Amongst the Immortals

by Luigi Robles

  Sodenia

  Amongst The Immortals

  Luigi Robles

  Copyright © 2019 by Luigi Robles

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  1. Peace

  2. The New Guy

  3. Ascension

  4. Doka

  5. Resurgence

  6. Embers

  7. Lost

  8. Silence

  9. Pact

  10. Paths

  11. The Plan

  12. The Champion

  13. Unbreachable

  14. Goodbye

  15. Machines

  Epilogue

  Also by Luigi Robles

  1

  Peace

  Fain stood in front of his apartment window in a high rise in Neo LA, contemplating recent events. Just under a year after returning from their encounter with the Golden Armada, humanity was enjoying its first space elevator, located a few miles away from Soden Island. Of course, construction of the elevator wouldn’t have been possible in such a short time if it wasn’t for the Ochilenes. Thanks to the space elevator, Sodenia was now permanently docked in space, and Soden Island had been transformed into a state-of-the-art R&D facility-slash-main headquarters for ESAF.

  The ESAF fleet had undergone a major overhaul; instead of it consisting of just Sodenia and an array of smaller space, air and watercrafts, the fleet now boasted eighteen additional new ships. The ships ranged in size from large carrier-class ships to the smaller but potent frigate class. However, all of the new additions paled in comparison with the size and majesty of Sodenia.

  Fain was allowing himself to feel good, to feel normal for the first time since he was a child. The Acram were no longer a threat to Earth, at least for the foreseeable future. Progress was being made with giant strides in space politics. Humanity wasn’t alone; they had allies, and the intergalactic space station was fully operational, making their ongoing communication efforts possible.

  Even the news had a more positive tone lately. There was hardly anything bad to report about, and from the looks of it, there was little effort to do so. Humanity’s outlook was changing; people wanted to hear positive things. Fain suspected it had a lot to do with being near extinction and all that. But he didn’t dive too deep into the matter. Humans moving in the right direction was good enough for him.

  I’m relieved we were able to get to this point, Fain thought. If someone had told me sixteen months ago, when the Ochilenes first arrived, that I would be relaxing now, staring out the window with a cup of coffee in my hand, there’s no way I would have believed them. It all just seemed so impossible. But here I am, doing exactly that. Who would have thought?

  Fain took a sip of his coffee. It wasn’t as good as the one on board Sodenia.

  Kya does know how to make one hell of a coffee, Fain thought. I wonder if it’s the same for everyone else, or if she customizes the coffee for each one of us? I’ll ask her next time I see her. I wonder how she’s doing. I’ll see her soon enough. In the meantime, there are three more weeks before my leave is over, and that’s plenty of time for what I’ve been meaning to do since we got back.

  Fain’s heart began beating faster as mild chills ran down his body.

  Fain opened a new communication screen just to the side of him. The window was the size of a large book, monochromatic blue and with an array of options. It was old tech, but it would do the job just fine.

  Usually, apartments and homes came hardwired with the latest communication tech, which was added when they were built. You could watch TV from virtually anywhere in the house, and phone calls could be made as well. The only problem with this kind of system was that to upgrade it, the tenants or owners would usually have to leave their homes for a week or so, not to mention the cost involved. Thus, hardly anyone upgraded unless they were moving in for the first time. The communication system did have its merits, and at one point it was a must-have. But the ease of handheld devices and more portable and replaceable ones rendered this old system somewhat obsolete.

  Fain thought about making a video call, but as he glanced at his reflection in the window in front of him, his mind quickly changed. His hair was messy, and the shape of the pillow was still visible on his face. So, he pressed the voice-only button and then chose Pycca’s name.

  The coms pane rang four times before she answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey.”

  “Hey?”

  “Pycca, right?”

  “Fain Jegga, who else would it be?”

  Fain chuckled.

  “I was just making sure.” Fain put down his coffee on a nearby table. “It’s been a few days since I’ve talked to you.”

  “Is this a butt-dialed call or something? Were you trying to reach someone else?”

  “There’s not a chance in the world that either of those suppositions is true.”

  “See, now that’s better.” There was a slight static sound at the end of Pycca’s last word.

  “Wait, did you hear that?” A light nearby flickered.

  “Hear what? Fain, are you OK? Are you talking about the static again? I’m telling you, you should just get your communications system replaced.”

  “I don’t even use it that often, and I’m only in my apartment a few months of the year. It’s really not worth it for me. It’s probably nothing. I think there are some electrical issues in the neighborhood or something.”

  “Electrical issues? Those haven’t been around in how many years?”

  Electricity and technology had advanced significantly from what they used to be at the turn of the century. Companies were fully invested in renewable energy, and advances in the delivery of power were a weekly occurrence. There hadn’t been a fire caused by downed power lines in over one hundred years.

  “Anyway, that’s not important,” Fain said as he walked towards the flickering light. The communication window followed him. He tapped on the flickering light slightly, fixing it on the second tap. “There’s something else that’s been on my mind lately.”

  “OK, I’m all ears.”

  “We have three weeks left before our leave is over. So, Ms. Pycca Evans, would you like to go out on a date?”

  There was a moment of silence that sent Fain into an instant state of paranoia.

  Oh crap, please don’t let me be wrong about this, Fain thought. I’ve thought and stressed about this for way too long. It played out perfectly in my mind; don’t tell me I’m wrong about all of this.

  Fain felt every inch of his lungs rub against his ribcage as he took a deep breath to try and calm himself.

  “Hello?” Fain finally said, unable to handle the suspense.

  “For as good as you are at other things, you aren’t very good at this, are you?”

  He sighed in relief and took another deep breath, trying to get a hold of himself.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Fain said, trying to sound as nonchalant about it as possible. “But I mean it. I really do.”

  Pycca chuckled, but her soft laughter was not the only thing Fain heard. There it was again, an electrical noise. But this time it was more prominent than the last.

  “I just have a couple of things to say. One, it’s about damn time. I was beginning to think it was never going to happen. Two, I would love to go on a date with you, Fain Jegga.” Pycca’s voice sounded soft and genuine, with all traces of humor gone.

  “So, how about this weekend?”

  “Saturday works for me. I’m havi
ng dinner with my parents on Sunday. Neo LA or St. Paul?”

  “I’ll leave that up to you.”

  As much as Fain wanted to continue talking with Pycca, the electrical twitches he had experienced were beginning to mess with his mind. He suspected they weren’t normal.

  “Maybe you can show me around Neo LA, and while you’re at it, you can try to change my mind about the city. I promise to keep an open mind about it.”

  In previous conversations, Pycca had always maintained that massive cities were impossible to live in. By live in, she meant enjoy the city, be able to go places without facing huge crowds or traffic jams. The topic came up several times as they talked about where each of them planned to settle down once the ESAF ordeal was settled. As so much progress had been made, the end seemed near.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Fain shook his head, trying to get back into the conversation. “What time, do you think?”

  “Let’s shoot for lunch and maybe a light dinner, depending on the flight schedule. So, one-thirty, two?”

  “Perfect, it’s a date.”

  “At least you got that part right.”

  They both chuckled.

  Despite a full-hearted attempt on Fain’s side to get back into the conversation, it still ended a few minutes later, after they agreed on the time. Fain was sure that Pycca wouldn’t mind, that she would just blame it on him being nervous or inexperienced when it came to dating. There were other much less pleasant things on his mind now.

  The sound on the phone line made him remember that not everything was alright. That there was something lingering around him, around Earth. And as he thought about it, he remembered that sound wasn’t the only thing he had noticed. There were many instances where he observed electronics acting weird, experienced strange glitches, and heard electrical sounds when he passed by a light pole. All of this wasn’t normal; that much he knew.

  Fain grabbed the almost empty cup of coffee and sank into a nearby couch, trying to organize his thoughts.

  It can’t be a coincidence, can it? Fain thought. When we came back to Earth from our encounter with the Golden Armada, Kya told me that there was some form of machine trying to contact her. Could this somehow be related to that? Maybe I’m just overthinking it, but I need to find out nonetheless.

  Fain knew that he wasn’t going to reach an answer to his questions all by himself. He needed to talk to the one person that could help him figure this out. He opened a new coms pane next to him, and he went down the list of contacts. He pressed the button to video call Kya.

  As far as he knew, Kya spent most of her time on board Sodenia, though she sometimes came down to Soden Island to help any way she could. She had been offered leave like the rest of the crew, but she quickly turned it down, stating that she was just getting started.

  “Hi, Fain.” Kya appeared on the other screen, looking perfect. She was well kept, and her hair looked silky smooth.

  Kya’s appearance made Fain feel self-conscious for a second, but it didn’t last. Kya had always made Fain feel comfortable, and moreover, he felt like seeing a friendly face.

  “Hi, Kya. It’s nice to see you again.”

  “Same here. It can get pretty lonely around the ship.”

  “See, you should’ve come to visit, or least taken Colonel Green’s suggestion and taken some leave of your own.”

  “I’m not ready for either of those things, or better said, the world is not ready for either of those things.”

  “I disagree, but perhaps you know better.”

  “Let’s keep it that way.” Kya brushed a wisp of hair from the side of her face to behind her right ear. “So, what prompted this phone call? What’s on your mind this time?”

  “What do you mean?” Fain smirked. “I can’t call you unless something is happening, or something is on my mind?”

  “No, I don’t mean that you’ve done that before. But this isn’t one of those times. I think I know you better than most, Fain Jegga.”

  Fain got up, took a last sip of coffee and walked towards the kitchen. The coms panel followed in front of him as he did so.

  “Well, to be honest, you’re right.” Fain placed his empty coffee mug in the sink and leaned against the counter. “There is something on my mind. I’ve been noticing glitches and electronic noises lately. Is it just me, or is it something?”

  “Good news is that you aren’t going crazy…”

  “But?”

  “I’ve been monitoring this phenomenon, and it is happening all over the globe. You aren’t the only one that has noticed. The story is breaking as we speak. Though they’re blaming it on ‘faulty and old technology.’”

  “What’s really happening? Does it have anything to do with the machine trying to contact you some time ago?”

  When Sodenia first returned to Earth from its encounter with the Golden Armada, something out there had attempted to contact Kya directly. According to Kya, their message was one of pure annihilation, and it scared Kya to her core. Because the message wasn’t from any biological source, it had been a machine; a machine just like her, if not more advanced.

  Kya looked down from the screen as her eyebrows furrowed and nodded. “I believe it does. I believe that the entity that tried to contact me is making its presence known throughout the galaxy. We just happen to be in the galaxy.”

  “Is there any danger?” Fain asked.

  “Nothing immediate, or nothing that I can see. It could also be an empty and actionless message just trying to scare us, but at this point we don’t know. And at least there haven’t been any reports submitted to the ISCO on the matter. I’ve asked Mikey to forward a query on the matter to all our allies and known friendly alien civilizations. It seems as if everyone is perceiving these glitches as everyday occurrences, and they might not be prominent enough to warrant proper investigation.”

  The ISCO, also known as the Intergalactic Space Communications Outpost, was in charge of keeping channels of communication open between all the friendly alien civilizations. The ISCO was permanently orbiting Neptune, and Mikey, one of Fain’s childhood friends, was now a large part of it as an ambassador for ESAF. Though Mikey had been placed there largely thanks to Fain and Green.

  “Or maybe,” Fain said with an optimistic tone, “we’re just going crazy.”

  Kya snickered.

  “That could be it too, but I don’t see how that’s any better. We’ll just have to monitor the situation closely.”

  “Kya, whatever it is,” Fain said, “you can be sure that we’ll figure this one out. We’re in this together, and nothing will be able to change that.”

  Kya looked back up with a trace of a smile on her face.

  “I hope you’re right, Fain Jegga.”

  2

  The New Guy

  Michael James Harmon, or Mikey for short, was on the ISCO, getting ready for his daily routine. At six am he started his day off by trying to burn off the extra slice of pie he had eaten the night before as a reward for his outstanding job. He thought that some thirty-odd pushups, sit-ups and squats would do the trick. He knew he could be wrong about that, but he never bothered to make sure.

  The ISCO operated on Earth’s North American Eastern Standard Time. The ISCO had been built over the remains of Radio One, and as a result it kept the spherical shape as its main structure. Its shape was recognized as somewhat odd for a space station. Along with several circulating satellites, its most prominent feature was the circulating ring, twice the size of the sphere and filled with antennas. The sphere was where the main station was located, as well as everyone on board. The ring rotated around the sphere slowly, covering the entirety of the station within a twenty-four-hour period.

  Fain had found Mikey just a month after Sodenia returned to Earth. When Fain first reached out to Mikey, he couldn’t believe that he had actually been right. After the heroes of Earth were paraded through Washington, D.C. and their names were announced, he knew that Fain Jegga, the captain of the alien shi
p, was the same Fain Jegga from his childhood. He made many attempts to reach Fain, but he’d never gotten close. Though once he met with Fain for the first time after the Acram destroyed their hometown, he had kept in touch ever since. Especially now that he was a part of ESAF.

  Mikey was a part of the seventeen Earth communication ambassadors serving on board the ISC0. He had no official training other than several long and tedious briefings, and he was by no means a communications expert. The only thing Mikey had on his side was Fain’s trust, and he would make damn sure not to break that. As a result of his lack of training or fancy science degrees and next to zero experience with a high-profile job, he was looked down on in his current position.

  Mikey didn’t know why exactly Fain put so much trust in him, and he went as far as to ask Fain about it. Fain simply responded, “it’s a feeling I have. Don’t worry, you’ll do great,” a clearly unsatisfactory answer.

  Though the pressure of his peers on board the ISCO, along with his insecurities, got to him from time to time, he tried his best not to let his friend down. He had made it a point to improve, at least a little each day. He often made a list of things to improve and checked them off as he went.

  On today’s self-appointed things-to-do list, item number one was to write all the names of the friendly alien civilizations that sent and received messages or even stopped by the station. He thought it would be a good way to train his mind to remember the wild assortment of alien civilizations and names. Though he didn’t get to item number one until a little past five pm, as he needed to finish his real task on board the ISCO, which consisted of monitoring, sending, receiving and translating messages. Of course, this was all done with the help of the station’s AI.