City Without Suns (27 page)

Chapter 57

9 Days Remaining…

“You saw him and you waited until now to tell me?” Breccan cried. He addressed his sister but looked at Sal, one of the tier-one clones that had escorted Nova to the library that day.  Ugo, the other guard had since gone absent, another disappearance among the list of missing persons.

Sal teared up.  He had been marked as a tier-one clone through the process of inconsistent criteria.  Although strong and agile, he was a deaf mute, an unnoticed quality he shared with the Keepers who tested him long ago. He carried a formidable appearance, unusually large for a person on the desolate spacecraft.  He was similar to Ace in that regard, but not in mental capacity.

“You haven’t been here!  How could we have told you?” Nova defended Sal, who was being pushed against the wall by her brother.  Breccan had his muscles flexed and his stomach tight in sharp contrast to the band of flab around Sal’s substantial middle.

“You know the way to the bridge, Sal!” Breccan shouted.  He let the spray fly from his mouth and fly into Sal’s face as he enunciated the name.  He yelled in one direction, but the response was really directed at Nova.  She had allowed herself to be in a dangerous situation without informing him.

“Breccan, I’ve heard of you doing unspeakable things to people who have tried to interrupt you on the bridge.  Why would I go there?” Nova argued.

Breccan released his grip from Sal and backed away.  He could not think of a good logical rebuttal.  He instead expressed, “Nova, I just don’t want anything to happen to you.  Not now.  We’ve come too far.”

“I don’t think he could have gotten past Sal and my other escort.”

“Oh no? He’s the same as me.  And where is Ugo anyway?  Huh? GONE!”  Breccan stormed to stand in front of the window and watched the fire shooting from the engine in the direction of Gamma.

Nova gave a head nod to Sal signaling him to leave.  He hung his head, slouched his shoulders, and shuffled out of the room.  Nova was left alone with Breccan, like she had been more than a thousand times, but she did not feel comfortable.  Of all the dangers awaiting a meagerly built female on Neptune, she wondered sometimes if one of them could be her own brother, the same one that protected her and who she thought loved her.  His volatility had increased as the landing drew near.  He did not discuss his concerns and worries, nor did she want to pry.

She walked over to him and faced his back.  Placing her first hand on his arm, she got closer and put the other around him, slowly hugging him from behind.  She didn’t know what else to do.  He was trembling.  Whether with anger, frustration, concern, or for some physical reason having not eaten during long hours on the bridge, she did not try to ask.  She just held him gently.  It was not a direct attempt to calm his nerves, but that seemed to be the effect it had.

“I think about the new planet,” Nova said. She simply wanted to hold her brother, and imagine.

“What do you see happening?”

“I see a place like one in my dreams, with warm sun and cold water.  I see rain and feel it on my face and in my hair.  I taste sweet fruits grown from tall trees and salty roots grown in plants by the sea. There are buildings and many people working together.  There is love and laughter and friendship, and I can see a baby smiling at me.  What do you see?”

Breccan mustered a smile and said, “That sounds nice.”

He did not tell her what he saw was a dead planet with false sensory readings.  He saw a landing in a storm like none that has ever been recorded.  He saw dark clouds and poisonous air.  He saw frantic efforts to refill with water, and yet another launch, one that would see them expel the last of their fuel on a path to nowhere, doomed to float through space for eternity until they either killed each other or died of thirst and starvation.  There was no love and friendship, and the few babies he could foresee would perish in their infancy.  There was no escaping the pessimism about the starless planet in their sights.

“Yes, it does sound nice, but what about you?  What do you imagine it will be like?”

Breccan, not wanting to upset her, told her what something similar to what he used to envision before the recent magnified imagery.

“I see a lake whose shores are barely visible from one end to the other.  There is an underwater city where the dodecapi live and a forest by the sea where the bats can rise every sunset and retreat every sunrise.  We live on the shores in peace with them all and roam freely all around the planet.  I see myself at the top of a mountain looking down on it all with a family by my side.  Then one day, finally, I see others like us arriving from the skies.”

Hopefully, he thought, there would be more to travel on vessels that could come and go, and when he lay in the dust, they would see that he made a successful landing and a valiant attempt.

Nova said, “It sounds like a place I knew.”

Breccan turned away from the window to face her and asked, “What?  What place?”

“My dreams and memories are stranger than you can imagine.  I remember many places like I was there.  The place that you just described – I knew a planet like that once.  This ship has been there.”

“Latent memories,” Breccan said.  “I wish I could see it.”

“It ended for a reason,” Nova assured him.  “We’re going where we are meant to go.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Breccan whispered.

“What?”

“Nothing,” he said covering quickly. “What makes you think we’re going where we are meant to?”

“I just feel it.  Some things you just believe and don’t really know why, but you couldn’t not believe it if you tried.”

“Oh,” Breccan replied.

Frustrated at what she interpreted as a dismissal of her faith, Nova said, “Think of it this way.  Let’s pretend you don’t think Gamma is inhabitable.”

That will be easy
, Breccan thought to himself.

“Now, on a scale of zero to ten, where ten means you know for sure that we will be living forever on Gamma, and zero means you think we will never step foot on it, where would you fall if you were one of the doubters?”

“If I was a doubter, probably…”

Breccan had to revise his initial thought.  Even a doubter would not know that failure was certain.

“…one, I suppose,” Breccan finished the thought.

“See?” Nova did not need to say more.

“Leave it to my sister to give me hope,” Breccan said as he smiled once again.

Chapter 58

6 Days Remaining…

The full engine burn had stopped for the final time.  The solid dense-matter plasma fuel in the central cylinder was almost fully depleted.  For the first time, the large holographic model at the center point of the spherical bridge was smaller than the image on the wall, the virtual window from the bridge.  The live shot of the planet was covered with clouds, but the hologram had been stitched together from a month’s worth of continuous imagery, so the planet surface was almost completely modeled. 

One hemisphere was predominantly blue and white, clearly showing large bodies of water with green and brown landmasses dispersed across half the planet.  To the naked eye on the live shot, the surface was dark, almost black, with thick scattered clouds of ice crystals glowing above it.  The extended collection of data had given them the enhanced light necessary to create the image in the hologram.  Ace looked back and forth between that half of the hologram and the spooky visage in plain view on the wall.  They did not seem like the same place.

Then there was the other hemisphere.  It was also covered with scattered clouds in the live shot.  The hologram revealed a different landscape altogether.  Its surface was a panorama of smooth black texture of unknown composition.  The beacon had clearly landed long ago on the other side, because the telemetry from the dark side of the planet would have never led them to pursue Gamma.  The surface was spotted with light, brighter than the stars even in the hologram, and the contrast had to be artificially adjusted so they could make any sense of the model.  The energy emanated from the surface lit up the clouds, and the planet had a dim glow of its own as it traveled through space on an orbital pattern that made no sense.

Orr and Ace were together at the primary console.  The calculations were set, and there was agreement with Ultima that the approach would be near the transitional boundary between the two hemispheres, close to the rotational pole.  That was where the beacon was situated.  Small adjustments were made with the lightweight rockets as they neared and the two pilots were diligently at work monitoring the geometry of their looming line of approach.

Nirav was standing at the hologram with his hands behind his back watching the spinning model when Breccan entered.  His feet were strapped with elastic cords to the grating underneath in the weightless area.  The quiet apprentice who often accompanied Orr had never been any trouble, and Breccan was equally glad to have him as an understudy as he was that Orr was primarily Ace’s responsibility.  Breccan centered himself in the room next to Nirav and watched the hologram for a while. Nirav was small in stature, the thinnest of the tier-one clones.  His dark complexion and ebony eyes were traits left over from a long ago lost habitat in which the sun shined brightly down on its inhabitants.

“How long have you been here?” asked Breccan.

Nirav answered, “About fifteen hours.”  He answered and did not break eye contact with the model. 

“You can go take a break,” Breccan suggested.

Nirav stared for a few moments longer at the model, then quietly unstrapped and pulled himself to the exit without looking at his mentor.  Breccan appreciated the quiet demeanor but sometimes wished for a more personable colleague.

Breccan looked to Ace, who gave him a positive head nod, suggesting there were no real problems evident with their slow approach.  The time was drawing near.

…

Nirav walked alone and detoured downward from the main corridor.  Two wanderers looked at him as he passed, but neither extended greeting.  They had seen him before and knew he was not a stranger.  His tier-one markings provoked suspicion, but he had special friends, making him beyond reproach.  He did not look at anyone as he made his way lower and lower until he was at floor zero.

Hot air convected from tunnels that led to the reactors.  The temperature was warm, bordering on hot, and sweat coated Nirav’s skin.  The air rose through vents to other areas of the ship, and he could almost feel the breeze as it moved past him.  He crossed the threshold of a massive room that opened into several smaller ones in the distance.  He made his way through the cavernous space and into the only one that was lighted from the inside.  Slade was there in an old control room for the water locks, which could be employed as airlocks for spacewalks, but they were unused.  Slade drew pictures to amuse himself on the surface in front of the controls.  Nirav peered inside, where the minimally insulated room provided a cooler balance to the hot air gradient behind him.

“Master Slade,” Nirav spoke.

Slade turned a rotating stool to face his informant.

“We will be landing soon.  About six days.  I spoke with Ultima.”

“You did? That’s quite a feat.  How did you do it in private?” Slade asked.

“It’s not that hard.  A console with a microphone on the bridge.”

“Very good, young Nirav.  Tell me, what did he say?”

“He intends to keep the majority of humans in captivity after arrival until he determines the nature of the new planet and its available food sources.  He is also worried about the energy source after discovering the nearest star is further away than expected.”

“Hmm.  The majority?”

“Yes, he has agreed to a privileged few for reconnaissance, and he knows about you, sir.  I told him.”

“He knows Breccan and I were cloned the same?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, young man.  You will be rewarded when we arrive.”

“Master Slade, may I ask you something?”

“Yes, Nirav you have earned that much.”

“Sir, why are you so reclusive?  The Keepers are very intelligent.  I’m sure Ultima could have you reclassified, if you want.”

Slade stood up.  “I am a survivor and I do not leave my survival to chance.”  He stepped closer to Nirav, who swallowed nervously as he took a half step back.

Slade continued, “In much the same way as we are standing here now, all alone, if a Keeper was with me alone, I would have no certain method of escape if it really wanted to take me.  I don’t think it would be possible.”

Slade reached his hand out and wrapped his fingers around Nirav’s narrow wrist.  Nirav pulled, at first without much force. 

“What are you doing?” Nirav implored

Slade’s grip was unwavering.  Nirav pulled harder and harder until he was using all of his strength, which was a pitiful small fraction of what it would have taken to break free.

“I’m thinking I may just give you your reward early, young friend.  Your reward is death.  You will not have to live to see what lies ahead.”

“What?  What do you mean?  How is that a reward?” Nirav panicked.

Before he could make a significant amount of noise, which would have been unheard from that section of Neptune anyway, Slade had pinched his nose with the other hand.  Nirav hopelessly tried to push it away, but Slade’s fingernails anchored themselves into the skin and drew blood.  The air passage through the nose was gone.  Slade removed the other hand from the wrist and pressed it against Nirav’s mouth. The boy flailed with his arms and kicked with his legs.  Slade put all his weight behind his stiff arms and pinned Niraj to the wall.

Nirav knew what was happening.  He would soon pass out.  He forced himself to ignore the pain and put himself in a deep meditative state.  It was his only chance.  When his cognizance had nearly passed completely away, Slade released.  Nirav fell to the floor. 

“One more down,” Slade said to himself.

As Slade dragged the limp, frail body to the middle of the large space where the unsuspecting Nirav had walked only minutes before, Nirav was able to take some quiet deep breaths.  Slade released Nirav to open a circular door in the floor.  A ladder tube led down an unterminated darkness, where Nirav imagined he would be dropped into the distant water below to become a part of the biological ecosystem that lived there, where he would decay and never be found again. 

When Nirav felt that he was not being held, he sprung to his feet with feline agility and sprinted to the hall.  His legs carried his light body with quickness that not even Slade could match.  Nirav escaped in the direction he came.  He approached the bridge out of breath.  He disguised his haggard state in the dim lighting of the corridor as he put his hands on his hips and recovered his wind. 

He did not enter, nor did he want to leave.  Nirav sat straight down onto the floor and buried his face in between his knees with his hands over his head, curled into a small ball.  He would be safe only near the Keepers or Breccan, but he did not want to rejoin the other pilots and have to explain his bloodied nose. 

The time passed.  Minutes turned into an hour.  When he had regained his composure, he returned and vowed privately his allegiance to the pilots.  His altruistic attempt at compassion toward the imposter had failed and would not be retried.