Aurora Saga 2 Immortality for Life

by Adrian Fulcher

  ‘What did they do?’

  ‘Well, at first they put all kinds of scientific devices on the Aurora’s hull. They even tried to take samples, but without success. The hull’s organic and is the strongest material I know of. It’s called a Plyan hull, named after a scientist from my planet who invented it. Their equipment registered a dead ship, so they eventually decided I had been abandoned and was therefore harmless. Six years ago they moved the Aurora to the Polnozoo and named me Exhibit 350 - The mystery ship from the second moon of Golm. What a bland name. They could have come up with something a bit more exciting.’

  ‘I am completely amazed,’ Zoren said. ‘I can’t believe you let them take you. What if they had cut you up to discover how you work?’

  Kalrea laughed. ‘Oh, they’ve tried! I was fascinated by their need to explain where I had come from, what propelled the ship and most of all, how to get inside. The Aurora was like an unopened box to them. They speculated on the crew. Were they all dead and still inside? Or had the ship been abandoned, and if so why? I have to admit, I did occasionally have some fun with them.’

  ‘Fun. What sort of fun?’

  ‘I’d access their scanning devices and put some unexplained data in them.’

  ‘That’s a bit cruel.’

  ‘I know, but I couldn’t help it. They were so serious in their work and they wanted to find something. I just made sure they did.’

  Kalrea led Zoren into a large room.

  ‘This is where you can stay.’

  The room was larger than the home he and Sabri had onboard the space station. The bare walls were sloping slightly inwards and the whole ceiling seemed to be emitting light from its surface. Primary colours were used everywhere. The walls were a bright yellow, a large desk upon which sat a computer console was blue and the very conformable looking seats were a bright red. Zoren was impressed by the boldness of the colours, but also a little taken back by their over usage. Everything was very neatly arranged, nothing looked out of place.

  Well, this is a big change compared to the other part of the ship I’ve just come from. Looks far more inviting. But dare I say it! It seems this room’s been tidied by a machine, Zoren thought to himself, before commenting,

  ‘It’s an interesting room.’

  ‘Yes, it’s based on a typical Qinant home. I think you can probably find out how most things work. There are clothes in the compartment in the wall over there beside the seatra,’ she said, pointing to a metallic-looking slab in the corner of the room.

  What’s a seatra? Zoren thought, as Kalrea continued. It looks very much like the slab on the bridge. I wonder what it is.

  ‘…The shower’s through that door. If you want anything to eat, then food-bars can be found in the wall compartment adjacent to the entrance. Any questions?’

  Yes, loads! he thought, but not wanting to appear stupid said unconvincingly,

  ‘No… I think I’m all right.’

  ‘I’ll leave you alone then.’

  ‘Er... Kalrea, isn’t there something missing? I can’t see a bed. Where do I sleep?’

  ‘Oh, sorry! Of course, you’ve never seen a seatra before.’

  Kalrea moved over to the large metallic slab in the corner of the room. The top of the slab rose up revealing a black padded interior.

  Zoren hurried over and peered inside.

  ‘This is a seatra,’ Kalrea explained. ‘When you’re inside, it places the body in suspended animation, so you will not age while you sleep.’

  ‘If it’s all the same to you, I’ll sleep with the lid open, please. No one’s going to put me in a box.’

  ‘Whatever you want,’ she replied. ‘Was there anything else?’

  ‘No… I’ll be fine.’

  ‘Then, I’ll leave you to settle in.’

  ‘Where will you be?’

  ‘I’m going to have a shower and then I’ll be on the bridge. Come up when you want to,’ Kalrea said and then left the room. The door slid shut behind her.

  I wonder if she’s still watching me, Zoren thought, glancing around the room for any signs of any monitoring devices. Probably wouldn’t see them anyway. After all, I was being watched on the space station and didn’t know.

  He wandered back to the door.

  Has she locked me in? Zoren searched for a way of opening it. Kalrea walked up to it and it opened, but it’s not opening for me. She controls the ship, so she can probably control the doors as well. There must be a manual way of opening this.

  There was a raised pad on each side of the door. Zoren pressed the one on the right-hand side, but nothing happened. How does it work? He pressed it again, but still the door remained closed.

  He was holding his hand close to the pad, wondering what to try next, when suddenly a panel in the wall next to it slid open.

  Ah, that’s definitely not the door!

  Inside was a stack of coloured bars. Zoren took one.

  Could be the food Kalrea mentioned. He smelt it, but it had no obvious scent, so he bit off a very small piece. It must be the food. It tastes… I suppose a bit like karnlip, but a lot sweeter. He placed the food-bar in his pocket.

  Zoren moved his hand close to the pad again. I must be able to close it in the same way, but what did I do to open it? He moved his hand sideways, across the pad. The door to the panel slid shut. Ah, now I see. He waved his hand over the pad and the panel opened once more.

  Right, this one must be for the door then, he thought, moving over to the left-hand pad. He waved his hand across it and the door slide open. Well, at least I’m not locked in.

  He peered out the doorway and then each way along the corridor. All was quiet outside.

  Across the corridor was another door with a pad alongside it.

  I wonder!

  Zoren hesitantly crept across to the door.

  I would like to look inside, but what if she’s watching me?

  He waved his hand over the pad and the door slide open. Zoren stared into a dark room, his hearts pounded as he glanced towards the lift to check Kalrea was not there.

  Lights illuminated the room.

  Looks very similar to the other room, Zoren thought. Except! He noticed there were some man’s clothes laid out over one of the seats, and there were some pictures on one of the walls.

  Zoren ventured into the room, closing the door behind him.

  This looks like someone’s still living here.

  On one of the walls was a holographic picture of two people with their arms around each other.

  They seem very intimate with each other. I imagine they’re married.

  The man in the picture was dressed very similar to Kalrea’s drone, except his sleeves were yellow instead of green.

  Zoren quickly searched through the contents of the wardrobe. There was no sign of any female clothes.

  I wonder if this room is used by the man in the picture. But if that’s the case, then where is he? Zoren took a fleeting look around the room. Strange! Everything seems too tidy. Maybe I was wrong. I’m no longer sure anyone lives here. I’d better get back to my room.

  Zoren moved towards the door. As he approached the pad to open the door, it opened catching him by surprise. He froze.

  What do I say?

  Zoren could feel both his hearts pounding.

  Wait, what’s that noise?

  A whine emanated from outside the door. The tone changed and a small robot hovered into the room. The robot did not seem to have any recognisable front or back, just many articulated arms with tools attached to some of them, which were neatly tucked around its body.

  As soon as the robot had past him, he quickly moved through the doorway and went back to his room. Zoren sat in one the seats and took a deep breath. His hearts were still racing.

  What the hell was that thing? He glanced quickly around the room. I hope there are none of those in here.

  As he sat there the fragrance circulating around the room helped him to relax and his mind wandered back to
the space station and Sabri. Deep inside, he suddenly felt lonely.

  I really miss you, my love. I hope you’re all right. He panned slowly around the unfamiliar room. I wish you were here, Sabri. It all feels so unreal, like a dream. Today was just another day at work, yet now our home has gone. I don’t know where any of you are. All I know is that I need to find you, and quickly. I hope that Kalrea is telling me the truth. If she’s lying to me, then I may have to try to stop her somehow.

  Zoren peered once more down at his torn and bloodied boiler suit.

  I’d better get cleaned up and changed.

  He undressed and then approached the door to the room containing the shower.

  Looks like an air-tight door, he thought, as he observed a seal around the door frame.

  The room was very bare, with very smooth surfaces throughout. There was a pad on the far wall. He went over to it.

  Glancing around, he wondered, Where does the water come out? Oh well, something must happen when I activate this pad. Zoren waved his hand over it.

  The door closed and there was a suction noise from its edge.

  Woe!

  Zoren felt weightless and his legs left the floor. He tried to grab for anything, but there was nothing to hold onto. Then, jets of steam sprayed into the room striking his body. At first he felt uncomfortable, but as he got used to the steam massaging his skin, he felt very relaxed. After about ten minutes the steam stopped and jets of warm air then dried his body.

  After the shower, Zoren rummaged through the wardrobe for clothes. Inside were many sizes, so it took him sometime to select something that he liked and would fit him. He stood admiring his new clothes in a mirror that was housed within the wardrobe.

  These black trousers are a bit tight, he thought. Shirt not bad although a bit colourful. Not sure red is really my colour. Anyway, these will have to do. I should get to the bridge, so I can see what’s happening.

  Zoren exited his room and went to the Pojin lift at the end of the corridor. Upon waving his hand over the pad alongside it, the door opened. Feeling pleased, he sauntered inside.

  Ah… How does this lift work? There’s no pad inside or buttons. Kalrea didn’t do anything, the lift just arrived here, so maybe it only goes between here and the bridge.

  Zoren waited, but the doors remained open. He glanced around the circular lift checking to see if he has missed anything.

  If there are no buttons, then what makes it work?

  Zoren felt a bit frustrated, and did not want to ask Kalrea for help; however, he had no choice. ‘Kalrea, can you hear me?’ Zoren said loudly.

  Kalrea’s voice came from within the lift. ‘Yes, Zoren.’

  ‘Er... I’m having difficulty with the lift. There aren’t any buttons, so I’ve no idea how to get to the bridge.’

  ‘Speak to it,’ Kalrea replied. ‘You need to tell it where you want to go.’

  ‘Oh! Right,’ Zoren replied. Now I’m going to talk to a lift. ‘Er… Can I go to the bridge… Please?’

  The lift door closed.

  Chapter Seven

  Zoren strolled onto the bridge to find Kalrea standing there, with a broad grin on her face. Her hair still appeared slightly damp from her shower.

  Why is she smiling at me, Zoren thought and then asked,

  ‘What’s so amusing?’

  ‘I’m sorry, Zoren,’ she replied. ‘That’s the first time someone has said please to the lift before. Bridge would have sufficed.’

  Zoren felt slightly belittled by Kalrea’s comment and wished now he had not asked for help.

  ‘So have you found that ship, yet?’ he asked in a harsh and defensive voice.

  ‘We’re getting close, but I’ve had to slow our speed because there are now too many ion-trails from other ships. It looks like this must be a main approach to a planet.’

  Zoren thought back to the empty room where he had seen the man’s clothes laid out inside.

  ‘Kalrea, you said you needed a pilot and chose me. Can you tell me what happened to your old pilot?’

  Kalrea’s expression dulled. ‘Lex was my old pilot. He was a Qinant.’

  ‘What happened to him?’

  ‘Old age I’m afraid. He grew old and left me all alone. I had no one to look after anymore, no one to protect.’

  ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ Zoren replied.

  ‘Lex was my first pilot,’ Kalrea said sadly. ‘He taught me a lot. All he wanted to do was to return home, you know.’

  ‘So why didn’t you?’

  ‘When I said I was from a distant galaxy, I meant it. Qintaino is a long way away. At maximum speed, it would take me five thousand, six hundred and twenty-five years to reach it.’

  ‘But you must have travelled to this galaxy. How did you get here?’

  ‘That’s another story. Let’s just say that I got displaced in time and space and ended up here in this galaxy. I could have ended up anywhere.’

  ‘You said time and space, so are you from the past or future?’

  ‘About eight hundred years in your future.’

  ‘Really! I didn’t know time travel was possible.’

  ‘Zoren, it’s not anymore. And for a good reason, messing with time can have serious consequences.’

  ‘But you being here from the future, means you’ll be affecting our history as you interact with people.’

  ‘Yes, that’s true. You’d be dead now if I wasn’t here.’

  ‘Ah... Good point!’ he replied. ‘Maybe it’s fortunate that you’re here.’

  Kalrea smiled, before asking, ‘How was the steam shower?’

  ‘So that’s what you call it. Unusual, I’d say. For a moment I thought I was going to be blown into space or something.’

  ‘The clothes suit you,’ Kalrea commented.

  Zoren almost jumped from his skin when a drone, the same as he had seen in the accommodation space, appeared from behind the metallic slab in the centre of the room. He noticed Kalrea looking slightly amused.

  ‘What is that thing?’

  ‘Meet a micnorit nuronic construction drone,’ Kalrea said. ‘They do everything that is necessary for the maintenance of the Aurora. You could say they’re my arms and legs. This body,’ Kalrea said, touching her belly, ‘isn’t designed to do that. There are hundreds of these drones onboard. Don’t worry about them. They’ll keep out of your way.’

  Zoren watched the drone as it entered the Pojin lift.

  ‘I’ve learnt so much in the last few hours to last a lifetime. All this technology! I’m totally amazed, Kalrea.’

  He ran his hand over the metallic slab in the centre of the room. ‘This looks very much like a seatra. It’s the same shape as the one in my room, even if it’s a bit larger.’

  ‘You’re right, it is a seatra. This one can hold up to two people inside in suspended animation. The Qinant pilot would have used it to control the ship and talk to me mentally.’

  ‘So are Qinants telepathic?’

  ‘No. This seatra and a device called a telementor were developed specifically to enable the telepathic connection. Unfortunately your mind is too different to a Qinant’s, so if you used it, it would result in permanent brain damage.’

  ‘Can I see inside?’

  ‘No, you cannot!’ Kalrea said very sternly.

  Woe! She seems very touchy over this seatra. Why would she not want to open it unless… I wonder if there’s someone inside.

  Zoren gulped and then asked quietly,

  ‘Is there someone in it?’

  Kalrea glared at him. He felt very uneasy.

  I don’t think she wants to answer that.

  There was an uneasy moment of silence.

  I’d better try and change the subject.

  ‘Where... where are the Glonvi? They don’t appear to be here anymore.’

  Kalrea replied, but her bland voice indicated that she was still a little upset. ‘I’ve constructed a large enclosure for them. It’s in one of the many small maintenance rooms that le
ad off the cargo bay. They will be happy enough in there for now until we can find a new home for them.’

  Zoren still felt a little uneasy. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Er… They’re quite cute little creatures, aren’t they?’

  ‘I suppose you could call them cute. The female’s pregnant.’

  ‘Really!’

  ‘Yes. They’re the only two remaining Glonvi in this galaxy and you saved them.’

  Zoren felt very humble. ‘Well at least I did something right. I mean saving the Glonvi. I just hope Sabri and the others are fine. My wife’s pregnant as well.’

  ‘Yes, I know. She’s going to have a boy.’

  ‘A boy! But how do you know it’s a boy? We told Doc Korye not to tell us, so it would be a surprise when it was born.’

  ‘Oh! In that case, sorry I told you.’

  ‘How...?’

  ‘Like I said, Zoren, I know every creature, every person that was onboard the Polnozoo.’

  Zoren had a tear in his eye. ‘I’m going to have a son.’

  Kalrea’s expression changed and she seemed concerned. ‘I’ve lost the ion-trail,’ she remarked.

  ‘What do you mean? I thought you could track it,’ Zoren said, moving towards the monitor. He could feel the Aurora decelerating hard.

  ‘We’re now entering the Qinf star system. There are so many ion-trails here that the one we’re following has been completely masked by them. There must be at least three hundred in this area alone.’

  ‘Where did they go then?’

  ‘They must have headed for the nearest planet, Xim’gu. That’s where all the ion-trails seem to be going and coming from.’

  Kalrea displayed an image of the planet on the monitor. It looked like a mirror, as light reflected off its surface. Constant flashes of white light blinded his view.

  ‘I’m going to have to hide the Aurora,’ Kalrea remarked.

  ‘Why? Can’t we fly down there?’

  ‘No because people are bound to recognise that the ship is from the Polnozoo. I think it would attract a bit too much attention, don’t you!’

  ‘Oh! Yes, of course.’

  ‘We’ll take a shuttle instead. I’ll put the Aurora down on the far side of one of the moons. It should remain undetected there.’