Shattered Destiny (5 page)

Robert swallowed hard. –Would it hurt?

Mirka shrugged. --I don't know. But it's a distraction we can't afford. There's no telling when they would let you go.

--We will do our best to blend in.

The two clones sent to find designation badges returned. They passed the badges around to the Earth Chosen and their Guardian. The Kromins had to show them how to activate the adhesive by touching a tiny bump in the upper left corner.

--When you need to remove the badge, press this button. Number 4 pointed to a button in the bottom left corner.

Robert frowned. --I thought clones had to wear the badge at all times.

--We take them off during our daily cleansing.

--What do these symbols and numbers stand for?

--The first symbol is the city in which a clone works, the second symbol denotes what the clone's profession is, and the numbers are assigned to each clone as they emerge from the birthing chamber.

--Birthing chamber? If Brent had had eyebrows, they would have been raised to his hairline.

--Perhaps we can visit one of the birthing chambers later. For now, I want to show you more of this planet. Mirka wasn't certain the Earth Chosen were ready to handle the sight of the birthing chamber.

Mirka could not help but hold her breath as they emerged from storeroom 9 and walked toward the main hangar bay. She trusted her Chosen and knew that if they had been able to detect even the slightest emotion from any of the Earth Chosen, they would have said something. She breathed a sigh of relief when a passing clone merely nodded in their direction, showing no sign that it guessed that half of the Kromins walking down the hallway were in fact from another planet.

--How do Kromins keep warm when it gets cold if they do not wear clothes? Martha asked.

--All buildings and travel pods are climate-controlled. Number 5 answered Martha in its usual bland monotone.

--Climate-controlled? Mark could not make sense of the images the clones sent through their telepathic link.

-- Computers keep the temperature at 42.2°C at all times. This is the optimal temperature for Kromin metabolism.

The Earth Chosen simply stared at the Kromin clones. They had only a partial understanding of what the Kromins had told them, but from what they did understand, it sounded like nothing short of a miracle.

Forka looked at his Earth Chosen and vowed to tell them all he knew of the time before the Changes on their planet. They deserved to know that humans had once possessed technology that had allowed them to achieve so much.
Perhaps humans will one day wield great technological power once again. And perhaps this time they will use that power wisely.

The group made it to the main hangar bay without incident. The bay was enormous, stretching well over two thousand feet. There were hundreds of doors, many of which had a travel pod lined up in front. Towers rose above their heads, connected by metal barricades that housed even more travel pods. The towers were manned by several clones who coordinated the landing and take-off of the endless parade of travel pods.

The Earth Chosen and their Guardian stood with their arms hanging at their sides. They glanced everywhere at once, taking in all of the strange and frightening sites. Sloan wandered close to his fellow Chosen, unwilling to be alone in this bizarre place.

Mirka led them to a large travel pod. The Kromin clones took the lead, followed closely by the Earthmen. Mirka communicated with the tower that she was taking the group on an errand to a nearby building. The clone in the tower told her that she would be able to depart in a few moments. She entered the travel pod and took the pilot's seat. Clone number 3 took the co-pilot seat. Mirka expertly punched buttons, readying the pod for departure. She looked over her shoulder and found that the Earthmen were fastened into the seats. Though their masked emotions did not show it, their body language screamed that they were nervous.

Mirka received the telepathic signal that she was cleared for departure. She punched a button, and the travel pod sped toward
the shielded bay door and passed through into the wild Kromin atmosphere.

--I must say, this is all a bit…overwhelming. Brad Phillips conveyed. His original thought was
frightening
, but he realized that he wasn't afraid. It was more like he was on sensory overload and needed a break to let it all sink in.

--If you think this is overwhelming, just wait. Mirka took the travel pod in a slow, lazy downward spiral.

--Do we have to do the circular bit? Brent groaned.

Mirka smirked and stopped the travel pod just below the thickest of the clouds. She punched buttons that would allow the craft to hover. Mirka kept her eyes glued to the viewscreen, watching the swirling clouds. --Keep an eye on the viewscreen. I am hoping we can catch a glimpse of the planet's liquid surface.

--Liquid surface?
What kind of planet is this?
Martha was ready to return home, to familiar ground. Everything about this planet was so foreign and alien that nothing felt right.

Just then, a break in the clouds offered the Earth Chosen and their Guardian a brief look at the molten surface of Kromin, sending up jets of scalding liquid high into the atmosphere, though not high enough to touch the travel pod.

The clouds returned, obscuring the view. Martha didn't know whether to be disappointed or glad. The colors were beautiful. The swirls of yellow, orange, and gold reminded her of the piece of china she had unearthed while scouting the ruins of Denver back on Earth. And yet seeing the gouts of scalding liquid sent her pulse racing.

Mirka took the pod into the swirling clouds and made her way back to the research building. Those from Earth got their first glimpse of the huge floating buildings of Kromin.

--How do they stay suspended in the air? Brent asked, getting as close to the view screen as he could.

--The atmosphere is very dense. The metal we use is light enough to allow the construction of buildings and yet strong enough to withstand even the most fierce wind storms. Gravity on our planet is also much less than that of your planet. Construction such as this would not be possible there.

The Earth Chosen again looked baffled at most of what Mirka
tried to convey. Since the telepaths communicated with symbols and pictures and ideas, it was hard for the Earthmen to fathom what they meant by alloys of metals mined on orbiting moons or the process by which their engineers crafted the massive buildings. They did finally grasp the notion of gravity when the Kromins explained that it is the force that keeps things on the surface of Earth. They had seen this force at work; they just did not have a name for it.

--It is nearing time for the sleep cue.

Mirka nodded. --The Earth Chosen and Forka will stay in my domicile. The rest of you can sleep in your own domiciles. Please come to me as soon as you finish with your cleaning ritual tomorrow.

The Kromin Chosen nodded and made their way out of the hangar bay, heading for their own rooms. Mirka led the Earthmen to her rooms, which were large enough to accommodate all of them.

--Why are there no windows? Brad asked Mirka as they walked through the hallway.

--I do not know. But the only way to see the outside world is to see it through the shielded hangar door or the viewscreen of the travel pod.

--I couldn't imagine not being able to see outside.

Mirka knew how he felt. --I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but it doesn't. I remember wishing for Master Brok's use of magic so that I could use it to make myself a window. I would look forward to the days when my work took me to other buildings or cities, just so I could see some color, even if it was in the form of noxious gases. Be thankful you don't have to be here for years.

More talk was cut off by the sleep cue. Mirka directed the Earthmen to lie down on the floor and said that their brains would take care of the rest.

--I don't understand…Forka began, but as soon as he was prostrate, his body fell into a deep sleep.

*   *   *

The next morning, the group was aroused by the waking cue. Mirka directed them to the cleaning station. She reminded them to remove their designation badges before entering. The Earth Chosen and the Guardian washed and dried in short order. They replaced their badges and waited for Mirka to emerge from the cleaning cubicle.

--That was the strangest bath I have ever taken. Forka said.--How can one get clean without scrubbing? It is hard to believe that whatever was sprayed on us will clean as good as a piece of cloth.

--The foam cleans more efficiently and does not require a cloth. Having a cloth would require cleaning or disposal. It is an extra step that is not needed. Mirka explained. --Let us eat. Today I will show you the birthing chambers.

Mirka led the group to the food pellet dispenser. She hit numerical keys, telling the machine to spit out enough pellets for the eight of them. The dispenser made several beeping and clicking noises before a cylindrical tube rose from the metal table with a whooshing sound. Mirka opened the door on the side of the cylinder and took out the eight red pellets.

--What is this? Sloan gave the food a sideways glance.

--These are food pellets, designed with the perfect balance of nutrients and water that will sustain a Kromin for the entire day. They are not appetizing in any way. Mirka had been so glad to return home and enjoy more palatable fare. She turned the floppy red pellet over in her hand and forced herself to eat the bland, tasteless food.

The others followed suit, their faces screwing up with the strangeness of the pellets. Brent and Brad wolfed theirs down, getting to the end of the task as quickly as possible.

--The food on Gentra seems quite normal compared to this. Martha said, wishing she had a tall glass of water to wash the taste out of her mouth.

--Try eating this for years. Mirka said.

--No thank you. I yearn to return home and eat
real
food. Martha said with conviction.

The Kromin Chosen arrived, having completed their daily cleansing and consumption of their food pellet. They did not
understand the reaction of the Earth Chosen to the food.

--The purpose of food is to provide the body with nutrients, is it not? This serves that purpose. Number 3 said.

--On our world, food provides nutrients, but it also tastes good. And smells good. Nothing whets the appetite more than smelling the aroma of food cooking over a roaring fire. When you visit my planet, you will understand. Mark said, his thoughts turning to some of his favorite smells, trying to force down the last of the food pellet. Even the texture was strange.

--Shall we go? Try to maintain your composure when we get to the birthing room. The sight of it will shock you, but I feel it is important for you to see for yourselves how this race reproduces.
I hope they are ready.

The group rode an elevator to the topmost floor of the building. They emerged into a well-lit hallway that seemed to go on forever into the distance. There were no other doors except the main double doors into the birthing chamber. The Earth Chosen found their heart rates picking up speed as they neared the end of the hall.

Brent stayed close to Martha, taking comfort in her presence. She looked after him like a big sister would.

--Are you excited to see what's in the chamber? Martha asked.

Brent shook his head. –I really think I'd rather not. But I suppose the reason we're here is to learn about our Kromin comrades.

Mirka took a deep breath, hoping that there were not many clone technicians in the chamber, and pushed a large grey button located next to the heavy double doors. The doors slid sideways into recesses in the wall. The entry split to the left and right, back toward the hallway they had just entered. Mirka took them to the left.

--There is nothing here. Robert conveyed, trying to keep his thought quiet. There was no sound in the room. Even the flapping noise of his feet on the cool metal floor seemed much too loud. The complete silence of this world made his skin crawl.

Mirka led the group to a point half way into the room and stopped. She touched the wall and a piece of it came downward, revealing a keypad with strange symbols and numbers. Mirka punched in the code and the metal wall began to slowly move to the side.

Behind a translucent polymer wall stood row upon row of egg-shaped containers made of the same grey metal that everything else on the planet was made of. Grey, white, and black wires came out of the tops of the egg-shaped pods and entered the ceiling. Every now and then, the wires would give a little twitch.

Mirka touched more buttons on the keypad and the containers revolved, their contents coming into view.

--What in the name of God? Robert asked, his mind trying to grasp what he was seeing.

Inside the egg-shaped pods were tiny, wrinkled Kromins, their bodies covered in the white, black, and grey wires that all came together just above their heads before exiting the pod. The clones were immersed in some sort of yellowish green goo that distorted their appearance.

--What is this? What are those things? Martha asked.

--Those are the clones. Number 3 said.

Although the Earth Chosen had heard the word spoken since tthey had first met the Kromins on Gentra, they hadn't had time to ask what “clone” actually meant.

--All Kromins are exactly the same, as you see before you. We are identical down to the genetic level. When an adult clone dies, a clone that has reached physical maturity is awakened. These clones are the young ones. The older clones are on the other side of the room. Number 5 pointed to Mirka, who was already at the keypad, opening the wall.

The pods were exactly the same, only the Kromins inside them were larger, the size of an adult. Their eyes were closed; their chests rose and fell slowly. Every now and then, the fingers and toes would twitch, causing the Earth Chosen to jump back in startled fear.

--These adults will be awakened when a clone dies. They are shown the basics of the job that they will be performing. All other knowledge is implanted as they grow. Number 4 pointed to the white wires that emerged from the clone's head.