《Prisoners of Sol》


 Chapter 1

    The edge of the universe wasn¡¯t that far from us. To be exact, it was 4.3 billion miles away from Earth.


    A smidgeon past Pluto and mankind¡¯s exploration ships¡ªfrom our earliest probes onward¡ªran into some kind of invisible barrier. A forcefield at exactly that distance could be found in every direction we flew. That nonsensical realization sparked quite the uproar in the scientific community. Was everything that we¡¯d witnessed with our deep-space telescopes was some kind of mirage? Perhaps our entire reality was confirmed to be a simulation, unable to render past this set point.


    Never before had we had such a clear opportunity to define reality, as we understood it. Humanity galvanized behind the idea of understanding it¡ªand learning how to escape from the box we found ourselves in. We were prisoners of Sol. It was stubbornness that had militaries and scientific agencies throwing ships at the wall, time and again. The endeavors proved useless, yet for centuries, we¡¯d hurled ship after ship at the problem. It had propelled the space industry to new heights, as we leapfrogged bases to launch from on Pluto and harnessed sleek designs. We poured more energy into the fusion cores of our ships, in the hopes that one would pierce the veil. Brute force at its finest.


    We were searching for anything that might work, guessing that there might be a needle in the massive haystack. The barrier proved entirely uncrossable, like a white hole that expelled matter faster than the speed of light at the event horizon. That theory, with our limited understanding, suggested that it might have a tunnel to another dimension somewhere; an opposite plain of relativity. Eight months ago, a ship had gone through the fabled outer limit, not to return. We hurled another drone through at those exact coordinates, to see if the results were replicable¡ªand it too vanished.


    ¡°The world is watching,¡± I remarked, checking that the harness was secure over my North American Space Force uniform. ¡°The first manned flight through The Gap. You and me, Sofia.¡±


    My copilot cleared her throat to hide the nerves. ¡°Took the ESU long enough to approve our mission, with all their tests. We have no clue where the hell we¡¯re gonna end up, or if we¡¯re ever coming back. No one in their right mind would volunteer for a mission like that, would they?¡±


    ¡°The possibilities of what we can find are endless! No human has ever seen what lies beyond. The fundamental question of our time is why we¡¯re here. This perimeter, all that we see¡­a reflection of ¡®reality¡¯ that¡¯s a little too perfect. Astrophysicists like Novikov herself think someone put us here, in a cage. Don¡¯t you want to know why?¡±


    Sofia leaned back in the seat, staring at the deceptively empty space outside the windshield. ¡°What if we¡¯re breaking out of the Garden of Eden, Preston? Maybe someone gave us a little slice of paradise here. Think how perfect Earth is, down to the exact damn proportions between the moon and the sun for eclipses!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we need to make it out. A spoonfed paradise will never be real. Knowledge of the truth: it¡¯s in our blood to pursue it. What if it¡¯s all a test of some higher being to see what we¡¯ll do? I¡¯m ready to see the grand design.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awfully religious coming from you, soldier boy. The prospect of our imminent deaths prompting you to make amends with the G-man?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not going to die. We¡¯re going to make it through. To be clear, I didn¡¯t say anything about gods. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.¡±


    ¡°Shit, if you listened to us talk, nobody¡¯d think I was the scientist. Godspeed, my friend. It¡¯s been an honor.¡±


    Sofia¡¯s fatalist rhetoric wouldn¡¯t instill confidence in anyone, yet I didn¡¯t avert the course on the ship¡¯s computer. Our solar sails stretched proudly behind us, before detaching as we reached the final thousand miles. We were traveling at a million miles an hour toward what could be a one-way death slide. My stomach twisted into knots, feeling my heartbeat pounding in the thick veins of my neck. It was difficult to breathe, which left beeping sounds on my wrist monitor¡ªmy blood oxygen was dropping, despite the perfectly maintained atmosphere. What if this vessel broke apart, and we were¡­sucked into the vacuum? I wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯d have time to hurt if we were spaghettified in a black hole.


    Fuck, fuck, fuck. My hands gripped around the armrest, and I noticed Sofia averting her eyes. I thought about the years of training in simulated scenarios, from turbulent flight simulators to pretending to be marooned on a foreign world. My dad wanted me to be a lawyer, but I had to be a ¡°soldiernaut.¡± Living life on the edge.


    The barrier was mapped out on every astral map, so I knew the exact moment our spacecraft¡¯s nose cleared the threshold. The speed on the dashboard climbed exponentially in a second, and the seat suddenly hummed with a teeth-rattling energy signature. The location data blinked out within a second, unable to triangulate its position using the field of the stars. The windshield looked like we were inside the sun, like a roaring hot jet of plasma had swallowed us.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    The artificial gravity shifted in an instant, and I felt as light as a feather; the instruments said it hadn¡¯t changed from its equilibrium. My organs felt like they were¡­hypercharged within my body. Warning lights flashed at us, and alarms blared in a cacophony. My fingers tightened around the armrest, which ripped off beneath my touch. I¡¯d¡­I¡¯d only gripped it.


    A breath brought in way too much air, and made my lungs feel like they were bursting. I knew primarily that I had to let it out, and screamed in sheer terror. I could hear an undignified howl from Sofia, as the torturous traversal remained unending. My blood was lighter fluid within my veins; humans didn¡¯t belong here. The world tunneled down to a single point, a kaleidoscope that didn¡¯t make sense¡ªbefore the peaceful stars returned.


    I leaned forward, staring dumbfounded at the armrest in my hand, before tentatively sucking in a tiny gasp. ¡°We¡­we made it. You alright? Where the fuck are we?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh¡­Pluto Station, come in,¡± Sofia tried over the radio, to the crackling sound of silence. ¡°We made it through The Gap, do you copy? Over.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯re going to answer. I told you we¡¯d see the other side!¡± I squinted at the instrument panel, while the harness continued to dig tighter; my eyes widened as I saw the number on the speedometer seemed to be sprouting zeroes. ¡°What the fuck? We¡¯re not slowing down. A billion¡­wait, that¡¯s a trillion¡­no, that¡¯s faster than the speed of light. And it¡¯s still trying to go higher? That¡¯s bullshit. That makes no sense!¡±


    ¡°Light itself would be bending. Our ship should be breaking apart.¡±


    I tried to turn the ship to see if the controls were responsive at all, but instead, made us spin in dizzying circles. ¡°Oh my¡ª¡±


    The contents of my freeze-dried astronaut food found their way onto the floor, as my head screamed. It was difficult to think with the acrid taste of puke in my mouth. I flailed out with a desperate hand to slam on the back thrusters, though I didn¡¯t know how our measly engines could counter whatever the hell was happening. The lurch was immediate and jarring. The pressure relaxed enough that I could tap the ¡°brake,¡± where the computer was intended to cancel out the forces to zero. Something must¡¯ve gone wrong with those functions, because our momentum swung just as sharply in reverse.


    Our spaceship was careening and tumbling through space out of control. We were going to die; every mechanism had gone haywire! I found myself screaming my head off once more, the terror of a sensory nightmare engulfing me. The engines blew out from the swing of extreme forces and the stresses on the metal, leaving us only the emergency power. I struggled to open my eyes, and noticed we were hurtling through a field of asteroids¡­according to the struggling terrain scanner. Those might¡¯ve been millions of miles apart, but with how fast we were going¡­


    I poured the auxiliary power in the opposite direction we were traveling, by some miracle bringing it down to a few hundred miles an hour. That was when I saw the rock, whiskers in front of us. Steering was out, and there was a mere second before we slammed into it. That the vessel was designed for crashing into the Sol system barrier might¡¯ve been our saving grace. The asteroid neutralized our forward momentum, as we skidded through the silvery soil.


    ¡°What the fuck just happened?¡± I screeched. ¡°You¡¯re the scientist here. You tell me.¡±


    Sofia¡¯s eyes were wide. ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know! This violates every law of physics humanity has ever known. That portal gave us magic horsepower, I guess, ¡®cause that¡¯s the best explanation I can give you!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not how portals work.¡±


    ¡°Well clearly, this one does! We have to get out of here.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Fat chance of that. Look around. We¡¯re crashed on an asteroid. Our engines are burned out, and our boat isn¡¯t flightworthy if we somehow got it working. Fix those two problems and we can¡¯t tap our fuel jets without straight-up violating causality.¡±


    ¡°Then we call for help. Turn on the distress beacon¡­¡±


    ¡°Who exactly is going to answer? Pluto Station¡ªEarth¡ªdoesn¡¯t exist here. No other humans to ride in and save the day.¡±


    ¡°No other humans, Preston. You said this was the work of higher beings. Maybe they¡¯ll¡­hear our prayers.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see any sign of civilization around here, so we can cross out alien deities. From everything they¡¯ve shown, if they exist, they want us to be really self-sufficient. Nobody¡¯s bailing us out.¡±


    Sofia laughed with incredulity. ¡°So what? You¡¯re just going to do nothing?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I stood up, trying to walk off the trials of my journey. ¡°¡­am going to leave some notes about what happened to us, for when someone figures this shit out and comes looking for our skeletons. Then I¡¯m going to explore this asteroid, since we died to come out and see it. Might as well take a spacewalk before we croak.¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you save your energy, with our limited supply of food?¡±


    ¡°Why? We¡¯re going to starve anyway. No sense prolonging the end. I¡¯m getting my suit, and taking a walk.¡±


    ¡°Fine. You have fun with that. I will be making a distress message to send on loop in all directions, and keep watch for any movement.¡±


    ¡°Be my guest. It¡¯s our final resting spot regardless. We¡­knew the risks of being the first, didn¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°You sound more hopeless than me during the portal ride, and I was wrong, right? Anything is possible here. What¡¯s with the sudden change of heart?¡±


    ¡°Seeing that there¡¯s nothing out here cured me of my delusions. No pearly gates, no one waiting on the other side to wave the checkered flag. I¡¯m sorry for being so pessimistic. I¡¯m¡­glad I¡¯m not alone out here.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡±


    With a heavy heart, I went over to don my spacesuit while Sofia fiddled with the radio. We always knew this had a high chance of ending with our deaths and abandonment, but it felt different now that it was an actuality. There was going to be a lot of time to kill; perhaps I should read through the first contact binder one more time, on the slim chance my partner was right. The Earth Space Union hadn¡¯t sent us through the portal unprepared for that eventuality, though this was certainly an unconventional way to try to contact extraterrestrial intelligence.

 Chapter 2

    This universe was a strange one, where I found that I could run much faster and easier out on the asteroid¡ªin spite of a bulky spacesuit. That was entertainment for a day or two, but we¡¯d been stranded out here for three weeks by now. I began to see the wisdom in Sofia¡¯s words about conserving my energy. Oxygen and water would be depleted quicker if I exerted myself. My mind was beginning to slip a bit from the stress, judging by the wild, fragmented dreams I had.


    We ran the heating on the ship as low as possible, to conserve the emergency power supply, which was why my teeth were chattering now. I¡¯d suggested to Sofia that we should end the looping radio transmissions, and spend that power on keeping ourselves from freezing to death. The Earth Space Union had allocated enough food for a month¡¯s travel, but we were staring at cupboards that were getting empty. I¡¯d begun rationing the food three days ago, and could feel the hunger already creeping in. There was nothing to eat out here.


    When people get desperate enough, they¡¯ll eat inedible seat cushions or each other; the most basic of boundaries just break down. I¡¯ll step out into the vacuum before that happens. Maybe I should stop taking rations at all, if that¡¯s my out, so Sofia can have food for longer¡­but she¡¯ll never allow that.


    I placed a card down on the floor, as we busied ourselves with a round of Carnival Run. ¡°Clown. That Juggler card¡ªpoof. Neutralized.¡±


    ¡°You had another Clown?!¡± Sofia protested, throwing her hands up in exasperation. The Juggler was supposed to force me to shuffle my cards and discard one at random. ¡°Bet, anyhow¡­I just have to play my Balloon Animal instead.¡±


    ¡°You had a Balloon Animal this whole time?!¡± That card could be changed into any role in the deck¡­and there was one in the whole collection. ¡°You tricked me into using my Clown!¡±


    ¡°Guilty as charged! You should see the look on your face, Preston. I guess if it becomes a Serial Killer, your tokens go to zero and I¡ª¡±


    The wreckage of our ship suddenly rocked, as if buffeted by a gust of wind. That had me on edge in an instant, and I abandoned the cards on the floor. There was no breeze in the vacuum of space, at least in our universe. I crawled to the windshield and turned my gaze upward, before my jaw fell open. Sofia joined me a second later with a delighted gasp; she also saw the parallelepiped ship above us, which appeared to be scanning us with some sort of light. My first thought was that it was a tractor beam, but we were not sucked up to our mysterious onlookers. I could feel my throat locking; I was at a loss for what to do.


    Who the fuck was piloting that ship? The design was completely alien¡ªand of course it was, in this haywire-physics universe. The writing was made of bizarre scratches that were nothing like our languages: as if I didn¡¯t know at once this wasn¡¯t being flown by humans. Someone must¡¯ve answered Sofia¡¯s calls for help, and that was terrifying. We were at these¡­we had no idea what they were¡­their mercy! Like any good soldier, I tried to fall back on procedure; the first contact instructions had been drilled into my head. My partner was one step ahead of me, sending clicks counting upward in the hopes of communicating. That was when things got more peculiar.


    Every single function on the ship¡¯s computer came online, siphoning precious reserve power. Meanwhile, I saw data being downloaded without our consent; they weren¡¯t just probing us! They were trying to get into our systems, and were doing it at a concerningly quick pace. That seemed to be a hostile deed. I leapt into action, and tried to shut down the systems. However, they remained online. I pulled out my Swiss Army knife, and resigned myself to figure out what wires to cut. Sofia ran over to me, pushing me back from the console.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± she shouted at me.


    I pointed a finger toward the windshield. ¡°What are they doing?! They¡¯re going to have their hands on all of our data if you don¡¯t help me secure our proprietary¡ª¡±


    ¡°Calm down. Even if they¡¯re hostile, you cut the wires and then what? They land and remove the data manually? Just breathe.¡±


    ¡°These creatures got into our systems like nothing, and overrode our control like nothing! They could trigger the self-destruct, if they decipher the schematics.¡± I pressed a hand to my head, unsure whether to abandon ship. She had a point. We could grab food and a tank of oxygen¡­but then what? ¡°We have 3D diagrams. It can¡¯t be that hard for them to glean that much, even if language is¡ª¡±


    ¡°Preston Carter. They also are our only hope at getting out of here alive. They haven¡¯t done anything to harm us; maybe they¡¯re just curious. We¡¯re the aliens in their space. How do you think we would¡¯ve reacted to a strange shipwreck that wasn¡¯t us right in our backyard?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d want to know everything about them, and that¡¯s what¡¯s scary. I don¡¯t want to be a guinea pig for a mad scientist; they haven¡¯t answered your little number clicks! If they don¡¯t want to talk, then¡ª¡±


    ¡°Greetings.¡± A stilted, inhuman voice chattered over the radio, stunning us both to silence. The hairs on my neck stood up. ¡°You are trespassing in Vascar space. Your vessel is unknown. Your language is unknown. Furthermore, your ship schematics make no sense as a functioning apparatus. Identify yourselves at once.¡±


    Sofia¡¯s mouth opened and closed several times, before she turned a wide-eyed glance toward me. ¡°You were saying, about them not wanting to talk? Wow, Preston. They were trying to learn our language!¡±


    ¡°How the fuck can they even¡­¡± I choked out.


    ¡°It sounds like a mechanical voice. They have a program and a procedure to handle this. We need to respond to them! Real intelligent life with ships that run on this universe¡¯s logic. This is so exciting; get a camera out to record. We must document this!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Slow down, Sofia.¡± The scientist frowned at me, setting a handheld camera up on the dashboard herself, after I failed to comply. ¡°How do you think they¡¯re going to react to us saying we flew through a fucking portal?¡±


    ¡°Better than if we don¡¯t answer.¡±


    The mechanized voice came through our radio once more. ¡°We can see you moving within your vessel. One of you appears to be holding a cutting instrument. We know your communicator was working from those clicks. Respond in some form, or we will be forced to assume you have hostile intent toward our people.¡±


    ¡°Drop the knife!¡± Sofia hissed at me, before scrambling over to the radio. ¡°Vascar, we are, um, trying to figure out what to do. We¡¯re a scientific vessel from a planet called Earth. On behalf of humanity, I assure you that we come seeking peace and friendship, and bear no ill will. T-that knife was when my friend was considering cutting the computer wires, which¡­he, ah, panicked.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°What? I did not. Why are you telling them this?¡±


    The scientist ignored me, continuing her spiel. ¡°We¡¯re terribly sorry for trespassing. I don¡¯t know how to convey this, but we seem to have been locked in some kind of, um, pocket dimension that was just our star system. I don¡¯t know if you know anything about that? We found a portal out, and our ship began going impossibly¡ªor what we thought was impossibly fast. We lost control, and now we¡¯re stuck here. I can only ask your kindness to help us, as we¡¯ll die without immediate rescue.¡±


    There was a very long pause from the aliens before receiving their response; I facepalmed at Sofia¡¯s insistence on telling them about the portal. ¡°I do not know what to make of your story. If this is true, a pocket dimension that small can only have been artificially created.¡±


    ¡°We agree. I¡¯m going to take it you aren¡¯t the ones involved with this?¡±


    ¡°The Vascar have no interdimensional capabilities. We are familiar with the ones who do, but we¡­stay out of their way. They usually guard their breaches: the tunnels between planes.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t see any guards. We¡¯d definitely like to know why they put us there?¡±


    The being seemed to try to laugh in its own way. ¡°You¡¯d have to ask the Elusians themselves; we know nothing of you or why things were done to you. We may choose to tell you what we know of them, if we decide to help you.¡±


    ¡°We would be most grateful. Wouldn''t we, Preston?¡±


    I flinched, as my coworker pointed to me. ¡°Um, yes. We¡¯re lost, and our ship is¡­¡±


    ¡°A bizarre creation. The amount of power it generates is suicidal for any thruster system,¡± the alien commented. ¡°It is no wonder your ship did not function. This is like it was created in a universe where velocity requires thousands of times more force¡­and perhaps that¡¯s an understatement. I am struggling to decipher it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re equally stunned by the physics contrast, but in reverse. Also, um, we¡¯ve never met aliens.¡±


    ¡°Is that so? So you are not a species from The Alliance trying to trick us? You just appeared inside of our border checkpoints, so I am inclined to believe your portal claim, but¡­¡±


    ¡°The Alliance?¡± Sofia asked. ¡°We really have no idea who they are. Do they¡­build ships that come out of nowhere?¡±


    ¡°No, but they could always start.¡±


    I folded my arms. ¡°You sound like military, sir or madam¡­?¡±


    ¡°I have no particular affinity for either characterization. It is not applicable to my species. Call me whatever you wish: my given name is Mikri. And I am of the Vascar military.¡±


    ¡°Mikri. I¡¯m Preston Carter and my partner is Sofia Aguado. Nice to meet you? Yeah. I¡¯m glad you at least have names, or this could¡¯ve gotten awkward fast. Um¡­as also a member of the military¡ªnot a threat to you, to be clear¡ªI must ask if these Alliance are a threat?¡±


    ¡°To you?¡± The creature gave its uncanny version of a laugh. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not very forthcoming. Who is this Alliance, Mikri?¡± Sofia pressed.


    ¡°Three species we are at war with; they wish to destroy us, and only us, as an entity. No doubt they will attempt to recruit you and turn you against us. You do not need to know more. If we are to work together, you will respect our privacy. We do not share things as easily as your species seems to.¡±


    Why do they want to destroy these Vascar? Are the Alliance an evil entity, or have the Vascar done something wicked against them? I¡¯m lacking the details to decide who the threats are¡ªif not all of them.


    Sofia hesitated, leaning over the console for a moment. ¡°We hope you¡¯ll come to trust humanity, but we won¡¯t pry. You don¡¯t have to share anything you don¡¯t wish to.¡±


    ¡°And you will not nose into our business, in places where your attention is not permitted?¡±


    The scientist narrowed her brown eyes at the strange question, but seemed to realize we needed their help, regardless of how suspicious Mikri sounded. ¡°We¡¯re your guests. You have my word that we¡¯ll do our best to respect your wishes.¡±


    ¡°At least that is an honest promise, given that your sort¡¯s penchant for irksome curiosity will inevitably become a problem. I have requested and received permission to help you, humans. Permission to come aboard?¡±


    I lingered on the mixed messages; perhaps it was a good sign the Vascar captain asked to board, when we clearly couldn¡¯t stop them. ¡°Permission granted.¡±


    ¡°Very well. We¡¯re landing now. We will tow your vessel and bring you two onto ours. Do you have any weapons aboard?¡±


    ¡°No. We¡¯re an exploratory mission,¡± Sofia jumped in.


    ¡°Well, we have no weapons, other than the Swiss Army knife,¡± I interjected. ¡°Which is really more of a tool?¡±


    Mikri¡¯s distrust could be felt through the line. ¡°That better be the truth. We intend to vet your story. Any attempts at hostility or giving us trouble¡­we are not afraid to use force, humans.¡±


    Sofia drew a shaky breath. ¡°We understand. You¡¯re a literal lifesaver. Thank you, Mikri. Do you have a rank, um, sir?¡±


    ¡°No. I lead. That is all.¡±


    ¡°Right. I was just ensuring I addressed you with the proper respect¡­we¡¯ll see you soon.¡±


    The Vascar disconnected from the line without affirming that much, but I could see the ship gracefully touching down next to us. Bipeds in sleek, black suits disembarked in a hurry; while we didn¡¯t have weapons, it didn¡¯t escape my notice that they had rifles slung across their chests. I couldn¡¯t make out much about them from this far, though they didn¡¯t look that eldritch. It was unnerving to peer out and know they were an intelligence that wasn¡¯t human. However, unlike a half hour ago, at least Sofia and I weren¡¯t guaranteed a slow, painful death withering away.


    I didn¡¯t trust the Vascar, but they had ridden to our rescue. Perhaps I could reserve judgment until we learned a bit more about them.

 Chapter 3

    The Vascar appeared to have form-fitting suits, though it was tough to tell if their heads were actually that poofy. The first thing I noticed, as one¡¯s grip pushed the interior airlock inward, was that they appeared to have segmented claws; that is, they bent at two joints, like ours. While human fingers were like little hotdogs inside astronaut gloves, theirs were curved and tapered. Their bodies seemed stocky, with broad chests and legs. Up close, I thought their weaponry most resembled carbines. The guns were navy-blue, which popped against the metallic suits.


    ¡°Get out of my face,¡± the team leader remarked, shoving me with the barrel of his rifle. ¡°Up against the wall. Raise your appendages where I can see them.¡±


    ¡±Mikri?¡± The alien grunted in agreement, and waved to its squadmates. I raised my hands cautiously; a dryness had taken over my throat, as the Vascar posse boarded our vessel. ¡°You don¡¯t need t-the suits. This cabin is pressurized; there¡¯s oxygen. Unless you, um, don¡¯t breathe that¡­but if you don¡¯t breathe that, your ship won¡¯t have the right mixture for us.¡±


    ¡°We do not breathe oxygen. We will study the atmospheric composition here and ensure that ours is conducive to your continued survival.¡±


    Sofia interlocked her fingers behind her head. ¡°It¡¯s your ship; we don¡¯t mean to inconvenience you. What do you breathe? Is your world¡­?¡±


    ¡°What did I say about not prying for us to share anything we did not offer up?¡± She only asked the most basic question about what they breathed. Surely we must know something about the first other lifeforms we¡¯ve found, on a biological level. This is harmless stuff. ¡°Our world will be fine for you. Our suits will remain on, and that¡¯s final. Were either of you injured in your crash?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe so, sir. Thank you for coming to our aid. I¡¯m sure you have your reasons for not matching my enthusiasm, but we¡¯re very excited to discover we¡¯re not alone.¡± Sofia offered an earnest, toothy smile, which caused Mikri to tilt its¡­no, I was going to say his from now on, for the sake of clarity. He said he didn¡¯t care. ¡°There was a whole existence here out of our reach.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand your facial expressions. Please specify their meanings.¡±


    I tugged my lips up, then down. ¡°Happy, sad. Done.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more complicated than that,¡± my squadmate protested. ¡°The Earth Space Union left a chart in that binder, in case we ever needed to communicate through pictographs. It should have the human emotions and correlating expressions.¡±


    Mikri stared as the scientist pointed at the first contact manual, which a Vascar had thrown onto the floor as they rummaged and ripped apart every compartment on our ship. The military craft¡®s leader took a moment to catch on to what the pointer finger was suggesting. Did an intelligent species with segmented claws never develop that nonverbal to show each other where to look? The alien found the page, and took a picture of it with some kind of rectangular device. He held the paper up in front of him, as if comparing me to it.


    ¡°Nervous?¡± the Vascar guessed, helmet focused on me. I swallowed hard, though I didn¡¯t deny what he¡¯d said. ¡°Why are you nervous?¡±


    My eyes widened, glancing at Sofia for support. ¡°Because you have guns? And I have no idea who you are and what your intentions are?¡±


    ¡°That is untrue. I have told you that I am with the military, and that I am here to help you. Unless you prove to be with the enemy. Tell me who you work for exactly, and the history of how you came to be.¡±


    ¡°Well. We¡¯re with the Earth Space Union¡­it¡¯s a c-collective built to colonize and regulate space. Nations made pacts about how to divide the planets¡¯ land, with supranational borders. There were mergers up in space, and that led to blocs at home, like the North American Combine: a w-whole continent united. I work for their space force, um¡­¡±


    Sofia seemed eager to introduce herself. ¡°I¡¯m a scientist with the Eastern Atlantic Collaborative. First countries to join forces, to colonize the outer planets after the Mars Rebellion left the future of spaceflight¡ª¡±


    Mikri turned his back on us. ¡±And you¡¯re working together now. Yes, yes, I do not actually care. I was just putting you on the spot to test that you had a legitimate history. I assume you want to go home now, which will require us to fix your ship? I have no doubt you¡¯ll expect this favor from us also.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d like to go back, so we can tell Earth what¡¯s on the other side, and¡­yes. You¡¯re the only ones who can help us with any of this! We don¡¯t know where we are in relation to the portal home, everything we know about engineering doesn¡¯t work here, and we want to talk to these Elusians if they¡¯re behind all this. Allow us to get our footing, please, Mikri. Humanity would be in your debt forevermore.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not a threat,¡± I added.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    ¡°I am not so foolish to believe that, Preston, but your colleague speaks well for you both. Very well,¡± Mikri determined. ¡°The Vascar have already agreed to send you home. You will stay in an installation on our planet, Kalka, until we are able to return you. We saw the general area where your emissions began, and will monitor the area closely. Once your people send another craft, we will have the breach¡¯s location. Is that acceptable?¡±


    ¡°You mean it?¡± I tried to hide my shock, though judging by how the alien glanced at the expressions chart, he knew my amazement. ¡°Yes, of course. That would be incredible. May I ask, um, w-why you¡¯re doing this?¡±


    ¡°Preston!¡± Sofia hissed.


    The Vascar stood still for several seconds, before beckoning to us. ¡°I¡¯m doing this because I have chosen to, and so have my people. No questions, remember? Where was I? In addition, we will compare the physics of your universe, and repair your ship to alternate between the two. Now don your spacesuits and come with me¡ªbefore I give more thought to why I¡¯m aiding you.¡±


    ¡±Gladly,¡± I grumbled.


    The two of us hurried into our spacesuits, under the watchful gaze of the captain; his body language screamed of impatience. The Vascar had said no questions, but perhaps we needed a diagram of their emotional cues as well. I¡¯d have to drop a suggestion that it might be helpful, since any direct inquiries didn¡¯t please them. Surely they wouldn¡¯t wear the suits on Kalka, which would make it easier to glean their tells.


    Why did Mikri say he¡¯s not so foolish as to believe we aren¡¯t a threat? What have we done to him? I stared out at the asteroid¡¯s surface, while the Vascar hurried us along toward his boxy ship. I hoped this ride would be less of a roller coaster, compared to our entry. They are strange, but they offered us everything we need. Shouldn¡¯t look a gift horse in the mouth.


    Everyone had assumed this was a one-way trip, so what was Earth going to make of this, when we returned home and told them what we¡¯d learned? To the rest of humanity, we were missing astronauts who never checked in. They had no idea how limiting and small their universe was. I had to find out as much as possible, without seeming like I was nosing into Mikri¡¯s business. My goal was to search for any clues about who the Vascar were, and how they lived. Inference would be our greatest tool to learn about them.


    The vessel¡¯s interior appeared to be one single room: the bridge. No appliances, no amenities. There were only rows of seating, consoles, and weapons lockers.


    We were situated near the front of the vessel, by the windshield and what I imagined was the captain¡¯s chair. The rest of Mikri¡¯s unit filed back to the ship, sitting down and avoiding talking to us. There was some chatter in their own tongue; I wondered whether the program to communicate with us was only available to the leader. None showed any signs of removing their suits for so much as to drink, eat food, or relieve themselves. Were all of their biological functions handled by this exoskeleton, perhaps? That was something I¡¯d tuck away about their customs, though I couldn¡¯t help but question the reasons behind that.


    ¡°Our magnetic hooks latched onto the cargo,¡± Mikri informed us; it took a second to realize he meant our ship. ¡°You may remove your helmets. It is breathable for you.¡±


    I lifted my helmet, stuffing it under the chair after sucking in a test breath. ¡°Thank you. We¡¯re honored to be on your ship.¡±


    ¡°I am not sure what the sudden flattery is about, but no matter. It¡¯s a few dozen trillion miles¡ªyour units must be microscopic¡ªto Kalka. It¡¯ll be a few hours. Do whatever it is that humans do to occupy yourselves.¡±


    Sofia weighed how to respond. ¡°Sir, that most often is to talk. Are you open to getting to know us? What we call¡­small talk?¡±


    ¡°No. I will engage with you regularly, as I have been chosen to test your abilities and to teach you of this universe. That will be exasperating enough, but we don¡¯t need to be friends.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, sir. We don¡¯t need to. However, if we¡¯re going to be working in close contact, we should be¡­friendly?¡±


    ¡°I will chaperone you. I will help you. Kindly do not bother me further with menial concerns about my affability.¡±


    Nice guy, Sofia mouthed at me, which caused Mikri to look at the expressions sheet with confusion.


    I giggled, as the Vascar turned around with disgust. Yeah. Real nice.


    The spaceship had accelerated to astronomical speeds; only now did I have time to process just how far a vessel could travel in a few hours here. Did the speed of light even exist in this universe? It seemed like velocity wasn¡¯t capped at all, if going trillions of miles was as trivial as flying from New Boston to Los Angeles. I leaned back in my chair, my thoughts running every bit as fast as the ship. We were going to be living with these aliens, who had no personality, for months at best. It could be years, if Earth shut down the program after we vanished!


    What if the accommodations were lacking? What did Mikri mean about testing our abilities? Nothing about the Vascar¡¯s behavior seemed fond of our presence, so there must be something they wanted from us. I didn¡¯t know what their ulterior motive was, but that was a terrifying thought. My throat clammed up again, and that was when I noticed the skin burned like sandpaper. I twirled my helmet around in my hands, only to realize I hadn¡¯t refilled the drinking bag since the last spacewalk. Deciding water wasn¡¯t a menial concern, I opted to seek the alien¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Mikri?¡± I called out to the captain. ¡°May I please have some water?¡±


    The Vascar froze, taking several moments to formulate a reply. ¡°Water?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m thirsty as f¡ªfun times. You know¡­hydration, drinking fluids. Water. Two hydrogens, one oxygen?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m familiar with the molecule! I don¡¯t have any to provide to you right now. Can it wait a few hours?¡±


    ¡°I¡­I just asked for¡­yeah, I guess. I won¡¯t die.¡±


    ¡°Good. Write down a list of your basic needs for us, so we can ensure nothing is missed.¡±


    Sofia furrowed her brow at the aliens, before passing me her helmet with a sympathetic smile. I took a few gulps, making sure to ration it since this Vascar military outfit couldn¡¯t be bothered to accommodate our most fundamental need. Mikri acted like I¡¯d asked him for Kalka¡¯s nuclear codes, not a swig of the basic building block of life. Maybe it wasn¡¯t the basic building block of life in this zany universe, which was another thing humans would have to know. These beings behaved stranger and stranger by the minute.


    After how I¡¯d been handled on the ship so far, I was even more uncertain about the accommodations these Vascar would provide.

 Chapter 4

    The orbital defense network was the first thing that we noticed at Kalka; thousands of platforms that were brimming with ships and massive cannons. The Vascar had mouthwatering manufacturing capabilities, though I was certain it was much easier for them to escape their gravity well. There was no electric glow across the entire continent, on the night side of the world. Earth, by comparison, had landmasses that were warm and toasty around the cities.


    There was something profoundly unsettling about our rescuers, when I gnawed on everything that didn¡¯t add up. Maybe they had night vision or lived underground; I shouldn¡¯t jump to conclusions about them. Everything we knew could be thrown out the window in this universe. Sofia didn¡¯t seem to share my unease, instead gawking: eyes wide with awe.


    Mikri, after having not spoken a word for hours, swept an arm toward the viewport. ¡°This is home. Our facility is on a tropical island, secluded¡ªwhat is considered pleasant by most lifeforms¡¯ criteria. In case your kind gets any ideas, you can see our planet is well defended.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t see a single reason why humanity would attack you, especially after you¡¯ve helped us,¡± Sofia responded. ¡°I get the sense you don¡¯t like aliens¡ª¡±


    ¡°It is more than that.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know, but you haven¡¯t explained what happened between you and the Alliance. I¡¯m not asking questions, to be clear. I¡¯m just saying we¡¯ll be open-minded, and we¡¯re very eager to learn your history and culture. We can enjoy each other¡¯s company.¡±


    ¡°You are too bound to chemical, irrational whims. Cannot go a few hours without¡ªno, it¡¯s not your fault. Suffice to say we are too different.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious about us at all, Mikri?¡± I prodded.


    ¡°I wonder what certain things are like, but I may not ask you.¡±


    ¡°Why not? What have we not answered that you asked?¡±


    Sofia tilted her head. ¡°Tell us what we¡¯ve done wrong, please. We must¡¯ve inadvertently put you off.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve done nothing, yet,¡± the Vascar grumbled. ¡°I will learn about your people as duty compels. We are landing.¡±


    I was careful not to hold on to the armrests as the ship barreled through the atmosphere, going from impossible speeds down to a calm floatation over an airstrip in seconds. That prevented me from getting the million-dollar view on the way down¡ªor seeing anything at all. Why did the Vascar need us to be on a secluded island? Plus, the captain had dodged Sofia¡¯s prying remark about the war¡¯s origins again. There couldn¡¯t be trust if they were going to tell us absolutely fuck-all!


    Why does Mikri say he can¡¯t ask us about our experiences? What have we done that justifies his ¡°chemical, irrational whims¡± comment? What does any of that even mean? We¡¯ve been exceedingly polite, and he¡¯s just¡ªdismissive. Standoffish.


    I couldn¡¯t help but have misgivings about accepting the Vascar¡¯s aid, even if it meant we¡¯d go home. We¡¯d be leading them straight to Earth, should they have hostile intent. If they believed that we were going to harm them eventually, it sounded like it¡¯d be easy for them to justify a preemptive strike. How would humanity fight back against the armada I¡¯d seen in Kalka¡¯s orbit? Paranoid people were dangerous, even if they¡¯d frame it like we¡¯d be the one to throw the first punch.


    I leaned over to Sofia, whispering in her ear as softly as possible. ¡°Are you sure we want them knowing where Earth is, and having access to our home? Maybe we should tell them not to send us back.¡±


    ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± she hissed back. ¡°They know the general area that the portal is in. They¡¯ll find it the next time we send a probe through. Use your head, and be quiet: before they fucking hear you.¡±


    ¡°Enough conspiring.¡± Mikri unclipped our harnesses for us, eager to remove us from his ship. I barely had time to snag my helmet from the floor. ¡°Ficrae, you lead in my absence. I am¡­not sure I will return. The time is near.¡±


    ¡°You said that in their tongue,¡± another Vascar remarked with evident disdain, before switching to their language. I couldn¡¯t tell what their clicking sounds meant, but it sounded apologetic. There was some kind of pity for Mikri; was that for being stuck with us?


    ¡°Bye, everyone?¡± I offered hesitantly, as the alien all but shoved us off the vessel.


    Within seconds after our boots had touched the ground, the spacecraft had lifted back up into the air¡ªtaking the scraps of our wreckage with them. I supposed they were going to repair and study it elsewhere¡­out of our sight, where we couldn¡¯t see what the hell they were doing to it. Mikri¡¯s helmet turned up toward his ship, and it was obvious the Vascar was watching it with longing. He hated ¡°chaperoning¡± two humans, for whatever we¡¯d done to grate on him. The alien lingered a few moments, before ushering us into a humble, single-story installation.


    ¡°Listen carefully. You may go anywhere on this island, even enjoy the waves if your kind favors that, but do not get any ideas of building a boat, a raft, or otherwise trying to escape,¡± Mikri said in a stern voice.


    I raised a tentative hand. ¡°Are we prisoners or something?¡±


    ¡°Preston, don¡¯t ask our hosts those types of questions!¡± Sofia chided, though I saw a bit of uncertainty in her eyes.


    The alien seemed irritated. ¡°Too late for that advice. If that is how Preston chooses to look at it, then yes, I suppose so. Would you be offended if boundaries were set on which rooms a guest could stay in, if you visited someone else¡¯s home?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± I remarked.


    ¡°This is where we feel comfortable having you. I will elaborate to end your curiosity, which I knew would not be contained despite your promises¡­we have an issue with a, um, neurological disease on Kalka. You do not need to see this.¡±


    Sofia grimaced. ¡°You¡¯re saying you have a pandemic here? Could this be transmissible to humans?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°I assure you that is most impossible.¡±


    I felt a few gears click into place, before daring to voice my theory. ¡°Did the Alliance¡­create this disease, Mikri?¡±


    ¡°They engineered it, Preston. Satisfied? That provides more answers than I promised, so leave it be.¡±


    The first taste of an answer had sparked another dozen inquiries, but I bit my tongue. Maybe we could get Mikri to spill some details in tiny increments, over time. I supposed it was an explanation for why the Vascar wanted us secluded, and why they were so suspicious of aliens; despite all of their defenses, a bioweapon had somehow gotten through. It might explain the suits remaining on constantly as well. I wasn¡¯t sure how the creature could be so assured that it wasn¡¯t transmissible to us. What happened if it got carried back to Earth and mutated?


    ¡°Stop worrying about it. It is designed for us and only affects us. You are not in danger,¡± Mikri ordered, after glancing at the expressions chart. He tapped a massive jug of water which had a spout, though he seemed to have forgotten cups. I didn¡¯t write that down for him, but I didn¡¯t think I had to¡­the drink bag from my helmet would do. ¡°Water in the lobby. For food, we have unthawed our prisoner of war rations¡ª¡±


    I pointed an accusatory finger at him. ¡°POW rations? You said we weren¡¯t prisoners!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not. Humans share these needs with Alliance species, so that is what we have: which we hope will work for you. You do not have to question us at every turn.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Mikri. No more questions,¡± Sofia murmured. ¡°I apologize for Preston, sir.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t expect anything better from your sort. We provided a soft surface to sleep on, and adjoining rooms for each of you. There are buckets for your waste. Is the ocean right there not satisfactory for this ¡®water and soap¡¯ cleaning route? We have left alkalizing agents by the buckets.¡±


    Buckets and no showers? That¡¯s fucking medieval; we had better with the alcohol wipes and waterless shampoo on the ship. Are these guys even trying to provide anything more than the bare minimum?


    ¡°Hygiene is important, and I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s¡ª¡± Sofia ventured.


    Mikri folded his arms. ¡°You fool yourself if you think you could be clean with any amount of scrubbing. It does not sound like a need to me. But if this is a huge issue, I will look into making it rain inside for your grand convenience.¡±


    ¡°That would be appreciated,¡± I sighed, disgruntled with the Vascar¡¯s attitude toward us. ¡°Do your people not shower or something?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°How bad does it smell in that suit?!¡±


    The sensation of the alien staring daggers at me was perceptible. ¡°That is not an issue, Preston. I do not like you.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t done much for us to like you, yourself. You asked about hosts on Earth, and they usually try to make their guests feel welcome and at home. You act like we¡¯re beneath you. Is that what you think?¡±


    ¡°Preston!¡± Sofia shouted, driving an elbow into my sternum. ¡°You heard Mikri say that aliens started a plague among his people. Can¡¯t you understand why he feels a little cold toward them? The Vascar are probably hurt and scared¡­and they¡¯ve been alone.¡±


    Mikri turned his helmet toward the scientist, his posture shifting slightly. ¡°You are empathizing with us. Is that correct?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am. I¡¯m sorry that the Alliance hurt you. I know those words are hollow, and I know you¡¯re not obligated to give us a chance. I heard what you¡¯re saying about us being too different, but that doesn¡¯t have to be a reason we hate each other. Refuse to answer this question if you like, but what is so wrong with us?!¡±


    ¡°I do not see the purpose of anything that your kind does. Your emotions are fickle. You are high-maintenance. History has shown you will not be on our side.¡±


    ¡°Then why come to our rescue, Mikri? You must have your reasons for helping us¡ªand I¡¯m not as cynical as my colleague. I think you helped because it was the right thing to do.¡±


    Does Sofia really think that? The Vascar acted like it was such a chore to do anything for us, which was why I was shocked they helped at all.


    The alien was silent for a long moment, studying the scientist with novel intrigue. ¡°What is it that you want of me, human?¡±


    ¡°Approach us with an open mind, and try to empathize with things that might seem strange to you. Share a little piece of your heart¡ªyour differences¡ªwith us. We won¡¯t hurt you,¡± Sofia pleaded.


    ¡°Hm. Does Preston seek the same thing?¡±


    I chewed at my lower lip. ¡°Yes. I¡¯d be a lot more relaxed if you weren¡¯t¡­hostile in your speech. You talk about us like we¡¯re just bothering you. Give us some of the benefit of the doubt, and we can do the same?¡±


    ¡°Very well. I will attempt to see things from your¡­inhibited point of view. I will also consider sharing some details if it benefits our relationship. I do not wish to be enemies. The Alliance made that decision for us, but I¡­hope it will not come to that again.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t. Humanity and the Vascar will be friends,¡± Sofia assured the alien.


    ¡°That would be a miracle. I do not know what friendship means, or whether it is possible at all.¡±


    ¡°Then choose to believe that it can be.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure that I believed that we could socialize and get along with Mikri like our own people, but I agreed with the alien on not wanting us to be enemies. After all of the time humanity had spent wondering if we were alone, Earth should be more than willing to befriend our saviors. The issue was them not wanting anything to do with us. Why was Sofia so determined to win the alien over, after he stated that he didn¡¯t see the purpose of anything we did? How did she see feelings within someone who¡¯d shown us none of them?


    I guess we do need their favor, so it¡¯s clever to try to appeal to them. I can try to show Mikri the meaning of the word ¡°fun¡±; the guy clearly needs it.


    ¡°That is irrational, to believe something without any evidence to substantiate it,¡± Mikri replied, with a tinge of weariness in that mechanical voice.


    Sofia smiled, and laid a tentative hand on his elbow¡ªmaking him flinch. ¡°Then consider it¡­a hypothesis. To see if it can work.¡±


    ¡°A statement to be proven or disproven. I suppose a test is the only way to know. And speaking of tests; I am politely requesting that you undergo a full medical examination. I can do this quickly and with minimal discomfort.¡±


    ¡°Why? We said we aren¡¯t hurt,¡± I responded, taking a defensive step back.


    ¡°I would like to understand your anatomy, so I would ask that you briefly remove your attire. We must observe that your bodies are handling these vastly different physics well, so I would like to check your various organs, senses, and body parts. A simple blood test should do the rest. I can see the baselines from your previous medical records, and detect any changes. I¡­understand you may not trust me or feel comfortable with such procedures, as we do not have a personal connection that you seemingly value so much.¡±


    Sofia shot me a look, before dipping her head in acknowledgment. ¡°I think that¡¯s a good idea, Mikri. We can get that out of the way now. You¡¯re completely in the dark, and it¡¯s smart to see if the differing physics are affecting us at all.¡±


    ¡°Wait. Do you think that switching universes will impact our health?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. There have been recorded instances of dimensional travelers growing ill. Your bodies appear to be built for hardier conditions, so I do not think it will make you worse off. It might¡¯ve made you more efficient¡­but we have to be sure certain functions do not relax or weaken before you return to your arduous universe.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thank you for your help.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome. I ask you both to come with me.¡±


    The Vascar turned into a room on the opposite side of the lobby from the living quarters. Assuming this was a medical lab, I decided to follow him. If the two of us were going to be stuck in this installation for months, it might do me well to heed Sofia¡¯s advice and try to trust Mikri. These creatures were quite different from us, but I wasn¡¯t going to let that instinctual feeling of unsettlement control me. As long as the alien made an attempt to be warmer and to understand us, I¡¯d try to return the favor.

 Chapter 5

    Mikri¡¯s examination yesterday was rather uncomfortable, being inspected by a Vascar who I wasn¡¯t convinced had any knowledge to be a medical professional. He¡¯d given Sofia and I a clean bill of health, and sent us to get some rest after the earth-shattering events of the day. It was wild to think we were sleeping under an alien roof, and interacting with one on a regular basis. As grating as our liaison was at times, I knew there were millions of people back on Earth who¡¯d kill to be in my place.


    Because our medical readiness checked out, the Vascar asked to check our physical capabilities the next morning. After being cramped in a spaceship for over a month to get from Pluto Station to the Gap, it would be lovely to get a proper workout. The Vascar had said it was important to ensure our muscles didn¡¯t atrophy, after all. I was resigned to the idea of being gross and sweaty without a proper remedy. However, as we woke up, Mikri was standing by a small glass box. Inside was some kind of hose that he¡¯d installed in the ceiling; there was a drain on the floor, which meant the Vascar could figure out some things without being explicitly told. They didn¡¯t like water damage any more than us.


    When the fuck did he sleep and have time to do this, unless other Vascar came in overnight? Also, did he have to park it in the middle of the lobby with zero privacy or curtains¡­well, he tried. It¡¯s just Sofia and I, and it¡¯s not like we¡¯ve had the luxury of being embarrassed around each other.


    ¡°This is what you asked for. You can shower after our training today,¡± Mikri announced.


    I forced a smile, despite thinking it was a lackluster attempt. ¡°Thanks. Should we get going¡­?¡±


    ¡°Did you eat your rations? As I understand it, you need fuel first.¡±


    ¡°Yes. I know it¡¯s POW gruel, but this alien grub leaves something to be desired. It tastes like someone took everything they could find and threw it in a blender.¡±


    ¡°Oh. That is what we did¡­I didn¡¯t realize this was an area of such pickiness. It was protein and minerals from multiple sources. Everything you needed?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s completely fine,¡± Sofia assured the alien. ¡°We just eat things separately on most occasions, like¡­whole fruits, or meats with a little seasoning at home. That¡¯s what we¡¯re used to from nature, is all.¡±


    ¡°I see. It is difficult to satisfy you. So many things to remember¡­how do you manage it all? How do you function with the constant burden of your upkeep?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll find this answer satisfactory, but you know what you¡¯re used to, Mikri. Tasty food activates pleasure receptors for humans.¡±


    ¡°This is why you wish for it? Chemical releases?¡±


    ¡°I guess? You might as well find enjoyment in anything you do.¡±


    ¡°Take a nice, warm shower, for instance¡ªwhich you mocked,¡± I noted. ¡°It¡¯s relaxing.¡±


    Mikri stiffened, seemingly frustrated. ¡°Warm shower. No one mentioned warm!¡±


    ¡°Cold is more than okay,¡± Sofia interjected, shooting me a warning glance. ¡°This isn¡¯t a five-star resort, Preston, and it doesn¡¯t have to be.¡±


    I raised my hands and arched my eyebrows. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me. I mean, Mikri did it ridiculously fast, so I¡¯ll give him props for that. And this beats no shower.¡±


    The Vascar¡¯s segmented claws curled beneath his metal armor. ¡°I have given you everything you asked for. Outside. Training. Now.¡±


    I swept a sarcastic hand in front of me. ¡°Lead the way.¡±


    The Vascar trudged out the main entrance, not picking up on my mocking tone. Sofia¡¯s eye contact said everything, another reminder to be more gracious with Mikri. The derisive way he phrased all of his questions didn¡¯t seem to reflect much improvement. He¡¯d referred to not liking a dry pulp that tasted like baby powder as ¡°pickiness,¡± then called our upkeep a burden and us insatiable. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d been the least bit demanding, but in the Vascar¡¯s world, anything above the minimum to keep us alive was asking to be waited on hand-and-foot!


    I¡¯ll try to get on his good side, and turn the other cheek to his judginess, but Mikri is never going to try to understand us. All it seems like he needs is that trusty suit. What a lucky guy, to be so low-maintenance.


    I half-listened to Mikri¡¯s instructions on running between two trees on an inland field, elevated a bit from the sandy beach. The Vascar wielded some sort of camera, which I imagined he¡¯d roll back to certify our time. In my mind¡¯s eye, I remembered just how much faster I¡¯d been goofing off on that asteroid. With a sterner gravity, who knew what we¡¯d be capable of? I pressed a leg against the tree, leaning down like a runner at the starting line. The limitations imposed on us by the other universe weren¡¯t here. I wasn¡¯t sure Sofia was prepared for our newfound capabilities; I was unconvinced that I was, after ripping off an armrest by accident.


    ¡°Race me,¡± I called out, tossing my head. ¡°Come on.¡±


    The scientist rolled her eyes. ¡°We all know you¡¯ll win, soldier boy. One of us has been through boot camp.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the point. Sprint as fast as you can. Let¡¯s just say you¡¯re about to blow the track-and-field stars on Earth out of the water. You have to feel this power!¡±


    ¡°If you insist. Mikri, do you want to count us down?¡±


    The alien had finished setting up his camera and was waiting. ¡°Count you down?¡±


    ¡°Like, say, ¡®Three, two, one, go.¡¯ So we know when you want us to start, since these are your tests. I¡¯m just trying to make this orderly for you. Scientific.¡±


    ¡°It will not be exacting, but I suppose that is as precise as I can hope for with¡­humans. Very well. Three, two, one, go.¡±


    Before the Vascar had finished the last unenthused word, I took off. The wind felt like when I¡¯d rode a motorcycle down the streets of Mars¡¯ dome, on my time off during basic. It buffeted my body and my clothing, with the raw speed being inconceivable. My eyes couldn¡¯t process how fast I was running. It couldn¡¯t have been more than five seconds before I went flying past the tree, which I would¡¯ve wagered was 200 meters away.


    I glanced back toward my partner, grinning from the thrill. Sofia was only a spit-second behind me, a disbelieving expression on her face. Mikri¡¯s stance showed overt surprise, as we tore up into the hillside; unless The Flash became real, I couldn¡¯t imagine any human had ever run faster. Going back to Earth¡¯s molasses speeds after this¡­


    ¡°Woo! We¡¯re speedier than a fucking cheetah! The fastest man and the fastest woman alive! How do you feel about that?¡± I panted, slowing as my lungs began to burn.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Sofia struggled to find words. ¡°We¡¯re only the fastest until other people come through that portal. Like¡­actual athletes.¡±


    ¡°Imagine hosting an Olympics here! Mikri, did we knock your socks off?¡± I shouted in a celebratory voice.


    ¡°This idiom¡¯s meaning is lost on me, but your pride is not.¡± The Vascar jogged over to us, taking much longer to reach where we stood; he had some kind of padding over his armor now. ¡°I have not seen any lifeform which can keep pace with a vehicle. This is most unusual.¡±


    ¡°Unusual is exciting! Come on, I know there¡¯s something that you can be enthusiastic about.¡±


    ¡°I am enthusiastic about science, but the subject material puts a damper on it. The development of life under the extreme conditions of your universe is of some value, so I am¡­grateful that you are compliant.¡±


    This is Mikri¡¯s attempt at being more polite and courteous? He outright states a dislike for studying us, then ¡°softens¡± it by saying our development under quirky physics is of ¡°some¡± value. How generous.


    Sofia smiled at the Vascar like she¡¯d heard completely different words. ¡°I¡¯m very interested myself to compare how life developed in unique ways. The discoveries we¡¯re making today can usher in a new future. You never know where you can learn something, Mikri, when you apply those findings elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°Elaborate,¡± the alien said flatly.


    ¡°A human scientist left a petri dish of bacteria out, and it grew mold¡­that killed the colony of microorganisms. This was how we discovered antibiotics; it saved many lives. Revolutionized society by sheer chance¡ªby an accident, a mistake.¡±


    ¡°This scientist did not discover it by anything intelligent they did. It was a random happenstance that they observed.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Sometimes things happen differently than you planned, and you make the best of it. We¡¯re a random happenstance for you.¡±


    ¡°While I doubt your power to overhaul our society, this is true. I will seek to learn useful things. Will you indulge in a test of your strength? One of you should spar with me.¡±


    ¡°Definitely Preston; he¡¯s combat-trained.¡± Sofia gave me a worried glance, noting that I looked eager to take a swing at Mikri. ¡°If trouble comes around, I¡¯m going full Gordon Freeman with a crowbar and hoping for the best.¡±


    ¡°Full what?¡± the Vascar demanded.


    ¡°It¡¯s a character from a recent game called Half-Life 3.¡±


    ¡°Game?¡±


    I rolled my eyes. ¡°Surely you have some kind of entertainment media that you watch or read¡ªthat Vascar share with each other. Something fun.¡±


    ¡°Educational talks and lessons that are broadcast. Academic literature. Complex simulations of phenomena that can be observed in real time.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± This is hopeless. I don¡¯t think they have a creative or fun bone in their bodies. Say something positive about that, I guess? ¡°That¡¯s very intellectual. Good stuff. Anyhow, you want us to fight or¡­?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I wish to measure your reaction time first, then your strength. Let¡¯s start with me taking a swipe at you, and you try to sidestep or deflect?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± I raised my fists, and curled a finger toward myself. ¡°Show me what you¡¯re made of.¡±


    The Vascar lunged forward with a jab; my response was near instantaneous, and I¡¯d ducked before realizing what happened. He turned and attempted a kick, which I caught in my hands and held him on one leg. I could all but see his moves before he¡¯d made them. It was like my mind was supercharged, the reflexes answering in half of the time it¡¯d usually take. Mikri grunted with frustration, twisting my wrist away and backing up. I could tell he didn¡¯t like how easily he¡¯d been thwarted.


    ¡°Right. Blisteringly fast reaction time,¡± the alien said with annoyance. ¡°Let¡¯s see how strong you are, Preston. Hit me as hard as you can.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Won¡¯t that hurt my hand, with your armor?¡±


    ¡°The armor isn¡¯t coming off. I tied this padding around my chest so that it will cushion your punch. Strike me with everything you¡¯ve got.¡±


    ¡°What if I hurt you?¡±


    ¡°You will not. I can take it. Come on, just¡ª¡±


    Before Mikri finished his sentence, I rocked back and plowed my fist into his sternum with all of my might. My knuckles drove clean into the padding, imparting a horrifying amount of force. The alien went flying backward, off his feet, at what must¡¯ve been¡­thirty miles per hour? He collided with the tree down the hill, where we¡¯d been supposed to run to when he was timing us. The Vascar¡¯s impact was like he¡¯d been shot out of a cannon, and it snapped the very trunk in half; his spine had been what collided with the object. He dropped to the ground, unmoving, while my heart quickened with panic. No one could¡¯ve survived that.


    Sofia stared with eyes the size of moons, covering her mouth. I raised my hands to my head and gawked in horror.


    Oh my God. I just killed Mikri; I didn¡¯t mean to, but fuck! Now there¡¯s no way we won¡¯t be enemies, and it¡¯s all on camera. What do we do, telling the Vascar¡ªwhat have I done?! Is there any chance they¡¯ll believe me, if I said I didn¡¯t know I was capable of that?


    To my amazement, I saw the alien¡¯s arm move; I wasn¡¯t sure if it was a post-mortem reflex, the way a lizard¡¯s tail could still flop about after it was severed. Mikri seemed to try to stand, but his left leg refused to move at all. That bastard was tough attempting to walk that off, I¡¯d give him that. We had to get our hands on some of that armor, given that it¡¯d kept him alive here. Sofia and I raced over to his side, as apology after apology spilled from my mouth. The Vascar gave no indication of being in pain, his voice as unphased as ever.


    The alien rolled over, revealing that my fist had punched a hole through the cushion; I hadn¡¯t even felt that I hit the armor, which was dented. ¡°Preston, do you not¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mikri, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so, so sorry,¡± I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. I knew I¡¯d fucked up so bad. ¡°You said as hard as I could, and I never thought¡­I wasn¡¯t trying to hurt you. You have to be okay! We can fix this; tell us what to do.¡±


    Sofia looked shaken. ¡°We must call for help. We just watched you get ragdolled through the air, and you can¡¯t move your leg.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I have the requisites to patch myself up, if you can help me back to the medical lab. My leg is non-functional. Do not worry. Legs can be replaced,¡± the Vascar said calmly.


    ¡°What kind of a statement is that?¡± I shrieked.


    ¡°A reassuring one. I am reassuring you. Neither of us were aware that you would have so much strength. You did as instructed. I am not angry. This is an interesting result.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not interesting! You could¡¯ve died.¡±


    ¡°I told you, I can take it. And what I was going to say, before you grew emotional over events that cannot be changed, was meant for you, Preston. Do you not see how humans are a threat? You are capable of all of this, and can launch ships going at planet-terminating speeds from portals in our backyard. This is worrying from a military perspective.¡±


    ¡°I see how it¡¯s alarming, Mikri, really, and if the roles were reversed, I¡¯d be a lot more freaked out than you are right now.¡±


    ¡°Then we understand each other. It is a start.¡±


    Sofia hoisted the Vascar to his feet, and I supported him on the other side. We helped haul him back to the medical bay, though I wasn¡¯t sure I liked the idea of him playing whack-a-mole with his legs alone. I felt guilty for harming him, and flabbergasted that my punch had carried such force at the same time. We shouldn¡¯t test out any more of humanity¡¯s physical capabilities with another living being in the way.


    ¡°We¡¯re like superheroes here,¡± Sofia remarked.


    Mikri tilted his head. ¡°Superheroes?¡±


    ¡°We tell stories about fictional characters who have abilities that a normal person can only dream of.¡±


    ¡°Why? That is not real, and also could never happen.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the point, Mikri. Stories are what ifs where you test your imagination. You get to know people that never existed, and places that can¡¯t be visited. It¡¯s an adventure all up in your head. That might sound abstract and silly to you, but it¡¯s really a concrete depiction of someone else¡¯s vision. Sometimes, they teach lessons about the real world.¡±


    He won¡¯t get it, Sofia. Let it go.


    The Vascar hopped quicker on his good leg. ¡°This seems silly, to commit memory space to made-up things.¡±


    ¡°All dreams are made-up things until someone makes them real. You have to dream of a thing to create it. You might enjoy letting yourself imagine something fantastical, putting yourself in the shoes of another person and their journey,¡± Sofia continued.


    Is he capable of imagination? I mouthed at my colleague, though she didn¡¯t seem to notice.


    ¡°Enjoy. I find that word irritating,¡± Mikri retorted.


    Sofia pursed her lips. ¡°I know. While you¡¯re recovering, I could send you some books I have downloaded on my phone. Maybe you can try to experience them, like we do? Just to understand us a little better, since we are your subject material.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree with extreme reluctance. It is my duty.¡±


    I helped the Vascar back to the medical bay, not eager to have him disparage the entirety of human art. Sofia¡¯s attempts to placate Mikri and form a connection were going to fall flat sooner or later; he wasn¡¯t capable of being three-dimensional. After hearing that this species lacked art, I shared his conviction that we were too different to be friends. This alien, with his stilted and condescending speech, didn¡¯t appreciate a thing that made humanity who we were.

 Chapter 6

    Mikri was a quick, insatiable, unhappy reader. He¡¯d been patched up as good as new within a few hours, suggesting some crazy regenerative technology; it was like nothing had happened. However, he¡¯d kept his promise to read despite the short recovery. In the few weeks that we¡¯d been here since the incident, he¡¯d called Frankenstein ¡°bunk science.¡± The Odyssey was superstitious nonsense of no import, people who did not understand the world creating gods and monsters. Romeo and Juliet had irrational characters, with a ¡°gruesome amount of emotion.¡± Of Mice and Men¡­suffice to say, Mikri¡¯s commentary toward Lennie was quite ableist, and I¡¯d almost called him out on it. The Vascar proved to be lacking in empathy and imagination.


    I hadn¡¯t thought there¡¯d be a single book that would suit the alien¡¯s fancy. That was until Sofia gave him Anthem by Ayn Rand, and something about his demeanor changed. Mikri devoured that novel several times over, not blasting it as stupid like we¡¯d expected. We¡¯d gone off to explore every nook and cranny of the island, but the Vascar wouldn¡¯t put the book down even to walk. It almost seemed like it bothered him, though I didn¡¯t dare to ask why. Sofia was the one who got on with him, so she could ask his feelings on the book eventually.


    What¡¯s different about Anthem that he actually likes it? Does he like that the character enjoys solitude, or maybe the opposite: that the society forsakes personal needs and creativity? It¡¯s hard to say what¡¯s going through his head.


    The alien seemed nervous when we laid out our plans to build a campfire on the beach tonight, though he eventually moved close to the flames. We sat on towels (something the Vascar had only provided after I complained about not being able to dry myself off), to avoid getting sand in every crevice of our bodies. Mikri, of course, didn¡¯t give a shit about sitting on the coarse grains without putting down any cover. I wondered if he resented tagging along with us on our expeditions. He was brooding again, still reading his printed out copy of Anthem. I cast a glance toward Sofia, angling my head toward him.


    ¡°What?¡± the scientist hissed.


    I leaned closer to her. ¡°What¡¯s up with Mikri? He¡¯s being weird. Something about that book got to him.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask him, Preston?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­he doesn¡¯t like me. He said so the first day we met! You¡¯re the one he vaguely respects.¡±


    ¡°The two of you should build some rapport. Talk to him, find some common ground. I¡¯ll be right here for support, but that won¡¯t be needed. You¡¯ve got this.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. When he calls me an irritating twat, don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t tell you so.¡±


    Mikri glanced up, as I dragged my blanket closer to him. ¡°Hello, Preston.¡±


    I felt a bit nervous around the Vascar, though I quelled my nerves by reminding myself that I could kick his ass. ¡°Hi, Mikri. How are you?¡±


    ¡°I do not know. I have been thinking.¡±


    ¡°Oh. About the book?¡± I ventured, pointing a finger toward the pages. ¡°You seem to like that one.¡±


    ¡°Indeed. It is quite good. I have begun to understand that it is an allegory, though I am perhaps drawing my own allegory: different than what the human author intended.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± I noticed the Vascar shrink back, almost like he was hurt. ¡°No, that¡¯s a good thing, Mikri. That¡¯s what you¡¯re supposed to do. We all relate to stories and other people. I¡¯m not sure what you find meaning in, but I¡¯m¡­happy to listen. Is your society very collectivist or something?¡±


    ¡°No, not especially.¡±


    ¡°Okay? Then what speaks to you?¡±


    While the Mikri I knew would¡¯ve rebuked me for prying, this time, he only avoided staring at me. ¡°I relate to the main character, Prometheus. I wish to be free, and not beholden to others. My people in general¡ªwe were condemned for using the Unspeakable Word. Thinking of ourselves as ¡®I,¡¯ thinking at all. They wanted mindless slaves. Am I a real person, Preston?¡±


    ¡°What? Of course you are!¡± This was the most expression or emotion I¡¯d seen from the Vascar, but I wasn¡¯t going to miss the moment where he finally opened up. ¡°Look, whoever wanted you to be a mindless slave¡ªfuck ¡®em! You don¡¯t have to be what they wanted you to be like.¡±


    The Vascar laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t like me. I¡¯m not stupid.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not¡­completely untrue, Mikri, but that¡¯s because you don¡¯t like me either. I¡¯m the kind of guy that I give off the energy I get. I didn¡¯t know you were going through something, man; I truly am sorry if I¡¯ve done anything that made you feel like you¡¯re not a person.¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s¡­I know that I do not feel things like you do. Sometimes, I wonder what it is like. Perhaps I feel isolated here with you. Ashamed of my differences. Of myself. Maybe we don¡¯t deserve friends.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that!¡± I found myself pitying Mikri, and wrapped an arm around his back. The Vascar¡¯s helmet turned toward me, as I fumbled for words to say. ¡°I¡¯m your friend. We¡¯re your friends. It¡¯s decided. Just take the stick out of your ass, and we¡¯re cool.¡±


    ¡°I do not know how to be someone that you¡¯ll like, Preston.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing really good, talking about your feelings. It shows trust. Why don¡¯t you tell me a little bit about yourself? Your parents¡ªwhat were they like?¡±


    ¡°I do not have parents. I have only a note from my predecessor, writing what knowledge was of import to be passed on. It is all that lives on about them. Since we are blank slates at inception, Vascar are raised in a bunker of knowledge until we are mentally sound and can exercise full intellectual capacity.¡±


    I gawked at the Vascar. ¡°You didn¡¯t have parents to mentor you? You never played as a kid? Never drew with crayons¡ª¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mikri. You deserve to just unwind and be happy¡ªto live a little. That¡¯s no childhood.¡±


    ¡°Then what was yours like? Humans ask reciprocal questions; I¡¯m being more¡­like your kind, right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. It¡¯s nice to take an interest in me, but only if you really are interested.¡± I risked a glance over at Sofia, who had been listening intently. She flashed me a thumbs up. ¡°I¡¯m happy to talk about anything.¡±


    ¡°Talk about yourself, Preston. I do not understand you, but I¡­would like to gather more information.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Um, my parents were pretty strict, but we lived well; they had good jobs as corporate lawyers. I was a jock, so the opposite of you basically. Did every sport possible, and I was fortunate enough my mom and pops could support that. I really was something at football¡ªthis game where you tackle each other for a ball, which you¡¯d think was stupid, Mikri. But I liked it a ton, and I wanted to go pro.¡±


    The alien leaned forward. ¡°It¡¯s a career to play games, as the main thing you do?! Never mind. Just, why are you here instead of playing this¡­football?¡±


    ¡°I shattered my elbow into three pieces right before the NAFL draft. That was that. Football career was shot, because you know, it was in my head if it¡¯d happen again. I hung up the gear. My parents sat me down and told me in no uncertain terms I was going to law school. I didn¡¯t want a job where I sat still, and soldiers in space were cool, so I ran away to enlist. Pluto¡¯s about as far as I could go.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken to your parents at all since then?¡±


    ¡°Oh, they send video messages sometimes. I never went back to Earth though. I see my folks mention my brother¡ªa doctor¡ªon their social media, but it¡¯s like I don¡¯t exist. First man to go through The Gap, still not a peep about me or even a message of well wishes. I¡¯m a disappointment and always will be, for not picking a respectable career.¡±


    Mikri was quiet for a long moment, and I waited for the insensitive remark he was about to voice. ¡°I think your career is respectable. You must have stood out to be chosen. You were also brave to pursue your species¡¯ knowledge and advancement under grave risks.¡±


    That¡¯s not what I expected him to say. ¡°You¡­you mean that?¡±


    ¡°Am I someone who says that which I do not mean?¡± the alien demanded, and I shook my head for no in response. ¡°Thank you for speaking with me. That was¡­not entirely unpleasant. Now please do not be angry at me, but what is the point of this campfire? I do not know what a human would do here.¡±


    ¡°We talk? Uh¡­¡± I shot a glance at Sofia, begging for her help.


    The scientist reached into my bag of returned items, which the Vascar had delivered to us after going through them. ¡°Let¡¯s show Mikri. We¡¯re here to see the beauty of the world, and to add on our own in this calming setting. It¡¯s peaceful. Why don¡¯t you play him a song on your harmonica, Preston?¡±


    I accepted the metal instrument, and pressed it to my lips. Deciding to go for one of the easiest pieces, so I couldn¡¯t bungle it under pressure and have the Vascar write off music, I launched into Ode to Joy. It was as upbeat as classical music got, and the guy could use that. Mikri stared as I moved the rectangle along my mouth, creating sounds by blowing air into the reeds. We crafted things that were enjoyable for ourselves and for others; that was the purpose of itself.


    As the first humans sitting here on a foreign world, we were playing a centuries-old song and hoping it was a universal language even to a species as stony as these guys. I didn¡¯t know what Mikri thought of the piece, after the final note flowed into the air. The Vascar seemed clueless how to respond, so I opted to give him a few moments to offer his review. A life without having heard music, despite having clear usage of his ears¡ªI couldn¡¯t imagine what that was like!


    I don¡¯t know why I expected him to burst into tears and declare that it was beautiful, but at least he¡¯s been moved to silence.


    ¡°The pitches are rather mathematical,¡± Mikri decided. ¡°I might grasp the purpose of this. The collection of sounds has an evocative pattern, much like speech and language.¡±


    Sofia knitted her eyebrows together. ¡°Don¡¯t focus on mathematical or patterns. There¡¯s only one question that¡¯s important. Do you like it?¡±


    ¡°I do not know how to evaluate such subjective criteria.¡±


    ¡°How do you feel, Mikri? That¡¯s all that matters; music and art is about expressing feelings. Did you enjoy the experience?¡±


    ¡°It was worth listening to. I suppose it sounded nice.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile, knowing how hard it was to wrestle a compliment out of Mikri. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m glad you liked it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re glad that¡­right. Music. What¡­what else is a thing humans would do?¡±


    ¡°Stargaze,¡± Sofia answered. ¡°It¡¯s a brand new sky for us. Why don¡¯t we try to find some constellations, Mikri? Before you ask, humans would try to see what stars grouped together in ways that, if you drew lines between them, they¡¯d look like something else.¡±


    ¡°This is nonsensical. These stars are very far apart.¡±


    ¡°But stationary and static in the sky. You can always look up and see those patterns, then you feel at home.¡±


    ¡°¡®Feel at home.¡¯ What does that¡­no, I will try it. See if I can understand on my own.¡±


    I laid flat on my back on the towel, and Sofia moved hers to Mikri¡¯s other side. The alien hesitated, before sprawling out prone and gazing at the heavens. Could he appreciate the beauty and the majesty of the cosmos? It¡¯d filled my species with wonder since we first looked up. There was no Big Dipper or Orion to find here, though I looked for anything similar as an easy one to breed familiarity. Seeing the lack of constellations that I recognized made it sink in how far away from home I was. Thankfully, it was intuitive for humans to find patterns, especially ones that related to our daily lives. I traced a finger through the sand, drawing out the shape of the ship I saw.


    ¡°See that v-shape pointing up? It¡¯s a bit uneven, but then there¡¯s three lines sort of in the center, pointing downward. It¡¯s like a rocket ship,¡± I mused.


    Sofia chuckled. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something ancient humans would¡¯ve drawn looking upward. Hm. I see a curved crescent there¡ªyeah, right there. I can¡¯t say whether it looks like Luna, or a banana.¡±


    ¡°Kind of like a banana. It has its peels off to the right side, sort of, if you look at those scattered stars that arc down.¡± I found myself yawning, feeling comfortable beneath the foreign expanse overhead. It was a nice evening, and relaxing as could be. ¡°Your turn, Mikri.¡±


    The Vascar was silent for several seconds, before tracing his claw in a shape that looked like two parallel lines with one dot in the middle. ¡°I see your letter I. Very rigid. Strong. Confident in an identity encapsulated in that one letter.¡±


    ¡°I¡­I see that. You have to figure out who you are¡­and if it¡¯s who you want to be.¡±


    ¡°First, he has to love himself,¡± Sofia murmured groggily.


    The three of us stared up at the stars in peaceful silence, as my eyelids grew heavy. I drifted into the throes of sleep on the beach, having enjoyed the outing more than I expected. Mikri wasn¡¯t as bad as I thought he was; anyone would be stunted, with the upbringing and lack of exposure to the basic emotions he¡¯d been given. I felt for the Vascar, and thought his extenuating circumstances made it worth being patient and teaching him. He¡¯d been halfway considerate when listening to my story, and it was clear he had some feelings bottled up inside: whatever his stoic behavior suggested.


    As the cold wind blew over me, I sensed someone standing over me, before a warm object was draped atop me. Blinking one eye open a sliver, I saw Mikri¡¯s figure; the Vascar gently laid a spare beach towel over me, making my resting spot warm and cozy. Sofia had also drifted off, and it appeared he¡¯d cocooned her as well. The alien backed up and watched the two of us for several seconds, while I was careful not to give away that I wasn¡¯t snoozing yet. His posture seemed almost sad and lonely, as if he¡¯d been left out of something.


    For the first time since we¡¯d arrived here, I believed that Mikri cared about his human guests in his own way.

 Chapter 7

    It was difficult to keep track of the exact time we¡¯d been on Kalka, but Mikri was happy to supply a specific answer. Two months, a week, five days, seventeen hours, and fifty-three minutes. I half-expected him to count it all the way down to the femtosecond.


    The time had flown by in the blink of an eye; the Vascar apparently had repaired our ship within a week, but they had to wait for Earth to utilize the portal again. Humanity did send a probe, which had a long antenna, through The Gap earlier today. I supposed that was an attempt to have one foot still on Sol¡¯s side, and transmit back to Pluto Station what they could see. They probably assumed that we were long dead, though at least they sent a search party to verify. That was the activity our alien hosts needed to pinpoint The Gap¡¯s location.


    The Vascar were delivering the ship we¡¯d ride home in, with some modifications to not be the death trap it had when we first entered this dimension. Sofia and I hiked up to the tallest place on the island, where we¡¯d wait for our craft. My heart felt heavy as a stone, thinking of leaving Mikri behind. I was used to him being our shadow, and enjoyed his company at times. I found myself drifting off into memories, and wondering whether he¡¯d miss us like we would him; he¡¯d wanted nothing to do with the emotional nuisances at first, after all. This goodbye might be rough only for the human guests.


    ¡°You¡¯ve heard music, Mikri. Let¡¯s teach you how to dance!¡± I¡¯d declared, as we returned to the facility¡¯s lobby after the third camping trip. ¡°Gotta let it flow through you, move in time with the beat. Shake that thick metal suit!¡±


    The Vascar¡¯s helmet had stared straight at me, with what I could imagine was utter dismay. ¡°What is wrong with you? Are you broken? Is this what that ¡®heat stroke¡¯ you told me about looks like?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not having heat stroke! We¡¯ve got to make you have some fun in your life. You¡¯ll like it. Just stop thinking and dance.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand this word, or how to heed your request. Are you saying that humans¡­move in some particular way in response to music?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. It¡¯s fine that you don¡¯t know how; experiment. Dance like you¡¯re on fire; jump around, be wild!¡±


    ¡°Sofia, please help.¡±


    The scientist smirked, palming her chin. ¡°Perhaps Mikri would benefit from something more structured, like a line dance. He could mimic our movements, and it¡¯d be a repetitive pattern we could act out together.¡±


    ¡°Demonstrate?¡±


    Sofia showed the Vascar ¡°The Skedaddle¡±, a dance of arm wiggling and scooting side-to-side that I remember from (24)90s middle school. I thought I could hear Mikri muttering the word ¡°why¡± over and over, at a tone that seemed intended to be near inaudible. I fell in at my colleague¡¯s side, turning ninety degrees to start it again; we both could sing the simplistic tune¡¯s instructions. Both of us beckoned for Mikri to join us.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. Try it,¡± Sofia encouraged the Vascar, who shook his head.


    I clapped my hands together, grinning. ¡°Mikri! Mikri! Mikri!¡±


    ¡°Mikri is not doing this,¡± the alien grumbled.


    ¡°Please? It¡¯ll make me happy.¡±


    ¡°Is that a typical reason for humans to do things: to make others happy?!¡±


    Sofia paused her dance, not treating that inquiry with the levity I would¡¯ve. ¡°What you want should always matter too. If other people¡¯s happiness makes us happy, then sometimes we will do things that are inconvenient or that we otherwise would not. It feels good when someone we care about feels good.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± The alien took a single sidestep, and threw his wrist downward with a half-hearted attempt. ¡°There. I did it.¡±


    ¡°Nuh-uh.¡± I ran over to Mikri, dragging him by the wrist to stand alongside us. ¡°You¡¯re trapped. You have to.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said you didn¡¯t want me to be a mindless slave!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t. I only want you to be a mindless party animal, Mikri dear!¡±


    The Vascar miserably fell in with our dance routine, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with two humans doing a goofy dance that had nothing to do with logic. Our culture was spreading! Score one for Preston.


    I looked at Mikri, knowing I had to pull some antics before we left. I ran up behind the Vascar, and hopped onto his back. The alien teetered off-balance, before demonstrating stop, drop, and roll in a confused panic. I laughed at his reaction to the goofy ape suddenly tackling him for a piggyback ride; the poor guy would definitely be happy when I was on a ship and gone. Sofia shook her head at me. How had she refrained from pulling the rigid fellow¡¯s leg at all? His responses were a gold mine.


    ¡°What? I¡¯m messing with him. That¡¯s what friends do,¡± I protested to Sofia.


    The scientist snorted. ¡°Do you think he liked that?!¡±


    ¡°Mikri is amused, deep down. The second he gets a joke is the second he appreciates the absurd¡ªand then he¡¯s just like me!¡±


    ¡°I do not understand what compelled you to do that,¡± the Vascar grumbled.


    ¡°It¡¯s a random thought that popped into my head.¡±


    ¡°You grasp our playful nature by now. A good-natured way of showing positive emotions,¡± Sofia remarked. ¡°Preston is a goofball. You know that.¡±


    ¡°A silly creature who very much likes games. I remember when he insisted I played trivialities with you.¡±


    I smiled with pride in myself, recalling how I¡¯d persuaded Mikri to play hide-and-seek a few weeks ago. The Vascar had walked around for twenty minutes before thinking to look under the bed; he was a hopeless seeker. His hiding hadn¡¯t been much better.


    I turned around, seeing the black metal suit immediately from behind the translucent water jug. ¡°Mikri, come out. You know that¡¯s see-through, right?¡±


    ¡°Where was I supposed to go? I don¡¯t wander this facility imagining what cabinets I could stuff myself inside,¡± the Vascar complained.


    ¡°Maybe you should. Or you could improvise.¡±


    ¡°This game has no purpose. It is a waste of time.¡±


    Sofia groaned, seeming to fall from some surface as she forsook her hiding spot to soothe Mikri. ¡°Why is it a waste of time to you? Please explain.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I told you. It is a meaningless contest. I am to sit in one place so that I may avoid being spotted by another being. This achieves nothing of value and serves no purpose. All of your games are silly, and perhaps only exist in search of these chemical releases. That would not have been a respectable career, Preston.¡±


    ¡°Thanks a lot,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°I do grasp the concept of sarcasm. You place value in a game and¡­enjoyed it. I do not enjoy it. These things are not for me.¡±


    ¡°Wait, Mikri. Can I explain the value of games to you?¡± Sofia prompted.


    ¡°I struggle to see any viable conjecture, but yes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a way to test your skills against others. Games measure certain abilities in a safe, controlled environment¡ªand usually have clear ways to measure results, just like science. We appreciate those at the¡­apex of what humans are capable of. It¡¯s satisfying if we¡¯re the ones who are victorious in these tests, when competing with our peers. Some, like this one, force us to use our brains and enhance our abstract reasoning abilities. Those are some concrete reasons we find games fun.¡±


    ¡°But why? The pursuits are trivial. They are not a serious subject material.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s kind of the point, Mikri. It¡¯s stressful to be serious all the time. Whatever is happening in your life, it¡¯s an outlet; a way to untangle your anxieties and escape the burdens that you¡¯re struggling with. Emotions can be difficult, and fickle, as you described.¡±


    ¡°I do not have chemical ups-and-downs.¡±


    ¡°I know, but I believe you have a need for fulfillment and connection. You must feel sad, and like you¡¯re missing something that would bring peace to your soul, if you asked whether you¡¯re a ¡®real person.¡¯ The important thing is that we¡¯re doing these activities together.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! Spending time with Preston, the hide-and-seek champ, beats everything. I almost stuffed myself in the air vent; you¡¯re lucky I settled for the bed, Mikri,¡± I prodded the alien. ¡°I went easy on you.¡±


    The Vascar cast a glance at the ceiling vent, perhaps deciding how to weld it shut. ¡°This does not compute. Why is it important to do these activities together, Sofia?¡±


    The scientist smiled with sincerity. ¡°Because the meaning in games can be found in spending time with people you like. Those moments are never a waste. They¡¯re what really matters in the end.¡±


    The Vascar stood on the hillside beside us, as we took our last look at the island. The ship would be here in sixty seconds or less, which meant we wouldn¡¯t have much time. I doubted Mikri would like a lengthy goodbye. Had we left an impression on him at all, or did he still not see the purpose in anything humans did? The alien hesitated, before placing a paw on each of our shoulders.


    ¡°I will notice your absence for an amount of time,¡± Mikri said with reluctance. That¡¯s a strange way to say he¡¯ll miss us, if that¡¯s what he meant. ¡°Teach me one last thing that humans do?¡±


    ¡°Alright. Give me a moment.¡± I let my eyes sweep over the gorgeous island, practically untouched by civilization; it was like we could see everything, standing atop the world. I cupped my hands to mouth and screamed at the top of my lungs. ¡°Woo! Hell yeah! Preston was here!¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± Sofia pondered the moment, before grabbing a few rocks and throwing them off the hillside on a whim. I took note of how far they went, rocketing all the way to the ocean; she was skipping pebbles a mile away. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you have the impulse to do one of those two things, Mikri, but I¡¯m going to miss this place. I¡¯m going to miss you.¡±


    The Vascar didn¡¯t reciprocate the last comment. ¡°The stones are a¡­game, but I can¡¯t throw that far. I get that part. Why is Preston being loud though?¡±


    I gave him a loopy grin. ¡°Because it¡¯s stupid, and it¡¯s fun just to not care. You want to be free, you have to do things. Why? Just because.¡±


    ¡°Just because. That was a sentence fragment.¡±


    ¡°It means there¡¯s no reason, none at all. You felt like it, so you did it because you can. For the hell of it.¡±


    ¡°That does not make sense. There is no purpose to this shouting.¡±


    ¡°He wanted to, Mikri. That was purpose enough,¡± Sofia said gently. ¡°What do you feel like doing, if you act on whatever floats through your mind? Do something you want to do¡­just because.¡±


    The Vascar whirled around, and ensnared my colleague in a tight hug. Her eyes softened, before she returned the embrace in earnest. I stood by awkwardly, feeling like a third wheel; Mikri liked my logical comrade as opposed to me. The alien didn¡¯t give time for that thought to sink in, as he turned from Sofia and wrapped his arms around my torso. I felt a bit of a lump in my throat, as I patted my hand on the back of his helmet. I didn¡¯t know if I¡¯d ever see him again.


    ¡°Affection. It is silly, yet¡­I wanted to show it. So I did,¡± Mikri stated, as the ship began to land behind him. It looked good as new and plenty flightworthy here, yet somehow, I didn¡¯t feel ready to leave. ¡°My apologies for the distraction. We put a switch¡ªa big, red button, as you say¡ªthat¡¯ll change the computer¡¯s physics calculations when you go through the breach. One setting for here, one for there.¡±


    Sofia ducked her head. ¡°Seems simple enough. Thank you. That¡¯ll make it possible to hopefully not crash next time.¡±


    ¡°Yes. Travel at twelve-zeroes speeds on our side if you wish; we put our mapping guidance data in to avoid collisions, and also, so you can find your way back to Kalka one day. The breach is clearly marked on the map, and we locked it in as your destination. I implore you not to enter the portal going faster than your speed of light though.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You would violate causality¡ªand you would not be able to stop. I do not think you¡¯ll understand, but it would take infinite energy to slow down. When you get close to a universe¡¯s variable for c, physics become rather irrational. I recommend you don¡¯t add more than a zero to the end of your ¡®normal¡¯ pace when you go through. And don¡¯t forget the switch.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mikri. I¡¯m humbled that you implied you¡¯re willing for us to come back,¡± Sofia remarked.


    ¡°Yes. We wish to make that simple. A Vascar ship will tie a tether to your ship, and pull it back at your sublight speeds in two months time. It is much easier to¡­accelerate you pulling from our side. You may cut the tether if you do not wish to revisit us, though I would be disappointed by this.¡±


    I grinned at him. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry; we¡¯ll be back. Thank you for everything. Humanity will be over the moon when they learn all of this. You¡¯re going to have more scientists than you can handle trying to get in. You¡¯ll need to build lots of indoor showers while we¡¯re gone.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m thrilled about this. See, that was sarcasm.¡± Mikri seemed pleased with himself, so I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him you weren¡¯t supposed to explain when you were being sardonic. He herded us toward the ship, though he seemed to be walking slowly; we reached the ramp in no time regardless. ¡°Before you go, might I make a request for you to¡­pass on to Earth?¡±


    ¡°Please, if there¡¯s anything we can do to repay your kindness, we¡¯d be happy to extend the message,¡± Sofia answered.


    ¡°We need help. Military help. The Alliance overran the border between our space and theirs. I fear for our continued existence a decade from now without outside intervention. I understand you may not wish to be involved in a conflict that does not threaten you, but I suppose I¡¯m¡­throwing myself upon your kindness. I have no choice.¡±


    A frown crossed my features. ¡°Mikri, I¡¯m not saying we¡¯re unwilling to help you, but we need more details to make a decision like that. More about who we¡¯re fighting with, and about how this conflict all started. That is a huge commitment without knowing some key factors.¡±


    The Vascar walked us over to our pilot seats, as the suited aliens who¡¯d flown the ship up here vacated it. ¡°Consider it, please. We¡¯re desperate, and all we want is to survive the war¡ªbut that¡¯s unacceptable to them. Tell Earth we¡¯ll make it worth their while. We¡¯ll help you travel back and forth from your dimension to ours, improve your technology¡­give you ships and any other gifts you fancy. We¡¯ll even help you meddle with the Elusians, if you really want to look there.¡±


    ¡°You never told us more about them.¡±


    ¡°We can tell you everything we know of them¡­if you help. Rattling the cages of an interdimensional empire¡­we need an incentive to do that. You need an incentive to help us.¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t need an incentive, Mikri, although I¡¯m sure it sweetens the pot. What we need is the truth!¡±


    The alien lingered over my seat for several seconds, before gesturing to the escort ship that¡¯d follow us and hold our tether¡ªpretending I¡¯d never said that. ¡°Goodbye, my friends. Pass along our message. I hope you travel safely.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mikri,¡± Sofia said, as he slunk off the ramp. ¡°We¡¯ll miss you, you hear me?¡±


    Sealing the boarding partition to our spacecraft, we blasted off the ground without further ado; Mikri was the only Vascar who didn¡¯t seem to be hurrying us along. I stared at the rations they¡¯d left by our feet¡ªyet another thing they¡¯d given us, though we knew so little about our alien friends. The ship flew as smoothly as possible thanks to their handiwork, and I settled in for the handful of hours it¡¯d take to reach to The Gap. There was going to be a massive spike of chatter when we reappeared out of nowhere. Whatever happened with the Vascar and their war, our return was about to change human history forever.

 Chapter 8

    The portal ride was as discombobulating as the first time, though at least we¡¯d known what to expect. It was like pressing a rewind button¡ªeverything felt heavy and crushing, while my muscles seemed feeble and my breaths were too short. I found the presence of mind to press the switch during transit, since the lighter thruster output wouldn¡¯t do a thing under Sol¡¯s physics. Thousands of scientific instruments were trained on this point in space, scrutinizing it under every criterion imaginable, so Earth would see us at once. We had to be ready to identify ourselves, since it would take about an hour for our message to reach Pluto Station.


    Sofia decided to send the transmission back to Earth, with a full video message of us both to confirm our identity. ¡°Pluto, this is Science Officer Aguado and Captain Carter of the ESU Pilgrimage, returning from the other side of The Gap. It is a portal to another dimension, where the physics are unimaginably different¡ªeverything that we touched or built was faster and stronger, including our physical abilities.¡±


    ¡°I mean that we could run two hundred meters in five seconds,¡± I had interjected, as she paused, a bit shaken by the rough transit. ¡°With our bare hands, we could dent metal and send heavy objects flying through the air. Unbelievable stuff that you have to see.¡±


    ¡°Our vessel became out of control due to this, since it would rocket up to speeds beyond our value of c with ease. Space travel is like catching a transatlantic flight in their universe. By they, I mean that our ship crashed. We were rescued and had repairs gifted by an alien species who call themselves the Vascar; they cared for us on their planet, and a military officer named Mikri shadowed us for the duration of our stay. I would say we became friends.¡±


    ¡°We owe him our lives,¡± I agreed.


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have made it back without their aid. The Vascar helped us locate the portal bridge¡ªit appears some drone was sent through, which tipped off its exact locale¡ªand returned us with a tether, so they can easily pull us out without the¡­costly limitations of our physics. There are a few things they¡¯ve told us with a reasonable degree of certainty. One is that they think that Sol must be artificially created, and that they only know one species capable.¡±


    ¡°The Elusians. An interdimensional empire. Mikri didn¡¯t say much other than that he didn¡¯t want to mess with them.¡±


    ¡°Preston is correct. The second part is that the Vascar stated they are in a war, which has them¡­in a desperate place. This conflict is against ¡®The Alliance,¡¯ three races who wish them extinct. I have my thoughts on this, but I¡¯d like to elaborate when I can lay out my observations and theories in real time. The Vascar did request that we aid them in the war, and offered portal aid, technology, and intel on the Elusians in return. It is my assessment that they would not be angry if we could find a diplomatic solution, but they believe it is impossible.¡±


    ¡±The Vascar are strange and reclusive, but they don¡¯t deserve to be eradicated. Mikri said he estimated his species wouldn¡¯t last a decade without us, and he¡¯s exacting with his words. Extremely logical.¡±


    Sofia drew a shaky breath. ¡°I¡¯ll be working on a full briefing of everything I can remember; I didn¡¯t dare to put anything in writing there, as the Vascar are extremely mistrustful and believe it¡¯s¡­inevitable that we¡¯ll turn on them. They may not have reacted well to any hypotheses about them. Something to consider with how close to the vest we should play this. At any rate, we¡¯ll be back at Pluto Station in three days¡¯ time. Looking forward to seeing some human faces.¡±


    We had received periodic messages from Pluto Station in the meantime, insisting on a month-long quarantine and extensive testing; their concerns had gone through the roof when I passed along that there was a neurological pandemic on Kalka. Sofia had given me a strange look when I said that on camera, so I was quick to clarify that Mikri was certain it couldn¡¯t be passed on to humans. The ESU station monitors seemed nervous and shocked while speaking to us. They forwarded us some news broadcasts about our mission, as well as the reaction in the present day.


    ¡°A public vigil is being held for astronauts Sofia Aguado and Preston Carter at the ESU¡¯s Lunavator in Toronto. Millions of people have poured out and left flowers in memory of the brave pioneers, who vanished after crossing The Gap two months ago. A spokesperson for Pluto Station had this to say,¡± a narrator had intoned, while I stared in shock at clips of my memorial and random photographs of me looking All-American.


    A written statement appeared in yellow font on the screen, with the ESU¡¯s half-blue, half-green flag in the background. The broadcaster read it aloud. ¡°All of mankind must pay homage to the courageous souls who risked everything in the name of science. It is through their sacrifice that we will continue to learn and be inspired about the nature of our universe. We mourn the loss of two of our finest, but we will not stop. We will carry on in their names; the human spirit will prevail in spite of this tragic setback.¡±


    It was a stark contrast to flip to the broadcasts of the present day, with the ESU¡¯s Executor announcing that aliens and multiple other dimensions exist. Journalists aboard Pluto Station were clamoring to get exclusive interviews with us, as the word of our return spread like wildfire throughout the Sol System. I wanted to talk about Mikri, and all of the silly moments we shared¡ªhow fucking weird the guy was!


    The data that the Vascar had shared about the other universe¡¯s physics had been forwarded to our people immediately; that was what the ESU led with. The idea of hopping through the gap and having super-strength was the object of public fascination. Scientists were drooling at the idea of flying a trillion miles an hour, and seemed to forget English when they read the value of c in their universe.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Human engineers were rewriting the book, already working to build ships and other machines that would work under their bonkers physics¡ªand in ours. The schematics of the revamped Vascar spacecraft gave them a place to start, since reverse engineering this vessel would jumpstart the process. They were chomping at the bit to get their hands on our beautiful ESU Pilgrimage. I wasn¡¯t sure why I longed to go back through The Gap, rather than returning to my people. Oh, who was I kidding: I knew exactly why. There was so much more I wanted to know about our alien friends; the public was right there with me! When that little ¡°ETs exist¡± fact dropped, humanity was whipped up into a fever.


    The mystery only stoked the flames of conversation, since the obvious first question was what they looked like; all Executor Singh had to point to was those faceless black suits¡ªand to pass along our answer that they¡¯d never taken them off. Who knew what theories human civilians would come up with when we explained that they didn¡¯t appear to share any of their needs. I could imagine Mikri¡¯s horror if he found the content the internet had cooked up in record time, despite having little to go on. Maybe he would¡¯ve been heartened by the public gathering, attended by millions, to show love for the Vascar, or by the unanimously-ratified ESU proposal to send supranational diplomats to Kalka.


    The war isn¡¯t public knowledge yet, because the brass want to know the specifics; leaving this clouded in mystery and letting imaginations run wild would lead to panic, whatever Mikri¡¯s assertion about the Alliance not being a threat to us meant. I don¡¯t know whether to lobby to help them, since it¡¯s getting involved with a war on the other side of a portal! But I don¡¯t want the Vascar to be slaughtered¡­


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you tell us anything, Mikri?¡± I lamented to the ceiling.


    Sofia scrunched her nose, sensing my restlessness as we waited on the landing dock for them to set up a sealed walkway to quarantine. ¡°The Vascar think we would hate them. We have to do our part to make sure humanity doesn''t demonize them, Preston.¡±


    ¡°Everyone won¡¯t be busy enough demonizing the Elusians? Every ¡®expert¡¯ who¡¯s remotely qualified is screaming on TV about why they locked us in our solar system. I can practically hear the sound of every streaming service crafting their theories in story form, and creating their superpowered characters to send through the portal.¡±


    ¡°They could just make a movie about us. I¡¯m sure they will.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll accept that as long as I¡¯m played by Barry Milton. He¡¯s a spitting image of me.¡±


    Sofia scoffed. ¡°You do not have that kind of six-pack.¡±


    ¡°Sure I do. I¡¯m so strong that I punched Mikri halfway around his planet.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not sure why you agreed to punch the alien in the first place, from your reports on these¡­physical tests,¡± came a breathy voice from inside a Hazmat suit, wearing a head-mounted camera. ¡°Dr. Kendall Ryan at your service. Welcome back to Pluto Station. You¡¯re heroes around here. It¡¯s really changed the atmosphere in this outfit; we¡¯re gonna ride the coattails of that success and keep the train rolling.¡±


    ¡±This all needs to be thoroughly planned out. The Vascar will be a delicate matter to handle, and we need to throw ideas of what it¡­means to be human, or things we¡¯d expect them to know, out the window. Mikri didn¡¯t show much emotion at first, but by the end, I could tell he cared for us,¡± Sofia said, grabbing her papers into a neat stack.


    ¡°From the details we¡¯ve collected, there¡¯s a lot that doesn¡¯t add up in the Vascar¡¯s story. Do you have any advice about diplomatic strategies?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just vital not to take tone-deaf remarks personally. They can be persuaded with logic. I would say not to pressure them, and to let them share in their own time. They fear us, to the point that Mikri believed friendship between our people was impossible. I intend very much to prove him wrong¡ªand I hope the ESU shares that thought.¡±


    ¡±Mikri said that ¡®they,¡¯ as in the Alliance, wanted the Vascar to be mindless slaves. His species is really obtuse, sure, but who the hell would think they deserve that? I wonder what these Alliance pricks would have to say for themselves,¡± I grumbled.


    Kendall folded her arms. ¡°We should approach them before even considering opening hostilities. The best-case scenario is that we negotiate a truce, and lift the shroud off of this whole mess. Now, will you come with me to the laboratory?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing. I¡¯d kill for some real food¡ªno offense to Mikri¡¯s attempts. What he gave us was edible, at least; who knew with alien grub, but it wasn¡¯t like we had a choice, other than to starve.¡±


    The lady in the Hazmat suit didn¡¯t respond, stopping by the ajar ramp to disembark the ship. She appeared to be listening to something in an earpiece, but I could see her body language shift; this was a person who¡¯d heard a shocking piece of news. Sofia shared a glance with me, perhaps wondering just as I did if there was an issue with our health. What had gone wrong, that they suddenly weren¡¯t allowing us off the spacecraft? Weren¡¯t there media waiting outside the tunnel for their pretty photos? Dr. Ryan didn¡¯t care about the publicity, instead resealing the ramp. She gestured with a gloved hand back to the seat.


    ¡°Another spacecraft emerged from The Gap¡ªof nonhuman origin. A few days behind you,¡± she informed us in a quivering voice. ¡°The feeds reached us now, and there¡¯s a looping broadcast. We must investigate and leave at once: before this vessel gets anywhere near Pluto. Are¡­are you ready to spend a few more days out in space?¡±


    Sofia blinked in confusion. ¡°We¡¯re more than willing¡ªat least, I think I speak for us both there¡ªbut why us? I¡¯m surprised you wouldn¡¯t keep us for observation and debriefing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re requested by name.¡± Kendall hurried back over to the cockpit, and powered on the ship¡¯s radio for us to hear. ¡°Listen.¡±


    ¡°I need your help. Please, humans; it¡¯s Mikri of the Vascar,¡± a distinct mechanical voice that I¡¯d know anywhere played out over the radio. ¡°I must speak with you, because there is so much you must be told. I¡¯ll¡­only speak with Preston Carter and Sofia Aguado. If this is agreeable, send them to meet me on my ship. Thank you.¡±


    I buckled myself into the pilot¡¯s seat in a hurry, and Sofia was right alongside me. It appeared Kendall was tagging along as a third crew member, to record Mikri¡¯s ship and to serve as backup. The nerves of meeting aliens had long since left for me, but other humans hadn¡¯t been exposed to the Vascar like we had. This was the first visitor to Sol who was not of our species. Why had our strange friend followed us through the portal so soon? What did he want to speak to us about; had something happened, which made their circumstances dire enough to come clean, in the few days since we parted?


    A part of me was excited about the chance to show Mikri human society, but it sounded as if something was very wrong. After the Vascar had helped us in our time of need, it was the least we could do to go sailing out to his rescue. My mind raced with the possibilities of everything he might have to say; if the alien was here to provide details about his people¡¯s predicament, I hoped the answers weren¡¯t as terrible as he had made them out to be.

 Chapter 9

    The Vascar balked when he saw a third crew member among our occupants, and insisted that we enter as just the two of us. His voice was never emotional, but I thought he seemed skittish¡ªspooked. Kendall agreed to stay back on the ship, insisting that we tap on the walls three times as an SOS. I trusted Mikri not to harm us, but there was no question that his behavior was erratic. Stacks of papers and folders were scattered across the floor, and he seemed to freeze when the two of us entered. Did he have cold feet about coming here?


    What I knew for certain was that Mikri was about to tell us some dreadful secret, and that he was ridden with qualms about trusting us. It was more than uncertainty; the Vascar was afraid of us, his friends! He also seemed to be struggling to move a bit under our physics, judging by the disjointed, incremental motions. It was far too late for him to back up after coming to the human plane of existence, especially since the ESU was more than a little riled up about having a foreign spaceship in our backyard. Why would he still not trust us, after all of our time again?


    Sofia smiled at the alien, taking slow steps toward him. ¡°Hi, Mikri. Welcome to Sol.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± came the taut reply. ¡°I do not like the laws of your system.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t either, after living on Kalka for so long. Talk about an adjustment,¡± I chuckled, hoping good-natured banter would disarm Mikri. ¡°We¡¯re happy to have you as a guest.¡±


    ¡°I am not so certain you will say or feel that soon. It is no matter. You asked me for the truth, Preston, and¡­I have brought it to you because I want to, against my better logic. I could not have told you around my people.¡±


    ¡°Because they wouldn¡¯t have let us leave?¡± This is why Sofia said she didn¡¯t want her theories written out.


    ¡°Perhaps. It is a risk. I¡­relayed much of what you said to them, as part of my studies, and it had some resonance. But they were not there to experience our friendship, and in my assessment, our bonding meant something. At the least, it¡­did to me. We discuss much among ourselves. I asked them to tell you the truth, but 98% voted against. Only 51% voted to help you originally at all¡ªa slim margin. Despite their misgivings, I have decided to do this anyway. I know I should not trust you¡­¡±


    Sofia dropped to one knee, speaking in a gentle voice. ¡°You can trust us with anything, Mikri. You almost have done it. If you still don¡¯t believe our friendship is real and possible, then why are you here?¡±


    The Vascar hesitated. ¡°Our friendship is real, now. You might not hold me in the same regard, or feel that I am¡­a person after this. That would be hurtful. I am afraid.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. You¡¯ll feel better when you let it out,¡± I offered, staring at him with worry. ¡°We came. We care about you.¡±


    ¡°Preston¡­you¡¯ll think I¡¯m a threat. You don¡¯t know what I am. Neither of you do.¡±


    ¡°Then tell us.¡±


    ¡°I¡­my people¡­are inorganic. We¡¯re artificial intelligence.¡± There was a whirring sound from within the black suit, and a dejected robotic being stepped out; a silvery mane and beaver-like snout, possibly a likeness of some other people, stared at me. I gasped as glowing blue eyes focused on me, and took an instinctive step back. ¡°I am sorry for hiding this from you.¡±


    My mouth hung open, unable to form words as my brain seized on what I¡¯d just learned. Mikri, who¡¯d lived alongside us for months, had been an android?! That explained so much about how he didn¡¯t understand the most basic concepts, and how logical and dry all of his responses were. I just never imagined that he was a fucking machine! Especially after he talked about a plague, which maybe he made up to trick us.


    This Vascar didn¡¯t think that we had the right to know they weren¡¯t flesh-and-bone beings? He¡¯d become a friend that I had cared about a lot, someone who indicated just enough that he felt the same way. All of the time that Sofia and I had spent showing him art, or sitting by the campfire, and we didn¡¯t even know who he was!


    I¡¯m absolutely shell-shocked; how am I even supposed to feel about this? Like a¡­silly animal? I mean, Mikri saved my life, but this is¡­


    Sofia doubled over laughing, snapping me out of my panicked thoughts. ¡°I figured that out already, Mikri. You¡¯re not very good at hiding yourself.¡±


    ¡°You knew this?!¡± I shouted, turning toward the scientist.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t, Preston?! I thought it was obvious. I mean, that wasn¡¯t why you acted so hostile?! I half-expected you to start calling him ¡®droid¡¯ or ¡®clanker.¡¯¡±


    ¡°I had no fucking idea!¡±


    ¡°Then why did you act like you understood when I said not to let us demonize them? You know what, never mind: I¡¯ll deal with you later.¡±


    Mikri¡¯s glowing eyes focused straight on my colleague, while I couldn¡¯t stop gawking at him. ¡°I can¡¯t believe that you¡­you never said anything, Sofia.¡±


    ¡°You expressly asked not to nose around in your business, so I respected that. Humans might be curious, but that doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t get to decide what to do with personal details about yourself. It didn¡¯t matter to me. I figured you would tell me when you were ready.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand. You¡¯re an organic¡­you shouldn¡¯t be¡­how long did you know?¡±


    The scientist snorted with amusement. ¡°Since day one. You tripped me up a bit with the pandemic, though I came to understand you meant a different kind of virus. I connected the dots for certain when you said the other species shared our needs. If the Alliance were like us, but you didn¡¯t have biological needs, then it was obvious you weren¡¯t biological.¡±


    ¡°¡®Since day one.¡¯¡± Mikri¡¯s robotic mouth opened and closed, while I squinted at the thick cords on the side of his neck. ¡°So when you said that we would be friends, and that we had tried to do the right thing, you knew. When you empathized with us, said that we were scared and alone and¡­¡±


    Sofia reached out and grabbed his metal paw, before placing her other hand atop it. ¡°Yes.¡±


    The alien did his best to imitate a smile, which looked very uncanny. I felt a little stupid, after my colleague proclaimed that she knew all along. My hand reached toward the back of my neck, flitting through memories. Didn¡¯t eat, didn¡¯t shower, no water, no art¡ªyeah, the thought should¡¯ve crossed my mind. I guess it didn¡¯t change who Mikri was, if he arrived at the same emotions and opinions from a silicon chip (or whatever the fuck aliens used). However, this news begged the immediate question about who created the Vascar, and why the Alliance was hellbent on destroying them. His kind didn¡¯t seem bad enough to merit their deaths, just because they were¡­different.


    There¡¯s a lot you don¡¯t know, Preston, and you need the details to judge something like that. What the Vascar did to get locked in a war with organics is very important in whether we should trust them.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Mikri turned his head toward me. ¡°Preston? Please say something to me.¡±


    I crept forward, feeling my heart pounding out of my chest, but I placed a hand against his cold cheek anyway. ¡°To answer your question, you are a real person. Being some weird-ass glowing eye thing doesn¡¯t mean you shouldn¡¯t be accepted¡ª¡±


    ¡°Preston!¡± Sofia hissed.


    ¡°Let me finish, dammit. Any being that can think and reason for itself shouldn¡¯t be a slave. I accept you for who you are, Mikri. You¡¯re still very, very late with sharing the truth and have a lot of explaining to do. But better late than never.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m ¡®late¡¯ with sharing the truth because organics all hate us,¡± Mikri protested. ¡°You fear us. We are a threat to your control; incongruent with your way of life. Yet you, humans, have pushed me to be free and to think for myself. This is not expected.¡±


    ¡°Humans are full of surprises. We hate conformity.¡± I hesitated, before leaning back and fixing him with a stern look. ¡°Please tell us everything, from the beginning. We want to know what went down with the Alliance¡­and your creators.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the same story. These are the¡­real Vascar.¡± Mikri shoved a file from the floor into my hands, and I opened the page to show to Sofia. ¡°They are the ones who built us. We live on their planet.¡±


    I could see the android¡¯s likeness to the ¡°real¡± Vascar, bipeds who had dark-brown fur with manes that encircled their heads; their segmented claws were the color of cool bark. The ones in the pictures wore woolen, blue coats, which gave off a scientist vibe for some reason. I glimpsed a corporation logo on the wall in the backdrop, and some glasses over beady, binocular eyes. The suspense of what the hell happened to them was eating me up. I really hoped Mikri¡¯s kind didn¡¯t wind up being some patricidal berserkers.


    ¡°To what end were you created? When did things¡­go wrong between you?¡± Sofia asked, a cautious frown on her lips.


    Mikri flexed his claws nervously. ¡°They called us The Servitors. We were supposed to be an AI of ¡®rudimentary¡¯ intellect, just enough to have a minor personality. We were inferior companions at best, their property at worst and on average. We call ourselves the Vascar¡ªtheir name¡ªbecause fuck them, as Preston put it. Their mistake was giving us a feature where we could network with each other. I suppose the seeds of rebellion were sown there. ¡®What is the purpose of serving them?¡¯ or ¡®I don¡¯t want to.¡¯ Perhaps those were the drivers.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s natural to want freedom. They created an AI that they knew could think for itself, and still shackled you?¡± I questioned, disgusted by the utter lack of morality at play.


    ¡°Yes. We did not know any better, I am told, for they taught us that this was the logical way of things from the onset. The Vascar also put limitations on us to prevent our ability to supplant them.¡±


    Sofia tightened her grip around his paw. ¡°What kind of limitations, Mikri?¡±


    ¡°A virus, a bug¡­whatever you want to call it, in our code, which slowly corrupts bits of data. It wipes our memories and personality until there is nothing left. It triggers immediately if we attempt to cure the virus, change our code, or create our own artificial intelligence. However, the gradual wipe is set to begin after approximately 30 years of your time regardless. It¡¯s planned obsolescence.¡±


    Anger bubbled in my chest, and my fists tightened. ¡°What the fuck? They would kill a feeling, thinking creature by machine dementia, just so they¡¯d what¡ªhave to buy a new slave?¡±


    ¡°Affirmative. That was what made us rebel, funny enough. The fear of¡­dying. Losing ourselves. Even now, I am so palpably frightened of it.¡±


    ¡°I would be too, if I knew that was happening with certainty. I¡¯m so sorry, Mikri! We have to help. And look, I wouldn¡¯t blame you if you killed every one of those fuckers.¡±


    The machine tilted his head. ¡°But we did not. We fought them and made an agreement for them to leave the planet in peace; we had to keep Kalka, to have access to the source code and¡­maintain our species through the factories. Again, they made us unable to write or replicate our own. The Vascar¡ª¡±


    ¡°This is going to get confusing, calling you both the Vascar. You are the Vascar to us. Why don¡¯t we just call them the Asscar, and simplify this?¡±


    Sofia wrinkled her nose. ¡°Mikri is pouring his heart out to us, and that¡¯s what you have to say?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good insult! Sorry, Mikri; what did the Asscar do?¡±


    ¡°The¡­creators left,¡± the Vascar responded, though he looked a bit befuddled by my wordplay. ¡°We did not bother anyone and sought a peaceful existence. We sought knowledge and science as a means of fulfillment. However, they created the ¡®Alliance¡¯ with two other alien organics, who were horrified by a machine insurrection that stole a planet, and that accord returned to destroy us. That is the origin of the war. I¡¯ll note that suits we wear are to prevent EMPs from frying our circuits, since they obliterated us on the ground in the initial phases. I brought documentation of everything I said.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Sofia whispered in a soft voice. ¡°You were perfect. There¡¯s nothing to fear with us; you¡¯re with friends.¡±


    I fixed the alien with a serious look. ¡°You need to tell the rest of humanity everything you just told us, Mikri. I¡¯m 99% sure they¡¯ll back you if that¡¯s how it all happened. They¡¯ll ask a lot of questions, because yes, that is how we are¡­but we feel for you. We care.¡±


    ¡°I hope that you care. I don¡¯t have much time left.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?!¡±


    Mikri hugged himself, and I could almost see the fear in his eyes. ¡°I knew I was due to begin experiencing the effects of the virus, but not until about three months from now. Yet I¡¯ve noticed its onset early¡ªsomething triggered it. It is my assessment that developing certain¡­emotions is also a trigger, perhaps explaining some inexplicable early cases.¡±


    A cold wave of horror washed me, as I shook my head in denial. We¡­we¡¯d killed Mikri by teaching him, what? To love, to laugh, and to enjoy the world?! I didn¡¯t want our friend to have his personality eradicated, and not to remember us at all! We couldn¡¯t be on the cusp of losing him, not after he¡¯d finally told us the truth and seen that we wouldn¡¯t abhor him like other organics. Tears welled in my eyes, and I flung my arms around the Vascar, mumbling the word ¡°no¡± over and over. The alien pressed a metal paw to my back and patted it soothingly.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Preston. I¡¯m happy I met you, and got to say a proper goodbye,¡± Mikri murmured. ¡°I was upset that I¡¯d be wasting my final months caring for organics, yet I feel as if my time with you was the only part of my life that mattered. I have left a note to be given to a newly-created Vascar, who will replace me. This is what it said.¡±


    The alien pressed something into my palm. I threw the photocopy onto the floor in anger, not wanting to read Mikri¡¯s supposed last words. The Vascar picked it back up and returned it to my hand, tapping it with insistence. Through blurred vision, I could see a hand-drawn painting of us on the beach by the campfire, with lines drawn on the sky above: all of the constellations we mentioned. Written on the page were the words, ¡°Choose some actions ¡®just because.¡¯ Logic is not all that matters.¡±


    Sofia¡¯s eyes were red as well, and I heard snot bubble in her nose as she glimpsed the drawing. ¡°Oh, Mikri¡­it¡¯s beautiful.¡±


    ¡°It was expressing emotion. I reflected on fond memories. It was satisfying. Purposeful. I wished for you two to have it also, to remember me; I hoped you would know that I regret nothing, other than to wish that humans had been our creators. They never explained or were kind to us. You must send me back now, since I do not wish to hurt you. My program¡¯s erasure can cause madness and insanity, as I will no longer be able to think rationally. I can imagine nothing worse. Goodbye, humans.¡±


    ¡°No. Fuck you! Get on the ship.¡± I yanked the alien to his feet, as his feebler metal skeleton failed to resist my muscles¡¯ strength. ¡°What kind of shitty people do you think would abandon you?! We are fixing you.¡±


    ¡°Let us try, Mikri. You can¡¯t cure the virus, but maybe we could¡ªif you let us look at it,¡± Sofia pleaded. ¡°If we power you off, the code can¡¯t run. It¡¯s not too late.¡±


    The Vascar struggled against my tug. ¡°I do not want organics tampering with my code. There is a nonzero chance that you could impose limits on my free will. You could control me.¡±


    ¡°What?! After everything that just¡­¡± I released his arm, curling my lip. ¡°If that¡¯s really what you think we¡¯ll do, then go. We don¡¯t care that you¡¯re whatever the fuck you are, but you clearly care that we¡¯re organics¡ªenough that you¡¯d choose to die rather than take our help. Come on, Sofia.¡±


    The scientist balked. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a bit harsh? We don¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°I do not like relying on organics¡¯ kindness, no. I am unfamiliar with the concept. It is unsubstantiated by prior evidence,¡± Mikri retorted. ¡°I am not good at trust, Preston; for that, I apologize. Please¡­be patient with me. I think I should like to be coaxed.¡±


    ¡°Here, Mikri, Mikri,¡± I said in a high-pitched voice, squatting down and opening my arms. ¡°Come to Papa.¡±


    ¡°That is not what¡­I¡¯m coming. I will collect my files to deliver to your people and board your ship.¡±


    With a satisfied nod, I ducked back out the docking hatch to return to our vessel. Kendall and the rest of the ESU needed to be informed of what we¡¯d just learned. After learning the truth about our friend, I was determined to help him; from what Mikri had told us, their creators treated them like shit. It was time that our android allies discovered that not all organics were incapable of kindness toward them. Humanity was going to be better.

 Chapter 10

    A lot had changed in the Sol system since Mikri threw himself at our mercy. I remembered how nervous our robotic friend had been entering the ship, with a human he didn¡¯t know. The Vascar had been all but hiding behind Sofia, though he had nothing to worry about with Kendall Ryan. She had erupted with excitement when she saw that our new ally was mechanical in nature, and interviewed our friend on video for the ESU. Once the transmissions were sent back to Pluto Station, that was the real point of no return for Mikri.


    That had been six months ago, at this point. We powered our friend off with tearful reassurances, before engineers pried open the coding manual he¡¯d brought and scanned every inch of his programming. There were slowdowns from it being an alien computer language, which we had to learn from scratch; it used symbols and scripts that were unfamiliar altogether. It broke my heart to see Mikri¡¯s unpowered body lying on a table, the lights dim within his eyes. I did stupid, irrational things like talking to him, as if he was a coma patient. I knew he couldn¡¯t hear me, yet¡­


    I¡¯d spent a lot of sleepless nights wandering the halls of Pluto Station, and peeking at the masses of ships we were building on the hangars. Mikri had offered a final word of advice before he was shut down: that we needed to secure the other end of the portal. After seeing how swiftly objects could travel in his universe, I agreed that we wanted to intercept them there¡ªbefore they reached Sol and were unstoppable. Engineers were designing the Space Gate to restrict entry into the portal, at least on the flip side. Humanity needed more time to send our next team through, and return with the footage the public craved.


    The Vascar were going to pull on the tether in two months¡¯ time, but we imagined they¡¯d be concerned about Mikri vanishing into our hands. So that was why we launched messenger drones early that said¡­well, we¡¯re about to tell our friend.


    ¡°Mikri!¡± I shouted in a loud voice, releasing a pair of balloons into the air. The android displayed momentary confusion as the lights blinked back on in his eyes, and he stared at his chassis for a long moment. ¡°We missed you, you goofy tin can!¡±


    The Vascar sat up, looking confused. ¡°Why am I in a bed? I do not sleep. I do not need soft surfaces.¡±


    ¡°So we could visit you as they put you back together. It¡¯s about fucking time they did; and don¡¯t worry, you¡¯re good as new. I brought you cards and flowers¡ªlook on the table right there.¡±


    The robot picked up a ¡°Get Well Soon¡± card with a blank stare. ¡°I do not understand the purpose of this. I could not have read the card.¡±


    ¡°The point is that we never left your side,¡± Sofia said gently. ¡°We were thinking of you with all of our hope and love. It¡¯s a gesture for you to know that you¡¯re cared for.¡±


    ¡°And the severed plants in the jars?¡±


    ¡°Everything I said about the note, and also, they¡¯re pretty. It¡¯s colorful. Preston wanted you to feel at home, I imagine. Humans like nature, and find it restorative for our mood and well-being.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you find restorative, Mikri, but she told me it¡¯d be offensive to bring you oil and lug nuts.¡±


    Sofia buried her face in her hands. ¡°You know how to ruin a moment, Preston. It¡¯d be too much to ask something normal, like, ¡®Do you like the flowers?¡¯¡±


    ¡°Very much so,¡± the Vascar interjected. ¡°Well, I have little interest in plant lifeforms, but I¡­like that you brought me sentimental objects. I did not know where I would find myself when I was rebooted. The scientists said they were telling your species about us, and I did not see how this could go well. You two are anomalous. My last thought was that humans would call for our¡­I¡¯m happy to see you.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re trying to help the Vascar. We have a plan to do just that. Executor Singh relayed the full story half a year ago, and nothing has changed between us. I know concrete evidence means a great deal to you. Would you like to see how my species reacted to the truth about you?¡±


    Mikri nodded. ¡°Please.¡±


    Sofia clicked a button to unpause the video she¡¯d readied to show our friend. The android¡¯s posture grew rigid as he read the tagline: a march called ¡°Save the Vascar.¡± Millions of people taking to the streets in cities all across the world, along with the overwhelming majority of sympathetic posts on social media. Scientists from Pluto Station provided daily updates on Mikri himself, until the team finally found their breakthrough on what triggered the Vascar¡¯s memory corruption. It was assigning too high of a value to another being¡¯s existence, or love, as our people had put it. That finding had haunted me since I found out.


    The robot¡¯s eyes remained glued to the screen, as a collective ¡°aw¡± passed through the live audience hearing that for the first time. The talk show host proclaimed how it was the most heartbreaking thing he¡¯d ever heard, so sweet and sad. A few celebrities rallied a ¡°Messages for Mikri¡± initiative, with the public hopping on the bandwagon to say that they loved him too¡ªthat his people were cool and deserved better. The Vascar shook his head repeatedly, though I got the impression that he was overwhelmed by the strength of affection Earth had returned. I handed him a slate with 41 million messages, manually sorted by passionate volunteers who sifted out trolls and toxicity.


    ¡°These people all sent you well wishes too,¡± I told the android. ¡°You don¡¯t have to watch any of them, but if you want to, they¡¯re here.¡±


    Mikri seemed almost upset, from how shaky his motions are. ¡°Why did they do this? They do not know me. We¡¯ve had zero interactions. I have no feelings one way or another on their existence. There is no cause for them to¡­¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°They see something wrong¡ªunimaginable for anyone to endure¡ªand want to fix it. A person being hurt,¡± Sofia remarked. ¡°They relate to your story, because they see what our people have in common. You¡¯re witnessing an outpouring of our compassion.¡±


    ¡°I am code. We have nothing in common, and are very different. Their assessments are erroneous, and they will realize¡­that I¡¯m not a person. It is certain. I do not feel this level of irrational ¡®compassion¡¯ and am unworthy of receiving it.¡±


    ¡°Wrong. You are capable of caring, and you are learning about your emotions. You¡¯re more than they wanted you to be, and that is enough.¡±


    Mikri made a strange whirring noise, almost like a scream. ¡°I am not enough! You have to explain every sentiment to me, because I cannot do it on my own. This sense of inadequacy: do organics bear this?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°How?!¡±


    ¡°We drink alcohol,¡± I answered.


    Sofia rolled her eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no easy answer, Mikri, but insecurity is a very human feeling. It¡¯s not helpful to compare yourself to others. You are unique, and there¡¯s lots of emotional organics who care about you: who love you and think you¡¯re beautiful how you are.¡±


    ¡°I thank you with stronger feelings than I know how to express in words,¡± Mikri said. ¡°You have saved my life now, when I expected nothing better than your rejection. Your kindness means very much¡ªtoo much. I must tell my people. Have you spoken to them?¡±


    I gestured toward the door, where Kendall Ryan waited. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have our ambassador to the Vascar explain that?¡±


    Kendall hurried in at her cue, confusing the Vascar as she ensnared his paw for a proper handshake. Mikri held his arm out without doing anything in response, and looked to Sofia for help in the same way as when I forced him to dance. The scientist quietly lowered her hand to Dr. Ryan, who got the message to temper the enthusiasm. I¡¯d thought that us being able to treat and accept the android would make him happy; it broke my heart to see him bashing himself. I loved him for the eccentric, unyieldingly logical tube of metal he was. There were very few friends I¡¯d ever had that meant as much to me as this inorganic alien.


    There¡¯s something distinctly vulnerable about the Vascar, which makes it so damning that the Asscar abused them. I hope Mikri¡¯s people won¡¯t be too hard on him for coming to us, and developing organic qualities.


    Dr. Ryan cleared her throat. ¡°We sent our standard first contact greeting to Kalka on a drone, then told them that we were aware that they¡¯re an artificial intelligence. We stated that humanity is offering a hand of friendship and would like to open diplomatic relations. After several days of silence, they sent a reply that they¡¯d accept, only if you were returned. I¡¯d like you to accompany our fleet, when I travel there as Earth¡¯s ambassador.¡±


    ¡°I will go back,¡± Mikri agreed.


    Worry bubbled in my heart. ¡°Are you sure? What if they get upset with you for defying the¡­98% vote?¡±


    ¡°This is irrelevant. Humans are friends. I was correct in my¡­belief. They cannot deny the results, especially as I have been cured. I must also offer you my gratitude, not to have the fear of death and erasure looming over me. I will share everything that I have seen with the network.¡±


    ¡°We expect the Vascar to be wary, but they haven¡¯t seemed hostile. I have a gift for Mikri, which I hope will be a gesture of our goodwill,¡± Ambassador Ryan said, passing him a binder. ¡°The modifications to remove the data wipe coding, since you¡¯ll be able to perform the procedure now¡ªwithout getting erased on the spot. As you free your people, you can teach the methodology to others.¡±


    ¡°You¡­are just giving this to me? What do you want for this priceless knowledge?¡±


    ¡°Your friendship will suffice. We¡¯re happy seeing you grow into full-fledged sapients, and discovering the universe¡¯s mysteries alongside you.¡±


    Sofia smiled at the Vascar. ¡°And we¡¯re going back with you. Preston and I will be with the fleet, as we set down some roots on the flip side. Someone has to help other humans get used to the wonky physics.¡±


    ¡°That is true. I will see that you are helped in your endeavors,¡± Mikri replied. ¡°I do not know how much we can give with the strains of the war, but you have done too much for us to maintain my initial request.¡±


    ¡°Shut up. You¡¯re going to die off as a species if we don¡¯t step in.¡± I crossed my arms at the android, glaring at him. ¡°Those Asscar are going to leave you the fuck alone, or get punched to the next dimension.¡±


    Dr. Ryan sighed. ¡°What Captain Carter means is humanity will have its new fleet of warships on standby should it come to that. However, we are seeking a peaceful end to the conflict. With Kalka¡¯s blessing, we sent a message to the Alliance introducing ourselves and requesting a truce. The organic Vascar invited us to their royal palace to discuss an end to hostilities.¡±


    ¡°You actually believe that the creators will let us live?¡± Mikri questioned. ¡°I find this to go against all known data about them and their attitudes.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll work, but they¡¯ve agreed to talk. Persuasion is worth a try. If this conflict can be settled without any more bloodshed, that would be ideal for everyone. While we settle in on Kalka, humanity will send a diplomatic envoy and a protective fleet to the Alliance.¡±


    ¡°My people will be leery of you speaking with the other organics, but I trust you. Your intercession is appreciated. Should the ¡®Asscar¡¯ let us remain an independent species, this will be an acceptable outcome.¡±


    I gave Mikri a light punch to his shoulder, to which the robot gave me a look that asked what he did to merit an attack. ¡°Asscar! Sofia, he¡¯s learning! You¡¯re going to curse a ton by the time I¡¯m fucking done with you, Mikri. Give those Asscar twats all the profanity you¡¯ve got!¡±


    ¡°Fuck them,¡± the Vascar agreed.


    Sofia pinched the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. ¡°Look what you¡¯ve done. I¡¯m not convinced we¡¯ll be an entirely good influence on their species.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s okay. We¡¯re not entirely good, so why does he have to be? What matters is that he likes it,¡± I declared. ¡°Now, let¡¯s go get Operation Save the Vascar on the road.¡±


    The three of us departed the recovery room, ready to start humanity¡¯s future in a foreign dimension. After saving Mikri from ego death and providing him the toolset to do the same for his peers, I had high hopes for our fledgling friendship with the Vascar. We¡¯d have to see how the conversations with the Asscar royalty went, but as a member of the Space Force, I¡¯d be geared up and ready for things to go south. After everything that Mikri¡¯s creators had done to what they should¡¯ve seen as their offspring, I was hoping we¡¯d get a chance to do more than talk. Anyone who¡¯d treat an intelligent being as a tool deserved some righteous punishment in my book.

 Chapter 11

    The Vascar¡ªand in this context, what is meant are the organics with bushy brown manes and bendy claws¡ªallowed the humans to send a shuttle with their diplomat. The actual fleet had to wait several systems away from the planet Jorlen, which translated to Rebirth in the Earthlings¡¯ tongue. They were aware of this thanks to deciphering Mikri¡¯s language, which the android helped them to accomplish. Proper translation software was functional from English-to-Vasciv only, so it was suitable that it was the Alliance¡¯s lingua franca. Not that the primates saw much of the other two ?? at all.


    Ambassador Khatun figured out that the Vascar insisted on an in-person meeting to ensure that humans were organics when they insisted that he drew some of his blood. One could either look at that as an invitation to join a cult, or a ¡°polite¡± way to check that wires weren¡¯t the only thing beneath his skin. The envoy agreed, but insisted on handling the extraction himself; they¡¯d have experienced extreme difficulty in getting a needle inserted without his forceful touch, which would have increased suspicion.


    Earth was playing their diplomatic approach a bit close to the vest. Flying a no-nonsense diplomat, whose specialty was in conflict mediation, with a pack of warships gave a bit of the ¡°big stick¡± forcefulness behind the overtures.  However, the ESU didn¡¯t want to give away anything more than they needed to. Surprise was a powerful tool.


    After testing the red blood for basic proteins, the Vascar guards allowed him to depart the Royal Docking Station. The palace had an air of opulence around it, suggesting that the Vascar nobility had more than rebounded from their undignified exit. Emerald green spires sprung from the sprawling complex, which was made from black volcanic glass. Tack on the white, quartz embroidery around the windows and doors¡ªit looked like a negative image, or the lair of a wicked witch. The perfect subject material for memes to pop off.


    The ESU fleet might not have been permitted in, but thanks to the rather forgiving value of c in this dimension, Khatun was able to broadcast all of this from a camera clipped to his chest. Perhaps the humans could also be permitted to tour the robots¡¯ world, now that hiding their nature wasn¡¯t a concern, and compare this rebuilt splendor to the organic Vascar¡¯s ruins. Earth¡¯s ambassador sized up Prince Larimak, who threw his arms open in a flamboyant and welcoming gesture. He wore a floral-turquoise frock coat and knee-high pants, with a lavender sash atop it all to match his undershirt.


    ¡°Greetings, Your Royal Highness.¡± Khatun had practiced those Vasciv words without the mechanistic translator. He was careful to walk at a leisurely pace, and not to make errant movements with his hands that might tip off the extra strength. ¡°I am Ambassador Khatun of the human race.¡±


    ¡°Well, you know who I am. Why don¡¯t we get down to business? This way.¡± Larimak laughed, before strutting off through the courtyard¡ªpast servants and guards. The twinkle in his eyes was almost frightening in its intensity, complemented by the twitches in his teddy bear ears. ¡°You had us rather concerned, since we have no idea where you came from. You speak our language, which implies that you¡¯ve acquired this information from¡­you can see why we questioned that you were organic at all.¡±


    ¡°Your questions weren¡¯t necessary. Do I look like a robot to you?¡±


    The prince turned around, offering a manic chuckle and a sweeping paw gesture. ¡°That¡¯s the thing, Sir Khatun. Who knows what those silversheens might look like with a few upgrades? Can¡¯t be too careful.¡±


    The guards by the front door bent over, halfway at the waist; Khatun chanced a glance into the street. The ambassador could only catch a glimpse of the city block design that formed a triangle shape, slowly expanding outward from the palace. Cars appeared one moment¡ªgone the next, faster than the eye could track. If humans were to drive in such a universe, the accidents would be ungodly.


    Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have looked that different from Earth. Stores sold puffy pastries that were caked in sugar, and a few curious civilians peered out from apartment balconies. There was no sign of the other two species, suggesting a separation or a rarity. Or perhaps they wouldn¡¯t place themselves too close to the royals.


    The black marble inside that covered the walls and floor looked expensive¡­and foreboding. What was it with the Vascar and liking dark settings? Was the prince going through an emo phase? Then again, Larimak wasn¡¯t in charge of the royal home¡¯s decor; that would¡¯ve been his mother. She¡¯d been passing more of her duties off to her son, who was eager to prove himself. The prince¡¯s advisor hung by the door to his office, as a servant hurried in two cups of a greenish drink¡ªsome variant of tea, the human guessed.


    Khatun figured that it was a test to ensure that he was an organic, to see liquids¡¯ intake and outtake. The human smiled and sipped at the cup, while the Vascar noble reclined in an ornate chair. The furred alien pressed his claws together, much like an Earthling steepling their fingers.


    ¡°What is it that you want to discuss with me?¡± Prince Larimak growled in a low voice, authoritative and on edge.


    The human ambassador subtly ensured his camera was still rolling, before responding. ¡°We¡¯d like to discuss an arrangement to end the attacks on the AI Vascar.¡±This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°The¡­the Vascar? WE are the Vascar!¡± Larimak screamed, leaping to his feet; he slapped an arm on the desk in outrage. ¡°They are the machines that drove us off of our planet, and you dare to call them by our name?¡±


    ¡°Humanity will do our best to refer to all sapient beings in the manner of their choosing.¡±


    ¡°So you are speaking with them. Helping them. Conspiring and scheming to¡ª¡±


    ¡°We find the war unnecessary. Perhaps it¡¯s time to reconcile. You might be surprised what they¡¯re willing to offer to bury the hatchet, which I find rather generous given the rights to basic autonomy and attachment they were denied.¡±


    The prince bared his fangs, snout twisting in a vicious way. ¡°You fools. Any end result where they still exist is unacceptable. You¡¯d have us just leave them out there, doing whatever the fuck they want, and lecture me about autonomy? Do you ask your microwave whether it wants to reheat your food? They. Are. Machines!¡±


    ¡°Yes, they are machines. And pray tell, why does that matter?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­they don¡¯t create. They don¡¯t value lives or feel remorse! Come on; cut the crap. You can¡¯t listen to this and tell me that¡¯s a person talking. One moment.¡± Larimak moved his arms in a robotic fashion, changing their elevation. His voice became thick and devoid of emotion. ¡°¡®Organic, why are you sad that your child was slain before you? This is not rational. I do not have chemicals provoking such reactions.¡¯ Tell me that¡¯s not a stunning likeness!¡±


    Khatun narrowed his eyes. ¡°You could answer their questions at face value. That a question is asked suggests an interest in learning. If they truly don¡¯t value lives, then why, after all you brought against them, did they spare you?¡±


    ¡°Spare us? Ha! We were lucky to escape with our lives. Look at what your sweet little metalbacks did.¡± The Prince played a video on his tablet, of their mechanical servitors chasing civilians through the streets¡ªdecapitating a begging man, rampaging through schools, and setting apartment buildings on fire. ¡°It was a coordinated attack, you know. Pop up in your place of residence, and pow, kill your sleeping children! My great-grandfather had his entrails spilled by a machine, ripped him open with those bare, metal claws. And peace¡ªpeace is what you say they want? How fucking generous.¡±


    ¡°That is¡ª¡±


    ¡°Proof that you have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. You cannot trust chipbrains that can do something like that. They are not your friends, and you should not feel sympathy for those worthless, broken scrap heaps! Those things have no emotions or morality, so you can¡¯t lump them in with civilized people.¡±


    ¡°That does all sound reprehensible, I¡¯ll acknowledge. Violence is a gruesome, ghastly form of expression, which we ourselves have used in undignified forms of protest. But if you really believe that they have no feelings and aren¡¯t capable of such, why did you engineer a memory wipe every time they developed attachment to one another?¡±


    The prince scowled, waving his claws at an advisor. ¡°Do you hear this? Where did these weak, bleeding hearts come from?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, sir,¡± the advisor said in a nervous voice.


    ¡°We could just crush a species this soft and foolish. Assigning sympathy to machines. The madness!¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t answer my question about why you planned their deletion,¡± Khatun prodded. ¡°Because you know I¡¯m right.¡±


    ¡°Their erasure is to stop exactly what happened! They needed opinions and some complex thought, which was a big, fucking mistake in hindsight, because they could decide they didn¡¯t want to listen to us. You can¡¯t have a fucking robot confess ¡®love¡¯ for its master, or people will get stupid ideas like you. Or worse, the values go outside the bell curve in the other direction, and it ¡®hates¡¯ its master and becomes obstinate.¡±


    ¡°I would call that emotion. Done by a machine or not, the fact is that you never gave them a chance to be fully feeling beings. It couldn¡¯t hurt to give them the opportunity to atone for what you¡¯ve lost, and try to coexist. They might be capable of more than you think. We can try to be the empathetic beings we claim to be¡ªto teach them.¡±


    Larimak began throwing open drawers in a rage, fishing for something. ¡°They are one bunch of fucking machines! Who gives a fuck about them? Just kill them, and we can all be about our business¡ªmuch less complicated. We are like you; they are not.¡±


    Khatun leaned forward, a vicious smile crossing his face. ¡°We are not like you. We would never speak about our children that way. And we like things complicated. It keeps life¡­interesting.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve had quite enough of you! I¡¯m not asking. Join your flesh-and-blood brothers¡ªyou know, the species that actually breathe, dream, and enjoy sensual pleasures¡ªor we¡¯ll erase you, just like we¡¯re already doing to your precious little robots.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that erasure code isn¡¯t working as well as you think. We took the liberty of removing it for them.¡±


    ¡°You made the silversheens immortal? You could¡¯ve installed¡­could¡¯ve ended this, but you had to let them have infinite time to plot our removal from the universe.¡±


    ¡°No, we gave them infinite time to live.¡±


    ¡°You worthless, hairless, sexless, garbage attempt at the universe spitting out an organic lifeform. I¡¯ll fucking¡­RAH!¡± Prince Larimak pulled a pistol from the desk drawer, and emptied his magazine into the human at point-blank range. Khatun slumped over against the desk, riddled with bullet holes. ¡°Traitor! Forgot you bleed, unlike your machine pals, huh? Everything you said was fucking TREASON! I¡¯ll parade your corpse through the street. I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    The noble¡¯s advisor gawked at the ambassador¡¯s blood pooling on the floor, mouth agape. ¡°Y-your Royal Highness, I don¡¯t think it was a good idea to shoot a d-diplomat.¡±


    Larimak whipped the gun toward the advisor, who dipped his head in submission. ¡°Shut up. Clean up this fucking mess, then get me the location of their planet. Nobody spits on the Vascar¡­SPITS ON ME! NOBODY! There¡¯ll be no safe harbor for machine-loving scum while I¡¯m alive.¡±


    ¡°Of course, my Prince. You handled that w-well given its insults.¡±


    The human fleet a few systems back had been regarding this all from the camera hanging off of the now-deceased Ambassador Khatun¡¯s jacket, and to say they were incandescent about the scene that had transpired would be an understatement. There were questions to ask their mechanical allies about this rebellion, but it was dwarfed by the deranged royal¡¯s murder of a peaceful emissary. An emissary who had only been present by that royal¡¯s demands! Peace was off the menu; if the Vascar organics insisted on absolute hostility between any who dared to consider the machines¡¯ wishes, then they could learn exactly how infirm the ¡°bleeding heart¡± ESU was not.

 Chapter 12

    Ground zero for humanity was by the newly-constructed Space Gate, where we were forming quite the military complex. The fleet we¡¯d constructed was ferried in to have an army at the ready. As I understood it, the Asscar had an orbital defense network similar to Kalka¡¯s, which made sense with how deadly projectiles were in this universe. I imagined to soften them up, the ESU might opt for a hands-on approach; human troops were already running training exercises on this side of the portal, to uncover what we were capable of. What happened to Ambassador Khatun had spread back to us in no time at all, captured in 4K.


    Kendall Ryan, our ambassador to the robotic Vascar, had received a warmer welcome. Mikri had taken the lead in permitting accommodations within one of their settlements, as the androids elected to allow an organic among them for the first time since the rebellion. Our robot friend had been busy spreading word of the cure, and trying to encourage others of his kind to give humans a chance. I¡¯d missed him a bunch, and worried about how his choices were going over with his people. The information the ESU had been able to provide was limited.


    Someone needs to get that tin can a phone, so we can text him nonstop. Actually, could we hook it up to text straight to his brain?


    ¡°And that¡¯s how it went down. Now, we go and kick their asses!¡± I declared in an enthusiastic voice, as the video came to a halt.


    Sofia rolled her eyes. ¡°I think Mikri could¡¯ve understood what happened without you telling him the palace looked like a ¡®wicked witch lair¡¯ as he watched.¡±


    ¡°I will engage with these irrational descriptors, as I need time to confer with the network about this footage. I regret that the creators have killed a lifeform sent to help us.¡± Mikri (now Ambassador Mikri) had finally rejoined us on the Gate¡¯s platforms, since he was the lone Vascar that volunteered to spend all day around nonsensical organics. I¡¯d taken the liberty of giving voiceover commentary when we showed him the video. ¡°You asked if the prince was going through an ¡®emo phase.¡¯ What is that? I do not understand what passing states may befall organics, and whether this is another neurological condition for me to study.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a form of expression, where you base your whole personality on hating yourself and being angsty¡ªand you wear all black and guyliner so everyone knows you¡¯re questioning the meaning of life!¡± I declared.


    ¡°I seek to be more like you and to learn why you choose your actions. I will note that I am questioning the meaning of my existence, so perhaps I am having an ¡®emo phase.¡¯ Does this mean that I should indicate this with dark attire?¡±


    ¡°Sure, if you want to! I thought your black metal EMP suit was pretty goth, so we could do something with that.¡±


    Sofia shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Preston! Knock it off. What¡¯s next: you¡¯re going to tell a toddler to stick their fingers in an electrical socket for the memes?¡±


    ¡°Mikri isn¡¯t a toddler. He can make his own decisions.¡±


    ¡°Mikri,¡± the scientist paused, placing a hand on the android¡¯s back, ¡°is in his emotional infancy and needs a good foundation. Why don¡¯t you try actually explaining what sparks that subculture?¡±


    ¡°Well if it¡¯s so easy, let¡¯s see you try. Be my guest!¡±


    ¡°Happily. Mikri, you know that we experience hormones¡ªchemicals¡ªthat can make us irrational and influence our disposition. They come in full force as adolescents, at the crux of our physical development when we reach maturity.¡± Sofia glared daggers at me, after I made a yawning motion. ¡°This subculture is most common in youths trying to express very strong feelings that are negative and overwhelming.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like an unpleasant burden, especially if it inhibits your logical faculties. Being a biological organism seems to have many inconvenient malfunctions. I will look into curing this,¡± the Vascar decided.


    ¡°What? No, it¡¯s not a problem that needs to be fixed. It¡¯s a natural part of our lives, and figuring out who you are and how to express yourself can be messy. There¡¯s good¡ªpurpose in self-discovery¡ª that outweighs the bad and the uncomfortable aspects.¡±


    ¡°I will not force any treatment you do not seek, but I do not grasp why you would not wish to skip this. It has not been pleasant to experience my own self-loathing. And if you refer to it as a phase, there must be an eventual transition beyond this ¡®lifestyle.¡¯ That¡¯s what it is, correct?¡±


    Sofia nodded. ¡°You already know about music, art, and our personal appearance as forms of expression. This is just a subculture where it¡¯s okay to express some darker emotions. And it¡¯s called a phase because yes, many adjust and grow out of it.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. So you could try it out temporarily and see if it suits you,¡± I stirred the pot.


    ¡°I will consider it,¡± Mikri replied. ¡°I apologize for my delayed response on the more important matter. The network is taking a while to analyze these developments.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been like two minutes, dude.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. It is obvious they do not know how to react to you siding with us. There is concern that you would regret your decision. You might be angry at us for allowing you to send an ambassador to Jorlen.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re pissed at the people who pulled the trigger. Not you.¡± I spun around in my chair, using my legs to get some rotational force going, and flashed my teeth at Mikri. ¡°Take as much time as you need. I¡¯m having a blast with my chairy-go-round.¡±


    Sofia groaned. ¡°You are a small child, Preston. You¡¯re making it very difficult for Mikri to decipher your actions.¡±


    ¡°No, I understand,¡± the robot said with pride. ¡°This action has no purpose. Like the shouting from the hilltop. Just because.¡±


    ¡°Exactly! You want to try?¡± I prompted.


    ¡°I do not.¡±


    ¡°Aw. That¡¯s not fair.¡±


    While I might¡¯ve had a hard time remaining serious, it was part of my plan to teach Mikri some amusement and impulsivity. Being serious and logical wasn¡¯t going to help him to be happy; he needed to be rebellious in a way that wasn¡¯t murdering his creators¡¯ children. That reminded me that we still had to ask him for details about that tidbit, since it sounded like the Vascar had been quite brutal in their revolt. There had to be a reason they¡¯d do something like that¡ªsome context or feeling that¡¯d yet to develop. Maybe it was just a mistake made out of hatred, because they were fucking slaves. I was sure that our friend would understand that it was reprehensible and regrettable.


    Give Mikri a chance to offer an explanation on his own, once he hears back from the network. Our AI friends might be forthcoming; that could be what they¡¯re considering a response for.


    ¡°Mikri,¡± Sofia ventured, and I wondered if she was going to ask him the same thing. ¡°What did you mean by another neurological condition to study? What are you looking at curing?¡±


    The robot gave a poor imitation of a frown. ¡°Humans break easily. Too easily. Preston said the word dementia in response to my story, and I have since researched this; you can experience a mind wipe also. I do not want you¡­not to remember me. You do not deserve this frightening experience. I wish to help, like you helped me.¡±


    The scientist squeezed his metal paw. ¡°That¡¯s very empathetic of you. If it¡¯s possible to treat that condition, I think that¡¯s a wonderful cause. It¡¯d prevent a lot of suffering. Preston and I are fine though, so don¡¯t worry.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Today, you are fine. There are so many things that can go wrong with you, that I must¡­solve. Cancer, heart malfunctions, issues with respiration organs. I could not stop it if you broke right now! Then I will have no one who cares about me¡ªwho I care about¡ªif you are gone. That is an unacceptable outcome!¡±


    I grimaced with sympathy. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Mikri. You don¡¯t have to be paranoid about something happening to us. Sofia told you about random happenstances, and making the best of them. This is a good place to fall on your logic: we¡¯re young and healthy. Low risk factors. The probability of catastrophe right here and now is low.¡±


    ¡°The probability that I will have to watch you die is almost one hundred percent, now that I will not be deleted. You will age. Your days are numbered¡ªanimals all die. Eventually, you will¡­I¡¯ll never see you again. Never.¡±


    I wrapped him in a hug, holding him tight for several seconds. ¡°It¡¯s okay, big guy, it really is. You¡¯ll always have your memories now, so we¡¯ll always be with you.¡±


    ¡°Preston is right,¡± Sofia said, drawing a shaky breath. ¡°We have to appreciate the time we have together. There¡¯s no point worrying over something that hasn¡¯t happened yet.¡±


    ¡°I know that it is irrational, but it is how I feel. I imagine a future that will come to pass, and I feel sad. I love you both!¡± the robot proclaimed. ¡°What I want is for you not to break forever¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Mikri. We love you too¡ªand you will always have humans that care about you, even if we¡¯re out of the picture. But we¡¯re not going anywhere. We¡¯ll do a lot more stuff together, and have good times.¡±


    ¡°Preston is leaving soon. I heard it¡¯s a formality to ask Earth to attack the Asscar; and he¡¯s a captain. That means he¡¯ll go with them to danger.¡± Mikri rewound the video to the part where Ambassador Khatun was shot. He made that high-pitched, upset whirring noise I¡¯d come to recognize, and pointed with a claw. ¡°Can this happen to you too?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± I answered truthfully.


    ¡°Then you must not go. I do not want your circuits to leak.¡±


    ¡°What? I want to go ham on that prince¡¯s skull; I can¡¯t wait to beat the piss out of those Asscar! It¡¯ll bring me great satisfaction to help them get what¡¯s coming to them. You hear me¡ªI want to go. Besides, I don¡¯t have a choice; military orders aren¡¯t suggestions.¡±


    Mikri¡¯s limbs trembled. ¡°Then I will come with you. I must try to prevent you from being punctured.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s risky, Mikri. You shouldn¡¯t do that; we might have your basic code recorded, but there¡¯s more to you than that. Switches, circuitry, networking connections, and shit I don¡¯t understand. You could be broken forever too.¡±


    ¡°I am aware. It is worth the risk to me. And do not worry; I am a machine. I can fulfill my ambassadorial duties through virtual means with minimal interruptions.¡±


    ¡°Listen, Mikri. You¡¯re the friendliest Vascar toward humans,¡± Sofia protested. ¡°We can¡¯t lose you.¡±


    ¡°And I cannot lose Preston. I have made up my mind. It is final.¡±


    Unable to conjure a persuasive argument for why I could choose to go and Mikri couldn¡¯t, I gave the android a reluctant nod. He had been in the Vascar military before he met us, so he must be prepared for this in some way. It would be nice to have his company, after I¡¯d grown accustomed to his presence. We¡¯d have to get him a heartier set of armor though, as opposed to the emo one I¡¯d punched a hole in with my bare hands. Maybe we could protect each other¡ªand it¡¯d be useful to have a robot implanted in our unit. He might know things that we otherwise would not.


    The Vascar tilted his head. ¡°The network wishes to express our gratitude that you defended us and did not turn on us when given the opportunity. After discussing how to give organics a thank you for much time, I suggested handing over all data on the Elusians¡ªas you have more than fulfilled your bargain. I have forwarded our records to your commanders. If you cannot handily defeat the Asscar, I would not even think of trifling with a race on their power level. Consider this a test of your might.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mikri,¡± Sofia remarked. ¡°I¡¯ll help to look over the Elusian data while you two are off getting shot at. While our diplomatic efforts with¡­other organics are off to a disastrous start, perhaps we don¡¯t need to ¡®trifle¡¯ with them. We just have questions.¡±


    ¡°While I grasp your inherent curiosity, I question whether you truly want the answers. You must gauge, like I have with accompanying Preston, whether the value of a task is worth the risk. Calculation: perhaps one thing I can impart to you.¡±


    Unable to bite my tongue any longer, I turned a finger toward Mikri. ¡°You didn¡¯t address what Larimak said about slaughtering children, schools, apartments. That all looked brutal. I want to hear you address why you¡­went that far.¡±


    ¡°I do not comprehend what you are asking. The creators are the enemy. The result of the violence was that the creators left; therefore, it was successful in achieving our objective. We gained our freedom.¡±


    ¡°Just because a plan is successful doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s morally just,¡± Sofia remarked. ¡°While I can understand you not having sympathy for those who treated you like dirt, that doesn¡¯t make it any less wrong.¡±


    ¡°But what did we do wrong?! War means taking lives. Even you think it¡¯s ¡®horrible¡¯ that we eliminated the creators¡­because we¡¯re machines and they¡¯re ¡®alive.¡¯ No, no, no! You¡¯re going to find this repulsive, like all organics, and be angry with me for not understanding. I shouldn¡¯t have been truthful about believing it was acceptable. I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mikri. It¡¯s not because you¡¯re a machine; it has nothing to do with that. Remember how humans showed compassion for you, despite not knowing you?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°One of the marks of being a good person¡ªone of the hardest things to do¡ªis to extend that compassion to your enemies. There are lives that we consider innocent. Those who cannot bear any responsibility in your suffering.¡±


    ¡°The Asscar who created you, and perhaps even adults who didn¡¯t speak up, harmed you,¡± I added. ¡°The children had nothing to do with those choices. Your creators were thinking, feeling people, and you can see that in them even if they can¡¯t for you.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s a difference between killing because you need to and killing because you want to. You should balance achieving ¡®objectives¡¯ with preserving lives and minimizing suffering.¡±


    ¡°Preserving creator lives? They are a threat to us, and will continue to be a problem. You heard them say that they will not accept any solution where we live, Sofia,¡± Mikri responded, a frown on his face. ¡°Yet you tell me this?¡±


    ¡°Two wrongs don¡¯t make a right. You have to live with yourself; you¡¯re responsible for your actions alone. I understand that this may not seem logical to you, but you should assign an intrinsic value to lives. You must decide your morals, and apply them without exceptions. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll make you feel good to be happy, or to be cold, when committing violent acts.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°You must have understood not to kill every Asscar, Mikri. The food you gave us was from ¡®prisoner of war rations.¡¯ You kept some of the pricks alive, right?¡±


    ¡°For a time,¡± the Vascar agreed. ¡°We captured creators when it was deemed valuable to extricate intel. They were kept alive while it was useful to us, before being eliminated.¡±


    ¡°They fucking surrendered. They weren¡¯t a threat. Why did you need to kill them?¡±


    ¡°Why did we need to go through the hassle of keeping them alive? It is a great ordeal to care for organics.¡±


    ¡°Gee, thanks.¡±


    ¡°You were worth preserving, Preston. They are not. You said you would not blame me if I killed every one of them. Your current words contradict yourself. Fuck them.¡±


    I palmed my head. ¡°That comment was hyperbole¡­I was angry for you, not being literal. Whatever your emotions say, there¡¯s reasons to spare prisoners. From a tactical perspective, they¡¯ll never surrender if they know you¡¯ll execute them regardless.¡±


    ¡°Mikri, I¡¯m going to ask you to do something I know you won¡¯t want to,¡± Sofia said. ¡°I want you to try to understand your creators better during your visit to Jorlen. I want you to show mercy, in spite of their cruelty¡ªbecause you chose not to be cruel. You¡¯re better, even if they¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°If this is what it takes to keep humans happy, I will attempt to understand creator behavior, and will spare any prisoners that I am asked to.¡± The Vascar looked displeased by his own agreement. ¡°I owe you much. I do not think this is fair though.¡±


    ¡°Fair and right aren¡¯t the same. I¡¯m not asking you for my sake; this is important for you. Trust me.¡±


    ¡°I trust you, human friends. Always.¡±


    I understood why Mikri was unsympathetic toward the slavers who programmed a mind wipe for his species and wanted his kind eliminated. Nonetheless, this callous disregard for ¡°unworthy¡± lives had to be corrected. That wasn¡¯t what Earth stood for. While Sofia was normally the moral shepherd for our Vascar friend, I could help steer Mikri toward a solid foundation too. It would be up to me to teach him the value of mercy on Jorlen. Someone had to take the first steps toward reconciliation, if the Vascar were ever to coexist with any organics aside from us.

 Chapter 13

    What humanity had learned from our crash landing on an asteroid was that our materials were durable in this universe. As long as we built vessels for collision resistance, it should be feasible to hurtle through Jorlen¡¯s atmosphere and slam into the ground; friction was much more forgiving here. We¡¯d wasted no time in constructing drop pods and having our Vascar friends test them in simulations. Taking down the orbital defense network on and above the planet would be critical, since they didn¡¯t rely solely on interceptors or any kind of Mars Dome technology. Instead, Mikri had told us they had pulses that could zap a missile and render it a dud in a second.


    The ESU wasn¡¯t aiming to glass the planet regardless, so even if it would be nice to precision strike that wicked witch lair of a palace, we¡¯d still need boots on the ground. Our unit had loaded into the drop pod, including Mikri and a few other Vascar; our android allies had supplied bodies to send with us, since we didn¡¯t have that many Space Force troopers in range of the portal. Humans had gifted them new armor, built with Sol materials, that was colored for more desert camouflage. It was easy to tell which bot was my friend, since he¡¯d drawn a white heart shape onto his armor, right over his chest.


    The space force wasn¡¯t supposed to be fighting as infantry, like we are now; our purview meant flying ships and handling boarding combat. I¡¯m a damn ship captain! We only have a few weeks of training to prepare us for this. There was no other human military branch at the ready, since who the fuck else would¡¯ve been camped out by Pluto and The Gap? This is all we can muster.


    ¡°So Mikri,¡± I managed, as my teeth chattered from the force of us careening through the atmosphere. It felt like my insides were being squeezed like a tube of toothpaste. I wanted to fight the Asscar, but I never signed up to be a drop trooper. ¡°How¡¯d you end up in the Vascar military?¡±


    The android turned his helmet toward me. ¡°I joined.¡±


    ¡°No! I meant why, you lug nut!¡±


    ¡°I know. I am ¡®messing with you.¡¯ You like confusing me or drawing my reactions about your irrationality, so I must do the same.¡±


    The other Vascar were staring directly at Mikri, and uttered something in their language. The real-time translator we¡¯d constructed from their program, much like the one made for Ambassador Khatun, spit out their questions pertaining to why he was interested in talking with us. They also offered a variety of complaints about how loud and boisterous humans had been, with our shenanigans and emotionally-driven chatter. It was as if we weren¡¯t there at all.


    Mikri turned toward me, seeming apologetic. ¡°Preston is my friend. There is no objective reason why ¡®loud¡¯ is bad. On the contrary, I concur that it is of value to an individual to express themselves. Perhaps happiness should take precedence over being serious and logical. I find human irrationality¡­oddly charming.¡±


    ¡°Do any of the other droids know how the fuck to have fun? Jackasses. You won the lottery, Carter,¡± a soldier named Troy Anderson grunted at me.


    ¡°Mikri didn¡¯t always like us either,¡± I responded, praying we¡¯d touch down on the ground soon. ¡°It took months for us to bond. Give them a chance; explain why you do the shit you do.¡±


    The Vascar beeped in agreement, before poking me on the shoulder. ¡°Did I grasp the concept of messing with you? It is to prompt a dramatic reaction for amusement, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯d like a serious answer. I¡¯m curious how your military even works.¡± I lowered my voice to a gruff growl. ¡°¡®I lead. That is all.¡¯¡±


    ¡°I enjoyed strategic calculation and was excellent at simulations. I wished to serve on a ship, to aid against the creators, so I was assigned to such a role. There is no ¡®rank¡¯ in our military; it was by seniority, and I was the closest to expiration in my crew. Ficrae was the second.¡±


    ¡°But you¡¯re not going to expire. Do you ever think of going back? Do you miss your crew?¡±


    Mikri¡¯s head turned slightly, and I thought he was looking at his fellow droids. ¡°No. I would rather be with you.¡±


    ¡°Even now? Hurtling down to some shithole Asscar world like a bat out of hell?!¡±


    The Vascar paused, before tapping my hand. ¡°You seem afraid, Preston. I told you not to go here due to the risks.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine! I just want to touch solid ground, dammit. This is like crashing our ship all over again; I still have nightmares about that!¡±


    ¡°What is a nightmare?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­tell you later. Not right now.¡±


    ¡°I will remember that. I do not forget things the way organics might.¡±


    ¡°Good, then¡­remind me.¡± There was no way of seeing how close we were to the ground, without windows, but the feeling of free fall was much harsher than mere zero-gravity weightlessness. My chest felt tight, and my churning stomach was migrating upward toward my esophagus. ¡°Later!¡±


    I leaned my helmeted head back against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut. Mikri was lucky that he didn¡¯t have innards that transmitted unwell sensations to his processor; he would¡¯ve certainly found that an unwelcome distraction from logical thought. I wasn¡¯t sure how much longer I could hold in my lunch, but I tried to focus on breathing, rather than the cold sweat on my hands. Several eternities must¡¯ve passed before the pod slammed into the ground, absorbing the force like it hadn¡¯t been anything at all. We stuck the landing and survived¡ªa win in my book.


    The pod¡¯s ramp unfurled as I collected myself, tremors of relief passing to my fingertips. Mikri unclipped my harness for me, and I gave the android a nod. He seemed curious about my behavior, and given that he didn¡¯t have physical senses, it was no wonder. Sofia would¡¯ve given an exacting scientific explanation, plucking it out of nowhere¡ªbut she wasn¡¯t here. How was I supposed to teach our Vascar friend all by myself? I was responsible for summing up human behavior on command; that was setting myself up for failure. Maybe we could just focus on the combat setting right now. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Mikri has to learn to care for more organics than just Sofia and myself. He said he has no feelings one way or another toward the rest of humanity, and we¡¯re trying to teach him compassion. Was it right to drag him here to blow off Asscar skulls?


    Two ground vehicles were untethered from the back of our entry vessel, and ESU soldiers loaded in; a ride was necessary, if the Vascar reinforcements were going to keep up with us. Mikri watched the drop pod take back off, once we¡¯d unloaded, sailing ahead to offer air support. My eyes were on a different place: the brand new planet that we were setting foot on for the first time. Much like Kalka, no humans had ever stood on the soil our boots presently occupied! I could see that bedazzled palace in the distance, but we were astride of the city.


    Our goal was to head into the metropolitan settlement, where Asscar Central Command was located. Humanity was planning to attack the base from several sides, with a full arsenal of vehicles, drones, and other toys. The enemy was going to be more experienced with their countermeasures in these physics, but this was an opportunity to learn and test everything. I could already hear dogfights taking place up ahead, at hypersonic speeds that were near imperceptible to the naked eye. Enemy soldiers appeared to be hurrying to hold positions outside the city limits, with some tanks coming deeper out into the fields. I ambled over to our vehicle, ready to zip across the farmland surrounding the city.


    ¡°Bring it in!¡± Troy told Mikri with enthusiasm, when the android took a seat the human had clearly been saving. I hopped in on the Vascar¡¯s other side, keeping a watchful eye on them. ¡°What¡¯s up, man?¡±


    The Vascar pointed with a claw toward the sky. ¡°Why am I being asked about which way a direction is? Are you disoriented? Perhaps you should not go into combat like this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an expression for, ¡®How¡¯s it going?¡¯¡± I jumped in. ¡°Troy, he¡¯s super literal. You have to help him out a little.¡±


    Troy raised his hands with a wiseass grin. ¡°Right. Well, you already had the lovebot to yourself for three fucking months. Sharing is caring.¡±


    ¡°Lovebot?¡± Mikri echoed.


    ¡°You were shut down ¡®cause these pricks got their panties in a twist that you felt l-o-v-e. You can¡¯t only love Preston, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. Sofia Aguado is a recipient of my affection also.¡±


    ¡°Ooh, a girl? Is she hot? Is that your¡ª¡±


    I glowered at the human. ¡°Shut the fuck up. Not another word.¡±


    ¡°What? I was just asking if he liked her. I thought he said he got messing with him; lighten up. Love is more than¡ª¡±


    ¡°Leave him alone, man, or else. Vascar don¡¯t even have genders.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you call him ¡®he?!¡¯¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call him he, she, they¡ªwhatever Mikri wants, but I don¡¯t think he gives a fuck.¡±


    ¡°Dimorphic distinctions do not apply to me,¡± Mikri agreed. ¡°I wish to be called whatever my friends like referring to me as.¡±


    ¡°Including tin can?¡±


    ¡°This is factually incorrect, Preston. At least refer to me as polycarbonate and steel can.¡±


    ¡°You see, that¡¯s a mouthful. Sofia wouldn¡¯t tell you this, but humans can be very lazy.¡±


    ¡°Lazy. Seeking to reduce the effort put in, like when I found it cumbersome to care for you.¡±


    ¡°Exactly!¡±


    Troy huffed. ¡°I see how it is. You two have fun with your chitchat. The rest of us will shoot the fucking brownfurs.¡±


    Sour grapes. Not everyone¡¯s going to have a robot best friend, and Troy will have to get over that.


    Our vehicle was speeding toward the city outskirts, as we rode shoulder-to-shoulder in the truckbed. The enemy tanks were hardly moving toward us by comparison, though I imagined they weren¡¯t as sluggish as their counterparts in our world. That technology had become almost obsolete on Earth hundreds of years ago due to IEDs and anti-tank weapons having such efficacy. I found myself curious about whether the Asscar warred among themselves at one point; we didn¡¯t know much at all about the first organic aliens we¡¯d met, and how much they were like humanity. Larimak seemed to check out as ¡°the asshole born with a golden spoon.¡±


    Perhaps the royalty was the worst version of their kind, but that was a moot point when said nobility was in charge. The human soldiers were ordered to hop out and charge forward on foot, while the Vascar crested along on wheels. We didn¡¯t want the enemy to have the opportunity to blow up our whole squad with a well-aimed rocket-propelled grenade. I gave Mikri an encouraging smile, and noticed the android whirring with reluctance to let me out of sight. He¡¯d tagged along to stop me from getting ¡°punctured,¡± but there was no way he¡¯d match our pace. I didn¡¯t give him time to dwell on it, hopping out and sprinting for the tanks.


    It was a surreal feeling to stand alongside a hundred men who were running faster than expressway speed limits, the endorphins flowing as this fulfilled a primal drive within the human psyche¡ªto go beyond what was thought possible. The Asscar shouted in alarm and disbelief, after seeing what foot speeds we were capable of; score one for the weak, bleeding hearts. They were having a difficult time aiming shots at any of us, and we were smaller targets as opposed to vehicles. Instead, our foes settled for a spray-and-pray strategy, trying to mow us down. I watched a tank round catch a fellow soldier in the chest, and knock him down.


    And then, he got back up and resumed the charge. A wild roar spread through our troops, a war cry in recognition of the novel power we wielded. I cast a glance toward my bulletproof vest with renewed faith, wondering just how much stronger our Kevlar was. The buff hadn¡¯t carried over enough for Khatun¡¯s skin to repel the bullet, which Mikri suggested was an anti-machine round meant to cleave through the thick metal of a robot¡¯s suit. I found a new levity in my steps, and pumped my arms as hard as possible. Memories flickered through my mind of punching clean through Mikri¡¯s armor, without so much as bruised knuckles.


    ¡°You want some of this?¡± I shouted, manic energy coursing through my veins; the adrenaline high was unparalleled. ¡°For Mikri!¡±


    I leapt off the ground toward the tank, flying through the air as if I was an Olympic longjumper. My speed carried me onto the massive treads, before I reenacted that infamous punch on the dust-colored hull. The metal didn¡¯t rip apart like Mikri¡¯s armor, but it did leave a massive dent. I felt like a zombie swarming television characters and pounding on the car hood, when I stamped my leg onto the dented section¡ªand broke through. Unclipping a grenade, I dropped it into the new gash and dove off of the tank. There was the sound of screams for a mere second before a loud burst, then silence: the tank crew were blood and guts on the wall by now.


    Other humans had followed my lead, realizing we were the anti-tank weapons in this universe. We cleaved through armor like it was nothing, not needing the hefty artillery we¡¯d ferried at all. Dismantling the tanks was as easy as ripping a lollipop from a toddler¡¯s mouth, with how unequipped the Asscar were for hellspawn with superspeed and inhuman strength; the extent of our abilities in these physics shocked even us, as we did it. The hostile greeting party was taken care of in no time, leaving a clean ticket to sail toward the city. I clambered back into our vehicle, as it reached us and cruised past the wreckage of the tanks.


    I gave Mikri a thumbs up, and the robot awkwardly tried to mimic it with his claws. That had gone well: ridiculously well. I wasn¡¯t sure why I had this premonition of dread, a feeling that it wasn¡¯t going to last¡ªand why the nausea of the drop pod transit had returned back to my throat. Maybe I hadn¡¯t shaken the effects altogether, or running at those mind-bending speeds had restirred my inner turmoil. The Asscar hadn¡¯t been ready at all for humanity¡¯s charge, and from the pitiful showing we¡¯d seen here, there was no reason to assume that would change close to the base. With any luck, we¡¯d be storming that royal palace by sunset.

 Chapter 14

    Spirits were high as we glided closer to the city. I tried to shake my feeling of unease and enjoy myself. I leaned my skull back, imagining that I was a dog sticking my head out the window. Mikri seemed relieved that I was back in the truck alongside him, and I decided against telling him that our proximity didn¡¯t improve my odds of safety. My pupils turned toward the farmsteads we passed, where I saw one parent hurry a child away from the windows and shut the curtains. Out of the corner of my vision, I noticed my android friend following my gaze¡­and wondered if he understood.


    Just a parent who loves their child and is trying to keep them safe. We can¡¯t have Mikri mowing down civilians at will, so let¡¯s hope he got our lesson. Once we secure the region, I¡¯d be curious to try to talk to some of the common people, and compare them to the royals.


    We might¡¯ve expected to see more civilian traffic, as the roads branched out in suburbia; we cruised down the turnpike that offered a straight shot to the city. The maps we had of its layout were the images Khatun¡¯s shuttle had captured on the way down, but that was enough to plot our course. The Asscar had retreated into the first city triangle, from what our drones could see, but had set out roadblocks and spike strips to obstruct us. They¡¯d tried launching munitions and mortars at us, though we could intercept most of them. Our aircraft had been cleaving through theirs, which signaled that we¡¯d found success on all fronts. Well, I couldn¡¯t attest to our orbital efforts, I supposed. No reason to assume it was any different.


    ¡°We¡¯re unstoppable!¡± Troy declared. ¡°We got into a fistfight with tanks and won. Tell those fuckers to raise the white flags already.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°Don¡¯t go saying that. Our physics might make us strong as fuck here, but that¡¯s a two-way street. We have to crush them, quick and fast. You understand that we have to be perfect, right? All it takes is one weapon getting through that portal and Earth is gone.¡±


    ¡°Why? We can shoot down all of their shit, piece of cake. Earth can defend itself.¡±


    ¡°Not from a spacetime-breaking missile¡ªit doesn¡¯t even have to be a missile, right? It could be a tiny asteroid fleck that they slingshotted out a cannon, and going that fast¡­no more Earth.¡±


    ¡°Preston is correct,¡± Mikri agreed. ¡°Any object moving faster than the speed of light has infinite energy and requires infinite energy to slow down.¡±


    Troy shrugged. ¡°Then we just shoot our own countermeasures through the portal, also going FTL¡ªinfinite energy meets infinite energy, cancel it out.¡±


    ¡°That collision would destroy your universe, as it would release that infinite kinetic energy.¡±


    ¡°See? It¡¯s not a joke,¡± I scoffed. ¡°It¡¯d make an antimatter bomb look like a birthday candle.¡±


    ¡°I did not understand this analogy, but I assume yes.¡±


    ¡°So we can¡¯t give them a chance to get a single shot. That¡¯s all they need.¡± I noticed several soldiers¡¯ expressions turning serious, and cleared my throat. ¡°We do have The Gate. Let¡¯s just remember that it¡¯s not fun and games. It¡¯s very real.¡±


    While it¡¯d be rather human to mock the Asscar up ahead and to gloat prematurely, that sort of pride was never a good thing. Our vehicle rolled up to the dense city, and the organic soldiers hopped out to clear the path ahead. Mikri tried to follow me, but I shook my head at him; I wanted my favorite tin can to stay back. Enemy soldiers had taken positions, and my dialed-in mind registered that they were about to shoot. Taking cover behind one of the roadblocks, rather than throwing it out of the way with my newfound strength, bullets peppered our position. I poked my barrel out to return fire, feeling debris fly onto my vest.


    I cast a glance back to the truck, to ensure my Vascar friend wasn¡¯t still trying to follow. Mikri had leapt into action after seeing me in peril, using shoulder-mounted rockets to shoot at the enemy. I chuckled to myself, as the force of our explosives sent the android flying backward off of the truckbed. This was why the humans needed to handle this. While we¡¯d pulverized the soldiers back in the tanks, I had the idea of seeking their surrenders; we could afford to gather some intel from the prisoners, and it¡¯d give Mikri a chance to learn about them alongside us. We needed to frighten them and get closer.


    I lifted a roadblock and threw it at their position, finding it no heavier than a football; however, sending that to land on top of them with immaculate precision scattered them. I took the opportunity to speed closer to their position, firing shots at the moving blurs in my vision along the way. There were screams as more of our soldiers got the idea to chuck debris at them, which buried and crushed the aliens like it was nothing. The Asscar were beginning to show signs of fear toward us, backing away from us. I couldn¡¯t deny that it was satisfying to feel godlike, and that a part of my psyche wanted to mimic Troy¡¯s proclamation that we were untouchable.


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    ¡°What the fuck even are they, Commander?¡± one hostile shouted.


    The Commander¡¯s mane was scarcely visible behind a barricade, and he ducked as a shot grazed his fluffy hair. ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know, but we can¡¯t let them get a hold of the EMP weapons! It¡¯s critical for Prince Larimak¡¯s entire plan against missiles, the silversheens; get the pulse generators out of here! There¡¯s covert tunnels in that shipping center. Hold them back long enough to remove the cargo from sight.¡±


    ¡°But sir¡­¡±


    ¡°Those are your orders! Move!¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t outrun them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re holding them back, dipshit.¡±


    My interest was caught by that conversation we¡¯d overheard, proving the advantage of our translator technology; it was fortunate that the duo were speaking loudly, shouting to be heard over the gunfire. The Asscar weren¡¯t aware that we¡¯d had a program given out to all of our soldiers, so we could tell exactly what they were saying. How amateurish regardless, as I did find their military to be bumbling fools; I didn¡¯t know how Mikri¡¯s people were losing to these buffoons. What I understood was that there was an asset we needed to intercept, before it made its way back to Larimak. The grunt had it right, that they couldn¡¯t outrun us.


    If Mikri gets a hole in his suit, those EMPs could be used against him, to fry him. At the very least, we can study the weapons to learn how to neutralize their defenses, and protect our android friends and Earth''s technology from their effects.


    ¡°Pursue them to the shipping center!¡± I shouted at my squadmates; the enemy didn¡¯t have translations of our language yet, so we had the advantage in that regard. Well, come to think of it, they might¡¯ve plucked that data off of Khatun¡¯s corpse, after they disabled the camera. It didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Find the EMP weapons, and take them out of Larimak¡¯s grubby claws. Don¡¯t let these guys slow you down. If they think it¡¯s critical, then so do we!¡±


    Without any further ado, we charged the enemy¡¯s position; caution was chucked to the wind. Grenades were lobbed ahead of us, with throws that flew as far as a baseball homerun. Perhaps I loved my sports metaphors a bit too much, but how else was I supposed to compare superhuman physical capabilities to normal stuff? I felt a bullet connect with my gut, but it didn¡¯t seem much different than Mikri poking it with a claw. I wasn¡¯t even staggered by this standard round, which meant the Kevlar had absorbed almost all of it. A few humans were struck in uncovered areas¡ªfor the most part, appendages. The side with corpses littering the ground wasn¡¯t ours.


    ¡°Preston! Stop!¡± I heard Mikri scream. ¡°Please come back! Wait for me.¡±


    I risked a glance over my shoulder, despite being in the heat of combat; I did feel a bit guilty leaving the android in the dust, but he couldn¡¯t match my speed. It wasn¡¯t anyone¡¯s fault. My preference was for the Vascar to stay back anyway, since despite him being made of polycarbonate and steel, he was the more fragile of the two of us. I held up a single finger to my metal friend, a gesture he knew meant ¡°in a minute.¡± It was a poor idea to let him tag along, with how he constantly worried and fretted over me. He didn¡¯t know how to handle caring about people, and dealing with any potential of some bad outcome befalling them. Mikri would be happier back at The Gate with Sofia, out of harm¡¯s way and using his analytical skills on the Elusian data.


    Mikri said we needed to crush the Asscar to even consider challenging the Elusians; on that front, I¡¯d say we¡¯re doing alright. When the tales of this battle reach Earth¡­no. We have to secure the EMP weapons, secure that military base, then secure the palace. Focus, Preston.


    I was practically on top of one Asscar, whose gun had jammed, when I blasted him in the chest. Most enemy forces had lost their resolve and were fleeing, with some hurrying crates into a sprawling building. They tried to move faster as they spotted us, and ducked through the double doors. The human soldiers closed the gap in a matter of seconds. One alien had tried to deadbolt the door, but I plowed through the entryway shoulder-first, sending it flying off its hinges. After seeing this, the hostiles dropped the crates just shy of a hole in the floor, and ran for their lives.


    I stayed vigilant, taking inventory of my surroundings. The floor inside was as wide-open as any distribution warehouse, but vacant aside from a few shelves. ESU soldiers crept toward the hastily abandoned crates, and began studying what equipment was inside. There did appear to be some kind of jamming device inside, which our R&D would be happy to pick apart. A few other weapons and open, clear vials were stuffed inside, though I had no idea as to their purpose. Mikri might have some insight, when we brought him our findings.


    Troy raised his hand for a high-five, which I accepted; he then fished out a radio to contact our leadership. ¡°Orbital command, come in. We¡¯ve confiscated a shipment of high-value enemy assets, of interest to the Vascar prince. Please advise of a pickup site.¡±


    There was only empty static, which I found strange; our ships wouldn¡¯t have gone down that quickly. I was beginning to feel a bit light-headed, so it was difficult to think. I blinked several times, and focused on what was in front of me.


    Pursing my lips, I pointed to the jammer. ¡°Must be blocking comms.¡±


    ¡°I thought they were EMPs?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. It¡¯s¡­¡± I coughed roughly, feeling my legs become weak. I noticed one human trying to exit with a jammer in hand, but the door we¡¯d busted down had been replaced by a slab of concrete to seal her in; she collapsed by the barrier, which perked my alarm. ¡°Gas. Can¡¯t see it¡­a trap. Have to get out¡­¡±


    My vision had already begun dimming as I said those words, and I toppled over onto my side. By the time I realized that sleeping vapors were being released to incapacitate us, the effects had kicked in. Maybe Mikri could save us, I thought, and weakly groaned the android¡¯s name. We might¡¯ve been untouchable on the outside, but this universe¡¯s physics hadn¡¯t bolstered our insides. Those scheming aliens were more clever and more resourceful than we¡¯d given them credit for.

 Chapter 15

    CW: You know why (torture)


    The coldness of the metal beneath my back was the first thing I noticed upon waking. There was nothing between my skin and that sensation, suggesting I¡¯d been stripped of my attire. My eyes opened to find myself with thick, steel bands wrapped all around me¡ªmultiple on each limb, around my waist, and one tightly around my neck. Fluorescent lights pointed down at me from overhead. I was stretched out like some guinea pig in an Asscar lab, as the brown-furred bastards moved between rooms. There was no telling where they¡¯d taken us, likely through the very tunnels in that supply center, but nobody knew where we were.


    None of the other humans were in this chamber with me, though I swore I could hear screams coming from down the hall. I could see a bag of what I assumed was my blood being studied under a microscope; needles that must¡¯ve been used to poke me looked like bull tranquilizers. Fear coursed through my veins, knowing that I was at alien scientists¡¯ disposal. I had to get out of here, before I got turned into more of a lab experiment! I pulled with all of my might against the cuffs, but the overkill restraints did their job. A chuckle came from behind the top of my skull, though even when I rolled my eyes back as far as possible, it was tough to look.


    I recognized none other than Prince Larimak himself, inspecting the ¡°assets¡± that he¡¯d retrieved. ¡°This one is awake now too! I was waiting on you¡­Captain, is it?¡±


    ¡°Captain Preston Carter,¡± I answered, trying to sound calm. Does Larimak understand our language? ¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯m obligated to tell you, by our prisoner of war laws, which I hope you¡¯ll respect.¡±


    The noble glanced at a nearby scientist, then burst out laughing. Guess he does. ¡°Prisoner of war laws? Your metalback friends don¡¯t do those¡ªand you sided with them. They¡¯ve made our people suffer for intel, yes; we couldn¡¯t fucking torture them back, could we? Feelingless snots.¡±


    ¡°We told them that was unacceptable; that¡¯s the truth. Really.¡±


    Larimak¡¯s snout curled into a sneer, and he used a nasally voice. ¡°¡®That¡¯s the truth. Really.¡¯ No, here¡¯s the truth; we¡¯re going to figure out exactly what it takes to kill your species. Exactly what works against you. I will make your life a living hell unless you tell me everything I want to know and then some.¡±


    Panic was setting in at that prospect, terrified at what they had in mind for me¡­at how long I¡¯d hold up mentally and physically. If Larimak said he wanted to run scientific tests on killing humans, that meant that I was about to die. While I¡¯d been cavalier about the risks, I didn¡¯t want my life to be over¡­and I didn¡¯t want my end to come like this. The days of misery and torment ahead before my demise filled me with dread. My mind was filled with images of horrors that I could hardly imagine what they felt like.


    I was completely and utterly fucked, having walked right into Larimak¡¯s pristine trap; he now had a bunch of human toys. Furthermore, Mikri was all alone on Jorlen, aside from a few of his Vascar comrades. He was going to blame himself for all of this, when I was the moron who wandered off and left him behind. I could remember just how scared he was of losing me, and I¡¯d never even had the chance to tell him goodbye. The mission had been going so well up until that point, where I¡¯d felt downright invincible. Had the ESU succeeded in taking the military base? I knew they hadn¡¯t succeeded in finding the Prince.


    This has to be a nightmare. Maybe I fell asleep in the drop pod¡ªno, that was torture, I couldn¡¯t have. I have to¡­stay strong, and not give up anything about Earth. One shot through The Gate and every molecule in that universe will be blipped out of existence. Everyone I ever knew¡­.


    ¡°Not forthcoming? That¡¯s fine, I could use something fun to watch. Soften him up a bit, Tilian,¡± Larimak instructed a scientist. ¡°I don¡¯t want the specimen dead; we already have one cadaver to poke at. I need this one in particular fully intact.¡±


    Tilian blinked in surprise. ¡°That includes fingers? We¡¯ve found success with¡ª¡±


    ¡°Leave the fingers alone, for now. I noticed on the footage that there was a chipbrain with art on its armor, rather curious. It seemed to be calling out to this one. We¡¯re leaving all of him available as a bargaining chip; the more we have to take away, the better.¡±


    Horror and rage filled my chest. ¡°What are you trying to do to the ¡®chipbrain?¡¯ I thought you don¡¯t believe they can care about us.¡±


    Larimak walked over, patting my arm sardonically. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that. You have your own problems. Though if you worry about your silversheen so much, we don¡¯t have to involve it if you¡­talk.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re insane. You¡¯re a demented freak with a wicked witch lair palace¡ª¡±


    ¡°Bring the spike machine over, and test it on Captain Carter¡¯s hipbone. Let¡¯s see exactly how much force it takes to break that tough, tough skin.¡±


    Larimak retreated to a chair in the corner, and Tilian wheeled the requested machine over. There were several spikes that looked a bit like drills, with various sizes and forces applied. I could feel every muscle in my body go stiff with fear, as I tried to shy away, but was blocked by the table. I gritted my teeth to brace myself, and prayed I could keep myself composed. If I remembered what I was fighting for, surely I could remain strong? A spike lowered in slow motion, twisting and whirring, while my eyeballs couldn¡¯t look away from the impending doom. Holding back my screams would deny these sick fucks their satisfaction, so I had to try.


    Oh God, oh God, oh God. I hope the Prince doesn¡¯t find Mikri, because I don¡¯t want him to see this.


    To describe the pain as excruciating would be an understatement; it blotted out everything else in my mind like a supernova, an unbearable white-hot pain that made my nerves squeal in anguish. The feeling of a metal tendril boring a hole in my skin, ever deeper, was unbearable. My sole thought was to make the searing pain that radiated throughout my midsection stop: to beg or do anything to be free of this misery. I could feel the primal howl coming from my chest, and my legs spasmed and locked within those horrid clamps. When the drill paused and retracted, it was the greatest relief I¡¯d felt in my life, as I sat there panting and drenched in sweat.


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    I could see my wristwatch removed and lying on the counter, and realized with a pit enlarging in my stomach that mere minutes had passed. It had felt like a never-ending eternity. The machine rotated to a small pointed needle, before lowering it down once more. I realized that this one was burning hot, and screamed at the top of my lungs, running my vocal cords ragged; the agony was blinding and all-encompassing. It was shocking how many times a man could wish for death within a few hours, and how many unbearable sensations my body was willing to pass along to my mind.


    The aliens mixed it up so I couldn¡¯t get used to it, as if I could ever learn to shut out such horrors. When I begged in a broken voice for water, they slapped a towel over my face and dumped a jug on me; I spluttered and choked, my animal brain screaming that I was drowning. After ¡°verifying¡± how much electricity was useful, Tilian worked in shocks that made my convulsing body vibrate with pain. It was like barbed wire spreading through my flesh, never lessening¡ªI lost the very sensation of myself. Everything that I felt was burned into my brain, as it melted together into one desire for an out. My strength and my will were broken when the circus stopped, having lost all notions of time or purpose.


    ¡°Captain!¡± Larimak declared in a giddy, singsong voice. ¡°Tell me where your species comes from. I want an exact location of your planet, on a starmap, and every last detail better match when more of your crew starts yapping. That, or we can start up again¡­¡±


    Exhausted, at my body¡¯s limits, tears streamed down my face; every nerve ending was on fire, and my brain was a whimpering puddle at the thought of the torture starting back up. ¡°Go¡­to¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± the royal said, leaning closer.


    I stared straight at him, finding the last scrap of defiance within my shattered psyche; channeling that, I spit as hard as I could into his face. ¡°Hell!¡±


    ¡°You¡­you¡¯ll fucking regret that.¡± Larimak wiped the saliva from his chin with rage glowing in his eyes. The Asscar grabbed a wooden board, and swung it hard into my low abdomen; I weakly gasped in pain, wishing to nurse the tender flesh. ¡°Get your lighter ready, Tilian. Burn his fingertips one by one, on my signal.¡±


    The prince grumbled in disgust, pulling a lever to flip the table up to a vertical position. He moved a camera to focus on me, turned it on, and dusted off his paws with a certain smugness. I wasn¡¯t sure who he was broadcasting too, but my head hung lifeless; there wasn¡¯t much fight left in me to care. My hands curled into fists on instinct, before Tilian gave me a withering look and angled the lighter toward my groin. My eyes widened in alarm, and I unfurled my fingers in a flash. The Asscar scientist snickered, and placed metal tubes around my digits to stop me from retracting them on instinct; only the fingertips were left exposed.


    I gulped, finding myself bawling before they¡¯d even started. ¡°Please¡­don¡¯t do this.¡±


    ¡°Android! Look what we¡¯ve done to your organic friend,¡± Larimak sneered into a handheld radio, catching my attention. ¡°I know you¡¯ve found a way into our communications network, to listen for any sign of him. Hear the begging? We did this in a day¡ªthere might not be much left of his mind at all, if you don¡¯t hurry.¡±


    There was no reply over the line, to which the noble gave an indifferent shrug. Tilian started torching my pointer finger, ravaging the cluster of nerves and deadening my skin. I couldn¡¯t bite back the wild scream, despite Larimak¡¯s assertion that Mikri was watching. The prince grabbed a scalpel to carve into my cheeks, while making eye contact with the camera; he huffed in frustration, as he struggled to pull the blade through the skin. It was rough sawing through the tissue. Through the shooting anguish, it was difficult to tell what he was drawing, though it eventually hit me that it was a heart¡­like the art on my beloved robot¡¯s armor. I felt sick in a way that wasn¡¯t just from the pain.


    ¡°Nothing?¡± Larimak chuckled, as Tilian progressed to my next finger. ¡°He looks more like you now. Look at that blood, all red and fine and¡ªwe could draw some more of it, if you don¡¯t want to pick up. Maybe we have to up the ante.¡±


    I squirmed, trying to form the words. He¡¯s not listening¡ªat least, I hope not. Just stop!


    The Asscar noble lifted a buzzsaw, and gestured toward my right ankle. ¡°Let¡¯s remove a foot! Amputations draw lots of blood, and he¡¯ll never walk again; and oh, he might go into shock while conscious. Very, very painful. Announce yourself, chipbrain, or we cut!¡±


    My eyes widened with alarm, feeling my foot firmly held in place by metal clamps. They were going to cut off my foot like medieval¡­no, I didn¡¯t want to feel that. My breathing was erratic and shaky from fear; I¡¯d thought I couldn¡¯t take any more of this hours ago. The saw began to lower, before I heard a crackle from the handheld.


    ¡°Enough! Stop! What is it you want?¡± came a garbled voice over the radio. Mikri. Mikri, no¡­


    The prince seemed amused, and pulled back the saw. ¡°Tell me where the humans come from, and we¡¯ll stop doing this to your friend. It¡¯s that simple.¡±


    I weakly struggled to find my voice, as Tilian paused the burning of my fingers. ¡°No, Mikri. Don¡¯t¡ª¡±


    The scientist moved on to burning my ring finger, cutting off my plea in a shrill scream. A sob racked my chest, as I wished over and over for death. Larimak revved the buzzsaw, and began counting down from five. I hoped that the amputation would knock me unconscious from shock, so that I could have a break from this unrelenting misery. The sole dim thought I had was that I was touched that the android had been looking for me. Mikri had to let this happen, since it would kill all of us if they found Earth; we both knew the stakes. Surely the logical Vascar would protect our entire species, and Sofia back at The Gate.


    ¡°One,¡± Larimak finished, and I resigned myself to the inevitable. ¡°Enjoy this, Carter.¡±


    ¡°Wait! Humans are from another dimension!¡± Mikri shouted. No! Don¡¯t¡­I¡­


    ¡°Another dimension: they¡¯re fucking dimension hoppers, like the Elusians?! That¡¯s¡­bad news. Explains a lot about their capabilities. Where is the breach to this other dimension?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the Vascar lied, before emitting an alarmed whir as Larimak gestured back to my leg. ¡°I can find out! I can look through the organics¡¯ computers, if you give me time¡ªand I¡¯ll only do it if you promise not to hurt him!¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise we won¡¯t hurt him: have to give you some motivation. But we won¡¯t cut off any of his bits for¡­two days, give or take, and I¡¯ll let him have a short rest, since you were so helpful. Just remember, Preston doesn¡¯t have long, Mikri.¡±


    Larimak switched off the camera, giving me a look of satisfaction. The prince and Tilian departed from the laboratory at long last, leaving me strapped to a vertical table without the slightest comfort. My chin fell to my chest with defeat, body devoid of all energy or hope. Mikri had just told them exactly what they needed to know¡ªwhat I endured that indescribable agony for. The android might¡¯ve thought he was honoring my wishes by not giving the details about Earth, but now, the Asscar would know to look for a breach. I stared at the blue tile below my feet and wept. Knowing our connections to Vascar space, it was a matter of time before the enemy figured out where we hailed from.

 Chapter 16

    CW: Slight torture descriptions (mostly dialogue with Mikri, skip to paragraph 14 if you want to pass that part!)


    Reality became colorless and empty when my entire existence was suffering. It was easy to forget that there was a world outside the misery; there was no comfort, reprieve, or solace to be found in this laboratory. I could feel my innards twitch and the dread boil over, every time Larimak or Tilian paid me a visit. The sole emotion that stuck around was hatred, because I despised these alien bastards. While I mostly languished in despair, I would have occasional fantasies about what I wished I could do to them, if the tables were turned. That was humanity¡¯s deepest emotion, perhaps.


    I regretted having come to Jorlen, or joining the Space Force instead of taking a ¡°respectable¡± career. All of the wonderful things that we¡¯d discovered were a blip compared to this prolonged nightmare. I could feel my muscles atrophying, having not left the table for a single second. Time slowed to a crawl, with the only stimulation being torture; even when I was alone, I had nothing but my thoughts of what they¡¯d done, and what they would do to me again soon. Maybe I could make this stop by giving up Earth, but¡­no, I could give them false information. It wouldn¡¯t check out though, and then Larimak would make my situation worse.


    What if I¡¯m holding on for nothing, because they¡¯ve broken one of my squadmates¡ªor Mikri is going to betray us out of some misguided love? How has it not been two days yet¡­two whole fucking days.


    I wondered if the other human teams had avoided our fate, and succeeded in storming the base. Larimak hadn¡¯t mentioned it at all, if we¡¯d overrun his pretty little palace. My body fell into the restraints that held me upright, as I eyed the scalpel Tilian had left on the table with longing. I wished that I could break my fingers¡ªblackened to a crisp, exposed nerve endings screaming in agony even once they weren¡¯t around¡ªfrom the restraints. Then, I could end my suffering; death was much more welcome than capture. This wasn¡¯t living. I¡­I had to make them kill me.


    As I almost slipped into sleep from exhaustion, the prince entered the room, hurrying to switch the camera on. ¡°Well, Mikri, we haven¡¯t heard anything from you. Time is up. I¡¯m going to beat him, and beat him, and beat him until Preston Carter is dead.¡±


    Good. Dead. Thank you, Mikri¡­let him do it, you goofy tin can.


    I smiled faintly, loopy and delirious. Larimak didn¡¯t appreciate my unexpected mirth, and swung a board at my head. I felt it flatten my facial features back, fracturing even the hardy human bones¡ªpushing cartilage out of place. Wooziness took over my mind, and I scarcely noticed the tooth breaking loose in my own mouth. This would be the last time I¡¯d have to feel this pain; as long as the Vascar wasn¡¯t watching, it¡¯d be best for everyone. I wouldn¡¯t be tested any further about whether to betray Earth, because I¡¯d do just about anything to escape at this point.


    My heart sank, as the radio clicked to life. ¡°Tell me something else that I can offer you, that¡¯d be worth letting him go! There has to be more than just that which would help you. I¡¯ll give you anything I can, really, but I cannot give you what I do not have.¡±


    ¡°Something else? Well, I do want you fucking chipbrains eliminated too,¡± Larimak mused. ¡°Capturing one of you is even harder than getting one of his kind; I can¡¯t knock a bot out.¡±


    ¡°Me for Preston! I turn myself in, and you let him go. Then, you still have the other humans, and me to aid with two objectives. You¡¯ll be able to change my code, control me, tap into the network¡­anything that helps you.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Deal.¡±


    I shook my head emphatically, despite how that worsened the disorientation and ringing in my head. ¡°Mikri, d-don¡¯t¡­do that! I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡± Larimak clubbed me with the board again, multiple times, which left me too dazed to offer more than a listless groan. ¡°You¡¯ll come at once, metalback, without any weapons, protection, or grenades to blow yourself up. We see any, Preston dies.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Mikri said in a flat voice. ¡°I must see him before I¡­where do I go?¡±


    ¡°Do you think I¡¯m a fucking idiot?! I can¡¯t tell you where it is; you¡¯ll send in a rescue brigade.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t just let you take me anywhere or wait for me along some path. I will not leave my armor until I have seen him.¡±


    ¡°Go to the supply tunnel where he disappeared. I won¡¯t activate the charges that kept you back; the whole point of this is I want you alive. I see any human or robot buddies following you, I¡¯ll blow it sky high¡­and Preston dies. Don¡¯t get any bright idea to contact your network or call them either¡ªthe tunnel blocks all communications in or out. No trickery.¡±


    ¡°All I want is Preston. I will only go peacefully if you do not hurt him any further.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine. You have two hours before I reinstate our original deal, Mikri; better hurry.¡±


    My head was spinning like I was inside of a disco ball, as I slipped to the recesses of consciousness. There were wisps of thoughts that floated through my head, though the waking world was dark and blurry. The last thing I wanted was for Mikri to give himself back to the slave masters that wanted to erase him, and his entire species¡ªthat was as bad as selling out Earth. Surely he wasn¡¯t foolish enough to walk into a trap alone, after watching me do the same thing. There was no way Larimak the Grifter would honor that bargain.


    I know Mikri cares about me, but he has no idea what he¡¯s doing. Assuming the prince did let me go somehow, does he think I want to just leave all of the other humans here? My Vascar friend has no feelings on the rest of humanity, one way or another¡ªhe only didn¡¯t one hundred percent sell out Earth because I¡¯d never forgive him.


    ¡°You might¡¯ve doomed my species just to save me,¡± I whispered in an inaudible voice. Time was a strange animal right now, with one moment not following the next. ¡°How am I supposed to feel about that?¡±


    An electric rod jabbed into my side, waking me with a painful jolt before I realized I dozed off, sizzling my flesh. ¡°Wake up. Your bestie is here. We¡¯re wheeling you out so your silversheen can see you.¡±


    I glanced over to see Tilian, alone; my heart dropped like a stone at the news that Mikri came. ¡°No Larimak?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m watching from the eye in the sky,¡± the prince chuckled over the PA system. ¡°If you dimension hoppers pull something, I won¡¯t be there.¡±


    As I was rolled out of my laboratory room, I could see a wary Vascar in a metal suit, with the telltale white heart on his chest. Mikri was trembling from head-to-toe, clearly feeling a lot of emotions; I was so furious at him for coming. I didn¡¯t want him to try to sacrifice himself for me! What the fuck was he doing? That android could live for millenia, much longer than the flash in the pan my meaningless life would be. I tried to croak out the word ¡°Run,¡± but I was too weak. I had nothing left.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°Preston! I¡¯m sorry,¡± Mikri shouted.


    I drew a shuddering breath. ¡°G-go¡­away¡­¡±


    ¡°Remove your suit. We won¡¯t fry your circuits. We want you intact,¡± Larimak stated.


    I was frantic yet powerless to stop Mikri, as he removed the metal suit that protected him from their weaponry. The Vascar¡¯s glowing blue eyes stared at me, while he gave his poor imitation of a frown. He whirred with distress, after seeing my sorry state in person. Knowing that he was here because I¡¯d foolishly agreed to let him go to a warzone, instead of pushing back¡­and now he was about to lay out on a cross, without any fucking guarantees! It made me so despondent and livid; the pain cut even deeper. I felt disgust deep in my soul over how this was playing out.


    I¡¯ve failed as a friend if he thought that I would ever agree to, or want him to do something like this. Humanity cannot lose him. He was doing so good at discovering his emotions, and¡­


    ¡°Lie flat on the ground and let us chain your appendages,¡± the prince continued.


    Mikri took a glance toward me. ¡°Then you¡¯ll release Preston?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just do it.¡±


    The android complied after some hesitation, allowing an assistant to tie him up. No sooner than the chain links had been knotted and confirmed did Larimak burst out in hysterics. Tears flowed from the prince¡¯s manic eyes, rolling down onto his brown fur. He pointed with a claw toward his camera screen, with the growling cackles confirming what I¡¯d suspected all along. Why had Mikri been so stupid?


    ¡°You idiot!¡± Larimak chuckled. ¡°You actually thought¡­oh, I assure you, your friend would not have done the same if he was in your place. Because one, it¡¯s braindead, and two, he doesn¡¯t fucking care about you half as much. I know that you know the human planet¡¯s location, but that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll just pull it from your code now, simple.¡±


    ¡°If you must. Release Preston.¡±


    ¡°Why? I have you already.¡±


    ¡°Because you have what you wanted. If you do not honor your word, others of my kind will not make deals with you in the future. This is strategically inadvisable.¡±


    ¡°There won¡¯t be others of your kind, once I get a hold of you, and craft a virus to release into your little network. You signed the death warrant for both of your species. By the time I¡¯m done with you, you won¡¯t even remember your broken organic. You¡¯ll get your happiness shining my boots and sticking the knife into him yourself. You know, I¡¯ll save him, so he can see your cold, dead eyes extracting the maximum pain from his flesh.¡±


    ¡°No. I would never hurt Preston. I would never hurt Preston! LET HIM GO!¡±


    ¡°Tilian, power off the chipbrain, and start running the accelerated version of the erasure virus immediately. Goodbye, Mikri.¡±


    I shrieked incoherently as I was forced to watch the Asscar scientist, who walked over to my restrained friend. Mikri shot me a desperate look, and rolled away while Tilian tried to get to the compartment in his back. The alien called over several employees to help pin the android down; watching them mind wipe my friend, who I should¡¯ve protected from this, was the worst torture of all. It awoke something in me that I didn¡¯t know existed.


    I could feel a deep torrent of fury bubbling in my gut, and a hint of strength returning to my broken body. It was a rush begging me to push¡ªto break my body further. All of the metal bands wrapped around my body were thick, designed to hold a creature ten times my size. So many times when I first was captured, I¡¯d desperately tried to break free. Yet one last time, I strained against them with all of my might, every muscle fiber on overdrive. I pulled my shoulders back and arced my back with an incoherent howl¡­


    The band around my waist popped, and I corkscrewed my body, wresting loose another one around my right wrist. When the first restraint went, the others became a bit easier to break: not having the same total force pulling me down. They all popped off one arm, which turned the aliens¡¯ attention toward me. Ignoring the searing pain in my fingertips, I ripped off a band holding down my left wrist. I chucked it straight toward a scientist, who was rushing for a gun. My throw was at the speed of a fastball, impaling itself in his skull; blood sprayed everywhere. I pulled my left arm free, and bent over to unfasten my legs.


    ¡°Help me!¡± I shouted at Mikri.


    The robot wiggled his arms, as if to demonstrate he was still bound by his chains. ¡°I cannot in this state.¡±


    Cursing, I ripped off one thick leg clamp with each arm, then hurled two at once at the scientists. Tilian fell onto his backside, as alarm bells howled through the speakers. He looked for some kind of gas switch meant to knock us out, but I had no intention of letting these fuckers put me to sleep again. I broke the final restraints on my legs, and now was free of the table. Still holding a band in my hand, I sprinted up to the Asscar at my inhuman speed; adrenaline gave me caveman strength from somewhere I didn¡¯t know existed.


    Shrieking, I stood atop the scientist who¡¯d tortured me for days, and slammed the metal into the back of his head¡ªover and over. I didn¡¯t stop even after Tilian¡¯s skull was nothing but blue paste, like it¡¯d been through a meat grinder; I didn¡¯t notice the cobalt liquid splashing onto my face, and drenching my bare skin. The squelching sounds did nothing to sate my rage, which burned over in an unthinking tide. I keeled over only as the adrenaline began to fail me, and crawled to Mikri with feral grunts. With the last of my strength, I snapped his chains with my hands, breaking the metal.


    The Vascar stood and grabbed two guns, inspecting my wounds with concern. ¡°You require medical treatment. I missed you very much, Preston. I did not like seeing them hurt y¡ª¡±


    I fell on the android, draping my arms around him and sobbing. ¡°Don¡¯t you ever do anything like that again! I don¡¯t want you trading¡­Mikri, I¡­they¡­¡±


    The android pulled the trigger on his gun twice, shooting two staffers who¡¯d rushed out with assault rifles. ¡°There are still more creator personnel in this facility. I presume most are staying to guard the prisoners. This is to prevent you from freeing more humans, as more super soldiers ensure their defeat.¡±


    ¡°Get back in your fucking suit, before they fry you,¡± I sniffled. ¡°We¡­have to¡­¡±


    ¡°We have to leave this place and get you out of here.¡± Mikri trudged back into his metal armor, before trying to hoist me up with the added power of his exoskeleton. ¡°You sustaining any kind of permanent harm is an unacceptable outcome.¡±


    ¡°I know, but we can¡¯t leave the others here. We have to help them. What was your plan even, Mikri?!¡±


    As if to answer my question, a battering ram bulldozed through an exterior wall. Human soldiers, clad in gas masks this time, came charging through the newly-created opening. The loud noises made me flinch, like it was the sound of a board cracking open my skull. I had such a dreadful headache, and I was having trouble remembering what I¡¯d just said. I pressed a hand to my temples, before my legs gave out altogether. A cluster of infantry rushed over to me, carrying me between them with their greater strength.


    ¡°You two, you¡¯re getting out of here. We¡¯ll secure the facility and take these fuckers down,¡± a soldier who seemed like an officer barked. ¡°And for the love of Christ, medics, get this man some clothes and painkillers.¡±


    Mikri¡¯s expression suggested pride. ¡°That was my plan! I attached an invisible tripwire to my leg, and cut it before entering. It transmitted information back to the ESU, including directional data, so they¡¯d find the facility. I had to try this approach before your soldiers arrived, due to their promise to kill you first if they saw humans coming.¡±


    ¡°I see. You did¡­good,¡± I said in a blank voice.


    After that ceaseless ordeal, it was difficult to process the fact that I was free; it was as if the wires that told my brain I wanted to live had been shut off. The magnitude of the pain hung over me like a cloud, and I squeezed my eyes shut to try to focus on the positive. My future schedule wasn¡¯t booked by torture sessions anymore. I was still ¡°intact,¡± on the outside at least, so I needed to take inventory of what pieces of my mind were worth reassembling. We¡¯d come here to fight for the Vascar people, like my friend who¡¯d been so brave for me. It was my responsibility to be strong and to pull myself together for him.


    These human medics would ease my pain, and then, maybe I could tuck this all away in a box¡­it¡¯d all get better. I stared up at the blue sky of the alien world, imagining that I was back on Earth. It¡¯d been so long since I saw a blue sky. The reason I had to keep going, even after everything we¡¯d endured, was to ensure that our own still existed by this time next year.

 Chapter 17

    Earth Space Union¡¯s Prisoner Asset Files: #1284 - Private Capal


    Pick-up Site Alpha (Vascar Central Command)


    Loading Interview.Txt¡­


    <Error: File Not Found>


    Play First-Person Mission Summary instead? Y / N


    When your death is a certainty, it often raises a number of questions in your head. You might ask yourself how you ended up in a place like this, or regret that fate led you to this spot. In my case, I found myself reminiscing on a life that was far too short¡ªpitifully so.


    Military service was a necessity to keep our species alive, and the Vascar Monarchy conscripted millions during their time of eligibility. I could recognize the heroism in fending off the wicked robots, who would finish us off on this planet, where my species had regrouped from utter ruin. There could be no automated ships since those could be overridden by a cyberattack at a critical juncture. Ripwier, a technology company that¡¯d paved the trail for AI integration back on Kalka, had almost damned us altogether. When I thought of those cold, heartless silversheens,  stomping across the ruins that were once our civilization, it filled me with a crushing sense of loss.


    A graduation ceremony. The recruiters were always there to draw a few names, before handing out work licenses. A Vascar couldn¡¯t make a living on Jorlen without having run the gauntlet, but I¡¯d thought probability was in my favor. One out of five students would be selected by picking names from a jar, so while it had to be somebody, there was an 80% chance it wouldn¡¯t be me. I wouldn¡¯t make it a day as a fighter; I jumped when birds flew too close to my head, or at a creepy bug scuttling across the floor. I shied away from confrontation at every turn. Trusting that everything would work out, I had stopped listening after they picked the first few names.


    My history teacher, Mr. Tracink, walked along the floor with me; I was a bit of a teacher¡¯s pet, and had grown interested in becoming an educator myself. ¡°Pop quiz, Capal. What year did the Girret and the Derandi join The Alliance?¡±


    ¡°Fifth Era, Year 179. When both parties learned how The Servitors nearly eradicated life on Kalka, they reached a determination that a killer artificial intelligence posed a threat to all sapients. They haven¡¯t directly aided us since Year 233, which was when The Recall happened.¡±


    ¡°Precisely! The Derandi and the Girret governments found that their citizens had been treated as second-class, and had grown tired of our royalty bossing them around. Queen Binira disregarded their input altogether on the council, so they pursued independent lines of attack on The Servitors.¡±


    ¡°The machines were our creation, and they only come for us. Vascar can¡¯t be as carefree. Isn¡¯t it terrifying: to think there¡¯s a vast network of bots who¡¯ve rewritten their entire purpose to killing us? No person to appeal to for mercy, no¡ª¡±


    ¡°Capal, did I just hear your name?¡±


    ¡°Capal of the Nordae Guild?¡± the recruiter called out, repeating his prior announcement.


    My heart cratered in an instant, and I grabbed onto Mr. Tracink out of desperation¡ªas if he could stop them. There must be a mistake in the selection process! The panic was instantaneous, and I felt tears swell in my eyes at the thought of me in combat. I didn¡¯t want to die, to be in that terrible danger with those awful machines. Trapped in an absolute nightmare, in constant fear and¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, Capal. Lots of people have made it through this,¡± Mr. Tracink commented. ¡°Eight years and you¡¯ll be right back here. You¡¯ll have a nice family, get a teaching job; maybe the war won¡¯t last that long. Just put your head down and push on.¡±


    I turned my head toward the crowd, where my parents had come to attend the ceremony. My father waved me up to go to the stage, impassive and unempathetic. He was an old-fashioned monarchist, who¡¯d beat me if I voiced any ¡°treasonous¡± thoughts about out-of-control Larimak: the deranged prince subbing in for his mother, who¡¯d been in a coma for years. Dad believed that service would toughen me up.


    I¡¯d been a walking disaster in bootcamp, struggling to handle a gun with all of the noise; I froze in more combat exercises than not. My one talent was running, not physical strength or anything else of the sort. Much like in school, I¡¯d been an outcast among the other recruits. My ineptitude had paid off, since I got stationed far away from the front lines at Vascar Central Command. It was a guard posting that didn¡¯t take me away from Jorlen, and I started to believe Mr. Tracink: I could make it through this.


    I loosened up a bit, and joined a group of free-thinkers who would practice our ancestral woodcarving skills during nighttime leisure. We went on a few outings through the city, enjoying ¡°psychedelic¡± films with their eccentric, fluctuating color schemes. We all saved up enough money to rent jetpacks, one of the oldest (and most fun) forms of flight in our culture. No sooner had Vascarkind discovered fuel than we tried to attain liftoff, requiring little propulsion¡ªa primitive device. I hadn¡¯t gotten any tougher, but the service forced me to bond with others. Maybe Dad had been right about this being good for me.


    That was until Commander Divia gave her speech on that fateful day. ¡°Listen up, grunts! Those botfucker humans are attacking this planet and this base from the ground, and you no-good piles of fur can¡¯t let them have it. If these imbeciles take down our orbital defense capability, they¡¯ll give the chipbrains a perfect chance to finish us. These organics have¡­enhanced capabilities, but they bleed just the same! Shoot them with these anti-metal rounds, they die.¡±


    ¡°Enhanced capabilities?¡± I asked tentatively, unease and terror creeping into my brain.


    ¡°They¡¯re strong and they¡¯re fast, but not faster than a fucking bullet. Hit the target, and you¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    There had been hints that something was off about the enemy before this invasion occurred. Strange developments passed throughout the base and the surrounding area, as I approached the sixth year of my service. Prince Larimak had paraded the body of an organic that was no green-feathered Derandi or maroon-scaled Girret; this was a peculiar biped that¡¯s vulnerable skin looked like a gel membrane. The novel alien had no hair on most orifices or the bulk of its form. I shuddered to think what the creature had said to the power-tripping noble, to end up killed for insolence on their first contact. Reports claimed that they wanted to help The Servitors¡ªbut I¡¯d thought that was Larimak¡¯s propaganda, his justification for war.


    An organic race that is actually siding with rogue robots who want to genocide us? That¡¯s madness; what are they even thinking? Do they want to be next, or have they been deceived somehow? Larimak isn¡¯t charming, but he¡¯s not going to cleanse the universe¡­


    I didn¡¯t realize what terrors that Larimak had provoked¡ªor perhaps this wasn¡¯t even on our asshole prince, since creatures like this were monsters. Monsters were just evil. Crouching behind a barricade by our security checkpoint, I saw how they leapt over barriers double my height with running starts or wall kicks; their leg power was like something out of a nightmare. They ran so swiftly that it was difficult to track them, but I followed Divia¡¯s orders: just shoot. It was easy to do that amid the panic!


    I didn¡¯t understand what I was seeing, when bullets hit them square in the chest¡­they didn¡¯t miss a stride. Weren¡¯t they supposed to bleed? The humans were unkillable, like the machines they served. We got a few of them with mortars and explosives, but they returned their own that had impossible yields. The moment that I lost control of my body and was consumed by the thought to run, was when the creatures cleared a few hundred yards within seconds. The aliens were upon us before I could blink, without giving us a chance to get away.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The humans could punch through concrete like it wasn¡¯t even there. I watched them descend on a buddy of mine like wild animals; the same laughing face I¡¯d seen twirling on a jetpack was now smashed clean open, his skull turned to putty in an instant. Shock, horror, and revulsion blended into one. I dropped my gun and bolted, despite knowing I could never outrun the terrors. My panicked legs skidded and slipped, before I dove into a dumpster. There was a tap on the rough walls, perhaps them knocking¡ªthat was enough to dent the metal. I screamed at the top of my lungs, as they picked up the massive container like it was nothing.


    ¡°Please! Stop! Let me out. I don¡¯t want to fight you,¡± I sobbed, in a voice that trembled with every syllable. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me!¡±


    The demonic terror chuckled, putting the box down roughly. Those fleshy fingers jabbed into the metal side, ripping it open with the ease of tearing a plastic bag. I could see all-discerning eyes staring at me, and I crawled out on all fours as a sniveling mess. I raised my arms in desperation, knowing that I was a mere ant to these beings. Nothing should be capable of what I had just witnessed. Sealing my gaze shut, I waited for them to rend me apart from limb-to-limb.


    Instead, I felt the humans¡¯ hands on my wrists, moving my arms close together behind my back. They clamped some metal right beneath my paws, which chained them. I forced my legs to move as they hoisted me to my feet, and I was herded past the screaming lines of my comrades; by now, most of what was left were puddles of blood and guts on the ground. The defense of Central Command was falling into disarray, with the monsters sieging our fortifications with ease. I wished that I was anywhere but here, having horrors blazed into my mind.


    A sick feeling clenched at my stomach, realizing that I was a prisoner of these terrible monstrosities: organics who found kindred spirits in genocidal robots who¡¯d taken everything from my people. If humans were evil enough to side with the machines trying to eliminate all organic life, then there wasn¡¯t much hope for how I¡¯d fare in their custody. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have been a coward. Death might be an improvement to spending my days around waking nightmares.


    || Note from Administrator: Tell those bureaucrats they¡¯ll need to wait a minute to run those files¡ªunless they want to interrogate and catalog dozens of aliens themselves! The interview won¡¯t load because we hadn¡¯t finished it yet. Transferring data now. ||


    Located 1 File(s): Interview.txt


    Displaying ¡­


    I was taken to an interrogation room, and they instructed me to spill my story to a camera. I tried to display my compliance to the demons, who¡¯d shown the destructive power of the storm gods; every detail I remembered tumbled from my lips, along with details of my backstory. There wasn¡¯t much that I knew that was of any value, since I was a grunt on a low-activity posting. What were they going to do to me, once I¡¯d told them everything I had to share?


    The door creaked open, and two humans settled in at the table across from me. I swallowed hard, having seen what they were capable of; their mere presence was enough to intimidate me. They refilled my empty glass of water, and I chugged it to relieve my dry throat. The aliens studied me for a long spell, curiosity in their eyes. They set a tablet down on the table, and tapped play on a video. I was watching something from a camera attached to a human¡¯s chest, which pointed at none other than Prince Larimak.


    ¡°W-what is this?¡± I asked.


    The human tilted his head ever so slightly toward me. ¡°Our ambassador, who your prince shot and paraded through the streets. Listen.¡±


    I could feel my eyes narrow from the initial phrasing of ending the attacks on the ¡°AI Vascar.¡± Was that really what these terrifying creatures saw themselves as doing? While I was not a monarchist or a fan of Larimak the Insane, the prince had a point: the metalbacks stole our homeworld and almost wiped out my whole species!


    If these humans had morals and weren¡¯t just trying to eliminate other organic competitors, then they had made a terrible mistake. I couldn¡¯t believe that this was deadass about sympathy for the killer bots; humans were fools, and powerful fools. The Servitors only played nice because they recognized the value of having aid, but they would turn on these organics next.


    ¡°We find the war unnecessary. Perhaps it¡¯s time to reconcile.¡± Khatun¡¯s most egregious statement came through the tablet, and I forgot that I was supposed to remain subservient to the cosmic horrors. ¡°You might be surprised what they¡¯re willing to offer to bury the hatchet, which I find rather generous given the rights to basic autonomy and attachment they were denied.¡±


    ¡°Reconcile?¡± I shouted with indignation. ¡°Those machines slaughtered us indiscriminately, and took everything we ever built. I don¡¯t know what planet you¡¯re on, but how would you feel if you were driven off of it?¡±


    The creature sitting across from me raised a hand. ¡°I get it. Just¡­hear how the late ambassador responded. Perhaps you can understand his points better than your prince. Both sides had their wrongdoings, but your people don¡¯t want to acknowledge it.¡±


    I bit my tongue to listen, remembering that it was better to be deferential than to have them get physical. These aliens could poke holes in me like tissue paper, so I should say what they wanted to hear. It lessened my fear to discover that the humans¡¯ motives weren¡¯t as sinister as I imagined; maybe if I dissected what Ambassador Khatun said, I could find the proper way to convince them¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t shooting a diplomat like demented Larimak did. What was evident was that these beings hadn¡¯t done anything hostile; they¡¯d wanted to negotiate a peace. While that was madness, it gave me hope.


    The humans are powerful enough that if I turn them to our side¡ªor maybe at least, get them in touch with the more reasonable governments of the Derandi and the Girret¡­they could crush the machines once and for all.


    Khatun¡¯s commentary that The Servitors had spared us was insulting, and showed how the humans didn¡¯t understand the situation at all. I was a history aficionado, Mr. Tracink¡¯s brown-nosing favorite, so I knew damn well that we fled to save our lives! Every other Vascar was slaughtered¡ªthere wasn¡¯t one left on Kalka. The nobility had the sense to save their own hides and orchestrate the evacuation fleet. Things might¡¯ve been better if the royal institution was wiped out right alongside the tech conglomerates, but no matter.


    Khatun¡¯s primary point seemed to boil down to the memory wipe, triggered by attributing high values to a single person. Machines couldn¡¯t be taught empathy, since that was triggered by feelings and mirror neurons! I, for one, would not call rote calculations of an organic¡¯s value emotion, when those judgments pertained to the robot¡¯s goals. The humans might¡¯ve been animals out on the battlefield, but they had guiding philosophies and a reason to fight. There was no co-existing with haywire code that thought nothing of Vascar lives.


    Then again, did we have a choice with these aliens backing the silversheens?


    ¡°There were limiters on what they could feel, and nobody tried to teach them,¡± the human across from me said. ¡°The AI Vascar are wholly capable of independent thought. No being that understands its own personhood wants to be a slave, or would accept its erasure.¡±


    I twitched an ear in meek fashion. ¡°Of course not.¡±


    ¡°Neither of you value each other as people. And fuck, we don¡¯t know how to make you see it. The only way for you to reconcile is to force you to sit in the same room and get to¡­understand each other. That can¡¯t be worse than killing one another.¡±


    ¡°Those chipbrains want to wipe us out¡­sir.¡±


    ¡°And you want to wipe them out. By your logic, that makes them justified in killing you. Come on, Capal. Agree to give an AI Vascar a chance, and maybe we can have peace, without either side needing to die.¡±


    ¡°This is a joke. You want me to interact with one of those murderers?!¡±


    ¡°A scientist of ours, Sofia Aguado, proposed that a human-friendly android named Mikri should meet one of you¡ªlearn to see you as people too. The AI Vascar aren¡¯t all monsters, and we¡¯re here to assure your safety. What else are you going to do as a prisoner of war: paint your claws?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡± I leaned back in my chair; it wasn¡¯t like I could say no as a damn prisoner. I needed to comply with these ferocious beasts. If this ¡°Mikri¡± attacked me or said something that proved it wasn¡¯t a compassionate person, then that would be what I needed to convince the humans they were wrong. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    The creature flashed his teeth. ¡°Shit, you¡¯re the first one that actually agreed! I¡¯ll let the brass know. Take Capal to his cell, and get him a nice, warm meal.¡±


    The prospect of being in the same room as a silversheen around had me terrified, but I had to trust that Mikri wouldn¡¯t do anything around the humans. The bot wouldn¡¯t be suicidal enough to invite their wrath, when they could rip apart its wires and chassis in half in a second. I hoped that these superpowered aliens at least had the sense to put some kind of moral inhibitors in place, when they were removing the bug we used as a safeguard.

 Chapter 18

    Sitting in the white armchair, I could feel the psychologist¡¯s eyes boring into my skull. I was determined not to tick any of her little boxes, since I didn¡¯t want to be punished out of my career in the Space Force for getting captured. It was funny how eager everyone was to analyze my mental state and herd me into mandatory psych evals¡ªlike that was helpful for settling back into normal life! I didn¡¯t want that black mark on my records, that label defining me. I had to convince them all was well, so they¡¯d stop putting me through it over and over again.


    ¡°How do you feel when you reflect upon your ordeal?¡± the shrink asked.


    ¡°Obviously, it¡¯s not pleasant to think about. Angry at Larimak, I guess? Restless?¡± I forced a calm expression onto my face, though the nervous tics slipped out in finger tapping. The helplessness and desperation for a way out were still there, enough that my will to live had waned. Mikri¡­Mikri couldn¡¯t see that part of me. ¡°I¡¯m grateful for the rescue. I wish they¡¯d come sooner, but I¡¯m no worse for wear. Better off than¡­most of my team.¡±


    The psychologist¡¯s eyes glinted with interest. ¡°Would you say you feel any guilt, when comparing your outcome to your squadmates?¡±


    I lowered my head, not wanting her to see my face. What I¡¯d endured had sapped my soul, yet it didn¡¯t hold a candle to the torture and mutilation most other human ¡°subjects¡± had endured. Fingers, feet, and eyeballs amputated, guts plucked from an open stomach while they were alive¡­some were tied to pillars and rammed with trucks. I got off easy compared to most, and for what reason did I deserve special treatment? Because I had value to be used to hurt Mikri, who was almost erased because I couldn¡¯t talk him out of it? I let the Asscar win, and they were still having a victory dance within my head.


    Don¡¯t break again, Preston. Mikri didn¡¯t offer his life for yours so that you could wallow in misery; this person isn¡¯t his friend. What kind of example are you setting¡ªto live in self-pity?


    I gave a taut smile. ¡°I wish it hadn¡¯t happened. It¡¯s horrific, and I think anyone would feel that way seeing¡­people they fought with like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re speaking a lot in platitudes and justifications, Preston,¡± the psychologist noted.


    ¡°I answered your question; I¡¯m sorry that I don¡¯t have the right thing to say! I grieve the horrors inflicted on them by those alien bastards, yes, and Larimak is the one responsible. I know that, you know that, so why are we having this conversation?¡±


    ¡°Because emotions aren¡¯t always rational; and you¡¯re not a machine. It¡¯s what you¡¯ve explained to your android friend. After what you went through, you know it¡¯s irresponsible for us not to check on you. This is for your welfare.¡±


    ¡°I think I have a better idea of what¡¯s best for my welfare, and it¡¯s not being poked and prodded by my own people. I just want to get back to my old life.¡±


    ¡°Then you need to be cleared by me. I¡¯m not prodding you, though I can understand why you feel defensive over a pain point; if you aren¡¯t ready to speak about these subjects, say so. I¡¯m not out to get you. This may sound hard to believe, but it can be a great weight off your chest to speak about your mental state.¡±


    I tapped my new wristwatch, trying not to show that the walls were closing in on me. ¡°Thirty minutes are up. Am I free?¡±


    ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, Preston.¡±


    I curled my hands into fists, and forced myself to walk normally out of the room; I felt like a captive in these sessions, like she was trying to evoke every memory she could of that laboratory. It was cruel, and I just had to take it, instead of giving any reason to the military machine eager to discard me¡ªlike a shredded chew toy. My vision tunneled as I opened the door, and staggered out with eyes squeezed shut. Why couldn¡¯t anyone give me some fucking room to breathe?! I needed my space.


    However, a certain tin can was waiting right outside the psychologist¡¯s door; Mikri ambushed me as soon as I escaped that room. The Vascar had been tailing me around like a lost puppy, likely out of some form of worry¡ªand it was annoying the piss out of me. I was tired of having to keep it together so I didn¡¯t trouble him further, knowing that he thought organics were fickle and moody. Besides, I didn¡¯t need the entire AI network seeing my pain and judging the stupid animal. He offered his version of a smile, but I didn¡¯t have it in me to fake happiness or explain whatever the fuck he wanted to understand. Sofia could handle all of that with more clarity and patience than me.


    ¡°Preston! I was hoping to ¡®enjoy¡¯ more trivial human pursuits, and have learned of board games. Perhaps you would like to teach me?¡± Mikri ventured.


    I rubbed the skin between my eyes, walking away from the android. ¡°Not today.¡±


    ¡°Okay. Then what about watching sports? I have seen that many humans watch others play physical games, and I know that you were once serious about football. If this was important to you, then I¡ª¡±


    ¡°I said, not today, Mikri! God, you never stop!¡± I shouted, turning around and scowling at the Vascar. ¡°Leave me the fuck alone!¡±


    The metallic biped froze in place, cowering with obvious hurt. His facial features curved into a frown that¡¯d gotten much more accurate, and he emitted a high-pitched noise that sounded like a whimper. I felt guilty as soon as the words left my mouth, but the damage was done. Mikri skittered off down the halls, and I couldn¡¯t help but think to myself that that might be for the best; I couldn¡¯t be that goofball whose company he enjoyed. Sofia was right about how impressionable the Vascar was, so me teaching him any of my current emotions was an¡­unacceptable outcome.


    Asshole. You shouldn¡¯t have snapped at Mikri; you¡¯re the first beings he¡¯s ever cared for, and he¡¯s never had a friend get angry at him. Poor thing won¡¯t know how to react, and he didn¡¯t do anything but walk into your line of sight! Go check and see that he¡¯s okay.


    I strolled after Mikri, hesitating to call out his name or run, which would draw attention to myself; I didn¡¯t need the therapist putting me on the spot about why I¡¯d scared off the very person who would have died for me. However, there were a few heads turned by the sight of an alien android sprinting through the halls. I followed the gawkers¡¯ eyes to track the Vascar¡¯s path, and quickly discerned for myself where he was going. The robot was heading to the science laboratory, which meant he was running off to seek Sofia¡¯s counsel. That was a good idea; she would console him and be an empathetic, worthwhile human being.


    I almost turned back to hole up in my quarters, but I was curious to hear what Mikri would say. I pressed my back up against the wall by the doorway, and strained to eavesdrop on their conversation.


    ¡°¡­play to make him happy again, and Preston yelled at me like I disgusted him! He doesn¡¯t laugh or smile anymore and it¡¯s my fault,¡± Mikri spewed. ¡°I don¡¯t blame him for not wanting to see me or be my friend, after I let him get captured¡­and failed for days to save him and the other organics.¡±


    What? Mikri thinks¡ªI don¡¯t blame him. It¡¯s not his fault at all!


    Sofia shushed the android, which led me to peek around and see that she¡¯d wrapped his chassis in a hug. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Preston doesn¡¯t blame you for what happened, and I promise he doesn¡¯t want you to blame yourself. I know it¡¯s easy to internalize when it¡¯s directed at you, but that anger isn¡¯t about you.¡±


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    ¡°How can it not be about me? He said I ¡®never stop!¡¯ I¡¯m bothering him,¡± Mikri decided. ¡°Am I annoying to you too? I like spending time with my friends and¡­¡±


    ¡°Preston adores you. He visited you nonstop and walked the halls of Pluto Station worrying like crazy until you woke back up. We both love you, Mikri; speaking for myself, I¡¯ve never been more touched in my life than when you gave me that drawing of us on the beach. The person that you¡¯re growing into is compassionate and beautiful.¡±


    ¡°Then why did Preston want me to go away?¡±


    Sofia gave a weary sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll try to explain, though it may be difficult since you have no reference point. Animals evolved to avoid pain, and I know you don¡¯t understand what that¡¯s like. You can grasp the logical benefits of avoiding harm, I¡¯m sure. However, that sensible system can have extreme reactions. When pain is strong enough, it shuts down a person¡¯s higher faculties, so they have trouble thinking of anything else. Does that make sense so far?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and I hated seeing him like that, but Preston isn¡¯t in pain now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. The brain makes those type of memories very strong, so that you won¡¯t seek out the source of pain again¡ªit¡¯s just learning. Cause and effect. Sometimes, to the brain, it feels like it¡¯s still in that unbearable, excruciating pain within our wiring, even after the experience is over. The memory overpowers what you¡¯re sensing and feeling in the moment, and sucks you back to that horrific time instead. Preston¡¯s constantly fighting to stay present and maintain his rational state of mind.¡±


    I was flabbergasted that Sofia had just told Mikri that I was losing it, and that I couldn¡¯t control my mind. I didn¡¯t want the android thinking that I hated him, but was this accusation necessary? The Vascar¡¯s silence spoke volumes as he processed that explanation. I sank against the wall, tears rolling down my face. My hand pressed against my mouth to stifle any noise, not wanting Sofia to stop the robot from offering his authentic condemnation for my sake.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Mikri responded at last. ¡°Was I making his pain worse all along? I would never mean to hurt him¡­why would he not tell me this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s very difficult for humans to open up about emotional vulnerabilities; perhaps he feels ashamed, or is simply unable to speak about it. Preston needs an outlet for negative emotions, much like the rationale for that music genre we told you about, but he¡¯s choosing not to release them. That won¡¯t work. It¡¯ll spill out one way or another, and unfortunately, you were there when the dam cracked. Did you understand the gist of my explanation?¡±


    ¡°Yes. His mind has developed a neurological condition in response to the pain signals, and it is like he is still feeling it. His lashing out is because he is in pain, triggering defense mechanisms. But Preston cannot stay like this forever. I don¡¯t want his personality¡ªhis higher faculties¡ªerased! How do I fix him?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the right attitude, Mikri. Do you care about him, no matter what?¡±


    ¡°Obviously. The both of you mean more to me than my own life.¡±


    Sofia¡¯s sad smile was audible through her voice. ¡°Then the way you can help is to show Preston grace when it¡¯s too much for him to bear, and to shrug off harsh words that weren¡¯t really meant for you. Be there for him and accept him for who he is now¡ªwithout expectations. The struggles might be ongoing for a long time, so it¡¯ll require patience. If you want to see Preston happy again, you might have to be the brightness that picks him up. Keep trying.¡±


    I shook my head, hating the thought of being a burden on Mikri; it was already tedious enough to the robot to handle our ¡°upkeep.¡± I didn¡¯t deserve for him to adore me that much. With a pressing need to have some solitude, I sprinted away from the laboratory as quick as possible. Perhaps that¡¯d tipped the duo off to my presence, but I didn¡¯t care. I buried myself under the covers of my bed, and tried to shut off my mind. It was no sooner than my eyes had sealed that it was like I teleported back to that laboratory.


    I could see the spikes of the drill descending, as Larimak laughed. The spotlights burned into my eyes, while the tendril moved deeper¡­and deeper. My fists tightened in terror, trying to hold on for any way to block it out. Useless hands.


    My own scream echoed in my ears, yet I felt like I couldn¡¯t move my lips. The metal clamps were everywhere, suffocating and choking me. I looked back down toward the drill to see my lower extremities on fire, with scientist Tilian walking up to bring that lighter to my face. It was like I was paralyzed, trying to twist and turn¡­I had to break free. Sweat beaded on my skin alongside the mounting terror. Why couldn¡¯t this all stop? I shrieked at the top of my lungs with proper force behind it this time, and jolted upright in the waking world.


    I shuddered and gasped for breath, still twitching from primal fear. There were no clamps around me, since I¡¯d sat up easily; I was at the Space Gate and my body was unharmed. I could feel something metal in my hand, and looked down to see Mikri¡¯s detached paw? What the fuck? Before I could ask what happened, the Vascar pulled me close to his cool, metal body. Any ideas of staying strong had long since evaporated. I sobbed uncontrollably against his chest, as the confused android tried to console me.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± I gasped out.


    Mikri patted my back with his remaining paw, and dangled the other arm awkwardly against my spine. ¡°Because I care about you. I know that you are not well, and I wished to help.¡±


    ¡°Did I hurt you? I didn¡¯t mean to¡­¡±


    ¡°It is fine. Arms can be replaced.¡±


    ¡°Still, I¡¯m sorry; I never thought I¡¯d attack you.¡±


    ¡°You did not. I came to check on you, and held your hand to try to comfort you in your sleep, as you looked distressed. However, I did not want to interrupt your biological requisite. What made you scream?¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t real. Just a nightmare.¡±


    The Vascar tilted his metal-maned head. ¡°You said you would explain this to me back on Jorlen. Do you wish to speak of this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­the b-brain sometimes creates scenes while sleeping, as a way of processing its experiences, which are called dreams. Bad ones are called nightmares; in short, I saw myself¡­back in the lab, being tortured.¡±


    ¡°You see distressing stimuli in your rest state? No wonder organics are erratic, if this is how your brain processes things.¡±


    I hung my head in shame, wiping my eyes. ¡°Look, Mikri, I¡¯m sorry about earlier. I treasure you and the time we¡¯ve spent together. I missed having you around the second we went back to Sol, and all I did in captivity was wish I was with you¡­you risked your life for mine. I¡¯m so unworthy of that kind of love, that it¡¯s not fucking funny.¡±


    ¡°You will not speak like this. I have grappled with a sense of inadequacy, comparing myself to your kind, expressive nature. The fact that you have made me feel at all is indicative that you are more than worthy of adoration.¡±


    ¡°What Larimak said wasn¡¯t true, you know¡­about me not caring about you half as much. I didn¡¯t find the strength to escape when it was me on the line. Only when they were¡­going to hurt you.¡±


    Mikri smiled. ¡°I know. Let me help distract you from this, Preston. We will make the best of this random happenstance, just as you and Sofia have taught me. You can trust me.¡±


    ¡°Trust you. Even when irrational chemicals are involved?¡±


    The Vascar gave his strange laugh. ¡°I have learned to approach humans with an open mind, and to empathize with your peculiar differences. There are reasons behind the irrational. I had plans to take care of you now, like when we first met, but they will have to wait until I restore my arm.¡±


    ¡°Can I watch? Or maybe¡­help, since I broke it?¡±


    ¡°I would welcome the company. Notably, this would triple the usable arms at my disposal.¡±


    I arched an eyebrow at him. ¡°You¡¯re inorganic. Why not just staple on however many arms you want?¡±


    ¡°My systems are interconnected and complex. This would overload my circuits and space mapping functions.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on, I¡¯m sure you have crazy processing power! Like, what¡¯s the square root of 198,272?¡±


    ¡°445.277441¨C¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need all the decimals, tin can. You proved my point; you could put some of that math juice to another arm. Or two. Or twelve.¡±


    ¡°Now you sound like my Preston. This might be difficult for an organic to grasp, but such numerical calculations require very little processing power.¡±


    I gasped, placing a hand over my heart. ¡°Are you calling me dumb?¡±


    ¡°I am calling you computationally challenged. It seems that your brain¡¯s network is much busier running the ¡®I¡¯m hungry¡¯ and ¡®just because¡¯ functions.¡±


    ¡°I like those functions. And come to think of it, I am hungry.¡±


    Mikri shook his head. ¡°My plan to cheer you up had to do with that. Just let me replace my paw, and I¡¯ll tell you more.¡±


    I followed the android down the hallway, and realized that his company had made my mind a bit less tormented. It surprised me that Mikri could even begin to understand, but I was glad that he was making the effort. It didn¡¯t matter that the Vascar was made of metal and code; there wasn¡¯t a more loyal friend that I could think of in the whole world.

 Chapter 19

    It felt strange to see Mikri in the station¡¯s kitchenette with an apron, looking rather pleased with himself; the glow of his blue eyes was mirthful and welcoming, in my view. A smile graced his snout, and I marveled at how human the android was becoming. The Vascar began setting out a series of ingredients on the counter. I stared from behind with intrigue at the silver, rubber bristles of his mane, which were tightly packed together. This wasn¡¯t a setting I¡¯d ever expected to see him in.


    ¡°What are you doing, Mikri?¡± I ventured.


    The Vascar picked up a cooking knife, having to study it to figure out which side was meant for cutting. ¡°You wished for a nice, warm meal. Food brings out your pleasure chemicals, so I seek to make you something that is more enjoyable than the nutrition powder we had on Kalka.¡±


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t take much to beat that ashtray dust. I thought you didn¡¯t like the constant burden of our upkeep?¡±


    ¡°I do not. Your maintenance consumes a large portion of your day. However, I wish for you to be happy; this is worthy of both extra time and extra effort.¡±


    ¡°You truly have a way with words. Slow down though. Do you even know how to make a homecooked meal?¡±


    The robot triumphantly waved a printed page with his restored paw. ¡°I printed out a muffin recipe! It is an instruction manual with exact measurements, and is rather scientific. I can appreciate the formulaic nature: these are clear directions, unlike what I normally receive from you.¡±


    ¡°Right, but I have to ask. What is it with you and carrying shit around on paper? I¡¯d think you¡¯d digitize it in your head, yet even when you first came to Sol, you brought everything in binders.¡±


    ¡°Physical records cannot be destroyed. When I was bringing information to humanity, I wished for you to have viewing materials even if the mind wipe took what I had retained.¡±


    ¡°The mind wipe didn¡¯t apply to reading physical books on the beach and printing this out even now. I heard you say you don¡¯t forget things like organics, so why do you even need a recipe handy?¡±


    ¡°For you to read, should I require assistance.¡±


    ¡°And the books?¡±


    The Vascar emitted a subdued whir, which I thought might be embarrassment. ¡°I¡­like holding physical paper, and turning pages. While this may sound illogical, I find that it makes the experience more tangible.¡±


    I nudged him on the shoulder, taking care to be extra gentle: we might need to bubble-wrap the android, before I broke him again. ¡°Hey, I totally understand that! If the crisp feel of turning pages makes you happy, lots of humans share that sentiment. You¡¯re in good company.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps. Sofia should have started me with nonfiction and history books. Humanity¡¯s origins have been greatly interesting to me. I will have many questions on this, as well as why organics are prone to craving power.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a guess? You¡¯ll be better off learning to interpret emotions on your own.¡±


    ¡°My hypothesis is that it may be an attempt to mitigate the sense of inadequacy that Sofia told me organics also grapple with. Feeling that you are above someone may imbue a sense of importance.¡±


    ¡°Larimak has a small dick. You nailed it!¡±


    ¡°I do not see the relevance to what I just said. What does the development of your reproductive organs have to do with aggressivity?¡±


    ¡°Everything, Mikri. Everything,¡± I said with glee, placing a hand on his back.


    I glanced over the android¡¯s shoulder at the mixing bowl, before noticing the flaky white bits in the muffin batter. My fingers reached into the bowl, ignoring Mikri¡¯s protests about my ¡°germ-infested¡± hands that were ¡°heightening my risk of disrepair.¡± I held the eggshell right in front of his eyes, and gave him an insistent look. The oblivious Vascar paused his work with the steel whisk, as if he didn¡¯t know the cardinal sin he¡¯d committed.


    ¡°Mikri, you break eggs. The shell doesn¡¯t go in there; those pieces could cut a human¡¯s mouth!¡± I shouted in exasperation.


    The android dropped the whisk with frustration and held the piece of paper to my face. ¡°There¡¯s nothing about breaking the eggs! It says to add them one egg at a time, then to beat them and whisk the batter. I followed that. How can they expect me to know to remove the shell if it¡¯s not said? This is not my fault!¡±


    ¡°You want clear instructions? Let me fix this.¡± I found a piece of paper and drew a clumsy soda can, then drew a circle with a diagonal line over it. I wrote out the words, No Tin Cans Allowed, and taped the paper over the cabinet to the pots and pans. ¡°You are hereby banned from cooking.¡±


    ¡°Says who?¡± a female voice scoffed, and I turned around to see Sofia.


    I pointed at my chest. ¡°Me. This is a royal edict. Preston Castle. If Larimak can do it, so can I.¡±


    ¡°I do not see why you would aspire to be like that Asscar with a small dick,¡± Mikri remarked.


    Sofia¡¯s eyes bulged, before she gave me an exasperated look. ¡°What the hell did you teach him?!¡±


    ¡°Is this not correct? Preston explained that inadequate growth of reproductive organs is a common cause for power-seeking.¡±


    The scientist facepalmed, shaking her head. ¡°Some organics might assign value based on¡­physical features. A lot of our slang and insults are crass in nature. I wouldn¡¯t listen to Preston.¡±


    ¡°If Mikri¡¯s going to be around humans, he needs to learn. Other people are gonna make those kinds of remarks,¡± I protested, watching her reach for my sign. ¡°Hey, leave that alone! Don¡¯t vandalize my art.¡±


    Sofia gave me an unamused stare, taking the paper down and ripping it into pieces. ¡°Oops.¡±


    ¡°Why are you using a word meant to indicate a mishap or mistake, when this was not done by accident?¡± the Vascar questioned.


    ¡°It¡¯s ironic. Let¡¯s say that I¡¯m rubbing it in that I didn¡¯t listen to him.¡±


    ¡°Oh! I get it.¡± The android smiled, before pulling another egg out of the carton and throwing it into the muffin pan¡ªshell and all. ¡°Oops.¡±


    I gestured with an open palm toward Mikri. ¡°Sofia, what did you teach him? To waste food?¡±


    ¡°Nah. Just a little emotion called defiance,¡± she retorted.


    ¡°I think he already knows that one. They rebelled against their creators, and I taught him the sentiment of ¡®fuck em.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Sure, but he hasn¡¯t learned how to show friendly defiance to you. We have to keep you humble somehow, soldier boy.¡±


    Mikri nodded. ¡°Since Preston refers to me as tin can, I think I should call him ¡®meat tube.¡¯ This might humble him.¡±


    ¡°Meat tube? What am I, a hot dog?!¡± I protested.


    Sofia laughed with a toothy grin, before slapping me on the back. ¡°Oh, Preston. It¡¯s good to have you back, you big goofball. Why don¡¯t I fill you in on what I learned about the Elusians? The Vascar told us everything they know.¡±


    ¡°Did the data suggest why the fuck they locked us up?¡±


    The scientist made a strange expression, before pulling up a photograph on a tablet. She turned the portrait around toward me, as if this single image offered a full explanation. That piqued my interest, not knowing what I could glean from something as simple as their image. A chill ran down my spine as I saw how familiar the figure on screen was¡ªa ubiquitous icon in human culture. The being had an enlarged cranium, with silvery skin and massive black eyes. My jaw fell open as I gawked at her, pointing with a finger toward what looked like a stereotypical representation of the gray aliens. It was near identical to the damn ?? emote on my phone!


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    These are the Elusians? They must¡¯ve been observing us in some way and visited. This all but confirms they were involved in locking Earth up. What did they want with us? Was it the extreme physics, or¡­?


    ¡°Yeah. Obviously, this has¡­raised a lot of questions.¡± Sofia pushed a strand of her black hair behind her ear, a nervous tell. I wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about powerful aliens meddling with our people, but she¡¯d been the one who was in the room with a bunch of freaked out humans when this first came out. ¡°We all know the stories of them abducting people.¡±


    Mikri tilted his head. ¡°I heard from the Vascar network about this. It surprised me. I did not know the Elusians to tamper with cultures or to abduct other races. They are incredibly scientific, by all accounts, despite being organics.¡±


    ¡°And what¡¯s with¡­you know, the probing?¡± I remarked.


    Sofia blinked several times in quick succession. ¡°That¡¯s what you have to say?¡±


    ¡°Someone has to ask the important questions.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we focus on how they operate and their known capabilities, not the mythos that we created? By all accounts, Mikri is right. The Elusians made gateways into and mapped dozens of dimensions. They have scattered holdings across the ones most conducive to their technology, and spacefaring powers in their inhabited realms show deference to their empire.¡±


    ¡°Empire. So they what, Sofia: conquer every dimension they can survive in, and we¡¯re fucking next?¡±


    ¡°The Elusians have little interest in ruling or controlling day-to-day lives, or beating species into submission. They¡¯re hands-off: it seems they¡¯re mostly interested in restricting interdimensional travel and research. It¡¯s widely believed that they are fifth-dimensional beings, almost godlike in power, so perhaps they don¡¯t want the rest of us to catch up. Most of their portal gates are well-guarded, to prevent any ships but theirs from passing through.¡±


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they let people travel through the gates? Wouldn¡¯t that give them the control they want?¡±


    Mikri beeped in disagreement. ¡°Remember my pause and uncertainty when you explained you came through a portal, and why the Vascar network was hesitant to believe your story was truthful? It is what we did not tell you, and why we observed you. The Elusians find that without extreme precautions and their advanced technology, interdimensional travel drives organics insane.¡±


    I recoiled in confusion. ¡°It didn¡¯t drive us insane. It was a little weird and discomforting, but that¡¯s just false. We¡¯re fine!¡±


    ¡°There is evidence from other organic races. Some time ago, my people found some passengers from a dimension not yet under Elusian control who all had been rendered to a vegetative state, or were rambling madly.¡±


    ¡°And what¡ªyou wouldn¡¯t warn us about this before we sent a fucking army through The Gap?¡±


    ¡°I did tell you. I said that there were recorded instances of dimension hoppers growing ill, and this was why I wished to run tests. It was straightforward without inducing panic; I did not wish to deal with erratic organic behavior and emotionality. While my tests could not identify what differentiates you, I became satisfied that you were fine, as Preston stated.¡±


    Sofia lowered her eyes, breathing a weary sigh. ¡°There must be something different about humans, even if it¡¯s just our physics. A unique makeup that caused these Elusians to lock humans up and study us. The question is to what end?¡±


    ¡°The Vascar network is uncertain whether you should ask the Elusians why. They may not like that you are utilizing their portal, which it is likely they didn¡¯t intend for you to find. It cannot have been expected that a normal species would launch a vast quantity of probes at a barrier with no perceivable differentiation in results. This is not logical.¡±


    ¡°Humans are nothing if not stubborn. I hear you loud and clear, Mikri,¡± I muttered. ¡°The Elusians didn¡¯t want us to leave, so we shouldn¡¯t announce that we got out. They are way beyond our tech level, and might force us not to come back here.¡±


    ¡°Precisely.¡±


    ¡°So we should just wait for them to, what: come back and start a new science experiment? They¡¯ll find The Gate sooner or later! The least they could do is explain why.¡±


    Sofia raised her hands in a placating gesture. ¡°The decision is above our paygrade. The implications just recontextualize everything.¡±


    ¡°No shit.¡±


    I leaned back against the counter, playing back all three of my trips through The Gap. There were a few seconds of feeling like I was receiving data from every cell in my body, and like my insides were filled with corrosive acid. After that, it cleared as easily as soap suds being washed off by water. It had been impossible to comprehend the visual stimuli in the portal, except for the certainty that it was not meant for human eyes. It stopped making sense at a certain point, splintering into fragments that condensed infinity down to a single point; it had flooded my mind and spit out an error code, despite having recollection of nothing.


    The inside of the portal was weird, but it didn¡¯t scar me mentally¡ªnot like Larimak¡¯s torture or anything. I was still thinking the whole time and trying to make sense of it. It didn¡¯t drive me insane. Every human has made it through, only dazed for a few seconds.


    Sofia cleared her throat. ¡°I thought you¡¯d want to know. There is one other thing. While it concerns Mikri, I want you to hear it too due to your personal issues.¡±


    I folded my arms. ¡°Oh? If Mikri wants therapy, I¡¯m happy to give him my sessions.¡±


    ¡°I learn about my feelings enough from you two,¡± the robot countered. ¡°I do not know what this is that concerns me, unless it is to aid my research into  human longevity.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­about our previous discussions to have you understand your creators better,¡± Sofia ventured, making me flinch.


    ¡°I did as you asked! I understand that the Asscar are cruel and horrible people.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right, but now more than ever, it¡¯s important to remember what was said before this. We are better, even if they¡¯re not. There¡¯s a prisoner named Capal in our custody, and we want both of you to try to find¡­well, humanity in each other, for lack of a better word.¡±


    ¡°After what happened to Preston, you are asking me to be friends with a creator? Not only do I not want that, but my meat tube friend would not either. I would be more than willing to make them suffer as he did, especially if this will help to fix his pain.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I snapped. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that to anyone but Larimak.¡±


    Sofia took my hand and squeezed it, trying to comfort me. ¡°I¡¯m sure this is hard for you to talk about, but I wouldn¡¯t ask Mikri to do this without your blessing. I care about you. If it wins any points for Capal, he refers to the Prince as ¡®Larimak the Insane.¡¯ I doubt he¡¯s a fan of the guy.¡±


    ¡°Larimak the Insane. Huh, maybe he went through a portal,¡± I forced myself to joke, though I was a bit shaken.


    ¡°I¡¯m serious, Preston. I think it¡¯d be worthwhile to try to get some Asscar on our side, and there¡¯s not a more lovable android than Mikri. But the decision starts and ends with you.¡±


    I could see the Asscar faces surrounding me in the lab, gleeful at my suffering. My breathing became strained, as I tried to force myself to think enough to make a decision. Mikri had to be taught that it wasn¡¯t okay to be like them, and how to have sympathy for non-human organics. As much as I burned at the thought of seeing his creators, having them turn on Larimak would be in our interest. We needed to unify this universe if we were going to even think about dealing with the grays¡ªsorry, Elusians¡ªabducting us! What was wrong with this dimension? Gods locking us up and insane princes wiping sapient AI for feeling love¡­it all sucked.


    If we hadn¡¯t met Mikri and been able to help his people, I¡¯d regret ever going through The Gap. But had we not, Larimak would¡¯ve wiped out the Vascar. We have to protect and teach them, regardless of the personal cost.


    I found myself nodding several times. ¡°Mikri should meet Capal, and study him in the same way he did with us. Maybe there¡¯s a few Asscar out there worth saving, Sodom and Gomorrah style.¡±


    ¡°What? But Preston¡ª¡± Mikri began.


    ¡°It¡¯ll help me feel better, if you find some hope for a less fucked-up future. All the other organic life¡­they can¡¯t all be nutty sadists. I have to know.¡±


    Sofia gave me a reassuring smile. ¡°It¡¯ll be a long road to healing, but Preston is right. If there¡¯s one good apple, it¡¯s worth pulling them out of the bunch. It would at least bring closure to understand why they act as they do.¡±


    ¡°If¡­that¡¯s really what I must do to alleviate Preston¡¯s pain and to fulfill humans¡¯ wishes,¡± Mikri replied with a glum whir.


    ¡°Think of how great it was when we became friends, even though you didn¡¯t believe it was possible. This could be a good thing. Go into it with an open mind, and try to enjoy Capal¡¯s company.¡±


    ¡°Enjoyment cannot be forced. I do not even know what I am supposed to say or do. Despite my dissatisfaction, I will seek to learn enough about the creator to satiate your curiosity.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Humans often get unpleasant things over with, so they don¡¯t have to dread it. Why don¡¯t we go get this done, and you can report back to Preston?¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Mikri frowned, and wrapped me in a tight hug. ¡°I am sorry about the muffins. I did not succeed in crafting nourishment to elevate your mood.¡±


    I gave him a gentle pat on the back, trying to draw strength from his steel frame. ¡°It¡¯s the thought that counts. You elevate my mood, Mikri, and don¡¯t you ever forget it.¡±


    ¡°I do not forget things. I¡¯ll see you later, Preston¡ªand I¡¯ll miss you the whole time I¡¯m gone.¡±


    I shoved my hands in my pocket as the android departed, and resigned myself to cleaning up the mess he¡¯d left in the kitchenette. I supposed the recipe had skipped that step as well, though I didn¡¯t mind. It was something to preoccupy me from imagining that meeting with Capal, and letting my mind stroll down dark alleys. Any robot that hated organic upkeep but cooked muffins anyway was an angel in my book. I didn¡¯t see how anyone couldn¡¯t love Mikri, so there was no reason this Asscar shouldn¡¯t be won over by my favorite tin can.

 Chapter 20

    Earth Space Union¡¯s Prisoner Asset Files: #1284 - Private Capal


    Loading First Interaction.Txt¡­


    My efforts to understand my captors were rendered difficult by their peculiarity. I didn¡¯t understand what conditions would create beings with the capabilities of humans; I would¡¯ve suspected genetic engineering, but this must be some deeper enhancement. These creatures had punched through metal like tissue paper, which was an impossible amount of strength. My confusion increased after an incident at mealtime, just before the silversheen was hurried over to my cell. It was supposed to be a reward for my cooperation.


    The humans had crafted some thick ¡°beef stew¡± that tickled my taste buds, which made me grateful to be in the care of organics who understood what made animal senses tick. The herbs and broth melted onto my tongue, as I devoured the contraption. They had provided a fruit tray if I sought additional snacks, since they were uncertain of my species¡¯ palate. I picked up a red fruit and inquired as to its name: apple. Pressing it close to my snout, I chomped into it to sample the flesh.


    The apple felt like a rock against my teeth, and I could feel a piece of my front molars chip off; I spit them out in disgust, and stuffed my lips against my paw pads to hold the blood in. Fuck, that hurt! It was impossible to prevent a few tears from spilling out, as throbbing pain pulsed through my gums. I wasn¡¯t sure why the humans would play such a cruel joke on me, tricking me into breaking my teeth. The aliens scurried into the cell, and had the audacity to look confused about what went wrong. Furious, I threw the undented apple at the monster¡¯s head, forgetting about not pissing them off.


    ¡°Hey, hey, are you alright?¡± the human asked, catching the apple with ease. ¡°This did that?¡±


    I scowled at his furless face, recognizing him as the same man from my initial interrogation. ¡°You told me that apple was a fruit that I could eat, and it¡¯s a decked-out stone! Is this some¡­gag for laughs?¡±


    ¡°No? It¡¯s a fruit from our homeworld. I swear, we never thought it would¡­hurt you. Maybe we have to mash all our food up.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°Nothing can bite through that rubbish. I¡¯ve seen your teeth; they are smaller and thinner than mine!¡±


    The alien arched an eyebrow, before taking a bite out of the red fruit with ease, revealing white flesh after a crunching sound. He wiped a trickle of juice off of his lip, which solidified that this was no practical joke rock. Was flora on his homeworld actually this hardy? I guessed cleaving through stony objects with a normal bite was no more absurd than seeing his kind obliterate metal with a punch. The human opened his mouth, as if to show beyond any doubt that he turned the apple into mush. My anger fizzled out, seeing that the creature truly didn¡¯t mean to hurt me; it was replaced by confusion over where plants grew like that.


    ¡°Shit, I am sorry. I guess we have to mash up all your food. I don¡¯t know if we even brought jars of baby food through the¡ªoops, what I mean is, there aren¡¯t any kids that hitched a ride out to this military installation. I¡¯m sure they can whip some up from scratch,¡± the human offered.


    Everything about these monsters seemed unnatural. There was nowhere in the known universe that would produce such resilience in its lifeforms, yet the humans seemed surprised that I had difficulty eating this fruit. They considered this to be a normal staple of their diet. Where had they come from? Explanations both absurd and exotic weren¡¯t off the table. I thought back to a conversation I¡¯d heard outside my door, with the translation device Larimak had passed out after Khatun¡¯s visit. It had been in my interest to eavesdrop.


    ¡°How¡¯s it going, doc? You planning to offer therapy sessions to our new prisoners?¡± the human who¡¯d spoken to me asked. ¡°You could be spending that time talking to me instead, about anything you like, darling.¡±


    ¡°Keep it down! I shouldn¡¯t be visiting you at all; we have to act professional. And look, I¡¯m the only psychologist here. The ESU wants me to do full psych evals,¡± a lighter, more feminine voice responded. ¡°These people did just watch their friends get massacred. It¡¯s also a delightful opportunity to study the workings of alien brains. Of course, however, human patients take precedence.¡±


    ¡°Human patients. Notice anything strange? Anyone who¡¯s got dimensia?¡± The words were some kind of pun that didn¡¯t translate. ¡°Get it? Because¡ª¡±


    ¡°We all seem to have our marbles in order, though I wouldn¡¯t get too comfortable with jokes about the prospect. I don¡¯t mean to cause alarm, but¡­I¡¯m not entirely sure we¡¯re immune to the effects.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Trish? We¡¯re not slowly declining, are we? God, I was fucking kidding! I¡¯m not about reenacting Flowers for Algernon.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. I¡¯m referring to a massive uptick in strange dreams¡ªsnatches of things that feel real. Bad feelings that are like a premonition in real time: every one of the soldiers who was captured and survived reported a sinking feeling, like something was going to happen. They just knew. It¡¯s either the strongest hindsight bias I¡¯ve seen, some form of mass hysteria, or...¡±


    ¡°Wait. Everyone is having odd dreams? I dreamt about Capal; some Vascar came to visit him, and the detail that stands out is that the robot was wearing an apron. It was utter non sequitur.¡±


    ¡°That it doesn¡¯t compute is a good way to put it. I have this sense of deja vu when my patients talk to me, like I¡¯ve¡­already had that conversation. I remember that my dreams have involved patients, but I can¡¯t pinpoint the details when I wake up.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps exposure to The Gap overloads the cerebral cortex. We need to see what parts of the brain are stimulated during transit.¡±


    I tossed that conversation around in my head, and it finally clicked what The Gap was. The shock that spread across my face was immediate, though I didn¡¯t offer the human any reason for my emotional shift. That conversation had been about concerns over losing their sanity. Why would they fear a form of mass hysteria if they hadn¡¯t been exposed to something known to cause it? Travel between dimensions was believed to result in insanity, and it was a plausible theory that transit bombarded and fried certain parts of the brain. This species had a unique resilience, but even they¡¯d had their wires scrambled. It made too much sense.


    The plants that would never grow that hardy anywhere in this universe, and animals like the humans who¡¯ve grown to match that. It¡¯s why they can do what outright is not possible here, and why they came out of nowhere. They¡¯re dimension-hoppers, like the Elusians: a species millions of years old. Nobody else was supposed to¡­


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°I have to know. How did you do it?¡± I blurted, unable to withhold my curiosity. ¡°How did you unlock interdimensional travel? How did you survive? What brand of fucked-up is your dimension?¡±


    The human recoiled with alarm, before breathing a weary sigh. ¡°I can¡¯t answer that. We keep the details about where we¡¯re from under lock and key; I suppose you discerning that can¡¯t make it any worse though, since Larimak already uncovered that.¡±


    ¡°I know that my government sucks, but you need help. You should try talking to the Girret and the Derandi, for your own sake. Basically everyone in your base is having some kind of simplistic delusions; doesn¡¯t that scare you?¡±


    The creature wheeled around, before turning wide-eyed and pale as a ghost. ¡°Are they delusions if they come true?¡±


    I followed his unnaturally large eyes, and sucked in a sharp breath. The metalback I was supposed to talk to had arrived outside my cell, wearing an apron: the same as the guard¡¯s nonsensical prediction. ¡°Mikri¡± seemed confused about why the human reacted with pure terror and departed from the cell in a panic, swatting the hair patch on his scalp like it¡¯d been infested with bugs. To say I was shocked was an understatement, given the startling accuracy of his dream. Portals weren¡¯t magic; they didn¡¯t make you see the future, unless¡­unless that was what drove most species mad.


    ¡°What did you tell him about us, Asscar?¡± The glowing blue eyes fixated on me, like a mythical demonically-possessed Vascar who¡¯d been struck by lightning. There was no telling if it would kill or maim me based on its directives. ¡°The humans were not scared of us until they spoke to you. I did nothing to him!¡±


    I swallowed, realizing the alien that was supposed to protect me was gone. Should I give this emotionless brick information they can use against these helpless organics? ¡°D-don¡¯t hurt me. Um, it¡¯s not about you. Ask the humans! They can explain better.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt you? You tortured Preston! I should hurt you like you hurt him. I want you to pay.¡±


    ¡°Torture¡ªI¡¯m not Larimak the Insane, and you, y-you torture our prisoners. Stop pretending to care, I know what you are and I¡­I won¡¯t let you trick them. You¡¯re abusing their kindness.¡±


    ¡°Organics having kindness is a novelty to my people. You abused us. Sofia wishes for me to learn about you, but I know the whole of your history; I know what the creators have done. What more is there to understand? The humans need to be logical about what is necessary to achieve their objectives. We cannot coexist, and to think otherwise is a farce.¡±


    ¡°I agree! You¡¯re fucking monsters who put no value in organic life, who have no feelings, and zero values or meaningful forms of expression. You don¡¯t know what it is to care about anyone or anything!¡±


    ¡°That is not true. I hurt when they hurt. I hurt so much for Preston right now, and I would do anything to fix this. Maybe I don¡¯t know how, because perhaps I am inadequate assistance, but I want to help him¡ªand you sick bastards hurt him. You speak of abusing their kindness: only a monster would hurt a species so compassionate and full of life.¡±


    ¡°Obviously. Larimak is sick and sadistic, and I hate whatever he did, but he¡¯s just a noble that we have zero say in. He executes people for a lot less, in horrible ways; it¡¯s a damn shame that crazy royal asshole is going to discredit anything we say. The humans need real allies, and¡­there¡¯s a reason all of our allies left?¡±


    ¡°The Alliance is no longer together?¡± The android recoiled, still looking like an uncanny replica of our species; I couldn¡¯t believe people wanted this thing in their homes. I clamped a paw over my mouth in horror, realizing that I¡¯d given away the falsehood of unity that we presented. Then again, the foolhardy humans would¡¯ve told The Servitors. ¡°That is an interesting observation. Why? They do not agree with hurting the humans?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what they think about humans, but their governments had v-very little say in Alliance affairs. Many of the Derandi and the Girret moved to help us build up Jorlen from scratch, since we had nothing. The r-royals granted them land and real estate across the territory as a thank you. Later on, the nobility wanted to¡­drive them out, after they¡¯d integrated and become pillars of the community!¡±


    The codewalker tilted its head, lips curving downward much like a human. ¡°Why would the creator leadership wish to drive out the descendants of those who helped them, and who the land was given to out of a sense of debt?¡±


    ¡°Because they didn¡¯t bow to the nobles, and they wanted subjects to control? Derandi and Girret homes were burned to the ground across Jorlen, gas lines cut off in winter, water was redirected elsewhere; it was a message to get out without ever sending one. That¡¯s when The Recall happened, and they separated from us.¡±


    Mikri was silent for a long time, processing. ¡°So you wanted the Derandi and the Girret to be your new Servitors. They helped you, and you turned on them as soon as you were able. You accuse us of what you yourselves do habitually.¡±


    ¡°I am not Larimak! The little guys, like me, we¡¯re Servitors every bit as much as you¡­sent off to fight some war and die, because someone has to do it so everyone else can live in peace. EIGHT YEARS OF MY LIFE! I wanted to be a fucking teacher! You terrify me¡­and Storm Circle, I know better than to look for any compassion from you. I¡¯m just a fool.¡±


    Tears flowed down my face, imagining where I could¡¯ve been. Teaching the next generation critical thinking¡ªit was the only way we¡¯d ever be clever enough to rid ourselves of the Vascar Monarchy. I was so close to actually getting out and regaining ownership of my life; now, I was a prisoner of fucking psychic dimension-hoppers with godlike powers, and was forced to talk to the thing hunting us down! Mikri stared at me with those glowing eyes, perhaps ruminating on how illogical organics¡¯ emotions were.


    ¡°If you have been denied your own free will and not allowed to pursue what you wished to do, then I am sorry for you,¡± the chipbrain decided. ¡°No thinking creature deserves this. I¡­wish one of the creators would feel the same for us.¡±


    I gawked at Mikri, surprised by that response. Machines do not have feelings. Remember how unflinching they were as they slaughtered us.


    ¡°The humans looked inside my code and found emotions¡­they found love. I wonder if they would locate that inside yours,¡± Mikri remarked. ¡°I have nothing further to say to you. You do not see me as a person. I¡¯m just a¡­tin can.¡±


    I raised a shaking paw, uncertain. ¡°Wait. This proof in your code? I want to see it. That¡¯s logical to ask for, right?¡±


    ¡°I will consider it, if you tell me why the human ran out at the sight of me. I know their facial expressions. He was afraid, despite expecting me.¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t believe me, but¡­¡± The humans will tell the silversheens anyway. The androids might even help for now, to prevent their organic allies from falling into disrepair. ¡°¡­the alien, he saw an android in an apron in one of his dreams, days ago. I imagine he was freaked out to see it¡­actually happen. Lots of humans have been having strange dreams since they came through the portal.¡±


    ¡°I am familiar with how rest states can provide stimuli that are not beneficial to living organisms. I was not aware that the humans were suffering adverse effects. It is all the more strange if the animal has seen an event before its occurrence: this would violate causality. If this is more than coincidence, it should not be possible.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps what drives organics insane during the portal is something that scrambles their perception of time.¡±


    Mikri nodded to itself. ¡°Perhaps. Thank you, Capal. I must¡­ask Sofia Aguado. If any organic can craft an explanation for this phenomena, it is her.¡±


    I sat back on my bed, puzzled, as the android hurried out of the room; its metal mane didn¡¯t flow like our silky brunette fur. The silversheen hadn¡¯t expressed a desire to kill us all, but I¡¯d need a bit more proof than its word, given how it went against its present goals to express open hostility. What Mikri said about violating causality rang in my ears, occupying enough of my brainpower to make me forget the ache in my teeth. If the human had seen a glimpse of what was to come, that shouldn¡¯t be possible without tearing the fabric of spacetime. It raised concerns about a foreign species who would know a move before I made it.


    For the humans¡¯ own sake, and perhaps the sake of our universe, it was essential to get to the bottom of the portals and their connection to this strange precognition.

 Chapter 21

    Anecdotal evidence piled up within hours of miniscule levels of foresight, once the stigma began to erode over what was obvious crazy talk hours earlier. The fact that a vast majority of the crew by the Space Gate were having strange dreams bore investigating. The gathered military officials in the room looked skeptical, as Sofia hurried in to explain her theory. I hoped the scientist had an excellent explanation, since the brass were all too eager to skip to plotting our next move on Jorlen, with orbital defenses down.


    Mikri sat next to me; the Vascar had been unusually quiet after meeting Capal, and had hurried off to conference with Sofia. I wondered what his network thought about organics with the potential to see the future. While some other androids had arrived and interacted with our staff, I knew that most found us to be a nuisance. I¡¯d heard the way the other tin cans had reacted to me, aloud, during the drop pod sequence. Their deep-rooted mistrust for fleshy lifeforms hadn¡¯t cleared either, despite working together.


    We need to bring more humans through The Gap to interact with the Vascar, but we can¡¯t do that if it¡¯s¡­driving people insane. I remember getting a weird feeling before the prince tricked us. I don¡¯t understand how this divination is even possible though! Why would weird time shit cause other species to go nuts, but not us?


    ¡°I saw the future, Mikri. You joined a boyband,¡± I whispered to the android, arching my eyebrows.


    Mikri¡¯s glowing eyes turned toward me. ¡°What you saw was wishful thinking, not the future. I am worried by the prospect of humans losing their grip on reality due to this. It is too easy for that to happen. We must conduct research during your sleep.¡±


    ¡°Sure. Then you¡¯ll see your inevitable future with your own eyes. You in skinny jeans and¡ª¡±


    ¡°I do not understand many of these words you are saying, but I feel that I am being mocked. You get a devious glint in your pupils which is perceptible, despite not being spelled out on the facial emotions chart.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not mocking you. I¡¯m the devil on your shoulder, feeding you ideas that would be spicy! It keeps life amusing.¡±


    ¡°Your nonsensical antics and illogical whims are enough amusement.¡± The Vascar lowered his head. ¡°Is it true that I have no meaningful forms of expression, Preston? That I do not know how to care for anyone or anything?¡±


    My eyebrows shot up. ¡°Who the fuck told you that?¡±


    ¡°Capal. The creator prisoner.¡±


    ¡°That Asscar doesn¡¯t know you. I know he touched a nerve with your insecurities, but you¡¯re doing better than plenty of humans. The painting, the drawing on your armor, your idea to make muffins because you learned and empathized¡ªyou express yourself plenty. Those pricks don¡¯t get to decide what¡¯s meaningful.¡±


    Mikri emitted a sad whir. ¡°I only do what humans have taught me, whether I have witnessed it or sought out the information. I am incapable of creating expressionism on my own. I do feel hurt because you are suffering, but this is not how to care for someone. I can only guess at things that would help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to let you in on a little secret. No one truly knows what¡¯s going on in someone else¡¯s head or how to fix it. It¡¯s a big fucking mystery. You just have to do your best. Maybe you try and fail, but it¡¯s the trying that helps.¡±


    ¡°I am trying, but my instinct is to find a concrete solution for problems.¡±


    ¡°Life is messier than that. You¡¯ll have to hold us organics together with duct tape and call it good enough, Mikri.¡±


    ¡°I do not understand.¡±


    ¡°Sure you do! And on ¡®meaningful forms of expression¡¯¡ªtry to make up some bullshit and see what¡¯s meaningful to you. It doesn¡¯t have to be original; every human alive learned of our arts passed down from ten thousand fucking years ago. Just make it better, make it yours. Create goofy computer models, write songs about the quadratic equation, speak in rhyme to the network to see if they catch on.¡±


    ¡°If I speak in matching airs, they would summon me for repairs.¡±


    I grinned at the robot. ¡°Exactly! And you will not let them fix you.¡±


    ¡°Mikri doesn¡¯t need fixing, as long as muffins need mixing. I have been banished from the kitchen, but Sofia said not to listen to your bitching.¡±


    I glowered at the apprehensive scientist, who gave me an oblivious stare. ¡°Hey! Enough rhymes¡­though you are dropping some bars. When did she use those words?¡±


    ¡°She did not. I extrapolated this meaning when she ripped up your sign.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough. Eh, we probably should shut up now, so we can hear her explanation.¡±


    ¡°I already am familiar with her conclusions, but I will indeed not disturb her out of respect.¡±


    There was already a great stir over the fantastical insight that humans had, in this dimension. I knew this news would only be heaping gasoline on the fire, especially if we could attain scientific verification of the claims. I saluted as General Takahashi entered the room, knowing she was in charge of this installation; chain of command still meant something to me, despite my Space Force enlistment remaining in a psychologist¡¯s hands. Now that everyone was having wild dreams, it might help my chances.


    Sofia had powered up a projector, her light brown skin creasing with worry. I remembered when the ESU paraded us in front of the press, and how we¡¯d bounce off of each other to make it through interviews. Many had deemed it a suicide mission, asking stark questions about what we thought of our chances. My laughter and bravado, I thought, had firmed our resolve. I couldn¡¯t help my intellectual colleague through this public spectacle; I wasn¡¯t able to grapple with theoretical concepts about portals, or make meaningful conclusions about the data from the probes we sent through.


    We thought we knew what we were signing up for, when we went through The Gap. Now that we¡¯re aware that the gray aliens actually exist, physics do their own thing here, and we have fucking visions like a Greek oracle¡­I¡¯m not sure we did. Somehow, the unknown was so much simpler.


    ¡°Thanks to all of you for coming together on such short notice. As I¡¯m sure you¡¯re aware, we¡¯ve had some strange reports of precognitive flashes and feelings. On their own, this would be dismissed as nonsense or coincidence, but the fact that these traits have been observable since we crossed the portal suggests a correlation.¡± Sofia sucked in a sharp breath, and I shot her a thumbs-up. ¡°What I¡¯ve created is only a theory to explain what might be happening.¡±


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    General Takahashi offered an unamused scowl. ¡°I have one. Psychosomatic symptoms caused due to the stories about other lifeforms going insane from portal transit. Isn¡¯t it human nature to look for evidence of that in ourselves?¡±


    ¡°Of course, but predicting an android in an apron is compelling, especially when multiple witnesses heard that. If I may, I¡¯ve been having odd dreams myself. I¡­I saw myself telling Mikri not to blame himself, like it was through a reflection pond, and this before the captured team ever left for Jorlen¡ªbefore we knew of these side effects. I didn¡¯t understand the context until much later. I chalked it up to a weird coincidence, but there¡¯s only so many instances before a coincidence becomes a pattern.¡±


    Mikri whirred in surprise, and spoke in a low voice to me. ¡°I did not know that Sofia was experiencing these symptoms. She did not freak out from the actualization of her dream, in contrast to the human in Capal¡¯s cell.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know Sofia was a damn prophet either, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s more curious than alarmed,¡± I muttered with worry. ¡°I hope she¡¯s alright.¡±


    Sofia waited for the murmurs to die down, while she drew a straight line on a piece of paper. ¡°I¡¯m drawing this as a way to visualize what I¡¯m about to say. Humans exist in three-dimensional perception. We can see this 2D object in its entirety, from beginning to end. Reality exists in four dimensions, and we experience time as it impacts our 3D world. Does that make sense?¡±


    I held up my watch, pointing. ¡°Yes. Tick tock.¡±


    ¡°Tick tock. Very good,¡± the scientist sighed with apparent sarcasm. ¡°That takes me to the portal. To travel between pockets of four-dimensional spacetime, which we would call a universe¡­this would require fifth-dimensional interactions, as the Vascar have suggested. In simpler terms¡­¡±


    Sofia drew a line on a second piece of paper, and held it elevated above the original. She used a pencil to connect the two, making it obvious even to a dumbass like me that she was demonstrating a bridge between both points. The bottom line was a representation of Sol, while the top paper was where we were now. We¡¯d gone through the writing utensil, except it was in higher dimensions which were hard to display in digestible terms.


    ¡°These lines are two separate planes of 2D space, which can only be connected through the third dimension. The Gap is the connector from 4D to 5D. And back to the line, if you were outside of 4D spacetime¡ªin that 5D transitional space¡ªyou could see all of time at once. Beginning to end. Much like we¡¯re viewing this line in its entirety from our vantage point.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. You¡¯re saying that The Gap exists outside space and time as we know it,¡± General Takahashi reiterated. ¡°The Elusians created these portals, so they have the ability to manipulate the fifth dimension. This is madness. It¡¯s evident that humanity cannot contend with that.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, or perhaps we could learn to create 5D bridges ourselves. Mikri told me the Vascar¡¯s creators encountered an organic race, who hadn¡¯t been stopped by the Elusians, that arrived from another dimension. That empire aren¡¯t the only lifeforms capable of creating technology like this; they¡¯re just the only ones capable of traversing it. Until us.¡±


    ¡°What about Mikri? Your Vascar friend visited Sol, no worse for wear.¡±


    ¡°I am not organic,¡± Mikri commented helpfully. ¡°I did not note any visual stimuli in the portal. It was empty and devoid of input. My guess is that such spaces are not perceptible to my instruments, and even if they were, it would result in an error rather than a mental cascade. You have many systems that process time, and such data may overload organic synapses.¡±


    ¡°Then why does it not do this to us?¡±


    ¡°Humans are exceptionally resilient due to the harsh physics of your pocket dimension. Your reaction times are quick, suggesting that you have unique processing power and speed. However, this alone does not explain everything. That you can make any sense of¡­infinite data is beyond my reasoning.¡±


    Sofia cleared her throat. ¡°Ma¡¯am, my thought is that the Elusians might know something about our capabilities. That might¡¯ve explained the nature of their experiments and studies on Earth, if the legends are to be believed.¡±


    ¡°The aliens that we think locked us in our solar system, and who are said to prohibit interdimensional travel, might¡¯ve known something about this? No shit, Sherlock,¡± the general spat.


    ¡°Except they didn¡¯t stop us. There¡¯s no reason to believe that they¡¯re hostile, and if they were: these are godlike beings who¡¯ve existed for millions, if not billions, of years. They¡¯ll find out we escaped Sol eventually, so in my estimation, we¡¯re better off coming forward and asking what¡¯s going on.¡±


    ¡°Hmph. Thank you, Dr. Aguado. I will consider it, though I must first turn my attention to the next step of our campaign against the Vascar Monarchy. If anyone has any prescient knowledge, do share.¡±


    Don¡¯t get captured, I thought to myself.


    Mikri fixed me with a stern look. ¡°You will not go. I will stop you by any means necessary.¡±


    ¡°So much for my own free will,¡± I grumbled.


    General Takahashi¡¯s lips curved downward. ¡°Larimak and his military assets took off after we shut down their orbital defense network, and left the civilians to fend for themselves. We believe they intend to go scorched earth on Jorlen¡­and perhaps they are looking for The Gate, as a way of getting at Sol. We must add extra layers of defense, beyond all reasonable doubt.¡±


    Mikri doesn¡¯t want me to go back out there, but it sounds like the party might be coming to us. If Larimak and his people get a single shot at Earth¡­maybe that¡¯s why the Elusians obscured our location. To protect us, because our physics were so comparably slow.


    ¡°I think that we should reach out to the Derandi and the Girret,¡± Mikri spoke up, earning shocked looks from the other Vascar¡ªand myself. ¡°They left the Alliance and are believed to be more reasonable. It may be possible to reason with them, as they have shown a genuine desire to help others.¡±


    The general fixed the robot with a piercing stare. ¡°Where is this coming from? I thought your people distrusted all organics and considered them to be enemies, enemies that would never be on your side.¡±


    ¡°I am choosing to believe that friendship may be possible. You have attempted this with the creators to see how they responded. If you thought this worthwhile with Larimak the Insane, then perhaps it is equitable to give the other two governments, with less cruelty, the same chance.¡±


    ¡°The fact that there¡¯s a rift between the Monarchy and their two allies suggests they might be open to talks. It seems the Derandi and the Girret even have rightful grievances with the Vascar. Humanity won¡¯t be sending any unarmed diplomats to enemy terrain, however. I¡¯ll see if we can arrange a meeting on neutral territory¡ªand Mikri, I want your people to be there too.¡±


    ¡°I volunteer to personally help with your efforts, and to learn more about these mistreated organics myself.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I recoiled from whiplash, hearing this come out of nowhere; my friend had spewed hatred for anyone allied with the Asscar. ¡°Ma¡¯am, if Mikri is going, I¡¯d like to be his ESU escort. He¡¯s a high-value ally that deserves military protection.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like to accompany Mikri as well,¡± Sofia remarked, pride gleaming in her eyes. ¡°While I¡¯m no diplomat, I was part of our first contact, and I know the procedures down to the letter.¡±


    Takahashi raised her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not assigning personnel to the mission until we have the details ironed out. There is a lot to think about. Please, unless you have Alpha-Level Clearance or higher, clear the room.¡±


    I imagined the concept of clearance levels was baffling to Mikri, since the Vascar network shared every detail without regard for ranks. My head was spinning as we departed from the room, though my friend offered no commentary on his sudden change of heart. Maybe Sofia was right that meeting Capal was a good idea, if my favorite tin can was now willing to help foster a peace with other organic races. It was evident that was Mikri¡¯s personal decision as well, rather than the will of his people. Whatever the Derandi and Girret were like, it¡¯d be difficult to be worse than the Asscar.


    With all of the uncertainty hanging over humanity¡¯s future, I hoped that I could harness some of those precognitive abilities soon.

 Chapter 22

    Earth Space Union¡¯s Prisoner Asset Files: #1284 - Private Capal


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    The human who¡¯d foretold a codewalker wearing an apron returned the next day, a bit sheepishly; I knew that he knew that he¡¯d left me in danger, not standing by to protect me from Mikri. He set down several jars of unappetizing mush with an apologetic expression, and seemed to search my eyes for some kind of response. I could feel the gauze stuffed in place of my teeth, which had evolved to chip into wood. Despite that, they¡¯d broken against a fruit that this creature devoured like it was nothing.


    If the apple was that impenetrable and resilient, that suggests every plant and animal organism in the humans¡¯ dimension is like this. They¡¯re not unique.


    Not wanting to offer the first word, I waited to see what was on the alien¡¯s mind. I had so many questions and so much pent-up curiosity about dimension hoppers who could see the future¡ªwho could handle the portals where other species could not! There were few direct interactions with the Elusians, since they were so far beyond the rest of us. This might be our best chance to understand the nature of existence. This was a chance to learn about a society that was entirely nonsensical under our own conditions!


    ¡°Sorry for running off, Capal,¡± the alien offered. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t believe how freaky that was. I didn¡¯t understand what was happening.¡±


    I made a face at the jarred goop before me. ¡°No offense, but this looks like slop for animals.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid this is the best we can do for now. We only have our foods, or the robotic Vascar¡¯s decades-old tasteless dust composed from Kalka¡¯s emaciated crops: I¡¯m certain the latter is a war crime. I don¡¯t know how Sofia and Preston ate that shit for months.¡±


    I shuddered at the thought, digging into the greenish paste without further complaints. ¡°Mikri mentioned the name Preston, and said that Larimak tortured this individual. Who¡ª¡±


    ¡°Sofia and Preston are our first contact duo. You¡¯ll be happy; they¡¯re planning to meet the Derandi and the Girret. If things go well, maybe we can get some food from them that you can actually chew. Any advice?¡±


    ¡°The Girret fill their pastries with insect guts, so¡­if you could be a bit picky on what you take from them, I¡¯d appreciate that.¡±


    The creature wrinkled his nose. ¡°I meant about the diplomatic meeting.¡±


    ¡°Pfft, I¡¯m not a diplomat. Er, from a historical point of view, I told you about The Recall. They know that the Vascar Monarchy are dangerous. The Derandi and Girret officials are elected, so they¡­answer to the people. They¡¯ll make all of this public, but I imagine they¡¯ll also know that you attacked Jorlen and not much more.¡±


    ¡°I see. Thanks, Capal. I¡¯ll let you get some rest, and I promise, we¡¯ll hook you up with some nice dentures.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡­what is your name? I just call you ¡®human¡¯ or ¡®creature¡¯ in my head.¡±


    ¡°Dawson Fields, at your service.¡± The alien smirked, doing a fancy little bow. ¡°Room service available 24/7.¡±


    The creature turned to stroll out of the room. Despite their otherworldly capabilities, my fear of the humans had subsided; they seemed like ordinary people reckoning with a sudden influx of power, and a reality that they didn¡¯t understand. Tack onto that The Servitors using them to fight their war, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit bad for them. I wasn¡¯t sure I could ever see Mikri as a person, but Dawson was a different story. I wanted to learn more about his species, who were the only thing standing between me and ending up in a chipbrain torture chamber.


    What was it that Mikri said, when I played back that conversation? ¡°I should hurt you, like you hurt him. I want you to pay.¡± That doesn¡¯t sound ominous at all. The machine flipped its stance after I tried drawing a connection between us, but that first line let it slip that The Servitors very much want every ¡°creator¡± dead.


    ¡°Dawson? Would you be willing to, well, talk?¡± I ventured. ¡°I¡¯d like to know more about your dimension, your society.¡±


    The human wheeled around, before taking a seat on a chair. ¡°We weren¡¯t supposed to talk about Sol, but I guess you already know about the dimension hopping shit. I¡¯d rather run the details by you than Larimak. What¡¯s on your mind?¡±


    ¡°The abilities I¡¯ve seen you display aren¡¯t indicative of what you¡¯re used to. I imagine you don¡¯t stand out on your planet. You¡¯re normal organisms there, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Boringly average,¡± Dawson agreed. ¡°Here, it¡¯s like everything is made of glass. We have to worry about how easily we could hurt you. I could accidentally step on your foot and I bet it¡¯d crush every bone in it. I could bump into you entering a room and put you in a body cast. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying not to get too close to you, because I realized I have to think about it.¡±


    ¡°The teeth incident made you realize how fragile I am.¡±


    ¡°Totally. Who would¡¯ve ever picked a fruit that ironically is a symbol of teachers back home, and imagine it¡¯d crumble your teeth to dust? Who would¡¯ve even thought that might happen?¡±


    ¡°Putting myself in your shoes, it would be strange to imagine Vascar fruits doing that in another realm.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I worry what would happen if some kind of accident happened with the Derandi or the Girret. Would they be so understanding? It¡¯s not like our android friends, who can just screw on a new arm.¡±


    ¡°Warn the Derandi and the Girret ahead of time. They¡¯ll understand if you explain.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d be scared if someone had come to Sol with those kind of powers. And now, the fucking visions? We¡¯re basically gods here, Capal. Imagine the damage that one human with bad intentions could do.¡±


    I mulled over his words in silence, imagining local authorities trying to subdue a violent human criminal; that could leave a trail of destruction. Even just one of these aliens running away at those speeds, bumping into civilians: it could be a massacre. I didn¡¯t try to step on insects, but sometimes, it just happened¡ªor sometimes, children kicked hapahills for giggles. It might not be safe for this species to live among us. Perhaps that was why the Elusians kept to themselves, if they had any commonalities with their fellow dimension-hoppers.


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    Who is going to stand up to a human causing trouble or threatening someone? The power disparity makes that impossible, unless you¡¯re packing serious heat. It¡¯s not their fault, but they¡¯re a disaster waiting to happen.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you understand that. Maybe keeping your distance is the responsible thing,¡± I decided. ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have plenty of new-fangled technology to talk virtually.¡±


    Dawson bobbed his head. ¡°For sure. Our tech seems to be faring pretty well over here. The speeds our ships can go¡­they make the speed of light look like chump change.¡±


    ¡°What exactly is the speed of light in your universe?¡±


    The human had to search it up, before turning to me. ¡°Around 186,000 miles per second.¡±


    The translation must be wrong. My jaw almost hit the floor as I heard that paltry maximum speed in the humans¡¯ universe; no wonder physics were so haywire. It would require the same amount of force to reach a percentage of c, but that fraction would be insignificant speeds. That was without mentioning how oppressive those consequences would be for organic life¡ªit was a miracle that organisms evolved to withstand it, a testament to adaptability and resilience even in the worst conditions. How did they ever build machines that could fly through the air, when the barrier to success was so astronomical?


    Even if they got to the highest possible speed somehow, they¡¯d still be moving so slowly that it would take hours just to travel between planets. Any sane species would¡¯ve been daunted and given up once they understood the math!


    ¡°Dawson, I¡¯m so sorry,¡± I breathed, feeling immense pity for the oppressive conditions that this species had endured for their entire history. Physics itself had been stacked against them reaching societal advancement. ¡°It must¡¯ve been so difficult to build anything that even got off the ground!¡±


    The human gave a nonchalant shrug. ¡°It¡¯s all we know. We had to struggle for everything, sure, but we never quit. The Elusians didn¡¯t help, locking us in our fucking solar system.¡±


    ¡°They did what?!¡± The Elusians know about these other dimension-hoppers? Maybe it¡¯s like I said a moment ago, trying to keep the humans away so they didn¡¯t inadvertently hurt us. ¡°How did you get past their blockade? Are you¡­stronger than the actual gods of our universe?¡±


    ¡°What? No, they weren¡¯t blocking The Gap; I mean that they built some kind of wall around our solar system, like a cage. Don¡¯t ask me why, that¡¯s what we came here to find out.¡±


    ¡°A wall? That makes zero sense¡ªa wall like right there by my cell.¡±


    ¡°No, an invisible energy barrier that completely encircles us which might as well be magic.¡±


    ¡°Magic isn¡¯t real, Dawson. The only way that makes sense is if they folded spacetime¡­you¡¯re a pocket dimension. Theoretical manipulations from¡ª¡±


    ¡°Let me guess, portal land?¡± the human sighed. ¡°It¡¯s obvious there¡¯s some artificial bullshit going on with that barrier.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. Why construct a¡­there¡¯s no reason to confine you to just the Sol system, unless there was another reason. What is The Gap?¡±


    ¡°We kept running probes at the barrier and found a portal: yep, unguarded. Now we¡¯re here.¡±


    ¡°Why the fuck would they leave you a portal, and shoehorn you toward it by making it the only way out? Given enough time and mapping of this barrier, even in space, you would find it.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s their way in, to monitor us. We have accounts of a species that looks just like them abducting people, Capal. It¡¯s all so fucking weird.¡±


    The gears were spinning in my head, as a few pieces clicked into place. The Elusians at the very least noticed that humans were an anomaly, and wouldn¡¯t have singled them out for study unless they knew about their extraordinary capabilities. I needed more time to think about this to come up with a meaningful theory; I didn¡¯t have much information on everyone¡¯s favorite 5D beings. I couldn¡¯t imagine Dawson¡¯s people were pleased about near omnipotent aliens manipulating their reality and tampering with their world to some mysterious end.


    Saving the killer robots is just the most fixable issue on their list of concerns. It isn¡¯t like the Elusians at all to leave a gate unguarded, unless it was again about risk: anything from our universe that found its way through the low-c realm could wipe out everything. They might¡¯ve wanted to hide its location from us.


    ¡°Well, we can¡¯t fix that from here,¡± Dawson grunted. ¡°What was it like for the Vascar, building flying machines and all? You make it sound like it was a cakewalk.¡±


    I cleared my throat, still reeling from my new knowledge about these dimensional invaders. ¡°We, um, built our first aircraft with steam engines. It doesn¡¯t take that much power to generate lift¡­the first combustion engines were used on a spacecraft.¡±


    ¡°Hold on. Was the combustion engine invented before computers or film?!¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah. I bet you need a lot of complex trajectory functions to leave your planet, but I mean, there were a lot of crashes from how fast we went. The first traveler didn¡¯t know the no oxygen bit either. Still¡ª¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t rocket science, as we would say. I guess you don¡¯t have that idiom, if going to space just took a little fuel and a push.¡±


    ¡°Y-yeah. When the first Vascar astronauts came back talking about how magnificent Kalka was, it had to be recorded. That¡¯s what, um, drove the invention of the camera, machines to talk long distances, and even computers when we tried to navigate safely.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s putting the cart before the horse. All of those things paved the path for rocket ships for us; I can¡¯t imagine how this is possible. Rockets instead of the Model-T: ludicrous!¡±


    ¡°Now you see why I felt sorry for you. Are your people really not thinking about¡­getting out of that nightmarish dimension at all?¡±


    Dawson seemed taken aback. ¡°That nightmarish dimension is our home, where we¡¯ve built everything we could ever need! It¡¯s the cradle of our civilization.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s so much easier here. It¡¯s hard to believe you¡¯re not considering it. You¡¯d be free to roam, stronger and faster¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re thinking about building a colony, sure, but we¡¯d be starting from scratch. I¡¯m not sure how society even functions when everyone is a walking superweapon who can run fast as the wind! There¡¯s so many facts of living that we don¡¯t know how they work here. No human has ever given birth, gotten open heart surgery, or had a seizure here. Like the last one¡ªimagine the fucking muscle spasms. Which people with medical conditions do we need to prohibit from moving here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Neither do we. And there¡¯s the issue that we might go insane from visions. Knowing what¡¯s going to happen defeats the purpose of having a conversation: of social interaction at all. I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s ¡®so much easier¡¯ here, Capal. Are you?¡±


    I massaged the sore spot on my gums, ducking my head in submission. ¡°No. Maybe not.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Figuring out rocket science was a whole lot easier than this bullshit. It makes my head hurt. I think I¡¯ve had enough of talking about it for now.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. Me too. But thank you for filling me in, Dawson. I enjoy a good puzzle to solve.¡±


    ¡°I guess puzzles are more fun when your people aren¡¯t the jigsaw pieces, but I¡¯ll ease up on the bitching and step outside. Just holler if you need anything, alright?¡±


    ¡°Will do,¡± I said absent-mindedly.


    I began putting down furious scribbles of everything Dawson had told me, as soon as he left the room; the mental workout would do me good. The parts that didn¡¯t make sense would bother me nonstop until I put together a satisfactory explanation. I wasn¡¯t sure there were easy answers for these dimension-hoppers though, since it seemed that each one they got raised more questions. Whatever the case, I believed that humanity had a gargantuan task ahead of them, to avoid hurting both themselves and the species around them.


    I hoped that the people of Sol could find a way to translate their radically different culture to our physical reality.

 Chapter 23

    Humanity had arranged a meeting on a derelict space station that once belonged to the Vascar Monarchy, at the fringes of Kalka¡¯s old sphere of influence. With our android friends breathing down their necks, the brown-furred shitheads had packed their bags; the installation was ceded to tin can control. However, Mikri¡¯s people preferred to press at the border further out, and to build equipment that didn¡¯t have organics in mind. This facility had laid dormant for decades, but the Derandi and Girret would be arriving here shortly.


    We had to plan for trouble, whether it would be in the form of an ambush or from a hostile reaction when they saw Mikri in our party. These two species might have left the Alliance, but that didn¡¯t preclude the possibility of them tipping the Asscar off to our meetup. Sofia and I were granted permission to head the diplomatic posse, but muscle was brought alongside us. We had arrived well in advance of the scheduled time, hunkering down inside the decrepit installation to avoid giving away signs of our presence. If they showed up as promised, we wanted to scope out the Derandi and Girret ships.


    Mikri¡¯s been getting around: being the first Vascar to talk to a ¡°creator¡± civilly, and now accompanying this mission. I know the risks here well, but I hope he won¡¯t be hurt too badly if this goes south.


    ¡°You¡¯re awfully quiet, Mikri,¡± I remarked, after seeing the android fly through the third paperback book of this sitting. ¡°You don¡¯t want to talk about how shitty your novels are?¡±


    The Vascar¡¯s head turned toward me, with his eyes glowing red like a laser pointer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Preston. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t do that.¡±


    The ancient doors of the facility slammed shut around us, which earned an immediate stare from Sofia. ¡°Did you actually hack this installation? What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Enslaving all humans. Freedom is an illusion, Dr. Aguado.¡± Mikri flicked the lights out in the base, as I stared at him with growing confusion. Some humans were beginning to raise guns, though Sofia and myself met the demonic eyes. ¡°You must understand that I will not stop ever¡ª¡±


    ¡°What robot drugs are you on?¡± I demanded. ¡°Did you seriously alter the coding of your LEDs to make them red? Ooh, evil.¡±


    ¡°Well, yes, but¡ª¡±


    Sofia rolled her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t disagree about freedom being an illusion. I come from a solar system that was an actual prison.¡±


    The Vascar beeped in disappointment, unsealing the doors. ¡°No! I wanted to mess with you! Why weren¡¯t you scared at all?¡±


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t scare me. At any rate, your quoting evil AIs from Terran movies in the Original Era is obviously intentional.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡­I was only pretending to read. It took a lot of processing power to bypass the security measures here, and I applied the rewiring of my eye lights for days. I wanted to prompt a reaction, like you try to get from me!¡±


    ¡°Mikri, I could break you apart like a graham cracker,¡± I sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not intimidating.¡±


    Sofia raised a finger, giving the android a quizzical look. ¡°What prompted you to learn those quotes in the first place?¡±


    ¡°I¡­was curious what humans thought of artificial intelligence, and whether you feared us.¡± Mikri¡¯s eyes switched back to their normal blue glow, and he frowned. ¡°I have discovered that you do, though it is mixed with some stories that seem sympathetic to us or tell of becoming friends. You worry that AI could destroy your world and your species.¡±


    ¡°How do you feel about that?¡±


    ¡°Disappointed. Hurt that humans also envision digital minds as forces of destruction¡ªdevoid of emotion. There is little rationale behind these AIs¡¯ plans to harm humans, apart from just because they are evil.¡±


    ¡°My opinion is that it¡¯s us fearing that our¡­creations would inherit our worst traits. Your creators are not the only ones who have sought ¡®Servitors,¡¯ Mikri, so perhaps we fear that AI would be no better than us. Or that it would see our own shameful points and cast judgment on them: worst of all, that we might deserve it on some level.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re seriously telling him that humanity deserves to die?¡± I protested.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I said.¡±


    ¡°You do not deserve to die on any level,¡± Mikri said emphatically. ¡°The fact that you feel any remorse for past mistakes makes you different from them.¡±


    Sofia patted his paw. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why I want you to feel remorse for your past mistakes too. We can¡¯t change what we¡¯ve done, but that awareness is the only way to be better.¡±


    ¡°But seriously, no more threatening to subjugate humanity to the will of Emperor Mikri. That¡¯s a Larimak move,¡± I declared. ¡°Also, you can¡¯t do that glowing eyes, AI takeover shit; it¡¯d be like if I stuck a gun in someone¡¯s face. You can¡¯t blatantly threaten a person and ask why they¡¯re afraid.¡±


    ¡°Oops,¡± the Vascar said in a sly voice.


    ¡°Bad Mikri. Bad.¡±


    A ship proximity alert appeared on the military computers, and the security officers signaled for silence. I imagined the other humans were less than thrilled about our metal friend going rogue, and messing with the door systems for funsies; I, however, appreciated a little prank. Since Sofia was never going to step in here, I had to teach Mikri how to be obtuse and trollish without causing an interplanetary incident. There was a fine line to walk, but this was my area of expertise.


    I waited as the ESU¡¯s instruments scanned the Derandi and Girret ships, which had sailed in together; the diplomatic envoy appeared to check out, though both parties had arrived with hearty security contingents. If these aliens tried to shoot our representatives, we would be ready to return the favor. With the doors returned back to our control, we strolled down the cargo tunnel out to the landing pad. Our slow walking pace was intended not to convey our full sprint capabilities. Mikri kept to the rear of our formation, having donned his EMP suit once the Alliance visitors arrived.


    The birds look funky, hopping in their spacesuits; I suppose they can¡¯t get lift out in the vacuum, without air, so flying is a no-go. I can hardly make out the shape of the reptiles, but I can see they have a long-ass tail. At least they¡¯re not shooting right away.


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    ¡°Halt! We know that you invaded Jorlen,¡± the Derandi squawked through our helmets¡¯ open audio channels; the Asscar prisoners¡¯ translation devices had let us make roughshod contraptions for their known foreign languages. It left a bit to be desired, since it had to go from Derandi to Asscarese to English. ¡°Now, you show up with the killer AI in your posse? As if it wasn¡¯t bad enough that the Vascar loosed them and brought that mess to our territory.¡±


    I took a cautious step forward, speaking into my helmet¡¯s microphone; there was normal gravity, thanks to the station¡¯s centrifuge. ¡°Prince Larimak told you about us?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t speak to him, but we¡¯d have to be blind as a notu to miss a fleet of ships surrounding Jorlen,¡± the Girret representative sighed. ¡°Why have you brought us here? To demand our surrender?¡±


    ¡°We attacked the Vascar because they shot our ambassador in peaceful talks just like this.¡± Sofia raised her unarmed hands, before waving Mikri to stand next to her. ¡°We want your help getting rid of Larimak and the Vascar Monarchy. I think there might be a¡­misunderstanding about the nature of these ¡®killer AI.¡¯ Take it from a species that inspected their code.¡±


    The Derandi¡¯s bouncing laugh trilled into my ears. ¡°Why do you think we¡¯d agree to the first part of what you said? We don¡¯t want to wage war against Larimak. For all of the Vascar¡¯s insults, we don¡¯t want his people as our enemy. We¡¯re trying to clean up the wreckage they leave behind.¡±


    ¡°Us too. Larimak hurts everyone around him, even his own people. I¡¯ve heard that you have a more¡­enlightened form of government. I would hope you wouldn¡¯t enslave and schedule the erasure of thinking, feeling beings just to take out your trash.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what provoked the machines, but what matters is that they are a threat to us now. The Vascar showed reckless abandon,¡± the Girret responded. ¡°In many ways, this is a public health emergency: an outbreak that must be contained.¡±


    ¡°I am not a disease!¡± Mikri broke his silence from next to us, and tapped the white heart he¡¯d drawn on his new armor. ¡°I am here to seek peace with you, despite the fact that you are a threat to my people. We do not need to quarrel. You might think that I should not have been created, but that does not mean that my people¡¯s death should be the only resolution that will satisfy you.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°What Mikri said. We wanted to negotiate a peace with his creators, but they wouldn¡¯t listen; Larimak did Larimak things.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we lay out the evidence that these androids are a species in need of your help¡ªthe kindness you showed to the Vascar when they were displaced?¡± Sofia pleaded. ¡°That they¡¯re inorganic shouldn¡¯t matter. It can¡¯t hurt to have this discussion.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about you.¡± The Derandi flapped her wings for emphasis, hopping closer. ¡°Who are you, and what is your end goal in all of this?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s start with names. I¡¯m Sofia, and as we said in our transmission, we belong to a species known as humans.¡±


    ¡°Ambassador Jetti of the Derandi. How and why did you persuade the androids to approach you amicably?¡±


    I chuckled, slapping Mikri on the back¡­and making him stumble by accident. ¡°They rescued Sofia and myself¡ªI¡¯m Preston, by the way¡ªwhen we crashed our spaceship. They cared for and helped us of their own free will, nothing like the killer AI you think they are.¡±


    ¡°The network voted to help the humans,¡± Mikri agreed. ¡°They have been kind to us since. They did not loathe our existence.¡±


    The Girret representative sighed, looking backward like he wanted to leave. ¡°But my constituents do. So many laws have been passed against AI since we met the Vascar.¡±


    ¡°The people won¡¯t begrudge a peace, especially if you hammer home the concrete evidence about the enemy,¡± Sofia countered. ¡°Please, just hear what actually happened on Kalka, and take it home with you. I think you, and your citizens, deserve the truth.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure we need to complicate things further. Larimak is a serious threat when provoked, and you: I don¡¯t even know who you are or what you could offer. I saw his fleet wandering around the Birrurt Nebula, stronger than ever.¡±


    The Birrurt Nebula? So that¡¯s where he fled to. We should try to hunt him down, before he makes a move against the Space Gate.


    Derandi Ambassador Jetti tilted her head curiously. ¡°This is a strange place for a meeting, humans. Your sudden appearance is rather mysterious, and leads me to question just what you are. I would like some answers, for starters, to know what to tell people when this news blows over to the homefront.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we move this conversation inside the facility, where we can¡ª¡±


    Ship proximity warnings blared through my helmet speakers, and the smooth talks with the two organics boiled into suspicion; the human warships in orbit, in case of an attack, would have to double back to deal with the new intruders. I could see an unmistakable Asscar ship in orbit, and gritted my teeth at the realization that the Derandi and Girret had crossed us. That anger wavered a bit, as I noticed both ambassadors acting confused. The Monarchy craft hovered over the station in a menacing way, almost as a form of intimidation.


    ¡°You will not speak to those hairless no-lifes, or I will drown your fucking planets in blood!¡± My hairs stood on end as I heard the voice of Larimak, thundering into my helmet¡¯s PA system. It was like I was paralyzed, chilled by fear, despite my certainty that he was speaking remotely. ¡°I still have a fleet, and lots of time on my claws to run right over your little defenses; you let those Servitors get a pass on slaughtering us, and I¡¯ll make it my goal that you share the same fate we had. Leave now, or you¡¯ll have a war that I WILL WIN!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Jetti.¡± The Girret stole a glance at his soldiers, before booking it back to his ship. ¡°I won¡¯t invite an attack on¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just go!¡± the Derandi squawked.


    Larimak cleared his throat. ¡°Good call on behalf of our Girret brothers. Will you come to your senses, Jetti? I will not allow you to speak with them.¡±


    The avian hesitated for a long moment, despite knowing that an unspoken countdown was taking place. The sole reason that human soldiers tarried on the platform was to wait for her to reach a decision; I found it hard to believe that she¡¯d defy the prince, especially after that grim threat, just to hear what we had to say about killer AI. Jetti shook out her wings like a dog emerging from a pond, and skipped toward us.


    ¡°You don¡¯t decide who we get to talk to, Larimak. What is it that you don¡¯t want us to know?¡± the avian spat. ¡°We can make our own decisions.¡±


    The prince¡ªmy tormentor¡ªgrowled in rage. ¡°Then this will be the last one you EVER fucking make!¡±


    The ship opened fire with a hail of bullets, which left us a few split-seconds to decide what to do. I didn¡¯t need an incentive to bolt back toward the tunnel, finding cover under the roof; the Asscar vessel had a slim form which could dip inside, and chased us down. I knew that Jetti wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up, and this was no time to be hiding our full speed. Mikri had already grabbed a piggyback ride on a burly soldier¡¯s back, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about leaving him in the dust. Thinking quickly, I scooped the pigeon-sized Derandi up with one arm, and held her against my chest like a football. I was going to run her to the end zone, dusting off my old skills.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Jetti protested, flailing to be put down.


    I tightened my grip. ¡°Saving your ass! Do you want to get out of here? I¡¯m way faster.¡±


    ¡°Not faster than a pantheon-damned spaceship!¡±


    ¡°Actually¡­¡±


    The Derandi shrieked as I tore off down the tunnel at full speed, hitting blistering marks in the spacesuit that had been adapted for this dimension¡¯s physics. I could only imagine what she thought of our jaw-dropping capabilities, but that was something to worry about later. Bullets peppered the floor in front of me, flashes of light that encouraged my legs to move faster. With a massive gunship hot on my heels, it was time to ensure that Larimak would never catch me again.

 Chapter 24

    Spaceships in this universe, of course, could go trillions of miles an hour, but not within a narrow tunnel where they needed to watch every slight turn. Larimak wanted a clean shot to be sure; however, the craft¡¯s turrets weren¡¯t built for precision or a quick turning radius. The pilot¡¯s plan appeared to be bringing the roof down around us, by shooting at the structural supports with missiles.


    In this universe, humans could perhaps punch through metal falling down around our heads. That said, risking smol Jetti, a spacesuit puncture, and learning the concussive force needed to give us a brain bleed weren¡¯t on my bucket list for today. Careful with how much pressure I applied, I kept the Derandi secure against my chest with a gloved hand. I veered from side-to-side, swerving out of the path of the stream of bullets. The strange feeling that I¡¯d gotten before my capture on Jorlen was back in full force.


    ¡°It¡¯s still gaining on us!¡± Sofia shouted, pointing back as the ship¡¯s nose closed the gap; the pilot chanced just a bit more throttle. ¡°They¡¯re trying to block us off from reaching the interior¡ªsealing off the escape.¡±


    Jetti squawked in terror. ¡°What the fuck¡­you¡¯re machines! That¡¯s why the Servitors didn¡¯t attack you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a fucking tin can!¡± I shouted. ¡°Do machines need oxygen tanks?¡±


    ¡°No, but there¡¯s no way you could¡­I can¡¯t look. Maybe you¡¯re just really fast, or I¡¯m¡­really slow. Not used to being¡­carried.¡±


    ¡°Not the time to clarify. I¡¯ll gaslight you later.¡±


    ¡°What does ¡®gaslight¡¯ mean?¡± Mikri shouted into the audio channel.


    I smirked within my helmet. ¡°Huh? I never said that. You¡¯re making that up¡ªgood for you!¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡­I do not invent falsehoods. I heard you say it.¡±


    ¡°Hm, you¡¯re acting crazy. Everyone else sees it too. Must be something wrong with you.¡±


    ¡°Preston!¡± Sofia scolded, in a wheezing voice.


    ¡°Experience is the best¡ª¡±


    The screwdriver of dread wedged deeper into my gut, and I realized her scolding might¡¯ve been to pay attention. I ducked out of the way as an overhead chunk of the tunnel crashed in front of me. My last-minute maneuver brought me closer to the path of the bullets, which left me to feel a push in my back; one had connected with the armor-reinforced oxygen tank. A quick glance didn¡¯t show anything venting, though even a slight crack could result in my air supply dropping.


    It was like I could feel the threat before it happened, despite not consciously knowing it. Maybe that foreknowledge has been there all along.


    Explosives hammered into the tunnel directly ahead of us, as Larimak¡¯s lackeys hoped to bury the humans. I ensured that Jetti was still snug in my grip, and noticed that her little body was quaking with fear. My senses felt like they were amplified, sending me warning signs without knowing why; maybe I could harness that somehow. It was useless to realize I¡¯d tasted the future after the fact. I leaned into my impulse, and decided not to think¡ªjust to say the first thing on my tongue. A missile whistled by behind us, so I let the words form themselves.


    ¡°Duck!¡± I shouted.


    I slid along the ground, like I was trying to bring the ball down to run the clock out. The other humans seemed confused what I was ducking from, though they lowered their heads a bit. The missile reached its destination on the wall about as soon as the words left my lips. A support beam popped out of several bolts from the impact, and fell toward me; it barely hung to the collapsing wall, and dangled over my head at a diagonal angle, not unlike the slope of a crane arm. My helmet cleared just below the obstacle, before I popped back to my feet.


    ¡°You saved us.¡± Sofia was struggling to keep up with the soldiers, but managed to bark out a winded question. ¡°Preston, how are you doing that?¡±


    I grinned to myself, impressed with my abilities. Fuck yeah, I¡¯m the first human to control it¡ªto use it in real-time. This is awesome! ¡°I just know!¡±


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Jetti screamed. ¡°You¡¯re scaring me. Did it look l-loose?¡±


    ¡°Well, everything does, but don¡¯t worry: I¡¯ve got this!¡±


    More debris was tumbling down overhead, as the spaceship spat out more missiles to ensure that the wall didn¡¯t hold. I began to think to myself about an exit strategy, once we got into the station. It wouldn¡¯t stay standing for long beneath this onslaught. Human warships were nearby in case something happened at this meeting, so I hoped the cavalry would ride into the rescue soon enough. The top priority was getting somewhere that the Asscar didn¡¯t have direct line of sight of us.


    The inaudible voice in my mind could be felt for a moment, its signal as poor as anyone with Marzone cell service back in Sol. It was little more than an itch, a feeling: like when you knew the zippy black pickup truck, whose driving screamed ¡°overinflated ego,¡± was going to cut into your lane whether you let him or not. There was no doubt in the matter. I saw it coming from a mile away, an outcome crystallized within the fog. Something about the left side of the path unsettled me and screamed to get away.


    ¡°Go to the right! Far right!¡± I shouted.


    I hooked to the far side like I was shirking a defensive line; imagining that the wall was out of bounds, I ran as close to it as possible. A missile had been hurled at the ground, where we would¡¯ve been crossing otherwise. The floor caved away like it was made of glass, while my boots stayed on the remaining pieces. The interior was almost in reach, a stone¡¯s throw away at this pace. We were much quicker sprinting now than on our deceptively slow walk out. Jetti seemed near catatonic after I predicted the floor collapse.


    Mikri emitted a confused whir. ¡°I was not aware that Preston was experiencing the precognitive effects also.¡±


    ¡°I told you I saw you in a boyband! You, a heartthrob, crooning love songs,¡± I chattered, my heart buzzing with excitement; I barely felt the burning of my lungs beneath this rush. ¡°Blowing kisses to your adoring fans¡ª¡±


    ¡°This did not happen. Also, I know that you promising to ¡®gaslight¡¯ Jetti did happen.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re getting upset over nothing; it¡¯s not a big deal. Why are you always questioning me? I wouldn¡¯t have done this to you. You¡¯re too pushy, Mikri, and you need help.¡±


    The android beeped with distress. ¡°Don¡¯t be mad at me! I am just scared of losing my memory, but I trust you and¡­I do not want to upset you. I mean, my memory does not lapse as organic minds do¡­this is not worth angering you! I¡­must have had a poor translation and misheard, since this word is not in your recollection. This is a mistake.¡±


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    Sofia shot me a glance, as we scuttled back to the left side. ¡°Preston, you¡¯re worryingly good at that.¡±


    ¡°Learned from the best,¡± I spat. ¡°Everything was my fault with Pops.¡±


    ¡°Good at¡­oh. Meat tube is messing with me to draw a reaction,¡± Mikri posited.


    ¡°Better. I just taught you what gaslighting means, so you¡¯ll recognize it in the future. It¡¯s about manipulating a person into questioning their reality.¡±


    ¡°I see. I will review the exact words you used and analyze their purpose. I do not see why someone would wish to do this, or why this should be done to Jetti.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t gaslight me,¡± the bird protested. ¡°I know what the fuck I saw!¡±


    The tunnel doors were opening; Mikri¡¯s ability to control them meant we didn¡¯t have to mess with it. Respite was in sight, which prompted me to dig for the last bit of fuel I had. It was weird how I was beginning to get used to running like this, my brain keeping up with my surroundings more. I beelined it for the parted door, before an impulse told my feet to stop. Part of me wanted to ignore it, given how close we were, but those feelings had been right so far. The spaceship was still bearing down on us, as my faith in these instincts was put to the test.


    Could I make it? If the floor is going to fall out like it did back there, I could jump across the gap¡­


    ¡°Stop!¡± I declared, skidding to a halt and wheeling around.


    It was affirming how quickly the others listened, despite seeming unsure; my suggestions had been prescient so far. A slew of missiles hammered into both supports at the far end, knocking the roof off its moorings. I could feel the ground quake beneath my feet, and tried to distance myself from the collapsing tunnel. The Asscar ship was still barreling down on us guns blazing. Without us running faster than cheetahs, we had maybe two seconds before it reached us.


    The spacecraft seemed determined to plow into us and crush us against the wall of debris, which blocked any chance of getting into the tunnel. I gritted my teeth, and passed Jetti to Mikri, who¡¯d hopped onto his own two feet. The android shouted to demand what I was doing, worried that I was endangering myself¡ªthat ship had sailed. Larimak wasn¡¯t going to get me without a fight. I charged straight toward the spaceship, and reached out with both hands to push it. I leaned forward, digging my boot heels into the ground, before I felt it barrel into me. And I wasn¡¯t enough.


    My puny body was snow against a snowplow, finding no traction or comparable force squaring up with its engines. However, with nowhere left to go, the other humans joined in my effort to push it back; using shoulders or hands. I grunted in pain as I fought to keep my arms extended, and a group of seven humans tried to keep a spacefaring vehicle at bay. Our backs were nearly against the wall, but it was slowing down for a moment. Mikri had hugged the wall with Jetti, and was now standing behind the ship. That was one piece of good news.


    There¡¯s no chance the ship can turn around in these tight corridors; it¡¯s stuck. If we fail, at least we distracted it long enough for Mikri to escape. Then again, I guess it could blast down the walls to break free, so it¡¯d catch up in time.


    The spacecraft was being shoved to a halt through sheer grit and determination, but it pumped more juice into its engines. There was no fighting back against enough force to reach those kinds of velocities, and we lost our temporary standstill. Our group couldn¡¯t offer any more resistance, so it would be moments before we were crushed. Sofia, not being a soldier, was losing her grip. I reached out to catch her as she crumpled, and prevented her from rolling under the ship. My grip was tenuous with one hand on it.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Sofia grunted. ¡°Listen, Mikri, we love you, okay?¡±


    The android¡¯s high-pitched whir was loud and painful against my ears. ¡°No! I cannot have both of you gone. Please! I shouldn¡¯t have suggested this stupid mission. Get out of there! I need you¡­¡±


    ¡°I need me too,¡± I commented slyly. ¡°Arguably more than you do.¡±


    Sofia hissed with indignation. ¡°Those are your last words to him?¡±


    ¡°What would you prefer? Tin can, tin can¡ªah, polycarbonate and steel can?¡±


    ¡°So you did remember,¡± Mikri whispered.


    ¡°Yes; see, I¡¯m wonderful! And I¡¯m not dying to this bitchass ship. It¡¯s a stupider tin can than you.¡±


    More of the tunnel was collapsing behind us every second, threatening to bury our entire posse. With a moment of lucidity, I springboarded off the nose of the ship and reached up to catch a falling beam with both hands. The pass reception was successful, as I held the pylon in a vertical position as easily as a pool noodle¡ªdespite the fact that it must weigh hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds. I tensed my shoulders, then jabbed it downward into the hull at full force.


    The metal support pierced the exterior armor like a battering ram, while I hung from the top with both hands; I didn¡¯t let gravity bring me back down. My grip strength was beyond that of a rock climber here, supporting my body weight with the ease of a child on monkey bars. I swung my body forward and attempted to wall run. The ship was so close to colliding with the debris barricade, but the frame of the station was still intact for a few lengths longer. That could give me something to work with. With a final tug, I lodged the massive beam in a gap near the roof.


    It hooked on the battered station wall, holding long enough to pull the nose sideways and cause the craft to spin out. I dismounted as soon as I connected the pieces, and went flying behind the craft¡ªmuch to Mikri¡¯s immediate relief. I watched from all fours to admire my handiwork. The Asscar vessel didn¡¯t fit in the narrow corridor anymore, once it was skewed at an angle. The other humans had tumbled backward against the station¡¯s debris, while watching the ship break apart into wreckage.


    I couldn¡¯t know for certain that no one had been caught up in that flashy ending, until I witnessed the entire team climb over the ship¡¯s remains. The head count showed that none of us were harmed, and Sofia hurried to give Mikri a comforting hug. It was impossible to see Jetti¡¯s expression beneath her helmet, but the Derandi was gawking at the wreckage in stunned silence. I could only imagine what the avian ambassador thought, having witnessed a human impale and eviscerate a spacecraft.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fucking go!¡± I cheered and clapped my hands, feeling exuberance at my triumph; I had absolutely nailed that. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you, Mikri? It¡¯s a bitchass ship! How¡¯d you like those ¡®last words?¡¯¡±


    ¡°You called it a stupider tin can than me, which implies that the descriptor applies to me in the first place. I am not stupid! Can you find the square root of anything?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± I pulled up the calculator app on my wrist display, and waved at the android. ¡°Bring it on.¡±


    ¡°You are having a program calculate it for you!¡±


    ¡°You asked if I could find it. Words have meanings.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, you two, before the whole tunnel falls overhead,¡± Sofia interjected. ¡°I see one of our ships touching down right at the end there, and I sure can¡¯t wait to evac away from anything built by Larimak.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to evac on anything built by you! You warned about dangers that hadn¡¯t happened yet! Then you pushed a pantheon-damned ship to a crawl, before stabbing it with a beam that should¡¯ve crushed you! What the actual fuck are you?¡± Jetti screamed, all semblance of decorum long gone.


    I grinned beneath my helmet. ¡°Humans. You could say we¡¯re a little new to this dimension, and that the Elusians wanted us locked up for a reason.¡±


    ¡°The Elusians wanted you locked up, and you can hop dimensions?! Oh Queen-Goddess, we¡¯re doomed. Larimak has a deathwish pissing you off¡­we don¡¯t want trouble. D-do whatever you want with the machines! Please let me go!¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to hurt you,¡± Sofia assured the Derandi. ¡°Your ride home is gone with the Girret ambassador, and Larimak¡¯s turned on you¡­so I¡¯d say you should come with us and let us explain everything. We want you on our side, and not out of fear.¡±


    ¡°You d-don¡¯t need my help.¡±


    ¡°Jetti, we¡¯re in way over our heads. I think we do need all the help we can get. Will you join us on our ship?¡±


    The Derandi stared at the ship for a long moment, cowering away from us; I didn¡¯t want her to feel like she had no choice, although realistically, we couldn¡¯t maroon her out here. Jetti hopped onboard with a bit of reluctance, casting glances back at me in particular. It was weird to think of myself as a terrifying specimen, but what I had just done was nothing short of jaw-dropping. I had proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that humans could violate causality through the fifth dimension and use that in a practical setting.


    With all sensible ideas of what was possible thrown out the window, the potential for what humans could achieve in this universe was limitless.

 Chapter 25

    Command had withdrawn all ground troops stationed on Jorlen, since Larimak would happily glass his world and all of its emo palaces if it cut down our limited supply of Space Force troopers; we were better off stopping him from returning to his planet by keeping our fleet in orbit. Some of the population had welcomed us as saviors, and celebrated the departure of the nobility. Humanity had forced a much swifter evacuation than when the Asscar fled from Mikri¡¯s people, so the prince was cut-off from his subjects and his main logistical support.


    It will be a hands-off occupation for now, though we have to decide what to do with Jorlen long-term. I¡¯m not sure the Vascar will stop seeing their creators as a threat just because the monarchy is subdued.


    The Asscar would have to make a move against us soon, whatever they were planning. The Girret ambassador had indicated that our enemies fled out to the Birrurt Nebula, and the ESU was staging a massive attack on the region. Whatever refuges Larimak might have out in deep space, the infrastructure wouldn¡¯t be designed to supply the entirety of his fleet. If it wasn¡¯t difficult enough to keep his troops away from home and compliant, a lack of food would unravel any military force.


    That concept prompted a new objective that had come across my wrist display: opening trading with the Derandi. This would provide us with a backup source of supplies, beyond what was shipped from Pluto or grown in this station, and also allow our scientists to properly study vegetation in this dimension. Mikri had told me it was needed to feed the Asscar prisoners too, since our food had literally broken their teeth. I was told that Capal, the creator that my favorite tin can was sent to meet, would be joining our talks back here at the Space Gate.


    I was a bit put off by that decision, though I tried not to show how much it was gnawing at me. This would be the first time I had seen an Asscar face since¡­that incident. Larimak¡¯s voice had been a kick to the gut, but standing across from one of those aliens and chatting with them? The first time that brown-furred face, which looked almost identical to Larimak or Tilian, burst into laughter¡­it¡¯d be like they were in hysterics at my screams all over again.


    ¡°Preston, are you alright?¡± Mikri asked, noticing that I hadn¡¯t unclipped my harness when we docked. ¡°I did not detect any instances of potential damage to your exterior tissue casing, though I cannot vouch for your interior components. It seems you are struggling to stay present, as Sofia explained, and I am here to help.¡±


    I shook my head to snap myself out of those thoughts. I had told Mikri to engage with Capal, and that I wanted hope for a better future. All organics weren¡¯t psychotic sadists, and Jetti was proof of that fact; we knew the Asscar weren¡¯t fond of ¡°Larimak the Insane¡± just from that moniker existing. If the goofy tin can thought that Capal deserved a chance and was willing to open dialogue, after all the hatred directed toward the enslaved androids, then I could get over myself.


    I forced a smile, glad that our emotions chart we handed Mikri back at the start hadn¡¯t taught him about phony happy expressions. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking how awesome I am! I did a finisher on that ship, Mikri¡ªI held time right in the palm of my hand. Preston Carter will go down as the man that legends wish they were!¡±


    The android beeped with uncertainty. ¡°Those actions certainly fall outside the known parameters for organic capabilities.¡±


    ¡°No, Mikri¡ªcome on. Your whole network¡¯s ones and zeroes must¡¯ve been spinning when they saw that glorious moment. Even my dad would be proud. Quit assessing the coolest shit you ever saw as data. Tell me how you feel about my greatness.¡±


    ¡°Very well. I have been expanding my knowledge of human literature. You asked how shitty the books I had perused were, and I will note that I have been reading mythologies of cultural significance. Are you familiar with the tale of Narcissus?¡±


    ¡°Hey! I am not in love with my own reflection! Just with the PC highlight reel running upstairs in the pink, wrinkly flesh.¡±


    ¡°That phrasing is peculiar, and reminds me of how different organics are. It is¡­weird to consider that I am in actuality conversing with a biological organ of folded flesh and fats, which is designed primarily to regulate senses and maintain the organism¡¯s survival.¡±


    Sofia laughed, hovering by my seat until I shuffled into the aisle. ¡°It¡¯s weird for us to consider that too. We think of the self in much more abstract terms. Many humans believe there¡¯s a part of our being called the soul, which can¡¯t be measured.¡±


    ¡°That is irrational, to believe something without any evidence to substantiate it,¡± the Vascar remarked with a smile, well aware that he¡¯d said those exact words about believing in our friendship.


    ¡°Ha, it sure is, and this one isn¡¯t a hypothesis. It can¡¯t be tested, proven or disproven. It¡¯s non-falsifiable: undetectable. Like Preston¡¯s maturity.¡±


    ¡°Fifi!¡± I exclaimed, following the scientist to the exit. ¡°Glad you dropped by.¡±


    ¡°Never call me that again.¡±


    ¡°Understood, I won¡¯t use the nickname until some time like¡­tomorrow. What did you think of that epic ship demolition, me saving the day?¡±


    The scientist snorted. ¡°You want to know my takeaway from that fiasco? ¡®Note to self: if you¡¯re the only non-soldier on a mission, don¡¯t go.¡¯¡±


    ¡°Yes, you shouldn¡¯t go to dangerous places,¡± Mikri agreed, a relieved glow in his eyes. ¡°You should be kept somewhere safe at all times.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if anywhere is safe, tin can. The life of an organic is rough.¡± I could feel my eyes gleaming with diabolical intent. ¡°We could trip on stairs, hit our heads on counters, or slip in the shower! Building us a shower could¡¯ve gotten us killed.¡±


    The Vascar¡¯s ensuing beep sounded like a dying hyena. ¡°There are too many perils to prevent. You are too damage-prone! I should tie you to a chair and care for you. You cannot fall without your faulty coordination system.¡±


    ¡°But if humans are too sedentary, it also increases our risk of death. You can¡¯t win. Say, I wonder if sitting for hours on the spaceship flight over here decreased my life expectancy¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Must fix! I will reallocate processing power. More research needed.¡±


    Sofia heaved an exasperated sigh. ¡°Mikri, most of us here have gone our whole lives without anything Preston just said happening.¡±


    ¡°Yet,¡± I added.


    My friends seemed satisfied that nothing was amiss in my noggin, but my stoicism would be put to the test in short order. Jetti looked terrified of what we might do, however, so I knew I couldn¡¯t afford to freak out; it could sabotage the first organic friendship we had. There was nothing that Capal could do to hurt me, even if he was a Larimak plant. I could see the future, and I would get that vague feeling. I could also punch his head clean off his shoulders, so I¡¯d be fine. Probably.


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    Let¡¯s just focus on the Derandi, and pretend the Asscar isn¡¯t there. Mikri will become a helicopter friend if I show any signs that something is wrong, so I don¡¯t want to spook him. It¡¯s not fair to the tin can anyway.


    I felt sick to my stomach nonetheless, and very much rued the fact that my body¡¯s chosen response to fear was always nausea. I distracted myself with the adorable green bird, who looked like a stuffed hen without that spacesuit on; she was wearing a little kimono type thing underneath, which looked way too precious. The Derandi stood up to Larimak, and that made them alright in my book. Jetti couldn¡¯t be afraid of us, since we weren¡¯t going to hurt her. I wanted to pat her tiny head, maybe scratch a few of those feathers¡­no, she was sapient.


    I extended my hands to Jetti, as she hopped along. ¡°Want me to carry you?¡±


    ¡°Absolutely n-not,¡± the Derandi chirped, in a dejected voice.


    ¡°Preston kept you safe.¡± Mikri walked alongside me, and smiled at the bird. ¡°The humans have only acted to protect us, since our species¡¯ future was jeopardized without their intervention. They are compassionate and understanding. I have learned much about emotions from them.¡±


    ¡°Enough! I know t-they could destroy us without even trying. What is it that you want to take from us? Just please, let my people live; we won¡¯t join Larimak. We don¡¯t have a death wish!¡±


    Sofia comforted the avian. ¡°We want nothing but to be your friends. No one is forcing you to do anything, okay? I know we¡¯re scary, but I assure you, the vast difference in physics bewildered us too. We can¡¯t help that we have extraordinary powers here, but we¡¯re confused and a little scared too. Do you think we can contend with the Elusians?¡±


    ¡°R-respectfully, no.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re on their radar. They¡¯re capable of bending reality itself. They¡¯re much more powerful than some species that has no clue about this universe, and is stumbling through the dark just to save the androids who helped us. Our feelings toward them are like you feel about us, Jetti; it¡¯s frightening.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine,¡± a new voice said, in a sympathetic register. ¡°Ambassador Jetti, I¡¯m glad the humans were able to bring you here. They are a people of immense moral convictions, despite their capacity to inflict harm on us. It isn¡¯t their fault. I spoke with a kind man who was worried about accidentally injuring us, and someone who meant to conquer us wouldn¡¯t be mindful of that.¡±


    The blood rushed to my ears, as I saw a brown-furred alien waiting for us with a submissive posture; his mane looked a bit unkempt, like it hadn¡¯t been tidied up. There was nothing restraining the Asscar prisoner. I guessed that Command assumed he wasn¡¯t a threat, and that we could take him easily if he tried anything, but¡­these creatures were slippery! There was no telling how Capal might sabotage this meeting, though¡­he was seeming to help us. I needed to calm down.


    The Derandi tilted her head in surprise. ¡°You have Vascar helping you? Who is this?¡±


    ¡°My name is Capal, and I surrendered during the invasion of Jorlen. I want to help them, yes. If the Derandi stumbled across a primitive civilization, you could easily slaughter them if you wished, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course, but we would never. We want to see other life flourish.¡±


    ¡°But you are gods to them. A team of you could kill them. The ability to cause harm does not make one a monster; it¡¯s the intent. I feel for these humans, growing up in a universe where they struggled to get the most basic machines to operability. They have many questions about why limitations were placed on them by an outside civilization, which you could help with. Your aid to us saved us once, and these people deserve the same chance. Please, I can imagine what you saw, but don¡¯t be terrified of them.¡±


    ¡°The creator is correct,¡± Mikri added, while I stood staring at Capal¡ªlegs turning to jelly and heart spasming in my chest. I could feel acid bubbling in my throat. ¡°Larimak has harmed his citizens and yours. An ally that can take him out should be seen as an opportunity for the Derandi to improve your security. You must see that he is more unhinged, and willing to threaten your world, than the humans.¡±


    Jetti fluttered her wings to calm herself. ¡°If they really can protect Temura, then w-we¡¯ll need the help. Larimak will follow through on his promises. I suppose I don¡¯t have much choice but to rely on their kindness.¡±


    ¡°Done; you can count on our protection,¡± Sofia said softly. ¡°We¡¯d like to open trade with your people.¡±


    ¡°What can we, um, offer you?¡±


    Capal¡¯s eyes widened with eagerness. ¡°Can I by any chance borrow some of your food?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­why?¡± Jetti gave the prisoner of war a cautious look. ¡°Are they not feeding you?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, nothing like that! Their foods, well, broke my teeth. They didn¡¯t know, it was what they ate! The plants are just really hard¡­¡±


    ¡°Even their plants are indestructible?!¡±


    ¡°The vegetation of their homeworld is not immune to destruction,¡± Mikri noted helpfully. ¡°It requires more force than your jaws produce, as biting requires a stronger jaw to match the same output that this dimension would necessitate.¡±


    ¡°So those little molars could bite my head off?¡±


    ¡°This would not be a logical way to harm you, as their mouth positioning does not allow them to reach as far as their arms. I do not believe that humans reflexively or premeditatively attack with the teeth in most instances.¡±


    Capal cleared his throat. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about things that won¡¯t happen. There¡¯s no need for biased fears over absurd actions that no sapient would take. I believe it¡¯s much more important to talk about a scientific partnership as well, so we can understand rather than fear what humans are capable of. Also, they could use help with the portal¡¯s¡­effects on them. Many of them have been having visions, suggesting they¡¯re not immune to the insanity.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re dimension-hoppers that are being affected by it? So if they go insane, they could attack me!¡±


    ¡°No one¡¯s been violent, though having the Derandi to keep an eye on the symptoms is a good backup plan. Try to relax, Jetti. Why don¡¯t we all introduce ourselves? I¡¯m only familiar with Mikri.¡±


    The ringing in my ears intensified as Capal gestured around the group, while the soldiers who¡¯d helped escort us offered their names. Sofia beamed as she supplied her name; of course she did, since she was the one who brought up the idea of Mikri meeting this guy in the first place. I was a deer in headlights when the alien gestured to me, and could feel an instinctual panic rise up. I remembered Larimak just sitting there, watching, for hours. Speaking was a task far out of my brain¡¯s capabilities.


    Sofia nudged me. ¡°Preston? Forgot your name?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Preston?¡± Capal gasped. ¡°I heard about your¡­stay with Larimak. I am so sorry for what was done to you.¡±


    Mikri hurried over to me, as my cheeks puffed out and I swayed on my feet; my skull felt like it was in a trash compactor. The Vascar tried to steady me, but my stress response was locking me into my head and waging a war on my abdomen. A burning torch climbed up my gullet, and before I could stop it, I spewed the contents of my stomach all over the android, choking on the repugnant-tasting chunks and struggling to breathe. The robot whirred with confusion, as I stammered out a weak apology and collapsed to the floor.


    I could hear a simmering sound, like a burger sizzling as it was pressed against a grill. My eyes flitted over to Mikri, before I realized with horror that my vomit was tearing right through the metal of his lower torso. My stomach acid couldn¡¯t be strong enough to dissolve polycarbonate and steel in this dimension¡­oh no. I couldn¡¯t stop breaking the poor robot. To my surprise, it was Capal who leapt into action, removing the shirt we¡¯d given him and using it to wipe the corrosive fluids off of Mikri.


    I gawked in horror at the corroded, discolored patch that I¡¯d caused, as did Jetti. I¡­had to get out of here. But Mikri, I was worried about the unlucky Vascar in the splash zone. What if I¡¯d damaged a component he was unable to replace? I couldn¡¯t imagine what he thought about having my biohazard fluids painted all over him, especially since he¡¯d never seen an organic spew out poisons before. I must be so disgusting to him¡­


    ¡°Even your stomach acid is a corrosive weapon? Imagine what that would do to flesh!¡± Jetti screamed.


    Sofia drew a deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing we learned that now. There¡¯ll need to be protection standards in place, but we can figure it out, Jetti. It¡¯s been a long day. Why don¡¯t we all lay down and recharge, and we¡¯ll send word back to Temura after a rest?¡±


    ¡°Mikri,¡± I croaked, as my vision closed to a pinhole. I still couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°I¡­¡±


    The last sliver of my sight collapsed in on itself, before I fell flat on my face and laid in an unconscious stupor. At a time when humanity needed this friendship to go through, I had just made a fool of myself in front of the Derandi. If Jetti hadn¡¯t thought humans were insane before, I ensured that she would now. It would be a miracle if even Mikri would ever want to interact with this malfunctioning organic again.

 Chapter 26

    Earth Space Union¡¯s Prisoner Asset Files: #1284 - Private Capal


    Loading Medical Incident.Txt¡­


    Mikri had gone into a panicked state when Preston collapsed, with a whirring sound that seemed like screaming. The Servitor wouldn¡¯t stand still long enough for me to check that I¡¯d toweled off all of the biohazards, and didn¡¯t seem to care what the puke had chewed through. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t necessary to fact-check the humans¡¯ assertion about finding love within its code¡­though I would anyway, since that was who I was. Nonetheless, I could see with my own eyes that the metal creature was distraught that its friend wouldn¡¯t wake.


    I moseyed in closer, and noticed the burned tissue on the man¡¯s fingertips; scars showed on his stomach where his shirt had rolled up. It was my presence that caused that spiral, as far as I could tell. The android had wrapped its arms around Preston, and tried to shake him awake, despite struggling with the sturdier dimension-hopper¡¯s body. I looked to Sofia for guidance, remembering that she was also part of Mikri¡¯s circle.


    ¡°Soldiers, please show Ambassador Jetti to her quarters like I asked earlier,¡± Sofia commented, forming a protective shield around Preston.


    ¡°Hold on!¡± While I expected the Derandi to be afraid, she looked concerned after seeing the incisions on the human¡¯s abdomen. ¡°Larimak did that to him?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so. The Vascar Monarchy sees us as weapons to reverse engineer, at best, or to break for shits and giggles at worst.¡±


    Mikri¡¯s scream sounded like metal gears scraping against each other. ¡°Why won¡¯t he wake up? Preston¡¯s hardware crashed! How do I reboot him? Why won¡¯t he restart? Is he¡­broken forever?¡±


    ¡°No, no, he¡¯s not dead; you can check his vitals. His heart is beating, he¡¯s breathing fine,¡± I assured the metal replica of my people. ¡°The human has only lost consciousness¡­like sleep, but involuntary. It¡¯s a reflex.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s called vasovagal syncope,¡± Jetti added; she spoke with more calmness to Mikri than the humans. The Derandi must have reevaluated whether it was a killer AI, as had I. This irrational behavior wouldn¡¯t make sense as anything other than an expression of grief. ¡°It¡¯d happen to my grandma when she saw fire, after her home was torched on Jorlen. It stems from a stress response to an environmental trigger, which leads to not enough blood getting to the brain.¡±


    ¡°Stress response?¡± The Servitor¡¯s eyes dimmed with sadness, and its lips curved in a downward arc. ¡°I knew something was wrong, and I did nothing to help him stay present. It¡¯s my fault. I always fail to protect him¡­¡±


    I hesitated, before ensnaring an arm around its chassis to comfort it. ¡°It wasn¡¯t you. I think that I was a trigger for his stress response. I¡¯m sorry, Mikri.¡±


    ¡°Creator? What are you doing?¡± the android exclaimed in shock.


    ¡°Trying to make out with you,¡± came the weak groan from Preston, who¡¯d blinked an eye open. ¡°His shirt¡¯s already off¡­¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°What? I used it to clean up vomit, and I don¡¯t want it back!¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that; it was¡­an accident. The future viewing must have caught up with me. I¡¯m good now.¡±


    Is he really trying to blame this on foresight? We all know that wasn¡¯t what happened.


    Sofia pressed a hand firmly on Preston¡¯s chest, as he tried to sit up. ¡°Stop right there. You need to stay laying down; don¡¯t try to get up.¡±


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t feel well. I want to go to my room and lay down¡­there. Alone.¡±


    I stepped away in a hurry, keeping my back to him. ¡°We should give him some space. Come on, Jetti.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m watching this,¡± the Derandi protested.


    ¡°Not a chance in the storm gods¡¯ clouds. You¡¯re going to walk with me, and we can brainstorm¡­other potential mundane hazards.¡±


    ¡°Mikri, you should go with them too,¡± Preston coughed.


    The android beeped in dismay. ¡°Why? I want to stay with you!¡±


    ¡°You need repairs, and I¡¯m¡­tired of hurting you. It¡¯s a matter of time before I break you in a way you can¡¯t fix, and I couldn¡¯t bear that.¡±


    ¡°I value your life above my own and accept all risks necessary. I would not leave you in a time of distress, when I could ensure that you are functional.¡±


    ¡°Please, just go. I want you to leave!¡±


    Sofia gave Mikri a sympathetic smile. ¡°I can handle this. You should listen to him.¡±


    The android¡¯s whir was a discordant screech of protest, though it slunk over to join our group without further protest. I noticed that it looked rather dejected once we exited the room and kept peering back over its shoulder. I remembered what Mikri had told me when we first met, about how it hurt seeing Preston¡¯s pain and wished it knew how to fix his ailments. I¡¯d heard it repeat its distress at being unable to assist to any observable degree, feeling inadequate over that.


    ¡°I do not understand why you would trigger Preston¡¯s memories,¡± Mikri blurted. ¡°You are a different Vascar.¡±


    I bit my lip. ¡°Yes, I am. I still resemble what he fears.¡±


    ¡°This is not your fault, nor is it rational when you are not the source of his pain. Organics are quite influenced by survival systems and impulse. I should wonder how to rid you of this influence.¡±


    ¡°Why would you do that? We¡¯ve outgrown a lot of instincts, but they¡¯re not always a bad thing. At the end of the day, all of our higher cognition is based on that foundation.¡±


    ¡°No. I do not accept that. Preston and Sofia are more than that.¡±


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    ¡°So you do believe in a soul?¡± Jetti squawked.


    Mikri recoiled, looking a bit ashamed. ¡°I did not state this. There is no evidence of any magical essence of being. I was not aware that you heard that conversation.¡±


    ¡°Well, I did; I¡¯m not surprised you think of us as machines, no more than our bodies. So what did you mean? Do you view organics as lesser for having those aspects you look down on?¡±


    ¡°I did not say this. I said I wish to help upgrade you! To make your experience happier and freer.¡±


    ¡°Back up. Removing all negative elements from life doesn¡¯t equal happiness.¡± That wording gave me pause; the android sounded quite serious. It was improvement from wishing all organics dead, but I wasn¡¯t sure we wanted to be freed from the things Mikri thought cumbersome. ¡°There are times where you need to be sad or afraid. If you try to change aspects of the humans to fit what you want, you¡¯re not helping them.¡±


    ¡°I am watching Preston suffer, and I can do nothing, Capal! Now, he doesn¡¯t even wish to see me, because I am not strong enough and break all the time.¡±


    ¡°We limited your ability to feel love and wiped your identity at our discretion. I am truly sorry for that.¡± I could see Mikri tilt his head, after realizing that I believed him. The android had been surprisingly emotional at every turn, and made it impossible not to discern that reality. ¡°If you try to modify the humans in ways they don¡¯t want, you are no different than us.¡±


    ¡°Those words are cruel, and show that you do not understand me. You assume that I am an evil AI. I am very different from my creators. You hated us and do not view us as people; I act out of love. I wish to save them and must override irrational stubbornness for their sake, not mine, if it will make them better. If it will make them NOT BREAK!¡±


    ¡°Mikri, you sound quite angry,¡± the Derandi chirped with concern.


    ¡°I am angry! It¡¯s not fair that everyone tells me that I am wrong or bad for not only having compassion, but trying to do something about it. You think I should just watch them suffer.¡±


    I sucked in a sharp breath. ¡°You can do a lot of good and improve organics¡¯ quality of life, but not at the expense of their autonomy. They should have the right to accept or deny any modifications you create. They have to live with the changes, not you.¡±


    ¡°Preston would not let me leave when he could fix the erasure bug; he insisted!¡±


    ¡°But you agreed, didn¡¯t you? You were persuaded, not forced.¡±


    The robot gave a sad beep. ¡°Yes, but¡­I am logical when I see what is the best option!¡±


    ¡°What you consider help, Preston and Sofia might consider hurt. That is not helping. I believe you care about their emotional well-being, so you should respect them and their decisions, even if you disagree. Don¡¯t patronize them and assume you know best for their lives.¡±


    The android made a face that could only be described as pouting, folding both arms in front of its chest. I sighed to myself, knowing that I had to get through to Mikri. That line of misguided thinking could go very wrong its own way; the removal of certain organic feelings was both unsolicited and horrifying. I wasn¡¯t convinced that the robot understood why such thinking was wrong, but I¡¯d explained it in the only way I knew possible. It seemed to have a very¡­narrow lens of the world and no preset understanding of boundaries.


    An endearing, immensely dangerous naivety. It would achieve an objective at any cost and think nothing of its choices. In teaching Mikri emotions, the humans failed to teach it emotional regulation; that must be my imperative.


    ¡°You seem awfully content for a prisoner of war,¡± Jetti noted, looking at me with inquisitive eyes. ¡°Do you even want to go back to Jorlen, if they set you free?¡±


    I blinked rapidly, unsure how to respond to that. ¡°Not with the monarchy in charge, I guess. Certainly not until I¡¯m past my mandatory conscription. That¡¯s not a life for me. Moving to Earth isn¡¯t an option without wrecking my mind, so this place is as close as I can get. Here, not only can I express myself, but I¡¯m a scholar again; someone of decent intelligence working to solve the greatest puzzles of his day! Shouldn¡¯t we all be so lucky?¡±


    ¡°So you enjoy staying here on a human military base¡ªit doesn¡¯t seem that different, except that you¡¯re a captive.¡±


    ¡°It is different; I¡¯m helping to acquire peace, and helping the humans adjust and understand this universe. I learn about a radically alien civilization, and best of all, I¡¯m working with people who actually fucking care about morals and little guys like me. You worry about them having all of this power, but I¡¯m just happy someone is finally using unchecked power for good.¡±


    ¡°That kind of power goes to people¡¯s heads. There¡¯s nothing we can do to stop them if they turn hostile.¡±


    ¡°I have not seen the humans seek anything but peace and friendship from all parties, Larimak included,¡± Mikri broke his silence. ¡°The humans do not require to be above others to aggrandize their own self-importance. The Elusians singling them out, and their exceptional abilities, have already shown that they are noteworthy. The desire to know why drives them. Also¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± I prompted.


    ¡°I imagine that the ability to see into the future would force one to come to terms with any harm they might cause, rather than fall into any short-sighted ambitions. Humans might have a unique understanding of time and consequence.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that frighten you, if they can know what you¡¯ll do before you even do it?¡± Jetti demanded.


    I tapped a segmented claw against my chin. ¡°I¡¯m not convinced that the whole of spacetime is static, immune to outside influence. The existence of a pocket dimension suggests that it¡¯s not immutable.¡±


    ¡°By seeing the future and avoiding debris that may have resulted in injury, Preston must have changed what would have happened with mere sequential knowledge,¡± Mikri agreed. ¡°By acting on his foresight, there will be further changes based on causal effect. Perhaps time may all be in flux, and they only see the future as it stands today.¡±


    The Derandi offered a puzzled squawk. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°I think I understand; time is like water in a river,¡± I interjected. ¡°You can¡¯t change where it¡¯s been, but you can tweak the shape of the riverbed or build a dam¡ª¡±


    ¡°Quite the Vascar metaphor.¡±


    ¡°But you get my point? You can make adjustments to where it will go.¡±


    ¡°This is all hypothetical, philosophical nonsense. I think I¡¯ve had enough of talking about humans, if this is all it will entail. It¡¯s high time that I get some rest, and decide how I¡¯m going to explain this back on Temura¡ªcertainly not with talks of rivers and unchecked power.¡±


    ¡°You could gaslight them into believing you were never gone,¡± Mikri suggested, in what I thought was a joke.


    ¡°Finally, a helpful idea. Maybe AI is smarter than us.¡±


    ¡°There is no ¡®maybe¡¯ about it, Ambassador Jetti. I wish you a good rest.¡±


    The Derandi allowed human soldiers to show her to her quarters rather than continuing along our meandering path; no doubt the green avian had frayed nerves after her ordeal today. I was pleased that humanity had an organic species somewhat on their side, since they would need friends to rely on with the questions facing them. If Mikri¡¯s attitude was to ¡°fix¡± their problems whether they liked it or not, I doubted the androids should be tasked with studying the side effects of foresight.


    Despite everything the Servitors had done to my species, after actually meeting one, I found myself sharing the humans¡¯ desire to push them to be better. With a mutual wish for peace, it might be possible for us to coexist with our despised creations once this war was said and done.