Live or Die Trilogy

by J. A. Hawkings

  7

  He had been trained by the FSB (Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti), the Russian secret security service, successor to the KGB, so his mind was prepared to resist any attempt at scrutiny by a possible enemy. Nevertheless, as soon as he was hit by the beam, his nervous system collapsed, ceding to the will of the drone. If at first, the feeling was that of being paralyzed, even though he fought it, the world around him died shortly afterward. He began to relive every single event in his life, at an extraordinary speed. In some inexplicable way, he understood what devil's errand had brought him to that state; they were snatching every single memory stored in his mind.

  He was a small, skinny boy, feeling hunger pangs, the same as every other member of his wretched family. He watched his mother's face, lean but beautiful, with a smile. Her hands could give him all the comfort that he needed. Then he relived the funeral of his father, who had fallen from scaffolding at a construction site, and the subsequent collapse of the USSR. The years went by in a flurry of emotions, from his career with the police to his recruitment into the ranks of the secret service, up to Project Astro.

  Then, he felt the energy intensify, digging even deeper, looking for something that the drone couldn't find because, besides Astro, there was no project.

  The hellish beam was able to access all of his innermost secrets, from the torment he had lived through to his hidden fears and all of his hopes and dreams.

  His head began to throb and a disturbing pain invaded every cell of his body.

  Finally, at the point where he believed he was close to death, the suffering vanished, giving way to an anguish, caused by the feeling that his soul had been raped.

  The drone had stopped.

  The beam was no longer penetrating his mind.

  Igor saw the sphere in front of him, floating.

  He saw his teammates slumped on the ground, with their hands pressed to their ears.

  He was alive. He knew who he was and where he was. And he knew the people around him. He tried to say something but to no avail.

  He didn't understand.

  It was as if, inside of him, something had broken.

  None of them would ever know what torture had occurred, but when it was over, the feeling of well-being that followed gave them the illusion of being in paradise, at least until they saw Igor's expression: moronic and unnerving.

  8

  After a brief pause, the drone reactivated.

  “Son of a bitch! They're going to fuck all of our brains!” Sirio exclaimed, realizing the Russian's condition and the imminent actions of the alien device.

  The beam reestablished itself, focusing on Namiko.

  “No, no, nooo,” they all wailed, aware that they couldn't do anything. No one lifted a finger, remembering their recent martyrdom by the sound waves.

  So this is what Igor felt.

  The smells of the kitchen in her family's restaurant pervaded her every sense. She felt like she was there, back when, as a child, she used to say with pride that her father's was the best restaurant in Osaka. Forgotten images reemerged, of when her father, Haruki, guided her small hands in preparing exquisite onigiri and delicious sashimi. She relived some scenes from a school trip to the Shitennō-ji pagoda, and then everything stopped. But it didn't happen before she arrived at the age of her first sexual adventures and the day when, almost a computer engineer, she was able to enter the Jieitai (Japanese Home Defence Forces).

  Namiko came back to reality.

  Luckily, she was fine, unlike Igor.

  An asexual voice, speaking an incomprehensible language, began to reverberate throughout the ship. The drone ceased to float through the air and settled slowly to the ground.

  “What happened?” the Japanese woman asked.

  “That contraption suddenly stopped working,” Mike explained. “We can assure you that it only scanned you for a moment. Then, well, you can see what happened with your own eyes.”

  “It's like the classic general alarm in your movies,” Franz said, turning back to his Australian companion.

  “I wouldn't say that,” Tylor chimed in. “I don't know about these beings' culture, but I would imagine this is something more dramatic. The words from the computer, or whatever is speaking, as incomprehensible as they may be, always sound the same or at least similar to each other.”

  “Like some numeric sequence,” Mike hypothesized.

  “I don't know what the hell the voice is announcing, but at least that damned thing is off, and maybe...” Sirio said, preferring actions to words. He leaped toward the energy barrier, confident that his idea was correct.

  “Look!” he yelled triumphantly.

  And it was in that moment that everyone realized that Sirio had gone all the way up to the passage.

  The barrier was gone.

  9

  In a flash, they were all on the other side of the gate, with the exception of Igor.

  “What are you doing? Come here!” Sirio said, seeing his Russian companion still dazed.

  “Poor guy,” Namiko commented.

  “I'll go get him!” Franz announced. “In any case, you guys get out of here.”

  If circumstances permit, you never leave anyone behind, was one of the numerous teachings of the German special forces, the Kommando Spezialkrafte. Nonetheless, he had had to leave a comrade to his fate more than once in his turbulent past. And in the end, it wasn't all that difficult. The mission was first and foremost; the collective good was more important than the individual. These convictions were so strong that they would willingly sacrifice their lives to obtain the desired objective. Secretive and inscrutable, he was the best man in all of Germany to put in the hole. A willingness to follow orders seemed to be entrenched in his DNA. He had always been an obedient child: respectful and a stickler for the rules. In his three years of training for the Kommando, this attribute had been taken to the extreme. During specialized combat exercises in the Arctic regions, he had earned the title of “robot”. Perhaps, for the first time, on that ship, he had allowed others to get to know him. If the alien drones had some extraterrestrial computer system installed which guided them, his brain had the Kommando Spezialkräfte software which directed his every choice.

  “Here we are,” he announced with Igor behind him. “You're all still here?”

  “We don't have the slightest idea of what may await us outside,” Sirio said.

  “It's still better than staying here,” Mike reasoned. “I don't know what's going on, but I have the feeling that this may be our one big chance.”

  “Then let's get out of here!” Franz exclaimed.

  He didn't have to say it twice.

  10

  “Doesn't it seem to you that we're...” Namiko started to say.

  “Lighter?” Mike finished.

  “It's their gravity!” Tylor said. “It's probably suited to the aliens' bodies. Their shape suggests that they must have less mass on their planet than ours.”

  The incomprehensible voice continued to echo and, at regular intervals, seemed to articulate the self-same words.

  “So the gravity in our cell was calibrated especially for us,” the American stated.

  “Right,” Tylor confirmed.

  “How thoughtful,” Sirio commented.

  “Yeah, but now where do we go?” the Japanese woman asked.

  They found themselves in a long corridor, which curved slightly, intended, in all probability, to follow the profile of the ship.

  “Right or left?” Mike asked.

  “Let's not waste time,” the German said resolutely, turning to the left.

  Along the sides of the corridor, they passed what looked like a bulkhead several times: they appeared to be black plates, perfectly aligned with the walls of the corridor.

  “These doors won't open,” Sirio said, after crudely trying to force them.

  “I don't think that punching and kicking will help,” Tylor commented, amused by the Italian's behavior.

 
“Sorry. It's just that recent events are making me lose my mind,” Sirio tried to rationalize.

  “An experienced agent should never lose his mind,” Franz commented, cold as ever.

  “I'm very sorry, but I'm not a drone,” Sirio replied, obviously offended.

  “You should be.”

  Tylor looked worriedly at his Italian companion. He himself had been the victim of the German's taunts not long before. Fortunately, that was the end of it and tempers calmed down.

  “Come here!” yelled Namiko who, in the meantime, had gone a few meters ahead.

  Catching up to her, they were all amazed: part of the bulkhead was unsealed.

  “It just opened as soon as I got close by,” the Japanese woman explained.

  “Maybe these doors are equipped with sensors,” Tylor hazarded.

  “Okay, but then why didn’t the others open up?” Mike asked.

  “Probably because you have to enter a code or give a password, I don't know. But this one doesn't need it,” the Australian hypothesized.

  “Like an unsecured cell phone that doesn't need a pin.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Come on, let's look inside,” proposed Namiko, who couldn't wait.

  “Not all together. You never know when it might suddenly close,” said the German.

  “Ok, I'll go,” Namiko replied, and Sirio followed her.

  The others stayed outside, guarding the door and awaiting their turn.

  The shapes surrounding them suggested that this was an alien's personal space. In addition to some incomprehensible objects, they recognized a very long bed, and a table and chairs which, on Earth, would be called “high tech”.

  “Are you okay?” Sirio asked, as he continued to look around inside.

  “Yeah, why wouldn't I be?” she responded with a smile.

  “After I saw the state to which they reduced Igor, when that beam hit him, I was afraid that I'd lost you forever.”

  “Lost me?”

  “Your mind, your being,” he clarified as if to make his words sound more platonic.

  “You must like me,” she said mischievously and provocatively.

  Even in a situation like this, you manage to come off as sensual. How do you do it? Sirio thought.

  “You seemed to feel the same, if I remember correctly,” ventured the Italian.

  “Oh my God! Look!” she exclaimed in sheer amazement.

  Sirio looked at Namiko; she was pointing at something specific. When he saw what she had just noticed, all of his thoughts became focused on the exceptional view.

  “Come here. You have to see this!” the Japanese woman yelled.

  Her tone was such that their companions came in, despite having made a rule to remain in the hall outside the room; all except Franz and his shadow, Igor.

  “The Earth!” said Tylor dumbstruck.

  They were the first humans to observe it from the window of an alien ship.

  “It's gorgeous! Like a blue charm in a black sea.” Namiko's almond eyes filled with tears.

  “Of stars,” Tylor clarified.

  “Our home,” Mike said.

  “It seems so peaceful from here,” Namiko added.

  “Instead, it's been overwhelmed by destruction and death,” the American stated.

  “I wonder,” Sirio said with a big sigh. “Will we ever be able to go back there?”

  11

  “In the end, even Franz went to see the Earth. And I thought he didn't have a soul,” Namiko whispered into the ear of Sirio, who nodded with a smile.

  “Well,” Tylor commented, “at least now we're sure that we're actually on a space ship.”

  Continuing to explore the enormous spaceship, the six companions found dozens of empty rooms, all similar to a mini-apartment.

  “They're deserted. That's crazy! Where is everyone?” Sirio asked out loud.

  “Nothing seems to make any sense here,” Mike said.

  “Guys, I'm going to take advantage of this. And you should too,” Namiko announced, suddenly swerving into the interior of one of the rooms.

  “Where are you going? It could be dangerous!” Franz warned her.

  The Japanese woman continued, ignoring them all.

  “I think I know where she's going,” Tylor offered.

  “You always know everything,” the German replied harshly.

  “Let's stop the instigating,” Sirio said, throwing an intense glance at his companion from Australia.

  Then a distressed sound distracted them.

  “Hey, Igor, are you okay?” Mike asked.

  The Russian had fallen to his knees, and was on the ground evincing extreme discomfort.

  “Yeah... I'm fine, sorry. It only lasted for a moment,” he reassured them.

  “Hey buddy,” Mike said encouragingly, “that thing must've done something to you, but you'll feel better soon and we'll make them pay!” he said, showing a strong sense of optimism.

  After making sure that their companion was able to walk, they saw Namiko emerge from the recesses of the alien accommodation.

  “It was tough to figure out how it worked, but, in the end, I did.”

  “What are you talking about?” Sirio asked.

  “The bathroom, right?” Tylor tried to confirm.

  “Dear God, show me,” the Italian said excitedly.

  For the first time, since they boarded the spaceship, they all burst into laughter.

  In the minutes that followed, they each took turns inside the extraterrestrial bathroom, which made everyone feel better.

  Having finished, they resumed their wandering, hoping to find anything that might help them.

  Then something happened that left them stunned: they found more than drones and robots in that animated state; there were aliens as well.

  12

  “It's not organic...” Tylor affirmed in a whisper, gently waving a hand over what had, until that moment, seemed to be a creature from another world.

  “Could this be a ship manned completely by robots?” the American hypothesized.

  “It's a possibility. However, I think that what we have in front of us could be termed an android,” Tylor said. “More precisely, an artificial life form similar to its creator.”

  “You mean that what we've found here is an electronic version of the beanpoles?” Sirio asked, disconcerted.

  “Look. There's a door open down there, but it doesn't look like it goes to one of the usual accomodations,” Igor warned anxiously.

  They headed toward the mysterious locale, entering without hesitation.

  “It looks like a sort of operating room,” Namiko said.

  The room was huge, with a kind of cot suspended in mid-air at its center. Nearby, they could see various unknown instruments, prearranged on a metal base. There were blue panels all around them, which seemed to conceal some kind of technology. In one corner, however, they noticed screens with diagrams and incomprehensible symbols, projected by a beam of light.

  “Welcome to the alien infirmary,” Tylor said jokingly.

  “But if they're all robots, why in the hell do they need an infirmary?” Mike wondered.

  “We aren't sure that they're all robots. Who knows how big this ship is?” Tylor pointed out.

  “Well, if there really was someone out there, he'd be here by now,” Sirio said, sure of himself.

  “Or maybe, your lanky friends are half organic and half artificial, like a cyborg,” the Australian ventured.

  “Guys,” Namiko interrupted. “My head is spinning. I don't think I can stay on my feet.”

  And, having said that, she fell to the floor.

  13

  Mike and Sirio immediately ran to Namiko's side, even though they had no idea of what to do.

  “Hey, are you there?” the Italian asked his companion on the floor.

  “Everything is spinning, I don't understand anything anymore.”

  “Guys, I don't know if it's the power of suggestion, but I don't feel we
ll either,” Tylor announced.

  Then the others suddenly noticed that they weren't feeling good.

  “What's happening?” Franz whispered.

  “I'm afraid some alien pathogen may be affecting us, or something in the air. I don't know,” the Australian replied.

  “So now, what do we do?” Igor asked, visibly distressed and the next to suffer Namiko's fate.

  “Sorry, friends, this time I have no idea,” Tylor declared bitterly.

  “So this is the end? No, I refuse to accept that!” exclaimed Sirio, who appeared to have more energy than the others.

  His fellow sufferers all looked at each other, scared and confused.

  “Those!” the German suddenly shouted, pointing at something with his index finger.

  Looking the direction indicated by Franz, all eyes settled on four masks hanging from a translucent panel, identical to those worn by the beings which had descended from the spacecraft in front of the UN building.

  “'If the gravity outside the cell where we were is slightly different, the composition of the air we're breathing probably is too,” Franz explained.

  “Of course! But I don't think those masks will help us. They must be set to the specific needs of the beanpoles,” Tylor reasoned.

  “Come on, let's try to get back to the room where we woke up, before we all pass out,” Sirio urged.

  “Again, if our theory is correct,” Tylor said.

  “We don't have any choice!” the American declared.

  Sirio and Franz took charge of Namiko and Igor respectively, while Tylor and Mike took the masks and headed towards their goal in such a hurry that they didn't notice that the surface of the aliens' respiratory apparatuses had come to life in their hands.

  14

  Returning to the holographic room, they immediately felt better.