by Adair Hart
Dr. Snowden studied Emily. It never crossed his mind that she would feel this way. “Two of those were out of your control. As for leaving you, I wasn’t going to go with Evaran if you didn’t want to come. We do it together, or not at all.”
“You would’ve resented me. I only came because you wanted to go.”
Dr. Snowden sighed as he sat next to Emily. “We can leave whenever you want if you’re not happy.” He put his arm around her. “What’s important is you’re a part of my life, wherever we are or go.”
Emily nodded and leaned into him.
“You’re the most important thing in my life. You’re a Snowden, never forget that,” said Dr. Snowden in a cracked voice.
“I’m glad I’m a thing and not a person then.”
They laughed and enjoyed the moment.
Dr. Snowden stood and gestured toward the door. “Want to see something interesting?”
Emily perked her head up as she dried her face with her hands.
“Apparently, Evaran traveled with U4, V’s predecessor, and used to hang out on the roof, studying stuff with her. V didn’t join Evaran because he didn’t feel it was appropriate.”
“V … was anxious?”
“Seemed that way. I encouraged him to go up before coming here. Care to join me?”
Emily smiled as she stood and nodded.
They exited Emily’s room and headed toward the elevator. When they got there, V stood in front of it.
“V? I thought you were going up?” said Dr. Snowden.
“I am running simulations on the best approach.”
Dr. Snowden shook his head. “You think too much. Come on, we’re going up and you can come with us.”
“Acknowledged.”
They entered the elevator and exited it when it reached the top.
Evaran stood on the edge of the ship’s circular roof, leaning out over the waist-high thin blue shield that ringed the edges. He turned his head to the side. “I was wondering when you three would show up.”
Dr. Snowden and Emily headed off to the left side of Evaran while V went to the right.
“Things happen, you know. Find anything interesting?” asked Dr. Snowden, glancing out at the sparse objects in Saturn’s rings.
“Just admiring the water ice formations.”
Dr. Snowden looked around. “What ring are we in?”
“According to Earth terminology, we are in ring B,” said V.
Emily shook her head. “No idea what you’re talking about. It looks cool, though.”
V glanced at Emily. “I agree.”
Evaran tilted his head at V with narrowed eyes. “Do you like looking at things like this?”
“Yes.”
“You should come up more often when I am out here.”
“Acknowledged,” said V, glancing at Dr. Snowden.
Dr. Snowden grinned as he saw V’s lights glow a bit brighter. His grin faded when a low thumping sound emanated around them. Everything outside the ship faded to black for a brief moment, then eased back into view. It reminded him of how traveling in time looked when he first saw the Torvatta do it. “Umm … what the heck was that?”
“Interesting. It would appear a timeline update has occurred.”
Dr. Snowden’s eyes widened as Emily gripped his right arm. “A cascading timeline update. A CTU, right?”
“That is correct,” said Evaran. “Do not worry. You are protected from any timeline change while on the Torvatta.”
Dr. Snowden’s heartbeat ramped up as he looked around. He knew that timeline updates only went forward in time, but the Torvatta’s reaction was new to him. To be able to go through it, and see what update had been done, was awe inspiring to him. He hunched over and gripped the guardrail shielding as the sound faded away.
When it had passed, he heard Emily gasp as she pointed out into the rings. It had hundreds of small ships flying around the rings, shooting lasers and scooping up objects.
Evaran nodded. “Your first timeline update in a temporally shielded ship. You will get used to it. Now, are you ready to explore?”
They assembled in the command area. Evaran sat in his command chair, and Dr. Snowden and Emily sat in the U-shaped seating area off to his right. V put the Torvatta in stealth mode, and it flew toward the ships and scanned them.
Dr. Snowden stared at the front screens. The left screen showed the outside view, while the right side showed a close-up of each ship that was scanned at that moment, along with various statistic labels flying out around it. The moment was not lost on him. He glanced at Evaran. It intrigued him how calm Evaran was. Just another facet, Dr. Snowden guessed, of being well traveled, both in space and time. “I’m guessing humanity is a bit more advanced. Unless … those ships aren’t human.”
Evaran tapped at his chair console. “V, analyze.”
V’s hands flew over the console. “Analysis. Technology level is consistent with human technology from the year 5140.”
“That’s … pretty advanced. Is it still 2012?” asked Emily.
“Yes,” said Evaran. “It would seem whatever change was done in the past has had far-reaching effects.”
“Analysis. Space station detected outside the rings.”
“Take us to it,” said Evaran.
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta veered off toward the ring edges.
Dr. Snowden enjoyed seeing the rings. He had studied the different ring swaths and the gaps and wondered why Evaran had brought them there. Not that he was complaining, but he suspected that Evaran felt at ease hovering around in the rings. Whatever this timeline update had done, he was going to find out.
The Torvatta flew out past the rings. Although Dr. Snowden could not see it on the left screen looking out, the right screen had a top-down view of the surrounding area. The Torvatta was a little blip that moved closer to a much larger blip outlined in green. After twenty minutes of silence, they arrived at the space station.
Dr. Snowden’s eyes bulged. It had a cylindrical core, with equidistant torus-shaped rings encircling the length of it. The top of the cylindrical core had a larger half sphere on top of it. Antennae and smaller structures jutted out across the various surfaces. It reminded him of a large nail. As they neared it, the sheer size of the station overwhelmed Dr. Snowden. The Krotovore ship they were initially abducted on was small potatoes compared to this. If humanity had built this, then they were truly more advanced. He wondered if they got the material from a moon or an asteroid belt.
Evaran interacted with the console on his chair. “This station appears to be one of many. Long-range scans indicate there are four more. V, take us in and perform standard scans.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta flew around the station and scanned for the next thirty minutes. Dr. Snowden noted the various windows and segments of the station.
“Analysis. Each ring has a docking segment. Life-form analysis indicates human,” said V.
“Just human? No aliens?” asked Emily.
“No alien life detected.”
Emily raised her eyebrows at Dr. Snowden. “That’s … interesting.”
“I concur,” said Evaran. “With technology this advanced, it would be logical for humanity to have spread out or been noticed by other species. At a bare minimum, I would have expected a Kreagan presence. V, take us out of stealth mode and then to one of the center ring’s docking segments.”
“Acknowledged.”
The Torvatta uncloaked and headed toward a central ring. Dr. Snowden saw that the docking area V had referenced had a blue shield that seemed to cover a full segment of the ring. He wondered how larger ships docked, as they probably would not have fit. The Torvatta flew through the blue shields. To the left and right were various ships docked on landing pads that extended out. A green light lit up on the front right screen.
“Looks like they wish to communicate,” said Evaran. He tapped at his chair console, and the left and right front screen disap
peared, showing one full screen.
A man in a black robe with silver metallic pads on it appeared. The triangular red makeup that framed his eyes caught Dr. Snowden’s attention. A shiver ran through him.
The man tapped at a console in front of him. “This is Ring Operator Twenty-Two. Identify yourself.”
“My name is Evaran. I am here with my friends V, Dr. Albert Snowden, and Emily Snowden aboard my ship, the Torvatta.”
“What is your intention here?”
“We seek only rest and relaxation.”
The ring operator looked down at his console. His eyes widened slightly. “Oh … well, in that case, proceed to docking extension number 42. Enjoy your visit.”
The screen flickered off.
“Docking extension coordinates received,” said V.
“Take us in.”
“Acknowledged,” said V. He paused for a moment, then faced Evaran. “My facial analysis program indicates he was surprised.”
Evaran nodded. “He was. We should be careful.”
Dr. Snowden tilted his head. “He was definitely surprised. Maybe they don’t get a lot of visitors. Their security seems pretty lax.”
Evaran raised a finger. “Or it could mean their security is so efficient that visitors pose no threat.”
“Maybe … guess we’ll find out,” said Dr. Snowden.
The Torvatta flew over to the docking extension and aligned against it.
Evaran stood and gestured toward the entrance. “Are you ready?”
A grin grew on Dr. Snowden’s face as he stood. “Heck yeah. This is exciting.”
Emily swatted Dr. Snowden’s arm as she stood. “Let’s do this!”
Dr. Snowden chuckled. Emily’s exuberance to go out and learn was infectious. This was probably another field study for her. He was glad to have her here and could not imagine it any other way.
As Evaran walked toward the Torvatta entrance with Dr. Snowden and Emily, he paused to face V, who had followed them. “V, I will need you to stay here in case we need to leave.”
V dipped his head. “Acknowledged.”
Dr. Snowden thought he could almost hear disappointment in V’s voice. If U4 traveled a lot with Evaran outside the ship, he could see how V would always feel like he was being compared against her, fair or not. “You expecting trouble?”
“No. However, this is an unknown environment run by an unknown authority. If everything checks out, V can join us.”
“Kreagus was an unknown environment,” said Dr. Snowden.
“Yes, but I was familiar with the Kreagans. That is not the case here.”
Dr. Snowden looked at V and raised the right side of his lips.
V nodded at Dr. Snowden and headed back to the front console.
Dr. Snowden followed Evaran and Emily out of the Torvatta and through a short hallway that ended in a larger room devoid of people. A sterile smell rankled his nose, and the reflective environment caused him to squint. It was like everything had been waxed. Paneled walls and a smooth steel-like floor extended ahead of him. To his right were several other hallway exits. Ahead of him was a central archway into another large room. Long red banners with a red triangle separated by white space but outlined in black flanked the archway. The triangle had a hollow red circle in the middle with lines to each point in the triangle and white space filling the gaps. This environment was a stark departure from the colors and smells he had experienced on the Kreagan home world. The lack of anyone around disturbed him.
Emily grimaced. “This is … interesting.”
“Interesting is one word for it,” said Dr. Snowden.
Evaran nodded and waved them forward.
After clearing the arch, they found themselves in a square room. The bottom part was ringed with various storefronts, and across from them ran two large ramps on the sides of a series of elevators. The center of the room had a step-down plaza with a statue of a man posing with a hand outstretched in the middle. The attire of the man on the statue reminded Dr. Snowden of chain mail armor, except this armor looked hundreds of years more advanced. The face stood out to him. It was not one of thoughtfulness, but one of determination.
Emily gestured at the statue. “That’s kinda cool. Definitely was not expecting a statue on a space station.”
“Me either. Statue looks pissed,” said Dr. Snowden.
Emily chuckled.
“Hopefully it is not indicative of the authority that runs this station,” said Evaran. “We can check out one of these shops and maybe learn more about the station.” He gestured toward their right.
They walked along the pathway, pausing to look at the various shop fronts. Dr. Snowden noticed that they all had the same configuration, a glass window with a door. Even the name above the shops was in a standardized font. If uniformity was the goal, this station had mastered it. Between each store was a banner similar to the one he saw earlier. Propaganda was not in short supply. He caught the smell of something cooking and pointed at a store. “Let’s check that one out.”
“Always thinking with your stomach,” said Emily, swatting Dr. Snowden’s arm.
Dr. Snowden shrugged with a half grin.
Inside the shop was a long counter on the right, which ended with a door. To the left of the counter was a walkway and, beyond that along the wall, a series of booths. They walked the length of the room while a man in a one-piece white suit eyed them behind the counter.
Dr. Snowden noticed another man sitting in one of the booths. The colorful clothing, stubby face, and red hair stood out against the bland setting.
The man looked up at them after taking a sip from a bowl filled with a chunky green liquid. He cocked his head. “New around here?”
Evaran faced the man. “We are. Do you mind if we join you?”
The man jerked his head back. “Not at all. Surprised you asked. Name’s Sean.”
Dr. Snowden stepped forward and extended a hand. “I’m Dr. Snowden.”
Sean eyed Dr. Snowden’s hand.
Dr. Snowden retracted his hand. He waved a finger between Evaran and Emily. “This is Evaran and my niece, Emily.”
“Why’d you extend your hand like that?” asked Sean.
“Just a friendly handshake was all.”
Sean harrumphed. “Yeah … you’re definitely not from around here. Still, nice to see that rather than a salute. Come. Sit.” He scooted in close to the wall.
Dr. Snowden sat next to Sean, while Evaran and Emily sat across from them.
“So … where you from?” asked Sean.
“Far away from here. We are travelers, and wanted to stop in and see what this place was,” said Evaran.
“Don’t want to say where you’re from. I respect that. I’m from Shirus, ’bout ten light-years away. Run a few supply lines.”
“For who?” asked Dr. Snowden.
Sean narrowed his eyes. “You … don’t know of the Human Dominion?”
Dr. Snowden shook his head.
“You’re from very far away then. This is the heart of their empire,” said Sean. He cocked his head. “Hell, this is one of their stations! How’d you get this far into it without knowing that?”
Evaran raised a hand. “Our ship is unique and capable of long-distance travel. We enter in one place and exit in another, as in this case here.”
Sean laughed. “I know how compressed space travel works. Even then, they have beacons you couldn’t have missed. Anyways … at least you aren’t alien.”
Dr. Snowden mused on hearing “compressed space travel.” He learned about it on Kreagus. The ability to pop into a condensed layer of space for long-distance travel. Sean would have no way of knowing about the Torvatta’s unique ability to use portals. It was no surprise that Evaran did not elaborate on it.
Emily shifted in her seat. “What’s wrong with being an alien?”
“The Purifiers,” said Sean, tilting his head at Emily. “You might have noticed their symbols all over the place. Official religion of the
Human Dominion. Any and all nonhumans, including aliens by definition, are exterminated by decree of the Purifier overlord.”
Evaran narrowed his eyes. “Human supremacy. Interesting. They would not approve of me then.”
Sean’s eyes widened. “You’re … not human?”
“No.”
“I don’t know how you evaded their scanners, but you need to get the hell outta here for your own safety. Not all of us buy into their purifying crap, but you need to go, like right now.”
Evaran nodded. “Very well. We shall go.”
“Good luck and thanks for the conversation,” said Sean with a sigh. “It’s been … interesting.”
Dr. Snowden did a half wave as they exited the store. The expression on Sean’s face was not one of concern when Evaran mentioned he was not human; it was one of fear. Whatever these Purifiers were doing, it seemed to keep people in line, even those who did not like them. He sighed as they headed back the way they had come. This was not the advanced humanity he was hoping to see.
Evaran paused as they approached the hallway that led to the Torvatta. He raised his hand. “We are not alone.”
Dr. Snowden turned his head to the ramps he had seen earlier. Large men in heavy silver armor with flowing red capes stormed toward them. The red triangle symbol was emblazoned on their chests, and the weapons they carried were big and black and looked like they could deal some serious damage.
“We must go. Now,” said Evaran.
They turned the corner and halted at the sight of a man in a silver robe with black lines segmenting it. A Purifier symbol was emblazoned on his chest and upper arms. Behind him was a group of men similar to the ones headed toward them from the ramp.
The man extended a hand. “Halt. You are under arrest.”
Dr. Snowden turned his head to see that they were surrounded.
“For what reason?” asked Evaran.
“For being nonhuman and, more importantly, being Evaran,” said the man with a finger extended. “The Evaran Protocol has been activated. You will come with me now.”
“What do we do?” asked Emily in a hushed tone while looking at Evaran.
