Power Divided (The Evolutionaries Book 1)

by s. Behr

  Every inch from top to bottom was covered except for a blank square about six inches in height and width, positioned directly in the center of the door.

  Just below the empty section were the words, NEW YORK ARK STATION - ALPHA.

  “What are you?” I wondered aloud.

  “New York. That’s the name the city Hattan was named after,” I said surprised.

  “Ark. Like the colonies?” I guessed.

  “It’s used in religious texts, too.”

  “Could be,” I agreed, thinking of the entire level of the Archives devoted to that topic. “Station. That’s pretty self-explanatory,” I said, ignoring the fact that every discussion I had with my inner voice was self-explanatory.

  “Alpha. Why would they use Greek?”

  “It probably means the first.”

  “Okay, that makes sense.”

  My fingers hovered just in front of the door; There was no telling how long it had been since someone had stood here. My fingers traced the edge of the empty section, wiping off a coating of untold ages of fine gray powder, revealing a smooth glass. It was cold, black, and completely unmarred by time.

  “Ouch!” I winced when suddenly an uncomfortable, hot sensation pricked my finger.

  “Violet!” his voice cried out with worry as I tried to pull my hand back. The skin on my finger stuck to the plate like it was glued in place. Then, without warning, my finger was released, and in the center of the glass, illuminated words appeared.

  HUMAN GENOME DETECTED

  ARC STRAIN DETECTED

  AUTHORIZATION ALPHA RES ACTIVATED

  “Vi—” My inner voice’s cry was cut off, and all the sounds of the cave behind me disappeared. My heart raced, and the fox squirmed against my chest, squeezing closer, sensing my alarm. A thud sounded through the door, and a hissing followed. Plumes of dust puffed around us as the door began to slide open.

  The slab of stone screeched as if it glided across broken glass, making my teeth ache. When it came to a stop, I stood peering into the darkness. Past the threshold, I saw nothing. Even the light from the cavern seemed to disappear like a vacuum had sucked it into oblivion.

  “Hello?” I called out cautiously. The sound of my voice bounced back at me.

  “Anyone in there?” I took a trepidatious step closer.

  “Hello?” I called again, and even my inner voice was quiet.

  A moment later, lights startled me as they began to illuminate from every direction. Surprised by the sudden brightness, I stumbled forward through the doorway, falling onto my hands and knees.

  I looked in my jacket to make sure the fox was okay, and she blinked as if annoyed at the jostling but was otherwise as good as she could be. “Sorry, girl,” I said, sitting back on my knees and scanning the room.

  When the final corner illuminated, a hissing came from the door, and I spun around to see a glass panel sealing the way out. Beyond the shiny glass, I could see the outer door closing as well. I scrambled on my knees toward the doors, but it was too late. We were trapped.

  “Welcome,” a voice echoed through the room. Turning slowly, I faced a woman in a beige pantsuit. “Hello,” she said warmly, her arms spread wide. “Welcome to New York Ark Station Alpha.” Her eyes wandered around the room. I followed her gaze and saw that the room was white marble from floor to ceiling with two sets of staircases on either side of the entry. The floors were polished and gleaming but warped with age, as if the feet of a million humans had shaped them with time.

  “It is May twenty-nine in the year 16,177. Please state your name for the record.”

  “My–my name?” I stammered.

  “Yes, for posterity. You are the first descendant to discover this Ark. You will be documented and filed into the Histories of Humanity. Congratulations.”

  Her applause echoed throughout the room as she clapped ceremoniously. Abruptly, she clasped her hands together. “Forgive me for not introducing myself. I am H.A.I.L.E.Y., a Holographic Artificial Intelligence Lifelike Entity. But you can call me Hailey. I am the curator of this facility. And you are?”

  Gaping at her, I finally understood that she was a three-dimensional hologram. We had similar technology in Amera, but this was something more.

  “You look so real,” I murmured.

  “I am.” She smiled. Her jacket had an asymmetrical cut at the neckline, and her pants had soft bell cut cuffs at her ankles; they were perfect examples of fashion from the era in ancient America just before the ice age. She had sandy-blonde hair, warm, tawny skin, and brown eyes. Her smile was perfect in every way. Only after she declared she was a hologram did I notice the flawless complexion of her skin.

  “And your name is?” she asked again with tremendous patience in her tone.

  Snapped out of my stupor, I answered, “Me? Um… My name is Violet.”

  “At last.” Her smile broadened. “Violet, what a lovely name. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Violet, do you have a surname?”

  “Surname?”

  “Yes, is there more to your name?”

  “Oh, of course. Yes, I am Princess Violet Amplifien of the King and Queen’s Courts of Neyr, Third Realm of Amera,” I said automatically, though the title and the name I had used my entire life felt completely foreign as I spoke it. I wasn’t sure if it was still mine to use, but I didn’t know what else to say.

  “Ah, a Princess. That is exciting. I thought I recognized something special in your DNA.” She beamed as she clasped her hands together once more.

  “My DNA?” I asked as my eyebrow shot up.

  “Yes, from the scanner outside. The door was programmed only to open for specific genetic markers.”

  “That’s what the door was doing when it burned my finger?” I checked my fingertip for any lasting damage.

  “I apologize for the discomfort, but that was not a priority to the creators when the Ark was constructed.”

  “A priority?” I questioned.

  “Yes, with the impending ice age, protocols and priorities were defined by the Creators. Security was paramount. Comfort was not.”

  “This was created at the same time as the colonies?” I asked, as all my fear and irritation gave way to wonder when I realized what this meant.

  “Yes. This facility was completed and sealed before the completion of the New York City Colony. Six years, twenty-six days before, to be precise.”

  “Does anyone live here? Besides you, of course,” I added, just in case she was anything like the A.I.s I had met in Neyr.

  “No biological life forms were active at the time the Ark was sealed. The Ark was not designed to support or sustain any biologically living creatures for the duration of the ice age.”

  “Why would they create this place and not use the resources to save more people?”

  “Excellent question.” She nodded in approval. “There were many who believed the colonies would not survive, and if they did, what would they become? Several groups argued that the only way to preserve the cultural and technological achievements of the world would be to remove the human element from the equation. It was their belief that if humans became desperate, they would destroy the Ark before it could be used to restore human civilization to its former glory or add to the accomplishment your society has already made.”

  My mouth went dry. “‘The human element.’”

  “The creators of the Ark did not want it to be contaminated by time, so they ensured that the doors could only be activated once the surface temperature stabilized, and the Ark was found by its descendants, which the surface temperature did, regaining its habitable temperatures 515 years ago. And now, you have arrived.”

  “Me? What makes me qualified to open the Ark?” I asked, staring at my hands.

  “You have the correct genetic markers to qualify you as a human descendant. Did I not make that clear? My apologies.” Hailey tilted her head.

  “You were able to read my genetics from the panel outside?” Looking back to where I had entered, I
saw the door was no longer visible. “Um, what happened to the door?”

  “It has been sealed. It is Ark protocol.”

  Eyeing her suspiciously, I worried for a moment that I was trapped in here, but my other choice was the Wild. The room didn’t seem affected by the cave in I had caused just outside, and if a cave in was one less thing to worry about, then as long as I was here, I decided to focus on getting food, water, and medicine for the fox.

  “You said you could read my genetics through the door?”

  She flashed another wide smile. “My apologies, but didn’t we discuss this already? Your DNA?”

  “I think we got sidetracked by the discomfort,” I said, surprised that she was snarkier than I would expect an A.I. to be. Especially one that was meant to help restore human civilization.

  “Of course.” Her smile remained pleasant. “The security panel on the exterior door was programmed to open only for a human.”

  “But I am not human. Well, not exactly,” I admitted, knowing what the first-generation humans would have said about that.

  “I am aware of your classification. You are of the species Homo sapiens, subclassification A.R.C. Human.”

  “Human what?” For centuries there were words that had been used to describe what we were. In our history books, we had been called Evolutionaries, engineered, enhanced, and experiments. They were hateful words the Hg-1 used that were no longer spoken, but I had never heard the term ARC before.

  “Artificially Revisioned Chromosomal human,” Hailey replied. “The ARC project began in 2248. When the world nations summit convened in Paris in 2218, they determined that an unstoppable ice age cycle had already begun and that the world would succumb to the ice in less than two hundred years. The ethical genetic testing bans were lifted globally, and efforts began around the world to preserve as many lives and cultures as possible. There were 119 major labs across what was the continent of North America that had sufficient time to complete the last, then begin the creation of the next generation of humans. Humans who would better survive the climate and resource challenges that humanity would face. At the beginning of the first full year of winter, the colonies were sealed—”

  “I know the history.” The thought of the billions of people who’d died in those years haunted me the first time I had read it in the Archives, and I couldn’t bring myself to think about it now. “So, what you’re saying is that the creators of this Ark included our people as their descendants. That we could be eligible to find this place and restore it.”

  “Yes.” Hailey smiled.

  I expected my inner voice to caution me, but he didn’t say a word. The fox was still injured, and we were both starving. There had to be something here that would solve those problems, and I was ready to find them. “Great! What do we do next? Do I sign something? Make a speech?”

  “No, Your Highness,” she answered with a laugh. “Nothing so formal. All I need is the security codes that were given to you by the colony.”

  My brows knitted with concern, while my gut twisted at what that might mean. “I don’t have them with me. That’s not a problem, is it?”

  “Of course not. If you are not officially associated with the colonies, the secondary protocols will be enacted, and we can begin the vetting for your security clearance immediately. Did you come alone?” Her smile held patience.

  “Yes, well, me and this fox.” I unzipped my jacket and gave the fox a little air.

  “She is a fine companion,” Hailey said with a clap. “Well, then. I am very pleased you have arrived. As the first to discover this Ark, you will be granted access to the Level One secured areas throughout the facility. There are protocols to reopen the vaults, and we would not want to cause contamination.” Her demeanor projected as if this was the most normal conversation in the world.

  The fox squirmed and muffled a weak whine in her fur. The sound spurred a deep sense of urgency in my core. “Do you have a healing room here?”

  “A healing room?” Hailey’s head tilted with a blink of confusion that disappeared like a glitch. “Ah, a room for medical needs?”

  “Yes, my fox is injured, and I think she has a fever.”

  “Of course! Once we establish your clearance, you will be cleared for entry. Would you like to begin the security protocols?” she asked with another of her wide smiles.

  “If I can’t get in, is there anything you can spare that might help her?” I asked, practically begging. “A bandage? Anything?”

  Hailey looked at the fox for a long while. “She is important to you?”

  “Yes, she is.” I knew that a day didn’t make her mine, but this kit had become a sort of symbol of hope and inspiration. I’m not sure what I would have done without her. “I can’t lose her. Please.”

  “I suppose her condition qualifies as an emergency. It is within my protocols to give you some assistance in this case.” On the wall by the staircase, a drawer slid out. Hailey walked over to it and beckoned me to follow. In the drawer was a small kit labeled First Aid.

  “This should help,” Hailey said. I pulled the box from the drawer and tore it open. Inside were bandages, pieces of cotton, and three vials.

  “There is a syringe in the drawer as well,” Hailey pointed out. Peering inside, I saw a small syringe filled with green liquid. I had only ever seen this type of medical needle in pictures. I knew how they worked, but supplemental medications today came in aerosol injections that pushed through the skin entering through the pores. This was something I would have to puncture through the kit’s skin into her flesh. I felt my knees go weak.

  I took a deep breath, and with Hailey’s instructions, I cleaned the wound. When it came time to use the injection, I aimed for the recommended spot, and as I pushed the plunger, my eyes shut involuntarily. The kit hardly moved.

  “Do you think it will work?”

  “We have to wait and see. You have done all you can for now.”

  The fox seemed to be shrinking in my arms as I watched her sleep. “Is there a chance we can get a glass of water, maybe something to eat? It’s been a very long journey for us.”

  “Of course! Once we have established your clearance. Would you like to begin the security clearance protocols?”.

  “Yes, please.”

  “Wonderful. Let’s begin.”

  The litany of questions began with simple things like my birthday, my height, my favorite color. I answered, August eleven, five feet four inches, and if it wasn’t obvious by my name, violet had always been my favorite color because it was the color of my father’s eyes.

  As the A.I. asked each question, I searched my mind for my inner voice, but he was completely silent. It was almost as if there was a barrier I couldn’t break through. I didn’t know if it was because I had hit my head one too many times, hunger, or I was having a nervous breakdown. Either way, I wasn’t going to show how broken I felt to this A.I.

  I needed to get into this Ark, and soon. The fox felt too warm, and when I could get her to open her eyes, they were glassy. It made me both terrified and determined. What if I had injected her with something that was making her worse?

  “Your Highness?”

  “Yes?” My attention flew back to Hailey’s projection.

  “You were saying the colonists left the after the Warming, as your people called it. What happened next?” Hailey’s smile was beginning to grate on my nerves, but I didn’t know what else to do, so I decided to answer her questions faster, hoping one of them would grant us access.

  “So you want to know what happened to the colonists?” I eyed Hailey, unsure of how much I should tell her about Amera. But the more my stomach rumbled, the more my conviction wavered.

  “That is part of the information I need to clear you for entry.” She smiled.

  Then, before I could help it, my essay from my Criterion came pouring out of me. “When the ice age was first announced, humanity on Earth had over twenty billion souls, and little more than twenty-four months to
find solutions to save as many lives as they could...

  “…space exploration and gene modification were the two most successful projects when the ice age waited no longer, and the people of Earth were forced to enact their plans. In the United States, each colony was inhabited by the original humans, who later called themselves the Hg-1, and my ancestors, the first of the new species of human…

  “…and as the ice age receded this became known as the Warming. It took only a few decades for humans to begin leaving the colonies. Barely more than three hundred thousand were counted in the Emergence…

  “…but to all, the biggest surprise for each colony was how far the mutations had changed over the millennia. Now, instead of one enhanced skill most of the genetically modified humans, or Evolutionaries as they were known, displayed multiple abilities that seemed like magic…

  “…humans are humans with extraordinary abilities or not, and conflict for dominance came. After a hundred years, both sides knew it was time to leave, or the death toll would rise past the point of either groups’ survival. The Hg-1 left, and the Evolutionaries stayed on these shores to create Amera…

  “With no battles to fight, the Amerans entered the Age of Rediscovery and began searching for what was lost in hopes of restoring the glories of what humanity once was. Every new finding is considered a treasure to all Amerans. The discoverers are celebrated heroes.”

  “That was wonderful!” Hailey said with enthusiastic applause. “An impressive speech, Princess. However, some of your facts are incorrect.”

  I stared at her and pressed my lips together to keep any unprincesslike curses from escaping me. Having been born to a king and queen, there was one skill I had mastered: the ability to appear calm even if my insides were on fire. I had always thought my inner voice was a crutch in that department, but even now, without him, I discovered I had learned how not to yell at strangers even when I was starving, thirsty and angry. “Who knew?” I thought madly to my inner voice even if he wasn’t answering.