Live or Die Trilogy Read online

  None of this made any sense.

  She had been with the love of her life, just outside of the huge Australian solar power station. What the hell was she doing on the Alpha Orionis? This was now the second time in her life that she had awoken on board an alien spacecraft, but this time, there were several differences: she was completely aware of being on the Alpha Orionis; and she wasn't a government agent involved in some war of the worlds which had ended long ago. Unless the Taahrians had lied about everything; but, even if that was the case, she couldn't understand why they would need to kidnap her and bring her on board.

  Suddenly, her thoughts were disturbed by a small spherical drone floating in midair. The artificial being scanned her, emitting a yellow beam. She didn't care for that at all, and it wasn't because of the faint tickle, but due to the unpleasant memories it brought back.

  Am I alone or are Sirio and the others here too?

  When the drone had finished, she again tried to pull herself up, but an invisible force held her back. Looking carefully, Namiko could see that her body free was from any physical restraints: there were no strings, straps, chains, or anything which could've impeded her movement. Then she remembered the damned Taahrian force fields.

  Nice of them to keep me confined to this bed.

  She almost became hysterical. Being held like that, without knowing why, was unacceptable. She thought about screaming, but decided against the idea.

  It wouldn't help anything. It might even attract the wrong kind of attention from the Taahrians.

  Her first experience on board the Betelgeuse, which she would never forget, had taught her that she should just wait. If they had brought her there, there must be a valid reason. They most certainly wouldn't let her spend the rest of her life on that cot, suspended in mid-air. Especially since now, as opposed to three years ago, the Taahrians were awake and aptly performing their respective tasks.

  No one could blame Namiko for being perplexed. How could she ever have suspected that, on that entire ship, there were only two individuals awake, Eldgh and his Commander?

  No, there was no way.

  Then the door to her room suddenly opened, as it had years before in the holographic room.

  Only an instant now kept her from the truth, or their latest deception.

  10

  The experience that they had acquired from twenty one worlds, the assimilation of twelve thousand three hundred forty two languages and dialects, the universal translators' quantum technology and Alpha Orionis' dependability allowed the Ikalians to express themselves better than the most celebrated poets of Earth. However, they had to pretend otherwise, at least the first few times. They were supposed to appear to be the Taahrians' enemies: liberators who, until then, had never had anything to do with the Earth. Then, through their philanthropic actions, a high quality dialectic and possibly some mental conditioning, they would succeed in expanding their empire, once again, in a heartbeat. In contrast to the initial Taahrian contact, that with the Ikalians would be more immediate, without giving rise to speculation in the minds of the humans. They would appear in the sky of Blue C with the Sjunish: a huge colonizing ship, second in size only to the Alpha Orionis.

  They appeared in the Earth's sky at 11.03 Greenwich Mean Time.

  At 15.28, anyone able to receive radio waves heard the following message:

  Greetings, people of Earth,

  We come from Ikali, a planet orbiting an orange dwarf, one hundred light years away from Earth.

  Fascinated by the mysteries of the Universe and hungering for culture and wisdom, we have wandered through space for thousands of years in search of intelligent life, to catalog and study it, solely for educational and scientific purposes.

  Cultural exchange is our only, but quite precious, currency to repay you for your trouble: we are ready to share our historical memories, to learn about yours, and to compare our respective medical discoveries, science and technology, so that both our peoples will emerge enriched.

  We will send specifications for our first, exciting and highly anticipated, meeting soon.

  Harmony and abundance.

  A brief, clever message to announce their arrival. The Ikalians knew that duping the humans wouldn't be as easy as fooling many of the other civilizations they had conquered. This was why they had chosen to make optimal use of their words.

  They had to first test the water and understand the humans' way of thinking: they were a complex species which had shown itself to be suspicious, irrational, hysterical and reckless. The Korean nuclear launch incident had demonstrated this unequivocally. But that fact had greatly pleased the Ikalians as it had considerably hastened the stages of conquest. On other planets, they had had to take the initiative and do some imaginative work to create the inevitable clashes that would induce devastation.

  In most of the twenty one worlds previously conquered, technical development and culture weren't at a stage remotely comparable to that of humans. Most of them had beings which could barely sail the seas on their own. They thought their world was supported by the arms of giants, and that eclipses occurred at a whim of the gods. With people like that, they didn't need sophisticated strategies, or press and radio stories about supernovas. With the others, it had been enough to land a couple of shuttles and show some garden-variety technology. They'd be instantly promoted to Omnipotent Beings. Assuming the role of God, which for the emperor and his subordinates became a sustainable commitment, was much more attractive than going to those systems that reproduced magical alternate realities in holosuites.

  But then there were the more evolved species, who understood the strength of chemical bonds and the fact that the universe's expansion rate was constantly accelerating.

  Only one world had proved itself capable of bending space and being able to reach the nearest stars. That of the Prrism'aarth. Not a suggestible people, they had required a major confrontation. The locals had fought with honor, using weapons that would've been the envy of half the galaxy: atomic tanks, hypersonic falcons with vertical takeoff, blaster cannons, laser guns, diamond smart bullets and omniscient satellites. But nothing was successful against impenetrable force fields, sonic bombs, missiles and negative mass or antimatter generators capable of destroying any object within their range. Last, but not least, there was the possibility of mental conditioning, which, although not as ideal as having a neural chip inserted, could still influence the decisions of individuals.

  Watching the Prrism'aarth being crushed like insects filled the emperor with joy, like a child who was winning his war by trampling on firefly-ants.

  It had been over three thousand Earth years since those days, and several imperial dynasties had come and gone. None of them had resorted to the use of such weapons. Some of these had lived in times when explorers hadn't found any star systems to conquer.

  There were those who wondered if a civilization that could be their equal, if not more advanced, even existed. In that case, they would have to go around it and study it from a distance, since this could undermine the empire.

  Fortunately, explorers had changed the course of the Alpha Orionis towards Blue C, a world that had some nice surprises in store. The new emperor had had to use all of his talents and intellect, to try to manipulate the humans. He didn't wish to destroy them, but to insert himself into their society like a virus, attacking it from the inside and definitively dominating it. No one had been interested in using antimatter missiles for many centuries; but, if it became necessary, the emperor and his generals wouldn't hesitate to crush all of humanity.

  11

  Someone had entered the room, but, being held in a fixed position, Namiko couldn't see well enough to ascertain who it was.

  “Who's there?” she asked, more angry than afraid.

  The other was out of breath. This was unusual, to the point of being absurd. In three years, she had never seen a Taahrian breathe with difficulty. And it certainly wasn't a characteristic of the artificial beings. Could it
be a Terrestrial? A human who had escaped the aliens' clutches?

  “Who's there?” she insisted.

  “Eldgh,” the other replied.

  He was telling the truth. That was his voice.

  “What does all this mean?”

  “Please, not now.”

  “What do you mean by that? I'm stuck up here and I demand...” But her protest died mid-sentence. As he came into her field of vision, the Taahrian's swollen face surprised her. “What happened to you?” she exclaimed in astonishment, almost apprehensively.

  “Dear Namiko, you must try to stay calm now and everything will be fine. I'm on your side. You can't remember, but, working with your beloved Sirio, I saved your life.”

  “How is he?” she asked worriedly, fearing that some tragedy had befallen him.

  “He's fine. But I beg you to remain quiet. We have to defend ourselves from a Taahrian who presents a serious danger.”

  “Where are we?”

  “On board the Alpha Orionis: you, me and an enemy. If you're able, I need you to help me.”

  “But I... This story is all so crazy that...”

  “I beg you! I'll explain everything later. Can I count on you?”

  “Okay! After all that I've seen these past few years, it couldn't get any worse.”

  “I'll deactivate the force field now. There.”

  As soon as Eldgh pressed a button on a small console, Namiko felt free and light. Nevertheless, when she sat up too quickly, her head began to spin and she felt dangerously dizzy.

  “Wait,” said the Taahrian, helping her up. “You've been in a coma. It’s normal to have difficulty moving at first.”

  “In a coma?”

  “Speak softly please,” Eldgh urged in a barely audible whisper. “I can hear him coming.”

  “I really don't hear...”

  “Our hearing is a little more sensitive than yours. You still haven't realized that? Take this weapon and get in the corner, over by the door. As soon as the enemy enters, shoot him!”

  “I don't want to kill anyone.”

  “It'll only stun him, which is more than sufficient. Here, give me your hand. Come this way; just another two steps. That's perfect. Can you stand on your own?”

  “Yes,” she answered, staggering a little.

  After a few moments, Namiko heard someone walking, coming ever closer. Then she heard someone yelling in Taahrian, an incomprehensible language of which she had learned only a handful of words. For Eldgh, however, it was anything but unintelligible.

  “You damned nut job! Your neural circuits must be fused. Give yourself up! I have two drenjaks with me and an insulated suit. The impulses from your miserable weapon won't do anything to me. Don't make me hurt you.”

  Eldgh remained silent, so as not to give his adversary a point of reference.

  “Dammit, Eldgh! Your Commander is giving you an order. Give up. I know you're in there. I can isolate you in that room and reprogram the drones to come and get you.”

  “Okay, Commander. I now understand that there's a defect in my chip. I'm sick. I give up!”

  Yijesh was astounded to hear those words. Could it be a trick? Not likely. He was wearing a polymer-insulated suit which would protect him. After the scuffle, the First Officer had fled in the direction of the small infirmary. He hadn't had the time nor the opportunity to find something that could protect him from a drenjak's voltage. The Commander would be able to assess any possible deception and react.

  “No tricks, Eldgh! Or I'll have to shoot!”

  The First Officer moved on tiptoe towards Namiko. “Here,” he murmured, handing her a metal rod. “It's a laser scalpel. Put the gun down; it won't help. I set this at maximum power. It uses a different frequency. I think it'll pierce the protective suit.”

  Namiko nodded her head in agreement.

  “I have my hands up!” Eldgh yelled in Taahrian. “I'm not kidding around. I beg you to hurry. I fear that my sense of reason is diminishing.”

  Yijesh didn't need to be told twice. He carefully crossed the threshold of the automatic door. As soon as the two sides had vanished into their respective slots, he saw his First Officer in front of him, completely helpless.

  “I'm sick, I'm suffering!” Eldgh cried. “Help me, I beg you!”

  Laments and entreaties granted the First Officer his wish of drawing the other's attention towards him. Yijesh came closer cautiously, ignoring anything that might be behind him. After all, they were the only Taahrians who were awake on that huge spaceship surrounded by cosmic void. Why would he need to watch his back?

  Simple, the First Officer thought. Because of a human named Namiko, who, in the space of two heartbeats, would stab him in the back.

  When the Commander noticed movement, he spun around, and the laser beam scalpel effortlessly sliced into his guts. Yijesh looked at his assassin, stunned. A Terrestrial, who was not only on board, but killing him? Unheard of! was his last thought.

  “Turn that thing off!” Eldgh yelled.

  The woman saw her companion squat on the ground. The First Officer fumbled with the Commander's suit; and, once he had uncovered his chest, tried to find a heartbeat.

  Silence.

  “He's dead,” Eldgh announced brusquely.

  12

  “More problems with the neural processors?” asked the director of the Ikalian Expansion Command Center – Communication and Programming Section.

  “Xnoris has resolved Eldgh's malfunction, or at least it seems that way,” responded the technician on duty.

  “Seems?”

  “It's one thing to have the chip in your hand, and another to reprogram it via subspace waves from a hundred light years away.”

  “We've used those things to conquer worlds for thousands of years. It's inconceivable that we can't be certain about the Alpha Orionis.”

  “With all due respect sir, it's been thousands of years in which we've proceeded with a zero point zero one per cent margin of error.”

  “Which is tantamount to saying that there shouldn't be any problems.”

  “Well, at a practical level, you're correct; but mathematics suggests otherwise.”

  “Are you trying to start a debate?”

  “Absolutely not, sir.”

  “Well, it sounded like it.”

  “I apologize if I gave you that impression. My concern is only with providing accurate data.”

  “Stop being a sycophant!”

  “But I...”

  “Shut up! Sometimes it's best to let the C6 units handle things,” the director said, exasperated. “As for the rest, it appears that the ship is proceeding towards the next star system without issue. But perhaps I should have a droid replace that too?”

  “Everything is under control, sir.”

  The technician lied shamelessly. The director was too demanding, always looking for others' mistakes, happy to put people in a difficult situation, and organizing elaborate scenarios to ruin the lives of his subordinates. The technician didn't understand quite why, out of all the communications technicians, the director concentrated solely on him. He had been under the microscope ever since the supervisor, Xnoris, had left for Blue C. So he decided that the unexplained delay in the shutdown of Yijesh's chip wasn't of enough concern to disturb the director. The hibernation protocol called for the Commander to enter his cell last. It was taking longer than usual for some reason; but, at least at this point, it wasn't considered serious. In fact, as the Commander was living, sentient being, as opposed to an android, he could decide for himself whether to delay certain actions, even though he'd be directly influenced by the neural processor. Eventually the signal went off. There was no sign of any chip on board the ship; that was enough.

  “Have the computational editors finished the draft for the new information being included in the Taahrians' memories?” the director asked another technician.

  “The written codices will be complete in a few days. Luckily, there's no hurry. We can't access the
memories of neural processors in the early stages of suspended animation. In addition, the ship won't be orbiting the new planet for another eight months.”

  “Very good. You seem to be as competent as Xnoris.”

  “Thank you, director.”

  “That supervisor always has an excuse to go visit some other planet.”

  “He's an excellent addition. I'm sure that they'll need a good technician like him on Blue C.”

  “No one is indispensable when it comes to dealing with the savages on other worlds.”

  “I've watched a lot of movies about the Terrestrials, and I can tell you that they're more complex than they appear.”

  “That may be, but if we didn't have problems with the Prrism'aarth, who are ten thousand years ahead of the humans, I don't see what we need to worry about on Blue C.”

  “My colleagues in other sections argue that the Terrestrials are inconsistent, unpredictable; and that some individuals possess considerable intellectual gifts. I do not trust them. And, contrary to the emperor and his generals, I believe that we should immediately proceed with widespread mind control. But who am I to tell the generals what to do?”

  “You're no one!”

  “That's right, sir.”

  “Exactly! In any case,” the director proceeded with a superior air, “these worlds can be conquered by using our AI's alone.”

  “The emperor considers them to be intellectually deficient. And one certainly can't disagree with the emperor.”

  “Of course not! Go back to work.”

  “Yes, director.”

  13

  The first contact between the humans and Ikalians on Blue C took place contemporaneously in the seventy two largest cities on the planet. Small, octahedral shuttles took off from the mother ship, arced and shining. As they landed on the five continents, the alien delegates met with Terrestrials' representatives. Television stations around the world transmitted the event live; the new web almost crashed several times over with the amount of data being exchanged. Looking at the aliens, they appeared to be children of some union between humans and Taahrians: their stature was similar to that of the Terrestrials; they had big eyes like the Taahrians, but not as slanted, with lighter colored skin and form-fitting garments. A microsurgical implant, installed at the top of their double trachea, allowed them to breathe without the aid of masks.