Ilyseal looked away for a moment but the hologram projected only her body, not the surroundings. As she turned back to Kalian, her red tendrils flowed around her waist.
“Charge Telarrek will visit your quarters soon, but is currently occupied I am afraid.”
Kalian’s shoulders visibly sagged as he let his head roll back. He was powerless to do anything. “Fine.” He walked away without waiting for any reply.
By the time he reached his room, he had a headache. Everything was still a mess from his mental outburst; he almost tripped over a sculptured ornament on his way in. Moving aside the scrunched up blanket he grabbed a pillow and gave in to sleep.
Telarrek deactivated the privacy shield that encompassed his podium and tried to hide his sombre mood. Having dropped out of subspace he had taken the opportunity to contact the Conclave. He had been put through directly to Elondrasa, the Novaarian councillor who sat on the Highclave. There was still no news on the Laronian warship heading for the terraforming expedition and there was no way to get through to them and explain the situation.
Elondrasa had warned of the consequences they were likely to face from the other species when they found out the Novaarians had been concealing the humans’ existence. There were still a lot of questions they all needed answering. Chief among them was the presence of this new threat that had the power to destroy entire solar systems.
Telarrek felt a pang of guilt thinking about the questions the Conclave would have. Theirs was born of curiosity about a species that didn’t really have any long-standing effects on them. But for Kalian and Li’ara, these were questions that could shed light on why their whole race was on the brink of extinction. Ilyseal had informed him of his outburst outside the Translift. Elondrasa had been clear about bringing him back to the capital with as little interaction between them as possible.
He met Ilyseal’s gaze, fully aware she knew what he was thinking. They had worked side by side for too long not to understand how the other was feeling. He wanted to talk to Kalian and tell him why he was so important to them. He could tell his second-in-command agreed with him, they had become too attached to the humans over the centuries.
“He is in his quarters...” Ilyseal predicted his question.
He took a breath, weighing his options. “As soon as the Starrillium is fixed, put us back on course. You have the Bridge.”
Kalian dreamed of being back on Earth in his lecture theatre. He was teaching his new class about the formation of Central Parliament in the twenty-fifth century and how they ended the corporate wars. He explained to a student with copper ringlets for hair that Central Parliament started by removing all the borders from the world’s map. Wars and skirmishes across the world came to a halt as one governing body took power and all land and resources were shared. To enforce this new unity, all the world’s armies were integrated into a United Defence Corps.
Before the red-headed girl could ask another question, the sky dropped into darkness and erupted with a growing ball of light. He saw buildings and sky bridges burst apart in tremendous flames as waves of fire swept across the city towards them. The Golden Gate Bridge crashed into the water as it was quickly engulfed by light. He felt his heart beating in his chest like it was trying to break free of his body.
He awoke with the feeling of falling. The lighting had dimmed in the room but he didn’t remember doing it. A sudden chirp from the door brought him fully back to reality with a thud, a literal one. His body crashed down onto his bed with a soft bounce. He quickly scrambled off the mattress as if it were about to eat him. That was new. He looked up at the purple ceiling, trying to spot the alien device responsible for his levitation. The door chirped again and the lighting resumed its previous level. He took a deep breath in an attempt to clear his mind and forget his dream, along with whatever had just happened.
He opened the oval door to the looming figure of Telarrek.
“Greetings of peace, Kalian.” He had both sets of hands clasped in front of him as he bowed.
“Greetings of peace, Telarrek,” Kalian replied. He motioned for his new visitor to enter but Telarrek made no move.
“Actually, you might prefer to come with me...” The Novaarian moved to the side allowing space for Kalian to leave with him.
Kalian was hesitant at first, what would Li’ara say if she knew he was going off somewhere without her?
“What about Li’ara?” He looked down the corridor to her room.
“Ilyseal has taken her to the hangar to see the Fathom.” Telarrek’s voice sounded like that of an older man.
Kalian could tell there were experience and wisdom behind his golden eyes. Whether it was naivety or not he felt he could trust Telarrek.
“Where are we going?” Kalian asked as they made their way down the vertical walkway.
“I thought you might like to see the Valoran.”
They immediately took a turn Kalian had never been down before. The corridors were still as tall as ever, with a constant buzz of activity from working crew. They soon came to a cross-roads within the ship. In the centre of the cross was a magnificent tree-like structure that stretched almost to the arcing ceiling. Its bark was similar to that of an Earth tree only it was silver in colour, with interlaced sapphires shining in the light. The roots were guarded by a railing that surrounded its circumference. It was covered in giant golden leaves that looked as big as Kalian.
“What is that?” He had to crane his neck to see the very top.
“That is the Ever Root.” Telarrek looked admiringly at it. “It is from Nova Prime, our home planet.” He began to walk around the railing, looking up into the hidden parts of the tree. “It changes with the seasons there, it reminds us of home.” He looked down at Kalian with large eyes.
Kalian was impressed but confused. “How does it change with the seasons if it’s on a ship?”
“The Valoran feeds it nutrients and light required for the specific season, right now we are in the middle of what you would call autumn.” Telarrek moved off from the tree, making a right from the direction they came from.
Kalian took one last look at the beautiful tree before moving on.
“This is our observation deck,” Telarrek announced. “I like to spend as much time in here as I can. It helps to gain perspective.”
The dark room curved round to the right with a panoramic window on the left. The whole view was immersed in stars and a multicoloured nebula in the centre. It was a truly humbling view.
“Why have we dropped out of subspace?”
“The Valoran has had to make a stop for repairs. The light from Solson’s supernova has scorched a portion of our manoeuvring thrusters and damaged the Starrillium. Given recent hostilities, I felt it prudent to ensure we are at optimum efficiency in case of another attack. We should be ready to proceed within one of your hours.” They both stood at the screen, taking in the awesome view. “That is a stellar nursery.” Telarrek pointed to the rainbow coloured stardust.
Kalian knew that even though the cloud of gas was the size of his hand it could fit several solar systems inside. If it was moving he couldn’t tell, it appeared frozen in space. He wondered if the universe had birthed two new stars within the nebula to replace Sol and Solson. He entertained the idea that the universe might be angry at the loss of two of its children, he knew he was.
“Why is all this happening, Telarrek? I have so many questions I don’t even know where to begin.”
Telarrek made a very human gesture by cupping his long jaw and stroking his chin. “I am not permitted to speak to you on such matters...” He looked Kalian in the eyes. “But you are right, you do deserve some explanation.” Telarrek began a slow pace along the panoramic view. “Like your species, mine too started out on one planet, Nova Prime. My kind is older than yours; that much is evident from your level of technology and evolutionary growth.” He stopped for a moment as if he was wondering what to say next. “Nova Prime has only one moon like Earth, we call it Naveen.
After a hundred thousand years of evolution my people grew amongst the stars as yours did, we populated Naveen along with a multitude of other planets. However, before we ever encountered the other races of the Conclave, Novaarians were only concerned with one other species. Yours.”
Kalian wasn’t sure where he was going with this; he couldn’t match up the timelines. “Wait, how old was humanity at this point?”
“From our four hundred years of studying Earth, it became clear to us that humanity did not exist for another fifty thousand years. Our interest in your species began long before your existence.”
Now he was really confused. “How could you be so interested in us if we didn’t even exist yet?” He was starting to think the answers he would get would only beg more questions.
“Fifty thousand years before what should be possible, we found proof of your existence on Naveen.”
Kalian was speechless; he had a million more questions but couldn’t form a single word.
Seeing his shock Telarrek continued, “When we discovered Earth four hundred years ago, we were on the verge of celebrating the discovery of what we thought were the precursors when we realised you had only just found a way to travel beyond your star. Solar Drive technology was new to you. We were, are, just as confused as you, Kalian. We have spent centuries theorising your current state of biological and technological evolution. We do not know how humans reached Naveen before you even learned to stand upright. There is more than enough evidence to show that your kind did, in fact, evolve on Earth. That is why we have watched you for so long; your kind is the biggest mystery in the entire Conclave.”
Kalian couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It made no sense at all. How could they have reached an alien moon before they even had two arms and legs, let alone Solar Drive technology?
“What did you find on Naveen?”
“Our geologists informed us it was made when our species were still living in burrows underground, but the exact age is unknown. Near the northern hemisphere in a place called the Sea of Naveen, there is a solitary rock. It is a large rock just bigger than the Fathom; it is pointed as if reaching for the stars above.” Telarrek raised a hand as he looked up visualising the location. “One side is completely smooth, too smooth to be natural. It simply came to be called, The Wall. In the centre of the stone around your height is an impression...” He hesitated.
Kalian knew Telarrek must be struggling to go against his orders.
“An impression of a single handprint, a human handprint, Kalian.” He picked up Kalian’s hand with his lower limb and examined the space between his fingers.
Kalian thought back to the moment on the bridge when he was trying to convince Telarrek to aid Century. The fascination with the shape of his handmade sense now.
“A handprint? But how? Why?” More questions.
“Underneath the impression is an engraved language we have never been able to understand. But we did understand a particular structure within the text, a strand of DNA. Your DNA, Kalian.”
How was Kalian supposed to take that? He moved away for a moment and leaned on the high bench. Had he heard that right? Even if he had he wasn’t sure what it meant.
“My DNA?” He thought back to the initial message the Novaarians had sent to The Hub with his DNA encoded in it. “You mean human DNA right? The whole double helix thing?” He thought back to his biology lessons and the image of the spiralling ladder with little spheres for rungs.
“It is almost identical to human DNA, but the karyotype on Naveen contains more chromosomes, like yours.” Telarrek might as well have been speaking in his native tongue for all the sense he made.
Kalian recalled the knowledge that human DNA had twenty-three pairs of chromosomes but he wasn’t confident of their purpose. Was having more good or bad? Also, genetics and biological augmentation had become a big thing over the last couple of centuries. Surely his altered DNA would have raised a flag.
“But that doesn’t make sense. You’re saying my DNA is different from a normal person’s, but the Birthing Databank would have picked that up. If that were true I would have spent my whole life in some UDC laboratory.”
Telarrek looked away for a moment but Kalian still couldn’t read Novaarian expressions. “That is because we hid you. We had been monitoring your Birthing Databank since its creation. You were not the first to be born with this unique DNA. We know of two others that came before you in the centuries leading to your birth. We were too late to act, however, and your United Defence Corps took them away. We never found a trace of them after that. By the time you were born, we had already taken measures to ensure we were alerted first. It was actually Numanon who accessed the databank and altered the record.”
It was just blow after blow. They had been watching him his entire life. Again he couldn’t find the right question to ask. To think there had been two others like him. He wondered if they had experienced all the same strange things he had. What did it mean that there were more like him?
“You see now why you are such a mystery Kalian. The species that left that handprint on Naveen were older and more advanced than the entirety of the Conclave. And the DNA imprinted on The Wall is unquestionably theirs. Why else would they leave it? Humanity’s DNA is clearly the foundation for this more evolved DNA... your DNA. You are proof that your kind is only just beginning to acquire this new state of evolution. My people have sought yours out for thousands of years believing you to be the precursors of this galaxy, the ones who came before. We thought you would have answers to some of the biggest questions in the universe. Instead, we found a primitive race of supposedly advanced beings.”
Kalian couldn’t take offence at the primitive comment; it was true in comparison to them. If he had to guess he would say Telarrek’s expression was that of a sad one. He was glad Telarrek had told him this though. He imagined being told the same series of events by this Highclave and it not sounding quite so sincere.
“Do the other species within the Conclave know about us, about Naveen?”
“Yes. One of the binding pacts in the formation of the Conclave was a sharing of knowledge and history. For a time everyone was fascinated with the possibility of your kind, every species in the Conclave examined The Wall. But no further proof of your existence was ever found, until now. You understand this was thousands of years ago, many people believe The Wall to be a hoax or a myth now. After the attack on your planet, I informed our councillor on the Highclave. She has now informed the other members and most likely the Conclave at large of your discovery and our research. There may be some reprisals for keeping you a secret for so long.” His face gave away no emotion as to how bad this was.
“I can see your interest in us, in me. But what about them?”
No further description was needed; Telarrek knew who he was referring to. “We are no closer to learning their origins. Their reasons for attacking you remain a mystery. I am confident they are not part of the Conclave, though that only makes them more of a mystery.”
Kalian surmised that this must make them feel as alien to Telarrek as the Novaarians were to humans.
“Why did you keep us a secret?” Kalian had given up trying to figure everything out.
“We were unsure of you when we first discovered your planet. You were such a mystery we wanted time to observe you without interruption. Remember, four hundred years is not a long time for a Novaarian. Also, we were afraid of the Conclave’s perception of you. Your race was thought to be a powerful one should you exist. As I’m sure your own history shows, most superior races do not coexist with lesser ones. We were afraid the other species of the Conclave would become defensive if they knew of you. As it turned out, you were not as superior as we thought.”
That made sense to Kalian. Human history was rife with examples of the superior destroying the weaker, even the origins of life with Homo sapiens wiping out Homo erectus. In a way, it was a good thing they had been kept secret. Kalian could imagine the full force of
the Conclave turning up on Earth’s doorstep four hundred years ago, worried that the human race posed a threat.
“How old are you?” Kalian really hoped it wasn’t an offensive thing to ask a Novaarian.
Telarrek lifted his head and gave a succession of grunts. “By your time I am nine hundred and twelve, just over half of my expected life.”
Kalian took in the sight of the Novaarian again. He didn’t look that old, though maybe the specks of blue around his eyes were an indication amongst their kind. That age was unimaginable to Kalian. He knew he would never get past two hundred and fifty years at the most. Although the way his life had changed recently, he would be happy to reach twenty-nine.
“Come, I shall return you to the company of the Lieutenant Commander. I believe she is still in the hangar with Ilyseal.”
Kalian didn’t move to leave with him.
“There will be plenty of time on this journey to learn more, Kalian. I must educate you both on the new society you are about to enter. I think you have absorbed all you can for one day.”
And then some.
Kalian followed him back to the Translift with one last look at the magnificent nebula. Life seemed so simple and quiet looking out at the distant stars, how wrong he was.
His rage was never to be taken lightly. The command module was to be protected at all times, he himself had programmed that into every nanocelium. Acting so, the ship immediately began to move the interior sections of the ship around. A solid wall was constructed from thin air cutting him off from the pilot and Elandar. Without him even noticing, the ship separated the two sections, leaving the command module where it was, and descending his level into the belly of the ship.
He always liked to think of it being the ship but he knew everything was directed by the subconsciousness of the pilot. His reaction to the escape of Kalian Gaines had been predicted. Now safely away from the command module, the new room he occupied was expanded and filled with pillars. His reaction in such instances was always the same. He propelled himself towards the first pillar using his own momentum to shatter it. He wasn’t satisfied. The debris from the pillar was instantly reabsorbed by the ship, nothing was wasted.
The Terran Cycle Boxset Page 18
