The Agathon: Reign of Arturo (29 page)

“So,” Florence said to Aron.

“So,” Aron responded.

“Did you speak to them?” Florence asked quietly.

She softened her tone as much as possible to try and defuse the tension. Aron looked at India. Florence noticed how they looked at each other. There was an unspeakable bond. A trust and respect that burst from their eyes. She had never had such a bond. Only between a master and his slave. She imagined what it must be like. To have someone care for your life and be willing to protect and die for it. She waited for Aron to answer.

“I need to see inside the forbidden zone,” Aron said suddenly.

India looked at him. Florence stood silently and thought about where this was headed. She was not strong enough to oppose Arturo.
She could barely stand up these days. Her death was approaching. There was no way to stop it now.

“He told you,” Florence said.

“Is she alive?” Aron replied.

Florence heard a tremble in his voice, but he showed no emotion.

“Yes,” Florence said, “but not for long. The power systems are failing and all life support will terminate for all subjects in a matter of weeks.”

“All subjects? What the fuck is going on down there?” India said looking confused.

Florence turned away from the pair and moved past them into the ship. She wanted to get away from the airlock. There was no way, of course, that anyone could have heard her, but it was a subconscious decision. Aron and India followed her carefully.

“Arturo will kill us all,” Florence said turning back and lowering her voice, “he’s gone mad. He talks to himself when he is alone. He’s a possessed man. We don’t stand a chance against the Colonial Guard let alone The Kandinsky. Even if I show you what is down there in the forbidden zone, there is nothing you or I can do about it. Look at me. Look at what he has done. Look at what I have become.”

Florence began to feel the semblance of an emotion boiling up from her stomach. She had not felt anything for so long that it frightened her. It began to grow as it pulsed through her body, making her eyes well up. Her legs began to shake as she lost her balance and suddenly collapsed onto her knees weeping. She exploded into a flood of uncontrollable tears. She put her hands up to her face trying to contain it, but it was no use. Her mind had decided to let go and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up through a blurry haze of water. Aron was crouched next to her. The soft touch of his hand was like nothing she had ever felt. For the first time in her life, it was one of concern from one human being to another. She did not know how to react to this, so she simply placed her withered hand on his.

“I’ll take you to her,” Florence said to him, “but he’ll kill us all.”

Aron looked at her and smiled, linking his arm around her shoulder and pulling her slowly off the ground. He looked her in the eyes.

“Florence, you let me worry about the dying, just get us into the forbidden zone and we’ll take it from there. In the meantime, we have to prepare ourselves, we don’t have much time. Come with me to the engine room. We need to talk to Oliver,” Aron said.

Florence dried her eyes and stood up slowly with Aron and India’s help. Aron left his arm around hers and guided her through the corridors. Suddenly Florence did not feel so bad about dying. She had felt something real for the first time in her life. And it felt good.

20

The Void

T
hey had been walking for what seemed like hours. Carrie followed up the rear as the alien led them through a maze of corridors and doorways. They finished in a small room with curved walls and a raised circular white floor in its centre. It seemed to be lit from underneath, giving it a soft glow. The walls were smooth, covered in a range of raised carvings and shapes that changed every few seconds. It looked like data was being projected onto their surface from a computer of some kind, inside the wall’s interior. The alien approached the wall and placed its hand on it. The surface under the palm of the alien’s hand immediately lit up and surrounded it with data. It moved its hand as if entering in commands into a computer console. Carrie looked at Tyrell who had not said a word since they had begun walking. There were no other life forms, that Carrie could see anyway. She had opened her mind up and had sensed the presence of other minds close to her, but she could not make out what those minds were thinking or where they were located. At one point, she thought she felt something move past her shoulder. She had turned, but seen nothing. She guessed that these aliens had some sort of cloaking technology and were choosing to remain hidden from view. Tyrell knew they were there. He would occasionally turn to look at something. She even saw him smile at one point.

The alien turned and faced the pair.

“If you would not mind stepping up on the platform,” he said politely, pointing to the raised floor.

Tyrell stepped up on the platform without a moment’s hesitation. Carrie waited and looked at the alien.

“Please, it is perfectly safe, you will not be harmed,” the alien said to Carrie.

She was surprised at his tone. If he did not look so different, you would have thought you were speaking to a human. She let out a breath and stepped up on the platform. The alien turned and placed its hand on the wall again. Carrie heard a low humming sound and suddenly felt cold. The alien removed its hand from the wall and joined them up on the platform. Carrie suddenly saw a bright white light and felt a sharp stabbing sensation in her stomach. The room disappeared and less than a second later was replaced by another room. The humming noise was gone and Carrie looked around at the others. She remained still and watched the alien, who was stepping off the platform.

“This way, please,” the alien said.

Carrie followed the pair as they made their way through a set of interlocking doors, which slid apart gracefully. She stepped through the doors and immediately felt disorientated by her surroundings. At first she thought they had walked into deep space. She was suddenly surrounded by stars on all sides. It was only when she looked down that she saw the ground was solid. The door behind them glided shut and the group came to a stop in the centre of the transparent domed hall. Carrie looked to her left and saw the planet below. They were in orbit. The alien turned around and faced them.

“Well then, let’s begin, shall we?” the alien said.

Carrie took a breath and tried to come to terms with what she was experiencing. She was with one human being, currently occupied by an alien black liquid found on Mars, and with another alien being, on a completely transparent space station orbiting a planet between galaxies. Her head was starting to spin.

“Okay, just hang on,” Carrie said, “enough already. I want to know what the hell is going on. What are you?” she said pointing to the alien, “what the hell is he?” she said pointing to Tyrell, “and what the hell am I? What are we doing here?”

The alien looked at Tyrell who turned to face Carrie.

“He is what we left behind,” the alien said politely, “he is what we always leave behind when we move on from world’s that die. We knew of your species and knew that someday you would reach the stars. We leave, what is it you call it? The Black?”

Carrie nodded looking at Tyrell.

“We leave The Black so that it may bond with species in the hopes that we may reunite. You are the first to arrive,” the alien said, “we were not expecting to see you for millennia, but here you are. I can see why he brought you. You are most definitely an anomaly for your species. I do not think you realise quite fully what you are capable of, or what you will become. But you will. In time.”

Carrie looked at Tyrell.

“So, you are saying that stuff inside Doctor Tyrell was meant to bring us to you? To make contact?” Carrie said.

“Yes,” the alien said.

“It killed people on Mars,” Carrie said, “it killed my mother.”

The alien looked at Tyrell who remained still.

“That is unfortunate. It takes time for it to learn the molecular compatibility with its hosts,” the alien said.

Carrie sighed and looked out at the stars. There was no use anymore. She had to face the fact that it was an accident. She had no more anger left. She was exhausted.

“Is Doctor Tyrell still alive in there?” she asked quietly, already knowing the answer. He was in there somewhere. She had heard him begging for help.

“Unfortunately, the host mind cannot survive a bond for long. I am truly sorry for any loss that you have endured, Carrie,” the alien said sounding truly remorseful.

Carrie found his tone creepy. It was like he was simulating human emotions. Something felt wrong, but she could not put her finger on it.

“What do I call you?” Carrie asked suddenly, realising that the alien had yet to say its name.

“Call me? Oh yes, a name. Well, as I said, your vocal chords are unable to pronounce it,” the alien said.

“Well, I have to call you something or would you rather I just call you alien?” she said.

“What would you like to call me?” the alien said.

Carrie thought about the absurdity of her situation. It was like a surreal dream she used to have as a child. She gave in to the crazy situation and said the first name that came into her head.

“Jack,” she said raising her arms and blowing out her mouth.

The alien tilted his head.

“Jack it is then,” he said taking a step towards her, “let me show you something.”

Jack turned and moved his hand towards an area of open space in the hall. It lit up instantly with colour and light as an image began to form in mid-air. The image was something Carrie was all too familiar with. A large mechanical planet.

“You have seen this, yes?” Jack said.

Carrie looked at the image of the planet that nearly destroyed The Agathon and her father.

“Yes,” she said.

“The Targlagdu,” Jack said, “you defeated it.”

Carrie looked at Tyrell who had not said a word in over an hour.

“We barely escaped that thing,” she said.

“You defeated it,” Jack said.

“What is it?” Carrie asked.

Jack moved his hand again and a fresh image filled the open spaces of the transparent domed hall. It was now a star system filled with mechanical planets, hundreds of them, orbiting a large, red, giant star.

“There are more of those things?” Carrie said open-mouthed.

“Many more,” Jack said, moving his hand again. The holographic image changed as a huge spiral galaxy filled the air. “This is your galaxy. And here is the location of the Targlagdu,” he said, as millions of points of red light began to pinpoint locations within its boundaries. It looked like a swarm of bees around a hive. There were as many points of red light as there were stars. Only a small area remained uninfected by them.

“Here is your solar system. Or rather what was your solar system,” Jack said moving a digit. A bright point of white light highlighted an area of the galaxy clear of the mechanical planets.

“Oh my God!” Carrie said, “Those things are everywhere?”

“The Targlagdu destroyed our galaxy billions of years ago. Our race fled to your galaxy where we lived in peace until they reached it. We learned of their infiltration and left to live here, in the void. This rogue star and its lone planet. Your galaxy will be consumed like the others,” Jack said.

Carrie felt a sudden wave of panic at the horror of what was happening.

“My ship,” she said trembling, “I have to warn them!” she shouted at Jack.

Jack looked at Tyrell.

“The ship is in no immediate danger, Carrie. The planet they are on is in an isolated part of the galaxy. There are greater concerns than The Agathon,” Tyrell finally said.

“Yeah, no shit,” said Carrie looking at the swarm of pinpoints on the holographic map, “what are they?”

“We do not know, they came from another galaxy, and then stormed through ours. The remnants of an ancient civilisation. One of the first to exist. They consume and replicate life, then move on,” said Jack.

“Who are the Signal Makers?” Carrie said suddenly realising that she had forgotten to ask the most important question of all.

“That which destroyed your world?” Jack asked.

“Yes,” Carrie responded.

“Do your people still believe in angels?” Jack asked.

Carrie looked at the tall alien confused.

“Angels?” she asked.

“Yes, angels. Guardians, if you will,” Jack said.

“No, I don’t think so,” she answered.

“Ah,” said Jack, “well then, maybe the metaphor will hold no meaning for you. They are the ones who continue to fight for us.”

“I don’t understand. They destroyed my people’s planet without warning. How is that fighting for us?” Carrie asked.

“I do not know why your planet was destroyed, Carrie,” Jack said, “but the Signal Makers, as you call them, have tried to stem the spread of the Targlagdu. They only target known planets and star systems with Targlagdu vessels.”

“Where are they?” Carrie said.

“They keep their location secret. We don’t even know where they are. They have left markers, but in all our searching, we have been unable to find them.” Jack said.

Carrie let out a sigh and looked away from the floating map of the galaxy and out into the stars overhead. In the distance, through the glass dome, she saw what looked like a small spiral galaxy. It all seemed so hopeless.

“I want to go back to my ship,” she said quietly.

“How did you defeat the Targlagdu?” Jack said to her.

“What?” she asked still looking out into the darkness.

Jack moved his hand again and the images overhead disappeared.

“How did you defeat it?” Jack asked again.

“I don’t know,” Carrie answered, “I’m a freak. I have a mutation and got lucky I guess.”

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up at the alien face looking down at her.

“You still do not know what you are, do you?” Jack said.

Carrie began to get angry and shrugged off the alien’s hand.

“No, for the last time, what the hell am I!” she said looking at Tyrell.