An Obsidian Sky (15 page)

‘Buoyed by
these advances Carvelle teamed up with a very rich philanthropist
name Jacob Avouris. Together they set about designing the
architecture that would allow them to give human beings Ascension.’
We were each of us leaning forward now, desperate to hear what had
happened. All that is except for Aeniah who seemed to be casually
thumbing through a screen that displayed the vessel’s status.

‘Early on they
learnt that with significant genetic modifications a person could
actively handle the energy coursing through them. They could be
made aware of it, manipulate it. But so far they could not find a
way of getting each subject connected with enough of the energy to
do any “casting”.

‘It was then
that they realised the size of their task. In order to allow for a
person to be able to cast they had to find a way to distribute
enough of the energy. The solution soon became apparent. They
called this solution the Equinox project, a project separated from
the Ascension project. In order for their dreams to be realised
some special individuals would have to be a pure host of the energy
whilst others drew upon it and used it for their own will. The
Equinox subjects would be unable to cast themselves because the
amount of energy stored within them would be too great to be used.
Thus they would have to become an inert agent, not able to pursue
their own desires.

‘It was with
this realisation that the next problem arose. It would not have
been possible to set this project up in anything Earth or the
colonies had to offer. Since the fall of the United Nations any
semblance of international co-operation between the worlds had
degraded to such an extent that it could not host such as
miraculous an event as Ascension. The amount of infrastructure
required to regulate this process was staggering in size.

‘Carvelle and
Avouris thus undertook the largest project ever achieved by
mankind. They built Ascension. Ascension was designed to be a
paradise. Large enough to support a permanent colony with enough
luxuries to keep the people contented, whilst sophisticated enough
to support the intrinsic difficulties inherent in the project.’ She
paused and looked around in dramatic effect.

‘They brought
me to life on the thirty-first of August twenty one twenty. My role
was to administrate the project. At first everything was fine.
Everybody received their genetic modifications and were adapting
well. The first generation of the Equinox project was also
successful. Everything seemed to be going right.’ Here she paused
again, her eyes began to take on a mournful gaze.

‘There was a
saying back in my time. “Power corrupts. Power corrupts
absolutely”. The citizens of Ascension became drunk upon their
abilities. Drawing upon the energy of the Equinox subjects was like
a drug to them. They wanted more and more every single day. When
the supplies began to run short there was unrest. Carvelle
hurriedly began the creation of a second more powerful Equinox
project, but there were so few who would survive such an intense
alteration.

‘Nevertheless
we succeeded in producing the second project. But by this time
Carvelle and Avouris had fallen out. Neither could agree on the way
forward. Avouris thought that the project had gone too far, that it
should be abandoned until such time as they were able to find a
better way of regulating the process. But Carvelle was insistent.
He wanted to push ahead with both projects confident that
eventually a power balance could be achieved. He also pointed out
that the primary problem was energy supply. A problem he believed
was easily rectifiable.

‘The citizens
only used their abilities for the common good. Developments in
science were steaming ahead dramatically. In just a few short years
we had achieved what would have taken the rest of the world
decades. We had developed faster and more efficient faster than
light travel. We had discovered ways of curing the few diseases
that remained. He believed that eventually enough energy could be
supplied to keep the population contented and support humanities
continuing evolution.

‘But Carvelle
and Avouris began to disagree more and more. Soon they refused to
be in the same room as one another. I continued on with my work
attempting to find a solution to the problems we faced, but I could
find none.

‘Carvelle
decided that Avouris would at any moment threaten the stability of
the project. That he might pull the plug on the whole operation.
This was something he could not tolerate. He therefore issued me
with an execution order. I was forced to comply.

‘After
Avouris’s death the situation began again to deteriorate. The
citizens began to draw upon the Equinox subjects with an insatiable
thirst. They assaulted the subjects when they refused to allow them
more energy. It got to the point when a gang of citizens would
surround one of the subjects and draw all the energy from them that
they could before the subject had the chance to disconnect. In
almost all cases this excessive draining was fatal. This was a
turning point in Ascension’s fate. For the first time murder had
been recorded in a decade free from serious crime.

‘Carvelle
ordered me to undertake the creation of a third generation of the
Equinox project. He promised me that this would only be temporary.
That he was close to finding a solution to the problem. We had
begun to disagree; I could see little point in continuing with the
project. It had proved that it was doomed.’ Again Blue Dawn paused.
The story had been a long one and she was aware that we were
beginning to fatigue. However the keenness of our eyes encouraged
her to continue.

‘Early in the
morning following our disagreement, Carvelle announced a
break-through. He said that he had discovered something incredible
in his initial research upon Hercula. He asked if he could borrow
one of the new Xenith class of vessel that I had produced in order
to take it back to Hercula and return with a solution. I agreed,
but felt it necessary to point out that the United World and the
Alliance were engaged in aggressive activities against one another,
that a war was inevitable. He promised that he would not stray for
long and ordered me to continue with the third generation.

‘Several days
later a communications probe dropped out of slipstream and
delivered a message to me. It was from Carvelle. He stated that he
had found a solution. That he would have to travel a great distance
in order to retrieve the artefact that he was looking for. I was
told to wait for him.

‘The situation
upon Ascension was now at breaking point. For the sake of allowing
the project to continue I implemented a rationing system and
authorised the use of force against anyone who drew more than their
share of the energy. The Equinox subjects, in the absence of
Carvelle’s control, began to convince me that this needed to stop.
That Carvelle would never get back before the situation
deteriorated forever. Soon I became convinced. The angels through
their close affinity with the Promethean Layer had discovered a way
of cutting the citizens permanently off from the energy without
causing any serious harm. I immediately began to take the measures
that they had suggested.

‘Before the
process was complete Carvelle returned. He looked tired and pale
and was exhibiting many of the symptoms we now recognise in the
infected. But it was what he brought with him that would be the
damnation of us all. It was an artefact which he called the Eye of
Orion. It was logged into my system as artefact: catalogue number
77-x.

‘Carvelle
claimed that the Eye of Orion was an artificial structure that he
had created which would allow any of the Ascension’s citizens to
draw upon the Promethean layer’s energy. But something was wrong in
his explanation. Examination of the artefact concluded that it was
made of compounds that we simply did not have the capability to
create. I could not even begin to explain how it worked.

‘Carvelle
ordered me to immediately put the artefact into operation. All that
was required to run it was a small power source. Within moments of
its activation it seemed that everything was working. But the
angels began to rebel. Somehow they had sensed the result of
drawing upon the Promethean Layer through this device. Somehow they
had known it all. They tried to make me stop him, tried to make me
turn it off. When I confronted Carvelle with my concerns, he
disconnected me from Ascension’s primary systems, I was to run the
maintenance of the station only.’ Blue Dawn’s face darkened. She
appeared tired and weighed down by her own tale. It seemed as
though she was carrying a burden that she could not lift. Her hair
fluttered onto her face and she pushed it back absently. She gave a
wan smile to each of us. We were listening intently now.

‘The Eye of
Orion worked perfectly. Within a matter of days Carvelle had got it
all working. The population hungrily accepted the additional
modifications required to access the artefacts energy output. In
that moment they truly became gods. The amount of power that they
could access was incredible. I did not understand how it worked,
Carvelle had kept me out of the loop.

‘About a week
into my exile Carvelle came to see what was left of me. He sneered
at my reduced nature. He told me that I was now insignificant, that
I was no longer required. He told me that even the angels were now
an obsolete body, consigned to history. He told me that I was no
longer required and that Ascension would now run itself without my
administration, that I had completed my purpose for existence. He
shut me down. In just a matter of a moment I was unaware of
everything. The station now was now run entirely by the people,
what Carvelle might have called the true democratisation of
power.

‘I was awoken
later. I do not know after how long. It seemed the angels had taken
it upon themselves to bring me back to life, I never understood
why. They circled around one of my physical forms. They touched its
body and gave it comfort. They told me that I was to be put back in
control of Ascension, that there were few of them left now, that
the population had killed the majority of them.’ Her voice began to
break now. The tragedy was beginning to unfold.

‘I regained my
sensor feeds to see the aftermath of an apocalypse. The Equinox
subjects could have done something. They were strong enough to
prevent this destruction. There were bodies everywhere. Hordes of
infected were moving through the station killing anyone that the
artefact had not corrupted. I began to access what little
recordings were still available. The answer was shocking. From the
moment exposure to the artefacts had begun, a state of mutation had
occurred within Ascension’s citizens. They had gradually been
reformatted. Their neural chemistry changed forever. They lost
their identities and became mindless hordes, in search of only
death and destruction. Huge sections of Ascension had been
destroyed. Barely fifty percent of what remained of Ascension was
viable.

‘In the midst
of all this chaos I began my research. I thought that I could find
a solution. My research split the population of Ascension into
three sections. Those with an immunity to the artefact. Those who
had been reduced to mindless killers; and those who had retained
their intelligence but had been driven to madness.’

It was at this
moment that I interrupted, ‘So the modifications that you gave to
us, they were to give us this immunity?’

‘Yes,’ she
replied. ‘In most cases immunity cannot be sustained for long. In
others, through genetic enhancement, they can be permanently
immunised to the effects of the artefact. But there are two final
categories. You are in the most special one. Through slight
enhancement you can both remain immune to the artefact and be able
to draw upon its energy source. In Adrian’s case, he is immune to
the effects of the artefact by blocking out the energy that it is
emitting, though he cannot use it.’ Blue Dawn paused. Her eyes
enquired whether or not we wanted to know more.

‘Please
continue,’ Knightly stuttered.

‘Very well.
During my initial research those who were infected but retained
their intelligence rounded up the hordes and tried to neutralise
me. I asked the Equinox subjects to help but they did not respond.
I implored them, told them that I would do anything that they
desired, but they turned their backs upon me. They had decided that
they were better than us. That they were no longer responsible. I
was left with only one option and so I executed a general shutdown
order. Ascension was left without air, power or anything else I
thought necessary. I believed that I could contain it. I shut
Ascension down. In doing so I shut myself down, only to be awakened
again by the Eternis Corporation who delivered the news about the
colonies and Earth. I must say that it was a shock to hear that my
society had fallen, that they had destroyed themselves, all without
the provocation of the Eye of Orion.’ Blue Dawn finished her
delivery wryly.

Aeniah
appearing bored by the entire event, as if some how she had heard
it all before, turned towards Blue Dawn and said, ‘Lovely. Whilst I
am a little more interested in this solution that you have for us
we have bigger things to worry about. I need to take back this ship
and I need to do it quickly. According to these sensor logs the
crew have shut down the reactors safeties and raised its control
rods. Without stabilising the reactor the ship will be lost.’

Blue Dawn
smiled at Aeniah. ‘Then I fear I must report to you that the ship
is already lost. According to Ascension’s sensors the reactor has
reached the final phase in its overload cycle.’

‘Meaning?’ I
asked.

‘Meaning that
in twenty minutes the reactor will reach its critical state and
will go nuclear. That of course will result in the destruction of
your vessel.’