Liss was perplexed by the venom. “I don’t get it. What have you got against us?”
“And I definitely don’t want to know this tart,” said Olivia, disgusted by every inch of her. A moment later, Liss gasped at the translation.
“This is a waste of time,” said Kwame, looking at me. “Why was she included in this?”
“To punish me, that’s why—”
“Will you be quiet?” he snapped back at her.
“No I will not! I don’t want to be here, I don’t want to know any of you, and you don’t want to know me!” Kwame’s eyes flashed with anger and his mouth flapped at words, struggling to find a retort through the aphasia. I was about to intervene — but someone else got there first.
“I want to know you,” said Iokan, in that calm, gentle voice of his. Everyone looked to him, and the room fell silent. Olivia took off her glasses to check the translation system hadn’t been broken, then jammed them back on her face.
“Rubbish!”
“I want to know you.”
“Utter rubbish!”
“Not at all. I want to know how you came here, and all the things that happened to you.” He smiled with complete innocence, meaning every word he said. It gave even Olivia a moment of pause.
“You’re talking rot.”
“Are you worried I’ll find out too much?”
“You’re the one should be worried. You don’t know where I’ve been.”
“Then I’ll just have to find out, won’t I?”
She leaned forward. “Fine. See where it gets you.”
“You still need to write your name, Olivia,” I said. She grabbed paper and pen and scribbled it down. “And if you could put it in the bowl, please?”
Olivia glared at Iokan and held out the slip of paper. “He can tell my story.”
I looked to Iokan. He assented with a smile and took her name. “And whose story will you tell?” he asked of Olivia.
“We’ll see, won’t we?” she said, reaching for the bowl and taking a name.
2. Kwame
Indigenous Sapient Report
Expedition HKAJ-778662-002
Submission: HD y271.m2.w3.d4
Author: Cmdr. Chesgryn, H
Summary
The IUS Calculus was sent to study the long term results of what may be the most devastating nuclear war ever discovered during a routine survey. The planetary atmosphere contains a high percentage of the radioactive isotope cobalt-60, which may have been released by a ‘cobalt bomb’, a thermonuclear weapon jacketed by large quantities of the mineral. With enough cobalt, this weapon can spread a cloud of radioactive dust across a planet and end life upon the surface within a few decades.
After uneventful transit to the target universe, a planetary survey revealed numerous radioactive decay isotopes in hotspots associated with the ruins of cities, indicating a general thermonuclear exchange in addition to the use of a cobalt bomb. Vegetation was dramatically reduced, algal blooms were absent, and IR surveys found no evidence of warm blooded animal life on land or in shallow seas. At least some of the damage seemed to have resulted from UV exposure, as the ozone layer was severely depleted. We estimated that 86 years (plus or minus five years) had passed since the nuclear war.
After several weeks of orbital surveillance we moved to low altitude drone surveys and were surprised to detect a small EMF anomaly that suggested the use of AC electrical equipment. The anomaly was located ten metres inside an artificial tunnel system within a mountain range running along the eastern side of this world’s version of Africa. The mission archaeologist suggested it was theoretically possible for a pre-war electrical system to still be functional, so we made a landing in order to conduct a more detailed survey.
The geological team were quickly able to map the underground complex in detail. It was composed of two main sections: a large set of chambers that began about six metres into the rock and extended another five hundred metres inside (dubbed the ‘shallow complex’); then, linked by tunnels, a much deeper structure nearly a full kilometre within the mountain (the ‘deep complex’). The shallow complex seemed to have been made by extending pre-existing cave systems, while the deep complex was entirely artificial.
The shallow complex should have been safe behind a two metre thick door, but this had been opened at some point after the war. Inside, we found several sets of skeletonised human remains. The EMF anomaly was traced to an emergency lighting system still despite the passage of time. The shallow complex seemed to be designed to hold several hundred individuals, perhaps the core of a post-war recolonisation of the world. What was unusual was the method in which they attempted to wait out the war; the chambers were filled with hundreds of devices resembling burial caskets. Approximately eighty per cent were occupied by human skeletons, and the caskets were later confirmed to be hibernation devices.
Upon venturing into the deep complex, we found further blast doors, but these had never been breached by the occupants. The atmosphere was almost completely without humidity, limiting corrosion, and it proved to be possible to remotely activate the door mechanisms. The deep complex was designed for a few tens of individuals, clearly intended for the purposes of command and control. It contained offices, a communications centre, a broadcast studio, and further hibernation chambers. These seemed to be of better quality and were still powered, though all but one had failed. In this last one, we found a still-living human male who was apparently forty years old.
We would have preferred to take his hibernation unit back to Hub, or at least to the Calculus, where we could have revived him with greater care. Unfortunately, the equipment was too fragile to move, and as the power supply (a radioisotope thermoelectric generator) was virtually depleted, we could not leave him in hibernation until we were able to return with better equipment. We could not even risk replacing the power source with one of our own. Instead, we spent two weeks studying the systems until we felt we could safely begin the revival process.
The expedition’s medical staff exercised the utmost caution, but an emergency three hours into the procedure starved his brain of oxygen for approximately twenty seconds, and may have resulted in some minor brain damage. Nevertheless, the revival was completed successfully and he regained consciousness with no other incident. His initial reaction was one of understandable surprise and fear. We made every attempt to appear non-threatening, but still had to sedate him before he could be removed to the surface.
As per evacuation protocols for endangered human species, our priority was to take him to Hub for medical attention, and accordingly we made haste to regain orbit and depart. The survivor was transferred from our custody at 05:46 on HD y271.m2.w3.d2, and placed in quarantine at Grainger L1 station, while we made preparations to return to his universe and continue our exploration.
3. Group
“Who wants to go first?” I asked. There were no immediate volunteers as I looked around the group, until Kwame sighed. “Kwame, would you like to start?”
“I would not. I would like Olivia to begin. She was assigned to introduce me, and I would like her to complete her slander quickly.”
“I’m not going to lie about you, if that’s what you think,” said Olivia. “I’m not whitewashing it.”
“I am sure you will enjoy yourself.”
She turned to the group. “He’s a mass murderer,” she said, then turned back to Kwame. “Am I right?”