The Fossil 3: Science Fiction Thriller (Secrets Of Mars Book 3) by Joshua T. Calvert

Author:Joshua T. Calvert [Calvert, Joshua T.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

10

Agatha

“That’s... disturbing,” Hortat said with a serious expression, his likeness displayed in a large image she could hardly avoid noticing, overlaying the myriad colorful lights of Johannesburg that passed the robotaxi’s windows.

“I know. Can you do anything about it?” she asked, dabbing her forehead with the sleeve of the jacket that Alpha Extractions had given her. Just telling him about the brief vision of Herxmin’s final seconds had driven sweat from her pores. It had been one of the most miraculous and sublime experiences of her life, but at the same time, one of the most traumatic. The feeling that one’s mind was filled and swollen with something that grew firmer with every second had been devastating. How could she ever look at a Builder again and not think about how many indescribable things were going on behind those big almond-shaped eyes?

“I’m not sure.”

“What does that mean, you’re not sure?”

“What you have described is, as I said, disturbing. Everything suggests that it was the Dark Tongue you saw, but they wouldn’t work with humans. They think of you as oppressors, as you might if your lab rats were to start to push you around and racially lord it over you. For them, this is unimaginable and offensive.”

“Which I can understand,” Agatha had to admit.

“They use violence to enforce their point of view. This is not our way, nor is it necessary,” Hortat explained. “There are other ways to set us apart and protect us.”

“And why don’t you?”

“That’s what we are doing. But not all of us are patient, or so it would seem.”

“What are all of you doing? What are you doing? Do you mean the election?”

Hortat hesitated. “Primarily, yes.”

Primarily? she thought, forcing herself not to pursue it and waste valuable time.

“If they are kidnapping our own and abusing them for some type of experiment, it creates a precedent that we cannot ignore,” the Builder continued, and his eyes seemed to be saying so much more than his words conveyed.

His digital image made her think that she could almost physically feel him moving an entire cosmos of thoughts and connections behind his forehead as if something that she would never understand were weighing on his shoulders—which was probably the case. If she had not been able to come to terms with this realization, she would never have been able to enter his service.

“Does that mean you agree to my plan?”

He seemed anxious as he regarded her. “It is dangerous.”

“I know. But it is efficient. See it as a good return on investment for the insurance payments you’ve made. Moreover, if something happens, we will appear as victims, not as perpetrators.”

“Because then all of you are the victims.”

“We’ll see. There has to be a reason why they did not use Builder technology there.”

Hortat tilted his head to the side. “The Human Foundation.”

“They have committed themselves to enforcing the ban on non-licensed Builder technology, at least within the limits of the Special Administrative Zone.” Agatha nodded. “But is the Foundation so powerful that it can intimidate the Dark Tongue?”

“We have to assume that.

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