by Kira Wilson
"Unless the translation program is messing these numbers up, it looks like several million."
"Why would they be moving records on that many people?"
Clyde accessed one of the records individually. Suddenly the imager filled with layers of detail. It was as if someone had recorded every aspect of a life, down to their DNA coding. "Uh, Dave. I'm not so sure this is a record on someone…"
David took another look, and his face paled. Bio-rhythm patterns, neural interface traces. It looked like a medical report from someone inside V-Net. Why would they have this information on so many people?
"Clyde, access the Salvation Program."
A new display opened, and again Siath was standing before them. "I address this to the Crisis Council, regarding a potential solution to the cataclysm befalling our planet. May it please your wisdom, I offer the details of the Salvation Program. Given that our best atmospheric scientists have concluded that the damage to our world is irreparable, my division has developed a model for a fully functional and automated Mindsphere, which would encompass the whole of Analath. This sphere represents the pinnacle of the advancement in our Thoughtlink network. The sphere would be capable of reproducing life in every aspect, a perfect recreation of our planet, its populace, and our entire existence. Given the recent breakthroughs in Thought relocation, we would be able to transfer the consciousness of the entire world into the sphere, where our people would survive, safe from the ravages of our planet's atmosphere. Analath in its physical form is lost to us, but if we act quickly, we can save the lives of all of our people, and ensure the continuation of our race. I await your response to our proposal. Observer Siath of the 3rd Division of Sciences."
A planet in its death throes. Escape to a virtual world. Massive data transference.
The display returned to the globe, and green letters flashed across the screen. Present Time - 6812 AF. The blinking lights of the Nine Cities showed clearly from the surface of the planet.
The last piece of the puzzle slid into place.
"Oh hell," David exclaimed. "I can't believe something like this is even possible."
Everyone turned to look at him, a mixture of wonder and fear spread across their faces.
"Don't you see? Analath isn't a real world. It's a computer program. A module. The greatest module ever created."
In a frightening way, it all made sense. David hadn't realized just how many questions about the nature of Analath had been left unanswered during the last two months.
The physicality of his interactions within Analath, his injuries and sensations… all of that realism had been part of the design. The language of the Anrathian people… he had always wondered how his translator could work if Analath was a different planet. Virtual objects being projected into a physical existence… the gateways had been the bridge between the two computer systems, not two worlds.
And the Anrathian race—
"Wait a minute," Lucas blurted, "does this mean that Annie isn't real?"
David caught Analara as she collapsed. She trembled in his arms, and her breath came in short gasps. Horror radiated through the tears building in her eyes. He wrapped his arms around her and scrambled desperately for something to say.
Analath was no longer real. It had been, thousands of years ago, before the self-destruction of the planet had forced its populace to flee to the only safe haven they had. Their world had been rebuilt as a computer simulation, their entire race transferred unknowingly into digital form.
Analara sobbed against his chest. As gently as he could, David drew back, trying to see her face, but she turned away. No matter her origins, her pain was real, and it cut him like a knife. "Analara, look at me."
She opened her eyes but refused to meet his gaze. David caught a glimpse of emotion in her eyes.
Analara was ashamed.
"No." The thought of her being ashamed of her own existence tore David's heart open. He stroked her face and buried his fingers in her hair. "Don't. Don't even think it."
"How can I not, David?" she whispered. "I shouldn't even be here. I don't exist!"
"That is not true!" His vision blurred with restrained tears. "I know that you are hurting right now. How could you feel something like that if you weren't real?"
"Dave's right, Analara."
Clyde knelt down beside them, his expression the gentlest that David had ever seen. He touched Analara's shoulder and gave a faint smile. "Life exists in many forms. Believe me, I've spent the last couple weeks learning about it. Mierva can't trace her ancestry back to biological organisms, yet she's more real to me than most of the people on Phoenix. In the end, none of this changes anything. You're still an alien… just not quite the same as before."
David gave Clyde a blank stare. Analara sniffed, but she seemed less withdrawn.
"Most importantly…" Thomas leaned down and wrapped an arm around Analara's shoulders. "You are our friend."
Lucas knelt down with the rest of them. "You belong with us, Annie. We're not giving you back."
Analara's bottom lip trembled and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She hugged each of them in turn.
David helped her to her feet, and her arms curled around him, her head resting on his shoulder. A few tears soaked into his shirt, and he could feel her heartbeat against his chest. She was real, by every sense he possessed.
He stole a glance up at the rows of consoles. Thousands of years of knowledge stood before them, along with the true history of humanity's new homeworld. He could spend years in this place, studying the data Siath had left behind.
David wanted to know everything.
But, there were more important things right now. He nuzzled Analara's neck as he pulled the string of beads she had given him from his pocket. "This is just as real to me now as it was when you gave it to me," he whispered. "The same as my feelings. I love you, and nothing about that has changed."
Analara wiped her tears and nodded. David leaned in and kissed her, then stood back and smiled. She looked up at him with a question in her eyes. "So. What happens now?"
David's reply was interrupted by a harsh clanging. Lights flashed from all of the surrounding terminals. "Clyde, what the hell is going on?"
Clyde's fingers danced across the interface, and screen after screen flew by on the imager. "I'm not sure yet, but whatever it is, it's major. The event has temporarily overwritten the security lockdowns. I'm trying to get into the core systems to find out what's happened."
A topographical map flashed onto the display, showing a red pulsing dot moving slowly across the landscape.
"Damn it," Clyde growled. "This is a whole lot more complicated than anything I've seen. As near as I can tell, there's an infection spreading into their system. The internal protections are holding, but whatever is attacking the simulation is starting to overwhelm its defenses. If something isn't done soon, Analath is going to collapse."
Chapter 41
"Do you have any idea what's launching the attack?" David shouted over the chiming alarms.
Clyde glared at the screen as his fingers darted from one display to another. "The density of their code system is exponentially greater than V-Net, but from a high level it looks like some sort of viral infection." He paused, and his gaze locked with David's.
David nodded slowly. "It has to be Totarakh. He must know by now that the war mechs failed to wipe us out. What could he be looking for in Analath?"
Thomas interrupted Clyde before he could respond. "More important than the question of what is the question of where." He pointed at a collection of buildings on the overhead map. "Analara, do you recognize those?"
Approaching the display, Analara peered at the tiny structures, studying them intently. "It's a little hard to tell from above, but I think this is Ilinar." She pointed to one building in particular. "That looks like Varlath's house."
"Totarakh must have come through a portal near the city," Thomas said. "Otherwise the system would have warned us earlier."
David's gaze roamed from Analara's face to Thomas's, and then back to the display. "Clyde, is there any sort of security log for Analath? Any record of intrusions into the system?"
Several displays rushed by as Clyde cycled through the system. Finally the image settled on a fairly standard looking report. "I think I've got it here. The data from the current incursion is really garbled. Totarakh's virus is doing a serious number on the system! Before that, it looks like there were several breaches into the system in a short time frame," Clyde said.
"Those have to be the original portals."
"I'm reading three occurrences in relatively close proximity. All of them register in the same geographic landblock. The first would have been your hover-bike breach, the second was my portal. Which must mean the third—"
"Is Totarakh's."
"Lancelot's right, the portal is coming out near Ilinar. I'm trying to narrow down some precise coordinates." Clyde tapped several commands, but his attention was drawn to the bottom entry on the display. "What the…"
David waited for Clyde to finish. A long moment passed. "Um, what the what?"
"But… how can that be?" Clyde shook himself. "Dave, I'm reading an incursion into the system nearly twenty years ago."
Eyes wide, David studied the entry intently. "It doesn't look like a complete portal formation. A small data transfer was recorded before the gap closed." Could this be the event that started the Crash Storms?
"No clue what that means, but I think I've got a fix on the current portal's position." Clyde's eyes narrowed as he studied the characters on the display. "It's at the exact location of your first entry into the system, Dave."
"Which means?"
"Someone has opened a portal to Analath in your hover-bike module."
The memory of flying off the track flashed through David's mind. "All right, we know where we need to go now. However, Totarakh may be more than we can handle in their world. Is there anything you can do from here to give us some more firepower?" he asked.
Clyde grinned devilishly. "I thought you'd never ask. While the system is in flux like this, I think I can modify the external dampeners." His fingers dashed from one command to the next. A new warning chime sounded, but was quickly silenced. "There. I removed the limiter on the alterations we can make to ourselves while we're in their system. We'll have full access to our abilities inside Analath."
David flashed Clyde a relieved look. "Then I say it's time we finish this bastard off for good."
A sudden surge of power rippled through the level, and the holographic display shut down. All around the platform, the consoles flashed and then went dark.
"Damn it," Clyde shouted. "Whoever set the control locks on this place must have detected my hack and shut the system down remotely. Dave, I'm not sure this was Totarakh's doing. Someone else has been here."
"We don't have time to investigate that now," David said reluctantly. "We've got to get back into Analath."
Together the group ran for the exit and reappeared in the broken command level. Clyde was already punching commands into his interface as they ran down the corridor. "We won't be able to transfer directly into the module. The portal has created some sort of interference that VERA can't penetrate. We'll have to ride my shell module."
They reached the point where David and Clyde had first entered the command level months before. As they waited, a growing fear gnawed at David's stomach. He touched Analara gently on the shoulder and motioned for her to step aside.
She's not going to be happy about this.
"Analara, I need to ask you to stay behind on this one," David whispered.
She blinked, a look of confusion crossing her face. "I don't understand. Why?"
"I don't know what affect returning to Analath will have on you. Within the system, you're not entirely human or Anrathian, and with the virus attacking your world, I don't know whether you'll be able to survive there." Analara started to object, but David continued, "The last time we returned from Analath, you ended up in my arms, dying of whatever Shalaron had infected you with. I can not bear the thought of losing you again."
Analara smiled wistfully at him and smoothed the hair away from his forehead. "It means a great deal to me that you care so much for me, David. However, this is my home, my world, and I can not and will not stand aside and let it be destroyed by a false prophet. Whether or not I belong there anymore, I must protect it to the end."
David closed his eyes, the fear inside expanding into a consuming terror. "This isn't going to be a simple fight. The very fabric of Analath may be coming apart, and you could be destroyed simply by being present."
Analara's eyes flashed with a surprising anger. "And how is that any different than when we fought to protect VERA and your world's existence was at stake? You can not honestly expect me to stay behind waiting and hoping that you return safely. Whatever doubts I have, I have more respect for myself than that."
"This has nothing to do with respect. This is about keeping you alive," David shouted. Surprised, the other members of the group turned to stare at them.
"And what guarantee do I have that you'll come back to me, that you'll survive this battle?" Analara retorted. "Please don't pretend that you're the only one who has someone to lose!"
David turned away from her, his insides a boiling pot of fear, frustration and worry. She wasn't going to see reason, wasn't going to take steps to protect herself. If she wouldn't, then he had a responsibility to.
"In that case, I'm sorry," David said deliberately.
Analara's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "For what?"
"This."
Quickly opening his holo-interface, David typed out a series of commands, linking himself into the connection control system. Before Analara had a chance to protest, she vanished, forcefully logged out of the system.
"Bro, what the hell did you do?" Lucas shouted over the surprised gasps of the others.
"What I had to." David sighed. "I will keep her safe."
Thomas gazed thoughtfully into David's eyes. "While I understand your fear, I'm not sure that this was the wisest course of action you could have taken."
David shifted uncomfortably. A slight shudder indicated that the shell had docked with the command level. "What's done is done. We have a mission of our own to get to."
The group moved into the shell, and Clyde sat at the controls, inputting their destination. He gave a quick glance back at the sober faces behind him. "All right, boys, time to save yet another world."
***
Pushing aside a low-hanging branch, Shalaron strode from the grove, all of his senses focused on the world around him. It groaned, tortured by the presence of something dark and foul. A feeling of urgency pressed him forward, and he oriented himself on his target.
A nearly imperceptible rustle warned him that he was being followed.
"Halathas, I told you to remain with the camp," Shalaron growled.
"You told me to see to the men. Once that was done, my duty impelled me to follow," Halathas responded.
Shalaron let a small breath loose. "Your loyalty is appreciated as always, but this foe is beyond you or anyone else of this world. I can not tell if even I will be able to halt its advance." Shalaron focused his gaze into the distance once more. "Gather a guard of our finest warriors and begin the next phase of our plan. Acquiring what we need from the girl is paramount." He spared a glance behind.
The stoic expression on Halathas's face did not change, but he nodded. "As my Sage commands, so it shall be done. Siath guide you until we meet again, my friend." With that, he turned back into the grove and disappeared from sight.
As Shalaron sprinted across the tall grass, the sense of wrongness grew within him. He slowed his pace as he approached the grove where the gateway stood. The trees seemed wilted and diseased, and a faint green glow extruded from within.
A figure appeared from the shadow of the trees and floated slowly toward Shalaron. The aura emanated from i
t, sickening the grass and the very ground as it passed above.
"Whatever you are, you are unwelcome in this world. Depart, invader, and you may yet survive this day," Shalaron declared.
Sibilant laughter rippled from the figure. A shock of diseased energy radiated outward, and a wave of revulsion swept through Shalaron. The figure lifted its head to gaze upon him. Its frame was as gaunt as a long-dead corpse, and its face, if it could be called that, was warped by decay and madness. Something about the figure stirred his memory.
"Fate continues to serve me well," it hissed. "I am pleased to see that you have recovered from your wounds, Shalaron, for this will allow me to return them to you in even greater measure."
There was no mistaking the oily, condescending tone. Shalaron's eyes widened. "Totarakh?" The change that had befallen the former High Priest of the Siathrak was truly horrifying. "What manner of abomination have you become?"
"Abomination?" Totarakh snarled. "Is that how you address your God?" He stretched out his hand, and the nearby grass blackened and shriveled. "I wield mastery over death itself. I have become lord and destroyer. The only abomination is that I must tolerate your presence for a short time longer."
Shalaron watched the corruption spread away from Totarakh and glared at him. "You would dare bring this affliction to my world?"
"Your world, Sage?" Totarakh sneered. He floated forward, his movement deliberate and dangerous. "You are barely a man to me in years… and less than a child to me in power. You are but a fragment of the dreams of our ancestors, while I have transcended their thought and purpose. I have broken free from the prison they crafted, and now return to claim dominion. Be purged from my presence!"
The air filled with green fire, and streams of burning decay leapt toward Shalaron. Stepping back, he drew in currents of air, and a howling gale swept across the field. The chill of the wind swirled around the burning columns, twisting and bending them away. Turned aside, the fire tore into the ground at Shalaron's side. Narrowing his eyes in anger, he launched a wave of jagged ice at the glowing figure.