by T. R. Harris
Adam stood to the back of the small cockpit in the Gracilian-built starship, gazing out at the blue and green globe of Navarus. Kanan had made such a big deal of getting off the planet as soon as possible; now, they lingered at the edge of space, the craft angled to get the best view of the planet through the narrow side viewports on the bridge.
And then it happened. A bright flash of light along the brown, green and white line of jagged peaks known as the Zocor Range. But it was small, isolated. Adam recognized the location; it was Mt. Zocor itself, the site of Summer and her team’s efforts to locate Jroshin’s hidden treasure.
Adam craned his neck to get the best view. As tragic as this event was, he was watching for subsequent flashes, a series of them that would rip Navarus apart to its core. He was mesmerized by the movement of the dust clouds around the mountain, visible even from this distance. They must be moving at hundreds, even thousands of miles per hour. At first, they were sucked in toward the singularity, before rapidly rebounding outward. Although he knew it was impossible to hear sound promulgate through the vacuum of space, he could imagine the incredible sonic boom from the event.
Moments later, as things began to settle down, an ever-widening ring of brown dust radiated out from the epicenter. A light caught Adam’s attention; it was a reflection, that of the setting star called Liave on the polished surface of a perfectly round bowl where the mountain once stood. It looked like a silver dollar laid on a topographical map of the mountain range.
Adam realized he’d been holding his breath during the entire event. Now he let out a deep sigh. This episode was much smaller than the ones he witnessed remotely on the surface of Dasnon. Was this all Kanan had planned? When the starship suddenly changed orientation and sped off into space, Adam had his answer.
“That’s it?” he asked.
It was an opportunity I could not pass up. If the battle for Navarus had progressed differently, it would have produced a different result.
“And what about the battle?”
It is concluded. You will be pleased to learn that your forces prevailed. The interphase defense your mutants employed was effective.
“And that doesn’t bother you? Your fleet has been destroyed, along with all your service modules.”
That matters not. I can always build more if the need arises. As it stands, that should not be the case.
“What do you mean? What happens now?
Your inquisitive nature is to be admired; however, not in this case. Suffice to say I came to Navarus—this time, and before—on a quest. The rumor has now been confirmed. Everything has now changed.
“The case, it has something to do with the case?” Adam exclaimed.
Of course. Did your associates not tell you what it contains?
Adam hesitated. They hadn’t; there wasn’t time before all hell broke loose. All he knew was that Kanan valued the silver briefcase above everything else. “Sure, they did,” he lied. “I’m wondering how it affects me.”
The key does not affect you directly.
The Key! It contained a key of some kind. But to what?
“Then why am I still alive? I got your precious key to your ship. You could have left me on Navarus to suffer the same fate as my friends.”
Kanan moved in closer to Adam’s face, stopping only about a foot away. Adam studied the subtle lines in the design, seams where the Gracilians were able to access his inner workings. If only he had the same access at the moment…
You should realize by now that I consider you unique among the biologics, Kanan answered in his mind. I created a transport in your image, and I am still curious as to the abilities you possess from your artificial implant. Yes, I detect it, knowing its exact location. If the opportunity arises, I may even have it removed to study more of its construction. I know it allows you to absorb energy bolts—although of a limited amount—as well as enable mind-to-mind communications. I must assume you have other abilities besides these. I am curious. I also caution you against using them against me. I will not hesitate to test your absorption capacity.
I’d like to see that, too, Adam thought to himself. As with the first time Kanan fed dark energy bolts into his body, he’d love to have a miniature blackhole open up and put an end to the whole lousy Kanan affair.
But to answer your question more directly, Kanan continued. You are to be my service module, just as all biologics are destined to become. As you are aware, I have certain limitations of my own with regard to utility. You will be my arms, hands and legs. And with your telepathic abilities, you can receive my commands easier than other biologics. That is why you live, only to serve me. Cease being of value to me, and I will end your life. I sense that with your Human desire for martyrdom, you would welcome that. Just be warned; your death will not change the fate of the galaxy. What is to happen will happen, just as your efforts on Navarus resulted only in the deaths of your friends.
Adam pursed his lips as his heart sank. Yes, his friends. And so many of them. He’d lost friends before in battle, but never so many at one time. He was drained of energy, although a certain amount of anger remained. He had to fight to keep it under control, lest he do something rash. His ace in the hole was the quantum blackhole within his ATD. Beyond that, Kanan was probably right. Unless he could take the evil service module with him, his death would serve no purpose. With that realization, Adam reluctantly decided to bide his time. He had to learn what Kanan had planned and then figure a way to stop him. His fleet was gone, yet not his enthusiasm for his mission. There had to be something which the key unlocked that would replace his military strength, even surpass it. Adam was curious about what that could be. Learning Kanan secrets could be the key to victory. Adam pursed his lips at his mental pun. Fortunately, Kanan couldn’t read minds as well as he thought he could.
“Okay, I accept my fate. I’ll be your servant; I don’t have a choice. So, what is your bidding, my master? Where to next?”
We are going to Gracilia.
“Why there?”
Again, with your questions. We are going there because that is where the vault is. That should be evident. Now, retire to another part of the ship and recover your energy. Biologics require that. You will be no good to me if you expire prematurely.
“Yes, my master,” Adam said in his best subservient voice. He even bowed, although he was sure the gesture would be lost on the orb. Orbs don’t bow.
Chapter 17
“I have had the opportunity to scan the recordings from Navarus,” said Lila. “A ship was detected lifting from the surface and speeding away. It was classified as a DEmon.”
Riyad and his team had been back on the Ed Gibson for six hours, soaking up the dichotomy of winning the battle for Navarus while also losing Adam. Particularly hard hit was Summer’s three-person crew. Although Adam was their friend, the loss of two billion found Juirean credits was having more of an impact on the trio. All that time, all that effort, all that expense … and for nothing. As Monty said, it would have been better if they hadn’t found the money than to find it and then have it ripped away from them in the flash of a dark matter event.
“Where’s it going?” Riyad asked, referring to Kanan’s ship.
He and Panur were on the bridge of the old freighter, while Kaylor piloted the ship. They hadn’t begun the trip back to Navarus yet, still waiting to make sure no other dark matter events were scheduled to take place. Besides, now with the likely discovery of Kanan’s ship, they may be heading out on another mission. Riyad had bought into Panur’s argument that Adam was probably still alive and now in the service of the Aris orb. To believe the alternative wasn’t acceptable, at least not to Riyad. Besides, deep in his soul, Riyad felt Adam was still alive. He had to find him. Adam would do the same for him.
“The track is too early to tell,” Lila answered. “He is heading out Zone. There are dozens of potential sites for him to land upon. And without a fleet to harbor, he could land on any of them, and it would be virtually im
possible to find him. And with all allied forces concentrated at Navarus, we have no scouts among the Dead Worlds. All we can do is follow the track and hope he does not make any deviations.”
“But we are going to follow the track, aren’t we?” Riyad asked anxiously.
“Of course,” Panur answered. “Kanan must believe I am gone. He knows little of Lila but will still consider her a threat. I am still immensely curious why he so cavalierly abandoned his fleet. He is a logical being. He would weigh pros and cons, value and utility. And after all that, he concluded that his fleet no longer had value for his mission. Why?”
“He can build more ships,” Riyad offered.
“Difficult,” Panur said. “He would first have to find a location with the proper resources. Then single-handily, he would have to subjugate a labor force to do his bidding. He is but one unit. Before, he had the Gracilians to build both his ships and his service modules, and they were willing participants.”
“Then it has to be this Key of his,” Riyad stated. “It’s a gamechanger.”
“I would agree. But what is it a key to? And considering the semantics, a key could be either a physical object or a metaphor, as in the key to something else, something new, bigger, more powerful.”
Riyad sighed. “Well, it’s obvious we’re not going to find out which it is by second-guessing ourselves. Thanks to Lila, we at least have a thread of a chance to find him … and Adam. So, when do we leave?”
Panur looked at Kaylor. “My Belsonian friend, please link to Lila’s navigation screen; set your course appropriately.”
“With pleasure, although I would recommend that you have other ships join us. The Ed Gibson may not make it out of the system.”
Chapter 18
Adam went aft, looking for a stateroom in which to crash. The module was right; he was dead tired and beat up. He not only needed rest but to get out of his torn, wet and muddy uniform. He entered a room with double bunks and checked a cabinet for a change of clothing. Although Gracilians were stockier and taller than Humans, he was sure he could adapt anything he found to suit him. To his relief, he found a single dark blue uniform hanging in the cabinet. The DEmons were originally built for Gracilian crews, but that was well over six years ago. He was lucky there was still a uniform aboard. He removed the garment and placed it against his body. It was huge, but that was better than it being too small. He quickly removed his clothes.
He sensed a presence and turned, finding the green-tinted Aris orb hovering in the air on the other side of the compartment. Adam was naked, so he spread his legs defiantly and placed his hands on his hips.
“You like what you see, you pervert?”
I am here to let you know you are constantly under surveillance. Do not attempt any subterfuge; I will know if you do.
“All I’m trying to do now is get clean and warm. I may even have to go to the bathroom. You’re welcome to stay for the show.”
Your bodily functions are of no interest to me.
“Not from where I stand. You seem to be very interested in the Human form. Hell, you even built a model of me so you could experience what it’s like to be Adam Cain.”
I have explained my reasoning. There is nothing else to say.
And with that, the orb disappeared. Adam grinned. A few days ago, Panur explained to him how Kanan wasn’t as smart as everyone thought he was. He was a machine simply following his programming. Granted, that programming was advanced and his internal systems beyond anything that could be built today. But his intelligence was mimicked. He operated on conditional programming, the classic if-then construction, analyzing each situation as a choice. Of course, he could do this at remarkable speed. Panur contrasted that with his and Lila’s brain functions, which Adam learned, were different from one another, something he didn’t realize. Lila was the end-product of a multi-billion-year-long experiment to create a superbeing. Everything about her was superior to what came before, even her parents, Adam and Arieel. But having said that, Lila’s brain was just a much more efficient form of a standard biologic mind, efficient to the point of perfection. Her immortality contributed to that. Her brain cells never died and nor lost their efficiency. In fact, they became more efficient with time, using her life experiences to build a database that never overloaded.
Panur, on the other hand, was a whole other beast. He, too, was immortal, yet in a different way. It was as if every cell in his body was a brain cell. That way, any single unit could recreate the system, complete with genetic memory and experiences. His thoughts were processed in a different way, and not concentrated in only his so-called brain. His entire body was his brain.
He went on to explain that that was why Adam’s body had reacted so radically to the injection of a relatively few mutant brain cells into his body several years ago. Adam was still feeling the effects of that merging. But as Panur explained, he would have gone through the same process if the cells had been taken from his big toe instead of his head. Adam wasn’t sure if that was good or not, but it did change how he looked at the event.
Then he grimaced. It would sure be nice to have a boatload of Panur’s cells in his body at the moment. Then maybe he could figure out a way to defeat the ancient Aris service module.
Adam washed up in the en suite grooming station and then put on the uniform. He had to roll up the sleeves and the pant legs and then secure them with strips of fabric he tore from other excess parts of the garment. It wasn’t fashionable, but it was better than wearing the damp, cold and filthy outfit from before.
After changing, Adam lay down on the oversize bunk—oversized for a Human, but not a Gracilian. He reflected on something Kanan said earlier, about his not-so-secret abilities, thanks to the ATD. Adam was sure the module suspected there were other features that Adam had not displayed to date, and there were. He began to take inventory of those abilities.
Besides the ability to absorb a finite amount of energy and to communicate telepathically, Adam could also accumulate static electricity from the air. This ability came in handy for burning things and as a handy flashlight when needed. However, what was especially neat was that he could compress air into near-solid platforms with the concentrations of electricity. Adam discovered he could do this several years ago, and although it had been a long time since he made one of his flying carpets of air, he was sure he could do it again. At the time when most of his team had ATDs, he was the only one who could manifest the platforms, thanks to the residual effects of once having Panur’s brain cells in his body. It took a special level of concentration to do it. And now, as he lay on the bed, he could see several situations where this could come in handy.
And then he circled back to the static electricity itself. Lila had detailed how a static electric build-up between Lerpiniere space and normal space could confuse the modules. It worked during the brief time he watched the battle take place while on the Ed Gibson. Could Adam use a burst of static electricity to knock Kanan out for a few minutes? He had no way of knowing, and it would be a one-time event if he tried. Either it would work or it wouldn’t. He would save that as a last-ditch effort.
Adam then went over some of the other things this new ATD gave him, like heightened senses with regards to sight and hearing. He couldn’t see how that would come in handy, but they couldn’t hurt. Other than that, he couldn’t think of anything else. Arieel had cryptically hinted at other abilities; however, they never got around to talking about that again.
Besides the advantages his ATD gave him, Adam also had the residual effects of the merging with Panur’s brain so many years ago. He was about twenty percent stronger and faster than a typical Human, which in reality could also be achieved with conditioning and training. So, that wasn’t much of an advantage. And against Kanan, the whole physical aspect of his being was moot.
No, it would be his ATD that would get him out of this mess. That was unless Kanan decided to pull it from his body. Adam smiled. But for that to happen, the damn service module
would need hands. And that was something he didn’t have.
Chapter 19
Seven days was an incredibly long time to spend alone on a Gracilian starship with an evil Aris service module. There was no TV, nothing to read, and Adam wasn’t given computer privileges to access the Galactic Library. Therefore, he spent most of his time sleeping, exercising or eating. The food processors aboard the DEmon were adequate; however, it was evident from the taste that the food stock aboard was from the pre-Kracion era. He had no idea how long food cubes lasted, but these things were nasty. Any moment now, he expected to be cloistered in the bathroom with a severe case of Gracilia’s Revenge.
Eventually, the ship reached the planet. This was Adam’s third visit to Gracilia, and like the other two, it wasn’t for a vacation.
Kanan mentioned a vault. Adam searched his memory and came up with a passing reference the Gracilian scientists, Kovach and Vodenik, had made about the other dark matter collectors locked away in a secure vault on Gracilia. Could this be the same vault? And if so, why would Kanan need a key? The damn thing could teleport, as well as hack into electronic circuits. He couldn’t imagine a place that Kanan couldn’t get into. Of course, the reference to a key may indeed be a metaphor. Whatever it was, Adam was about to find out. Whatever Kanan had planned for the trip to Gracilia, he would need arms and legs, which meant something would have to be picked up and carried. Adam, the mule, was ready.
To his surprise, Kanan steered the DEmon to one of the planet’s largest cities. As with everywhere else in the Dead Zone, colonists had come to Gracilia, with most settling in the existing cities and towns. The atmosphere here was cleaner than most planets in the Zone, seeing that Gracilia was the first planet irradiated by Kracion. But that only helped so far. The Maris-Kliss fertilizing operation here was about on par with most of the other worlds, so the land was still in the process of recovering.
