Live or Die Trilogy Read online

  There were no more traces of St. John's Gate, the Basilica or the Appian Way. Three years had only been enough to remove the rubble.

  People deprived of their vehicles were forced to travel on foot or use the public transportation systems, which were much more numerous now than in the pre-Taahrian era. In any case, economic well-being was coming back into fashion, or at least being publicized by the media, to the delight of new car manufacturers who, for the second time in human history, were having to motorize the majority of humanity.

  The faces of the people were conflicting. Two categories seemed to prevail: on the one hand, those who had full confidence in a recovered world, full of innovations; on the other, those sad people who had lost all, or almost all, of their loved ones, and who perpetually asked themselves if it wouldn't have been better to die with them.

  Along Via Labicana, the situation was better. If it hadn't been for a series of ultramodern buildings, which was annoyingly out of tune with the architecture of the place, no one would've suspected that it had been bombed by aliens. As a whole, the urban fabric of the city could be defined as being in metastasis: Rome looked like a huge neighborhood in some modern megalopolis, built with varying architectural elements like a museum.

  Taahrians... no sense of aesthetics, thought Sirio.

  Proceeding towards the Colosseum, and just before arriving in front of the majestic amphitheater, he received another text message from Tylor:

  I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, but you left so quickly. Why don't you come back to Australia? There's a place for you here.

  It wasn't difficult for Sirio to understand how foolish it would be to continue to walk through the labyrinth of an unrecognizable Rome.

  He'd go crazy soon.

  Okay, my friend!

  Three days later, Sirio Bastiani boarded a Boeing.

  He made three stops while crossing the skies of Europe and Asia; and, after thirty hours of flying, arrived in Canberra.

  “But your lease... you still owe me five months' rent!” protested the landlord of the basement apartment.

  “I'm going to Australia. Sue me!”

  And a single message to Tylor.

  I'm on my way!

  3

  It didn't happen suddenly.

  At first, it was a vague perception, then a more definite sensation and finally a disquieting certainty: he wasn't part of their race, at least not any more.

  In the past, he had always been sure of the clear distinction between his fellow Taahrians and the C6 units. But now, against all odds and logic, they didn't seem all that different. Inside the ship, each member of the crew appeared to be united by a common way of thinking. But it was a far cry from being a collective consciousness: their reasoning gave the impression of being guided by the same electronic brain. The only true sharing was offered by the possibility of one probing the other, allowing oneself to be discovered by means of their neural chips. But Eldgh wasn't so sure of that now: even sensory sharing seemed like an illusion; and, on reflection, it was something that he hadn't experienced since his return to the Betelgeuse.

  There was also another disturbing fact: the distinction between him and the rest of the crew didn't just relate to decision-making, but to emotions. The rest were always calm, while he was anything but, even though he didn't know why. And that suggested to him that his memory, and indeed his entire being, had been unflappable until shortly before he had left the Earth. Obviously, the Taahrians had emotions, but he could've sworn that the feelings of fear and anxiety that continually gripped him were something completely unknown. Moreover, his memory processes had become anything but impeccable. He was sure that the chip was damaged. And, in the same moment that he realized it, he became afraid to reveal this to his companions, as if it was something inappropriate, an unbearable inaccuracy. So he ultimately decided not to tell anyone about it. Luckily, he wasn't one who was given to sensory sharing, so no one would notice the unwillingness to impart his thoughts. The real problem would present itself when his memory betrayed him in front of the others. Therefore, from that point on, he would have to avoid being involved in situations that required very specific names, such as, for example, the components of a stellar propulsion system or the name of a marine guard that he had never met. He certainly wouldn't be able to avoid these scenarios forever; but, if he was careful, he could postpone them as long as possible. Fortunately for him, because otherwise the game would've been over, his chip still possessed the ability to communicate by the power of thought.

  With the Commander on the bridge and each individual in his proper place, the First Officer's duties weren't very challenging, especially during a hyperspace jump.

  After the jump, Eldgh took three turbo-lifts, crossed twenty-two decks, then went up and down four flights of stairs before reaching a hidden, long-forgotten section of the infirmary. As soon as the door closed behind him, he felt a sense of liberation. Every glance he had exchanged with a companion, whether civil or not, and every encounter with an android or a drone, had made his heart beat twice as fast. He felt like a spy who had infiltrated the military, and not like a First Officer; all because of his desire to save the human. It made no sense. It was illogical. Even stupid. And yet he couldn't stop himself. No. He remembered how he was and what he had thought before undergoing the transformation. They would never have understood. He was aware of the complete absence of any type of justification that would explain Namiko's presence.

  Perhaps, if he could go back, he would leave her to her fate. But the decision had already been made. And failing to take care of her would've been cruel, a thing that only cowards do. And that he was not. Although not a doctor, he could certainly read the interface of a biomedical machine.

  That sophisticated device, though intended for the Taahrians' physiology, had been able to heal his companion. Eldgh knew that the creators of the Alpha Orionis had tried to design machines that could examine and ultimately heal alien physiologies. Of course, probing an organism was something very different from restoring its health, especially if it was close to death. But the machine had been successful. After all, humans, although different in many respects, had a brain, arteries and veins like his people did.

  Eldgh sensed that the Terrestrial would soon wake up; and from that moment, he was sure that his problems would multiply.

  4

  “Haven't flights gotten faster?” was the first thing that Sirio said to Tylor.

  “A cheap flight?”

  “Yeah.”

  “If you'd had a little patience, I would've organized a more comfortable trip for you.”

  “It was like a bolt out of the blue. I suddenly realized that I no longer wanted to stay in an unfamiliar Rome.”

  “Not to brag, but if it wasn't for messages from good old Tylor, you'd still be rotting in that damned basement.”

  Sirio looked at him then embraced him.

  “Hey, my friend!” Tylor exclaimed, not quite prepared to be overwhelmed by a wave of affection.

  “You're embarrassing me. Everyone is looking at us.”

  Upon hearing that, Sirio let go of him.

  “I'm kidding, come here!” Tylor urged, grabbing him again. “I'm happy to see you again too. Come on, let's put your luggage in the car and get out of here.”

  “That's a really nice car.”

  The fire engine red Ford that they got into wasn't a vehicle you could fail to notice.

  “So, going back home didn't work out for you?” Tylor asked as soon as they were on their way.

  “My home was in Osaka.”

  First screw up, the Australian thought, cursing himself for causing terrible memories to resurface.

  “The city is organized, it's coming back to life, perhaps even functioning better than before, but... it never regained its uniqueness. Too much art has been lost. No one could ever bring the work of Caravaggio or Michelangelo back to life. You know what I mean?”

  “It's like a beautiful woman who
's irreparably scarred.”

  “Yeah. And you don't see the scar in what's been lost, but in those new buildings that clash with Rome's architecture. Or at least what's left of it.”

  “Remember that redhead?” Tylor asked, to change the topic and leave the sad memories for another day.

  “Of course! Don't tell me that...”

  “That's my boy! I didn't just try, I...”

  “You did it?”

  Tylor's deadpan face was more eloquent that screaming “yes” at the top of his lungs.

  “You old mole, and I thought that...”

  “Your friend is very resourceful. Remember that.”

  Fortunately for Sirio, the red Ford didn't head toward the solar power plant, a place which bored him and would inevitably bring up memories of Namiko.

  “Where are we going?”

  “Be patient for a minute and you'll find out.”

  After less than a mile, the landscape, much greener than Sirio would've expected, gave way to a checkerboard of colored cottages, with large yards, garages and modern style porches.

  After steering through the maze of houses for a while, Tylor stopped the car in front of a cottage that was slightly farther away from the others: ruby red and cream colored, with laminated oak window frames and doors. It looked too pretty to be real.

  “My humble abode,” Tylor said.

  “Congratulations. It looks like a party favor from a wedding.”

  “That's why I chose it.”

  “And is there confetti inside?”

  “Hahaha! Perhaps, my friend... perhaps.” Tylor was glad to see Sirio finally smile.

  The interior of the home had high quality wood and marble fixtures; the walls were painted in soothing colors and it was furnished in perfect English colonial style.

  “It's not very big, but I'm comfortable here.”

  “An enormous living room, a huge kitchen, a pair of nice bedrooms and two baths... You know, I remember your Australia as being more barren.”

  “You're right! The last time, we were more than a thousand miles northwest of here!”

  “I didn't think of that.”

  “It's the same distance from here as that between Rome and the arid sands of Africa, if you think about it. This is really a great place: lakes, nature preserves, forests and New Canberra!”

  Hearing the name, Sirio winced. After the death of his parents and the destruction of the city, the topic of Canberra had become taboo for Tylor. Probably, the Italian thought, he had accepted the loss of his family the moment his friend had decided to return to his country. Now, it had been years; perhaps one day, he too would be able to break free from the chains that bound him to Namiko.

  “We'll go there tomorrow,” the Australian proceeded enthusiastically. “Right after I get Betty from the airport”.

  “Betty?”

  “The redhead!”

  “Oh.”

  “Did you sleep well?”

  “Better than in the basement.”

  “I'll take that as a compliment.”

  After chatting for a while and the usual “Tylor style” meal of hamburgers, Sirio fell into a restful sleep.

  Upon reawakening, and after having a refreshing shower and a cup of coffee, Tylor and Sirio headed off towards New Canberra International Airport.

  The plane came in on time.

  Despite having only gotten a brief glimpse of her a few weeks before, Sirio easily recognized Betty in the crowd of arrivals: a slender woman with bright red hair, wearing a cream-colored dress and walking like a model. One would've noticed her miles away.

  “Hi. You must be the famous Sirio,” Betty began, after giving Tylor a hug.

  “I'm famous? I didn't know!”

  The woman wanted to remind him that he was one of the six heroes who had been on board the Alpha Orionis, but she was afraid that it might bring back memories of Namiko, and Tylor had been clear: “My friend is in a really bad way. We need to distract him from his pain.”

  “Well, Tylor is always talking about you,” she limited herself to saying.

  “None of what he said is true, I swear!” the Italian replied jokingly.

  “What do you mean? He only tells me good things, you know?”

  “Oh. Well, in that case, it's all true. In any event, I'm glad to meet you.”

  “The pleasure's mine.”

  “Okay kids, if you've finished with the introductions, we can go to New Canberra for a big breakfast.”

  “But we just ate!” Sirio had never been able to understand his friend's bottomless stomach.

  “I don't know what you're used to, but for me, a cup of coffee isn't breakfast.”

  “My big eater!” Betty said, affectionately, putting her hand on Tylor's abundant middle.

  “I could've used a full three weeks of vacation!” the woman said.

  “Yeah, I think twenty odd days would be enough to put away your things.”

  “But darling, it's only four suitcases.”

  Sirio couldn't stop himself from laughing.

  “What are you laughing about, back there!” Betty asked, turning around to face the back seat. “You're men. You can't understand.”

  “Lucky for us!” Tylor commented.

  “My looove!”

  Sirio thought that the Australian and his new flame were really putting him in a good mood. They were a fun couple, always smiling.

  New Canberra, in just three years of frenetic construction, had already reached the size of its former self. And the style wasn't all that different from what Tylor remembered: a modern urban area, with business offices near its center and a myriad of tree-lined streets between single-family homes and cottages.

  “Wow, it looks like the greenest and most tranquil city on the world!” Sirio said.

  “It is!” his friend confirmed.

  Going towards midtown, they saw five skyscrapers in front of them, arranged in a circle.

  The red Ford ended its journey near those buildings. Australian and United Nations flags waved all around them.

  “Those who participated in the reconstruction assure me that the five skyscrapers went up all by themselves, with that self-assembling machinery. It only took a month. Putting them up in midtown...” Tylor explained.

  “Fascinating. But what did we come here to do? Don't tell me that you decided to get into politics?”

  “Quite the contrary!”

  The Australian took several big strides, going toward something he seemed to know well.

  “Where are we going, my love? You could've told me that we'd be running around. I wouldn't have worn heels!”

  Sirio couldn't refrain from laughing this time either; but, unlike before, no one noticed. After having stifled himself, the two caught up to Tylor in front of a huge bakery.

  “Ohhh! Now I get it!” Sirio exclaimed.

  “Well, come on in!” his friend urged. “I'm buying.”

  5

  Concerns about Namiko vanished in a matter of hours. Inside the Betelgeuse, the Commander and everyone else was in a bizarre rush, as they began to feel that it was time to return to cryosleep. At that point, Eldgh no longer had any doubts. A command in their neural chips suddenly kicked in and controlled every Taahrian's will, like a pre-set function in an operating system. But, for some reason, his mind was no longer subject to that system. Maybe it was a side-effect of the virus they contracted near the artificial planetoid. Software engineers and biologists would have to investigate the failure in their minds; but it was evident that this was a possibility. They were all slaves to a command of which they were not only ignorant, but could never remove. No one would've listened to a single individual, albeit a First Officer. If he had said something, the only one to be examined would be him. They would probably resolve the problems in his processor; and, in an instant, the only Taahrian with free will would also become an oblivious slave. For these reasons, he would never end up inside of a cryogenic cell. His mission would be to understand w
ho or what had reduced the entire Taahrian civilization to that state. He had to avoid involving the races of other worlds at all costs. They had already done enough damage to Blue C. Furthermore, without him, what would Namiko do when she awakened? She would die of starvation or suffocate in an unsuitable atmosphere. In addition, carefully observing the interstellar navigation data made his eyes feel like they were moving through space at a speed ten times greater than that described in the stellar propulsion manual. It was an incredible fact. Was it possible that the Commander and the engineers didn't know about it? It was actually more likely that no one cared about navigation issues. No one inside that ship had anything in their heads except an obsession with “freezing” themselves.

  In the huge cryogenic chamber, tens of thousands of Taahrians were already in their cells.

  “Well, gentlemen, we're the only ones left,” said Yijesh to the highest ranking officers. “Pursuant to protocol, the Commander will be the last to enter his cell. Please, after you.”

  Eldgh had pondered how to get out of that situation for hours, and thought he had finally found a solution.

  6

  “Beautiful and vivacious,” Sirio noted.

  “And she's also very smart. Not counting the times that she plays the fool. She knows that I think it’s funny, so she doesn't hesitate to play the airhead when we're off the clock,” Tylor explained.

  “And you like it when she says Oh my God, these heels are ruined, and things like that?”

  “I adore her. In a few minutes, she'll get out of the shower and start talking about supersymmetry, like it's something epicurean.”

  “Well, I hope you'll warn me first.”