The Experiment

by Costanza, Christopher

  I turned to Kayin “Whoever’s fault it was… We need to be more careful. That soldier could have just as easily seen us leaving and followed us… We don’t know.”

  “Forget him… If we didn’t need him I would have already dropped him off somewhere. I’ll be glad to be rid of him soon… I don’t care what he went through; he purposely tries to initiate conflicts with me, meanwhile we’re trying to help him!”

  “I know, but you just said it yourself. We won’t have to deal with him much longer… So just ignore him…Hey, I feel bad for his people. Apparently he’s their leader now. At least we get to leave.”

  We both laughed and started back to the ship…

  There was no room to lie down on the ship and it was too dangerous to sleep outside so we had to just try and fall asleep sitting up in the pilot’s chairs.

  After a few minutes we looked at each other and Kayin said “This isn’t working.”

  I said “No it’s not… But we don’t really have a choice.”

  “Let’s just sleep outside, the ground is soft and we can use our jackets as pillows.”

  “What about those giant animals that can kills us?”

  He laughed “Think about it Atlas… We’ve been here for two years and five guys have been killed by them… What are the chances?”

  I was so uncomfortable I agreed and we went outside.

  As soon as I hit the ground I immediately noticed how much clearer the sky was. I could see so many stars… Literally thousands more than I ever did looking up at night on Aeris.

  I couldn’t tell whether the moon was closer, or just substantially larger. But when it was full like this you could almost see as if it were the middle of the day… Everything about this place was so beautiful and amazing… I never wanted to leave…

  Kayin said “You know that some of the stars we can see have long burned out or become unstable and exploded? We can only still see the light because it’s been traveling to us for thousands of years. Even though the original source is gone… So in a way it’s like looking into the past.”

  “Hm… I didn’t know that… Incredible… And since when have you cared about that kind of stuff?”

  He laughed “Hey I read sometimes!”

  “I bet 3 would have a good response to that…”

  He looked over at me, smiled, and we both started laughing…

  I had a lot on my mind so I wasn’t exactly talkative; I guess the same went for Kayin... It seemed like 20 minutes went by before we spoke again. I kind of figured he fell asleep.

  “You know I don’t mean to be so short with 3… You have to admit, it’s really hard… I’d go as far as to say he actually picks on me specifically…”

  “I know, but you’re doing a lot better, and so is he… Don’t even worry about it… I don’t mind listening to you too bicker anyway. It’s actually pretty funny.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few seconds… “Shut up Atlas.”

  We both started laughing again…

  I heard him let out a big yawn. “So I’ve been thinking about what you said…”

  “What’s that?”

  “About not letting their actions change who I am…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Well I decided you’re right… Torturing people is for men like them. I’ve got a much better idea for Neros and his supporters.”

  He paused for a moment “I say instead of killing them or locking them up, we make them work the mines… From sunup to sunset, just like they’ve been doing to the natives… It’ll even help us get home sooner.”

  “Glad to hear you say that… I love that idea… But what do we do with them once we’ve mined all the chrysos?”

  “I say we lock them in those storage rooms and let everyone on Aeris know what they’ve done when we get back… The people will demand they stand trial. I know it.”

  I appreciated Kayin’s change of heart… But I honestly worried about letting men like Neros live…

  When we got back to Aeris, things could be different. The ACI obviously had strong influence over our government. They could have complete control by the time we get back. A lot can happen in 15 years or whatever it will end up being…

  “I know what I said… But are you sure it’s a good idea to let him live?.. The ACI is very powerful… We could really regret it later if he uses his influence to turn us into the bad guys… It wouldn’t be difficult for a man in his position. Especially if a good amount of his men stay loyal and lie for him.”

  “No, I have faith in our people… Most of us are good Atlas. Don’t let men like Horus and Neros convince you otherwise… We can do this without losing ourselves. Just like you said… I know that now.”

  “I hope you’re right…”

  Chapter 14

  3 managed to convince the second group of natives to join with us by the end of the day, just as he promised. He must have been right about their desperation… They’ll take any way out, even if it sounds like certain death.

  We were perfectly in line to hit two more sites, just as planned, but 3 ran into something totally unexpected at the third mine.

  One of the natives took exceptionally well to Horus’ treatment and was noticeably more intelligent than the others. He was able to assert control and refused to step down and allow 3 to have any influence over the rest of them.

  3 did his best to reason with him and show the others his superior intellect but it was of no use… Unfortunately, by the second day, 3 had no choice but to challenge the other native to a fight, or “Cal-Mah”.

  In order to secure his victory, 3 secretly fashioned a weapon beforehand… By their customs, 3 was forced to kill him. It was the only way to win their respect and make them recognize him as their new leader… If he had backed down, they wouldn’t ever forget the display of weakness and we’d have to just move on to another site.

  I thought he would be upset and take it out on us but he handled it well… I suppose he had to do things like that before Horus “advanced” him… I keep forgetting how completely different he was just a few years ago… How different they all were… Most likely all their problems were immediately solved with violence.

  That’s why I try my hardest to be nice to him, even though he makes it difficult. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel in his situation. It probably wasn’t something he could explain, even if he wanted to.

  3 went from being a simple, carefree man, to being responsible for his people’s destiny. And due to his intellect, that responsibility will carry on long after we leave…

  I couldn’t help but wonder if he was still in shock or actually grateful Horus made him who he is… Maybe one day he’d tell me…

  Even though we would only have the help of the natives at 3 sites, they were the most important. If the majority of the soldiers joined us as well it wouldn’t be a problem taking the rest, one by one. And most likely, we’d only have to secure a few more sites and get word out to others to make them all surrender.

  Whether they wanted to or not. If we take the ship and the majority of the mining sites they would have to…

  Once 3 had taken control of the third site, Kayin and I had no choice but to leave him behind with his people… There was no way to get him back on the ship without raising suspicion. Plus, he made it clear he wanted to be in the fight alongside the others.

  I don’t know about Kayin, but I sincerely hope he survives… We even tried to talk him out of it to ensure he lived, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer… He didn’t care how important his survival was to for people.

  He said. “That may be true Atlas, but I have to do this. How can I be their leader if I’m cowering on the Sirius in order to preserve myself while they die fighting? They might not know that’s what happened… But I will…”

  What Horus did to them was unethical, unnatural, emotionally damaging, and in many ways would set them back. It could truly lead to terrible future where the few intelligent ones control and abuse the mas
ses…

  At the same time 3 would have the ability to speed up their progression radically if he took on the role of their leader… Of course he’d be limited, even though his knowledge is immense. He can only do so much without materials manufactured by a somewhat advanced society. But he would have the opportunity to prevent disaster and transform what happened to them into a good thing…

  Eventually they would have to start doing mining of their own but it would be on their own terms and entirely for their benefit… Maybe one day in the distant future, a group of explorers from this planet would visit Aeris.

  Our curiosity is what led us out into the universe so I can only assume theirs will one day do the same… Hopefully they won’t make all the same mistakes we did and when they head out into the stars it’ll only be to explore...

  As Kayin docked with the Sirius, I felt the reality of what we were about to do hit me… There was no other way to describe myself besides extremely nervous.

  Today was the day we’d take the ship and order everyone on the ground to mobilize with the natives.

  I sighed and said “So this is it huh?”

  “Yeah… A lot more people are going to die today, but after this it’ll almost be over. All we’ll have to do is get the natives to stop worshiping us and mining…”

  I leaned back. “Well according to 3 that might not be so easy… He doesn’t even think he could get them to understand what we are if he spent his entire life trying. I don’t think we realize just what an impact we’ve had on them Kayin…”

  “… Let’s hope 3’s wrong…”

  Before we stepped off the ship Kayin said “Just go back to your room and wait. I have to meet with several different people and confirm everything… Get things set up. I’ll have Sara come get you and bring you to us… It might be a little while so just try to relax and prepare yourself.”

  We shook hands and parted ways.

  It was strange to be back on the Sirius after experiencing X-451… Even though most of it was horrible because of the conditions in the mines, many parts of the planet I got to see were amazing, especially that moonlit forest… It made me hate being on this ship even more.

  I had come to love the beauty of this planet so much, for a while I actually considered staying behind and helping 3 once we were done. After everything my people did, I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to do with my world anymore... All that advancement and intelligence, and we use it to ruin our own planet, and then do something like this…

  A life of simplistic solitude on this beautiful word had become more appealing as the days passed. When I thought about the Capital it seemed like such a depressing and empty place now… To me, it was nothing but cold metal and concrete, tastelessly displaying the wealth of men… They had destroyed something priceless so we could cover it up with something completely meaningless…

  Kayin said I had plenty of time to kill so I went straight to the observation room. Since there was a chance I could die today, there’s nowhere else I’d rather spend my time.

  Many different thoughts were congealing in my head but I continuously thought about what would happen when we got back to Aeris…

  Would we be rewarded and celebrated, or tried for treason and murder?

  I was becoming more certain that it wasn’t safe to return to The Aurora. We might have to get our story out to the public first, just to protect ourselves. I think it would be safe to say that the majority of the ACI and our government can’t be trusted. If they would do all this, than killing us and burying our story would be easy for them…

  I thought about the scene I left in the lab. That Horus had been rotting away for days… I wouldn’t want anyone to see what I’d done. Especially not Sara... Even though the site of room made it seem a lot worse than it is… She’d probably think I was a monster, just like Horus…

  And maybe I was… Kayin had decided to try and not kill Neros, so he could be forced to help us mine and then stand trial on Aeris. Why didn’t I do the same?.. What I did to Horus wasn’t justice - It was revenge… murder… At first I was ok with it, but I’m starting to feel very differently about it now…

  Sara never really left my mind… I just did my best to keep all those feelings deep inside for the time being. I couldn’t let anything distract me and risk us being found out. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to her. Just being away from her all this time was like losing someone I deeply cared about…

  Once we succeeded in gaining control, I wasn’t going to hide it anymore. And I know she felt the same way…

  I must have fallen asleep because next thing I knew, Sara was standing over me yelling “Atlas!.. Atlas! Wake up!”

  I can’t believe I fell asleep…

  “Sara, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

  “It’s ok, when you didn’t answer the door I knew you’d be here… But come on lets hurry, Kayins probably already there waiting.”

  She led me back to the same elevator but this time we were going to a different level.

  I looked over at her and she said “We had to find a safer and bigger space, there are going to be a lot more of us this time, and they’ll be relaying audio down to our people on X-451.”

  “A lot more people?.. That’s exactly what we need.”

  After navigating a series of hallways she finally stopped and opened a door. When I walked in I couldn’t believe my eyes. There were hundreds of people crammed into one of the storage rooms, waiting for Kayin to give his final commands… Kayin wasn’t kidding… We really did have the numbers…

  He immediately noticed Sara and I come in so he began to speak.

  “Everyone!.. This is it!.. Our people on the ground are standing by to set off the explosives. We’ll split into two teams, one led by me and another by Atlas. Once we’ve secured the weapons rooms we regroup on the flight deck!”

  I couldn’t help but be alarmed by the statement he just made… Since when am I qualified to lead a team?...

  He paused and looked over the crowd.

  “Once we have secured the flight deck, you’ll break down into smaller teams and go back out to secure the rest of the ship… There are still natives in those storage rooms, suffering and dying as we speak. As soon as it’s possible we’ll bring them back down to X-451!”

  He stopped and stepped forward.

  “Remember! Not everyone feels the way we do! Neros has many well paid men that will remain loyal no matter what! They won’t hesitate to put you down!.. And as hard as it may be, at this point we need to shoot first and ask questions later… But please do your best to give everyone a chance to switch sides. There are still hundreds of people on the ship who have no idea what’s going on!”

  He glanced at me. “Does everyone understand!”

  The whole room shouted “Yes!”

  Kayin walked over to me, put his hand on my shoulder and before he could talk I said “You’re putting me in charge of the second group? Aren’t their plenty of people here with actual combat experience?”

  He laughed “You’ll be fine Atlas… This is the way I want it.”

  “Kayin, I could get people killed… I’m a good shot but that doesn’t mean anything, and I don’t know the rest of the ship all too well. I don’t even know how to get to the weapons room!”

  He punched me in the arm. “You’re doing it, and don’t worry, I have someone who’s gonna lead the way and watch your back. He knows the ship like the back of his hand and he took part in the wars on Aeris… So he’s got plenty of experience, believe me.”

  I thought to myself… “Sounds like I should be following him.”

  “The weapons room you’ll be taking is on the 7th level… It’s further away from the flight deck than the other one so expect my team to beat you there… So basically, hurry up.”

  He turned around and called out “Narim, where are you!?”

  I saw a man break free from the crowd and head in our direction.

  “Narim, this
is Atlas, you’ll be guiding him and the rest of the team to the weapons room.”

  Narim turned to me and put his hand out. “Heard a lot about you Atlas. Good to finally meet you.”

  I shook it “You too, glad to have someone like you with me.”

  And I could tell I really would be… Narim was just like Kayin, he looked strong as an ox, and tall with dark brown hair... Except there was something different about him, unlike Kayin he also looked like a hardened warrior. There was a large scar running across his right cheek and what looked like old burns all over his neck and one of his ears… This guy had definitely been through a war…

  Just then the door opened. It was large room so the noise was amplified and echoed, everyone stopped and looked. For a moment I thought we had been caught...

  Instead, two men came in carrying a large crate and made their way to the center of the room.

  Kayin walked over “I was able to acquire some weapons. Anyone with military training please step forward… You’ll take the lead until everyone else is armed.”

  Narim looked at me “That’s us, come on.”

  I walked over, took a deep breath, and picked up a gun… I expected to be really nervous at this point but I wasn’t… In fact I was perfectly calm…

  Once Kayin distributed the few guns we had, he split the room and jumped on top of the crate to continue addressing everyone.

  “The elevators can’t hold enough people so we’ll be using the stairwells. Remember, the whole idea is to overwhelm each section of the ship and force them to surrender so we have less death and more people on our side! Everyone move out, you know what to do!”

  He slapped me on the back and headed for the door, the mass of his team following behind him.

  When I looked back over at the others they were all staring at me… I guess they were waiting for me to say something…

  “Ok everyone, start making your way to the stairwell!”

  As they all started leaving the room, I walked over to Sara.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this but… Go back to your room and wait.”

  She immediately got upset “What!? No, I’m going with you Atlas!”