Worlds Away (23 page)

As a small Kulsat swam by, oblivious to the two humans
standing on the dry side of the glass, Yoatl, raising his voice a notch, spoke
in the direction of a receiver jutting out of the floor in front of the glass.

“Hello, my name is Yoatl. I am the Gliesan Ambassador to
Sol. I would like to speak to Red Spot, if she is available.”

The small Kulsat turned to them, approached the computer on
his side, and tapped on the console.

“I will inform her of your presence. You will wait here.”

He swam off, and Justine shared a look with Yoatl. He said,
“They are a very old society. Even though they are in our space, and confined
in our facility, Kulsat sensibility still considers all non-Kulsat beings as
inferior. Diplomacy is not one of their priorities.”

Soon, a familiar Kulsat approached. Justine recognized her
from her unique marking right away, but she saw that one of Red Spot’s
tentacles was hanging limp under her as she swam closer.

“Are you injured?” Justine asked, casting a glance at Yoatl
to see if he was aware of this development. He looked as concerned and
surprised as she was.

Red Spot typed. “We have had a minor conflict between us.
Several of the other Potentials were outraged that we surrendered. They
launched an attack. There were casualties. Two Deficients and one Potential
were killed in the fighting.”

“In the fighting?” Justine said. “When did this happen?”

“We resolved the situation,” Red Spot responded.

At that, Yoatl said in a tight voice, “I’ll alert the
guards. There should be safeguards in place to prevent this. I’ll be right
back.” With that, he strode out of the room.

Turning back to Red Spot, Justine said, “I’m sorry this
happened to your people.”

“It is fortuitous it occurred,” Red Spot typed. “I have
established command as senior Potential. The other Kulsat will not rebel again.
The Deficients have sworn fealty to me as well. We will continue.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Justine took a step toward the
glass and put her hand on the surface. She had no idea if Red Spot could sense
her sincerity. “You saved my life; I don’t want to see you—or any of the
others—hurt.”

“Gratitude, Justine. The Gliesans have provided the
necessities. There is no cause for further concern.”

Just then, Yoatl came back into the viewing room. “It looks
like the fight took place out of sight of the security monitors. The guards are
sending in medical staff to see what they can do to help, and to retrieve the
bodies. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to prevent the fight.”

Red Spot typed. “It is an internal matter, Ambassador.
Interference is not required.”

“Of course,” Yoatl said.

To Justine, it seemed as if Red Spot had not extended her
trust to anyone besides her. She asked, “Is it possible for Red Spot and me to
speak in private? Do the translators record our conversation?”

Yoatl gave her a considering look. “As refugees, and not
prisoners, the Kulsat do have more rights under Gliesan law. Privacy is one of
those rights.” He seemed on the verge of asking a question, but then smiled and
gave Justine a bow of his head instead. “I’ll wait outside for you.”

“Thank you, Yoatl.”

When he’d gone, Justine spoke to Red Spot. “I don’t want to
ask you to do anything to betray your people, but I need to protect my world. I
need to warn them that your military will attack them.”

“It is understandable. While I do not agree with our policy
to attack un-Emerged systems, I do not know how I may assist you, Justine.”

Taking a deep breath, she said, “I have given the Gliesans
my word that I would not seek to learn about their Aether technology, and I don’t
believe in breaking my word. Their Galactic Law forbids sharing, but since the
Kulsat do not subscribe to that Law…”

“Of course, Justine,” Red Spot typed, catching on to the
loophole. “I will be glad to teach you everything I know about the Gift and the
path to becoming a Risen being.”

“Thank you,” Justine said, but she was interrupted. Red Spot
continued typing.

“However, warning your system of our attack will be futile.
Our warships are far too powerful. They outnumber you. They will crush anything
your technology can send against them. If you wish to save your home system,
there is only one way.”

“What do I have to do?”

“You must stop the Kulsat Risen.”

Justine laughed. “That’s the number-one question on everyone’s
mind: how to accomplish that.”

“The answer is obvious, Justine,” Red Spot typed. “Obtain
the final component.”

35

Caribbean
Coast :

Guatemala
:

Over the next
few weeks, Michael worked in an underground laboratory on the coastal property.

True to his word, Señor Ruiz provided him with the most
up-to-date diagnostic equipment with which to study the alien. Michael’s
expertise was more in the fields of planetary geology and astrophysics.

Two lab assistants arrived to assist. When they saw the
alien body for the first time, they both stood and stared for several minutes,
their mouths open in shock. After recovering, they started to babble
uncontrollably, as excited as children in a theme park.

One of the assistants was a biochemist from the Universidad
de San Carlos de Guatemala. His name was Felipé, an older man who spent a great
deal of his time talking about his fishing boat, and where he was going to sail
once he retired with the money he was making from this job.

The other was Tristán, a young biologist from La Aurora Zoo
who had spent a few years in oceanographic exploration. He was the one who
quickly categorized the alien, surmising it had evolved from a creature much
like the
protostegidae
family
.
”

“A sea turtle?” Felipé asked. “But it has no shell.”

Tristan smiled. “Look at this x-ray.” He pointed.
“Obviously, over time, it no longer needed the shell for protection, and it
gradually shrank. There’s still the remnant of a carapace running along the spine
of the creature. It’s sub-dermal, but it’s most definitely a shell under its
skin. Very similar to the
dermochelys coriacea
—the leatherback turtle.”

The two debated and speculated on the origins of the species.
What kind of environment did it come from? What level of intelligence had it achieved?
What cultural dynamic had it developed? How had it managed to be buried on
Earth? The one thing they agreed on was that it had evolved on a different
planet, in another solar system.

While Michael listened to their conversations, and sometimes
joined in the discussion, he was far more interested in a completely different
aspect of the alien’s physiology. Namely, that every cell in its body contained
a single molecule of altered Kinemet.

Very quickly, they determined that the element would have to
have been introduced some time after physical birth; the Kinemet, while
providing a constant source of energy to the cells, also had the effect of
halting the aging process.

It took Michael well over a week of inputting and collating
data from the thousands of diagnostics they performed to conclude that the
infusing of raw Kinemet into these creatures would increase their normal
lifespan by a factor of thousands.

Was that the legacy the Kulsat sought? Virtual immortality?
If that conclusion was accurate, then where had the Grace gone? Certainly, not
all of them had strayed too close to the gravitational well of a planet, where
the forces that played on the cells would be too strong for any physical being
to endure. That, they decided, had been the cause of death in this case.
Kinemet was such a heavy element that the proximity to Earth, and the strain of
its geomagnetic force, had caused the cells to overload.

No, there had to be another explanation for the fate of this
race, the ancient beings that had explored space and created tens of thousands
of star beacons to connect the galaxy.

Michael wrestled with these questions during the day, and
they even pervaded his thoughts in the evenings, when he ate dinner with Yaxche
and Patli. Michael wasn’t permitted to speak to anyone else. All information
about the outside world was restricted from them.

Humberto was secured in another building with his two
Cruzado friends—they were all still considered a threat. Humberto had effected
Michael’s escape once before. Señor Ruiz would not make that same mistake
again.

Every morning, Michael had to give a progress report to
Oscar Ruiz, who would then presumably pass it along to Chow Yin.

Michael dreaded the day he made the final connection. His
initial exultation at the realization of the relationship between the Xtôti and
Kinemet was quickly marred by the fact that he knew he could not keep the
information from his captors for long.

He suspected the Kulsat did not want the secret of the Grace
merely to extend their lives. They wanted it for something far more powerful.
Something that could, and would, change the entire order of the galaxy.

The discovery happened quite unintentionally.

Since Michael did not have access to any Kinemet for experimentation,
he extracted a few of the alien’s skin cells—using a high-density laser set a
frequency he knew would not cause a reaction with Kinemet.

The problem arose when he tried to separate the Kinemet from
the biological cells. The element was bound to the cell at a subatomic level.

For two days, Michael struggled with the problem, but
nothing he did could extract the Kinemet. It was as if it had become an
integral part of the alien’s physiology.

One of the known reactors to Kinemet was hydrogen photons.
Michael decided to see what would happen to the Kinemet-infused cell when
bombarded with hydrogen photons.

He set up his experiment on the other side of the lab, away
from the alien’s corpse, in a vacuum-sealed container.

Before he initiated the emitter to produce the photons,
there was an explosion from outside the lab. For a split-second, Michael
thought his experiment might have caused it, but there was no possible way for
that to happen.

His alarm turned to fear when he heard the distinct sound of
machine-gun fire. The complex was under attack.

He ran to the window and lifted one of the blinds to look
outside. It looked like a battlefield in the compound. Dozens of guerrilla
soldiers were storming the property. Cruzados? How had they tracked the captives
here?

A stray bullet splintered the wall beside Michael, and he
jumped back with a start.

Something bright caught his eye, and he realized the bullet
had hit the hydrogen emitter. Sparks flew from the unit, and it caught on fire,
which spread quickly.

When the fire burned through the container, the Kinemet in
the skin cells he’d extracted grew bright.

Instinctively, Michael backed away, remembering Patli’s
story. Even though there were only a few molecules of Kinemet on the table, the
reaction could be highly energetic.

Then Michael felt a sudden heat from behind him, from the
alien body. It was glowing.

He checked the computer display monitoring the cells.
Somehow, the Kinemet in the skin cells Michael had removed were entangled with
the Kinemet still in the alien’s body. What happened to one cell, happened to
all the cells.

That was his last thought before a wave of Kinemetic
radiation rapidly filled the room, completely encompassing Michael. He did not
even have time to scream before he was entirely consumed.

∞

When Michael woke up, he felt like the weight of the world
was pressing down on him. He was being crushed, but when he opened his eyes, he
saw that there was nothing on top of him.

A sensation went through him then, and for the first time,
he felt a tiny fraction of what Alex felt, of what those soldiers Klaus had
experimented on felt, and what the ancient Mayan villagers had felt.

Michael was irradiated. He didn’t have any of the powers of
a Kinemat, because he wasn’t converted.

There was a tickle at the edge of his consciousness. But,
like a half-formed thought, whatever was there eluded him. He could not fully
identify what the connection was.

There came a sober realization, though, when Michael
struggled to breathe.

He was going to die.

A stream of light cut through the room, and a shadowy figure
entered. Hastily, it approached him.

“Michael?” Humberto asked. “You are alive. The Cruzados have
found us. They are liberating us. We will be home soon.”

“How?”

Smiling, Humberto said, “At Alondo’s ranch, Diego and Migel
managed to get word to my men in Honduras, who contacted some of our friends in
the government here. There’s a revolution going on in the Guatemalan capital—it
seems not everyone was on board with the CEO’s policies, nor his involvement in
the kidnapping of Honduran and Canadian citizens. Both our governments are
sending troops to police the transition. The Guatemalan army got new orders
this morning to liberate this complex. They’ve already arrested Oscar. Both Alondo
and Nadia have been killed.”

Then he gave Michael a concerned look. “Are you all right?”

Michael was barely able to whisper. “Something’s wrong. I
can’t move.”

“Are you paralyzed?”

“No,” Michael said. “I can feel everything, but it feels
like I weigh a hundred kilotons.”

Humberto looked down at him with a helpless expression.

“The alien,” Michael said. “Is it still there?”

Standing up, Humberto glanced at the metal table that once held
the alien body. “No. Where did it go?”

“It reacted when the emitter caught on fire. Now, I’m irradiated
with Kinemet. I won’t survive this.”

“I will get one of the other scientists—”

“No. Listen to me,” Michael said. “Come closer.”

He was finding it more difficult to breathe with every
passing moment.

“What is it?” Humberto asked.

“You need to get a message to Alex Manez. I don’t know how.
He’s being held on a mining station in the asteroid belt by Emperor Yin.”

“What do you want me to tell him?”

“Tell him what happened here, that the alien’s DNA was infused
with Kinemet.” His lungs felt thick, as if he were drowning. “It’s some kind of
entanglement. That’s the secret.”

Humberto grasped Michael’s arm. “What’s happening to you?”

“Promise me,” he said to Humberto. “Only for Alex’s ears. No
one else must know.”

“I promise,” Humberto said, but Michael could not hear him.