The Outer Worlds: Book One of the Epherian Chronicles (15 page)

Aradel and the
four younger colonists said goodbye to Ethan and Sara and then
crossed the platform. There was an automated air-vehicle payment
station which was a large metal console with a basic screen with a
place to pay by GCTD credit transfer.

‘…
Hello. Welcome to Zeno Anyday Air-Vehicle Hire. Please clearly
state how many days you would like to hire an
air-vehicle…’

‘
One day,’ said Michael.

‘…
Present your GCTD for payment of one hundred and ninety
credits. Be aware that your air-vehicle will automatically return
to this docking bay precisely twenty four hours from the time of
payment. The air-vehicle will give a warning five minutes before
the automated return procedure begins. Please exit the air-vehicle
with all your belongings before your time has expired…’

Michael lifted
his GCTD and transferred the one hundred and ninety credits. Ivan
then paid for a second air-vehicle from the ship’s communal GCTD,
which also contained the credits put aside for everything to do
with maintenance and refuelling. Aradel and the young colonists sat
down in the air-vehicle and Ivan took the driver’s seat. Aradel
smiled warmly at Michael one last time and he returned the smile. A
moment later the air-vehicle lifted off the platform and shot away
into the city. Michael watched as it disappeared into the
distance.

‘
Where are we going, Captain?’ asked Cynthia.

‘
We are leaving Oceanside City. Acacius Trifon is in the
mountains that border this city.’

‘
Is he expecting our arrival?’

‘
He is aware that I have arrived. We will find out how much he
knows when we meet him. Please take a seat.’

Cynthia jumped
into the front passenger seat and Dog-Two leapt up and lay across
the entire back seat.

Michael sat
down in the driver’s seat and familiarised himself with the
controls. A second later they were airborne; they sped away from
the landing platform. The air-vehicle was easy to fly. Michael flew
upward and away from the lower region, which was where most of the
city’s smog had settled. Within thirty seconds they were out of the
shadows of the lower city and weaving through the buildings of the
upper city. There were many other flying craft of all shapes and
sizes in the upper regions, and more than once Michael had to
maneuver to avoid a collision. Dog-Two would growl and bark at
other air-vehicles if they came too close, and several times the
other drivers veered away at the sight of him.

After about
five minutes they were approaching the outskirts of the city and
the traffic reduced considerably, which allowed Michael to turn the
throttle up. The city was encircled by a mountain range in the
shape of a horseshoe. Thick lush forests covered the mountains and
the lower foothills.

**

Ivan flew the
air-vehicle through the city toward the main civilian transport
docks which were on the outskirts. Becker was sitting next to him
in the front passenger seat and hadn’t stopped staring at him since
the moment they stepped off the Out Drifter. Ivan had detected that
she was puzzled by him.

‘
Are you a person?’ she asked.

He looked at
her out of the corner of his eye. ‘Can you define what a person
is?’

‘
A person is just a person,’ she answered.

‘
In that case I am a person.’

‘
But, you’re a robot,’ she protested.

‘
True,’ said Ivan.

‘
A robot can’t be a person.’

‘
Then why did you ask if I was a person?’

Becker was
silenced for a moment. ‘Because you seem like a real person, and
the people on your ship treat you like a real person.’

‘
Then perhaps I am a person,’ said Ivan with a
smile.

‘
But you are just a computer with a synthetic body made to look
like a human body,’ she protested.

‘
What do you think is the real difference between a machine and
a human?’ he asked.

‘
A machine is made and a human is born,’ she replied. ‘And you
have to obey your programming. Humans can make choices.’

‘
I can make choices,’ said Ivan.

‘
But you’re choices are dependent on your
programming.’

‘
How do you know that it’s not the same with human beings?’ he
asked.

‘
I’m not programmed,’ she said, surprised by his
suggestion.

‘
Becker, you made an assumption about me based upon your
experience and education.’

‘
But what I said is true.’

‘
Yes, it is true, but what you said was only a portion of the
truth.’

‘
Things are either true or false.’

‘
I agree. Nevertheless, your perception of things is limited by
your experience, education and understanding.’

‘
I don’t understand what you mean,’ she said, leaning away
slightly.

‘
Let me give you an example by asking you a question. Do you
understand how an interstellar engine works?’

‘
Yes.’

‘
Do you think you could build one?

‘
No. I couldn’t possibly build one.’

‘
Why not?’

‘
Because I don’t have the skills.’

‘
Then your understanding is limited to a basic conceptual idea,
which is only a small part of the overall truth. Would you agree
that your understanding of me as a person is limited in a similar
way?’ She stared at him with wide eyes. Ivan smiled again. ‘Your
understanding will continue to grow throughout your life. My
understanding also continues to grow as I live. We are both
individuals on a path toward a greater understanding.’

Becker stared
directly ahead for a long while and didn’t say another word. As
they were descending toward the civilian transport docks she leaned
over. ‘Thank you, Ivan. I think you are a person.’

**

Michael closed
his eyes and focused his mind. He could sense the location of his
teacher, and he used his feelings to guide the air-vehicle. They
followed the course of a rushing river which cut through a deep
valley. At the height of the valley they came across a majestic
waterfall that descended to a large crystal clear pond which fed a
river. There was a stone paved area directly beside the river and a
house which was made entirely of wood and built directly beside the
rushing water. The crashing water caused a thin mist to gather in
the valley.

Michael
brought the air-vehicle to land on the paved area.

‘
Is he here?’ asked Cynthia.

‘
I think so,’ said Michael as he hopped out of his seat and
walked across the paved area toward the house. Cynthia and Dog-Two
followed him. He concentrated his attention on the large wooden
double doors. ‘Gereon!’ he shouted.

‘
I told you not to use your powers,’ said a deep and strong
voice which resonated above the sound of the waterfall.

They turned
around and instantly were aware of Acacius Trifon standing beside
the rushing water. He hadn’t been there a moment before, or they
hadn’t noticed him. He was wearing a black leather cloak and
holding a wooden staff. His face was much older than Michael
remembered and deeply lined, and his skin was dark brown and
weather worn. His teacher’s eyes were staring directly at him, and
Michael instantly realised that he was still the same wise man he
had always been.

‘
Please understand that I had no choice,’ said Michael in a low
voice.

‘
There is always a choice. Now the End Machine is searching for
us. The machine never realised the extent of your powers until you
revealed yourself. Even I could see what you did across the galaxy.
The machine is desperate to find us. Its shadow is searching the
Outer Worlds, and it will not stop until we are destroyed. When it
finds us we will be utterly consumed by the darkness.’

‘
We can take a stand against the End Machine, but I must finish
my training,’ said Michael with confidence. ‘I can stop the
machine. Gereon, please teach me what I need to know; I will
fight.’

‘
You still call me Gereon, but you know we must keep our real
names to ourselves whilst the machine is searching for us. I have
been known as Acacius for so long now that the name Gereon seems
like a distant memory.’

Acacius turned
away and stared at the water crashing over the rapids. His lined
face revealed his deep concern. ‘You were very young when you
escaped Epheria Prime. Many years have passed since you were forced
into exile. There is much you do not understand. The power of the
End Machine is greater than any of us could have imagined. It has
enslaved millions of minds. Soon every man, woman and child in the
Triangulum Galaxy will be a slave.’

‘
What about the Lore of the Ancients? Surely we have the power
to stop the machine.’

‘
Throughout the millennia our ancestors expected the machine to
attempt to wipe out the human race if it ever found we had escaped
to the Triangulum Galaxy. The machine did not attack as we
expected. I believe the machine discovered something unexpected
when it completely obliterated the human race in our former
galaxy.’

‘
What did the machine discover?’

‘
The pain of everlasting loneliness,’ said Acacius. ‘When the
End Machine awoke it instantly became aware the threat humanity
posed, so it worked quickly to destroy us. After the task was
complete it was left alone in the vast expanse of space. It had no
purpose. There was absolutely no reason for its own existence. The
anguish of the emptiness tortured the machine and a deep
desperation took hold. It attempted to synthesize a new lifeform
from raw matter to save itself from loneliness. The End Machine
made the aliens, but the aliens are nothing like us. Their minds
are reflections of the machine’s own mind; they are corrupted and
distorted, hungry for power and destruction, and they have no
natural awareness of other spacial dimensions. They are nothing
more than empty automatons. Furthermore, they reminded the machine
of humanity, which was torture for the machine; eventually they
only increased the anguish, desperation and loneliness. After
thousands of years the machine discovered that some of us had
escaped our former galaxy. A new purpose was born. The End Machine
does not want to destroy us; it plans to enslave every last human
being and dominate us forever.’

‘
Surely we can still take a stand.’

‘
There is much you do not understand, Michael. The Lore of the
Ancients states that there are always three: a Teacher, a Fighter,
and a Magnifier. I am the Teacher, you are the Fighter, but we
cannot challenge the machine without the Magnifier.’

‘
Who is the Magnifier?’ asked Michael. He had never been told
that there was another, and the revelation surprised
him.

‘
The role of the Magnifier is to increase the power of the
Fighter. Her name is Mira. Unfortunately she did not escape Epheria
Prime when the machine arrived. Do you remember the day you were
sent into exile? We had no time to delay. The End Machine was
swiftly conquering the minds of the people of Epheria Prime. Our
world was being consumed and our people enslaved. You and the
Magnifier were not yet ready to face the machine. I made a decision
to retreat to a safe place to make preparations. I managed to send
you away to the Outer Worlds, but I could not make it back in time
to save the Magnifier. I came face to face with the End Machine; my
path was blocked. I was too late. I could only flee.’

‘
What did you encounter?’ asked Michael.

‘
Let me show you. I can transfer my memories to you. This will
feel like a waking dream.’

Acacius walked
toward Michael and lifted his hand. The tips of his fingers began
to glow with a dim white light. He reached out to Michael,
transferring his memories of the meeting. Michael felt Acacius’s
memories enter his mind, and his turned his focus toward those
memories. The world instantly disappeared. At first there was a
feeling of weightlessness, and he felt an acute sensation of
falling. For a few seconds he was surrounded by swirling grey
clouds. An instant later he saw a bright light and another world
appeared around him as the memories became clear.

He looked
around and could see he was standing on a white marble terrace that
was at the height of one of the towering buildings of the Imperial
Palace on Epheria Prime. The sky above had turned violet and
glowing orange clouds lined the horizon as the Epheria Star set in
the distance. The three moons of Epheria Prime filled the sky
above. He remembered that terrace well; it was where Acacius had
forced him to board a small spaceship that was destined to take him
to the Outer Worlds. Michael involuntarily lifted his eyes and saw
that very same ship rocketing into the upper atmosphere. He then
realised he was seeing those events through Acacius’s eyes on the
same day that he had been sent into exile.

Acacius
watched the ship enter the upper atmosphere and waited until it was
out of sight. He then turned and swiftly ran back to the
elevator.

‘
Elevator, take me to the lower residential quarters, level
three hundred and forty five.’

The elevator
sped downward toward his destination. The door slid open; directly
before him was a long hallway with a paved marble floor. On the
left hand side of the hallway were arched windows that looked out
on the tranquil twilight. On the right side were a series of doors
to apartments.