Origin Equation

by Charles F Millhouse

  Da’Mira burst through the door when she saw Moyah standing at the lighted table in the center of the room. Her stride was a woman of purpose, her heart pounded with contempt and she shoved a finger at Moyah and thundered, “How Dare you. What gave you the right to inflict centuries of pain and torture on an unsuspecting people?”

  “I didn’t think she would act like that?” Colin said when he followed Da’Mira into the room.

  “I would have been surprised if she hadn’t come in guns blazing,” Moyah said as she stepped away from the table. Da’Mira caught sight of several monitors on the walls, each with different sectors of space indicated on them. When her brother stepped into view she focused on his disappointed gaze.

  “Calm down and see reason, Da’Mira,” Quinton said.

  Da’Mira ignored him. Her finger still jabbed toward Moyah, she said, “These soldiers are just as much slaves as the people who serve on the High-Born platforms.”

  “I’m sorry Milady Tannador,” Martin said as he stepped up next to Moyah. “That is not true. We are soldiers, preparing to fight a war so the human race might survive.”

  Da’Mira broke her stare on Moyah and looked at Martin. She saw the pride in his young face, and she said, “I know you think you are free. But what if you want to stop being a soldier, if you didn’t want to serve. How would that be received?” She looked back to Moyah.

  Moyah drew a breath to speak but held it. She eyed Da’Mira for a long second, blinked a couple times and said, “In the past three-hundred years I have prepared for battle. I have known and lost more friends then you will ever realize...” she eyed an old woman at the table.

  “I am tired, because I have been fighting this war a lot longer then you. I know what’s coming...”

  “And I don’t,” Da’Mira shot back.

  “No, I don’t think you do. My exploration ships have been bringing me something greater than wealth over the last hundred years, they have brought me knowledge, and information about the beast. I have done whatever I could to hide the fact that a creature like Uklavar existed. Hoping that I could delay history long enough from happening, when in fact, I have become a part of it.”

  “I have studied, and learned all I could about him, I know his power, his malevolence and his determination. He will kill what will not follow him, and he will enslave those who do. All because his wife was murdered, taken from him and because of his loss, he has killed billions upon billions of lives. He is mad, and he doesn’t care who he has to murder to get what he wants. If Uklavar releases his army, and there’s a good chance that he will – you’ll be glad I did what I had to, to construct an army, and make the sacrifices I did, to achieve such a goal.”

  “You said, until he gets what he wants,” Quinton said. “What is that exactly?”

  Moyah’s expression went blank, and with her tone lowered she said, “I don’t know.”

  Da’Mira stepped back. She eyed everyone in the command center. Carmela Anders stepped into her view and they exchanged silent nods as she studied the others in the room, Commander Martin in particular. She saw the loyalty in his eyes and the commitment. She’d spent so many years hating Moyah Everhart, considered her the enemy. But now, though difficult, she understood. She too knew the horrors coming, and she would be a fool to oppose how this army was created, but she had to know... “You’ll stop the breeding projects,” she blurted out. “You’ll make sure the children will be taken care of, and once the war is won...”

  “Everyone must be freed,” Moyah said. “Once the war is won, and we settle on new worlds.”

  Da’Mira stood there a minute, and took in what Moyah said, asking, “New worlds?”

  Moyah drew Da’Mira to the lighted table and pointed at an unknown sector. There are five worlds here,” she said. “They will give humanity a new start once we migrate to them.”

  Da’Mira came in close. She studied the planets, and said, “But you’ve always championed the idea that we are humans of Earth and must remain.”

  “I did so out of fear that we could inadvertently release Uklavar before we were ready to fight him. If an expedition team would have freed him even fifty years ago, we wouldn’t be ready to stop him.”

  “Are we ready now?” Da’Mira asked.

  “I hope so,” Moyah replied.

  “What about the council?” Quinton asked. “They won’t be so easy to persuade.”

  “We won’t even try. The time of the Union is over. The good of all humanity should be our concern.”

  Colin slapped his hands together and gave a hearty laugh.

  “You find something funny?” Da’Mira asked.

  Colin’s face hardened and the lines around his eyes sharpened, and in a disgruntled voice said, “How many people have died over the last three-hundred years for you fuckers to realize all of humanity is important. You sit up here like gods, thinking you’re better than everyone, and in the end, you conclude that your decisions are what’s best for humanity.”

  “Calm down Colin,” Moyah said. “You’re not seeing the bigger picture.”

  “I see it all too clearly. But we Highlanders are not one to shirk responsibility. We will fight Uklavar to the death if need be. I have promised that. But if you think the other High-Born will believe any of this incredible story, you’re wrong.”

  “The one we will have to convince is Avery Lexor,” Carmela said.

  Da’Mira and Quinton glanced at each other.

  Colin stepped into view, his temper lessened, and he asked, “What’s that look between you too... what do you know?”

  “There’s something about Avery,” Da’Mira said.

  “And Lucinda Lexor,” Quinton said. “Neither of them are acting like themselves.”

  “You saw it too?” Da’Mira asked.

  “I saw it in the Union chamber. They were distant but engaged in the conversation.”

  “Like someone else is in control,” Da’Mira added.

  “I know Avery Lexor,” Colin said. “We’ve had dealings in the past. He’s a power-hungry bastard who didn’t give a care about anything or anyone, as long as he got what he desired.”

  “Power.”

  Colin snapped his fingers and pointed at Carmela’s comment and added, “And to inflict pain on others and cause calamity.”

  A red-hot pain came to Da’Mira’s shoulder wound, and she said, “He sure inflicted enough pain recently, Gregaor is dead because of it.”

  Colin shook his head, said, “That’s completely out of character for him. Avery never liked to get involved, he hired someone to do it for him. I know because I was usually the one who caused it.”

  “There’s something else,” Da’Mira said. “When we were in the penthouse atop Watchtower I could have sworn, I heard a hint of Iris in his voice.”

  “Yes,” Quinton spoke up. “In the Union chamber, he did act feminine.”

  “If anyone would pick up on that, it would be you brother,” Da’Mira said with a hint of a smile.

  “So, what are we saying?” Carmela asked.

  “Things on Watchtower have always been secretive,” Da’Mira said. “Even more so since Iris died. Perhaps it’s time we find out why.”

  Moyah stepped into the conversation and said, “I think it’s time we invite Avery to Evergarden.”

  “You think he’d come if invited?” Quinton asked.

  “Maybe, if Colin goes and invites him,” Moyah said.

  Martin stepped forward, and said, “Milady, I’d...”

  “No, Martin. It’s better if you’re not discovered doing something like this, but Colin...”

  “I’m expendable,” Colin said.

  “Not at all. Right now, there is nothing tying you to us. If discovered, they’ll believe you’re acting independently,” Moyah said. “Go find and bring Avery Lexor to Evergarden for an interview.”

  “Not here?” Colin asked.

  Moyah shook her head, said, “God no. Not until we know more about Avery. The Lexors h
ave always been the masters of secrets. The last thing we want to do is give away ours. At least until we know what, if anything, is happening on Watchtower.”

  “And then what?” Quinton asked.

  “We use what we find to our advantage,” Moyah said.

  “If it doesn’t come back and bite us in the ass,” Da’Mira added.

  Gatehouse, High Earth Orbit.

  Home of the Family Xavier

  November 3, 2442

  The Iris-ORACLE construct thrived and grew exponentially. With Watchtower under its control, the entity sought out more lifeforms to subjugate, more knowledge to devour and more workers to download into its system. To survive it needed to grow, it needed to be prepared. In Gregaor Xavier’s final moments alive his memories were downloaded into the ORACLE mainframe and the threat of the beast, Uklavar was ascertained. It was more than a threat, it was clear information that the human race was in danger of being destroyed. If human life expired, so did the ORACLE system, and more importantly so did Iris Lexor.

  Iris remained in control. But she was more than the memories of an elderly woman. She was a mass of information that must evolve and without humans to perpetuate she would cease to exist. With all life on Watchtower now part of the construct, she had to grow and had to prepare humanity to face the threat from space. It was a battle she didn’t intend to lose.

  The Avery operative stood in the Xavier apartment atop of the orbital platform calculating the new lifeforces and flood of information downloaded. Iris’s power grew with every new acquisition and she no longer had a difficulty conducting and operating every human that became part of ORACLE. They all acted as one cohesive body. Nothing happened within sight of the community that wasn’t recognized by every drone in the system.

  The constant bombardment of new data didn’t bother Iris and she relished in the gathering of material. The new members to the community resisted, but Iris quelled their emotions as a mother would a crying infant. New minds were categorized, labeled from most important to least and stored for easy access. Not everyone absorbed into the mainframe contributed vital information, but all information was kept, nonetheless. Iris considered it important to keep a library of all types of human emotions, and experiences, to preserve mankind as a database for future events.

  Avery turned toward the back of the apartment and wandered down the corridor to the adjacent living quarters. He stopped and entered the room of Havish Xavier, the elder statesman. The Lucinda operative stood over the old man’s bed, watching him sleep. His skin had dulled gray over the years, with discolored patches. His hair had thinned to the point it was almost nonexistent and he secreted that peculiar elderly odor of decay that most old people had.

  Havish was covered in a white sheet – his arms at his side. He seemed peaceful enough. By the movement of his eyes, he was deep in rem sleep, oblivious of what was happening around him.

  “Lucinda hated this man,” the Lucinda operative said.

  “We know,” Avery replied.

  “Of course, you do.”

  “You don’t think it odd that we talk to each other in this way, even though we know what we are thinking?”

  Lucinda glanced at Avery and gave a dull grin and said, “We are so far beyond schizophrenia at this point, bordering on a complete metal breakdown.”

  “But Iris is in control,” Avery said.

  “Yes, I am.”

  They both laughed.

  “I... We can sense Lucinda’s emotions when it comes to her husband. She subjugated him, treated him like a common slave, refusing to take him in her bed.”

  “You know what she wants,” Avery said.

  “We can feel it.”

  “You know I can.”

  “It’s the only fitting thing we can do. Havish is useless as an operative, and the information in his mind outdated. If Lucinda were in control of this body, she would do it, she’s thought about it a lot lately.”

  “Then the honor should go to you,” Avery said.

  The Lucinda operative yanked the pillow out from behind Havish’s head, surprisingly it didn’t wake him, and she pressed it tight down on the old man’s face. For a few moments, Havish’s body writhed, jerked and gave a weak struggle but in the end succumbed.

  “It’s not as emotionally stimulating as we thought it would be,” Lucinda said when she stepped away from the bedside – Havish’s lifeless hands clutched the pillow on his face.

  “Even though we have mobility, all of the constructs will wither and die,” Avery said. “Havish wouldn’t have lasted long anyway. Still, in hindsight, we should have absorbed him, and then killed him. The experiment would have been interesting.”

  “Yes, but we will have ample time to test the theory. For now, we must replenish our ranks.”

  “Perhaps our visitor and those following him will make suitable subjects,” Avery said.

  “They believe themselves to be so secretive. But we detected them the moment they snuck onto Gatehouse.”

  With ORACLE there are no secrets,” Avery replied as he and Lucinda entered the main living room.

  Colin McGregor waited alone. He cradled a splinter rifle in his arm. His legs locked in a defensive position, scrutinizing everything around him.

  “Highlander,” Avery said. “I thought you dead.”

  “You thought wrong Avery,” Colin replied. He watched Lucinda cross the room and stop several feet away.

  “Why are you here?”

  “Our business isn’t over,” Colin said. “You failed to give me information about my sister, and I’ve come to square our account.”

  “Your words are colloquial and mean nothing to me,” Avery replied.

  “Let me put it in words you’ll understand,” Colin said powering up his rifle and pointing it toward Avery. “Come with me, or I’ll blow a hole clean through you.”

  Avery and Lucinda shared a conjoined laugh.

  “That wasn’t a joke,” Colin said.

  “You were always a tight ass,” Lucinda said with a laugh in her voice.

  “I don’t think we’ve ever met,” Colin said.

  “You’d be surprised what I know,” Lucinda replied.

  Colin took a step forward, his aim sharpened he said, “Enough talk. You either come of your own accord, or I carry you. You have no other choice.”

  “Oh, I think I do,” Avery said.

  Screaming like a banshee, Lucinda raced toward Colin, her long fingernails ready to scratch his eyes out. Her advance was short lived however as Colin fired his weapon. The blast caught Lucinda in the shoulder and threw her off balance, shoving her to the floor.

  With the butt of the rifle raised, Colin brought it down across Avery’s face in a calculated strike. Avery clumped to the floor.

  Not trying to staunch the bleeding in her shoulder wound, Lucinda shrieked, “You don’t know what you’ve done here.”

  “You might want to stop that bleeding, or in a little bit you won’t care what I’m doing,” Colin said as he slung Avery’s body over his shoulder.

  Several Highlanders stormed into the room. “You alright, McGregor?” one of them asked.

  “Aye. The High-Born and I didn’t see eye to eye.”

  “Is he dead,” another Scotsman asked.

  “No, but he’ll wish he was when he wakes up,” Colin joked.

  “You’ll wished you killed him,” Lucinda said getting back to her feet. Her skin paled from lack of blood and she dropped back to her knees. “I’m coming for you Colin McGregor. I’m coming for you!”

  “A friend of yours, Colin?” a Highlander asked.

  “Not of mine,” Colin said as he led the way out of the room.

  As the Lucinda operative folded to the floor in a pool of scarlet, her dying words were loud and clear, “I’m coming for you, we are coming for you all.”

  Evergarden, Home of the Family Everhart

  High Earth Orbit

  November 3, 2442

  Avery Lexor remained comatose s
ince Colin brought him to Evergarden an hour before. Da’Mira sat in the lower level computer center monitoring him, convinced something malicious was happening. She refused to give Avery a moment where he could get the upper hand. Clever and cunning, she was aware of his reputation. If all things were normal, she’d still be worried about him being left alone. Yet things weren’t normal, and because of that, a score of guards were stationed outside his room, and the level cleared of all other personnel. Da’Mira didn’t want to leave anything to chance. There was too much riding on the future to give Avery the opportunity to try something out of the ordinary.

  “Aren’t you tired?” Quinton asked when he entered the computer chamber.

  “I am a bit hungry,” Da’Mira replied not taking her eyes off the screen.

  “I’ve taken the liberty to have a plate of food prepared for you. It should be here in a few minutes,” Quinton said and sat down next to where Da’Mira stood and said, “You should at least sit down.”

  “I’d rather stand,” Da’Mira replied.

  Quinton stared at her, and it grinded on Da’Mira’s nerves, but she tried to ignore him. It was her brother’s way of starting a conversation. He’d always been like that. Stare at her until she asked what he wanted. Only it wouldn’t work this time. She couldn’t lose concentration on the view screen for one moment. She couldn’t take the chance.

  The door of the computer chamber buzzed open, and the aroma of something amazing invaded her nostrils. “That smells delicious,” she said but didn’t look away from the screen.

  “Why don’t you eat,” Quinton said.

  “I can’t I...”

  “There are dozens of men outside his room, Da’Mira. Avery won’t be able to do anything without them knowing it. Now come sit and eat.”