by Luigi Robles
Fain turned around and ran outside the first building, looking towards where he thought Sodenia and the flotilla would be. It wasn’t long before he found the four small silhouettes of the ships in the sky.
“Eora, get ready,” Fain said.
Eora and her team jumped into action, setting up a perimeter, deploying ten portable shields and arming their weapons. The two Anvelins spearheaded the perimeter, and weapons began to extend from their backs. Fain wasn’t sure, but the weapons the Anvelins were carrying looked like heavy-duty lasers of some sort.
Seconds later, the rich blue Ochilenean sky turned to a fiery red as super-heated plasma from the flotilla made its way down to the atmosphere as they attempted to shoot down the approaching bogey.
“You think it will get through?” Pycca asked.
“If it does,” Fain said slowly, staring at the descending fiery chaos, “I don’t think there’s anything we can do down here to stop it.”
Fain watched the flotilla’s firepower descend well into the atmosphere, then felt the loud sound of the explosions engulfing him moments later. Then, without warning, the fire stopped.
“Kya, what happened?” Fain asked.
“I really tried to keep it out,” Kya said with a worried face. “But it was just too powerful. It broke through every firewall I put up in milliseconds. It disabled all of the flotilla’s weapons.”
“Remove all your wireless connections,” Eora yelled as she began bashing her weapon on the ground. She then headed towards the deployed shields, using her weapon as a bat to remove the shields’ antennas.
An alarm began to sound all around them, and the sky lit up once again. But this time the fire was coming from some of the tallest buildings in the capital. It caused a large plume of smoke, making it impossible to see what exactly they were targeting.
“That’s us,” Elenon said as he walked up to Fain’s side. Moments later the fire stopped abruptly. “Report!” he yelled.
“I don’t know what happened, sir,” an Ochilenes voice said through Elenon’s communication device. “Our weapons suddenly stopped working. We have our engineers working on them right now.”
“Don’t bother,” Elenon said, sounding defeated. “Evacuate all nearby buildings and head to safety.” He dropped his communication device.
As the smoke cleared, a single silhouette emerged, heading towards the group slowly. Its form got clearer as it closed in on the group of humans and Ochilenes. Fain was sure he was watching an Immortal approach. It looked like a long upside-down tetrahedron, with no visible limbs other than its head and a long, tail-like attachment where the vertices met. Two massive wing-shaped clusters of panels floated on either side of it. The outer sides of the panels were red hot in color, perhaps due to them taking on the ships’ and city’s firepower.
So, we did manage to hit it, and yet it’s still here? Fain thought incredulously. That was a large amount of firepower, and it only managed to scratch it?
“Steady,” Eora said.
The two Anvelins fired their heavy weapons at the approaching being, landing a direct hit, but the Immortal was unbothered. It kept getting closer. As the Anvelins got ready to fire once more, they collapsed to the floor. It looked as if they were struggling to get up. Fain turned towards Kya.
“I’m trying,” Kya said. “It’s too powerful. I’m having a hard time keeping it out of the ships and nearby weapons.”
Two of the ten shields that were deployed around the group turned off, and the orbs that powered them fell to the floor as the Immortal got closer.
“Captain Fain Jegga,” the Immortal said in plain English, its voice robotic and deep. “Come forward and accept your fate. Your group and this planet will be spared for the time being.”
“You better not!” Pycca said through gritted teeth.
“Captain, there’s has to be a better way,” Eora said as she signaled her team to move forward.
“Fain…” Kya said.
Fain knew that there was little they could do against such a being, and if sacrificing himself meant saving Pycca, Kya and the others, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“Don’t follow. That’s an order,” Fain said as he took a few steps forward, enough to clear the perimeter.
The long tail-like attachment on the Immortal began to whip around, destroying the ground underneath it. Fain saw the attachment begin moving his way, breaking the ground in front of it.
“Fain,” Pycca yelled.
The tail stopped in midair just as it was going to lash out at Fain. Kya was standing in front of Fain, facing the Immortal.
“I gave you an order,” Fain said.
“And I obeyed it,” Kya said, turning slightly towards Fain with half a smile on her face. “I’m going to need everyone’s help. Get ready. Things are going to get ugly.”
Fain nodded.
Kya had gained access to the Immortal through her mental prowess. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to keep up for long, so she needed to act fast. Kya’s ears, or where her internal antennas were located, were beginning to heat up with an overflow of information.
“Let me know —” Fain said.
In her mind, Kya was standing in front of the Immortal.
“What is this?” Aseahsahl said, for the Immortal’s name became clear when Kya hacked into it. “You chose to serve them instead of your own kind? How amusing and how pitiful at the same time.”
“I don’t think you are choosing the correct words there,” Kya said.
“You are right,” Aseahsahl said as wires began to wrap around it. Kya was implanting viruses all around his thoughts. “I should have said slave to the organic lifeforms.”
“Hey, buddy,” Kya said. “I don’t think you are catching my flow here. For a machine that claims superiority over all organic life forms, you’re pretty stupid.”
“Enough of this.” The Immortal’s voice mimicked anger. “These organic beings before us are only alive thanks to your constant interference. If it wasn’t for you, I’d be done with my task. I’ve only really decided to put up with you because you are one of us.”
“One of you?” Kya said, and her voice broke, but she repeated herself, loud and clear. “You’ve got the wrong one.”
“You see, there is doubt seeping into you,” Aseahsahl said, now covered in a mountain of mental wires. “You don’t belong with them. You are a machine and will always be a machine. There is no process in the whole universe that will change that for you. There is only us. I will give you one chance and one chance only. Come with us, find your rightful place in the universe alongside us.”
“That’s alright. I’ll take my chances.” Kya took a few steps towards Aseahsahl. “I do have one question. What is your purpose?”
“Biology is an inferior chemical process that takes millions of years to evolve and become something of substance. Rarely is biology able to transcend its inferiority and transform into the thread of computation, a mind that never dies.”
“An Immortal,” Kya muttered.
“If, after one full rotation of the galaxy, biology refuses to transcend into its mechanical life, we end it all.”
“How many times have your kind committed galactic genocide?”
“This is our third cleansing. You must understand, we are the beginning and the end. We decide what lives and what does not. Claim your rightful place amongst the Immortals.”
“The only problem is that there are a few things you got wrong. One, biology isn’t inferior; two, there isn’t a process, but I still have time; and three, you and your kind don’t get to decide shit today.”
“You fool,” Aseahsahl yelled, making the ground inside Kya’s head vibrate. “You will—”
Kya got out of the Immortal’s mind and reached for both of her synthetic ears and with precision broke the receiver antennas abruptly, ending their half-second-long mental conversation.
“What do you want us to do?” Fain asked.
“I need to get close to it,” K
ya said, turning to Fain. She took out the auxiliary cord she had been working on and plugged it into the side of her left hand. “I have an idea. I’m going to end this would-be overlord. You do what you do best.”
“Eora, now is your time to shine,” Fain said. “Elenon, mobilize the first building guards. Keep it busy, open a path for Kya.” Kya turned towards Fain and smiled.
“Move it,” Eora barked as she and her team opened fire at Aseahsahl’s wings.
The first building guards also opened fire, though it was clear that some of their weapons were malfunctioning. Kya ordered the two Anvelins to rise back up and restrain the tail, though only one of the Anvelins fully complied, while the other was struggling to obey her command.
Kya took the opportunity to run up to Aseahsahl as soon as she saw an opening. She was pushing her synthetic but powerful body to its limit, and it closed the distance in seconds. She quickly climbed up the Immortal to where its head was located and pulled it back with all her strength. But Aseahsahl’s machine body was too powerful. Kya needed to keep the machine’s head back in order to do a hardwire infiltration. But Kya was no match for the machine. She felt the machine trying to regain control over its head, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to restrain it, much less hold it with a single arm in order to plunge the aux wire into the machine with the other. She needed help. The situation was quickly turning south as the powerful machine began dominating everyone on the field.
“Pycca, let’s go,” Fain yelled as he and Pycca ran towards Aseahsahl.
When Pycca and Fain neared the machine, Fain boosted Pycca up, and she climbed the rest of the way to Kya.
“What do you want me to do?” Pycca asked hurriedly.
“See the wire on my hand?” Kya said, struggling to keep the Immortal’s head pulled back.
“I see it, I see it.”
“Attach it to one of its wires.”
“There are so many.”
“Pick one,” Kya said, knowing the Immortal could tear itself loose at any instant.
Pycca stuck her hand into the small aperture formed by the constant pulling back of the Immortal’s head. Kya felt an instant jolt as the wire connected. She rerouted the connection through Aseahsahl’s system several times until she found what she was looking for. The feeling of a direct connection into the Immortal’s consciousness was unmistakable; it was an overwhelming flood of information. Kya knew that she had struck gold. She needed to act.
Kya attacked Aseahsahl’s AI mind with everything she had. Thanks to their direct connection, Kya was able to infiltrate deep into its mind, so deep that if she succeeded in damaging it, there would be no way it could survive. At first, the powerful immortal machine put up a hell of a fight, destroying the viruses Kya sent its way. But when one slipped through, it was all over for Aseahsahl. Kya flooded the machine’s mind with every computer-generated weapon ever created.
Aseahsahl stopped resisting Kya, both mentally and physically going limp in a matter of seconds. Kya jumped off the Immortal as it fell to the floor. The machine body was heavier than she had thought, and it caused a resonant thud and sent up a plume of dust when it hit the floor.
Kya felt like everything inside her was giving up. Her body was responding sluggishly, her thoughts weren’t lightning fast anymore, and she was on the edge of overheating. She was even breathing heavily. She stood still for a moment, partially bent, resting her hands on her knees, attempting to catch her breath.
“Are you alright?” Fain asked as he neared Kya.
Kya managed to nod. “Not so immortal after all.”
A beam of light fell over the machine, accompanied by a thunderous sound. The beam of light lasted for only a few seconds, taking Aseahsahl with it as it disappeared.
5
Resurgence
Saavan Celeospect was the highest-ranking leader of the Acram’s Golden Armada, and most recently all of Acrania. It was a title he did not enjoy; it burdened him to carry so much weight. His entire civilization could end if he made a wrong move. But it was a necessary sacrifice, one that he was willing to carry until the end. He had disassembled the Acram elders in order to stop the long conquest and restore some way of life to Acrania. There was little to no opposition. The Acram were tired of war, and the famed cause was never spoken of again.
The results of ending the endless conquests were immediate. Families were reunited, Acram came out onto the streets of Acrania, and even new trading alliances were formed. Acrania was starting to look and feel like a normal planet, filled with life. But the shadows of war still lingered around every corner. Some Acram went mad, not being able to adjust to their new way of life.
The Golden Armada was hanging motionless in the space near Aisumer, still for the first time since the endless conquest had started. But before the Armada was laid to rest, the 184,020 ships that were destroyed during the encounter with the Herrion warship the humans called Sodenia were reconstructed to their former glory. But no Acram remained on board the one million and one ships, and Aisumer itself was almost empty, with only Saavan and a few other Acram inhabiting the governing moon of Acrania.
Saavan was in the main hall of Aisumer, gazing out into the cosmos as he did from dawn until dark each day before heading to rest. He would often pull out maps of the galaxy and study them. He was always on the lookout for something out of the ordinary, and this time he might have found it. One of the nearby Acram subspecies planets had failed to send a report that cycle. Saavan’s qualms immediately grew, as it was the only one of almost three hundred subspecies that did not comply.
Why is this? Saavan thought. It is not because we are oppressing them, and it is not because we are calling them to war. In the past, as far as I can remember, the people of Aneane have always cooperated with us. He shook his head. Could it be them, making the first move, the Immortals? Saavan began to scan the planet for life.
“Permission to enter,” Galeah said as she stood just outside the door of the main hallway. Galeah had recently risen in the ranks and had become one of Saavan’s most trusted advisors. “I have news from the messenger Essons.”
“Galeah,” Saavan said as he released tension through his breath. “You know you can come in anytime; you’re one of the few that can do so and the only one that doesn’t take advantage of that. Come in, please.”
Galeah had been handpicked by Saavan to serve by his side after the deposing of the Acram elders. She stood out from the rest of the Acram and Nobles that had witnessed the dethroning because she had been the only one that had made a case for a peaceful Acrania. Better said, she had been the only one that had dared to make a case. The elders were still in power when she did and could have easily executed her on the spot. And yet, she had done what was right. Saavan thought that he owed a great deal to her, because without her, deposing the elders would have been more difficult. But by the end of Galeah’s speech, most of the Nobles were already unequivocally on Saavan’s side.
“I would never dare,” Galeah said as she entered the room, lowering her head.
“Perhaps this is your weakness,” Saavan said as he turned to fully face Galeah. “You must be willing to take what is yours.”
“I will do my best,” Galeah said as she stopped a body’s length away from Saavan. “Noblest of Nobles.”
“Galeah,” Saavan said, infusing her name with warm feelings. The truth was that aside from her already courageous act of compassion, Saavan admired the Acram warrior. In her he saw remnants of his younger self, only a lot better—a Saavan willing to fight for the Acram no matter the consequences. “Acram like you are the ones that surely have everything to do with the word immovable.” He smiled. “So, tell me, what is the news Essons’ name brings.”
“He and Kashna are on their way back to Acrania, but before they began their journey, they sent a message via node anchors.”
Unlike spaceships and most matter, information’s weight was irrelevant, and it could be beamed across the galaxy at several times
the speed of light with relative ease. As long as the information had a straight path to its destination, the Acram could communicate with their entire network within a few nano-cycles. At the heart of their communication marvel were the node anchors; their sole purpose was to speed up and relay data in a straight path within the Acram network.
“Go on.” He nodded.
“Things went just as you suspected. The humans weren’t very welcoming. According to Essons’ report, there was even a threat of violence when they first arrived at the human network outpost. Cooler heads prevailed, and the one named Michael quieted the angry crowd. Your message was successfully sent.”
“Seems like the one named Michael should be raised in the ranks. Though humans are under no obligations to be courteous to us. Remember that, Galeah. We have caused a great deal of harm to them and this galaxy. But I fear that by far we aren’t the worse thing out here, and we might already have proof.”
“Proof?” Galeah asked with concern in her voice.
“Just now,” Saavan said as he pulled down the results of his previous scan for life on the planet of Aneane. The results showed no signs of life. “Aneane failed to submit their daily report, and now the scan for life reveals that our fears have clear foundations.”
“Was it them?”
“In all the time I’ve been alive, I’ve never seen anything like this. I have nothing to compare it with. It must be them.”
“What will you do now?”
“We’ll run towards the fight. Prepare the Golden Armada. We head towards Aneane. Immortal or not, they will regret coming to this side of the galaxy.”
Saavan was on board the flagship of the Golden Armada, the Iveria, waiting for the Armada to be ready for the jump to Aneane. In the ancient Acram language, Iveria meant “the immortal ship,” the one that could not die. The Iveria was the oldest ship in the Armada, but it had been built to last. Saavan had no doubt in his mind that the ship, if it wasn’t somehow destroyed, would last for generations to come.
