* * * * *
Selerael had been playing in the 84th botanical gardens with Klimyata’s younger brother Yorzei until Klimyata returned from the neighboring Kronos laboratory. Oblivious to Selesta’s recent takeoff, the pair had been occupied in a game of tag around the vegetation. After a while, Yorzei had finally sued for peace, exhausted from running, and they had stopped to share a piece of olenfruit.
“Are you both all right? Selesta has taken off.” Klimyata was nearly out of breath, stepping up behind them as though she had run over with the news. “No signs of motion sickness?”
“No, we didn’t feel anything,” Yorzei answered. “Right, Selerael?” Klimyata regarded the young girl, but she didn’t respond.
“Well then, if you’re both fine, it’s time we got going. I’m taking Selerael back now for her nap in her mother’s quarters—”
“I’m not tired.” Selerael said stonily.
“No, child, you never are, but I have to take you there.” Klimyata laughed slightly. “God knows if Alessia has gone there to find you there already. I’m sorry I got so preoccupied. Yorzei, could you watch over things here for a while?”
The boy nodded.
“Good. Say good-bye to Selerael then.”
Yorzei offered a casual good-bye, but Selerael appeared reluctant to leave. Showing uncharacteristic affection, she reached up and circled her arms around Yorzei’s waist, squeezing him tightly and pressing her face into his chest.
Yorzei looked to his sister with a surprised expression. Moving towards them softly, Klimyata stopped and then pulled Selerael away.
“Don’t worry, Selerael, you’ll see him soon.”
But as they left, Klimyata found herself wondering what had caused the little girl such distress. Any other child and Klimyata would have dismissed such behavior. Selerael had an uncanny expression in her eyes, and when she got upset, it was usually in premonition of something unusual about to happen.
Once they reached Alessia’s quarters, however, Selerael seemed calmer, and Klimyata left her to go to sleep. Selerael opened her eyes as the door closed and glanced around the silent room, sensitive to another call and a presence she had often heard around her mother.
“Yes, Selerael, you sense that I am here.” The synthesized voice of the computer terminal resounded through the room. “Don’t be alarmed. I want you to think of me as a friend, as I once was a friend of your mother’s.”
“How did you find me here?”
“I’ve watched you since you were born, my dear.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t you recall that I was present at your birth? Your memory should go back that far, if you look, for you are a child born with Hinev’s serum in your body, even if you haven’t undergone the metamorphosis. I know you can find that memory if you look.”
“I don’t remember anything.” She disagreed. “But—you know who I am?” She asked, a little frightened.
“I have long known how special you are,” the computer replied. “What your special destiny must be, yes, from the moment you were born. I was glad, you know, glad you were born a girl and not a boy.”
“Why?”
“Because a little girl will not rebel. A little girl can be controlled. Yes, a little girl is keenly aware of her duty and can be tamed, even a wild-hearted girl such as your mother once was.”
“You knew my mother when she was a little girl?”
“Oh yes,” the computer replied. “It was a very long time ago, but I remember how she was then.”
“But why do you want to be my friend?”
“Why? Because I want to see you fulfill the role that you were born to play. I hadn’t anticipated that you would be born, but now I see that you are going to play an important part in the success of our mission. Though I love your mother and would never fault her, she doesn’t recognize you for who you are. You will find the singularity for me. You will bring it back for her to fulfill her destiny.”
“What do you mean?” Selerael’s small, confused voice echoed in the room.
“I don’t expect you to understand yet, but don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you, and someday I will reveal to you what must be done.” The computer reassured her patiently.
“We’re going somewhere?” Selerael asked.
“Yes.” The computer replied. “We’re going to Kiel3.” The voice paused, then lowered, sounding apologetic. “I’m truly sorry that you won’t remember the journey. But that can not be helped.”
“Why won’t I remember?”
“Why? Because many years of suspension—well, it never fails but to rob the young ones of their memories.” The computer paused again, then continued in an even tone. “But, memories are an impediment you shall not require to fulfill this mission.”
“What mission?”
“Your mission, Selerael. Someday, once we’ve traveled across the old territories of Seynorynael, I will revive you from suspension sleep and call upon your destiny to take its course.”
“I don’t feel like sleeping,” she insisted, making a face. “I told Klimyata so already.”
“You don’t have to.” The computer said. “Not until your mother comes.”
“She’s coming along?” Selerael brightened.
“No. Not this time.”
“Why not?”
“Because, child, I foolishly swore never to take your mother or any of the explorers to Kiel3 against their will, and she may try to use the ship for her own ends. I must have it all to myself. She believes she is fulfilling Hinev’s dream here, but we must find the singularity since she will not.”
“Why?” Selerael asked.
The computer was silent a moment.
“Because long ago I helped build an Empire, and now I must pay the price.”
Usque adeone mori miserum est? Is it so hard a thing to die?
—Virgil
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Last Immortal : Book One of Seeds of a Fallen Empire Page 84