Exile

by Rayann Marse

  She turned, craning her neck to look up at Ignu. He stared past her, arms outstretched, hands resting on either side of the door jamb.

  "Aurora did what she could," he said, when the translation was finished. "This exile was my fault. I had a grand plan. And it would have worked, but I was too hasty. I went about it in the wrong way. If I had done things properly, we would still be on that ship. But I don't blame myself too much; I don't think saving your translator friend is possible. It would take someone with a great deal more tact that I possess. Excuse me."

  He stepped forward, and Stella had no choice but to retreat further into the kitchen. Ignu approached the counter, like an adult in an adult-sized kitchen where two female children stood. He took the cup from Aurora, kissed her forehead, and then drank it down.

  "One good thing about the colonies," he said, burping and wiping sludge from his lip. "They're bound to at least have better food than this."

  Everyone laughed at that, feeling a bit hopeful for the first time. They all stood and spoke for a little while longer, about nothing in particular. Stella stayed to one side of the room, leaning back against the counter, while Ignu and Aurora stood at the other. He was behind the Dutchwoman, his huge arms wrapped around her like the root of a tree; immovable, eternal, wise and tolerant. Of her whims, at least.

  It made Stella a little jealous. She wouldn't lie about that. Not to herself.

  Eventually, the sleepy form of Gyrch came walking in, rubbing his eyes.

  "I think we're nearly there," he said. "We seem to be slowing down."

  ***

  A half hour later, Stella stood staring out a little window while everyone else ran off to find another way too look out.

  They had come to Saturn. Or at least into the orbit of it. The gas giant, with its vast and breathtaking rings that seemed to hang motionless and impossible, was still quite far from them.

  It was the moon Titan they had come to. Its yellowish, orangish haze bled up at the bottom of the window, slowing pulling them in. The ship drifted softly now, slowly, descending carefully into the thick atmosphere that made the entire moon seem indistinct and spectral to the naked eye. Like an insubstantial smudge.

  There was surface down there, Stella new. It was the same rocky, gritty, dead sort of surface that every terrestrial body besides Earth seemed dominated by. But there were some unique features to Titan. And if this was where they were going, their final destination, they were in for a uniquely alien experience.

  Thinking back, wracking the atrophied part of her brain used for astronomical figures, she recalled that Titan orbited Saturn at a distance of over seven hundred thousand miles. Three times the distance from the Earth to the moon. But Saturn was big, about ten times the diameter of the Earth and roughly eighty times its total surface area. Thus the planet was still quite visible, in all its stunning detail, even from such a vast distance.

  Right now, the sun was shining from beyond the northern polar region of Saturn. It was just visible over the creamy scalp of the gas giant; a shadow was formed which covered and seemed to erase an oval-shaped segment of Saturn's asteroid belt.

  Stella stared at the planet and couldn't help but compare its appearance to that of a cup of coffee; a splash of milk poured in, slowly settling through, clouding and forming layers of differing paleness.

  "Where are we?" Gyrch asked from behind.

  "The planet is called Saturn," Stella replied, still gazing out of the window. "But we seem to be landing on its moon, Titan."

  "In your own star system."

  "Yes. Saturn is the sixth planet out from the sun. We know a lot about it. But we know even more about Titan."

  "It interests you?"

  Stella nodded. "There are oceans of hydrocarbons on Titan. Useful resources. There is also some evidence that life might exist far below the surface, where it’s warmer."

  "Life is common," said Gyrch. "We find it in at least half of all star systems we explore."

  "I'm sure," said Stella. "But unlike the Menin, we have yet to develop the means to move beyond our solar system, so we have to really pay good attention to what we can explore."

  "Not too good, if we were able to build a colony here."

  "Touché."

  ***

  It soon became all but impossible to see anything through the windows. They sank further and further into the horrible orange haze. It became nauseating to look at, especially with the slight turbulence they now felt as their ship met something besides empty space.

  But soon they touched down. Looking out the window, Stella could see the shoulder of a mountain rising in the distance, beyond a vast field of dust and stone.

  Aurora, on the other side of the ship, called out excitedly. Stella rushed over, shoving herself in for a look.

  The Menin colony stood off to this side. It looked like a giant soap bubble, complete with the iridescent rainbow sheen that seemed to crawl across it. Inside, perfectly visible, were buildings and milling groups of huge purple people. From this distance, they seemed well-mannered and also nearly as well dressed as the Menin from the big ship.

  "This place must have been built for a very specific purpose," Stella said quietly. Then, realizing everyone was staring at her, she cleared her throat and continued in a louder voice. "That might explain the secrecy. This isn't the usual colony, built to allow the expansion of the Menin population. This one probably has a scientific goal. Research. Maybe it's being used to keep a closer eye on humanity. That would be my guess."

  Gyrch nodded. "That would make sense. I've often wondered how we seemed to know so much about your race even before coming here. Someone had to have been feeding us information. You've probably been under surveillance even longer than you thought."

  Stella's thoughts turned to stories of alien visitations and abductions. They went back many decades, centuries even. She was certain most if not all of them were bullshit, but maybe...

  "Nothing's happening," said Aurora. "We touched down, but no one's coming out to get us. I haven't seen any spacesuits in here. I wonder how we're supposed to—"

  A strange event outside shut her up. The bubble of the colony seemed to be bulging toward them, forming a secondary bubble. This bubble was soon large enough and stretched far enough that it broke away from its parent and came floating toward them, tumbling across the dusty landscape but picking up no residue.

  Stella braced herself as the bubble crashed into them. But she felt nothing. There was no sound at all. And suddenly they were inside of it.

  The ship lifted again and began to scoot gently toward the colony. The bubble followed them along, conveying them into its parent, and then it was reabsorbed, along with all the oxygen it had taken with it.

  The ship touched down again. And then, abruptly and unceremoniously, the hatch they had originally come through dropped open, vomiting a collapsible ladder into the empty space below.

  They climbed down one by one, paranoid about putting too much weight on the seemingly flimsy ladder.

  Stella came down last, stepping to the ground. The colony's bubble hugged the landscape like shrink wrap, shiny and wet-looking but completely dry and solid to the touch. It was like epoxy poured over everything; it had soaked in between every particle of dust, seeping deep into the ground, locking and holding everything in place.

  "Whoa," Aurora said. "Far-out."

  "Most impressive," Gyrch added.

  Ignu grunted, as if to say not bad, I guess.

  They walked out from under the belly of the ship. It seemed as though the colonists had been made aware of the coming arrival and had been instructed not to bother the exiles. They kept on about their business, staring and gaping and whispering to each other as they went.

  Here, Stella caught a rare glimpse of a Menin child. She had no idea where they were kept on the big ship, had never seen or heard a peep of them, but here was one in the gloomy light of the lunar day. She was nearly Stella's size, staring with innocent curiosity as
her parents dragged her along.

  The colony mostly consisted of a single road that went up the middle of a row of buildings, some small enough to be homes, others too large to be anything but labs or warehouses. Other structures stood off to the sides, apart from the rest. One of them was a tower, so tall it nearly punctured the top of the bubble; a light flashed lazily at its top, glowing red for a moment and then slowly fading.

  From end to end, the colony was about a mile in length. The vast majority of it was empty space, littered here and there with tables or chairs or toys or other items placed for some temporary purpose.

  The overall feel Stella got when looking around the place was of an ordinary suburban street, cut out of the Earth and transported here to total isolation. The people were civilized, moving in family groups, intelligent but reserved. Very different from the Menin she was used to. She was struck by a sense of wrongness, of almost painful dissonance. She fought those feelings down, trying to summon relief that they had been exiled here, of all places. The worst thing this place had to offer, she guessed, would be the standard parochial boredom.

  Ignu looked disgusted. But he was putting on a brave face for Aurora, allowing her to pull him forward in her mad dash to meet the colonists.

  Their progression was halted, however, by the arrival of a group of people from the tower beyond the rows of houses. They came into the road, marching forward to meet the exiles, striding along in soldierly unison.

  At their head was a tiny figure. Stella first decided it must be another Menin child, dressed in a funny jumpsuit, but his skin color was wrong.

  She was so unprepared to see a human face here that it took her a long moment to identify the figure as such.

  A human man, ruggedly handsome and somehow scholarly in appearance. His eyes were green, a color even rarer in Menin than it was in humans. Dark stubble bristled on his chin. He came to meet them, putting out a hand, grinning and laughing at the looks on their faces.

  Aurora stopped dead, mouth falling open. Ignu stepped in front of her protectively. It was a foolish thing to do; it made no sense at all, but maybe that was all he could think of. Maybe he was just as shocked as she was. And maybe he didn't even know what he was looking at, having never seen a human male before. Perhaps he thought it was some dreadful creature, some native beast of Titan that should be crushed underfoot.

  "Hello, hello," the man called. He turned away from Ignu, who was staring at him with disgust, diverting toward Stella and Gyrch instead. He shook hands with Stella first, then with the servant.

  Stella tried to speak. "Uh..."

  "Uh," the man replied, laughing. "I guess they didn't tell you what sort of place you were coming to?"

  Stella didn't think she could feel any more shocked than she already did. But then the man looked up at Gyrch and spoke out loud in perfect Menin.

  "Greetings, friend," he said. "My name is Richard. How about you?"

  Gyrch stared down at him, hesitated a moment, then said, "Sorry, would you please repeat that?"

  Richard laughed again. He turned to Stella, bowing his head in respect.

  "Richard Valentine," he said. "At your service."

  "Stella," she said without thinking. "Um, Estela Florentina."

  "Beautiful name! I'd kiss your hand, but..." His eyes flashed over toward Gyrch; he leaned forward, adding quietly, "These guys can get a little possessive."

  "All guys can," Stella replied. "Human or otherwise."

  Richard was not the first to assume that she and Gyrch were a couple. Maybe there was something to it.

  "You're right, of course," said Richard. "I apologize. Actually, I have a huge amount of love and respect for the Menin. But in my line of work, it is unfortunately necessary to try and dull the extreme edges of both species so that they might fit together a little more... seamlessly."

  Ignu came over now and, without a word, he grabbed Richard by the head and twisted him around for a better look.

  The Menin who had come down with Richard strode forward, politely but firmly pulling Ignu's hands away.

  "Curious fellow," Richard said, seemingly unfazed. "I guess I can't blame him. What's his name?"

  "Ignu," the man, himself, called. "Tell them to let go of me."

  Richard nodded, gesturing to his men. They released Ignu and stepped away. The brute stayed put.

  "They are your guards?" Ignu asked.

  "Yes, when I need them to be," said Richard. "Among other things. There aren't many people here, and most have several jobs."

  Ignu looked very confused, more so than anyone else.

  "If you would all follow me," said Richard, "I can try and explain what this colony is all about."

  He gestured again, and the guards dispersed toward the village, leaving the five of them alone. Richard set off up the slope, past the edge of a stone house, and toward the tower at the edge of the colony. It was a long enough walk, about three quarters of a mile; enough time, when moving at human speed, for a conversation.

  "Where to begin?" Richard said. "I suppose with the origin of the colony. I would be surprised if either of you women remember this, but twelve years ago a cosmonaut and his TIDE unit went missing. That man was me. My mission was to, quietly and with great discretion, investigate the source of some strange signals we detected emanating from Saturn. I don't remember the exact circumstances of my abduction, it's a bit of a blur now, but suffice it to say I ended up on a tiny Menin reconnaissance ship. Back then the, uh, interspecies discourse was in its infancy. None of these handy translators existed. Before I could even learn why I was abducted, or by whom, I had to learn the language. Talk about incentive.

  "Finally, I was able to achieve a conversational understanding, and the Menin were able to tell me why they had taken me. They said they were acting for the Mindseat, a secret mission that the rest of the Menin population wasn't yet allowed to know about."

  He turned around and apparently saw what he was expecting; looks of confusion on the faces of the two Menin behind him. With a smile, he continued.

  "The Mindseat is generally understood to be full of idiots. Pardon me for saying it, but I think that isn't far from true. However, they do occasionally show a bit of foresight. Planning for the future. And I can tell you this; their plans are far more expansive and radical than you would ever expect.

  "But to explain the rest to you, I should first take you to see my TIDE unit."

  Chapter Thirteen

  Introductions were made on the way, names and brief life stories shared, at Richard's request. He relished their words, especially the words of the humans; he almost seemed to taste them, savoring each syllable as though it was a fine wine or a fancy cheese.

  They soon climbed the steps into the tower. On the inside, it was built like a lighthouse, mostly hollow with a winding staircase that led to various levels. However, one thing was different; a huge sparkling rod, covered in panels and wires and bare electronics, which ran up through the middle of the structure.

  "That's the main component of the comms array," Richard explained. "It allows me to talk with the Menin at great ranges without loss. It can be a very slow conversation at times, with ridiculous transmission times, but it's at least accurate. And this is a long-term project; instant communication isn't usually necessary. We don't even talk that much, anymore."

  They began to ascend the stairwell in single file, Richard at the head and Gyrch just behind him. The servant was eager, impatient even, to see and hear everything. He had hurried ahead of the others, excusing himself, and now walked as close to Richard as he could get.

  The first level they came to held hulking scientific apparatus. Most of it seemed to have something to do with the comms array. But, dead ahead, there stood a TIDE pit and pedestal. As they approached, the hologram itself erupted into being to greet them.

  "Hello, Richard," the AI said.

  The voice was technically the same as that of the personality Stella knew from her own ship. But the inf
lection and mood and overall color of the voice was entirely different. Once again, she marveled at the AI, at the way it learned and adjusted and matured much like a person. She saw all TIDE units as twins, separated at birth and raised in different environments. They looked the same, but that was where the similarities ended.

  "Hello, Todd," said Richard, giving the AI a little friendly bow.

  "Todd?" Aurora asked, cringing. "Really?"

  Everyone, even Ignu, gave her scathing looks.

  "He's my friend," Richard replied. "My almost constant companion over my years of exile. Without him, I might have gone insane a long time ago. It may sound funny to you, but we have grown together. In a way, he has saved my life. More than once. So, yes, I gave him a name. Todd seemed like a fine choice, being so similar to the title of the machine which generates his consciousness." He might have stopped there, because Aurora was already pacified, but he took a step closer to her with a friendly, tolerant smile on his face. "You have a brain, Aurora. That is the machine which generates your consciousness. I could just call you HUMAN, but I would not do that because it would be an ignorant and a mean thing to do."

  "Alright, alright," Aurora said, looking around with a blush in full bloom on her cheeks. "Sorry."

  Ignu was grinning now. He had loved every second of this verbal lashing. But even so, he reached out to rub Aurora's back, comforting her in the wake of it.

  Meanwhile, Todd's hologram was listening to all this with embarrassment of his own, staring at the floor and apparently doing his best to become invisible.

  "Todd," Richard said now, turning away from the Dutchwoman. "These fine folk are the exiles I told you about. They've already arrived. It seems those Lancers have gotten even faster in recent years."

  "Seems that way," Todd replied with such achingly and warmly human gregariousness. "I'm glad to see you have all arrived here safely."