Planet Ignis | Chapter 21

When we were brought back from cryogenic sleep and summoned to the bridge, we all knew it was bad. The commander explained that most systems were compromised, and the situation was dire. At first, I thought I could salvage all the systems. After all, we had brought spares for virtually all equipment. But from the twenty drones, only seven survived the EMP caused by what the crew is now naming ‘the Flare.’ As I serviced the drones to send them planetside, a plan started to form in my head. But first, I had to see if the drones deployed survived on the planet. Otherwise, there was no point in going ahead with it.

Files salvaged from the Raptor’s Ghost Drive. Recorded by Schneider, the Raptor

“Where do you recognize the door from, Teacher?” Since seeing the door, Trother hadn’t stopped laughing.

“You will see, Son. Once we’re back in the Burrows, I’m sure you’ll recognize it too. Try to open the door for now.”

Eli searched the door with his hands, looking for a knob.

“This wheel. Spin it,” suggested Trother. Trother had recovered from his collapse at the summit. Eli couldn’t tell if he was putting on a strong front. Unhealthy purple veins spread from Trother’s neck and covered half his face. Bursting for so long to rush through the climb had taken a toll. The cold didn’t help, either. Eli sadly realized his Teacher didn’t have much longer to live.

Eli and Trother tried to spin the big wheel. It quickly gave, letting them open the door and enter the lab. The door shut behind them, and the lab lit up. The machines of the laboratory hummed to life. The first thing they noticed was an unknown sensation. It felt cool yet pleasant. Something Trother and Eli had never felt or seen. It was something beautiful. A gentle, clear smoke permeated the room. It looked like fume, but it wasn’t. Eli tried to touch it, but it eluded him.

“Master? What is this?”

Trother remained silent, mimicking his student and trying to touch the mysterious smoke. “I don’t know, Eli. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Then they noticed ash that looked bluish-white, like the flames of a Blue Monarch, covering the walls. As Eli touched it, the wall sizzled and became darker. Eli withdrew his hand. Little drops of a transparent liquid covered the wall he had touched. What was this thing?

“Hello. Welcome to Dr. Hitori’s lab.”

Eli and Trother jumped in fright. Where had the voice come from? Their attention was drawn to the center of the lab. Additional lights turned on so they could see who was speaking. There lay Dr. Hitori. His skin was bluish. His body was withered and starved. He was encased inside a transparent crystal. Next to it stood a robotic deer-shaped figure with slender legs and large, metallic antlers.

“I am called Archimedes.”

Its voice was serene yet oddly human. The accent seemed foreign to them, with every word articulated precisely. Eli was surprised to hear such a realistic voice from an AI, probably what Faren sounded like before this part of his programming was deleted.

“Hello, Archimedes. I am Trother. This is Eli. We come from the Fahrenheit settlement to the East.” The mysterious appearance of the robot entranced Eli. Its metallic body gleamed, and its gentle movements belied its artificial nature.

“Fahrenheit? I once knew a drone called Fahrenheit.”

“We named our tribe after that drone.”

“Really? I am glad to hear the cave exploration drone is still operating efficiently. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Trother and Eli,” answered Archimedes in a melodic, motherly tone. Eli felt slightly unsettled by how human the machine sounded.

“What are those things in your head for?” asked Eli, eyeing the antlers.

“They are antennae. They ensure communication even in severe storms. Dr. Hitori told me we would have visitors. Did you bring the Celer mutagen?”

“Yes. Here it is.”

Trother took a vial containing a reddish liquid from his bag. The mutation was not hereditary. It had to be administered to each new generation. The Yellow Chemist was responsible for keeping a Celeria colony and guaranteeing a constant supply of Celer for pregnant mothers so their babies could gain the metabolism accelerator.

Archimedes took the vial from Trother and walked toward a contraption with lab equipment. Eli recognized some of it. They also had stirrers and centrifuges to create the mutagen in the Burrows. The machine already had one glass tube filled with a bluish-gray liquid. Archimedes proceeded to fill another tube with the Celer mutagen. It then started the machine.

“What are you doing?” asked Trother curiously.

“I am following the doctor’s instructions,” Archimedes answered without taking its gaze off the machine.

“What has he instructed you to do?” asked Trother.

“Is Dr. Hitori alive? Or is he dead?” questioned Eli.

“The doctor is in cryogenic sleep. He’s frozen. Thanks to the Tardus mutagen, Dr. Hitori can slow his metabolism to almost a complete stop, considerably stretching his lifespan. Occasionally, when conditions are right, I can bring him back to full consciousness for a limited time. The last time he awoke, he told me someone would come, bringing the missing ingredient for the Statera experiment.”

Trother and Eli exchanged looks. Everything was happening so fast. They had so many questions.

“What is the crystal encasing the doctor?” asked Eli.

“Ice,” answered Archimedes.

Eli didn’t recognize the word, but Trother was shocked. “Ice? Great Hearth! So, what we saw earlier was vapor? And that was water?!”

Eli was beyond excited. Water was just a legend he had heard from Trother! They had read about it in what was left of the archives but never imagined they would live to see it.

Archimedes answered blatantly. “Yes. H2O. Water.”

The Celer and Tardus mutagens were drained from their respective tubes and entered the glass labyrinth. The machine stirred, heated, and mixed them there, adding various chemicals and agents throughout the process until the liquid turned green.

“How come you don’t have any Celer?” asked Trother. “You obviously know how to make it since the doctor invented it.”

“We ran out of Celeria.”

“Why?” asked Eli. It wasn’t unnecessarily challenging to keep a colony. All you needed was a growth medium rich in iron and warmth.

“We spent most of it when making Celer for the crew. The little we had left died. Celeria doesn’t last long at this altitude, and we could not send an expedition down to the caves to procure more.”

Eli and Trother kept bombarding Archimedes with questions.

“How long has the doctor been alive?”

“He is 513 years old.”

Eli gulped. The average life expectancy in the Burrows was nineteen. “You were speaking of Tardus earlier. What is that?”

“It’s a mutation that the doctor developed. It helps humans to hibernate—that is, to slow down their metabolism so much that it considerably extends their life expectancy.”

“Fascinating,” Eli let out appreciatively.

“Indeed. That’s how the doctor has survived this long despite having practically no supplies left.”

“What about Statera? What is that?”

“The doctor hopes to reconcile the strengths of both Celer and Tardus. Statera is the combination of both mutations. The doctor will be happy to explain the details.”

“How long will it take to finish preparing the Statera mutagen?” Trother asked.

“Thirty-six hours and thirteen minutes.”

Eli and Trother exchanged looks. That was too long.

“And once we administer it to Dr. Hitori, how long would it take to complete the mutation?”

“That is uncertain. Dr. Hitori has theorized that since his body already has the Tardus mutagen, adding the Statera agent would be quick. It should take roughly eight hours.”

“It’s not enough time,” said Eli. “The Raptor is coming.”

They estimated the Raptor would take another day to reach the mountain. They weren’t sure how long it would take to climb it. Maybe one day? That left them with two days before the Raptor was here.

“Archimedes, does that machine still work?” said Trother, pointing to the largest device in the chamber.

“Yes. It is fully operational.”

Trother looked thoughtful.

“Do you have access to the Satellite Grid?”

“Yes. Stellaris and I are what you would call friends.”

“Stellaris?” asked Eli. He recognized the name but couldn’t recall where he’d heard it.

“One of the Last Seven. The Satellite’s AI,” answered Trother. “Eli, I think I have a plan. It just might work.”

Chapter 22