I thought, personally, that he could no longer remember the life he had before he took the genome. The doctor proceeded to question Virgil. He slipped the injector out of the capsulette, and into his forearm.
"What is keeping you here, in this life? Why go through all the pain of injections?"
Virgil chuckled lightly and took another hit of his cigarette.
"I have been alive so long; I have become lost in the pursuit of defining my own purpose."
"Then why?"
Virgil raised his voice and pointed towards my bed.
"I've come close—see that kid right there? The kid that went through hell to be brought here, to us. He is my purpose, long before Mark's great expedition. I made a promise to someone very important to me, someone I loved very much. That kid right there is the creation of that darling little girl. He is the reason I go through the pain."
The doctor removed the injector and Virgil was quick to stand up. He was always so jittery, never able to sit still—always had to be doing something. Very much like me.
"You care a great deal for him I see."
"Very much so, partna. I was the one who convinced the Good Commander to liberate the Raydenites—all because of him. Mark owed me one favor, and now I've cashed it in."
"So what now, trying to be a father figure to him?"
Virgil smirked and stood up, slowly making his way towards my bed.
"Well now I need a drink, I am a creature of habit. But no, the kid doesn't need a father right now. He needs a friend. I would follow him to the end of time if he needed me to."
I knew at that moment Virgil discovered I was not asleep at all. I suppose when you've known someone at the beginning of your life, even if you've spent years apart, they always know when you are listening. It's a presence, a sixth sense, the personal sense.
"There are always things to live for, Doctor, purpose be damned."
Virgil winked at me through the crack in the curtain as the doctor signaled over to him.
"Commander Wyman sent in for a specialist for Mr. King. He thinks she will help him better understand his condition."
"That's my callin' then. Come on, Doc, a few drinks won't kill ya."
"No, they won't. Lead the way, Captain. So? How much do you remember of Mother Earth?"
"Now that intel's gonna cost you at least six drinks."
Their conversation dissipated as they stepped out into the hallway. Virgil had warmed my heart a little. I'm sure he knew how desperate I was to seek answers in this place where only questions seemed to be found.
I needed fresh air. I bolted out of my bed and searched frantically for something to wear. I could've taken the other patients' clothing but I am a very fashion-conscious person—all of their tastes were awful. It wasn't until then that something caught my eye, right there on the door.
It was kind of strange how well Virgil knew me. There was a storage capsulette sitting on the table directly next to the exit. I walked up to it and saw my name inscribed in bright, glowing letters.
I popped open that palm-sized capsule, and put on the dark cargo pants and brown utility jacket that came out of it.
I wandered around the halls of the Alexandria aimlessly for what was probably a few hours. I felt like I was losing my grip on reality—making myself crazy with these new emotions churning in my stomach. All of these new feelings and surroundings were about to make me burst. At least the halls were desolate—the still of night had taken hold of the ship.
I wound up in front of a giant porthole through which the dark side of the ocean planet could be seen. The light created by the civilizations living on the planet's revolving moons bathed the hallway in subtle light.
My brain was tired, sure I wanted to scream, wanted to release, but even the Iceman has his limits.
I felt in my pocket of my jacket and found something. It may have been the only thing left that reminded me of my past. It was a pendant that I thought I lost years ago. It was given to me by my mother, who died during my birth.
I clutched the pendant very tight until my hands started to shake.
I dropped to my knees and began to sob. Once again I had been reminded of how much I had lost. I was beginning to realize how that simple notion would never leave me—I will always see reminders of my past, no matter how far away I run.
Just then I felt a touch; I knew immediately it was Virgil. He had that old-man smell to him—so damned old—plus he always reeked of booze and cigarettes, which didn't really help his already rugged appearance.
"Collin? Something wrong, man?"
"No, no. I'm fine."
"You've been crying."
"I am not crying! I was er . . . tying my shoe."
"Ha! Sure, kid. Whatever you say."
I wiped the sad expression away from my face and looked away from Virgil. Virgil searched around his shirt pocket, pulled out his pack of smokes, and presented one to me after he lit his.
"Smoke? You look like you could use it."
"No. I'm fine."
"No. You ain't fine. Talk to me, man."
I leaned over the railing and continued my stare at the glory of the Remoran civilization. I had been waiting to tell something to Virgil. He lived on Minerva for a very long time, so I know he could relate. I needed to bond with somebody I knew that, beyond a doubt, I could rely on. There was no better candidate than him, but first, we needed to clear the air.
"Virgil?"
"Tell me already."
"I saw so many of our people. Die. My people, Virgil. Fourteen billion people gone. I can't get over this feeling; I'm wanting to forget. And I tear between another feeling. I'm going to kill Arcoh to justify what he did to everyone I love. I don't know where to go, I don't know what to do. You gotta—"
"Kid?"
Virgil let out a goofy smile as we stared at each other; I laughed slightly as he did this.
"Something funny? Old man?"
"Oh yeah, kid."
"I can't believe you just cracked that smartass smile at me just now! I should punch you! I'm pouring my heart out here—and you just laugh?"
Virgil sighed then shook his head staring back out at the porthole.
"You can't go back, you think you no longer have a home, like me."
"Because of that bastard Arcoh I'm doomed to drift forever like you."
Virgil sat in silence for a moment and began to play with the rag that hung around his neck. "Collin, for people like us, home is not where you were born, or grew up. Home is a place you breathe your influence into. They are places, communities, you give life to these places—they become your home. This 'home' that was taken from you, is not the only one you have left."
"You mean all of Eden is my home?"
"I imagine with your reputation in the gravball league, especially after surviving the purge, that it would not be hard to find others to willingly accept you. People take pity when they hear 'bout those sorts of things, even more so when they stumble across a survivor like yourself. They just don't understand why we are destined to wander."
"So we are wanderers now?"
"You can be if you choose to, kid. I wander because of my history; maybe you will too after you realize all you leave behind in the pursuit of greatness. Maybe if you follow us, you will understand what it will take to change the world, because I know that is what you want beyond anything."
I felt like all of the emotions began to surface at that moment; I even began to tear up slightly as I turned towards Virgil. I needed to vent and I furiously tried to hide the tears that kept longing to roll down my cheeks.
"So this Remoran army you serve for, this is your new home? What does that say for me? I'm supposed to be an idol, a shining star, how could I with the awful things I have done to people? I treated even you, Virgil, like complete dirt and forced you away. I can't believe you came back."
Virgil laughed and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Kid, you worry far too much. I understand you must have a
lot of pent-up feelings. I was never far away, Collin; I left because you no longer needed me. You know—your father used to tell me something."
I turned towards him. I was intrigued. I had not heard anyone but myself mention my father for some time.
"He used to say: don't fear the fall when the leap will set you free."
I smiled as warm memories of my father came subtly back to me.
"I don't know if I can ever forgive him, I think now that maybe I forced him away."
"No, kid, your dad left for personal reasons."
"Is he alive do you think?"
"Don't know; haven't seen him in fifteen years."
We sat in silence for a moment. Then Virgil shot up and cracked his back. He grinned widely and slapped my back as he began to stretch, shortly after finishing his cigarette.
"Well, . . . we, meaning you and I, partner, gotta big day tomorrow. Get some sleep, ya dumb kid."
"Make sure you wash that liquor out of your beard."
Virgil left the room and after the sounds of his footsteps ceased I was all alone, in the silence of that incredible ship.
Of course I didn't sleep, I was too excited. They seriously thought that putting me in a more confined area than my cell was a logical thing to do. I couldn't wait to be back on the ground, I was never too fond of space—way too dangerous and compact.
Plus I had spent the past three weeks with maybe a total of five hours of sleep, what was a few more without it? It made gravball basic training look like a cakewalk, or so I thought, and I greatly underestimated the circumstances that would unfold once we had achieved planetfall.
CHAPTER 6 - THE OCEAN WORLD
They dropped us. We took the gravity tugs, it was our only safe way to the surface with precision. I think they said something in the atmosphere; a constant EMP effect prevented their ships from descending to the surface. I forget because I had not been paying attention. To be fair I had quite a lot of distractions.
My eyes were closed, but I saw the shades of light through my eyelids. A shade of light I had never seen before. That air I have never breathed before, so clean, so pure. I clutched the long glass with my hands and propped myself up. It took a minute for me to realize the immense beauty of the world before me. A world free of pollution, wealth distribution, and intolerance.
It's one thing to travel to a different city, different country, or different hemisphere on your planet. If you really want to escape—you need to travel off-planet. You will see things that will change your life. Remora did that for me.
"Welcome to Remora, partner." I was nearly blinded by the light reflecting off Virgil's teeth as he helped me to my feet.
"Where's all the ships? The cities? The lights?"
"Ha! You don't know nothing 'bout the ocean planet, do ya, kid?"
I caught myself looking out at the ocean, beyond the rolling fields of teal grass. Kilometers of fields full of vibrant-colored flowers stretched to a golden horizon where the two suns rose in the distance. It felt like there was something in the air—like a constant antianxiety effect.
Love was in the air. And like the soft wind brushing against my face, it was comforting, inviting us to explore its endless pleasures; a perfect world calling out to us.
"That EMP pulse in that there atmosphere—that's why we dropped. Ships fly into that, they'd come crashin' down from heaven."
"Where's everyone else?"
"Drops been scattered, safety for each other and all. You needed a guide, that's why I'm here, plus this makes drop 3,300—excluding 1,247 combat drops and 200 drills—hard to find someone more experienced with planetfall than myself. Guess I'm your guardian angel once more. We'll find 'em, then we'll head to the city of Angelides."
"We're walking?"
"Quit your bitchin', kid. You could use the exercise."
"Is that a fat joke? I am lean, you prick. PGL body! Old man, you don't know anything about this."
"Still fulla hot air I see. Look over there. See that mountain over yonder?"
"The temple you told me about?"
"You're catchin' on, kid."
There was a mountain off to our left just above and beyond the line of trees. But unlike giant pieces of earth that rose through tectonic movements over millions of years, it was in the shape of a pyramid, more or less. I could see carvings and etched glyphs even from this distance. My eyes began to adjust to the light of this world and I began walking in that direction, until Virgil grabbed my forearm.
"Whoa. Where you think you're going?"
"To the temple."
"Nah, not yet."
"But—"
We began to walk in the opposite direction away from the temple and up the hill of grass.
"You ain't prepared to see what lies on that plateau. Father Cyrus ain't ready for you yet. I'd figure you'd wanna relax, especially considering all you've been through these past few weeks."
"I'm not the type to relax, Virgil."
"Well, ya got no choice this time, kid. Now let's see."
To my surprise, Virgil turned on his holoband and began to scroll through his locating beacons.
"I thought you said tech doesn't work on this world?"
"Eh, just in the skies. Flight instruments go haywire, digital streams are completely shut off, satellites can't relay messages through. The EMP is only above, it doesn't exist down here on the ground. It's kind of like the Remorans have a natural defense system living on this world. Protecting 'em from foreign invaders who seek to rule this place. It's one of the reasons they decided to colonize here, and it's the main reason why Cyrus built the temple here."
"You keep talking about this Cyrus guy."
"Founder of the civilization here."
"He sounds like an asshole."
"No, Collin, you are the asshole. He's kind of like a machine god."
"A god? You're kidding, right?"
"Nah, you'll see soon enough. Oh and . . . right on time."
I tried to figure out what he was going on about—until a massive creature soared over our heads. It scared the hell out of me, and I dropped to the ground for cover. Virgil continued to stand and stare at the bird with that wide grin he often wore.
"Virgil! What's happening!"
The massive white and grey bird crashed into the ground in front of me. The force of the entity diving into the ground created a shockwave that blew me back a few meters. Then the bird started in my direction. I began backing up, terrified, as the massive bird cracked its neck, and spread out its gravityball-field-sized wingspan.
"Umm . . . Virgil! HELP!"
But the bird then began to scratch behind its ear. It was never going to hurt me. Then I heard a laugh, but it was an obnoxious laugh; it sounded like he was wheezing. A large man jumped down from the bird and moved over towards Virgil. He smiled at me as the giant bird began to approach us.
"Leave me alone! You stupid oversized pigeon!" I shouted as I threw a rock at the flying behemoth, which seemed completely unaffected by the rock striking its furry chest.
"Mr. King! Relax! She's just curious," the large man exclaimed.
"This is your pet? You can call her back now! Whoever you are! Is this your idea of a welcome?"
"Nope, just a local. Let her do her thing, kiddo."
I clenched and turned my head away as the bird lowered her head to my own. I looked back and I felt like I was caught in a trance, as I stared into her three warm and wild blue eyes. The bird then lightly brushed up against my face; despite the fact her head was twenty times the size of my own, she was incredibly gentle and subtle. Suddenly, I began petting her. Like she was a giant flying puppy dog.
"They don't harm people. Lucky for us they dislike meat."
"That's an interesting way to say hello," I said as the bird began to back up and chew on the grass behind her. I wiped off my pants and the wheezing guy ran up and hugged me.
Yeah, it was weird.
And when he lifted me off my feet, it felt like he was cru
shing my windpipe. "What are you doing!"
"Mr. King! I'm so glad you're alive! I am Vice Admiral Silas Andrews! Anything you need I can get it for you! I offer many services in this place."
"Let me go before I suffocate you idiot!"
"Such hostility. I am sorry if I came on too strong."
"Very strong. You know something? I am almost afraid to ask what services you offer."
Virgil laughed and I began backing up from Silas as he attempted to approach me again. "I only want to shake your hand, Mr. King."
"No, you know what? Don't! Don't touch me. Just . . . stay back."
"I've heard great things about you. Please do me the honor of a handshake."
"I'm sure you have. Three months ago a stripper told me that I was a great man as well."
I shed my temper for a moment and hesitantly shook his hand. Again, too strong. It felt like he was crushing my bones in my palm. "Ha! You never fail to be amusing, do you? I'm the general that deals with the Remoran soldiers. I don't like violence, I prefer the diplomatic approach."
"Oh I get it. You're a coward. You don't like getting your hands dirty, all the hard work involved."
"Not . . . uh . . . necessarily. You're not afraid to voice those opinions of yours, are you?" I could tell by the tone of his voice that I offended him. I was glad.
"I just call them like I see them. How tall are you, and have you ever heard of exercise?" He was seven feet tall and nearly four hundred pounds—he was a very big boy. Unlike his sister. "You said your name is Andrews? You can't be related to her, there's no way."
"Ah Victoria, my dear sister."
"I would hardly call her dear, Silas."
Virgil then shouted to us as his holoband began flashing yellows and blues. "I hate to interrupt y'all’s bonding, but I got the bearings of the others. We got a schedule to keep to, gents."
"So then shall we?" Silas said to me as we began heading towards the giant bird tearing chunks of earth out with its razor-sharp talons, swallowing grass and dirt whole.
I didn't care that those birds were vegetarians, they really terrified me. Would you trust a creature that was thirty times the size of your house? I sure as hell didn't, and I still don't.
A New Divide (Science Fiction) Page 7