The Silence of Zegandaria by Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov, Atanas Marinov (book recommendations website txt) 📕

Then the real reason for everything hit me. I clutched the Narenzian chip again. I closed my eyes. And Jessica appeared.

- I think you're beginning to get the hang of what's going on!" she spoke, but in a slightly softer tone. Our only chance of survival is to get to Proxima B first, or even Nanjagar!

- "I'm not sure I'll be able to steer the ship as I should," I replied, wondering if I'd just ruin everything.

- "With my help, you'll be fine," she encouraged me, "Just keep a tight grip on the Narenzian chip that makes a connection to the Emovade coupler in your gauntlet, otherwise I can't exist in this reality!"

- "So you're long dead too!," I voiced my concerns, struggling to stop my tears, "But how did that happen?"

- "We don't have time now. Set the same coordinates to the ship," she began to instruct me carefully.

- "But you've already set them," I persisted.

- "He won't listen to you believe me," she informed me. "The Ervanan ships can be said to be as alive as they are. How else do you explain their survival?"

- "I mean, Sikur' Narenzian chip saved me," I spat out the pebble, "But where did he get it?"

- "Exactly," was her curt reply, "He's the only reason we're talking. Apparently Brutus was mostly valuable with the betrayal of our technology to the Ervanans, who seem to be no less technologically advanced than us."

When you're on an icy world on the edge of the Solar system, you'd clearly realize that there might be enough dangers lurking here, like various asteroid debris or secretly stationed Earth Federation forces, but right now my mind was on something completely different.

What was Jessica really trying to tell me?

- "And where is your physical body?," I asked, clearly aware of the naivety of my question.

- "Actually, it's quite close behind you," she answered me calmly, but somewhat regretfully.

I looked behind me - she was indeed right. I was terribly sad that I was left completely alone, but Jessica's soul was encoded inside the Narenzian chip.

- "How does this technology actually work?," I wondered.

The Ervanans had too carefully selected those among us who could use telepathy and psychokinesis.

- "Then it appears that Earth's developments are nothing more than," I tried to order my thoughts.

- Yes, Korolan Bru had obtained and prototyped the chip, and Brutus thought he was the only one who had it, which of course he didn't.

- "Then that means you've been working for Korolan Bru all along," I marvelled, "But you've never left the surface of Charon, or at least the outline of the colony."

- "That's not exactly right," she said, somewhat strangely. "You're right to an extent, of course, but you're missing Sikur. He had the right to go out through Brutus, but he didn't know that I was also proficient in parakinesis."

- "So you killed him," I groaned, "But didn't he shoot, or at least he was going to try. The plasma blaster..."

- Nothing of the sort, my dear Jervond - it was a clever way of getting you to join in. The Ervanans want you, not me, and on the other hand we shouldn't miss another important point at all - Sikur died because of the redirected trajectory of his own shot, which was altered by me through the use of telekinesis and parakinesis at the same time.

- "Sounds very complicated," I barely opened my mouth, 'What makes me so important to Ervanan civilization.

- Actually, I saw, or rather read Sikur' mind, and believe me, he just wasn't cut out for the job for one simple reason - he could never act on his own and take responsibility. He needed a brutal type like Brutus himself, who was soon executed on Haumea on one of his visits.

The puzzle was beginning to line up in my head. She had planned this from the beginning. But why had she sacrificed herself?

CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: REVEALING THE CARDS

- "Jervond, every civilisation has to reach a certain level of development before the others have any real interest in interacting with it," Jessica added quietly.

- "So, pure and simple, the reality that is being drawn before our eyes is a projection of our own consciousness," I tried to clarify her position.

- "Not completely," she corrected me again. "Look around carefully and clear your mind of any prejudices. Why exactly did you stay alive at all?"

- "Perhaps I would be useful enough to the Ervanans," I again became entangled in the peculiar logic she was using, "I don't think getting to the demonic computer viruses would change the course of their entire civilization," I added, "That seems excessive."

- "Maybe you're right," she seemed to retreat, "But the Ervanans are nomads who need to manage their desire to seek out new places to inhabit, and the demon computer viruses would provide an excellent opportunity for..."

She failed to finish and the chip in my hand burst. I watched in pain as this only advisor of mine amidst the infinite darkness of space melted away and disappeared into nothingness - it was too sad.

Now I was truly all alone. Jessica's dead body was so unremarkable now - as if with her soul gone, it was only a pale memory of that Jessica who had encouraged us all the way here. That Jessica who saved me from the clutches of death in the person of the late Sikur, and last but not least, the person who revealed to me the monstrous design of the three civilizations - to get to the hidden viruses first.

Any pathologist will tell you that if you take the temperature of a dead body carefully, you will establish the time of death.

But we were in space and just decided to check by using the so-called Rigor Mortis[1] method. Using this method had another advantage - this way I would find out if in fact the corpse was local after death. Yes, that's right. Maybe there was someone else on board besides us. And that someone had well concocted the whole hoax, causing me all those hallucinations that were plaguing my mind.

Rigor Mortis had four main stages, namely autolysis, swelling, active decay and skeletonization.

According to some of the researchers it was difficult to explain the state of consciousness at the moment of death, but we on Zegandaria were quite advanced in this respect. It was all too clear to me that something had happened to Jessica. And then I looked at the cryogenic cockpit - it was empty.

That probably simplified the situation considerably - except that if that son of a bitch was anywhere nearby, I was bound to see him sooner or later.

It had been too long during which I'd been trying to come to grips with my confused thoughts.

Judging by what my eyes could see and what my modest knowledge of medicine accounted for, Jessica's body was long dead.

Her dead eyes looked at me in a way that seemed to say:

- Did you see that, Jervond? I told you everything already!

I had to close her eyes. I felt a lump in my throat. Why did everyone around me have to die.

I heard a noise behind me. Maybe it was the Ervanan...

I turned around there was absolutely no one there again.

- "I need to check the coordinates!," I said to myself.

I went and set the same according to Miss Edwater's instructions.

As soon as I left Kuiper's belt, the antimatter engine was turned off - it was unnecessary to take any more unnecessary risks, and without Jessica on board with me.

Most objects in this third and outermost part of the solar system were composed of ice, light hydrocarbons, and some organic impurities. There were also many comets and asteroids flying by, as already noted, but the bottom line was that all the objects in this region were very, very cold.

The soul passed through different levels on its path of development, and each one was marked by soul energy - I had experienced shame, guilt, apathy, grief, fear, desire, anger, pride, courage, neutrality and acceptance, but my consciousness was still at too low a stage in its development to embrace or even encompass all truth. Only something in my tortured consciousness deeply whispered to me that I would soon face it.

It is said that the soul's path to realization was a particularly difficult one, and only a few managed to save themselves. If that was true, in my case mine was downright thorny.

I couldn't rely on the Narenzian chip anymore, and on the other hand, I couldn't even go back to Charon, or for that matter, Haumea. As a matter of fact, the spy probe in its endless flight hadn't picked up any alarming signals from that area, but still.

At that moment it grew dark before my eyes. I could see clearly in my mind's eye that the blasted Ervanan bastard was strangling me, and since my spacesuit was in the way, I couldn't catch his invisible hands, if any. The pressure on my throat was increasing and I could feel the oxygen flow gradually weakening and I could quite possibly stay here forever - lifelessly frozen next to my faithful Jessica, who had not left me even in her own death.

For a moment it occurred to me to simply release the eborad linings and the non-indium hermetic mechanism, to grab it by the invisible 'arms' - come what may, but despite the artificial gravity created by the generator, decompression could have occurred, finishing me instantly.

But, of course, that's where the answer actually was! So obvious!

I activated the suit's hydraulics in autonomous mode, and with that peculiar simulation of motion, I "walked" towards the generator. Obviously, the grip of the invisible enemy was not loosening and it would be too difficult for me to fight it off with my own strength alone, but I hoped there was still some hope. I wished that the Light creatures would be on my side and protect me!

I pulled the semoran's electronic lever and turned off thirty percent of the power - then the grip seemed to loosen. I tried to harness all my strength and achieve balance, but stumbled and nearly fell. I could feel a strong resistance - as if the invisible creature was fighting with all its might to establish and maintain its control over the situation.

I thought I was falling, but then I recited the verses of Light:

"For light I thirst,

But in utter darkness I live,

The false ones will be revealed.

And then truth will reign!

When you reach the end,

there will be no one waiting for you."

As soon as he heard these words silently repeated in his mind by me, the creature seemed to hesitate. Its grip loosened a little more, but not completely. And then I pulled the electronic lever sharply. The world spun before me and my helmet nearly hit the ceiling. Gravitational forces could play some not very pleasant games sometimes, but in practice my graviton boots saved me at the last moment.

I pushed off with one foot and quickly shifted the center of gravity to my other free leg. And that finally freed me from the invisible creature's brutal