Tamisan and Enigma Box Set

Chapter 7

7

I was supposed to rest, but that was impossible. I’d spent the rest of the day and half the night thinking about it all and searching through the memories in my mind.

I’d been lying in bed trying to sleep, but I was too wide awake, too restless. The thoughts in my head were no longer tumbling over each other, and now that they were coherent, I could focus on them.

There were so many memories there that belonged to Sifayah, and when I wondered how Sifayah was captured by Starrick in the first place, the memory drifted into my mind and it was like it was happening to me.

I was on the sand, walking back toward the village, when I sensed danger. I’d just left Jarleth and my brothers at The Dive. We’d been playing there most of the afternoon, seeing who could do the most interesting dive off the rocks and into the surf. I wondered how they could stay there and play all day. I’d had enough. It was time I made my way to Tasha’s cave to attend my Mind Training.

I’d looked back as I waved goodbye, just in time to see Jarleth push Axiak under the waves, then Jadidi joined in and pushed Jarleth under. I walked along a bit further, and by the time I looked back again, they were all up on the rocks, ready for another turn to show off their skills.

I wanted to get my training finished and get back home before the sun set, and was enjoying the cool sea breeze on my wet skin when the dark feeling came. I wasn’t sure what the danger was. The feeling was like nothing I’d felt before. I looked around; at the sea, the rocks on the beach and the trees beyond – even back at The Dive where I could still make out the shapes of the boys – but found nothing of any threat.

I reached out further with my mind and sensed that the danger was coming from above.

When I looked up, there was a large shiny creature hovering high above my head. It made a humming sound and didn’t appear to have any wings. I wondered how it could stay up there without wings of any kind. It was so big and heavy that it should have fallen out of the sky.

The object was a silvery colour and seemed to be made of some sort of metal. How could a living thing be made of metal? I cringed as it came closer – both hearts racing. The only weapon I carried was a dagger, which I knew would do little damage against this huge wingless monster, but drew it anyway. A blinding light like the brightest sun struck me and I instinctively ducked down into a crouching position and put my arm up to cover my eyes, then the light seemed to swallow me up...

I opened my eyes. I was shaking all over – feeling all the terror Sifayah had felt as she was beamed aboard the shuttle. I took a few slow deep breaths and the panic subsided. I was amazed – the memories were so real. It was as if I’d been there myself. Part of me had been.

Someone could go crazy thinking about this stuff, I thought to myself.

It was really strange. Like there were two people inhabiting my mind. Only, Sifayah didn’t have a conscious mind. No will of her own anymore. Just traces of her life left behind... It was sad...

I continued to read Sifayah’s memories long into the night. I knew Sifayah was the Zheav’s daughter and that she had two brothers; Axiak and Jadidi. I discovered she was the oldest child who also had three sisters; Shanae, Melina and Channia. Her mother, Tamari, was a proud woman and was well respected within the tribe. Her father, Silurian, was a wise and strong leader, and the Waikari people stood by him and respected his judgement.

Sifayah was born under the waters of Akilina Cove and had lived in the cove all her life. She’d learned the ways of her people and had grown to be a beautiful young woman. Their cove was surrounded by cliffs that rose about twenty metres on all three sides. The cliffs were almost impossible to pass, so they seldom had contact with the other races on their world. They called the people from the land, the Jungle People.

The Waikari had never really ventured across the land any great distance either. There was no real need to, but mostly it was a case of fearing the unknown. And the few outsiders they had come into contact with were not very friendly toward outsiders, especially when they discovered they could breathe underwater and were telepathic. It seemed to disturb them or scare them, which puzzled the Waikari. To them it was a natural part of life.

So the Waikari decided to guard their cove from outsiders to avoid any trouble.

Despite all this, Sifayah believed one day the Jungle People would be ready to become friends, but this view wasn’t shared by many of her clan. When faced with such opposition to her ideas, Sifayah simply decided to keep many of her beliefs and opinions to herself.

The cliff face was interspersed with lots of different sized caves, which served as homes for the Waikari. They lived on the land, rather than beneath the sea, as it was safer up in the caves than under the water. Some generations before, when they still lived under the ocean, it was not uncommon for a villager to be taken by a Water Dragon during the night.

The Waikari knew a lot about the ocean, but little about the land. They called their world Sovoli, meaning Sovereign World, though they didn’t realise how much their world stretched out across the land.

I read the memories as Sifayah matured into a young woman, promised to a young warrior named Jarleth. They were to be Joined in the Garsha Ceremony during the third moon of the Cool Season. And that had been taken from her when she was captured. I could see Jarleth’s face clearly in my mind and knew Sifayah had loved him. He’d matured into a brave warrior and had passed all the traditional Initiation Tasks set before him. He would make a fine mate for the daughter of the Zheav.

Sifayah had been proud to be betrothed to such a brave and handsome young man. He had long black hair – as black as hers, but it only came down to elbow length – and a beautiful boyish face. His tanned, scarless, well-muscled body made Sifayah the envy of her all friends.

All of the Waikari people could communicate telepathically, but Sifayah was different. Her kinetic abilities were not only rare, they were much greater than that of any of the Gifted Ones in her clan. This was discovered when she was young and she’d been sent to Tasha, The Old One, to be trained in the use of her Gift.

As strange as it seemed to me, telepathy wasn’t considered a Gift amongst the Waikari. Everyone possessed the ability. It was hard to fathom – a whole race of people that were Talented, but it was natural and just a part of their daily life. I’d never heard of such a thing. It was only other Gifts – or Talent – such as Telekinesis and the other abilities like Empathy and Seer that were thought of as anything special.

She also seemed to have a very good memory, and this was a very useful tool where her Talent was concerned. Back on Earth, I’d seen how Talents could teleport an object into their hands from a great distance simply by remembering it – what it looked like and what it felt like. The more you could remember about something, the easier it was to teleport.

My thoughts returned to Jarleth. Through Sifayah’s memories, I saw him standing there before her, sea spray showering down over them both. They were at The Dive, alone. Her brothers had gone home and she and Jarleth had lingered for a while so they could spend some time together. They’d known each other since childhood, and they knew each other so well. Sometimes they needed no words to communicate, so they would stand on the outcrop and look into each other’s eyes – not even using Mind-touch. They could feel what the other was feeling.

He held out his arms to her and she melted into them. It was a place she’d always felt comfortable and safe. They stayed there a long time, letting the sea throw whatever it could at them...

I’d drifted off to sleep thinking about that. When I finally woke up, it was nearly nine in the morning. Three hours to go. I still had the memory of the two of them on the rocks fresh in my mind, and I felt a warmth, but also a strange sadness inside.

There was a door to a little bathroom next to the mirror. I hadn’t noticed it at first as it blended into the wall even better than the main door, but I’d discovered it the previous day as its sensor was right next to the mirror. As I entered, I grabbed the pile of clothes I’d found on a small shelf the day before. The pile contained some undergarments and a one-piece day suit. All white, of course. And some white shoes. Why did everything have to be so white and stark and boring? It was worse than being back at home. Even a small hint of colour would have been nice. Anything at all would have been better than this.

I used the bathroom, dressed myself and sat back on my bed. I spoke to the computerised food dispenser while I brushed my long, long hair and ordered something nutritious for breakfast. It was in a panel in the wall to the left of my bed head. I kept brushing while I waited for my meal. It would take a while to get used to the extra length, but I didn’t care.

There was something bothering me. Something I couldn’t stop from popping into my head. When they transferred my brainwaves and somehow my whole consciousness and memories across to this body, what happened to my soul? Did it follow me? Or was I a soulless being that was no longer human and no longer capable of love and joy or be able to care about another person? My emotions were all over the place, but I didn’t seem to feel joy or love. And I definitely didn’t care about anyone in this place. Was there something wrong with me?

Maybe the Eibhlin Process had created an army of soulless creatures that would one day do something terrible because they were no longer quite human...

Those dark thoughts were tearing at my insides, making me feel like there was something wrong. Like I was something broken. I had to push those thoughts back. They felt like they were crushing me. What did it mean to have no soul anyway? What was the purpose of a soul? Can someone live without one?

I tried again to push the thoughts away and out of my head. It wasn’t easy. I had to concentrate on the positives. I had to think about my new abilities and my new body and the fact that I could breathe underwater. I tried to feel the excitement that those facts should bring out, but it fell flat. I needed to get out of here and away from my thoughts.

After eating alone in silence, I decided to see if I could leave my room and take a look around the base. I pressed my thumb against the Thumb-lock beside the door and the light flashed red. Locked. So I was a prisoner. Why wouldn’t they let me out? Surely I could stretch my legs and look around to stop the boredom from driving me mad.

Well, they don’t let lab rats out of their cages...

But I wasn’t a rat. I couldn’t see why they wouldn’t let me out. There was nowhere to go – we were underground. Maybe they didn’t want me snooping around. Did they have something to hide?

Unless I wasn’t well enough to be allowed out. Maybe there was something Dr Starrick wasn’t telling me about...

Oh, stop it! I told myself, You’ve been through hell and they are keeping you under observation!

I found that I was pacing up and down. I still wanted to get out. I’d been there less than a day – well, I’d been conscious less than a day – and already I was getting restless. Although I’d spent many hours studying in front of my computer console back home, I always made sure I took regular breaks and did enough exercise. I couldn’t stay in the one place too long. I’d been in this poky little room too long.

Okay, how to get out? What can I use?

I started looking around the room. Maybe if I could create a build-up of static electricity, I could short circuit the lock long enough for it to open once. I’d seen it done before.

Pity there’s no carpet on the floor, I thought.

I spotted some rubber gloves in a little compartment at the foot of my bed and there was a small mat on the bathroom floor. Grabbing two of the gloves and the mat, I raced over to the doorway. I put the mat down on the floor and started shuffling my feet on it. The slippers I wore had rubber soles, so that would increase the static charge. I rubbed the gloves on my hair.

I continued the rubbing and shuffling for a few minutes – feeling silly, then pressed my thumb against the lock again. It emitted a strange series of beeps and the door swished open. I peered outside. The corridor was empty. Good. I could hear that the corridor to the left was buzzing with movement somewhere out of sight, so I decided to go to the right. I didn’t want to run into anyone. I only wanted to satisfy some of my curiosity and look around. I needed to get out for a while.

I ditched the gloves and stepped out into the corridor before the door swished shut again. I walked silently through the corridor and turned down another, then another, keeping track of the turns. I discovered that I liked the way my long hair swished from side to side when I walked at a quick pace. I thought about my identity. It seemed to have been taken from me without permission, without warning. Who was I now? I wasn’t sure anymore. Would I get a new name? Would I get a new ID?

Finally, I came to a door at a bend in one of the corridors. The symbol below the Thumb-lock was one I recognised as being for a laboratory, which also meant restricted access, and my curiosity rose considerably. I pressed my thumb to the lock. As I suspected, it didn’t let me enter. I knew whatever was inside the Lab would prove to be very interesting, as I’d already seen some of the exotic flora and fauna this planet had to offer. I pressed my thumb to the lock again. Nothing.

Like it was gonna work the second time! I scoffed.

I could hear footsteps heading my way and managed to duck around a corner before the approaching procession entered the corridor. I held my breath as I listened. They stopped, and I realised the sign on the wall opposite me was inside a glass cabinet, and the glass allowed me to see the reflection of the people fairly clearly from my position. Realising that I was holding my breath, I let it out slowly and let myself breathe again.

There were three men standing together. One of them wore a loose-fitting robe like the one I was wearing when I’d woken up, and his hands seemed to be bound in front of him. The other two wore some kind of uniform, and I thought that maybe they were transporting a prisoner. Otherwise, why would his hands be bound?

I concentrated hard on the reflection, and somehow it seemed to become quite clear. I thought my new abilities were somehow helping me to see them more clearly. I didn’t know how my mind could do the things it could do – I only knew that the Talent was there, and it seemed to just come freely sometimes.

The uniformed men were poking at the prisoner, taunting him and laughing. He tried to pull away, tried to say something, but the words came out garbled. This made them laugh even more. I tried to figure out what could be wrong with him. The more he tried to speak, the more he would mess it up. I looked back at the guards. One of them was laughing so much he was hugging his ribs.

I tried concentrate on the prisoner’s mind. What could be wrong that muddled up his speech so much? As I focused, I found I could see into his mind. This surprised me, but I steadied myself. Sifayah had done this countless times. There were thoughts scattered everywhere, like someone had stuck a hand mixer in his brain and turned it on. As he became more agitated, I could see thoughts and memories in his head that reminded me of when I was still unconscious – right before I woke to find that I was no longer human.

Some of the jumbled thoughts were of the jungle and some were familiar. I could see some of the things that Mosuti had told me about when we were aboard the Acronis, on our way here. Then I saw memories of our times together.

I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Could it be…? The guards provided me with the answer.

“What’s his problem, anyway?” one was saying.

“The Eebalin thingy didn’t go too well on this guy,” the other answered. “He’s s’posed ta have that Mosuti guy in his head.”

I sucked in my breath and held it. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. They did it to other people? To Mosuti? Dr Starrick had told me that all the others were dead, but Mosuti would have to have been alive for them to do the procedure and transfer his consciousness into this man’s head!