The Humanarium 3: Revolution
Page 33
‘There,’ Dana said, pointing to where Elo was staring down the slope in amazement.
A white shuttle was coming up from Gorm. Neon blue light shimmered from the rear and sides as the thrusters propelled the craft up towards them.
The shuttle had been Kane’s pride and joy and together, he and Tess had lovingly restored the craft to its original condition, keeping the extra weapons that Tess had added. They were more of a memento to the battle than actually needed. No wars had broken out after Grakka’s demise and the only thing that threatened humanity now were the creatures that had always roamed the planet.
The shuttle’s engines kicked up a flurry of wind as it landed nearby and the adults had to hold the children back as they all tried to intercept it before the engines were shut down. The little girl on Damen’s shoulders began to attempt a climb down his back, using his long ponytail as a ladder to reach the ground. He popped her down and she scurried forwards under Sky’s supervision to touch the machine.
The side door tilted upwards making the little girls and boy jump back. Kane was wearing a new bright white jacket and a beaming smile as he stepped down the small stairs at the base of the doorway. Tess came out after and Harl finally saw the bump that Sonora had told him to expect under her formal white dress. Sky skipped forward to meet her, cooing over the bump in excitement as Kane thrust a bony hand out to Harl then Troy and Damen.
‘Congratulations,’ Sonora said, giving Harl a chiding scowl as if to remember his manners.
‘Thank you,’ Kane said.
‘I bet it’s already doing those mathematics you told me about,’ Troy said. ‘By rights it should be more cleverer than either of you.’
‘Save us,’ Damen said but clapped a firm hand on Kane’s back making him stagger.
Tess was inspecting Sky’s nails as the scuttler tried its best to make it difficult by coiling around the hand. Tess stopped her inspection and looked up as Harl asked the question they had all been wanting to know.
‘So why have you brought us here, Kane?’
Kane shrugged. ‘I wish I knew,’ he said.
‘Told you he was bonkers,’ Troy said.
‘What I mean to say,’ Kane went on, ‘is I do not know for certain as it is not me that asked you here. I received a message from the Overseer that we were all to meet her and other Aylen at an undisclosed location about an hours flight from here. I am sorry, but I do not know any more than that.’
Harl sunk into one of the new plush seats in the back of the shuttle. ‘Is it about the reactors?’ he asked Kane as he came in from the cockpit.
‘I doubt it,’ Kane said smiling at Elo as she clambered around between the seats. ‘I oversaw the building of all of them personally and so far, not a single hiccup in their operations. As far as I know the Aylen still have unlimited power and have yet to consume even a fifth of what the reactors can output.’
‘Could it be the results of the death strips?’ Harl asked, referring to the experiments that the Aylen had been trying in order to make the dead land fruitful again.
‘I’ve heard there’s been progress in some areas but nothing definitive. It will probably be the next problem for them to solve. There’s not enough untouched space left for continued growth.’
‘Can you help them?’
Kane shook his head. ‘Not with current technology,’ he said, ‘but I did hear of a tribe of humans discovered a few weeks back that had excellent skills in agriculture. If we can trade our knowledge of genetics with their-’
Tess’ voice broke through the speakers. ‘We’re at the coordinates,’ she said.
Harl glanced out of the window and saw the stepped buildings of the Bankers rising up to meet them as the shuttle touched down. Aylen came out from the buildings the vibrations of the heavy strides vibrated through the hull once the engines had powered down.
They stepped outside, flyers in hand and looked up at a row of the most prominent Aylen they had met. Veel, Vax and Sine stood on one side of the shuttle looking down at them while
Taal, Barchook and Sorack waited on the other.
‘Must be serious,’ Damen said.
‘I’ll stay here with the little ones,’ Sky said, opening a locker crammed with flyers. ‘Don’t be too long.’
They clipped their feet into the flyers and soared up a hundred and fifty times the height of a man to Aylen head level.
They greeted each other warmly. All of them were better off since the death of Grakka and there was only prosperity and happiness to talk about. When the small talk was exhausted Harl took the chance to ask the question. ‘Why have you brought us here?’
‘If they say they don’t know,’ Troy said, ‘I’m going back home.’
‘We have something for you,’ Taal said.
‘Follow me,’ Barchook said, turning from the circle around the shuttle and heading for a gap between two of the largest stepped buildings.
Behind the buildings was a huge flat metal surface, thousands of metres across, like a barren field of glimmering steel. The Aylen positioned themselves around the sides and Harl noticed the thin black line cutting through the ground, splitting it neatly in half.
He watched the line grow thicker until it was clear the field was splitting in half. The two giant sheets glided smoothly apart revealing a metal lined cavern beneath. The floor of the cavern rose up level with the ground and perched squarely in the centre was a long sleek ship.
Harl heard Kane gasp as if he was having a heart attack. They all took a collective breath and Harl blinked his eyes in case he was imagining the sight. It was a ship. Not like the shuttle but a colossal vessel, sleek and predatory. It was a piece of art. As big as Orbital, and unlike the crater pockmarked hulk, this was a shining beacon of silver, carved as if by water over stone. Titanic engine blocks extended out the back and rear sides bulking the ship out and only adding to the size of the metallic beast.
Barchook’s deep voice broke the silence and it was translated by the curved slithers of computer that nestled behind their ears.
‘We wish to extend our thanks to your species by offering you this gift,’ he said.
‘A-a ship?’ Kane said, his voice came out a stuttering choke as his eyes darted over the shining surface.
Barchook’s face broke into a grin at Kane’s utter astonishment and Sorack lent in.
‘It has the latest technologies, designed by the team at Micro Elements.’ he said. ‘Your gift of unlimited power has changed our company and the future of the planet is secured. A double reactor, full shielding technology and a hull made from-’
‘Durium,’ Kane cut in.
Sorack nodded.
‘It has the capacity to carry twice the number that the original did,’ Veel said.
‘Fascinating?’ Damen prompted, looking at Kane.
‘Magnificent,’ Kane said. ‘Elegant, majestic, divine...’
‘Alright,’ Troy said, ‘stop drooling.’
Harl was just as overwhelmed. This new ship represented both an invitation to something new and a disruption to how things had worked out.
Sonora must have seen his face. ‘Nothing needs to be done right now,’ she said and glanced back to where Elo was in the shuttle. ‘There will be lots of time.’
‘Where can we go in it?’ Troy asked.
‘Anywhere we want,’ Tess said.
Barchook moved in closer as Kane sped off to investigate the ship. ‘I have a contact in our space drone program,’ he said. ‘A signal was discovered when he was a youngling and it prompted him to spend his life researching the stars. He would like to speak to you about seeking out the source of this signal.’
‘Another adventure?’ Troy said.
Harl looked from the titanic ship to where the shuttle was and then back to Sonora.
‘Not just yet,’ he said and titled the flyer forwards to get a better look at their new vessel, but what he really wanted was to get back home before the light turned off and enjoy an evening beside
the fire, telling Elo the story of the tanks, of the Humanarium.
Thank you for reading The Humanarium: Revolution. Please tell others your thoughts by leaving an honest review behind for others and fuel the life and future of this series. It takes only five minutes and you can jump straight to the page by clicking below.
About the author.
Thanks for reading the book. I thought you might like a few details about me and to find out where the idea for the book came from.
I live in Cambridge, England and work as a gardener so I have plenty of thinking time when it comes to standing behind a lawn mower and walking up and down to make stripy lawns.
The idea for the book came several years ago during a phase of keeping tropical fish. I always enjoyed rearranging the landscapes inside the tank and one day, I realised in some bizarre way that I could be considered a god to the fish inside.
I was the only one who fed them, cleaned them and looked after their well being, all in a non god-complex way, of course. But it was because of me that their quality of life was so good.
I chuckled to myself and said “I wonder what it would be like if I was one of the fish inside.” Perhaps with a fish on the outside being the sole provider...
From then on I could easily imagine a group of humans living inside and a small story began to form.
When I finally couldn't hold all the details in my head I had to put it somewhere and a crude story formed on a ragged piece of paper.
I had no intention of writing a story but was intrigued by the idea, the concept seemed almost unique. To be honest before the thought hit me, I couldn’t write at all and it has been a long learning process to get even close to something readable.
Thinking back on my childhood I realise that I was heavily influenced by “small concepts” I think it started with ants (they still fascinate me), watching them scurry back and forwards in a world that must have been overwhelming in size to them. A single foot or child’s hand could destroy days of hard graft and murder their comrades instantly.
I remember watching the borrowers by Mary Norton every week on TV and it held me enchanted with the little people living like mice in a human’s house, sleeping in matchboxes and “borrowing” everything they could. I guess it was 50-50 that I could have become a thief.
How the Humanarium blended into science fiction rather than solid fantasy? I have no idea, I guess a love of the stars and trying to make it seem plausible were key ingredients.
Anyway, there’s plenty more ideas of where to take the series, so I guess we’ll take the adventure together.
Chris.
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Table of Contents
Cover
The Humanarium: Revolution by C.W Tickner.
This is book Three in the Humanarium series.
The Humanarium. Revolution.
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 22
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 36
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Epilogue.
About the author.
Want to delve deeper into this fantastic world?