by G. E. Stills
GENERATIONS OF TEELAN COLLECTION
G.E. STILLS
BOX SET CONTENTS
FROM THE DISTANT PAST
THE SONS OF TEELAN
THE DAUGHTERS OF TEELAN
THE EVE OF DESTRUCTION
MY ENEMY, MY ALLY
FROM THE DISTANT PAST
G. E. STILLS
The right of G. E. Stills to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him/her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it was published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Cover Design by
Rue Volley for Vivid Designs
Copyright© 2012
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Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
www.crushingheartsandblackbutterfly.com
CHAPTER ONE
Kat’sar stared at the hairy one lying strapped to a table. There were twenty in the room, secured to tables in the same manner. All had distended bellies and were in the latter stages of pregnancy. The one she watched in particular was in labor and about to give birth. Her legs were strapped into padded cushions, bent and splayed. Her arms were also restrained.
Although not restricting her ability to see or hear, a force field prevented Kat’sar from getting closer. The hairy one growled, exposed her fangs and then groaned painfully. Kat’sar welcomed the break from her normal routine as she watched the hairy one give birth. That routine had been a part of her life as far back as she could remember.
Twenty years.
Two shiny things attended the hairy one. Robots, that is what San’ar, the being standing beside her, called them. When he spoke, she looked up at him. The top of her head was only shoulder high on San’ar. Unlike her, he wore items he called clothes. They covered his torso and legs. Tall and hairless, San’ar’s exposed skin was alabaster white, a contrast to her dark tan complexion. His eyes were violet, with elongated black pupils.
“This will be the final time you’ll see your birth mother. You haven’t seen her since she suckled you as an infant. She won’t give birth again,” he said.
“Birth mother? I don’t understand.”
“No, but you will. That is the woman who gave life to you and to your sisters.”
Kat’sar was number three of fourteen, about to be fifteen. Only two of her sisters remained here. The others? She did not know what had happened to them. One day they were here, the next they were gone. Only lately had she given any thought to their disappearance.
She studied the woman San’ar had called her mother. The woman was covered in coarse black hair, except for the soles of her feet and the palms of her hands. Her eyes, fixed on the robots, were deep brown.
“She looks nothing like me. I only have hair on my head.” Even now she felt the long silver-blue tresses of her hair tickle the top of her bare buttocks. “And my eyes are not brown. They’re violet with silver flecks.”
“Nevertheless, she is your mother. You will learn more about why you were created soon.”
“You said this is her last birth. Why? What will become of her?” She arched her eyebrows.
“She has given birth once every year since we brought her here at puberty. She can no longer conceive. Therefore, she is of no further use to us. She will be returned to the planet below and left to fend for herself.”
Frowning, she peered into San’ar’s eyes. “That is unfair. Cruel even. She’s been here since she was a young girl and has no idea how to survive down there. From what you’ve told me, life down there is harsh at best.”
San’ar gazed at her in surprise. “You have emotions? Another success in our experiments. I will inform the others.”
Kat’sar thought of San’ar’s fellows. There were four others like him. They lived in a part of the twenty-level structure inaccessible to her and the thousand other females like her who lived on Tran’ort. The robots pulled the tiny infant from between her mother’s legs, and one of them carried the baby away.
San’ar took Kat’sar by the hand and led her to another area of Tran’ort. He released her hand once they reached the door. “Time to begin your daily routine, Kat’sar.”
In silence, she watched him stroll away. When she entered the room, a pair of robots waited. Of late, she had become frustrated by her daily routine. After several hours of rigorous exercise that kept her in top physical shape, she was too fatigued and sweaty to think about how boring life had become.
She dragged herself into another room, where she was meticulously cleaned, massaged and groomed. When the robotic attendant finished, her skin was feather soft and radiated a normal healthy glow. Her fastidiously brushed hair glistened. The aches in her muscles were gone.
Next, she attended class. She had a strong command of language, although she had little idea what many of the words meant. In some of the sciences, she was well versed, while others she knew very little about.
Astronomy, she understood well. Easily, she identified planets, stars and constellations, where they were located and their composition. She could do many complex mathematical calculations in her head. And yet, to her frustration, she knew almost nothing about social structure and biology, intelligent organisms or history.
Her only understanding of society was based upon her interaction with the other women she lived with. The robotic instructor avoided the subjects she wished to learn more about and refused to answer the direct questions she asked.
She stopped herself from stamping her bare foot on the unyielding floor, which would only result in pain. Instead, she glared at the robot. It ignored her.
Why have I become so dissatisfied with my life here? The other women don’t appear to be unhappy.
When she walked into the final room, she looked at many instruments and gauges that surrounded the single bed in the center. She shuddered. She had no idea what took place here, only that she had been coming here every day since she was a little girl. Climbing on the bed, she laid back, shifted until she was comfortable and then fixed her gaze on the robotic attendant. When she became motionless, it rolled forward and attached a band to her wrist. She closed her eyes. Quickly, awareness faded. When she awoke, hours had passed. As customary, she had no idea what had transpired. On rare occasions, she would ache.
The schedule of her day now finished, she went to the cafeteria and ordered a bowl of tanshu, the same substance she had been eating every meal for as long as she could remember. Sitting off to one side, she glanced at the other women. No two were exactly the same. Their different skin tones, hair and eyes presented a rainbow of colors that filled the room.
When she finished eating, Kat’sar went to the lift shaft. She stepped into thin air and whisked upward. Grab holds were positioned at each level for passengers to grasp, to stop their progress and exit. The shaft next to this one was identical, but instead lowered riders.
When she reached the top of the structure, she stepped out and strolled across the smooth floor to the edge of the edifice. This was the only area in the entire complex where she could stand in the open air. Placing her hands on the waist-high wall, she glanced up at a deep-blue sky. White fluffy clouds floated across it. Her unobstructed view, allowed her to see for countless miles all around her.
Next, she looked down at the ground two tho
usand meters below. It amazed her how Tran’ort could remain suspended and stationary above the ground. When she had asked San’ar how that was possible, he said, “Curiosity? I like that you have developed curiosity, Kat’sar. How Tran’ort stays up is by antigravity.” She had no idea what antigravity was, and San’ar would not explain it to her.
A gentle breeze swirled through her long hair. This area was not climate-controlled like the rest of the structure. The warm rays of the sun felt wonderful on her naked body. She stood in her most favorite of places, where she came to dwell on thoughts. She had a lot to question, more with each passing day.
Glancing over the side, she saw five air-cars parked at the lowest level.
I wonder when San’ar will take me for a ride in one of them again.
She thoroughly enjoyed sailing through the air, sometimes slowly and sometimes at great speeds above the ground. Though he never landed, San’ar did fly leisurely at treetop level and let her view the surface from close up. To her knowledge, she was the only one he took on these excursions. Thinking of that, she smiled.
I am special.
Deeply immersed in thought, she jumped slightly when his voice startled her.
“I thought I’d find you here.” Stepping closer, he patted her affectionately on the butt. “Daydreaming again?”
“Thinking.”
“You do a lot of that. Especially up here.”
“I have lots of questions and few answers.”
“Yes.”
“And you have no intension of answering them, do you?”
“No.”
“Why, Master?” She knew when she called him Master it would let him know of her displeasure.
He ignored her comment. “Come. Time is short.” He clasped her hand and led her to the lift shaft. They rode down to a level she had not been in before, an area restricted to San’ar and his fellows. Still leading her by the hand, they entered a room that contained a case just slightly longer than she was tall and a meter wider.
“Take this.” He handed her a small pill and a glass of water. After she complied, he opened the case lid. “Climb in.”
The interior of the case was molded in the form of her body. When she was seated in the case, San’ar gave her an object. “These are called headphones. When I tell you, put them over your ears. They are connected to a computer. It will teach you more things than I can”
“Headphones? What type of computer?”
“All will be explained. Please, we don’t have much time.”
Already, she could feel her eyes growing heavy. She knew the pill San’ar had given to her had to be something to make her sleep. “I don’t understand.”
“When you awake you will. This is probably the last time you will see me.” He took her by the hand. “You are my child. My genes flow in you. I’ve made other modifications to you that you’ll discover when the time is right.”
She looked at him, her eyes wide. “You’re my father?”
“Yes. But now, put the phones over your ears and lie back. Sleep, my daughter.”
Lying back into the body-shaped impression, the material further molded to her, encasing her in its softness until only her head was exposed. In silence, she stared up at him, her eyes filled with wonder. At last, she could not keep them open any longer. Her long silvery-blue lashes closed.
CHAPTER TWO
The capsule bobbed to the surface from its resting place on the floor of the ocean. Remotes, released periodically to the surface over the years, informed the computer inside that the time had arrived. Sensors flashed into operation, and located the nearest landmass. A miniature motor surged to life and steered the case toward it. The passenger inside remained asleep.
The sensors identified the mass as an island. They located a river and directed the capsule into its mouth. From there, they guided it into a feeding stream to come at last to a small lagoon. Antigravity motors, floated the box onto the beach and lowered it gently to the sand. All motion stopped. Only the calling of birds and the distant screeching of monkeys disturbed the stillness.
Slowly, the foam-like material covering the body inside melted. The needle inserts in Kat’sar’s arms retracted. Her eyes rolled under closed eyelids. Finally, she opened her eyes and peered up at the ceiling. Awareness came slowly. She studied the LCD readings.
She had learned so much while she slept. She scanned digital readouts.
Body functions, normal.
Outside air and temperature, optimal.
She could not wait to confront San’ar with her newfound knowledge.
My father.
He had a lot to answer for. She had learned that in addition to having sisters, she had brothers, though she had never seen any of them. She had never seen any male other than San’ar and his four other companions.
Her gaze drifted downward at the many red-colored blotches of information. One contained a string of numbers. Below the numbers, she read time elapsed since capsule closure. She looked at the numbers again…and then, again. Doing rapid mental calculations, she let this revelation sink in.
“No way!” she exclaimed. “Six point five-three-four million years! There has to be some mistake. I saw San’ar only a few hours ago. A day ago, at the most. The computer must be wrong.” And yet, with sinking sensation, she knew the number readouts were correct. The machine embedded in the foamy substance beneath her was correct. The one under her was not the only computer with her. The picture of a small electrical device formed in her mind. That machine was much more than a simple computer. The chip, not much larger than her thumbnail, was located deep beneath the skin on the upper curvature of her right breast. A new word flashed into her mind: Artificial Intelligence. That was the term that described the machine beneath her flesh. The AI, much more than a storage device, was able to supply answers using data provided by others. It was able to learn, to reason and to act on its own.
“Hello, Kat’sar.” A mental voice boomed in her mind and sounded remarkably like San’ar’s. “My name is Jar’san. I’m the AI you’re thinking of. Our creator, San’ar, imbedded me within you. Micro connections allow us to remain in constant contact.”
She shuddered at the thought of having a machine capable of reading her mind.
“You can deactivate the link any time by pressing your left collar bone.”
A picture of the spot formed in her mind.
“It will remain off until you press the spot again. During that time I will have access to your senses, but I will not be able to read your thoughts or take any action. Does that make you feel better? Ah yes, I sense it does. So long as the implant in you is active, I can feel what you feel, see what you see and hear what you hear. This will allow me to analyze your surroundings and help you make decisions.”
“This is far too much information for me to process,” she said out loud.
“I understand. It will take time to get used to. For now, suppose we get outside this Mil’ort and view the new environment in which we find ourselves.”
“Mil’ort?”
“The name of the capsule you’re in.”
“Oh.”
“There is a button.”
It was strange, almost eerie, to feel her eyes move, seemingly on their own accord, when Jar’san took control of them.
“Press that to activate the lid which will allow you to exit.”
She pressed the button. The seals hissed when released, and the lid swung open. Her eyes snapped closed in response to the sudden stab of illumination that flooded into the case. She inhaled deeply. The first time her lungs had breathed in fresh air in many eons. Swinging her legs over the side, she stood, uneasily at first, but soon she gained strength. Unfamiliar with the terrain, she looked at her bare feet as she sank into the sand. It was the first time she’d ever felt anything against them other than stone. The g
rainy, gritty, sensation of sand, squished between her toes. It felt strange, yet wonderful. The warm tropical heat caressed her naked body. The bright sunshine made her skin tingle. She had only limited experience with this sort of feeling since the Mil’ort was climate-controlled. She wobbled when her legs threatened to give way. It took a few minutes before long-unused muscles became accustomed to bearing weight.
“This feeling will pass. Electronic stimulation has kept your body toned and strong.”
“I’m feeling better, steadier already,” she answered Jar’san’s thought.
While glancing down at her feet and the sand, she saw the crystalline diamond-looking ornament in her navel.
She accessed some of the vast information imparted to her while she had slept. She knew the crystal was much more than a pretty decoration. She looked at her wrists and ran her hand over her neck. She missed the bracelets and necklaces she and the other women had worn daily, the ones that glittered and gleamed, casting refracted light in every direction whenever they walked or moved their arms. The bracelets and necklaces were the only items of apparel she and the other women had ever worn.
She knew the crystal was functional. It collected energy from sunlight and transferred it through special neural receptors to feed the globe of power situated deep inside her, just below her navel. Even now, standing in the sun, she could feel that globe within her pulsating, getting warm as energy fed into it. This was just one of the many alterations that San’ar had made to her body.
“But, what does that globe power?” she asked.
“If you will allow me I will show you,” Jar’san answered.
“Okay.”
“Do you see that tree over there standing alone by the edge of the lagoon?”
“Yes.”
“Point your finger at it and focus your eyes on it.”
Raising her arm, she followed the AI’s instructions. Suddenly, her stomach trembled and her arm tingled. A bolt of lightning burst from her outstretched finger and struck the tree. It erupted into flames and rapidly burned to the ground.
