turning to Jillian and Kali. Both nodded.
"When exactly will her Ark return?" Jillian asked. She'd stopped holding her shoulder, and was now clenching and unclenching her right hand as if trying to work feeling back into it.
"It will return when the sun enters the cycle preceding the final change," Ka said. Several graphs appeared showing what I assumed was solar data. "I can transmit this information into your minds, if you wish."
"Do that," I said. This information sounded critical. We were going to need all the help we could get.
I felt a tingle in the base of my skull as images began appearing in my mind. The feeling lasted only moments, and when it passed the lights in the room had dimmed considerably.
Ka began to flicker wildly. "Bzzt- stable. Must go. The power requirem-zzzznts. Extreme."
I glanced at the ceiling above; the thought of what might happen if the power failed turned my bowels to water. A single crack spiderwebbed across a small section of the dome.
"Time to move." Jillian beckoned me, then sprinted back into the teleportation room. We moved up the path between the fluted colum
ns and back onto the platform.
"This thing is going to take us back to San Francisco, right?" Jillian leaned against me, and I wrapped an arm around her. It was totally for support, and not because she felt amazing there. I wished I had the time to enjoy it, but I focused on my job: getting us the hell out of there.
Chapter 24- Reconciliations
The sea of white light faded; vertigo washed over us. I blinked rapidly, taking in the room we'd arrived in. The same room where we'd narrowly escaped Summers and Marcus.
The soldiers were arrayed in a semi-circle, each far enough away from each other that Kali's flame, even if she had time to summon it, was unlikely to catch them all. They wore Kevlar like the others, but had also donned what appeared to be fire-retardant suits cut from some sort of white nylon.
Maybe we could have dealt with them, but it was the pair behind that I was more concerned with. Summers and Marcus stood with arms folded, both livid.
"There's two ways we can do this, kids," Summers called, shouldering aside a soldier and approaching the platform. "Me? I'd prefer the hard way given that you torched four of my people, and knocked out two more. Please tell me you want to do this the hard way. I promise it will hurt. A lot."
A cool wave pulsed from Jillian. The familiar tingle passed over my body as I began to fade from sight, but before the process was complete Summers thrust a hand in our direction. Jillian was hurled into the wall with bone-crushing force. She fell limply to the ground and didn't rise.
"No!" I shouted, spinning to face Summers. All the rage and anger that had been building for the last few weeks came to the fore. My hands rose of their own accord, and waves of lightning burst forth.
Next to me, Kali unleashed a torrent of white flame, both of us pouring everything we had into the abilities. The twin elemental forces rushed towards Summers in a storm of death, but stopped just before touching her. Both fire and lightning were shunted away, leaving Summers and the soldiers unharmed.