The Sirius Chronicles (7 page)

As soon as Cyrus hung the phone he turned to me and said “I’m sure you overhead what the plan is now, so go ahead and take a day off. You’ve been working very hard and you deserve it. They won’t have everything set up until tomorrow and I want to make sure our perfect specimen doesn’t show any signs of side effects.”

While I was walking back to my room I spotted Sara at the nutrition center so I went over and stood behind her in line. She was still ignoring me but I tried to talk to her anyway – “Sara, Cyrus is done, he was able to successfully raise one of their intelligence scores; it’s all over.” – She wouldn’t turn around but she replied “I know, now please… remember what we talked about?”

I grabbed her arm and quietly said “You can talk to me, I won’t get us in trouble I promise. If anything you’re making us look suspicious by not being my friend anymore.” She turned around whispered “Atlas, just give it some more time and I’ll come to you… This isn’t going to last much longer but you have to wait… Now please get out of here.”

What did she mean by that? Did she mean our distance or that she and some other people felt the same way and were going to do something about it? Maybe something was going on that I didn’t know about… And they couldn’t tell me because I was Cyrus’ assistant. For the first time in a year, as I walked back to my room I could see a glimmer of hope.

I was so exhausted in general I decided to just lie down. Even though I had all these different ideas running through my head and I was intensely stressed out… at the same time I had a feeling something great was going to happen. For whatever reason I trusted Sara and the idea that something big is being hidden from me because I’m Cyrus’ assistant makes perfect sense. I actually felt like I could fall asleep.

Over the next month Cyrus was able to produce over 100 competent “workers” for the mining division. Due to them having to live such hard lives in comparison to us they were reported as much stronger and having twice the stamina. The mining division reported that the natives were “absolutely perfect.” They even reported the chrysos being mined at the site their first week had doubled.

At the moment there were 14 different mining sites on X-451. Commander Neros ordered Cyrus to produce 200 workers for each site and even suggested experimenting with making a few slightly more intelligent than the others so they could act as leaders. Cyrus was more than happy to begin the job and I continued to act as his lapdog. It wasn’t as bad as before though, because I knew Sara and the others had some type of plan.

When Cyrus brought me to the massive holding rooms for the first time, I came closer to losing my composure than ever before. He had 100’s of natives packed into each room to the point where they barely had enough room to move. The smell was unbelievable and I could tell some of them needed medical attention due to the disgusting conditions… According to Cyrus that was of no concern - “all that matters is the mission, we don’t have time for that now.”

I spent weeks on end watching him inject hundreds of the native’s and it turned out his miracle injection wasn’t so perfect. For every 3 or 4 that survived the process, at least one would die. So really the only difference was the lack of torture… They were still being slaughtered like animals.

The worst part was that I could see the fear in their eyes. I could see the want to escape and go back their lives, not matter how simple they may be. No matter how much Cyrus made this all sound wonderful, we didn’t have the right. We didn’t have the right to interfere in their progress, and should be ashamed for using them as slaves… not celebrate.

Soon after the mass treatments began, one of my fears became a reality. Cyrus had successfully gotten two of the native’s to score almost 50 on the intelligence test. They were inserted at one of the mining camps to act as leaders to the natives. The long term plan was to create structure among them so mining camps could be totally run by natives. This way the number of sites could be greatly increased.

Instead it totally backfired and lead to a mass slaughter. The two more intelligent natives convinced hundreds of the others to revolt against the mining teams and militia on the X-451. Except it wasn’t as simple as Cyrus projected. Over 400 natives fought to the death against the militia.

Once the others had witnessed the modern technology of our firearms and weaponry, partnered with our ability to come down out of the sky, they began worshipping the militia and miners as deities. Apparently they had some idea that in a way we were their creators. Before this they had no higher thought functions. They had even created a very limited language and began to refer to us as the “Anu – Nnaki” which Cyrus says means – “From the stars”…

The worst part is I could tell he actually enjoyed it… even thought it was funny. I guess I’m not surprised a man like him would enjoy being worshipped.

It was interesting to observe how they automatically assumed we were some type of supernatural beings simply because they didn’t understand technology. They couldn’t comprehend that we were able to come from the stars due to intelligence, invention, and ingenuity. I couldn’t help but find the whole scenario fascinating and wonder how long it would take them to figure out who and what we were once we left.

In the long run it only led to the treatment rooms growing in numbers and even more native deaths. The mining process was severely staggered and I’d heard some of the militia and miners were taking advantage of their deity status and abusing them. A bunch of miners had even been reprimanded for sitting around all day and forcing to make the native’s work harder than usual.

The Sirius had now been stationed over X-451 for almost and year and a half. Over a thousand natives have died and the mining sites have only produced 932 tons of chrysos. It seemed like there was no end in sight.

After another long day of watching Cyrus injecting the natives and militia coming in to remove bodies, I was heading back to my room and I found Sara waiting for me. I was about to speak and she put her finger up to her lips, signaling me to be quiet. I nodded and waited for her direction.

She motioned for me to follow her and led me to an elevator. I began to say something as we went up, but she quickly put her finger up to her lips again. When the elevator doors opened there was just a long empty hallway. We followed it for what seemed like a mile and finally came upon a door. She smiled and opened it. When I looked in I saw at least 50 people standing around talking. They all stopped and stared at us… well actually me. Sara closed the door behind us and said “Everyone it’s ok, you can trust him, I trust him!” There was nothing but silence.

Then out of nowhere I heard a familiar voice – “I know this man better than I know any of you, if we can trust anyone it’s him. I give you my word.” It was Kayin, I hadn’t seen him since we were taken out of stasis. I just assumed he had been down on the planet this whole time. He walked over and gave me a hug – “I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner man. We couldn’t risk you possibly giving us away, whether you would mean to or not. You’re too close to Cyrus… Now that we’re going to be ready to act soon, we need your help.”

For over a year I’ve felt completely helpless and alone. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a dream that didn’t eventually turn into a nightmare. I came to dread sleeping long ago; it didn’t allow me a break from the horrible things I saw every day. They would all come rushing back, moments after I closed my eyes.

To see Kayin, Sara, and so many others ready to take action against the ACI almost made me fall to my knees. I knew there had to be others that wouldn’t be able to stand by and let this happen. As I looked around the room I could see the same pain and anger in their eyes that burned inside me every day… At the same time I also started to think about what we were up against.

There were well over 500 members of the militia division on this ship, all with advanced training and big paychecks at stake. I had to question Kayin “I can’t tell you how happy I am to be here with all of you right now… but I also can’t see how this can work with so few people…” Kayin got a wild look in his eyes and smiled.

He stepped forward – “We’ve been working at this for some time Atlas. This isn’t everyone involved… not even close. Remember, we have to be as secretive as possible. Can’t make our little gatherings too large… Atlas, there are hundreds of people from every division standing by, ready to go. We’ve actually got really good odds, and I have a feeling when we do act, the others will follow.”

I suppose it was just like Kayin to organize something like this. I’m not at all surprised that he would want to take action against the ACI for what they’ve done; he’s a good man… The best I’ve ever known and I know why anyone would want to follow him… I guess I had been running short on hope and faith for the past year.

I could feel myself coming back to life. Almost as if an invisible force had been restraining my very essence. Whatever it was… it was gone now. If it were up to me we would act immediately. The longer we wait the more natives will die… Just thinking about how much Cyrus enjoys his deity status infuriates me to no end.

I looked Kayin in the eyes and said “I believe in you Kayin, I always have. You’re the best guy I’ve ever known. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it… no matter what it is.” I looked over at Sara and I could see that she was completely confident about the situation. I knew right then, looking at her and Kayin, that we would succeed in freeing the natives.

Kayin continued to explain that he and the other militia guys were shocked and angered by the plan from the very beginning. Unfortunately, Commander Neros has a lot of influence and quite a few men who are loyal only to him. Kayin is convinced that even they will turn once they realize what’s taking place. He also claimed he was going to kill Neros with his own hands…

I stopped Kayin and said “Then I’ll be the one that kills Cyrus. That man is a monster and he doesn’t deserve to be alive… He doesn’t deserve to go on and tell his story to anyone… you have no idea what he’s done. Even if I were to describe some of it…”

Kayin stopped me – “I already planned on having you take out Cyrus, that’s one of the reasons you’re here… Though there’s a lot more to this plan than just a takeover and bringing those two criminals to justice. It will all be about timing. You’re going to have to be patient and continue what you’re doing.”

Kayin explained that he was slowly organizing even more people to join the resistance. He planned on having 5 of the mining sites sabotaged with explosives in order to spread out the militia. The men down on X-451 would secure every site by any means necessary as the rest of us took the ship.

The ship was mainly occupied by technicians, along with a few hundred scientists and the flight crew. They wouldn’t put up much of a fight. He even claimed to have several people on the flight deck involved as well. The more he explained his plan the more I knew it would most definitely work. It almost seemed too easy, but I guess no one would ever expect an attack from within.

It seems as though time had worn away at everyone’s conscience. According to Kayin almost anyone he confronted about this was immediately on board with the idea. From what he said more than half the ship wanted Cyrus and Neros dead, and the natives freed. When Kayin was done, he turned around and addressed the room – “Ok everyone this will be our last meeting for some time. The day is coming and we can’t risk anyone finding out. It could be a week or a year… You will all be contacted for one final debriefing before we act but be ready at any time. Just a handful of errors in timing could ruin everything…”

He paused and looked down at the ground – “You all know what we’re doing, don’t let anyone get in your way… Try not to kill anyone but do what’s necessary; there is no one innocent here, even us! So we must all be ready to give our own lives for this as well… it’s the very least we can do.”

They were harsh words, but they were true. None of us were innocent, even though we were eventually going to try and help; we let it happen in the first place. We could have all refused and started an uprising right then but we didn’t… because we were afraid. Of course I wouldn’t ever say that, but I’m sure some of them had come to the same realization… This was almost directly our fault as we made it all possible by cooperating.

It’s the reason I couldn’t sleep, and the reason I’ve had countless nightmares… It’s because I know that I LET this happen. 100’s of men and women were tortured and killed before my very eyes and I did nothing… In fact I was helping the man in charge of it all… I thought to myself – “Am I the guiltiest one in the room?.. Do I even deserve to kill Cyrus after all I had done?..”

In reality, I’m a monster just like him, only selfish and afraid as well. There was no doubt in my mind that I would die for this if need be. I just hope I can do even better and give them back their freedom… Then maybe one day, I’d be able to forgive myself.

Once everyone left the room, Kayin lightly slapped me on the side of the head and started laughing – “I can’t believe what you got yourself into! What are the chances Cyrus would pick you of all people… You’re lucky I’m here to save you brother… This is exactly the kind of thing that would happen to Silas or Zara!” He continued to laugh.

The laughter and happiness in his eyes quickly faded… “There is another part of the plan… this is where you come in… I came up with a crazy idea and I’m interested in your opinion.”

He went on to present the idea of me stealing at least 2 of the injections from Cyrus’ lab. His plan was to use some of his militia contacts to further advance a few of the natives. When Cyrus originally advanced a few of them to act as leaders, they formed a rebellion… Kayin wanted to have the natives coordinate an attack alongside ours.

He had the idea of immediately overwhelming the militia in the hopes they would all surrender and join us. The only problem that could arise is the fact the native’s view the militia as their creators. There’s a possibility they could refuse to attack them… but he’s confident he can inspire them to revolt again.

He made a good point. They had already come up with a simplistic language, displayed the want to be free, and the ability to coordinate… I know it sounded like a wild idea but at the same time is seemed like it could really work.

I said “Kayin, like I said before; I trust you…and yeah I think it’s a great idea… I’ve looked into their eyes while Cyrus was drilling holes in their heads… they want to be free and they’re smart enough to recognize us trying to help them; I know it.”

Kayin nodded – “Alright then, I don’t know how long it will be until we’re ready but the faster you act, the sooner we can do this. I said “I know exactly where he put them… I remember the day perfectly because he was really upset he couldn’t see how far he could take the experiment...”

I could see the disgust on Kayins face as he closed his eyes and shook his head… - “I have to get back Atlas. Be ready… It was great to see you… I’ll send someone to contact you about the injections. And next time we meet will be the day we all make up for what we’ve allowed to happen.” We shook hands and he walked out. I could tell all of this had changed him… I’m sure it had changed all of us in one way or another.

Only Sara and I remained. I didn’t know what to say so I stood there hoping she would talk. She stepped forward and touched my arm – “Atlas I’m sorry it had to be like this. We couldn’t risk telling you too soon…” I smiled and told her it was fine.

We didn’t speak for quite some time and just looked into each other’s eyes. Eventually Sara said “The effects haven’t gone away. I still feel like I miss you…” I felt relieved to know I wasn’t the only one and replied “I thought about you almost every day. All I wanted to do is take you and get away from here…” She smiled and said “Once this is over we’ll have to get to know each other.” We both laughed and headed back to the elevator.

On the way down I could feel the excitement building… I wanted nothing more than to kill Cyrus that very moment. I looked at Sara and she put her finger to her lips to remind me to be quiet. There was so much more that I wanted to say, but now wasn’t the time. Like she said… After this is all over we can get to know each other.

As happy and optimistic as I was, I had to remember there was a very good chance it wouldn’t work at all. Commander Neros has great influence over the militia and many men may back out when it comes down to it. There’s no way to know what will happen. We may all be killed or executed for treason… In fact that could happen at any moment. If Neros got wind of a resistance group on the ship I’m sure he would show no mercy.

It’s funny… One day I read a book about the history of Aeris that spoke of a time, many thousands of years ago. It had detailed accounts of several decades in which private corporations and the military secretly took over the government and almost lay waste to modern society as we know it. They started false wars and were largely responsible for the deterioration of the atmosphere… all for profit.

It was said that they committed horrific crimes all around the globe and specifically preyed on those who couldn’t protect themselves… It would seem as though history has repeated itself. This whole situation begs to suggest the ACI has a lot of power over our government; it’s the only way they’d get away with this… and I really do have a feeling it’s all about money.

As the elevator came to a stop, Sara walked over an embraced me. At first I was shocked and had to keep telling myself to put my arms around her. We stood there for a few moments before she let go. She quickly walked out of the elevator… I thought I saw a tear stream down her cheek.

Then I realized this whole time I was being selfish… Sara had to directly perform deadly experiments on the natives almost every day... All I had to do was watch, assist, and take notes. Whatever sadness and anger I was feeling was probably much more intense on her end. She was probably devastated… I could only imagine what her nightmares were like… If only I had been able to comfort her…

There was nothing I could do now, we had to continue our normal relationship, or lack of one… I’d have to continue watching Cyrus inject more natives with his miracle potion every day. A plan that might take place a year from now was little comfort at the moment… but it was something. I just hoped I could successfully steal some of the injections without him noticing.

As I headed back to my room I started to try and come up with a plan. If Cyrus notices the missing injections he’ll know something is wrong. It might not be a big deal because I couldn’t see him possibly connecting me to the theft. And there’s no way he could foresee what Kayin is planning… At the same time I couldn’t risk it, I had to come up with something.

When I put my hand out to open my door it hit me… I started heading for the medical center. I had a feeling the injectors being used on this ship were all the same. I just need to steal a few, fill them with water and do a switch. This way no suspicions would be raised whatsoever.

I had a plan; I just hope it will work… As I entered the medical center I clutched my stomach and started moaning. I even staggered a little to really put on a good show. Two medical techs immediately ran over and helped me to a seat. They started asking me all kinds of questions so I just moaned and acted confused.

One of them gave me something to inhibit vomiting and they led me to one of the back rooms. Just as I had hoped they told me to lie down and wait for the doctor, then left the room. As soon as the door closed, I jumped up and started looking through the drawers for injectors.

After a few minutes of searching I finally found some and as I predicted they seemed identical. Kayin had only asked for 2 but that meant there would only be 2 natives to lead the others. There were over 10 mining sites… I say the more the better, so I grabbed 6. The drawer was full so I doubt anyone would notice.