Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life (18 page)

Kalrea and the children were surrounded by a halo of white light.

Some of the children opened their mouths in wonder, another said. ‘Wow!’

*****

Zoren reached the edge of the forest, where he paused to catch his breath. The lack of oxygen was starting to have an effect on him, and he was now breathing very heavily. In front of him was a large open space with very little cover and about three hundred metres away was another dense forest of trees. In the distance behind him, he could hear a number of ships. He thought they were probably searching for survivors from the crashed shuttle.

The shadow from a fighter flashed over him and was instantly followed by a loud roar from its engine, making him jump. With concern, he checked the telementor, but it was still not active.

I can’t walk out there. They’ll see me,
he thought.
What do I do?

He glanced back from where he came. The noise of ships was getting closer.

I’ve got to try to get to that forest over there. Where is Kalrea?

*****

The mansion shook.

Ornaments started to fall from their coveted positions and cracks appeared in the walls and ceiling. The sound of breaking glass and falling masonry intensified.

H’furni Raxom dived under a large table just as the furthest wall of the room exploded inwards. The whole wall fell and brought down the ceiling, crushing everything beneath it. As the dust cleared and the rubble settled, the belly of the
Aurora
appeared. The ship came to a stop and the Pojin lift descended, smashing down onto a large sofa and squashing it into the floor.

Deactivate defence shield.

‘This way, children,’ Kalrea said calmly.

She picked up Miar in her arms.

H’furni Raxom pushed away some debris and then clambered out from beneath the table, which was almost completely covered with the remains of the ceiling. He gaped at the devastation. ‘What… What have you done to my home?’ he said.

The children started to enter the lift, but as Kalrea was about to follow them, H’furni Raxom scrambled over the rubble and grabbed her by the shoulder.

Kalrea stopped and said, ‘You’re pathetic! Get your hand off me.’ She turned to him and said angrily. ‘You’re a very lucky man. If it wasn’t for the children being here, you’d be a corpse by now.’

He let go of her and then, in despair, held his head in his hands. He muttered quietly to himself, ‘My lovely house... It’s ruined!’

Kalrea felt a small hand touching hers. She glanced down and smiled at Asnica, who was now clutching her hand. Asnica was also holding her sister’s hand.

I hope Supora is going to be all right. Asnica and Doine have already lost their father. If they lose Supora they would be all alone.

She led them into the lift and the door closed behind them.

When the lift door opened onto the accommodation space, Kalrea could sense an air of expectation. The parents rushed into the lift to get their children. Miar was snatched from Kalrea’s arms and everyone filed out of the lift. Vinuar took his boy into his arms and then led Asnica and Doine away.

‘Girls, your mother’s been hurt,’ Vinuar said to them.

‘I want to speak to her!’ Asnica said.

‘She’s sleeping at the moment,’ Vinuar replied. He glanced briefly to Kalrea, before they hurried away. ‘You can still see her though.’

Kalrea was standing there all alone, watching families embracing and hugging. The last of them disappeared into a room off the corridor. She felt very lonely and a tear formed in her eye. She took a deep breath.

Bridge!

*****

Zoren made a dash for the far tree-line. The noise of a ship behind him made him glance back.

‘Shit!’ he said, throwing himself to the ground.

A large military transport almost took his head off. Lying face down on the ground, he watched as it landed in front of him. His adrenaline was flowing as he got to his feet.

Where do I go?

He started to sprint away from the transport as a large door opened outwards. A number of armed soldiers rushed out.

‘Stop or we’ll open fire!’ one of them shouted to Zoren.

Zoren glanced at the telementor. To his surprise, it was now glowing white ready to protect him.

Kalrea!

The
Aurora
came into view directly in front of him. It was flying very close to the ground. He felt an intense relief and stopped running.

There was now the sound of railguns being fired from behind him. He noticed the ground around him being peppered with plasma rounds. Breathing heavily he turned around and peered back to the transport. The soldiers were kneeling on the ground, firing their weapons directly at him.

The
Aurora
passed overhead, before turning and landing alongside him.

The gunfire stopped abruptly as Kalrea ambled out from the Pojin lift.

‘Kalrea!’ Zoren rushed over and embraced her. ‘You don’t know how good it is to see you.’

‘Zoren!’ Kalrea replied, looking slightly uneasy. ‘Please!’

He let go of her and then noticed a blue stain on his hand. He looked to her and said in a surprised voice, ‘Kalrea, you’re hurt!’

‘Come on! We need to get you out of here. There are some large military ships on their way.’

As they entered the Pojin lift, Zoren asked, ‘Who did that to you?’

‘Oh, that was Pilco.’

‘You mean one of my people hurt you. Our Pilco!’

‘Yes Zoren. He has rather a good swing on him. Don’t worry, I’ll live.’

Kalrea left Zoren to return to the accommodation area, so she could repair the wound to her head. She entered the maintenance area of the ship, which was a twenty metres square room, situated behind the bridge. The room was like a small industrial warehouse, with racks of spare parts and materials all neatly arranged on recessed shelves within three of its walls, and standing motionless up against the other were four clones of Kalrea’s body and a few consoles with monitors. Moving around on the floor, like a swarm of ants, were over fifty micnorit nuronic construction drones. Some were working together in large groups, manufacturing new parts for the ship. They were clambering on top of each other, in what appeared to be a robotic brawl, yet they all seemed to know exactly where to be and what to do at the right time. Others were carrying parts and materials, entering and exiting the room through outlets in the base of the walls.

Kalrea was disappointed and annoyed with herself because some of the Agonians had died, and she now knew there was a high likelihood that more would be sacrificed before she could find them.

It feels like I’ve let Zoren down. I told him that I would save his people, but three of the Agonians have lost their lives and I don’t know how many more will die while we travel to Trafth. Even at maximum speed, I’ll arrive there one day after the De’fego. Thirty-three Agonians are still missing and Sabri is among them. I’ll never forgive myself if she dies. Zoren loves her so much. I hope the fact she’s pregnant will save her life; after all, a baby Agonian must be worth something to Lady Sathodee.

I can’t get the image of Asnica and Doine out of my internal matrix. They’ve lost their father and the seatra is indicating that Supora’s life signs are slowly deteriorating, even though she’s in suspended animation. The plasma burn has damaged one of her hearts and she has a serious haemorrhage. She has to have an operation in the next few hours if not she will die.

Kalrea felt the back of her head.

‘Ow! That’s really painful,’ she said.

This body may allow me to feel what others feel, but I definitely don’t like this throbbing sensation. I need to get my head repaired.

Next to Kalrea’s clones, a concealed compartment opened and a wall-bed hinged downwards. Kalrea got onto it and laid face down. Two construction drones approached her and started to repair the large gash on the back of her head, but they stopped immediately when she screamed in pain. Kalrea was breathing heavily and tears formed in her eyes.

This is no good, there’s too much pain. I’m glad Supora can’t feel any pain. I’ll have to switch off my body, while they repair me.

Kalrea’s eyes closed and her body was deactivated. The construction drones then continued to repair her.

Asnica was sitting on the edge of the open seatra where Supora lay, holding her mother’s hand, while Doine was playing with one of the other children on the far side of the room. Vinuar had just applied another bandage to Supora’s plasma wound; the one he had removed and thrown into a disposable bag next to the seatra was soaked with blood.

As Zoren approached, Asnica looked to him and asked, ‘Have you seen my dad?’

Zoren could not think what to say. He looked to Vinuar for support.

‘Asnica, your father has had an accident,’ Vinuar said softly. ‘I’m sorry, but he... won’t be coming back here.’

‘You mean like the others? I’ve heard them talking about Doc Korye and Zuki. They’re not coming back either, are they?’

‘I’m afraid that’s right,’ Vinuar said. ‘You need to be very grown up and make sure you look after your sister.’

‘I am grown up,’ Asnica replied, in a very certain tone of voice. ‘I’ll look after my mother too.’

‘How is Supora?’ Zoren asked Vinuar.

‘I’m no doctor, but I know she’s dying. She may be in suspended animation, but she’s slowly bleeding to death. We have to find a medical facility, and very soon.’

Gulco and Diean were nearby and overheard them talking.

Gulco said assertively, ‘We have to get to Trafth. There’s no time to stop at a hospital.’

‘Who are you to say what we should or shouldn’t do for Supora,’ Zoren replied. ‘You heard what Vinuar said. She will die if she doesn’t get to a hospital.’

‘She’s too injured,’ Diean added. ‘I agree with Gulco.’

Zoren was infuriated, and said, ‘Do you know what you’re both saying? She will die!’

‘Yes, but my husband and daughter are on Trafth,’ Diean said.

‘So is my wife!’ another man shouted out. ‘I fear she will die if we are delayed to save Supora.’

Zoren was starting to feel on his own. He was not getting any support from anyone.

Addressing Zoren, Gulco said, ‘We’ve already lost three of our people today. How many more will we lose if we choose to save Supora?’

‘Too many!’ Diean said. ‘We must get to Trafth as soon as possible.’

‘I agree,’ another Agonian said.

‘Me too!’ another called out. ‘My son and daughter are there. I want to see them again.’

Gulco turned to Zoren, and said, ‘Sabri is at Trafth. Do you want her and your unborn child to die, just to save Supora?’

Zoren felt guilty. He would do anything to get Sabri back safely, but could he live with the knowledge that it would be at the cost of losing a good friend.

‘I think we should leave this area of space,’ Pilco said in the background. ‘Why risk ourselves to save any of the others? There are ten of us here and we have the children.’

‘That’s the most stupid suggestion I’ve heard so far,’ Diean said to him. ‘Your wife is in that group too. Surely you want to help her?’

‘It’s not that I don’t want to help her. It’s just-’

Gulco interrupted Pilco. ‘You’re scared, that’s it isn’t it?’

Pilco nodded.

Gulco went over and put his arm around him. Pointing to the rest of the Agonians with his amputated arm, he said, ‘Look! We’re all related, we’re all family. We would regret not going for the rest of our lives. You’ll think about your wife every day, asking her for forgiveness. Is that what you want?’ He looked back over to Zoren and said, ‘Is that what you want too? If you asked Supora, I bet she would gladly give her life for the others. We must go straight to Trafth.’

Vinuar said, ‘What do you think, Zoren? After all, if it wasn’t for you, we wouldn’t be here. We’d all have been kept like animals waiting to be killed. I think you have a right to decide.’

Zoren felt depressed. He knew Gulco was correct and nodded slowly in agreement. He then said, ‘You think I saved you, but it’s Kalrea you should thank, not me. She’s the one that wanted to help us.’

‘No one wants to help us,’ Pilco said. ‘And I’m not sure this Kalrea really wants to help us either. It must have cost a lot to build a ship this advanced, so I think we’re her next prise and will sell us to the Xangols as soon as we get to Trafth. Why else would she be doing this?’

‘But she genuinely wants to help us,’ Zoren said.

Pilco continued, ‘I also can’t believe she’s doing this alone. Haven’t you seen anyone else onboard?’

‘No, she’s alone,’ Zoren replied, feeling like he was about to be interrogated.

‘I don’t believe him,’ Pilco said addressing everyone else.

Diean added, ‘I remember her saying that the ship is automated, but it too big. It seems as if it’s being controlled by a number of people.’

Zoren could see Gulco was pondering over Pilco’s and Diean’s comments. Gulco then asked Zoren,

‘Why are you the only one who’s allowed on the bridge?’

‘I don’t know! Kalrea doesn’t want you to go there, so what! Apart from two small consoles, there’s nothing on the bridge anyway,’ Zoren replied.

‘What do you mean there are only two consoles on the bridge?’ Pilco said. ‘A ship this size must need a massive computer system to control it. There must be many work stations to monitor the ship’s functions.’

‘Zoren, you’re hiding something from us,’ his mother said, joining in on the discussion. ‘I can see it in your eyes. I know you.’

‘There is only Kalrea. She’s the only person I’ve seen.’

Gulco said, ‘But that’s impossible. She walks around like she’s one of the crew. She doesn’t seem concerned about where we’re going or the state of any of the ship’s systems.’

Zoren noticed his mother staring at him. He gulped.

‘What aren’t you telling us?’ his mum asked.

‘But I promised her!’ Zoren replied, but then realised what he had said and added quickly, ‘I didn’t mean that. There’s nothing on the bridge, all right! And she’s on her own.’

‘Zoren, what did you promise Kalrea?’ his mum asked in a deliberate and concerned voice.

‘Nothing!’

‘Zoren!’

‘I don’t want to say.’

‘Zoren, she may have lied to you. Tell us what you know,’ his mum said firmly.

‘Kalrea’s… She’s… But I swore I wouldn’t tell you.’

Everyone was now staring at him waiting for an answer. He felt under extreme peer pressure and replied,

‘All right! All right! She’s... She’s the ship… What I mean is she control’s everything. She’s an artificial intelligence.’

‘Then what’s that person that’s walking around?’ Pilco said.

‘That’s her as well. It’s a drone, which she can control,’ Zoren said, now wishing he hadn’t said anything.

‘But a computer can’t do what she’s been doing,’ Gulco said.

‘So who’s controlling her?’ Pilco asked Zoren aggressively.

‘I don’t think anyone’s controlling her,’ he replied in anguish. ‘She says that she’s a conscious being.’

‘And you believed it?’ Gulco said.

‘Well... Yes. But, I did wonder if there may be someone or something in the seatra on the bridge.’

‘There! I bet that’s the real person who’s controlling it,’ Pilco said.

‘Exactly! There’s no such thing as an artificial intelligence. Never will be!’ Gulco said.

‘But she’s from a distant galaxy,’ Zoren said. ‘Look! You once thought we were the only ones in the universe and that Iop, our God, created us and only us. Now you see many other races. So do you still believe in Iop?’

There was no response from anyone.

‘Well!’ Zoren paused for a moment, ‘I think your silence says it all. You know nothing! Nothing of what really exists out there.’ He pointed up to the ceiling and then added with some irritation. ‘Why can’t she be another form of life?’

‘Zoren’s got a point,’ his mum said, in support. ‘We believe we are given a soul by Iop, so why shouldn’t Kalrea also have a soul given to her by Iop? She may be as alive as us, or any other living thing in the universe. All created by Iop-’

‘That thing is probably listening to us talking about it now,’ Pilco said interrupting.

Gulco stared at Zoren. ‘Can it do that?’

Zoren nodded, but then added. ‘You should judge her on what she’s done for you, not on your preconceived ideas of what she is. And definitely not because she happens to be a superior representation of a computer, which you usually hate,’ he said, addressing Gulco. He then turned to Pilco and said, ‘Remember, our race has been pre-judged as well. We’re seen as a commodity, something to trade, to make money from. Something that only exists so others can have the pleasure of immortality. We are all horrified by that, and I’m sure the fact that you think of her as a machine would horrify her in a similar way-’

At that moment, Kalrea entered the room. Everyone stopped talking and stared at her.

Noticing everyone was looking at her, she said, ‘You’ve all gone very quiet. What’s happened?’ There was no reply from anyone, so she looked to Zoren for an answer.

She must have been listening, surely! Why is she not angry?
Zoren thought, and then said, ‘Kalrea, I-’

Gulco seemed to take pleasure in interrupting him. ‘We know what you are. You’re a machine!’

Zoren stared at the floor in shame, but he could sense that Kalrea was glaring at him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kalrea put her hands on her hips.

‘You told them! You promised me you wouldn’t tell them.’

Zoren raised his head, and said, ‘I had no choice! They pressured me into telling them, but you... you haven’t been completely honest with me, have you?’

‘Who controls you?’ Gulco said forcefully towards Kalrea. His eyes scanned around the room as if he was searching for hidden cameras, and then said, ‘Where are you?’

‘No one controls me,’ Kalrea said, trying to keep calm.

‘Kalrea, who’s in that seatra on the bridge?’ Zoren asked.

Kalrea now looked annoyed.

‘That’s none of your damn business who’s in the seatra. I trusted you!’ she shouted at Zoren.

So, there is someone inside,
Zoren thought.

Kalrea eyed each of the Agonians in turn, before she continued, ‘In those simple brains of yours, why is it you think that because I’m a machine I must have an operator, someone who tells me what to do? You have no idea of the level of intelligence I have or what I’m capable of doing. All you see is a thing that has to be controlled by someone like yourselves sitting at a sorry console typing away. Well I have news for you, there is no operator!’ Kalrea’s voice now also came from the communication system within the room. ‘Who knows, maybe I’m one of a kind, but I’m alive. I have feelings like you and I make my own decisions.’

‘Where are you then?’ Gulco said.

‘I’m all around you. This ship is my body. I control everything, including this drone.’

‘Come on, you’ve had your fun. Now show yourself.’

‘Are you deaf? Or can your little mind not comprehend such a radical leap of understanding. I’ve told you, there is no one. Got it! Now I’m not answering any more of your stupid questions.’ Kalrea’s voice was now very emotional and she looked completely heartbroken.

Zoren felt responsible.

‘Why should we put our trust in a damn machine?’ Gulco asked.

‘I don’t trust it. Who’s with me?’ Pilco said.

A number of people answered. ‘Me. I’m with you!’

Kalrea looked sad. She shook her head and then sat down on a nearby seat.

‘If you don’t want my help, just say so,’ she said in resignation. ‘I’ll drop you on whatever planet you want. You’ll never see me again.’ She stared at the floor in front of her to hide the fact she had tears in her eyes.

‘Without Kalrea we’re as good as dead,’ Zoren said. ‘I can’t believe she risked her life and I risked mine if you’re just going to walk away. What about the others still in danger? You said we must help them. How are you going to do that if you don’t have a ship?’

‘We could take one of those in the cargo bay,’ Pilco said.

‘Who the hell is going to fly it?’ Zoren said in disbelief. ‘You’re not making any sense.’

‘We could hire someone who can,’ Pilco replied.

‘Get real!’ Zoren said. ‘You can leave, but I’m staying. Only a fool would leave her protection.’

While the heated discussion continued, Asnica let go of her mother’s hand and marched over to where Kalrea sat. She placed her hand on Kalrea’s shoulder and gently nudged it to get her attention.

Kalrea looked to Asnica.

Asnica then said to her, ‘They don’t care what happens to my mum. Will you help my mum?’

‘Well we’re going to-’ Gulco stopped as Asnica spoke.

Asnica was staring into Kalrea’s glazed eyes.

Kalrea swallowed and then glanced over at Zoren and the others. There was a stunned silence in the room. She turned back to Asnica and said, ‘Don’t worry, I’ll help your mum. I promise you that she won’t die.’

There were tears running down Kalrea’s cheeks. She got up and immediately left the room.