The Sirius Chronicles (4 page)

The stasis room was just another incredible sight. It almost looked like the inside of a beehive, just walls of square slots going up so far, I could barely see the highest one. It was just as vast as the loading bay. There were hundreds of terminals and a robotic arm assembly that would place and catalogue each person after they were placed into a suspended animation capsule. It reminded me of the production line at a factory.

I was last in line; Cyrus was going in first, most likely as an example to everyone else. I guess if you see the leader dive right in it makes the team feel a little more confident. Before he headed over to the stasis capsule he looked at me, smiled, and said “See you in 6 years.” The technician led Cyrus to the capsule and helped him climb in. All it took was one touch, the capsule door sealed and Cyrus became completely still.

Even though Cyrus explained it thoroughly, I didn’t truly understand how the technology works. When it was first invented everyone talked about it like you were actually being frozen, but I could clearly see this wasn’t the case. Once activated, a yellowish gas would enter the capsule and within a few moments entirely fill it. Just as the occupant realized they could no longer breath it would turn into a solid. It strangely reminded me of some of the fossilized remains trapped in amber you can see at the museums in the Capital.

All of a sudden I started to get a nervous feeling in my stomach, for a moment I thought I might throw up… I’m sure it wasn’t from fear, but excitement. I was ready; I couldn’t wait to get to X-451. I did on the other hand wish it didn’t take so long to get there. If we didn’t have to be put in stasis I’d literally be able to watch galaxies go by as The Sirius hurdled through space. The very thought of that experience made me wish I could ask the stasis tech to wake me up a few months early.

I had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity. Sara was at the front of the line and had already been put in a capsule so I didn’t get a chance to talk to her again. I had wanted to but we were too rushed and I had to make sure to pay attention to everything Cyrus said. For whatever reason I couldn’t stop thinking about her, even though we had just met.

It was really something to watch the system at work. It was incredible to think that thousands of people would all be in this one room, frozen in time; completely helpless. Over 10,000 people have lost their lives in space since the ACI started the program. Just a few years ago one of the ships had an unexplained core meltdown about a week into the journey, and everyone onboard was killed. I suppose it was something to worry about but I guess it’s like Cyrus said… I’ll never know about it - I just won’t wake up.

Cyrus had also told me that some people report having wild dreams and even nightmares during stasis. On even more rare occasions scientists had awakened with equations or experiments they had been working on solved in their subconscious. According to Cyrus, for whatever reason some people’s minds stayed extremely active during stasis and others didn’t. It was something currently being studied at the ACI.

He advised I just make sure not to be afraid as they initiated the process, otherwise I may not have a “good sleep.” I don’t think that would be a problem, the only thing I was feeling was excitement. Like Cyrus and Commander Neros, I was confident we would succeed and enable the ACI to keep their promise to the unprotected zones of Aeris.

When my turn finally came up, I jumped right in. The technician laughed and said “Ok… I guess you’re ready to go huh?” I looked up at him and said “You have no idea.” He closed the capsule and as his finger reached out to initiate the process I did my best to think of all the amazing things that would be waiting for me on X-451 but instead all I could think about was Sara. The capsule began to fill with the yellowish gas and I felt myself fade away.

As my eyes opened I could see the blurred image of a man putting an oxygen mask over my face. My head was pounding and I felt like I could barely breathe. As the pure oxygen entered my lungs I could feel my breathing return to normal.

When my vision had finally become somewhat clear I looked over and saw Cyrus and Sara looking down at me. I was trying to get up but I still couldn’t move and for some reason all I could think about was Sara. It was almost as if I missed her, like I hadn’t seen her in a very long time. When I looked at her all these emotions I didn’t understand had taken over me.

The technician asked me to move my legs. It was difficult, almost like my mind wasn’t quite linked to the rest of my body yet. Apparently I was able, so he and Cyrus helped me out of the capsule. It was hard to stand, almost as if I were learning to walk again. My legs felt so weak. The technician told me the effects would be gone in a matter of minutes and to just relax. As I sat there I noticed Sara staring at me, when our eyes met it was almost as if she had been feeling what I did.

After a few more minutes I was finally starting to feel normal. Cyrus was helping the tech release other members of the team from their capsules. Sara was sitting next to me, almost as if she was waiting for me to be able to talk again.

I said “That was definitely the strangest I’ve ever felt in my whole life… I feel fine now though.” I stood up and walked around a little, if anything I felt better… I supposed I felt like I had a 4 year rest. Sara came over – “So do you feel anything strange?.. Like feelings that don’t belong?” Maybe she had been feeling what I felt but I wasn’t sure and this could end in my embarrassment so I wanted to tread carefully – “I think so… but I don’t want to say.” She said “Are they about me?”

I hesitated for quite some time… - “Yes.” Her face lit up and she ran over to Cyrus – “You were right Cyrus! He feels it too!” Cyrus walked over to me – “You two are going to have be part of an official case study when we return.”

I asked “What do you mean?” He went on to explain that Sara and I had obviously made a connection shortly before we were put in stasis. It caused us to be thinking about each other as the process was initiated. He said this why I felt like I missed her and was so relieved to see her face. In my subconscious mind I had been waiting to see her for 4 years. Apparently she felt the same way… what did this mean? We barely knew each other and now I felt like I’d known her for years, even though in reality I knew absolutely nothing about her.

Sara and I sat there just looking at each other for quite some time before I said “So this isn’t real? It’s just a side effect due to our recent connection? What do we do? Will my conscious mind straighten it out?” She looked confused – “I don’t know… but it’s so strange. I’m glad Cyrus is so happy about this...” I laughed – “Yeah I know… he’s probably drooling at the chance to study us.” Just then Cyrus walked back over – “Alright, the three of us can discuss this later. We have to report to the main deck for orientation.”

The Sirius was so vast it seemed like half an hour of walking before we finally made it to the elevator leading up to the main deck. We were all led into a giant auditorium; the other teams were beginning to show up as well. I looked over at Sara and I could tell both us felt the same around each other now; confused and somewhat uncomfortable. Hopefully this would just fade away and our minds would return to reality.

At that moment she touched my shoulder and said “Don’t feel weird, it’s fine. We can’t help it; we just have to remember it’s all in our minds. There’s no need for you to act uncomfortable around me I promise.” So maybe I was wrong, I guess I was the only one who felt strange. I suppose it could be that as a scientist she was able to better understand what had happened and rationalize it. She probably looked at it more like something to study. I guess that made me feel a little better.

After another few minutes the other teams had all arrived and Cyrus made his way to the podium. “Ok everyone, let’s begin… We are only 2 hours away from X-451. Once we have arrived the Sirius will orbit the planet and scan for air, water, and land quality, along with deposits of chrysos. Once it’s confirmed that the environment is in fact similar to Aeris, we will begin sending the teams down. This will take approximately 1 day, which on this planet consists of around 24 hours, just like Aeris. Please take this time to explore the ship and settle in. Work begins as soon as possible… On a more unfortunate note… We have detected no satellites or space stations of any kind, so it’s safe to conclude there is no intelligent civilization on this planet.”

By the end of his last statement the disappointment had already set in. I was like Cyrus, I truly did think we would encounter a civilization similar to ours. He must be so upset, even though he wasn’t showing it. I was upset and I had only consciously known about the idea for a few days. I could only imagine how long he had been thinking about it. If there are no signs of life similar to us, this journey would be a complete waste of his time. It could be another 20 years before he got the chance to go on another mission in search of his dream.

I looked over at Sara and I could tell she felt the same, and I said “I really thought there was a good chance.” Sara replied “Yeah me too. But there will still be plenty of other things for me to study. He only mentioned no intelligent life. There could be millions of new species to discover… but yeah I’m disappointed.”

Just then Cyrus walked up – “Come on everyone, I have news that is classified to our division. They’ve set us up with a private laboratory, offices and quarters.” Sara and I looked at each other. We both knew he had something important to tell us. For something to excite him after the news about not detecting signs of intelligent life, means it’s something big.

The lab was absolutely mind boggling. I had no idea what any of it was; all I knew was I had never seen anything like it in the Capital. I was beginning to see that the Sirius ships were even more advanced than The Aurora Station. There were at least 40 computers, robotic arms coming down out the ceiling, and an array of the most complicated looking machinery I had ever seen. I guess he wasn’t over exaggerating about the funding needed for this division, and why it’s so small.

Cyrus made his way to the front of the room – “Listen up everyone… I was taken out of stasis yesterday… They took me out early for a meeting. The initial scans and probe we sent down discovered something extremely interesting. Before I tell you what it is, let it be known this is classified at the highest level and anyone who divulges any information what so ever will be charged with treason. That basically means life in prison… … The project we will begin may border the unethical and cause more sensitive people emotional… discomfort… If you wish to be moved to another division of study, speak now.” He paused for quite some time and locked eyes with everyone in the room as if to ensure their compliance. This was definitely something big… I could even sense a change in him.

“What has been discovered will provide us with an unprecedented opportunity to study our evolution. The probe sent back video confirming that this planet is indeed inhabited by our species. Only they have not fully evolved. From what I’ve seen of the video evidence it would appear as though they’re only about a million years away, possibly less… The ACI has endowed us with a very important experiment that may further humanity as a whole once the atmosphere has been repaired. Our goal is to artificially advance this species as far as possible. We are to study the effects on their brains and physiology, while experimenting with several different classified procedures. All the information will be given to a secret division at the ACI upon return. That is as far as we will go… Questions?”

The room was completely silent… A woman stood up – “I’m sorry but I want to be moved to another division, I refuse to have any part of this. I’ll sign whatever legal paperwork you want and keep quiet but I will not be participating.” Cyrus looked annoyed – “I made it clear that this project would cross some lines. Are you sure this is what you want?.. As a scientist you aren’t interested in this opportunity?” Without pause she answered “Not at all” and walked over to the door. Cyrus sighed and picked up the phone – “We have one that refuses to participate; she’s agreed to sign the treason agreement. Send someone.” Cyrus looked up – “Everyone stay quiet until she has left, then I we will continue.”

He had changed; I could see it in his eyes. Almost as if he was a completely different person. The Cyrus I thought I knew wouldn’t want to do something like this. I’ve always thought this kind of thing was totally illegal…I didn’t really know what to do, I had already come this far. I wouldn’t actually be doing any of the experimentation and I wanted to know what else Cyrus knew.

Within a minute, 2 militia guards showed up and escorted the woman away. Cyrus stood back up – “Ok so everyone that’s still here wants to participate, correct?.. Good. I’ll dive right into the details.” I looked over at Sara and she was obviously just as concerned as I was. I whispered – “What’s going on with Cyrus?” She looked straight ahead and said “I don’t know but I’m kind of scared… he’s acting strange.”

Cyrus continued – “A militia team has already been sent to secure 10 subjects, they project completion in less than 24 hours. If you notice, there are 10 separate smaller labs off to the side. Each one of those labs will be assigned to a subject, and two of you will be assigned to each lab. Each team will be given a separate packet with the details of your experiments. Each team will also keep this information as personally classified. The only person on this ship that you will speak to about it is me until otherwise informed… Does everyone understand?” The room answers “Yes”.

Cyrus walked to the middle of the room and started to give a long speech about how science should be boundless. He said we shouldn’t look at the subjects as victims, but necessary sacrifices for the greater good. He said to be prepared that most of the subjects will not survive and there will very likely be multiple trails of 10 subjects.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I looked over at Sara and I could tell she was very upset… that she was starting to regret being here just as I was. The

Cyrus we knew was longer here. It was almost as if he acted the way he did just to draw us in… draw me in. Maybe everything he said was a lie. I know for a fact this kind of thing would be illegal in our society. Something wasn’t right. That must be why he’s threatening everyone with treason charges and life in prison.

He then ordered everyone except me to return to their quarters. They all stared at me as they walked out. Some looked excited, some looked indifferent, and some looked frightened. I started to think about asking to sign the paperwork and go back to the militia division. There was a war going on in my mind… My curiosity was trumping my sense of ethics as I wanted to know everything Cyrus knew. Just then, as Sara was walking out she quickly leaned in and said “Don’t ask to leave.”

What did she mean by that? That she didn’t want me to leave her, or did she mean something would happen to me? All I know is she really did look scared and I had to get away and talk to her as soon as I could.

Once everyone left the room Cyrus called me over to his desk. I sat down and just waited for him to talk. He sat back – “So what do you think of all this Atlas?” I wanted to confess my distaste for the idea and even question the legality, but after what Sara said… - “I’m trying to figure out how these experiments will help advance mankind.” Cyrus looked surprised – “Sorry Atlas, but that information isn’t something I can give you just yet. Just think of it as classified for now and I’ll tell you when the time comes. ”

He leaned forward - “Atlas, you’ll understand when I tell you, just be patient and prove yourself to me… prove you’re dedicated to assisting me through this project. No matter what you see, or hear, you have to remember it’s all for a much larger and greater purpose… Now I have personal work to do so go take a walk around the ship with Sara. I’ll call you when I need you.”

As I walked out I got a chill. When he looked at me and said “No matter what you see, or hear” I could no longer see compassion in his eyes. They had become cold and devious, his voice and way of speaking had even changed. Something was very wrong and I had a feeling I was going to bear witness to some terrible things.

I looked around for Sara but she was gone. Why would she say that to me and then not wait and explain herself. I was getting even more worried, did she know something? I had to find her so I headed to the team quarters. As soon as I turned into the hallway she was there waiting for me. Before I could speak she said “Listen to me Atlas, I’m only going to tell you this once and then we can never have another conversation like this again… I had a friend tell me that they were involved in classified work and every time someone quit and asked to be dismissed to another group they were never seen or heard from again. Do you understand me? The ACI is very powerful.” I had to go against her commands – “What do you mean I can’t ask you any questions? You can’t do this to me… What’s going on here Sara.” She shook her head – “I said all I can say… just listen to me” and she walked away.