The Game of the Millennium: A Novel

by James Martin

  “It’s your mom, huh?”

  She nodded.

  “What would you do about it?”

  “I—I don’t know.”

  “We all have mothers, some are gone and some are not. What would your mom want you to do, like deep down? Not any shit you feel like she would say because of jealousy or some other nastiness.”

  “She claimed to really want me to live my life.” Lauren looked up and sighed heavily. “She wanted me to live my life.”

  “Then fucking live it, girl. What do you want to do, right now?”

  “Be here.”

  “All right. Stop feeling guilty about it.”

  Lauren said, “Okay.” Her voice was soaked in timidity.

  “Ah-uh, that’s not going to work. Tell me right now, emphatically, that you’re going to live. You want to have sex with Astraos? You go get him. You think Nate is doing something incredibly stupid? Tell him. You want to kick a fool in his junk? Go ahead. You want to tell me off. . .? Don’t do that, I like you.” She ended the remark with a laugh.

  Lauren laughed. “I need to be here in the moment.”

  Kat tapped her in the chest with the tool again. “Ex-act-ly. Now let me give you a tour so you can eat and get ready for him.”

  “Who is he? Nate wouldn’t tell me.”

  “He is an ancient being, very unique and powerful. He is said to be the last of his kind. I’m not so sure about that, but hey, he’s the only one of his kind anyone knows about. I’m not spilling anything. It’s better that you go to his ship perplexed, rather than possibly thinking that you know what to expect. The latter ends with people dying.”

  Lauren swallowed. “Okay.” What Kat said confused her even more. What the hell is going on?

  “Don’t worry, Lauren.” Kat pulled her in tighter. “You’ll do fine. I know it. Now. . .” She let go of Lauren and twirled around. “The tour, the most beautiful hunk of junk in the galaxy, Mariah.”

  I take offense to that.

  “Do you?”

  No. . . By my estimates, there are thousands of ships in the galaxy that have outclassed me in areas I take pride in.

  “We won’t talk about them.”

  Deal.

  “Do all spaceships like this have a Mariah?”

  Kat giggled. “Absolutely not. A clever boy developed Mariah, and he was crucified shortly there after.”

  “Why?”

  “A.I. with personality. Isn’t that just about every species worst nightmare? They make stories and novels and entertainments about it.”

  Lauren gave a thoughtful face and said, “Oh. . . that’s true.”

  “See, but they forget that birthing Mariah also means you must recognize that she has a choice. And we’re family, she makes sure we’re all right even when we piss her off. She also has gotten us out of a few, hmmm, iffy situations.”

  Are you speaking of when I had to impersonate Mr. Haikop?

  “That would be one.”

  Highly unethical.

  “Oh, and she has this big ethics streak. She barely tolerates our more illicit actions.”

  I turn a blind eye.

  Lauren laughed nervously. What if Mariah decides to kill us all? The question was unavoidable, at least, she felt like it was. If she had not grown up with all the sci-fi warnings of robots taking over and enslaving humanity, maybe the question would never have entered her mind.

  “We’re just fucking with you, Lauren.”

  “Huh?”

  K’anta has programmed me to be the crew’s conscious. I am under her prime directive and Captain Nathan’s. As an extra safety measure, anything life threatening, such as dispelling cabin pressure, has to be voted by all crew members, unanimously.

  “Oh. . . So you can’t kill us all?”

  Not unless that is everyone’s wish.

  “See, no problem.” She tapped the housing of the warp drive, a metallic-steel cylinder. It was heavily shielded and nothing could be seen. “Here is what supports warping space around us. Coordinates need to be precise or a miscalculation could have us too close to a star or appear within a terrible celestial body, like a black hole.

  “The other form of super speed transportation is a wormhole relay between two points. There are gates all around the galaxy used in this way. It’s the galaxy’s public transportation, best way to get around if you cannot afford a warp drive.

  “Nowadays most have warp drives; however, the gates are still used by large battlecruisers because no one has created an efficient warp drive of that size. The katros tried once and the ship generated a mini black hole which consumed the vessel and a few planets nearby.”

  Lauren stepped to the right to see what appeared like a museum’s display of a valuable artifact: a clear tube that housed a ball of yellow. “What’s the yellow thing inside?”

  “Do you know about dark energy?”

  “I do.”

  “Dismiss everything you know about it. This is actually a baby star with a dark energy core that binds it in place. The amount of energy we use constantly gets replenished in the container. . . uh, that is for normal space such as, traveling around in a solar system or anything within a quarter of a light year away.”

  “Wow.” Lauren’s jaw was slacken. It looked like the Tardis from Doctor Who. Mysterious tubes pumped up-and-down, blue glowing lights were at the top and another container emitted a purple glow. There were a network of microchips and drives interconnected and built upon a series of fail-safes that Kat briefly summarized as, ‘engineering stuff.’

  They went to the bay afterward. “The bay is our second biggest area because this was meant to be a transport ship.”

  “Makes sense.”

  “There’s nothing really exciting about the bay.”

  It wasn’t that impressive to Lauren either. The central docking area could squeeze two space fighters side-by-side. It had two floors. The first floor being the bay itself with a giant mechanized door that worked much like a mouth: engulfing objects and closing them within. There were drums and drums of oil, to Lauren’s surprise.

  “Is that oil?” She knew the answer to the question but asked nonetheless. She perceived Kat to be of the ample-detail-type.

  “Yes, it is. It’s for him.”

  “Why do you guys need oil?”

  She chuckled. “Everyone has collectibles. Every planet, every solar system and every sector of space has something they deem a prized collectible. I wouldn’t be surprised if there is some ancient race, part of the first galaxies, that collects other galaxies.”

  Lauren felt a smidgen stupider after that explanation. “Gotcha.”

  “The chimans and some other species buy oil to drive around in cars.”

  Lauren scoffed. “Really?”

  “Oh yeah, the chimans are older than humans, but they did follow a similar path; albeit now, they are very planetcentric and create the most amazing things that essentially live. Anyway. . . Their car design was similar to yours but with one major difference.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The hybrids won. They built hybrids only, never had the gas-guzzling combustible engines humans use.”

  “No shit.”

  Kat smirked. “Yup. Now very rich individuals have collected these hybrids and drive them around their home planet or whatever”—she shrugged—“I also heard that collectors were starting to stock up on oil, so that they could drive some desirable cars from Earth.”

  “So why didn’t you grab a few cars?”

  “Pfffff, who knows which car they’ll end up fancying? We need the space to have what makes us money on this trip and that’s the oil. The car would be a long shot, and we’d have to get the year and make correct. I like our chances going through another asteroid field over that.”

  “I see your point.”

  They went through the left hallway to get back to the mess hall and cabins. What Lauren had not noticed initially was the small kitchen with a few gizmos that made zero sense to her.
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  Kat noticed Lauren ogling the kitchen appliances. “Just ask Macellus to make you something. He’ll do it by Nate’s preference. That should be good enough, hopefully.” She winked. Kat enjoyed messing with Lauren a bit. She could tell how nervous she was about trying food after their dinner together.

  “Unless he has five kidneys, three stomachs, and two hearts.”

  Kat laughed. “There you go, some personality. I’m pretty sure you two are built similarly, you know, inside.”

  “Yeah about that. . .?”

  “That is not conversation we can have right now.” Lauren raised her eyebrows and frowned. Kat continued, “After we meet him, you can get all of our biographies. Maybe not Nate’s though. He keeps that tight, lost the key long ago.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  They traversed the left hallway that Lauren had not seen before. This housed Airlock B. Which would be the right side hallway if they were exiting from the bridge. It was much like the other with some wires gutted, silver sidings, and a very homely vibe.

  Now that she could see the bridge, it was much like the set of a Star Trek movie, just more condensed. It didn’t have the captain’s chair, but it did have two stations that had two chairs and two chairs up front. The right chair up front was for Macellus to navigate and pilot. The other one was used by the captain who yelled about the navigating and piloting.

  The captain has requested all to meet him at the bay. We will be arriving at our destination shortly.

  Lauren said, “I guess the tour is over.”

  “There really wasn’t much to it.”

  “It’s still fascinating.”

  “Girl, if you saw a battlecruiser or some of the structures on these planets. Oh! Or Station XI. . . I mean the guts of Station XI, not just the tourist shit. Absolutely marvelous.”

  Lauren giggled. “Are you getting off?”

  She grinned. “You have no idea.”

  They went back to the bay to see the rest of the crew in a single-file line with Nate as their de facto drill sergeant.

  It was amusing to Lauren and she snuffled a laugh. Kat squeezed her shoulder and said, “Just go with it. He really likes doing this.” They took their places next to Macellus.

  “Crew. The time has come to meet him.” He walked back-and-forth, expertly taking on his role as the butcher of new recruits. He got in Lauren’s face. “You want to know who he is?”

  She nodded but the encounter made her squirm inside.

  “He is a relic. He has survived for thousands of years. He is the last of his kind. He can control you with your own mind.”

  “What happened?”

  “Oh hell,” said Macellus. “Here we go.” Even Pilox cleared his throat slightly. Nate loved active participation in rounding the troops. She was cooperating exactly how he intended her to.

  “What happened, you ask?” Nate shook his head. “The galaxy was once ruled by his kind. Well, the more nefarious half. Until one day, when one of the good ones told a few powerful beings some information which led to mass inoculations and then genocide.” Without skipping a beat, he pulled out the same type of portable syringe that Astraos had used on Lauren. He went up to her and pressed the button, shooting the mind control vaccination into her blood stream. He walked down the line with hands resting behind his back.

  “Why is he alive then?”

  Nate had a stupid grin plastered over his face as he walked the line. “He cut a deal, they say. He was meant to be tortured by seeing his race eradicated from the galaxy, others say. And the rest say his powers were beyond anyone’s control and he was able to manipulate everyone. No one actually knows why he is still alive, while the others have perished.”

  “If he’s neutralized, what’s the problem?”

  Nate raised his hand, looking into each crew member’s eyes. “Where has this been? You guys never asked any damn questions, even the first time.”

  Macellus said, “He’s a relic. Almost powerless now as long as your careful. Why should we fear him, captain?”

  Nate got right into his face, nearly touching nose-to-nose. “Ever watch yourself helplessly do things you never wanted to do? Ever been raped to a degree you never thought fathomable? Ever been forced to bloody your hands and soul while at the mercy of a malevolent force? You sit there, removed but present, occupying a corner of your mind, while the rest is transformed into a clone of him, willing and eager to do as desired. . .”

  Macellus gulped.

  “If you’re not careful that will become you.”

  Nate cleared his throat, turned away from Macellus and returned to his pacing. “Macellus is right in one aspect. It doesn’t matter how he came to be, how he still operates and what strings he pulls, if any, or if he’s become the puppet for someone else.

  “What matters is that even with the injection, he can and will take control of you, given the opportunity. He has enough power to control you if you utter his name, which is why you’ll repeat no one’s name that you see or hear on his ship, no one, during this visit or after, ever.”

  Lauren asked, “Ever?”

  “Ever.”

  Silence reigned for a moment.

  “He is able to control you from anywhere in the galaxy if his name is spoken. Now you may be able to find a way to break his hold, if let’s say, you’re at the other end of the galaxy. But even a few light years away is not enough, and you’ll immediately become his puppet.

  “When we disembark, there will be many that approach with names written everywhere, a series that repeats, and one of them is his. You will disregard all of this. Lauren you will repeat no word said to you because the name could be hidden within.”

  “Huh?”

  “If syllables are said that resemble his name, it is good enough for him to attempt control and once he’s in, you’re as good as gone.”

  He walked to the center and surveyed his troops. “That’s step one.”

  Step one? Lauren thought. What else is about to happen? She gulped, looked up and perceived the panorama of space above. The galaxy was as electric and eccentric with life as my father once thought. Even in the dark corners, it shows to be astonishing.

  “Step two: Pilox and Astraos.”

  Astraos said, “Yes?” Pilox grunted.

  “We will be captured. They will restrain you and throw you wherever it is that they throw prisoners or people of value that he can sell.”

  “Uh. . .”

  “Obviously you’ll have to escape. Here.” He gave them each an ear bud.

  “The hell is this?”

  Nate winked at Lauren. “Ear buds. Chiman tech, they are organic, and will resemble your body’s DNA as if it was a part of your ear. No one will suspect that we are in communication.”

  Astraos fiddled with his then put it in his ear. “Cool.”

  “Very.”

  “You got a signal for us or what?”

  “You’ll know.”

  Nate resumed his pacing. “Step three: He’ll take the rest of us around, attempting to control us. I’ll handle the talking.”

  Kat said, “Oh?”

  He gave a sidelong glance. “Yes, makes it easier this way.”

  “Fine.”

  “We’ll have some banter, then he’ll decide we’re useless and dispose of us.”

  Astraos asked, “So why are we dealing with him?”

  “Well. . . He has the contacts.”

  “Why can’t we go through someone else?”

  Nate shrugged, gesturing with his hands. “They might try to rob us too. At least, we know exactly what he will do. Much easier to operate on.”

  Astraos scratched the top of his head. “I guess that makes sense.”

  “Any questions?”

  Lauren raised her hand, not sure if she should just speak or not. Nate glanced at her and nodded. She said, “What happens when this doesn’t go to plan?”

  “Why wouldn’t it go to plan?”

  “During your game of. . . I d
on’t know the name, but I’ll go with galactic chess, you said that the unpredictability of life is why no plan goes as such. So what happens?”

  Kat snickered. “She’s got you there, Nate.”

  Astraos interrupted, “Earth chess is actually called galactic chess. What Nate forces us to play is called chesckers.”

  Nate gave Astraos a curious look, but otherwise ignored the comment and continued on, “That’s easy. We improvise.”

  “Just like that?”

  Macellus grumbled, “It’s always like that.”

  Nate clapped his hands together. “Perfect. We’ll be in his fortress in thirty minutes.” The ship jerked, as everyone but Astraos and Pilox almost fell to the floor. “Scratch that. Looks like they got us, let’s go with fifteen minutes.”

  Macellus, Kat and Pilox dispersed. Not sure what her role was, Lauren asked, “Why am I coming along?”

  “It’s best that you stay by our side. These are unsavory characters, I wouldn’t entertain the thought of what they would do if they found a woman here that wasn’t with us.”

  Lauren’s eyes widen slightly at the suggestion. “I see.”

  Nate grasped her shoulder. “You’ll do just fine.”

  Astraos approached her, grabbed her hand, opened it and placed a circular device in it. “It’s my Informer.”

  Lauren grinned stupidly at it. “What’s it do?”

  “It’ll inform you.” He snorted. “It directly feeds information into your brain and then you process it, should keep your mind occupied. Plus, you’ll probably learn a great deal. Place it on your temple and press the button, it’ll work its magic from there.”

  She fiddled with it in her hand. “Thank you. . . I don’t know what to say.”

  He grinned to himself. “You’ve said enough. I’m glad you like it.” He closed her hand and squeezed it. “Be safe.”

  She looked up at him. “You’re the one about to be taken prisoner.”

  He glanced up at the ceiling of the bay and sighed. “Just another day at the office. I—I have to get ready.”

  “Okay.” Awkwardness took possession of both of them, and they were clueless about how to end the conversation.