An Echo in the Blood (The Hive Trilogy: An Unborn Space Opera) by C.L. Roman

Author:C.L. Roman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: apocalyptic, cyber war, nanotechnology, aliens, alien technology, space travel
Publisher: C.L. Roman
Published: 2021-08-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Earth: Tessa’s SRU, 2796 CE

Tessa leaned back against the pillows and watched as Devon paced the floor in their bedroom a few days later. Or perhaps it was only hours. She still had trouble keeping track of time in this place.

"She can't be serious." Devon clenched his fists as he walked, his face a mask of anger.

She wondered how much of it was real and how much was manufactured by her subconscious — a result of how she wanted him to react.

He slammed his fist into his opposite palm. "She's asking you to be bait, for god's sake."

Tessa shrugged. "The way she tells it, there's very little danger to me. My SRU, with the neural orb inside, will be taken to various locations throughout the Earth and placed in what she calls an aura amplifier. If there are any nanocytes in the vicinity, they'll sense my presence and be attracted to it."

"They'll come to kill you, you mean," he snapped.

"Well, sure. That'll be their plan. But without a body, they can't hurt me. Gaia says that the way the plague operated wasn't much different than any other deadly illness. Kill the body, deprive the soul of its host and thereby kill the human. Like being evicted, but messier." Her shudder belied her confident words. Even without a body, the idea of bugs — mechanical or not — invading her space made her queasy.

"That sounds very convenient — for Gaia," Devon said. "But we can't exactly be sure that's her real plan, can we?"

"Maybe not, but Devon, what does she have to gain here? It's not as if I'm a threat to her. Besides, if she did want me dead, why the charade? All she'd have to do is crush the neural orb. Without a body to inhabit, I'd dissipate in seconds."

"She's a goddess, right? Why doesn't she just make you a new body?"

Tessa plucked at the bedspread with nervous fingers. He might be nothing more than a neural simulation program — a subroutine of the SRU — but he had the real Devon's uncanny knack for hitting on the exact things she didn't want to face.

"What's that look for?" Devon stopped pacing and faced her. "Tessa?"

Sighing, she dragged a pillow over her head, hiding her face. "She did offer to create a body for me." Her voice was muffled, but he didn’t have any problem understanding her statement.

"What? That's great! When?"

"I... um... I haven't said yes, yet."

"What do you mean, you haven't said yes?" Gently, slowly, he pulled the pillow away and looked into her eyes.

"I can't." She rolled away from him, bounding to her feet to cross the room. Staring out the window, she tried to explain. "There's a risk involved. Gaia says the stress of inhabiting a new body right now could kill me. Even if I survive, I might come through like a newborn — no memories, my personality altered — I could lose everything."

"Tessa —"

She turned to face him, rigid, her skin buzzing with anxiety. "I would lose you.

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