Boundary (Field Book 3)

by Simon Winstanley

  “Morning…” said Tyler.

  When Danny turned to face him, Tyler was completely dwarfed by the mass of the Node behind him.

  “I didn’t dream it then?” he took the ration pack that Tyler was offering, “I see the window’s still blanked.”

  “Yeah,” Tyler looked back at the Node too, “The Doc reckons it’s cos Barnes doesn’t want people reading our message.”

  “I’d say she’s right,” said Danny, “But people saw it, Ty.”

  They walked back through the makeshift camp of tents and supply crates. Their inventory ranged from useful medical supplies that Caroline was busily inspecting, to a set of half-charged DRBs stolen from the Observation deck. With no means to recharge them though, the expensive piece of technology would simply become dead weight on their journey; anything it had recorded would soon pass into obscurity.

  Danny saw that Tyler was actually smiling.

  “What?”

  “I reckon it’ll be a pale blue today,” said Tyler pointing to the sky, “Not as colourful as yesterday, but I’ll take it.”

  “You know these rations ain’t gonna last for ever, right?” Danny reiterated their predicament.

  “Yeah?” he frowned.

  “And that doesn’t bother you?”

  “Hell, no!” Tyler shook his head, grinning, “As soon as we get off this island, we get to build a whole new world! We’ll be making food!”

  It seemed that Tyler had an outlook that could offset their dire situation through sheer optimism. Danny was about to tell him so when there was a distant rumble of thunder that seemed to underline his own pessimism.

  “Unfortunately,” said Danny, “this new world still has storms, let’s get everyone under cover. We’ve got to keep the clothes dry…”

  Danny stopped when he saw that Tyler wasn’t moving, he was just looking around at the sky.

  “What storm?” said Tyler.

  The distant, thunderous noise reached them again and Danny turned away from the Node, expecting to see darker skies. However the sky was just as clear to the south.

  The distant noise was now attracting the attention of the others, who stopped what they were doing to gather around him and Tyler, asking what they were looking at.

  The thunder suddenly rose in volume and Danny saw what looked like a star to the south. Then the star grew in length to take on the appearance of a thin slit, as though the sky itself were being opened to reveal a brighter light beyond. His first horrific thought was that it was a stray piece of lunar debris, or a meteorite coming to finish what Siva had begun, but then he saw something else.

  As the brilliant white line continued to etch itself across the pale blue sky, he saw an object at its leading edge; an object that, even at this distance, appeared nothing like a piece of rock.

  Danny had the faint impression that the object was surrounded by a transparent sphere; visible only because of a distortion to the air surrounding it. The distortion then seemed to shrink in a series of rapid steps, exposing the object within.

  Then the object changed course.

  Danny whirled around to look at the others, to see if they were witnessing the same thing; without exception, they were. His eyes fell on the dominating presence of the Node behind them, where the observation window was still opaque. They had chosen to mask their view of the exiles; as a consequence, they’d also obscured the outside world. For them, these latest events simply did not exist.

  When he turned back, the object was much closer and clearly artificial. The grey mass looked aircraft-like and had a certain familiarity to it, as though aspects of its design had been inspired by several different aviation sources.

  At low altitude, the craft swept past them and disappeared behind the Node’s massive hemisphere. When it emerged on the other side, Danny saw that it was moving even slower than before. He could see that the craft was descending rather than gliding. Accompanied by a jet engine-like noise, it continued to make its way around the Node and then headed towards the far shore on the opposite side of the moat. Almost as one, everyone ran to the edge of their small island.

  Continuing its slow, hovering descent towards the Icelandic terrain, landing struts appeared to unfold beneath the craft. The jet-like noise suddenly dropped in pitch and the craft touched down. As it settled into position, the noise swiftly wound down, leaving only a faint echo that dissipated over Öskjuvatn Lake.

  A cheer went up from everyone on the island, including Danny himself.

  “We’re saved!” Caroline shouted and hugged him, then returned to waving at the far shore along with everyone else. After several minutes, there had been no signs of life from the craft and the celebrations subsided slightly. People busied themselves packing supply crates and dismantling their tents, but it was all done with a sense of optimism.

  “Told you, didn’t I?” said Tyler, “Gonna be a whole new world.”

  Danny didn’t reply.

  Rising above the craft and heading in their direction was a hovering, black drone. Extending down from it was a shiny metal rod.

  EXORDI NOVA

  2nd January 7142

  Atka knew that the disturbances of this night would be remembered by the people of his village for generations to come.

  He had been present when the Orb had first shaken the very earth under his feet. Trees had vanished in frightening flashes of purple light as he ran to the village.

  When he had returned to the island with the Elder, the Guardian within the Orb had witnessed his initiation; the ceremonial ash markings and the passing over of the precious stone set within a ring of metal.

  When Atka had placed the metal ring into a time-worn box, shadows in the warm ice of its flat surface had taken the form ‘2400’ before flowing like black water to form ‘1200’. The shapes themselves were meaningless to him, yet when the forms faded, the Sky-Spirits also faded. The Elder had fled from the island and the Orb’s radiance had then also faded into darkness.

  Beholding a sight that previous generations had never seen, the Orb now appeared as a dense black silhouette against the star-filled sky. Yet in the quiet darkness of the empty island, he felt that something was keeping fear at bay.

  Until now, he had thought that he was simply taking his place within the long chain of Elders that had accompanied the Orb throughout the ages. He had never expected to be the one who would bear witness to The Guardians’ return.

  His eyes adjusted to the shadows and he saw movement within the Orb. Where once a single Guardian had stood, were many silhouettes. Their slow, flowing movements had vanished; they now moved with a speed equal to his own.

  Many of the figures carried short sticks that held a cold, white fire at one end, yet did not appear to burn. The lights moved in complex patterns, swiftly following each other deeper into the darkened Orb and out of sight.

  A sense of calm settled over the island, then ahead of him a hissing sound cut the air. The Orb was not fashioned from materials he knew but he tried to interpret what was happening before him.

  In one small place, the skin of the Orb folded away to reveal a hollow space. Within it he could see dots of white fire, bobbing and weaving close to the ground and getting closer.

  The Guardians were emerging from the Orb.

  The one leading the way raised a white-fire stick, illuminating the way ahead and also her face.

  It was the Guardian who had first pointed at him.

  Her fiery crimson hair was no longer floating but her eyes still shone with the same intensity.

  A thought from earlier in the evening re-entered his distracted mind: many of his people still speculated that The Guardians came from the stars and may one day depart from here, taking their followers with them.

  In reverence, he bowed his head and, summoning all his courage, spoke to her.

  “Archiv Exordi Nova,” he recited, tracing his finger around the metal ring in his hands, “Ekwayta Fine-dus Eridanus.”

  He then raised his
head and waited for her response.

  He knew that The Guardians had been watching them for generations, but no-one had ever heard them speak. There was no way of knowing what her reply ought to be.

  “Issabiomag,” she whispered, a puzzled expression on her face. She then turned to the other Guardians while pointing at the box by Atka’s feet, “Howdeegeta…”

  He saw that the other Guardians were now exchanging puzzled expressions and whispers. Wondering if he’d made a mistake in his words or somehow offended them, he prepared to recite the words again.

  Before he could begin, she turned to face him and he could see that all confusion had left her face. She was smiling at him. Instantly, he felt all anxiety leave him and he stood transfixed by her bright eyes.

  Still looking into his eyes, she bowed her head very slightly. She then patted her chest according to the pulses of her voice.

  “Ca-Si-Dee.”

  It seemed that The Guardians were familiar with aspects of their communication. She was naming herself. He felt the warm glow of understanding spread through him and began to smile too.

  “Casidee,” he attempted her name, something which appeared to please her.

  He heard his ancestors speak within him, telling him not to be afraid and compelling him to guide her to the ancient stone. Extending his arm towards it, she followed him to the fractured ‘ARK IV’ stone.

  He ran his hand over the groups of lines that read: ‘CRESCATKATEFORTIOR’.

  His name was clearly visible in the middle, overlapping his mother’s name, Esca. He pointed to the shapes that depicted his name and then faced Casidee.

  “At-ka,” he patted his chest. Then, in respect, touched the circle of ash upon his forehead, “Exordi Nova, Ca-si-dee.”

  Still smiling, her shining eyes studied his.

  “Exordi Nova, Atka,” she replied and touched her forehead.

  “Ekwayta Fine-dus Eridanus,” Atka offered up the metal ring.

  The mumbled voices of the other Guardians behind her, caused her expression to change.

  “Fine-dus?” her head tilted slightly.

  He understood and guided her around the stone to reach the opposite side; a side that had never received light from the Orb.

  In the shadows, the Guardian raised her white fire, dispelling the darkness and revealing the circular symbols and instructions laid down by the forefathers many generations ago.

  As the Guardian ran her hand over the ancient carvings, she suddenly stopped at the most detailed glyph. She turned to face him, her expression now alive and urgent.

  “Atka,” she pointed at her eyes and then touched the stone markings again, “Sho-me!”

  E V A

  Field series: Book 4 (Excerpt)

  Continue into the Field at

  www.futurewords.uk

  The artificial gravity provided by their continuous spin was absent up here, so it took her a few moments to readjust to the weightless environment. Pushing between handholds, she made her way through the ISS central axis modules.

  Each segment still seemed familiar, but some had necessarily been powered down, making her navigation a controlled drift through patches of darkness. Like her own memories, she thought, some portions were now more brightly lit than others.

  Ahead of her, the cupola lay in shadow; stripped of its equipment, only the circular window arrangement remained. The view beyond its glazing, however, had changed irrevocably. In comparison to the last time she was here, the landscape far below was almost unrecognisable. If she looked carefully, she could see the lights of New Houston. Although Eva’s destructive actions were beyond comprehension, those same actions had led them here.

  Time and change, she thought. Still taking in the wide view, she placed her bare hand against the cupola’s cold glass one last time. Apes had once extended their hands to a star-filled sky; time and change had altered that perspective too.

  With a gentle flex of her hand she pushed herself away, leaving only her fingerprints on the glass. She found herself smiling; the marks may one day become some of the furthest-travelled fingerprints in human history.

  Drawing a deep breath, she emerged into the central axis and focussed on the present. Like so many of their previous endeavours, time and timing were always critical. The ISS separation sequence would be no different.

  More details of the Field series are available at

  www.futurewords.uk