by KJ Nelson
“You can’t steal what you own,” Drac said, smiling again. “We take out the lower life forms that might slow us down, then take what’s ours.”
“How is humanity a lower life form?” Cameron asked, nearly yelling. She heard Stafford shuffle his feet above her. She looked at Drac and took in his smug features.
“You’re barely smarter than Apes. Your technology was primitive, still relying on circuits and electricity. Your brain functions at less than ten percent capacity. We couldn’t allow your people to continue to use our resources, so we wiped the slate clean.” Drac said simply, without remorse for the billions of lives he’d taken.
12
Cameron finally realized why the Squatches, or OAF’s as Drac had called them, didn’t bother killing the rest of humanity. They viewed humanity as no more than the last remnant of a pest that had already been exterminated.
The cold reality of the realization made Cameron’s jaw clench. The way Drac described the situation seemed business-like. There was no emotion in the decision to destroy an entire species.
“You still haven’t answered one of my questions,” Cameron said, moving on with the conversation. She was glad to be getting answers, but she knew their time was short. They couldn’t leave Garland waiting outside all night while she talked with an alien. “Why are you here? Why aren’t you on your ship, killing other innocents?”
Drac shook his head at her comment. She couldn’t tell if it was because of her comment about killing innocents, or because he didn’t want to tell her why he was there.
“You were cuffed and left for dead,” Cameron said, driving a knife into what her intuition told her was a wound. “How does it feel to be on the losing end now?”
“I made a misjudgment in character,” Drac said quietly. “I plan to rectify my mistake.”
Cameron could tell Drac wasn’t going to speak any more about what had led to him being cuffed by his own people, and left for dead. The mystery bugged her, but it didn’t seem like crucial information for the time being.
“Do you know Agbo?” Cameron asked throwing the name out there to see if she got a reaction from Drac. He flinched and his eyes darted to hers. He sat in silence thinking about what it meant that Cameron knew the name.
“No, I have no knowledge of anyone by that name,” Drac said smoothly, his face went passive again.
“Liar,” Cameron said casually. It seemed as if Agbo’s experiments with her were not well known amongst the Neandratons. Cameron filed that bit of information away into her brain for later.
“One more question, then we’re leaving. Whether or not you’re alive when we do is based on how you answer this question.” Cameron said slowly not wanting the pompous alien to miss a word she said.
“I’m listening, Sape,” Drac said, trying to push Cameron’s buttons. She thought it was a brave attempt to show her he wasn’t scared of her threats. Cameron could tell Drac wanted very much to stay alive, so it didn’t work on her.
“This is obviously some kind of storage facility,” Cameron said motioning to the large dark space they were in. “Is there anything here that will keep my people alive?” Drac immediately looked away from her face as she asked her question.
Cameron knew she’d won from the moment the words left her mouth. Drac knew of something that would help them in their situation. No matter how much he might claim to be a higher species, he was still a pretty terrible poker player.
“So that’s a yes,” Stafford said from above, confirming Cameron’s thoughts. Drac just continued to look away, not wanting to meet their eyes.
“Tell us what you know, or we’ll get to see how your highly developed brain looks scattered on the wall.” Grinning as she spoke, Cameron pulled the Glock out of its holster and flipped off the safety. She didn’t know if Drac knew what the lever did, but his eyes darted to hers at the slight noise.
“I don’t know for sure, but there may still be a replicator stored in this repository. Based on what I saw, there seems to be quite a bit that my people left behind in their haste to leave.” Drac said in a rush, admitting defeat.
“What good is a replicator to us?” Cameron asked, her breathing picking up.
“It has the ability to transform almost any organic matter,” Drac said, quietly. “If you spare my life I’ll help you look for it, you won’t be able to use it without my help anyway”
Yes, this is it. Cameron thought to herself. Their trip hadn’t been in vain. With the excitement coursing through her body, she jumped to her feet. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pair of handcuffs.
“Turn around, walk backward to me, hands behind your back,” Cameron said motioning to Drac. He rolled his eyes realizing her intent to restrain him again. Drac followed her instructions and Cameron pulled the cuffs tightly in place.
Cameron untied the rope from around her waist and secured Drac with it. She nodded up to Stafford who seemed just as excited as she did and he started pulling Drac up the side of the wall.
Drac was small, so it didn’t take long for Stafford to get him hoisted up. Stafford untied Drac and threw the rope back down to Cameron. She kept her gun trained on Drac in case he decided to run or attack Stafford while he was busy. Drac didn’t move the entire time.
Once they were all three on the same level, Cameron nodded to Drac to lead the way.
“There should be a Directive around here somewhere,” Drac said looking around in the gloomy space.
“Is that the oval input station?” Cameron asked, nodding her head.
“Yes…” Drac said trailing off again at her knowledge of things she shouldn’t have experience with.
“It’s right over here,” Cameron said, guiding them toward the place where Agbo had first tested her. It was a quick walk, Cameron tried her best not to run in her excitement.
Cameron walked over to the device and used her knowledge to get it set up. Drac watched in continued discomfort at her use of his technology.
“What’s the input?” Cameron asked, turning to Drac expectantly. “I know how to move things around, but I’m not sure how to call up anything specific.” Drac walked over to stand beside her as she pulled up the main screen.
“It would be easier if I had use of my hands,” Drac looked at Cameron expectantly.
“Not gonna happen,” Cameron said, shaking her head at Drac. It was weird having him that close to her, he was so small compared to Stafford and the other men she was around. She looked eye-to-eye with him which was strange since she normally had to look up at people.
Drac sighed and walked her through the intricate inputs. First, they checked the inventory to see if there were any replicators available. The system didn’t use any numbers or letters that Cameron recognized so she had to rely on Drac’s knowledge.
“It says there’s one available,” Drac said after ten minutes of Cameron typing commands into the Directive. Three clicks later she heard the whirring noise that meant an item was moving towards them.
“Why would your people leave so much stuff behind?” Cameron asked while they waited.
“I’m guessing after my disposal, my people were in quite a hurry to get out of the solar system. Nothing here is of much value, anyway,” Drac said, with a grimace.
Cameron shook her head in disgust. The fact that something like Drac had described was not even important to the Neandratons made her hate them even more.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Cameron saw the small container in the distance moving toward them. The container seemed to move of its own accord, and Cameron was again in awe of the technological abilities of the Neandratons.
As the crate stopped moving, Cameron looked toward Drac to see what to do next.
“Open it,” he said, in frustration. Cameron hesitated, worried that it might be a trap. How would she know if what she found inside the box was what Drac said it would be?
“Come stand beside me,” Cameron motioned Drac over to her side. If it was a trap, she wanted him to g
o down with her. He rolled his eyes and walked toward her.
Cameron bent down beside the crate and examined it closely. It was similar to the box she’d opened on the night she’d first met Agbo. There was a slight line in the dark material of the box. There were no handholds, or anywhere to grab to make opening the crate easier.
Cameron pulled on the lid and felt a firm pressure give way as the top came free. Unlike the first time she’d opened an alien container this time, there was no purple light. She looked inside and saw a small shimmering disc-shaped object.
She breathed a sigh of relief that nothing had killed her. As she examined the object, she heard Drac start breathing again as well. Was he just as worried as her about what was in the box?
“I need proof that this does what you say it does,” Cameron looked at Drac’s relieved expression.
“Easy enough, do you have any organic material?” Drac asked looking at Cameron expectantly. She thought to herself about what she had on her. Her mind went back to the protein bar she had in her backpack.
“Will a peanut work?” She asked, hoping it qualified as organic enough. Drac nodded one, like a bird.
Cameron pulled the bag off her shoulder and opened it. She was excited to see what would happen. She’d seen some incredible things since the Crumbling, but she couldn’t fathom how the round object in the crate could help them.
Cameron grasped the protein bar tightly as she pulled it out of her pack. It was smashed on one side since it was at the bottom of her backpack.
“Unwrap it,” Drac said, his eyes lighting up in excitement. He was so strange, he sat and talked about killing her people without any remorse one minute, then willingly showed her his technology the next.
Cameron unwrapped the stick of food and showed it to Drac. It had whole almonds and peanuts along the top, the bottom was a layer of dark chocolate. Drac inspected the bar and nodded his head.
“That will work perfectly, grab one of the whole peanuts off the top. Place it on the ground and grab the replicator.” Drac said pointing into the box. Cameron did as he said and the small nut on the ground. She grabbed the disk-shaped object and held it in her hand.
It was extremely heavy for how thin it was. The disk was about the size of the old records she used to buy at a shop downtown. The metal was warm to the touch, it seemed that every piece of alien technology was always warm. She turned the disk over and Drac grabbed her wrist.
“Never direct it at anything living,” Drac said, his eyes flashing. When she’d turned the disk the bottom had pointed directly at his face. She could tell it had made him instantly nervous. He grimaced at her as if he regretted giving her the technology.
Cameron aimed the replicator away from Drac and studied the bottom of the device. There were dozens of holes in the bottom side. Each hole had a clear lense on it similar to a flashlight. On the top, Cameron noticed a star shaped pattern of dimples in the otherwise smooth top. They looked similar to the input diodes from the Directive.
Without thinking, she took the fingers on her left hand and placed one on each nodule. The device immediately stuck itself to her hand. It was as if her fingers had been magnetized to be attached to the replicator.
Cameron also realized the device seemed to now weigh nothing in her right hand. It was as if the replicator had become part of her body. She moved her left arm and the device moved in sync with her. She didn’t even have to think about it.
“That’s right...” Drac said simply. He was looking at her the same way he had earlier when she’d released him from the restraints and again when she’d used the oval console. She didn’t like his gaze on her, it felt like he was looking deep into her soul. “Do you see the device status indicator?”
Cameron looked away from Drac, still uncomfortable with his gaze. His perfect face, less than a foot from her own. She looked down at the replicator expecting to see some sort of screen that displayed the indicator Drac spoke about.
“Look up and to the left,” Drac said quietly. Cameron didn’t know what he meant. There was nothing on the disk-shaped device. She darted her eyes back to him and saw that he was moving his eyes in a strange way. They were moving back and forth as if there was something on the ceiling behind her.
“Up and to the left,” he said again. Cameron realized that he was showing what he wanted her to do. She mimicked the eye movement and saw a red blinking light in the top corner of her vision.
“What is that?” Cameron asked, blinking her eyes rapidly. It didn’t matter if her eyes were open or closed, she saw the red blinking light flashing in the top of her vision.
“You see it? The blinking indicator light?” Drac asked, narrowing his eyes at her.
Cameron shook her head vigorously and the light disappeared. Immediately she felt the connection with the replicator fade. It became heavy once again and the unexpected weight unbalanced the device in her hand. It fell to the floor with a loud thud.
“Be careful with that,” Drac said, flinching away as the replicator bounced several times on the floor. Each bounce left a hollow echo reverberating around the room.
“Are you okay?” Stafford asked walking over to Cameron who knelt down in shock at what happened. He kept his rifle pointed at Drac while he checked on Cameron.
Cameron blinked several more times, the flashing light was completely gone from her vision. The feel of the device was so strange, but the lights inside her mind was a completely different experience.
“What did I see?” Cameron asked Drac who had his hands up in front of his chest while he waited for Stafford to lower his weapon.
“The light is a simple indicator light to let you know the device is ready to be used. The replicator is a more advanced piece of technology that interfaces directly with your frontal cortex. In other words, you control it with your mind.” Drac spoke quickly, sensing that Stafford was gauging his answer to see if he wanted to shoot him.
Stafford lowered the weapon and Drac breathed a sigh of relief. Cameron went over to the device again and looked it over. It didn’t look like anything had broken on it. She placed the fingers of her right hand onto the small dimples on the top and again felt the device attach itself to her.
This time she noticed the light in the top of her vision right away. It blinked slowly on and off. Cameron realized she could easily ignore the light and it would go away.
“Alright, tell me what to do next,” Cameron was ready to test out the replicator and get back to the co-op camp.
“Focus on the blinking light for three seconds,” Drac said. Cameron did, and after the three seconds of concentration, the red dot morphed into a larger menu that took up the complete upper part of her vision.
Again she realized she could easily look through the menu and it would go away. The letters she saw on the menu in her mind, were the same ones she’d seen in the Directive. She decided to force Drac to teach her how to read the writing as soon as she was able.
Cameron nodded to Drac to let him know it worked, and that the menu was open.
“Great, there should be four options to choose from. Pick the one furthest to the left, then aim the replicator at the peanut,” Drac said, the excitement returning to his voice.
Cameron did as instructed, focusing her eyes on the leftmost text. She watched as the menu disappeared and the red dot started flashing again in her vision. She felt as the replicator started moving underneath her fingertips.
It felt strange to have something that was connected to you start moving of its own accord. Cameron felt as the replicator started to whir under her fingers. It also started emitting a faint purple light that grew in intensity over the next couple of seconds.
She squinted her eyes as the purple light started turning into a single bright beam about three inches wide. Cameron looked at the red flashing light and saw as it changed to green. It stopped flashing and Cameron realized it was letting her know it was ready to be activated.
What that meant, Cameron had no clue.
“Focus on the light again,” Drac said, as Cameron trained the purple beam of light onto the single nut. She twitched her eyes up toward the solid green indicator and focused on it for three seconds.
Cameron felt the replicator buck in her hands and the purple light flashed brightly. It was over in less than a second. As her eyes adjusted from the flash of light, Cameron looked back down at the peanut.
She couldn’t believe what she saw. On the ground was the small nut, looking the same as it had before. Right next to it was a small pile of peanuts identical nuts that weren’t there before.
“Whoa,” Stafford said looking at the newly created pile of nuts. He picked one up between his large index finger and thumb. He brought it close to his eyes taking in every minute detail. With a shrug he popped it into his mouth and chewed. His face lit up in surprise.
“It tastes just like every peanut I’ve ever had.” He said looking at Cameron. Possibilities raced through Cameron’s mind about how she would be able to use the replicator to feed her people.
Cameron bent down and picked up the original peanut. It hadn’t changed at all. She smiled widely as she looked at it.
“How does it work?” Cameron asked looking back at Drac who was standing further away, his face stoic.
“It replicates the cells of organic matter,” Drac said simply. “I would explain further, but I doubt you would be able to comprehend.”
Cameron and Stafford stood there looking at the wondrous technology, ignoring Drac’s comment. She couldn’t believe something like the device was even possible. She knew they would be able to save her people with it.
Far up above, Cameron heard the distinct sound of gunfire. She looked up and Stafford did the same. They turned to look at each other.
“Garland,” Cameron said in a whisper. She realized with a sudden panic that they’d taken far too long talking in the outpost. It must have been over two hours since they left Garland.
“Freeriders,” Stafford said, his voice low and deep. The word sounded like doom to Cameron.