The Ancestor 2 E-Book

Teuvo Virén

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 851

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

The great war that had killed a quarter of Earth's population had come to an end. The Derkadans focused on dismantling the remnants of the theocracy that had oppressed them for centuries and caused the deaths of three hundred million people. To ensure that the peace would last, the Eyan leadership approved a plan to reduce the maximum testosterone levels of all men, hoping the measure would lessen the aggression of their sex. Once the Derkadan leadership also agreed, the plan was implemented on a global scale. Despite countless tests, something went terribly wrong. A race against time for the future of humanity had begun.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

THE ANCESTOR 2

Preface

Here it is — the tragic lovechild of ChatGPT’s translation and my own delightfully inadequate English skills. It’s probably riddled with mistakes just waiting to be spotted by anyone even slightly better at the language. At the very least, there are surely some bizarre bits that either slipped past me or got lost in translation entirely.

“The Ancestor 2” is a story of Earth's events in another universe before The Interlude. True to my usual style, this story has neither head nor tail. Finding any logic in this mess requires searching high and low, but then again, spotting impossibilities is a fun pastime on boring evenings.

Teuvo Virén

29.8. 2025

Eyan:

Apron, Danna, President

Borment, Anilie, Deputy Science Director

Callier, Maat, Sergeant

Guder, Opren, Captain

Jadler, Kuraz, General

Jonc, Vadran, Chief of Police

Keillen, Marci, Interpreter

Kretz, Herman, Minister of the Interior

Li, Cie, Director of Science Program

Perval, Kail, Commander of the Army

Derkada:

Banvik, Lize, Derkada's Ambassador to Eyan

Lond, Ull-Mai, Leader

Yellar, Vicc, Commander of the Army

1

The president of Eyan, Danna Apron, who had risen to power less than a year ago, was youngish and had recently gone blonde. She tapped her fingers on the moderately large oak table in front of her. She certainly did not like the proposal made by her deputy science director sitting across from her. Frankly, it was outrageous. Unfortunately, the only alternative was even worse.

Anilie Borment waited without so much as a flicker of emotion for the decision of the woman who had bloodlessly ousted the previous leader responsible for leading them into war. A quarter of the Earth’s population—three hundred million men and tens of millions of women and children—had died in twenty years. Breaking a few laws wouldn’t matter if it ensured peace and prevented an even more destructive conflict with Derkada, the losing side of the war.

— Li?

— If we want a peaceful planet, we cannot allow warmongers to remain, Eyan’s science director supported the idea proposed by her closest subordinate.

— Ethically and morally speaking, the plan you just heard is horrific. On the other hand, we have not found another way to achieve our goal.

— What do you think of their idea, Kretz?

— Aggressive men always find a way to rise to the top, or at least close to it. Either as politicians or criminals.

— So?

— I support their proposal. I spent eighteen years on the front lines. Nearly everyone from our neighborhood called to war either died or was seriously injured. I have nightmares every time I manage to fall asleep. I don’t want future generations to experience what we did.

— You do realize you’re taking a personal risk?

— Of course. I lost my family, so I’m not particularly afraid of being one of the targets. And even if I were, I see no reason to back away from the plan.

— Have you made preliminary calculations? Apron inquired of the other women, touching Herman Kretz’s wrist comfortingly.

— Two years for development and at least a few months for vaccination.

— The first part is an estimate, Li pointed out.

— We cannot know exactly how long it will take to develop the method and ensure its success. However, Anilie’s estimate is the best we could come up with. We have the equipment and qualified staff. We’ve studied similar matters before. Still, it’s a new method, and we must thoroughly examine the results before proceeding to the next phase.

— I see a major flaw in your plan, Herman Kretz silenced the pair.

— We won the war, Anilie. The Derkadans definitely don’t trust us. Definitely not enough to allow us to inject this vaccine into their men. Ouch. I just realized another problem in your plan.

— What?

— If your method works on those past puberty, it will have to be repeated many times. First as the current children grow up, then again for several generations just to be sure. The Derkadans will undoubtedly want to know the vaccine’s effects. They’ll closely monitor the health of those vaccinated and conduct every test they can think of. Some vaccines will undoubtedly end up in a top-secret laboratory for analysis. The results might spark another war against us.

— I assume you have a solution ready?

— Of course. Gas. Some kind of artificial virus or a suitably chosen host, like the flu virus, would be the perfect solution. We wouldn’t need to inform the Derkadan leadership about it. The spreading of this virus across our traditional enemy's territory could be managed with aircraft monitoring their army. In the cities, it would be replaced by cars.

— What about the hermits and others living far from civilization?

— They are a problem, Cie, Kretz admitted.

— I would guess many of them are part of the target group, so they must be infected.

— Flu viruses are highly contagious, right?

— Yes, the science director answered the interior minister’s question.

— In that case, you’ll need to calculate a sufficient amount for the entire Derkadan territory. Same goes for our own.

— What about the sea and its islands? Anilie cursed aloud, realizing they had forgotten them in their calculations.

— No area can be left virus-free. One unchecked man might mean the failure of our efforts. Though that may take generations.

— Exceptions cannot be allowed, Li reminded her closest subordinate.

— Either we do it properly, or we forget the whole thing. Danna?

— Are you sure there is no other way?

— Herman’s idea is a subtle method, the science director shrugged her bare shoulders.

— We don’t need riots once the population realizes our unauthorized genetic modification. We also don’t want a new war with Derkada.

With a bit of luck, no one will connect the surprising and seemingly random deaths of the men to each other, or at least won’t come up with a reason for them.

— At some point, people will start questioning the excessive male mortality.

— True, Herman. As the science director, I can delay the research and possibly steer it in the wrong direction. Even in the worst case, we shouldn’t have a chance of getting caught.

— Can the two of you do the whole job alone?

— Yes, Li reassured the president who had asked the question.

— The work would be done faster with a larger team, but that would also multiply the chances of a leak.

— There’s no room for that. Where will you draw the line?

— The normal testosterone level for men is 10 — 38 nanomoles per liter, Li explained to Apron.

— The upper limit we’ve tentatively planned is 75%, or 28.5.

— Isn’t that quite low?

— Tens of millions of targets, the science director confirmed.

— Quite a number.

— Much fewer than three hundred million, Anilie, Kretz pointed out.

— The number of men to be treated compared to that is quite reasonable.

— Scientifically speaking, we are tinkering with the foundations of evolution, Danna Apron mused aloud, unsure whether to grant permission for the morally questionable operation.

— It’s more about guiding it onto the right path.

— Could you elaborate?

— Evolution has made us like this, Li tried to put her thoughts into words.

— In the past, aggression often meant improving the survival chances of an individual or a small group. Due to our technological advancement, what was once a good trait has become a threat to the survival of our entire species. We have to do something, unless we want to end up as one species on the endless list of extinct ones.

— What if we separated the violent men from the general population?

— And what would we do to them, Anilie? Take them to some remote island and leave them to die there? They must not be allowed to reproduce until we have genetically modified their testosterone levels to be lower. Even if their offspring aren't the same kind of assholes as their fathers, they would still carry the undesirable genetic combination that causes this behavior. Everything could go well for many generations, but eventually, some descendant’s risk would materialize.

— I know. Why do I still feel like we’re playing God?

— Can we really fail worse? Kretz scoffed contemptuously.

— Three hundred million dead because of a group of idiots claiming their belief is the only true one. If some supernatural being really existed, you'd think they'd care for their believers and do something to prevent their unnecessary deaths.

— Like appearing to more than one? Performing at least one miracle witnessed by millions?

— Either would do, Cie Li scoffed.

— I think God should be good and do good things, so He wouldn't be the Devil. If He does nothing, He either has no power, which undermines His divinity, or He doesn’t care about His believers, which makes you wonder why anyone should worship Him.

— If He doesn’t save them in this life, why should we expect Him to take care of them in paradise?

— Exactly, Herman.

— Go to seminary school, both of you, Borment chuckled, recalling the duo’s previous theological disputes.

— Then when I see one supernatural being, Kretz promised flippantly.

— Until then, I’ll stick to the guidance of my own morals.

— What tells you to participate in the handling of millions of people's inheritance?

— To save millions, if not billions, in the future, Cie. Twenty years ago, I would’ve refused to even think about it.

— I doubt any of us would have planned something like this back then, Anilie Borment shook her head.

— So none of you oppose the testosterone level restriction?

— We planned it with Anilie, Li reminded the hesitant Danna.

— We wouldn’t have even introduced it unless we were ready to carry it out.

— You do realize that if this leaks to the public, you’ll be executed and face trial?

— Of course. But we won’t reveal your involvement.

— Even if it would lower your sentences?

— What difference does it make if the punishment is five hundred years or four hundred? We’ll never walk free if we get caught. With a bit of luck, we’ll be executed. As long as you haven’t been caught, you might still have a chance to carry out the plan later.

— If we succeed, I could go down in history, Anilie dreamed.

— By revealing your involvement in the testosterone regulation of men?

— That would be the surest way.

— Someone who lost their husband or child would murder you, Kretz pointed out.

— Oops. Maybe I’ll just settle for gloating to myself.

— That’s for the best. I don’t think you’d live more than a month if your tricks were exposed. Except in maximum security prison, where you wouldn’t see any other prisoners. No guards either, now that I think about it. Both guards and prisoners would have friends and family they’ve lost.

— You’re the president, Danna, Li turned her gaze to Apron.

— You have to make a decision.

— I know. If I allow the plan to start, can you halt it at any time?

— Yes. However, it will take some time to destroy the evidence.

— If you later want us to continue our research, Borment continued, it will take us some time to get back to the same point. Not as long as the first time, though.

— How are you going to cover up your actions from your subordinates?

— By doing the work on our free time, Li retorted. They had discussed the matter with Anilie, and neither had come up with a way to advance the plan during regular working hours without attracting their subordinates' interest.

— So, you’ll really work long hours for two years? the skeptical president inquired.

— Both of us have plenty of unused vacation time. We can work from home as well. It won’t attract as much attention as living in the laboratory.

— You’re both single, Apron pointed out.

— How do you plan to continue meeting with your friends while handling both your main and side jobs?

— Neither of us is particularly social, Li laughed.

— Our acquaintances are used to us being hard to reach. Besides, we can always say that we’re busy with work.

— You’re really busy, though. Does anyone have any further objections?

— We must keep our army’s leader ignorant of our plan, Kretz said confidently.

— That fool will definitely not watch idly as we weaken our armed forces.

— Revolution?

— We are civilians. If he wants to stage a coup, we can’t stop him, Danna. Of course, it’s another matter how long he can keep control of the country when the people are almost in the streets.

— That may not happen for quite some time, Li noted.

— People are tired of war, and peace, no matter whose reign it’s under, is a relief to them. Eventually, they’ll start questioning the legitimacy of military rule, but by then, Perval will have solidified his position.

— So, in other words, we have to continue as before, without raising his suspicions?

— You’re the president. His superior. You can’t be too agreeable with Perval, or he’ll smell an opportunity. Argue with him over small things, just like you’ve been doing, Li advised Apron.

— Keep him on a short leash, but don’t humiliate him. Give in occasionally, especially on trivial matters. Avoid giving him power bit by bit. Always set a deadline for the validity of any concessions you make.

— Don’t give him reason to suspect that we’re planning something for his downfall. When speaking about him publicly, slip in phrases that indicate you appreciate his efforts both in war and especially in times of peace, Borment continued as Li took a breath.

— If our plan works, and Perval isn’t one of the casualties, we’ll need him to stabilize the country during the epidemic.

— Epidemic?

— That’s how it looks to the public.

— Can the virus mutate? So that it becomes a danger to women as well?

— They mutate all the time, Herman, the science director reminded Kretz.

— It doesn’t matter. The virus we’ve chosen is just a carrier; it won’t affect the gas.

— I hope you’re right, Cie. I really don’t want to be the subject of genetic modification, Apron smiled wryly.

2

The twenty-year war had set their knowledge back at least twice as much, except for weapon technology, Cie Li grumbled discontentedly as she watched the pile of equipment Anilie and she had bought from different parts of the city over the past few weeks. The heap had to be transported from the storage cabin to Ani’s home. After that, they would begin assembling and testing the entire system.

In theory, this junk pile was all they needed, apart from their own computers, to carry out their plan. The home version they would build in Anilie’s guest room wouldn’t be able to compete with fully equipped laboratories. However, they were studying a very specific issue and could make use of the research already conducted in the field. For the computationally heavy parts, they could use the high-performance machines at their workplace. Their home machines could handle it too, but much slower.

Maybe it was better not to use the supercomputers after all, the head of research mused. Their subordinates would wonder about the processes and check their purpose out of curiosity. She could probably explain it away, but the workers would remember it if authorities ever asked them about it.

Secrecy, Li reminded herself. They mustn’t get caught for their genetic research. They were saving humanity. Few would understand their reasoning, and even fewer would dare say it out loud. No one would defend them.

Two years might be an optimistic estimate. Or pessimistic. After the war ended, a couple of ragtag groups had begun research related to their mission. So it was possible that their work would be useful. In the best case, it would save a significant amount of time.

Blaming the male sex for the ongoing wars was, at least in some ways, an exaggeration. It was true, however, that almost always, the leaders of both sides and the highest members of government during armed conflicts had been men.

A drop in the highest quartile of testosterone levels would, according to their estimates, reduce the probability of violent conflict, a large one, to twenty percent. Unfortunately, beyond that, the curve fell slowly.

— What are you thinking about?

Li glanced at her closest subordinate, who had entered with boxes folded up, and shared her thoughts.

— That’s why we came to that number, Anilie Borment smiled and set her items on the table. After folding one box together, she handed it over to Cie.

— Is this enough? The heavier equipment has its own protective cabinets.

Li placed the boxes down and nodded after assessing how many of their necessary items they could fit inside.

— Your neighbors must be wondering about the load.

— So what? As long as I don’t cause them disturbance or danger, they can’t ask the housing authority to inspect my apartment. And even if they did, none of them have the necessary expertise to figure out the reason behind these acquisitions. Besides, I can always say I’m working from home.

— You do work from home?

— Occasionally. In theory, I could collect my salary without ever leaving my apartment.

— Same here. You pack from this end, and I’ll start from the other side, Li instructed her friend.

— Just don’t break anything. I really don’t want to go around looking for replacement equipment at all sorts of secondhand markets again.

The pile of boxes, filled with items, seemed disturbingly large to the head of research, especially with the protective cabinets that had already been set up. According to the original plan, the items were supposed to be transported in one of their small vehicles, but such a pile wouldn’t fit into a personal car.

After weighing the options, Li called a popular rental service to reserve a trailer and set off to pick it up. In the meantime, Anilie would move the items, at least the lighter ones, outside to speed up the loading. After that, they would drive to Ani’s place.

Reversing the trailer wasn’t Li’s favorite task, and it took her a decent amount of time to maneuver it into position in front of the designated entrance.

— It’s not too crooked, Borment, who had opened the door, replied to Li’s thoughts about trying again, preventing any further attempts by getting out of the car.

— We can get past it from both sides. We were supposed to deliver the load as discreetly as possible. Back-and-forth fiddling is bound to attract attention.

After several trips, Li parked her car by the street and returned to her subordinate, who had opened the boxes and protective cabinets.

— Could you help a bit? If we move these bigger contraptions first, we won’t trip over the smaller ones.

— You’re planning to put everything on the floor? the amused Cie Li asked while helping Anilie move a rather heavy device to the spot she wanted. After finding space for the other two identical devices in the guest room, the duo arranged the lighter equipment in appropriate places.

— I’m still thinking about the arrangement, Borment pondered. In principle, all the equipment is available, but some of it probably needs to be moved to ensure easy passage and cleaning paths.

Reaching should be avoided. The electrical cables need to reach the sockets or splitters.

— Have fun. I’ll have time to return the trailer today if I leave now.

— Go ahead. I’ll clean off the junk and test them one by one before connecting them to each other.

— What if someone asks where we were?

— We went to check out a new car for you. The sky-blue one you’ve actually been admiring. You haven’t made a decision to buy it yet, but you wanted to hear my opinion on it.

— And what was your opinion?

— Cautiously positive. If anyone saw us with the tarp trailer, we were taking some flower soil to the cabin.

The attendant who received the trailer checked its condition carefully before detaching it from Li’s car and pushing it into the designated space. The head of research waved her hand at the man who was placing wedges in front and behind the trailer’s wheels before leaving.

According to the secretary, she had a couple of short meetings today, Li sighed the next morning as she leaned back in her office chair. Tomorrow would be a worse day. Perval would come asking about new developments in the weaponry sector once again. The man probably still didn’t understand that the war was over.

— Eyan’s army Commander couldn’t be stupid, Li corrected her opinion of Perval. On the other hand, his main and actually only interest was in weapons that could slaughter as many enemies at once as possible. Understandable, in a way.

Kail Perval was a bomb ready to explode. If he learned about their genetic modification plans, the man would certainly raise a ruckus. Possibly, the Commander would decide to take matters into his own hands and become an absolute ruler. Unfortunately, the man might do that without any excuse at all.

The Commander was slightly shorter than the average height for men, muscular, and likely a subject of genetic modification. It would be interesting to know how this might change. That would require, Li pondered, conducting psychological tests now and later.

Perval was not fond of such nonsense and would certainly refuse to do them.

After entertaining thoughts about ways to trick the Commander into taking the tests, Li gave up. Some things simply wouldn't happen, no matter how much time and hope one invested in them.

The first meeting would start in less than an hour. The head of science glanced over the notes related to the matter. Their research program was just getting off the ground after the war, and she would have to decide how to allocate their meager funding. During the meeting, she would discuss matters with the experts and listen to their conflicting opinions.

If there were a hundred units proposed for funding and she had less than ten to distribute, she had no chance of pleasing everyone.

Since every researcher considered their own field the most important, the one who sat on top of the mountain of funds—meaning herself—would surely face harsh criticism.

The second meeting of the day concerned agricultural investments, and in that one, she would mostly be a listener, offering scientific alternatives for increasing crop yields. Whether they would listen to her was uncertain. If any group of people was stubborn, it was farmers, and if they decided to disregard her advice, there was nothing she could do about it.

— Ten minutes.

The secretary's warning brought Li back to the present. The genetic modification program would have to wait. The head of science knew that she could spare ten or, at most, twenty hours of her time each week for it. Most of that could be done from home, but occasionally, she would need to visit Anilie.

With five minutes left before the meeting began, Cie Li stood up and left her room. It would take her two minutes to walk to the meeting location. If past patterns held true, half of the participants would be waiting in the hallway, and the rest would show up at least a minute before the start. No one would enter the room early. The punctuality typical of Eyan, both at its best and worst.

At least by the time the meeting was a quarter past, Cie Li longed for the relaxed, peaceful meetings that had been held before the war—or, in fact, well into its onset. Meetings where each participant calmly awaited their turn to express their opinion on the topic at hand, and where the language used was, if not overly polite, at least reasonably clean.

At some point, the meetings had devolved from polite discussions into a shouting match and a contest of insults. Looking pained, Li recalled her earlier prediction about receiving harsh criticism. It was, of course, nice to be proven right, but in this case, the head of science would have preferred to be wrong.

— What are you doing?

Li snapped out of her thoughts and turned her gaze to the person who had asked the question.

— Playing tic-tac-toe.

— What are those squares and triangles?

— Just adding some difficulty to the game.

— There's no way to get five in a row, is there?

— No. And I have no hope of making a decision that satisfies all of you, Li smiled, crumpled the paper, and tossed it toward the trash can in the corner. A moment later, she stood up and moved the game piece that had landed on the floor into the correct position.

Once the experts had stopped their pointless shouting, Li first thanked them for presenting different options and then criticized their manner of presentation. After the embarrassed gentlemen left, Cie Li turned her gaze to her notepad to seek help from her scribblings, only to recall that she had thrown it into the trash a little earlier.

Even the straightened-up scrap only offered wrinkles and an unfinished game. The random numbers were of no use. Especially when the texts potentially associated with them were on separate lines. Some numbers also seemed to be missing, so pairing them with scientific trends was also reduced to guessing.

Maximized benefit with a minimum stake. That was what she had to aim for, Li encouraged herself. Later, they would have the resources to invest in less profitable ventures. But that time was not now.

Her practical approach to distributing the funds at least brought some results. Li added up the numbers she had sketched on the paper and, to her surprise, arrived at a sum fairly close to what could be distributed. A few million would even remain as extra. She decided to settle the fate of that money in her study. When she had time.

— Wouldn’t it have been better to keep the door closed?

— I don’t think the racket reached all the way here?

— It might be easier to list the people in this building who didn’t get to enjoy the benefits of the meeting, the secretary held back her laughter.

— Or more precisely, I could extend the area to this neighborhood.

The subordinate was exaggerating. Li was almost certain of it.

But it wasn’t entirely certain. Maybe she should ask the guards by the main door about it when she passed by.

The head of research continued her journey from the secretary’s office to her study. The minimalist room was decorated with a couple of quite large paintings depicting dinosaurs and three flowers. The former were in good condition and, in Li’s opinion, beautiful. The plants, on the other hand, the head of research coughed in embarrassment, either needed more or less water. Compost would also be a good option, especially for the largest of them.

Apparently, the plants didn’t like her, Li concluded reluctantly.

She had followed the instructions she had been given, felt the dampness of the soil, and given nutrients to the cursed green trash. Still, they dared to wilt within a couple of days after returning from the gardener’s rescue camp. The woman, however, described it with different words, but in any case, the purpose was to give the suffering plants time to recover from the caretaker’s attention.

Maybe she should take care of something that didn’t need watering or, in fact, even her presence. Like trees. Not that either. Too difficult. A cactus? Meadow flowers? Seaweed?

Li practically glowed as she realized her true calling. Her nurturing instinct would be best fulfilled in the care of a stone garden.

No watering. No nutrients. No concern for the amount of light. No talking. No pest control. No turning the weeds in the pots. No cleaning shoes of the plants stuck under them.

3

Kail Perval's invitation to meet him a few months later had surprised Cie Li. The head of science was not particularly fond of the man and had hesitated for a long time before agreeing. The army Commander had never shown any interest in meeting her outside of mandatory meetings, and it was precisely this fact that tipped the scales in favor of agreeing to the meeting.

The appearance of the military vehicle, equipped with twin cannons and six wheels, at the front door of Li's workplace sparked both excitement and frustration in those who had to step aside to make room. The camouflaged vehicle practically exuded danger.

During the war, it had certainly saved dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of soldiers who had been targeted by enemy attacks or gunfire. It still represented bloodshed. Peace was becoming familiar, and any reminder of the prolonged war was met with mixed feelings.

The cab of the truck-like machine was quite high. Climbing into it using the specially designed footholds took Li, not accustomed to such climbing methods, a considerable amount of time.

— You could have climbed up the ladder.

— They were in the wrong place, the science director wondered, staring at the driver who had opened his mouth.

— Didn’t you notice the latches and hinges?

— No?

— By opening the latch on the left, the ladder swings right on its hinges. The latch at the top locks it in place. There are similar levers at the top and bottom.

— Ah. I’ll know for next time. Why are there two different ways to climb in?

— Actually, there’s also a hatch in the roof. The cover between the front seats on the floor is an emergency route in case the other access points are blocked, for example, if this thing flips onto its side or the only operable doors are on under enemy fire. The door behind you leads to the back of this vehicle, from which there are several exits. Or entrances.

Fifty kilometers later, the driver stopped next to a military-painted off-roader, clearly much larger than the other vehicles on the road. As Li hesitated to get down from the high vehicle, the driver pulled a lever next to the passenger seat and turned the seat, complete with cargo, toward the open door.

— Unbuckle your seatbelt.

Growing more nervous by the second, Cie Li followed the command and tried to gather her courage to turn around for disembarking.

— Grab the handle on the left side of the seat with your left hand.

On the right side, there’s a lever with a red button. Press the button while pulling the handle.

Li didn’t know what she had expected, but it certainly wasn’t the seat’s base turning into a steep slide that nearly reached the ground. The person waiting at the bottom, responsible for the next leg of the transport, tactfully looked away as Li, utterly shocked, tried to collect the remains of her self-respect.

— Where are we going?

— Fifteen kilometers to the mining area. Or actually, it’s a military area with mines inside.

— So, you’re testing your new weapons underground?

— No, the driver corrected Li’s mistake.

— Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to talk about it, so you’ll have to ask higher officers for more information.

— You’ve already given me some information.

— What I said is easily found in public land use records. The existing military area expanded into the previously excavated mines a few years ago.

— Why?

— Additional space improves the safety of live-fire exercises. If there are other reasons for acquiring this area, I’m not aware of them.

The man didn’t offer any more details. Li stopped her futile attempts and focused on the scenery. The old mining road was clearly well-maintained. It was wide enough to withstand the heavy military vehicles. The first checkpoint was right at the military area’s border, the second halfway, and the third at the continuation of the fence surrounding the military training area.

— I wouldn’t recommend trying to cross the barrier anywhere farther from the road, the driver guessed Li’s thoughts.

— Close to it and at least five kilometers away, there are quite a few optical and electronic sensors, motion detectors, and flying surveillance drones on random routes. Ground traps become lethal near the fence, triggered by warnings from farther away. Military patrols frequently search for uninvited guests.

— That was public information too?

— Only blind, deaf-mute people could miss the thousands of warning signs equipped with lights and sounds spread along the borders of the area. They extend all the way to the fence.

— So if someone intentionally bypasses them, they’re playing with their life?

— Yes. The sensors direct patrolling soldiers to the intruder, but they can’t do anything if the intruder has triggered one of the traps. So far, no one has made it to the lethal ones.

Fortunately, Li thought. If someone really did manage to lose their life due to their own stupidity, it would cause quite a stir. The military would certainly not take the blame for the incident. Some of the press would try to sensationalize it for more readers. The authorities would naturally conduct their own investigation into the death, which, as far as Li could deduce, would not find anyone guilty of the idiot’s death but the idiot themselves.

— How many people trying to enter the area have been caught?

Cie couldn’t help but ask.

— Six this year, the driver surprised the science director.

— One guy twice, though. The second time, he got quite a hefty fine.

His excuse for getting lost in the same carefully marked area didn’t hold up in court.

— Maybe he learned.

— Unlikely. I’d bet a small wager he’ll get caught a third time in a couple of months. This guy has spent a considerable amount of money on various camouflage and surveillance-detection technologies. Although the devices work, commercially available ones can’t compare to military-grade tech. Besides, the suspicion of any surveillance gadget’s location being discovered leads to its relocation.

— If I had that guy’s equipment, how quickly could I reach the fence? That is, if I found every trap and didn’t get caught otherwise?

— Weeks. As I said, civilian equipment isn’t as good as ours. You’d have to inspect practically every square inch of land, water, and trees and watch out for flying radar drones. Many of our systems only reveal themselves after prolonged observation. Personally, I don’t think you’d succeed.

— What about someone more skilled?

— The soldiers here, myself included, get one chance a month to try to breach the surveillance network at a spot of our choosing. We have three days to do it. When we take part, we’re transported to a starting point outside the observation perimeter. From there, we walk to the side and begin our attempt. So far, no one has even made it within two kilometers of the fence.

— What’s your record?

— 2.2 kilometers. Then I made the mistake of choosing a lower depression, and after traveling a bit, I found myself staring down the barrel of an assault rifle. The next time I tried the same route, except for the last fifty meters.

— And in the meantime, they moved the alarm sensors?

— I didn’t even get a hundred meters, the man laughed at the embarrassing memory.

— Since then, I’ve always managed at least a kilometer. Actually, I’ve ranked fairly well in the Mole Competition. In avoiding sensors, that is.

— What’s the story behind that name?

— A man, now a captain here, rented a land-rising device and tried to dig a tunnel just below the surface. He figured he could get past the surface sensors that way. Unfortunately, the surveillance system also includes countless devices that measure ground vibrations. A few of those triangulated his location, and one officer at the time decided to have some fun with the guy playing mole by sending a squad to set up steel plates about two meters deep along his chosen route. When the guy hit one of those, he changed direction, only to bump into another one of the same type. Eventually, he was surrounded by those plates. The man knew he’d been caught, but he still managed to survive underground for a full day. Without the time limit on his attempt, he would have probably stayed there for a week. When he surfaced, he found himself in a fairly stylishly decorated, though floorless, prefab house, and in direct communication with the internal military broadcast system.

Cie Li tried very hard not to burst out laughing but failed. The idea of a man hiding underground for days was simply too amusing.

— How fast could that captain move underground?

— Between the underbrush and the surface, about a thirty meters per hour on average. The device allows for a bit more distance, but it can’t penetrate thick tree roots. Larger rocks and rocky areas must be avoided.

— He must have had some sort of navigation system?

— Several. Of course, he had studied the terrain much earlier and planned his route accordingly.

— How did he look when he came up to the surface?

— Unusually dirty. Then again, that’s not surprising after over two days of crawling underground. That’s why the event is now known as the Mole Competition.

After the two got out of the vehicle, their identification was checked again. Li rolled her eyes when one of the soldiers who had stopped them used an automatic ID scanner. A few seconds later, the woman nodded to the others, took a couple of steps back, and gestured for the science leader and her companion to continue their way.

The driver pointed to a parking lot about a hundred meters away and walked there without a word. Li watched her companion for a moment, shook her head without seeing Kail Perval, and hurried to catch up with the man.

— I thought we were already here? Li wondered, getting into a different vehicle again. This time it seemed to be some sort of hybrid between a hovercraft and a tracked vehicle.

— Seven kilometers still.

— Aha. What’s this contraption?

— Amphibious personnel carrier. It moves both on land and in water.

The appearance is admittedly rather ugly, but the device is very functional.

— I’ve never seen such a combination of movement types before.

— The hovercraft allows for quick crossings of bodies of water. The tracks are meant for uneven terrain where hovercrafts can’t operate, such as forests, rubble, and just generally tricky paths. The tracks also help with heavier loads and towing. The latter usually means heavy weapons and their ammunition, or sometimes both.

— Water cannon?

— It's the kind of weapon that can be hauled over long distances with this vehicle, the driver admitted.

— That type of weapon, as you probably know, fires rapid bursts, moves at a maximum speed of at least a hundred meters on the surface in the direction selected or indicated by the crew leader, and then submerges.

— The water hides the vehicle?

— Yes. Once it submerges, the vehicle shifts a bit away from its original position. The crew has, of course, the option to deploy a quickly spread dye and decoy targets adjustable to different depths.

Despite its flaws, this type of cannon station was one of our most effective weapons against Derkada.

— How long can it stay underwater continuously?

— In principle, indefinitely. It extracts oxygen from the water and cleans the air. However, the three-person crew could only stay for a few days in the cramped space. Some rare individuals lasted up to a week, but normally even one day under the surface exceeded their tolerance threshold.

— What’s the record?

— Three weeks, two days, nine hours and forty-three minutes.

— Didn’t you just say that one day was too much for most?

— Normally, yes. In this case, the enemy managed to damage the position so badly that it sank.

— And the crew got trapped? The science leader managed to ask from behind the hand that flew up to her mouth.

— They were deep in Derkada’s territory, disrupting our enemy’s supply lines. Before we captured the target of our large-scale assault, we had no way of rescuing them. As soon as the area was secured, the diver crew sent to retrieve their bodies reported hearing regular metallic clanging from the station. After confirming the situation, a rescue operation was launched, bringing the badly damaged cannon station back to the surface. After transferring it to land, the crew was freed from the wreckage. After a quick examination, they were sent to the nearest hospital for treatment. None of them had serious physical injuries, but all suffered greatly mentally.

— I don’t wonder. How did they survive underwater?

— As I said, the station can support life functions for a very long time. As far as that goes, they were fine. Each crew member had access to food liquid tubes. The biggest problem was knowing they had sunk to the bottom of that lake and being unable to escape after the rescue capsules broke. The available movement space was very limited. The station’s toilet had stopped working due to enemy hits, and, as you can probably imagine, no one can hold it for three weeks. The stench from the open station was reportedly awful to those who were there.

— Did they recover? The crew of the sunken station, I mean?

— After long-term mental health treatment, yes. However, each of them was banned from serving in cramped conditions for the rest of their lives. Everyone was offered a pension, but none of them accepted it. Still, the driver scratched his chin thoughtfully, without knowledge of the poison pill in each of their tasks and the soothing medicine from the station’s medical kit, at least one of the trapped would have gone completely mad, according to the doctors I’ve heard from.

— So they used medication to keep the panic away?

— Those calming pills were the only item that had almost completely disappeared from the medical kit. I’m not surprised, though. I would probably have bitten or swallowed a poison pill long before the station sank to the bottom.

4

Cie Li saw the army Commander from a distance. The man in camouflage, standing alone near the ruined tank, was inspecting the exceptionally wide, harrow-like track and bent down to examine it more closely.

— These are designed for swamp terrain, Kail Perval replied to the question of the arriving science program leader.

— Normal tracks won’t work in such terrain. Every one of those salvos locks five standard pieces and extensions together. Before advancing in the boggy terrain, the tank crew will take additional surface-expanding parts from the equipment box, stick as many as they can in place, lock the salvos, and drive half a track’s turn forward to install the remaining spikes.

— And these prevent the steel beast from sinking into the mud?

— Yes. The situation is somewhat similar to the heel of women’s shoes or the sole of sneakers. More surface area means less pressure, which in this case translates to less sinking in soft terrain. Do you want to try it?

— The tank? Me? Li stared with wide eyes at the man who had made the surprising offer.

— Why not? Driving it is no more complicated than driving a car.

The field of vision is narrower, but hitting small trees won’t require repairs.

— I understand those are quite noisy? Li, unsure, asked.

— Only outwardly. The cabin is well soundproofed. In fact, even the firing of the main gun gets muffled into a faint rumble.

— Will the shooter go deaf?

— Not quite, a rare smile appeared on Perval’s face.

— Hearing protection is mandatory, but even without it, shooting is possible. Even civilian ear doctors would agree.

The noncommissioned officer pointing to the army Commander listened to a brief command, disappeared inside the tank, returned a moment later, exchanged a few words with Perval, and then disappeared somewhere.

— Shall we go?

— Where to?

— To the tank, of course. You heard that woman’s words. It has fuel, and it’s ready to use. Driving it is really not difficult, Perval urged, seeing Li hesitating.

— The controls are the same as in a car. It even has automatic steering. If it’s on, you can’t crash into trees, large rocks, people, or animals bigger than a cat.

Inside, the tank was surprisingly spacious. Even a single crew member could operate it, but normally the crew consisted of the driver, gunner, and commander. Ammunition loading, both for the main gun and other weapons, was automated, though manual loading was also possible.

The deep, though muffled, rumbling after starting surprised Li, despite Perval’s assurances. The noise outside made their ears ring.

Inside, the noise level was a fraction of that. To avoid seeing Perval’s self-satisfied expression, Li focused on the tank’s dashboard.

— Speed, RPM, gear, slopes, oil, and the tank. Don’t bother with the rest of it. And, actually, don’t bother with all of these either.

— At what point does this thing flip over?

— You mean if you drive sideways on a slope? In theory, tipping over is impossible because the tracks slide long before the weight pressure shifts enough. Besides, few people dare to drive that sideways.

— Have you tried it?

— Of course. Fifty-seven degrees was my limit. Though, it was a training slope, not some forest cliff, so my achievement paints an overly positive picture of my abilities.

Li believed, after a few tries, that neither a small nor slightly larger ditch would damage or jam the tank. The wreck rumbled through the bushes without slowing down, tilted forward and backward as it crossed a wide ditch, and moved at quite a good pace on the flat terrain.

The chief scientist stopped the tank at Perval’s request, on the edge of a large square, and listened to the man’s exchange on the radio.

— You’re not really going to make me shoot this, are you?

— The range is clear. Our tank is full of ammo. Why not?

After a brief argument, Li gave in and allowed Perval to show her how the sight worked. She would first test the tank's machine gun and then try the cannon.

The distant disturbance of a bank behind a cardboard target gave Li some indication of the machine gun's accuracy and power.

The second attempt sent a burst into the background again.

— Pretty good. The crosshair wasn’t quite right when you opened fire, and that’s why the burst was slightly off to the side at the beginning.

— You were right about the soundproofing. Ear protection is unnecessary.

— Don’t forget, we’re shooting now, Perval pointed out.

— If we were the target, that burst would make our ears ring.

— And the cannon?

— Shoot at the same target and imagine being in its place.

— How long are you going to be here? Perval asked, as Li froze, staring with her mouth open at the spot where the cannon shell had exploded, covered in smoke, with rocks still falling.

— The whole day. I didn’t know how long my visit would last, so my secretary cleared my calendar. You didn’t invite me here because of this piece of junk, did you?

— No. Drive north for three kilometers. The road will come up. Follow it until you reach the gate. Once you park this beast somewhere on the right side, we’ll walk past the guard.

At some point, Cie Li actually began to enjoy the tank’s engine power and surprisingly smooth ride. The parking didn’t line up exactly with the road, but the chief scientist didn’t mind. There were no other vehicles nearby. Fiddling around would have been pointless.

The guards at the gate glanced briefly at the Commander marching by and much longer at his companion. However, the pair didn’t try to stop them or point their weapons at them.

Even if Li hadn’t known the area was a military zone, it would have been easy to guess from the vehicles scattered around. Soldiers in camouflage outfits were seen practicing, some on obstacle courses, others in small groups.

Perval’s target was clearly an opening at the foot of the mountain. The hole, about six meters high and the same wide, was quite a sight. It was most likely one of the many valuable ore mines in the area that had been emptied and transferred into military hands.

— Actually, we no longer have much use for these kinds of tunnels. If the war had continued, this would have made a decently good shelter, though it would have required digging new entrances and storage spaces, Perval remarked to his guest, who had guessed the former mine's purpose.

— Behind that door is the reason I called you here.

Cie Li stared at the giant machine with rubber tracks and slowly walked around it. The roughly four-meter-high work machine was a sort of cylinder. The round hole at the back was about two meters in diameter. Tracks were visible at the bottom, sides, and top of the tunnel-like structure.

However, it was the front that caught the chief scientist's attention. The massive, tooth-filled cone-like part was surrounded by a slightly smaller ring farther back.

— It's a mining robot. The rotating part at the tip drills into the rock, and the stones and smaller fragments end up in the ring you mentioned, from which they are transported through a tunnel inside the device to the newly dug tunnel floor or to the industrial-grade ore cart it pulls behind.

— How fast does it go through solid rock?

— Right now, about five meters a day. It’s a prototype, so we focus more on ensuring its functionality than its top speed. Theoretical speed is one meter per hour.

— I’ve never seen anything like it, Li admitted, placing her hand on the cold metal of the machine.

— I’d be surprised if you had. This is the only one.

— Are you planning to build some kind of defensive structures?

— Yes. With these, we can improve our border fortifications. Or at least the rocky parts.

— And how does this relate to me?

— You’ve always wanted to claim caves suitable for research purposes from the military, Cie. We, on the other hand, want to keep the best ones for ourselves. Now you have the opportunity to dig the facilities you want into the bedrock wherever you wish.

— In exchange for what?

— We’d like you to consider supporting the maintenance of the military’s budget at a reasonable level. I mean reasonable, not wartime, Perval raised his hand to block Li’s incoming objection.

— I know the economy of Eyan can’t sustain the same level of military investment in the long term as it has in recent years. The Derkadan threat has been defeated, but not permanently. If they want revenge in twenty years, they’ll consider again, especially if we clearly have superior weapons.

Perval was surely right about that, Li thought to herself. No sane person would attack if the opponent was clearly stronger. On the other hand, it was also true that military power wasn’t everything. A strong economy meant a strong army and a satisfied population.

— Have you ever thought about staging a coup to free yourself from the burden of civilians? the chief scientist blurted out the nagging question before he could close his mouth.

— I could have done that long ago, Perval chuckled, obviously amused by the doubt.

— As Eyan’s highest military leader, shooting the entire political circus during the war would have been just a hand gesture away.

— Thank you.

— For not carrying out the thought, or because you fear I’ll count you among those clowns?

— Both.

— I’m completely satisfied with my current position, Perval reassured her.

— And as for you, I chose you and no one else to see the rock drill we’ve developed. Believe me, I went through every person in a position of any importance.

— Is that so? I wonder what in me drew your attention?

— For example, that not many people in positions of power are able to see the potential in this contraption, the army Commander brushed his hand across the drill's side, offering the possibilities.

Mining operations. Armory bunkers. Research laboratories. High-altitude tunnels for automobiles and railways. Civil defense shelters.

Emergency routes between cities.

— If Derkada attacks a settlement and besieges it, can help be sent from underground?

— Through the tunnel, additional troops and ammunition can be delivered to the location. The wounded and civilians can be moved to safety without the enemy noticing. However, if the city is lost, the tunnel can be easily collapsed along its entire length if necessary.

— How many of these devices are we talking about? Li asked, her curiosity about the listed uses evident.

— At least hundreds. Maybe thousands. The problem is keeping them hidden from the enemy. If their spies report our tunneling, the Derkadians will develop their own versions. This, in turn, means that since their military and political leaders are always better protected, they won’t have to worry about their own health when attacking their citizens.

— Hiding thousands of these from their intelligence doesn’t seem possible?

— No chance. It’s just a matter of time.

— What about this device? Has the information about it spread?

— Probably not. As I said earlier, there are no others like it yet.

We’ve tried to minimize possible leaks. I can’t offer any guarantees, though. You might want to ask our intelligence service’s director for his opinion on the matter.

— No thanks, Li shuddered in disgust.

— That man is as cold as a fish. I prefer to communicate with him in writing.

— He certainly makes an unpleasant impression.

— Shaking his hand feels like touching something raw. The man also sweats constantly and doesn’t look anyone in the eye for longer than a fleeting moment.

— That’s enough for him.

— It is for everyone else too. It’s like staring at a snake.

— I feel the same way about that guy, Perval admitted.

— He’s competent in his work, though.

— I know. That’s the only reason I ever have to deal with that creep.

— I don’t think your avoidance bothers him. I have the impression that the guy actually wants everyone to stay away from him.

— Isn’t he married? Li recalled.

— What kind of woman could stay with such a man?

— A snake charmer?

5

Eyan's science director, Cie Li, closed the report she had glanced at and barely managed to refrain from tossing it into the trash. Complete nonsense. Gross exaggeration. She knew the actual level of the research, and it was light-years behind the account she had just read.

She would apparently need to develop some sort of automated punishment system to curb the nonsense from researchers seeking extra funding. Besides, those damn written works took up her time, and they could also sometimes misappropriate extra funding from a more deserving group or individual.

A team of some kind, to review both overly optimistic achievements and random ones, Li decided after some thought. The first would limit researchers' misguided creativity, and the second would keep those who only slightly exaggerated on their toes.

Li fixed her gaze on the last report she had left and found most interesting. The dream of humankind reaching space would be realized in ten years. Rocket tests had already been conducted during the war. The first five of them had ended in various catastrophes, each for different reasons.

The next one had been a success. The module at the top of the sixth rocket had risen from the atmosphere into space and then, following its programming, turned back into the atmosphere to be mostly destroyed. The remaining parts had struck the Atlantic Ocean and disappeared forever beneath the surface.

The seventh rocket would launch in a couple of weeks. If it, too, reached space without issue, the eighth and ninth rockets would carry test animals, intended to land alive. The tenth flight would carry humans.

The eighteenth rocket's destination would be the moon. Many considered the trip impossible, though it no longer was. Well, it hadn’t been possible just a dozen years earlier. The combination of space and weapon technology, however, had quickly provided the researchers with opportunities they hadn't even known existed.

The moon. The nearest celestial body. The first step in conquering space. A barren and uninhabitable satellite. Yet, they had to go there.

Someday, the moon would have millions of inhabitants. It would serve as a staging point, with at least docks, industries, and research stations. Cities would be mostly embedded beneath the moon's surface to protect from radiation. Food would either be grown in large greenhouses or cultivated in some kind of isolated animal enclosures. Perhaps future humans would eat insects bred for the purpose or some kind of lab-grown meat instead of cows and other farm animals.

A capsule. A stasis chamber. If humanity ever wanted to leave their solar system, they would need a life support system for the long journey between planets. The alternative would be a generation ship.

A colossal self-sustaining unit where a select crew would spend an entire generation or more of their lives in space.