Planet Ignis | Ch. 24 (Patreon)

Listen to me! I know your programming prevents you from attacking humans, but these are no longer humans. They gave up their rights when they chose to become Hitori’s lab rats. They are mutants! Therefore, you can do whatever you want to them. Too bad they took Archimedes from me. It was the drone with the most considerable amount of computing power. I had to choose one or the other. I chose you because you’re the only one with the means necessary to procure all other cores.

Files salvaged from the Raptor’s Ghost Drive. Recorded by Schneider, the Raptor.

Hitori felt his mind awakening. It was always a difficult painful process. The haze of many years of sleep took some time to wear off. He only knew that he was awake because he felt he couldn’t use his subconscious to the full. Nothing happened when he tried to summon the projection of his mental world. All he had access to was its smaller tinier version, his mental palace. That’s where he kept the most crucial information. If he couldn’t tap into the full power of his subconscious, he was waking up.

Before Hitori’s eyes even opened, Hitori’s hearing returned. As the ice crystal that encased him melted and thinned, voices became increasingly clear to him. At first, they sound muffled and distant. The first voice he could identify was that of the reindeer snow exploration drone that had kept him company for the last centuries. Its motherly AI voice was unmistakable. Then, he made out a young man’s voice talking to Archimedes.

Hitori could only make loose words. The first sentence he could put together was: “Can’t you make him wake up faster?” the young man had urgency in his voice. How refreshing to hear the voice of someone as young. There was something hardwired into human psychology, a desire to share experiences with younger ones and learn from older ones. For the first time in Hitori’s memory, he considered himself the oldest human alive. Even if he’d heard the voice of an old man, he would still be centuries older than them.

Hitori had never heard this accent before. It reminded him a bit of Hans, Chief Mechanic of the Phoenix. The crew of the Phoenix had been made up of scientists from many different countries, one of them Hans. Hans was from the Netherlands and spoke impeccable English. Sometimes he sounded American, others European. How curious that a similar accent would prevail after generations on a different planet.

After a few seconds of muffled questioning, Hitori could piece together Archimedes’ answer. The ice was thinning, and his hearing was improving. “Waking someone up from cryogenic sleep is a complex process. Furthermore, Dr. Hitori’s body has just undergone a complete mutation. It is best that he wakes up naturally.” The mutation worked! They did it. Hitori felt relief in his heart. If this was the case, chances of success had just skyrocketed. As the crystal continued melting, Hitori reviewed the sequence of events that had to happen for them to succeed. There was no room for failure.

Finally, Hitori’s eyes slowly opened. First, Hitori started making out three shapes through the haze of sleep. One should be the young man he had heard before. The other, with its centaur-like figure and prominent antlers, was undoubtedly Medes. There seemed to be another human present that hadn’t spoken yet.

Even before Hitori’s vision could clear up, it fogged up again. Tears rolled down his face. It had been centuries since he had been in the presence of another human. Hitori had only kept his sanity due to his incredible mental resilience and great discipline. Most other humans would have gone entirely senile by now. Humans weren’t made to live in isolation—the prospect of finally being able to see another person moved Hitori to his core.

Finally, as the tears and the years-long sleep passed, he regained sharp vision. First, his eyes focused on the third shape he had made out earlier. Hitori saw a short, bearded man. His hair was primarily gray. His intelligent eyes were full of life, but the rest of his body screamed abuse and death. Purplish-blue, unhealthy veins webbed just under his skin. He stood tall and fragile and had his eyes focused on his.

His eyes then moved towards Archimedes. Its familiar centaur-like shape walked back and forth as it checked vitals and ensured that Hitori was alright.

Finally, his eyes landed on the last shape. This was a young man in his early twenties. He seemed as skinny and shriveled as Hitori felt. Brownish skin and eyes dark as night looked curiously at him. Even though his voice had been the first he had heard, he had trouble focusing on him, as if his presence eluded him. He could see in his eyes pain beyond his years. “You’ve made it.” Hitori’s voice came out as a soft rasp. The doctor managed a small smile for his guests.

“Greetings, Dr. Hitori. My name is Trother, and this is Eli. We don’t have much time.”

“I know. The Raptor.” With each word Hitori spoke, his voice started recovering. It felt like a dream to once again have a conversation with another of his kind. But it wasn’t the time to let emotion get control of him. “Let us first establish priorities. How much time until it gets here?”

“We just threw it off the mountain an hour ago, as soon as it reached the summit. It should take it one day to climb all the way back here,” Eli answered.

“Provided we managed to throw it far enough away from the mountain. Otherwise, we have less than that. Based on the terrain of this mountain and the Raptor’s specs, Archimedes estimated that in the worst-case scenario, we have thirteen hours.”

“You threw it off the mountain?” How was that possible? The Raptor weighed several tons! He would ask them later. The important thing was that there was enough time for the next steps of his plan.

“First things first. We need to determine whether Statera worked. Did you bring any food with you?” Hitori asked his guests.

“We’re almost out, Doctor. But we still have a few rations.”

“It should be enough. Please, give some of your food to me. It’s been many centuries since I last ate.”

“Here’s all of it.”

Dr. Hitori was perplexed. This selflessness was something that moved him. The instinct would be to keep some of the food to oneself rather than give it all to a stranger, but this boy had given all of what he had without blinking. He looked again at the boy’s skinny figure. He must have needed the food as well.

Just as he theorized, they had developed a society focused on collective survival to survive this long. Anarchy would never have lasted this long. They must be wholly formatted to give their lives for the collective good with no second thought.

Archimedes took the food from the boy’s hands and brought them up to the mouth of the Doctor. It could all barely fit into the doctor’s mouth. Dr. Hitori closed his eyes. It was time to test whether he had been able to produce one last miracle.

Hitori tried to feel the potential energy in his lab. Even inside the cave, there were different temperatures caused by proximity to the freezer, Archimedes’ nuclear reactor, the machinery, and the body heat produced by his guests. All he had to do was to harness the difference between potential and kinetic energy. If he could use and guide it, he could convert it into electricity.

He took deep breaths. He’d start by using the electricity running in the machines. He felt the lights of the lab flickered. Then he quested toward the lab walls, feeling the cold and the frost covering it. The ice that covered the cave started to melt and cascade down the walls. First slowly, then quickly. He managed to produce the first pulse of energy. Now that he had managed to kickstart the cycle, he just had to keep it going. The temperature within the cave started equalizing as the pulse continued.

Hitori felt his body beginning to charge and feed off the electricity in the air. He channeled the energy into his mouth. Some of the ignium melted, and he gulped. He kept going. Had it not been for the abnormal heat emanating from his two guests, he didn’t think he would have had enough energy to tap into. Some more of the food melted, and he swallowed again. When he finished his meal, he then released all the cold that had converged toward him. All the walls froze over again. Hitori let out a heavy sigh. He moved his hand and saw how it now had a pinkish hue rather than the cryogenic blue—for the first time in many centuries, Hitori stood up.

“Fascinating,” said Hitori as he stood up. “So, this is what polarized ignium tastes like.” He turned to Trother and Eli, who patiently waited while watching the changes that were happening to the doctor.

“Now, I think it is time for you and me to chat. I’m sure we all have many questions we want to ask each other.”

Ch. 25