Alien Minds: Dimension Drift, Book 1

by Christina Bauer

  “Sister.” Memories tickle at the back of my head, followed by an onslaught of ugly feelings.

  A weight of shame.

  The burn of betrayal.

  An ache of loneliness.

  “To show his appreciation, Godwin asked me to give you some good news.” Luci pulls a data chip from her pocket. The Scythe handed one like this over to Thorne. Only while the Scythe’s chip was black, this one is red. “Do you know what this is?”

  “Sure. A data chip.”

  “Obviously.” Luci giggles, but it seems more forced than real. “This contains a computer virus. It can only work one time and then—poof—the data disappears. It can set free any one undesirable. Permanently.”

  “I understand how one-time viruses work. It’s linked to the instance of the chip. One chip, one virus, one use.”

  My thoughts race through Luci’s words. I must admit, the permanent part is enticing. I’ve figured out how to wipe someone’s slate clean from undesirability. But setting a person aside as untouchable in the system? That’s something I don’t know how to do. Yet.

  It takes an act of will not to make grabby hands at that chip.

  “If you succeed,” continues Luci “then Godwin has approved me to give this chip to Mom.”

  All the air seems to get sucked out of my lungs. “Mom?” Fresh emotions pour through me.

  A jolt of fear.

  The warmth of love.

  A cut of anguish.

  “You know Godwin took you away to have your memory wiped, right?” asks Luci.

  “Yes.” The word comes out as barely a whisper.

  “There’s a reason why that happened. You and Mom were playing scientist in some run-down factory and you flipped the place into two-dimensional space-time. The Authority thought you’d set off a nuclear bomb. That’s a major science crime. You got Mom marked as an undesirable and slapped in prison. Because of you, our mother could be killed.”

  Something about Luci’s speech feels like a lie, but I can’t tell what. And it does feel true that Mom is at risk. Anxiety tightens around my throat. Just when I was feeling stable again, Luci drops this bombshell. I reach for the chip. “Can I have that now?”

  Luci sets it into her pocket. “Sorry, dear sister. Once the Liberation Celebration is a success, then gGodwin says I can give this to Mom. I know it might be tempting to you to focus on all those undesirables being cleansed. Now you don’t have to. You can focus on saving our mother.” Luci holds up the chip. “Without this, she’s doomed. No matter what.”

  A weighty realization settles into my bones. This is all another way of Godwin trying to control me. Sending me off with Thorne for a lovers’ getaway. Now he’s tempting me to finish his Engine so my own mother will live. This guy will not give up. Do I really think I can outsmart him?

  Luci gives me a sympathetic smile. “Just do what Godwin wants, okay? That way, some good can come out of this for both of us.”

  “Why don’t you give the chip to Mom now?”

  Luci inhales a shaky breath. “If I did that, then I’d end up dead, too. You don’t want that, do you?”

  “No.” That’s the word I say, but in reality? I have no idea what I want when it comes to Luci.

  She motions to the door. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll let you get that sleep you talked about.”

  Stepping aside, I allow Luci to leave. The woman who calls herself my sister smiles as she strolls away. Once she’s gone, I get ready for bed, but it takes ages for me to fall asleep.

  And when I do, I have another one of those super-strange dreams.

  In my dream, I return to the ruined kitchen at the Ozymandias Chemical Factory. I’m not alone, either. The blue version of me waits there as well. We don’t say any hellos or talk about what happened with Chloe, Zoe, Fritz, and the Hollow. Somehow, I’m certain she already knows.

  “Go on,” says Blue Me. “Ask the question.”

  “What question?” In all honesty, I didn’t realize I had one.

  “About Luci.”

  Oh. That question.

  “Is Luci really my sister?” I ask.

  “Yes.”

  I press my palms against my eyes. “The last time we met here, you said that it would help me to not remember certain things. Was Luci one of those things?”

  Blue Me nods. “You idolized her. She handed you over to Godwin. Fritz and the Scythe helped as well, but it wouldn’t have happened without Luci.”

  I hug my elbows. “So that story about how I got to Godwin? The accident on Newbury Street?”

  “Another lie. You did flip the factory into two-dimensional space-time, though. That said, the Scythe could have hidden it. He chose not to. There was too much money to be made in handing you—I mean us—over to the government.”

  “You said it was good I don’t remember things. Now I’m not so sure. It isn’t easy to be blindsided like this. I’d rather know it all.”

  “If you want your memories back, then maybe you should ask Thorne.”

  “What can he do?”

  Like last time, Blue Me’s body begins to turn transparent. “I don’t have much time. And sadly, I don’t remember everything either.”

  An electric shock of realization hits me. “Wait, don’t go! I forgot to ask you about my mother. Where is she?”

  Suddenly, Blue Me disappears. The room reforms. It’s not destroyed anymore. There’s now a clean table set with mismatched napkins. A large chair sits by the window. A voice echoes in from nearby.

  “Meimi, where are you?”

  I’d know that tone anywhere. “Mom?”

  SMASH!

  A hoverdigger careens through the kitchen wall. Its serrated nose-cone chews through everything: brick, wood, and tile. Merciless soldiers march through the new hole in the wall. Their black armor gleams in the hoverdigger’s headlights.

  “Meimi!” calls Mom.

  One Merciless isn’t wearing his helmet: Captain Vargas. He points right at me. “Get her!”

  My heart thuds so hard, my pulse beats in my throat. On reflex, I take off through the right-hand door and step onto the factory floor.

  “Meimi! Meimi!” Mom’s voice grows more faint.

  “I’m coming!”

  My body knows where to go as I race up a metal spiral staircase. At the top, there’s a half-opened door.

  That’s Mom’s room.

  I burst through the door, but there’s no sign of my mother. Blood pools on the floor. Footfalls sound on the metal staircase outside. The Merciless are closing in.

  “Kill her!” cries Vargas.

  I can’t focus on the Merciless, though. I keep tearing through sheets and shelves, looking for any sign of my mother. Everything seems covered in blood.

  “MOM!”

  That’s when I wake up screaming.

  21 Thorne

  “The bond between transcendents is a cry between souls.” – Empress Ophelia, The Lost Book of Transcendents

  One advantage of having the room next to Meimi’s: I can sleep by her door without anyone being the wiser. Before, I had to pretend I was spending all night patrolling the halls. Now, I just curl up with my blanket by the connecting doors, and I’m fine.

  “MOM!”

  Meimi’s cry cuts through the night. Her voice quakes with terror. Every muscle in my body goes on alert.

  Rising to my feet, I kick my blankets aside. “Meimi, are you all right?”

  No response.

  Using all my strength, I slam my shoulder against the connecting door. It shatters as it falls in. I rush to her bed.

  “MOM!”

  Sitting beside her, I take her hand in mine. “Meimi, wake up. It’s me, Thorne.”

  Her eyes flutter open. “Thorne!”

  She reaches for me. It’s the most natural thing in the world to pull her onto my lap. My left hand stays clasped around her palm. My right fingertips gently play with the hair at the nape of her neck.

  “Shhh,” I whisper. “You’re
safe now.”

  Minutes pass. Meimi’s breathing slows. My heart rate goes back to something like normal as well. When I’m certain she’s calm, I speak again.

  “Can you tell me what happened?” I ask.

  “It was just a dream.”

  “My people put a lot of weight on dreams, remember?”

  “I went back to this factory where I used to live.”

  “Ozymandias Chemical.”

  Meimi leans back until I can see her green eyes gleaming in the dim light. “At first, it didn’t bother me that I couldn’t remember things. Now, it hurts.”

  “I understand. What happened in the factory?”

  “I saw a version of me, only …” Meimi shakes her head. “It’s too strange.”

  “Any detail can be important.” Leaning in, I set my forehead against hers. “Please tell me.”

  “The other me was … blue.”

  I suck in a shocked breath. Blue? Only Umbrans dream about themselves as blue. Although I suppose humans could do it as well. Also, what’s known about Umbrans and transcendents is zero. Nothing to worry about then.

  “And after that?” I ask.

  “The Merciless broke into the factory. I tried to find my mother. I got to her room but she was gone. Everything was covered in blood.”

  “Your mother is safe. When Godwin came to get you, I put her in hiding. She’s on my home planet.”

  “Umbra?” Meimi sits up a little straighter. “So she wouldn’t be slated to be killed after the Liberation Celebration?”

  “Not a chance. Who told you that?”

  “Luci. Godwin had her stop by. She claims she’s my sister. Is that true?”

  “It is.”

  “That’s what I’m afraid of. There are all these hidden facts about my past. It was okay for a few days. I’d just woken up. And then, I only wanted to focus on my plan. But now, I want my life back. According to the blue version of me, you can return my memories.”

  I’ve faced my share of surprise battles. Being a royal isn’t easy. But this request from Meimi makes my entire body freezes with shock. I hadn’t thought she’d remember that I could return her memories. Plus, Meimi was having enough trouble accepting I was an alien without anything extra getting added into the mix. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it much. Mostly because kissing Meimi would bring Cole after her. Not an option.

  “You’re an alien, Thorne. I accept that. You must have extra abilities. Special powers. Can you get me my memory back?”

  “Yes and no.”

  Meimi scooches off my lap. Can’t say I blame her.

  She narrows her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “If you thought my ability to open drift voids was a lot to handle, then what I’m about to tell you? This is a ton more. Do you really want the truth right now?”

  Meimi worries her lower lip with her teeth for a moment before replying. “I do.”

  “Before Godwin took you, I kissed you. It wasn’t an ordinary kiss. You remember the particles I used to open the drift void at the hotel?”

  Meimi nods.

  “Those are called sentient. There are different types that do various things. What we call second sight sentient are blue particles. They can show you other places in your current world or visions of the future. When I kissed you, I set your memories into the future where Godwin can’t get at them.”

  “But in my dreams, that blue version of me could remember some things. Not everything, but she’s told me a lot of stuff.”

  “You and I”—I gesture between us—“we aren’t a typical pair. We love each other in so many parallel worlds, our feelings bleed over to this reality. Before I split out your memory, we could share thoughts and emotions. My people have a name for it. You’re my transcendent. It means the rules might not apply to us, an din a lot of ways.”

  Meimi runs her fingertips over her lips as she soaks all this in. “When I had my memory, did I accept you as—what did you call it again?—my transcendent?”

  When I speak, my voice comes out low and husky. “You did.”

  “Can you kiss me again? I want to remember.”

  “I can’t. My father is Emperor of the Omniverse, the universe of universes. His body contains a special set of particles called Crown Sentient. He’s convinced that a transcendent pair will kill him and take the crown. He sensed when we kissed. He tried to come here and kill you. I had to fight him.”

  “Oh, Thorne.” Reaching forward, she takes her hands in mine. Her green eyes glisten with sympathy. “Was that the day you were limping?”

  “It was.” My heart almost bursts with affection for her. “I’m the one that should apologize, though. If I kiss you again—if I return your memories—then my father will come back here and finish you off. Even worse, he’s convinced that you’re the transcendent for my brother Justice. Cole would kill you both.”

  “Cole?”

  “When my father gets in a rage, my brothers and I call him Cole.”

  “I see.” Meimi is clear-eyed and calm. Ever the scientist.

  “There’s more. I can’t access my powers under the Boston Dome. The Lacerator is what we call a sentient swarm. As long as Godwin blocks the Lacerator, he blocks my powers as well. I can only access my abilities outside the city.”

  Meimi gives me a sad smile. “Not a lot of happy news for either of us, is there?”

  “There is one good thing,” I say. “The Lacerator is made up of battle sentient; that’s why it kills. But we could replace the Lacerator with a swarm that’s knowledge sentient. That way, they’d be ideal for the Hollow to command. My brother Slate can help us find the best swarm.”

  “Slate?” She grins. “How many brothers do you have?”

  “Two. Justice is older; Slate is younger.”

  “And you’re all in line to become Emperors of the Omniverse?”

  “That’s Justice’s destiny. I’m not strong enough in sentient.”

  Meimi rolls her eyes. “Are you kidding? What I saw in the hotel was amazing.”

  “Wait until you meet my brothers. Then you’ll see what sentient and their hosts can really do.”

  “About that.” She worries her lower lip with her teeth again. “I’d like to meet them. Go to Umbra. Be with my mother. Escape this whole mess. If we leave the dome, you can do that, can’t you?”

  I eye her carefully. “Is that what you really want?”

  “Yes.” She nibbles on her thumbnail. “No. I don’t know.”

  “Can I give you an opinion?”

  “Please.”

  “If you left here—and if Godwin killed all those people—then you’d hate yourself forever. You want to finish this.”

  Meimi sighs. “But you heard what the Scythe said. My plan is impossible. Things might be better if we go outside the city and you open some drift voids, flush Godwin into another dimension, and—BOOM—problem solved.”

  I slide across the bed, stopping when our hips touch. For this part of the conversation, I want to feel her near. “Listen to me.” I lace her fingers with mine once more. “Your plan is brilliant. Maybe I could create drift voids and punch holes in this universe. That might get rid of Godwin. But it won’t repair the ruined fabric of this society. They need your plan. Free the undesirables. Expose Godwin for who he is. That’s how to rebuild this world.”

  Meimi looks away and doesn’t respond. She’s not convinced.

  “May I tell you something else?” I ask.

  “Sure.”

  “All this while, I’ve only been concerned for your safety. My family, we destroy whole universes sometimes. It’s never easy. That said, it’s always for the greater good. But every moment I spend with Godwin, I see him take the idea of the greater good and twist it into something evil. I want to fix this, too.” Unlacing our fingers, I set my knuckle under her chin, guiding her gaze until our eyes lock. “I believe in you, Meimi.”

  Little by little, her lips curve into a grin. “Well, if we’re going to do this, I
need that sentient swarm of yours.”

  I meet her smile with one of my own. It’s great to have Meimi back in planning mode. “Absolutely. I see my brothers tomorrow morning. With any luck, I’ll have good news for you when I return.”

  “The Scythe is delivering that tracking board tomorrow. By the time you get back, the twins and I should have it all set up. Then you can see our master schedule.”

  “Can’t wait,” I say. “How about we celebrate with an early breakfast? I specifically requested Godwin send us edible food. No more Authority tacos.”

  Meimi chuckles. “I like the sound of that.”

  Together, Meimi and I step off for a rousing breakfast of granola bars and freeze-dried yogurt. It feels natural, which is somehow strange. I just told her about my complex alien world, and if anything, she seems more at peace with the idea, not less. I start to worry about that fact, but then Justice’s words come back to me instead.

  You’re a lucky man.

  I am, indeed. So I set my concerns aside and simply enjoy some time with my transcendent.

  22 Thorne

  “War is always best fought with brothers, not between them.” – Wu Zhao Zetain, The Art of Sentient War

  A few hours later, Justice, Slate and I stand in the ruined lobby of a different apartment building. After the fight with Cole, that last building had too many bad memories. Not that this place looks much different. Smashed-up reception desk. Fetid furniture. That said, the windows here are mostly cracked and boarded over, so that’s a change.

  My brothers have just stepped through the drift void; we haven’t even said our greetings yet. Once again, their outfits remind me of a cowboy and preacher from the Old West. I’m about to start my hellos when in a surprise move, Slate is first to speak.

  As always, younger brother says one word: “Picture.”

  I pull on my ear. It’s a reflex reaction, since I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Do you want to see a picture of Meimi?”

  “I’d like to see that too,” adds Justice.

  “Sure.” I glance around the ruined lobby, like a painting of her will be pasted on the wall. Then it hits me.