by R. D. Brady
“Why do you not fight?” the man asked.
Alan flicked just a quick glance at him before dropping his eyes to the ground again. “There is no point in fighting. He is so much more powerful than I am. I will die either way.”
“You do not have to die.” The man paused, and Alan could feel his eyes studying him. “Do you believe the Naku are greater than we are?”
Alan looked up at the man, not sure what he was talking about. “The Naku?”
The man smiled, reaching a hand down toward Alan. “The Naku are the gods who have come to save us. Let me tell you about them.”
Alan smiled at the memory. That had been in the beginning of his true calling. He had learned that the Naku were the gods, come back to Earth to raise humans up. To show them the error of their previous materialistic ways and to show them the way to everlasting fulfillment. Only through serving the Naku would that be achieved.
For Alan, it had been a life preserver. He had been drowning in the world of the After. But with the guidance of the McGoverns, he had learned the truth of what this world was about, of what this world needed from him. His only goal now was to serve the Naku to the greatest of his ability.
He could not feel compassion for the humans who could not see the error of their ways. They clung to a life that no longer existed. Once the gods returned, all human lives should’ve been devoted to them. He wished the other humans could see. But one of his brothers had shown him that they were not capable of seeing. And if they were not capable of changing, they would only infect others and remove their ability to continue on the true path.
Death was a kindness for both those who lived in their lives of denial and to the others whom they might contaminate with their ungrateful views. Alan’s job was to save as many souls as he could. Which meant that sometimes he needed to remove the souls that could not be saved.
He made his way to the ramp leading to the outside. He blinked at the bright sunlight as he emerged on the loading dock of New City.
It was strange being up in the mothership for hours and hours. Sometimes he would go days without seeing the sun. He missed it. He could admit that. But it was a small sacrifice to serve the gods.
He strode down the path, skirting around a large pallet that was being pushed toward the veerfinah by a group of workers. He curled his lip, noting that they were wearing the tan uniforms, meaning that they were from the Fringe. It also meant they were not true believers. They were accepting of the Naku’s safety but not of the Naku’s decrees. As far as Alan was concerned, they deserved no place in this new world.
He pushed the unworthy from his mind as he hustled through the loading bay terminal and out into the Avenue. The Avenue was filled with people, but they all gave Alan a wide berth, opening up passages to allow him to pass. He kept his head high, his face impassive, knowing that he was a representative of the Naku as he walked through the people of Earth.
He turned off the Avenue through an alley, appearing on a secondary street. A small café was to his right. A few people sat at tables outside, enjoying the afternoon sun. They all nodded at Alan as he caught their eye.
The owner hustled from inside. “Brother Alan, can I offer you something?” The man looked at Alan hopefully.
“Not today, Ralph. I have a meeting at the hall.” He paused, narrowing his eyes. “You are not attending?”
Ralph gestured toward the café. “My afternoon help is sick. But my brother will be there. He’ll tell me what happens.”
“Next time, you should close your café. The gods come before all.”
“Yes, yes, of course.” Ralph bobbed his head.
With a sniff, Alan headed down the street. As he walked, the color yellow began to dominate the street. Signs, window coverings, buildings, all heralded the McGoverns’ colors. Ahead, he saw more and more yellow robes as well as he approached the McGovern meeting hall. Each person in a yellow robe turned as he passed, placing two fingers on their forehead, similar to the sign of respect that the Naku give to the Naku leader. It would be sacrilege to use the same greeting. He was not worthy of such an honor. Only the Naku deserved such devotion. But as an envoy, he had a higher place than the other humans, and that deserved acknowledgement.
Alan returned the gesture to each that he passed.
He approached the doors to the McGovern hall. It had once been a music hall. Large ornate doors led inside to a red-carpeted staircase. The original chandelier still hung from the tall forty-foot ceiling. He made his way up the stairs, a group of a dozen yellow robes joining him. Another few dozen could be seen through the open doors to the large performance room.
He made his way down the main aisle. People stepped reverently out of his way, giving him a small bow or the fingers- forehead salute. There were too many to respond to individually, so he just nodded as he passed. He made his way to the left of the stage as he arrived at the front and climbed the stairs.
There were only two seats on the large stage. The head of the movement, Jason McGovern, sat in one and inclined his head as Alan approached. Alan took the seat next to him.
Alan’s seat was reserved for him because he was the main human liaison. The seat had formerly belonged to Chad Keyes, but when he had disappeared, it, along with the position, had gone to Alan.
Jason was the son of the founder of the McGoverns. He led the McGoverns of New City. He had recently started sending the McGoverns out into the countryside to spread their message to the camps that existed more than a day’s ride away. Jason turned to Alan, his pockmarked skin highlighted by the lights above them. “I trust you are well?”
Alan arranged his robes so that there were no wrinkles. “Most well. The Naku have asked me to aid the Esteemed Leader. I will be leaving for my first mission for him following the meeting.”
A smile broke across Jason’s face. “It is a great honor they bestow upon you. I am sure you will be of much help to them. Now, I believe it is time we begin.”
Without waiting for a reply, Jason stood and strode toward the edge of the stage. The auditorium immediately quieted as everyone gazed upon Jason, their faces full of devotion. Jason held out his arms. “Greetings, my brothers and sisters. May the Naku bless you.”
“And you as well,” the attendees answered in unison.
Jason lowered his arms, clasping his hands together and lowering his head. “Let us pray for the bounties that we have received.”
“We thank the Naku for their generosity,” the audience replied.
“For the lives that we lead,” Jason intoned.
“We thank the Naku for their compassion.”
“For the safety that we have found,” Jason said.
“We thank the Naku for their strength.”
“For our very existence,” Jason said.
“We thank the Naku for their arrival.”
Jason nodded, his gaze scanning across the room. “We cannot lose sight of our goals. We must serve the Naku in everything we do and in every way. We owe our very lives to their greatness.”
The audience all nodded their agreement. Alan did as well, once again feeling pride bloom in his chest that he had been chosen to aid the Naku in this critical mission. Sitting here, leading the righteous, it was the fulfillment of his life’s duty.
He had been so lost when the McGoverns found him. Now he had purpose. He understood his place in this world.
“Before we get to our special guest, there is some distressing business we must address.” Jason waved to the side of the stage.
A loud bang came from the other side of the stage before two yellow-robed McGoverns appeared, dragging a third individual wearing only a tunic. The McGoverns held the individual with one arm and a romag in the other arm. They tossed the individual at the feet of Jason.
Although the individual’s head was shaven, as she looked up at Jason, tears streaming down her cheeks, Alan realized that it was a woman.
Jason stared at the woman, his face cold. “You have been found gui
lty of conspiring against the Naku.”
The woman held up her bruised arms, pleading. “They were children. I just wanted to help them.”
Instead of any compassion, her words only seem to inflame Jason. His eyes bulged as he stepped forward. “Then you do not deny it. You aided the Cursed. You aided the most repugnant enemy of the Naku.”
The woman’s arms dropped, her shoulders shaking. “They were children, just children.”
A few angry mutters came from the audience. A quick glance showed their anger was not aimed at the McGoverns for their treatment of the woman. No, all their anger was aimed directly at the woman.
As it should be.
Jason looked across the stage at Alan. Alan nodded his head, feeling nothing but disgust and anger for the woman. After all the Naku had done, for her to betray them this way was the worst sin imaginable. She had only been a McGovern for a month, but she had soiled the name. She deserved no pity, no empathy.
Jason waved a hand at the two McGoverns who had dragged the woman in. Without a word, the two turned their romags on the woman and pulled the trigger. The woman cried out, the sound still ringing in the hall as she disappeared in a flash of dust.
Jason strode through the pile of dust, kicking it up. He turned back to the audience and spoke as the dust swirled up into the air around him. “There will be many who will test our faith, but we will not falter. We know what is right. We know who is right. The Naku are our saviors and deserve all of our loyalty.”
The McGoverns in the audience leapt to their feet. “Blessed be the Naku! Blessed be the Naku!” Their calls rang out, echoing through the large open space.
Alan got to his feet as well. He placed his fist in the air. “Blessed be the Naku! Blessed be the Naku!”
He smiled as he watched the dust drift off the stage and throughout the auditorium. Those who would stand in the way of the Naku’s vision deserved to be turned to dust. And Alan knew that with this new position, he was on the path to help make that happen.
6
Miles wasn’t sure how long he had been on the ship. He’d woken up twice in this cell, ate a lukewarm bowl of something, and then was taken for testing. He was heading back to his cell now with the two guards who always accompanied him: 17-H and 41-G. Both were over seven feet tall, with 41-G close to eight feet. Neither had said a word to Miles.
Miles was wearing a new pale-gray tunic and loose-fitting pants. They were incredibly soft. He’d seen the Naku wearing the same clothes. But instead of the soft slippers he’d seen them wearing, he was given a sturdier shoe that was snug against his feet and had a strong rubber sole.
When Miles was only a few feet away from the entrance to the prison ward, 41-G waved its arm over the scanner. The bracelet on its arm glowed, and the door to the outer hall opened.
If I ever get a chance, I need one of those bracelets. With the bracelet, he theoretically would have access to the hallways. He had no idea how he was going to get one or what he would do once he was out of his cell, but at least it felt like the beginning of a plan.
The corridor that led to the training area was expansive, at least twenty-five feet wide and soared another thirty feet overhead. But he’d seen other hallways that were shorter, much shorter than was comfortable for the Unwelcome. This ship had been created for the Unwelcome. It was possible the Naku built it, since they had the intellectual ability, but he didn’t think so. Efficiency seemed to be their primary objective, and it wasn’t efficient to have areas of the ship that the Unwelcome needed to be in but couldn’t fit.
Which meant this ship had belonged to someone else.
Since the Unwelcome had arrived on the planet, Miles had wondered about where they had come from and who else might be out there. Prior to the twentieth century, most of the intellectuals in the world believed in the plurality of worlds, that there were multiple species of life across the galaxy. Some even subscribed to the panspermia model, the idea that planets were seeded with similar if not identical DNA.
The differences then, in the appearance and physical traits of a species, would be due to the environment in which the DNA developed. Take humans, the Unwelcome, and the Naku—all appeared vastly different. Yet on another level, they weren’t very different at all. Physically, they all had the same appendages, same basic humanoid shape, albeit very different sizes. They all had skin, also different colors but still skin, not scales or feathers or some other outer covering. They all utilized oxygen, they all were intelligent, with the Naku being much more intelligent.
Or maybe not more intelligent, but with more advanced technology.
The greatest difference was actually their emotions. The Naku did not seem to have them. Humans obviously did, and so did the Unwelcome, at least now.
Miles was led down the hall. 41-G gestured for him to enter his cell. For only a moment, he contemplated fighting, like he did every time, but what was the point?
He stepped in. There were metal wall tiles on three walls and then one wall made of clear glass with air holes cut into it. A small slot about eighteen inches wide and six inches high had been cut into the wall along the floor to allow for food to be passed through.
He didn’t know how long he had been on the Naku ship. He wasn’t even sure he was on the mothership, but something about it felt artificial. And he had yet to see a window, although all he’d seen of the place was between this cell and the lab. And then only twice. So far, they had only done basic medical tests, although he knew that they were just getting a baseline.
To see how his body reacted when they put him through the real tests.
No noise came from outside his cell. He hadn’t seen any other prisoners since he’d arrived. But he’d seen dozens of Naku and Unwelcome. Each time he saw a new face, his hopes of escape sank a little lower. This ship was vast. He knew Lyla and Riley would be desperately coming up with a plan to rescue him. But he also knew any plan they put into action would be a suicide mission. There were too many Unwelcome here, too many unknown variables to account for all the risks.
Which meant Miles needed to escape on his own.
He nearly laughed at the idea. He knew he was smart, but strategy wasn’t his thing. And he’d need strategy and a heck of a lot of courage. He pictured Petra. She’d give the Unwelcome so much attitude that they’d be happy to boot her off the ship as quickly as possible. Or she’d simply grab one of their romag and fight her own way off.
But that wasn’t Miles’s way. He didn’t have her brashness, Riley’s courage, or Lyla’s determination. He was simply … Miles.
But right now, I’m all I’ve got.
Outside the glass, two guards stood with their backs to him, one at each end. Neither of them glanced back at him. From here, he couldn’t tell if it was 17-H and 41-G or his other set of guards. The other set guarded him at night, or at least he thought of them as the night shift. But without windows, he couldn’t be sure. Neither guard glanced back at him, although he had a feeling they knew he was awake.
He imagined it was Arthur standing out there. Arthur without the benefit of all the reading he had done. So if Arthur hadn’t done all the reading he had, if he wasn’t predisposed to liking humans, what could Miles do to get him to like him? The Arthur he knew was in there, he just needed a way to bring him out.
He stared at each of the figures. One shifted, placing more weight on his other leg. He must have an injury. He flashed on Arthur wounded, lying on the ground when they’d first spoken with him. They’d discussed literature, of all things, as their first topic. Obviously that wasn’t going to work with these two.
He stood up and crossed to the tall glass wall. He leaned against it, making sure he was close enough to one of the air holes to be heard. “My name is Miles. I was born in what used to be known as Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. I had a mom, a dad, and a little sister named Kayla.”
He pictured Kayla’s face in his mind, her hair in braids, the ribbons he’d managed to find wrapped at th
e ends. She’d loved those ribbons. “My sister was the greatest climber. There was one time when she climbed all the way to the top of this giant pear tree. She was only five. But she’d seen me and some other kids doing it, so she decided she could too. And she did. She got all the way to the top, but then she couldn’t get down.”
He paused. Neither of the Unwelcome moved. His shoulders dropped. This was a stupid idea. Telling them about himself, his life, it wasn’t going to change anything.
The Unwelcome on his right shifted, his head turning for a moment toward Miles.
Miles’s heart lifted. He leaned into the air hole. “She’d been missing for hours, and my mother was frantic trying to find her.”
Miles spoke for an hour, telling them all about his mom, his sister, Lyla, Riley, and Maisy. Neither guard said a word. But neither told him to be quiet or turned away from him either.
He wasn’t sure how long he spoke. The new guards appeared and headed toward Miles’s cell, his dinner tray in their hands.
“Well, I guess that’s it for story time today. Have a good night’s sleep.”
41-G was already walking away before Miles finished speaking. But 17-G gave him a small nod before following.
Miles couldn’t help but smile. A little progress. He would take it.
One of his new guards slid his tray under the glass wall before taking his position. He picked up the tray. It contained a bowl and a cup of water. He drank quickly, his mouth parched from all the talking. Then he ate his food, feeling a little kernel of hope. It wasn’t from the food, which was bland except for the bitter aftertaste. No, it was because he was finally doing something.
He drank more water, trying to think of some more stories and preparing himself to talk to these two as well.
7
Alan unharnessed himself once the veerfinah powered down. He carefully arranged his robes once he’d stood to make sure that there were no wrinkles. He needed to make sure that he made the best impression. This was his first official camp visit as the new Naku liaison. His chest puffed out at the thought, and he straightened his shoulders.