When Earth Reigned Supreme (The Human Chronicles Saga Book 12) (20 page)

“Now that I have your attention, let me preface the next part of this recording with an assumption: You will not like it.” Panur smiled. “Knowing this will be true, it is perfectly within your power not to follow my recommendations and come up with your own solution. Just let it be known that whatever solution you may think will work, it will not. If you believe yourself to be of an equal intellectual level as I, then by all means follow your own path. Wherever I am, I will gain much satisfaction in seeing the Colony die as a result. However, if you wish for the Colony to survive, you will follow my recommendations exactly.”

Again Panur hesitated, but only for a moment.

“Good, so let us proceed. You are to journey to M-32. You may not even be aware of this settlement. It’s on Kor, in the southern hemisphere. It is small compared to M-1, yet within its walls you will find salvation for the Sol-Kor race. Now, I will give you more information on what you will find in M-32, and how this all came to be…”

Chapter 18

Two days after viewing Panur’s recording on his office computer, the High Chancellor of the Applying Council took a private flying vehicle to the southern part of the planet, to a place where savage storms racked the area constantly.

Drasic had indeed never heard of M-32. Upon researching the pyramid community, he found that all official settlements ended with M-28. The other four were secret locations that had been unknown to him until he had asked. Then all information was provided. He found it interesting there were secrets kept even from him, even if the secret was maintained by simple lack of disclosure than any overt attempt to mislead or misdirect.

As the flying craft neared M-32, the structure jutted up from a bleak, white landscape, resting atop a small hill, its steep, black pinnacle standing out as sharply as a brilliant light would in the dark of night. Its construction was of typical stacked design, its black blocks covered in a perpetual coating of snow. As a result, most windows were closed off, and no support settlements existed in the immediate vicinity.

Only forty-eight hundred Sol-Kor occupied the desolate pyramid, themselves providing support for the facility’s illegal activities. Drasic had researched this before coming. He had been unaware of the regulation; the Sol-Kor maintained a very thin book of rules and regulations. The race existed in a very narrow and efficient manner, and had for centuries without the need for new or extensive laws or guiding documents. Yet one had been written several thousand years ago, and survived to this day. Only the mutant would have had the capability of violating the regulation, and apparently he had.

Drasic was leery of the claims Panur made in his recording. Even if they were true, he still wasn’t sure what to do. In his frustration, he cursed the mutant for putting him in this position. In one way, having forces and events beyond his control was a simpler solution; he could not be held responsible for making the wrong decisions. Granted, the ultimate fate of the Sol-Kor would be tragic, yet it would play out over a long period. But if he chose to follow Panur’s path, the position of queen would be compromised, at least when it came to tradition, and it would be left to him to help guide the Council in the right direction.

He landed on a platform near the top of the windswept structure, the craft needing to be secured against the wind before he could be allowed to disembark. His face scales shivered as he rushed the short distance to the open doorway and into the warmth of the pyramid. There he was greeted by the Administrator, a Level-One intellectual named Kanos Limfor. The elder Sol-Kor seemed unashamed by his position. Drasic assumed he had to know the illegality of his actions, yet he began the tour with pride and confidence, having been reassured by Panur that if the existence of the facility were ever revealed it would be in a major crisis, one for which their work here would help overcome.

For his part, Drasic would withhold judgement, at least for the time being.

“I appreciate the tour, Kanos, but I would like to see the cell now.”

“Yes, of course, High Chancellor. I just thought you would appreciate the background into our research here, in preparation for the moment.”

“I have found the tour enlightening, Administrator, up to a point. You must realize I have not made a final determination in this matter.”

Kanos’ expression was one of surprise. “Did not Panur explain?”

“He did, in a recording.”

“A recording?”

“Yes, the mutant is no longer with the Colony.”

This news came as a shock to the Administrator. “He cannot be dead, that is impossible. What has happened?”

“He is on a sojourn, as far as anyone can tell. He may return to the Colony, as he has in the past, or not. In any event, we are on our own at this point.”

“I understand now, High Chancellor. And I understand how impossible this may be to believe. By all means, let us go to the cell.”

It took the small entourage ten minutes to reach the lowest levels of the pyramid, even below the visible base of the structure and deeper, into the very rock of the mountain on which M-32 rested.

The corridors were dark, dank, and moldy.

“There is very little need to come down here, so we don’t,” Kanos explained, noticing Drasic’s expression.

“Food, water?”

“Seldom needed, but supplied when requested.”

Drasic was about to ask a follow-up question when Kanos stopped at a huge metal doorway. He keyed in a security code and the massive door swung open. The High Chancellor was disappointed when this only led to another chamber, dimly lit, yet with a huge viewing window set at the opposite end with a pale yellow light flooding the security room.

The Sol-Kor officials approached the window.

To his amazement, what Drasic saw inside looked to be a small yet comfortable-looking living quarters, including a bed, toilet facilities, and a workstation, as well as a computer monitoring screen.

Drasic looked at Kanos. “A computer?”

“Yes, Panur insisted.”

A figure moved from the shadows near the bed and walked confidently up to the window.

Drasic was mildly shocked by what he saw. It wasn’t what he had expected.

It was an obviously female creature, yet with a thin layer of pale scales covering her face. As it was with the Sol-Kor, the scales on the exposed arms had long since evolved to near microscopic size, allowing for a smoother, softer look.

Drasic had seen the females of a thousand other species, the majority being very similar in look and size to the males, only with subtle differences. By contrast, Sol-Kor females didn’t resemble the males at all, being huge creatures that most outsiders would consider to be an entirely different species.

This thing could pass for a Sol-Kor male, yet with the same subtle, gender-specific differences that were found in other species...

The creature’s laughing eyes revealed her amusement at Drasic’s reaction.

“Not what you were expecting?” the creature said.

“You do not resemble traditional Sol-Kor females.”

“That is because I am not traditional, and I am not completely Sol-Kor either.”

“Yes, I understand Panur provided part of your genetic makeup.”

“As did your queen—while she was alive.”

Drasic tried to recover from his shock before the creature would notice, but it was too late.

“You’ve likely kept the news from being disseminated, but the only reason you would be here is in the event of her death,” explained the creature. “Although I have many abilities you have yet to discover, it didn’t take any exceptional deduction to come to that conclusion.”

Regaining his composure, the High Chancellor fought to keep the upper hand in the conversation. Too often in the past he had been utterly defeated by Panur whenever the two of them got into an argument or a differing of opinion. He wasn’t about to let the same thing happen with this abomination.

“Panur seems to believe you could help the Sol-Kor in our time of need. What do you think?”

“I think you should start accepting that I am also of the Sol-Kor, if only half.  And I would appreciate if you would call me by my name. I am J’nae.”

“That is all very interesting, yet you still haven’t answered my question.”

“There is no need to play your games of power, High Chancellor Drasic Reol. Yes, I know who you are. I have access to the newsfeeds, as well as all the records of the Sol-Kor. It’s also how I’m aware that news of the Queen’s death has not been allowed to circulate. And now to answer your question: Yes, I can help. I was created for just such an event. Now it is time I be utilized.”

Drasic studied the small creature and shook his head. “I should have known this would not be workable, especially coming from Panur. How can you possibly take the place of our Beloved Queen? How can you produce the eggs necessary to maintain the Colony? Just looking at you I see that you would be incapable.”

“In the traditional manner, of course. Perhaps we should wait for Panur—”

“Panur will not be here.”

“Why is that? He has come for every other interview I have had.”

“You have had other interviews?”

“Yes, with other High Chancellors, five to be exact.”

“Five…how old are you?”

“Just over six hundred standard years.”

Drasic was shocked. In his recording, Panur had not mentioned this.

“You said it yourself, part of my make-up came from Panur. I have inherited his powers of self-healing.”

Drasic shook his head again and turned to the Administrator. “This will not be feasible,” he said in desperation. “The change would be too drastic, and this…thing…is too alien.”

“Yet the survival of the race…?”

“We will find another way, a more Sol-Kor way.”

“There is no other way, you fool!” The voice booming from speakers on the wall reverberated throughout the security room. Drasic turned back to see J’nae standing only inches away from the glass. He stepped closer himself.

“You are an abomination, the product of a wild experiment by an insane mutant. Indeed, you are a mutant yourself. The Sol-Kor would never accept…this…as our new queen.”

“Then you will all die.”

Drasic was livid—and scared. For the past few days he had held out hope that the mutant Panur had actually found a solution to the crisis facing the Sol-Kor. Now he knew that was not to be. His race was on the edge of extinction, all one trillion of them, and the reality of it was becoming more than he could bear. He was trembling, sweat forming on his brow and flowing down his face along the lines of his gray scales.

He caught sight of the steely gaze from the mutant female on the other side of the glass. It held no sympathy for his plight. He shuddered even more. Those eyes were colder than space.

“You will release me, Drasic Reol. You will allow me free rein to save the Sol-Kor. It is your only option.”

“What?” He was barely listening, lost in his own thoughts.

“I said release me…now. Or I will do it myself.”

Kanos Limfor rushed away from the cell with his two attendants.
Where are they going?
He watched them as they ran for a panel set in the wall. They were opening it and reaching inside.

He was showered in flying glass—striking the bare skin of his face, peppering pinpoints of pain all across his left side. He instinctively ducked as larger pieces of glass fell on him. He was on his knees as a brilliant flash of light erupted from the other side of the room.