Aetheran Child (11 page)

She smiled as she noticed him looking her over.

“What's your name?” She asked impatiently yet still playfully. She tilted her Cloud Board to match his falling velocity.

“Lexan,” he muttered, his heart still pumping with adrenaline.

“My name is Blooranga, people call me Bloo,” she started, “Do you need some help or do you plan to keep falling?”

Lexan reached for her and she caught him and placed him over the front of her board. She tapped her foot and flew up through the storm.

“Where did you fall from?” She asked.

“Jumped,” he responded and pointed his finger toward the platform where Master Raki's ship resided.

Lying on the board, the boy looked around and saw the pyramid-like structure of the school and the cities that enveloped the planet. He lay there in awe and realized he was still an Aetheri. Concentrating, he turned his body solid and felt the warmth of his blood and his body return.

Bloo flew over the bubble surrounding the platform, tapped the board again, and descended gently. She dislodged from the Cloud Board and looked around, “I’ve never seen a ship like this, is it yours?” She asked, and Lexan shook his head, “Are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah, thanks,” the boy stepped down from the hovering surf. His feeling of disorientation subsided and he brightened up, “I guess I should not have jumped.”

“I thought you fell, why did you jump?” She stopped him from answering, “Sorry, never mind, I have to go. See you later!” She climbed on her board, taped it again, and dove straight down into the clouds, disappearing with a thin trail following her. A yell of excitement followed seconds later.

 
Lexan shook his head and breathed in deeply, feeling the pain of loss inside his body. He sat down slowly, leaning up against the glass building. He pulled his legs to his torso.

“Bran?” He said emptily, shivering slightly.

“Yes? You sound upset.” Her voice was as emotionless as ever.

“Could you please alert me when somebody comes close by?” A warm liquid ran down his cheek as he realized where he was and how far away from home he had gone and what he had lost and given up. All that was familiar was gone.

“Yes. I am turning off profile. Turning on private mode.”

The boy cried without the slightest whimper. I am too old to cry, he thought and felt the pain inside him surge.

He blamed and pitied himself for hours. Discussing with himself all that he left behind on Earth. Muttering to himself about Alary. Thinking of all the things he loved back in the orphanage. Remembering all the great moments with his parents. Gradually, he hated himself and his life more and more. He hated himself even more when he realized how suddenly this came over him and how he cannot stop his train of thought, and how he feels.

Now he is here, an alien world. The only person, Master Raki, that he knew, left him. He had no one besides a stupid computer inside his head. He felt alone, he felt desolate and his mind could not accept the reality.

II

Rhythmical beeping tore through the solemn sad silence. Lexan woke up sharply.

“Bran?” He tried to open his eyes but felt too tired to do so.

“You must have fallen asleep,” the computer answered, “Master Raki is looking for you.”
“Why is that?”

“He called. I will patch you through to him immediately.”

Lexan’s view changed and he saw Master Raki’s representation standing over him.

“Master Raki?” Lexan yawned, “You were looking for me?”

“Yes, why are you still at the landing platform? Didn’t one of my students get you?”

“No, I have been here the whole time.”

“I will have to speak with him, that’s the third assignment he has forgotten. Bran will take you to a trainer that will set you up and take care of you.” A small map appeared at the edge of Lexan’s view. He knew the way immediately as the route worked its way into his internal processor. “I hope the rest of your stay will work out better. Bye!” Raki’s representation disappeared.

When the boy opened his eyes, he saw more than before. Several objects around him were highlighted and with a single thought, he could open up a description of that object. The small map with other indicators showed up on the sides of his view.

He stood up and entered the interior of the glass building as the doors slid open for him. The furniture changed, as well as everything else on the inside. The apartment, as Lexan’s visual guide described it, vibrated with elegancy and extravagancy. Cold steel covered the walls and the ceiling. The carpet swayed like grass in the wind and fused with everything around it, including Lexan’s feet. In one corner, stairs led to floors above and below. In another corner stood a prism-like hollow structure with one side missing. The visual descriptor called it a “transporter” that would take Lexan to the main complex on the surface.

A bowl on a table nearby had nutritional cubes placed inside it and as the boy laid down on a sofa-like piece of furniture, he realized that that he has not eaten in days.

“Bran, how can I eat with my helmet on?”

“You may either insert the cube through a side rebreather or you can take off your helmet to initiate an air shield.”

He took off the helmet and saw a milky white, misty shield shimmer into existence. Wherever the shield crossed another object, it turned orange, to show its new found boundary. Lexan grabbed a couple of the tasteful cubes and pocketed a few for later. After eating five, he stood up to leave.

The prism structure closed off and opened again with a man standing there. He was short and bald, and looked very familiar.

“Hello.” He said, caught a bit off guard.

“Hi,” Lexan stared at him and motioned that he was on his way out. The short man snapped out of his trance and moved on. The boy could not remember exactly where he had seen the man but he looked too familiar to be here on the planet. The man walked by and the boy decided to ignore the encounter. He walked into the prism-like structure that was glowing white and dimly lit with a blue light. One side of the transporter lit up to show several destinations at the school below. Several spheres, that lit up, were connected by thin lines that held the enormous web “buildings” up.
 

Lexan tapped the bracelet on his arm to see the nano-constructed computer crawl out and form. A holographic image projected the city with the shortest possible route leading to a destination. The red route flashed through the various and spheres. The boy pressed the appropriate sphere and the transporter closed.

Seconds later, Lexan felt a jolt of acceleration, deceleration, and finally the door slid open soundlessly. After stepping out, he was shocked to see the enormous dome-like roof stand over his head. People of many races and kinds, of different sizes and colors walked by busily as Lexan peered around. The floors were lined with white metal that had subtle green inscriptions as far as the eye could see. In the middle of the circular, shop-lined interior stood a v-like compilation of tubes that varied in transparency, from translucent white to completely transparent. Flashes of light traveled through the tubes which, according to Lexan’s helmet display, housed the transporters that ran through the entire planet.

The rest of the circular building resembled a plaza. People walked through the main walkways in the middle and at the circumference. Grassy medians occupied unused space while the sky lights above let the sunshine in. To Lexan’s surprise, it was a nice day out, so soon after the storm.

He walked down one of the pathways and stared out outside where he saw spheres and tubes after spheres and tubes intertwined with greenery and the blue of the sky. It all seemed very inviting and peaceful and Lexan could not help but smile. He stopped by an information booth nearby to ask about the area. He had enough time to venture through the area.

“Hello, how may I help you?” A tall handsome man at the information booth asked when he saw Lexan walk up.

“Yes, can you tell me about this…” the boy could not find the right word for the building.

“Sphere?” The man asked in a soothing voice. Lexan nodded, “This node of the Pyramid Structure is called the ‘New Entrance’, and it is one of the first destinations meant for travelers and traders visiting the Athiris complex, not just the school. There are shops all around the circumference and as you can see, the shops go on and on for kilometers. The floor below contains the transporters. Under that floor, premium hotels and restaurants may entertain and house those travelers. The rest of the building is lined with other shops and entertainment centers.”

The man smiled, Lexan nodded in thanks and left toward the transports.

III

The transport station showed several maps floating through the air with hundreds of routes flashing through. The maps reacted to each person walking by, re-routing their travels, informing them of less-trafficked areas and advising them on attractions in the area. Lexan needed to get to the Old Entrance and so as he walked by one of the maps, it recommended a straight-on journey, nothing complicated.

The boy looked around the circular level and walked into the direction of the numerous ridges through which the flashing lights traveled. After some of the lights flashed through, a person would appear, ‘stepping off’ from the transporter. Some of the people in the area turned into Aetheri and jumped into the tracks, waiting specifically on a transport, while letting other transports pass by.

The Aetheri had an easy time transforming, reforming, and moving around in their form as opposed to Lexan’s experience where he suffered from pain, coldness, and other symptoms.

Things will get easier with time, he thought.

Most of the light flashes did not stop for longer than five seconds to pick someone up and when that happened, the people would simply walk into the white nothingness and disappear. Each ridge let to a different destination. Lexan’s helmet informed him of all the destinations and highlighted the correct ridge. It also called up the transport and informed the transport station about his arrival and wish to embark.

Within a few seconds, a hazy mist of light stopped in front of Lexan. He walked into the light, and kept walking because he did not know what was supposed to happen. He took a step too far and realized he had exited the mist of light. He looked around and realized he was at the Old Entrance already with a girl standing next to him.

“Hi, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Bloo smiled, slightly amused.

“Hey, I didn’t expect to see you either.”

“Where are you headed?” She asked.

“I am supposed to meet someone, how about you?”

“I’m on my way to my dormitory,” she paused, “I’ll see you around.” She was about to leave but stopped, “Don’t forget about the party tonight!”

“Oh, I wasn’t invited,” he automatically answered.

“Everyone is invited! Tomorrow is the last day before school starts, and we first-years will be admitted in the Grand Hall.”

 
Lexan was about to question her further about the subject but she ran off with a wave.

The earthling, Lexan realized he was, walked up a level to the main plaza which seemed less neat and clean than the New Entrance. The sky lights above were dimmed to create a dusk-like atmosphere. The Sphere, in fact, resembled a shady part of a city.

Red and green floating signs lined some of the stores and screamed out. Clerks stood around to call visitors into shops, offering discounts. Some of the people around smoked what looked like cigarettes but surely, an advanced civilization that mastered hyper-light speeds would use a substance more sophisticated than tobacco, and less unhealthy.

Groups sat at open bars and huddled together to discuss business. Lexan headed to one of those open bars. The bartender ignored the boy, and made a grunt-like sound when he approached. The man had multiple legs that supported a large fat body. Six arms extended around to pour drinks, wash glasses, and handle money. His orange skin had multiple glowing green spots that were probably fungus or lichen.

“Hello,” Lexan started, “I'm looking for Thrace.”

The bartender's eyes narrowed and then he pointed to a figure a couple of seats down.

IV

After the initial welcomes, Lexan and Thrace dove into a expansive discussion. Thrace was a man in his early twenties and his skin shone bright white in the darkness. He wore hooded clothing to cover it. His short black hair waved every few seconds as cheap old air conditioning system from the bar cooled the air. The boy wondered why it was so old and why an air conditioning system like this was used when the New Entrance did not, in comparison, have any kind of visible air refining facility.

Thrace could be very easily talked to and seemed very polite. He was a Shun with an easy-going nature. His black and white body was accentuated with bright red eyes and small red spots, like freckles, on his skin. His lips, however, were black.

“Ah, yes, Master Raki mentioned that,” Thrace answered and laughed, “Now, the reason why we're meeting. I have to leave soon so let me tell you everything you need to know.”

Alexander nodded and listened tentatively.

“Your room number is I623CI4. The first four characters represent the sector, the following two letters specify the dorm identification and finally, the last number is the actual room in its subsection.” Lexan noticed an icon pop up in the air that signified reception of an information package.

He looked at the room number. He knew that number would come back to haunt him, the first time he saw it. Specifically, the last three characters left an impression on him, “CI4”.

“Next you are forbidden to disclose-” Thrace looked over at the barman who was cleaning alloy cups with his hands, not at all hygienically. Lexan's information system told him the barman's hands excreted nano machines that sterilized the cups, which put him at ease. Thrace and the man exchanged looks and the bartender reluctantly walked away. “-your place of origin. There's a common star group which we use to refer to beings that are from forbidden sectors of the galaxy or that received asylum.
I do not know where you are from,” Thrace held his hand up to stop Lexan from disclosing that information, “And I do not want to know, and cannot know. We refer to this sector of stars as the Cardinal Regions. The actual Cardinal Regions are very close to the galactic core, on the other side of the galaxy where neither the United Galactic Nations, nor the Outlaw Alliance, nor even the United Republics reach. The region has been known to give rise to very strange various cultures and thus are galactically protected from any kind of intrusion. Basically, anyone can get out, no one can get in and that is why no one can cross check against what you say about your place of origin and planet. You may encounter other Cardinals, and you are strictly forbidden to inquire about their real origin or discuss this knowledge with them.