Kairostone by J.M.Barrie
Prologue
Beneath the surface of an ordinary land another world was spinning. The two realms, different as night and day, existed side by side. In one, people lived simply, farming and keeping the customs of their ancestors; in the other, visitors from another galaxy lived at the bottom of the sea in a state of crystalline elegance, where time stood still ... until the arrival of the Yedek.
Evenor speaks —
I am not from here, or at least that is what I have been told. My people came from a distant star long ago. Our mission was simple: find water. We discovered this planet; then drove our aeroships into the ocean floor. Beneath the depths and hidden from view, we built a colony to explore the sea as our planet lacked such accumulations of water. From my underwater laboratory I watched the movements of bio-luminescent creatures. Replicating these fascinating life forms in silicon and circuitry was my function. We learned the planet’s systems, cataloguing all the creatures and never disturbing the natural order. Living in that peaceable kingdom under the waves was the only life I knew. Our world was a nexus of innovation and invention and there we thrived .
Chapter One - Obsidian
Daylight never penetrated the walls of the glass pyramid that sat on the ocean floor. The structure appeared deceptively fragile, made from sheets of obsidian that leaned in — like a house of cards of uncertain balance. Lone creatures of the deep slowly glided through beds of high reaching kelp and were mirrored back in the dark glass.
The pyramid’s faceted surface sent reflections splintering off in every direction, making the massive structure nearly invisible. This underworld was an enigma to any onlooker. The new frontier stretched out far and wide but it was difficult to detect. The colony spanned the ocean floor with long corridors like the arms of a giant starfish, half buried in the sand. Linking together the many laboratories was a solid state matrix brain. Its purpose; to collect data on the life of the sea.
A quantum lab was situated at the base of the pyramid.There, zero point energy gave life to an underwater population without upsetting the planet’s ecology. The buildings were no feat of human engineering but built by a team of tireless robotic workers. These mechanized calismen stood upright on bodies of blue chrome to serve the Arayici, who had traveled so far to make the ocean their home.
From down the length of a dark corridor came the sound of heavy breathing. Arms pumped, synchronized with long strides of athletic legs. Two hands, ghostly white, cut the air with mechanical precision. Protruding from the collar was an even whiter neck and head. The figure wore a sleek second skin of black, making the stark head and hands appear disembodied in the dark.The fleeting apparition disappeared down the dimly lit corridor. Her suit was made of Nautaleen; a high grade polymer, custom fitted with thousands of nano computers. Pressure gauges printed into the material controlled airflow and body temperature, allowing for peak physical performance. This was an outfit that would have pleased an Olympian.
Fusion propulsion built into the soles of her boots allowed for fluid locomotion. Her feet never touched the ground. Like a skater on black ice, the phantom sailed through the vacant corridors — just a blur in the darkness. Illuminatedby the narrow beam of a headlamp, the slim figure moved swiftly, tripping sensors in the floor that lit her energetic wake. With a smooth even glide, she coveredgreat lengths of the sleek hall. In the quietude she was all alone — except for her twin reflected in the polished floor — hanging close at her heels, as if trapped in a parallel dimension.
Like a dark flame she flickered against the dimly lit connector tube. The skin of her suit was like a chameleon, absorbing all surrounding color. She turned sharply left then right and disappeared into the restricted area. Breaking her stride for only a second she cleared the security scan.
A series of beeps sounded as the doors of the glass elevator slid open. She stepped in. The elevator plummeted on a smooth descent -- a thousand floors to the base of the pyramid. The first hundred floors whooshed past. The force shook loose strands of white hair that whipped against her forehead. Tall, with a complexion pale as a fish, the girl looked much like the rest of her race. The Arayici had wide set grey eyes and long peaked ears, that gave an expression of intelligent serenity.
The girl looked out beyond her reflection suspended in the glass. The Arayici colony spread out before her in a vast array of terra-spheres and halo-decks.Thousands of devoted scientists lived in these watertight domes set in orderly patterns of concentric circles.The domes provided housing, work stations and recreation centers for the Arayici.
Watertight domes set in orderly rows provided housing and recreation centers. Transparent corridors allowed for passage between buildings.The entire compound glowed soft inner light and appeared as a fine luminous web stretched across the abyssal plain. The corridors were coded with colored lights: the chromatic display of sapphire blue, violet, and pale citron made the subterranean maze navigable. The colors each gave off a frequency that played like symphonic chords upon the mind, serving to elevate brain waves to higher states of clarity.
As the elevator dropped so did the temperature. The girl’s hands became chilled and she rubbed her palms together for warmth. The Nautaleen suit acclimatized the rest of her body, acting like a protective skin. The temperature of the lower floors was well below the level of human comfort. For it was here in this frigid environment where calismen were birthed from pools of liquid metal.
The pyramid was a testament to the elegant design of the Arayici. Thermionic generators drew This underworld of hyper technology was fueled by thermionic generators that drew heat from the nearby volcano. Heat transfer made for clean energy, leaving the planetary ecology unchanged. There was no waste, no pollution, and no one labored. The calismen robots kept this busy world flowing and the Arayici were free to utilize their time for research.
The laboratories - normally a hive of activity - were today strangely quiet. Evenor noticed that the buildings appeared almost vacant, as if the inhabitants had fled, leaving behind a skeleton crew.
The elevator walls suddenly burst to life with projected media bulletins. Against the onslaught of sound and images the girl pushed sound buds into her ears. She closed her eye pale grey eyes and listened to the lyrics of the song. Evenor could tune out almost any distraction. Her mind had a staggering ability to remain focused, another product of gene editing.
The media screen continued to play a rapid succession of overlapping stories.
“The accelerator has overloaded! Disruptions in the magnetic field have led to instabilities in the core….”
The irritating news feed was of no interest to Evenor. Broadcasts tended to exaggerate, she thought.
And besides, she had heard it all before. Evenor’s mother, a quantum physicists at the site, had many times mentioned the overly cautious nature of the safety measures.
Then another broadcaster reported with growing alarm,
“The generator has been pushed well beyond the limits of safety...Seismic activity has opened fissures across the ocean floor. Evacuation procedures have commenced.”
The image on the third screen broke into pixels as armed militia broke through security and infiltrated the compound.
Evenor was not paying attention. As daughter of two senior scientists, she trusted her parents to tell her of any real emergency. They often warned her of the disparity between the truth and what the media reported. Their high ranking positions insured them of first-hand knowledge of even the most classified situations.
Evenor increased the volume on her ear buds and moved deeper into the music as she descended another hundred floors. The singer drew out the words, long and slow: “You’ve got nothing but time and time’s got nothing on you…”
The elevator came to a sudden stop. Evenor looked up. An intense beam of yellow light scanned her from top to toe before granting clearance to the restricted floors. The seconds dragged by as Evenor was made to stand still. Her thoughts turned again to her parents. She had not seen either of them for two lunons. It was not like them to work so long without checking in. At sixteen, Evenor was old enough to care for herself. Besides, she was never truly alone. She had her own personal calismen unit, called PD, who met all her needs.
The elevator doors slid open to a darkened hallway. Evenor bit her lip and frowned as she checked her wrist band to see there were still no messages. Her parents often worked late, but surely they would have sent word if there was an emergency.
The previous night Evenor had switched off her locator beacon and sped to the archives where she lost herself in books. While most students chose to linger over computer screens, Evenor longed for the stacks, where calismen delivered crumbling volumes of ancient lore.
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