The Kota

by Sunshine Somerville

  I couldn’t change anything I pleased, as some fates couldn’t be swayed. Fate didn’t leave me without clues of its plan, however. Occasionally I was shown a glimpse of the future through a window-like portal. These showed me in advance what would happen. These futures couldn’t be changed, but I was to ensure that they came about as intended. The portal windows remained open until real time caught up to that glimpse of the future. Then, that portal window closed and a new future replaced it, and after that a new future, and after that a new future, ad infinitum.

  This was all wildly beyond anything I’d expected, but I’d adjusted some time ago. An awesome power had been bestowed upon me, but I took my responsibilities very seriously. I told no one about the time-altering part of my work, as I knew people would forever ask me to change things I couldn’t. It was the saddest part of my existence that some futures showed painful events any man would wish to change, but alas. Some things I couldn’t change, no matter how hard I tried. These things were meant.

  I truly worked alone as the Interceder. I did interact with people whenever I entered time and space – I’d have gone insane if completely isolated. But, as a condition of however my abnormal life worked, I was never connected to whenever and wherever I entered. I wasn’t wholly myself. Because of this, I only entered reality when extremely necessary. It was just too weird, and I only felt like myself when in the outside realm of the fiery lights.

  All things considered, I’d developed a very backward concept of what was real. In many ways, I hadn’t been Troy Kandoya for centuries. I’d discarded my name, in fact. I chose instead to be ‘Trok’ so no one could investigate who I was or where – or when – I came from.

  As I floated in the portal lights outside time, I mostly watched as humanity struggled on. I did what I was supposed to do here and there and now and then, as was my duty. But, for great expanses of time, I observed as the world aged and I did not.

  And, oh, how the world had changed.

  Finally, a future window opened that showed me waking my brother from his frozen state. When the day arrived, I knew it’d be best to participate rather than just observe. This meant I’d enter real time and once again be not completely whole. After centuries of watching myself outside myself whenever I entered time, it was a strangeness I’d come to accept.

  “But it’s finally time to wake up Lee.”

  After a deep breath to prepare myself, I made the now-familiar motion with my hand. A portal stretched open before me, and I smiled with excitement.

  Real time

  Lee’s expression was one of complete confusion as he looked up from within the cryogenic bed and saw Trok kneeling beside him. Reviving him had been a shockingly easy procedure, but the Kota scientists with Trok had prepared for this their whole lives.

  Lee coughed and struggled to sit up in the steaming cryo bed.

  “It’s all right,” said Trok. “You’re okay. Just take it easy.”

  He was so excited and relieved to see Lee alive that he nearly grabbed him in a long-overdue embrace. Instead, he placed a hand on Lee’s shoulder to steady him. Trok was tense for several reasons, but first off he wanted to make sure Lee was okay.

  He’s my long-lost little brother, thought Trok. Please, oh, please, just let him be okay!

  As the doctors examined him, Lee looked beyond Trok at the dozen men and women gathered. Then he looked around the lab-cave. Trok knew Lee would see immediately that a good deal of time had passed – the state of the lab-cave showed centuries of disuse. Trok and the descendents of the Kota remnant had always kept a careful eye on the place, but some things couldn’t fight age. Faint running lights hummed overhead, but the balcony around their lower level had rusted long ago and collapsed in places. Most of the ancient machinery was broken. Only the life-support functions remained intact, though the system had been repaired many times by the Kota assigned to guard over Lee throughout the years.

  Lee looked back at Trok and examined his face. Lee himself had physically aged maybe ten to fifteen years while sleeping. Now middle-aged, his forehead was wrinkled. His hair and beard were peppered gray. His body underneath the medical scrubs appeared only minimally atrophic, though very pale.

  “You…” Lee cleared his throat to find his voice. “You were frozen too?”

  Trok lifted an eyebrow. “Not exactly. Let the doctors check you over, and then we’ll take you out of here. I’ll explain everything once we’re safely away.”

  “These are the Kota?”

  “Yes.”

  “How long has it been?”

  Trok hesitated, knowing this would be hard, but there was no real way to ease into it. “Five hundred years.”

  Lee’s eyes widened, but he’d been prepared for this. He asked no more as the doctors finished examining him.

  The doctor in charge stood, lowered his x-ray scanner, and turned to Trok. “Sir, he’s as stable as we could’ve hoped. I think we’re safe to move him. He’s weak and groggy, but that’ll wear off soon.”

  “Good.” Relieved by this news, Trok focused on the next concern. He lowered his voice so as not to worry Lee. “I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary. I’m sure Dominion patrols check this place on a daily basis in hopes of intercepting us.”

  “Good thing we brought soldiers, then.”

  Yes, thought Trok bleakly. Kota soldiers, anyway. And we’ve only got five with us. They’d be no match for Dominion drone soldiers.

  “I’d rather we didn’t have to use them,” he told the doctor. “We can’t afford getting caught in a firefight.” He looked down at his brother.

  The doctor nodded and turned to help his partners with their patient. Lee seemed curious about why the Kota deferred to Trok, but he allowed himself to be lifted into a wheelchair. Once he was ready, the whole group hurried for the ancient building’s exit.

  Outside, the warm sunlight pouring down didn’t bother Trok’s eyes. He looked over the wilderness beyond the crumbling gates, searching for danger. Trok saw Lee take a deep breath of fresh air and close his eyes to feel the sunshine. This once again reminded Trok how disconnected he was from everything around him.

  But now Lee’s with me, thought Trok. I’m not as alone anymore. I just hope he can handle this.

  “No patrol activity in the area, sir,” called a Kota soldier from his position near a hover hummer.

  Trok snapped into action and took over wheeling his brother toward this soldier’s vehicle. “Let’s be sure we’re gone before they arrive.”

  “Yes, sir.” The soldier whistled to his partners. “Load up!”

  The Kota doctors and soldiers piled into the other vehicles as Trok helped Lee into the backseat of their hover hummer. Once Lee was secure, Trok closed his door and stepped around the vehicle to climb in the other side. He watched as the first hummer started off toward the road.

  So far, so good.

  Inside the hummer, Trok ordered their driver to go. They took off smoothly, and Trok relaxed enough to face his brother. He remembered the last time they’d been here – at the lab-cave, in a hover vehicle, with a Kota driver.

  Things are so different now, he thought.

  Lee took a drink from a thermos the doctors gave him. “I don’t think I can wait until we get to wherever it is you’re taking me.” He was coming to life a bit. “What’s happened?”

  Trok smiled. “First, it’s so good to see you, you have no idea. I’ve missed you more than you can imagine. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” Lee took another drink and faced the window. “Funny how nature looks the same. Five hundred years hasn’t changed Canada much.”

  Trok tried not to frown.

  Lee looked back at him. “Where are you taking me?”

  “There’s an abandoned village not too far from here. That’s where the rest of this group is waiting.”

  Lee wore an apprehensive smile. For a moment, he looked like the boy who’d always sought his older brother’s approval. “So
… Since you’re here, does that mean you joined the Kota?”

  “Yes, Lee.” Trok reached over to place his hand on his brother’s shoulder. He’d waited centuries for this. “I want to apologize for how I acted. Please, forgive me. I was such a gigantic ass.”

  We need to be fixed before we can tackle bigger problems, he thought.

  “Of course I forgive you.” Lee squeezed Trok’s hand. He made a curious face as he examined Trok again, then he let out a sigh and shook his head in amazement. “Five hundred years… Okay, explain why you look exactly the same. I have a million questions, but let’s start there.”

  Trok explained what had happened to him personally. Time travel, immortality – it sounded so bizarre even now. And Lee was the first person to learn everything about Trok’s abilities. It felt wonderful to have an ally, a brother. By the time he finished, Trok realized how badly he’d needed Lee.

  Lee whistled a long breath. Then he thought a minute. “What’s the new Interceder Prophecy, again?”

  “’The Interceder

  Torn, the chosen brothers will take divided paths –

  one, a cold path of solitude;

  the other, time’s lonely eternity.

  The doubtful Bearer will repair.

  He alone will do the work, and he will do the work alone.’”

  Lee nodded in thought. “You said new prophecies came after I was frozen. Anything else pertaining to us?”

  Of course, Trok had had centuries to analyze the prophecies. “Many were fulfilled over the years, but a few still pertain to our part in the Kota story. Nothing mentions us specifically, but there’s a prophecy about the Marked children we’re supposed to be Bearers of.

  ‘The Warriors

  The marked children will fulfill

  the work set out for them.

  First the Leader and the Hunter, joined.

  Second the Seer and the Fighter, compelled.’”

  “What does it mean?”

  “No idea.” Trok laughed. He flopped his hands in his lap. “Now that you’re back, you can live with these Kota and study the prophetic texts we’ve collected over the centuries. I’ve been watching after the remnant all this time. I’m sure they’re the best people to help you figure out where we go from here. Honestly, I’ve just been waiting for you.”

  Lee seemed relieved by this.

  Hmm, thought Trok. It must be hard to see me in a position of authority among the Kota. Maybe Lee thinks he isn’t needed anymore… I should bring him up to speed as much as possible before we get to the hotel. We’re the Bearers, together, not one of us better than the other. Lee needs to be prepared for whatever the Kota ask of him. And there’s much he needs to know about the world.

  Lee must’ve been thinking the same. “You’d better give me a quick history lesson. These people seem so…scared. What was that about patrols? The Dominion?”

  “Things got ugly after you were frozen.” Trok frowned. “A few years after I entered the portals, the Euro Civil War ended. However, that wasn’t a positive step for humanity. A man named Ludvig Olander – who had Kota ancestry, by the way – came to power in northern Eurasia because he alone discovered a working treatment against the DRK. He told no other soul how he’d found the treatment.”

  “But do you know?” asked Lee. “If you can see into time-”

  “No,” Trok said with a sigh. “Everything to do with the creation of the DRK treatment is hidden from my viewing, for whatever reason.”

  Lee looked disappointed. “Oh.”

  Trok shared this frustration but continued. “Because every nation was riddled with a factored population, many countries pleaded with Olander to share the treatment. That’s how he gained power. Because he held the DRK treatment, no government on Earth dared refuse him political power for fear of being ostracized. When a nation submitted to his rule, he immediately administered the treatment to its people. Because the treatment didn’t work as a permanent cure, the nations then had to remain in submission to avoid the threat of losing the scheduled treatments he supplied. Within ten years’ time every nation bowed to him, and every person alive received the DRK treatment. Within a single generation the virus was under control and the remaining global population’s health was secured.”

  “So that’s why everyone living isn’t a factor by now. Good to know.”

  “Yes. But while the virus isn’t rampant in the world anymore, it’s still out there, lurking. That’s how Olander kept control. With the viral threat lessened, he ceased global DRK treatments. That meant, once again, anyone could potentially be infected. And that kept just enough fear in the air to make people continue their submission – only those on Olander’s good side continued to receive DRK treatment injections. If any nation’s subjects got out of hand, the penalty was removal from the treatment list. That meant the perpetrators were thrown back into the mix with the rest of the untreated population. Olander dangled the DRK treatment like a carrot before the peoples’ noses, promising his followers protection if they did as he said. Because of his unfaltering control, his global tyranny came to be known as the Dominion.”

  Lee’s eyes lit with recognition at the term.

  “The current Lord High Commander of the Dominion is a descendent of the original. His name is Thurston Olander. He’s known to have Kota ancestry, like each Dominion leader, but this Olander detests our people. He sees the Kota as a threat to his power.”

  Lee nodded. “It makes sense the Dominion wouldn’t want any Kota alive to birth the Marked children destined to fight against their precious viral weapon. But surely the previous tyrants knew of the Mark Prophecy. Why did none of them take out the Kota prophecy threat?” He made a face. “Not that I’m not grateful for their oversight, but…”

  “I don’t know.” Trok had wondered this many times. “Whatever their reason, this tyrant is doing the job. He’s ordered Dominion drone soldiers to comb the globe for Kota and slaughter them whenever they’re found. Because of the Kota’s commitment to public preaching and charity work, they’ve gathered together in communities to help their fellow man – that’s made them easy targets. The Kota were completely annihilated in Eurasia, and Olander’s soldiers are swiftly moving through the rest of the globe. The only sizeable Kota community left is here in Canada. There are around two hundred here.”

  Lee’s eyes widened. “Only two hundred? That’s the biggest group?”

  Trok nodded. “I’ve watched over the other Kota communities whenever I can, helping them escape. But the Dominion is ever narrowing in, tracking them down, and soon…”

  Lee appeared deeply saddened by this. He looked at the back of the driver’s head. “That’s why these people are so scared.” He needed a moment. “So the Dominion is global?”

  “Yes. The original Olander set up an entirely new governing system. The Dominion only accepts three official world languages, and millions of people are forced to comply. Nations no longer exist, and that has stripped many peoples of any sense of identity. Regions across the globe are assigned to the Elite, those members of the Dominion given the highest level of power. They govern with direct control over the regions and the cities within those regions. The system is so simply effective it’s sickening. Geographical territories are labeled quite generally as the Mainland-Euro, which also includes the African continent; the Mainland-Asian, including the islands of the East; the Southern Continent, or South America; and the Northern Continent, which is where we are now along with the former United States. The Dominion even holds its headquarters in our now-ancient Capitol House, if you can imagine.”

  Lee looked as if he could easily imagine, and Trok reminded himself that Lee had seen the corruption in America’s government long before he had.

  Trok made a face. “Now, globally, every child is implanted with an ID tag at birth. The tags are classified as either common citizens, Dominion Youth, Dominion operatives, Dominion executives, or Dominion Elite, depending on what level a person rises to. The tags a
llow for tracking and general identification, but they also keep record of who should and shouldn’t be on the DRK treatment schedule. When the time comes for vaccinations, people go to the treatment stations and scan their tags for authorization. On top of that, the tags monitor all financial and communicational activity worldwide. Funds flood into the Dominion from major world corporations the tyranny now owns. No one else ever gains any power because the Dominion either buys them out or runs them out – and that second approach usually involves revoking DRK treatment privileges.”

  “But the virus is dormant? Once the Dominion restored the population, outbreaks stopped?”

  “For the most part, yes. The treatment isn’t administered in territories that are considered lost, but those populations are so small that any factors just die off before the infection spreads. Every Elite region receives the DRK treatment as long as they stay in line, like I said earlier.”

  “Does anyone study the virus anymore? If Ludvig Olander found a treatment, shouldn’t someone else be able?” Lee looked as if his mind was rolling on this topic. “If the Marked children are to drive evil from Earth – and it sounds like the virus is still the biggest danger – that must mean they’re to fight against the virus.”

  “Yes, I agree. The Kota scientists who survived you tried to study the virus once it hit America. Unfortunately, they were killed when a few refugees factored and…turned on them. After that, the Kota still tried to band together and find a way to end the viral madness, but everything spiraled out of control pretty fast. The U.S. research facilities were destroyed in the wars or else laid waste by the infected factors when… Well, it was a catastrophe. Then Ludvig somehow did find the DRK treatment, and he put a stop to viral research. He slaughtered thousands of scientists and doctors. He destroyed research facilities. Now, even though the Kota don’t have scientific resources to use, Thurston Olander is still wiping them out to stop the prophecy.”