“What about the Amalgam?” Layla said. “Vingo was trying to gather information to trade with them.”
“They are not a major force yet, but they’re growing in strength and have entered our galaxy. It’s the perfect time to rise because croatoan resources are stretched to the limit, trying to stop the scion advance.”
“Who’s winning?” Charlie said.
“Nobody wins,” Doslin replied, her blinks becoming rapid. “This has gone on longer than humans have been on Earth. I believe the scion expansion is unstoppable, but the croatoans are determined.”
“What happens if the information they’re looking for doesn’t exist?” Denver said.
“They will continue looking. This is their purpose until they find out the reason for their creation.”
Charlie stood and sighed. He peered out the window toward the gate. “Enough of the history lesson. You said there are terms?”
“If they are agreed to, you can return to Earth through the repaired gate, and a scion ship will protect your solar system from future croatoan invasion. Mike has agreed to his part of the proposition.”
“Are you sure they won’t turn on us?” Denver said.
Doslin shuffled toward him. “That is not a concern you alone must address. Please accompany me to another room.”
Denver raised his eyebrows. “Me?”
She reached inside her robe, produced a small black prism and held it toward Denver. “Take this and follow me.”
“Wait for just one second. We do things together or not—” Charlie said.
“He comes with me now,” Doslin snapped. “Everything has a price.”
Doslin stood and pressed the prism into Denver’s hand. Layla looked across to him. He placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll let you know everything that happens. If this is how they want to play it, so be it.”
Denver took the prism and held it in front of his face. Doslin walked toward a door at the left-hand side of the observation area. Denver followed and paused to glance back at the bench.
Layla feared this wouldn’t be as straightforward as the scion agent explained. Doslin’s final three words spun in her mind. She hoped the price didn’t involve losing Denver.
Chapter 37
DENVER INHALED the fresh air generated from the atmosphere units of the small room. They had even managed to equalize the gravity so it felt like being back on Earth again. His muscles eased away the lingering cramp with each step into the room.
“Please, rest; take a seat,” Doslin said, indicating with an elegant gesture of her thin hand a sofa that resembled a large hotdog sign he had once seen on the streets of New York among the debris of collapsed buildings.
He sat down on what would have been the bun and rested his back against the ‘sausage.’ The design was surprisingly comfortable, the foam supportive as it conformed to his shape.
The room was carpeted with what looked like an organic material of woven long stems, making a light striped pattern. It was soft underfoot and gave off a light fragrance of mint mixed with cinnamon.
Like the previous room, this one had a large window that looked out onto the gate’s repair; the huge spines that made up the rings were quickly taking shape. If he blinked, he would miss some growth, some mutable effect. The scion machines were swarming it like ants, and the gate itself seemed to animate before his very eyes.
“That’s incredible,” he said, mostly to himself.
Doslin stood with her back to him, her hands crossed behind the small of her back. She inclined her head forward. “They’re a unique race, that’s for sure,” she said in a neutral tone.
“You don’t seem impressed. I suppose you’ve seen so much that these things no longer hold any wonder for you.”
Doslin turned to face him. “I think it’s time you listened to your handler. She’ll be able to explain far better than I can.”
“I don’t understand what’s going on here. Why am I being separated like this?”
“They’re interested in you. The scion, that is. Did you not wonder why they hadn’t killed you when they had numerous opportunities?”
“Of course I did, I’m not that witless. By interest, do you mean they want to… what, inspect me or something? If this is going to get weird, then we’re going to have trouble.”
“Please, it’s nothing like that; you can relax here,” Doslin said, her voice becoming lighter, friendlier. Unlike Vingo, she was far subtler and convincing, which is why he supposed she was working for the scion and Vingo lay dead in a vault that was likely now a pile of very old rubble.
“So what is it?”
“Place the prism on the table here and we’ll get started.” She pressed a button on a small control pad Denver hadn’t previously noticed attached to her forearm. A glass surface the size of a regular coffee table floated down from the ceiling and hovered half a meter off the floor just in front of him.
Following Doslin’s instructions, Denver leaned forward and placed the miniature scion artifact onto the table’s surface. It whirred and the cone lifted up. In a repeat of what he saw in the vault, the cone flipped back and a holographic image appeared above the prism.
He recognized the construction. “Drone 451?” Denver asked.
“You remembered,” the scion handler said as a statement. “That’s an encouraging start.”
“To what?”
Doslin stepped away into the shadows of the room as the lights dimmed. Drone 451’s light-blue holographic display glowed brighter in the gloom. When Denver turned away to look at Doslin again, he couldn’t see her, though he heard no door open and detected no movement of air.
Impressive, he thought. He could see why she was an agent.
Sure it was a shade darker in the room, but not that dark. Not to his trained eyes anyway.
“To your new role, Denver Jackson. You’ve been assigned agent status, code number 6001. We’ve analyzed your algorithm, and it interests us greatly.”
“Whoa, wait a minute there, buddy, agent status? Algorithms? What are you talking about?”
“A simple deal. Your help on a short-term mission for the future safety of your planet.”
Denver sighed and leaned forward. “You’re starting to sound like Vingo. What is it with you aliens and your deals? Sure, you gave us air and a safe place to sleep, but now you want what exactly?”
“Your algorithm dictates much progress in our aims. We would rather cooperate with you for mutual benefit than increase the odds that our progress will be delayed. The war with the croatoans is a complex affair and has already put us back an estimated fifty thousand Earth years. A minor issue in the grand scheme, but the Order of Things has sent you to us, and by our calculations, you’ll help us to our goals significantly quicker than without.”
Denver sat back and thought about what this being was saying. They obviously wanted him badly, which gave him some bargaining power… depending on what they wanted him to do.
“Listen, are you familiar with our term ‘put all the cards on the table’?”
The drone flickered briefly before affirming.
“Then let’s do that right now, shall we? I appreciate your other drones not killing me, I really do, and I appreciate you guys bringing us back here and attempting to rebuild the gate, but I know so little about you and your kind. Who are you, for example? Do you have a consciousness? Are you an individual or just a software program?”
“Would it matter to our negotiations whether I have a consciousness or not?” it replied.
“I suppose not, but you’re not exactly being forthcoming with details here. Tell me what you are, what you and your kind want, and what your plans are for me. You mentioned the Order of Things… what is that and how does it factor into my working with you as an agent?”