Live or Die Trilogy Read online

  “Don't worry, she's adaptable. She knew from the start that you don't care about supersymmetric theory. Less still about the results of the Large Hadron Collider, which have confirmed predictions of the standard model of particle physics, but by undermining the basics of that same supersymmetry.”

  Sirio looked at him wide-eyed.

  “The Large Hadron Collider! The CERN particle accelerator, right? The one in Geneva!”

  His friend was staring at him as if he had started speaking Aramaic.

  “Never mind!” Tylor finally said.

  “I thought that having a good working knowledge of English would be enough to live over here. Guess I was mistaken. Next time, I'll spend a couple of years in a physics faculty first.”

  “No, I'm sorry. You're right. I spend entirely too much time with people who deal with that stuff at work. I just take it for granted. In any case, I can safely spend time talking to Betty about those things.”

  “How romantic!”

  “Come on, you idiot. Shut up! You know what I mean.”

  “I was joking. I actually want to compliment you. She's really a great find.”

  “The incredible thing is that we've been together less than a month and we understand each other like a couple that's been seeing each other for years.”

  “You're very lucky, my friend. Do you work together at the head office?”

  “In different departments.”

  “I'd be curious to see how you courted her.”

  “It wasn't a difficult approach. I was just polite. I think that having a familiar face played an important role too. She already knew who I was and what I had done. She calls me a hero every so often. But in reality, all six of us...” Tylor's flood of words stopped suddenly. He had preached to Betty for days about avoiding topics that might remind Sirio of Namiko; and in the end, he was the one who blew it.

  “Don't worry, it's okay to talk about it. I know you're trying to be sensitive to my situation... I can't act like nothing happened. Quite the contrary. It'll do me good to talk about it with the only friend that I have.”

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “For letting me know how much our friendship means to you.”

  “How could I not? And if there's anyone here who should be thanking the other, it's me.”

  The sun had already set and, though a little less bright, the Betelgeuse supernova could still be seen in the sky.

  “Now I understand!” Tylor exclaimed.

  “What?”

  “Why you went to live in a basement.”

  “So that I wouldn't see it, my friend.”

  “Yeah. It shines up there every night.”

  “Its light reminds me of Namiko's radiance, of her character on the Alpha Orionis spaceship.”

  The two looked at each other long and hard, a look between friends, reticent yet supportive and full of meaning.

  “In a couple of weeks, Betty and I will go back to the head office. We'd like for you to stay, if you're okay with that,” Tylor said, ending the long silence.

  “At your house? By myself?” asked a stunned Sirio, convinced that he had misunderstood the other's words.

  “It's a good deal for both of us. You can make sure that nothing happens to my house; and in return, you can take advantage of the fresh air and all the comforts you could want.”

  “No... I don't know if I could accept, I...”

  “Yes, you can.”

  “Damn, Tylor, you're embarrassing me.”

  “Don't be silly!”

  “But I...”

  “You can decline the offer if you want. You're certainly not obliged to accept.”

  Sirio looked at him for a moment, then replied: “Thanks, buddy.”

  “So we're good! It's the right choice, you know? There might even be a job, just waiting for you in the city.”

  Tylor saw that the Italian was speechless, and not getting a reply, continued: “Maybe you have enough money to get by for a year without doing anything. I don't know and I don’t want to know. But I think that you need to work and become a part of society again: to meet people and get back to living. You think that besides leaving you in my home, I'm going to take care of you too?” he said jokingly.

  “My God, Tylor. I don't know what to say... I'm speechless.”

  “So don't say anything and just enjoy it.”

  “If you weren't a guy, I'd marry you!”

  “Of all the things you could've said, that's what you came up with? Like I told you before: don't say anything, it's better.”

  Sirio smiled, amused, then asked: “What kind of work did you find me?”

  “Bureaucratic, administrative stuff; accounting or something like that, with a major company.”

  “Even though they don't know me? How'd you do that?”

  “More than one person owes me a favor. These last few years have been complicated. Those who've been helped tend to remember. The interview is practically a done deal. It's enough that you come off as educated and willing to work.”

  Sirio thought about it.

  “Listen, I know it's not the type of job that you normally do,” Tylor tried to convince him. “But it's the one that that's available right now. And even though there's no gun to your head, maybe it's time to stop going around with it in a holster, getting involved with subversive groups or putting yourself in the middle of all the rubble that still needs to be removed. You should go work in the five skyscrapers area, where we were today. It’s a healthy place for you, well-ordered with happy people. It would be your second big deal in five minutes.”

  “You've made me an offer I can't refuse.”

  “Great!” Tylor exclaimed, pleased with himself.

  Then, practically weightless and invisible, Betty came out of nowhere, in a pink bathrobe and white slippers, with a towel on her head. “Boys,” she said, “I can make you some dinner if you'd like.”

  “We'd love it,” Tylor quickly replied.

  “But no hamburgers, right?” Sirio would've preferred to face the Taahrians again, rather than be subjected to that unsavory diet for another three weeks.

  “No, no hamburgers,” Betty replied, amused.

  7

  Every single Taahrian present on the Alpha Orionis, with the exception of the Commander, Eldgh and one other officer was in a state of unconsciousness, which soon, by means of five successive phases, would become textbook suspended animation.

  Yijesh didn't understand his First Officer's attitude lately.

  Eldgh could feel the Commander's penetrating gaze. It took him a moment to realize what was happening: Yijesh was communicating with him telepathically; but his chip was definitively broken, because not a single thought had reached his mind. And the Commander was not the type to just remain standing there, speechless and staring.

  “Why don't you answer?” Yijesh demanded officiously.

  “I think I'm coming down with something,” Eldgh responded.

  “Well, if that's it, Officer Wretjh and I will accompany you to the infirmary. It wouldn't be wise to continue with cryogenic freezing when one is ill, as you appear to be.”

  “With all due respect, sir,” the First Officer replied, hoping to deter the Commander from his goal. “None of us possesses advanced medical knowledge.”

  “I'm sure that the medical assistance androids will be more than adequate.”

  “All right, let's go!” Wretjh ordered, purposefully striding towards Eldgh.

  “No! We're not going anywhere!” the First Officer exclaimed, pulling a concealed drenjak1 from under his uniform, which stopped Wretjh in his tracks.

  “What do you think you're doing? Is your brain burned out?” asked the Commander in a loud voice, not at all intimidated by Eldgh's attitude.

  “It doesn't really matter what I intend to do, since you won't understand. I can only assure you that it's best for all of us.”

  “If you want what's good for us, put down that weapon a
nd get into a cell!”

  “I'm sorry, but I can't do that.”

  “You know as well as I do that the central computer's sensors control every single drenjak.”

  “You're right, Commander, but the fact is that, even with a low-intensity pulse that won't damage the ship, my weapon can hit you with an electrical charge sufficient to make you pass out for ten minutes. At that point, before you even know it, you'll be as frozen as the blue fish of Taahr.”

  “Computer,” Yijesh suddenly shouted, “deact...” as an electrical impulse hit him square in the chest, making him fall to the ground like a sack of terrestrial potatoes.

  “But why?” Wretjh asked, horrified.

  “The Commander was giving the computer a vocal command that would've disabled my weapon.”

  “No, you lunatic! Why are you doing all of this? It doesn't make sense.”

  “What doesn't make sense is everyone's automaton-like behavior. In any event, never mind. You wouldn't understand. Now, put the Commander in his place, then go to your cell and don't ask questions. Please don't force me to use this!” said Eldgh, showing his weapon. “Although not fatal, it hurts a lot and will leave an ugly mark on your body.”

  “It does! But that's just more of your craziness.”

  Wretjh was more awkward than usual as he dragged the Commander away, like a fifty projyxion2 shuttle.

  “Officer! If you waste any more time, I'll unload the entire battery on him. After a thousand impulses, he won't just be stunned, but reduced to ashes.”

  Wretjh looked around, without finding the answer to his situation. He cursed, saying something unintelligible, and bitterly executed the First Officer's orders.

  “This is crazy, crazy...” was the last thing that echoed as he put himself into his cell.

  Eldgh came over and checked that the door was sealed.

  “Do you think I'm a fool?” said the First Officer, noting a crack between the door and the central area of the cell. Eldgh couldn't care less what the other was trying to do or say, and jumped on the hatch forcefully, sealing it firmly. When he had finished with the officer, Eldgh attempted to do the same with the Commander, but found it impossible.

  The door of Yijesh's cell was wide open. Out of the corner of his eye, Eldgh saw the Commander disappear through the exit of the cryogenic chamber.

  Dammit!

  8

  Friday evening. Three days, then Betty and Tylor would leave Sirio to his new life, with a cozy home to help him move forward. The job interview turned out to be quite pleasant. The Human Resources Manager had expressed his enthusiasm in having a man like Sirio Bastiani there: one of the heroes of two worlds.

  “If he managed to operate an alien spacecraft and keep those purple-skinned bastards at bay, imagine what he could do with a pile of paperwork.” The manager went on like that for a good half hour, until he had practically elevated the Alpha Orionis Six to demigods. At first, the Italian was anything but happy about the childish display and the man's lack of composure, but realizing that he would never see the man again, except by some vending machine during a coffee break, he inhaled a large dose of patience.

  “Well, my friend, you'll earn almost as much as I do. And my job involves climbing an enormous, seven hundred meter high, steel tube, encased in cement. You've got nothing to complain about,” said Tylor on the ride back.

  “You're right, but I don't want anything to do with that idiot from Human Resources, beyond taking his eighty thousand a year in Australian dollars... Although I would've liked at least a million!”

  “Come on, he praised you the entire time. You know as well as I do that there are those that hate us.”

  “I don't blame you. It's just that sometimes, one ends up developing a particular sensitivity to certain topics.”

  “What fools!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Simple. About the idiocy of not having accepted a monthly allowance when we had the chance.”

  “Speaking for myself,” Sirio said, “I was doing great in Osaka! So why would I have wanted to accept an amount like that? I've never felt like a hero or a disabled veteran. With all the victims, the people who were displaced or crippled, the orphans, and the city having been razed to the ground, making money off of an inhuman tragedy, without any particular need, would make me shudder.”

  “More or less the reasoning that led me to the same choice. I think that only Franz accepted.”

  “He needed the money.”

  “Putting together terrorist cells and building nuclear devices takes a lot of it.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Tylor tried to change the conversation to less serious topics after that, suggesting: “Hamburgers tonight?”

  “Luckily you're leaving Monday.”

  “Did you see? In the end, no hamburgers.”

  “Don't try taking the credit; that's only because of Betty.”

  “True, she's a good cook. Though I must emphasize that, with my recipes, you can't go wrong.”

  “One of your recipes?” Betty asked, in a joking tone with an astonished gaze.

  “Of course. I should've known.” Sirio cocked his head, smiling. “You know, for about a billionth of a second, you had me convinced.”

  “That we'd eat hamburgers?” asked the Australian.

  “No, that was a given. I mean that the recipe was yours. In any case, all kidding aside...”

  “We weren't kidding!” exclaimed Betty playfully.

  “You're a great cook and a wonderful woman!” Sirio declared. “After all, you decided to put up with this guy. With the stupid things that he and I say. But seriously, all joking aside, I want to let you know how great it's been to stay with you two. Going to Namadgi National Park, all the marvels of nature that you've shown me, the spacious Cockington Green Gardens and your kindness have made me feel that someone cares over these past few happy, carefree days. You're true friends. I will always be grateful to you.”

  “Thank you. We've had a wonderful time with you also,” Betty replied.

  “Oh please! It's the least we could do.” It was clear that Tylor was being sincere.

  “I hope I didn't get in the way.”

  “Don't be silly; you risk becoming too much like Tylor!” declared Betty.

  “It's odd!” the Australian exclaimed.

  “What is?” asked Sirio.

  “Cockington Green Gardens.”

  “Why do you say that? It's a beautiful, cheerful place.”

  “Yeah. Did you notice? I forgot to tell you that it's almost exactly as it was in the pre-Taahrian era.”

  “You mean that it didn't suffer damage?”

  “Yeah. Do you believe that? Seventy percent of it remained standing, even though, all around it, the entire city was razed to the ground.”

  “You know there's a similar place in Italy?”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, but it’s in miniature in Italy. As with Cockington Green Gardens, it's surrounded by reconstructed buildings. It's on the outskirts of Rimini, but I don't know what condition it's in.”

  “What do you guys think about some dessert?” Betty interrupted them at that point. She didn't feel like hearing their discussion of destroyed cities and catastrophes.

  “Is it chocolate?” Tylor asked.

  “Chocolate cake with cream filling,” Betty proudly specified. “I made it myself, while you two were wasting time in the yard.”

  “Then I'll take a nice big piece!” said Tylor, whose mouth was watering.

  “Two for me!” exclaimed Sirio.

  The two friends saw the woman head towards the kitchen. They had eaten their meal outside on the veranda. From there, they could see a slice of blue sky. It was incredibly serene. The crescent moon shone alongside the majestic Betelgeuse supernova, which though invisible in the daytime, continued to shine at night. Both friends became lost in the infinity of that astral show. Then, the Italian's attention shifted.

  “Hey,
Tylor!”

  “What is it?”

  “Look!” Sirio pointed to a specific section of the sky.

  “Well, I'll be damned!”

  A second later, Betty came out, carrying dessert. Noticing that the two were staring, and realizing why they looked so astonished, she lost her grip on the chocolate cream cake. It slipped, smashing to the ground. It was like what had happened to humanity, only three years before.

  9

  The world was spinning, in a way that she didn’t understand and found annoying. The blurred appearance of undefined objects gave her the feeling of being in some strange dream. Yet she could've sworn that it was real; and that, for some unknown reason, she was just being kept from it. Suddenly, she remembered that she had a body as well as a mind. The first area to regain a minimum of sensitivity was her hands. She tried to move her fingers and could feel something soft and pleasant under them, like a sheet over a comfortable mattress. She knew that she had to be on a bed, a stretcher or something like that. As soon as she regained feeling in the rest of her body, she tried to pull herself up to a sitting position, but wasn't successful. She wasn't sure if the failure was due to a lack of strength or if an unknown energy was keeping her in a certain position. All she knew was that something or someone was keeping her from moving.

  After what seemed like an infinite amount of time, her vision returned like a faithful friend. It didn't take long to realize that she was in a hospital room. Something serious must've happened, maybe a car accident. After looking around a little, and feeling as though she had made a huge effort, she closed her eyes. Her mind reworked the image she had just seen. And as soon as she had decided that life was absurd, she came up with the hypothesis that, by some cruel twist of fate, years later, she was back on board that damned ship. She was almost afraid to reopen the window of her own mind. She wanted to cry. However, having made the effort, she returned to looking around her environment. The distinct shapes in the room and Taahrian objects confirmed her worst suspicions.

  For the first time in weeks, Namiko spoke. “It's not possible,” she whispered slowly, articulating every syllable distinctly, like a magic formula that she could repeat to get herself out of that prison.