Earth To Nole: Return of the Prince

by Lomash, Kumar

  Several minutes passed by. Tomiri ordered some wake while they waited for Keele to wake up. Kevin grew restless with every passing minute. Tomiri tried calming him down but he himself was now too excited to know the truth.

  Keele woke up finally. He quickly walked around the room to verify that there was no one in the room except for them. He then came back to where Kevin and Tomiri stood looking at him curiously.

  “These are indeed your parents Kevin and the baby is you.”, Keele looked deeply into the eyes of Kevin and said, “You have the same eyes as the baby in the picture has. I can confirm this through your retina scans”

  Keele continued, “Your parents arrived on Peele on 3rd May, Earth time and stayed with Boriri in his house. They spent the two nights in the same room where you spent your nights on Peele. Your mother was over 8 months pregnant at that time, I could see it all through her body.”, Keele seemed to be reminiscing.

  Kevin listened to what Keele was saying but kept looking at the photographs. Keele continued while still reminiscing.

  “We all came to Mone on the night of the 5th. The identity of your parents was a secret. Only Boriri knew about it. He told me only later when he left them with me. The day after he left, on 7th, we got an invite from Cabori for lunch. I wanted to ask Boriri before going but I couldn’t reach him. I remember distinctly, she kept insisting on meeting your parents that same day. At last I had to agree.”, Keele wanted to continue but Tomiri interrupted him.

  “Cabori who? Soboro’s wife?”, Tomiri asked.

  “Yes”, Keele responded.

  “So that is why I feel like having seen them?”, Tomiri recalled finally why he remembered Kevin’s parents but also grew sad by it. He turned to Keele and looked into his eyes. He was ashamed by what Keele now knew.

  “It was her, Kevin. She was planning to have your parent’s killed.”, Keele said after a pause.

  “What? But why?”, Kevin asked with frustration.

  “I don’t know. This is a new information for me as well. I just believe that she must have been the one who planned it.”, Keele said. He went ahead and explained why he believed so.

  “That day, when I arrived with your parents to the royal palace, she was waiting for us in the garden. She greeted us with a lot of respect and kindness. She already knew that your father was a royal descendant and offered to help him win the next elections. That is when I had my first doubt, I was a bit curious that she knew about your parents. Boriri hadn’t told anyone outside his circle, not even me until a few days before. So how could she know it?”, Keele paused.

  “So, what did you do then?”, Kevin asked.

  “Since Soboro had divorced her before his death, she was no longer a royal. So I was free to analyse whatever she said and check if she was lying. I found that my doubts were not misplaced, she was indeed lying a lot that day. I couldn’t understand why she was lying. When I asked her who told her about their identities, she said it was Boriri himself. It was a lie, of course. I feared the worst and took your parents away as soon as I got the chance. I don’t have hard evidence yet but I believe she conspired against your parents’ lives.”, Keele paused.

  Kevin didn’t know what to say. He listened to this shocking revelation as Tomiri backed up Keele’s theory. He said, “That woman was a big mistake, and Soboro knew it. He even tried correcting it in his last days but it was too late. She destroyed the royal family.”. Tomiri’s eyes filled with tears of anger as he said those words.

  There was a silence after which Keele continued his story, “We went back to Boriri’s apartment but your mother insisted that they should go back to Earth. I told her that it was too late for her to travel at such high speeds. She was already in labor, I could see it though her body. I told them that It would be difficult to deliver the baby on the shuttle back to Earth. They will have to wait till you were born to begin their journey back home.”, Keele said.

  Tomiri was listening keenly to what Keele had to say. As soon as Keele paused, Tomiri asked, “Did they wait, then? Was Kevin born here, on Mone?” Tomiri again appeared hopefully excited. He desperately wanted Kevin to be a hum.

  Kevin looked at Tomiri and then at Keele. He wanted Keele to answer the question. Keele, on the other hand, was no less anxious. He had just discovered the memory and was still trying to understand what it all meant. Narrating it to them was also helping him go over it for the first time.

  “Yes, they did. He was born in my arms.”, Keele responded with a smile. He was reminiscing again.

  Tomiri took a sigh of relief and sat on a nearby chair. Keele had just confirmed that Kevin was actually born on Mone, which made him a Hum. The remaining strains of doubts that Tomiri had about Kevin being a worthy royal were now gone. He said, “This is the best news I have heard in ages. Forgive me my prince for ever doubting you.”

  Kevin wanted to challenge him. He wanted to say, “Why my being born here is more important to you than my genes?”, but he didn’t. He knew this wasn’t a time for philosophical discussions.

  “Proctor, we cannot let this news out. Let me talk to Boriri first.”, Keele said.

  “First complete the story, Keele.”, Kevin insisted.

  Keele began again, “Once you were born, your parents prepared to leave. Your father wanted to stay back and wait for Boriri but your mother feared for your life too much. She knew that if found, your father and you both would be killed.”

  “Her fear were not baseless.”, Kevin said, defending her mother. He wanted them to know that his parents were indeed found and killed. At least that was what he believed.

  Keele continued, “So, I made a plan. I told Kean that if asked, I would have to reveal the fact that a son was born to him. To conceal this truth, it was necessary that he reset me before leaving. I also told him how to do it and that is when we took this picture.”, Keele stopped and turned to the images displayed.

  “And you don’t remember anything after that, right?”, Kevin asked. He wanted the story to continue but knew that Keele was helpless.

  Keele was too busy watching the screens on Kevin’s table so Tomiri responded on his behalf.

  “Of course he doesn’t. Boriri found him lying there when he came back. His body was badly damaged because in the reset state, these bots cannot preserve their organic parts. That is why I prefer mechanical bots. They are a bit naive but they are not high maintenance.”, Tomiri said lightly.

  Suddenly Keele turned to Tomiri and said, “They have escalated the seize to level 3.”

  Tomiri was surprised at first but then went back to being calm. He replied, “So what? We were not planning to go there anyways, right? The elections have begun.”

  “What seize? Are you guys talking about Nole?”, Kevin asked.

  Keele now turned to Kevin and said, “Yes. The seize of Nole was a level 4 seize, Kevin. Which meant Hum spacecrafts were not restricted to fly in and out. But a level 3 seize would not spare even hum spacecrafts.”

  “So what? Boriri stopped me from going anyways, why does this escalation matter?”, Kevin still didn’t understand why this was a big deal to Keele but he grew anxious.

  “Boriri frequently visits Nole in his spacecraft.”, Keele said in a depressing tone.

  Kevin now understood what the problem was. Tomiri too looked concerned now. He left saying, “I will find out what happened.”

  “Are you saying that Boriri is on Nole right now?”, Kevin asked as soon as Tomiri left.

  “Yes. He frequently visits Holum and others there. He goes there to help them.”, Keele replied.

  “But, he himself told me not to go. That it was too dangerous. Then, why did he…”, Kevin asked, his concern for Boriri was apparent now.

  “Because he cares. This is not the first time he has put his life in danger for this cause.”, Keele replied.

  “Don’t be silly. Why would his life be in any danger. The roco bots don’t kill, right?”, Kevin hoped that Keele was exaggerating.

  “They don�
�t kill innocent, unarmed beings, Kevin. You are right. But, they still will carry out their orders. They will shoot down his spacecraft if that is the only way to stop it from leaving Nole.”, Keele clarified.

  “What orders? I thought they are on Nole only to monitor.”, Kevin argued.

  “That is right, they still are. They are not on an offensive. However, they would not allow any human spacecrafts to leave Nole’s atmosphere.”, Keele replied.

  “What if a spacecrafts tries to leave?”, Kevin asked.

  “They would bring it down. I have already told you.”, Keele replied with a hint of frustration.

  Kevin grew anxious now. He understood that with the siege escalated to level 3, even Boriri’s spacecraft would be attacked.

  “But, they would warn him before attacking. They should.”, Kevin said. He was trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

  “They would warn, but only those who are entering the siege. Anyone who is coming out is a potential threat. The siege’s primary objective is to allow nothing to leave.”, Keele responded.

  “But then, they should ask the spacecraft to go back to Nole. Why would they attack without a warning?”, Kevin asked.

  “You are right. That is the protocol, Kevin. They should ask the spacecraft to go back but I am afraid Igogo planned this too well. It is not a coincidence that the escalation has come at the exact time when Boriri is on Nole. The commanding officer of the roco bots, who answers only to Igogo, is responsible for issuing warnings to the spacecrafts and has the final authority to attack. At stage 3, the roco bots would not hesitate to attack if he asks them to.”, Keele replied explaining the situation.

  Kevin understood the situation now. He realised that the real failsafe was the bots’ protocol to not attack an spacecraft under normal circumstances. But now since the bots are authorized to attack, their commanding officer could potentially exploit the situation.

  “What are his chances?”, Kevin asked with despair. He knew there was nothing he could do.

  “None, if the roco attack.”, Keele responded.

  They both looked at each other in silence.

  A few moments later, Tomiri walked in. He started speaking as soon as he entered, “The humans seem to have captured two hum spacecrafts on Nole. The escalation is a result of that. I am afraid Boriri will have to wait on Nole.”

  “He already left Nole 30 minutes ago.”, Keele replied.

  “Is he in orbit yet?”, Tomiri asked.

  “No, I have been trying to reach him but it seems he is on the other side of Nole.”, Keele replied.

  “I guess, it will have to be a royal rescue then!”, Tomiri appeared to be excited but it was not evident why.

  “What? Can you help rescue him?”, Kevin asked.

  “No, not me. But you can.”, Tomiri smiled.

  Kevin didn’t understand what to say. Keele replied with some frustration though, “Royal rescue? Kevin can hardly fly a spacecraft and even if he could take a neuroject with all its firepower, there is no time. The fastest royal spacecraft would take hours to reach Nole and Boriri needs us there in the next 40 minutes.”

  “The neurojet doesn’t need hours, not if he flies it in neuro mode.”, Tomiri said, trying to imply what was understood to be impossible. After all, it was established that Kevin would never fly the neurojets in neuro mode.

  Kevin said with frustration, “You know I cannot. I wish I could but I cannot.”

  “And why is that, my prince?”, Tomiri asked with a smile.

  “Because they don’t have my brain map.”, Kevin replied. He looked at Keele for a moment to confirm but Keele seemed distracted by another thought.

  “And, why do you think you don’t have your brainmap?”, Tomiri continued with his line of question.

  “Because I was not born...”, Kevin began with the reply but stopped. Could Tomiri be right with his reasoning? He turned to Keele. At the same moment, Keele looked up towards Kevin. He had a smile now, very similar to Tomiri’s.

  Tomiri had a confirmation now, he began saying as he walked slowly towards Keele, “This dumb bot wouldn’t be worth the tiniest screw it has inside him if he was present when you were born and he still did not brain map you.”.

  Keele grabbed Tomiri with both his hands and hugged him. He then released him and said, “You might have just saved Boriri!”.

  Tomiri said, “No, you did.”

  Keele then turned to Kevin and said, “Let’s find out how well you can fly.”

  ------------*

  Far from Mone, somewhere in the outer atmosphere of Nole, four spacecrafts stood in a formation. These spacecrafts had the letters “ROCO” written on them in large. One of them, which stood ahead as if the leader among the four had two roco bots sitting inside the cockpit. The monitor in front of them showed Boriri’s spacecraft with a red circle around it. One of the bots turned to the other, they communicated without uttering a word. In the end, the other bot nodded in acknowledgement and turned on a switch in front of him. The monitor now also showed a crosshair aimed at Boriri’s spacecraft with 3 lines of blinking text which read,

  “Target Acquired”

  ‘Weapons on Standby”

  “One life in danger”.

  The same bot now pressed another switch in front of him and waited.

  “This is Officer Korara, go ahead.”, a hum voice suddenly broke the silence in the cockpit.

  “Sir, this is the captain of the primeship and leader of group JB-412. We are monitoring a hum spacecraft leaving the siege.”, the bot said.

  “I know captain. Standby while I issue a warning. I am waiting for it to come into the orbit so that we can communicate.”, Korara said.

  “Sir, we have a visual of the spacecraft. I can relay your message to the spacecraft from here if you don’t have a direct link yet.”, the bot explained.

  “No, thank you captain. I will wait till I have a direct link. I need to warn the hum spacecraft myself.”, Korara said.

  The two bots looked at each other. One of them toggled the switch and the call ended. It seemed as if they had agreed to wait.

  On the other hand, Boriri looked quite happy in the cockpit of his spacecraft. His seat was pushed back into a recline and he had an eye mask on. A bot sat next to him who was incharge of flying the spacecraft.

  The bot said, “We are entering the orbit, Boriri.”

  “Hmm”, Boriri acknowledged, he appeared to be half asleep behind his eye mask.

  “You seem to be quiet relaxed today. Usually, you are a bit anxious during the flights.”, the bot asked.

  “Yes, usually I am. But now I trust you completely. You have brought me here a dozen of times now. I am usually anxious only when I don’t know the pilot.”, Boriri explained.

  “Thank you, Boriri.”, the bot said.

  “No, no, thank you! I really needed someone who could fly me around. I just hate flying this thing myself.”, Boriri said with a smile. He was still lying on his chair with eye masks on. After a pause, he said again, “Just make sure the communication devices are on. There is an active siege in place. We don’t want to miss any messages, especially from the roco bots.”

  “Yes sir. All of the them are on.”, the bot replied with both his palms blinking red. The communications devices were actually, all turned off.

  Agnostic to the state of his spaceship, Boriri laid relaxed in his seat. His spaceship headed straight towards the roco spaceships where they waited with weapons which could bring down his spaceship within minutes.

  Back on the primeship, the two bots were still waiting for their officer to get back to them. Suddenly, the voice of the officer filled up the cockpit again.

  “Captain?”

  “Yes, sir. Please go ahead.”, one of the bots said.

  “Please be advised that the hum spacecraft is not responding to the messages. I will try again one last time in a few minutes. I advise you to keep your weapons on standby.”, Korara said.

  “Acknowledge
d.”, one of the bots replied.

  Here on Mone, Kevin and Keele were flying in a neurojet just above the palace. They both looked nervous. Keele was trying to upload the brainmap into the onboard computer. He had his finger inserted into one of the plugs.

  Kevin was waiting for an opportunity to ask, so he did. He asked, “Why did you brain map me at all?”

  “Standard protocol, Kevin.”, Keele replied promptly. He was a bit distracted by the procedure he was performing in the cockpit.

  “What do you mean? It is normal for you to brain map every child?”, Kevin asked.

  “Yes, pretty much. The brain can only be mapped till a certain age so if a bot participates in a delivery then it is standard for him to map the brain of the child. It takes less than 5 minutes.”, Keele replied again. He looked a bit relaxed now because the procedure of uploading the brainmap into the neurojet was done. He slowly took out his finger and said, “it is done”.

  “What now?”, asked Kevin.

  “I guess, this is it. Let’s try putting that helmet on.”, Keele pointed towards a helmet which was hanging over Kevin’s seat.

  Kevin stretched his hands and retrieved the helmet. He asked hesitatingly, “this helmet?”. Kevin was being silly, there was no point in asking which helmet because there was only one in the cockpit. It was clear that Kevin was nervous. He had heard a lot of things about neuro mode from Karbaka and now that he was about to enter neuro mode, he was understandably frightened.

  “Yes, let's hurry up Kevin, we don’t have much time.”, Keele replied.

  Kevin put the helmet on. The cockpit went dark. Kevin was startled at first but then he simply followed instructions coming to his head. The helmet was actually a neurotransmitter and receptor. It created a bridge between Kevin’s brain and the cockpit’s main computer. Kevin no longer needed a screen or buttons to interact with the neurojet, he was able to do so simply through his thoughts.

  His chair went into a recline and he leaned back with it. The voice in his head said, “Valid brainmap found. Initiating calibration.”