by Sadie Turner
“That’s insane.”
“You’re right. He is. Sobek and his followers have been feeding off of the human race for centuries, making us docile and compliant. Feeding off of our negative energies to make themselves stronger.”
“You’re not making sense. Sobek saved us after the war. He made the oceans swimmable.”
“No. He used the Great Technology War to make himself invaluable to us so that he could have us exactly where he wants us.”
“Which is where?”
“As his slaves. His compliant slaves who he can subjugate and feed off.”
My world is spinning. Everything I’ve ever been told has been a lie. Or is this a lie?
“How do you know all this?” I am almost crying now.
“Taj.”
“Why would you believe this Taj? What makes her so special that you’re all following her blindly?” I’m starting to shout now and making a scene. “If you say Sobek’s controlling us, how can you prove it? How can this Taj prove it?”
“Because this Taj can prove it.” A stunning woman materializes out of the crowd. As she glides toward me, I see that one half of her face is that of a beautiful regal woman with jet-black hair, the other half of her face is a shimmering silver. A luminescent metallic silver, which is dominated by light lavender eyes.
It is only a matter of seconds before I pass out.
“I ‘M A WHAT?”
After a week of MC-5 torture, Calix was returned to the Caesar and Sarayu was sent home. Calix was fairly sure he would never see her again. She was just a shell of her former self and hardly fit to be his wife. Sobek had confined him to the penthouse, declining to let Calix socialize with his friends or spend time with his mother. He was being fast-tracked to take over and Sobek refused to let him have any distractions.
The first order of business was to finally reveal the facts to Calix. The truth of his identity, the truth of his origin. “You are a Lacertilia. A suborder of an alien race.”
“What are you talking about?” Calix demanded.
“You are a Lien,” Sobek said simply.
“Um, yeah. And you’re a monkey,” Calix rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious, son. You are of a higher species. A stronger species. You live among the humans, but you are not one of them.”
Calix just stared at his father. He was fairly sure a prank was being pulled on him.
Sobek stared back. He was slightly amused by the way his son was taking the news. However, this might be his own fault. He wasn’t sure if he had delivered it correctly. Subtlety was not one of Sobek’s strong suits.
“So, you’re saying that I’m not human,” Calix said.
“Indeed.”
“I look human.”
“You do. But you can also morph into your true Lien shape if necessary.”
Calix’s laugh took his father aback. “My true Lien shape? Father, I’m the holo game player, not you. Liens, aliens, Lacertilia … whatever you call them are just another name for made-up monsters who my friends and I fight in my games. Is this your way of trying to be hip?”
Sobek, who had little sense of humor, could not understand his son’s jesting. “No. I am not trying to be hip. I am being truthful.”
“Right. So I’m some big, creepy, superhuman immortal monster from a different planet who is stronger and smarter than the average human?”
“You are.” Sobek was losing patience. Why was his son being so difficult?
“Prove it,” Calix flippantly challenged as he crossed the room and went out onto the balcony. He hoisted himself on the ledge, which overlooked Sabbatical City. “If I’m not human, it must mean I’m immortal. So, if I jumped what would happen?”
“You would probably die on impact,” Sobek said flatly as he followed his son to the balcony.
“But if I’m so advanced, doesn’t that mean I can live forever?” Calix easily walked along the ledge as if it were a balance beam. He loved the thrill of danger. He lifted up one foot, precariously balancing himself.
“You’ve seen too many vids. Our people live long, but not forever.”
Calix shifted his body, teetering on the six-inch slab of concrete.
“Prove it … Father.”
And for the first time in Calix’s life, he saw his father instantly morph into a ten-foot Lien with a shimmery metallic body, radiating a silver glow. Sobek’s light lavender eyes stared unflinchingly at his son, as if daring him to make his next move.
And Calix fell off the balcony of the hundred-story building.
I am confused.
“What happened?” I blink a few times trying to orient myself.
The first thing I see is Taj’s face, the less disturbing side. She’s smiling.
“You fainted.” Taj hovers over me. She maternally wipes a strand of hair away from my face, and I suddenly think about Annika’s mother. I pull back. I don’t trust this woman … this monster.
I’m lying on a bed made of reclaimed wood and galvanized pipes that is covered in a mound of blankets made of shiny satin, luxurious velvet and intricate lace. Trying to look anywhere but Taj’s monstrous face, I examine the room and am surprised by the tent’s pretty decor. The large tent is beautifully appointed, filled with copper torch holders, bronze cabinets, and several trunks. Against one wall is a dark wood roll-top desk accompanied by an ornate wooden chair. Against the second wall, there is a dark leather sofa where Zilli is curled up asleep, clutching onto her parasol as if it is a stuffed animal. A metallic bookcase takes up the final wall. It is filled with books, antiquities in today’s world where all reading is done on tablets. I want to go touch the paper and sense what an actual book feels like; I’ve never seen one up close. The whole tent has an industrial aesthetic with subdued colors contrasted with bright metallics.
The walls are filled with linen maps of the world before the Great Technology War and even earlier. These maps are outlawed above ground, as the Global Governance insists that the world began anew when they came to power and that clearly we cannot learn from our past mistakes. The Global Governance dictates that history is a hindrance rather than a help.
“Would you like some water?” Taj’s voice is rich and thick and I am compelled to look at her.
“Yes, please.”
Even sitting down, Taj seems tall. She is regal and her long, jet-black hair gleams against the emerald green corseted dress she wears. All of her fingers are bejeweled, and a metallic gold octopus hinge-cuff bracelet rests on her left wrist. Her walk is so graceful and fluid, it is as if she is gliding across the room.
“I’m sure you have many questions.” Taj hands me a copper cup filled with cool water. I drink greedily.
Where’s Kai?” I demand.
“Just outside the tent. He’s very worried about you, but I wanted you to rest.”
“Why did he stay outside if she’s here.” I nod over to the sleeping girl.
“Because Kai obeys orders. Zilli does not.”
I stare defiantly at Taj. I don’t care if she’s the leader of the revolution. I don’t care if she is half monster. “I want to see him.”
“Fair enough.” Taj nods at Lachlan, who is lurking in the doorway, almost blending in with the decor. He leaves and seconds later returns with Kai.
“I was so worried, Keeva.” Kai rushes over to the bed.
“I just fainted, no big deal,” I say with false bravado. Really, I am shaking inside.
“I’ve never even seen you stumble. At Monarch Camp you were always so tough. So brave. When you just crumbled like that, I thought …” He trails off.
“What?”
“I thought that you died.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” I force a laugh, “I’ve just never seen a person with half a creature’s face before.”
Taj is standing behind Kai. Her laughter is loud and silvery. “You mean a creature with half a person’s face. I can lose the Lien if it would make you feel more comfortable.”
“
It would.” I don’t mean to be rude, but the Lien half of her face is really freaking me out. It’s that light lavender eye. There is something so disconcerting about looking into it. It is as if she can see straight through me. And I hate it.
And just like that, she morphs: Her face shape shifts and the beautiful woman replaces the shimmery silver and lavender. No trace of the metallic creature remains. Instead, she has smooth, milky skin, bright green eyes, and a huge toothy smile. She is beautiful.
“How did you do that?”
“My family has been able to do this for centuries.”
“Your family?”
“My race,” she corrects herself. “We can easily shape shift into the human species. It is an effortless transition for us as we are not that different from you physically. Perhaps we are a bit taller and stronger, but our basic features are the same. The biggest difference is our eye color and our essence, which we wear on the outside instead of the inside. But I should start at the beginning, yes?”
“How far back does the beginning go?” I ask.
“About ten thousand years.”
“Sobek and I come from a race of Lien known as the Lieniux,” Taj begins. She pours us tea from a brass kettle, and the hot, smoky chai soothes me as I listen to her strange story. We sit around a makeshift table. Lachlan has put a tablecloth on the trunk and he, Taj, Kai, and I have tea. To an outsider, we would look like a family sitting down to afternoon tea: Mom, Dad, and their three kids. It’s all quite civilized even though it feels anything but. Zilli has moved from the couch to my lap. I halfheartedly try to push her off of me; but she is determined and won’t budge. Admittedly, it feels a little comforting to have her there to hold on to, so I don’t protest too much. When Taj finishes pouring the tea, she sits down and continues her story.
“Ten thousand years ago, our home, Lieniux, was dying. It was a tiny planet. But it was our home. We were technologically advanced—far more than this planet is even today. But our race was expiring. Our energies were being starved to death.”
“Whoa. Energies?” I am confused.
“Yes. Our race feeds on energies. It gives us life … immortality. Yet, without these energies, we cannot survive. And we were running out of energies to feed on. There were not enough living organisms on our planet to sustain us. Not enough specimens.”
“Specimens? You mean like animals? Cows, chickens—”
“On our planet, yes. We fed off animals and plants. However, after we discovered your planet we began to feed on humans. It is a much richer … diet. When we found Earth, a large enough system with enough specimens to feed ourselves and thrive, fifty of us were chosen to make the exploratory trip, including me and Sobek. We were carefully selected: the children of leaders, thinkers, and pioneers. Twenty-five females and twenty-five males. Each of us no older than you, Keeva.” Taj sighed and for a moment it looked as if she were succumbing to nostalgia. Yet it was only for a moment. “We did not know that we would be the only ship to successfully leave Lieniux. So, Sobek and I traveled here along with the surviving members of our race—”
“Ten thousand years ago?” I can barely whisper the words.
“Correct. When we realized we were the only survivors, we had to rethink our game plan. It was no longer an exploratory mission, but a permanent one. Earth would become our home, although we knew that we couldn’t just take over. That would ruin the ecosystem and the balance of power. We had to wait. The Lien are a patient species and ten thousand years to us is merely a decade for humans.”
Taj pauses, waiting to see if I have another question, but I don’t. I am stunned. This woman … this creature in front of me is ten thousand years old. It doesn’t seem possible, yet it is.
“As the older member of our party, Sobek was our appointed leader. By two minutes really,” Taj added with a hint of disgust, “as he is my twin brother. But two minutes can mean everything in situations like this. We collectively put our trust in him and pledged our loyalty. He then guided us how to sustain ourselves. To survive, we fed off the energies of those nearest to us. We started in Mesopotamia, feeding off the energies of the native peoples. We were then based in Egypt for several centuries and fed off the energy of Egyptian slaves. Then we moved to Africa and fed off of the indigenous peoples there. Then we went on to Asia and South America.
“Although we fed, it was not enough for us to just exist. We wanted power. Well, my brother wanted power, and it was easy for him to persuade the four dozen remaining Lien to follow him. I was less convinced, but I pretended to go along with the plan. My brother is greedy. He is also a narcissist who becomes so intent on one thing that he is blind to anything else. That is his greatest weakness. So, as he set his designs on world domination, I slowly began to build a resistance. He had no idea I was doing this as he was so committed to his own vision. Hungry for power, the others all followed him blindly. After all, we Lien are not prone to sympathy. It is not in our nature, so we had no problem using others to benefit ourselves. Sobek laid out his master plan: He knew if he could wait long enough for the world to need him the way he needed them, then he could control the entire planet.”
“Like a dictator,” Kai chimes in. “Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler.”
“Exactly. When my brother started having these megalomaniacal visions a few centuries ago, I knew the human race would be in trouble. Perhaps living so long among the humanoids, some of your feelings wore off on me. So I quietly started to prepare. Long before Sobek instigated the Great Technology War, I began building the Labyrinth.”
“He started the war?” I am stunned.
“Yes, it was my brother who supplied the new technologies to the Americans and the Chinese and the Russians. He pitted them against each other so that, inevitably, their peoples got greedy and wanted what they did not have. He advised them and manipulated them so that, eventually, each side pushed its respective button.” She laughed. “Well, it wasn’t really a matter of too much manipulation. Decades earlier, Sobek had positioned Lien into the roles of power—”
“Wait,” Keeva was astonished, “so the American President and the Russian President—”
“And the President of the People’s Republic of China,” Taj added. “All Lien. My cousins, in fact. So, it was easy for them to convince their peoples. My brother is quite brilliant. Sick, but brilliant, and his plan succeeded. Subsequently, the triangle of nuclear reactors went off, melting the polar ice caps and drowning half of the world, and Sobek stepped in.”
“Making everyone dependent on him.” I was starting to finally understand.
“Nothing like creating the problem so that you are the one with the solution. Sobek perfected the Third chip to link the survivors to the Lien, he introduced all of our advanced technologies to prevent disease, he dissected the world to prevent acrimony, and … .” her voice trails off.
“What?” I am equally disgusted and fascinated by Sobek’s cunning and narcissism.
“He figured out a way to make humans compliant.”
“How?”
“It’s twofold,” Taj continues, “he is contaminating the water with what he calls a tasteless fluoride solution that is allegedly good for you.”
“It is,” I say dumbly, “it helps build strong bones and teeth.” Even as I am saying it I realize how silly it sounds.
“That’s what my brother wants you to think. It’s really a chemical that makes people relax and keeps them docile. It also blocks and calcifies the pineal gland so that the gateway from the physical to the spiritual world is blocked.”
It is hard for me to digest this. I’ve spent my life in the water, and now I am learning it is contaminated. The water I drink, swim in, bathe in, cook with … all toxic. I am guessing, no, I am hoping that Sobek’s second method of control is more humane.
I am wrong.
“Sobek’s second method of control,” Taj continues, as if reading my mind, “is the invented concept of intended partners so that humans are completely dependen
t on each other. He has manipulated your species so that you don’t feel like you can exist without the companionship of another.”
“I can exist outside Genesis.”
“That is because you and Genesis were not originally intended for each other. Your intended partner Dorian—”
“With big blue eyes?” The boy I keep dreaming about.
“Yes, Dorian died when you were at Monarch Camp. His little body could not handle the torture from Sobek’s Protectors. Most young bodies can. His was too frail and could not. If he had survived, you would have possibly been reunited with him at camp and you would have been completely dependent on each other.”
“How?”
“My brother uses trauma-based mind control on the young, to both feed off of their fear and to make them feel incomplete except in the safety of their partners’ arms. By feeding off their fear, he gets stronger and by making them feel incomplete from a very young age, he is able to control them better.”
I think about Annika and Rane. Taj has summed up exactly what is wrong with them. They both seem as if they cannot survive without their partners. My friends have become shells of their former shelves because they no longer believe in themselves. “If he feeds off energy, why does it have to be fear?” I ask, trying to ignore the muddy vision in my subconscious of hanging upside down and screaming. “Why can’t it be something happier?”
“It can be. We can feed off of any emotion … anger, happiness, sadness, tenderness, disgust or fear.”
“Then why is the system at Monarch Camp fear-based?”
Taj smiles, placating my ignorance. “Simply said, fear tastes better.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Be that as it may, it does. There is nothing tastier than feeding off of an innocent because their fears, their terrors, their horrors are so pure. Once you get a taste for caviar, you no longer crave tunafish.” Taj waits as I digest this analogy.
“But Zilli—” I start, feeling the child shift in my lap.