by M E Wise
I began losing consciousness once again in the elevator. The motions of it had become a transitory acceptance. This was my reality. Dae cried my name as the vertical light of the opening doors converted to the horizontal closing of my eyes.
There was a voice in the void. Familiar and unaware. Muted by time. Alive by design.
“If I’m not like you. And I’m not like them.” I pointed to the sky. “Then who am I like.”
“These things you ask are not simple Reign.” Wan Sah shared. “You are natural according to the universe, unnatural by means of introduction.” She flashes periods of growth like a birds and the bee’s tale from Earth holos. The growing and tending of gardens then shifting constellations and seasons. “A child cannot know these things out of order.”
“But-can’t they?” I pushed.
“No.” intervened Q’ua Z. His sharing and link were short and tempered. “Too young.”
I found myself in the library; the so-called Garden of Life. Dae was intensely arguing with Hermes. “How could you not know?” She demanded. “You are some uber collective of Mor’h antiquity but you can’t give one answer to any mundane question?” Her frustration is pronounced in a waning voice. Dalia presents her some tea. “I don’t want any damn tea!” She turns to see me, lucid and gawking. “Oh thank god!” She railed.
“Again?” I said acknowledging my blackout. “Again.” She said with a smile. “I was just engaging tin-man here!” She turned and kicked the Duraframe with a howl of pained reaction. “Fuck!” She steamed.
“The female mate has no control over her systems.” Stated Hermes obnoxiously.
“I don’t think Hermes has a choice if the stores of history are accessible or not.” I helped Dae rub her foot. “Someone had made sure that we either discover this on our own or solve the problem on our own. Whatever that is?” I posited. “Why else would they not have pursued us. We’ve been here in this facility nearly two days.”
“That makes sense.” Dae agreed. “Sorry tin-man.” She spits reluctantly through clinched teeth. “Sentiment accepted.” Noted the callous android.
“I want to go back.” I said. “Back? Home?” Asked Dae. I shook my head and she rolled her eyes. “Look I know you are searching for something but what we may find may hurt you.” She exclaimed with tender conviction. “I need to.” I begged. She again supported my intention. “But after this I need another vacation from the vacation! A paradise planet without bullshit secrets!” She tended to cuss when frustrated. She gathered some things in a sling. We made for the elevator.
Night had fallen but the tower’s internal light still held reasonable visibility. We bypassed everything and went straight for the elevator. “Did you know they searched the galaxy for life? Like the whole thing?” Dae lobbed the question knowing I didn’t know. “They came across life several times, some odd mostly inert globs of goo billions of years from anything remotely considered LIFE.” She said as we ascended. “Their astrological library and astronomical mapping is reality shaking. Only two were sentient.”
“The Mor’h and humankind.” I stated. “Three including Mor’h.” She corrected. I turned sharply.
“Before discovering man, they found a beast-like race. Their first contact! Very primitive ape-like reptiles. They had never progressed from tribes after tens of thousands of years. Their planet remained in a prehistoric earth-like stage. Dinosaurs or their ilk still roamed side by side with them. Like some horrific Flintstones!” She chuckled. I was resigned to vague accounts of cartoons I may have seen. “Classic toons!” She added with a wrinkled brow. Carrying on, “So the Mor’h waited and watched. Waited and watched. Until they reached a bronze age with little improvement. After considering this could be their apex, they decided to make contact like either arrogant little buggers or incredibly naïve explorers.” She smiled and looked over as we exited the elevator.
“And?” I asked captivated. “They fucking ate them!” She laughed, I was aghast. “The ate the three who came down in the bell craft while the other’s watched on holos above. It was like some televised sharing!” I was floored. “But get this!” She said starry eyed. “They named the race Carnimor’h!” I backed up in lack of belief. “You had me at ate them. But Carnimor’h?” I balked. She then handed me her holo that she had been recording all of her research in. There was photo and video proof. I couldn’t finish the video. “Try and un-see that!” She joked.
“My lovely Mor’h expert!” I embraced her. “Off we go!”
We had arrived at the domed top of the Cresche. Dae and I had seen the end of the white tower, now we would finally relish in its secrets and undeniable truths. The night sky twinkled with millions of stars and from this height they were even more vibrant. As close to space as anyone could be on Mor’h without a ship. The blue light glowed from below as patches of the flooring were opaque and other’s translucent.
We were in a laboratory of sorts. It reminded me of a huge bell craft but with apsidal cabins on all sides. The spire at the top had tapered greatly here. Even scaled down from the rest of the tower it was impressive. Modern holos were still lit up and monitoring the clones below. A huge central tube raised to a port at center, I made my way over while Dae accessed the network and took her notes. A map of sorts showed a network of lines between the Cresche and the Cathedraline. “They literally have a root system for delivering the clones to the Cathedraline!” I shared loudly across the space. “No doubt to never have to set foot here again. Guilty consciences.” Scolded Dae.
A strange tingling kept running up my neck. A sensation that something near was oddly out of place. Aside from us I could think of any number of beings not supposed to be connected or here but were. How many were actually in the dark was the question there. “Reign. Babe I need you to listen very closely.” Dae looked to me with infinite sincerity. “Here.” She tapped her head. I linked and felt her love in my mind. She was concerned and reminded me of all the great things we had learned and survived. She tried to hide her own fears but couldn’t. Then it hit me.
“No.” I broke the link. “No! No, no, no.” I fell backward. The unexpected break in the link wobbled her. I ran to her side. “I am so sorry Dae!” She waved off the mistake and stood up.
“Over there.” She motioned toward one of the apsidal chambers. We moved together slowly but determined. A holo with life signs beeped and read steady. An outline of a human body on the screen was in near perfect health. Deeper into the room was a gestation tank. “What do we do?” Dae asked solemnly. She stalled in her tracks and wretched to one side behind some equipment. I moved closer to wipe the glass clean.
Inside was a human clone. A perfect human clone. Everything was right down to the last hair. “We wake him.” I said with a tremble. “Reign are you sure?” Dae challenged me, a rare second guessing of my person from her. I looked to her unsure. “It’s the only way to know.” I said pained.
We followed a sequence on the panel nearby and the fluid inside the tank began to recede. The form inside slumped at the odd angle the tank rested. A shudder ran throughout my entire being. A violent cough came from the clone. It writhed for a moment and fell from the tank. Dae half attempted to help it but kept her distance. I needed a closer look though. The coughing continued until the clone’s lungs were clear. It pulled lines from deep in its throat and sat to its knees. I knew this person. We knew this person.
I crouched and Dae hugged tightly to my back. She sobbed. “You’re new to this world.” I said in an attempt to comfort the naked and cold clone birthed anew.
“What the hell are you talking about bro?” Said Ben Itou. No trace of Mor’h in his face or body. My friend was alive and whole; a specter unbeknownst himself.
Sovereign Chapter 6
Ab Infantia Usque Ad Finem
“This is wrong!” I slammed my fist against a holo screen shattering the glass. Dae was seeing to Ben’s vitals. She had not pleaded with me to
quiet my anger. Ben made jokes about my current insanity and I couldn’t decide if I should accept that this was even him. This clone was half of him sure but he wasn’t even aware that half of him was gone yet. Why Benjamin Edison Itou, my lost friend? If they meant to cure the Halfer problem, why him? He had expired. Or was it more sinister? Some plot designed to push me further; polarized into whatever direction I was being lead too! Ben was right I was mad. The Mor’h had stolen a natural life from him and left him to a tortured end. They stole his death from us too! We had mourned him.
“Hey man! I feel great whatever is going on…” Ben paused and stared hard at the left hand he was gesturing with. He became intensely focused and stumbled to his feet slipping in the tank fluids on the floor. His eyes ever fixed on the newly discovered, purely human appendage. Dae kept close but was sure to keep a safe distance. We both held our breath. Ben slowly moved his hand to his face and gently tapped at the features. He ran his fingers through a complete head of hair and laughed. He laughed while weeping.
“I need to see this!” He looked around and found a reflective panel and slipped on his way to it. He gripped at a sheet Dae had wrapped him in. He gathered himself and stood transfixed. “Who?” He belted. “Who did this?” I first looked to Dae and then fumbled for some words. I thought about linking but all at once felt one more transgression would be one too many. “It’s done Ben. I’m sorry.” I said.
“Sorry?” He questioned. “Sorry!” He laughed, tears of joy flowing freely from his face. “I owe them my life.” He placed his hand firmly on the glass panel. “I owe them everything.”
“It was the Mor’h.” Dae said before I could interject. I stepped forward. “They shouldn’t have decided for you Ben.” Not to reveal too much. “You were incapable of consent.” I added as Dae flashed her eyes angry at me.
“What do you remember Ben?” Asked Dae quelling her obvious discord.
“We were desperate. The three of us were fleeing the solar system.” He struggled with the memories it seemed. “We were in a jam! Being fired upon or something.”
“Yes. Can you remember anything else?” Dae asked calmly. As usual she was in complete control.
He looked about and closed his eyes. “Oh.” Ben said quietly. “Whoa, that happened.” He continued to stare at his new face in the reflection. He inhaled and exhaled to regain his composure. He ran both his hands through his hair and looked upward and out of the dome above. The twin moons shined bright on his face. He grinned and looked at a system he had never seen before with new eyes. I didn’t need the sharing to see he was glad to be alive. “How long?” He asked.
Dae looked to me this time, I nodded for her lead. “A month maybe. Give or take.” She said.
Ben made a humorous face with a crinkled nose. “Much ado about nothing.” He joked. “I think it will take some time…” He paused. “To think about. To take it all in!” He moved his hands in circles around him. The dawn was approaching and he stared again at the dome. “I’m no longer an alien, only to be an alien again.” He quipped.
I grabbed him and hugged him tight. Dae followed. He groaned in the squeeze. He mumbled something and I backed off to him coughing. Dae looked to see if he was alright. “I’m fine! Tough love!” he coughed again. “Is it breakfast somewhere?” He pointed up. “An Intergalactic House of Pancakes somewhere?”
“You’re too much Ben!” Said Dae with a big smile. “Let’s get back to camp and we will start the road back to present.” I said nothing and followed her lead. Tucking away all of the persistent questions and moral implications this held. Mor’h ethics were incredibly inhumane.
Life among the Halfers must have prepared Ben for life among the Mor’h. Their uniqueness was similar in a sense. We all had a common ancestor truth be told, some common seed from a timeless planetesimal group that never made gravity, instead it was torn apart at the beginning of all things and all the brilliant stuff it held was flung around the universe and then the galaxies becoming a hint of life. Each environment according to the Mor’h provided the soil for its bedding and then the fluke of planetary alignment made conditions possible for it to be something. Their evolution was much the same as how some Earth scientists envisioned theirs against dreamy beliefs they dared not question. The Mor’h so far lacked such craft. Or pretense giving whatever lore you ascribe too.
My mind has been wandering for days now. As I watch at a distance I know that my separation is noticed. Dae looks at me like I am choosing to ignore her. Ben has charged the scene with his energetic new lease on life. So many things challenge my mind. I am no expert in any field. I have never found some unwavering potential that called to me. I held no God. I had no family. I arrived in this world some shamed mistake and grew to adulthood in familiar captivity. Nothing stopped me from pursuing something simple or total resignation into depression like some caged animal.
I see the possibilities of grander ideals, perspectives and see no challenge in them. I only know they exist much like I do. I exist. I don’t argue these things. At least I hadn’t seen reason to. Now I can’t put thoughts together to understand anything. My living world is a patchwork of incomprehensible stitching. I needed to accept it; grow with it. Evolve and adapt to it or find a way to leave it and escape back into some innocence I never had. All of this endless searching brought nothing of a selfish answer I sought. And I know it to be selfish!
Dae, across from me was every bit the future I could dream perfect. I had adopted this strange group, much like a family in all of its oddities. This world was vast and we could disappear in it. This galaxy even greater! We could abandon this world for another; at least the search for another. And all we would be doing is tucking a white tower behind us with all of its ugly answers and forgetting to see the insufferable hope it also embodied. In one fell swoop I had been strapped with the peace of two worlds, the bittersweet harmony of love and hate and the resolution that death was an end for some but not all.
What am I? Who am I? What is the purpose of my existence? Why am I the center of all of these things beyond my control? I began to weep. I was not ailing of sickness but was ill. I was aching from some phantom pain. I lived but did not want to be. “Let me help you.” Came the soft loving voice of my partner. Dae had no doubt heard me or once again pursued to protect me in my weakness.
“I don’t want help!” I lashed in anger. “I want to know why?” I screamed with the tower echoing my voice. A group of mammoth butterflies fled the garden we had convened in. Dae persisted to stay in my space. “I can’t make it work if I don’t understand where it starts?” I cried. “If I don’t know myself, what I am; then how can I tell others how to be?” I turned away to my knees. I was so humiliated. “I need to know that some things are right. They need to be whole. I need for something to be sacred so I can find my center!”
“You are struggling with yourself, love.” Dae tried to make sense of my hardship. She reached for me.
“I need to protect this! All of this!” I waved my arm around at the picturesque scene beyond the tower. “I need to protect you, me, and-and Ben, the Mor’h and the Halfers; and mankind!” She looked so confused. “I need to. It tears at my insides. It spoils my sharing.”
“Reign. Honey,” she cried to, “that’s too much.” She took my arm and I knew she needed me to accept this more than I was willing too. I pulled her close and reclined to lay her head on my chest. We face the great expanse in front of us-together.
Three months have passed and the monsoon season is upon our region. Myself, Dae and Ben have settled on using the Cresche as our own temple. It made sense considering the Mor’h had all but disregarded it. I believe they would cast it off altogether were it not for the Lo’Mor’h cloning cycle. It is not a discussion I am willing to have with them currently. We returned to gather supplies and our things at our domicile with Ben months ago. We were greeted by Q’ua Z and S’lei who did not fixate or intervene in our dec
ision to relocate. I feel they had more concept of our need for separation than needed said. Ben being alive, a beacon of such reality.
We had our own consorts though. Dalia and Wan Sah joined our group solely in commitment to Dae. Ben had Hermes and a Lo’Mor’h he calls Squiggy; a Lo’Don assigned him named F’on. Squiggy resisted the name at first while Ben taunted him with being ‘No F’on’ for a week before he accepted defeat. After venting endlessly about the mistreatment of the Aries, Ben made repairs and used the vessel to trade with the Mor’h proper. I don’t consider it to be trading as he calls it; we send a list for supplies and they send them back. I believe the term is something Ben needs to make it feel right for him. He’s adapted well.
Somehow Ben had convinced Q’ua Z and S’lei that the domicile at the river’s edge should be our port. They agreed and even allowed the Hermes77 and a bell craft to be stationed at the Cresche. We have established our own little colony as Dae would see it. Dae and I make a receiving level just above the lab atop the spire our home. It’s every bit as spacious as the domicile was yet not as luxurious; “we are redecorating” as Dae says often. Ben acquired the Great Chain of Being level to himself and his minions! Dae and I stop in daily to make sure he hasn’t destroyed some of the historical paraphernalia there.
