Psychonautz

by Gentry Race

  "Trees are enemies. The Happening showed this,” Beightol said, scratching his head.

  "Jesus, Beightol, we don't know what the fuck you’re talking about," Tang said.

  "I can't believe he gets the relevancy," Nathan added.

  "So, they live on those moons that are strung up in vines?" He pointed to the thick, greenish-black tendrils that wrapped around the natural satellite’s landscape like lashes from a whip.

  Switch zoomed in on the map. "Yes, the moon is inhabited, and those aren’t vines. Readouts say it's a voxel material."

  "Hey, that's our Silly Putty," Fery said with a smile.

  "The source of the seed was Drækonia. But first... we need Æether." Switch expanded the view, showing a brilliantly colored stellar nursery of stars forming just outside of Kiatu. “I've cross-referenced Nathan’s theories with Syndicate logs and made him have a wet dream."

  The team laughed while Nathan rolled his eyes at the seventh-grade joke.

  "The Starcadians are a race of humanoid star harvesters who create the Æether," Switch continued to explain. “This is how the seed is made."

  "Will they be hostile?" Nathan asked.

  "These aliens are sentient. They are just the farmers, if you will, but can be hostile if provoked," Switch said.

  The pod lids began to open in a hiss, releasing what atmosphere was inside. A smell of new clothes with a tinge of formaldehyde filled the air.

  "Jeez, Hastings, how are we going to save the world in something as raggedy as this?" Fery asked.

  Hastings smiled. "We aren't saving the world. We’re sending a message."

  "Message of grey goo?" Beightol said.

  "Hey, Hastings," Fery asked, "how long does it take for Tang to hold his goo?"

  The squad chuckled.

  "It's a message that we are not afraid," Tang said, jumping into the pod.

  Vix paused for a second, breathing deeply. Nathan couldn't help taking notice of the dismay on her face, and for a moment, her hard persona was stripped, showing only a little girl. Afraid.

  "Is she gonna be alright?" Nathan asked Hastings.

  Vix snapped out of the trance as fast as she had slumped into it. She sneered as her eyes narrowed.

  "She has bad memories of tight spaces," Hastings said.

  Without another pause, Vix jumped into her pod, and Hastings pulled the red mechanical lever, lowering the glass pods on all the crewmembers. Sleep was on the agenda as they entered the Shadow World subspace.

  18

  The Cryoship shot out of the subspace Shadow World like a bat out of hell into billows of gas nebulae that dusted the emptiness of space. A month had passed now. The rip they caused in the fabric of reality closed just before unseen energies could lurk out from the lower dimensions. Nathan stood on the bridge, scratching at his beard and watching the monitor carefully. It wasn’t a full A.I. system, but autopilot had worked just fine for getting them out of the Shadow World safely. They were almost there.

  Learning about technology and how other worlds worked had fascinated Nathan for years, and his interests had only amplified after his time loop experience. That was why Richter thought he would love living on Oyria. But now he stood on the deck of the ship that was headed for something great—something Nathan had always known would change the world for humankind.

  That something was the Starcadians.

  "Open cooker shields," Nathan said.

  Two giant, curving blast doors opened outward, exposing the bridge’s thick glass. Brilliant rainbow hues shined on Nathan's face. He could feel the radiant heat from the Syndicate logs he’d been calling the Starcadian Nursery. This nursery was filled with giant gas nebulae and dust collapsing in on itself to form new stars. A black spot could now be seen directly in the center of the pluming clouds. Starcadians had made Æether for a millennium there. It was the stem cell of the universe, and Nathan couldn't believe he was going to see it.

  "It's so beautiful," he said to himself.

  "Yes, it is, sugar," Fery said, startling Nathan.

  Nathan turned his head slightly to see Fery's hair looking natural against the rainbow light that shone in. He could almost imagine her in a more normal, well-mannered light. But that wasn’t like her at all.

  "How was the nap?" he asked.

  "A little cold, but nothing you couldn’t warm up," she said, flirting and slipping closer to his backside. Nathan felt an ice-cold hand reach around to grab a handful of his manhood.

  "What do you say we learn how to 'tune' to each other?" Fery said. "We could make a great combo."

  "Jesus, Fery. I can't do this," Nathan said.

  He could see her eyes go from frustrated to irate in less time than it took for her to take another breath.

  "Well, fuck you then. You know, I’ve seen how you look at Hastings," Fery said, walking around to his front side. "If Hastings is what you want..."

  She unfolded her thick neck-piece into a helmet. The molecular panels of the suit began to flip and fold, morphing to black goo and then hardening into a soft-featured girl with red hair and freckles. Fery was no longer there. Instead, it was Hastings who now stood in front of Nathan.

  Fery slowly leaned over. "What's the matter? Afraid of a little kiss?"

  "Hastings?" Nathan asked, unsure of what was happening but wanting it to be true.

  She leaned in and they kissed, bathed in rainbow-colored light from the window. Fery then tapped her cheek and morphed her face back to normal, and Nathan felt the small panels move on his lips like a thousand spiders crawling on them.

  "I can't leave you two alone for one minute," Hastings called out from across the room.

  Nathan jumped back, shaking his head as Hastings walked between them, slamming her hand over the cooker shield button. As the shields closed, blotting out the radiant light, he knew his chances with Hastings were closed, too.

  Fery broke past Hastings, shoving her with her shoulder plate. "Thanks for nothing."

  Nathan waited until she left before he looked back at Hastings, who stood there with her arms crossed authoritatively.

  "You know, I knew you were sleazy, but I never thought she was your type," Hastings said.

  Nathan didn't like being judged by her for many reasons, but especially since she had no room to speak. It was difficult to take criticism from someone who was with a roid-raging asshole like Tang. "Well, I guess we all make mistakes."

  WHAAAOOOOMP! WHAAAOOOOMP!

  An alarm screamed on deck, and Nathan looked at the holographic display as it lit up. What had once been a black spot had drastically changed. He could now make out a large, half-dome ship. The concave side of the dome was shaded with twinkling lights that were obvious as living quarters, but the computer shifted perspective, showing the convex side. Long spires jutted out from the back of the dish into the clouded nebula dust and gas like a syringe into a cotton ball. Flashes of light came from the side of the ship, and Hastings zoomed the holo in to see another fighter-sized ship latched onto the back side of the harvester. Five suits pulsed and misted around in space, and another suit grew what looked like the bust of a demon three times the size of itself from its back. The demon was horned and plated like a ravaging armadillo-sized dust mite from hell. On its arms, it bore large, rocky, pitted sheaths that were jagged and sharp.

  "What the hell is that?" Nathan asked.

  "They’re attacking the Starcadian ship with it!" Tang yelled as he ran up, his suit materializing a grenade cannon on each arm.

  Nathan jumped into a cockpit chair, switching off the auto-pilot and lowering the controls into a forward pitch that swung the ship around.

  "What are you doing?" Hastings said, moving next to him and monitoring all systems. She flipped the cooker shields open and watched what seemed like a magical light stream from the intruder's back side.

  "We have to stop them," Nathan said. "Tang, ready the team. This is our only chance to refuel what Æether we have. We can't let them destroy it."

&n
bsp; "Or take it," Hastings added.

  Tang pressed the small light on the side of his wide-necked suit. "Psychonautz, prepare for EVA."

  Nathan engaged the autopilot and shot out of his seat. He charged down the corridor to the EVA bay as his suit unfolded and wrapped around his ears before covering his face. A thick, orange-tinted glass screen displayed HUD readings, showing his team’s locations.

  The EVA room was no bigger than a container ship when he got to it. Racks of obsolete spacesuits were locked against the wall, along with a space anchor arm probably used for satellite maintenance. He could smell the raw iron and burnt metal that the EVA bay reeked of through his air vent. Space stunk.

  Tang met up with Nathan, quickly followed by the rest of the team in a line. Their suits were freshly hardened, and their helmets were locked. Nathan's heart pounded, knowing this was the moment that would test their heart and courage. He wondered if they would listen to him this time.

  "Voxelize an EVA suit. We're going for a walk," Nathan ordered, holding his hand on the bay door release latch. "Our reserves are running low..."

  Each 'naut grew a set of thrusters along their backs and shoulders, waiting for Nathan to finish, but he paused. If they were ever going to secure their future reserves, it was now.

  "What the hell. Kick some ass."

  "OORAH!"

  Nathan hit the latch and each 'naut glided out around the ship with ease. He pulled back, getting a lay of the scene with Switch. Tang and Hastings flew side by side, a large grenade launcher stemming from Tang’s forearm and Hastings voxelizing Fire Breath A9's.

  Beightol grabbed Fery, swooping her onto his back. She wrapped her tiny legs around his back like a cowgirl in a bull-riding competition. Ranged weapons voxelized on her forearms with loaded explosive tips to match Beightol's huge tank cannons.

  Vix pulled in front, jettisoning toward the enemy with her blades fully extended from their voxel slumber. Hastings and Tang were just behind. Nathan focused on both the Starcadian ship and the enormous creature slamming its arms into it, trying to rip it open. Every attempt to attack the ship self-healed after each impact. The ship was made of voxels! This was the tech of Nathan’s dreams.

  "I'm the Beightol, bitch!" Beightol yelled, firing on the intruders with large cannon blasts.

  Nathan shot his rockets on full burn. He had voxelized four long barrels along his forearm band, figuring that if there were any stragglers trying to head off, he could easily pick them off. The creature snapped its head around, along with the suit-user.

  The armadillo-like creature raised its arms in tandem with the small person under it. It slammed its large rock sheaths together one by one, sending chunks of jagged rocks sailing toward the 'nauts. The other intruders shot laser-fire around the ‘nauts in long streams of light.

  "So, this is where asteroids come from, eh?" Fery said, squeezing her legs tight and twisting Beightol barely under one of the rocky missiles. As another shot narrowly missed her, she fired a ranged charge. It exploded on contact as the arm of her suit replenished the next round. Nathan watched his suit’s indicator for Æether as it reached ninety percent. They were sitting well to attack what rocks this thing could throw.

  Vix spiraled up and around one rock, only to come back down with her blade extended, passing through the rock like a knife through hot butter. Tang and Hastings held their arms straight out as they fired their forearm guns. The firing was relentless.

  Another large boulder sailed forward, but this one was unaffected by the gunfire. Hastings made a quick move, locking her arm onto Tang. She gave him a nod, and the two voxelized their arms into a larger cannon—a combination guided-rocket grenade launcher.

  BOOM!

  Fery and Beightol burst through the final rock thrown by the unknown invaders and could see the creature’s features more clearly now. Grimacing like a demon, its face was textured like a six-sided columnar basalt. The separation of plates looked like a bug, almost resembling a scarab beetle. On its chest was a distinctive circle carved into an orbit of some kind. They fired with rapid intent.

  The creature extended its large blue hands and interlocked its fingers, ultimately protecting the intruders from attack. Nathan’s gunfire and projectiles ricocheted off, and he pulled back his momentum.

  Beightol shot his arm rail, and it went right through the large creature. Fery pulled him back in surprise, trying to see if the creature above the power-suited armor was real or just a projection. She looked at the humanoid closer, trying to make out a face, but was met by a large hand that swatted them both like small flies.

  Vix slammed into them with a kick. Her leg seemed to be made of light at one point, but one marauder fired a shot that hit Vix in the leg and sent her trajectory spiraling.

  "How did she do that?" Switch said.

  "Tang! Hastings! Abort!" Nathan called out, looking back at Switch as he shook his head.

  "Not sure if we can take them. Tang should use the goo," Switch suggested.

  "No. We need to save our Æether reserves," Nathan ordered.

  BOOM!

  A large explosion filled the space and instantly dissipated. The shockwave pulsed through the area in all directions and hit Nathan with a gut-wrenching force. He flew backward, hitting Switch and breaking the ill-fated trajectory.

  Nathan gained a steady air thrust and looked for his team. Tang and Hastings were still close but a bit farther away due to the blast. He couldn't believe his eyes. The ship had been almost completely devastated. All that he’d worked so diligently toward was now gone, suspended in the vacuum of space.

  "Look!" Switch called out.

  The ship seemed to be clumping together, the many pieces gathering in masses just as a planet built itself under the immense forces of gravity. As the pieces collected themselves, they seemed to rebuild the dish-like structure, and it wasn't long before the main tower shined with twinkling lights.

  "My god!" Nathan exclaimed.

  "It's rebuilding," Switch said.

  "Board the ship, check for survivors, and replenish our Æether before one of you wigs out," Nathan ordered.

  19

  Nathan floated in front of the large, half-domed structure, studying its architecture. From his days in the academy, he remembered learning that an arch helped distribute stress evenly throughout a structure. On Earth, arches dealt with gravity, but here, the force must have been the radiant light pushing on the magnificent vessel, so hot that they were lucky to be in the penumbra of its shadow.

  Repeating blocky structures extended from the base of the concaved surface that were staggered in height, resembling what looked like a small city. Lights were now flickering as the station rebuilt itself. Nathan’s dreams were once again a reality, and everything had come full circle.

  Except for his relationship with Hastings.

  "The 'nauts are closing in," Switch said, floating behind in his bright blue bubble with its tattered screens.

  "Good. But where’s an entry point?" Nathan asked.

  Switch studied another screen that segmented the structure into parts. He saw no doors, no bays, and nothing that could reveal a way to enter. "I got nothing."

  "That's why they were trying to have that creature claw its way in," Hastings said, pulling up beside them with Tang, Beightol, and Vix.

  Nathan noticed that Fery wasn't with her best man. "Where's Fery?"

  Tang was quick to answer. "She took the hit pretty bad. I told her to rest up."

  Nathan looked back at their ship with a strange feeling. It was as if they wouldn't see the old Cryoship again, but there were bigger matters to address. He wondered if there were any Starcadians left to help.

  The 'nauts reached the first staggered, blocky tower that blinked on and off in random spots. Black, opaque paneling that was as smooth as glass replicated downward and made up the entirety of the inner dish and buildings. There were no windows, doors, or ports.

  "I don't get it. How does anyone get in?" Hastings a
sked.

  Nathan flew farther into the dish, running his hand along the paneled spires. The paneling responded to his touch, folding away. It seemed eerily similar to how their Voxel suits morphed, except for the thin, mucus-like membrane that was now visible.

  "Of course. You said you based the voxel tech off my theories on the time ship," Nathan said as he looked back at Hastings. "Maybe we’ve found them."

  Nathan touched the structure, unfolding a different entry point. "But why didn't it open for those intruders? They have far superior suits than we have."

  "Maybe it’s how viruses get into our bodies?" Switch offered, touching the panels and opening to the membrane.

  "So, you're saying we're viruses?" Hastings asked.

  Switch explained. "Well, perhaps. In order for a virus to enter a cell membrane wall, it has to trick it by using a protein. Maybe we have the protein it recognizes, and they didn't."

  "Then why did they blow it up?" Hastings asked.

  "What if they didn't blow it up but rather the ship detonated to protect itself? Apoptosis is a cell's defense against intruders and triggers a cell's suicide," Switch said.

  "They should have called this mission apoptosis then," Nathan said with a snicker.

  Vix touched the structure in different spots, watching the small bits fold away. She closed her eyes, focusing her inner Zen and feeling the moment, trying to withhold the inner child from screaming and ripping her enclosed helmet off.

  "How much longer are we walking out here?" Fery asked.

  "As long as it takes," Nathan said, looking back at Vix.

  Nathan was now fully inside the structure. As the wall paneling closed behind him, he felt the gravity of the ship take hold of him. Feeling more secure, he folded his long rifle back into his suit, along with the small jets that were ported all around him.

  Tang and Hastings stepped in, teetering as they felt the force, too. As Beightol's big frame stepped inside, it seemed weird not seeing the little woman wrapped around his waist. Nathan had an inkling that she was up to no good, but that would have to wait.