Iris (The Color of Water and Sky Book 1)

by Andrew Gates

“Uh, thanks I guess,” the boy said as she shut the door.

  That’s enough of that, Sanja thought as she rubbed her face. She had been feeling tired lately. Ever since Saljov’s escape, her already busy schedule had been overflowing. It was nice to have this break, even if it were a brief one.

  She walked back to her bedroom and gathered her things. Her suit had been thrown all over the floor. As she picked up her clothes, she noticed her work pod was still in her suit pocket. She pulled it out and manually activated it, just to briefly check her messages. To her surprise, there were two missed calls from Iris Vitneskja.

  What could she possibly want? Sanja wondered, staring at the screen. As always, Iris Vitneskja had submitted her weekly report on Sunday. Today was only Wednesday. It was far too early for her updates.

  She’s probably going to ask for more access to data, Sanja guessed. In her previous report, the teacher asked for access to the inter-station communications from almost 200 years ago. With all the work she had to do, Sanja did not feel like fighting her request. Saying yes was easier and took considerably less time.

  The tired investigator sat down on her bed and returned the call, wondering why the teacher couldn’t just bother to write another message like she had done so many times before.

  When Iris finally answered, her voice sounded tired but excited.

  “Dr. Parnel!” she said immediately. “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

  “I saw,” the doctor replied casually. By the tone of Iris’s voice, this sounded important.

  “I know it’s late. Is this a good time? Are you busy?”

  Sanja sighed.

  “I’m at home. I’ve been all over the black zones today, even stopped by the OCAFCEO. Believe me Iris, I could use a casual call right now,” she responded.

  “Well I’m not sure how casual this is going to be. I wanted to share some information with you on my research.”

  That was a relief. She was almost certain Iris was calling to ask for access to restricted files.

  “Why now? Why not wait until Sunday like we’ve been doing so far?”

  “Because I’ve discovered something huge. Well, I actually found it on Sunday after I sent you my report. It’s a secret language, or two secret languages. I wanted to wait until I’d completely understood it before I shared it with you. It took me a few days, but I’ve actually managed to translate the transcripts from the early transmissions.”

  Sanja had no idea what Iris was talking about. Those early transmissions were nonsense. Experts in every foreign language took a look at those transcripts 200 years ago and none of it matched any of the surface tongues.

  “Iris, slow down. What are you saying?”

  The teacher took a deep breath before continuing. She was clearly excited about whatever she had discovered.

  “Okay, I know I said a lot. Let me take it from the start. There weren’t any technical issues with the system like a lot of people think. We heard them perfectly. The Pacific and Indian Stations were both speaking to us in what they thought was English.”

  “How can they think it’s English?” Sanja asked. “English is a common language with rules.”

  “Exactly!” Iris responded. “And if you compare the two stations, they both have the same general structure, the same rules, but with different words.”

  Sanja placed her hand on her head. She could tell this was going to be insane.

  “I’ll show you what I mean,” the teacher continued, speaking quickly. “In our version of English we have the pronouns I, you, he or she or it and for plural there’s we, you and they. Now in the Pacific Station they have the same pronouns but different words. They have A, yar, ha and for plural wahr, yin and day. The words have a similar sound to them, but they’re all slightly different. And the Indian Station has their own totally different set of words, again, similar in sound and structure to our English.”

  Sanja was completely taken aback by this. That was a lot of information to take in all at once, especially so unexpectedly.

  “Uh… slow down again, Ms. Vitneskja. So you’re saying these stations developed their own versions of English?”

  “I am.”

  That did not make sense. The stations were filled while the war was still raging on the surface and it was only a short time later when humans woke up from the cryogenic freezing. There would have been no time to invent a brand new language.

  “Ms. Vitneskja, I’m finding this all hard to believe.”

  “I know you are, but stay with me. It’s important, I’m telling you. That’s why I’m calling. I wanted to tell you about this as soon as I had it done, you know, completely translated. I didn’t want to wait until Sunday.”

  Sanja had to slow her down.

  “Well perhaps I should clarify. I’m having trouble understanding why these stations suddenly invented a language out of nowhere and didn’t realize it wasn’t English.”

  “Because,” the eager teacher continued, “the language had evolved. Over time. If you look at the origin of any language, even English, there are subtle differences that occur over a series of years.”

  “How many years?”

  “Well, have you ever read Chaucer?”

  Of course not.

  “No,” Sanja replied quite bluntly. She did not even know what that was.

  “If you look at Middle English writings from the 14th or 15th Centuries, you’ll notice the language is different than today.” Sanja could hear Iris rummaging through her things for a moment. “Look, in Middle English the words were a bit more varied across location. But to simplify things for example I, you, he, she and it was sometimes ich, thou, he, sche and hit. And you had the same thing in plural. We, you, they was we, ye, heo. Don’t you see? Our language evolved from Chaucer’s Middle English into what we have today. Somehow today’s English evolved for the other stations.”

  “How is that possible?” Sanja asked.

  “Well it just happens over a series of years,” the teacher replied. “It occurs naturally. Evolution, if you will.”

  “But what you’re saying must take hundreds or thousands of years.”

  Iris paused for a few seconds and took a deep breath.

  “Yes,” she eventually said, “and that’s where the weird part comes in. Look, these languages are real. I can show you everything I have to prove this. The only explanation I can think of, and you’re going to think this is crazy, is that somehow time is acting differently on different stations.”

  Shit, now what the hell does that mean?

  “Like time travel?” Sanja asked. She could not believe Iris would go there.

  “Not necessarily. Time travel might be a possibility, yes, but Einstein theorized that time was relative. Time behaves differently based on the speed of something compared to what’s around it. I mean… something like that. I’m no scientist. As far as I understand it, the faster something’s moving, the slower time will act on that object relative to other things.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “No. Like I said, I’m no scientist, but that’s what I’ve been able to figure out.”

  Sanja tried to piece together what the rushed woman was saying.

  “So… so you think that the station is moving quickly and that’s why time is acting slower on us than it is to the other stations?” Sanja asked.

  “Maybe. I’m not exactly sure.”

  “Ms. Vitneskja, you are aware that this station is connected to the seabed? It’s literally built into the Puerto Rico trench.”

  “Yes, yes, I know that. I just… look, all I’m saying is that time must be messed up. The messages refer to something called the long sleep. I’m still not sure what that is, but I think whatever it is, it’s messing up time. I don’t know if it’s relativity or time travel like you said. What I do know is that the other stations were speaking to us in evolved English, English that would have taken hundreds or thousands of years to develop. That’s what I am sure of.”

&nb
sp; Sanja was starting to get hungry. She stood up from her bed and walked into the kitchen.

  “So what do we do with this information then, Ms. Vitneskja? How does this help us?”

  Iris paused for a moment.

  “I’m not sure about that. At least not yet. But I have a strong feeling it has something to do with that orb. The two things are just so irregular, they have to be connected.”

  Sanja opened her cabinet and pulled out a box of carbohydrate cubes. According to the box, these were red flavor.

  “Look, this all sounds pretty crazy. But neither of us are experts on this. Here’s what we’re going to do: I want you to prepare all your findings in writing, just like you do with your regular weekly reports. But I want this report done by tonight. I don’t care if you have to stay up until school starts. Send a copy to me and forward one to Dr. Ahmet Bay. I’ll give you his Meganet contact information after this call. He’s a physicist who works alongside me. He helped with my initial analysis of the crashed vessel. I want your report to be as detailed as possible. Share it with me and Dr. Bay and nobody else. You are aware that anything you find as part of this investigation will remain classified.”

  “I am,” Iris replied.

  Sanja smiled. Iris was trustworthy and easy to keep under control. It was good to have someone like her on board.

  “Good. So I will expect to see this in writing as soon as possible,” she said.

  Sanja popped one of the red flavored cubes in her mouth. It tasted surprisingly good.

  “I can do that, but it might take me some time. There is a lot of data. Would you like me to include my full translations and grammar charts and-”

  “Share that and share your hypothesis. Everything you’ve read about Einstein and time and how you think that plays into this. Include that too. That’s the part Dr. Bay will be the most interested in seeing. Half of my job is knowing who needs to look at what. I’m sure I’ll share other details with other specialists as well. That’s how I handle every report you’ve sent to me so far. But I want him to see your full report.”

  “Okay, I can do that,” Iris said.

  Just then Sanja heard a vibration coming from her kitchen counter. She turned to look at it and saw that her personal pod was receiving a call. Goddamn this is a busy day, she thought as she chewed the red colored cube.

  “Look, I’m receiving another call on my personal pod. Keep me updated on any new findings you have, okay?” she said with her mouth half full.

  “Very well. I’ll send you my report as soon as-”

  Sanja ended the call. There was no sense hearing that teacher blabber on any longer about time travel and ridiculous theories. While Sanja could not deny Iris Vitneskja was brilliant at what she did, there were times in her reports when Iris seemed wholly oblivious to how ignorant she sounded. This seemed like one of those times.

  Sanja put her work pod down on the countertop and picked up her personal pod as it vibrated. It was Commander Jordan Grey. Once again, this was not someone Sanja expected to see calling so late in the evening.

  “Good to hear from you, Commander,” Sanja said as she placed the pod to her ear.

  “Sanja, we’ve got a situation. I wanted to inform you ASAP,” the man replied in a serious tone.

  “What is it? Is it Saljov?” she asked, hopeful that somehow he had been found and captured.

  “No, forget about your stupid feud with this Saljov character. The station’s sensors are picking up movement outside. It’s not one of ours and it’s moving fast.”

  For the first time in a long time Sanja felt her heart rate pick up. There were few things in this world that frightened her. Maybe months ago, before the Cassidy disaster, this news would have meant nothing. But after seeing what the mysterious orb had done to their craft, Sanja knew anything unidentifiable like this was cause for alarm.

  “Which sensors?” she asked.

  “Motion trackers. It’s big. Definitely not a fish and definitely not one of ours. We don’t have visual confirmation yet, but it should be in visual range soon. I’m bringing all hands to defense stations now. Just wanted to keep you informed. I thought you should know.”

  “Thank you,” Sanja replied. “Get back to your job. I’m sure you have a lot to do right now.”

  “Roger,” the commander replied, ending the call.

  Looks like I’m going back to work again, Sanja realized. She quickly stuffed a handful of cubes into her mouth and chewed on them as she returned to her bedroom to pick up the scattered clothes from the floor.

  Whether she had been summoned or not, Sanja knew she had better get to the Strategic Action Room. If the approaching objects were of the same origin as the orb from her investigation, her knowledge of the situation would be of great use.

  She quickly got dressed, remembering the strong young hands of the boy who had removed her clothes in the first place. He may have been a moron, but he was exactly what she needed today.

  As she put on her clothes, she realized how much her outfit screamed government. She wore her heals with a black skirt, a white shirt and a black jacket with a necklace of silver beads. If Tracey Saljov were here he’d undoubtedly make some kind of remark.

  After gathering her things and doing a quick check to make sure she had everything she needed, she grabbed her ID and headed out the door. As she exited out into the halls, she sent Yuri a voice message telling him to meet her at the SAR.

  The white halls were empty this time of the night. She wondered how many people were winding down, getting ready for bed with no idea that something was heading this way. The station could very well be in danger in just a short matter of minutes and nobody had any idea.

  Sanja’s personal pod vibrated again. She lifted it out of her jacket pocket and held it up.

  “Play message,” she said aloud, opting to use the voice controls.

  “Message sent from Commander Jordan Grey,” the pod’s automatic voice said. “Text reads as follows: Target is hostile. Enemy engaged. Stay safe.”

  Sanja put her pod back into her pocket and removed her shoes. She held them in her hand as she raced forward. This was the moment she had feared.

  We’re under attack.

  It only took her about 20 steps until the lights started flickering. The station’s defenses must have been drawing a lot of the power. Slowly she began to hear rustling in the residences around her. People were either waking up or curious why their electronics were spontaneously going in and out.

  She approached her personal locker at the end of the hall where the white walls met yellow and unlocked it with her digicard. She pulled out the power scooter from inside and hopped on, not bothering to lock the locker door or put her helmet on. Wasting no time, she whizzed through the transition zone as fast as she could, far above the legal speed limit.

  Sanja spotted several uniformed Navy men and women speeding along as well, likely heading to the same place she was. Onlookers could clearly tell something was wrong. Their faces looked panicked as Sanja and the Navy sped down the halls while the lights above their heads flickered on and off.

  Suddenly a piercing boom sent a terrible shake through the walls. The boom was so loud Sanja’s hearing went fuzzy for a moment and the shake so powerful it knocked the scooter onto the floor. She held her ears, covering them from the noise as she stumbled back up. Her left knee was bleeding from skidding on the floor. It hurt a bit, but she would be fine.

  A young dark-skinned Navy woman in a clean white uniform came rushing over to her. She yelled some words in Sanja’s direction, though it was hard for her to make out what she said.

  “I can’t hear you!” Sanja replied, hardly even able to hear herself.

  “I said let me help you. You’re hurt.” Sanja could hear her this time, though the words were faint.

  “I’m fine. It’s just a scratch on the knee,” she explained. Her hearing seemed back to normal.

  The woman shook her head.

  “No ma’am,
your nose. You’re bleeding.”

  Sanja pressed her finger to her nose. Sure enough, her finger was covered in blood.

  “Oh, that’s also nothing. I’ll be okay. You do your job.”

  A young blond Navy man rode his scooter over to the two of them and hopped off.

  “I saw you fall off your scooter. Are you okay?” he asked.

  Sanja threw her hands into the air.

  “Why does everyone keep asking me that? I’m fine. Do I look like I need help?”

  These young people are worse than Fielder.

  “What the hell was that?” the young woman asked, this time turning her attention to the man who’d just arrived.

  “I don’t know but-”

  “We’re under attack,” Sanja interrupted. “They hit the station with something. I don’t know what. Get to wherever you’re supposed to be. It’s not a drill.”

  “What? How do you know this?” the man asked.

  “Because it’s my job to know. Look, get to wherever you’re supposed to be. I’m fine,” she explained.

  The woman looked around at all the other Navy members speeding by. In an instant her face showed signs of worry. Her breathing picked up and she was shivering worse than a newborn baby. It must have only just now occurred to her that something was wrong.

  “Where do you think they hit us?” the man asked instead of getting to wherever he needed to be.

  “We’re close to the edge of the station. The hull’s edge is only a few hundred meters in that direction,” Sanja explained, pointing towards where the sound came from.

  “Wait,” the young panicked woman added, “wait, how do you know we’re under attack?”

  “I know,” Sanja said. “Now get going, both of you.”

  Sanja picked her scooter back up and was about to stand on it when she realized the handle bar was broken. The right handle had cracked from the fall and was now hanging off, barely attached anymore.

  “I can give you a lift,” the man said. “Where are you going?”

  “The SAR, can you get me there?”

  “I was heading that way too. I’m to report to Commander Faulkner.”

  “Good,” Sanja said, “yes, that’s good. Linda can help. She can help get this under control.”