He slid off of the bed keeping a firm hold of the side as his unsteady legs got used to the weight of his body again. Shuffling along the edge of the bed he looked around the rest of the room and found...nothing. The place was completely empty apart from the bed and instrumentations. Thorn suddenly had the uneasy feeling he was in some sort of tomb.
"Hello!" he called out. There was no echo as he would have expected from an empty room and no reply. "Hello!" he tried again even louder. He stood there in silence listening for any signs of life. Nothing! His mind felt sore and a little tired as did his leg muscles. He sat back down on the bed.
A shimmer of a shape caught his eye and Torst materialised before him.
"Hello Thorn. How are you feeling today?"
"Tell me what's going on! Why am I here? Where are my men?"
"Do you not remember anything from the last time you were conscious?"
"I remember that you're one of the TechPsychers. The rest is hazy. What's been happening?"
"I'm afraid you are the only survivor after the detonation of a neural bomb. We picked you up after we detected your weak life signs. You've been here for the last five days recovering."
Memories started to filter back into Thorn's mind as the pain of the loss of his friends took hold.
"Where are the other two? They looked exactly like you."
"Maybe to your primitive human eyes, but our race is varied in its population. You will come to recognise this if your stay is prolonged."
Thorn looked at Torst confused.
"What do you mean prolonged? Why have you got me here?"
"There is a council meeting in one cycle to discuss if you are what we have been looking for. You could be the answer to all of our problems and your own races conflicts providing you are agreeable."
"What problems? Why should I help TechPsychers?"
"Thorn, you have the wrong idea about us, partly. Let me explain. I come from a planet called Vulzeon, two galaxies away from your own. Our race has evolved into a caste system. One a Warrior caste and one a Scientific caste. I and my colleagues belong to the latter caste. We differ in how we interact with other species. The Warrior caste use force to either trade with or dominate other species where as we look for peaceful ways to interact with them.
Until two hundred of your Earth years ago, we complimented each other, making great progress in securing beneficial trade with many other species. Then a change in the leaders of the Warrior caste led to a split between us and eventually, due to their greater force, we were subdued in the influence we had on our future. This lead to many of us fleeing our home world.
As a species we value and recognise the power of the mind. As you see we discard the bodies we are born with in favour of this artificial replacement. It is so much more versatile and has none of the weaknesses our original organic bodies had. We created the Neural Enhancer, the band on our heads, to increase our brain power. You see, we have pretty much tapped into everything our minds are capable of. We have created machines that we control with our minds for peace and war, but that is as much as we can do.
On our travels through six galaxies so far, we have only found one species that has the brain capacity, though not yet realised, to outperform all others. Incredible powers could be achieved with the correct guidance. And that is the human species."
Thorn looked stunned. Could it be what he had always felt or was this alien pandering to what he had always sought.
"Once the Warrior caste had realised this, they trod very carefully when dealing with your kind. They knew if they tried to take your planet by force that you would fight until you died. That would have been no use to them. When the opportunity arose for trade with an unscrupulous trader, motions were put in place. For the use of our neural technology, test subjects were sent to our home world where they were used in experiments to try to utilise the extra capacity of their minds. However, it was found that the Neural Enhancers had a limited effect on the average human brain. The Warrior caste was on the verge of giving up and probably destroying the whole of the human race when they discovered what you call the 'Naturals'. Those, such as yourself, were better suited to the Neural Enhancers, but not only that, with manipulative brain surgery the Neural Enhancers could be removed altogether.
They began creating army's that had no equal in the galaxies they travelled. Now there are other species seeking out your race to take advantage of the gift some of you possess. None have made it into your galaxy yet. They have no idea where you are, but it is only a matter of time."
Thorn couldn't believe what he was hearing. His heart sank. He sat quietly for a while trying to digest everything that Torst had said until his anger finally erupted.
"Lab rats! That's all we've been to you? I thought you were supposed to be the peaceful group in your race! Yet you take our kind and experiment on them trying to create some kind of super soldier. To do what?"
"No, Thorn. This is one of the reasons my race has been split. When the Warrior caste detailed the trade terms with your kind, we vehemently opposed it. At a cost to many lives. Those of us that survived and escaped our planet have been trying to find a way to stop what has been going on. We have been following you and your men for a while. We thought you could be the answer."
Thorn just stared at Torst. No emotions showed on his blue face that could give Thorn a clue as to the validity of his story. A stoic expression was a permanent feature on all Vulzeon's.
Could this all be true? Has the human race been sold out by a man blinded by the lust for power? What could he do? The Psychic Knights were no more. His heart ached as he remembered.
Thorn's anger subsided and was replaced by a helpless resignation. He pulled his knees up to his chest and closed his arms around them. Tears welled in his eyes. He felt a loneliness he had only felt once before. Finally he spoke with a weak voice.
"Looks like I'm no use to you now."
Emotions had been mostly eradicated from Torst's people with the use of the Neural Enhancers and Thorn's show of helplessness was completely ignored.
"Even though our plans involved all of your team, I believe you still have enough potential to be successful."
Torst activated a Holo-Screen in front of Thorn. Alien symbols appeared.
"The effect of the neural bomb has made changes to your brain." Torst pointed at the symbols. "The changes are significant and by all known information we have on your species, you should be dead. Your brain repaired itself at a colossal rate and preliminary tests show that there is activity in nearly all areas of the brain, although very slight. Can you feel any difference in your mind?"
Thorn shook his head slowly.
"I can feel a little buzzing...no humming, but that's all."
"You need to look deep into your mind. Let me help you." Torst went to place his hands on Thorn's head. Thorn's initial reaction was to pull back, but after Torst explained what he was going to do he relaxed.
As he looked into his own mind a strange new world emerged. At first he felt a swimming, swirling sensation with sadness all around. As he plunged deeper and deeper bright psychedelic colours surrounded him, enveloping him. Though he felt he was falling, it was in a controlled way. The further in he went the sadness subsided a little and the darker it became. The swirling became more violent and he was losing control of his descent.
Suddenly he was thrown from the bed as it flew through the air to the far side of the room crashing against the wall before coming to rest. Thorn was thrown against Torst and they ended up sprawled across the floor.
"What did you do?" Thorn screamed at him as he scrambled backwards until his back hit a wall. If Torst could have felt fear, after touching Thorn's mind, he would have been terrified.
"I did nothing. I merely helped you look into your mind. The rest was all of your doing."
Thorn began sobbing with fear. Torst got up and retrieved the bed with his mind. A moment passed as Thorn calmed down and the tears subsided. Torst helped h
im back on to the bed.
"Try to describe what you saw," Torst said.
Thorn took a couple of shaky breaths as he tried to recall.
"I felt as though I was falling, at first, but still in control. Everything was so...sad. Then, the deeper I went everything around me became..violent. I tried to reach out to stop myself going any further. Going further into the dark hole below me. I grabbed hold of something, but not with my hands, and threw it at the hole to try to block it and that's when I came round and found myself on the floor."
Torst called up another Holo-Screen and studied the symbols.
"This is like nothing I have seen before. The raw power seems limitless. Can you do anything with your mind at the moment? Anything that you could do before?"
"I couldn't do much before. Move small objects, mind talk with my people. That's all."
A fist sized spherical object materialised in Torst's hand.
"Try to keep this in the air."
Thorn looked at the object in Torst's hand. Suddenly it flew straight up and sat in a dent it left in the ceiling.
"Wow! That is really light." The object slowly came down to head height.
"Now what I want you to do is squeeze it as hard as you can. Don't worry about breaking it. It's made from an alloy that is the hardest material we know of. I can monitor the pressure you exert on it."
Thorn began to squeeze with his mind. A slight stabbing pain in the recesses of his brain gradually increased until the ball dropped to the floor and he lowered himself onto the bed.
"I can't do any more. I need to rest."
"OK. I will return in a few hours to see how you are doing. When you are rested I will take you above and show you around."
Thorn barely heard the last sentence as he drifted into a deep sleep.
Torst went through the information on the Holo-Screen. The remnants of emotion he had left creased his face in to a wry smile.
"Let's see you dispute this evidence, Chark." The screen disappeared and soon after so did Torst.
Chapter 10
Earth glowed in the orbit of the sun. Its vibrant colours and homely feel could be bettered nowhere else in the galaxy. Oh you could get better climates on the Alpha planet in the Delta system and pleasures unrestricted on Morious in the Beta system, but for pure feelings of being back in the metaphorical womb, you can't beat Earth.
That's how Conrad Preest felt right at this moment. Sat in his rotating apartment just on the coast of Dubai. He lounged in the pool on his balcony looking through the glass wall across the ocean. He loved the ocean. He was brought up on the beach. Two hundred and fifty years ago in a beach hut the size of a small house. The best years of his life. He had money and power now, but for pure enjoyment and happiness he couldn't beat those days and often drifted back to reminisce.
The sun was low on the horizon now and it had been five days since he had finally rid himself of those annoying Psychic Knights. What happened to them now was of no consequence to him. They were out of the picture. Though he was a bit annoyed that the leader had mysteriously disappeared. The last scan of the area showed very little life signs and those that were detected wouldn't have lasted the day.
Still, the rest of the group he had made a tidy profit from or was owed some big favours even though he was sure they wouldn't be alive by now. All in all the untested neural bomb had been a success. Once the rebel's hideout world was found and neutralised he could carry on with the business of expanding his empire across the galaxy. There were only a few hundred worlds left. Most only populated by a few thousand people. It shouldn't take too long.
He sank lower into the water and closed his eyes. The water rippled against his rough features. He was never known as a handsome man and the deep scare on the top of his head that had contributed to the loss of his hair couldn't be passed off as a birth mark. However, now that he had the power there was no shortage of female company.
***
'If you would just check these results you would see what abilities he has. Far in advance of any other subject we have tested.' Torst was in the main module trying to get Chark to look at the newest results from Thorn.
'I will see your findings when you present them to the council. Until then I have urgent matters to attend to.'
Chark left Torst standing on his own. Chark had sway over the council, something that was always useful. Torst desperately wanted to get him on his side and felt sure once he saw the results he would help in any way he could.
Torst looked around him. The original plain module, from the view of the outsider, was still there. Two kilometres long and one kilometre wide and a height of four metres. The plain white walls looking as though they went on forever. But to Torst and his fellow Vulzeon's, thanks to a device located in the centre module that transmitted to all of their Neural Enhancers, they saw the landscape of their home world. The lime coloured suns in the yellow sky above. The rolling hills covered with the JuJu trees and their fur covered branches.
The courtyard in which he stood was alive with his colleagues discussing everyday matters which usually consisted of talk of the latest subject that showed promise. Everyone knew of Thorn, but viewed him as just another promising specimen that wasn't going to deliver. There was another on their lips at the moment. Not from the human species, but a Leoneon. A biped from Lenois, a planet in the Cenium galaxy. Its brain capacity was only three quarters the size of the humans, but showed promise in a recent study.
The gathering of the council was to discuss the possibility of tutoring Shriln, as he was known, to develop his mind to its full potential. Torst had managed to get an invite to the meeting on the results he had so far. Mostly down to Chark's persuasion, but he seemed to have cooled to the idea of taking Thorn further. What Torst needed was something that would show beyond all doubt that it wouldn't be a waste of time to pursue the humans mind.
The sky above was changing to a deep red. Time for the council to gather.
The ornately carved square building that lay just to the East of the courtyard was a bright red in colour and was big enough to hold a hundred and fifty Vulzeon's, but today it would house just sixty four. Numbers had been depleted due to the capture of several units from the Garian Sector which needed to be started up again with new council members. This happened frequently as the Warrior caste hunted them down and found their hideouts.
Inside the neural projected building was one central room. Lighting was provided by the luminescence of the ceiling which could be controlled by the mind; as most things were. The walls themselves were of a Richter stone with white veins weaving their way through the red grainy surface. It could only be found in the southern hemisphere of Vulzeon due to the vicious cold weather conditions. It was a stone that was synonymous with the Scientific caste.
The wooden flooring was harvested from the praying fields of the religious sect known only as Drionans.
Each of the council stepped into their elevated open cubicles. These cubicles circled a central platform that provided a stage for the hopeful scientist to plead their case.
The cubicles rose into the air to impress the council's authority even more and the edges of the glowing ceiling dimmed to leave just the central platform illuminated. A lonely figure almost identical to Torst stepped in to the light. No words passed his lips, but dialogue began.
'We have two candidates this meeting. One was requested on special merit. The first is Asherst with his findings on the Leoneon.’
Torst was outside the building by the waterfall. His mind allowed him to feel a cool air blowing across the water. He'd been in front of the council only once before. An experience that he felt lacked the necessary authoritative information required to sway the council in his favour. He left that day with a lower standing amongst his scientific community. He was much younger then and less prepared. That case was more to do with becoming the youngest finder rather than having a viable subject.
Asherst had been inside now for fifteen minutes
. Torst had known him most of his life. Starting off as friendly rivals in the Mastering years, Asherst had become bitter, one emotion the Vulzeon's couldn't overcome, and any little victory was a triumph for him. The fact that Torst had gate-crashed this meeting was like a knife in Asherst's back.
Another ten minutes and Asherst emerged from the council meeting. He ignored Torst as he walked by. The Presenter, who showed Asherst out, beckoned Torst towards the door.
'Wait here.'
He turned and re-entered the building leaving Torst at the entrance.
'Now for Torst who, as mentioned before, is here on special merit. He brings the findings on the human.'
The Presenter sent a signal to Torst's mind and he entered, replacing the Presenter on the platform. He stared into the darkness. Nothing could be seen.
'Torst, you stand before us with a special merit to display your findings. Having already seen Asherst and his impressive specimen I urge you to reconsider this meeting. It is very rare two findings are selected.’
Torst thought for a moment. He was up against the odds now. It seemed they had made their minds up about Asherst and his subject. Why would they consider Thorn? He straightened up his body and calmed his mind.
'It may be rare, but it has happened before. I believe I have found what we have always searched for. This human has far greater potential than I have ever witnessed. I believe he will become everything we need to halt the Warrior caste and their crimes.’
'We have viewed some of your data. He is impressive, but nothing to suggest that what you say will come to pass.'
'I have more data for you to review. I recently took the human into his own mind. The reaction was...uncontrolled, but powerful. Following on from that I gave him the Constriction test.'
A Holo-Screen appeared before him just above his head visible to everyone in the room. A series of symbols rolled across it. A hiss of murmurs filled his mind as the council looked at the results.
'Are these true? They have not been tampered with?'
'They are true. You can run any checks on them you like. The humans mind was drained from the previous experience and so was not at full strength, yet you see he has done what no other mind has done to the constriction ball. Dare I suggest that if he was at full strength the ball would not have survived.'