by PJ Haarsma
“I tried to stop him,” I protested, but she just shrugged.
“Let him be,” Ketheria said, slipping her hand inside mine. “It will pass.”
Yet I couldn’t help thinking about it. Why did I feel so responsible for Switzer’s death? I didn’t put that belt on him. I didn’t push whatever switch he found to make the belt work. Somewhere deep inside my brain, though, I did feel that I could have done more. I could have protected him, but I didn’t and now he was dead. Sometimes I felt so completely unprepared for my life.
“Children?” Charlie waved for us to come over to the Keepers.
The other kids shuffled toward Charlie, but I held Ketheria, Max, and Theodore back.
“Did you tell them anything?” I whispered. “About what I told Switzer?”
“About what’s in the tank?” Theodore asked.
Ketheria shook her head. “We didn’t say anything.”
“I can’t believe they’re still searching for them,” I said.
“JT,” Max said, putting her hand on my shoulder, “they didn’t find anyone in the tank. Not a single being.”
“That’s impossible. I saw them with my own eyes. I spoke with Tang. They asked me to join them.”
Theodore shrugged. “Maybe it was a dream.”
“It wasn’t a dream!”
“Come on, everyone — over here,” Charlie ordered.
“Well, it sure got a lot of aliens asking questions around here,” Max said.
“Especially at that ceremony thing,” Theodore remarked.
I asked him, “What ceremony?”
“Theylor performed an OIO ceremony after Switzer died,” Max said.
“To offset the negative energy released into the cosmic stream because of Switzer’s sudden death,” Ketheria explained.
“Where do you get this stuff?” Theodore groaned. “Figures — she helped him.” Theodore nodded toward Ketheria.
“It was beautiful,” Max said.
“Children, please,” Theylor pleaded, and Theodore turned toward the tall alien at the other side of the long room, past our sleepers.
“Wait,” I said. “Even if you didn’t believe me then, you’ve got to believe me now. When they were fixing me up, I overheard them talking about punishing us for going into Toll Town. They think we were trying to escape.”
“But we didn’t go to Toll Town,” Theodore cried.
“But they found us in the tunnels, and the tunnels led to the place I described to you,” I said.
“Is that why they’re going to do the staining thing?” Max asked.
“Yes, it’s my fault.”
“Look, we believe you, JT,” Theodore said. “Maybe everyone got out in time.”
“I don’t know how. There were too many waiting to leave. They could never have gotten everyone out on such short notice,” I whispered. “We have to deny everything until I speak with Toll.”
“They will find out,” Ketheria warned.
“Children: now, please,” Theylor interrupted again.
“No, they won’t,” I said to Ketheria, and I walked over to the staining machine.
Charlie stood near the device just left of Drapling. As usual, Drapling wasted no time in getting started. He pulled a screen scroll from his velvet robe and read aloud.
“In an agreement with the Trading Council and in accordance to Keeper decree 432-888142, all humans in possession of Odran the Centillian shall be forever marked.”
“But we didn’t do anything,” Grace cried out.
“Silence!” Odran shouted.
“Please begin,” Drapling instructed the alien attending the stainer. The alien’s long, slender hands moved over the controls with the precision of a computer.
The instrument that was going to mark our molecular structure was a steely blue puddle of plasma underneath a mist of bright blue particles similar to the conveyor belts at Weegin’s World. The alien controlling the machine sat at the head, surrounded by transparent O-dats. The alien was linked to the device with more than one hardwire. I wondered if he, too, was a slave on Orbis.
Charlie instructed Grace to lie in the mist on top of the plasma. She hesitated and shook her head. Charlie knelt next to her and whispered into Grace’s ear, but she could not stop her tears. Then Odran grabbed Grace by the arm and yanked her toward the device. This only made Grace cry out more.
“Stop!” I shouted. “You can’t do this, Odran! They did nothing wrong,” I said, pointing to everyone else.
“But you did,” he argued, moving his support glider toward me. “You were in charge. Maybe you should have thought of the consequences before you violated Keeper decree and tried to escape.” Odran sloshed in his tank. “How did you find the camp?” He pushed the words through his clenched teeth. They were barely audible. “Who took you there?”
I couldn’t answer him. I couldn’t break my promise to Toll.
“Worthless knudnik,” Odran mumbled under his breath.
I had to say something. “You . . . you made me the controller! I was . . . I was just doing my job. I was looking for Switzer. You can’t do this. . . .”
“He’s lying!” Odran interrupted.
“Put them to death, then,” another alien shouted. “If they won’t be stained, put them down, all of them. That is the proper punishment.”
“No!” Ketheria insisted, and stepped toward the staining device. She lifted herself onto the machine and positioned herself in the mist. The tiny alien began working the controls at the top of the stainer. I saw Ketheria’s eyes roll back, and she instantly fell asleep. Before her eyelids closed, the plasma sprang up and completely engulfed her, creating a semitransparent plasma mold of her body. The bright blue mist faded, and the plasma sparkled as the tiny alien encoded her DNA.
And then it was over. The plasma puddled away, and Ketheria woke up.
“You can get up,” Charlie said, and offered her his hand.
“Already?” Ketheria looked around at everyone.
“I told you it was easy.”
“We’ll do this, Odran. All of us,” my sister said, looking at me.
I stared at Ketheria as she shuffled back to us. Her skin was aglow from tiny blue spots that covered her entire body.
“See? It was nothing,” she said.
But I couldn’t help but stare at her blue skin.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
Ketheria held up her hand and saw the dots. “Oh,” she remarked. “I hope this goes away.”
“They will disappear before the cycle is over,” Theylor informed her.
“This a waste of time,” Odran said, snorting up fluid. “Who’s paying for this, anyway?”
“That’s enough!” Charlie shouted.
“Who is this human to talk to me like that?” he protested. “I could have them put down right now if I wanted to.”
Theylor moved in front of Charlie as Drapling moved Max to the staining device. The little alien methodically manipulated the controls as the Keepers led each of us through the process. When it was my turn, the only thing I remembered was lying in the mist and falling asleep. The procedure was painless and over before I knew it even started.
After most of us went through the stainer, data from the device appeared on the O-dats. Our DNA floated across the screens as the little alien ID’d everyone. It was done. We were marked forever.
The doors to our dorm flew open. “You must kill the Softwire!” the intruder shouted.
She was a hairless creature with long, thin arms. As she charged across the room, every muscle and blood vessel flinched under her transparent skin. Clinging between slender bones extending from her spine was skin so taut, it looked liked a sun sail. The alien’s skin was forced back from her forehead and gathered around spikes of cartilage protruding from the back of her skull. This thing was ugly, and from the insignia hanging from her neck, I could tell she was a member of the Trading Council.
The alien stomped straight toward me. Her ang
ry face was streaked white with thick shades of burgundy and pink.
“I don’t think she likes you,” Theodore said.
I couldn’t argue. Only Switzer had ever stared at me with that much contempt.
“Do you think she knows?” Max whispered.
“She knows something,” I said.
Charlie stepped in her way. “Move out of my way or face my wrath,” she hissed, but he stood his ground. From the corner of my eye, I saw the alien that was operating the stainer discussing something on the O-dats with one of the Keepers. The Keeper motioned Theylor over to them.
“These . . . things,” the ugly alien said, pointing at me, “have violated Keeper decree. They tried to escape and they must be punished. Why do you let them pollute what we worked so hard to maintain?”
“They do not deserve to die, especially by the hand of greedy profiteers,” Charlie argued.
The alien stepped back. Her chin dropped and her eyes widened. “I will not stand for this,” she spat, and made a guttural sound with her throat. Instantly two assistants, armed with plasma rifles, entered the dorm and ran in front of her. These aliens looked just like her — hideous.
“What are you doing, Blool?” Drapling demanded. “This has already been arranged with the Council.”
“I was never informed. I was on Voror,” she cried.
“Drapling?” Theylor called out. Drapling turned, and the Trading Council member stepped toward me. Drapling looked at the screens again and back at us. Both of his heads moved quickly as one of the Keepers ran from the room.
“What’s happening, Charlie?” Max said.
“Be still,” Charlie responded.
Drapling shouted something. I could not understand what he said. Before anyone could respond, the air in front of us bent and rippled, and four massive Space Jumpers, armed with more than plasma rifles, appeared in front of us.
“Space Jumpers?” Blool skrieked.
“What are they doing here, Charlie?” I said.
The two armed assistants dropped their plasma rifles and shrunk back. “You have just violated a thousand rotations of trust, Drapling,” Blool growled.
But Drapling did not seem to care. He darted toward the first Space Jumper and whispered in his ear. All four Jumpers encircled us in response.
“How dare you befoul my dwelling with these creatures!” Odran cried.
The Space Jumpers were taller than anyone in the room. Each brandished a different weapon, and they were all pointed at Blool. No one spoke. The only sound was the Space Jumpers’ labored breathing through their protective face shields.
The Trading Council member hissed at the Space Jumpers.
“You better have an appropriate reason for this, Drapling,” Blool said.
“I am protecting the humans,” he replied.
“Now you will need to protect yourself,” Blool said, and reached for one of the plasma rifles on the ground.
The alien didn’t have a chance. The Space Jumpers attacked in unison.
“Stop!” Odran shouted, but it was too late.
The Jumper to my left pointed his weapon at the bodyguards. The one next to him seized Odran, while the remaining two Jumpers sprang upon the ugly alien. They not only moved through space but they seemed to move through time, too. Before I could blink, the alien was disarmed and pinned to the ground.
“You will not live long enough to regret this!” she screamed.
The alien was encased in a green security bubble as everyone watched — except the Keepers. One by one they scurried off, leaving Drapling and Theylor with the staining machine.
“The Keepers don’t seem too concerned that she just threatened to kill them,” Theodore said.
“But they do seem concerned about something on those O-dats,” I replied.
Drapling and Theylor whispered in the shadows as Charlie calmed the kids still upset from the failed attack. The Space Jumpers held Blool’s bodyguards while Odran demanded to speak with the Keepers.
“The damage done this cycle is irreparable,” he shouted, trying to maneuver around the Space Jumpers, but no one was listening to him.
“Charlie, what’s going on?” Max asked.
“Shhh. Nothing. Nothing is going on,” he said, staring at the Keepers who were still whispering with the little alien tied to the stainer’s controls.
“I demand a hearing!” Odran objected.
Finally Theylor walked over to Odran. His right head smiled at us as he passed, while his left head remained focused on Odran.
“Silence,” Theylor demanded. “There will be no tribunal. There will be no panic. There will simply be a return to your responsibilities. The Harvest is of the utmost priority at this time. The Crystal of Life will be upon us in two cycles.”
“It is impossible to stay calm,” Odran said, dipping in and out of the sludge in his tank and spitting against the glass as he spoke. “You have let Space Jumpers into my domain. You have brought them to Orbis! The Trading Council must be informed.”
Drapling joined the discussion. “If you do not heed our warning, then everything you have here,” he said, gesturing with his long, thin arms, “will be gone.”
“You can’t do that,” Odran growled.
“The property of the crystal moons is ours. This facility is ours. Even those children are ours,” Drapling said, pointing to us. “If you insist on continuing with this line of reasoning, I will personally see to it that you are left with nothing, not even that disgusting bucket you reside in.
“May I remind you that you were given many rotations to find a solution to cool the core crystal before the Samirans were released? And your results have been dramatically disappointing. That alone is a troubling matter that should be dealt with before anything else.”
“I’ve worked extremely hard. The task is impossible,” Odran argued.
“You have done nothing!” Drapling yelled.
“I suggest that you continue with the preparations for the Harvest and put this incident behind you,” Theylor said calmly. “Speak no more if it.”
“Or we can have you removed from your post right now,” Drapling added, motioning to the Space Jumpers, who inched toward Odran.
Odran glanced at the remaining Space Jumpers. “Fine,” he spat. I don’t think facing the Space Jumpers was an option Odran was willing to take. “But I do not want those creatures in my . . . in this building as long as I’m here.”
Drapling waved his arm, and the Space Jumpers touched their belts. The light around them bent, and they jumped to somewhere else in the universe, taking the bodyguards with them. I couldn’t help but wonder if Switzer felt anything when he did the same thing and died.
Odran spun his tank around and glided for the door. “Children! We have much work to do.”
“They will be along shortly,” Theylor said.
I was grateful that I didn’t have to go with Odran when he was so angry. Odran sped from the dormitory as Theylor turned his attention to us.
“Thank you. I will contact you shortly,” he said to Charlie. Charlie smiled at us before leaving. I didn’t want Charlie to go. There were so many things I wanted to ask him.
“Children,” Theylor began, “I need you to understand that you did nothing wrong this cycle. You were very brave during the staining.”
“Don’t talk to us like little ones,” Max said. “What happened here?”
I expected Drapling to pounce on Max’s rudeness, but he did nothing. The Keeper was looking past us or glancing back at the stainer. What was he thinking about? Was he worried about having summoned the Space Jumpers? I wondered if he had ever done that before. Drapling caught me staring at him, and we both looked away.
“The events of this cycle concern only the Keepers and the Trading Council,” Theylor said. “Our relationship with the Trading Council can often result in these outbursts.”
That sounded like a lie to me, a diplomatic way to cover something up. How much trouble had the Keepers crea
ted for themselves by summoning the Space Jumpers? They broke a treaty that has been in place for one thousand rotations. And they did it to protect us? Why would they jeopardize their relationship with the Trading Council — over knudniks?
“Did something go wrong with the staining?” Max said.
“Not at all. It was performed flawlessly,” Theylor replied.
“Except now we’re marked forever,” I said.
“That is true,” Theylor replied. “But I assure you that this is for your own safety. One of your kind died —”
“One of our kind?” Dalton cried. He stepped toward Theylor. “He was a human being, and he was my friend!”
No one said anything. Dalton looked around at each of us as he held back his tears and clenched his jaw.
“I am sorry if I offended you, but we want to make sure this will never happen to you again. We are not used to looking after so many . . . children,” Theylor said. “Now we will know if you are close to danger, like in those tunnels you found.”
“What were those tunnels?” Theodore asked.
“They lead to the ocean on Orbis 2,” Theylor informed us. “They were used to fill the cooling tank when it was first built. They are still used occasionally to refresh the tank water. You are lucky you were not in the tunnels when that happened. But that is behind you now. You will continue your work. The Softwire will help prepare Toll for the Crystal of Life, and you will soon enjoy the Festival of the Harvest. It is a wondrous experience. It will be like nothing you have ever seen,” he added.
“And after that, after the crystal is cooled, you will let the Samirans go, right?” I said.
“Of course,” Drapling said. “It is Keeper decree.”
Drapling leaned toward Theylor and whispered something. Drapling left the room, followed by Theylor. No one said another word.
The Festival of the Harvest celebrated the arrival of the Crystal of Life, an immensely powerful crystal mined from the center of the moon Ki. It happened only once every seventy rotations. All four rings of Orbis celebrate in their own manner, but the biggest celebration was said to be on Orbis 2. Since the crystal would arrive at Odran’s, our home was the center of festivities with every event either starting or finishing at Toll’s cooling tank. At least that’s what Max found out. She had become obsessed with the arrival of the crystal and began spending every moment talking about it.
