Mobius (20 page)

The alien suddenly stopped its search, relaxed its long snout, and shifted its head armor back from an unseen dimension. Its fiery, crystal eye again gazed forth. Without further investigation of the vial’s origin, all three aliens vanished into a puff of blue light, which I suspected only Rozlyn and I could see with our synthetic eyes. They seemed to command an advanced form of dimensional travel.

I trembled with rage, fear, and madness. “I can’t believe they didn’t find us. We might not be so lucky next time. Let’s deliver the weapon as quick as possible.”

“They must have detected the
Fractal Skylark
,” said Rozlyn. “We better travel by anti-gravity belts from here on out.”

“We’ll be more productive if we divide into two groups,” I said. “The forest splits into two channels. One group can move to the center of this inner-world with the black hole weapon, while the other group takes the channel along the outer fringe to perform reconnaissance.”

“Sounds good,” said Rozlyn, inspecting everyone. “Since I’m the only one familiar with the black hole weapon, I’ll take it to the center. Thirm Bastile can help me.”

“Very well,” I said. “Our paths split here. Assuming it’s a straight course to the center of the alien vessel, twenty-four hours should be sufficient to rendezvous back at this point. Set the black hole weapon to detonate with enough time to allow our escape. Good luck. The future of humankind rests in your hands.”

With the black hole weapon in their possession and their anti-gravity belts engaged, Rozlyn and Thirm took flight through the feathery canopy and into the mist above.

I looked to Allienora, Orsteen, and Morion. “Shall we be off as well?”

“Wait!” called Orsteen. “I’ll stay here and protect the ship. The three aliens may return for a second look.”

“The crew of the
Fractal Skylark
can handle such a task,” I said. “Don’t you want to discover the mysteries before us?”

“I can’t fly,” admitted Orsteen. “I’m a Mercury Miner. We don’t have a propensity for such flight. Would you put wings on a rhinoceros?”

Morion laughed. “You know your limits, Mr. Hunn. However, don’t worry. It’s not that hard. When you become airborne, don’t struggle. Let your legs go limp and have faith in the anti-gravity belt around your waist.”

Orsteen interlinked with his anti-gravity belt and rose from the ground. His immediate response to flight was the opposite of Morion’s instructions—his legs struggled to find solid ground, causing his body to waver to and fro like a buoy tossed amidst ocean swells.

“I’m going to overturn!” yelled Orsteen. “Miners are top-heavy!”

I joined the others in laughter, momentarily forgetting about my drug.
A small amount of humor might get us through this.

Allienora flew in Orsteen’s direction and took his hand. She pulled him along slowly and he stabilized. “You’re safe, Orsteen. Let’s fly together.”

Orsteen soon became confident of his new wings and allowed Allienora to leave him unattended.

At great speed, we began our journey through the forest channel. I couldn’t help but appreciate the beauty around us, even though it was the enemy’s ship. I thought about the aliens we just saw. “What’s the connection between the armored aliens and the Fume?”

“I don’t know.” Allienora flew next to me. “And do they have the same powers as the Fume? Can they kill with a thought or resurrect a dead man? Do they command omnipresence like the Fume?”

“If these aliens are like the Fume, then I’m confused.” I reflected a moment. “My eyes detected the three armored aliens’ use of an advanced form of dimensional travel. Yet, they didn’t exude the exotic energy which identifies the Fume. Additionally, why is the Fume bound to the strange dimension around Earth, while the aliens aboard this craft are apparently free to roam the universe? My only proof may be the twinge in my gut, but it seems like we’re dealing with two totally different animals.”

Orsteen smiled proudly as he flew between me and Allienora with amazing precision. “Perhaps the Fume’s in control of these aliens, like he is with his human minions on Earth.”

“Maybe,” I said.

“Or...” said Allienora, “the Fume isn’t in charge. As far as we know, the three armored aliens are in control of the Fume.”

“Whatever the case,” said Morion, “we’ve gained no answers within this alien vessel. We’ve traveled for over five hundred kilometers and haven’t found anything but vegetation and primitive wildlife. Where are the conquering armies, the great machines that will rape the Earth of its resources, or the storage containers that will preserve the human race for later consumption?”

“There’s still time for answers,” I said. “Let’s continue.”

Six hours passed and we still hadn’t found anything. Maybe there was nothing to find.

“We’ll have to turn back in less than four hours,” I said. “Or there won’t be enough time to return to the
Fractal Skylark
before the weapon’s detonated.”

“Not yet!” shouted Morion, flying ahead of everyone. “There’s a clearing in the forest canopy. There’s something ahead—something large.”

I squinted curiously in the direction indicated. The canopy receded, giving way to a barren terrain. Within it, I saw a white structure.

We nervously flew onward. As we neared, I experienced a sense of recognition for the structure.
Why is it so familiar?

When we finally got close enough to distinguish details, I was confronted by an improbability I couldn’t have anticipated—there was never hope, there was never a prospect. But there it was—a ghost that made my heart race. I could only pray it was real.

“Allienora, do you see it?” I said with eyes wide.

“I do,” said Allienora. “It’s the Brahman Station.”

We carried on toward the ghost of the Brahman Station.

“Could it truly have been saved?” A hopeful realization came to my mind. “They could still be alive.”

“If they are, then we have a problem,” said Morion.

I glared in his direction. “What do you mean?”

“Have you forgotten our mission? If your friends and colleagues are here, alive and well, how do we rescue them before the black hole weapon’s detonated? The
Fractal Skylark
won’t carry a tenth of the passengers that were aboard the Brahman Station.”

“Then we must stop Rozlyn and Thirm from detonating the weapon.” I frantically attempted communication with them.

“They’re out of range,” said Allienora. “There’s too much interference in this maze of forest channels.”

“Then we must turn back.” I halted in midair, ready to reverse course. “I can’t suffer the death of my friends for a second time.”

“Your emotions are clouding your judgment,” said Orsteen. “If we don’t destroy this alien vessel, we risk the future of Earth. Are saving the lives of five hundred people worth the sacrifice of an entire world?”

“Nothing’s certain!” I shouted. “We don’t even know if destroying this alien vessel will stop the Obelisks, or the Fume. Hell, for all we know, the Obelisks have already destroyed Earth, or they’re culling our resources, or placing the population into slavery. I won’t sacrifice the Brahman crew for uncertainties.”

Allienora flew close to me and put a hand on my shoulder. “Before we decide, let’s look at what’s left of the Brahman Station. We’re only a short distance from learning the fate of your friends.”

Allienora’s voice calmed me.

“All right,” I said, “but let’s move. Our time’s running out.”

The forest canopy receded, and we flew above a terrain absent of vegetation. The structure of the great vessel was exposed—the same amazing composite that made up the gravity generators. We quickly realized something was being grown from the ground up.

“It almost looks like the foundation of a city,” said Morion. “Imagine this technology on Mars. The Elitists could build a glorious empire—cities built overnight.”

I kept my eye on the Brahman Station, which sat at the center of the growing structure. But as we neared, my optimism faded. The scene ahead grew more and more remarkable. The station, being removed from the weightless environment of outer space, had been propped up by pillars of the self-constructing composite, preventing it from rolling over.

Around the station was a massive gathering. As far as I could estimate, there were at least ten thousand figures moving about. Some of the figures traveled up alien-grown escalators attached to the station’s docking bays, making for easy access into the station.

“I doubt those are the passengers of the Brahman Station,” said Orsteen. “There are too many.”

“So it seems,” I said, disheartened.

We landed not far from the masses around the Brahman Station. I could now distinguish the figures ahead. They weren’t human. “These aliens are different from the ones we encountered earlier. There must be a hundred different species before us.”

“I may be wrong,” said Allienora with a roving eye, “but this gathering of aliens has the feel of some weird festival.”

“Indeed,” said Orsteen.

I thought back on my days as a student. I always found evolutionary biology remarkable, and often daydreamed of what life would be like on alien worlds. The crowd before us showed a wide range of physiological diversity. Regardless, I felt less than interested by their odd forms, since their presence was part of an invasion.

I focused on the Brahman Station. “Let’s move closer.”

Still cloaked, we snuck through the crowd, passing various booths offering goods and services of one sort or another.

One booth in particular was extremely crowded. Behind the counter stood an alien with a head divided into two lobes, each equipped with a compound eye like a small pile of diamonds. Its mouth puckered as it whistled a complex melody—it seemed to speak in musical notes. With gangly arms, the alien reached over the booth’s counter and accepted multi-colored beads from the crowd and dispersed vouchers in return.

Behind the cloven-headed attendant were ten horizontal tubes tinted different colors. They spanned the length of the entire booth. Attached to the end of each tube was a chamber containing a melon-green insect that fluttered about in defiance of its confines. When the attendant collected a sufficient number of beads from the crowd, he quickly pulled down a lever that simultaneously opened each of the insect chambers, allowing the insects to race down their tubes. The first insect to reach the end of its tube was apparently declared the champion, and the attendant paid winning vouchers, while losing vouchers were flung to the ground.

“Unbelievable!” I said. “They play carnival games while Earth’s attacked.”

“We play a similar game on Mars,” said Morion. “However, our champions are small rodents, rather than insects.”

“Let’s continue toward the Brahman Station,” I said angrily.

We continued on and soon found ourselves captivated by a group of tall, lanky aliens. They walked with a strange gait—their legs bent at an angle opposite the human form, giving their stride the appearance of a persistent forward kicking. We moved toward them for a better look. They didn’t seem real. Their skin had the gloss of something artificial, and as we got closer, I saw the pattern of circuitry. As if the lines of organic and mechanical were blurred.

“An alien like a machine… and a ship like an organism.” I looked to Allienora. “We have found the future.”