He made it to the town, where he got something to eat, and continued on his way, fearing that his father would find him. He walked and walked, going through towns and more towns. He stole in order to eat whilst he continued on his aimless journey.
Over the course of three years, the traversed the planet, visiting countless places, until he arrived at an enormous city. By this point, he had become a survivor of the world, and knew well how to get the things he wanted. The city was a paradise for someone like him. He was now brave and daring; a place like that did not frighten him. It was then that he decided to stop his long journey. He had stopped running away.
It was not difficult for him to find a job; he possessed abilities that many desired. A dangerous criminal gang gave him food and a home. The years went by, and he was now beginning to make a name for himself; in the city, he was already known by the most powerful people. He was strong and intelligent. The gang was beginning to include him in important deals. As the time went by, his notoriety grew. Perhaps too much.
A contract assassin came to the city to kill him. He had been searching for him for a long time, and now he had found him.
He was an imposing figure, of the Vialiki species. A monster with green skin and large black eyes, he measured in at over two metres tall. His ugly hairless head was like that of a shark. The muscles on his arms were bigger than Kani's head. He was definitely in trouble.
The man stopped in front of Kani, ready to kill him. On his back he carried a formidable sword, made of solidium, a symbol of power amongst the Vialiki species. He had acquired it after killing another great contender.
They called him The Bear. The most famous assassin of the era. The assassin who was going after Kani.
He had killed each and every one of his targets; he had never failed. ‘Dasse Lak’, he repeated. 'I am death’, was the meaning of those words in Vialiki that The Bear would say to his victims just before killing them. If somebody heard them, it meant that they were about to die.
Kani recognised him immediately; he was somebody very well known. The boy knew everything there was to know about him. He felt that his death was imminent.
“You Kani is?” asked The Bear, in a deep voice, and barely intelligible accent.
“What do you want?” asked the brave young man.
“You Kani?” repeated the rough-skinned monster.
"I am. What do you want?"
“Your father. Sent to kill.”
“My father?" he asked, horrified. “What do you mean?”
“Your father... Sent to kill.”
Kani was devastated; he did not believe what he was hearing. It wasn’t enough for my father to destroy my life, now he’s sent an assassin for me, he thought. The most famous assassin in the galaxy was in front of him, but his rage took over. Kani launched himself at the terrifying giant.
The Bear reacted immediately. He drew his sword from the scabbard on his back, with his right hand, and charged with all his strength towards Kani. The teenager was barely able to avoid the powerful blow.
Kani was very fast. He felt that was his only advantage; he would never be able to match his strength with that colossus. A second blow that the young man could not avoid verified it. He fell to the ground, almost knocked unconscious. After fighting against his body, he got up. Now he well understood the difference in strength. He wanted to escape through an alley, but he saw as The Bear reached, with his left hand, a pistol he was carrying on his belt. If he ran in a straight line through the alley, he would be a goner.
He crouched down to reach a rock, which he threw hard against the hand of the giant, who was already beginning to aim at him with his pistol. Kani hit the target, and The Bear dropped his weapon. A smile appeared on his face momentarily, until he understood that he was still not saved. If he ran now, The Bear was going to be able to pick up his weapon. Kani had to get hold of it first.
He ran towards him, ducking to avoid the throw of his sword. He grabbed the pistol and got ready to aim it, but The Bear kicked it out of his hands. He took him by the neck, and lifted him up off the ground as if he weighed no more than a feather. He pressed his sword against Kani’s chest, and before sinking it in, he told him: ‘Dasse Lak’.
Kani felt as the tip of the sword was beginning to open up his chest; he was on the verge of dying. With all his strength, he bashed his palms against The Bear’s ears.
The gigantic assassin let him go, groaning in pain. Kani fell to the ground along with his opponent’s sword, with a terrible wound in his chest. The commotion had already caught the attention of a few people, who came closer to watch as The Bear completed his most recent job.
Kani got up as best he could, and tried to grab the legendary sword, but injured as he was, he could not even lift it. He left it to one side, took a long piece of metal that was lying on the ground, and rushed at The Bear, who was still hurting from the previous blow.
It was a grave mistake; the blows that the young Kani was delivering to The Bear with the piece of metal barely managed to do any damage. The Bear put both hands around him and lifted him up, pressing hard to asphyxiate him. Any other person would have died, The Bear had broken the bones of countless victims, but Kani was beginning to show an inexplicable strength. Against all prediction, he was managing to resist.
The boy forced himself to fight the powerful crushing, but the air was beginning to leave him. He threw his head backwards as much as he could, and thrust it forward with all his strength, directly towards The Bear’s head.
That legendary fighter had received similar attacks thousands of times without any damage, but this time, it was different; the blow almost knocked him out cold. Just when he was on the cusp of letting go of Kani, he recovered and went back to pressing down hard.
Once again, the boy shot his head back and launched a second head-butt. This time, Kani’s blow managed to destroy The Bear’s cranium. The giant let go of the boy immediately and fell backwards. Kani fell to the floor coughing, His throat was now badly damaged, and the wound in his chest had worsened.
In spite of the terrible fissure that Kani had caused in The Bear’s cranium, he was not even close to being defeated. He got up shakily, and rushed headlong once more towards Kani. The boy met him with punches, managing to hit the target with some of them, without causing any considerable damage. The Bear trapped a left hook that Kani launched at him, and began to exert effort with both hands, trying to break the arm in half.
He had never had to work so hard to break anything; with half of the force he was exercising, he would have broken thousands of bones. Kani, in spite of being just a teenager, was not an easy opponent.
The adolescent cried out in pain whilst The Bear strained himself to the maximum, until finally he managed it. A horrible crack was heard, raising the hair of all those witnessing the impressive battle. The bones in Kani’s left arm were completely shattered.
The Bear, exhausted, let go of Kani, and walked over towards his sword. The boy fell to the ground, in agony from his horrific injuries. The Bear came up to him and lifted his sword above his head. ‘Dasse Lak’, he told him, and lowered the sword as if it were a guillotine.
Kani threw his head backwards, and the sword passed in front of his face, brushing his nose. He had saved himself once again.
He took the piece of metal once more, and drove the sharpest end into The Bear’s chest. It barely did any damage. The gigantic assassin slashed at him again with the sword, but Kani jumped backwards, avoiding being cut in half. I’m saved!, he thought, but he had not left unscathed; the sword had made a considerable gash in his stomach.
Those watching the battle were impressed. It was a brutal thing to behold. The wounds on Kani’s chest, his stomach, and his left arm, in addition to the terrible injury on The Bear’s forehead, had managed to stain the ground red.
Kani looked dizzily at the river of blood, searching for anything that could save him. Behind The Bear, he saw the pistol he had tried to use earlier. It w
as his only opportunity, he had to pounce to take it, but The Bear was in front of him. It was all or nothing.
The boy dove to the ground in front of him, trying to grab the weapon, but The Bear delivered a rapid blow with his sword. He had not managed to kill Kani, but he had severed both legs from the knee down.
The Bear thought immediately that it was the end; there was nothing more the boy would be able to do without his legs. He turned around, smiling, to finish the job, and murmured those words that he always repeated. He was sure that he had won.
He was wrong, Kani had managed to reach the weapon. He turned rapidly to aim at his opponent, who was already coming, intending to deliver the coup de grace, the boy shot at The Bear, opening up a hole in the middle of his chest.
It was a fatal injury. The Bear cried out in pain, taking a few shaky steps forward. One moment later, he collapsed, falling on top of his sword to one side of Kani.
The boy without legs moved as best he could until he got up onto The Bear, who was groaning in pain. Kani raised the pistol and put it to the head of the famous man.
“Dasse... Dasse Lak,” said The Bear, dying.
Kani flashed an expression of darkness, one that only an assassin was capable of projecting. He had forgotten the pain he was feeling, he had forgotten his fears and his worries. He had forgotten his name. After a moment, the boy spoke:
“No. I am death.”
He pulled the trigger, and the weapon reacted, killing the famous assassin.
Kani had won, but he was terribly injured. Fortunately for him, there were now many people around, and among them was one of his friends. The boy took Kani and lifted him.
“I’m taking you to a doctor,” he told him.
“Bring the sword, Khaelt,” said Kani. “It belongs to me now.”
“I can’t carry both you and the sword,” replied the youngster who was holding Kani in his arms.
A man came out of the crowd, and collected the sword. He went up to Kani and spoke to him:
“Take it, kid,” he said to him, and handed him the sword.
Kani took the weapon with his good hand and gave a signal to the boy carrying him. A moment later, they left in search of medical assistance.
The crowd looked in astonishment at the corpse of The Bear, the incredibly famous assassin. They had witnessed an impressive battle. ‘That boy’s killed the most dangerous man in the universe’, said one person. ‘Who is that boy?’ asked another.
“I heard his name, The Bear said it before he died,” said the man who had picked up the sword. “The Bear called him: ‘Dasslak’.”
And from that moment on, nobody ever again called the boy Kani. The story ran to the furthermost reaches of the galaxy. The Bear had died at Dasslak's hands, the man who would be known as the most formidable and feared assassin of all time.
Chapter XIII
Misfortune
Senlar's face left no room for doubt; what he had found in that place was horrifying. Denn could only attempt to imagine the things that he had seen. Although he was not pleased that his friend had had to go through that, at least now he believed him.
"Where is this place, Senlar?"
"Far away... Luckily. I wouldn't want anybody to come across such a graveyard."
"The device with the videos and photographs that you found; can I see it?"
"I wasn't able to bring it with me. It's horrible."
"I need you to take me there. I have to see with my own eyes."
"Not so fast, Denn; it might well be that I now believe what you said about the Colonisers, but even so, I still can't make my mind up about you. I don't know what to do; you lied to me. I came to consider you as a friend, but now I'm no longer sure."
"Senlar, make no mistake; I am your friend. I never wanted all this to happen. I've been feeling so guilty, and that's why I ended up confessing the truth to you. Please take that into account."
"I've considered everything. I myself have born witness during this whole time to the help and the effort you put into protecting these people. I don't know if you were sincere, or whether you were trying to cover up what you had done, but it's clear that you haven't tried to hurt anybody since I met you on S4-07. I've decided to keep all of this secret; the people don't need something else to worry about. I only hope that you're not hiding anything else from me."
"I'm not, Senlar, I give you my word. I've told you everything."
"Neil told me that they're planning to carry on tomorrow with the installation of the turrets. As we’ve collected enough food, there's no reason for us to go out for the rest of the week. We'll stay here working on the fort."
"What about that place you found? When are you going to take me?"
"To tell the truth, I don't have much desire to go back there."
"I have to see it, Senlar.”
“There’ll be time enough for that. I'll give you back the diary," he said to him, and handed him the notebook. "Now I'm going to rest; it's been a long day."
Denn watched as Senlar walked away, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He sat down once more on a rock in front of the river to watch the movement of the current. After a while, the sound of the water began to relax him. He could understand why Neil liked sitting there so much; it was perfect for immersing oneself in one’s own mind. It had been a highly stressful day for him, but now it seemed that the worst was over.
After a while, he returned to his cabin, where C0-UN1 was waiting for him.
"Hello, Denn," greeted the robot.
Denn went in and collapsed on his bed.
"I'm exhausted, C0."
"Have you worked a lot?"
"It's not that, C0. I've told Senlar everything."
"Everything?"
"About the hijacking of the station."
"Are we in trouble?" asked the robot, worried.
"No. I don't know... Senlar is not going to tell anyone for the moment. He thinks it would only achieve making people worried. Only we know... And Neil."
"Neil? Neil knows? Isn't that going to be a problem?"
"Perhaps we misjudged him, C0. He spoke in my favour."
"Seriously? Neil?"
"It sounds weird, I know, but he supported me. I suppose he wasn't as bad as we thought."
"Do you really believe we'll be okay?"
"Who knows, C0, but I couldn't keep hiding the truth from Senlar. He's my friend. The guilt was killing me."
"I feel the same, Denn; they're all here because of us."
It had not dawned on Denn until that moment. His friend had been suffering the same as him, and he hadn't even considered it; he had forgotten that he was not dealing with a normal robot.
"I'm sorry, C0, I hadn't thought about what you would be feeling. None of this is your fault. I'm the only one responsible."
"But you were trying to save me. If I'd stayed on Earth, they were going to destroy me."
"It's time for you to know everything, C0. You are also my friend, and I don't want to hide anything from you ever again. There is something I've still not told you."
"What are you referring to, Denn?"
"When I took you out of Earth, I told you that if someone from The Union found you, they were going to destroy you. I said that you had to come with me, or it could be the end of you. I didn't lie; if they found you, they surely were going to destroy you, but I wasn't thinking about your well-being."
"I do not understand."
"Now I know you, C0, I know that you wouldn't hurt anybody. You help everyone without any prejudice. I had planned to tell you the truth at the right time, because I needed you, but now is the right time. You've become my friend, and I am not going to use you. I only wish that, once I tell you everything, you think very hard about what you're going to do about it."
C0-UN1 did not say anything, he just remained there, standing, looking at him in silence. There was no way of deciphering what sort of emotion he was feeling.
"There are some very special robots," continu
ed Denn. "They are like humans in many ways. They were created to help us, but something turned out badly, and they ended up rebelling."
"The Colonisers? Qein told me all about them."
"You are one of those robots, C0."
"Me? I do not understand, Denn. Qein told me what they were like, it's obvious they are different from me."
"You were the first of all the Colonisers. A proto-type. Your creator went along improving the design, and that is why the final result is somewhat different from you. But your brain works in the same way as theirs."
C0-UN1 waited a moment before speaking. He was still doubtful of what Denn was telling him.
"Maybe you’re mistaken, Denn. Otherwise, why was I not with them when they left the Solar System?"
"After Helagar deactivated you, he created the improved models; there was no reason for him to activate you again. That is why they left you in that laboratory."
"Then, does that mean that I am evil?”
“No, not at all. You have never hurt anyone."
"But if I am a Coloniser, it is only a question of time before I do."
"I know it's not, C0; you won't. I think that the Colonisers are not evil by nature. Just the same as with humans, there are good and bad, it all depends on the circumstances of their life. I don't know what will have brought them to rebel, but that will not happen with you. You are lucky, you have friends who care about you."
"Why did you take me from the Earth, Denn?"
"The Colonisers have the intention of destroying the human race. They were going to use you as their infiltrator on Earth so that you would kill many people. They had planned for you to facilitate their return to the Solar System. I could not allow that to happen."
"Then, why did you not destroy me?"
"I'd like to say that in that moment I was worried about you, but that would not be true. If I had destroyed you, I would have achieved nothing. They are going to attack one way or another. I was planning on using you to find them, and as such try to foil their plans. You share some connection with them, and perhaps I was going to be able to take advantage of that."
Convergence: Genesis Page 19
