The Experiment

by Costanza, Christopher

  “We have limited room, and limited time. You can’t let things like this bother you Atlas! All that matters is the mission, we don’t have the luxury to worry about losing a few of them.”

  So much for not sacrificing anymore of the natives… It was just another lie… I wonder if he actually believed that when he told me…

  Once Kayin was finally aware of what was happening he confronted me… I’ll never forget the way he looked at me… Like he didn’t know who I was… It was like he now felt the same way about me that I feel about Horus.

  I tried to explain that I had no choice without telling him too much, but he didn’t listen…

  His last words to me were “You’re a coward Atlas… a coward… I hope you can live with what you helped accomplish!”

  He was probably right… Now all I could do was stand up and grasp for redemption once the opportunity presented itself. For now I was stuck… Hopefully one day he would understand.

  We haven’t spoken since… I pass him in the hallways from time to time and he won’t even look at me… Just like Sara… It only made this all the more difficult and helped rush me down the path to depression.

  I spent weeks on end watching Horus inject hundreds of the natives, and it turned out his miracle concoction wasn’t so perfect. For every 3 or 4 that survived the process, at least one would die. So really, Horus just removed the aspect torture and now he was killing as many in a few days as he used to kill in a week.

  Everyday men would show up to remove around half a dozen that died from the injections and even more that died from the cramped and diseased conditions of the storage rooms.

  The worst part was that I could see the fear in their eyes. I could see the want to escape and go back to their lives; no matter how simple they may have been… And when the injections started to take effect, the increased level of intellect only made their fear intensify…

  Even though Horus tried to argue that we were “helping them advance”, we didn’t have the right to kill them, interfere in their natural progress, and use them as slaves… These are the type of actions that should bring shame, not celebration.

  Horus could make any excuses or present any benefits he wanted… It was just an avoidance of what was really happening to them… Not to mention, I knew he was really doing it for himself…

  That little act was just for me. He may have been amused by the fact that he was advancing them, but he didn’t actually care…

  The fact that the whole ship was going along with this, truly made me question my faith in humanity… I just had to keep repeating Sara’s words in my head and take comfort in the fact that I wasn’t the only one who cared. That soon, people were going to rise up and do something about it…

  Several months after the mass treatments began, one of my fears became a reality.

  Horus had successfully gotten two of the native’s to score almost 60 on the intelligence test. They were inserted at one of the mining camps to act as leaders to the natives. The long term plan was to create structure among them so mining camps could be totally run by natives. This way the number of sites could be increased and speed up production even more.

  To me, it was also another way for them to hide the reality of what they were doing… Keep their struggle out of sight in the hopes it won’t affect everyone’s conscience. If they made it so none of our people on the mining sites had to see them struggle and die, everyone would forget… Just like they do on Aeris when it comes to the people outside the protective field…

  Instead of hastening the mining process as Neros had hoped, it totally backfired and lead to a mass slaughter.

  The two more intelligent natives convinced all the others at the site to revolt against the mining teams and military. Except the situation wasn’t anywhere near as simple as Horus had projected.

  It wasn’t just a matter of quickly instilling fear… The fighting lasted for hours and hundreds of natives fought to the death. Many of our own people were lost as well. They may have only had shovels, pickaxes and various tools from the site, but they were extremely fast, strong, and didn’t really react to being shot unless they were mortally wounded.

  Horus and Neros were now directly responsible for the deaths of our own people as well... Simply because they wanted to hurry back to Aeris with their newly acquired wealth and scientific discovery.

  All it did was set back the mining process again and make it so the military had to round up more natives for injections… And I later found out Kayin had to take part in defending the mining site… I knew he had to be devastated…

  And the revolt wasn’t the only problem…Once the natives had witnessed the modern technology of our firearms and weaponry, partnered with our ability to come down out of the sky, they began worshipping the military and miners as deities… Unfortunately it spread to every site…

  Apparently they had some understanding that in a way we were their creators… Sadly, it made it so they were now willing to be our slaves and work even harder due to fear. They started working from sunup to sunset, their only concern being to please us.

  They had even created a very limited language and began to refer to us as the “Anu – Naki” which Horus interprets as meaning – “From the stars”…

  The worst part is, I could tell Horus didn’t see it as a problem at all… In fact, he thoroughly enjoyed it… even thought it was funny. I guess I’m not surprised a man like him would relish being worshipped.

  While it was heartbreaking, it was also interesting to observe how they automatically assumed we were some type of supernatural beings simply because they didn’t understand technology. They couldn’t comprehend that we were able to come from the stars due to intelligence, invention, and ingenuity.

  I couldn’t help but find the whole scenario fascinating and wonder how long it would take them to figure out who and what we were once we left… It reminded me of the beliefs of our ancient ancestors on Aeris… It made me wonder if something similar had happened in our distant past to inspire such similar beliefs…

  Regardless of the revolt, the mining process was going so well I’d heard some of the military and miners were taking advantage of their “deity status” and abusing the natives. A bunch of miners had even been reprimanded for sitting around all day and forcing the native’s to work harder than usual…

  Many of the soldiers and miners now felt anger and hostility towards the natives because their revolt had killed close to fifty of our people… The rumors surrounding their mistreatment at the mining sites only got worse as time went on. At one point I even heard they’d stand at the top of the mines and shoot them just for fun… I could only hope it wasn’t true…

  The Sirius had now been stationed over X-451 for just over a year. Close to a thousand natives have died and the mining sites have shattered expectations. With the “help” of the natives, the mining teams have already produced over 1,500 tons of chrysos and only estimate the numbers at the end of the next year to be substantially higher.

  The project to create more mining sites using only natives had failed but the presence of their manpower turned out to be more than enough to make the 4 year goal a reality…

  After another long day of watching Horus injecting the natives, and people coming in and out to remove bodies, I was heading back to my room and I found Sara waiting for me.

  I was about to speak and she put her finger up to her lips, signaling me to be quiet.

  I nodded and waited for her to give me direction.

  She motioned for me to follow her and led me to an elevator. I began to say something as we went up, but she quickly put her finger up to her lips again.

  I knew something was finally happening… It took everything in me not to speak. I had been waiting for this day for so long. And knowing it was coming was one of the few things that kept me sane and allowed me get some sleep every now and then.

  When the elevator doors opened there was a long empty hallway. We followed it in comple
te silence for what seemed like a mile and finally came upon a door. She looked at me, smiled, and opened it.

  When I walked in I saw at least 50 people standing around talking. They all stopped and stared at us… well actually me.

  Sara closed the door behind us and said “Everyone it’s ok, you can trust him, I trust him!”

  There was nothing but silence. Judging by the way they were all looking at me, I had a feeling they knew exactly who I was… and what I’d been doing… I could see the disgust, and even hatred…

  Then out of nowhere I heard a familiar voice fill the room.

  “I know this man better than I know any of you, if we can trust anyone it’s him. I give you my word!”

  It was Kayin.

  He walked over and embraced me.

  “I’m sorry we couldn’t contact you sooner man. We couldn’t risk you possibly giving us away, whether you would mean to or not. You’re too close to Horus…”

  I was so overwhelmed and happy, I was speechless…

  Kayin looked at me remorsefully “I’m sorry about what I said last time we spoke… I had just found out and I was so angry... I had no idea the danger you were in. Then Sara and I met and she told me everything… I wanted to tell you. I…”

  I stopped him “It’s ok Kayin, I’m just gald we’re talking again… What is all this?”

  Sara stepped forward “Like Kayin said, you’re too close to Horus so we’ve had to keep you in the dark… We’ve been quietly gathering people who want this to stop… We’re planning on taking the ship and setting the natives free.”

  Kayin said “Sara’s been recruiting people from the science and I’ve been working on gaining support within the military and the rest of the crew… Almost everyone I talk to about what’s happening with the natives seems upset and feels like they were lied to… As the months pass we’re just getting more and more people willing to join our cause.”

  I replied “Do you think we’ll actually have enough people to take the ship?”

  Kayin laughed “Oh that’s going to be the easy part… Almost the whole military is either keeping watch or assisting with the mining. The ship is basically left unguarded… Technically we should have enough people to seize it right now. The problem is going to be convincing the majority of the military and the miners to side with us... Because of the revolt, many of them still have a lot of hatred towards the natives.”

  “…Yeah, I heard you had to be involved in that… I’m sorry…”

  I could tell I struck a nerve by the look on his face. He didn’t respond, he just looked at the ground and then back at me… He didn’t have to; I knew exactly what he was feeling. He had to watch them die; even kill them, just like Sara and I…

  I instantly regretting even bringing it up…

  For over a year I’ve felt completely helpless and alone. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a dream that didn’t eventually turn into a nightmare. I came to dread sleeping long ago; it didn’t allow me a break from the horrible things I saw every day like it should have. They would all come rushing back, moments after I closed my eyes.

  To see Kayin, Sara, and so many others ready to take action against the ACI almost made me fall to my knees. I knew there had to be others that wouldn’t be able to stand by and let this happen.

  As I looked around the room I could see the same pain and anger in their eyes that burned inside me every day… But at the same time I also started to think about what we were up against.

  Even though Kayin said it would be easy, there were still at least a few hundred members of the military division left on this ship, all with advanced training and big salaries at stake.

  I had to question Kayin “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here with all of you right now… You have no idea what this means to me… And how much I’ve missed you. But I also can’t see how this can work with so few people…”

  Kayin got a wild look in his eyes and smiled.

  He moved closer to me “We’ve been working at this for some time Atlas. This isn’t everyone involved… not even close. Remember, we have to be as secretive as possible. Can’t make our gatherings too large… Atlas, there are hundreds of people from every division standing by, ready to go. We’ve actually got really good odds, and I have a feeling when we do act, the others will follow… Everyone knows this is wrong, whether they’ve admitted it to themselves yet or not.”

  I suppose it was just like Kayin to organize something like this. I’m not at all surprised that he would want to take action against the ACI for what they’ve done; he’s a good man… The best I’ve ever known and I know why anyone would want to follow him. He was the perfect person to recruit more people for this…

  As I stood there, I could feel myself coming back to life. Almost as if an invisible force had been restraining my very essence… Though I guess I know exactly what that force was… or more like who…

  All that mattered, is it was gone now. If it were up to me we would act immediately. The longer we wait the more natives will die… And just thinking about how much Horus enjoys his deity status infuriates me to no end.

  I looked Kayin in the eyes and said “I believe in you Kayin, I always have. You’re the best guy I’ve ever known. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it… no matter what it is.”

  I looked over at Sara and I could see that she was completely confident about the situation. I knew right then, looking at her and Kayin, and everyone in that room, that we would succeed in freeing the natives.

  Kayin continued to explain that he and a lot of the other soldiers were shocked and angered by the plan from the very beginning. Unfortunately, Commander Neros has a lot of influence and quite a few men who are loyal only to him.

  Kayin is convinced that even they will turn once they realize what’s taking place, but that we still had to expect heavy resistance… He also claimed he was going to kill Neros with his own hands…

  “Neros is mine… After all those speeches about how we have to care about people and not be selfish. I can’t believe I fell for it… It was nothing more than an act to get us all out here so we’d feel helpless and desperate enough to go along with his plan…”

  I stopped Kayin and said “Then I’ll be the one that kills Horus. That man is a monster and he doesn’t deserve to be alive… And he definitely doesn’t deserve to go on and tell his story to anyone… you have no idea what he’s done. Even if I were to describe some of it…”

  Kayin stopped me “I already planned on having you take out Horus, that’s one of the reasons you’re here… Though there’s a lot more to this plan than just a takeover and bringing those two criminals to justice. It will all be about timing. You’re going to have to be patient and continue what you’re doing.”

  Kayin explained that he was slowly organizing even more people to join the resistance. He planned on having explosives set off near the mining sites in order to disorient the men still loyal to Neros right before the attack.

  Then, everyone on our side would secure every site by any means necessary as the rest of us took the ship.

  Other than the thinly spread military personnel, the ship was mainly occupied by technicians, along with a few hundred scientists and the flight crew. Most likely they wouldn’t put up much of a fight, especially since they’d be completely unarmed... He even claimed to have several people on the flight deck involved as well.

  The more he explained the details of his plan the more I knew it would definitely work. It almost seemed too easy, but we had the element of surprise; no one would ever expect an attack from within. Not even Neros… He and Horus were far too arrogant and focused on their own aspirations to think something like that could ever happen.

  It seems as though time had worn away at everyone’s conscience. According to Kayin almost anyone he eventually confronted wanted Horus and Neros dead, and the natives freed… Of course he had to be very careful. If he let one wrong person in on the plan it was all over. He had to pick
and choose wisely…

  When Kayin was done talking to me, he turned around and addressed the room.

  “Ok everyone this will be our last meeting for some time. The day is coming and we can’t risk anyone finding out. It could be a week or even a year… You will all be contacted for one final debriefing before we act, but be ready at any time. Just a handful of errors in timing could ruin everything…”

  Kayin paused, looked down at the floor and clenched his fists.

  He jerked his head back up and looked at everyone – I could see the fire in his eyes.

  “You all know what we’re doing, don’t let anyone get in your way… Try not to kill any of our people… but do what’s necessary; there is no one innocent here, even us!.. So we must all be ready to give our own lives for this as well… it’s the very least we can do!”

  They were harsh words, but they were true. None of us were innocent, even though we were eventually going to try and help; we let it happen in the first place.

  We could have all refused and started an uprising right then but we didn’t… because we were afraid. Of course I wouldn’t ever say that, but I’m sure some of them had come to the same realization… This was almost directly our fault as we made it all possible by cooperating.

  We could place all the blame on the ACI and men like Neros and Horus, but the reality was different… And I felt the least I could do is recognize it...

  It’s the reason I couldn’t sleep, and the reason I’ve had countless nightmares… It’s because I know that I LET this happen. So many natives were tortured and killed before my very eyes and I did nothing… In fact I was helping the man in charge of it all…

  I thought to myself “Am I the guiltiest person in the room?.. Do I even deserve to kill Horus after all I had done?..”

  Maybe I’m a monster just like him, only selfish and afraid as well…

  There was no doubt in my mind that I would die for this if need be. I just hope I can do even better and give them back their freedom… Then maybe one day, I’d be able to forgive myself…