Kepler: Humanity's Ark by Kyle Perkins & Virginia Johnson

Author:Kyle Perkins & Virginia Johnson [Perkins, Kyle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: UNKNOWN
Published: 2017-03-24T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 11

Orrin

I feel terrible about leaving her behind, but if I want answers, I need to press on. I can’t help but wonder what this cave is. It’s obvious that you hallucinate within the confines of it, but I have never encountered targeted hallucinogens before. It’s like the cave wants me to hallucinate what it wants me to see. I can’t even be sure that I’ve ever left the cave at all, and with my suit malfunctioning, I can’t tell how long I’ve been down here.

I’m not truly convinced that Aya even exists, or if it’s my subconscious shame surfacing. What if she is an illusion, and none of these people can be reasoned with? How can I live with the genocide of an entire people?

Sometimes I envy my team, and the people back at camp. They are so single-minded. They never second-guess themselves and it keeps them safe. It makes me wonder why the people of Earth gave me so much free will. It’s like that part of my team is shut off, and it’s becoming my own personal burden. Part of me thinks that I should remove myself from the equation and wash my hands of responsibility and guilt, but the other part of me… Well, that part needs to learn more.

As I continue down the sloped walkway, the plants lining the walls become sparser, revealing etchings in the stone. They look ancient, like pictures of the pyramids from Earth – back when they were still around. If people have never been this far in, who left these here, and are they a warning?

Finally, I reach a large golden set of double doors marked with the same etchings as the walls. They both slowly open, as if someone was expecting me. Stepping inside, I am immediately taken aback by the scenery. The room is massive, and has golden gears lining the walls as far as the eye can see – constantly turning and clicking together in place, like an old clock. In the middle of the room, there is a man standing behind a control panel. At least, he looks like a man.

Projections dance in front of him, flashing on and off, as he swipes them left and right out of his face almost as quickly as they appear.

Moving closer, I notice that the projections that appear briefly are different parts of this world. Not only is this guy watching the Redisian people, but the spriggans as well.

My targeting system comes back online and I check my vitals. My body shows no signs of toxicity, meaning none of this is an illusion, and I’m not drugged. At least, as far as my suit can tell.

“Come in,” the mysterious man says.

“What is this place?” I ask, walking forward.

“This is the heart of it all,” he says, not taking his eyes off of the projections.

“Was it you who summoned me?”

“It was, and we have much to discuss, Orrin.”

“How do you know my name?” I ask, standing in front of the obscenely naked man.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.