《The Persephoni Log-Book 1 The Starguage Repentance》


 Chapter 1. A Chance to Fly

    The strange ships burst into the summer sky one after another. They were so strange humans stopped to gaze upward for one maybe two minutes. That is all the time it took for the for the ships to descend and devastate the surface with laser beams shot from their ship hulls by mounted laser cannons.


    There was no warning of their coming on Earth¡¯s satellites or Nasa¡¯s space cameras. The ships shot though the earth¡¯s ozone like rockets flaring blue and gold beams of destruction from their hulls down to earth¡¯s surface and destroying everything in their path. Everything the beams touched began to burn.


    There was a tightening sense of urgency in Noe''s chest. Panic welled inside him: someone needed his help¡­there was something he needed to remember. He began to run out of the woods and into the city that was the main target of the attack. Smoke fumes hung in the air and made him cough. The sky scrapers that remained seemed to sway in front of his eyes. Heat from the alien solar guns exploded all around him. People were everywhere in the streets screaming and running frantically. Cars were backed up some of them on fire. Glass littered the roadway. A blue Honda with a smashed windshield lay upside down in the melee of first and second street. Noe covered his mouth with his sleeve and pressed on. He had to get there he had to be in time only he could not remember who he had to be in time for or what he was doing. He knew only that he was propelled forward by his own resolve unable to turn around even as the massive buildings around him began to crumble like paper. He arrived at the concert hall and ran inside it was a massive stone building and inside it was already on fire, he looked around desperately and choked on the word he didn¡¯t remember but he felt the desperation as he looked up and then something fell on him and hit his head. His world dissolved then Danteji¡¯s hollow brown eyes appeared above him. Noe was raising his arms in front of his head unable to make a sound. The alien being stood there in front of him with long dark hair braided behind his head as if he were a Celtic god his cheek bones each glowing with green runes as he raised a notched ax blade the size of Thor¡¯s hammer.


    Suddenly Noe was falling into blackness.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a dream. Just a dream,¡± he told himself over and over again. That¡¯s when his legs and torso hit something solid and he woke to the other children¡¯s laughter.


    ¡°Aahh,¡± he yelped with a start. There was another titter of laughter throughout the room. Noe held his head and sat up on the tiled floor. He looked up at his hover chair and stello pad.


    ¡°Noe fell asleep again.¡± Someone in the back said incredulous more laughter.


    ¡°Mr. Rom, even though you are a human I don¡¯t excuse sleeping in my class.¡± Ms. Tanton said. She was a slender woman of only five three. Still Noe possessed a healthy fear of her. She wore a billowing white shirt that was a little too open in the front for her voluptuous figure and black and white slacks. She carried a wooden rod with which moments ago she had deactivated the anti-gravity desk and he had tumbled a few feet from the Grav chair to the floor. His hip bone was indignant. Noe rubbed the back of his head ruefully. His birthmark showing on the underside of his left wrist as he did so.


    ¡°I am sorry I will make up whatever I missed. I swear.¡±


    ¡°How about you come up to the board and work though balancing the equation we have been going over for the past half hour.¡± Noe got up slowly and ambled to the front of the room. The Hari had come to earth five years ago, and yet for Noe they were the only part of his life he could remember. They were the only faces he could remember, the only family the only thing that existed in his consciousness beside his random nightmares of the day they had arrived. those memories tugged at the recesses of his brain making him aware that once there had been more to his existence. The markings on each of the Hari faces he passed were exquisite and lit up when they were excited or hurt or sad. The patterns were only on the edges of their faces the inside of their arms, legs or back. Except for the fact that he lacked these markings, outwardly Noe could have been one of them. The markings resembled spirals or lines that flowed together in groups of three like a marking for a water hieroglyph, or single lines that spiraled or snaked. Noe felt ashamed that he had fallen asleep. He struggled with the equation on the board taking the stello board pen in trembling fingers as he thought about the eyes boring holes in his back willing him to fail knowing he would fail. He knew he¡¯d fail. He couldn¡¯t think: the images from the dream crept into the corners of his mind. He struggled through the formula amid more peals of laughter and furious looks from Ms. Tanton.


    ¡°So the three goes here and the four here,¡± Noe said talking aloud as he wrote and then erased and wrote again as the numbers blurred.


    ¡°You need a six,¡± a girl in the back said. ¡°The three gets multiplied by the 2 next to the C, and adds to 6, so you need a 6 on the other side.¡± Noe looked at the problem again and realized it should have been easy if he¡¯d been paying attention a simple multiplication problem.


    ¡°Enough.¡± Ms Tanton said taking the stello pen from Noe¡¯s hand and running her forearm over her brow.


    ¡°Noe will you stay after class.¡± Noe nodded went back to his Grav chair.


    ¡°Now as I was saying there will be a quiz the day after tomorrow so please read the manual on what we covered today. Happy Race day festival everyone.¡±


    The rest of the class filed past. Noe was only too aware that he was the only Huma aloud to attend Hari educational classes.


    ¡°Can¡¯t even balance a simple one, Noe?¡± Dortani remarked filing past him. ¡°Dumb huma,¡± Dortani said knocking the tiny globe of the world off Noe¡¯s desk as he passed. The globe dropped and then disappeared then reappeared back on the virtual Grav desk.


    Dortani was the son of Danteji the warlord who had found Noe six years ago. Dortani had never liked Noe and was always looking for a fight. When the other students had all filed out of the classroom including a sullen, as always scary looking Narveao Sol.


    Ms. Tanton turned to Noe.


    ¡°Please help me clear the room,¡± she said and walked to the end of the room to pick up the writing styluses. Noe made sure everyone¡¯s desk monitors were turned off and Grav chairs where grounded. As there were only three days of classes throughout the week, there was plenty of time allotted for study. Practical skills and maneuvers as well as mandatory work duty took up the rest of the week. Religious functions were optional during the mid-week day what Noe would have referred to as Wednesday. Noe followed her lead. The room was colorless except for the strip of green border painted around the room near the ceiling an old Hari proverb scribbled on the green boarder over and over. ¡°Eileo einn can frie fe trist tinne.¡± which translated was.


    ¡°Even a single blade of grass moves in the wind.¡±


    ¡°Noe I have spoken to your guardians.¡± Ms. Tanton said pausing and then continuing. ¡°Krauffen says your experiencing nightmares¡±


    ¡°Noe in our society.¡± Ms. Tanton continued the middle part of whatever she¡¯d said had been lost. ¡°We value health and we value truth. It may not be the same in the huma world but I am prepared to offer you two options she said pulling a wisp of dark hair behind her ear.


    ¡°I have talked to the other teachers and my class is the only one you are failing. I am told you are excellent at mathematics. As well as anything to do with fixing ships. I am told you have a fascination with flying.


    I know that right now that is not a possibility for you due to the council¡¯s previous ruling on the matter.


    So here is my proposition. Go to sleep therapy, improve your grades in my class, and I will have the flight instructor give you, personal lessons on maneuvering one of our aircraft without the knowledge of the public. It is that or quit classes altogether and join a fulltime work detail. she paused before continuing


    I have already made arrangements with Hahn the flight instructor, who is a personal friend. He happens to like you although I am surprised you stayed awake long enough during his lectures to make an impression on him.¡±


    ¡°Thank you thank you thank you. You will not regret this. I promise.¡± Noe said


    ¡°Well alright then Ms. Tanton said ¡°The therapy sessions begin tonight and I have put you down for the rest of the week as well. You had better head that way or you won¡¯t arrive in time. I told Krauffen to have someone pick you up in the morning. I will see you day after tomorrow.¡± She said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you day after tomorrow.¡± Noe said saluting her and running out into the compound hallway. It was large with four lanes for walking and a lit strip of reflective tape on all sides of each lane.


    Noe smiled and turned exiting the classroom with a feeling of giddiness. Children lined the hall. On the far wall was a glass panel that looked out into the city that Noe had been born in. It was different now. The ruins had been rebuilt to resemble the Hari towns on Esmera the world they had inhabited long ago. But Esmera had been destroyed and the Hari had been forced to take up the journey as pilgrims in the stars searching for new worlds to harvest as their own. Noe hurried down the hall trying not to look at the world outside the glass wall to his right. There were a few whispered:


    ¡°It¡¯s the huma boy, Noe.¡± Comments from those he past. Most people knew him as the only Huma, who lived in a function other than servant, or machine manufacturer in the compound. There were a few Humans who worked odd jobs here and there but none who lived as an adopted family member with all the rights of a Hari.


    ¡°I wonder what it¡¯s like not having runes.¡± He heard one girl exclaim. But for the most part he was part of their world now, just as much as they were part of his. He looked down at the reflectors on the walkway. They were neon yellow.


    He hurried further down the hall toward the viewing window that overlooked the hangar. Here was a runway of sorts where the small scouting ships flew in each day in the afternoon. They were coming back from patrolling the more outlying parts of the Earth¡¯s surface. They looked for stampedes of wild Boar or roving wolf packs. Sometimes they brought in a Huma or two still resisting the regime living remotely in the hills or forests and forced them back into the service of New Hari. Noe knew that without the educational classes he¡¯d need to find a job as well and the jobs afforded to Huma tended to be the lower class jobs that most people in New Hari didn¡¯t wish to take. Factory work and welding were always in high demand as well as landscaping and building. It was very regulated though and the pay was low. Noe wished things could be more like they were before the invasion. But then he¡¯d get to wondering why he thought that as he really couldn¡¯t remember much before the invasion.


    ¡°Hey that¡¯s Sileao¡¯s fighter isn¡¯t it he said running up to the group of children watching the patrol land. Even though he hated looking at the city. He loved watching the Hari ships land at the days end. They streaked across the sky like firebrands. Leaving spirals of smoke in their wake. The one near the center of the pack charging the runway, had a blue ribbon of paint blazoned down the side, like a banner. As the lead ship touched ground all the children raised their hands in unison open palm. It was a form of a formal salute. Many of them pressed their saluting palms to the glass. Noe pressed his face against the glass squishing himself between all the other bodies..


    ¡°That¡¯s him.¡± Said the boy watching out the window to his right. As the pilot at the front exited the ship with the blue banner down the side.. Noe¡¯s breath caught in his chest. He wanted to fly like that. It was debatable but many considered Sileao Silano the best flyer in one hundered years.. The boy to his right smiled at him and turned from holding his palm against the glass. Noe realized he¡¯d seen him before, an un-naturally good natured boy of eight or nine with floppy ears and a wide mouth that allowed him to smile from ear to ear. His brown hair hung in his eyes.


    ¡°I¡¯m Keiga.¡± he said.


    ¡°I know.¡± Noe replied


    ¡°Your Noe Rom right?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°I just brought my baby sister to see the landing today.¡± Keiga continued.


    ¡°Estia, can you see?¡± Keiga said turning to the small girl trying to stand on her tip toes beside him. He lifted her up. It was all he could do to hold her up she was about six and almost as big as he was. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes.


    She smiled at Noe then turned back to the window.


    ¡°Noe come with us to greet the pilots I am sure Cloud Ryder wouldn¡¯t mind if you said hello.¡± Kiega said. Noe heart leapt he had only talked to Sileao a few times before but of all the pilots Noe admired Cloud Ryder the most. Noe had seen Sileao pull out clean from freefalls of 30,000 ft. He made drops most pilots would never attempt as if he had no fear in the sky. The people of his clan called him ¡°Cloud Ryder.¡± Sileao had helped Noe a couple times when he had first been learning his way around the compound but Noe hadn¡¯t seen him lately most of the time he was out scouting or with his brother Siros Captain of the queen¡¯s guard.


    ¡°I would love to, but Ms. Tanton gave me an ultimatum I have to go to sleep therapy this week or get kicked out of academia classes. I am headed that way now.¡±


    ¡°See you around then.¡± Keiga said as he took Estia¡¯s hand. They followed the others toward the hangar. Noe ran he knew he wasn¡¯t supposed to run but as he got closer to the sleep therapy office there was no one in the halls and he couldn¡¯t resist. If they didn¡¯t see him they wouldn¡¯t care. The light reflected on the bubble like walkways that connected everything in the compound. Some of the Aliens lived on the surface in surface houses but those with medical and research back ground as well as royalty stayed in the compound. Those with houses on the surface still sent their children to the compound for school and work exercises. A few work exercises were off compound and highly chaperoned as Huma contact was possible. Of the survivors of the alien invasion, most worked grueling hours for the Hari government patrol, just to get a little food for their families. Others. Noe shuddered to think about the others. About the glass tubes.. Noe remembered the research lab all too well. He had lived in a glass tube for the first six months of his stay with the Hari until Krauffen¡¯s paperwork for adoption had been approved by the council and he¡¯d been unplugged from the chamber. Being in the chamber surrounded by the glass was like living but being dead. He¡¯d had a tube inserted into his stomach that fed him only nutrient fluid and he¡¯d been naked except for the suppression plate they¡¯d covered his head with and the particle belt they¡¯d clipped around his waist to attach the tubing to.


    The light reflectors on the bubble-like walkways glowed yellow as he passed them they connected everything in the compound the walkway and reflected they lit up when there was an emergency and would form words like ¡°Fire in the left wing.¡± Or ¡°Go to main hall at once for medical attention.¡±


    Glancing out the Erinean glass at the city. He noticed that all the fighters had landed. The monorail outside the compound, built by the aliens, was also a vast interconnected pathway of train connecting the US and every other continent now. There were Hari on every continent. It was hard to think about a time when the Hari katani had not been here but Noe knew it had only been six years ago. He¡¯d been ten years old.


    The southern clans had settled Ameik as they called it. Noe wondered again why the aliens thought so much of health to be related to sleep. As he rounded yet another bend in the corridor where the passage narrowed the window view stopped. The offices began just around the next archway. Noe stopped short at the archway. Amberlene was pressed against on side of the arch doorway getting her ear talked off by Etaine. Their arms and legs were intertwined blocking his path forward down the left wing of the compound to his destination. They were conveniently out of eye shot from the passage to the fifth sector where he just come from and also from the one he needed to enter. Amberlene¡¯s long flame gold hair hung down to her buttocks her hand reached up for Etaine''s face but it stopped when she saw Noe out of the corner of her left eye.


    Her eye bugged out of its socket for a moment then she pulled away from Etaine altogether. Etaine in turn looked around at Noe.


    ¡°Come on Amberlene! Who cares if he sees he¡¯s just a specimen pet.¡± Etaine was tall and had dark hair that hung over his eyes. His eyes were an odd color. Somewhere between brown and yellow. His green runes lit up all the way to the center of each of his cheeks in spirals and lines like little tattoos glowing florescent green. It made Noe a little nervous. Amberlene only had runes on her neck and hands and arms but none on her face. Still hers were glowing the florescent color at the moment as well.


    ¡°Beat it Noe.¡± Amberlene said in an irritated snarl ¡°Go, get lost.¡± She said anger in her voice. Noe clenched his fists


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°They sent me down to sleep therapy. I have to go this way. He said glaring at her.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t you be normal?¡± She said pulling her arm back from the entrance way. Then she made her most malicious face at him and said.


    ¡°See you when you wake up¡± she paused giving him a thorough looking over


    ¡°That is¡­ If you wake up.¡± She said slyly.


    Noe went pale. Amberlene smiled at him with a Cheshire cat like grin as she went back to wrapping her arms around Etaine. Noe shuddered and walked on. He didn¡¯t like Etaine. Etaine was too old for Amberlene nearly five years older. Noe was not sure why Etaine was so infatuated with Amberlene. Her brother Kor only six months older than Noe agreed with him. Also Etaine¡¯s clan was Moritant and their clan head often disagreed with Kruaffen¡¯s more peaceful stance of coexistence with the Humans. Wasn¡¯t that most of the council though. If it wasn¡¯t for Krauffen, Danteji and perhaps Queen Heloani Noe wouldn¡¯t be alive.


    Noe tried to put it out of his mind and focus on sleep therapy. Technically he was a year older than Amberlene but she always treated him as if he were younger than her. She was the only part of his life he found loathsome. And if it weren¡¯t for his memory loss, constant sleep therapy and lab work ups, he might have even said that he enjoyed this strange existence .


    He arrived in front of the research lab and took a deep breath. ¡°There is nothing so terrible about sleep therapy ¨Cnothing really the told himself and opened the door. Dr. Kamari greeted him after he¡¯d been signed in by the lovely Human girl. Who¡¯d gotten a privileged job through her host family. She was like him a pet specimen. Privileged to take part in the society but with more work slots than the alien born members. She took his name and scanned his bracelet.


    ¡°Krauffen Rom put in an order for him to have sleep therapy.¡± The girl stated


    ¡°Yes, very good Kimber, we¡¯ve seen Noe before. Put him down for day after tomorrow as well.¡±


    Dr. Kamari began to fit Noe with the sleeping electrodes as soon as they entered the lab area.


    ¡°I want you to practice a few pre-sleep techniques.¡± she said ¡°when you are going to exercise for me then you are going to meditate some more then you are going to sleep in your own private sleep chamber while I monitor your pulse and other vitals. Let me know if you feel any discomfort.¡±


    ¡°How many others do you have tonight?¡± Noe asked.


    ¡°O, it¡¯s just you tonight Aleuka said she¡¯d have someone from the family pick you up tomorrow morning. You will not have to do any of your normal activities tomorrow since its mid-week day but I want to see you back here a week straight after you classes the day after of course.¡± Noe nodded.


    Meditating should have been easy. But when you have nothing to do for an hour but think of things that you should not be thinking of it was almost impossible.¡±


    Dr Kamari said that he needed to work on it and sent him of to do five miles on the treadmill. Noe tried running it was rough going. He wouldn¡¯t say he was in the worst shape but he definitely needed to improve. He walked the last couple of miles. He didn¡¯t like being compared to Hari. They ran twice as fast as humans and could finish a mile in two minutes the fastest runners in one minute thirty seconds.


    After he¡¯d finished his five miles. Dr. Kamari had him lie down and try the meditating again. Only this time he was in his private sleep pod. There was a button inside on the ceiling that unlocked the pod, but other than that it was just a bench with a pillow and blanket on one wall. Noe lay down on the flat hard surface. He heard Dr. Kamari¡¯s voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s it. Take some deep breaths and don¡¯t think about a thing. If you go to sleep that¡¯s fine but if you are consciously thinking, try to shut that off.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He replied and lay back thinking about sleep for a moment till Dr. Kamari prodded him


    ¡°Try harder.¡± I am getting too many pulsations on the monitor.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s better.¡± She said through the com in the ceiling. Noe thought of nothing a hole, a blank dot of nothingness, a void. There was nothing. He remembered nothing. Then suddenly there was the girl he couldn¡¯t make out her face. He was crying and running. Someone else was calling his name and running after him, then he was too far away. He''d run into the city cars were erupting in the street. People were screaming as one by one energy beams from the sky blew them to bits. Noe ducked inside the concert hall. A monster loomed in front of him with a huge head and a tear drop for an eye then it raised the biggest hypodermic needle Noe had ever seen and shoved it into Noes heart. Noe awoke with a slight cry pulling the electrodes from his scalp. It was dark all dark but even the dark felt strange and empty and made him want to scream. He suppressed the urge and soon the pod opened. a couple of sleep research assistants entered as a single tear traced a path down Noe''s face. He sat up embarrassed, he felt strangely exposed as the alien researchers who looked so humanlike ran their hands up and down his arms and legs.


    ¡°His current is fine. ¡°The first said loud enough for Dr. Kamari to hear.


    ¡°He made it two hours before having the dream the second said.


    Noe listened intently. He knew that they were feeling his energy with their own mapped in the ruins that lit their faces and hands in fluorescent green.


    ¡°His brain pulsations showed extreme distress. " A third notated on a clip board.


    ¡°Hey I¡¯m right here what¡¯s the point of the tests what does it all mean?" Noe asked.


    ¡°It means you¡¯re afraid of being alone.¡± Dr. Kamari said appearing in the entrance to the sleep pod.


    Come back to the base room Dr. Kamari said to her lackeys.


    Then to Noe


    ¡°Can you go back to sleep in the pod for tonight


    ¡°I think so he said but there was fear that weighed on his chest saying he could not.


    ¡°I may modify your regiment so that you do not have to do three weeks in a row and you can skip here and there. We also may want to try some new tests you seem very anxious and preoccupied for someone who is supposed to be mediating and sleeping.


    ***


    Noe spent a sleepless night staring into the blackness of the pod and trying his best not to scream. When he was released at dawn and escorted to the airlock and keyed out of the research lab by the cute human girl again he glanced behind him at the Bold black hieroglyph above the entry way in hall 24C that designated the sleep research lab. When he glanced around the hall in front of him he saw Abmerlene scowling at him arms crossed back slouching against the wall to his left. Her arms were crossed and her left foot was anchored against the wall behind her.


    ¡°Hurry up, I don¡¯t have all day to spend here.¡± She said. Turning on her heel and making him trot after her.


    ¡°Why do you date him?¡±


    ¡°I presume you mean Etaine.¡± She said keeping up her clipped pace along the corridor.


    ¡° Etaine Eponu is too old and too irresponsible for you.¡±


    ¡°Are you my father or the brainless adopted huma who can¡¯t even sleep through the night without crying.¡± Amberlene taunted. Her words stung Noe he was silent for awhile. At last he said.


    ¡°The dreams are scary and I don¡¯t remember anything from before.¡±


    ¡°Fine, Noe. Fine. I date him because he¡¯s funny and he buys me whatever I want.¡± She mumbled exasperatedly. Amberlene jammed the console next to their home airlock with the security code for their residence and then let the pad scan her wrist bracelet to confirm her biometrics. Unfortunately, Noe was not allowed a bracelet with a passcode to the airlock. He knew what the passcode was from watching others key it in but he knew that without a biometric bracelet for the system to scan the door still would not open. His own bracelet was black and could be loaded with things but couldn¡¯t communicate with the other Hari or unlock doors like Amberlene¡¯s blue biometrics communicator bracelet.


    ¡°Where are Kor, Aristo, and Lia?¡± He asked


    ¡°I know you would rather have had one of them pick you up.¡± Amberlene said strolling into the family living quarters and down the hall to the living and eating kitchenette ¡°You¡¯re stuck with me.¡± ¡°Kor was up all night in the science lab. Father has a council meeting all morning and then had to meet with his research team. Aristo says he is taking all of you to the surface when he gets back from his morning work slot. Mother is resting so be quiet I am going to have a few friends over so behave. Noe stuck his tongue out at her behind her back. He hated when she got like this, so condescending.


    ¡°Great.¡± Noe said almost wishing he hadn¡¯t when Amberlene hmfd and became silent again.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to change.¡± He said


    ¡°Make it snappy my friends will be here any minute Amberlene said


    The apartment was small and compact. Almost impossibly small for seven people. Aristo however often slept in the hangar or at friend¡¯s apartments at this point. There were only three bedrooms in the apartment that were little rooms branching from the box room that was kitchen and living room.


    Noe found a standard issue shirt and pants they were not a material that Noe recognized but they were light and had a high tear resistance as if they were some form of high quality leather. Noe entered the kitchen and living area again which were quite large compared to most Hari society standards Amberlene hadn¡¯t been kidding


    Two of her friends were already lounging on the sofa and Amberlene was puttering about the kitchen looking for snacks


    ¡°What do you guys want?¡± Amberlene said in hoarse Hari.¡± Her friends eyed him for a moment and then answered her in Hari it was all the same to Noe few of the Hari spoke English although a few of them spoke some words of English to him as if to let him know they were able to do so or maybe he thought they couldn¡¯t understand them otherwise. After six years he was fluent in their language and often struggled when anyone spoke English words to him because Harikatani had very thick accents.


    Noe studied Ambelene¡¯s friends. The dark haired girl Noe recognized as Angelica he had seen her before but not up close. He¡¯d heard part of her song once a lilting melody that had a haunting harmony. All the Hari had a song. Their mothers sang them the song when they were born and then slowly the community of their friends and family learned their song. Each person¡¯s song was reserved for special occasions when they accomplished great things or even when they did something bad. Noe had no song, he was not Hari. He was Human. A human with no song and no past, only dark dreams of mist and fire. Amerblene¡¯s other friend was a girl named Tureen she was in some of Kors classes and had the most beautiful honey blond hair Noe had ever seen and the slimmest wrists her hips were also tiny but she had a big chest in spite of her dainty figure. Almost too perfect Noe thought as if she¡¯d been glued together. Noe looked away so it wouldn¡¯t seem he was staring.


    He took a bite of the oatmeal Amberlene had left on the table for him. He tried to swallow but it was ten times too salty. He gagged. Amberlene had been making food for him for the past few months since Aleuka¡¯s pregnancy. Noe spit the oatmeal back into the bowl


    ¡°Ew gross.¡± Angelica quailed.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him Tureen echoed and Noe looked at Amberlene with blazing eyes. Who didn¡¯t reply but took a split second to glance over at him with a grin so wide it made Noe feel dizzy before she walked over to the living room sofa and plopped down with some Jingo Jelly and grass root bites. Thankfully Lia and Aristo came in the door just then with Kor.


    ¡°All day in the lab and nothing to show for it.¡± Kor groaned.


    ¡°It will get better, funds are low right now.¡± Aristo said ¡°Trust me repairing Jetflys is getting more and more of a liability and less of a career everyday no one has enough to pay for the parts let alone the maintenance fees. It will get better after the next Gauntlet.


    "Noe, Noe,Noe squealed Lia running over to him once she was through the door and spotted him at the counter spinning on one of the stools.


    Lia was seven and had flaming red hair like Amerberlene but unlike Amberlene she loved everything about Noe.


    ¡°Time to go.¡± Lia said taking Noe¡¯s hand ¡°Aristo is taking us to the surface for test flies.¡±


    ¡°I am ready.¡± he said picking her up and spinning her around he went to the fridge that was a silicon cube and pushed the button for water. Krauffen had modified it specifically so that one side had water and the other side delivered hekonate.


    Noe glanced to the right and saw Kor watching him and smiling. Sometimes Kor could be so quiet but whether he was talking or just watching you always knew exactly what he was thinking. He had dark hair like Kruaffen and his eyes where an Amber gold. Aristo was taller and broader and had lighter hair and more green flecks in his eyes.


    ¡°Hi Noe.¡± Aristo said coming to sand by him at the fridge and get a glass of heckonate.


    ¡°Aristo we can help you with the test flies I am sure that we could help out you know who gets excellent marks in flight class nodding at Noe.¡± Kor said hopefully


    ¡°Kor, Like you¡¯re going to do any work on the surface. My clients pay me to fly their vehicles myself I am sure you all do understand a few things about how to fix the equipment.¡± Aristo said ruffling Noes hair. but all the same this is my area of expertise just taking you kids out of moms hair for a bit


    ¡°We¡¯ll be back around seven Amberlene,¡± Aristo said and waved Noe Lia and Kor out of the apartment behind him Amberlene turned and gave a stiff wave of dismissal before returning to her conversation with her friends.


    ***


    The leaves were orange and red, blue and neon green on the surface. So much had changed since the Hari¡¯s arrival. The climate had moderated its seasons. The powerlines were gone as was wifi. The trees had colored leaves all year-round and not just in the fall. They were not always the normal colors sometimes purple and magenta. Some of them glowed in the dark it was like the jelly fish phenomena but apparently, it worked with trees now. Noe wasn¡¯t sure quite what had started the chain of reactions that had changed the earth but he knew it was different. The aliens had brought with them a few strange species of animals and plants that before their coming had not existed on earth. Most of them seemed to have prospered. Firecats, and Grelin, Large dogs resembling timber wolves roamed the uninhabited towns the Hari could not afford to rebuild. Noe closed his eyes then slowly opened them again. He watched as Lia danced in circles under the white oak tree its orange leaves scattered on the ground beneath it. He tried to calculate what month this would be. Probably close to the end of July or the beginning of August. Every few minutes another leaf decided to join its fallen comrades spiraling gracefully next to the dancing girl. Noe leaned against the tree trunk watching Lia¡¯s dance with his arms crossed a frown locked in place on his face. He was not part of this world it was his and yet nothing in it seemed to be part of him not the wind that blew in his face not the orange tree leaves or the sun blackened aircraft that were waiting for him to finish waxing them in the hangar near the compound. They had come to a courtyard of what once must have been a graveyard. A toppled stone wall around the perimeter of a 10-acre field that had some very old fragments of cement and angels wings it was all that was left of this place except for an occasional foot stone overgrown with grass and weeds one didn¡¯t see it until it was tripped over. Lia had wanted to play in the leaves here Noe was supposed to look out for her he didn¡¯t see why Kor wouldn¡¯t do it. He was always so busy in his lab and couldn¡¯t be bothered with the surface but whenever Aristo made him come to the surface with them he made himself scarce and usually disappeared somewhere to read.


    Noe come dance with me.¡±


    ¡°Well well what do we have here.¡± A smooth cold voice said appearing from the far side of the field. Dortani Aliege walked into the field


    His hair was streaked with white contrasting with its black natural color and his dark almond colored eyes sent shivers up Noe¡¯s spine. As he watched Dortani come closer he reached for Lia¡¯s finger tips his mouth dry. The orange leaves that shimmered with energy and the dying glow of the sun were incredibly loud as they rustled beneath Dortani¡¯s feet.


    ¡°I see the huma specimen is taking dancing lessons before his next Guinea pig session.¡± Dortani said coming so close Noe closed his eyes feeling Dortani reach up and grab a lock of his hair he steeled himself to remain motionless. Dortani and his family lived in a mansion on the surface. After the Huma had been conquered they had been rehoused and constricted to certain sectors of New Hari. Many of the Hari families preferred to live in their own homes on the ground instead of an airlock apartment. Scientific or medical minded people usually chose to live on the compound that connected virtually the entire Hari world.


    ¡°No need to be so tense , No¡¯wah.¡± Dortani said his mouth smirking into a sly smile. Laughter creeping into his voice. ¡° I''ve heard your name is the only thing you can remember from your life before. Maybe I could jog your memory a little.¡± Dortani said coming closer and shoving his fist into Noe¡¯s stomach. Noe stiffened against the back of the oak tree before bending double with pain the punch had been much lighter than it could have been but Noe felt like he was dying. The air sucked out of him for one terrifying second. He hated that feeling.


    ¡°Get away from them.¡± Kor¡¯s voice said coming from above Noe opened his eyes to see Kor land on top of Dortani and both of them fall back into the yellow purple blue and bronze carpeting of the courtyard.


    Noe watched as they bloodied each other¡¯s faces and felt utterly useless he gripped Lia¡¯s hand trembling. A few minutes later Aristo showed up and dragged Dortani and Kor apart. Ko Dortani¡¯s older brother was suddenly there too. A very slim long haired young man in his early twenties. With small dark slitted eyes and a tight drawn mouth


    ¡°What¡¯s this Dortani your fighting Roms now?¡± Ko said in barely more than a whispher, as Dortani shook leaves from himself unceremoniously.


    ¡°They attached me it was self-defense.¡± Dortani said heatedly


    ¡°He punched Noe in the stomach.¡± Kor said his nose bleeding profusely.


    ¡°Come Dortani we don¡¯t have time for people who associates with lower life forms after all what does that say about them.¡± Ko said slipping an arm around his younger brother who looked back at them for a moment and then followed his brother out of the courtyard.


    ¡°What happened Aristo demanded then he noticed Noe still trembling by the oak squeezing Lia¡¯s small white hands that could have crushed every one of his bones?


    ¡°Kor take Lia back to the shuttle.


    ¡°But.¡±


    ¡°We will discuss it later right now I¡¯ve decided we are done for the day with test flies.


    When they were gone Aristo looked at Noe


    ¡°What happened did he hurt you?¡±


    ¡°No he..he came close and grabbed my hair. He punched me in the gut and then Kor tackled him.


    ¡°Dortani maybe mean but he¡¯s not stupid Noe, he won¡¯t do you any real harm unless he thinks it¡¯s acceptable to do so and right now it would be considered an unsanctioned offense he¡¯s just a bag of hot air, you¡¯ve nothing to fear from him.¡±


    ¡°My stomach says otherwise." Noe said. "It would be so easy for him for any of you."


    ¡°We can practice restraint.¡± Aristo said "Even though we are much stronger than your kind."


    ¡°Aristo, perhaps I shouldn''t be, but I'' am afraid." Noe said


    ¡°Don¡¯t be. People like Ko and Dortani are just bitter. Their mother died on Sergio and they have everything they could possibly ask for from a father who never has time for them. They are bitter and bitter people try their best to make everyone else as miserable as themselves. Come let¡¯s get back to the compound. Krauffen will be home soon.¡±


    they walked quickly back to the test fly shuttle Aristo had flown out of the hangar last.


    In the shuttle Noe rubbed his stomach.


    ¡°You alright?¡± Kor asked looking back at him with a worry line sprouting on his brow.


    ¡°Yea, fine.¡± Noe replied grimacing his stomach was sore but his pride was wounded more as he thought of Dortani. Dortani knew he¡¯d be afraid and Noe had let him have that power. Dortani was just hot air he told himself. He¡¯d get even eventually in a way that didn¡¯t require fists and in a way Dortani wouldn¡¯t expect. He pictured several scenarios. His favorite was removing the spark plug from Dortani¡¯s jet just before race day. Lia lay her head on his lap.


    ¡°Let¡¯s not mention any of this to Da.¡± Aristo said starting the shuttle engine.


    ¡°He¡¯ll ask about my face.¡± Kor said


    ¡°Then tell the truth just leave out the part about Noe. Dads got a lot on his plate just now. with the council."


    A memory stuck in Noe¡¯s mind.


    ¡°Are the Huma trying to revolt again?¡±


    ¡°No¡­no..its¡­Aristo stopped himself turned toward the back seat and gave Noe a strange look. ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡± he said adjusting in his eat again and falling into silence.


    ***


    As soon as they got back to the airlock the smell of food greeted them. Aleuka smiled at them.


    ¡°I felt fine and so I cooked dinner tonight.¡± She said


    ¡°Where¡¯s Dad.¡± Aristo asked.


    ¡°He is washing up. All of you do the same and we should be ready to sit down.¡±


    ¡°Noe,¡± Krauffen said coming out of the main bedroom. ¡°I need to do a blood stick before dinner.¡±


    Noe sat down at one of the kitchen tables. Krauffen got out a needle on the end of a plunger.


    ¡°Look away.¡± Krauffen said. Noe looked away and the plunger stuck him the sting and the pressure and his nerves were tensed to the utmost. Even getting sticks every week didn¡¯t make the process any easier.


    ¡°Okay let¡¯s eat.¡± Aleuka said placing the Eel and rice on the table.


    Noe waited through the long blessing Kruaffen pronounced and then took a scoop of the Rice and Eel. He thought of the surface and his memory and possibly getting a chance to learn about the Jetfly''s and other ships navigational controls, and perhaps one day. Just perhaps he''d get a chance to fly.

 The Violin

    The Persephoni Log User 2400-1


    Sileao Silano Translated by Noe Rom


    Since the invasion my older brother doesn¡¯t speak much. He gets mad sometimes that I¡¯m still training to run in the first gauntlet on this new planet. We¡¯ve had several heated ¡°discussions¡± about it, but he can¡¯t change my mind. Sometimes he looks at me like I¡¯m broken. I know that look well. I give him the hard stare back neither of us wants to bring up the past. Still everywhere I go I see someone or something that reminds me of Severin.


    Chapter 2


    The ominous sound of thunder woke Sileao that afternoon. He was trying to rest after his night outside on the cold ground. What was it with this planet that was so endearing and yet so formidable, he wondered, as a bolt of lightning flashed illuminating the underbelly of his room. The sudden light made shadows on the ceiling. They could have had a more interior apartment, but Sirus liked to be close to the outside world. Close Sileao thought, still he reached out and touched the pane of reinforced glass that made up the entire back wall of the pocket apartment. Not close enough. The apartment looked out over the countryside beyond the city. Sirus hadn¡¯t; come home yet. He was probably on night patrol around the compound entrances Sileao hated being alone. Most of all he hated being alone here. He could barely wait for his next patrol and for the "Gauntlet". Some nights he didn¡¯t come home. Most of the time he was careful not to let Sirus think he¡¯d been out at night alone. He¡¯d say he was training and was going to stop at some surface dwellers home or another compound member¡¯s apartment afterward. If he was caught, he hated to think what the consequences might be if the council found out.


    He poured every waking hour into training or flying. He was nineteen now and too old for basic studies. His mother and Sirus thought it time for him to commit to a career. For Sileao though, there was only the Gauntlet. He could not give up the idea of winning it. Of flying in it, of running in it. It was an obsession that kept him going. The tightness came again in his throat as the next thunder clap boomed. The familiar sadness. He felt out of place in his life in his skin, and yet so uniquely in sync with everything around him. He was a pawn. A pawn fighting for a dream some thought he should have buried a time long ago on the way to adulthood. He dosed off...When he woke again he was crying out. He was Crystalizing in tracks of shiny bright silver cream. Sirus was there he must have heard him, how embarrassing.


    ¡°The dreams again?¡± Sirus asked. Sileao nodded wiping his cheeks with his forearm.


    ¡°You need to go to sleep therapy again it¡¯s been too long, I should have made you go sooner.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to go back.¡± Sileao heard himself say but it was hollow


    ¡°Get up. You¡¯re going.¡± Sirus said.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t help.¡± Sileao said getting up and walking over to the window to watch the storm. It was calmer now and the rain came in quiet drumming streams. Flowing silently down the panes of glass, like. The drops, turned to streams of silent rivulets that seemed to synchronize with the pace of ones Sileao felt inside. Streams that started in his mind like pinprinks and dripped in and through his arms and chest, until his heart ached and his eyes betrayed him. It was pain, that was not pain. A pain he had to hide everyday of his life. Pain others could not share.


    ¡°You''re going.¡± Sirus said and that was the end of it.


    ***


    Noe Liked Midweek it was Solumn and reflective. Everyone gathered in the chapel right outside the compound near the beginning of new Hari. A few songs were sung and a few reflective passages were read and then people were usually encouraged to do a good deep or come forward and light candles or saw prayers. Noe found he always got strange looks during service. He noticed the many of the guantlet runners sitting together on the benches toward the front of the room as he sat with Krauffen, Aleuka, Amberelen, Kor and Lia. Aristo slipped in late on the end whispering


    "Sorry...Sorry." as he sat down and the other folks all turning their heads to stare. The Hari had a god for each clan and usually each clan liked their god the best. Although the god Tula for which the Rom''s clan was formed was considered the leader or head of all the rest. That was why the turtle shaped brithmark on the underside of Noe''s left arm had been so startling to Danteji when he''d first seen Noe. To offend Tula was an unforgivable act. Noe turned his arm up and studied the mark. brown splotches that somehow looked like what they imaged Tula to be like. Noe called it a turtle. In fact he thought each of their gods resembled or had an E''arth animal equivalent. Although not exact to simplify the clans and remember them Noe had taken to referring to them in his head as the animals each clan''s god resembled. There was Moa clan that resembled a long stick or a snake run by Kilti a man just as straight and snake like. There was Monant -Danteji''s clan that was what Noe thought of as the monkey clan. Sileao''s clan Lira seemed like a large cat of some kind. Eloph was very Elephant like the clan leader Kira Koata was the only female on the council and Noe had heard she sided with the queen''s grandfather almost always. There was Noritanta which might have been a unicorn or some kind of horse. Rho which looked very much like a cute bunny, Zillis, let by Zoran a kind old book loving soul and Ide or the bird clan as Noe thought of them. There was also Codentati but that was a clan for the criminals and underbelly of the Hari society that did not get a vote on the clan council


    "Now on Calana day remember to do a good deed. As sister Calona was always doing good deeds. And remember to be faithful to those you love whether friends or family. Faithfulness is very important in life, although it maybe very hard." The chapel speaker was saying. It seemed very scripted and yet somehow applicable to multiple different things.


    "I''m hungry." Lia said "Hush." Aleuka said it will be over in a minute. The choral group did another song and then it was over the choral group music was beautiful and sad at the same time a compilation of notes on top of notes and sounds on top of sounds with a few Hari words interspersed here and there that gave it a very epic feeling. The music was always Noe''s favorite thing about Mid-week. After the service was over Krauffen turned to Noe.


    "I had something come up with work. Your Mum is tired. would you like to go to the cafeteria with the other kids or come home. Lia is going home and I need Kor in the lab. Amberlene said she''d like to go to the cafeteria so you could go together. Noe peered around Krauffen as he said this to see Amberlene''s face. She made a face at him and mouthed something Noe didn''t quite catch but he could get the idea.


    "Yeah, I''ll go with Amberlene he said knowing that he''d essentially be going alone. Krauffen nodded.


    Noe joined the alien children as they headed for the cafeteria as soon as the service ended and the rest of the family had departed. Amberlene made a show of staying with him only until their parents had rounded the bend in the hallway and could no longer see them.  The cafeteria was a hub of activity during the day. Today it was raining outside, a dreadful driving rain. Noe stopped to watch it momentarily through the huge glass Cafeteria windows. Five stories of glass to the metal roof. Noe rubbed his stomach wishing Krauffen hadn''t had work. Even after six years of being the Rom family pet human Noe still got stares everywhere he went. Only a few other families had specie pets as the Hari called them.  All around Noe faces that looked human except for the runes on their faces arms legs neck. They might have been just a bunch of humans except for the liquid they drank, their inhuman strength and sometimes their strange abilities. The runes on their bodies swirled in intricate lines that glowed neon green when they laughed or were angry or embarrassed.


    ¡°Howdi again.¡± Kiega said as he bounced up to Noe. He edged his way into the mile-long food line. It wasn¡¯t a mile but it felt that way to Noe with his stomach growling.


    ¡°Hatii.¡± Noe replied noticing that Kiega seemed truly glad to see him. Noe swiveled his head to look again at the line which didn¡¯t seem to have moved.


    ¡°So you know that today is?¡± Keiga asked. Noe tried to think,


    ¡°Be a push over day that¡¯s what.¡± Said a gangly boy behind them with golden hair and a wide grin.


    ¡°Kileaf, don¡¯t¡¯ let the speaker hear you say something so wicked.¡± Kiega said slapping Kileaf¡¯s arm


    ¡°You don¡¯t want our Huma friend to be misinformed about our religion do you?¡± Kileaf asked with a hint of mischief in his voice.


    ¡°Noe it¡¯s do a good deed day and this is my cousin by the way he¡¯s very melodramatic¡± Keiga announced still bouncing up and down as if he couldn¡¯t possibly get enough energy out of his little body. He seemed fully recovered from the scolding he¡¯d received the day before.


    Noe looked at Kileaf again if these two were cousins it was hard to tell. Kiega was short and cheerful with short dark air and bright hazel eyes that looked like ponds of murky water.


    There was a rune on his left cheekbone a tiny floret of green, the nearest Noe had ever seen one to anyone¡¯s nose. Kileaf on the other hand was around 5.10 with golden brown hair and green eyes and a seriousness to him that was lacking in Kiega¡¯s cheerful cheekbones. The only resemblance was possibly the mouth which for both of them was rather large.


    ¡°You mean Calana day?¡± Noe asked.


    ¡°Yes, Keiga, Noe was in chapel with us¡± Kileaf said to the younger boy. Then he turned to Noe again


    ¡°Do a kindness day for those of us who apply to the old way. Keiga here has decided to participate.


    ¡°How does one participate?¡± Noe asked.


    ¡°Well,¡± said Keiga ¡°Say I pay for someone in the line behind us to have lunch. That would be doing them a kindness or a good deed.


    ¡°By the way who¡¯s in the line behind us?" Keiga asked turning to his cousin.


    ¡°Meri.¡± But she doesn¡¯t; count because she¡¯s my sister and you know her.¡± Kileaf answered. Meri was a lightbrown haired girl with brown eyes and tan skin. She was in her school clothes. So she must have changed in-between ritual and the cafeteria.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that makes a difference. Who¡¯s behind her.¡±


    ¡°Kelli she doesn¡¯t count either because she¡¯s looking around waiting for someone to preform her good deed for as well.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that even matters Keiga said pouting


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t count because she¡¯d expect it and she doesn¡¯t really need help her father gives her all the money she needs.¡±


    ¡°Well who¡¯s behind her then.


    ¡°Get out of my way pea brain. I told you I was here first and if you don¡¯t believe me I¡¯ll make you wish you had.¡± Kiega shook his head.


    ¡°No way. ¡° he muttered looking back at the furrowed brow of the six foot-two scowling face of Narvi Sol.


    ¡°I heard they let him out of solitary confinement earlier today.¡± Kileaf said grimacing. ¡°If it¡¯s any consolation he probably needs the food.


    Also in his case it would be a kindness as he loves to eat. He also loves the choco kirsh but he never has any money for them. I bet he¡¯ll short the lunch lady on the credit for his meal too. The only way he gets away with it is that the lunch attendant will take it up with Heloani who will end up covering it.¡±


    Noe had reached the counter now and was facing a dumpy lunch lady who looked at him crossly.


    ¡°Huma, you know I don¡¯t have much on the menu you can eat and today I don¡¯t think there is anything.¡±


    ¡°Please just give me anything I¡¯m starving.¡±  Noe said


    ¡°Anything could kill you." The lunch lady replied sarcastically


    "Janice bring this poor Huma boy, the cold spaghetti your friend Safron left in the fridge yesterday. Krauffen¡¯s gone and forgotten to feed him again.¡± She shouted.  A frightened looking huma girl hurried to the counter with a plate of spaghetti. ¡°Hey, Noah" she said looking down and then only for a moment in his eyes directly.


    "No charge, kid since its leftover and its Calana day." She said and turned to her next customer. Which was Kiega.


    ¡°What can I do for you baby.¡± She said in a disinterested manner. Putting on her best fake smile.


    ¡°See the tall boy with white hair and blue runes Keiga asked conspiratorially. ¡°The one with the sciv scar on his chin.¡±


    ¡°Narvi!¡± the lunch lady fairly shouted exasperatedly. Everybody knows Narvi! Keiga.¡± The lunch lady said exasperatedly refusing to be in on the scoop or whatever conspiratorial mood Kiega was trying to strike.


    ¡°Well I¡¯d like to pay for his lunch and add some choco kirsh to his order as well as whatever he wants to drink besides heckonate. It¡¯s on my credit tab. It being Calana and all.¡± Kiega said and swiped his comlink bracelet barcode for payment.


    ¡°You have got to be kidding me Narvi Sol?. Calana day huh.¡± The lunch lady said shaking her head. Kiega smiled at her and took his tray of selected food to sit down.


    Noe watched Kileaf come up behind the counter after Keiga had departed the lunch lady looked put out


    ¡°You going to pay for somebody else too.¡± She asked wiping her wide beaded brow.


    ¡°Naw. I keep Calana in my heart these days how about I leave you a couple of dollars as a tip on behalf of my idiot cousin and the two girls in navy behind me." Kileaf said pulling a couple actual dollars from his vest pocket and placing them on the counter in front of the cook who gave him the first genuine smile Noe had ever seen cross her features. She is always cross with him and Kiega¡¯s exuberance seemed to make her irritable, but she smiled for Kileaf when he handed her the two measly dollars barely worth more than a few pieces of candy in the Hari economy and said


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you the handsome one.¡± Noe watched as Kileaf then moved his hand again and took back the two dollars of credit he''d extended in flattery while the lunch lady still smiling rang up the rest of his order. What a sneaky trick Noe thought, but also balsy, very balsy. Noe thought


    He was sitting alone, when Kiega and Kileaf moved away from the counter. They sat down next to him as if some sort of agreement had been made between them. Sankanija Floren Kileaf''s girlfriend joined them.


    Keiga picked up his is Jui Ji drink and began sipping then he took a bite of his galactic burger but before he could take a second, a fist slammed the table beside him making the table wobble and Kiega¡¯s elbow propped on the table jiggle till his hand dropped the sandwich back onto his plate.


    ¡°What is this? You think I need your charity!¡± A tall pale skinned white haired blue eyed god with a scarred chin and bandaged wrists said holding up a tray of food as if in protest.


    His face Noe noticed was blue around the edges all the way up to his ears where his runes were glowing with the intensity of his emotion. Narvi dropped the food tray on the table in front of Keiga and slammed the table again with his fist. Narvi Telan, or Narvi Sol was not well liked. He was not even technically Hari although he was a part of their sister clan. His clan had almost decimated the Hari when the Hari had tried to seek refuge on his planet. Thirteen years ago when Narvi was three or four he''d been that''s when the Hari had left Tybrinth Narvi''s home planet and the queen had taken Narvi with her. Noe really didn''t know the whole story just that there was some complicated circumstances that surrounded Narvi and that he always seemed ticked off. Personally Noe tried hard to stay out of his way.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t¡¯ want it I guess I can take it.¡± Kiega said meekly. Narvi stood still for a moment before he scooped up the tray. As he was about to walk away his eyes narrowed looking straight at Noe then focusing on Kileaf.


    ¡°Be kind to misfit¡¯s day is it.¡± He said in Kileaf''s direction and stormed off to the other side of the cafeteria.


    Kileaf Laughed. ¡°my gods he can¡¯t even say thank you.¡± See you just did a kindness for someone who needed it and didn¡¯t understand it Kiega.¡±


    ¡°I guess.¡± Kiega said swiveling his head to look around for Narvi who had a roundtable by himself near the back of the cafeteria. He was wolfing down his food like there was a five second rule for eating. Kiega looked back at Kileaf


    ¡°He used to be your friend right?¡± Kiega asked Kileaf furrowed his brow.


    ¡°He''s still my friend, he''s just forgotten that I''m his." Kileaf said sadly.


    Noe looked at the ground. Maybe Narvi was right maybe Kileaf and Keiga where only being kind to him as a way of getting points for their religious holy day.


    After scarfing down his cold spaghetti Noe headed to history. After history he made his way to his job at Stargauge. Stargauge was the central hub of communications for the Hari people. They had little interspace communication since coming to earth but within stargauge all the interplanet communication was regulated. Business deals phone calls or holocalls. Landing and take off notifications. Information on the huma workforce ect..Noe worked mostly in running and monitoring the simulators used  by those practicing flight maneuvers for the gauntlet. All year round Hari aging from 12-25 trained for the rigorous race which would determine who¡¯s clan got the most elected members on the council for the next year. It was a democratic system. The race was a race of physical prowess and it was not un-common for opponents to cheat although if it could be proved you cheated it was severely punished. Koa of house Tor had cheated against Sileao the first year he¡¯d run. Noe didn¡¯t know what had happened but he knew that because of it Sileao had missed winning the race by a hair and become partially deaf in his left ear. Noe often heard people lament ¡°Cloud Ryder¡¯s signing voice.¡± Which had apparently been beautiful. Hari valued singing and were often able to sing many notes at once flawlessly. Such had been the case with Sileao.


    Dortani was known to break into song in the hallways at even closing ceremonies. Ko had been banned from ever flying again after the incident because there had been so many witnesses since that day he had become bitter. Noe concentrated on the simulators and pushed all other thoughts from his mind. The two who came in first were Kileaf and Sankonija. Kileaf said hellow to him which was a first. Sankonija acted as if he didn¡¯t exist. They listened to his voice in the sim though, which was all that mattered.


    ¡°Your cutting to hard Sankonija, fighters on your left flank trying to beat you to the finish line. They are from Ortheos so they will use their firepower against you.¡±


    ¡°Ill cover you.¡± Kileaf said lining up his gun.


    ¡°If you help. You will leave yourself unprotected. Let Sankanija get ride of them with some fancy flying maneuvers and you see if you can increase your speed or you¡¯ll find yourself getting shown up by Nimferi jets.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve never even flown Noe how can you know if we¡¯re are doing something wrong?¡± Kileaf asked


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯ve flown the sims a hundred times. I even got to help the programmers with the holo placements in a few of the screens. I¡¯ve been fixing jets for the last three years.¡±


    ¡°Okay, Okay. I won¡¯t underestimate you.¡±


    ¡°Of course you will but they won¡¯t let me play a sim against you so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Noe said


    ¡°Then play one against me.¡± A voice not on the headset said at Noe¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Dortani, Noe stiffened


    ¡°Noe?¡± Kileaf said raising his voice as fighters come at him from both sides.


    ¡°Noe. He said again but Noe had frozen. Dortani continued to speak to Noe moving steadily up behind his seat with the headset


    ¡°I said play the sim with me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m working Dortani.¡± Noe said. Trying to be emotionless


    ¡°Noe stop talking to that lout and talk to us Sankanija said addressing him directly for the first time Noe could remember.¡±


    ¡°I have to finish their sim Dortani.¡± Noe said turning back to the screen.


    ¡°Fine after then.¡± Dortani said waving his hand and stepping a few feet away.


    ¡°Sankanija pull up, Kileaf bank right and then use the nose dive.¡±


    ¡°Its no use I¡¯ve already taken too many hits. I am going to kill Dortani.¡± Kileaf said as a final hit to his engine put him out of commission. Sankanija managed to pull her ship out safely but placed last out of the fighters in her unit. They had been playing against the computer but neither of them were pleased. They exited the sims as Noe yanked off his headset.


    ¡°Dortani.¡± Both of them said at once. Seeing the grinning bastard propped against the control station.


    ¡°Why did you have to ruin our training time.¡± Kileaf said.


    ¡°Its not my fault the little pet is so afraid of me, and so polite too.¡± Dortani said winking. ¡°I came in as he was boasting he could fly a sim better than both of you and I challenged him to a sim race.


    ¡°He¡¯s not allowed Dortani, he¡¯s on work duty and he certainly wouldn¡¯t be permitted to have a go against us even in a sim.¡±


    ¡°Its fine. I say its fine so it is. What do you say Nowah?¡±


    ¡°Noe, say No.¡± Sankonija says empirically.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea.¡± Noe managed


    ¡°What¡¯s the problem taking back those bold words. Why I bet you crash in the first frame.¡±


    ¡°Fine I¡¯ll do it.¡± Noe said pushing down his fear of the repercussions as his chance to actually show the guantlet racers that he did know how to use the controls in one of their jetwings as well or better than they did.


    ¡°Okay, no headset.¡± Dortani said turning a warning look on Sankanija and Kileaf.


    ¡°Fine, as long as you promise not to kill me when you lose.¡± Noe said feeling something tighten in his gut.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t lose.¡± Dortani smirked and jumped inside his sim which shaped like a giant green egg. Noe got in to the pod next to Dortani¡¯s which looked identical except that it was blue. Noe¡¯s palms were clammy as he waited for the door to lock in place. He¡¯d run through the sims a hundred times but never against an opponent.


    ¡°You pick the landscape.¡± Dortani said over the connected commlink in the pod.


    ¡°Dune¡¯sand.¡± Noe said punching in the frame.


    ¡°Fine by me, eat my exhaust.¡± Dortani yelled pushing his throttle down hard.


    Noe heard Dortani¡¯s sand scooter roar to life and slowly coaxed his sim throttle into action.


    The two fighters on screen shot off into the sandscape. It was bare except for a tall treelike growth every hundred yards or so and the occasional cacti.  Dortani remained ahead most of the run. Noe let him inch ahead little by little. He knew more about this these simulations than almost anyone as he¡¯d helped Alko build them. Alko was a genius with tech and although she¡¯d said Noe''s brain would be too slow she¡¯d insisted to Krauffen that she needed someone like Noe to help her after the first few weeks of him hanging around to watch her work after sim work detail. He''d learned everything he could and eventually been promoted to coms. He couldn''t wait till sleep therapy was over and he got his first live lesson in a Jetwing. Noe fell further behind but remained calm. Even knowing how to there was a shortcut just ahead and Noe knew just how to jump through it. Dortani continued along the flight path while Noe¡¯s holo launched to the left over the barren dunes.


    ¡°Haha told you you were no match for me couldn¡¯t even keep your scooter on the scape.¡± Dortani¡¯s laugh stopped abruptly as Noe¡¯s holo launched in front of his own on the sandscape


    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Dortani yelled angrily. Just then there was a voice over the com


    ¡°Guys!¡±


    ¡°Kileaf. I said no headset Dortani barked.


    ¡°Guys council members just walked in. I think you should stop.¡± Kileaf said again in an anxious tone.


    ¡°Nonsense, we will finish the Sim.¡± Dortani retorted launching ahead of Noe who felt the blood freeze in his veins. He made a show of giving chase but fear gripped him. His heart was no longer in the race. If the council saw him win against a guantlet racer.... Noe accelerated and stayed on course forgoing any fancy maneuvers or strategy that might have given him the upper hand. He finished close but not ahead of Dortani¡¯s holo.


    ¡°Well I told you I¡¯d beat you, Huma scum. I told you you¡¯d eat my exhaust.¡± Dortani said all smiles as he exited the sim. His father and Kilti were not smiling.


    Dortani had the audacity to grin at them. ¡°Hi da.¡± He said Noe knew better than to say anything


    ¡°Dortani.¡± Danteji said in hushed tones that spoke of control that was having a hard time reigning itself in.


    ¡°Just what do you think you were doing in the sims with a Huma.¡± Kilti the other council member and head of Moa clan asked addressing Dortani in a hiss ¡°And you Huma are you not in violation of your job code.¡± He finished through his teeth.


    ¡°Dortani told Noe he had to race him.¡± Kileaf said


    ¡°Dortani, let¡¯s go forget about training for the rest of the day. You violated code and therefore you¡¯ll be on watch duty till midnight for the rest of this week.¡± Danteji said gruffly


    ¡°What about him.¡± Dortani said angrily looking at Noe


    ¡°I think the fear he has of you is punishment enough. You knew he could not help but get in trouble. Whether he refused you and you broke something or he acquiesced to your request and someone punished him for violating code. You are clever but it¡¯s a good thing I am your father and know what you¡¯re about. Danteji said smacking Dortani lightly on the back of the head now get home watch duty starts in 4 hours.¡±


    ¡°Alfron will not take it lightly if the boy receives no punishment for this.¡± Kilti said after Dortani has gone, and they¡¯d left the Stargauge conference plaza for the cold tubular hall outside.


    ¡°Then you won¡¯t mention it will you.¡± Danteji said


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what your playing at but it won¡¯t change anything Rom has got to learn a lesson sometime.¡± Kilti said angrily "The Huma are not blessed like we are among the people''s of the stars. We can''t have people thinking that they are." Kilti finished.


    ¡°Just give it time, I¡¯d hate for the tears to start prematurely. If you get my meaning.¡± Danteji said


    ¡°I think I read you.¡± Kilti said smiling slyly. Donteji smiled back.


    ***


    Noe was in sleep therapy dreaming he had something in his hands. He smashed something against a tree. It splintered and suddenly there was music a strange and familiar music not like the Hari music he''d just heard the day before.


    Suddenly he was running again, the concert hall loomed in front of him and then Dortani¡¯s father Danteji with the Axe. Noe woke in a cold sweat to a clicking nose the pod opened without the researchers and the controls all blinked. The room around Noe was completely dark. There were usually walkway lights and a few lights on the wall but for some reason there was no illumination of any kind.


    ¡°Hey, he said into the dark and then noticed sudden green runes glowing as another pod opened.


    ¡°Hey yourself." said a voice Noe recognized as Sileao''s."


    "Is that you Noe." Sileao asked pulling his head out of the pod.


    "Yes." Noe said


    Sileao threw his legs over the side of his pod. Noe couldn''t believe it it had been a long time since he''d seen Sileao in sleep therapy.


    He and Sileao had been buddies in Sleep therapy a few years ago, but then Sileao had stopped coming and Noe had had to continue coming off and on over the years. Every now and then someone was here but most of the time Noe was alone when he came.


    Noe and Sileao had been to the surface a few times together. Sileao of all the Hari that Noe had met seemed to be the most curious about humans and their way of life before the invasion.


    ¡°What''s going on?¡± Noe asked.


    ¡°Blackout." Sileao said It happens sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Is no one here?¡± Noe asked


    ¡°Its late they¡¯re probably sleeping in the back. During a blackout the pods open automatically. It¡¯s a safety feature that¡¯s super annoying but I wouldn¡¯t want to get stuck in one of them. Come on this way. Sileao said exiting his own pod walking further back among the pods until he found one was much bigger than the ones they''d been using. Noe climbed into one side Sileao slid into the other side lowering the lid until it was only open halfway.


    Sileao''s runes pulsed and grew brighter until Noe could dimly see the space and the spirals on Sileao¡¯s cheekbones glowing green.


    When they weren¡¯t glowing, they looked just like light gray tattoos on his face, his arms, and legs. Sometimes they were so faint Noe imagined they weren''t there at all. When Hari had emotions like anger or sadness or happiness their runes would glow brighter and when they were just feeling normal they remained grayish on top of the skin tone. Hari could also choose to turn them on like Sileao was doing right now.


    ¡°So what were you dreaming just now?¡± Sileao asked


    ¡°O, its always the same.¡± Noe said giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. I mean there was something new this time. I was playing well an instrument. As he said the word Noe marveled. While he¡¯d been dreaming and even after he¡¯d woken up he hadn¡¯t known what he¡¯d been holding or what he¡¯d smashed against the tree.


    Sileao looked puzzled as well.


    ¡°It has to do with music like the shop.¡± Noe said referencing a mostly intact music shop they¡¯d found together a few years back. Sileao had been interested in the place and had asked if he could take Noe out to the surface one day randomly. When Kruaffen had agreed they¡¯d gone to the shop and found a Jeep parked in the back that still played CDs and a stereo system in the shop that worked as well. Sileao really liked human music he said. Especially classical. Hari music was beautiful too, but it was different. Everyone had their own song and could sing more than one note at once. At least almost everyone. Sileao used to be one of the best singers in his age group-until his first Gauntlet when he was twelve. There had been an explosion which had been meant to kill him. Sileao had been skilled enough to pull himself out alive but the explosion had caused damage to his left ear drum. He couldn¡¯t sing after that. Dortani¡¯s older brother Ko and several of the others thought to be responsible for the explosion had been barred from ever entering the Gauntlet again. Typically the rules were clear no foul play was to be involved but the stakes were high for winning. You got to pick someone from your clan to sit on the council and if you won several years in a row you could have more than one representative from your clan. The more representatives from your clan the more votes you had toward policy and change. There were limits and the Princess or ruling entity always had veto power over the councils decisions but the clans were always jockeying for position and power in the ranks and the race was a great way to highlight the abilities of the younger generation while lining the pockets and boosting the careers of the older Hari.


    ¡°What do you dream of?¡± Noe asked to divert from himself for a moment.


    ¡°The past mostly. Our life on Sergio sometimes.¡±


    ¡°Was it beautiful?¡±


    ¡°Not like E¡¯arth, but it had its own kind of beauty. Tell me more about what you dreamed tonight I like music.¡± Sileao said abruptly changing the subject.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know I was holding it or playing it and then I smashed it against a tree.¡± Noe said


    ¡°You did not like the music?¡± Sileao asked confused.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know it, it made me feel something. But then I started the loop all over again going to the concert hall looking for something. Blacking out-seeing Danteji. And then just coming here with no memory. Its been six years I¡¯m so tired of sleep therapy and I¡¯m no closer than when I started. To understanding these dreams from my the past.


    ¡°Did I ever tell you about how the gods chose the people?¡± Sileao said suddenly


    He¡¯d been listening to what Noe had been saying, so Noe just went with it.


    ¡®No.¡± he said


    "It was along time ago when the people were very weak they lived on Esmera and were naked and small." Sileao began looking at Noe for a moment and then continuing.


    "They grew things but then one day the things stopped growing and the ground no longer watered for them. Esmera grew brittle and thorny. Many people got sick for the first time. Then the gods looked down from Seh''erbles and took pity on the people. They came to the people in the guise of animals and taught them. They taught them better ways of farming and helped them learn the secrets of star travel. The most compassionate of the gods was Tula, but he was also the most feared because to go against him was to despise all the compassion he¡¯d ever shown you and be offered none in your hour of need. Danteji could have killed you. He was supposed to have killed you. Krauffen couldn¡¯t stop him, but the birthmark on your arm looks like Tula does it not? And Danteji was so startled by it he told Alfron you were blessed by Tula himself and to Kill you would have been a great evil not just to himself but also the the Hari people.¡±


    ¡°What did Alfron say.¡± Noe asked


    ¡°Alfron was not very happy. He said that it was not possible that you or anyone else who wasn¡¯t Hari could be so blessed by the gods. But I think there is more to it. I think you are blessed by the gods, still I think tomorrow we should go to your concert hall.¡±


    ¡°Why the concert hall.¡± Noe asked


    ¡°You keep dreaming it. Perhaps it will help to see it again with fresh eyes. Its still there.¡± Sileao said


    ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to go out.¡± Noe countered raising himself on his elbow.


    ¡°I can get you out. Meet me at the gym after your classes tomorrow. The festival is the day after but I can go tomorrow." Sileao said


    Just then the lights came up in the room. A sleepy researcher came to the door and flipped the switch to light the floors and the pods twice and motioned for them to go back to their individual pods. Noe rolled his eyes and Sileao smiled shutting off his runes.


    ¡°You will both have to come back next week. The power grid has been damaged temporarily last night so it set the data back a little, so sorry. The girl at the front desk said as they filed out of the sleep pod room in the morning.


    Noe walked toward the door as quickly as he could. Amberlene was waiting in an irritable mood as usual.


    ***


    Noe had found Sileao exiting the Gym the next afternoon but only after jostling through five to six other gauntlet contestants that all looked at him like.. why are you here.


    ¡°I thought you had decided not to show.¡± Sileao said as he climbed off the walking lift and grabbed a bottle of hekonate. They walked discretely to the compound door at the back of the Medi-wing on the south side. There Sileao stood plastering himself against the wall and made a show of talking Noe¡¯s ear off till the coast was clear. Then Sileao began to put in the combination. Once they were outside the air was brisk but not freezing. Noe felt oddly naked. It was the first time he¡¯d been outside in six years without Krauffen or Aleuka¡¯s knowledge. He felt as if he were waiting for something to beep and alert the Hari to his misbehavior but there was no sound as they left the long tube system that was called the ¡°Compound¡± behind. The Compound ran all over the outside of the city. The City had several Hari living in it now alongside the Human¡¯s or Huma as the Hari called them. The outside world looked different than in Noe¡¯s dreams, but he had a hard time knowing how much of what he thought was different had really changed. Clouds of smoke rose around them as soon as they got closer to the downtown of the city. The monorail roared by overhead. The Hari had built it above the ruined highway that had been torn apart in several places during the invasion. Green overtook the parts of the city that were broken and untended. Humans were everywhere peering at them as they clambered over the rubble.


    ¡°Come on.¡± Sileao said its about three miles walk downtown and with the rubble piles between here and there its going to feel like six.¡±


    He was right the going was slow. Sileao had found a hoodie somewhere that he produced from the inside his of alien cargo running suite the minute they''d stepped out of the compound. He used it to cover everything except for his face. Noe wondered where he¡¯d gotten it. Clothing from before the invasion was not common among the Hari but they did sometimes trade for it. The Huma resented the Hari but the Hari paid well when there was something that interested them. The problem being very few Hari were ever interested in the Humans, or what they had to trade. Noe wondered what Sileao had given to get the hoodie, but he didn¡¯t dare bring it up.


    They walked past the Hekonate fountains bursting with magenta liquid. And newly planted magnolias and Azalea bushes into the boarded-up roads and alleys behind the new glass sky rises built by the Hari. Noe wished they weren''t out here alone he wished he didn''t feel like someone was watching his back but he shook it off. Noe had packed a backpack with a few snacks and his journal. He watched Sileao walk smoothly over the rubble and then the pristine empty streets, he walked behind him with his back hunched and his head down although technically there was no need for him to hide who he was here. Noe wore a jumpsuit like the other street workers and poor. Noe could feel the eyes on them as they climbed rubble heaps between third and second street. He searched the broken glass and toppled brick but he couldn¡¯t see their faces. They reached fifth street without incident. Two blocks from where they came out, he saw it. The Theatre Palace loomed large and magnificent even more vivid than in his dreams. The white stone and the enormous steps. Sileao bounded up the first flight of ten of which there were four.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Noe called but it caught in his throat. Sileao didn¡¯t hear him, he was already up the steps. Noe followed at a distance. At the door he looked down at the carved gold handle. A wolf roared cut into the brass. He pulled the handle and walked into the building the entry hall was as Noe remembered only the chandelier that had hit him in the head was just a pile of ashes brushed to the far corner away from the door.


    ¡°Sileao.¡± He called softly looking around for his friend. When Sileao didn¡¯t answer Noe began climbing the stairs to the second floor. There was no way he was going to yell here. He was afraid the echo alone would give him a heart attack if there was one... That¡¯s when he heard the music. A Violin. He knew instinctively although he didn¡¯t¡¯ know how. He imagined it had something to do with his dreams. He climbed the stairs to the balcony and skipped down a row of seats virtually in peak condition other than the holes left by rats in the red velvet cushions and here and there a dirty scrap of paper. he peered out onto the stage. There was a girl with her back turned to the audience so that he could not see her face. Her long black hair hung down to her shoulder blades. A plaid skirt hung to her ankles and she wore a topaz shirt to match the blue lines in the skirt. Beneath the skirt she had a shoe that was a cross between a combat boot and a hiking boot however she was so far away all Noe could tell was that the boots were tan.


    Something dropped on Noes head and he looked up to see Sileao sat in the balcony above him dropping paper fragments torn from an old program. He smiled and pointed at the girl and then cupped his hands around his good ear and mouthed what is this.¡± Abruptly a young man a few years older than Noe ran up the aisle toward the girl. The music stopped


    ¡°The patrols are coming. We have to go.¡± He said frantically. He was tall, with sandy blond hair and jeans ripped nearly to shreds. He jumped on stage. The girl was thrusting her instrument into a case lying on the ground beside her. She had no music to play from Noe realized. She¡¯d been playing from memory. he realized too that he had recognized the tune. It was a sad song about lovers who would never meet again. Yet even in its sadness it felt familiar alive in a place like this that carried and created sound. This place felt familiar. Like a home he¡¯d long forgotten. Home what had that word been to him.


    ¡°What was that.¡± Sileao asked from above when they¡¯d gone


    ¡°That was a single voice.¡± Noe said smiling.


    ¡°A voice.¡±


    ¡°An instrument, something we can use to make music with. Together many different instruments used to preform here. Together they played in what are called Symphony¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Symphonies?¡± Sileao said quizzically as if exploring the word in his mouth and his head at the same time.


    ¡°Yes beautiful songs with many kinds of voices.¡± Noe replied


    ¡°I wish to hear these symphonies. The music this girl played was beautiful even if it sounded like a voice that was weeping.¡± Sileao said


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should get back. They mentioned a patrol when they ran out of here.¡± Noe said feeling that they should perhaps leave the concert hall as quickly as possible. Even if it did feel familiar. Without the music, it was eerier and lonelier than before.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be okay but yeah we should probably go let¡¯s take the back door into the far alley.¡± Sileao said


    ¡°You¡¯ve been here before?¡± Noe asked surprised.


    ¡°A couple times.¡± Sileao said eyes twinkling mysteriously


    They met on the balcony stairs going down toward the main foyer where they¡¯d come in and silently exited the back door into the alley behind the concert hall.


    ¡°I liked the voice we heard.¡± Sileao said after they¡¯d been walking for a while in the direction of the compound. ¡°Lets go to the music shop and see if we can find any way to listen to the symphonies?¡± Sileao said.


    ¡°Hey stop.¡± A voice called Sileao looked back.


    ¡°Its my brother, run.¡± Sileao said and grabbed Noe¡¯s hand. Hari could run fast but Sileao attempted to match Noe¡¯s pace pulling him along and over rubble so quickly sometimes Noe felt like his arm might be pulled from its socket.


    Noe was winded when they at last arrived at the compound door and Sileao punched in his wrist band code. Sileao and Noe looked around the entryway. No one was there at first and then Narvi came around the corner and stared at them.


    ¡°Nice look.¡± He said looking Sileao up and down. Then he looked at Noe as if it was the first time he¡¯d seen him.


    ¡°Your friend looks sick, Sil.¡± Narvi said and walked away Noe vomited the moment Narvi was gone and Sileao pulled the hoodie off his back with a rueful face.


    "Narvi has his own issues he''s not likely to tell on us." Sileao said and then looked at Noe''s shirt


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, here. Sileao said handing his hoodie to Noe to change into. Noe threw his own shirt in the first wall receptacle he could find. Sileao walked with him to Noe''s family home and signed the code to open the door and walked away toward his brother Sirus''s apartment on the security wing. Noe walked into the living room and the entire family turned.


    ¡°Where have you been?¡± Amberlene said angrily.


    ¡°Its alright he¡¯s here he¡¯s safe.¡± Krauffen said coming from the couch to Noe and hugging him to his chest. He whispered into his ear.


    ¡°Where were you?¡±


    ¡°What''s going on, what''s wrong. I ¡­ Just..¡± that was all Noe could get


    ¡°Honey, there¡¯s been an accident.¡± Aleuka said from the couch rubbing Lia¡¯s hair. Aristo sat in the corner locking his fingers and relocking them.


    ¡°I was with Sileao.¡± Noe said looking around.


    ¡°Well now we know he¡¯s alright I¡¯m going home.¡± Aristo said rising and walking out of the family apartment.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Noe repeated. His voice sounded small in his own ears.


    ¡°Mono rail explosion blew into the holo offices of the compound. Several of the folks operating the holos are dead along with council member Zoran who was visiting the Simlab. Aristo went to look for you but you weren¡¯t there. If you weren¡¯t at school or work this afternoon where were you and Sileao?¡± Alueka asked her voice trembling with fear.


    ¡°Noe, the Humans did this.¡± Krauffen said-at least thats the official report right now. "There is going to backlash on the council. Getting through patrols is going to be much harder and there¡¯s going to be an investigation."


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to worry you Sileao¡­wanted.¡±


    ¡°If you can¡¯t tell me where you two were I am forbidding you to go anywhere with Sileao Silano until you can be truthful. Get some sleep.¡± Krauffen said rubbing his eyes. He looked older than Noe remembered the lines in his forehead stood out and it worried Noe in a way he couldn''t explain.


    ***


    That night Noe dreamed another dream while in his bed in the sector. He held a violin and it made the most awful noise when he tried to play. His teacher an old man looked over at him sadly.


    ¡°Are you sure your practicing?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He cried exasperatedly


    ¡°You know what I think.¡± the man said sadly. ¡°I think you¡¯re not trying.¡±


    ¡°But I am Noe protested.¡± Then the scene changed and he heard his voice shouting.


    ¡°I hate violin lessons.¡± Then there were figures without faces behind him and he was again smashing the instrument. This time he smashed the delicate wood of the violin against a very large oak tree only it looked much different from the one in the old grave yard. Still Noe knew somehow that that is what it was. The splinters of the violin flew up and pierced his chest and shattered everything around him. He woke with a start, shoving the covers from his body. He shook as he saw himself as he had been in the dream with the shard of the violin poking threw his chest as the life blood gushed from his heart and out of his body. He screamed and then felt his chest and realized nothing was there. His eyes focused he was in his own bed in the bunk he shared with Kor. He was awake and he was fine. He was not bleeding. Then he heard it sirens in the hall and the alert over the speakers.


    "Shelter in place. Everyone remain inside repeat remain inside."