Voices of the Lost

by C. S. Harte

  “Is this the Aorgarian ship?” Alyana’s body painted into place seemingly from a magical brush.

  “The hangar,” Dren answered, his voice sounding distorted, slow and stretched. “I think…”

  “Fascinating…” Anjali murmured to himself.

  RAI-17 appeared in a flash, standing in front of the soldiers. Her lips were moving, but there was no sound from her mouth.

  “Why can’t I hear anything?” Dren asked Samara.

  “There are gaps in your memories. It is unclear if you do not remember, or if they were removed.”

  “The young girl…” Anjali advanced toward her. “She must be a manifestation of the ship’s artificial intelligence. I have always theorized this to be the case…”

  “RAI-17 was what I called her,” Dren said. “It was an acronym for something.” He pinched his face. “But I can’t remember what…”

  “Most likely, Research and Automated Intelligence Number 17.” Anjali hunched over as he studied her face. “This ship was the 17th automated exploration vessel the Aorgarians sent out into other universes shortly after they had developed the means to do so.”

  “Advance forward in your memory, Dren Arvol,” Samara commanded. “Take us to where you laid eyes on Jonas Barick.”

  “I’ll try…” All attempts to locate Jonas in his memories failed. He could only see the next sequence of events, the dead-end corridor with the shiny black floating sphere. In a flash, like an abrupt scene change, the walls changed from white to gray. He was looking at himself, Kingston, Jann, and Commander Kara from behind. The floating orb was already activated as apparent by the phosphorescent scarlet lines.

  “An Aorgarian site-to-site transport system.” Anjali examined the object. “I have never seen one before. How did you know how to operate it? The concentric circle language must have been foreign to you?”

  “I didn’t,” Dren shrugged. “There was a man in a black exo suit. I remember following his actions.”

  “It must have been Lord Raven,” Alyana said.

  “But how did he know the Aorgarian language?” Anjali rubbed his chin. “The language died when the Aorgarians did. I am an expert on all things Aorgarian, yet I can only decipher a small fraction.”

  “A mystery for another day,” Samara said. “Advance forward, Dren Arvol. Again, find Jonas Barick.”

  “I’m having trouble seeing his face. I remember seeing a room with a giant hanging crystal…”

  “That could be the zero-point module,” Anjali said. “It was speculated the Aorgarians had zero-point technology, which was what gave their ships a near-infinite power source.”

  “Take us to that room,” Samara said.

  Dren nodded and closed his eyes. In another flash, the scenery changed.

  Alyana immediately approached the display of Jonas Barick while Anjali investigated the hanging zero-point module.

  “This could be it, the clue we’ve been seeking all our lives!” Anjali beamed a smile. “There is a navigation console here.”

  “Can you decipher the ship’s location from it?” Samara asked.

  “There are star maps here. I can find the ship’s position by referencing the Chordan database.”

  “Why are you here?” Alyana whispered to the immobilized replica of Jonas.

  Suddenly, Jonas blinked his eyes.

  Four copies of RAI-17 appeared, each standing in front of their respective team members.

  “I don’t remember this…” Dren said.

  “You do not belong here,” the RAI-17s all said at once in screeching, synthesized voices.

  “Um, what’s going on?” Alyana turned to Samara. “I thought this was a memory…”

  Samara bit her lips. “There is another intelligence here…”

  28

  Sensing something wrong, Dren reached over his back for his rifle. It wasn’t there. “We’re not here to fight,” he said in a neutral voice.

  “Why have you returned?” All four RAI-17’s asked in unison. They walked to the center of the room where they merged into one. “You brought guests this time.”

  “I don’t remember any of this happening before,” Dren said to Samara. “How can a new memory exist inside an old one?”

  “I do not know, Dren Arvol,” Samara said. “She is here, and she is not.”

  Alyana coughed. “Maybe we should end this mind walk?”

  “No! Not yet!” Anjali shouted, his attention still on the navigation console. “I need more time.”

  “I don’t know…” Alyana scoffed. “Seems like when another life form invades your mental simulation, you should probably stop and leave.”

  Samara tensed. “I am unable to release my hold over Dren Arvol.”

  “Wait…” Dren pinched his throat. “Are you saying we can’t leave?”

  “Shall I replay the captain’s log for you?” the newly recombined RAI-17 asked Dren.

  “Replay?” He narrowed his eyes. “I never asked for them the first time.”

  “She must be referring to Raven,” Alyana said. “She thinks you’re Raven…”

  “Now I am finished,” Anjali said, rejoining the team. He walked a lap around RAI-17. “State current mission objective.”

  “Current mission objective is to explore and map target universes.” She turned to Dren. “Shall I replay the captain’s log for you?”

  “What is mission completion progress?” Anjali asked.

  “Anomaly encountered. Unable to complete mission. Shall I replay the captain’s log for you?” RAI-17 repeated for the third time.

  “She really wants to show you the captain’s log,” Alyana insisted.

  “What do you suggest we do, Anjali?” Samara asked.

  He rapped his fingers against his chin. “As you are aware my Mistress, the Aorgarians were advanced in every discipline of science.”

  “Indeed,” she nodded.

  “During my research, I came across an excerpt for viral memory engrams.”

  “That sounds horrible already.” Alyana pretended to gag.

  “Quite the opposite.” Anjali flashed a smile. “It is fascinating, Alyana Harrows. The Aorgarians discovered a way to archive memories in the genetic sequence of viruses, creating a means to mass disseminate memories like a disease. Once the virus infects a host, it injects memories into the brain. From there, new alien memories became integrated with that of the host. It is possible Dren was implanted with such a virus. The interspecies differences and incompatibilities between human and Aorgarian could account for why Dren has been experiencing delusions as he does.”

  “I would not put it past Raven to have knowledge of this technology and use it to keep himself alive as a fail-safe. The idea of a Raven virus out in the wild…” Alyana wrapped her arms around herself and shuddered. “We truly live in an evil timeline. Something like foreign memories would explain the extraneous repository size without it being caught by reshelling safeguards.”

  “It would also explain why I have not sensed her presence earlier,” Samara narrowed her eyes. “Her thoughts are indistinguishable from Dren Arvol’s yet also separate.” She patted his shoulder. “RAI-17 has always been in your mind, influencing your decisions, without your awareness.”

  It’s all making sense… Raven and RAI-17 have been fighting with his own consciousness. For a moment, Dren felt the giddy sensation of relief spreading through his chest — a short lifetime of concern washed away in one revelation. “How do we get rid of these viral engrams in my head?”

  “We do not,” Anjali said. “Not yet. Not until we extract all the data we can from it. Do you have any idea the gift of knowledge you possess, Dren Arvol? It is an entire species worth of intelligence.” He caressed Dren’s face. “How I envy you…”

  Dren stepped back. “You wouldn’t call it a gift if you experienced the life I’ve had. The confusion and agony of not being able to distinguish lies from truth…”

  Anjali held his hands together. “Please, you must not�
��”

  Samara stopped Anjali with a wag of her finger. “I promised to help this human, to free him of his burden. I will not dishonor myself because of my self-needs.”

  “Mistress…” he let his mouth hang.

  Samara glared at him.

  Anjali stayed quiet.

  “I hate to interrupt a family squabble,” Alyana cleared her throat, “but am I the only one dying to know what’s in the captain’s log?”

  Dren turned to RAI-17. “Play the log.”

  RAI-17 gave a curt nod. Her image flickered before disappearing altogether. Everything in the crystal room faded to black.

  RAI-17 stood alone on the bridge of the Aorgarian ship Valenaria, an exploration and research class vessel with the primary objective of mapping the known universes and a secondary objective of gathering life for future academic and archiving purposes.

  She craned her neck as she rotated through a cylindrical column of floating video screens. Each block on the video wall was an image from one of the thousands of external ship cameras. Using hand gestures, she spun the screens forward and backward as she monitored for signs of life and kept a sharp eye for potential threats to the ship.

  This continued for hours before another being arrived on the bridge using the teleportation sphere. The new individual looked similar to a human male with golden blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, and a chiseled face. He wore a simple white wardrobe with a beige stripe around the collar and cuffs.

  “Welcome, Captain Fausmus,” greeted RAI-17.

  A chair rose from an opening near her.

  He stumbled to it. The video screens distorted as he walked through the cylinder.

  RAI-17 flicked her wrist. A new screen appeared in front of her which showed a biophysical scan of the Aorgarian captain complete with real-time blood flow and chemical analysis. “I am sensing elevated levels of syllinus. Did you not slumber well, Captain?”

  Fausmus ignored her, keeping his eyes glued to a console above his right armrest displaying a running summary of the Valenaria’s sensor logs.

  “I noticed you have not eaten today,” she said. “Would you like…”

  “Jump to the next universe,” he interrupted.

  “Captain, I am only 82.3455% complete with my scan of this universe. At our current rate, I will need another 2.5671 solar cycles to finish…”

  “I gave you an order,” he interrupted, his voice laced with irritation. “There is no life in this universe. There’s no life in any of the past thousand universes we’ve been to.” His hands covered his face as he groaned.

  “I will comply with your order, Captain.” In a quick downward gesture with both arms, RAI-17 closed all the windows of the video cylinder. She glided to the piloting console which lit up with the Aorgarian language. “I am making a log entry recording our unfinished scan of universe 4541014-AHEH. Setting hyperlight destination to universe 4541015-BGFA.”

  The bulkheads of the Valenaria hummed with energy as the hyperlight drive activated. The light around the hull stretched into infinitely long streaks as a bubble of sub-space formed around the ship.

  Fausmus fell asleep in his chair during the travel to the new universe.

  RAI-17 stood patiently next to him. After several hours, she gently nudged her captain awake. “We made it to universe 4541015-BGFA, Sir.” She reactivated the video cylinder. “Beginning linear search for life and…”

  “Use quick search,” he interrupted again. “Aim for speed, not scope.”

  “Orders acknowledged,” she bobbed her head. “Beginning quick search of universe 4541015-BGFA. Estimated time of completion, 4.7891 solar cycles.”

  Fausmus stood. “I’m returning to stasis. Wake me up in 4.7890 solar cycles.”

  “Yes, Captain.” RAI-17 rotated through the external ship cameras. All of which showed empty space.

  Captain Fausmus teleported onto the bridge. He passed through RAI-17. “Status of biosignature scans?”

  “99.9998% complete. Search will complete in 0.0001 solar cycles. No life signs found.”

  “Jump to next universe.”

  “Acknowledged. Logging status and moving to universe 4541015-BGFB.” With a broad swipe of her hands, the video cylinder blinked off. She activated the hyperlight drive and jumped the Valenaria into the next universe.

  Fausmus looked through the initial scan logs. “This looks like a proto-universe. It’s not possible for life to flourish here. Prepare to jump again.”

  “Captain.” She spun around. “Protocol requires us to scan for life and map this universe.”

  “Override protocol.” He sighed. “Jump to next universe.”

  “Acknowledging protocol override. Jumping to universe 4541015-BGFC.”

  The Valenaria hummed once again as the hyperlight engine spun.

  “We have entered universe 4541015-BGFC. Running initial scans.”

  Fausmus stood from his chair. “I’ll be in the stasis pod.” He made his way to the teleportation sphere. “Wake me when you finish…”

  “Captain!” RAI-17 shouted, causing him to stop and pivot. “Dark matter coefficients suggest universe 4541015-BGFC is older than ours by approximately 13 billion solar years.”

  “That is… Re-scan, check for errors.” He joined her in the video cylinder.

  “Already have, Captain. Data is confirmed to be consistent. Chance of intelligent life is estimated to be 100%.”

  “After almost 25,000 solar cycles…” His lips twitched up into a smile. “Something interesting. We can finally return home after this. Begin linear scan.”

  “Possible life signs detected.”

  “Already?” Fausmus rotated through the external ship cameras. “I don’t see another ship nearby. Identify nature of life form.”

  “Unable to comply with request.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Explain.”

  “Complex energy signatures suggest sentient life form. However, it is unlike any type of life ever encountered.”

  The Valenaria rumbled as shock waves reverberated throughout the ship.

  Fausmus fell to one knee. “Shields up!”

  “Shields were active as per new universe protocols.”

  “Report! Are we under attack?”

  “There is a hull breach on deck one.” RAI-17 pulled one of the screens from the video cylinder and enlarged it. She zoomed in on the minuscule two-millimeter hole causing the breach. “Sealing off deck one.”

  “Something broke through our Hosbius-alloy hull?” Fausmus squinted at the screen. “Impossible… Set up containment fields on all decks, not just deck one.”

  “Command executed, Captain.”

  “Scan for life, wide bio-sweeps.”

  “Searching…” Her facial expression stuttered, like a video glitching. “I do not detect any intruders on board.”

  “No…” Fausmus shook his head. “Something made it onto our ship. Something made that pinprick hole…”

  The lights on the bridge flickered.

  “What’s wrong?” He raised his voice. “Why are we losing power?”

  “The zero-point module… reporting rapid decline… energy potential,” she said with a stutter matching the glitch in her video.

  “Send sub-space distress call to Aorgarian Command. Relay all recorded sensor logs of the encounter.”

  “Executing… Command…”

  Fausmus tapped a concentric circle pin on his sternum. An exo suit materialized over him. “RAI-17, accept new prime directive.”

  “Accepting… new prime… directive.”

  “You are to return to Aorgarian home universe at all costs.”

  “New… prime… directive… accepted.” Her image flickered at a greater frequency.

  “I will confront the intruder.”

  “Captain… not suggest… proceed… course…”

  The video screens around them disappeared one by one.

  “You have your orders, RAI-17.” Fausmus bowed his head. “I have not said as much, but y
ou have been a good friend on this incredibly long journey. If I do not survive, then you must. Make it home at all costs.” He activated the teleport sphere and set it for the zero-point module room.

  With the remaining ship’s energy, RAI-17 ran millions of risk assessment scenarios and predicted a 100% fatality rate for Captain Fausmus. She redirected his teleport to a stasis pod. As ordered, she attempted a hyperlight jump back to the Aorgarian universe, but there was not enough energy left in the zero-point module to complete the travel, leaving the Valenaria stuck in a state of limbo between universes.

  29

  Samara lifted her hands from Dren’s face.

  Two visions overlapped as Dren opened his eyes. One was RAI-17 standing in the center of the video cylinder on the bridge of the Valenaria. The other was Alyana and Anjali peering at him with expressions of concern. Like waking from a deep slumber, Dren had trouble distinguishing which world was the current reality. His eyes fluttered, trying to blink away the false vision. “What happened? Why did we stop? There’s more to the story!”

  “Soldiers are coming,” Alyana said with a frown.

  “This is where we part ways, old friend,” Samara said to Anjali.

  “No, no, Mistress…” He rubbed at his eyes. “There must be another way…”

  “I believe in our cause,” she said. “Even if our Archon does not. I cannot ask you to join me in the steps ahead.”

  “Mistress, my family is honor-bound to stay by your side.” He made his way to the entrance of the lab and tapped at a wall panel as he spoke. “No one knows more than I about Aorgarians and Atua Leaga. Mistress will need my help.” A force field erected behind the door. “This will buy us a short amount of time.”

  “Chordan soldiers are coming for us?” Dren asked, still not ready to process reality. “The Archon wants to arrest us?”

  Samara nodded. “Their footsteps draw ever closer.”

  “There is another way out.” He pulled back a book from a shelf full of human relics. “A trick I learned from humans.” Anjali gave a half-smile. A passageway opened as the shelf slid to the side. “Come, come.” He gestured for everyone to enter.