Ancient (Earth 50,000 BC Book 1)

by David Edward

  Their once-mighty clan had fallen from grace very quickly. A series of deaths, accidents, arrests, and scandals had resulted in everyone but those on the Thorik falling away from society—either losing their life, being imprisoned, or just disappearing.

  Dyamni was caught off guard by the question; the look of remembering flashed crossed his face. “Yes. It had all slipped from my mind, but yes.

  “We were offered a lucrative contract.

  “It was a godsend; our clan had fallen on hard times. This contract could have saved us.

  “All of us that were left came here ready to dig, to get the work done.

  “We were told that the luminary would shine on us for our work. I always thought that was an odd statement, but the timing of the contract was amazing.”

  Odessa added, “Our clan had fallen on hard times as well. The same thing, even. At first, we were not offered the three-one-four contract. We did not need a big contract to entice us all onto the ship. But once we had the chance, we, of course, took it.

  “Our parents were killed in a travel accident. We lost almost a hundred clan members in half a cycle. There were accidents and investigations finding them guilty, all kinds of crazy things all at once. We lost all of our council positions; the council members being accused of political corruption.

  “It was an awful time. Even the simple mining contract seemed, just as yours, a godsend at just the right time.”

  The group spent the rest of the night discussing a variety of things.

  Odessa and Logan brought the old couple current on the state of the luminary circle. They, in turn, provided tactical details to the inner layout of the facility and other things they could remember or questions they could answer.

  As the luminary came up, Logan had E7 message an E2 unit to bring two quick-flight belts and some light weapons for Dyamni and Dyoas. They said they did not need anything, but it seemed a responsible offering. Neither wanted to go with Logan and Odessa. They did not want to be rescued and go off-world either.

  Having spent the majority of their life here, and after learning of the complexities of the ether, including its deep mental connections, they wanted to remain here on Alethia just as they had, being comfortable.

  The final depressing point that was learned was that the A9 in E7’s production number stood for Alethia nine, the ninth facility on this planet.

  By midday, Logan, Odessa, E7, and the E2 unit returned to their villa.

  X7 was gone, activating the androids that had been charging.

  In total, there were twenty-five of the thirty-one E2s repaired and working. X4 was also repaired and working.

  Logan and Odessa were exhausted and went to sleep very early in the afternoon.

  Day Four

  “X7, what is your production number?” Logan asked after he woke up before dawn on the fourth day.

  “A1X101,” X7 answered, standing in the villa where he was guarding after returning earlier in the evening from activating the androids.

  Logan sat on the side of his sleep area. It was made from items—some cushions and blankets—they had salvaged from a number of the downed ships. It was actually a reasonably comfortable bed.

  He studied X7. “We learned yesterday what the production numbers mean. Would you like to know? It is not necessarily good news.”

  X7 still believed that he would be a better ship’s prime than Logan. The thought did not lend itself to any desire to act on it. X7 was not considering being rebellious, ignoring orders, or not supporting Logan. He simply believed that collected data suggested he would do a better job.

  “I would like to know, yes.”

  Logan saw X7 and E7 in a different light now. Both he and Odessa did. They had always known that the series 7 units were different. Everyone knew they were different. The story was that it had been a programming breakthrough, a new ability to recursively process and create new codegrams from crossloading experiences.

  That turned out to be a lie.

  It was a truth-teller's lie.

  This was now the second concrete instance where they knew firsthand truth-tellers had lied. Big lies. It was enough to convince them that it was not a misunderstanding. That the system was flawed. Corrupt.

  Logan looked X7 in the eyes. “The A stands for Alethia. The number one is the facility number on this planet where they produce series 7 etherreal units. The one-oh-one is the sequence count; you were the one hundred and first X series produced at the A1 facility.”

  “I suppose that is interesting, sir,” X7 said. “I did not realize Alethia had etherreal production facilities on it.”

  “It has at least nine, quite possibly more,” Logan said evenly.

  “Well, sir, the facilities had to be somewhere. The location is a secret that I suppose we have discovered.”

  Logan continued to study X7. “Can you ask E7 to come in here? Have her bring Odessa, please. The information I need to convey to you gets worse.”

  X7 remained stationary. Within a few micro cycles, both Odessa and E7 entered the room.

  Logan remained seated. “E7, would you please explain to X7 the process for activating a series 7 etherreal? Please do it in audible voice, not peer-to-peer, so that Odessa and I can add our own understanding where appropriate in the explanation.”

  E7 turned to X7. “In order to activate a fully produced 7 series, an oldtech machine is used to transfer the soul of a living Machian to the etherreal. The level of fear present in the Machian at the time of transfer seems to improve the chances of success in the process.”

  Logan was surprised, as that was a much more succinct explanation than he thought was going to be possible. It even helped him better understand what they had been told. He would not have been able to describe the entire discovery in two sentences.

  X7 crossloaded for a while, then said, “E7, that is unexpected information. Did you validate its accuracy?”

  “Yes, through testimony. I assess the testimony to be accurate.”

  “So, series 7 etherreals have a Machian soul?” X7 said.

  “Yes,” E7 returned.

  X7 looked over to Logan. “Sir, I am conflicted with this information. I find I am happy to have a soul. It explains a great deal of persistent internal crossloading I do. However, I recognize that the process of transfer is suboptimal and detrimental to the original Machian.”

  Even though X7 had misgivings about Logan and felt himself superior in the duties of a ship's prime, he still viewed Logan as an authority figure. He realized this in his crossloading. It was new information to him. He had not identified it until now.

  E7 spoke up, “I originally feared that series 7 etherreals—myself and X7 included—would now be viewed as part of the problem this planet introduces. However, I have crossloaded the concepts deeply. I have also discussed the matter with Odessa earlier today.

  “If the reactions of the two Machians who provided us this information is universal, we are seen more as something of a savior for the displaced soul, with the blame for the process squarely on the oldtech and its operators.”

  Odessa spoke in a soft, warming voice, “We have always thought of you two as clanmates. But this now changes things. You are members of this clan with the same standings as Logan and I as guardians.

  “Today, we learned that our small clan, nearly decimated out of existence, is larger than we thought.

  “This is joyous news. You have always lived with us; now, you are truly home.

  “However, we have a new clan mission.

  “We need to save our diggers, free them from the facility along with any other Machians held there. There could be others we have learned.

  “Then we need to destroy that facility, wipe out the oldtech here and at the other facilities on this planet. Then seek out and destroy the forces in the luminary circle that are behind it all. We learned that Fovians and Baytorians are involved. We learned that the truth-tellers are corrupt.”

  Odessa made a motion to Loga
n for him to stand up, which he did. Then she said in a regal voice, “X7 and E7. Swear to me now, as soulborne members of our clan, that you will follow Logan and myself and help us bring this about.”

  E7 answered, “I swear it.”

  X7 was dizzy with a wash of purple headers. He had been seeking a purpose in life. He had always felt he was meant for more. His focus had been on Logan, comparing his actions as ship prime to X7’s desire for greatness.

  He felt his soul was an old soul. Knowing. Coming back, again and again, cycling through life after life within the luminary circle.

  When he said “I swear it” in response to Odessa’s question, he meant it with every fiber of his being. Purple headers and all.

  X7 continued after his affirmation, “This explains a lot about my crossloads as well. I have always had an internal dialog. I could tell the difference between my programming and another voice that would often reach different conclusions than pure logic or the parameters I was given to work within. I often have intuitions beyond the sum of the parts to an equation.

  “I wonder if we can find out who had our souls before us?” he said as an aside. It was an interesting question.

  For X7 and E7, the rest of the day was spent in peer-to-peer communications with the thirteen contingents of androids on the old ships and local preparations within the large warehouse buildings with the etherreals. The attack was planned for early on the fifth day.

  They had to be ready.

  Calm

  Logan and Odessa were up well before dawn in preparation for the attack. An E2 unit had gathered more food for them. They were sitting at the table they had been using for meals, both eating some of the cooked vegetables. Also in the room was now a fairly sophisticated small area for a fire to prepare their meals in the same room they took them in.

  Odessa said to Logan, “We have not had much of a chance to discuss how you feel about the current situation.” She knew he would be reserved in his feelings, but she wanted to have the discussion before the battle, especially given they still knew so little about what they would be facing.

  “I am not happy about it, if that is what you are asking,” Logan replied, only half serious.

  “Logan, it is just that over the past two cycles, we have gone from well-respected law enforcement, street enforcers, the best of the best, to having our entire clan wiped out.

  “It has occurred to me that the events we thought were an accident may not have been. I fear little is as we thought.

  “Further, you have had to step in as clan prime because I refused to do it. I put more of a burden on you than I should have. More than someone your age should have to suffer.

  “Now, the last people in our clan have been captured and may very well be killed in a horrible way.

  “We are outcast and getting ready, probably, to start a war—one we may not be able to finish.

  “It all seems surreal to me. It has been a big change; with a lot of challenges we were not prepared for.

  “On top of that, we have just learned that our two 7s have souls. I am not sure I even understand what that really means.” She waited for Logan to say something. While she was older, he had always been more grounded.

  “For me, Odessa, things have not changed that much. You know I was lodging complaints whenever I could. The system was not fair.

  “It was obvious.

  “The fact that it has turned out to be corrupt, and dangerously so, has not been a big leap for me to take.

  “The series 7 etherreals, well…I don’t know why, but it is like I almost suspected something about them. Certainly not this absurd situation with oldtech, but there is a spark in both of them that is different from the other series.”

  Logan sat for a moment in thought, then seemed to make a decision. “I have to be up front. I am looking forward to today.

  “This might be our only chance to go on the offensive. To dictate the conditions of a major conflict.

  “Our cause is just. We are both young enough. Strong enough.

  “Truthfully, and you know this too, we are both mean enough. We have seen so much from inside the system. The view from outside of it is no surprise at all.

  “For me, I see possibilities for the first time.

  “I have always struggled with the bigger picture, you know that. But I think, now, that it was because the system was so constraining.

  “Today, for the first time, I can think of possibilities and see the path to making them real.

  “I can see a plan forward just like you can. We have a real purpose now. We have a real enemy.

  “Today, we will take back our clanmates. Our family. Our heritage. Destroy the oldtech facility. Deal with these Baytorians.

  “I know they are warriors.

  “They think that we are not warriors, that we are only guardians.

  “But they have made the mistake, not us.

  “They have taken what we guard.

  “They have been sloppy in not following through.

  “Lazy in the aftermaths.

  “Arrogant in their cruelty.

  “Callous in their decisions.

  “You and I are going to take it back.

  “We will take it all back and then some.

  “Today, we go to war.

  “To fight for ourselves and our loved ones.

  “To restore our clan.

  “To start the process of restoring truth to the tellers.”

  Storm

  The storm front had passed the city and cleared the mountain range where the facility was a few hours ago.

  Logan and Odessa sped through the air using the silent quick-flight belts attached to their combat armor.

  Logan held a heavy repeater; it fired small devastating ordinances and could fire seven rounds in a single shot. The ammunition was compact, and the weapon could hold one hundred and five rounds at a time. He had filled his combat suit with as many rounds as it could carry and also brought a precision shooter as a sidearm.

  Odessa had attached her hand-to-hand bracings and added attachments she found on one of the older ships. This gave her some automation around what blades could be extended or retracted at any one time, making the weapons even more deadly. She also carried a short sword in one hand and a pusher in the other. Both could be sheathed in combat armor if needed. The pusher worked like a power shield. She could point the handheld device in a direction and then, through a small switch on the handle, either activate a defensive deflector field or have the field extend out, pushing anything out of its way. The pusher worked well in mining as it absorbed the force necessary to apply pressure in the opposite direction with its small anti-gravity attachment.

  They flew together with X7. He would serve as the combat information center, CIC, given the whole effort would have to be coordinated entirely over peer-to-peer.

  The wind bounded quickly by the three in gusts. They were otherwise flying in silence. Odessa was in the lead, taking them back to the overlook she and E7 had used a few days ago to observe the valley.

  As they approached the mountains, the thin plume of smoke from the direction of the Thorik was still visible, still climbing to the top of the troposphere. The mining equipment had physical fuel reserves that could smoke and burn for an entire cycle. With no other controls or communications, the smoke served as a waypoint and a reminder to the challenge that lay directly ahead.

  They were flying fast and low, but not faster than the sound barrier, to avoid detection.

  As they started their ascent through the river gorge, Logan made a hand gesture to X7, who returned an affirmative motion. This meant the other teams were in place and ready for the day.

  Near the top, Odessa slowed the ascent and floated to a landing on the top of the ridge. E7 was already there, along with five E2 units, having taken up position just after the luminary transitioned into nighttime yesterday.

  They were all concealed by the trees. Odessa’s footprints from her last visit were g
one, replaced with snow that was higher than their knees now after the storm. E7 and group had simply landed and stayed in position, so the snow was still pristine, with no other footprints or markings.

  The location gave a view of the area between the two mountain ranges. E7 had provided her stored datagrams to X7 so he knew where she had seen the lights. Based upon the descriptions as told by the old man and woman who had escaped, they believed they understood the structure's entrance. Most of the facility was underground, built into the rock.

  The mountain range on the other side formed a rough upside-down V pattern with the entrance at the lowest elevation under the apex of the V.

  Logan and Odessa, working with X7, had planned a sophisticated battle strategy leveraging their surprise and designed to gather information about the enemy as the fight progressed. X7, it was turning out, had a lot of interesting and aggressive insights into how to attack a facility and create events designed to gather strategic information by, hopefully, forcing certain actions during the conflict.

  They would all learn soon enough if their tactics were going to work in achieving this.

  In order to draw out the automatons and whatever else was down there, an initial attack was planned, and X4 was leading it. The opening actions would almost certainly sacrifice many of the E2 etherreals and possibly X4, but it was the only concept they had developed to initiate the flow of events as they wanted to orchestrate.

  While X4 and the E2 units were valuable and part of the clan, they were not alive. Their programming could emulate life, could emulate emotions and feelings and everything else. But, in the end, it was just code running on hardware. Nothing more.

  This did not make the sacrifice any less; the code and hardware had to balance its sense of duty and family with foundational concepts of self-preservation. However, the programming had parameters that would not allow self-preservation to take priority over an order from a clan guardian.