《The Bridge, A Science Fiction Survival Story》 Chapter 1: The Hand of God

Astarship is struck by an asteroid on its way to colonize a distant planet. Now, hundreds of years later, the inhabitants must learn to survive deep space without technology or perish.

Chapter 1: The Hand of God

The asteroid was called the Hand of God when it hit. Not that we know much about God, of course. There are plenty of books that survived the destruction, though the readers far more sparse. And those that could spouted nonsense after a few pages, about things called Suns and moons being created, about talking beings called ¡°animals¡±, about oceans. About legends of old, myths, wishful thinking. But what I do know about God is, if his hand caused the damage to the ship, I don¡¯t want to know much more. The stories say that the ship used to be one before it hit. That the asteroid split the ship right down the center, making the way to the other side dangerous, impossible. But we can still see it, entangled in cord and moving alongside us, and we can see in their windows. We can see the faces far more gaunt than our own, the cheeks near bone, the eyes hollow and staring hungrily back at us. And we can see them fighting, using knives stashed from the kitchen along with strange flashing devices, and though we cannot hear we know they scream. There is a third part of the ship as well, this one with no faces in the windows, all dark and barely held to the main two parts. But no one has ever seen movement there, and it is far smaller than the halves.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. There are one thousand of us on our side, a census conducted each year by scratching marks into the cold wall, making sure we have enough to eat. Any number over eleven hundred has led to shortages of food, and more importantly, water. As one of the gardeners, I know this too well, planning out the ship¡¯s rations and crops, utilizing the few rooms remaining with glowing ceilings. Deciding if I plant only those seeds specified for meals, or if we could splurge on space for the herbs demanded by our doctors or the spices requested by our cooks. We worked together on the ship, each of us with our task for survival, none of us expendable. At ten a child was assigned their task, from chief to scourer, based upon the skills they possessed. Every year they were reevaluated, deciding if a change was neccessary, and for the past three I had been applying for the coveted historian. For keeping the tales and the knowledge from long before, from where the recovered books on ship census marked twenty five thousand. In the stories of old, it is said that God could speak even if he couldn¡¯t be seen. That he could be heard as a voice alone, sending commandments down to his people. And today, of the year 984, I, Horatius, heard him. ¡°Systems rebooting,¡± said the voice, jolting me out of my duties watering the plants, ¡°ship damage assessed. Reuniting the two halves of the ship and restoring airlock, approximately twenty four hours until complete.¡± Staring out the window, I saw the cables holding the halves of the ships tighten. I saw the eyes of the hungry faces widen as they were dragged closer. And I wondered if the hand of God was striking again. Chapter 2: Stories At age four, I started schooling. Out of the thousand inhabitants of the ship, one hundred and fifty attended schooling, going to one of the three locations near the center of the ship. There was Hippoc, the school for doctors and chefs due to the similarities in their trades, the mixing and application of plant herbs, of which approximately twenty students attended, their parents typically from those positions. Next was Empri, where students were taught to read, their futures as the historians, leaders, and judges of the ship and admissions set for ten total seats. And for the rest of us, a hundred and thirty in all, there was Vertae, the school for gardeners, porters, and the occasional guard. I still remember the year before my first day, when my father held my hand, and whispered bedtime stories to me. ¡°Once,¡± He would say, as I resisted sleep with wide open eyes, ¡°Once, it is said that the ship was so large that you could walk for days without touching a wall. That the potatoes you see me farming used to grow as tall as me, perhaps even taller, and had stems as thick as my arm. Instead of the glow lights above, there was only one glow light, and somehow it split into the many that we have today. And in the floor of the ship, there were rushes of water, hallways so to speak, that entire men could float down.¡± ¡°Float down water?¡± I asked, at three, even back then my brows crossed in confusion, ¡°They must have been very rich, to have that much water.¡± ¡°Indeed, they must have been. But these are only stories, Horatius, stories that my father told me, and his father told him.¡± ¡°¡®But where from?¡± I asked, ¡°Where did the stories come from?¡± ¡°The historians, of course,¡± My father answered, ¡°They have all sorts of stories, some so ridiculous it makes me think that they are crazy, not full of common sense like ourselves.¡± ¡°The historians,¡± I had repeated, the cogs in my young mind spinning, ¡°I want more stories, papa. I want to be a historian.¡± A frown creased my father¡¯s face, and he sighed, ¡°Well, Horatius, I don¡¯t know-¡± ¡°But I do!¡± I protested, and regret crossed his face.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Look, Horatius,¡± he said, ¡°We gardeners, we keep the ship alive. Without us, there would be no food. There would be no one to carry water. Everyone would starve and thirst. But without the historians, well, we would lose stories. And we could do without that, Horatius. Food provides, stories do not.¡± Then he tucked me into bed, using the patched blanket he had mended from his own youth and still bore his scent, and departed. ¡°A historian,¡± I had whispered before falling asleep, disregarding his last words, ¡°A historian.¡± One year later, my father dropped me off at general assembly, where the twenty five children of my year awaited their school assignments, each with a pack of vegetables for lunch and shy expressions. We had seen each other throughout the ship before, and Mitch, my best friend, was there next to me, but today was different. Never before had I been with that many people my age at the same time. ¡°Welcome,¡± Said an adult at the center of the auditorium. High above him was a single large glow light, surrounded by eight other lights that had appeared to have gone out, or perhaps were never installed, but were rather painted over with various colors. I remember being impressed with one that was swirls of green, white, and blue, and had situated myself underneath it. ¡°Today, you will receive assignments to your schools,¡± Continued the adult, ¡°One of you to go to Empri, two of you to Hippoc, and twenty two to Vertae. While these placements are permanent, I encourage you to work hard, as your final assignments will be conducted at the end of your schooling. It is not unheard of for a farmer to seek to become a chef, or a doctor a chief, but it comes only with hard work.¡± I remember nodding, and waiting, my arms crossed over my chest. I was ready to learn stories, and I was ready to learn letters. I knew I could do both. ¡°Elliott and Hanna,¡± Said the adult, ¡°both of you will be attending Hippoc, so please exit through the door on your left, where you will be escorted to the school¡¯s chambers. As for Empri,¡± He said, scanning the crowd, his eyes landing on me as I burst into a smile, ¡°Ah, yes, for Empri, Segni, if you¡¯ll come with me.¡± I froze as another boy pushed past me, heading to the front of the crowd, his hair recently cut and his white smile reflecting the glow of the light above. I knew him from passing in the hall, when my father had pulled me to the side to allow the chief to pass with Segni following. ¡°But-¡± I said, though the adult cut me off. ¡°But the rest of you will be attending Vertae,¡± He finished, ¡°Remember, Vertae is strength of the ship. Without Vertae, none of us could survive.¡± My father repeated those words when I came home with tears on my cheeks. And he repeated the same thing he had for the past year, assuring me of its truth. ¡°Without food, we starve.¡± He said, ¡°But stories, stories are not sustenance. We can manage without them.¡± And for two years, I nearly believed him. Until age six, when Vertae started training us in gardening the fields, and two stories of my own began. Chapter 3: Efficiency ¡°What are you doing Horatius, trying to read again?¡± Said Nean, shoving me into the wall as he walked past and sneering, ¡°Go on, pick up your shovel, before I pick it up with your head.¡± I regained my balance, staring upwards at the squiggles that had held my attention, focusing on what I knew to be letters. On what those at Empri would be learning, and I, as a six year old in Vertae, would not. It was the second year of schooling, our first year spent learning about subjects such as roots, stems, leaves, and the other components of plants. We learned of the water reservoirs and how to use just the minimum amount of liquid in growth. And we learned of the sewer and compost troughs, which had to be included every few months or else the plants would not grow as well. ¡°Why do we have to switch out the dirt?¡± I remember asking after following Nean into class, as Skip, our adolescent instructor, showed us how to spread the compost, ¡°Why don¡¯t we just use the old dirt?¡± ¡°What do you mean why?¡± Skip had retorted, his expression accusing me of stupidity while Nean snorted behind him, ¡°You just do.¡± ¡°I get that, but why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just what you do. You take the dirt, and you spread it. Plants grow, you pick them, you repeat. Why doesn¡¯t matter. Stop wasting our time with these questions, there is food to grow, and work to do.¡± And by the end of six years of age, Skip trusted us enough to start preparing our own patches of garden, practicing with the easiest of seeds, the ones that could suffer the most abuse yet still have some yield. By now he had grown accustomed to my questions, positioning me at the far end of the practice field near the wall, far away from the rest of the class where I could not interrupt him as he inspected their gardens. ¡°No, no, no, you¡¯re doing it wrong again, Heratius,¡± Skip had said, watching me as I planted seeds in a neat line, ¡°Use the blade of your shovel to open up the dirt, not the handle.¡± ¡°Seems faster to use the handle to poke a hole, see?¡± I said, showing him how I could indent the earth and place a seed inside, without actually scooping earth out.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s wrong, just do things the right way. If you don¡¯t improve soon, I¡¯m going to have to reduce your marks. Just do it right.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s faster!¡± I complained, trying to show him again, though he had already moved on to the next student. With time, I discovered that so long as Skip¡¯s back was turned, it didn¡¯t matterhow I planted the seeds. Mine grew just as well as anyone else¡¯s, and I could plant that at about twice the pace, especially without him distracting me at the edge of the field. And more importantly, as my practice field moved farther away from the others, I discovered something that never would have occurred had I remained with the rest of the class. That if I gardened quietly, and stuck towards the edge of my field, I could hear voices. Voices that carried over to me from the other side of the wall, and though muffled, were intelligible. ¡°Now Segni,¡± Said the voice, ¡°We¡¯re going to go over this again. In order to become chief one day, you¡¯ll have to read. And to read, you¡¯ll need to know your alphabet. Can you recite it for me?¡± ¡°Why do I have to read to be chief? I can just talk.¡± Replied the young boy¡¯s voice. ¡°No, you must read. Let¡¯s go over it again. Here, listen, this is how you recite the alphabet. Start with A.¡± Each day I listened in, paying close attention to Segni¡¯s lessons, reciting the letters in my head. Learning the difference between vowels and consonants, and how to spell without knowing how the letters actually looked. Even with the wall between, I absorbed the lessons, eagerly accepting what Segni resisted as I planted my seeds. Within the next month, another instructed called Angie taught us at night when Skip¡¯s morning classes ended, taking us to another learning patch and showing us how to plant slightly more difficult seeds. Skip had already warned her of my slowness to learn, so Angie had followed his example and placed me on the outskirts of the group, this time near the window that peered out into the starry expanse outside the ship. And as I planted, the rules that Angie reiterated to the rest of the group time and time again had already rooted and improved upon in my brain, and I found myself practicing the lessons from the mornings in my thoughts. Finishing quicker than the others in planting, there were times my gaze flickered out through the window and to the other half of the ship, where figures moved in the distance. But each time I let my stare wonder, I always came to rest on a window to my left, near the end of the other half. Where a face constantly filled the glass, a face of a girl around my age, with red hair and her palms on the glass. A face whose eyes met mine, and who stared at me every day that I worked. Chapter 4: Of Ships and Sheep ¡°S-H-I-P.¡± Said the teacher through the wall, as I walked through the potatoes I had planted, administering carefully measured water to each, ¡°What¡¯s that spell?¡± ¡°Sheep.¡± Said Segni, his voice exasperated. Ship, you little shit. I thought, nearly spilling my watering apparatus in frustration, ship! It had been two years since I¡¯d discovered my listening spot, and in those two years Segni had slowly and painfully progressed through the alphabet to the separation of vowels and consonants to spelling. I gritted my teeth each time his teacher sighed, each time Segni came into lessons and had not practiced the night before, each time he asked for a break after five minutes. ¡°Close,¡± Came the teacher¡¯s voice, ¡°We learned about sheep last week in the readings. Try again.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it,¡± Said Segni, and I heard a thump as he put his foot on the desk, ¡°Close enough.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not close enough,¡± Said the teacher, ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to try again.¡± ¡°Look, I don¡¯t have to do anything that I don¡¯t want to. I¡¯m the chief¡¯s son, and he¡¯s the one that gives you your rations. He¡¯s not even sure why you¡¯re making me learn reading, said he thinks it¡¯s a waste. So I¡¯d be careful or maybe I¡¯ll tell him you¡¯re not doing your job, and you¡¯ll go to the fields.¡± There was silence inside the classroom for a moment, then the instructor spoke, his voice bitter. ¡°As you wish,¡± He said, ¡°If you shall refuse to read, I shall read to you. Today, we study the history of the ship prior to the Hand of God. Prior to when the ship was split, and our brothers and sisters were separated from us, perhaps forever. Segni, are you listening? Quit drawing.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Go on, I¡¯m listening,¡± Said Segni with a yawn, as the teacher continued. I suppose I should be thankful for Segni¡¯s general attitude, for without it I never would have heard the stories. Instead, Segni would have read them to himself, and I would be no better off. ¡°As I was saying,¡± Continued his teacher, ¡°The ship was once one, one people. From their census, we know that food and water used to be in higher abundance, that they used to be able to sustain a population far greater than our own. Listen to this Segni, this is the reason why our numbers cannot exceed one thousand now, because we do not have the resources. When the asteroid hit, it took with it much of our capabilities, much of our ways to provide.¡± ¡°Yeah, the asteroid hit, and killed a ton of people. That happened forever ago.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t the asteroid that killed those people, Segni. From records, we can see that only two hundred people died in the actual collision. The rest died after. From starvation, from famine, from thirst. Segni, as chief one day you will have to understand this, that we must be prepared for famine again.¡± ¡°If the asteroid hits again, we¡¯ll probably all die, so it doesn¡¯t even matter.¡± ¡°There¡¯s plenty more that just an asteroid that can go wrong, Segni.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± he said, ¡°We¡¯ll make it through. We always do.¡± ¡°Because we are prepared. Three hundred years ago, our ship panicked the water stopped flowing. Our numbers were at three thousand then, and when the flow stopped, they plummeted. It is said that a great historian, Archim, was able to discover how to start the flow again. But even he could not bring it up to normal levels, and so we persist today weaker than ever. One hundred years ago, the half our corps died, for an explanation that we cannot identify. Half, and we are barely able to sustain as is. Without food stores, we likely would have followed. This will happen again, Segni, and unless you are prepared we will not, as you put it, make it through.¡± Segni huffed, and I continued gardening, heart pumping as I listened. I had heard of the Great Thirst, but that was supposed to be false, something my father said to me when I felt like complaining. ¡°Segni, you must listen to me,¡± Said the teacher, ¡°Our lives will be in your hands. History repeats itself, and there are precious few who we can dedicate to leading the ship, precious few that know the purpose of our existence. You will be one of them and you must use that knowledge wisely, in the case of another disaster. In case the Hand of God strikes again.¡± Chapter 5: Tests Chapter 5: Tests At age ten, we gathered in the general assembly, the rest of the ship together for the announcement of our positions. Extra rations were available to all that attended, so not a single person was missing from the crowd. ¡°Welcome,¡± Boomed the chief from the podium at the front, his eyes bright, ¡°Welcome, to the selection ceremony. We are proud to receive the next wave of students into our citizenship, into our community. Only through work do we persist, and together we survive.¡± He gestured at us, wearing the blue graduation robes that spent most of their lives locked in a closet, and as such had far brighter colors than any other garment. Then he continued his gesture to a table, where the were twenty five items resting on the surface. One pen, two mounds of dried herbs, and twenty three cherry tomatoes. ¡°Today, we accept our graduates with open arms. We have full faith in them, and bestow upon them the responsibility of future generations to come. But first,¡± He said, and held up a waiting finger, ¡°They must pass their tests.¡± Three people stepped forward from behind the chief, each in different colored robes. One I recognized as Skip, his hair plastered down for the occasion. The other was Sage, the lead cook of the kitchens, who sometimes gave me an extra portion when I gave her my best smile. And the third was a man that I did not recognize, with a beard that spilled over his chin, and a volume under one arm. ¡°I shall administer the first test,¡± Claimed Sage, ¡°Will the interested individuals please step forward?¡± Elliott and Hanna moved as one from our crowd, their chins high, their parents in the crowd with beaming smiles. ¡°For the past six years, you have studied, and you have persevered,¡± Said Sage, ¡°And now, we must know if that has succeeded. Three questions I have for you, three questions that either a doctor or chef can answer. First, what is the proper herb to administer to those complaining of aches and sores?¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Ginseng!¡± They said together, and Sage nodded as the crowd applauded. ¡°Next, demonstrate the correct way to prepare the following herbs for cooking,¡± Said Sage, as two people rushed forward from the crowd with trays, knives, and several green leafs. Both Eliott and Hanna took the knives and separated the herbs accordingly, dicing or rolling them into the correct shapes as Sage nodded. ¡°And lastly,¡± Said Sage, with a smile, ¡°What is the oath of the school of Hippoc?¡± ¡°To preserve, to sustain, to nourish, and to aid, for the good of the ship.¡± And with a final nod the crowd erupted, Elliot and Hanna returning to their seats with the piles of herbs from the table clutched in their hands. ¡°As we all know, no test is required for students of Vertae, so the next test shall be administered to the sole student of Empri, my very son, whose progress had made me most proud.¡± Said the chief, and the bearded man stepped forward, a frown on his face. ¡°It is known,¡± Said the man, and I recognized his voice from Segni¡¯s lessons, ¡°That the direction of our future is held in the hands of our leaders. That those graduating from Empri are of the highest caliber, are of the brightest minds, and of moral righteousness. Will the interested individuals please step forward for this year¡¯s opening of Historian, so that I, Pliny the Historian, may extend my blessing. Segni strode to before the podium, his father towering above him as he prepared for the first question. I bit my lip as I looked ahead, and pushed my way to the front of the student crowd, Nean pushing my shoulder as I walked past so I staggered behind Segni. The chief¡¯s eyes widened as I stared up at Pliny, my shoulders thrown back, and my fists clenched to hide the dirt under my nails. Behind me, I heard the crowd start to whisper, and looked back to see my father among them, shaking his head as his eyes met mine. ¡°A gardener,¡± laughed one from the front, ¡°A gardener. Go back to the fields boy, don¡¯t embarass yourself.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Said the chief, looking down at me, ¡°Do you presume that you can pass a test designed for the students of Empir? This is for intellectuals, boy, absolutely unheard of. Go on back.¡± Skip stepped forward, his face red, pointing at me, ¡°Out of all my class he has the lowest marks!¡± He spat, ¡°Can¡¯t even make a hole correctly after four years! Slowest learner I¡¯ve ever seen. I apologize, chief, for my student¡¯s ignorance. Get, Horatius.¡± Pliny stared down at me, his eyebrows raised, and spoke as well, addressing the audience in his deep voice, ¡°It is written that anyone may take the test, and it is wrong to bar them entry. As such, we cannot deny him, regardless of our opinion if he will pass or fail. Let us begin.¡± Chapter 6: Tomato ¡°That¡¯s not fair!¡± Shouted Segni, ¡°I¡¯ve spend hours enduring lectures, years putting up with work and now you¡¯re going to let him have a shot at it?¡± My jaw stiffened as Pliny smiled, and replied. ¡°Of course, young chief to be. With all those hours of study, you should have nothing to worry about, should you? This should be easy for you.¡± Pliny cleared his throat, and addressed us both. ¡°There are three main qualities that Empri instills in its students. First, is the ability to learn, or reading. With reading comes the second quality, which is knowledge. And only through those comes stewardship, which is the only quality that truly matters. The first two are but tools to attain the third. As such, there will be three questions for this test, three questions that must be answered correctly, one for each of the qualities. Do you understand?¡± Together, Segni and I nodded, and the chief¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Question one will be on reading. I will spell a word, and you will tell me what it is, which should be simple for anyone accomplished in the field. For you, Segni, what does L-E-S-S-O-N spell?¡± Segni thought for a minute, his eyes closed and mouth working to sound out the letters. ¡°Less!¡± He shouted, and a wry smile formed across Pliny¡¯s mouth. ¡°Close, but not quite.¡± He said, ¡°Lesson, Segni, it spells lesson.¡± ¡°Close enough to count,¡± Said the chief in a low voice, and Pliny continued. ¡°Now you, Horatius I believe, here is your word: O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y.¡± From behind in the crowd, I heard Nean shout out, his voice nearly cutting off Pliny¡¯s. ¡°It spells stupid gardener!¡± Chuckles sounded from the crowd, the vast majority of which did not have the means to tell if he was correct, and I waited for them to quiet down to whispers. ¡°Opportunity!¡± I said, my voice near a shout, ¡°It spells opportunity!¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Said Pliny, and tilted his head as he looked into my eyes, his expression as curious as the chief¡¯s was red, the whispers in the crowd dying to surprised silence, ¡°Precisely. Next, a question regarding history and knowledge. Segni, I shall allow you to go first due to your hard work in schooling. Before The Hand of God, how many people inhabited the ship?¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Segni smiled, and stuck his chest out, speaking the answer, ¡°More!¡± ¡°Is that your answer?¡± Asked Pliny. ¡°Yes, my answer is more!¡± ¡°Technically, I suppose,¡± Replied Pliny, ¡°Though I was looking for something more precise. Horatius?¡± ¡°Twenty five thousand.¡± I answered, and the curiosity in Pliny¡¯s eyes increased as his pupils dilated. ¡°Precisely, again.¡± He said, studying me, though I held his gaze and did not move, ¡°How strange, how curious. Now for the final question, on stewardship, should the Hand of God strike again, how should we be prepared for it?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t strike again.¡± Spat Segni, and his father nodded. ¡°Food and water stores,¡± I answered, ¡°Enough to get us through disaster and to recover. Spread around the ship in case one area is impacted.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Said Pliny, ¡°Three for three, with no marks off.¡± ¡°For both candidates,¡± Said the chief, and a frown formed on Pliny¡¯s face. ¡°Well,¡± He said, turning to face the chief, ¡°Based upon the integrity of both answers-¡± ¡°Three out of three for both.¡± Repeated the chief, his voice rising, ¡°Both. My son, and this, this imposter. Integrity, Pliny? You want integrity? I¡¯ll show youintegrity. One last test, one more to determine the true winner, and to out the obvious cheating that is occurring. A pen, and paper, now.¡± From the crowd, one of the attendants to the chief rushed forward, carrying the materials. And the chief marked the paper, writing letters big enough for the crowd to see, and displaying it. ¡°Horatius, it is enough that you have embarassed my family. It is enough that you have mocked our rituals and tests. Should you admit that you are cheating now, should you admit guilt, I will spare you any punishment.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not cheating!¡± I answered, the fists at my side tightening. ¡°Then what does this spell?¡± Asked the chief, and brandished the sheet. The letters danced in front of me, letters that I had never studied by sight, but only heard. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I stared, praying for a revelation, praying for a miracle. ¡°Go on,¡± Said the chief, ¡°Show us how you are worthy to be Historian. What does it spell?¡± ¡°I- I don¡¯t know.¡± I answered, tears forming near my eyes, ¡°I can¡¯t read it, I can only-¡± ¡°By his own admission then, he can¡¯t read,¡± Said the chief, and turned to where Segni already bounced on the balls of his feet with anticipation, ¡°Now, Segni, what does this spell?¡± ¡°Sheep!¡± His son cried out, his voice echoing. ¡°Ship. Precisely.¡± Said his father, and walked to the table that held the awards for each of the vocations, picking up a pen and cherry tomato. He placed the pen in his son¡¯s hand, holding it high. ¡°Welcome,¡± he said, and the crowd cheered, ¡°Welcome, to our new historian.¡± And walking to me, he took the cherry tomato, and crushed it above my head such that the pulp fell into my hair, and the juice dripped down my face. ¡°And welcome,¡± He hissed, ¡°Welcome, to our new gardener, whose position will start in one year. Until then, he will be punished for cheating, and will be obligated to fulfill any of the ships hauling and porter needs. Now go, Horatius, your job has begun.¡± His finger extended to the door, and I left, Nean¡¯s voice trailing behind me as dropped of tomato juice dripped to the floor. ¡°Thought he could be a historian. Not even fit for a gardener.¡± And turning back, I saw Skip nodding, the crowd laughing, and my father turned away. Chapter 7: Porters and Punches Each morning I started with an hour of exercise, which was required of porters. I would arrive in the heavy room slightly after breakfast, feeling my spine compress as I walked across the threshold, adjusting my posture slightly as I walked inside. Waiting was weightlifting machinery- an arrangement of dumb bells and plates designed to help increase muscle capacity, all at twice the weight they would be outside the heavy room. There I would pair up with the others who had been assigned to be porters, many of them for life, their chests bulging from under their shirts and the veins in their necks popping. Most of them were those who could not succeed at gardening, though some were placed there for punishments like myself, for crimes such as hoarding water or striking their neighbors. ¡°Tom want first breakfast,¡± Said my partner as I watched his form. As usual it was impeccable, near robotic, not a single mistake as the weights were cycled through lifts and rests. But for all his skill with strength conditioning, Tom had troubles outside the heavy room, where his difficulty in grasping the intricacies of planting seeds and grammar had dragged him down the societal ladder to porter. ¡°Fine,¡± I answered, ¡°I¡¯ll take second, then.¡± We ate in shifts, as porters. It meant that there were always some of us available to cart away waste, or move bundles of vegetables, or shift furniture around living spaces. But there was a perk to being a porter, one that was required by the sheer physical requirements of the position- we were rationed portions and a half, of both food and water. ¡°Good,¡± Answered Tom, dropping his weights so that the heavy room shook, ¡°Tom done then.¡± And he lumbered away, sweat staining the back of his shirt, his physical stature larger than almost any on the ship. In his absence I racked the weights, then retrieved a cart at the end of the hall, one that was to be transported to the kitchens and was filled with potatoes. At first, the going was hard, since being so near the heavy room making the cart difficult to push. But after my first week of being a porter, I had learned inner layout of the ship, hidden from the main corridors, where the light halls were and how to connect them. I¡¯d been in light halls before, of course. Before being required to work, I¡¯d often played in them, running up the sides of the walls and jumping from end to end of the corridor in a single bound, much to the annoyance of any traversing porters at the time. For just as the heavy room added weight to my frame, the light hall removed it, making transporting overfilled carts as easy as those that were empty in the normal, more occupied areas.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The light hall I used that morning was dark, the glow lights much lower than in other areas of the ship, and ran behind a row of living spaces that emptied their waste into the hall for porters to collect. As soon as I finished crossing the hall, there would be hardly another hundred feet before reaching the kitchens, and I could switch duties with Tom as he finished breakfast. The thought had my stomach growling, especially since the new chef Eliott was already known for his skill in dish preparation. And that morning I was so hungry, and so focused upon completing my task, that I never heard the footsteps behind me. ¡°Stupid porter!¡± Said Nean¡¯s voice as an oversized hand gripped the back of my neck, pinning me to the wall, ¡°Think you¡¯re smarter than all of us, look where you are now. If it was my decision, you¡¯d stay here.¡± ¡°Get off!¡± I shouted, my muscles sore for the heavy room, adding to the agony of Nean cheese grating my nose against the rough metal. ¡°All I want to do is make sure you¡¯ve learned your lesson. Help the chief out. He asked me, you know. Well, not him particularly, just the future chief.¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± I shouted, but Nean ripped me away from the wall, driving my forehead into the hard edge of the cart so hard that the room flashed. I fell, feeling his shoe contact my ribs on the way down, and once more as I curled on the cold floor, struggling to draw in breaths. Then Nean leaned over, his face so close to mine that I could smell his breath. ¡°Segni says if you try to humiliate him again, you won¡¯t just be a porter. He says I can hit you hard enough that you think like them too. Right here.¡± Then he spat, his phlegm mixing with the blood on the side of my head, before his running footsteps receded down the light hallway, and he was gone. Ahead, I heard a door open, spilling more light into the space as a tall figure walked out, his voice angry. ¡°I swear by the hand, if you kids are playing this early in the morning I¡¯ll have your rations personally cut so much that they¡¯ll stunt any form of development,¡± He hissed, coming closer, ¡°I¡¯ll- Oh God, God, boy, what happened to you?¡± Above, a face materialized, a face surrounded by beard, one that I could now match to the voice when the anger left it. ¡°Fell,¡± I answered, as Pliny reached a hand downward, pulling me to my feet. ¡°Bullshit,¡± He answered, before leaning inside the door that he had come through, ¡°Clea, we¡¯re going to need a doctor, please fetch one. Yes, right now, hurry!¡± Then he turned back to me, his voice low, ¡°Boy, what happened to you, who did this?¡± ¡°I fell.¡± I repeated, gritting my teeth as pain started to set in. ¡°Like I said, bullshit. God son, you look awful.¡± I turned away from him, and started pushing the cart, limping towards the exit before his hand caught my shoulder. ¡°No you don¡¯t, boy. The doctors are already on their way. They¡¯ll be here in under a minute.¡± And he looked into my face, studying it again, with the same curious expression as he had during the test. ¡°Tell me, boy, can you think straight?¡± I nodded, though my vision blurred, and heard footsteps down the hall, doctors that had nearly arrived. ¡°Then if you understand this,¡± He said, and started to spell, ¡±M-E-E-T-space-M-E-space-H-E-R-E-space-T-O-M-O-R-R-O-W-space-N-I-G-H-T.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the ship needs a historian,¡± He answered as the doctors arrived, carrying me with them to their designated rooms, where herbs and bandages awaited. Chapter 8: Fishers of Men Pliny held up the sheet of paper, the word imbued upon it in his thin handwriting, and waited. ¡°Stu-¡± I said, ¡°Stud¡­ Student.¡± ¡°Correct!¡± He said, a smile playing across his face, ¡°Student. Four week¡¯s lessons, Horatius, and you¡¯re already sounding out complex words. Not to mention that you already have most the history absorbed, which takes up the bulk of the lessons. I suppose you did have somewhat of an advantage though, what with all the gardening.¡± We were in Pliny¡¯s apartment, his wife Clea listening from the other room as she finished daily chores and prepared for bed, and Pliny sitting with me in their living room. It was bigger than I was accustomed to- my father¡¯s appartment had been only three rooms, consisting of his, mine, and a closet. There were plenty of vacant rooms about the ship, but very few with space, and Pliny¡¯s was one of them. Since my incident with Nean I had come to a near full recovery, all that remained of the accident being a small circular scar in the center of my forehead, just above my nose and between my eyes. I¡¯d spent a few days in the doctor¡¯s care, though remembering them was difficult as I tried to focus. ¡°Look here, son.¡± The head doctor had said while Hannah pressed a combination of ice and freshly cut herbs to my swollen face. I¡¯d likely helped grow the herbs, and the ice was from the edge of the ship, near where the Hand of God had struck and could be collected off of the walls. ¡°Look here,¡± He repeated, when my eyes failed to focus, ¡°This is no falling injury. Bruises like that don¡¯t show up on your ribs from a small tumble, neither does spit end up in your hair, nor a head injury to this degree. I¡¯m going to need you to tell me what happened, so I can properly report it in.¡± ¡°Was walking, decided to jump around in the light hall just like when I was younger, and I tipped on the cart.¡± I answered. ¡°And I became a doctor by drinking piss,¡± He answered, ¡°I need you to report the name, or else this could happen again, to someone else. He will know justice.¡± For a moment, I believed him. For a moment, I almost let Neanslip out of my mouth, and put the matter in his hands. But then he spoke again. ¡°Trust me, son, an act like this deserves at least a year of being a porter.¡± And the thought of spending every day with Nean for the next year was so unbearable, I was only able to say two more words: ¡°I fell.¡± But that was a month ago, and in the space of that month, I¡¯d had my lessons with Pliny to take my mind off my injuries. He¡¯d started with an interrogation, demanding to know how my father had taught me to spell, or where I had picked up the art. And he had laughed when I sheepishly told him the answer, his eyes smiling, and asking if I could return each day at eight. I nodded, and he spoke again. ¡°There¡¯s work ahead of you, Horatius, and you¡¯re still behind Segni in many areas. But I¡¯d rather have an eager student that a more experienced one. For now though, let¡¯s keep this between us. I will teach you only for the sake of you learning- what you do with the knowledge is your decision. I cannot guarantee that you will become a historian in name. However, I can make you one at heart, and better yet, mind.¡± So I learned the letters that I had become so familiar with, understanding how to pick them off the paper and transform them into the auditory format that I was so accustomed with using. And soon, Pliny lent me a small book, one that I was to read every night before bed in my quarters.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°It¡¯s for learning,¡± He said, handing it to me, ¡°It won¡¯t always make sense, but it will help you adjust to sight reading. Go on, read me the title, get started.¡± ¡°One Fish, Two Fish. What exactly is a fish?¡± I asked. ¡°We have some idea, but believe that they must have existed in the past, before the hand of God. Most the books, especially this one,¡± He thumped a larger one, one I later would know as the bible, ¡°Seem to mention them. Apparently they are for catching, so pay attention, Horatius. For many of the greatest learners were fishermen, and I will teach you to fish.¡± So I rehearsed One Fish, Two Fish. And soon I moved on to other books, books slightly more complex, with more words that I couldn¡¯t understand. Sometimes it took my entire concentration to follow the storyline, so when we moved on to other books, books that Pliny called manuals, I was far more interested. ¡°This,¡± He said, after two years of lessons, ¡°This is the Guide to Gardening, which lists many of the techniques we employ today to ensure that we are able to feed the ship. Perhaps it could use a good read through from someone like yourself who knows more on the subject, and could see if there is anything else we have missed.¡± So I read, and I learned. I found out that it was light that made plants bear fruit, not just water and soil, which explained why some students had better success than others in different areas of the gardening fields closer to the lights. And I learned other things, descriptions of how to rub plants together in ways to make bigger yields, that planting the seeds from bigger vegetables instead of eating them would lead to better yields. And as I studied under Horatius, my body began to change. From my year as a porter, my muscles had grown tighter, able to lift more than before. And with more food, I¡¯d grown, just as plants grew more with more light. When I returned to gardening, they¡¯d treated me as an outcast, giving me grunt labor for the first three years, essentially working as a porter again in the fields. So by fourteen years of age, Nean no longer made comments when I walked past, my shoulders broader than his. And by fifteen, Skip decided to give me ownership over a small portion of the garden. ¡°Horatius, it¡¯s been years since you¡¯ve been in my class,¡± He said, calling me to the side of the fields where he monitored activity, ¡°And I am a forgiving man. I believe in second chances, and now I am offering you one. A chance to own your own piece of land. A chance to be a respectable gardener. Are you ready to take this responsibility?¡± ¡°Why are you doing this, Skip?¡± I asked, my voice considerably deeper than the last time we had talked at length, and his face turned red. ¡°Are you not exited for the opportunity, Horatius ? I believe that you¡¯ve had time to reflect on your past transgressions and poor marks, and-¡± ¡°Cut it, Skip,¡± I answered, ¡°I know you¡¯re not doing this because you want to. Why are you doing this?¡± Skip sighed, ¡°Look, Ann is getting old. She works in the center of the garden and complains that the bright lights hurt her eyes there, and she¡¯s never able to carry enough water there to properly water the plants. No one else wants the spot.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll accept under one condition, then, Skip.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll what? Accept? I¡¯m giving you the chance to turn your life around. You should take it gladly!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll take it under one circumstance. That I manage my garden on my own, with none of your supervision, and none of your intervention.¡± ¡°Ridiculous! I won¡¯t have you ruining a perfect square of soil because you can¡¯t garden. I won¡¯t leave you unatended, Horatius, I absolutely won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Fine, then I don¡¯t want it.¡± ¡°You have to take it, no one else will.¡± ¡°Then agree to my conditions. I¡¯ll even make you a bet, Skip. If my plot of land produces three times as much as when Ann worked it, then for a full month you can have half of my rations. Half, and you choose first.¡± Skip looked at me, his eyes narrowed, chewing on his lip. ¡°Fine,¡± He spat, ¡°Fine, be difficult. But when you fail, I¡¯ll be taking those rations. And you¡¯ll be doing exactly as I say from then on, Horatius. You hear me? You-¡± But I was already walking away, reviewing the Guide To Gardeningin my mind. For twenty years, Ann had worked that spot, and for twenty years it had likely been neglected. I¡¯d seen her work, not taking care that every drop of water found its home, spacing her plants too far apart, walking slow from a combination of old bones and general apathy. Which meant for twenty years, the spot with the brightest lights in the room had been mismanaged. And now it was mine. Chapter 9: Control ¡°This was a mistake,¡± Said Skip from the edge of my plot, ¡°I never should have agreed to this, and now you¡¯re ruining perfectly good seeds.¡± It had been several weeks since Skip had agreed to the deal, and though he was true to his word to never set foot within my plot, his comments still came frequently. ¡°Skip, what did we agree on?¡± I asked, rehearsing passages from the guide as I ripped out sprouts that had just broken soil, leaving only the largest behind. After seedlings have developed two leaves, remove approximately one out of every two, selecting those that are the smallest and leaving the largest behind, allowing the healthiest germinations to persist. Doing such frees up root systems, allocates space for air and light, and will provide greater yield. ¡°But I won¡¯t stand by for you to throw away perfectly good crops! I let you change what you wanted to plant, Horatius, after Ann planted the same thing there for twenty years! Twenty years, and you wanted to change it! Just do your gardening like you¡¯re supposed to!¡± ¡°I am,¡± I muttered, and ignored him and the growing crowd of gardeners as I pulled plants up by the roots, tossing them away. Every step along the way Skip had balked- from changing the soil to manure composition, to using the guide to determine which plants would fare best with increased light, to making my holes in the fashion I had devised years before. ¡°Yeah,¡± Shouted Nean from the growing circle, ¡°Stupid -¡± But his voice cut off as I turned to face him, the sweat beading around my eyes, gripping the shovel tight enough that my biceps showed through my shirt. A few nervous chuckles sounded as I stared at him, though far fewer than there would have been two years before, and sounding thinner. ¡°What was that, Nean?¡± I asked, ¡°I seem to remember when you said it the first time. I remember everythingthat you¡¯ve said, Nean. Everything. I haven¡¯t forgotten a word, and it would be best for you to stop reminding me. You may rather I forget.¡± Nean swallowed, and broke his gaze away as I straightened my back, now taller than him. ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± He said, turning away, ¡°We¡¯ll see what happens when the chief hears about this, when your crops fail.¡± But the chief never did find out. He never had the chance. Two days after the incident, he died in his sleep, a cluster of confused doctors surrounding his bed the next morning, wondering how someone so healthy could perish in the night. According to them, he seemed even healthier than anyone else on the ship, due to his rapid weight gain and the bump that had been growing larger on his right shoulder each year, now nearly the size of his head. ¡°A sign of the chief¡¯s ruling power, the arm of his law, and the power of his hand,¡± The head doctor had said after discovering it, and the chief had taken to wearing tighter shirts to display its presence. After his death, Pliny¡¯s apprentice had taken command, one the chief had assured the ship for years would provide a future brighter than they could imagine. And Segni had smiled at the ceremony, the crowd cheering, and had declared a feast be administered in his and his father¡¯s honor.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. But one week after the chief¡¯s death, Pliny made an announcement during my lesson. ¡°Horatius,¡± He said, ¡°There is something that I wish to show you. Something that precious few know about on the ship, something that Segni should know if he attended his lessons, and that his father neglected to tell him before death. Something that I do not trust Segni with, and, should you ever become historian, you must know.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I had asked, placing a strawberry on the counter for Clea. It was her favorite food, and I had grown it just for her, sneaking the largest one out of my field. ¡°Come, follow me,¡± He had answered, and led me from his apartment, ¡°Keep your distance, though. We have done well in keeping our interactions secret, and now that Segni is chief, more caution may be necessary.¡± He led me through the corridors of the ship, to where the rooms grew colder and we approached the center, near where the ice grew on the walls. Typically, this area was deserted, the rooms too frigid for living and the fields unable to support life, and hallways turning unpredictably to behave like light and heavy rooms. It was quiet, our footsteps the sole source of noise, and our dim shadows the sole source of movement. And after nearly a half hour of walking, Pliny opened a small side door into a stairwell, and we descended. ¡°Long ago, before the Hand of God,¡± Pliny said, his voice echoing, ¡°It is said that the ship was one. But not only was it one, Horatius, but it was different. According to records, the area we now walk was once habitable. The lights above you could once change in brightness as you desired, or the air temperature be adjusted. We know this among many other things, many other ways that we could control the ship, rather than the ship controlling us.¡± ¡°Why does it matter, though, Pliny?¡± ¡°Think to gardening, Horatius. Think to how much more you could produce if you could change the lights as you wished, or even the temperature. But beyond that, think if you could decide which of the corridors were light halls. Or if you would heat this portion of the ship again, and use these fields.¡± ¡°But how? How would we do that?¡± ¡°That, is the question Horatius. And rather than how, is shouldwe.¡± We had come to a door, a door that was nearly encapsulated in ice, and Pliny removed a screwdriver from his pocket. Aiming for the cracks, he chipped around the edge of the door, until it shifted in the frame and he could open it. The room we entered was caked in dust, and so cold that my breath formed in front of me, colder than I had ever experienced in my life. It jutted out beneath the ship, such that windows extended in every direction, allowing for a full view of the empty space surrounding the ship. A table was in the center, nearly a hundred books piled up on its surface, all bearing the same resemblance as the Guide to Gardeninggiven to me by Pliny. And behind them, there were shelves of lights- tiny lights that flashed, surrounded by rows of buttons and levers, countless knobs and switches. Above, on the ceiling, I read words that had long been forgotten, but were etched into the metal. Command Center: The beacon in the darkness, the hope of humanity. ¡°What is this place?¡± I whispered, afraid even to break the silence, my eyes wide. ¡°It¡¯s how the ship used to be controlled,¡± Answered Pliny, ¡°It¡¯s where our greatest strength used to be.¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t we use it?¡± I asked, walking over to the table, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take advantage of it?¡± ¡°Do you remember the story of the Great Thirst, Horatius?¡± Pliny asked, and I nodded. ¡°Before the Great Thirst, our numbers were at three thousand. Now they are but a third. I told you that the Great Thirst was resolved when the historian Archim discovered how to restart the flow of the water reservoirs, and that much is true.¡± Then Pliny leaned forward, and pointed to a row of controls at the far end of the room. ¡°What I never told you is that Archim is the reason why the Great Thirst occurred. That he killed two thousand people by pressing one of those buttons, because he thought he could double the reservoir production, and just barely managed to partially correct his error after several days of frantic research before the entire ship died. As I said, Horatius, we have an inkling ofhow to control the ship. But shouldwe?¡± Chapter 10: Of Feasts and Famine

I was eighteen when Pliny died, in the Year of Feasts. Just two years prior I had been added to the chief¡¯s council, Pliny taking me to one of their meetings and addressing Segni. ¡°Your honor,¡± Pliny said, bowing low, ¡°I come to you today with a petition that will succeed only in strengthening the continued success of the ship.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Segni said, lounging in his chair and chewing on a strawberry. He had decreed the last year that the chief be provided with triple rations, such that he not be distracted by hunger or lack of energy when making decisions. And since that decision, his face had grown slightly more round, and his shirts slightly tighter. ¡°Within your council, you have representation from the doctors, from the historians, from the cooks,¡± said Pliny, ¡°But what you do not have is representation from the farmers, from those who provide your food. It would be wise, chief, to include them in order to predict crop yields and set the desired crops for the year.¡± ¡°I do agree,¡± Said Segni, ¡°Such as strawberries, which have been smaller this month than usual.¡± ¡°Exactly, your honor. Exactly. So it is with you acceptance that I propose to appoint a gardening relations, to make your wishes more clear in the fields.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Said Segni, and cast his eyes on me, ¡°Sure, go on then. I¡¯m sure Horatius will fetch him from the gardeners.¡± ¡°Your honor,¡± Interrupted Pliny before I could speak, ¡°Actually, I have elected Horatius to fill this role.¡± Segni¡¯s eyes widened and he coughed, a cough that spread into laughter as bits of fruit flew from his mouth. ¡°Him?¡± He said, struggling to catch his breath, ¡°Him? Oh Pliny, what a joke, he can hardly keep his place in the fields, let alone the council. I nominate Skip.¡± Beside Pliny I gritted my teeth, keeping my gaze straight. Word had started circulating the ship after I won my bet with Skip about my methods of farming. Few seemed to mention the success I¡¯d seen, focusing rather on how I¡¯d thrown out seeds, or changed from the methods of the past, and had simply been lucky. ¡°Oh, but that is precisely why we need him, chief.¡± Said Pliny with a smile, ¡°You see, I would hesitate before pulling Skip from the fields to attend meetings, in case the crops falter in his absence. And Skip is smarter than most the gardeners- no, we need someone that the average gardener can relate to, someone who they see as an equal or else they will not listen to him. Plus with Horatius your yields will not be disrupted, and he will have less time to cause issues in the fields if he is in meetings. Furthermore, he is able to represent the porters aft er the time he spent in their ranks. Chief, I advise Horatius not because he is the best, but rather because his skills are replaceable, and he will not be missed in his absence.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± Said Segni, narrowing his eyes at me, ¡°I suppose that is true. But will you keep your word and tell my wishes to the other gardeners? What if they do not listen to you, what then?¡± ¡°Your honor,¡± I said, bowing lower than Pliny, ¡°All my life I have faced adversary and dissent. I will relay you word even if it means damage to my reputation, which is already marred, or loss of the few friends that I have. I am but your servant, and have no other ties.¡± Segni eyes gleamed as I bowed a second time, and he nodded. ¡°Then I consent,¡± He said, his arms stretching wide, ¡°Servant.¡± *** Council meetings occurred once per week, consisting of Segni relating his wishes to his leadership team.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Today is the anniversary of my father¡¯s death and my coronation,¡± Segni said, smiling, a year after I had been on the council, ¡°And as such, I call for a celebration.¡± ¡°A feast, you honor?¡± Asked Elliot, who was on the council after quickly rising through the ranks as chef. ¡°Not a feast, Elliot. Feasts! A year of them, to signify the bountiful years to come.¡± Pliny cleared his throat and I spoke, keeping my voice level. ¡°We cannot accommodate that much food from our gardens, Segni. With the limited water supply, we cannot afford such waste.¡± ¡°Dare call it waste again and you will be a porter again!¡± Segni shouted, pointing a finger at me,¡± I have decreed it, and thus shall it be. I will have extra workers delivered to the fields.¡± ¡°From where?¡± Asked Elliott, shaking his head. ¡°From where they are idle in other departments,¡± Said Segis, ¡°But in the far future, we will need more workers. Which is why I am commanding that each family strive to become larger as well, so that we can grow as a society.¡± ¡°But the water,¡± I said, ¡°Even with more workers, we will not have the water to grow.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t tried it yet, so we don¡¯t know,¡±countered Segni, ¡°¡±But until then we will dedicate one hundred percent of the fields to growing food. Elliott, the feasts will start next week.¡± ¡°But what about the herbs!¡± Cried a doctor representative, ¡°We cannot apply medicine without our herbs!¡± ¡°Last I checked, you had a year¡¯s supply.¡± Said Segni, ¡°And I said we were having a year of feasts. They¡¯ll last.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s for emergencies,¡± Protested the doctor, ¡°Emergencies only!¡± ¡°And this is one. Is the honoring of your chief not a top priority? Is not the remembrance of his father an emergency in itself? ¡°But-¡± Said the doctor, but Segni raised his eyebrows. ¡°Do you wish to be a porter, doctor? Do you really wish to speak against me?¡± So the meeting concluded, and the feasts began the next week. The first was successful, as was the second, and even the third. But by the fourth, chefs were cutting rations from the other meals to ensure there was enough to cover for the feast. Water was lower than it had ever been, the reservoirs often dry, rows of plants that required greater amounts dying off. And with the frenzied production and cooking, there were more burns, cuts, and other injuries, causing the doctors to fly through their supplies faster than typical. Stored herbs were not as potent as fresh ones either, so they found themselves using more to treat smaller injuries. It was halfway through the Year of Feasts when Pliny cut himself falling down a flight of stairs, the bloody laceration stretching from his shoulder to forearm. Typically, on a younger man, the cut would have healed quickly. And even at Pliny¡¯s age, with the help of doctors, it was nothing to be concerned about. If there was medicine to treat it. ¡°Horatius,¡± Gasped Pliny, coughing on his bed, green pus oozing from an arm that had steadily lost function, ¡°Horatius, I want you to know, I regret those years ago not declaring you historian. I regret not standing up to the chief.¡± ¡°You still taught me,¡± I said, wiping the sweat off his forehead with a rag, ¡°You did everything you could, Pliny. I can never thank you enough for that.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t.¡± He said, ¡°You can see the state of the ship. It is not enough to know the stories as historian, Horatius. You must *use* them too. And I should have prevented this, I should have seen it coming more clearly.¡± ¡°You did,¡± I answered, my eyes watering as his turned glassy, ¡°And you took measures against it.¡± ¡°There are other measures,¡± Said Pliny, ¡°Actions that I was too much of a coward to do. And other things, darker things that I could have done. I put you on the council to bring you closer to Segni, to intervene when you can, so promise me something, Horatius. Promise me that if the time comes, you¡¯ll take action. Promise me that the stories remember me one day as the man who prevented the disaster of the ship, not the one who caused it. Promise me that.¡± ¡°I promise, Pliny,¡± I said, as Clea started sobbing again at the edge of the bed from where she held his hand. ¡°Stories are just stories,¡± Pliny mumbled, the spirit fleeing his body, ¡°Stories cannot feed people. Stories cannot give water. But one who knows the stories can, and he must.¡± I cried that day, tears falling down my cheeks as the doctors collected Pliny¡¯s body. More of them than when my own father passed away in his sleep the year before. And staring outside the window of my room, long after sleeping hours had began, I saw a familiar face on the other side of the ship. One who had grown older with me, who now had her hand against the glass, and watched as I broke out in sobs once more. When dawn was still several hours away, and sleep still impossible, I made my way to the room that Pliny had showed me. And as I opened the books, and began to study, I remembered his final words. Promise me that if the time comes, you¡¯ll take action. Chapter 11: Journals Three years had passed since Pliny¡¯s death, three years that I spent on the council, watching Segni¡¯s stomach expand while others contracted. I had fought to remain on that council, biting down my pride and common sense to satiate him, learning to choose which arguments were crucial to the ship¡¯s survival and which were simply principle. Part of me grew bitter during those years, part of me that grew just as lost as the ship. For when Pliny was alive, we shared a common knowledge, a common understanding of how to preserve the ship. An appreciation of the stories, a regard of the wisdom they held. With Pliny, we were a team of silent guardians, protecting that which we knew to be true and right. But without Pliny, there was no one to share the burden. And I alone stood between the ship and destruction. But as gardener, nobody knew. ¡°I have opened the position of historian,¡± Said Segni, two weeks after the death of Pliny, ¡°And I have filled it, with my younger brother, Vacki. Like myself, he was trained by Pliny in the esteemed school of Empri. And like myself, he is mostsuitable for the task.¡± Scowls circled the council, but no one spoke, all eyeing the two figures on the left and right of Segni, long knives from the kitchen tucked into their belts. Nean was one of them, staring at each of us in turn and daring us to object, his fingers twitching about the handle of the knife. Tom the porter was the other, his size alone performing the necessary intimidation, his gaze off in the distance unless prompted by Segni. ¡°I have created their positions for my personal safety,¡± Segni had said when he introduced them, ¡°For without a chief, the ship would have no leader, and would surely fall into chaos. I do this for the good of the ship.¡± So Vacki joined the council, on the days he decided to attend, often choosing instead to study in his room. Considering he took no books with him, and rubbed his eyes whenever he returned, I suspected that the true purpose of his absence had little to do with learning his letters. And though my jaw clenched when he shirked his duties, I was thankful that Vacki did not attend nor have the ambition to push an agenda, else the situation on the council would have been even worse. But from what I had failed to accumulate in those two years in terms of political power, I had gained in knowledge and control of the gardens. ¡°Skip,¡± I had said shortly after Pliny¡¯s death, ¡°You lost the bet I set and I have proved that my methods are successful. By next week I want four apprentices, four new gardeners to teach how to attain higher yields.¡± ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Spat Skip, ¡°I won¡¯t have you tampering with the rest of the gardens, Horatius. I simply will not have it. I can bear that you do not follow directions, but it would be disaster if others did too.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Four, Skip!¡± I said, raising four fingers, ¡°Four out of your class. I¡¯ll take them off your hands, and they will not be your responsibility. I¡¯ll take them by force if I have to.¡± ¡°Absolutely not.¡± He responded, ¡°That¡¯s final, Horatius.¡± ¡°How about we make a bet, then, and if mine produce more-¡± ¡°No more of your bets!¡± Said Skip, and muttered to himself, ¡°Nonsense, chaos and nonsense, I won¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°Then a quarter of my rations.¡± I answered, ¡°A quarter until I have finished teaching them. You look hungry, Skip- what¡¯s wrong, I thought this was theYear of Feasts?¡± Skip grimaced, and turned towards me, pausing. ¡°Fine.¡± He answered, ¡°Fine. But they shall not be my responsibility in the future, Horatius, if you mislead them.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I answered, ¡°Of course, Skip. I will ensure that their actions are in no way attributed to your reputation.¡± Skip was lucky that day, that he accepted a quarter of my rations. He would need them. When the new gardeners arrived, he selected the four smallest, those that could barely lift a shovel, and he pushed them in my direction. ¡°I sincerely apologize,¡± He said to them, as their faces fell, ¡°For assigning you to Horatius. He was last of his year when he went through my program and still cannot plant properly. However, I cannot handle all of you myself, and must call upon his aid.¡± ¡°But, but-¡± One said, as relief flooded across the students that remained in the larger group, and Skip interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it cannot be helped. It¡¯s for the good of the ship. What¡¯s done is done.¡± Then Skip assigned us to a plot of fields that had traditionally had lower yields, an area I had noted had dimmer lights above it that the rest of the gardens. And he returned to the rest of his class, leaving four dismayed ten year olds behind. ¡°As Skip mentioned,¡± I said, my voice loud enough to carry across the garden to his group and cause his face to turn red, ¡°What is done is done. It is most unfortunate that some of you were selected to be part of the lesser group. But that group is not ours. Listen to me now, and listen closely. The four of you are the smallest, but your plants will grow taller than anyone else¡¯s. And they will bear more food than the rest of the class combined.¡± The four students grimaced, and one spoke, his voice low and his foot kicking the dirt. ¡°It¡¯s ok, Mr. Horatius,¡± He said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to pretend. You don¡¯t have to make up stories about what will happen.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I asked. ¡°Matthew,¡± He muttered. ¡°You¡¯re right, Matthew.¡± I said, leaning over, and looking him in the eye, ¡°I don¡¯t make up stories, I tell them. It¡¯s time to make a story worth telling.¡± So we began, and I taught them how to dig quick holes, and gave them the tricks I had learned from the Guide to Gardening. But that wasn¡¯t all I did. At night, I walked to the room Pliny had showed me, and I studied the books laid out on the table. Most of them were manuals, thick volumes filled with instructions and procedures about processes and objects that I could not understand, about things called engines and oxygen regulators and generators. But the rest were journals, journals that were marked off by year, fifteen in all, all signed at the bottom with the same name. Archim. Each were titled by their subject, with names ranging from ¡°Temperature Modification¡± to ¡°Gravity Enhancement¡±, the last of which only half filled out and named ¡°Water Controls¡±. Each of the books had Archim¡¯s handwriting in them,showing his every step in touching the ship¡¯s controls and the resulting observations. And after a week of reading, I found what I was looking for, in a journal titled ¡°Lumenosity from his seventh year of experimentation. *** Please leave a review for The Bridge! It really helps out! Chapter 12: Let There Be Light Controls to the lighting arrangements of the gardens, read the notebook on luminosity at the top of page one hundred and forty four, in flowing handwriting, I have determined that the array of knobs marked 1152-1280 control the brightness of garden lights, as well as the light composition. After several weeks of study, I have determined that altering the state of the lights has no noticeable affect on the remainder of the ship. Additionally, I have inferred that different combinations of light settings affect plant growth, and seek in the future to determine the optimal settings by enlisting the help of a gardener, as I have little knowledge on the subject. At present, however, all that can be determined is the settings that must be avoided else the plants should deteriorate, as listed below. I smiled, reading the combination, knowing from the Guide to Gardeningthat certain types of light were better than others, and remembering a passage that stated that too high percentages ultraviolet could be detrimental to growth. I never knew what ¡°ultraviolet¡± was, so I tended to skip over that section in the past. But there, drawn in Archim¡¯s notes, there was a knob labeled ¡°ultraviolet¡±, with a warning not to set it to high. It took three days of checking before I was confident enough to approach the array of controls that related to the gardens. Three days of pouring through the Luminositynotebook, searching for areas where Archim¡¯s experiments may have gone awry. Looking for inconsistencies among his wording, or anything that might dissuade me, or support the voice in my head that screamed at me tostop as I looked at the array. Even when I did approach, my palms started to sweat, and I cast a nervous eye towards the last notebook on the desk, the one labelled ¡°Water Control¡±. I found a section far away from the center of the garden, and my fingertips brushed against the knobs, feeling the cold in the metal sear my skin. Hearing the knobs call out to me, demanding to be altered, to be changed for the first time in generations. I shook, remembering Pliny¡¯s story of the Great Thirst. And I wondered what might occur if turning the knob resulted in the ship losing light, light that was crucial for the plants to grow. What if I would be known by historians as the man to cause the Great Hunger? But according to Archim¡¯s journal, nothing of that sort would happen. Closing my eyes, I turned the first knob, holding my breath as I waited, listening closely to silence. I moved it barely a quarter of a rotation, it gliding with too little resistance, too eager to move. But nothing happened when I finished- no screams echoed down the hall from the interior of the ship, no drastic change in light levels occurred. ThenI ran, sprinting through the twisting hallways to the gardens, and inspecting the lights above, where one had taken on a slight purple tinge, my heart racing as I waited for two hours to ensure no other changes had occurred. So I returned to the control room. To start my plan. Identifying which knobs were above Skip¡¯s student gardeners, I turned those knobs to high during each night before returning to medium each morning. Then with my own sections, I raised each of the knobs slightly, returning back each time until I was satisfied with how they appeared overhead. I never said a word as I watched Skip screaming at his students, demanding to know what they were doing wrong, even accusing them of being worse students than me. But as the weeks passed, Skip¡¯s plants shriveled, often dying before they could yield crops, all while my student¡¯s vegetation took root and grew faster than even the most experienced of gardeners, something unheard of in a beginner¡¯s class.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Soon the slumped shoulders that had arrived with my students were replaced by straight, proud backs. Their hands worked quickly, their minds absorbing the information I gave them, until all that was left for them to succeed was practicing. And when that happened, I started teaching them something other than gardening. I told them stories, emulating the education I had received from an unknowing Pliny many years before. ¡°Matthew,¡± I said, addressing the student that had spoken to me on the first day, ¡°Why must we always grow more food than we eat?¡± ¡°We must store it!¡± He piped up, as he watered his row of plants, ¡°In case we have a bad year of crops. To be prepared.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± I said, and turned to address another student. ¡°Mary, what happens if we do not have stores?¡± ¡°We cannot feed the ship,¡± The tiny girl answered, wiping sweat from her brow, ¡°And if we cannot feed the ship, it will be disaster.¡± ¡°John, what happened one of the last times we ran out of a resource?¡± ¡°The great thirst!¡± Said my third student, his arms spread wide, ¡°And a lot of people died. Two thirds.¡± ¡°Yes, well done, well done. You all are learning so quickly- the best gardeners, and the most educated. You should be proud. Ruth,¡± I said, and addressed the last student, the quietest of the bunch but who absorbed information faster than the rest, ¡°What is S-H-I-P?¡± ¡°Ship,¡± She said, her voice barely above a whisper, and I smiled. ¡°Yes.¡± I responded, looking over my garden, a garden of mind and earth, while Skip shouted behind me. Over the course of the weeks, I noticed his students had steadily migrated their gardening activities towards my side of the fields, their heads cocked when I told my class stories, their eyes squinting when I demonstrated techniques. Until one morning, when my group gathered for class, a fifth face joined us. ¡°Mark,¡± Said the voice, as a tiny had extended outwards. ¡°Good to meet you, Mark,¡± I said, shaking it, ¡°How can I help you?¡± ¡°I want to be in your class,¡± He answered, ¡°I want you to teach me.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± I said, while Skip turned his eyes away from where he scowled on the far side of the garden. And a fifth student learned to garden. Then the next week, a sixth. Then a seventh after the following. And by the end of the class, the entirity of Skip¡¯s program were clustered around me before returning to their fields, ignoring Skip¡¯s shouts as they found results in their new methods. I helped them, of course, fixing the light levels on every student that came to me for advice, such that their plants grew tall. The next year, Skip gave no objection as I taught his entire class, instead choosing to recede to a corner of the garden and focus on his crops, banding together with the more experienced gardeners who held their noses high as they practiced the old methods. As we had agreed, Skip was enjoying a quarter of my rations, enough of a bribe to force him to turn a blind eye after his class deserted him. What Skip did not know was I had struck a deal with the doctors and chefs of the council after a particularly frustrating argument with Segni, agreeing to supply them with their most dire herbs in secret from the garden despite Segni¡¯s wishes, and that I would receive a quarter rations from the kitchen in return for my efforts. I caught the occasional glimpse of experienced gardeners watching as my student¡¯s plants grew faster and stronger than their own. I never spoke a word to them about the superiority of my methods, instead waiting until forty of my students were fully trained, forty students that I was confident could outgrow the rest of the workers. I knew forty to be the perfect number for my plans, that after convincing Segni to save a humble store of cropstheywould produce just enough food to keep the ship alive without starvation. That forty could just barely put us through a fasting period. And as soon as I was convinced that the ship could survive, I returned to the control room, reviewing the prior two years in my mind. In the past, the only way I had convinced students to join my class was through their personal failure, when they came to me for help. As a historian, I knew the future would be no different. So I set the lights to ultraviolet for every gardener that did not follow my system. Chapter 13: Countdown Survive?¡± Said Segni, his voice rising, ¡°Survive? How could you let this happen? How in the Hand of God could over half the crops die overnight, for no explicable reason? There was a feast to be next week, to celebrate my birthday.¡° ¡°Messenger be damned!¡± Shouted Segni, raising a fist, ¡°I¡¯ve heard about your methods in the garden from Skip. I know what you¡¯ve been up to, meddling with the way of things, stealing his students! And now half the garden dies! Nean, seize him, and let us make him an example of what happens when you act against the will of the chief!¡± Segni watched as Nean seized me by the elbow, dragging me towards the door, Tom grunting as his face tracked me from across the room. ¡°Your honor!¡± I shouted, red in the face, ¡°In four weeks, we can have a feast! Four weeks, if you let me revive the gardens. If not, it will be at least twelve before we reach a full recovery, let alone a surplus.¡± ¡°But I came prepared! With proof!¡± I said, reaching into my pocket to pull out a small box and open it, revealing a small lump of red within, ¡°A gift, for you, your honor. I had planned to give it to you on a more celebratory occasion, but here it is now. The sweeteststrawberry you have ever tasted, and the largest. Take it, and know that I can make one twice as tasty in the future. It took me years to discover this secret, but with the rest of the gardeners working with me, we can prepare the best for you. And not just strawberries, but the other foods as well!¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Said Segni, gesturing to Nean, and leaned forward, removing the berry from the box and raising it to eye level. Then he bit into it, chewing slowly, the red juice dripping down a chin that was on the verge of doubling. His eyes closed, lips puckering after he took another bite, and another, until all that remained was the stem on the table, curved like a scar with crimson juice puddled about it. ¡°Four weeks.¡± He said, without opening his eyes, and holding up his fingers, ¡°Four, until I want a feast, a feast of strawberries. A birthday feast to make up for the one I¡¯ll miss.¡± Then Nean shoved me from the room, Tom exhaled from behind Segni as his shoulders relaxed, and I walked towards my apartment, a smile tugging at my lips as I prepared for the next day. I scoured the Guide to Gardening, reviewing everything I would need to teach, reading over each of the sections carefully, particularly those on growing speed. Four weeks on average are required for maturation, The passage stated, Made possible through genetically enhanced seed stock as well as the controlled conditions and light sources aboard the ship. In natural environments, such as New Earth, growth rates will be slower as anticipated by the solar studies performed prior to departure. A separate seed stock to be used in those conditions, as provided by the preparatory drops. ¡°Disaster has struck,¡± I shouted from the front of the gardens the next morning as my forty students rounded up the other gardeners, bringing them in a mob before me, ¡°But we have known disaster before. We have known hardship before. And we will prevail.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. I raised my hands as the rest of the experienced gardeners began to shout, thumping the weathered handles of their shovels into the earth, where dead plants crackled under their feet. ¡°I did,¡± I said, my voice level, ¡°And we will. We have enough to survive between our stores and the surviving plants, enough to just get by. All we have to do is grow enough to provide a surplus. It is possible, and I can teach you how. Together, we can do it ¨C look on at the plants that did survive, look at their health, look at their yields! And if we cannot, then I promise you that I alone will be held accountable. I promise you that I will leave the gardens and become a porter, and that you may forget that I ever partook in this.¡± ¡°How about we forget you ever partook in it now!¡± Shouted a man from the back, wrinkles cut deep into his face, and several nodded in agreement. ¡°How about we return to the ways that have worked for generations in the past and will work for generations to come?¡± ¡°Because not only can I offer you a feast,¡± I said, ¡°But by eight weeks I can offer you double rations. Not just you, but everyone on the ship! More food than you have had in your lives.¡± ¡°Nonsense, all of it,¡± Replied the man, and turned on his heel to return to his plot, brown with fallen stems and leaves as several others followed him, ¡°Absolute nonsense.¡± I bit my lip as more left, counting the numbers in my head as I felt a two small hands wrap around mine, from two children that had separated from the crowd. ¡°When our plants died under Skip, and he called us slow,¡± Shouted Mark¡¯s voice, ¡°Horatius taught us, and he taught us how to garden the plants that are still alive today!¡± ¡°And he took the smallest of us, the weakest,¡± Shouted Ruth, ¡°And made us greater than the strongest! Don¡¯t leave without giving him a chance!¡± The crowd paused, looking at the numbers of children growing at my sides, several shaking their heads. Many continued to trudge away until just under half remained, just barely under the calculated threshold that we would need. But those that remained were younger, some of them from my own class ten years before, with enthusiasm still in their eyes and muscle still on their bones. ¡°We start today,¡± I said to them, ¡°Each of you pair with one of my students, which will help in teaching you. The methods are largely similar, only slight differences exist, and the work is easier than before.¡± But as we started class, and the experienced gardeners attempted to salvage their crops, Skip walked across the fields until we were face to face, spitting into the soil at my feet. ¡°When everything starts to go wrong, when tradition crashes down around us,¡± He hissed, pointing a finger into my chest, ¡°We¡¯ll know who to blame.¡± Day one had been successful, the gardeners far more receptive to my methods than I had anticipated. Most likely this was due to them being younger, to being less trapped in the ways of tradition. But I had also handed out strawberries before the lesson, three to each new gardener, the type that I had perfected for Segni. ¡°Taste these,¡± I had said, ¡°Taste how much better these are, and know within a few weeks you will be growing your own. Know that you not only will be giving the ship more food, but you will be giving them better quality food. When this disaster is remembered a hundred years from now, you will be in the stories. You will be the heroes.¡± By the end of the first week, their planting speed had doubled, their hands moving through the technique as if they had practiced it their entire lives. And I saw hope on their faces as the first of the greens began to sprout, poking defiantly through the soil far quicker than they were accustomed to in the past. I think I¡¯ll always remember that first week fondly. That I¡¯ll remember my intentions were good, that I had set the ship on the path towards not just survival, but improvement. That when I stared outside the window each night, and I saw the face staring back at me from the other side of the half of the ship, her spindly figures forming gestures across the glass, I imagined that even she somehow knew that brighter times should be ahead. That maybe one day even Segni would recognize that I deserved to be historian, and I could head our food stores. That I could prepare us for times to come, seeking the other secrets long forgotten in stories trapped in written books. And maybe that a few students of my own, gardeners like their teacher, might read them one day. And might bring good to the ship after my passing. Yes, I¡¯ll always remember it that way. Chapter 14: Cascade Shrieks erupted around the garden as the floor lurched, knocking gardeners off their feet and into the mud as the cables holding the ship snapped taut. Above, the lights flickered and dimmed as the ship lurched again, the visuals accompanied by the sound of screeching metal in the distance. ¡°First the chief died.¡± Shouted Skip, raising to his knees, his face white, ¡°Then the crops died. Now this, now we die! The Hand of God is upon us again and no doubt in punishment!¡± Glancing around, the gardeners stared at me from every direction, many of their expressions accusing. But in greater numbers were the children I had taught and the group of gardeners that had recently adopted my methods, a different expression on their faces. A mix of confusion and of expectation. Faces searching for hope. ¡°Listen up,¡± I shouted to them, planting the blade of my shovel deep into the soil for a post to hold onto as the ship shifted again, ¡°There is no reason yet to be frightened! There is no reason to panic! We are the gardeners, the backbone of the ship. We are the lifeblood. Stay put, and continue working on the crops- show the rest of the ship your example and your grit.¡± ¡°But what if-¡± Shouted Skip, and I turned towards him, my nostrils flaring and voice commanding. ¡°There is no time for what ifs. Skip, it is now your time to lead. Now more than ever we must enforce your mantra anddo as we have always done. We must garden, we must provide for the ship. And I promise you that while you protect the crops, I will speak with the chief himself, and determine what action needs to be taken for your safety and the safety of your families. Do you understand?¡± Wide eyed from across the field, Skip nodded as there was another tremor and the color flooded again from his face. Then he was standing, barking out orders to his gardeners, his voice slightly higher pitched than normal. Not because I had given him the order, but because it is easier to face a disaster while staring at work than staring at it head on. Once my gardeners were organized, I walked calmly from the gardens, then broke into a sprint as soon as I was out of eyesight, zig zagging through the hallways to the council room. Even with Segni in charge, there would be an emergency meeting ¨C and though he might not be present, which was likely to be the preferable option, the rest of the council members would still convene. As I neared the council room, my path brought me parallel to the windows of the ship, where I could watch as the second half of the ship pivoted in the distance. It was slow, so slow I had to stop my running and compare it against the background of stars to be able to tell, watching as it eclipsed a peculiar grouping of seven stars shaped like a ring. And within the windows of the other side, there was a flurry of movement, dark shapes that hustled through corridors, followed by bursts of the strange blue light that had occasionally flashed through the windows in the past. ¡°You!¡± Shouted Segni, pointing at me as I burst through the doors of the council room, breathing heavily, ¡°Just who we were waiting for. Now we can begin!¡± ¡°Segni, as I was saying, our situation is dire,¡± Said the head doctor, Hannah shaking by his side, ¡°The lurch has caused dozens of injuries in the kitchens, from burns to cuts, and already we are stretched thin on herbs to treat infections- and that is just for the kitchens! The number of reports of lacerations alone I expect in the next few hours is surely to be astronomical.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Then grow more herbs, Horatius,¡± Said Segni, with a shrug, ¡°So that we don¡¯t face a shortage.¡± ¡°The bare minimum time I need to grow medicinal herbs, depending upon the varieties you require, is three weeks.¡± I answered, and my muscles in my shoulders tightened as I thought how the overhead lights had started to dim when the ship moved, ¡°Make that four weeks.¡± ¡°Fine. In four weeks, you¡¯ll have your herbs then.¡± Said Segni. ¡°But the infections will have set by then! We need them now, Segni!¡± Exclaimed the head doctor, as Hannah put her face in her hands. ¡°Then maybe,¡± snarled Segni, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have used so much in the past!¡± ¡°And refuse treatment to those who needed it?¡± ¡°You could have stretched it.¡± Said Segni, ¡°Instead of using them for everyone who came crawling for aid. Obviously they need it more now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more,¡± Said Elliot, his voice quiet from the other end of the table. The council turned to face him, a vein on his neck throbbing as he spoke and his eyes hard, ¡°More news, after I took stock of the injuries in my kitchens.¡± ¡°Go on, then.¡± Said Segni, waving a hand. ¡°As you know, we rely upon porters for the transportation of food to the kitchens. During the lurch,¡± Elliot swallowed, then continued, ¡°During the lurch, the majority of the porters were in the heavy room.¡± My breath caught in my chest as Segni waited, his expression blank. After all the hours I had spent in the heavy room, I knew the caution required when handling the equipment, how anyone who endangered others by using it inappropriately was swiftly punished. ¡°And?¡± Segni said, his voice impatient. ¡°And I¡¯ve already called for the doctors.¡± Said Elliot, shaking his head and staring at the table, ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s a mess.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll send the porters back to clean up the weights then.¡± Responded Segni, ¡°The doctors wouldn¡¯t be much help in lifting them.¡± ¡°No!¡± Shouted Eliott, and I saw tears threatening spill onto his cheeks, ¡°No! It¡¯s a mess because at least half the the porters are dead, Segni! It¡¯s a mess because the entire room is painted crimson and those who are not dead are severely injured, with little to no herbs to help them! A wall of weights fell when the ship lurched ¨C I¡¯d like to think it killed them mercifully had I not heard the screams when I approached, but I did. Oh I did. And now they¡¯re gone, half our labor force, but also our shipmates, our friends!¡± ¡°We can replace them with gardeners,¡± Countered Segni, ¡°They¡¯re just porters, so their job can easily be learned. As well as the chefs who can help- hey, where do you think you are you going? What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going somewhere I can be of use!¡± Shouted Elliot as he reached the door, ¡°Because that place obviously is not here!¡± He slammed the door, the sound echoing throughout the chamber as Hannah stood and followed him, not saying a word as she departed. ¡°Half the porters dead,¡± I muttered, ¡°The kitchens injured. The doctors short on medicine. The food stores low and half the gardens dead.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Hissed Segni, ¡°Don¡¯t you think I know that?¡± ¡°But what about what happens next, Segni? Look, out the windows. The ship is coming together where the Hand of God smashed it apart. The voice said the two halves of the ship are reuniting in a day, which means that everyone on thatside will be able to come to this side. Watch, through the window, see their half moving?¡± ¡°By the Hand of God,¡± Whispered the head doctor, ¡°He¡¯s right. We need to call Elliott and Hannah back! As well as the historian! We¡¯ll need full council to determine how to meet them. It will be the first time in centuries.¡± Segni squinted as he stared out of the window, then he leaned over the table, his nostrils flared and jaw clenched as he looked towards me, one of his hands resting inside the box that normally kept his strawberries. ¡°Like he said, someone will have to meet with them. But this,¡± He said, waving his other hand in the air, ¡°All of this, how will this affect the birthday feast?¡± Chapter 15: Necti The council met in secret, just before midnight when the rest of the ship was asleep. Elliot had returned with Hannah, and hey took their seats at the far side of the table, their hands clasped together. Of our class, they had been the first to marry, and often I forgot their relation during council meetings. The head doctor, Disci, sat across from them with his apprentice at his right side, who had delivered each of us the messages to attend. ¡°Everybody but Segni,¡± Disci had told him, just after a heavily rationed dinner consisting of uncooked vegetables due to the low numbers of chefs on hand, ¡°This must be a secret from him, for the good of the ship. He must not know.¡± So his apprentice delivered the message to each of us, and we waited until the bustling of the halls turned to silence before stealing away, careful not to make noise ourselves. ¡°It is evident,¡± Said Elliot, his voice low from his side of the table, ¡°That the condition of the ship has reached a dire low. Do we have body counts?¡± ¡°None from the gardeners,¡± I said, ¡°Some minor injuries, but the doctors have already seen to those. The soil broke most of their falls.¡± ¡°Four burns from the kitchens,¡± said Hanna, ¡°Six deep lacerations from knives. The rest is manageable. As you know, nearly everyone in there was injured in some fashion or another.¡± ¡°And the porters?¡± Asked Elliott, turning to Disci. ¡°We saved who we could, and cleaned out the heavy room as best we could, but not all the stains could be removed. But of the original porters, I would say only ten percent are fit to work, thirty percent injured, and ten more percent crippled for the long term. And the rest- you know the rest.¡± ¡°I do,¡± Said Elliot, somber, ¡°With the blight in the fields, this could not have come at a worse time. Already we are short staffed just to provide food and herbs. Horatius, we need both of those, can you provide them?¡± I frowned as he mentioned the blight, then responded, ¡°Yes, I can. If we can do away with the feast, we can devote half of the gardens to herbs and the other half to high yielding crops as opposed to strawberries. As I said to Segni, four weeks for each, assuming that nothing changes.¡± ¡°The feast is cancelled,¡± Hissed Elliot, ¡°Damn the feast. There is no such time for such trivialities. Priority number one is those herbs, Horatius.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± I answered, ¡°But what about when Segni intervenes?¡± ¡°Prepare a feast for one,¡± Responded Elliott, ¡°It will be enough to suffice, and with the rest of the council on your side,he should listen to the majorities. Damn strawberries, in a time like this.¡± ¡°Done. But now, we need to speak about a more important issue.¡± ¡°Yes, yes we do,¡± Murmured Disci and turned to the window, the rest of our eyes following. Outside, the other half of the ship had turned, righting itself to be perfectly parallel with our end. Its flank was illuminated by a strobing white light that emanated from just behind the corner of the window, where the two halves of the ship came together. Only a few hours ago it had originated, too bright to look directly into and mimicking the color of stars far away, accompanied by a hissing and a vibration that I could feel through my shoes. ¡°What caused this?¡± Disci whispered, ¡°And why now? Do you think they know that this is our weakest moment? Do you think they did it on purpose, as a strike against us?¡± ¡°Why should they?¡± Elliot answered, arms folded across his chest, ¡°The Hand of God struck hundreds of years ago. If this was an act of aggression, then it makes no sense why they would have waited this long to perform it. Besides, we were once one people before the Hand of God split us, and if the stories are to be true, we lived in even greater peace back then than we enjoy now. They¡¯re probably just like us.¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Said the head doctor, but his eyes narrowed.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Probably,¡± I repeated, but continued staring across, to where the gaunt faces scattered throughout the distant windows stared back. Where there was the occasional flash of blue light,and where I had seen the glinting of brandished cooking knives in the past. ¡°That being said,¡± Said Elliott slowly, ¡°We can never be too careful. Where the ship is coming together, where it is joining, has anyone actually beenthere?¡± ¡°I have,¡± I responded, and the other faces turned towards me, their eyebrows raised, and I quickly shut my mouth. The control room was just underneath and three minutes walk to where the halves were coming together, close enough that Pliny had shown me the door that had once lead to the other half. ¡°Here,¡± Pliny had said, pointing to the door that was wide as two men, with frost encrusted around its edges, ¡°Here is where the ships used to connect. In fact, it was the onlyspot where they connected, the logic being if one side of the ship contracted disease or underwent disaster it could be sealed off. Based upon our current situation, I suppose the logic was sound.¡± He traced the outline of the frame with his index finger, feeling the crease between door and wall. I remembered studying the door, a solid metal slab with handholds inlaid near the center, though there was no knob or opening mechanisms. The metal was smooth, so smooth I could see my own reflection peering back at me in it, almost as though another version of me was waiting right behind the door. All except for the center, where a single word had been scratched into the metal between the handholds, chiseled with a heart dug into material around it. Necti ¡°Necti?¡± I remember having asked, ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Likely some form of graffiti, committed far from where the rest of the ship would see to avoid punishment. To be honest, I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s been here since I was first shown the door.¡± And above, where the top of the door reached the ceiling, something else was written. Something small, that I had to stand back to see on my tip toes, and had to squint to read. Seperate we fly. Together we land. Back in the council room, Elliot snapped his fingers, bringing my attention back to the meeting. ¡°Horatius, pay attention. Why in the hand of god have you been there?¡± He asked, tilting his head slightly. ¡°There, ah, I had to fetch ice when I was a porter,¡± I lied, keeping my voice steady, ¡°Tom strained himself in the heavy room, and he claimed his mother always said ice was a remedy. But the ice grows too thin on this end of the ship, where hardly any frost forms on the walls, and a decent sized piece is difficult to find. So I had to travel deep within the ship, all the way to the back.¡± ¡°And? What did you see?¡± ¡°There¡¯s only one entrance, and the door can be shut,¡± I answered, ¡°But there is no lock, so it will need to be held in place, if need be.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± Said Elliot, ¡°Here¡¯s the plan then. Together, we will go to greet them, assuming this door actually does open. None of us will go to their side of the ship unless they trade with of their own people, and it will remain that way until we are absolutely certain that it is safe. Unless there are objections, myself andDisciwill be the spokesmen to negotiate peace and give an impression of strength. Horatius, prepare a small basket of a variety of crops to present as a token of our goodwill. We¡¯ll want the remaining porters there as well, in case we have to force the door shut.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have it ready by tomorrow morning. According to the voice, we should expect the door to open around noon. Plus I can lead you there.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Said Elliot, and smiled, ¡°Now see, that¡¯show you have a council meeting. Without this feast nonsense that¡¯s not going to happen anyways.¡± ¡°Not for you it won¡¯t,¡± Shouted a voice from the door, and the council jumped, turning to see Segni with his finger pointedat Elliot. His face was flushed bright red, spittle flying from his mouth with each words, his eyes so wide that the blood vessels were visible among the white. Nean and Tom stood at attention behind him, accompanied by two other porters, all with kitchen knives. And his younger brother at waited at his side, his own stomach starting to approach the size of Segni¡¯s, such that both could not fit within the entrance at the same time. ¡°You traitor! You dare plan a mutiny, you dare defy me as you chief?¡± ¡°How, how did you find out about this?¡± Stammered Elliot,his face turning white,¡±No, your honor, we-¡± ¡°Lies! Lies and flattery. Nean, Tom, take him and lock him in one of the unused apartments, no food for three days so he can experience the food shortage first hand! His wife too! And I knew because you invited my brother, my own flesh and blood, to betray me as well!¡± ¡°We what?¡± Exclaimed the head doctor, turning his head to his apprentice. ¡°You said everyone but Segni!¡± He squeaked, ¡°His brother is the historian, and on the council, so-¡± ¡°Here, he admits it!¡± Shouted Segni, ¡°I want them bothlocked away as well!¡± ¡°Segni, you can¡¯t do this!¡± I shouted, as Nean lead the porters into the room, seizing the accused, ¡°We have to prepare to meet the others, to set our first impression!¡± ¡°And as chief, I obviously would be most suitable for the job. Who else would they desire to meet, besides the leader?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Segni, it could be dangerous. We don¡¯t know anything about them. We don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Horatius. Which is why you¡¯ll be there, right by my side, to make sure that that nothing happens. You said you knew the way to the door, and tomorrow you will lead me to it.¡± Chapter 16: Darker Things ¡°At eleven, you¡¯re to appear at my apartment,¡± Segni had said with a smile, ¡°With your gift of vegetables ready, which you will present after carrying it to the other half of the ship. As a past porter, you should be used to that. What a treat tomorrow will be, a moment in history, set by a previous historian. Set by myself. And I cannot think of a better time for it to happen, can you?¡± ¡°No,¡± I answered, the muscles in my arms tight. ¡°Of course not, because as you know, tomorrow is my birthday. And what an excellentgift this shall be before the feast you shall prepare next week.¡± I grit my teeth as he spoke, as I watched Nean dig his knife into Elliot¡¯s back and push him from the room while Tom lead Hanna out with a hand on her elbow. ¡°My daughter,¡± She said, ¡°I know you have to do this, but see that she is cared for.¡± Tom nodded before they disappeared down the hallway, with Segni following, and leaving me alone in the room. Sitting in the darkness as my fists clenched. As I saw the council crumble with a few simple commands. Pliny¡¯s voice spoke in the darkness then, reminding me of his final words. Reminding me of my duty. There are other measures, actions that I was too much of a coward to do. And other things, darker things that I could have done.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. My palm started to bleed as my fingernails pushed into the skin and I closed my eyes, forcing my heartbeat to slow. Thinking about what needed to happen next. And with Segni, what needed to happen afterwards. Darker things. I never spoke out when the council was taken because I knew that I could not let Segni go alone. I knew that whatever the danger, I had to accompany him. Not because of what might happen to him. But because what might happen to the ship. *** I did not retire to my apartment that night as the meeting broke apart. Instead, I waited for them to disperse, and walked down the length of the ship, following corridors that had long grown familiar since Pliny¡¯s death. Listening to the chatter of my teeth grow louder and louder as frost accumulated on the walls, and as I entered the control room. There, on the table, I flipped through the books left on the table from ages past, reading Archim¡¯s handwriting. Reviewing both the capabilities that I could and that I could not understand. Running scenarios in my mind for the next day, bookmarking pages for each, and ranking them in terms of priority. Then, at just after six in the morning, I found what I was looking for, deep within one of the thickest journals. Journal number six, three hundred and seventy one pages in. I read it twice before placing two different sized paper weights on top, applying a constant to keep the page number from changing. And carefully, I walked to the knobs at the far end of the room that controlled what I had found. My fingers brushed them, sending adrenaline through me as I hesitated, biting my lip. All I needed was a test, a test to find out if it would work. Just for a few moments, no more, unless required by events the next day. Holding my breath, I then turned a specific one just slightly to the right, watching my theory become reality just as I had done with the lights in the garden. And I smiled. Segni might not be willing to defend the ship. But I would be. *** Please support The Bridge by leaving a review! Chapter 17: Airlock Restored Segni¡¯s apartment was at the very back of the ship, near where the wall curved in upon itself and turned back towards the front. As tradition, that room had always belonged to the chief- being by far the largest, having a steady temperature gradient from warm to cool from the back to the front, and having all the best furniture from the other apartments brought in. It was shaped like a wide hall, ending abruptly at a thick sealed door at the back, where the metal of the frame had been physically fused together in several spots to make it eternally impossible to open. A red ¡°C¡± was plastered off center on that door, for ¡°Chief¡±, and a few old wires that dangled from holes in the walls had been utilized to hang picture frames. Segni was still wiping away sleep when he exited, his brother Vacki following behind. Nean joined us with six porters as we walked down the length of the ship. That morning, after two hours of quick sleep, I had collected a basket of produce from the gardens as Elliot, then later Segni, had instructed. I took three of everything, the best specimens that I could find, arranging them together to display our agricultural capabilities. As I worked, the other gardeners gathered around me, some of the children asking me questions. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Demanded Mark, ¡°Where are you going? Are you going to meet the others?¡± ¡°I am,¡± I had answered, leaning over to liberate a green bean, ¡°We¡¯re going to impress them with all the fine gardening that you¡¯ve been doing. Maybe they¡¯ll want us to teach them too!¡± ¡°Will they be new friends?¡± Asked Matthew, and I smiled, biting my lip. ¡°We can only hope!¡± I responded, and repeated the sentence in my own thoughts, trying to convince myself as well. But it was the last question that caught me off guard as I walked out of the gardens, and felt a small hand tugging on my shirt, and looked down to see the face of a young girl, tears spilling down her cheeks. ¡°When will my parents be back?¡± Ruth said, and buried her face in my shirt. ¡°What happened?¡± I asked, stunned, ¡°Where did they go?¡± ¡°Uncle Tom said they were with you,¡± She answered, ¡°When they were taken away. He said that you saw it!¡± I took a sharp breath inward, remembering the night before, and bent down to speak with Ruth. ¡°Hannah, and Elliot?¡± ¡°Y- Yes,¡± she stuttered.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Soon, Ruth. Listen to me, soon. Nothing like this will everhappen again, do you understand? You have my promise, and they will be back soon. But I have to go now, Ruth. As soon as I come back, I will help you, ok?¡± She nodded, then turned and walked back to the gardens, whispering before she left. ¡°Ok, Horatius. You¡¯ve always been able to do it before.¡± I then left Ruth and the other gardeners, their gazes following me as I departed. And as I met up with Segni, his eye had wondered to the basket I carried as we walked. Reaching a hand over, he rooted through the arrangement of food until he found the three strawberries at the center and tucked them into his shirt pocket. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I demanded, and he laughed through his heavy breathing from the exertion of walking. ¡°It¡¯s not like they¡¯re going to know,¡± He said, ¡°It¡¯s not going to make a difference either way.¡± Then he popped one into his mouth, discarding the stem on the ground behind him, where the four leaves were promptly trampled on by Nean¡¯s foot. And his hand returned to the basket, removing a green bean, then a tomato, and other produce until only two of everything remained. ¡°We¡¯re getting close,¡± I said as Segni started to shiver and his shoes scuffed across frost encrusted floor, cutting out arced streaks among the white. Nean dragged his knife along the wall, leaving a long scratch behind him as metal grated against metal, absentmindedly flicking the edge from time to time to scatter ice on the ground. ¡°Cut it out, will you?¡± I said, the noise reverberating in my ears. ¡°Figure I¡¯ll leave a trail, in case you try to get us lost here,¡± He said, and dug the knife in with a sharp squeak. Then, minutes later, we arrived at the door, and placing my hand against it I could feel it humming, vibrating from something behind it. ¡°The four of us will enter,¡± Said Segni, looking at the narrow width and gesturing to me, Tom, and Nean, ¡°Myself and Horatius in front, Nean and Tom behind with your knives ready in case I am in danger. I will present the gift and accept theirs in return. Other porters, force the door shut if we have issues and after we escape, and hold it there.¡± ¡°Maybe we should have something heavy to prop against it,¡± I said, ¡°In case it needs to hold.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking at the strongest men on the ship,¡± Said Segni, ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°The strongest men on thisside of the ship.¡± ¡°Horatius, if you question me again then I¡¯ll be sure to include you in our present to the other side. Now, how much longer do we have to wait?¡± ¡°Any minute now,¡± Answered Nean, ¡°Ifanything happens at all.¡± ¡°Indeed, if,¡± Said Segni, with a yawn, and sat on the floor with his back against the wall and shutting his eyes, ¡°If it doesn¡¯t, deliver the gift basket to my room, refilled, Horatius. I¡¯ll be retiring to sleep, as there just so happened to be an interruption last night that cost me several hours, as you know. We¡¯ll give it fifteen more minutes, and if nothing happens, then-¡± ¡°Airlock restored.¡± Said the voice from above, causing everyone in the part to jump, and Segni¡¯s eyes to snap open. With a crack the ice along the seam split, shattering onto the floor and scattering down the hall as the door opened, propelled forward with such force that it slammed against the wall. And peering inside, we saw a long hallway with another door at the end. A door that had also opened. And now had three figures peering back. Chapter 18: Strawberries The three figures started walking, the two on the sides slightly behind the one in the center. The leftmost swayed with a slight limp, his hand on his belt where a scratched cooking knife hung on one side and a short black rectangle was clipped to the other. The sleeves of his shirt were too wide for his arms, the red fabric hanging off his bone as if his shoulders were a hanger. He smiled as they approached, two of his bottom teeth missing, and his cheeks forming concave pockets on the sides of his face, and his facial muscles twitching slightly as they held the expression. The other side figure wore faded blue, the shirt jumping across his skin as his chest spasmed underneath. The contents of his belt were identical to the left figure and a thin scar ran through his eyebrow to his jaw. He spat on the side of the passageway, his thick phlegm trickling slowly down the wall, the metal similar in most parts to the rest of the ship but interrupted by long arcs of more rough material, globs that were fused to the surface and ran in frozen drops towards the ground. Then there was the center figure, her clothes entirely grey, the fit far more crisp than the other two, the folds accented with sharp creases. She met my eyes as she led the party, my heart racing as I recognized the familiar pattern of freckles coupled with ginger hair. Segni and I approached from the other end, him taking up enough of the hallway to push me near against the edge, Tom and Nean following our stride. Segni held a hand against my chest to prevent me from moving past him, his breath coming in puffs as the others reached the halfway point and kept walking. At one third of the way we met them, standing five feet apart, and a cluster of heads appeared at the open doorway at the end of the hall to watch and wait. For a moment, no one spoke- we simply stared, taking in the appearance of those that had been separated for centuries, and viewable only from a distance. Segni¡¯s eyes flickered to each in turn, scanning their hands. The men on the left and right of the woman in grey responded by looking him over, their eyes narrowing as they reached his chin, then turning to near slits when the glossed over his stomach. My sight was drawn to the woman in grey, just as they had been drawn there over the years as I had spotted her watching me from her window, and her stare met my own. Then her pupils flicked downward and to her right, where the fingers of her hand danced in a soft flurry of motion, too low to be seen by her counterparts. Two signs, repeated over and over, one of her thumb overlapping her index and ring fingers, another of her pinky bending in towards her palm. I frowned as I looked towards her face again, and then she spoke, her voice harder and sharper than I was used to. ¡°I am Airomem,¡± She said, her chin high in the air, ¡°Daughter of Praeter, leader of the Lear tribe. With me are the leaders of the two other tribes, who have granted me safe passage to this meeting between our peoples today.¡± ¡°Esuri,¡± Said the man to her left, scowling at her, ¡°King of the Aquarians.¡± ¡°Sitient,¡± Said the other, his voice raspy and starting before the other had finished speaking, ¡°Chieftain of the Agrarians.¡± ¡°Segni, Chief of the ship,¡± Came the answer from our side of the divide, ¡°And on this day of meeting, we bring you a gift.¡± He extended the basket to Airomem, and she accepted it, while Esuri and Sitent stared at the contents.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°No water?¡± Asked Sitient, ¡°Only food?¡± ¡°And not enough to share between the three of us,¡± Said Esuri, ¡°With most of these varieties being of the basic species.¡± ¡°I forgo my share, such that the two of you may enjoy it,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°And we graciously accept your gift, Segni.¡± ¡°Of course she would give up hershare, as if she would even need it,¡± Said Sitient, and spat against the wall again. ¡°Enough,¡± Said Airomem, her voice sharp just as Esuri opened his mouth to comment as well, and gestured to me, ¡°And you, are you the leader of another tribe from your side of the ship?¡± ¡°I am Hor-¡± ¡°Him?¡± Laughed Segni, putting a hand in front of me to cut me off, ¡°No, he is the one who prepared the gift for you, a simple farmer.¡± ¡°Simple farmer?¡± Said Sitient, ¡°Did you come to trade insults as well as gifts?¡± ¡°Or to show disdain for us, the leaders, with his inferior presence?¡± Asked Esuri. ¡°I am sure that he meant nothing of the sort,¡± Interjected Airomem, ¡°We must respect that their customs may be different than our own.¡± ¡°We meant no insult, and I am more than a simple farmer, and act as the Hist-¡° Segni cut me off with his hand again and spoke, gesturing towards the basket. ¡°And now that we have provided on to you, where is the gift that you have prepared for us?¡± For a moment, all was silent, Airomem¡¯s mouth opening slightly as the Esuri and Sitient bristled, their hands moving towards their hips as Nean and Tom stirred behind us. ¡°Our gift?¡± Hissed Esuri, and pointed at Segni¡¯s stomach, his finger rigid, ¡°Ourgift, after you send us your scraps? Are you sure that you did not have more to give fat man, because your offering is a mockery.¡± ¡°Give it back then, if you don¡¯t want it,¡± Responded Segni, his face reddening and voice rising, ¡°It¡¯s all we could spare with the feast next week.¡± ¡°A feast?¡± Shouted Esuri, ¡°You feast, while the two thousand members of our tribe starve? How many are you wasting this food upon? Perhaps you should set seats for us as well!¡± ¡°A thousand,¡± Shouted Segni back, ¡°And maybe I would have invited a few of you, if you had been more polite!¡± Airomem¡¯s face turned white as Esuri and Sitient looked to each other, their heads tilting slightly to the side. ¡°A thousand,¡± Sitient breathed, ¡°Of course, that would just simply be your warriors, those invited to partake in the feast?¡± ¡°No,¡± Lectured Segni, as Airomem held up a hand and I tried to interject, ¡°The feast is for everyone.¡± ¡°One thousand total,¡± Muttered Esuri, ¡°Five times less than our tribes combined. With just as much food and water.¡± ¡°I assure you,¡± I said, speaking quickly, ¡°That our resources are few and stretched thin, much of them destroyed when the Hand of God struck.¡± ¡°Liar!¡± Shouted Esuri, taking the basket from Airomem and smashing it against the ground, sending vegetables flying down the hallway in both directions. Airomem spun and slapped him, her nails leaving red marks across his face as he reached towards his hip again. ¡°Harm me, and you know the consequences for you and your tribe!¡± She shouted at him, then continued to us all, ¡°We came here for peace! We do not know the circumstances of their side of the ship, must assume that they likely have a fifth of the resources we do with their population, and must work with them in the future to assure mutual survival. Together, as four tribes, we will create a future- a better future than our past.¡± Esuri shook with rage as Segni responded, leaning over to pick up the remainder of the basket, a few vegetables left in the center. ¡°Four tribes? No, I am Chief of the ship, just as my father was, and just how I told you earlier. Just how it used to be before the Hand of God struck. And now that we are reunited, I will assume responsibilities of the ship. Not halfthe ship.¡± And as he straightened up, and bit off the end of a green bean in his hand, something toppled out from his shirt pocket. Something red, that bounced on the floor and rolled to the Esuri¡¯s feet, with a bright green stem and unmistakable among the metal. It was result of my labor reading the Guide to Gardening. A plump strawberry, one that Segni had stolen from the basket, the size and color greatly enhanced through my work. And far more impressive than the other contents of the gift. Chapter 19: Birthday Feast For a moment the strawberry wobbled, each set of eyes staring down at it as I held my breath. Everyone was still, save for the twitching in Sentient¡¯s chest and Esuri¡¯s face, causing the shadows to dance on the walls, and for a slight shift in weight of Airomem¡¯s posture. Then Esuri lifted his foot and brought it down on the strawberry, pressing until it was flat against the metal, juice and pulp oozing out from underneath his tattered shoe. And Sitient raised his eyes, his mouth opening to whisper a single word. ¡°Liar.¡± Together they lunged, covering the distance between us in an instant as Airomem¡¯s arms shot out, sending each careening against opposite walls. And as they bounced away and recovered, I felt a thick hand grip my collar as Segni dragged me in front of his own body. Behind us Nean shrieked and sprinted away, his footsteps echoing in slow motion in my mind as Esuri and Sitient attacked again. Esuri¡¯s knife was in his hand this time as he lept forward, slashing downward from above as Segni¡¯s grip tightened on my collar, his fingers wrapping around the fabric until it cut off my breathing and I saw black in the corners of my vision. I kicked backwards as the knife came down, Segni twisting me to his left to meet the silver edge that was nicked dozens of times along its length, the short handle stained red where it was clasped in Esuri¡¯s fingers. His enraged face was reflected in the blade as is neared my throat, spittle flying from his mouth as he twisted, the blade mere inches away from my skin as it exploded in a shower of sparks. Reaching around mine and Segni¡¯s shoulders, Tom¡¯s knife had met Ensuri¡¯s, his own arm absorbing the blow as if it he were catching a moderate weight in the heavy room. Then Segni squealed, a high pitched sound that flooded directly into my ear as his hand loosened and I bucked away, turning to see Sitient at his right, his eyes alight with fury. And twisting the knife that had just plunged deep into Segni¡¯s exposed side as blood spurted onto his hands, and Esuri reared backwards to attack once again. But then there were two flashes of bright blue light as Airomem stepped forward, an arm extended towards both Esuri and Setient with one of the peculiar black rectangles in each hand, the blue light buzzing between two sharp metal prongs on the end. With a jabbing motion she simultaneously jammed one into each of their torsos and they were thrown backwards, screaming as their muscles locked tight and they shook on the ground, their jaws bulging and necks bent. ¡°Run!¡± Airomem shouted, pointing towards the door, ¡°They won¡¯t be down long! More will surely be coming!¡± And as soon as the words left her throat bodies began pouring through the door at the end of the hall. Dozens of them, screeching as they pushed off each other with too thin arms, and ran on too thin legs, and fought amongst themselves to be first with flashes of blue light and the brandishing of knives.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. I turned, slamming into Segni¡¯s stomach as he continued to howl,clutching at his side where the knife handle still protruded, his face white and fingers red. ¡°Segni, run!¡± I shouted, pushing him, but he barely stumbled backwards. Behind us, the mass of limbs advanced as Ensuri and Stitient started to rise, each now holding a knife in one hand and one of the black rectangles in the other. ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± Segni shouted, ¡°Your chief is wounded! Stand, stand and defend me, your chief! Avenge me!, teach them who their true leader is!¡± The horde was a third of the way now, and picking up speed, their calls more frantic, their movements more fluid. ¡°Go!¡± Shouted Airomem, strobing the blue light devices, ¡°Go! Now! They will have no mercy!¡± ¡°Then we shall have no mercy!¡± Shouted Segni, ¡°Defend me, fight for your chief! In front, get in front of me!¡± Behind Segni Tom stooped down, lowering his shoulder underneath Segni¡¯s arm and pulling him into the air as he began to kick. Then Tom started to run with Segni, clearing the way for us to pass as Segni struggled, then eventually reached a hand down to his side and pulled the crimson knife free a quarter of the way to the door. ¡°Cowards! This ship belongs to *me*! It is *mine*!¡± Segni shouted, and slashed downwards, cutting deep into Tom¡¯s tricep. With a started yelp Tom dropped Segni to the ground where he writhed in drops of his own blood as Airomem and I jumped over him, and then he struggled to his feet. The horde was now half of the way, with Ensuri and Sitient leading them by several lengths. Segni turned a full circle, his eyes wide, then his face growing even paler than I thought possible as he saw the advancing horde again as we fled, and then started to hobble after us. Airomem took the rear of the small group, holding the blue lights in front of her, somehow making them buzz louder and glow brighter as Segni struggled to catch up. ¡°Wait!¡± Pleaded Segni as his breaths came in puffs and he struggled to keep pace, slowing from a jog to a walk with his right hand up. Tom stopped, preparing to turn back, but I took his arm and shouted at him until he budged. ¡°Tom, no! It¡¯s too late!¡± And it was. Segni screamed as the fastest members reached him, their momentum so great that they ran over him as he toppled, but turning back as soon as they saw the blue flash of Airomem. The first dozen knives flashed as he fell to his knees, moving in and out of the skin as he screamed, and then his screams turned to gurgles. And out of his shirt pocket fell another strawberry, coming to a halt ten feet away from him in our direction as we reached the door, just as Sitient reached the center of the mass and buried his open mouth into Segni¡¯s throat, cutting off all sound. We watched as they ripped him apart, a frenzied mass of butchering on all sides. And in front of the spectacle Ensuri stepped forward, a strip of Segni in his hand, and walked ten feet towards us. Then he bent down to the ground and picked up a small object, the strawberry Segni had dropped moments before. ¡°A feast!¡± He cried out, his teeth already red before they bit into the fruit and he threw the stem towards us, ¡°A feast fit for a king!¡± And taking the door into both her hands, Aeromem slammed it shut, cutting us off from the celebration. Chapter 20: Braces My breath came in choking gasps as the porters stood open mouths, shutting my eyes to block out the remains of Segni on the other side of the door, while Airomem started to shout. ¡°Brace the door! Brace the door, we don¡¯t have long!¡± Her head whipped back and forth over the crew, surveying Nean who was shaking against the wall, Tom staring dumbfounded at his red hands, and a white faced and wide eyed Vaca, ¡°The braces, where are the braces?¡± ¡°B-braces?¡± Stuttered one of the porters, as Airomem whirled on him. ¡°Yes, braces, to reinforce the door! They¡¯ll be trying to burst through in any minute, first with their body weight, then with a ram! And I give that door about a half hour before it falls in, if that.¡± ¡°A ram?¡± I said, my thoughts starting to spin again, fighting the adrenaline that was coursing through my system and still screaming for me to run, ¡°What do you mean by a ram?¡± ¡°A battering ram! As in they¡¯ll slam into the door with something heavy until it is no longer a door!¡± ¡°Why, why would they have something like that?¡± Asked Vaca, still in shock. ¡°To. Break. Doors.¡± She hissed, clenching her fists, then rounded on me, ¡°When was the last war here? How prepared are you warriors? How quickly can we get a group of guards with weapons, here, to defend this point?¡± ¡°W-warriors?¡± Said the same porter that had spoke up a moment before as Airomem bit the side of her cheek, and I answered. ¡°War? We¡¯ve never had a war, not in all of our recorded history since the Hand of God struck! I¡¯ve only heard of them through books. This crew right here, these are the majority of those who would be fit for any sort of defense, minus some gardeners. And Segni¡¯s death is the first violent one in at least three hundred years, since the Great Thirst!¡± ¡°The what? Wait, no, never mind, that¡¯s not important now. Unless we have a way to barricade that door, they¡¯re coming through. And if that happens, you¡¯ll end up just like your chief! You lot, standing around, I want you pushing against that door as hard as you can! It will buy us time!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t listen to her!¡± Shouted Nean, raising his face from his hands, his face wet with tears, ¡°She¡¯s one of them, one of the barbarians that killed Segni! And now she¡¯s probably going to kill us too, and eat us! Just like they did, just like they did to-¡± ¡°Get yourself together!¡± I shouted back, stepping in front of Airomem, ¡°She did far more to protect Segni than you did! She¡¯s the reason any of us escaped!¡± ¡°And I¡¯m not one of them,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°Their tribes are separate than my own, with good reason.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°She¡¯s still one of them,¡± Shrieked Nean, ¡°We can¡¯t trust her!¡± ¡°What if Segni is still alive,¡± Joined in Vaca, ¡°What if he fought them off? What if he¡¯s trying to escape now, but we are going to lock him inside? I command you not to hold the door!¡± The porters hesitated, but before I could speak again there was the sound of something striking the metal door as it started to swing open on its hinges, and Tom and I both lept to push our weight against it. There was a screech as the door slammed shut, something behind it scrambling away and scratching at the metal, as I turned to address the other porters who were already jumping forward. ¡°All of you, against this door, now!¡± Theirbodies joined ours as several otherscollided on the other side, but the door held, rattling against the frame. ¡°We¡¯ll need braces,¡± Exclaimed Airomem, her voice high, ¡°That won¡¯t last long!¡± ¡°Hold the door, I have an idea! We¡¯ll be right back!¡± I responded, turning to run down the hallway when Tom¡¯s thick fingers gripped around my forearm and he pulled me close. Then he whispered in my ear, so quiet that only I could hear him as Airomem motioned for us to hurry. ¡°I saw Esuri¡¯s knife,¡± He said, ¡°I saw Sitient¡¯s kife. I could only stop one. Make sure I made the right decision.¡± *** ¡°This way!¡± I shouted to Airomem, streaking down the hallway, sliding on the ice on the floor. Ice that was now melting, I noticed, and air that no longer frosted in front of my face. We turned a corner and my feet nearly went out from under me but I recovered, pinwheeling my arms as I ran down a small staircase. ¡°Where are we going?¡± She shouted, nearly colliding with the wall herself, ¡°There is no way that the two of us will be able to carry anything big enough to stop them back ourselves!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t need to!¡± I shouted, and continued sprinting, not stopping until I reached the room that Pliny had showed me long ago. The control room. Together, we burst inside, and I ran to the center table where the book I had studied earlier was still open. And before rushing to the knobs on the far wall, I read the section again that I had found. The section in the book labeledGravitational Controls. The instructionsI would use to defend the ship. Graviation for the ship has been preset to account for acceleration and deceleration inertial differentials, read the passage, Several other applications are toggled, such as the reduction of artificial gravity in hallways to allow for better transportation, or for recreational activities requiring higher values. In the event of special circumstances, full gravitational control is enabled. It should be noted that energy usage grows exponentially with higher gravitational values, and that gravitational changes should be communicated to the inhabitants of the ship to prevent injuries. Furthermore, the ship¡¯s intelligence will modulate any setgravitationalvalues accordingly to accountfor inertial deltas. ¡°It exists,¡± Came Airomem¡¯s voice behind me as she walked over to a wall, reaching out a hand to touch one of the knobs, ¡°It actually exists.¡± ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t touch that!¡± I shouted, and she withdrew her hand sharply. ¡°Sorry, I was-¡± Just then, there was a noise that boomed from above, and rattling thunder that that echoed in the control room. ¡°Damn bastards!¡± Airomem exclaimed, looking towards the origin of the sound, ¡°They must have had the ram ready, prepared before the meeting, in case they wanted to force their way across the bridge! We should have had more time than this. Quick, we need to act!¡± But I was already running towards the section of switches that I had identified earlier, those that corresponded to the other side of the door and to Segni¡¯s remains. Without a moment¡¯s hesitation, my finger came into constant with a cold metal knob. And taking a sharp breath, I turned it as far as it would go to the right. Chapter 21: Succession The sound of a crash slammed into my eardrums again, far louder this time, reverberations reaching us in the control room as the book shook off the table. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, it should have worked!¡± I said, double checking the knob and jiggling it to be sure that there was no room left to turn. It was the right one, corresponding with the correct section of the ship according to the manual. When I had tested the knob indicated to adjust the control room, it had worked- I¡¯d felt my arms being dragged down to the ground, and my spine crunching under the excess weight, just like I felt in the heavy room. But this time I must have been wrong. ¡°They¡¯ll be breaking through now!¡± Shouted Airomem as we heard shouts, ¡°Hurry, we need to get back! We can defend the door for some time at least! With any luck, if we harm enough of them they¡¯ll turn back and we can regroup, and maintain the bottleneck. But once they break through that door there will be no stopping them!¡± We ran back the way we had came, thoughts flooding my mind as Airomem removed the black rectangles from her belt and blue light flashed along the walls. Like she said, if they had already broken through then we would already be defeated. With several more times people on their end of the ship than our own, defending ourselves would be impossible. Even if they did not harm a single person on our end, they would find our crops, and without stores weakened from the combination of feasting and my actions then we would starve. Water had now puddled thick upon the floor from the icy walls, frigid moisture soaking through my shoes with each step. And we were nearly at the corner when the shouts had grown more frantic. And I wondered whatwe would do. We had almost no weapons. In my entire life before that day, I¡¯d never been in a fight whose consequence was anything more than a potential broken bone. And after seeing Segni go down, I knew how this fight would end. Then we turned, and I saw the scene that was waiting for us. The porters still stood with their backs against the door, pushing against the metal. Nean and Vaca watched from the hallway, ready to run at a moment¡¯s notice. But nothing had changed except for the screams on the other end of the wall. Which, though faded, now sounded quieter than they should at our proximity. ¡°What happened?¡± I said to Tom, my breaths coming in stuccatto gasps, ¡°We heard the ram, are they preparing for another strike?¡± ¡°One hit,¡± He answered, ¡°Then nothing. Only noise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unlike them,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°Typically, when they are blood lusted they do not give up that easily, or until they can carry away some of their own dead. Their tribes detest each other, however, and made a peace pact for today only. Maybe it broke down.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Have you heard anything close in the past few minutes since we left?¡± I asked, listening, and Tom shook his head. ¡°Then open the door.¡± I said, ¡°But be prepared to slam it shut again.¡± ¡°I would advise against that,¡± said Airomem, flashing the blue lights brighter, the porters flinching away. ¡°We¡¯ll be alright,¡± I answered, ¡°I know what happened. Go on, open it.¡± One by one, the porters stepped away until only Tom was left. With a nod he grasped the hand holds in the center, and pulled, slowly cracking the door until it was only an inch open. And stepping forward, I placed my eye against the crack. ¡°Clear!¡± I said, and pushed the door open as we crowded around the opening. At the far end of the hallway several bodies were squirming away on all fours, dragging their limbs along the floor, their hair plastered to the sides of their heads. And directly in front of us was the battering ram where it had fallen under increased gravity, its edge denting the metal floor underneath. The front of it was the remains of a metal grating, folded over and hammered into a blunt edge. And the body was constructed the tops of desks, dressers, and bed frames bound together, with fabric handholds from ripped apart clothes lining the sides. Inside the hollow frame was gardening dirt which had given it weight, but now spilled out a crack in the back. Underneath the ram a shoe stuck out, trapped underneath its weight, and a trail of blood led from it back to the door at the other end of the hallway where the last of the others had disappeared from sight. I averted my eyes from the red mass past the end of the ram, though little of Segni remained. Instead, it looked as if they had taken him with them to their side of the ship. ¡°They¡¯ve fled!¡± Shouted Vaca, ¡°And taken Segni with them!¡± Before I could stop him, he crossed over the threshold into the hallway, Nean moving at his side. Or, as Airomem had called the hallway, the bridge. Confusion crossed their faces as their first step slammed into the ground, puling the rest of their bodies forward. Vaca¡¯s face followed, smashing into the metal, an audible snap sounding as his nose arrived first and bent under the weight of his head. Nean caught himself with his hands before collapsing on his chest, his arm muscles bulging as he pushed himself up, his legs which were still across the threshold kicking. ¡°I¡¯m suck!¡± Shouted Vaca, he voice nasally, ¡°Help, I¡¯m stuck!¡± Tom reached down and took each of their legs in a hand, then pulled them backwards, sliding them out of the bridge. ¡°The hallway is now a heavy room,¡± I said, pointing as Vaca held his nose, ¡°But much heavier than you are accustomed to. So heavy that making it across is difficult, and we can fend away anyone who gets close. All we have to do is defend this single point, and we defend our entire side of the ship. As long as we post guards, our life will go unchanged.¡± ¡°Unchanged?¡± Shouted Vaca, and sniffled as tears accompanied the blood on his face, ¡°Without Segni, who will lead us? How will we be able to survive?¡± ¡°Why, you of course,¡± Said Nean, and knelt in front of him, ¡°Just as I protected your brother, I will protect you. And just as he led, you will lead. And I assure you, those that were responsible for his death will pay dearly.¡± And with that sentence, he turned to look at me, his eyes narrowed and furious. ¡°Me, chief?¡± Said Vaca, holding his hands in front of him. ¡°Not yet,¡± I said quickly, ¡°Without the approval of the council-¡± ¡°Then for my first decree,¡± Said Vaca, ignoring me, and pointing a finger at Airomem, ¡°I want her locked away, for what her people did to my brother!¡± End of Part 1 *** Leave a review if you enjoy The Bridge! Chapter 22: Airomem Airomem would never forget the first time she had seen the power room. ¡°Oh, and there we were all in one place, A generation lost in space, With no time left to start again,¡± Her father sang under his breath, then turned towards her as they walked down the hallway, ¡°Oh Airomem, today is your big day! Are you excited my little princess? Tell me, what is today? I seem to have forgotten.¡± Airomem smiled when her father called her a princess, and rightly so. For not only he called her that, but the rest of the Lear tribe. With one of her front teeth missing and a new one budding in its place, she held up the fingers on two of her hands, and answered. ¡°I turned six today! Which means I get to start in the power room!¡± She said, sticking her chin in the air, which she considered very princess-like. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know,¡± Said her father, wagging a finger, and crouching down to meet her eye level, putting his hands on her waist, ¡°Are you sure you are ready? It¡¯s a big job, an enormous job. The entirety of Dandelion Fourteen depends on you!¡± ¡°I¡¯m ready, daddy.¡± She said, and stuck her chin out even higher, which in her mid could only mean more princess-like. ¡°If you say so!¡± He said, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder as she screamed and her fists beat his back in protest, ¡°To the power room we go!¡± She giggled as she bounced with each step of her fathers until the reached the back of the ship. Or rather, the very back of the ship- as a Lear, the back of the ship was all she had ever explored, never leaving the two outposts that were constantly guarded against intruders and lead to the front. They entered a long room, flashing monitors dotting the walls and displaying flickering information, and headed towards a door in the back, where the a word in bold red letters was plastered to the door.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Nuclear!¡± Airomem shouted, reading the word, one of the first she had learned as her father taught her to read. ¡°Yes, nuclear!¡± He exclaimed, and set her on the ground, ¡°This is the entrance of the power room, Airomem. It is time you started learning. One day,it will be your job to be an engineer here, to keep the power running! And if you do that well enough, then one day you might lead the engineers and tribe, like me!¡± He said, and poked her nose. ¡°Yeah!¡± She shouted, and raised a fist into the air, then quickly lowered it after deciding it was not as princess-like as a raised chin. ¡°Do you remember the hand signs I taught you? It¡¯s loud in the power room, and we have to wear ear plugs or else our ears will hurt. Show me danger. Good! Now yes, good, no. Perfect, you¡¯re such a great learner, Airomem.¡± ¡°Look, daddy, I made one up too!¡± She said, and held up her hand, making a new sign. ¡°And what does that mean?¡± ¡°It means I¡¯m tired of waiting!¡± She said, and her father cracked a smile before continuing to speak. ¡°Now Airomem, inside this room, everything is serious. Since the asteroid cracked the ship in half, we have kept the ship entire ship alive. Bothsides. It¡¯s been no easy task- without the main computer systems, many of the things that happened automatically in the past have to be done by hand. And we have to be careful, because only one mistake is all it takes to place us back into peril. That¡¯s our job, Airomem, to not make mistakes.¡± ¡°But what if we do?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t! We¡¯ve come so close, and now we at at the final leg of our journey! Remind me, Airomem, what are we getting close to?¡± ¡°The new planet!¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like a ship, but bigger! I think. It¡¯s like where we came from!¡± ¡°Exactly. And it is most exciting because one day, you might get to see it Airomem!¡± He reached into a pocket and pulled out a piece of paper with seven dots on it shaped in a ring, ¡°When you look out the window, and you see this, it means we are getting close! It could be any year now, Airomem, but most think it will be in your lifetime.¡± ¡°Will I be princess on the planet?¡± She asked, and stuck out her bottom lip, ¡°Otherwise, I don¡¯t want to go.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Her father said, ¡°And you¡¯ll want to go! That¡¯s why I¡¯m showing you the power room, dear. We provide energy to the ship until we leave for the planet. Which is good,¡± He said, and leaned forward to speak in her ear, ¡°Because we¡¯re almost out!¡± Then he started singing again under his breath. ¡°Now, for ten years we¡¯ve been on our own, And moss grows fat on a rolling stone, But, that¡¯s not how it used to be.¡± And led her into the power room. Chapter 23: A Stunned Darkness BEFORE YOU READ: Huge announcement! I just launced my novel Eden''s Eye on Amazon! This novel is the start of a series about a kick ass, demon fighting character who literally travels to Hell and back to save earth. I''ve spent TWO YEARS working on this (to give you some perspetive, I''ve only spent 3 months on The Bridge) so it''s among my absolute best work. Check it out here. I''m so excited to launch this. My Beta Readers are raving about how they feel about the story, they liked The Bridge just like you, and I think you''ll find thatyou love Eden''s Eye too. I don''t and won''t ask for donations, so if you want to support me this is the absolute best way to do it! Priced low at only $2.99 for an ebook. *** Airomem¡¯s eyes were shut tight as she hid in the dark underneath her bed, gripping the stun gun tight in her right hand and her left flat against the ground, while her toes were coiled like springs against the back wall. In case the locked door of her apartment burst open. In case she had to attack. And in case she had to run. Her breath came quick as she saw faint blue flashes through the crack underneath her door, accompanied by far off thuds, and the sound of metal ringing on metal. And she thought back to an hour before, when she and her father had been sharing dinner. ¡°And how was school today?¡± He had asked her, holding out her seat as he placed a plate in front of her, ¡°Tell me that Prometh still has enough wits about him to teach the youngsters! He used to be the finest of our engineers.¡± ¡°Good!¡± She said, stabbing her fork deep into a carrot and shoving the entire slice in her mouth such that the next few word were muffled. Being a princess came second to being hungry, she had decided.¡±Today we learned about the photonic crystal! And about what happened to the one on the other end of the ship!¡± ¡°Oh, sounds like there was some serious learning indeed,¡± Said her father, raising an eyebrow, ¡°Are you sure that you¡¯ll be able to keep all that knowledge in that tiny noggin? I hear if you pack too much in then it¡¯ll explode!¡± ¡°Dad!¡± She whined, ¡°I¡¯m not six, you can¡¯t play tricks on me like that anymore. I¡¯m eight now! I know better.¡± ¡°Funny, at thirty eight I still think the same thing about when I was thirty six. You can never stop learning, Airomem, and don¡¯t let anyone else tell you otherwise.¡± ¡°Yes, daddy. You always say that,¡± She huffed, rolling her eyes, and stabbed through another carrot, deep enough that the metal clinked against the plate. And as she brought the it to her mouth, her father¡¯s head snapped upwards, and she heard it. The wailing of the siren. The sound that made the hairs on her neck stand up, and her skin tingle as blood rushed to her face and adrenaline raced along her capillaries. Her father¡¯s hand swept the fork out of her hand as he tucked her under his elbow, then sprinted out of the mess hall. Doors flashed by as they passed the siren wielder, a boy who had just entered his teens, holding one of the stun guns such that its prongs were plugged into a box that screeched as he took off in the other direction, running loops around the Lear territory. ¡°Starboard!¡± The boy shouted with every other step, his cracking voice struggling to make it down the corner he had just turned, ¡°Starboard! Starboard! Starboard!¡± And then they were at her apartment and her father threw the door open, before tossing her inside on the bed. ¡°Under, down, down! Make no noises, and open your door for no one! Do you understand?¡± He barked as she nodded. ¡°Wait, daddy, what if you don¡¯t come back?¡± She said, trying to grab hold of her hand. ¡°I always come back,¡± He said, gripping her head between his hands, ¡°Don¡¯t you forget that, Airomem. And I¡¯ll always be here.¡± He gave her head a squeeze between his hands, then raced away, slamming the door shut behind him. And as soon as he left she rushed to her dresser and took the stun gun from the top drawer, then waited under her bed, trying to still her breath. Knowing what came next. The darkness. And seconds later it happened, the lights above extinguished themselves, along with every other light in their sector of the ship. Turning the hallways near pitch black, impossible to navigate unless they were already memorized. Which for the Lear, they were. She waited, her jaw tight, watching her doorknob as her eyes acclimated, the only light the faint stars outside her window. Her muscles tightened as she heard feet run past, and the siren wailing again, this time the boy shouting ¡°Port! Port! Port!¡± as his vocal chords strained. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. For several minutes, nothing happened as the noises drifted away, their volume decreasing until they were just at the threshold of her hearing where imagination fights reality. Where she imagined all the stories she had heard about the other tribes. How they feasted upon one another after their squabbles, the smell of cooking meat even making its way as far as the Lear¡¯s side of the ship. The times that they bothered to cook, that is. Or the screams she heard when she would stray too close to the other side and the battle chants seemed to shake the walls themselves. And then, in the silence, she heard footsteps. Footsteps that crept down the hallway, and paused in front of her door, short ragged breaths coming from the other side. Her breath held in her throat as she watched the doorknob start to turn, ever so slowly, creaking open in the darkness. And a face appeared around the corner as she leapt out from underneath her bed, the stun gun extended in front of her with both hands, the electricity crackling as she turned it up to full power and bathing her face in blue light, ¡°Back,¡± She screamed, ¡°Back, or I¡¯ll shock you so hard your skin will fry! Back!¡± And in the light, her father¡¯s face stared back, blood trailing along his temple. ¡°Hush,¡± He said, entering as she burst into tears, ¡°Hush, it¡¯s over. What happened to staying under the bed? I told you to stay!¡± And though he scolded her, she heard something else in his voice as he looked down on her standing there, the stun gun still buzzing. Something she heard when she brought back top scores on her tests, or explained the schematics of the power room to her correctly. ¡°A princess would fight!¡± She answered through the tears, her voice shaking, and he couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°You¡¯re right, she would,¡± He agreed, ¡°Now put that down. And hush.¡± ¡°Where were we attacked?¡± She asked as he sat down on the bed next to her. ¡°On both sides,¡± He answered, ¡°Port and starboard. We defended both, and sent them running backwards faster than they came. Now, princess, why is it that we defend those two points?¡± ¡°Because those two points are the only way that they can enter our end of the ship,¡± She answered, ¡°They¡¯re the only two doorways. But why, daddy? Why do they attack us?¡± Her father frowned, and spoke slowly in response. ¡°Airomem, we live a very different life here than them. We live an orderly life- but the two other tribes, the Aquarians and Agrarians, are not so fortunate. The Aquarians control the water, having access to the reservoirs, while the Agrarians plow the fields. Unlike us, there are many points of entry for them to attack each other, and they are near constantly at war- what they seem to never understand is that they need each other to survive. They grow greedy, and try to seize the other¡¯s resources instead of trading. But what they lust over far more is what we have, Airomem. Is after the electrical power.¡± With those words, the lights buzzed back to life, and she saw that the blood originated from a long gash. ¡°Daddy, you¡¯re hurt! I din¡¯t think that was your blood!¡± ¡°Hush, it¡¯s alright, it¡¯s shallow,¡± He answered, ¡°Listen, Airomem. We¡¯ve started this lesson, and now we must finish it. It is something a leader should know as second nature. The Agrarians and Aquarians must nevergain hold over the ship¡¯s power. Can you tell me why?¡± ¡°Because, because then we would be dead?¡± ¡°More important, Airomem. Even if they let us live, it would be worse. Think, how many years do you need to study before you become an apprentice engineer?¡± ¡°Ten,¡± She answered, and her eyes widened, ¡°They would break it! The power room, the reactor, they would break it!¡± ¡°Exactly, Airomem. Not only would we die, but so would they, by their own hand. And so would the other side of the ship. So we must protect them from themselves. Now, why do we fight in the dark?¡± ¡°Because no Agrarian or Aquarian has set foot here in over a hundred years,¡± She answered, ¡°They would become lost, and would bump into the walls as they try to attack. It gives us the advantage.¡± ¡°Precisely. Now Airomem, the other tribes will not always try to attack us directly. They hate us because we demand tribute from them- we supply them with electricity, and they supply us with water and food. But once, one hundred years ago, they tried to starve us. For two weeks they stopped delivering food and water, even after we turned out their lights, and we dipped deep into our stores. Tell me, what happened then? How did your great great grandfather fight back, back when he served as adviser to the leader?¡± Airomem knew the legend by heart, the stroke of ingenuity that had been decreed to have saved the Lear tribe from near extinction. ¡°They turned the power up, instead of off!¡± She said, ¡°And the lights burned brighter and hotter than they should have, and it burned the other tribes and their crops. And only then did they pay their tribute, when their skin was so red it broke out in blisters, and they feared the lights!¡± ¡°Yes, well done Airomem. A last resort, but a necessary one. But remember, we can only do that in an extreme emergency- typically, the ship should not let the power rise that high, but after the asteroid struck the electricity had to be rewired to bypass many of the safety systems. And even worse, the same power that harmed the Agrarians and Aquarians also traveled to the other side of the ship. Surely, they did not know it was us, but we must care for our brothers and sisters, no matter how remote they might be.¡± The her father stood, and walked to the door. ¡°I must be going now, Airomem. I personally want to check over the ship, to ensure everything is in order. Go to sleep now daughter, princess, but remember this lesson.¡± ¡°Daddy, wait!¡± She shouted as he opened the door, ¡°Don¡¯t leave me, I¡¯m scared!¡± ¡°We¡¯re all scared,¡± He answered, ¡°Some of us are just better at hiding it than others.¡± ¡°Tell me a story first before you go!¡± She demanded, ¡°It can be quick, I need to think about something else, or I won¡¯t sleep.¡± He hesitated, then returned to her bed. ¡°I will, but it has to be quick. Which one do you want to hear?¡± ¡°Tell me,¡± She said, thinking, then decided, ¡°Tell me about Necti.¡± ¡°Ah, your favorite,¡± He said, ¡°Of course.¡± And he began, his deep voice recounting the tale as she felt her eyelids start to grow heavy. *** Hope you loved the chapter! As a reminder, if you''re interested in my novel check it out here! Even if you don''t buy a copy (which is totally fine), let me know what you think about the cover! Chapter 24: The Divide The asteroid struck Dandelion 14 off center. Of course, it was very nearthe center, which is why the ship split into two parts. The very weakest spot of the ship was hit, the bridge itself, the connector between the two sides and the nose capsule at the front. As soon as the asteroid made contact, all transport between the halves was halted. No longer was there the air pressure necessary to travel across the bridge, which means anyone who attempted would die. And at the time, Necti was the head engineer of the ship ¨C it was his duty to keep the engines running, and the lights on, and the systems under control. And when the ship split, Necti was on our side of the ship. In the confusion of the ship, Neti had two priorities. The first was to the ship itself, and he ran to the power room to keep the reactor from damaging itself as they systems fell off line. Much of the work that is done today was automatic back then, governed by the ship itself, though these were destroyed by the asteroid. So it was up to Necti to preserve the ship, because the ship could no longer care for itself. But, you see, the asteroid striking the ship was the secondmost important thing that had happened to Necti that day. The first had occurred that very morning- Necti had married his wife, Beatrice, who was said to be even more beautiful than the stars. They had been lovers since childhood, and the ceremony had all but finished- there was but one part left. You see, when the ship used to be whole, the ceremony dictated that married couple would each depart to opposite ends of the ship, then meet in the center, signifying that nothing could ever separate them. That they would overcome all obstacles to be together. And when the asteroid struck, Beatrice was on the other end of the ship. Which was Necti¡¯s other priority. Because when he looked outside, at the other half, their lights were out. This meant that the power room on their side of the ship had been lost- likely because the asteroid hit their side harder, and caused their reactor to malfunction. Originally, Necti had saved the reactor on our side because he knew that both he and Beatrice would die without it. But now, he knew that he would not be able to live without his wife, separated far away from him on the other end of the ship. He knew that she would not be able to live without power, and that soon those on the other side would fight for food, and then starve. He petitioned for the ship to be repaired immediately, but there was a problem. With only one power room, there was not enough fuel to reach the new planet if the ship was fixed. You see, fixing the ship is no small task- the power is requires is enormous. And once the ship was restored, one power room would have to support the entire ship as mandatory energy hungry systems came back online, which was not in the original design. As you will learn in your studies, the more power that the reactor must provide, the more that it wastes. And under that great stress the energy would run out far before Dandylion 14 reached her destination.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. But Necti refused to be defeated. That morning, he had vowed to meet Beatrice at the center of the ship. He had vowed no distance could keep them apart. That no obstacle could stand in their way. So he devised a plan. First, he turned off every system still online that was not absolutely crucial, and he turned those off those that he could that even once the ship was repaired would draw excess power. And he knew of a room on the other end of the ship, a room where he could tell the ship to repair itself one day by giving it extremely specific instructions when to awake, and how to fix itself, as he knew we would forget. You have seen the suits that are kept in the back of the power room, by the engines. In extreme circumstances, these were designed to allow us to move outsidethe ship. With his knowledge of the ship schematics, Necti determined which power cables he would need to connect to the other side of the ship to share our electricity. They wouldn¡¯t be enough to completely restore power, but they would be enough for sustenance. And Necti did something that no one has done since, and likely no one had done before. He jumped. With the cables streaming behind him, he soared across the gap between the two halves, just barely making it to the other side of the ship. And he restored power to where it was most necessary, plugging our electricity into their systems. Then Necti reentered the ship through their engines, and their power room, to find his beloved Beatrice. Like us, he knew how to sign with his hands, an emergence precaution used by engineers for situations where communication might be difficult. And as the lights flickered back on from their end, he signed to us what had happened through the windows. He had found Beatrice still in her bridal gown waiting for him at the bridge, and their marriage had been complete. He had found the control room, and set it such that in the generations to come the ship would awaken, and restore itself just before reaching its destination. And he signed something else, something as his hands shook and his tears fell upon the window. Something that he kept secret from Beatrice herself. That when he had entered the other power room, the photonic shielding around the reactor had been cracked open, exposing himwith no protection to the radiation. On leaving the room, he welded the door shut, such that no one else would ever enter there again, and warned the other side to never to enter the long room leading to their power room, as that would be contaminated as well but with lesser levels of radiation. He never told Beatrice ¨C hiding it as long as he could as his hair fell out, and sores formed on his skin. Enjoying his final month with her, with his wife, his love, whom he had let no obstacle short of death part them. And for whom he had saved that entire side of the ship. We still know the last message he signed to us, one so weak we could barely decipher it, but caused the rest of the engineering team to burst into tears. And which immortalized his name forever among us. ¡°For her, for you, and for them,I would do it again.¡± Chapter 25: Prometh Airomem fidgeted in her chair as Mr. Prometh entered the room and strutted to the board, taking a marker between his two remaining fingers and writing in sharp, staccato bursts. ¡°Today,¡± He said to the six engineers to be, ¡°Today, we learn theory! Today, we forget engineering in the power room in favor of physics- instead of learning which dials do what, and what levers control what, we¡¯ll learn whythey do what they do! We¡¯ll be taking this at quite a high level- much of this is not well understood, and I have an inkling that it never was well understood.¡± ¡°Do we have to learn this?¡± Moaned AJ, a student to Airomem¡¯s right, ¡°What¡¯s the point, if we can keep the reactors running anyways?¡± Prometh whipped around and held up his hand, wiggling the three stumps as he spoke. ¡°I didn¡¯t lose three of my fingers while I was under captive by the Agrarians to listen to you snivel, boy! If you don¡¯t want to learn, then you can leave! Do you know whythe Lear spent so much resources on rescuing me, despite my middle age when I was captured? It¡¯s because of my knowledge, boy! Because if that reactor goes down, I¡¯m the only one who knows how to fix it, until one of you takes my place.¡± Then he held his hand to his stomach, ¡°Horrible things the Agrarians did, boy. Would you want to hear more? It wasn¡¯t just my fingers they took- oh no, they took whatever they could, bits and pieces of whatever they could peck at. Made themselves a nice Prometh soup while they had me chained down, and interrogated me on how the reactors worked! Ah, such is the price of knowledge.¡± Then Prometh leaned down to look directly in Aj¡¯s eyes from six inches away, his voice steady. ¡°And the best part was that I didn¡¯t even have to keep silent- I told them everything they wanted, because their minds were not trained to receive it! I might as well have babbled nonsense, boy, nonsense about protons and neutrons and gravitational theory. And now you are turning away the knowledge that they would have killed me for! Do you want to hear more of my endurance of their torture? Do you want me to spin your nightmares for the next month? Because I can, boy.¡± AJ shook his head wildly, leaning back as far away as his could, while Prometh¡¯s face brightened. ¡°Good, then! Now, on to your second worst possible nightmare, physics! Class, much of what we will go over today was developed by a fellow named Einstein. Class, who was this fellow?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Chanted the class, as they had been instructed each time the name came up in lecture. ¡°Correct! While we know the physics, our history going back as far as that name is not nearly as strong. Must have been a bright fellow, or group of fellows. Or maybe we¡¯re just not as intellectual as we once were, and he was the average of the lot. Anyways, back to the physics. You see, it¡¯s all because of this Einstein fellow that our reactor works.¡± On the board, he drew a sphere, and shaded in the inner edge of the sphere before filling in a thick dot at the center. ¡°This sphere, class, is known as the photonic crystal barrier- inside the power room, you may have heard it being referred to as the egg. We must take the utmost care notto break the egg- it would be absolutely impossible to replace with the tools we have, and is quite fragile. And supposedly, in terms of pure material, it is more valuable than the rest of the ship combined. Now, on the inside of this crystal is radioactive matter, which means it spits out energy in the form of super high frequency light faster than AJ spits out stupid questions. The sphere acts like a mirror- all that energy bounces around the inside, none of it can escape, one hundred percent down to the very last photon is conserved. And it meets the target here, in the center, which absorbs it and converts it to electrical energy. Do you follow?¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Yes, even I knew that,¡± Said AJ, ¡°And everything inside the sphere is deadly, like a fire or poison, that can kill us if it escapes.¡± ¡°Yes, or can be put to great use! You see, that target is able to send the energy outsidethe sphere in the form of a different type of light waves which pass through the photonic crystal as if it were clear glass! One type of light bounces around the inside, the other type moves freely through- similar to how soup will trickle through the prongs of a fork, but beans cannot fall through the gaps. Now we can use that transmitted energy, or the soup dripping through the cracks, to run the engines, to power the lights, or however else we see fit. Now, does anyone see the problem with this?¡± Airomem raised her hand, and Prometh jabbed at her with his two fingers. ¡°The ship requires different amounts of energy at different times,¡± She said as Prometh beamed, ¡°But the radioactive elements break down at a constant rate.¡± ¡°Precisely, precisely!¡± He said, ¡°As I¡¯ve stated, the crystal is incredibly fragile. This means that there cannot be moving parts on the inside, and it¡¯s best that there isn¡¯t, as one tiny malfunction would mean our doom. In addition, we have to choose a radioactive material that naturally expels energy slowly, so that if they crystal ever does break, like it did on the other end of the ship, the nuclear reaction cannot spiral out of control. So very tricky, so very tricky, to create something like this! Something that can give enough power to run the ship when needed but will fizzle out otherwise. Now, does anyone know how this can be accomplished?¡± Airmomem shook her head, and when the rest of the class saw her, they followed her lead. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s quite unfortunate.¡± Continued Prometh, ¡°Every year I hope to have an Einstein in my class, but I have yet to be lucky. You see, this is what he figured out- he found out that under the effects of extreme gravity, you can actually changehow time flows! So bear with me, and try not to tie your brains in a knot, but by creating an artificial gravity field inside the sphere, we can make the material appear to decompose faster on the outside. Or, in this case, we apply an extremely strong anti-gravity field if we need power, which makes the material inside age faster than us, and therefore spit out energy quicker! But creating gravitational fields requires a tremendousamount of energy, so the more energy we need, the more we have to burn to maintain that field and consequently speed up the reaction. Understood?¡± ¡°No,¡± Said AJ, as Airomem cocked her head to the side, ¡°It seems like circular math.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Prometh responded, ¡°That¡¯s the best comment you¡¯ve made so far, AJ. It is indeed- a feedback loop, to be precise. If more energy is needed, then we crank up the gravitational fields. But that requires more energy! So we keep cranking them up, until we can sustain the ship¡¯s power. Anyways, I didn¡¯t expect you to understand it all. Hell, even I don¡¯t -but now we can say you¡¯ve had an equal opportunity to the Agrarians who I taught this to! Though I hope you learned more than them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about that,¡± Said AJ, and scratched his head. ¡°Even with you AJ, we can always hope,¡± Said Prometh, ¡°But that¡¯s it for today. If any of you want to know more, feel free to stay after.¡± As the rest of the lass departed, Airomem waited behind. And she listened to Prometh for several hours, absorbing all she could, whether or not it made sense. For Necti had once understood it, and if she ever wanted to live up to her favorite story character, she would need to too. Chapter 26: Seeds Airomem shadowed the engineer as he walked around the circumference of the egg, watching as he checked of sections of a notepad, taking temperature readings and antigravitational values as he adjusted his hearing protection. She frowned as she followed him, running through the the effects of every one of his actions in her mind, tracking the physics as he adjusted each knob, or imagining the consequences should one of the parameters rise too high or fall to low. And imagining was important, since there was nearly no physical response to each of his actions. Numbers would change, and the pitch of the sound might slightly modulate, but for the most part there was no tangible effect- unless a visitor owned the eye and ear of a trained engineer, they would have no recognition of an alteration in the engine room. But Airomem, Airomem always knew. She knew that the shrill tone that accompanied the roaring of the engines meant that the resonance of one of the induction coils was out of tune, and that excess energy was being shedded as a result. And she knew that fixing it would increase the engine efficiency by several percent -not only reducing the induction losses, but also reducing the antigravity field to be generated. A bead of sweat travelled down the side of her face as she kept an eye on the temperature reading, knowing that she would keep a tighter monitoring of it than the current engineer, who had let it rise two degrees above what her calculations determined optimal. She drew a sharp breath as the engineer nearly ignored a slight spike in energy output, releasing it just as he noticed, then looked about the room to check each of the systems working to keep the reactor online. And every time she tracked them, her mouth opened slightly in wonder at the design of it. At the perfect way it all fit together, at how even with the engineers blunders it could survive, at how it provided power while nearly the entire ship did not have the slightest idea where it came from. And as she stared, she saw her father enter, and wave her over outside the room. ¡°Four weeks in!¡± He whispered excitedly as she exited, the door closing behind her and sealing the power room away, ¡°Four weeks of shadowing. How do you like it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s great, it really is!¡± She said, ¡°But father, I¡¯ve been wondering something. How, how did all this happen? Where did all this come from?¡± ¡°The power room?¡± He asked, ¡°Why, it was constructed when Dandelion 14 was, at the very beginning.¡± ¡°The entire ship, then! How, exactly, did it come to be? I know that it was built, but why? And by who?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Are the intricacies of the power room not enough to satiate your curiosity?¡± He laughed, and touched her nose. ¡°Come on, father, I¡¯m not twelve anymore! I¡¯m almost an engineer! How did all this start?¡± ¡°Dandelion 14?¡± ¡°Dandelion 14.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk, Airomem. A lap around Lear territory. This will take a moment to explain.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± She answered, and followed him as he started at a meandering pace. ¡°Airomem, the Dandelion is not only the name of the ship. Back, before we lived on the ship, it was the name of a plant.¡± ¡°From the gardens?¡± ¡°Well, yes and no. You see, the plants back then were not always grown by us. In fact, they existed before we did- and dandelions were a type that bore no fruit. Instead, they only bore seeds. Seeds that were clustered in such a way that at the lightest of breaths would scatter them across the earth, where they could have a chance to grow.¡± ¡°Why does this matter, if they weren¡¯t brought on the shp?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more of the principle of the matter,¡± Said her father, and took a breath, ¡°The point is, that this plant was considered undesirable. But it was so proficient at reproduction that it refused extinction and instead spread its seeds in the face of adversity.¡± And closing his eyes, her father began to recite: ¡°A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and they were eaten. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted, and since they didn¡¯t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Listen, Airomem. Where we came from, where Dandelion 14 was built, we left there because it was headed for destruction. But we weren¡¯t the only ones, Airomem, who left. Supposedly, there were others. Dandelion seeds scattered among the stars, each seeking new life.¡± ¡°So there are others then, for sure?¡± she asked, excitedly. ¡°Airomem, wait, before you take too much hope,¡± Her father said, ¡°Remember, of the seeds that were cast out by the farmer, only a few survived. Only some made it only to fertile ground where they could live.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re saying that once we find our new home, the others might not survive? And they might not find us?¡± ¡°No, Airomem,¡± He answered, his face solemn. ¡°I¡¯m saying that our ancestors spread seeds like a dandelion because only a few would find fertile soil. For all we know, we might be among those they land on rock and cannot take root. Even after all this effort to survive, even if we find the new planet home, we may still die.¡± Chapter 27: Sparring ¡°Line up!¡± Shouted Prometh, standing in front of his class of six, ¡°And pay attention! I may be old now, and my hair may be gray, but I could still knock the life clean out of any one of you in a fight! The Aquarians and Agrarians will move much quicker than I, I assure you! And not just that, they¡¯ll have all their fingers! Plus three of mine, which each put up enough of a fight to bring of them down with them!.¡± Airomem was squared off against AJ, with another student on her left and right side, and two others on his. An open door frame had been constructed between them, just wide enough that each of them could reach across to the other side without fully entering the frame, and a wall jutting out for a few feet on each side. ¡°Now, there are two entry points to our territory. The Port, where Agrarians can attack, and the Starboard, where the Aquarians can attack. As warriors, you have one priority- defend these two doors with your lives! So long as they are not breached, we hold the advantage as they cannot overcome us with their numbers. So use the bottleneck to your advantage! Of course, these two doors can be locked and braced, but that¡¯s no guard against stubborn perseverance- only you can guard against that.¡± ¡°But what if they get through?¡± Asked Airomem, ¡°Won¡¯t we have to fight them then?¡± ¡°You better pray they don¡¯t!¡± Exclaimed Prometh, ¡°But we are prepared in the case that they do. Each the port and starboard sides have three bottlenecks- the others must fight through all three doors to enter into the soft underbelly of our territory. Each bottleneck empties in a larger room, so if they try to ram their way through, you can hit them with stun guns from the sides as they come through the door. And due to their frequent wars with each other, it is almost never necessary to retake a room if we have lost it- instead, when one tribe senses that the other is weakened, they attack. And the Agrarians or Aquarians will pull their forces back in defense, especially since they know that we won¡¯t pursue them past the initial bottleneck.¡± ¡°And why not?¡± Asked AJ, ¡°Why don¡¯t we storm through and kill them when they are busy defending themselves? Why don¡¯t we take their land and defend that as an offensive front?¡± ¡°This is why,¡± Said Prometh, pointing to the wall where a hand drawn map was plastered, ¡°These are the schematics of the ship- found in an engineering book in our territory. Written, mind you, which is good because I have yet to hear of an Agrarian or Aquarian that can tell a vowel from a consonant. Now, as you can see, once you break past our bottlenecks into their territory there are many more points of attack. Instead of defending two doorways, if we advanced we would have to defend six, then eight, then ten as the corridors fan out! That¡¯s why the Agrarians and Aquarians are always at war- there are dozens of entry points between them, so they have no strategic buffers.¡± ¡°But we could take them slowly, and we fight better then them!¡± Claimed AJ, ¡°Even you say that. Though are numbers are far fewer, we have far more stun guns and better strategy, so our firepower is much greater!¡± ¡°True, true, I agree with you there. In terms of weapons, we do have more stun guns, but they have plenty of knives- and while a knife will lose to a stun gun, a knife exists to kill, while a stun gun will only incapacitate. But have you ever farmed, AJ? It¡¯s truly backbreaking work. It would cost hundreds of lives and several years to make that territory advance, all so that we can just be farmers. Instead, so long as we defend our entry points, we lose a life or two every year- most of them from guards being inattentive. And even if we did take the land, we do not have the numbers to farm and support ourselves.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Rather, it¡¯s far easier to demand tribute for the power that we provide,¡± Said Airomem, and Prometh nodded, then he continued. ¡°But now, enough on strategy! Stun guns set to low! If you are struck, you are out and must clear out of the doorway. Airomem and AJ, you are the keystones. Akil and Helen, you are left flank. Priam, Aga, you are right flank. In this mock battle, AJ¡¯s team will be trying to advance through the doorway. Airomem, your team will be defending it like the bottleneck on Port or Starboard. On my call you start, and remember your techniques!¡± Airomem squared her feet as AJ crouched on the other side of the door, his eyes flicking left and right as he searched for a weakness, his freshly formed facial hair sticking out in odd directions from just underneath his chin. She held two stun guns, one in each hand, the blue light just barely visible under the low setting, the buzzing just at the edge of her hearing, and the vibrations traveling up her arms. On each of her sides her flanks turned their stun guns on as well, just as AJ¡¯s flickered to life. Then Prometh blew a whistle hanging around his neck, and the mock battle began. Airomem took a sharp step backwards as AJ jabbed forward, the edge of his weapon whiffing just under her chin. On her right Aga swept in, trying to catch AJ off guard as he recoiled just in time, the blow catching air where he had been just an instant before. And in her mind, Airomem recited her strategy learned from Prometh while she watched for AJ¡¯s next move. The keystone holds the formation together. It is the keystone¡¯s responsibility to plug the hole, to stand strong and open opportunities for corner attacks from the flanks. And she took another step backwards, opening up space between her and the doorframe as her flanks moved forward to the walls in front of the door frame, using them as a shield to hide their bodies. Together, they formed a triangular pocket. A pocket where anyone who entered would be attacked on three sides- from keystone, who was to stop momentum, and from the flanks who dealt the finishing blows. Without warning Priam darted through the door from the other side, barreling low so that Aga¡¯s taser struck too high. Then Helen arced down from the left, jamming the taser into Priam¡¯s shoulder blade as he tumbled past Airomem, who allowed him past her without interference. Stunned and disqualified, he now posed no threat. But as she pivoted back to the keystone position her eyes widened, watching as Akil bent down with his hand on his knees just beyond the door, and AJ took a running start from several feet behind him. ¡°Aga, Helen, strike low!¡± She shouted as AJ launched himself upwards, arms flailing through the air. Aga and Helen struck Akil at the same time as he passed under AJ, but now AJ¡¯s trajectory was headed directly towards Airomem, his stun guns pinwheeling in blue streaks. She grit her teeth as she staggered her stance, her bangs falling over one of her eyes as AJ descended without grace, holding both her tasers directly in front of her in single ourstrethed point. They struck AJ directly in his chest as he crashed through them, his far larger body bowling into hers as they collapsed together, loose stun guns shocking them repeatedly on the way down. She slid against the metal floor in a tangle of limbs, AJ¡¯s body jerking with each electrical impulse, stars forming in her vision as the breath was knocked out of her chest. And as she sat up, she heard Prometh start clapping to the best of his ability, a smile on his face. ¡°Well done. Well done Airomem. Had your tasers been on full power, this would have ended quite differently. And AJ, though somewhat unorthodox, that move would be similar to something the other side would try. And you cleared a hole. I would declare a tie, but considering Airomem has no casualties on her team, she holds a slight victory ¨C careful, Airomem, it appears that AJ gets sharper with each passing day! Now, pick yourselves up, it¡¯s time to go again. This time, Airomem, you will attack.¡± Chapter 28: Let It Be Known Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay, December has been quite a month. Expect more regular chapters in the future. Chapter 28 Airomem Airomem spent much of her time now in the power room. She would watch as each of her engineers ran through the necessary checks, smiling if one of the new recruits caught a temperature that was trending out of range, and remembering the years when she herself had been fresh on the floor. But that had been long ago- back when she was just out of school, in the years when Prometh still taught her combat tactics. She¡¯d risen among the ranks quickly- in part, because of her father¡¯s influence. But also due to the extra time she spent listening to Prometh¡¯s recounts of every possible piece of information about the reactor. When she was on shift, the reactor ran. And those in the Lear leadership were quick to pick up on that correlation. But in addition, Airomem volunteered at the Port and Starboard entry points, disregarding her father¡¯s best wishes. Engineers were considered high class contributors to the Lear on their own ¨C as a result, they were not expected to contribute to guard duty, similar to other skilled workers such as the doctors and the teachers. ¡°What you are doing is an unnecessary risk!¡± Her father said when he found out the first day she had volunteered, ¡°You belong in the power room. And more importantly, you¡¯re my daughter, and as leader there is a chance you might take command upon my passing!¡± ¡°Then why was I trained for combat?¡± Airomem demanded, ¡°Everyone else is required to defend the ship. I¡¯m no better than them.¡± ¡°You were trained to understand how to make proper decisions,¡± He father replied, ¡°But this is impractical.¡± ¡°Unless I experience it, my judgement is hollow. Besides, I know you did the same at my age. You were said to be the best, and I will uphold your name. And the chances that I will be on guard during an actual attack are minimal.¡± Begrudgingly, and with his arms folded across his chest, her father relented. But she noticed that those days when she served, there were more guards than typical, and they were the largest. And always, she served on the flank, out of the way from direct strikes. After her second month of volunteering she arrived at her shift early, and rooted herself firmly in the center. ¡°Today, I am the cornerstone.¡± She said when the other guards arrived.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°But Airomem, on direct orders from your father-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. Today, I am Cornerstone, unless you want to fight me for it. And if you do, I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll love to hear about how you jeopardized the well being of his daughter.¡± She said, as the stun guns in her fingers came to life, her arms hanging loose near her waist. The guard bit his lip, then moved aside. ¡°Fine,¡± He said, ¡°But this doesn¡¯t come back to me. If your father asks, Earnest let you.¡± ¡°Earnest has been dead for a year.¡± She said. ¡°Exactly. And I¡¯ll be dead tomorrow if he finds out it was me.¡± He answered. ¡°Earnest it is,¡± Airomem answered, and took up the center. And she stared down the hallway, doors ajar down its length, dark stains covering the floor in increasing frequency the nearer they were to her. Occasionally she would catch sight of a gaunt face, of cheeks tucked too far in to be healthy, and eyes sunk too far in to know hope. And on her third month of guard, she saw one emerge from around the corner and walk their way, his mouth ajar, his posture swaying with each step. Behind him appeared ten other faces, each watching as he approached the door frame, edging closer from a distance with a knife tucked loose in his belt. ¡°Lone straggler,¡± She said as the other gaurds jerked to attention, ¡°Carrying no tribute, armed. Approaching at thirty paces. I¡¯ve got this.¡± ¡°No,¡± Said the guard accompanying her and pushing her to the side, ¡°I¡¯m afraid I cannot allow that.¡± ¡°Have the Lear grown so complacent that they send tiny girls to defend their borders?¡± Shouted the straggler, now only ten paces away, as he cackled, ¡°Come back out, little girl. I wonder how you taste? Not so gamey as my usual meals, but everyone knows that Lear taste the best!¡± He licked his lips as Airomem pushed herself to the front again, switching on the tasers, adapting a staggered stance. ¡°Not a step more!¡± She shouted, ¡°Or we will be forced to take action!¡± ¡°Not a step, not a step,¡± Chanted the man, his arm muscles twitching as he danced forward, ¡°Step. Step. Step.¡± He leered as he slinked closer, the breath out of his mouth putrid even from a distance as Airomem¡¯s arms stiffened, ¡°I¡¯ve been exiled, little girl, by my own people! I have nothing to lose. Figure I might as well get a last meal in!¡± Then he darted forward, pulling his knife from his belt and slashing as he crossed the door frame. And Airomem jammed both of her stun guns directly under his ribcage, turning the power to maximum. He shot off the ground, his own legs propelling him as his clothing smoked, crashing against the ceiling before toppling down again, the faces at the end of the hall recoiling as he landed. Airomem stepped over his body out into the hallway, her stun guns still burning bright, and her voice shouting. ¡°Let it be known!¡± She said, the faces flinching as each word lashed across them, ¡°That these doorways mark not only the entrance into Lear territory, but into death! Let it be known that I am next in line for the crown, and I will tolerate no uprisings! That I will bring darkness upon your lands, and burning light, until no plant grows and no child goes unhungry! Let it be known that our tolerance for you has come to an end, and if you do not make peace, you will face far greater consequences!¡± ¡°Are you trying to start a war, princess?¡± Hissed the guard as she cross over the border again, and they dragged the body away. ¡°It¡¯s for their sake, as much as ours.¡± She responded, ¡°And we do not have much time left.¡± Chapter 29: Allies Airomem ¡°What you did was downright stupid!¡± Shouted Airomem¡¯s father back at her apartment, where he had come as soon as he had heard news of the incident, ¡°It could have gotten you killed, and worse, it could have started a full on attack! Airomem, this is not behaviour conducive to Lear survival Nor your own!¡± He paced her short floor, biting his lip as she sat on her bed. ¡°The other tribes need to know we¡¯re a power to be reckoned with,¡± Responded Airomem, ¡°They need to know not to attack us.¡± ¡°They do know that, Airomem! If anything, it¡¯s best that they forget it, and forget us entirely! The Agrarians and Aquarians know one way to deal with fear, an instinct that has been bred into their cultures ¨C to attack, and to destroy. You must understand, Airomem, that they are not like us. They have little order, they thrive in chaos. Their attacks against us are rarely planned, and nearly always are a faction broken off from the whole. To send a message like that only gives them cause to unify against us. No, it is better that they forget our existence than to remember and do act.¡± ¡°But you said it yourself, father!¡± Retorted Airomem, and gestured out of the window to where the stars lay beyond, ¡°You said that we are coming to the end of the journey! And when we do, we won¡¯t have the doors and bottlenecks anymore to protect us!¡± She stared at her father, waiting for his response, her chin high and her eyes blazing. But instead he stared past her to the window, his mouth slightly open, the starlight mingling with the grey in his hair. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Airomem asked, as his eye widened as she turned her head to trace his gaze. But she only saw darkness accented by the lights on the other side of the ship, in addition to the flickers of movement from within its windows. Then her father reached a hand into his pocket, uncrinkling an old piece of paper, and flattening it against the window. ¡°Look,¡± He whispered, the color drained from his cheeks, his other hand taking her chin and pointing her face into space, past the paper. Past the seven points shaped like a ring that were inscribed on the paper, ¡°Look.¡± And towards a cluster of seven stars in a ring the size of her thumbnail, glowing from the depths of the beyond. ¡°Airomem,¡± He whispered, crumpling the paper within his fist, ¡°Airomem, we¡¯re here.¡± *** Airomem watched the ring deep into the night, unsure whether she could tell it was getting larger or if it was her own imagination. If what her father said was true, then they would soon be leaving the ship behind. They would soon be emerging into a new world. And they soon might be sharing it with those who threatened to end their existence with every chance they were given. She swallowed and let her eyes wander, straying to a window at the other end of the ship. Usually a farmer filled that window, working the fields nearly every day, his own gaze occasionally meeting hers, his actions just barely visible through the visible portions of the windows. In the past she had tried to sign to him, but he had only stared back before returning to the soil. Perhaps he was too far away to understand, or the light made her own figure too difficult to see. And only occasionally would she get a good glimpse of him, only when he crossed the windows just right, his silhouette fleeting. He didn¡¯t look like the Agrarians- from what she could tell his cheeks were not puckered, and his face was not gaunt. And he moved slowly, methodically, with purpose, unlike the Agrarians and Aquarians that twitched and jerked when they walked. Surely the farmers on that end of the ship would be different, like the Lear themselves. Like distant cousins, that had survived apart, but were really the same. At least, she hoped. The Lear would need allies. Chapter 30: Blueprints ¡°In my absence,¡± Said Airomem¡¯s father to the room, fifteen of the Lear¡¯s most experienced members within, ¡°Each of you shall command over your areas of expertise. Airomem, you shall take charge the power room. Prometh, I give you council over the young of the ship, and over education. To matters of war, to the military committee. Each of you shall act independently until I return, and should I not return, make plans for the appointment of a new leader.¡± ¡°But who shall accompany you?¡± Asked Prometh, seated in a chair in the front, his few fingers stroking a silvered beard, ¡°And more importantly, what is the point of this expedition?¡± ¡°I suspect I will have to go alone,¡± Her father answered, ¡°The Agrarians and Aquarians will be suspicious enough, and should I try to bring additional people, their suspicion will only increase. As to why this mission is necessary, it is because we will need those on the other end of the ship in order to survive.¡± Her father pulled a large roll of paper out from underneath his chair, then unfurled it on the table, pinning down the corners with dinner plates until it was as long as a man laying down. ¡°This paper,¡± He said, gesturing, ¡°Was left to us by Necti himself from those before him, and details what will happen as we reach our destination. First, and most importantly, it mentions the awakening of this ship. For those of you in the power room, that means we¡¯ll have to crank up the reactor to levels higher than ever intended by the original designers. Efficiency will be low, but we should only have to maintain it for a limited amount of time - which is fortunate, for our dwindling fuel stock will be exhausted quickly.¡± ¡°This is preposterous!¡± Said a voice from the back, belonging to AJ¡¯s father named Tela, one of the older members of the war committee, ¡°If Necti is wrong, and our power is exhausted, we will have no bargaining chips against the Agrarians and Aquarians. If the lights go out, we will be starved, starved then overrun!¡± ¡°The you better hope he isn¡¯t wrong!¡± Snapped back Prometh, popping the edge of his chair back against the edge of a nearby table, ¡°By my estimates, the ship has twenty five years of fuel left until the reactor fizzles out through normal consumption. And that¡¯s a best case scenario! So either we take the risk, or your children face certain darkness.¡± ¡°Is this, is this true? Why were we not informed?¡± Demanded Tela.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°The arrival of Dandelion 14 at its destination is beyond our control,¡± Answered Airomem¡¯s father, ¡°For this reason, the fuel stock was kept secret to prevent general panic. We had plans within the next tow years to start rationing energy more strictly, however, we are now close to arrival. And that is why we must act. Come closer, and see what we have to do. This concern lies close to you as well, Tela, for we may be in dire need of your military strategy. Come, here, where you can see the paper.¡± Those within the room crowded forward, standing around the table, squinting down at the minuscule handwriting and stenciled diagrams on its surface. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± Asked Tela, his voice suspicious. ¡°It has been passed down from chief to chief since Necti left us,¡± Said Airomem¡¯s father, ¡°Aside from myself, Prometh is the only other person to know of its existence. Now, the paper itself is simple enough to read - it moves from top to bottom, detailing each stage the ship will enter.¡± He pointed at the top and they leaned in, following his fingertip as he spoke. ¡°Necti programmed the ship such that the halves would come together when the destination planet became close. That is what will happen first- the ship will repair itself, and systems come online. This has two implications- one, as I mentioned, is the power requirement change. And two, due to our position at the back of the ship, the Agrarians and Aquarians will be the first to meet with the other side, which could be disastrous.¡± ¡°You said we may need the other side to survive,¡± Said Tela, ¡°Why is this?¡± ¡°We do not know what awaits us on the new planet,¡± Airomem¡¯s father responded, ¡°The more of us to face conflict, the better. But that is not the only reason- whoever remains on this ship will die. Those on the other end are our brothers and sisters- we cannot condemn them to that fate.¡± ¡°For all we know, they could be as bad as the Agrarians and Aquarians!¡± Responded Tela. ¡°And for all we know,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°They could be an enormous benefit. We¡¯ll have to give them the benefit of the doubt, we ''ll have to meet them before we pass judgement.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± Said Prometh, ¡°And we may need their help sooner than we think.¡± ¡°Yes, we may,¡± Said Airomem¡¯s father, ¡°For the ship itself will never land on the destination planet. No, as I mentioned, Dandelion 14 will continue sailing past it. Only a small piece of the ship will detach itself and carry those within to safety. And that piece of the ship is currently unattainable to us, beyond our reach.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the third broken segment, which will be repaired aloang with the rest of the ship,¡± Said Prometh, his eyes glinting, ¡°And we¡¯ll have to fight our way past the Agrarians and Aquarians to the only entrance. To the bridge.¡± Chapter 31: Bait ¡°We should kill you here and now,¡± Stated Airomem, ¡°You¡¯ve intruded upon Lear territory, and we have no use for prisoners. Maybe you came here to steal our secrets as a spy.¡± ¡°I could only wish,¡± Said the man strapped down to the bed, his chest muscles twitching as he spoke, ¡°I am not so lucky, not lucky at all! I¡¯m exiled! Go on, kill me now! I¡¯d rather die here- I¡¯m a dead man anyways!¡± A frown creased Airomem¡¯s face as she stared down at him, the wretch of a man, scorch marks still on his skin from where she had stunned him as she guarded the bottleneck. He grinned back up at her, his eyes darting from side to side in a way that made the hair on her neck stand up, and his breath coming in quick gasps. ¡°And what, exactly, did you do to deserve such a fate?¡± She asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Stealing!¡± He screeched, ¡°I stole, and I stole well! For years upon years. Stealing, you see, is in our blood and in our bones. You can even taste it in the best thieves when they die. But I stole from the chief, dozens of times, many times. But I only had to be caught once, and should I return, he¡¯ll steal my very heart.¡± ¡°Almost sounds romantic,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°Stealing your heart.¡± ¡°Not if it¡¯s pulled out of your chest still beating!¡± He shouted back, the veins in his neck throbbing, and spittle flying from his mouth, ¡°Not so romantic then!¡± ¡°Indeed, not.¡± Replied Airomem, ¡°But consider, consider if you had a way to make your chief forgive you.¡± ¡°Impossible,¡± He spat, ¡°I¡¯d have to kill twenty Aquarians alone to seek his forgiveness.¡± ¡°But what if instead of killing them, I gave you the means to kill them,¡± She said, and reached into a bag at her side, pulling forth two black rectangles and setting them at a table beside the man as his eyes widened, ¡°I know these are near priceless among your kind. By our counts, only four of them that still work exist outside the grasp of the Lear. But you, you can give them to your leader in exchange for your life. And maybe as a clever thief, you can even keep one for yourself.¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°And why,¡± Said the man, ¡°Why would the Lear, the cunning Lear, the slavemaster Lear, give me such a gift? It is a trick, and I know it!¡± ¡°It is no trick,¡± Airomem answered, ¡°But rather, a trade.¡± ¡°A trade for what? I have nothing to offer.¡± ¡°Oh, but you do,¡± Said Airomem with a smile, as the man¡¯s attention focused upon her, ¡°All you have to do is deliver a message.¡± *** Airomem and her father watched as the lone straggler departed, dancing down the corridor away from the entry point bottleneck, an occasional blue flash accompanying his cackling. ¡°You gave him two?¡± Protested Tela from behind them, ¡°Two stun guns? This is a dangerous game, arming the Agrarians. I won¡¯t have my men die without cause, should they attack us.¡± ¡°It would be for great cause,¡± Airomem¡¯s father answered, ¡°The greatest cause, our survival.¡± ¡°Besides,¡± Added Airomem, ¡°The stun guns we gave him have nearly no power left, and haven¡¯t been charged in the power room for over three years. They may look flashy, but they won¡¯t last long, and he won¡¯t know the difference until it is too late.¡± ¡°True, but his chief might,¡± Said Tela. ¡°But the bait is too great for them to resist,¡± Said Airomem¡¯s father, ¡°Ten stun guns, all for ensuring my safety to and from the bridge.¡± ¡°You¡¯re giving them more?¡± Shouted Tela, his face red,¡°We won¡¯t be able to hold them back!¡± ¡°You won¡¯t have to,¡± Responded Airomem, staring as the blue flashes disappeared around the corner, ¡°We plan on supplying both the Agrarians and Aquarians with new weapons. The new tension will pit them against each other, hopefully starting a wave of battles strong enough to cripple both sides. And even if they should turn on us, we only have to hold out for a short time, until we arrive at the bridge. After that, nothing else matters.¡± ¡°Again, assuming you¡¯re right.¡± Said Tela. ¡°We¡¯re praying that we¡¯re right,¡± said Airomem¡¯s father, and walked back towards the back of the ship, ¡°And you, Tela, should pray too." Chapter 32: Fair Trade It took three days for the Agrarians to respond. The chants echoed far into Lear territory to clash with the shouts of the siren boy as the Lear military scrambled to the bottleneck, lining up in ranks behind each of the doors, stun guns turned to high and braced for attack. And when Airomem arrived with her father, nearly three quarters of their military faced off against the Agrarians, while the remaining quarter had fallen back to wait a the opposite end of the ship in case of a planned Aquarian attack. Airomem¡¯s breath caught in her throat when she saw the entire force- never before had she witnessed a full attack, but she had heard the stories of their numbers. The Agrarian ranks stopped just thirty feet from the entry point doorway, the four front men lined with ropy scars across the faces and arms, their eyes hard and their skin tight. Behind them was another row of nearly identical men, and behind that another, dozens of rows that extending back as far as she could see- more warriors in that corridor, it seemed, than the entire population of the Lear. And together they chanted, their voices forming sounds rather than words. Guttural noises that lashed against the ranks of the Lear in unison, funneled down the hallway to strike like a battering ram. ¡°Show no fear!¡± Hissed her father as he walked forward through the ranks of his men, Airomem at his right side, and Tela at his left, ¡°It¡¯s all intimidation. They know that their casualties attacking the entry point would be too costly to merit an initiative. Stand tall, chests outwards, faces stoic. Be proud, for you are the Lear, and as each strong as ten of their men!¡± And as he passed, their heads rose, and their expressions steeled, and their stances widened. Then he took his place at the front of the group, their spearhead, his own life first among them. Then the voices of the Agrarians grew louder, and they stamped their feet until the walls began to shake, their faces turning red as something approached from far behind them. It passed over their heads, supported by a sea of hands as it moved forward, a dark shadow that nearly brushed against the ceiling of the hallway. And as it reached the front of the crowd, Airomem made out its shape.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. It was a couch, or rather, couches, lashed together by liberated electrical wires to form a platform. The legs and lower half of the couch were dyed red, the fabric coming away in sheared and dangling strips. Bones jostled from the sides, clacking together as the platform swayed and then was passed down to the front of the Agrarians directly in front of Airomem¡¯s father. Silence washed over the horde as a figure stood up from the couches, brandishing two stun guns and letting electricity crackle between their prongs, illuminating a long scar than ran down his face and yellowed teeth. ¡°I am Sitient of the Agrarians, and I hear you have a deal for us, Lear!¡± He shouted, ¡°A deal for us that may put our troubles with the Aquarians to an end!¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Responded Airomem¡¯s father, stepping forward, ¡°We come offering you a trade of ten stun guns, for safe passage.¡± ¡°And why do you seek this deal, Learman? What have you to gain?¡± ¡°The reasons are twofold. First, we seek to explore the ship, and update our records.¡± ¡°Lies, Lear lies. But go on.¡± ¡°And second, we have been stiffed by the Aquarians for far too long in their dealings. Their water arrives to us tainted and off color, smelling of rot. Should you take their lands, we ask for fair tribute, as they have cheated us in our trades. Furthermore, we find it easier to trade with one unified tribe rather than two, and if that means wiping out the Aquarians through enhanced weaponry, then so be it.¡± Sitient smiled, and opened his hands. ¡°Then so be it! We too know the Aquarians for their treachery. But how should I know that you will make good on the deal? You are old, perhaps only a decade away from death. Perhaps your plan is to die among us, and for the bargain never to be completed? Perhaps this is a Lear trick, a Lear lie?¡± His voice rose, and the chanting behind him surged to meet it, rattling the walls for a full two minutes before it subsided and her father was able to respond. ¡°I assure you, we have no ill intentions. We simply seek for guidance and guardianship. In return, you¡¯ll have your weapons.¡± Sitient¡¯s eyes narrowed, and the skin over his cheekbone twitched, his scar dancing. ¡°Do not take me for a fool! I smell lies better than I smell flesh. No, should this deal be completed, it shall be on my terms.¡± He cast his gaze around the Lear, the pupils coming to rest on Airomem. ¡°No, I shall not take you, the aged leader. Instead, I¡¯ll take her, to ensure you make good on the deal!¡± He said, and pointed, his index finger aimed at Airomem as chills raced down her spine, ¡°Besides, she took one of our own just a few days ago- is it not fitting we take her in return? A fair trade.¡± Chapter 33: The Omni-Cutter Airomem ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Shouted Airomem¡¯s father after the Agrarians had left, and they had returned to her apartment, ¡°Absolutely not! They¡¯ll use you as a bargaining chip, as a way to get even more out of the deal. You had no authority to accept his demands!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late now,¡± Said Airomem, her arms crossed over her chest, her heart still beating rapidly from when she had stepped forward to counter Sitient with words of her own. As the ranks of Lear exploded into applause as she had lit her own stun gun as a challenging beacon, watching Sitient wince backwards as her mouth formed words. ¡°Take me then! But do not suppose I will be an easier burden!¡± Back at her apartment, Prometh spoke up from the door, from where he had followed them. ¡°Strategically, she¡¯s right,¡± He said, ¡°You forget your position as not only a father, but also as a leader. The Lear need you now more than ever as the ship joins together. Should you leave and not return in time, there is a chance that none of us will survive.¡± ¡°But if she should leave and not return-¡± Started Airomem¡¯s father as Prometh cut him off. ¡°The Agrarians may not possess the most acute intelligence, but even they can sense the wrath a father will feel for his daughter. They know that if the Lear attack then they will have their flank exposed to the Aquarians, and they shall not risk it. And they know that with ten stun guns they will have a strong upper hand against the Aquarians, an edge they have been seeking for centuries. No, they will return Airomem, the motives are too great for them to consider otherwise.¡± Her father¡¯s face contorted, and Airomem turned away, looking outside the window to avoid his eyes. ¡°Leader or no leader, I cannot allow it,¡± He said, ¡°We will take the time to plan out a different alternative, as I cannot-¡± But then his voice was cut off, and the ground underneath Airomem lurched, nearly knocking her off her feet. Above them a voice spoke as she regained her balance. ¡°Systems rebooting,¡± said the voice, ¡°ship damage assessed. Reuniting the two halves of the ship and restoring airlock, approximately twenty four hours until complete.¡± When Airomem turned to face them again, her father¡¯s lips were pursed shut, and Prometh¡¯s eyes were lit by an inner fire. ¡°I¡¯m leaving,¡± She said once more, her fists clenched, ¡°And I¡¯ll come back. I always come back.¡± *** ¡°Come with me,¡± Her father said, three hours after he had stormed from her apartment, his face one of tired resolution, ¡°Before you leave, I wish to show you something. To give you my council.¡± She followed him, wordless, as he strode away, her footsteps in the shadow of his and her thoughts upon what he might have to say. They continued walking to the back of the ship, to the power room, and then to a small side alcove. One she had been to before, but that had not been used in hundreds of years. The room that held the suits. Dust fought to hide the gleaming of helmets as her father strode in front of them, waiting for her to take a seat at a chair towards the back of the room. He glanced backwards to where they were fastened to the wall, eleven in all, bright white with Oxygen tanks bulging from the back, and small utility belts clipped to the sides. Towering over him, their silence majestic, their presence reminiscent of a time long past. And one missing, the one Necti had taken long ago to the other end of the ship, which had never returned.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Then her father began to speak. ¡°These suits once allowed us to travel outsidethe ship,¡± He said and she nodded, knowing the lore well behind the equipment, ¡°I want you to consider their purpose, Airomem. They are like small ships in themselves- they keep the wearer safe. But the smallest of cracks in the glass, or the tiniest malfunctions, and the user enters extreme peril. Just as we have entered extreme peril.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± She said, trying to understand his point, ¡°Outside the ship, the vacuum forces would mean near instant death should they be given the chance.¡± ¡°Exactly, Airomem. The suit serves as a layer insulating against danger. But there are other dangers than exterior of the ship, other environments that cause peril. Environments such as the Agrarians, which you will soon enter.¡± He took a breath, and she saw resentment cross his face, before he continued. ¡°I have brought you here because when you walk among them, you must walk in a suit of your own. Notthese suits, but the suit of royalty. The suit of the Lear. If you show but the slightest sign of weakness, they will rip you apart faster than the exterior forces of the ship. So daughter, hold your chin high. Remember your heritage, and give them no chance to strike.¡± ¡°Of course, father,¡± She said, ¡°Just as you do, when they approach for battle.¡± ¡°Precisely. There is another reason I brought you here though, Airomem. One far more grave.¡± And from his pocket, he produced a key ring, and walked to the side of the room where a small cabinet was recessed into the wall. Three locks were on the outside of the cabinet, and he inserted different keys into each, unlocking them one a time. Then he pulled the door open, the metal over an inch thick, and reached inside to pull out a device the size of a drinking cup. He held it a half arms reach away, his hand gripped tight around its handle, and his eyes slightly widened. ¡°What is it?¡± Airomem asked, leaning forward, inspecting the bright yellow handle and dark red prongs that extended from the top, as well as a trigger that her father¡¯s index finger avoided with care. ¡°This,¡± Her father said, ¡°Is the most dangerous item on the ship- more dangerous than knives, or stun guns, or potentially even the reactor. Only two exist- this one, and its counterpart in the power room on the other side. For this is an Omni-Cutter, a device capable of shearing through nearly anymaterial on the ship. One accidental slice from this, and the ship itself could be breached. Back when it was used by those who wore the suits, only the most senior among them could remove it from its cabinet, and only for the greatest of emergencies and most dire of repairs.¡± ¡°But why are you telling me this? Do you want me to take it with me?¡± ¡°Absolutely not,¡± He said, and walked back to the cabinet, fastening the device inside once more, ¡°It¡¯s another lesson for you to consider. Despite its size, that device can be the end of us all. As you travel, Airomem, realize that even the smallest of your actions can bring death to the entire ship. Realize that youare an Omni-Cutter, that one mishap may very well be the Lear¡¯s last.¡± ¡°But even if the hull was breached by the Omni-Cutter,¡± Objected Airomem, ¡°The ship automatically shuts off the areas where pressure has dropped until it is restored, correct? So even if you wereto cut into the hull, would the ship not protect us?¡± ¡°It would, yes. But I fear you may not be so lucky, with the Agrarians. Our time is short, and even one potential pathway that is closed off could eliminate our odds of survival.¡± Then he walked forward, and placed his hands on his daughter¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I say this not to put a burden upon you, Airomem, nor to dissuade you. But rather, so you may know potential outcomes of your actions. That you may thinklike a Lear before acting. And that you may act as a chief would, as the chief you will one day become when my time is no more. So go, and go with my blessing. But go with the utmost caution.¡± Together, they left the room, her father casting one last look upon the suits. And he muttered under his breath, his words just audible to Airomem before following her. ¡°For though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.¡± Chapter 34: Connect The Lear military followed Airomem to the bottlenecked entry point then stopped as she crossed the border, saluting her back as she entered Agrarian lands. Four Agrarians waited for her at the end of the hallway, four that had stood there waiting since the deal had been made. Now they folded around her as an escort, encapsulating her in a bubble of foreign silence interrupted only by the shuffling of their bare feet on the metal floor. ¡°Touch me,¡± She barked before they enveloped her, her voice hard and her hands on the two stun guns at her belt, ¡°And I will ensure you feel the pain of the Lear. That I will go down fighting, and the lights above will burn you as they burned your ancestors.¡± But the guard¡¯s faces formed scowls instead of answers as they led her deeper into the ship. Deeper than anyone she had known, besides Prometh, had ever traveled. And as she walked, she remembered his parting words with her before he left her at the entry point, his eyes turning dark as he reacalled his experience as a prisoner among them. ¡°Show no fear, and give up no ground. They will do their best to unsettle you, and to pull you down to their level- resist both of these, and remember that you are Lear. Lear *royalty*, untouchable to them, a goddess among men. Let the idea that you are the same as them never enter their heads.¡± Then he took Airomem by the shoulders, and whispered. ¡°Stay safe, student. We can¡¯t afford to lose a mind like yours.¡± And remembering Prometh, she swallowed, keeping her chin high and her shoulders straight as the hallways began to reek with the stench of rotted flesh. Gouges dug into the walls and floor, scratches of knives and unrepaired dents of bodies thrown against metal in their final moments. The occasional red splattering marked the ceiling overhead, the dots elliptical in shape as they dried, their mark frozen forever in time. And bones collected in forgotten corners, piling up in tribute to the people they had once lived within.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The guards led her three to four lengths of the Lear¡¯s entire territory, crossing through fields filled with both stooped plants and people, dozens of sets of eyes following her and hands gripping shovels as she passed. Tongues flicked across lips as jeers sounded from those far enough away that their words could not be deciphered, their harsh tone making her imagination race. But then they turned, and the fields fell away, and they led Airomem into a large room with the same lashed together couch that she had seen carried by the crowd during the negotiations. Seated upon it was Sitient, his eyes upon her as she approached. And he raised a hand to his mouth- not his own hand, but one that had been removed from an arm, and took a bite out of one of the fingers with a crunch. They will do their best to unsettle you. Echoed Prometh¡¯s voice in her mind, followed by her fathers, If you show but the slightest sign of weakness, they will rip you apart faster than the exterior forces of the ship. So she met his eyes as he took a second bite, her irises like steel, and spoke. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± *** Like the Lear, the Agrarians had heard the voice in the ship, and they had seen the other half of the ship coming closer through the windows. Sitient¡¯s eyes had narrowed when Airomem explained her destination was the bridge, and demanded to accompany her for two reason- first, of curiosity. And second, that to reach the bridge they would have to transverse a small strip Aquarian territory. Sitient was able to negotiate safe passage through two promises, that the Aquarian leader Esuri would be permitted to accompany them, and that Sitient would provide an exorbitant amount of food to the Aquarians in the near future. Likely, he would turn on the deal once he had his hands on the stun guns, but it did not matter to Airomem. All that mattered was that she reached the bridge, and she initiated contact. Sandwiched between Sitient and Esuri, Airomem had waited for the airlocked door to open. She had prayed that whoever was on the other side would prove to be a powerful ally. And that perhaps, with each other¡¯s help, they may survive. End of Part 2 Chapter 35: Crossed Horatius ¡°I want her locked away, for what her people did to my brother!¡± Vaca¡¯s words hung in the air as the porters failed to move, and Nean bared his teeth. From my side, Airomem spoke three words in a challenge, punctuating each with a flash of blue light as defiance crossed her face. ¡°Then take me.¡± Vaca¡¯s mouth dropped open, and Nean turned to face the still porters. ¡°Do you hear her? She speaks openly against your new chief! She defies him to his face! Are you going to just stand there or are you going to act?¡± Their blank faces met his, and Tom spoke for them, his words slow and deep as they shuffled, their heads nodding in agreement. ¡°She fought, and she closed the door. You ran.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Shouted Nean, ¡°Cowards, all of you. I¡¯ll do what you are afraid to do!¡± Pulling out his knife, he approached Airomem, a full head taller than her and twice as wide. Her chin rose with each of his steps and he faltered, pausing a mere two feet away, his figure entirely eclipsing her in stature. ¡°Surrender,¡± He said, ¡°Or-¡± ¡°No, that is not what I came here to do.¡± She interrupted. ¡°Or I¡¯ll-¡± He continued, attempting to ignore her. ¡°I must warn you, this will not be pleasant.¡± She added.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Nean¡¯s speech became flustered as she refused to budge, and he extended the knife in the vague direction of her neck, his arm clumsy and hesitant as he spoke again. ¡°Then I must take you prisoner by force, in the name of-¡± The jab was fast, almost too fast to be seen, a blur of blue that crackled through the air as Airomem¡¯s stun gun connected with the underside of Nean¡¯s arm. With a jolt he pivoted, blown backwards as his muscles contracted and he uttered a sharp scream of surprise, slamming against the metal wall and sliding to the floor. ¡°You killed him!¡± Shouted Vaca as Nean started to drool, ¡°You-¡± ¡°I stunned him,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°And he deserved it. He will be back to normal in only a moment, but perhaps he will think twice next time he threatens me.¡± ¡°That he should,¡± I said, speaking over Vaca who had opened his mouth once more, ¡°As I said previously, the council will decide our next actions and appoint a new chief. And I¡¯m sure they will want to hear what she has to say regarding the other side of the ship, as well as how to defend against them. She saved our lives today, and likely the lives of our entire community. We should be grateful to her, not trying to imprison her. And the council will be even more grateful for her guidance.¡± ¡°Which I will be only too happy to give,¡± Spoke Airomem, ¡°For that is why I traveled here, risking my own life to make contact. Our time is short, and we must make all haste.¡± ¡°Our time until what?¡± Asked Vaca, and the porters leaned in as I held up a hand before Airomem could speak. Whatever secrets she carried, it would be best that they were not exposed to the ship¡¯s community by Nean and Vaca first. ¡°That is for the council to discuss. Now, the first action of the council is to meet, and to meet at once. Tom, free any members of the council that Segni held confined, and ensure they have been given a proper meal and a chance to wash. In one hour, we meet outside of the chief¡¯s old quarters.¡± Tom nodded, and started to lumber down the hallway away from the bridge with the other porters as Airomem¡¯s sharp voice rang out. ¡°No, not all of you! Half of you must stand guard- under no circumstances must you leave, no matter what anyone says.¡± ¡°Listen to her,¡± I said, pointing back to the doorway ¡°I will ensure that your meals are delivered here. Take Nean¡¯s knife as well, and pray you don¡¯t have to use it. No one should be able to cross that hallway in anything but a crawl, but be prepared in case they attempt it.¡± Then I turned to Vaca as I led Airomem away and Nean began to stir. ¡°One hour until the council meets. Show up this time.¡± Chapter 36: The Room ¡°Before anything else, take me to a window,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°Towards the back of the ship.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± I said, shaking the water from my shoes as ice continued to melt from the walls with the rising temperature, ¡°But first, how much trouble are we in? How big is this threat?¡± ¡°So long as the hallway is blocked, you have nothing to worry about,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°At least for now.¡± ¡°And are you the reason that the ship came back together? Did you do this?¡± I asked as we walked. ¡°Us? No, the ship came together on its own, just like it was supposed to after it was reprogrammed when the asteroid struck.¡± ¡°What do you mean, reprogrammed?¡± ¡°How- no, what exactly do you know about the ship?¡± She asked, stopping, ¡°How much history do you actually have recorded?¡± I smiled, and pushed my chest out. ¡°I¡¯m the most knowledgeable of anyone on the ship¡¯s history,¡± I said, ¡°What do you want to know?¡± ¡°You are the most knowledgeable?¡± She coughed, giving me a sideways look as we started walking again,¡°What¡¯s your plan for departure to new planet?¡± ¡°What exactly do you mean?¡± Airomem sighed, just as we rounded a corner and a window came into view, ¡°This is going to be difficult. Much of what you know is about to change, Horatius. Radically.¡± Then she walked over to the glass, and pressed her face against it, searching. She pulled one of the black rectangles from her belt, and gave off three quick blue flashes. Squinting past her, I saw three quick blue flashes respond from the other end of the ship, as well as a face peering back at her, the features difficult to make out in the distance.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Taking her hands, she formed several slow signs, exaggerating her movements and squinting at the person across the void, who was forming signs of their own. ¡°What- what are you doing?¡± I asked, as her fingernails clicked against the glass. ¡°Letting the other side know what happened.¡± She answered, her face in concentration. ¡°With your hands? You¡¯re speaking with your hands?¡± ¡°Well, yes, and no. I can¡¯t fully mimic human speech- there aren¡¯t enough signs for that, and we only use them in emergencies. But I can get the general message across. Words like *safe*, *past-danger*, and *attacked*, but nothing too complicated.¡± Then we started walking again, as I took care to bring her along more deserted hallways on the way to the chief¡¯s room at the very back of the ship, and I spoke up after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you just speak normally instead of with your hands?¡± ¡°Because sometimes, in the power room, it¡¯s too loud to talk.¡± ¡°The power room?¡± ¡°Yes, where- ah, never mind. We¡¯ll cover all that soon. All you need to know now is that I need to speak with your council, and that it is crucial that they listen to me. What is the current status of your side of the ship?¡± ¡°We¡¯re limping, but making it. As Segni said, he was our leader ¨C and recent events have hit us hard.¡± ¡°Events like what?¡± ¡°The ship coming together was the worst- we weren¡¯t prepared for the lurch, and it claimed many of our lives as well as causing a number injuries. We would have been able to handle them, but we¡¯re low on supplies which complicated matters further.¡± ¡°The lurch must have hit you harder than us, or at least at a worse angle. And supplies? As in food?¡± ¡°Yes- we¡¯re low on food, and more importantly right now, medicine. The food should be back up soon- after learning how to alter the lights in the control room where we just were, I¡¯ve been able to enhance our growing conditions to be much stronger than the past.¡± I said, eager to prove to her that there were parts of the ship that our side knew more about than her own, ¡°That action, combined with more frugal stewardship and rationing, should place us into a much more sustainable position. Speaking of food, what, ah, exactly do you eat?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not like them,¡± Said Airomem, gesturing backwards and guessing my thoughts, ¡°Our food comes from the earth, from plants. These paths that we walk, they feel familiar- they¡¯re mirrors of our own, on our end of the ship. We just entered what would be my tribe¡¯s territory on the other end. The rest belongs to the Agrarians and Aquarians.¡± After a few more minutes walking, we reached the chief¡¯s room where Elliot was already waiting outside, and the door was open for entry. And Airomem stopped in her tracks, her eyes wide in realization and her hand clutched around my forearm, pulling me away. ¡°I¡¯m not going in there,¡± She hissed, and started backing away. ¡°And neither should you, ifyou value your life.¡± Chapter 37: Poison ¡°Elliot, this is Airomem,¡± I said, casting a confused look at her as she took another step back, ¡°Where is the rest of the council?¡± ¡°Inside and waiting. A pleasure to meet you, Airomem,¡± He said, ¡°Don¡¯t be scared, I¡¯m not going to hurt you.¡± ¡°They¡¯re inside there?¡± Airomem cried, her voice alarmed, ¡°Get them out, now! Quickly!¡± ¡°Look, I head about what happened on the bridge,¡± He said, ¡°But we¡¯re not like that here. There is nothing to be afraid of- no one here will hurt you. There is no danger. Now, we are all very eager to hear your story, and I assure you that you will be safe when telling it.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t,¡± She said, ¡°Not in there.¡± ¡°Airomem, I saw you take on two grown men at once,¡± I said, as Hannah waved from within the chief¡¯s quarters, ¡°Trust me, should you want to fight us, we would lose quickly. We know nothing about fighting.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t know how to explain this,¡± She said, her foot tapping against the floor anxiously, ¡°Open the door a bit wider so I can see in. Oh God, what have you done? Where are the warning signs? The monitors? You must have removed them ages ago. You see, on my end of the ship we have a hallway just like this, and a room just like yours on the end. See, look inside- do you see that red C plastered to the door at the end?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Said Elliot, starting to grow impatient, ¡°C, for Chief since this is his quarters. And we¡¯ve tried to open that door, but had little success. It¡¯s stuck shut.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°You tried to open it!?¡± Airomem shouted, ¡°That¡¯s insanity! That C doesn¡¯t stand for chief- it was once part of a larger sign, one that has been scraped away. That door once said nuclear- as a warning to what lies within. You don¡¯t understand, it¡¯s poison, poison of the worst type. That door blocks most of it, but some still leaks through to where you stand now.¡± ¡°This is ridiculous,¡± Said Elliot, ¡°Every chief we have had has lived here contentedly, for as long as I can remember. If it¡¯s poisonous, then why is the heating so convenient, making a comfortable gradient from the back to the front? That¡¯s one of the reasons it¡¯s so habitable, obviously that was planned for maximum comfort.¡± ¡°The heating is part of the problem!¡± She exclaimed, ¡°The heating comes fromthe poison, from radiation! Look, have your chiefs ever exhibited any abnormalities? Any growths, or discolorations on their skin?¡± ¡°Why, of course,¡± Said Disci, the head doctor, appearing behind Elliot, ¡°Such is God¡¯s mark upon a successful leader.¡± ¡°No! That¡¯s wrong, so wrong. Did they die soon after? Each time they were blessed, did it last long?¡± ¡°Well, no,¡± Said Disci, his face scrunching together, ¡°The Lord only blesses hose near the end of their life on the ship.¡± ¡°You have it backwards,¡± She said, ¡°Those growths are why they died. They¡¯re signs of the poison, signs of death coming. Regardless, I refuse to come any closer. I¡¯m something of an expert on this poison, and I know what it can do to people. We need to find another spot for our meeting, and you should board this door shut- it should have enough shielding to contain the poison. I can explain everything to you- the poison, the other side of the ship, everything- but not here. Those are my terms.¡± Elliot paused, his face flickering between disbelief and uncertainty, and I spoke. ¡°Elliot, do you really believe that a chief marked by God would have allowed Segni to become our leader?¡± And as he mulled over the question, his face turned closer to uncertainty, and Disci took a quick step away from the room. ¡°To our normal meeting room, then,¡± He said, rubbing his wrist, ¡°Despite the memories of what last happened there.¡± Chapter 38: Sparks Airomem finished speaking as she completed a hand drawing on the board on the wall behind her, depicting the ship before and after the Hand of God. The other members of the room squinted at it, trying to absorb all the information that had come their way, except for Vaca who was staring into the speckled stars outside the window. Hannah, Elliot, Disci, and myself sat on the same side of the table as him, accompanied by Ruth, who had refused to leave her parents side since their imprisonment. But despite her young age, even she had been far more attentive than Vaca, her eyes following Airomem with each description and her forehead wrinkling at some of the more difficult parts of the story. We¡¯d decided to keep Vaca on the council, not for his opinion, but to keep him from stirring trouble in other areas of the ship. There were those who would follow him, those that still believed that he was the rightful chief. And though they were no longer the vast majority, keeping him in leadership kept them satisfied, and acted as a safegaurd against mutiny. ¡°So let me get this straight,¡± Said Elliot, gesturing at the drawings, ¡°Prior to the Hand of God, the ship was one piece. We knew that, and we can agree upon that. Then, the Hand of God struck, and the ship broke apart, and we lost much of what the ship used to be able to do. We also knew that. ¡°But what you¡¯re stating is that we originally lost much more- that we were in total darkness, that we lost all the heat, and that there were no heavy rooms but instead extremely light rooms. All because there is a room full of poison that gave us these things, which was damaged in the Hand of God, and now can kill us instead. How can something kill us and give us life at the same time?¡± ¡°Think of it this way,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°When you plant seeds, you do not eat the dirt and compost that you plant them in- that¡¯s poisonous to you. However, your food comes from that soil. The power room, the poison room, is like that.¡± ¡°That follows,¡± I said, remembering how I had learned about plants drawing pieces of soil into themselves to grow, ¡°But what about how your side keeps us alive now?¡± ¡°After the asteroid,¡± she said, tapping her foot, ¡°We were able to give you back some of the capabilities of the ship through wires. Without them, you would have died long ago. And we¡¯ve taken special care to keep these wires alive, to keep you alive.¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but this all sounds a bit ridiculous,¡± Said Elliott, spreading his hands and taking a step back from the table, ¡°We¡¯ve just met you, and now you claim that you¡¯ve been caring for us our entire life, in addition to our ancestors. And after what happened to Segni, I can¡¯t help but be suspicious, even if you story does hold some merit.¡± ¡°I thought you might say that,¡± Said Airomem, and pulled out the black rectangle from her belt and flicking it on as Elliot flinched back, ¡°See this? This is called a stun gun. This blue light here, this spark, is what keeps you and the ship alive inside the wires. It¡¯s complicated, but you¡¯re going to have to believe me.¡± ¡°Can you open up some of the wires and show us then?¡± Asked Disci, as we leaned forward. ¡°No, it¡¯s very dangerous. More dangerous than the stun gun itself without the proper tools.¡± She said, then saw Elliot¡¯s suspicion returning, ¡°But wait, I can do something!¡± Then she walked over to the window and gave three blue flashes, and her hands started weaving signals again as Elliot cocked his head. ¡°She can talk with her hands,¡± I explained to the group, ¡°The other side of the ship is concerned for her safety, so they are constantly watching for her to appear in the windows and receive messages from her. From what I understand, at this distance they can only convey simple messages and at a slower rate than typical.¡± ¡°Wow!¡± Said Ruth from the table, ¡°Can you teach me that? I want to learn to talk to them too!¡± ¡°Of course, if we have time, though only a few on the other end of the ship know how to converse,¡± Said Airomem, ¡°Now, is everyone ready?¡± ¡°Ready for what?¡± I asked, at the same time as Elliot. ¡°For proof that we¡¯ve kept you alive.¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t think you have any way to adequately prove it.¡± Said Elliott, waving a dismissive hand,¡°There¡¯s no way-¡± But then, Airomem flicked her wrist to give one final signal, and Elliot¡¯s mouth shut with an audible clicking of teeth. Above, the lights shut off, pitching the room into instant darkness. Vaca shrieked as the legs of his chair left the floor and he started floating upwards, along with the rest of us, each pinwheeling our arms to keep from turning upside down. To my right, the vent that had been spewing warm air suddenly ceased to work, cutting its breeze as suddenly as the lights had been extinguished. Then, a two second after it began, it was over. The lights snapped back on as we clattered to the ground, the chairs nearly rocking over and air flowing through the vent again. Disci¡¯s face had turned a pale white, Vaca¡¯s eyes were wide with accusation, and Ruth¡¯s expression was filled with wonder. Elliot¡¯s hands shook as he smoothed his shirt, and Airomem cleared her throat as she waited for him to speak. ¡°Yes, erm, well, that will do Airomem,¡± He said, his voice slightly higher than usual, ¡°You¡¯ve made your point. Go on.¡± Chapter 39: Tablescraps Rations were lower than ever the next week, the sound of forks scraping on plates becoming commons during meal times to account for every last crumb. And though we worked in the fields with the best possible techniques, our backs bent over the soil for long hours of the day, plants take longer to grow than stomachs take to shrink. Each night after meeting with the council, Airomem spent time in her own personal apartment that the council set aside for her, often accompanied by Ruth who she was teaching how to speak with her hands. And each day, Airomem taught us about the other side of the ship- everything from their government structure, to what we now knew as the power room, to the methods of bottleneck defense, which we immediately taught to the porters guarding the bridge. Each day she communicated with those on the other side of the ship, asking how many more days left until arrival, and getting little in the way of answers. ¡°The problem is, they don¡¯t know,¡± She told the council, after one week on our side, ¡°We should be approaching the planet soon, and we should be landing soon, but it could be a month away or six months away. We don¡¯t know how much time Necti left us to be prepared, and we can only assume that he erred on the side of caution and gave us more time than we needed. But what does matter is that, once we are close, we are able to evacuate the ship.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t go over well,¡± I said, ¡°It¡¯s easy to speak with us about leaving, now that we know what you know. But the rest won¡¯t want to listen.¡± ¡°If they don¡¯t, they¡¯ll die ¨C in day or weeks but they will still die. We have to make sure that when the time comes, they are ready to move, and move quickly. We need to tell them now.¡± Elliot raised a hand in caution, and spoke, the wrinkles that had started to form on the edges of his eyes over the last few weeks becoming more pronounced.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Remember, the majority of them do not understand what is going to happen. But they do understand that their chief was killed, and he was killed by people closely interlinked with you, Airomem. And they do understand being hungry. We¡¯ll have to break this news softly, and in increments- over time, they will accept it.¡± ¡°But it could happen at any time!¡± Protested Airomem, ¡°And if they are not ready to evacuate, we might as well have put a knife through their hearts!¡± ¡°Airomem, we are not like the Lear,¡± I said, frowning, ¡°Despite how much I wish we were. There is much that your kind understands that ours does not. Trust me, teaching them the simplest of changes took years and gratuitous reinforcement. If the day comes too soon, then we can handle it to the best of our ability- if the ship truly is a danger to anyone who remains on it, then we are justified in giving them a little push if necessary.¡± ¡°What, what exactly do you mean by that?¡± Asked Elliot, and he cast a searching eye over me as I fidgeted. He still did not know about the power room, nor my antics in pushing the people into adopting my agriculture methods. But Elliott was too sharp to stay in the dark for too long, and I would need to inform him soon. Perhaps when everyone was not so hungry. ¡°Like Airomem could shut off the power again,¡± I said quickly, ¡°And if they think that the ship is too dangerous, than they¡¯ll have to follow us out of fear.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you think that they should get to decide if they stay or leave?¡± Said Hannah, raising an eyebrow. ¡°If they decide wrong, then they die,¡± I responded, ¡°Should we allow that to happen instead?¡± ¡°But what if we decide wrong?¡± She objected, ¡°What if we evacuate, and it kills us? As much as I would like to place my faith in this plan, you must admit that it is an unprecedented risk.¡± ¡°Even if we do give them the choice,¡± I said, ¡°There are many who would follow us, many whose eyes have been opened over the last few months. There are likely just as many who would remain entrenched in their ways, but we could at least save half.¡± ¡°Regardless, as of now this conversation stays between us for now, the members of the council,¡± Said Elliot, ¡°We should make plans for each possible scenario so we are prepared.¡± We nodded in return as he walked to board, and started to draw out possible plans. And even Vaca nodded, as he continued to stare out the window. Chapter 40: Changes Horatius I¡¯d been accompanying Airomem most nights after her meetings with the council, bringing additional questions and jotting notes down as she ate her sparse dinner. Each day she seemed to bring a new surprise, a new alien trait that made my eyebrows shoot up and my thoughts spin. It was so interested because I was a historian, I told myself. It was my duty to learn not only about my side of the ship and our past, but theirs as well. These were stories that I had never been able to access, ones that had been sealed away for hundreds of years by the void of space, pages unread for generations. Ones that to them were old, but to me were brand new. But there were other reasons too- how Airomem walked so confidently, how she seemed to demand attention from everyone in the room. How her face had been the first I had recognized on the other side of the ship, and now was speaking to me, something that just weeks before I would have declared impossible. And how I yearned for a way to impress her as well, since her side of the ship seemed far more extraordinary that my own. ¡°You said you knew about the control room before I took you there,¡± I asked as she finished her rations, a disappointed look on her face as she set the plate on the floor, ¡°How exactly?¡± ¡°It was mentioned in our stories,¡± She said, ¡°We remembered a time when the ship would do much of the work for us, and the engineering in the power room was such that many of our tasks could be accomplished from a distance. And since we always had the ability to change the power on other areas of the ship, it took little imagination to understand that perhaps we used to be able to change much more than that, or to change it more precisely.¡± ¡°And the power on your side of the ship, did you ever try to enhance farming with it?¡± ¡°Considering that the Agrarians did the farming, it was not in our interest,¡± She said, ¡°If we helped them too much, then they would grow too strong and become a threat. Conversely, if we starved them off, then we would starve our own food supply. And even if we were allies with them, we wouldn¡¯t know where to begin in terms of the science.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re saying that you¡¯ve never actually farmed?¡± I asked, realizing there was something I *did* know more about than her, ¡°Would you be interested in learning?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± She said, ¡°Trying on our end of the ship would be suicide due to the Agrarian¡¯s grasp on the land. But learning how to do it can only prove useful- whether in fighting our enemies, or upon arrival on the new planet, where I suspect we will have to do it ourselves anyways.¡± ¡°I can teach you then!¡± I said, beaming, ¡°Tomorrow, just after our meetings, I¡¯ll take you to the fields. It¡¯s simple, really, especially since you already seem to understand the conceptual parts.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± She said, as Ruth came to the door, and paused in the frame. The she put her hands in front of her, her tongue tucked around the corner of her mouth, and started forming symbols as Airomem laughed.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Yes, you can come in,¡± Airomem said, and and made another sign, after which Ruth looked to me and laughed. ¡°What did she say?¡± I asked, as I stood up to leave. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a secret Horatious,¡± Said Ruth, wagging a tiny finger and laughing, ¡°You¡¯ll have to learn sign language to find out!¡± The next day, Airomem joined me in the fields, and I taught her the basics of how to plant seeds, and of the varieties, their preferred soils, and light optimizations. Her presence on our end of the ship was well known by now, through an announcement by Elliot who had temporarily taken control as chief by vote of the council, at least until the ship was no longer in crisis. He¡¯d also made the announcement of Segni¡¯s death, assuring the crowd that he would, in fact, be remembered. ¡°But what about her!¡± Skip had shouted from the back of the crowd, as others murmured, ¡°Segni was killed by her people, and you¡¯re going to let her walk among us? As if she were one of our own?¡± ¡°Aeromem¡¯s people are enemies of those who killed Segni,¡± Elliot had responded, keeping his voice level, ¡°And they have been giving us crucial information about how to keep them from harming anyone else. In addition, she explained how the ship created an extremely heavy room on the bridge for our protection as its systems came online. She is an incredible resource, and will do far more good than harm.¡± I coughed as Elliott had mentioned the ship creating the heavy room, turning away slightly to avoid the eyes of the crowd. I¡¯d instructed Airomem to tell that lie, informing her that the control room was a long kept secret, one that it was best if the remainder of the population did not know about. All it would take was one twist of the wrong knob, and there could be another Great Thirst. This close to our arrival, another catastrophe might prove to be the last event we would experience. I sighed in relief that the crowd¡¯s perception of Segni had been so negative at the time of his death- they still felt the hunger attributed to his feasts, and many fought infections from lack of medicine, and others had family members that had perished or were close to perishing from the ship coming together. Segni¡¯s death was a distant tragedy compared to their own, washed away in a river of sorrow that hoped for new beginnings and redemption. There were some who cried at his funeral, and others who paid their respects, but the general shock smoothed over any sense of retaliation. The death of a chief had happened before, and was eclipsed by the shock of the other recent events. In times of crisis, our people had always learned to listen to tradition and to orders. Now Elliott, as the new temporary chief, was able to provide both of those. The majority people were willing to overlook the events that had lead up to Segni¡¯s death, and to focus upon the future. The majority, but not all. We planned on an assembly in the next week as Elliott met with each of the local leaders to discuss his plan, instructing them to keep the details extremely confidential. He spoke with Tom, who would move the porters to action. He reached out to the eldest cooks and doctors, relaying on to them that he would need their support to ensure survival. And he asked me to start convincing the gardens, to bring Airomem out there under the pretext of teaching her our ways, but to win over as many people as possible into trusting her. To acclimate them to her presence, to convince them that there was no danger. Only then would we cascade the evacuation plan, speaking through localized leaders to win over the whole. By Elliot¡¯s estimations, that would gather support from over three quarters of the ship. And the last quarter, while we could prod and goad them to follow, we could not force. That last quarter, if could we not convince them to follow us, if could we not convince them to change, then we also could not convince to live. Chapter 41: Shifting I¡¯d been teaching Airomem in the gardens for a week when it had happened. She¡¯d been among my quickest learners, due to her mind being a blank slate and her focus upon science, but even for her the techniques were not instant. And in that week, Airomem had become acquainted with the other gardeners- there were children who crept in close to watch her, or to ask her questions about the other side of the ship. And there were the early adopters of my gardening ventures who ventured forward to offer a handshake and exchange names, or to offer their assistance in accommodating her. A group of people gathered around her each morning before work began, a group that she told stories. She spoke of Necti, and how he was among their ancestors. And she mentioned how our and her people had once been the same, and perhaps they could be the same one day again. And together, stomachs would be full, thirst would be quenched, and the children would prosper. Heads nodded at her words, at the idea of a unified ship, of returning to the former glory of what weonce were- though Airomem neglected to mention that we would be doing so off the ship itself. They watched her as she taught Ruth sign language, even sending some of their own children to learn as well. They nodded in approval when, during mealtimes, she would wait until last to be served. And they marveled at her uncanny ability to remember their names, as well as where they worked in the gardens- but what they didn¡¯t know about were the long hours she and I spent going over them together, rehearsing so she could regurgitate them them next morning. ¡°What do you think is going to happen once we arrive,¡± I said once as we sat back in her apartment after learning a new set of names, ¡°What do you think it will be like?¡± ¡°Well, if I was in charge of building the ship,¡± She said, ¡°I would try to make it as similar as possible, so that when we arrived, the shock would be minimized.¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± I said, thinking back to some of the oldest stories I knew, ¡°But I think some things will be different. Like sheep, I wonder if there will be sheep.¡± ¡°Sheep?¡± Airomem asked, an eyebrow raised, ¡°What are those?¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°I, well, I don¡¯t really know. Something from the stories, but they showed up quite a bit.¡± I responded, drumming my fingers on the table. ¡°How are you going to know when you find them then?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think that far,¡± I said, ¡°Not sure if I wouldrecognize them even if they are there. Then again, we didn¡¯t know who your people were either, besides the stories, and I think I understand them pretty well now.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m still working on yours,¡± she said letting her gaze rest on me, ¡°But for now, let¡¯s continue learning names. If we¡¯re ever going to win their support, they¡¯ll have to like me first.¡± Those who agreed with Airomem largely consisted of the people who had trusted me in the past. There were others who slinked to the other end of the garden when she passed, or who cast dark looks in our direction. And there was Skip, who never permitted himself to be within fifty yards of her. Until Airomem and I worked through lunch, our hunger forgotten in the lesson, and those who were amicable to us already had departed for the midday break. And when I looked up from planting a row of new seeds, I saw Skip facing me with a quarter of the gardeners at his back. Behind them there were others, others who I had seen scowling in the hallways, or huddled around Nean¡¯s table at dinner. ¡°We¡¯ve had enough!¡± shouted Skip from the spearhead of the group, now only fifteen feet away and still approaching, ¡°We want her out,*now*. It¡¯s an insult to Segni and to us, and she comes trying to change our ways far more than you ever did Horatius.¡± ¡°There is no reason to overreact!¡± I replied as Skip stopped only inches from me, his face livid. From beside me, Airomem¡¯s hand instinctively went to her belt as Skip pushed forward. ¡°Overreact?!¡± Shouted Skip, ¡°While you¡¯ve been leading this intruder around our ship, and while you¡¯ve been meeting with the council, what have we been doing? We¡¯ve been here gardening, praying that there will be enough food to support us! And what¡¯s more, what¡¯s more is what I heard what the councilare planning for us! The treason!¡± ¡°Skip,¡± I said, ¡°Calm down. Whatever your issue is, feel free to take it up before the council and it will be addressed. As far as food goes, we should have a surplus, it¡¯s just going to take time. You know as well as I do that it is no instant. And Aeromem has done nothing but help us.¡± ¡°The council? The council? I would take it up with the council, if they weren¡¯t brainwashed by her! Did you hear what they are saying now, what their plans are?¡± He was shouting to the mob behind him now, their attention acute he spat the next few words. ¡°Their plans are to rip you away from your homes! To move us all somewhere else, somewhere we might die just as Segni did. And how do I know this? Because Vaca himself told me, Vaca the true chief!¡± Chapter 42: ¡°Hold on-¡± I said, putting up a hand, but Skip was shouting again, enough spittle flying from his mouth to water the garden. Beside him, another gardener picked up a shovel, sinking the blade deep into the earth and leaning forward against the handle. ¡°Ever since you¡¯ve been born Horatius, ever since that first day you joined my class, it¡¯s been nothing but disaster after disaster! And now we¡¯re in a worse position than ever, with you planning to make things even worse!¡± ¡°Make things worse? I savedyou! I showed you how to plant more efficiently, and I got us through Segni¡¯s feasts!¡± ¡°You would slander him before his body has even gotten cold, you would attempt to place the blame upon him! I¡¯ve half a mind that you somehow brought the ship together to do him in too! That you are responsible for her.¡± He raised a finger like a knife, its quivering tip aimed at Airomem, as the glares of those behind him matched its violence. ¡°Impossible!¡± Countered Aeromem waving a dismissive hand as the crowd flinched back, ¡°That was controlled by the ship¡¯s systems which are inaccessible to us. It¡¯s not like altering the lights in here to enhance growth.¡± For a moment, all was silent as the muscles in my back tightened and blood flushed to my ears. Skip¡¯s eyes widened as his breath came out in a hiss, and Airomem¡¯s hands flew back to her belt as her face flooded with realization. ¡°Altered the lights to enhance growth,¡± Whispered Skip, turning a slow circle to where dead stocks still piled around from where they had been burnt, ¡°Ever since you arrived, Horatius, you¡¯ve altered our ways, luring us in with false promises. And each time, our crops died. To think now that you intended to kill them entirely, to kill usentirely.¡± He shook, his face as red as Segni¡¯s strawberries, his gaze turning upwards to where the steady glow of the lights shone overhead, then falling back towards me like a hammer. ¡°Treason!¡± He shouted, ¡°Treason! We hunger not from our own mistakes, but because of you Horatius! I knew it, all this time, I knew it!¡± He brandished a shovel in his hand, his clenched nuckles white as shock crossed the other faces.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Back away!¡± Commanded Airomem as the crowd began to push forward, spurred forward by their stomachs, their voices joining Skip in shouting. ¡°Away!¡± Repeated Airomem, and she flashed the blue lights as the crowd winced. But they continued to move forward, their faces reddened with anger and their footsteps spurred forward by Skip. ¡°She darespull a weapon on us! She daresthreaten us!¡± ¡°Skip!¡± I shouted as Airomem and I retreated, quickly backpedaling through the soil, ¡°Skip, you are making a huge mistake! A bigger one that this ship has ever seen, one the council will surely punish.¡± ¡°No, you already made a huge mistake!¡± He retorted, kicking a clod of dirt so it exploded on my chest, ¡°I don¡¯t give a damn about the council. It¡¯s time for the true chief to take charge! For Vaca!¡± Behind him, the mob cheered, raising their gardening tools into the air. ¡°Horatius,¡± Hissed Airomem, ¡°We need to get out of here. Now.¡± ¡°No!¡± I countered, planting my feet and squaring my shoulders as Skip¡¯s chest pressed close to mine, pieces of earth still imprinted in my shirt, ¡°No! I¡¯m done with hearing this! Vaca and Segni only caused trouble! It¡¯s their fault that we are in this situation, and I did what was necessary to save the ship.¡± ¡°Because killing our crops, and killing our chief, and killing our hope was the solution? Why can¡¯t you just do things the right way?¡± A deranged smile crossing his lips, his words now spurred forward by an incredulous laughter. ¡°Because that¡¯s the *idiotic* way, not the right way!¡± I shouted, as Skip popped his palm on my right shoulder to push me back, and Airomem¡¯s stun guns buzzed louder. Blood rushed to my face and I raised my own fists, stepping forward to return the blow, oblivious to the crowd that pressed forward and Airomem pulling against my elbow. And even more oblivious to Nean, who had snuck behind me in the heat of the argument from the hallways beyond the garden. And who cracked the handle of a spare shovel across the top of my head so hard that white light flashed and my knees buckled. White was followed by blue as I tumbled, landing face up in the dirt while Aeromem¡¯s twin stun guns dashed in ellipses above me, mingling with the stunned stars that filled my vision. I saw Nean reach back to strike again and instead receive a prompt jab to the neck, his eyelids shooting upwards while his body crumpled downwards. Skip followed shortly, a stun gun catching him under the chin as Airomem spun and the tips of her hair whipped against his shocked face. The edges of my vision closed in as I saw a shovel blade thrown from within the crowd connect with her forearm, causing one of the stun guns to go flying, and accompanied with an angry cry. Then as darkness took me, the single blue streak danced with renewed vigor, and I heard more thumps hitting the ground until sounds too dissolved into nothingness. Chapter 43 Hi Everyone! Thanks for following along. The Bridge has been published to Amazona and you can find it here: https://www.royalroad.com/amazon/B0711C45FC Yesterday it reached Bestseller Status ">Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. You can still follow along online for free, but it will be posted to my blog at https://www.leonardpetracci.com/the-bridge There are about 10 more chapters there than on royal road right now. In addition, you can find it on the top sicnece fiction section of wattpad. Thanks again, and I hope you read the rest! Leo