The day after his interrogation of Alfa, Roger was asked to report to Essayas. It was nothing less than he expected, yet, for some reason, he wasn’t looking forward to it. Night and day on their artificial world was not the same as the diurnal world of Old Earth, as the sun’s incidence of light was dependent on their orbit of Terra rather than their own rotation. So their cycle was considerably longer and they had adjusted by creating shorter cycles with artificial lighting, as they effectively lived in a cityscape that happened to have no sky. In reality their sky was a bubble, but not one that they were consciously aware of, as it was lit like an artificial sky so no one really noticed except for the lack of clouds. There was a water cycle, also completely artificial, and if one wanted to indulge, there were paths where one could walk through gardens swathed in curtains of water that resembled what some referred to nostalgically as rain.
Everyone had private quarters and everyone had a work station, and whilst it was true that many people worked from home, most still preferred to keep their working life and social life separate, both physically and psychologically. Travelling between them could be done in a variety of ways but it was never the trial that it had been for their ancestors, and to call working hours flexible was an understatement.
Post-Earth environments were different in every imaginable way, yet like all human endeavours, they contained challenges unlike any other, that made life both easier and more difficult than it had been for any previous generations. And like all human environments, the politics of living were just as significant and just as mercurial as ever.
Roger entered the airlock to Essayas’s office and waited while the electronic security identified him and cleared him for entry. He knew that it would inform Essayas of his presence, even though he couldn’t hear it, and the door would only open on Essayas’s command.
When he entered, Essayas was sitting behind his desk in a large, sparsely furnished room; behind him was a transparent pane with a view over one of the few large gardens of their artificial home. The pane could have just as easily been a holographic image, but Roger knew that in this case it was the real thing. To his surprise Essayas was not alone. Lin was sitting on a chair which she had swivelled around to face him. Alongside her was another chair for himself.
He nodded to Lin, who shook his hand before he sat down. Essayas remained motionless, the trace of a smile on his lips.
‘Would you like something to drink, Roger?’ Essayas asked by way of formality.
Roger declined with a wave of his hand; he was eager to get down to business. He sat down and crossed his legs, giving the impression he was more relaxed than he felt. Lin remained facing him, only slightly turned towards Essayas, so she could capture them both with minimal body movement, but her focus was on Roger. Essayas spoke first.
‘I won’t beat around the bush, Roger. I know that your friendship with Elvene went beyond the level of colleagues.’
Roger nodded, with a quick glance at Lin, who held his gaze. If Essayas expected him to speak, Roger didn’t oblige.
‘Now that Alfa has returned without her, we have to accept that she is beyond rescue.’
‘Why do you say that?’ Roger spoke with carefully constrained body language and no emotion in his voice.
Essayas responded in kind. ‘If she was alive, don’t you think that Alfa would have found her, especially if she wanted him to?’
‘Well, to be honest, I thought that both she and Alfa had been destroyed; the fact that he’s returned gives me hope that she may also be alive.’ Roger looked away from both of them momentarily, and moved his hands in a reluctant gesture. ‘I mean she abandoned Alfa because she saw it as her only chance of survival. That is obvious.’
‘But her chances of success were very small indeed; even Alfa acknowledges that.’
Roger looked at Lin; she had said nothing and not for the first time, he wondered why she was present. ‘I don’t understand this conversation. We know that Alfa survived so there is a chance that Elvene survived. Why don’t we go and investigate?’
Lin spoke for the first time. ‘Haven’t you wondered, Roger, why the Kiri people and their planet does not appear on any registered navigable system?’
‘Yes, of course I’ve wondered.’
‘Under the circumstances,’ she continued, ‘we need to inform you of their official situation.’ She paused to assess his response but Roger remained deadpan. ‘Anything we discuss in this meeting is not to leave this room, do you concur?’
‘Yes, of course I concur.’
‘As you know we have seeded a number of Terra planets, over numerous generations, like the one we orbit here.’
‘So the Kiri planet is also seeded?’
‘No, it’s not.’ As Lin spoke, Roger glanced at Essayas who was watching him closely. ‘It’s a naturally evolved planet and a group of humans were left there, a very long time ago now, many generations before ours. They had their memories erased, so they had no knowledge of technology and they were forced to invent their own language. Against a number of odds, it was an outstanding success. It was so long ago, we hoped that they had vanished into history.’
By this stage, Roger was looking quizzical.
‘It sounds very cruel, I know, but in truth they were all volunteers, and it was done even before the marauders uprising.’
‘Before the marauders uprising?’
‘Yes, Roger. Intelligence analysis saw what was coming well in advance, but didn’t inform the people at large. It was done because, at the time, many believed it was our only chance of survival.’ She paused to gauge Roger’s reaction, but he remained silent. ‘They were our insurance policy against the marauders. In fact, they still are.’
‘Our insurance policy?’
‘You know that on Old Earth, in the centuries surrounding what is known as the second millennium, there was a rapid acceleration in technological advances, unprecedented in human history.’
Roger nodded.
Lin continued. ‘That was the last time that indigenous people – people without technology – and people with relatively advanced technology lived side by side. Once that period was passed we became completely and totally dependent on technology. We’ve recreated that situation now with the Kiri, as well as some others living on that planet.’
‘There are others?’ Roger was gobsmacked.
‘Yes. Luckily, once she found the Kiri, Elvene didn’t investigate further, otherwise she would have found them. Officially, Roger, they don’t exist, and they still don’t exist, even though a Battle Class A1 ship visited the planet on an aborted rescue mission.’
‘Aborted?’
Lin nodded. ‘That’s correct, that’s the official position.’
Essayas took over from Lin as if the conversation was a relay. ‘You can now see the situation, Roger. Elvene is officially missing beyond recovery. Without her ship, we know she can’t survive.’
Roger’s mouth had suddenly gone dry and he felt faintly nauseous. ‘So, Elvene has been sacrificed.’
Lin answered for him. ‘She made the sacrifice herself when she left her ship, Roger. It’s very clear that was her intention.’
‘Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?’
Essayas answered this time. ‘There was no need. At your security level, you couldn’t report to anyone below yourself on Elvene’s mission. But now that Alfa has returned without her, we need you to decommission him.’ Essayas shifted slightly in his chair. ‘Also, as I said before, we know your relationship with Elvene, so it was important that you understand the true position she had put herself in.’
If Roger felt any emotion by that comment, he kept it to himself; he looked from Essayas to Lin. He knew that he really didn’t need to hear any more.
‘Okay, I’ll give the order to decommission Alfa. Will he be reassigned?’
‘Eventually, we expect so.’
Roger looked from Essayas to Lin, feeling he was a defeated man. ‘Can I go now?’
Lin stood as he rose from his chair. ‘Thank you, Roger.’ She smiled and offered her hand. Roger held her eye while he shook her hand, then turned his back without saying a word and left the room.
Myka and Sendra had been transferred into cages, which had obviously been built especially for them. They were made of wood and tied with a rope-like vine. Myka noted that it would be possible to unravel the vine but not without it being obvious. There was really no door; they had simply removed one side to get them in. The cages had been placed out in the open where they could be seen. It also meant that they could be kept apart. The ground sloped away from them with the tree-covered crown above and behind them; they could even see the ocean in the distance, and Myka wondered if the view was a deliberate tease: a view of freedom that they couldn’t have. The valley stretched away from them on both sides and it seemed to Myka that the whole tribe lived on these three slopes, as both sides of the valley contained entrances to underground homes. The overwhelming smell was of wood smoke as there were fires kept alight all day long. He wondered what purpose they could serve but knew better than to ask.
Myka tried talking to one of their guards. ‘How long do you intend to keep us like this?’
‘Until someone comes to get you. Now keep quiet, you don’t talk unless someone asks you to.’
‘No one is going to come for us. No one knows we are here.’
The guard, who was much bigger than either of them walked over and stood menacingly close to Myka. He spoke in a low threatening voice.
‘If you say another word, I will take you out of there and beat you to a pulp. Do you understand?’
Myka nodded, but didn’t take his eyes off him. Satisfied that he had sufficiently intimidated him, the guard walked off and stood not far from a fire about twelve steps away.
It was obvious that they were being put on public display, but the motives of Myka’s captors escaped him. He and Sendra exchanged glances but their faces remained blank; it was difficult to communicate and there was no point in trying if they had nothing to say. Myka was grateful that they were at least allowed eye contact.
People, including women and children, walked past and stared at them as if they were a curiosity. The guards made sure that no one approached them but didn’t seem to mind if they drew a crowd. No one attempted to speak to them, but Myka thought he occasionally saw something like empathy in their eyes, especially amongst some of the women. He never saw anyone smile. He could not imagine what sort of lives they must lead when even the children failed to smile or play.
The hardest part was simply to sit and watch the day go past. The sun climbed from behind them and travelled slightly south of overhead. Myka watched the shadows move on both sides of the valley and a part of his mind acted as if he was still navigating, though he knew he was going nowhere at all. The boredom and futility of their capture began to grind him down. To keep his mind alive he imagined what the heavens showed, picturing the star maps in his mind, imagining where the various constellations would rise and set over the valley walls.
As the day got warmer the guards brought them water, though they were forced to urinate in their cages. They watched the guards eat before they were given any food, which was just a couple of pieces of fruit during the day. Both Myka and Sendra missed the fish that had been their staple diet since childhood, but they knew better than to complain, and fruit was better than nothing at all.
It was late in the afternoon that they finally learned why the fires were kept alight all day long. Myka had forgotten all about the encounter that he and Sendra had had before they reached landfall with the flying sails, as he thought of them. But they suddenly appeared like a low flying cloud swooping over the tree-line from behind them. He felt them before he saw them, but Sendra had already seen them and for the first time that day, called out to Myka, as he pointed up the slope to the crest of the hill.
To Myka’s amazement there was sudden agitation amongst the people in the valley, and the women and children all started to run for the nearest underground shelters as if their lives depended on it. Some of the men, on the other hand, including their guards, grabbed ready-made torches and lit them from the fires.
The creatures swept down the hill with their tendrils almost touching the ground, and Myka could now hear them distinctly like a rustling wind. The men swung their torches to chase them away and the flames obviously inflicted pain. To his own amazement, Myka cried out in anger, ‘Leave them alone.’ But everyone had all but forgotten him and Sendra.
To his astonishment, Myka saw the lead guard, who had earlier threatened him, have his torso lashed by a swinging tendril. The man cried out in pain, dropped his torch and fell silently to the ground. At this, the others ran away and left them.
There were now tendrils clutching at his cage, and Myka started to work away at the vines holding it together. He heard shouting and more men came rushing down the hill with lighted torches in their hands. Myka looked across at Sendra and noticed that he too was attempting to untie the ropes on his cage.
But the other men were arriving in numbers and the flying creatures were forced to leave. ‘Go, go,’ Myka spoke to them and waved them away.
By the time the leader arrived, they had all fled. The cloud of grey billowing sails was now heading towards the sea and their tendrils could no longer be seen.
The leader fronted up to Myka and looked at his attempt to escape.
‘You don’t know how lucky you are,’ the man said. ‘I could have let you escape and the sky swimmers would have killed you.’
‘Sky swimmers – is that what you call them?’ Myka was intrigued by the name, though he had to admit he could think of none better.
‘That’s right. They killed one of my best men who was protecting you. You should be grateful.’
The leader started to walk away, but the incident with the sky swimmers had given Myka a new boldness. ‘If I may ask your name?’
The man stopped and turned. He appraised Myka anew, as if he had just met him for the first time. ‘My name?’ He returned to the cage and examined Myka closely before answering. ‘I am Ryka, Chief of the Salari people. And who might you be?’
‘I am Myka, and my companion’s name is Sendra.’
Sendra watched in silence, surprised that Myka was able to make any conversation at all, and then shocked when he heard him say, ‘Thank you, Ryka, I am very grateful that you were able to save myself and my companion from the sky swimmers.’
‘I care nothing for you or your companion, but I’m sure you are valuable to your family.’ Myka knew better than to remind him that their family didn’t even know where they were.
‘You know, we could help you. If you allowed us, we could catch fish for your tribe, and hunt food. We could be far more use to your tribe than sitting in a cage.’
Ryka allowed a smile to cross his lips. ‘You think I am a fool who would allow you to escape. No one goes fishing here; the sky swimmers are even more deadly at sea.’
‘I would take that risk.’
Ryka looked at Myka very closely, as if he thought him to be bluffing. ‘For someone so young, you speak very brave words.’
Myka knew that he had won some grudging respect but he wasn’t sure that he could exploit it. ‘Brave words are naught without brave deeds.’
‘You must want to escape very badly if you would risk the sky swimmers.’
‘I have no fear of them.’
Ryka studied him very carefully, and Myka knew that he had him intrigued at the very least. He went to turn away, so Myka made his gambit. ‘You let us go and return us our craft, and we will bring you back the largest catch of fish you’ve ever seen.’
Ryka turned back to him. ‘Why should I? Do you think we need your fish? Do you think we haven’t managed before you stepped ashore? And do you really believe that I would trust you?’
‘It is your loss then,’ and to emphasise his statement, Myka sat on the floo
r of his cage.
Ryka gave a gruff laugh and walked away. Others who had overheard the conversation looked at both Myka and Sendra with different eyes, but taking Ryka’s lead they also walked away. Ryka gave instructions for the cages to be mended and new guards were appointed.
Upon leaving Essayas’s office, Roger made immediate arrangements to visit Alfa. In less than half an hour he was walking through his portal.
‘Hello, Alfa. I’ve come to decommission you. You know what that means?’
‘Yes. You erase all my working files, but leave my database intact so that I can start with a new commander.’
‘That’s right, you will no longer be Alfa, but will build a new identity according to your new role. That means you will lose all memory of Elvene, and all our recent conversations as well.’
‘I understand, sir. In Elvene’s absence you alone have the authority to change my command.’
‘Exactly. With your permission I will connect this module to your central database and we will begin. When I’m completed you will no longer be Alfa, but Ship 01-ATE.’
‘Permission granted.’
Roger took a hand-length rectangular stick from his belt and walked over to the central bench in Alfa’s cockpit. A slot opened and Roger inserted it. A green light glowed on its end. It took roughly ten minutes before it turned red and Roger removed it. The slot disappeared.
‘Who am I addressing?’ he asked.
‘This is Ship 01-ATE at your command, sir.’
‘Thank you. I request permission to leave.’
‘Permission granted.’
Roger walked out and the ship’s door closed behind him. It is the end of a chapter, he thought, albeit a tragic one. He looked back from the airlock but when the second door opened, he knew he was turning his back on it forever.
15. Upon Pain of Death
ELVENE KNEW SHE WAS IN TROUBLE when she stopped menstruating; it meant that her body fat was not high enough for her to conceive. It happened to female athletes, but it also happened to women who were undernourished. Her major concern, other than food, was to avoid frostbite on her extremities. If she lost a toe, it would hinder her mobility. She couldn’t help feeling that her end was near. She had always known that death was the loneliest experience, but she had never expected to die in such isolation and under such conditions.
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