With a laugh, Trevor said, “Alright guys, you win. Let’s go see how people live in the 3000s. You think they have instant food that materializes in front of you?”
“Or hover cars?” Brenda said with a sparkle in her eye. She and Trevor walked ahead, following the various military officials towards the exit.
Allen looked at Anya and saw her trailing behind. “William would want us to have some fun together. We’ll get him back and maybe even get out of here.”
After a moment of silence, Anya said, “You’re right. You’re completely right. This past week has been hell, but what can we do about it now. We all deserve some time together, and I don’t want to ruin this for any of you.”
He smiled, “Did mention something about Cody and an attack earlier?”
“I can update you on the way back. You know about Will?”
“Yea, he uh, I saw him earlier, and he wasn’t himself. I-I’m sorry for everything that’s happened, Anya.”
Momentarily forgetting about Taiyah, Allen turned around and found her waiting for him. He yelled for the rest to wait. “Taiyah, I’m so sorry. I didn’t forget about you. It’s just-”
“I completely understand, Allen. Have fun with your friends. I’ll meet you back here tomorrow afternoon.”
Feeling better about the situation, Allen hugged her and met back with his friends. In a flash, she disappeared, and the room went still. They followed Harvey to a secure building with armed guards stationed by the doors. Allen watched as the man conversed with the soldiers who soon granted them access. The sterile room smelled of cleaning chemicals that burned his eyes. Rubbing them, he blinked and gazed at the substantial set of teleportation pods much larger than the ones he and Taiyah had used hours earlier. They each walked in, and a pulsing laser began to spin. With a flash, he and his friends were gone, leaving behind specks of dust. The citizens of Windenfall walked and conversed with each other, resuming their daily lives. Beneath the ocean’s rapid waves, a cruel and twisted presence waited impatiently for its next command.
**********
A new world opened up in front of her as Brenda was the first to step out of the teleporter. Having only seen the living quarters in the Saturn sphere and the command center in Jupiter, she was astonished at the wide-open city view stretching miles in all directions. With child-like wonder, she and her friends took in the clean air and fresh surroundings. In front of them were green trees and other vibrant vegetation, circular buildings connected by struts, and robotic vessels soaring in the distance. The surfaces of the buildings, while made of glass, appeared strong and durable; each building was a different color, adding a personality to the housing complexes. Small flying ships landed and took off, leading their passengers around the populated city. Commander Gilbert turned to face them. Allen looked breathless and stared off into the distance.
“Now I know you guys are all confused, upset and heartbroken about your friend and this new environment, but I assure you that everything is being taken care of. Being the military presence that it is, this station is the safest place for you all at the moment. We’re here today to try and lower your stress levels. Now it’s my understanding that this may be the first time you’ve all seen Earth-like conditions that aren’t artificial here on Teracia. This is the Saturn sphere where the Septunian population calls home. Beyond the military living quarters, where you two stayed, are several community centers, gardens, parks, and many more significant monuments,” he said pointing at the two girls.
“How many people live here at the station?” said Allen.
“Around 100,000 Septunians live on this station. We…we took quite a hit back on Earth before we arrived. This station could originally handle around a million people.”
Wrinkling his eyebrows, Trevor said, “You’re telling me one war caused all those casualties? If there’s only 10% of the maximum capacity, what is most of this station used for?”
“Those are excellent questions. We suffered through many wars on Earth that decimated out populations. I wasn’t there to see it, but a plague on a global scale was utilized by rebel forces to try and wipe out Actavian. I’m sure you don’t want to hear the gruesome details. Resources are plentiful, and everyone here lives fulfilling lives. We had to shift space around during our travel to this planet as three spheres were nearly destroyed beyond repair. I’m sure you’ll learn all you want the longer you’re here. There are terminals all around this sphere that can explain the past, present, and the future of the station. For now, let’s continue forward.”
Brenda followed the group, letting her carefree arms wave back and forth. To her, their unexpected trip here wasn’t so bad. She was always looking for a chance for adventure, and she had no doubt that they would eventually return home. The only worry she had, besides getting their friend back, was that her parents may be worried sick. Although Will was missing, that was no reason why they should run themselves ragged with stress. If only I could somehow contact them.
Catching up with Anya, Brenda said, “So what do you think, Rosie? This is a pretty cool city, isn’t it? Like something out of one of those movies you like to watch.”
“It does look pretty amazing. I wonder what people are like here? Can you imagine all the cultural changes that have taken place since the 2000s?”
Brenda was happy to see Anya temporarily out of her gloom. “Could probably see some weird things here: androids, robots, cyborgs, and maybe fish people,”
Anya pushed at her and laughed. “Shut up. Fish people? Well, I mean, maybe.”
The two of them continued to converse and laugh at each other’s bad jokes as they approached a large concrete building with a triangular glass enclosure on the top. Automatic walkways surrounded the building and let the viewer take in the painted designs along the outer walls. Murals of war and battles fought long ago; various other artworks stretched around the structure. Brenda squinted at the housing complexes on the western side and noticed some of the residents lying in horizontal pods, fully enclosed from the world. Most of the little homes had no curtains and were minimalistic with the decorations and furniture. Although it was far away, she saw what looked like a man opening up his chest and fumbling with wires. She looked away, and when she returned, the person had closed the cavity and was now sitting down.
Trying not to sound judgmental, she walked over to Trevor and tugged at his shirt. He moved closer. “I just saw someone open up his chest and there was nothing but wires. What the hell do you make of that?”
“Strange. I guess the lines between man and machine have blurred as time went on. Not sure if we can trust some people here. Just saw a flying drone and it looked like it was watching us by the river; most of these people give us dirty looks. Don’t say anything to Gilbert, but I have a bad feeling about this station.”
Gilbert reached the door and opened it for them to enter. The air was crisp, and Brenda could smell stained oak. The polished tile floor directed them into a wide-open room with numerous side doors and colorful pieces of artwork. In the center of the structure was a holographic display of Earth with names floating in the air. Two large pathways led out into other sections of the building, but Commander Gilbert led them forward.
“This is the Yarwal War Memorial. The exact number of people who lost their lives during the Quantum War is unknown, but these are the billion that we know about. Single-handedly the worst conflict in human history. These brave men and women fought to keep the secrets of a dangerous force out of the hands of those who would use it for their own self-interest. This is where I leave you unless you have any more questions. I am needed back at Jupiter for a debriefing. You’re free to walk around the station as you please and can access any unrestricted terminal and section. I almost forget to give you all clearance.”
Gilbert took out a device from his coat pocket and had them stand side by side. With a wave of his hand, the computer made a beeping tone but stopped at Allen. Brenda watched as the Septune commander fumbled around
with the equipment and tried it again. A different sound buzzed and was accompanied by a digitized voice.
SCAN COMPLETE: ACCESS GRANTED: ACTAVIAN
ERROR CODE: AIAT.19119: AC_IS_AS: PERMITTED ACCESS POINTS NOT REGISTERED. LIMITED ADMISSION GRANTED
“This is very peculiar. Something is wrong with this permissions program. Well, for now, you’ll have access to everything you need. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you require assistance and I hope you have a good time. Let me give you all a small guide to the station. It has all the locations of the transportation pods and each sphere you can and can’t go into. As of now, the rescheduled meeting is tomorrow at 1:00 P.M. back at Windenfall. I look forward to seeing you all again.”
Thanking him for his help, Brenda and the group walked closer to the memorial and watched as the names floated by. Their numbers were insurmountable.
“It’s sad how many people passed or went missing. This pales in comparison to World War 1 and 2,” said Brenda.
Reaching up, her hands phased right through the holograms. “In this world, humanity is almost extinct. This can’t be the only planet they’ve visited,” said Anya.
“Maybe one of the access terminals have the answer to that. What do you guys want to look at first; plenty to do here, that’s for sure,” said Anya.
Each of them studied the guide and map they had been given. Allen spoke out loud. “Well looks like there are seven areas in total and only four of which we can even go to. Venus is a food and medical storage, while also housing factories and farms; Earth is a virtual recreation of Earthen environments, Jupiter is the docking bay and central command center, Saturn is where we are now, and the Mercury and Mars sphere are restricted with a supercomputer and Mars just says restricted.”
“Wait a minute. They forgot the other planets. What about Neptune and Uranus? Pluto should be on here too since they reinstated its planet status two years ago.”
Flipping through the pages, Allen stopped on the last page. “Here we go. According to this, the Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto spheres were destroyed on Earth before the ship took off. The rebels demolished them with QREAMs or something; Quick release electronic assault missiles. That’s a mouthful.”
“Doesn’t say what was inside them. It’s only noted that the Septune’s fuel reserves were hit in the process,” said Anya.
“Well, that’s interesting. Jeez, you figure by the year 3000 that the Earth would be a little more peaceful. What about the Sun?” said Brenda.
Allen flipped back and continued reading. “The Sun sphere is the central section with the Septunian military, its fleet and weapon systems, the central energy core and a large civilian area with a university, shopping mall, and parks. Would be cool to check out the university.”
“You would want to go to the school first. I say we try to access the military section,” said Trevor.
“There’s no way in hell they would let us go peruse through their weapons and space fleet. Shopping is always fun, right Anya?” said Brenda with an over-exaggerated look.
“I’m good with wherever you guys want to go. Do you want to split up and meet back here?” said Anya.
“No way! We should be doing this as a group. Alright, I’ll make a deal. If you boys come with us to the shopping malls, we will follow Allen to the college and Trevor to as close as we can get to the military base. Sound peachy?” said Brenda, cracking her knuckles.
“Deal,” said Trevor. He smirked and grabbed Allen’s shoulder, excited.
“That sounds great to me. We don’t have any money though,” said Allen.
With a frown, Brenda said, “Damn it. Well, we can still look. Anya is there anything you want to see here before we go? “
“We could check one of those information terminals Gilbert mentioned,” said Anya.
Brenda took the lead, and the rest followed. They merged with the crowd of people and seemed to melt right in. She had a hard time keeping her pace as the sphere was bustling with kids, and residents of all ages. Accidentally bumping into an elderly man, he dropped his book and turned to apologize. She was taken aback by the mechanized look in his eyes; they lit up with a peculiar glow.
“Sorry. Let me get that,” she said, picking it up and handing it to him.
“Thank you, miss,” the gentleman said, and they went their separate ways. Finally, after several minutes of pushing and pulling, they made it to a large unused data terminal. As if aware of their presence, it booted on, and a computerized voice came to life. The computer was the size of a bookshelf with a charcoal-black finish with various screens and a holographic keyboard.
HELLO, BRENDA HARRISON. PLEASE STATE YOUR QUERY.
“Hmm, it knows my name. What should we ask it?” she said, turning around to face them.
They all shrugged. “How old is this station?” said Brenda.
The computer answered her instantly, causing Brenda to jump.
THE SEPTUNE STATION WAS COMPLETED AND COMMISSIONED IN THE YEAR 2535 BY APPROXIMATELY 900 MILLION WORKERS. IT HAS BEEN FUNCTIONING FOR 552 YEARS.
“That’s a long time,” she said, adjusting the clip in her hair.
“I wonder what this thing won’t tell us? What is the meaning of life?” said Trevor
ACCORDING TO FRENCH PHILOSOPHER, MICHÈLE CLÉRISSEAU IN 2080, THE MEANING OF HUMAN EXISTENCE IS TO BECOME THE PERFECT BEING, THUS REACHING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL IMMORTALITY.
Chuckling, “Damn, I thought that would stump it. You wanna ask one, Anya?”
“Umm, well. This has been bothering me ever since we arrived, but I’m not sure if it will be able to answer. In our universe of origin, have our parents noticed that we’re gone?”
The terminal took its time, and the internal fan ran louder and louder until it stopped and a red light buzzed.
ACCESS DENIED. RESTRICTED QUESTION.
“No, there’s no way this is restricted information. Terminal, what happened after we were teleported here? Why are we here?” said Allen.
SPECIAL ACCESS GRANTED. TERMINAL RESTRICTED LIFTED. USER: ACTAVIAN. STAND BY FOR SECURITY PROTOCOL.
Before anyone could move out of the way, a thick metal box sprouted out from the floor and surrounded them. All background noise from the outside was silenced.
“What the hell is this?” said Trevor, trying to find a way out.
“Why does it think I’m Actavian? Does this have something to do with the permission malfunction?” said Allen.
PROJECT SELF REPLICATE TRIAL 201: USING THE TIME STREAM EXTRACTOR, CREATE A WORMHOLE THAT CAN BRING THE SUBJECT INTO AN ALTERNATE DIMENSION. ANALYSIS CONCLUDED THAT THIS ACTION HAS RESULTED IN THE REMOVAL OF THE AUTHORIZED AND UNAUTHORIZED SUBJECTS. ALL KNOWN ASSOCIATES FROM THE RESPECTED DIMENSION WILL HAVE NO RECOLLECTION OF THE AFOREMENTIONED INDIVIDUALS. BE ADVISED: UNEXPLAINED ERROR RESULTING IN A TIME ANOMALY HAS OCCURRED. PURPOSE OF TIME STREAM EXTRACTION: OMEGA ANDROID. SECURITY PROTOCOL HAS BEEN DISABLED
The glass box surrounding them retracted back into the floor, and the people around them stopped and stared. Brenda looked back and forth, feeling awkward; seconds went by, and everything was back to normal.
“Guys, according to the computer, our parents aren’t worried about us. If I understand this correctly, we were plucked from our existence, and now we’re lost in time,” said Brenda, who was starting to sweat.
“This is a lot to take in, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t feeling relieved and a little scared,” said Anya.
Out of breath, “why did the say the purpose was for this omega android? I thought we were here to help or something?”
They all turned around and faced the memorial. Allen cupped his hand over his chin. “I have no clue, but I feel the same way. There’s no one waiting for us to return, and there’s no going back now.”
Twelve
Trepidations of a Fallen King
The soft pillow beneath his head felt relaxing after an eventful day on the station. Allen reached over and turned out the dim desk light and lis
tened as the ventilation system circulated air into the room. He closed his eyes, feeling lightheaded from the organic tablets he was required to take. His stomach, not used to the cuisine, gurgled and churned. The places they visited were incredible, to say the least. The university was a little disappointing as everything was digitalized and very few physical books were available. It was six stories high and contained a vast network of knowledge that filled in the gaps of human history over the last 1000 years; it was overwhelming and felt more like fiction than fact. Brenda and Anya sure did love that shopping mall; articles of clothing, cosmetic enhancements, and jewelry enough to satisfy anyone.
Chuckling under his breath, Allen recalled the walk to the military base. As soon as they had reached the perimeter, a drone stopped them, and they could go no further. Trevor had mentioned they sneak in, but the guards posted were well armed with a variety of intimidating tools and weapons on their belts. They returned back to the Saturn sphere soon after but were stopped by a shady figure. The man had evidently been intoxicated and wanted to start a conflict. Stuttering, he told them that his son had died when Dazshra tried to kill Actavian at the Earth sphere’s church. Brenda pushed him away as he approached her and the augmentations on his arms were sparking like they had been damaged. Standing in front of his sister, Trevor stopped the drunk from pursuing his goal of bloodshed. Soon after, a squad of soldiers took him away screaming. Allen would never forget the man’s words.
“My boy’s dead because of you people; he was all I had left, and you took him away. This is your fault, and retribution is coming,” he said aloud.
Retribution is coming. Was that a faceless threat?
Succumbing to exhaustion, he soon fell asleep. The death of the man’s son pursued him even as he drifted off.
**********
Placing one foot in front of the other, Allen walked down an empty hallway. The walls were the same color as every other wall in the station, pearl white. He kept moving forward for what seemed like an eternity, barely able to see clearly. The floor was dancing like a wave, and he felt as if his feet were sinking. He stopped at an automatic door and stepped into the central teleportation hub. No guards, station personnel or civilians were in sight. Minutes went by until he was able to freely move again. He sluggishly stepped into one of the teleporters as the door creaked open with slight resistance. With a rush, he was sent through the portal. Gripping his head, Allen cried out as his body felt like it was being ripped apart and reorganized again. He reached the exit, and the frame held no white door. He fell to the ground and tasted the dirt and ash spread throughout. With blurry vision, he surveyed the area and found nothing but deadly silence.
The Gauntlet of Possession (The Teracian Chronicles Book 1) Page 14