“It’s like some sort of secret zoo,” murmured Ganesa, visibly shocked.
“Yes, but where are the keepers?” asked Ostara. It puzzled Ravana too that they had not seen another soul anywhere in the plantation. “Who looks after the animals?”
“They’re automatically fed and watered,” Hanuman replied, switching off his lamp. “There are dozens of plantations like this on the Shennong side of Yuanshi. This one has not had a regular team of scientists for months. They are monitored remotely, of course,” he added, pointing to the scanners mounted high upon the wall.
“They’re watching us?” exclaimed Ganesa, startled. “You’ve led us into a top-secret, high-security compound and you knew we were being watched? They’ll send gunships!”
“Well, maybe one or two,” Hanuman admitted. “I wasn’t planning on stopping long.”
After recording a few seconds of footage on his camera, he strode away between two rows of cages, seemingly unconcerned that his every move was under surveillance by distant Que Qiao agents. Mystified, the others followed. Ravana made sure she kept well away from the caged ashtapada as she did so.
“Look,” Hanuman said suddenly, pausing next to a large cage. “That’s what you get when you let genetic engineers mess with a thunderworm.”
The huge green worm, resting coiled upon the bare floor inside, was at least ten metres long and wide enough to swallow a man whole. Protruding from its bumpy red spine near its skull was a slender chrome needle, capped and taped to its skin.
“They’re experimenting on them,” Zotz realised. “That’s horrible!”
“I thought animal testing had been banned,” said Ravana, disturbed.
Ahead, the rows of cages gave way to an open area dominated by four large metal tables, above each of which hung a light cluster similar to those found in hospital operating theatres. Three tables were bare but upon the one furthest away lay something covered in a white sheet. To the right of the tables stood a large medical instrument cabinet, while to the left was a long workbench equipped with electrical engineering tools. Zotz hastened over to the workbench and began to excitedly examine its contents.
A sudden movement caught Ravana’s eye and she paused. A frightened grey face with large almond-shaped eyes peered at her from a nearby cage. Twelve spindly fingers gripped the bars, like those of a death-row prisoner awaiting their fate. The creature’s lizard-like expression was alien yet Ravana recognised both the intelligence and the sadness within.
Philyra had dismissed the strange creature at Hemakuta as no more than a depilated monkey forced to play its part in a con. Ravana now knew she was wrong. Meeting her stare of wonder both then and now was one of the legendary lost alien beings of Epsilon Eridani.
“My word,” murmured Ostara, coming up behind her. “Is that really…?”
“I always thought I’d imagined it,” Ravana said softly, feeling a little queasy. Her cat, still in her arms, fidgeted more than ever. “I was six years old. I’d been naughty and run off to play alone in the woods near Lanka. There was a wounded creature in a cave, just like this one, except it had these beautiful blue markings on its skin. I gave it what food and water I was carrying then ran back home for some more, but because of an air raid it was days before I managed to return, by which time it had gone.” She looked at Ostara. “You’re the first person I’ve ever told that to. I’ve often wondered if I imagined it all.”
“Fenris would love this. It would be like meeting one of his gods,” Ostara remarked, then caught Ravana’s somewhat peeved expression. “That probably sounded a bit flippant after your childhood revelation. I’m finding all this a bit overwhelming.”
They were interrupted by a sudden cry of excitement from Zotz. Hanuman glanced up from where he and Ganesa were examining whatever it was under the sheet on the far table, then returned to the hushed argument he was having with his co-pilot.
“Look at this!” Zotz exclaimed.
Ostara and Ravana joined him at the workbench. Zotz had been investigating a series of shallow drawers, which when opened revealed row upon row of tiny electronic circuit boards. Picking one up, he showed it to Ravana.
“What is it?” she asked, squinting at the tiny board. There was something familiar about the tiny chip in the centre, which had a small green blob growing out of it.
“These are AI chips!” Zotz told her. “Prototypes, I think. They’re much smaller than what I’ve seen before but have the usual organic processor.”
“Did you never wonder what the organic bit actually is?” asked Hanuman, coming over. He had given his camera to Ganesa, who was busy filming everything in sight.
“They’re cloned brain cells,” replied Zotz. “Everyone knows that.”
They are brain cells,” admitted Hanuman. “And in the factories which churn out these chips by the billion, the organic bit is grown in vats. But did you ever stop to think where the original cells came from? Or how Que Qiao developed the technology in the first place when animal testing had been banned?”
Ravana looked around at the cages. “You mean…?”
Hanuman nodded. “This is what makes Yuanshi so important to Que Qiao,” he said. “Epsilon Eridani is the only system so far where intelligent native life-forms have been found. The greys are the real prize; as you know, the official line is all higher life-forms died out when humans arrived and set up home. In fact, supposedly extinct species are secretly hunted and shipped to these plantations, to become experimental playthings for Que Qiao scientists looking for new ways to make cheaper, faster gadgets for the corporation to sell. The civil war just makes it easier to keep these research stations hidden.”
“That’s dreadful!” Ostara exclaimed, visibly shocked.
“Does that mean Jones also has a bit of alien inside it?” asked Zotz.
“He means my cat,” Ravana explained, seeing a number of puzzled expressions. “That might explain why it’s been acting so weird ever since we got here.”
“Almost certainly,” Hanuman replied. “Everything from spacecraft navigation units to washing machines uses a version of these organic processors.”
“Even implants?” asked Zotz with a mischievous grin.
“What!?” cried Ravana, putting a hand to her head. “You can’t be serious!”
Hanuman looked apologetic. “It’s possible.”
Ravana gave a screech and ran to Ostara, convinced she could feel an alien about to explode out of her head. Zotz’s grin quickly faded when he saw Ravana’s reaction.
“But why use aliens?” Ostara asked, putting a protective arm around Ravana. “Surely all extra-terrestrial life should be protected.”
“All except giant spiders,” muttered Ravana.
“If Que Qiao had chosen to experiment on some Terran life-form when developing their AI units, the corporation would have been hauled before the courts on animal cruelty charges years ago,” Hanuman explained. “Que Qiao instead claims the cells are entirely synthetic, knowing full well that using the brains of presumed extinct aliens makes the source material virtually untraceable. The latest twist is that thanks to the gullible fools who follow Taranis, Que Qiao is starting to convince people that greys were invented by the Dhusarian Church and never existed at all. Sightings are never taken seriously.”
“So what’s under the sheet?” asked Ostara, pointing to the table.
“Don’t let them see this!” cried Ganesa.
She was too late. Zotz appeared out of nowhere and with a single swipe of his hand pulled the sheet clean away. As they stared at the misshapen and butchered corpse hidden beneath, the boy’s face went deathly pale. On the table lay a creature just like the grey humanoid staring out from the nearby cage, only this alien was very dead.