Rise of Aen

by Damian Shishkin

  “My name is Iris. You must listen closely to my instructions.” Aaron shook his head! “I know you want to resist, but it’s too late for that now,” she said calmly. “Besides, if you don’t cooperate, it will be much more painful than if you listen. I need you to put your legs out in a V shape and brace them on the foot holds near the bottom.”

  Aaron looked down and saw the two pegs. After a few seconds of contemplation, he did what was required. When his feet were in place, his ankles were shackled by a mechanism of some sort. He looked up at Iris hatefully.

  “The restraints are for your safety, you cannot move around during the process. Now move your arms out to the side to the hand holds, and the same will happen.” Complying once again, Aaron moved his extended his arms out to his side and put his hands around the pegs. Again, restraints automatically locked him in place.

  “Now, I need you to straighten upright and hold your head up. Your neck will now be restrained.” Again, he did what he was told, and a metal collar was placed around his throat. “Thank you, Aaron. Whether you choose to believe me or not, what is happening is for the greater good. This experiment is for the advancement of all mankind.” As Iris turned around to walk away, she paused and returned her gaze to him. “Your wife and daughter are being provided for. A hefty government pension has been granted to them, to see them through the rest of their lives. I know it’s of small consolation, but I thought you should know. Good luck!” With that said, she turned and exited the room.

  With his body restrained, long needles now extended from the attachments to the tubes placed before. The first pierced his back and drove right into his spine. Even with the air tube and mask, the workers heard Aaron scream. The second drove into his carotid artery; the third into his heart; and the last into his humerus. The screams were unbearable to one of the workers, who left the room with her hands over her ears. The rest of the team looked anxiously back and forth between Aaron and the monitors. Once they were convinced that he was stable, they radioed his status and left the room. He couldn’t open his eyes, as the intensity of the pain was too great. Visions of Krista and Sara flowed through his mind. The day they met, their wedding day, the birth of Sara—all came and went. He realized his life was passing before his eyes. The end was near.

  Machines whirred around him. Opening his eyes, he watched as a panel of the wall rose up, revealing a window with military men watching intently. A team of doctors now entered the room, all quickly moving to their assigned stations. After all were in place, the lead doctor barked out his orders.

  “All systems go, sir!” called one.

  “Do we have a green light, team, go or no go?”

  “All stations go!” shouted the team.

  “Bring the specimen in, let’s get this going, folks!” called the lead man, “The general doesn’t have all day!”

  Moments later, the door opened again. This time Iris reappeared with a vial of some kind of purple liquid. She walked over to the machine on Aaron’s left and placed the vial on a receiver on the top, twisting to lock it in place. After pushing a few buttons, she stepped back to the wall and watched coldly. “Ready to roll, sir!” the lead said to the men watching.

  One of the men reached over to the wall and pushed the intercom. “Let’s get it over with son, can the bravado and start it up!”

  With a nod from the lead man, Iris stepped forward and flipped a switch. The vial began to drain, the pumps humming as the fluid was pushed through the four tubes and towards Aaron. He screamed again, pulling against his restraints, all the time watching the purple-colored muck getting closer. Suddenly, he felt a coldness creeping up his spine, then his neck and heart, followed by his leg. What was this shit! What the fuck were they doing! Krista, I’m sorry! He thought. I’ll always love you! I’m so sorry!

  A voice sounded in his head, It is not your fault. You were chosen for this long before you were born. Soon you will unlock the power of two worlds and become something far beyond these simpletons! I am Ameia, and I’m connected to you through the blood I gave for your rebirth. I will help you learn, teach your mind to the ways of our world while I can, before the mixing of the blood cuts me off forever.

  I didn’t want this, any of this! He said in his mind, hoping the entity would hear him. If you want to help me, get me the fuck out of here!

  That’s not how this must play out, the voice responded coolly. Now marks the beginning of a new journey; one that destiny has laid out for you to explore. His eyes began to close as the agony was too much; his body was shutting down to better cope with the trauma. You will die, my young friend, but you will rise—changed dramatically. You will be the dawn of a great day for the human race; a day when our races finally meet. These misguided fools have hopes to make you a weapon to use against my people, instead you will be the broker of peace. As he slipped into the depths of a coma, her last words echoed through his soul. You are the beginning of a new day; the harbinger of the Empire.

  Aaron’s body slumped in its restraints; his life signs dropping dramatically low. Doctors and assistants ran about the room, trying to confirm that he was still alive and to keep him stable. All those in the observation lounge leaned forward in anticipation of any type of good news.

  “Life signs low, but stable.” The lead doctor spoke after some hectic moments.

  General Taylor pressed the intercom button. “Drain the tank and get him into the ICU. I want him under constant watch. This is the one, people; this is what we’ve been working for, the last few years.” He let go of the button, shutting off the intercom, and turned to the Major. “Phillips, I want an armed guard in the room with him 24/7. If he shows any sign of hostility, I want him terminated.”

  She was taken aback by this command. “Sir?” she asked. “If we’ve spent the last few years looking for this success, why are we so lax about killing him?”

  “His body is worth everything to us; dead or alive. The research teams will learn so much either way. Just get it done, Major. Dismissed.” He snapped a salute, before spinning on his heels and exiting the lounge. The general’s mind raced with excitement—the project was finally showing some success! Briskly walking to the elevators, he entered and punched the floor of his quarters, eager to send a report to his superiors. A smile broke his usual reserved expression. Fuck the moon landing, he thought, This is the giant leap for mankind right here!

  —

  Major Phillips looked over the electronic charts for both catatonic patients in the ICU. First was Subject Zero; she was holding on, but just barely. Over the past four years, the team had learned tons about her physiology and they knew that she would expire if she continued to degrade like this. Every effort to keep her alive had been met with futility. Every time they thought they had stopped her slide, it got worse. Four years was the longest any alien had survived in captivity, and they were lucky she had. Her body had given them a wealth of knowledge about her specific race, along with the translated files from the crashed ship.

  These creatures were tall; Zero herself stood close to six and half feet, and scans showed that their bone structure was hollow in the center, with only a ring of marrow coating the interior of the bone. Her body’s level of carotene was off the charts, leaving her skin an orange hue—the result of life near a blue star. Her hair was almost silk-like, again a result from the carotene levels. Her eyes, though they have never opened, were all irises with little or no white whatsoever. This may have been an evolutionary adaptation to the light emitted by the home star. The feet held four toes, all of which were equal length, and her hands had three fingers and a thumb. The toes and fingers had no nails on them, but came to a talon-like pointed tip. To Phillips, this creature looked like an evolved predator, which was a superior natural hunter.

  Then there was Subject 54, who had started to slowly transform physically over the last few weeks. The HGH injections and electro-stimulus of his muscles had
given him a ripped physique before the infusion. But now, he had started to grow in height from just under six feet to almost six foot seven. His skin had taken on the orange hue from Zero, and his lips had thinned slightly. His facial hair had fallen out, along with all other hair on his body save his scalp. The subject was looking the part of the hybrid they had set out to create.

  Eyeing the results of the newest batches of blood tests, Phillips saw that his DNA had indeed merged with the alien’s. The blood—which had changed to blue—was quite different from the blood of the separate races; it was this blood that they drew now to use on the other subjects.

  54 was the new test specimen; the source of the new direction of the project. Ten other subjects had survived the hormone additions and the body transformations of the drugs to advance to the next stage. But they wouldn’t follow in 54’s footsteps. They underwent memory wipes and neural implantation so they would be the perfect soldiers; a virtual pack of dogs to be commanded by their master. Now, they would be given transfusions of a mixture of their blood and 54’s, to enhance them—the first of which was slated for tomorrow morning.

  Phillips was beginning to understand the scope and direction of the project. Subject Zero was never the true focus of it, 54 was! The general had planned all along to find a subject that would survive the bonding process; someone that could become an alien/human hybrid, a fountain of genetic material to feed the program of super-soldiers. 54 wasn’t the desired outcome, the other subjects were!

  This is why there was an armed guard staring down the comatose figure on the cot. He was the experiment and the general was genuinely afraid of the result. Only his genetic material mattered and now the true scope of the project would begin.

  —

  In the darkness, Aaron’s mind wandered. Here he was free of pain and suffering; here he could return to his family and be happy. In the background, the soft thumping of his heart kept him comforted, letting him know that he still had a place in this world. He was back to that sunny morning with Krista and Sara, watching them sit on the swing as they joked and giggled. The warmth of the sun rained down on his face, filling him with a sense of love and belonging.

  Wanting to sit and feel his wife’s embrace, Aaron reached out to touch them. As his hand neared her face, the whole scene faded into grey and slowly reformed into a landscape he had never seen before. Now he stood at the water’s edge of a lake of brilliant blue, looking over a landscape of luscious green hills. As he looked down, he saw the sand gripping his feet was red in color and felt cool to the touch. The sky had a hue of green to it; the clouds held a tint of purple to them. And glowing bright and unusually large in the sky was a huge, white sun!

  “This is my home.” said a voice beside him, causing him to turn with a start. A woman; or what looked to be one; stood a foot away from him, smiling as she took in the visage. “It has been too long since I’ve seen Lyarra’s light!”

  “What are you?” he asked, frightened as he looked over the tall, lean female. Her blue hair flowed in the breeze like dancing flames, pouring from the logs of an evening fire. Her large blue eyes, which once held the horizon in their gaze, moved over to size him up after the nervous question.

  “The guide to your new life.” The woman said with a smirk. “I am called Ameia; I am the source of your transformation. The changes you will go through are the result of your blood mixing with mine; our races melding into one.”

  Aaron was confused. “What are you talking about?”

  “You and I are one now; our life force combined to create a new exciting being!” she answered with her smile growing wider. “It was my voice in your head; my guidance when no one else would help that comforted you in the tank. From my body, they took my blood and used it to change you. They sought to make a weapon; I seek to help you achieve something better.”

  “I am afraid you have me at a loss, what do you mean they made me a weapon?”

  “Look into the water; see your face and how you have changed!”

  Aaron turned and leaned over the water to see his reflection. Once the lake was calm, the shock of what was happening really set in. To his horror, the face that peered back at him from the water’s surface was radically different than what he remembered. His nose was straighter and led right into a prominent brow which was crowned by the absence of eyebrows. His face was longer and his cheek bones protruded slightly, giving his face a look of thinness. Thinner lips lined his mouth and they held a similar hue to the deep tan he seemed to now have. His hair was black with a hint of a blue sheen to it when the light shone on him. But the most startling change was those of his eyes. Before, they had been brown and normal size, but now they were noticeably larger and completely black, with a rim of blue glowing around the edges, like the lunar eclipse of a blue sun. In this new face, Aaron could see features of his old self, but they were overshadowed by the new features similar to those of his companion.

  “I…I…don’t understand.” He gasped as he let his hands explore his face. “What has happened to me?”

  “In a way, you could say that you’ve evolved.” Her words causing him to snap his attention back to her. “This is only a visual representation of what you’ve become; when your body is ready, you’ll awaken and become so much more. But for now, I’ve chosen to prepare you this way; in your mind as your body heals. So fragile your race is, so easy to overwhelm your nervous systems.”

  “So this is a dream?”

  She reached out and brushed his cheek with her hand. Her skin was soft and her touch gentle and caring. “No, dear child, it is not a dream. I am here in your mind as your body recovers from the merging of our matter. They watch me so closely that it is the only way I can help you. I saw your body accepting my blood; blending with it, so I reached inside your mind and shut it off so you would survive! Now I will sit with you here and prepare you for when you shall awaken and rejoin the world.”

  Aaron’s legs gave way and he fell to his knees in the sand with the waves lapping at his thighs. All this was too overwhelming; the weight of what had happened was crushing. All this time he thought he was in a hospital, undergoing tests and procedures to help him recover. He had attributed the blackouts to painkillers and being prepped for surgeries. Everything had fit the way his mind had wanted it to, but now the blindfold was pulled away and he was seeing things for the way they truly were. The water’s surface changed, and recent events were replayed for him to see the truth.

  Medics had military uniforms, the charts had no name but only a number assigned to him—Subject 54! Conversations replayed again revealed purpose to the tests and told tale of the horror he was about to be inflicted. Tears streamed down his cheeks as his memories showed glimpses of his family, causing him to reach out to stop the playback. In response, the image froze of his wife and daughter as Aaron broke down completely.

  A hand brushed his shoulders to comfort him before wrapping itself around in a consoling embrace. “Two strong and beautiful women,” her voice chimed softly. “Your mate and offspring?”

  “My wife Krista and my daughter Sara.” he replied, in between sobs.

  “You are lucky to have spent time with such strong people. My people can go lifetimes without finding a mate like you have. The Gods graced you with knowing them, and you must find comfort in that.”

  His anger started to replace his heartbreak, causing him to lash out verbally at his companion. “I’m supposed to find comfort in this?” he leapt to his feet and shook himself free of her embrace. “I want my life back! I didn’t ask for any of this! How am I supposed to be this…this…thing?”

  “Destiny never calls on us when we want it to.” She replied with a continued look of calmness. “And in your case, it has indeed come calling. It will take time for you to appreciate the gifts bestowed upon you, for now the pain is too fresh to wash away. Time will be your ally, for you have an eternity to heal your broken soul
.”

  Her words rocked him like a slap to his face; Aaron stumbled backwards slightly. “Eternity? You mean they made me…..”

  “Immortal?” she interrupted his scattered thought. “Yes, but they didn’t do it by intent. Right now your body is dying; eventually your heart will stop, due to the changes from our joining. Those idiots will think you dead and place you in storage to better study you. But it is only your mortal coil that will be shed, for inside of you will erupt a power unlike any seen before in the universe. It is this which shall make you a god among the people; and it is this that shall allow you to see wonders you never imagined!”

  Aaron was speechless; after all, immortality was something he had only read in books or seen in the movies! Looking down at his reflection in the water he saw the strange face once again. This would be the face of his eternal life, this strange mask which was now his face.

  “I will leave you now to return to your memories and thoughts, but you may call upon me when you need me.” Ameia said, as she and the landscape began to dissipate. “And when the time comes, I will lead you away from this place so you can be free once more.”

  Her words echoed in the darkness as Aaron stood alone. His mind raced with a million different questions, but he could put no words to any of them. He felt as if he was at the bottom of a well; looking up at the light above and listening to those up there continue with their lives as his was stuck in neutral as he pondered what had been told to him. It was hard to trust a stranger, never mind one who wasn’t even human! It was now that he felt a disconnect with his body; only an awareness that he could hear his muffled heartbeat like a drum in the distance. The sound was a constant, but he soon noticed that it was slowing. Death was creeping closer and Aaron was scared, all he wanted was to be with his family for one more day, but fate had other intentions. In the darkness he stood alone with his thoughts and waited for the end—or if the alien was right, maybe he waited for a new beginning.