“Don’t act like you care about finding my brother’s station; it offends me. There is only one person on the station who’s important to you; your target. And of that, I’m not all that sure either. I think the only thing you wish is to find The Augur.”
“First, I have to find that girl who claims to have found The Augur.”
“A girl, eh? And what is it you know of this girl?”
“Her name... And that she’s in some part of Autoro.”
“Is that it?” he said, and broke down into laughter. The information Dasslak possessed seemed ridiculous to him. “You definitely won’t be able to find her, not without my help. This must be killing you.” Shar had hit the nail on the head; Dasslak hated having to ask for a favour, but this time he had had no other option. “The legendary contract killer; has to ask for help to complete his job.”
“I didn’t come here to entertain you, Mr Shar. Are you going to help me or not?”
“How annoying...” grumbled Shar. “You leave me no option, boy... I suppose I’ll have to help you.”
Chapter VII
Home
Senlar looked incredulously at Denn, he thought that surely he was joking.
“What do you mean, Denn?” asked Senlar.
“Just what I say. We found a construction... a shelter.”
Senlar was utterly confused.
“Wait, wait... what?”
“I know it’s difficult to believe,” said Denn. “When we’re done putting up the permanent camp, I’ll show you.”
“But it’s just that I don’t understand, Denn, how can there be a shelter if the tests indicated that there was no sign of any civilisation?”
“Well I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Now of course, the shelter was abandoned, all the equipment there is unusable. I imagine that’s the reason why the probe we sent did not capture any signal. It could be that the owners have already left the planet, or it could be that they haven’t. If there’s anyone here, they could help us survive, or they could attack us. We’ll see.”
“It’ll be better if we keep this a secret for the moment, Denn.”
“I know, I already said the same to the men who went with me. Before telling everyone, we need to investigate further. We don’t want to worry them any more than they already are... Now, we would be wise to hurry.”
Once their chat was over, they grouped all the people together and prepared them for the journey. Before leaving, Senlar addressed all those who had been security officers on the station. He explained to them once more that the safety of everyone now depended on them, and from that moment on, they were all soldiers with the mission of protecting their own.
Denn also had something to tell them. He thanked them for having acted so calmly, in spite of everything they had been through. He told them that now they were a family, and they all must take care of one another. He promised to take them to a better place, where they would be able to construct a permanent camp, a fort that would protect them, and he asked them to take care and have patience during the journey.
“I’m scared,” said Qein, as he hugged C0-UN1.
“Don’t worry, Qein, I’m going to protect you... You have lenses and a wristband, right?”
“Yes, look,” said the little boy, showing the device on his wrist. “Dani gave it to me.”
“Good. Denn taught me a trick. I can program a locator in your eyes,” said the robot, referring to the advanced device, “so you’ll always know where I am. If at any time you feel afraid, you only have to search for me and I will protect you.”
“Really?” said the boy, very excited. “Thank you!”
They finally left in search of a new home. The majority would have to go on foot, as the vehicles would be carrying the machines and objects that had survived the accident, along with the injured who needed to rest.
They crossed the forest easily. The enormous vehicles removed all obstacles in the way so they could cross with ease. During the journey, the people were able to better understand what they would be facing. They crossed paths with all types of creatures, small reptiles and a few insects. Fortunately, none of them were of great danger. As they progressively left the forest behind, the visibility of the panorama grew. The spectacle of enormous beasts, in the distance, eating leaves on the trees, frightened the survivors quite a bit; not many of them had seen anything like it in their lives.
“They’re harmless,” assured Denn, trying to calm them. He had already seen them in his previous trip, and it turned out that they were very calm animals that did not even appear to notice their presence.
When they crossed the final row of trees, the panorama was revealed to them in its entirety. Now, from a large prairie filled with flowers, the beauties of the planet were laid out in front of their eyes. It was a raised area, a privileged place from which one could appreciate the magnificent display. Distant waterfalls, cascading from the high rocky mountains; strange animal species running through extensive grasslands; large winged beasts sailed impressively through the skies, before the peoples’ astonished gaze.
They stopped for a second to contemplate the incredible landscape. Those who had been afraid before were now in awe. It was an incredible world that signified all kinds of opportunities for them. Denn pointed out to them the place where they were heading; it was an enormous, flat area. On one side it was cloistered by enormous trees, which would help protect them from the large animals. On the other side, a large and mighty river would provide them with water, and perhaps fish or other edible species. It definitely seemed like a good place to construct a camp.
“Do you see; those giant animals won’t enter into that forest of large trees. We’ll be protected there,” Denn told them. He was right; the enormous beasts did not venture into the forest, although they would have to construct walls to protect themselves from the smaller ones.
The route was not particularly easy-going. A few beasts wanted to attack them on a couple of occasions, but the soldiers carried out their job well, chasing them away with their weapons, which proved to be effective.
After a long walk, they arrived in front of the forest of large trees. They did not have to go much further into the place to understand why the large animals did not go in there. The trees were so thick and strong that it would not be at all easy to cut them down. Furthermore, the space between each one of them was barely sufficient for the vehicles to be able to fit through, and even, on more than one occasion, they saw the need to turn back in search of a less narrow space through which the vehicles would be able to pass.
The forest harboured many things they would have to be careful of. Several animals, similar to the wolf that Denn had encountered before, in addition to large felines similar to leopards on Earth. The place was a paradise for a myriad of species. They could not resist hunting some of the more defenceless ones. One species of armadillo, and something similar to an ostrich. Wallace and Olyr analysed them later to discover that their meat was indeed suitable to eat.
When they finally left the dense forest, they found a clearing alongside a river. It was the place chosen by Denn, sufficiently large enough for them to construct a small village.
“We’re here!” said Denn, smiling. Happiness and optimism took over everyone; the place seemed fairly suitable. Wallace was the first to hurry up to the river. He took a test of the water, and it turned out to be drinkable.
“We can drink!” he announced. Everybody approached, happy; the water they brought had been used up, and they were thirsty. They went into the river, celebrating the valuable liquid.
“What do you think, friend?” Denn asked Senlar.
“It’s perfect, Denn. We’re going to be all right here.”
They did not waste even a second; they had to make the most of what remained of the day. They wasted no time in starting the work. C0-UN1 helped a fair amount. They used a few pieces of metal, made from material mined from asteroids that they brought from the station, in order to construct props an
d supports for a wall that would protect their fort, and they covered it with the strongest materials they had, putting up strong walls. When they finished constructing the first layer of the wall, it was already night time; reinforcing it would have to wait until the following day, but they were satisfied. They had made a huge amount of progress.
Once more, the drones would guard the perimeter alongside a few soldiers that had settled in a few improvised towers along the perimeter. That night would not be as bad as the previous one. In spite of them hearing the same howls and roars, they now felt protected and hopeful. They sat all around a fire and made a good dinner from everything they had collected. They shared a few laughs and gave thanks for finding themselves safe and with food.
Neil did not want to approach; he was far away from everybody else, in front of the river, looking at the planet’s small moon. Gor went up to him with a plate of food, which he took without saying thanks, and sat down thoughtfully on a rock to eat in silence.
After eating, they prepared the tents and retired for the night.
The night passed, and with the day, they began their work. They cut down a few more trees to reinforce the whole wall, which by now was beginning to look impressive, protecting the area they lived in. They constructed a walkway along the length of the high walls, so that the soldiers would be able to cross them, protecting the fort, and once the walls were finished, they began to construct the first cabin for the people. The results were surprising. The fort was starting to look like a small village.
That day nobody left the stronghold to search for food. They sent a few people to the river to fish, with great results. Besides, within the fort there were a few bushes with delicious fruits.
From the station, they had brought a large variety of seeds. Senlar assigned a few people, including Dani, the task of setting up an orchard, in which they would harvest legumes, tubers, vegetables and fruits.
The day had been very productive; they had managed to advance a decent amount with their new home. Everybody felt satisfied and proud of their work. The following morning, Senlar assigned tasks to the people, and searched for Denn so that he would take him to the place he had told him about. He decided to trust Neil, and left him in charge, in spite of Bornew’s protest. They took the same team of soldiers that Denn had brought before, and left on the pretext of going to look for food.
It was a long journey. They went in two well-armed vehicles, prepared for any danger. After an hour, they arrived at the mysterious site, on an elevated point with great visibility. It was a high tower with a ladder. It was obvious to them that this place served as a guard post.
“It can’t be!” said Senlar, who had remained sceptical until this moment.
“I told you,” said Denn, with a worried face.
Without delay, they went up the ladder. The building had clearly been abandoned for years. ‘At least fifty,’ as Senlar had noted. The truth is that this post had not been visited in an incredibly long time, but its good construction had protected it from nature for a long time. By now it was starting to disintegrate, there were plants growing inside it, and the dampness reached even to the last corner. There was not much to see. All of the equipment there would not serve for anything, and trying to repair it would have been useless.
“How is it possible for this to be here, Denn?” asked Senlar, astonished.
“I’m asking myself the same question... Look to see if there’s anything that could give us an indication. The first time we came here, we had no time to check anything... To tell the truth, it made us a little afraid, and we decided to leave,” he said, and let out a nervous laugh.
“Indeed, I’m feeling shivers. Who knows what thing could have built this.”
They all scrutinised every corner of the place searching for something that could give them answers. There was nothing important, and if there ever had been, it had already been taken. However, kept inside a box, in the drawer of a small item of furniture, was a notebook. It was a diary, written in English, the official language of The Galactic Union.
“What’s going on here? Where are we?” asked Denn, in astonishment.
They were all open-mouthed. A quick glance through the text did not reveal much. It was regarding the memories of somebody who wrote at length about their daily tasks. They decided that they would not find anything else in the place. It was dangerous to stay there, and the best thing was to go back to the camp in order to work to strengthen and complete its construction.
“I’m going to read the whole thing,” said Denn. “There’s definitely going to be some indication that’ll tell us who this belonged to.”
They all got into their vehicles and left. Denn began to read the diary on the way back, trying to find some explanation.
In the fort, the progress was noticeable. The second cabin was already finished, and the construction of the third was already well underway. The orchard was ready, and the first seeds had already been sown. The people who had ended up the most injured were completely recovered, working in their new home. The fishing catch had been abundant, and they now had a large quantity of food reserves.
Wallace and Olyr were working on the construction of a refrigeration system to preserve the foods. They had the necessary tools for its creation. In addition, they brought with them a small fusion reactor that would give them significantly more energy that they would be able to use. They would just need to connect it to a converter in order to be able to supply their small village with energy, and, as soon as everything was ready, they would be able to illuminate their fort.
The day had been as productive as the one before it, and many people were already accommodated in their own cabins. Denn had finished reading the diary, and had answers for Senlar. Without delay, he went up to him, ready to share his findings.
“Did you find anything out?”
“That’s why I’ve come, Senlar. I’ve finished reading the diary, and I now know who it belonged to... You might not believe me.”
“Why? Who did it belong to?”
“It belonged to one of the Colonisers.”
Senlar was surprised. Everybody had heard of the Colonisers. They were those mythical robots that had rebelled against the humans in the year 2185.
In 2182, against the wishes of their creator, those peculiar robots were sent to Venus to work on the terraforming of the planet. For a time, there was no problem, but some began to feel that they were treated like slaves. One day, one of them decided that enough was enough, and began to convince the others to rebel. He took humans, who were also working on Venus, as hostages, and communicated his demands to The Galactic Union. That robot had become the leader of all the Colonisers.
The Union, founded little over twenty years earlier, refused to negotiate. It sent troops to Venus to attempt to liberate the one thousand-plus people that the robots were keeping prisoner in the camp they had constructed inside an enormous cavern on Venus, but the robots resisted the attacks.
The Colonisers had one big advantage, The Union tried to rescue the hostages without hurting them, but they did not achieve it; they only managed to enrage the robot leader, who threatened to kill half of the hostages if they tried anything like it again. The Union had no other option than to retreat, as they had already committed enough errors.
Over the course of almost three years’ worth of failed negotiations, the Colonisers maintained their position; until in 2188, pressured by public opinion, The Union had no choice but to accede to the robots’ demands.
The leader of the Colonisers asked for the same rights that humans had. He did not want his people to be forced to carry out tasks that were imposed upon them, but he knew they were never going to obtain the treatment he asked for. They had to go away, far from the reach of the humans.
He demanded a ship with a jump system, in order to be able to travel with his people to another planet and become independent. As an act of good faith, he would set free half of the hostages at the exact moment they br
ought them the ship, and the rest, once they were on the verge of leaving the Solar System.
When the ship arrived on Venus, the robots were true to their word; they released half of the hostages and took control of it. Astute as their leader was, he took the time to check all of its mechanisms, confirming his suspicions; The Union had disabled the jump systems. They were just trying to trick them.
The Colonisers repaired all of the systems without The Union cottoning on to the fact that they knew of the subterfuge. They set free a large quantity of hostages, keeping only one hundred of them, agreeing with The Union to let them go when they were in space in the evacuation ship, just before opening the wormhole that would take them to their freedom.
The Union agreed; they thought that it would all go exactly as they planned. The ship would leave Venus, the robots would free the hostages, and when they tried to open the wormhole without success, they would destroy them.
In spite of the fact that the robot leader wished to punish The Union for having tried to trick them, he desisted, convinced by some of those closest to him. They had repaired the systems and would be able to leave. It was not intelligent to start an unnecessary battle. He even planned on leaving the hostages, unharmed, just as he first promised. Once out of the Solar System, they would leave behind their old life. Unfortunately, they did not count on one of the hostages, whom they had freed before leaving Venus, knowing they had repaired the jump systems. The hostage told The Union everything, and the plans changed.
In no way was The Galactic Union going to allow them to leave. They would attack them before they left Venus. The majority of the people were already safe, and although there were still hostages remaining, they were prepared to sacrifice them, as long as the rebel robots were destroyed.
The surprise attack began just as the robots were preparing to leave. It was a brutal battle involving the deaths of many Galactic Soldiers, and the destruction of several robots. The Coloniser robot leader’s fury grew. A monster had been born. Just when it seemed that the robots were about to fall, a stroke of luck helped them to escape via a wormhole, straight to an unknown place.
Convergence: Genesis Page 11