His heart raced. “No, no, no. I thought those were stories. Propaganda. Weren’t they the ones who destroyed the Ark Carriers?”
“They did indeed. Again, not crazy. Haven’t you heard the messaging from Aeterna the past few years? Sending out the call for immortal children seeded in the colonies? Last intel said they rescued more than a thousand. I had my suspicions about you and two others around your age. Both still living on the continent. Funny thing about immortals: You can’t know for sure until they start breathing again. It’s all true, I’m afraid.
“You, RJ, are an engineered immortal, the product of a husband-and-wife team who fancied themselves gods – even more so than the usual Chancellor fixation. Overzealous human garbage, and I used to happily fulfill their needs.”
No, he thought. This is too much.
“What do I do now?”
“Hmm. Celebrate, I suppose. You won’t be dying anytime soon. They’re still searching, I believe. The Aeternans. Fairly suspicious bunch, but they did take down a cudfrucking empire. Less than a thousand of them. Children, no less. Can you imagine? Some of the intel about how they pulled it off … it’s insane, even by Chancellor standards. Half fact, half myth, I suppose.”
“I don’t understand. Why did they do it? Why did those Chancellors seed the colonies with children like me?”
“That part was always vague. The Bouchets died before they were brought to justice. Many theories. Not one of them useful to you, kid. Based on what you’ve told me, I assume you’re in trouble – perhaps even with Green Sun. My recommendation? Get in touch with a diplomat who can connect you with Aeterna’s minister. Apply for rescue. They’ll take you in.”
He bolted from the bench.
“No. I might have been born on Earth, but I’m Hokki. I’m a patriot. This is my home.”
Ham rolled his eyes. “And it’s been so good to you. Yes?”
“I believe … I have a purpose here. I’m Hokki.”
“OK. Fine. And if you stay, they’ll find you and kill you. Again. Then you’ll wake up. They kill you again. Rinse. Wash. Repeat. Not a good option, kid.”
“I’m not leaving. I’m not done.”
He thought of Kai. Beautiful, loving Kai whose body was shredded by flash pegs. He thought of Shin Wain with the tiny mustache.
I know where you work.
“I’ve seen that anger before,” Ham said. “Usually comes right before somebody says, ‘I want to kill a man.’ Never turns out well.”
“I won’t let him get away with this.”
“Right, kid. Vengeance is mine, and all that rubbish.”
Ryllen returned to the bench and lowered his voice.
“You know them, right? You run intel for all the seamasters.”
“Not according to their books.”
“How much do you charge?”
“For what?”
“Anything I need.”
“By the hour, but you can’t afford me.”
“Sure about that?”
Ryllen left Hamilton Cortez alone on the bench and didn’t look back. He retrieved his rifter from its hiding spot and calculated his next steps.
Pinchon was an island, but anyone who wanted to disappear for a time might find a thousand places to hide. Ryllen learned how to live apart from society before Kai rescued him from the streets of Umkau. He learned subterfuge and misdirection under Green Sun’s tutelage.
Most important, he understood the true nature of his enemy:
It could take any form.
Mother. Sister. Brother. Teacher.
They might find him, and they might kill him. But Ryllen Jee would get a second chance, and a third, and a fourth.
He only had to kill his enemy one time.
He was ready to begin.
TIMELINE
Historical events documented using the Collectorate Relative Calendar for Standardization of Time, designated as SY for Standard Year
SY 4392: Chancellory begins forced interstellar migration of all residents of Korean Peninsula to planet Hokkaido.
SY 4473: The Asian Sweep concludes, finalizing the migration to and colonization of Hokkaido.
SY 5311: The first successful attack of a colonial insurgency destroys the Ark Carrier Nephesian above the planet Hiebimini.
SY 5320: Catastrophic event destroys Hiebimini’s entire supply of brontinium, the galaxy’s strongest known ore and critical to Chancellor survival. Chancellory is thrown into chaos. Insurgencies grow on many colony worlds.
SY 5330: Hiebimini’s final citizens are evacuated; system is blockaded. Unification Guard silences last remaining insurgencies.
SY 5335-5349: Secret Chancellor experiments on Earth engineer hybrid human variants as well as immortals incapable of reproduction.
SY 5341: On Hokkaido, Kara Syung is born to Perr and Li-Ann Syung.
SY 5346: Fetus No. 1977 reaches full term in SkyTower production lab on Earth and is deemed a viable human. He is named Royal.
SY 5350: The child Royal is sold to Hosan and Muna Lin Jee of Hokkaido as part of a classified project to seed colonies with engineered immortal children. Child is renamed Ryllen.
SY 5355: Terrorists led by hybrid humans and immortals destroy SkyTower on Earth, killing more than 130,000 humans.
SY 5357: Terrorist group known as Salvation destroys many Ark Carriers throughout the Collectorate, killing more than 2 million Chancellors. Under threat of further destruction, all Carriers return to Earth system. Salvation claims Hiebimini as its new home world.
SY 5358: Unification Guard loses 10,000 soldiers in calamitous attempt to destroy Salvation on Aeterna, the planet formerly known as Hiebimini. Battle is called “The Last Day’s War.” Chancellory’s hold on colonies collapses. Collectorate commerce halted. On Hokkaido, reprisals against Chancellor collaborators and threats of workers’ revolts destabilize economy. The People’s Legion – the central government – collapses. Provisional governments rise in its wake. A process of “social refinery” undermines power structure of the wealthiest families, especially on The Lagos.
SY 5360: Aeterna’s population of immortals who survived The Last Day’s War begin diplomatic and technological outreach to the colonies. Using new wormhole-driven method of transport, Aeternans begin recovery of immortals seeded throughout the Collectorate.
SY 5361: Earth Civil War begins between factions of the Chancellory and groups affiliated with the Solomons, a servant class recently given equal citizenship standing.
SY 5362: Aeternans deliver bicomm technology to colonial partners. On Hokkaido, Ryllen Jee turns 16 and joins Green Sun insurgency. Kara Syung, 20, joins Nantou Global’s Bio-research and Engineering Division.
SY 5363: Earth Civil War ends when final militant factions of the Chancellory are defeated by the Warner Alliance. 90 million dead. Thirty light-years from Earth, the long-idle Artemis Station is secretly reactivated.
SY 5364: Aeterna introduces commercial Slope wormhole travel to its first three colonial partners. On Hokkaido, Ryllen Jee is killed but discovers the truth of his immortal origins. He is 18.
SY 5365: On Hokkaido, Kara Syung and Ryllen Jee cross paths for the first time. Sectarian violence explodes. The truth about the planet’s Kye-Do rings is revealed.
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The Impossible Future: Complete set Page 164