The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (e reader txt) 📕

a lot of stuff I didn't know. I still remember learning how to handle liquids in space. All the times I fucked up and let water loose in the cabins. Using the toilet was the hardest part. Learned that one the hard way. They tell you to time it right, but they don't tell you why. That was a long night in the medical bay.

Listening to my squad talk back and forth, I learned that I didn't have many experiences. Not like them. No parents to speak of. No siblings, or cousins. I was stuck on the streets and in the mines of Mars, trapped under the thumb of the Executor. I thought I was smart. Had a good head on my shoulders. Then I enlisted to escape that street life and potential prison sentence and found out that I was actually pretty stupid.

Not just due to the lack of peaceful experiences, like vacation trips, and dating, but school and careers. I didn't even know what "school" was until it was brought up in basic.

All I knew was the military. It was the best choice I ever made. I was the only martian in my unit, and the hurdles were high as hell to get over, but in the end that was my family. The only good in my life.

Now they were all gone save for Reaper and Spectre. I was back to being the outcast. It was hard making friends. Especially when you know they would die at some point.

"It seems the last update was thirty miles north, northeast of us." Nostradamus stated. "We should receive updates more frequently the closer we get."

"Looks like a smooth ride." I gave the wheel a twist, turning to head more eastward. I sped up, pushing the truck as fast as it would go; about fifty miles an hour.

"I must admit this is awfully exciting!" Nostradamus said. "To see the eos up close is a tremendous endeavor! I sure hope we don't get eaten!" He hummed in thought. "Though, if perhaps being eaten whole is an option, I would very much like that!"

"I think your brain might be damaged." I raised a brow. "You want to be eaten whole? Is that some sort of robot fetish?"

"If I could see a living eos from the inside, I could learn all about how their bodies function!"

"You could just...scan it, y’know?"

"Bichani will go through insane stretches to learn what they don't know." Yaaranam shouted from outside the truck.

"Must it be death inducing?"

"If I die learning more about the cosmos, then so be it! Perhaps on the other side, I will spontaneously know all there is to know." A smiling face.

"You talk about it like it's a living thing."

"That's because it is!"

"What do you mean? It's just a thing. It's a space."

"Incorrect!" He was cheerful as ever. "From our collected knowledge, the entire universe is a living, breathing organism much like we are. At least it has all the same characteristics. Just on a grander scale."

"That sounds like bullshit." I said. Then I sighed. Like I knew any better. This guy was an actual scientist, who spent his whole life studying the universe.

"It is hard to believe, I know, but it's the simplest solution. Simplicity is always best. Things that are over complicated have a tendency to be false."

"Right. So, we're like cells in a body?"

"It’s possible!" He nodded. "We won't know until we ascend, however, and we haven't quite figured that out yet."

"Ascend?" I remembered Fenris mentioning that before. Something about guiding the way for humans to ascend.

"As you know, there are multiple dimensions. An infinite number. We do not know exactly what entails with each dimension, only that it is possible to transcend the veil between them."

"So, like Heaven and Hell?"

"It's possible, but we have no way of knowing. It is believed that death is the key to the next dimension. It's only a theory since we can't exactly bring the dead back to life. Not without significant brain damage and memory loss."

"Didn't you die though?"

"No. Technically, I shut down. I entered a form of stasis where time does not exist. I was paused until you put me back together."

"The eos. They eat souls, don't they? That's what Fenris said. That means souls are actually real?" A bunch of questions started popping into my head. It was all I could do to keep from spewing them all out in one breath.

Nostradamus perked up, smiling. I guess he was happy someone was interested in what he had to say.

"I have no true definitive answer. I believe they are. An intangible entity of the next plane. It's simple enough, but it's hard to study for proof. It brings up a lot of theories from around the galaxy." He fell quiet as he thought.

"Actually, almost all religions in the galaxy, which is well over a thousand, mention souls, spirits, ghosts, and other similar entities. They all speak of gods and goddesses that closely resemble one another in appearance and roles. In fact, many of the tales match up quite well! It may be safe to assume that we are all in fact connected to one another."

"Which leads back to the idea about the universe being a living organism." I scratched my cheek.

"I think it's all garbage." Yaaranam said. "The Emperor says there's no need to trouble ourselves with theories and ideas of afterlives. They probably don't exist at all, and even if they do, we aren't there, so it's not our problem."

"I see. I suppose your leader dictates what is law and what is not." Nostradamus frowned.

"Sounds like he's a dictator." I rolled my eyes.

"There's no point in sitting on your ass and thinking all day when there are missions the Emperor needs done."

"Aren't you like exiled or something? Your emperor wants you killed publicly." I stated.

"It is well deserved. I disobeyed my orders."

"You make no goddamn sense, woman."

She huffed, kicking a foot up to the ceiling.

"Will you just keep an eye out for any eos? One of