The Complete New Dominion Trilogy

by Drury, Matthew J.

  He reached the bridge, and saw Lora sitting in the pilot’s seat, silently watching the hyperspace tunnel ahead of them through the main viewport, with a reserved fascination. She sensed his approach, and turned to look at him.

  “We’re making good time,” she told him. “In fact, we already hit the deceleration window a few minutes ago. I was going to call for you.”

  He yawned. “How long was I asleep?”

  “Most of the journey,” she said. “About seven hours, thereabouts.”

  He took a deep breath, and went to stand beside her. He stared in hushed disbelief at the rippling translucent inner membrane of the hyperspace tunnel, watching the planets and moons of the KA8-YS9 system shoot past the Thunder, then the neighbouring system, then the next… in awe of the miracle of technology that enabled the ship to hurtle through an extradimensional rainbow tunnel at millions of times the speed of light. After the crash landing on the dead world, Cris was amazed the battered vessel was still capable of sustaining this kind of herculean speed without breaking apart.

  “It’s beautiful,” he remarked, and Lorelei Chen smiled.

  A few moments later, the hyperspace tunnel dissipated, lifting away like a bank of cloud, and there, on the main viewport, was a large bluish planet, its surface generally bland in appearance (blighted only by a bright and complex convective storm), surrounded by three wide rings of glistening white ice particles. As the Thunder rushed towards the planet, travelling far slower than the speed of light now, Cris could feel the presence of the Asterite far stronger than ever before; without a doubt, the creature was here, on this unknown world.

  Waiting for them.

  “We’ve arrived,” Chen whispered, feeling her anxiety jump up a notch.

  Cris nodded. “Take us in, Lora. Do not delay.”

  She emitted a heavy sigh, and touched controls. The Thunder swooped down at the planet, breaking atmosphere and soaring along over rain-lashed, violent seas. The trip across the stormy sky was rougher than the atmospheric entry, but the ship held its course perfectly, and soon after, Cris got his first look at a major landmass. Most of the surface appeared to be entirely covered by a humid, fetid landscape of huge fungal forests. At length, it appeared to be a boggy world covered in giant fungus-like organisms, mushrooms, myxomycetes, oomycetes, and glomerales. They passed sun-catching pod-like plants of enormous height, as tall as skyscrapers – and huge pitcher plants with a translucent sheen.

  Breathless, they flew between enormous, bulbous plants that seeped some kind of purple, antigravitic goo into the skies, and as the ship flew further into brighter daylight, they noticed with some amazement that the environment seemed to glitter like multi-coloured glass, with a multitude of colours. Beneath this awesome and beautiful visage, they saw a herd of huge, translucent dinosaur-like creatures lumbering in the underbrush.

  “Head for that clearing,” Cris said, pointing.

  Chen nodded, and began to guide the ship towards a patch of open land between two towers of bizarre, rubber-like plants. The Thunder landed in a swirl of moist dust, settling comfortably in place atop its landing struts. Through the viewport, the alien world glimmered vibrantly through the shimmer of the midday heat.

  Cris gritted his teeth, and gave her shoulder a light squeeze. “Nice landing.”

  “Thanks,” she said. “A lot better than the last one, that’s for sure.”

  He nodded, smiling. “Now, it’s time to get to work,” he said.

  A quick scan with the ship’s sensors revealed a world very similar to Earth in many respects, characterised by the abundance of surface water and an atmosphere high in nitrogen, oxygen and trace elements. There was only a single landmass, as it turned out: a supercontinent similar in size to ancient Pangaea, and a severely tilted axis which caused wild seasonal changes on the planet. Yet despite extremes of hot and cold, life was abundant here: extensive fungal vegetation, megafauna, and there were even signs of native carbon-based humanoids. Yet there was something else… something that only Cris could sense, through his connection to the All. An overwhelming sense of unity, a complex ecology… that convinced him the very planet itself was alive.

  “That’s weird,” he murmured, staring distantly out of the Thunder’s main viewport.

  “What is?” Chen asked, frowning. She was leaning forward, examining the holographic readout in the air above the main computer console.

  “I don’t know,” he answered vaguely. “This entire planet… it feels like a single, unified organism… Like some kind of Hylozoic Gaia.”

  She blinked, and turned to look at him. “Gaia? As in the Mother Earth theory?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I’m serious. I can sense an overwhelming, inanimate intelligence here. I’m trying to communicate with it. Maybe it can lead us to the Asterite’s location.”

  She swallowed dryly, giving him her full attention now. “How?” she blurted. “How exactly can you do that? Cris, I’m sorry, but ever since we returned from that ancient city on Deadworld you haven’t been acting yourself. You’ve been acting awfully strangely – and you won’t tell me why. Your heart doesn’t beat, you don’t show up on the ship’s life form scans – and you have these… these abilities I can’t explain. What’s going on?”

  “Actually, Lora, I’ve already told you. The Eidolon showed me the Light.”

  She sighed a half-laugh. “You couldn’t be any more cryptic if you tried. How about explaining that in terms I can understand?”

  Cris smiled faintly, amused by her apparent anger. Then he almost whispered, “Pity not the blind man, for he is hindered not by the visions of this world, but rather pity yourselves, for he will see the Light before you do.”

  Chen felt a sudden, overwhelming surge of emotion, so raw and strong that at first she was too dazed to identify it. For an instant, she stared into his eyes, forcing herself to breathe calmly; only then could she distance herself enough to analyse it. “Those words…” she said, blinking.

  “Not bad, huh?” he smiled. “I just made that up right then.”

  She had a startled expression. “Cris, those words are from the Book of Zemont, in the Third Testament. The words of Lord Damarus…”

  Cris showed not a flicker of emotion, only rose dismissively. “We should get moving.” He faced Lora without meeting her eyes. “Put your Rãvier suit on. We’re wasting time with this idle chit-chat. I’ll be waiting for you in the airlock.” He turned and moved away.

  Chen’s hand went to her mouth. “Cris? Please…”

  Cris wheeled to face her, his tone and eyes flint-cold. “Do it, Lora.”

  “But Cris, I think – ”

  “Just shut up and do as you are told,” Cris said. He turned and exited the bridge without a backward glance, leaving Lorelei Chen to stare after him.

  They walked for several kilometres into the underbrush, the air around them thick and oppressive. Enormous trees with trunks twenty, maybe thirty metres in diameter rose hundreds of metres overhead, where they spread their dense leafy canopy, blotting out the green sky and perpetually dripping water to the ground below. Rubbery and translucent molds hung down from the trees and sprouted from the trunks. At ground level, the soil had a consistency like latex, gleaming with moisture. The basic impression was of a vast, oversized, fungal paradise – an alien place, untouched by mankind.

  Chen was feeling increasingly concerned about Cris; the fact that he was already quoting the words of the Third Testament did not bode well for her chances of preventing him from becoming Damarus. For a helpless moment, she wondered if it were even going to be possible – clearly, the transformation had already begun, and was now beginning to affect his mind as well as his body. She felt like she needed guidance, like she needed to turn to a father figure for help – but she couldn’t bring herself to pray, to turn to God in her hour of need. In fact, the very idea was repugnant to her right now, leaving her with a crushing feeling of childlike vulnerability and uncertainty. She had already proved that talk
ing to Cris wasn’t going to help the situation; he had reacted with a sharp resentment at the very mention of Damarus’ name, which she had almost expected to turn into violence. No, if she was going to prevent this transformation, then her intervention was going to have to be a physical one; she would be forced to take some kind of action in the near future, before it was too late. Exactly what form that action was going to take, however, was still far from apparent. She certainly didn’t want to kill Cris. That was unthinkable. Despite the changes happening to his body and mind, she still loved him, and she didn’t think that was ever going to change.

  She watched him, fascinated, as he walked slightly ahead of her, moving cautiously between a series of jagged, mushroom-like fungi. The sun was beginning to dip on the horizon, signalling the end of a fairly short solar cycle. Some distance ahead, a group of large animals shambled past toward an open body of water. At first glance they resembled massive ground beetles; large insectine creatures, easily four or five metres long, with green translucent skin and a wide mouth above which were two vertically aligned blue eyes, and two rows of stubby legs. Luckily, the creatures didn’t seem to show much interest in the alien invaders in their midst – if they had even noticed them at all.

  “Lora,” Cris said, breaking the nervous silence. “I’m sorry for the way I spoke to you back on the ship. I was out of line.”

  She breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s okay, Cris. Really. I’m a big girl. It’s not the worst thing anyone’s ever said to me in my life. There has been far worse, believe me.”

  “I know,” he said. “But I still feel bad about it. Friends?”

  “Of course,” she smiled. “I’m just glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humanity – yet.”

  He sighed. “I know I’m changing, Lora. There are things happening to my body and mind which even I can’t fully explain. But I’m dealing with it, you know? And I don’t intend to transform into Damarus. I’m just trying to see my family again, that’s all.”

  She nodded, wondering whether or not he could really be trusted. “Where do I fit into your plans?” she asked. “If you make this ‘ascension’ and see your wife and daughter again, where does that leave me? I love you, Cris, but I can’t be second best to your old life. That’s not what I want to be.”

  “I love you, Lora,” he reassured her. “And I wouldn’t want a reunion with my family to affect the love we have for each other.”

  She shook her head doubtfully. “It already is being affected, Cris. I don’t really understand why we’re here on this planet. How would Alexis feel about having to share you with another woman? A younger woman? I can tell you this much, she won’t like it, Cris. Face it, you can’t have it both ways. I fear that at some point, you’re going to be faced with a choice. A choice between your family, or me.”

  “No,” he said bluntly. “That won’t happen. I will find a way to have you all in my life together. You’re going to love Alexis, Lora. I think you two will really get on.”

  Chen couldn’t believe she was actually having this conversation, talking about a centuries-old dead woman as if she were a living, breathing person. Then again, she was talking to somebody without a heartbeat – was that any different? “So what, you’ll get your wife back, and I’ll become… some kind of fuck buddy? I don’t exist solely for your amusement, Cris. I want a man who is going to be faithful and loyal to me, for the rest of my life. Bigamy is still illegal. That hasn’t changed. Besides, I find it unlikely Kimberley would be happy having two mothers. I wouldn’t want to share you either.”

  “I love you,” he said again.

  “Cris, you can’t just say that and expect it to be good enough,” she told him. “If you can’t convince me that this grand plan of yours is going to work in everybody’s best interests, then it simply isn’t going to work. We can’t be together.”

  He was about to respond when suddenly there was a loud snapping sound, and Lora plummeted through a concealed pitfall trap, hidden by cunningly laid branches. She yelped, falling some distance towards a set of sharp two-metre wooden spikes. Cris threw himself toward the edge of the pit and held out a hand, whispering a hushed command through his connection to the All. Immediately, Lora’s body jerked backward, seized by an invisible force, and she was suspended in mid-air, miraculously avoiding being slammed into the spike trap by a mere fraction of a second.

  “God!” she screamed.

  “I’ve got you!” Cris roared, the muscles in his arm straining as he grappled with the metaphysical forces at his command. “Are you okay?”

  Dangling in mid-air like she was, in some kind of zero-gravity field, Chen nodded, though she looked terrified.

  “Hold on,” Cris said. “I’ll pull you out.” Concentrating, he commanded the air molecules surrounding her body to carry her to safety, and she lifted slowly back out of the pit, defying all laws of Newtonian physics.

  Chen felt like she was going to gag; Cris’ newfound ‘abilities’ were more extensive and powerful than she had ever imagined, and the bizarre, antigravitic motion made her feel sick to her stomach.

  Cris guided her down onto solid ground, then relinquished his command of the invisible forces that gripped her. The sudden change in the balance of gravity made her vomit. He knelt down beside her, helping her into a sitting position.

  Chen grimaced. “Thanks. You saved my life.”

  Cris didn’t answer her. He was looking up now, at a symphony of motion that had exploded into life all around them. Emerging from the dense foliage, seemingly out of nowhere, were dozens, if not hundreds of camouflaged tribal humanoids: tall, bipedal, equipped with cup-like, webbed digits that allowed them to stick to the large vegetation. Growing from the underside of each arm was a shorter, smaller arm that ended in three large agile fingers. Their faces were gaunt and unpleasant by human standards, consisting of a protruding lower jaw with four thick, long fangs jutting upward. Lacking lips and a nose, the eyes were set in spaced sockets and had narrow pupils. Many of them wore tribal masks, which appeared to be made from the fleshy plant growth, and a tendril-like headdress. They carried what looked like translucent spears, now pointing their weapons directly at Cris and Chen, moving closer, their presence threatening and ominous.

  “What is it?” Chen asked, then turned her head and saw the creatures.

  She opened her mouth and screamed, feeling confounded and absolutely terrified.

  23

  One of the creatures moved closer to Cris, poking its translucent spear towards him, screeching in a raspy tongue:

  “Rkuur! Hegirn!”

  It was an alien sound, guttural and harsh and punctuated by clicks and squeaks, quite unlike anything they had ever heard before. At the same time it seemed hollow, perhaps the result of speech sounds produced from an expanded laryngeal cavity. The creature took another step closer and spoke again: “Drihgse!” It appeared to be dressed more exquisitely than the other members of its tribe, with its head covered in a plumed, golden helmet. Ear ornaments, a massive necklace, and arm bracelets also gleamed yellow under the sun. As it spoke, the others seemed to be chattering excitedly to each other. Cris’ first instinct was that this was some kind of tribe leader or king.

  “Drefj! Wesign!” There was an urgency in the creature’s voice that could not be ignored. Now, the other tribe members were squeaking amongst themselves, pointing at Cris and gesticulating.

  Lorelei Chen was horrified. “What in God’s name is happening here?” she whispered. “What are they saying?”

  Cris glanced at her, then turned back to the one which appeared to be the leader. “Doperig! Jedjiss!” he said fluently. The creature gave a little gasp and dropped its spear, then appeared to fall to its knees in absolute awe.

  Chen’s mouth dropped open in astonishment. “You can understand their language? How?”

  A moment later, all the other creatures had followed suit, and now knelt before them in a hushed reverence. Cris turned to Lora and gave her a slightly
embarrassed shrug. “What can I say?” he said to her. “I am more than human now.”

  She took a deep breath. “What are they doing?” she demanded. She felt light-headed. Was this some kind of dream?

  There was a whistle from one of the tribe members, and then they started to chant in unison: “Damarret! Damarret! Damarret!”

  “Prifnisdd ghsie?” Cris asked.

  The leader spoke again: “Prefuqu Damarret hjirejs! Qerhg hjaweo ahsjkyu!”

  Chen gazed at Cris with a mixture of total disbelief and horror. “What are you saying to them?”

  He was grinning now. “He says they saw me rescue you from that pit, Lora. They think I’m some kind of god.” He laughed hysterically, then had to wipe a tear from his eye.

  Chen didn’t think it was funny. “I don’t like this,” she said. “It doesn’t feel right.”

  Cris barked another series of words to the leader, then listened for the response. They seemed to be engaged in conversation for some time before he spoke to Lora again. “He knows of the Asterite,” Cris told her excitedly. “He thinks I’m some kind of god who is going to save his people from it. He wants us to go with them, to their village…”

  She shook her head. “Wait. Cris. You must tell them the truth. You can’t pose as a god to these people. It just… it just isn’t right.”

  He sneered. “I hate that word, Lora. Stop using it.”

  “Sorry?”

  “I’m not posing,” he said. “It is a matter of definition – my people need me. They believe in me.” Feral joy burned from his eyes now, and his face was no longer human.

  She blinked. “Cris, you can’t be serious.”

  There was an unreadable glare in his eyes. His voice had dropped an octave, and had gone colder than the chills that were spreading from the base of her spine. “They can lead us to the Asterite, Lora. I can kill it, and save these people. We can be heroes. It’s what we want to do. It’s what they want us to do. Who am I to argue with their belief system? If they want to consider me a god, then I say let them. Do you know what’s really funny?” He was laughing again, as if tickled by an amusing joke.