Chapter 1 #2
Only then did Jace release his hold on the hilt and they crept on in this interminable darkness until the next flash of light and next horror of more pools.
Though they should have kept silent, Jace whispered, “Do the Thaf’ell believe in an afterlife?”
Khoth frowned. “After--after life?”
“Life after death. Like do you think that we go on? Our consciousness? Even after our body dies?” Jace asked.
“The Thaf’ell believe that all returns to oneness after death. We are made of stars and to the stars we return,” Khoth answered when he realized what Jace was asking.
“But do individuals go on? I mean… not just turn into compost and feed the soil, which feeds the flowers, which feeds the animals… you know, like we, us, ourselves?” Jace pressed.
They were passing by another set of pools. For a moment, Khoth caught sight of one of the human’s silently screaming as larvae flowed into and out of his open mouth. Bright, cherry red blood poured out as well as his tongue was stripped off by the hungry larvae.
“In the past, we believed our ancestors remained near to watch over us,” Khoth said after dragging his gaze away.
“So long as we revered them, went to their graves, and made offerings that they would remain with us. If they were forgotten then they would move on and leave to join the Great Consciousness.”
His HUD showed them that they were nearing the core.
The duct was starting to narrow, or at least it seemed so to Khoth’s aching back.
He’d noticed that the floor now was more stable, but also dust or bits of a powdery substance rose up with every movement of his boots.
And there were also times when he encountered a sticky substance that caught the sole of his foot and forced him to pull at his boot.
Perhaps whatever kept the rest of the ducts clean does not reach this far, Khoth thought.
But another part of his brain thought he was seeing patterns in the sticky stuff. Like trails. Like something slithering along and leaving that gluey residue that when it dried became the powdery dust.
“What do you believe?” Jace asked.
“What do I--ah, you mean do I believe in an afterlife?” Khoth confirmed.
“Yeah,” Jace said.
“I believe when our bodies die that our consciousnesses cease to exist,” Khoth answered.
Jace was quiet for far too long for his liking after his answer.
Finally, the young man said, “You’re probably right.
But I… I want to believe there is something more.
There has to be. All the people who’ve died for no good reason before they could fully experience life or make a difference…
” Jace stopped and Khoth could tell from the emotion in his voice that this was difficult for him to say. “I want to believe.”
“I do not think there is any harm in such a desire so long as it does not cause you to ignore this life,” Khoth answered.
“Some would say that there is no proof either way so either of us could be right or wrong. Others say that we have no proof of anything beyond us--no scientific proof--therefore, the nays would have it. But again--”
“Until this morning, I thought that aliens weren’t real either,” Jace interrupted him with what sounded like laughter.
“But that is not logical considering the size of the universe and--”
“It was because I hadn’t seen or heard of you. Most people would be able to say of aliens what you’re saying about the existence of an afterlife,” Jace pointed out. “Simply because one hasn’t seen evidence doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Khoth frowned. His brow furrowed. Jace might have a point there, but--
“Whoa… what is that? Gehenna? What am I seeing here?” Jace asked the AI.
Jace had paused by three slits. Much brighter amber light--almost a golden light now--was painted over the front of his helmet. Khoth was perplexed as he stared at what appeared to be a reflection of something moving.
You’re in the core chamber!!!!!!! Gehenna’s excitement came out in her exclamation point use. There should be a central pillar where the Hive gets its energy and--
“Gehenna,” Jace’s voice was so strange.
Oh… oh, my, that’s not… uhm, that’s not what I was expecting! Gehenna cried.
Khoth came up to Jace and looked out the slits himself.
The duct they were in was one of many that, like the spokes of a wheel, were all leading to a center of this large round room.
The duct was no longer hidden beneath the floor or sandwiched between rooms, but instead was suspended in the air.
Khoth saw that this room took up the entire height of the Hive.
Hundreds of ducts were above them and below them.
They all lead to a central pillar of sorts.
Khoth wasn’t sure what he had expected. After everything they’d seen of the Khul technology, which was organic, why had he thought that their main processor for the Hive would be something else?
It pulsed and fluttered as electrical surges ran through it. It was membranous, perhaps hollow inside, and golden light surged and passed all along its length then spread into the walls of the chamber. Cetixes were everywhere. They crawled on every duct, using them as bridges to this pillar.
“Gehenna!” Jace’s voice was a rough whisper. “How the Hell is this going to work? That’s a--a--I don’t know what that is! But this chip can’t insert into it!”
No, no! It can! It will! What you’re seeing is just an outer shell that will dissolve once you place it against the pillar, she stated. It’ll insert itself!
“Once we… I can’t believe we have to touch that thing,” Jace muttered. “Well, at least the duct goes all the way up to it--”
“Gehenna, what is this… this duct used for?” Khoth asked.
He had moved his foot and what had come up was some kind of slime. It wasn’t a gloopy mass of the sticky, gluey material that he’d encountered in far lesser quantities farther back in the duct.
Uhm, I’m not sure--
“Air? Circulation of air? Or some kind of fluid, perhaps?” Khoth asked. “Or could it be a passageway for--”
I don’t really--
There was the tapping of hundreds of legs. A Cetix suddenly walked right in front of the duct’s slits. Both of them reared back. It hadn’t seen them, but Khoth’s heartrate had doubled.
“You don’t think the Cetixes crawl through here, do you?” Jace had turned toward him and the young human’s eyes were huge. “Is that what you are asking her?”
“No, they are too large. I think…” Khoth stopped speaking as he heard a far more soft sound.
A slurping, suctioning sound that came from up ahead. From the living pillar. Khoth unsheathed his rahir slowly as he scanned the darkness ahead. Jace had whirled around too. Both of them were holding their breath as they waited for what, neither of them knew.
Khoth’s gaze was drawn to the slits again as he saw movement on the outside of the membranous pillar.
Some thing--some things--were slithering around the outside of the pillar.
They had clear sacks and almost delicate-looking crystalline pincers on the end of their eight legs.
They traveled over the outside of the pillar and were doing something to it.
Massaging it? Lubricating it? Whatever they were doing, they moved constantly.
Some of them are in the duct, Khoth realized.
“This is not a duct, Jace,” Khoth told him as he saw the half dozen crystalline-sack creatures coming towards them, leaving a trail of slime.
“No, no, it is not,” Jace agreed.
Without further need for discussion, the two of them raced towards the creatures. Backing up was not an option. Waiting to see what the creatures’ defenses were, also not an option. Throwing themselves headlong into a silent, desperate battle? Only option!
The creatures reared back on their delicate limbs as they realized that two beings about five times their size were barrelling towards them with glowing rahirs. They would have to be careful not to hit one another when they swung their blades as the duct was barely wide enough for the two of them.
Jace made a stabbing, rather than sweeping, motion with his rahir which punctured the nearest creature’s sack.
There was a pop as the sack burst and fluid poured out onto the floor of the duct.
Khoth nearly slipped in the slickness and the tip of his rahir bobbled, but he managed to nick two of the creatures’ sacks.
More fluid. More sticky, slipperiness. That took out only half of them.
The others were making these high pitched shrieks now, their cries echoing in the duct, as they raced back towards the pillar.
“Oh, hell, no!” Jace hissed and the young human picked up speed, nearly elbowing Khoth out of the way. “We have to get them before they attract others!”
There was a boom behind them and the duct wobbled as something large landed directly on top of them.
Khoth had only a second to roll away from a sudden claw that punctured the top of the duct, right where his head had been moments ago.
It was made by one of the Cetix’s pointy legs that were more like hundreds of curved sabers.
“They know we are here,” Khoth said.
“You think?!” Jace laughed.
“Run! Full out! We must get the virus to the pillar!”
Khoth grasped Jace around the waist and practically carried the young human as he ran full speed down the duct.
The crystalline creatures were destroyed with a sweep of his rahir.
But the shrieks they had given out were now being echoed throughout the entire room by others of their kind.
There were more booms as Cetixes landed on the top of the duct.
He heard a crunching sound and knew that the way back was no longer open to them.
The end of the duct was in sight. The glow from the pillar was almost blinding. His helmet’s shield darkened the view so he was able to see quite clearly the Cetix head that appeared in the opening, blocking their view of pulsing pillar of flesh.
“Don’t slow down!” Jace cried.
Jace had brought out the draagves and started shooting. The Cetix’s head exploded and they both saw the centipede body slip off of the duct and fall away.
It was then that Khoth realized the duct ended in mid-air. There was just the fleshly pillar and the air. Khoth screeched to a halt, stopping them at the last moment from running right over the edge and falling to their deaths.
“What are we going to do?” Jace asked as he stared at the pillar and then at the ducts that were seething now with Cetixes making a rattling noise as their chitin armor clacked together.
There was another boom and the duct they were in started suddenly lurched downwards, nearly spilling them out of its limited security. The weight of the Centixes coming towards them was breaking it!
“Idea! Idea! I have an idea!” Jace cried.
Jace shoved his draagves into Khoth’s hands while he brought out the virus chip.
The fleshly pillar was within reach. With a look of disgust, Jace slammed the chip against the pillar.
The blue chip flared and then broke apart.
Black lines suddenly spread out across the pillar’s outside.
The pillar heaved as if screaming in pain.
“What is the next part of your idea?” Khoth asked.
“Jump!” Jace cried. “We’ve only got 10 minutes!”
And at that, Jace grabbed Khoth’s hand and the two of them jumped from the duct.
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