“Are you alright?” I asked, softly.
“Yeah,” he murmured. “It’s just us, right?”
“As you requested.” He’d only wanted it to be us for his send off, and the Court had granted him that privacy.
Zira nodded solemnly, beginning to remove his clothes. I moved to the control panel and primed the somnia container that would house his body. It was cylindrical, tomb-like. I made a note to engineer a better design in the future—one that didn’t look so daunting to its subjects.
I gestured for the examination bench, and Zira, now fully unclothed, sat rigidly atop it. He stared ahead, trying very hard to be brave. I gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said, as sternly as I could.
“I know,” he murmured. “Just get on with it.”
I touched the base of his neck, indicating where I would inject the somnia, so nothing would come as a surprise. He lowered his head, giving me better access.
“You’re going to feel some mild discomfort,” I warned. “Perhaps a pinch.”
Zira said nothing, waiting.
I injected the somnia into his cervical spine, without so much as a flinch from him. The effects were near immediate, and his eyes began rolling around in his head. His body began to lean left, and I stopped him from falling off the bench.
“Can you still stand?” I asked.
“I-I don’t know…” Zira slurred.
I helped him off the bench; his legs were only partially functional. I could hear him hyperventilating, trying to stay awake. The capsule opened and I laid him inside. Zira watched me, even as the capsule slid shut and the fluid-reinforced wires snaked to his arms, legs and neck. I began for the panel, but just as I turned, I heard—
BOOM.
I spun. Zira had pounded his hand against the capsule wall, recapturing my attention. The electrolyte fluid was filling in around him, brimming at his chin.
“Please, be here when I wake up again,” he shouted, though it came out barely audible through the capsule barrier.
I will, I telepathized. And I will visit you every day, until then.
It seemed he’d heard me, the fear on his face fading to something more tranquil. And then his eyes closed. The fluid reached full capacity; the monitor informed me that Zira was now in stasis. I set the somnia administration to steady intervals, and then stood there and watched him sleep.
I’d put on a courageous front, but it felt like he was dead. Why? He wasn’t dead. But… fifty Exodian years was a long time to wait. Yet I would.
“Sleep well,” I murmured, placing my hand against the capsule wall for just a moment, before exiting the Antechamber. Making my way down the hall, I felt the beginnings of tears form in my eyes, but blinked them away.
*
Mehrit had been scheduled a therapy session with Adrial after morning meal. I was instructed to meet her afterward, so that was where I was currently headed. She’d been given two days to adjust, the soreness of her body after a Vel’Haru transformation was never an easy thing to handle initially.
She hadn’t spoken much to the others during this time, having instead chosen to explore the fields beyond Enigmus, up to the Khel’Hanna Scar and Sanctuary gorge. The Sanctuary was gone, but I’d glimpsed her sitting atop its wreckage, looking out at the hazy nothing. I could only imagine how overwhelmed Mehrit felt. But she would come around, I knew it.
I passed a disgruntled Qaira, stationed at Sort for the foreseeable future. I offered him a greeting and he returned it surprisingly, albeit with much less enthusiasm.
Mehrit was just leaving Adrial’s office as I rounded the hall. I nodded in greeting, paying her a reserved smile as she closed the distance to meet me. She’d been provided our Court uniform, the emblazoned Enigmus crest illuminating the gold flecks in her brown eyes.
“The uniform suits you,” I said. “How did your first session go?”
Mehrit shrugged. “He seems very nice, but uses a lot of words I don’t understand.”
“You will. Very soon, actually. I’m tasked with showing you how to utilize your conscious stream today.”
“Conscious stream?”
“Attica. A connected neural network.”
Mehrit blinked at me. “Something like the Pedagogue Eye?”
“Somewhat. More precise, though.” I guided her gently in the direction of Euxodia. She followed, studying the doorways along the halls.
“They say you are the doctor here,” Mehrit said.
“Yes, although my formal title is the Pharmacist.”
“Does everyone here have a different title?” she asked.
“They do. Adrial is the Psychiatrist, Leid is the War Tactician, Pariah—you haven’t met him yet—is the Signal, Aela—you haven’t met her yet, either—is the Scribe. Qaira—have you met him yet?”
“Yes, he frightens me.”
“He’s the Engineer.”
“And what about the black-haired man who’s always with you; the one with the fiery eyes?” asked Mehrit, once I’d gone quiet.
“That’s… Zira. He’s the Jack. But we won’t be seeing him for a while.”
“Why not?”
I tried to smile with some understanding. “You’ll learn soon. This is all part of your training.”
We stopped in front of the Euxodia entrance. Mehrit looked up at me, puzzled. “Are you alright?”
I hesitated, surprised. “Yes, why?”
“You seem… sad.”
I tried to laugh it off. “Just tired. Scholars are very busy, as you’ll see.”
She nodded, though the suspicion behind her eyes remained. “So, do I have a title yet?”
“As a matter of fact, yes,” I said, both of us stepping across the threshold of Euxodia, the room illuminating in a blue-violet glow. Mehrit will spend the better part of an Exodian year in this room, combing through millennia of knowledge. “With some hard work and proficient training, you will be our Architect.”
Thank You
Oh hi,
Thank you so much for purchasing and reading my work. Please consider leaving a rating on Amazon or Goodreads. Reviews help other readers find me, as bookstores favor products with ratings and tend to promote them more often through the algorithm. Feedback also helps my motivation to continue the series.
This series is ongoing. If you’d like to be notified whenever a new installment of Hymn of the Multiverse is released, sign up to my mailing list here: http://eepurl.com/dDFIy5. Please note my mailing list is spam free and only relevant to new releases, with the added bonuses of seeing sneak peeks of current projects.
Covenants: Savant (Hymn of the Multiverse Book 10) Page 16