Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - Mix Coal And Shells, Only Add Water -
Xeno always said:
“If any other scientist were to awaken on their own, and manage to build some kind of primitive society, sooner or later, they would come to us. If they are developed enough, they would know the importance of agriculture, and where to find those last existing seeds. We built here on purpose, this exact location. All convenient routes lead to us, while we can stay hidden. Unsuspecting scientists, falling right into our trap.”
So when we actually received a signal? Xeno didn’t panic, he beamed with anticipation.
“Look at those fools! Broadcasting their location via radio transmission. But we did prepare.”
While we receive hourly signals, very weak. They must be far away.
The signal continues for 35 days, without a change. 35 days of the science leader trying to get the exact location of the signal. It comes from Japan. 35 days of the science leader planning for a long-range missile, destroying the source of the signal. As far as I know, we don’t have enough resources for a missile, and even if we had? Such a long-range missile would need some kind of guidance. Developing that takes time.
And then? A ship shows on the radar. And we go into hiding. Radar off, radio off, lights off. We know they are there, coming here, but they don’t know about us.
So is that weak radio signal their guiding light? Calculating your position by the time difference from your origin and your current position. Easy, as long as you can get a read on the sun in both places. But wouldn’t that imply that there are at least two groups of people? Those on the ship, and those that stayed in Japan?
Obviously, they’d need a capable scientist to have achieved a long-distance radio signal and a ship to cross the ocean. I wonder if the scientist is on board or stayed at home. If they took a scientist with them, would they maybe have a chance against Xeno? Would they realise the trap? Or would they fall for it, as Xeno expects? Would be really nice if it would be someone who wants to rebuild society and can take on Xeno. Unlikely. But…
———
When the ship approaches the shore, Stanley is sent out. Gathering intel. It only took a few hours before he established visual contact. The ship seems to be manned by roughly 40 kids, aged 15 to 25. And the eyes of Dr. Xeno start to light up.
"40! Isn’t that just wonderful? They have a population of 40, all young people."
He smirks, asking me.
“Do you know what this means, my dear Luna?”
I don't know what this means, but I know what Xeno wants to hear right now. Somebody less brilliant than himself.
“It... it will help with our population numbers, right? The kids can easily do the unskilled labour, like farm work, too? Right?"
He snickers. My answers please him.
“You’re not seeing the bigger picture, Luna, even though you have been on statue duty all this time. From the 200 people, all elite military, who were instructed to keep thinking and to stay awake, all but 15 failed. What do you think are the odds that 40 non-instructed teenagers without any knowledge did manage that?"
This thought didn't even occur to me, but he was right, the chances are basically zero. How did they manage that? Did they know? I ask:
“Huh? So, what does that mean?"
A filler, so Xeno will go on.
“It means, my dear, naive Luna, that someone must have found a way to revive the unthinking statues. A scientist, maybe even at my level. Someone we definitely need. Or need to eliminate.”
A way to depetrify others? For real? Someone out there found a way? The statues are not dead! They can still be saved! Maybe even all of them? How effective is their way? When they only got 40 people on that ship… That’s probably not all of them? How many might there be? A village? City? Even a whole country already back? Would Xeno even stand a chance then?
But of course he does. Building a railgun? Hiding that Thorium and Uranium that were just “residue of other rare earths, that might come in handy later”? He was researching missiles back in the day. How close is he actually to sending a nuke across the ocean?
And their ship didn’t look that advanced. Using hourly signals for navigation? If that’s what they decided on for cross-Atlantic travel, they are risk-takers, not strategists. Developing radio technology and a ship… Sure, that’s impressive. But that’s nothing compared to an ex-NASA specialist turned weapons researcher who spent 3700 years making war plans…
If Xeno would get the formula to revive people into his hands? Nothing could ever stop him anymore. His little military base would become an unstoppable, world-dominating force. A war nation.
But on the other side, this knowledge can’t be allowed to get lost. It could be our only chance! Humanity’s revival. To restore society, knowledge.
I start biting on my thumb.
Whoever is on that ship needs to get protected, in order to protect the formula from Xeno and in order not to preserve the formula. But they have no idea. We’re hidden and they just happily drive up the river in their ship in hope of resources, not knowing it’s a trap. A trap that either ends in annihilation or enslavement. If they get enslaved, their knowledge won’t get lost, but fall into Xeno’s hands. But if they all die, their knowledge might die with them. And that’s not an option.
———
The base is preparing for a preemptive airstrike. And there is nothing I can do. All I can do is manage the resources in the storehouse. But the planes were already built before they woke me up. Their tanks were already fuelled. The munitions were already prepared. They prepared for five years, and I am just an unplanned, late addition to the team. If I at least were allowed into the hangar, just putting in a bit of sugar into the fuel tanks of the two planes would delay the airstrike for a while.
They will shoot down those kids, and there is nothing I can do about it.
The pilot took Stanley with him into the plane. We will get live info. All I can hope for is that the kids will surrender the second they see the plane, that they'll survive, that their knowledge survives.
I notice marks on my hands. The behaviour of an imprisoned animal. Is that what I am?
———
The airstrike begins, no need to hide transmissions now. The kids just need to look at the sky to see the enemy, just need to listen for the distant sound of engines to know an unknown enemy is approaching. I look down and still see my fingernails biting into my hands. It doesn’t make sense, does it? Doing this? They leave marks, deep red. But I just can’t stop. Focusing on the pain is better than hearing a live transmission of dying kids.
The pilot flies low, so that Stanley’s machine gun will reach. Strifing. The first round of shots is fired. It damages the ship, but the kids noticed in time, at least they were below deck. The pilot flies a circle back, ready for another round, when the transmission changes. The engine sounds begin to stutter. Stanley’s voice:
“They got the engine in one shot. I’m impressed.”
Loud sounds, mostly the metal breaking through the trees, but also screams and moans. Dr. Xeno looks unwell, for the first time. The chance of his mission failing probably didn't even cross his mind. He jumps up:
"Stanley? Stanley?!”
“Is our beloved science leader worried about me? The pilot is slightly hurt, I’m fine. The plane is a complete wreck. I’ll carry him back to base, but it'll take a while.”
The moans in the background sound like the pilot is "only slightly" hurt. But Dr. Xeno ignores the sounds. Stanley goes on:
“They threw a glass flask at us. Some kind of gas? The engine started knocking violently. The engine would have torn itself apart, so the pilot had to stop it."
Xeno seems to have regained his ego. He goes right back to talking to no one in particular.
“Oh! Acetylene gas. Such a simple yet elegant solution! Harmless to the human body, but can stall an engine at just 1% concentration. Such an intelligent countermeasure. A pyrophobic. It can be easily made by mixing water and calcium carbide…”
Acetylene gas? I know how to make it, but if I had thought about how to stop a plane, I wouldn't have thought of that. But on that ship, there is one: a scientist who assessed the whole situation, came up with a plan, and synthesised the required compound in the mere seconds it took the plane to turn. A scientist who came up with a way to revive people…
Dr. Xeno continued with his monologue while I was thinking.
“… So in conclusion, they must have a scientist on board, that might almost rival myself. But in the end, this is just a small setback; we're still in the advantage. The fact they have someone smart enough means they'll realise on their own that we're superior. They might just give up with a few gentle pushes. Let us show some generosity, and let them know, we’re willing to spare them, if they surrender.”
Together with the communications technician, they go over different frequencies, until they finally find the frequency of the ship.
A rough voice answers, in Japanese.
“What the hell are you doing? Chrome, what are you, an idiot? Didn’t I tell you not to ca-…”
But Xeno promptly interrupts him, starting in English.
“Ah. Hey there. So this is your frequency? I want to speak to your scientist kid that brought down my precious plane with their elegant acetylene flask."
Commotion on the other end. I hear whispered voices, speaking in Japanese. Do they know English? Does anybody here speak Japanese? If I were to let them know I can speak Japanese, I could be in control of communicating. Sliding in infos of future attacks, plans of the base, exchanging strategy. I could maybe protect them? This might be a chance to see if those people want to rebuild humanity, society, knowledge. I start the shuffle, but get ignored.
Dr. Xeno starts talking again, repeating his words in Japanese this time. Of course, he speaks Japanese… What did I expect? He had been the mentor of my favourite researcher. Who had been surprisingly young. And you can’t expect an eight-year-old Japanese kid to be fluent enough in English to talk about rocket science. I nearly made a potentially fatal mistake. The science leader would have understood my every word. Seen right through me in an instant. He would not have been merciful.
A voice answers on the other side. Fluent in English but with the typical accent of a Japanese speaker, that I know so well from that astronaut.
“Eh? What could Mr. 'shoots at harmless kids instead of greeting them' want from me?"
"Ah! Sorry for my soldier Stanley. I just wanted you to see that you are no match for our science. A small presentation of our weaponry. I have a deal for your little ship full of kids. Give me the recipe for reviving statues and become part of my domain. In exchange, I’ll make sure our dear Stanley will stay in lane.”
“Eh? What kind of delusions are you running off with? We just came by for some happy resource farming and received the traditional American greeting of machine guns. And, oh wow? What is that? A new plane just for us? Finders keepers, right? Thanks for the gift, old fart.”
The science leader’s mouth twitches, another unexpected variable he encountered today, a kid that would not yield to his intimidation strategy. But Xeno wouldn’t give up this quickly.
“Oh, you must be under the assumption that this was our only weapon? We already completed our Haber-Bosch plant years ago. You’ll either surrender willingly, ensuring all of you kids will survive, or you'll fight us, at the loss of lives and still end up as ours."
Xeno looks smug. He knows a ship full of kids can’t be a threat. But the voice on the other end does seem to think differently.
“Sure, sure. You’ve got more gunpowder than brain cells, thanks to your plant. I’ve heard enough."
And with that, the boy on the other side ends the transmission. Is he insane? You’ve got to be insane to treat a threat like this, right?