by West, Shay
The clouds returned, obscuring the view. Martha didn't know whether to be disappointed or glad. The colors were beautiful. The swirls of yellow, orange, and gold reminded her of the piece of china she had unearthed while scouting the ruins of Denver back on Earth. And yet seeing the gouts of scalding liquid sent her pulse racing.
Mirka took the pod into the swirling clouds and made her way back to the research building. Those from Earth got their first glimpse of the huge floating buildings of Kromin.
--How do they stay suspended in the air? Brent asked, getting as close to the view screen as he could.
--The atmosphere is very dense. The metal we use is light enough to allow the construction of buildings and yet strong enough to withstand even the most fierce wind storms. Gravity on our planet is also much less than that of your planet. Construction such as this would not be possible there.
The Earth Chosen again looked baffled at most of what Mirka tried to convey. Since the telepaths communicated with symbols and pictures and ideas, it was hard for the Earthmen to fathom what they meant by alloys of metals mined on orbiting moons or the process by which their engineers crafted the massive buildings. They did finally grasp the notion of gravity when the Kromins explained that it is the force that keeps things on the surface of Earth. They had seen this force at work; they just did not have a name for it.
--It is nearing time for the sleep cue.
Mirka nodded. --The Earth Chosen and Forka will stay in my domicile. The rest of you can sleep in your own domiciles. Please come to me as soon as you finish with your cleaning ritual tomorrow.
The Kromin Chosen nodded and made their way out of the hangar bay, heading for their own rooms. Mirka led the Earthmen to her rooms, which were large enough to accommodate all of them.
--Why are there no windows? Brad asked Mirka as they walked through the hallway.
--I do not know. But the only way to see the outside world is to see it through the shielded hangar door or the viewscreen of the travel pod.
--I couldn't imagine not being able to see outside.
Mirka knew how he felt. --I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but it doesn't. I remember wishing for Master Brok's use of magic so that I could use it to make myself a window. I would look forward to the days when my work took me to other buildings or cities, just so I could see some color, even if it was in the form of noxious gases. Be thankful you don't have to be here for years.
More talk was cut off by the sleep cue. Mirka directed the Earthmen to lie down on the floor and said that their brains would take care of the rest.
--I don't understand…Forka began, but as soon as he was prostrate, his body fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
The next morning, the group was aroused by the waking cue. Mirka directed them to the cleaning station. She reminded them to remove their designation badges before entering. The Earth Chosen and the Guardian washed and dried in short order. They replaced their badges and waited for Mirka to emerge from the cleaning cubicle.
--That was the strangest bath I have ever taken. Forka said.--How can one get clean without scrubbing? It is hard to believe that whatever was sprayed on us will clean as good as a piece of cloth.
--The foam cleans more efficiently and does not require a cloth. Having a cloth would require cleaning or disposal. It is an extra step that is not needed. Mirka explained. --Let us eat. Today I will show you the birthing chambers.
Mirka led the group to the food pellet dispenser. She hit numerical keys, telling the machine to spit out enough pellets for the eight of them. The dispenser made several beeping and clicking noises before a cylindrical tube rose from the metal table with a whooshing sound. Mirka opened the door on the side of the cylinder and took out the eight red pellets.
--What is this? Sloan gave the food a sideways glance.
--These are food pellets, designed with the perfect balance of nutrients and water that will sustain a Kromin for the entire day. They are not appetizing in any way. Mirka had been so glad to return home and enjoy more palatable fare. She turned the floppy red pellet over in her hand and forced herself to eat the bland, tasteless food.
The others followed suit, their faces screwing up with the strangeness of the pellets. Brent and Brad wolfed theirs down, getting to the end of the task as quickly as possible.
--The food on Gentra seems quite normal compared to this. Martha said, wishing she had a tall glass of water to wash the taste out of her mouth.
--Try eating this for years. Mirka said.
--No thank you. I yearn to return home and eat real food. Martha said with conviction.
The Kromin Chosen arrived, having completed their daily cleansing and consumption of their food pellet. They did not understand the reaction of the Earth Chosen to the food.
--The purpose of food is to provide the body with nutrients, is it not? This serves that purpose. Number 3 said.
--On our world, food provides nutrients, but it also tastes good. And smells good. Nothing whets the appetite more than smelling the aroma of food cooking over a roaring fire. When you visit my planet, you will understand. Mark said, his thoughts turning to some of his favorite smells, trying to force down the last of the food pellet. Even the texture was strange.
--Shall we go? Try to maintain your composure when we get to the birthing room. The sight of it will shock you, but I feel it is important for you to see for yourselves how this race reproduces. I hope they are ready.
The group rode an elevator to the topmost floor of the building. They emerged into a well-lit hallway that seemed to go on forever into the distance. There were no other doors except the main double doors into the birthing chamber. The Earth Chosen found their heart rates picking up speed as they neared the end of the hall.
Brent stayed close to Martha, taking comfort in her presence. She looked after him like a big sister would.
--Are you excited to see what's in the chamber? Martha asked.
Brent shook his head. –I really think I'd rather not. But I suppose the reason we're here is to learn about our Kromin comrades.
Mirka took a deep breath, hoping that there were not many clone technicians in the chamber, and pushed a large grey button located next to the heavy double doors. The doors slid sideways into recesses in the wall. The entry split to the left and right, back toward the hallway they had just entered. Mirka took them to the left.
--There is nothing here. Robert conveyed, trying to keep his thought quiet. There was no sound in the room. Even the flapping noise of his feet on the cool metal floor seemed much too loud. The complete silence of this world made his skin crawl.
Mirka led the group to a point half way into the room and stopped. She touched the wall and a piece of it came downward, revealing a keypad with strange symbols and numbers. Mirka punched in the code and the metal wall began to slowly move to the side.
Behind a translucent polymer wall stood row upon row of egg-shaped containers made of the same grey metal that everything else on the planet was made of. Grey, white, and black wires came out of the tops of the egg-shaped pods and entered the ceiling. Every now and then, the wires would give a little twitch.
Mirka touched more buttons on the keypad and the containers revolved, their contents coming into view.
--What in the name of God? Robert asked, his mind trying to grasp what he was seeing.
Inside the egg-shaped pods were tiny, wrinkled Kromins, their bodies covered in the white, black, and grey wires that all came together just above their heads before exiting the pod. The clones were immersed in some sort of yellowish green goo that distorted their appearance.
--What is this? What are those things? Martha asked.
--Those are the clones. Number 3 said.
Although the Earth Chosen had heard the word spoken since tthey had first met the Kromins on Gentra, they hadn't had time to ask what “clone” actually meant.
--All Kromins are exactly the same, as you see before you. We are identical d
own to the genetic level. When an adult clone dies, a clone that has reached physical maturity is awakened. These clones are the young ones. The older clones are on the other side of the room. Number 5 pointed to Mirka, who was already at the keypad, opening the wall.
The pods were exactly the same, only the Kromins inside them were larger, the size of an adult. Their eyes were closed; their chests rose and fell slowly. Every now and then, the fingers and toes would twitch, causing the Earth Chosen to jump back in startled fear.
--These adults will be awakened when a clone dies. They are shown the basics of the job that they will be performing. All other knowledge is implanted as they grow. Number 4 pointed to the white wires that emerged from the clone's head.
--Why? Robert found his anger growing by the second as he looked at the abominations floating in their yellow goo. --Why do you do this? This is not right! This is not God's way.
--Who is God? Number 5 asked.
--God is the Creator of Earth and all life that lives there. I can only assume that He also created the galaxy, which also means he also made your world. Robert said, fists clenched at his sides. The other Kromins on this planet might not be able to sense his anger, but he was filled with it. His voice shook with the need to express how wrong this was.
--No one made our world. It just is. I do not see the relevance to our birthing chambers.
--God created man and woman, and he made them in such a way that they have the ability to create a new life, to take part in God's special miracle. It is a precious gift, for a mother and a father to be able to bring forth a new life into the world, to care for it, and watch it grow. But this… He indicated the room with the baby Kromins inside --This is not a miracle. This is an abomination, a slight to the precious gift of life that He has given us!
--I have to agree with Robert. This is awful. I can't imagine having to spend part of my life locked away in some tiny pod, with no contact with my mother or father. Martha covered her belly with her hands and hung her head in sadness.
--We do not know this God. This is the only way for us to procreate. Number 4 said.
--We have not always been as we are now. Circumstances dictated that we adopt a new way of life if we were to survive. Number 2 said.
--What circumstances? What could possibly have happened to justify this? Mark asked. He, too, felt sickened by the bodies floating in the pods, alive and yet not living.
This is what I was hoping for. Mirka feared to move lest she interrupt what was happening. No one had ever told her the history of the Kromin world; even the Masters of Gentra did not know the story of how this planet came to be. Mirka had gambled that fate would force the Kromins to open up to their Chosen comrades about their past. She stood transfixed as Number 1 began to speak.
--Many millions of years ago, our world was a solid planet, with mountains and seas. Our technology allowed us to make buildings taller than you could imagine, to travel into the far reaches of space, to create music and paintings. We had an abundance of life forms that lived on land and in the oceans.
--All of that changed when our sun grew in size. The radiation from the growing sun destroyed our ability to reproduce. The top scientists estimated that all Kromins would be dead within one hundred years. Our leaders demanded a solution, an answer that would save our race from annihilation.
-- Explorers went in search of a new planet we could colonize, but most of the people refused to leave. Specialists designed a metal alloy to protect us from the radiation from the sun. As the sun grew larger, the plant and animal life died off, forcing the nutrition specialists to figure out a way to create food.
--The agreement to begin cloning took much longer for the leaders to accept. It was only after all other possibilities had been exhausted that they agreed that cloning was the only way for our people to survive.
--Our people focused solely on survival. Our sex organs and portions of our brains relating to emotions were lost or changed in the few thousand years it took for the people to adapt.
--I think the capacity to no longer feel emotions is linked to the process of the cloning. The placement of the wires damages certain areas of the brain that are linked to emotions. Mirka said, just as stunned as the others at hearing the tale of Kromin's early days. Two of the Earth Chosen were stiff and refusing to even look at the birthing chambers. One was standing with is face nearly touching the polymer, his head tilting left and right, trying to see the furthest reaches of the chamber.
--That is an interesting hypothesis. The evidence seems to support it. Number 1 said.
The Earth Chosen stood without moving, listening to this terrifying tale of survival. They knew that if such a thing were to happen to their world, they would all perish. They did not possess the technology necessary to save themselves from such a catastrophe.
Robert made himself look at the Kromin children in their pods, blissfully unaware of the emotional turmoil that he felt over their entrapment. He sighed as he realized that the anger was subsiding somewhat, although it was still there lurking just below the surface. This is why the Masters wanted us to travel to each other's worlds. There is much we need to learn about one another.
--Perhaps we should take a tour of the atmospheric buildings? Mirka thought it might be best to leave the birthing chamber and see something a little less emotionally charged.
ASTRA
THE VOLGONS WERE IN a semi-circle out in front of the rest of the group. They moved like predators, making no sound as they passed through the underbrush, each step calculating, precise. Master Brok had not wanted to travel by the main road. He wished to come to Enisae unobserved. The closer they got to their destination, the more a dark foreboding had begun to set in. The Volgons sensed danger and situated themselves at the front of the group.
Kyron put up his hand, signaling the group to stop. He and Voilor ran a little ways ahead before crouching down and finally crawling on their bellies to the top of a small rise. They returned and shared whispered words with their Volgon comrades and their Guardian before loping back to the Astrans.
“Brok. There's something I think you should see,” Kyron said, giving the Astran Chosen a sidelong glance. “I think it might be best if you come alone.”
Master Brok's blood ran cold. “What have you seen?”
“Death.”
The Astran Chosen sucked in a breath and huddled closer together. They could not help but remember the half-buried child back at the farm. They didn't want to see any more death.
“You stay here. I will return in a moment.” Master Brok strode off in the direction of the hill, each step becoming harder and harder to take. What did the Volgons see that they wished to keep from the other Chosen? Kyron and Voilor hit the ground, and Master Brok groaned inwardly as he followed suit. He crawled after the two Volgons, his breath coming in gasps by the time he reached the top of the hill. He scowled at the backs of the two Volgons, who did not seem out of breath at all.
“Dear Spirits!” Brok whispered. His eyesight was not as good as the Volgons, but he could clearly see the bodies hanging from the cottonwoods, burned and blackened beyond recognition, swaying in the breeze. A slight shifting of the wind brought the sickeningly sweet stench of death and the sound of ropes creaking against the tree branches.
What has happened here? Who could be responsible for this? Brok wondered just how long he and the Astran Chosen had been gone. I need answers. He also knew that there would be no way to hide this from the Astran Chosen. He wanted to protect them from this evil sight, but they would see much worse when the Mekans arrived.
“The dead stretch as far as we can see. There has not been any movement along the road,” Voilor said curtly. “We should stay to the left of the hill and follow the tree line to get as close to the city as possible. But once the trees are gone, we will be exposed.”
Brok nodded. “Let's go back to the others. The sooner we reach Enisae, the sooner I will have some answers.” He backed down off the hill and st
ood slowly, his bones protesting the movement. I'm too old for this.
When they reached the others, Brok looked at his Chosen, fear evident in their eyes and posture. “The Volgons have spotted bodies hanging from the cottonwoods that line the road. Apparently, whoever killed the people at the farm has also killed and hung people from the trees.” Brok frowned. “What worries me is that no one has been by to cut them down or raise an alarm. Surely Patriarch Mordaen would send the soldiers to see to the bodies.”
“Unless something has happened to the Patriarch,” Saemus said.
Brok nodded. The same thought had been running through his mind as well. “We will continue on to the left of the hill and stick to the trees.” Brok gave his Chosen a wan smile. “However, we will soon have no choice but to come into the open and you will see the bodies of the dead. I wish I could shield you from the horrors of the world.”
The Astran Chosen tried their best to look brave and unafraid, but they were not successful. They jumped each time the Volgons scared a rodent or bird out of hiding. The girls would let out little squeals of fright that earned harsh looks from the Volgons. They would blush and stammer an apology. Their hearts raced the closer they got to the city.
“The trees are thinning. We won't be able to hide behind them much longer,” Jon whispered. The urge to take and hold the dark power was almost unbearable. If I could hold the power, I wouldn't feel so afraid.
“I am so scared my goose pimples have goose pimples!” Keera whispered, her voice shaky. She had her hands to her mouth, one long red curl tucked tightly between her teeth. Her eyes darted to the right, and she hurriedly brought them to the front, terrified that she would catch a glimpse of a dead body through the trees. I don't want to see dead people hanging from the trees! Why can't we just forget going to Enisae and head for home? For Keera, home was the village of Oak Brook, in a small, sturdy house that her father had built. Seeing the skeleton at the farmhouse had brought up memories of her father's death. I want to see Ma and Thadeus again.
