

### Rhea's End

### By Adam Howell

Copyright 2013 by Adam Howell

Smashwords Edition

**Smashwords Edition, License Notes**

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

### Acknowledgements

Thank you Lootheen http://www.furaffinity.net/user/weiro/ for drawing the terrific front cover for me, and thank you to my family for all their help and support.

### Part 1: Built As Angels

Chapter 1

The planet Rhea was abandoned by civilisation centuries ago. They left only the immortals behind. Remnants of ancestors which 'morality' prevented from being turned off. Crispy thin creatures, completing their day to day activities, oblivious to the world, as they were hoisted along by their internal enhancements.

Their minds switched off long ago, they shudder about, limbs pulled and twisted from within, as they run through their scheduled tasks. Instructions to carry out day to day activities all offloaded onto autopilot many lifetimes ago. Stale flesh, muscles withered away to nothing, thin skin, bright yellow, as if discoloured over time - all kept alive for the sake of existence.

Our ship was forced to land after an accident. A fault in the new spatial location system, acquired at great expense by our preacher. The preacher had more than likely pocketed half the cash and spent what was left on a defective piece of scrap, but I wasn't going to cause an argument - not when stranded. I could make him compensate me when we were successfully back at Mapheus.

We landed in Rhea's old capital, Cetus Park. The buildings were well maintained, the lights were on, glowing from out of the biodomes. It seemed as fresh as any modern city. But the shriveled bodies, lurching around from building to building \- they were the only sign something was wrong.

I've travelled the nineteen planets, experienced the harshness of the most extreme habitations, I've seen people in many shapes and sizes. Humanity has molded itself to differing environments.

The people of Rhea formed a nightmare. A warning of how we must value our minds.

The bodies walked their preset patterns along the roads; paths they would have travelled for centuries. A computer controlled race of human remains - the immortals - their minds no longer touched by the reality of their situation.

There were three of us. It was a controlled landing in a favourable atmosphere. There was me, Raul Hampher. I held the honorary title of captain - captain of a ship which would never fly again.

Then there was Florina Jesp, an artist and passenger. She made balloons out of fruit. It was meant to speak of our physical transcendence. She should have taken the opportunity, on Rhea, to make a balloon out of an immortal. That would be a message I'd understand.

Her sight recognised eight primary colours, none of which were visible to me. This was a modification granted to her by her parents, who had decided, before she was born, that she'd make a talented artist. She had dark charcoal grey skin and light grey hair, as was the norm on Ruk.

Then there was Hayden South, our preacher. He displayed an impressive knowledge, especially of the value of things on the black market. There could be no theft or scavenging here on Rhea. The immortal's autopilots fulfilled every role of society, even the police - pointless as it would normally be.

If you were to get arrested you might end up stuck here. There were many stories about Rhea. People landing and never being heard of again. Hayden would have to control himself.

He had rough skin with short bristly hair. I'd seen similar skin adaptations many times before. It gave away his desert planet origins. All the humans, on all the worlds, have taken the opportunity to modified themselves. Rhea - although their method was synthetic rather than genetic - was one of the first worlds to really make dramatic human modifications. They walked into their fate blindly, bit by bit.

It's a harsh world on which to live - heavy gravity and hot humid weather. I was the only one of us who didn't seem to mind the conditions. The other two were driven on by excitement, but I could see the strain put on their bodies.

At first the people here - if you can call them people - were useful. They attempted to repair our ship for us, though our technology would be centuries beyond theirs and they'd have no spare parts. We'd launched a transmission pod before we hit the atmosphere. A rescue would be less than a week away. We just had to knuckle down and wait.

The immortals gave us shelter and a supply of freshly farmed food. Their voices were sloppy. Their enhancements struggled to push the bodies into the shapes needed to make sound. Their lips would be shoved to the side and pried apart by synthetic muscles. Unnatural expressions would be stretched across their glazed faces.

They spoke without personality; deadened eyes gazing into space. They listed starting times for dinner and instructed us about the activities available in town, the countless tourist destinations that would have gone centuries without a single guest.

They put us up in a hotel, each with separate rooms. They'd already helped us transport our possessions from the ship and they said that they'd send the rescue party to us, when they arrived.

Florina told me that she thought the city was beautiful and I agreed. Several centuries of ancient architecture layered upon each other. Giant luminous biodomes and pillars reaching down from the sky. Most of the planet was falling apart, but this city's population - though now merely automatons - was sufficient to maintain everything. A time capsule preserving a planet in a different era. Squint hard enough and its people come alive.

We weren't the first to visit Rhea. There had been other brief visits. It's always described as such a depressing place, now. Once there must have been so much life.

Internal enhancements were this planet's way of coping with the high gravity. A synthetic webbing within the host's body, designed to complement and aid every muscle. At first it was just given to the elderly, the people who felt the strain the most, it was meant as an invisible aid. Giving them the strength needed to live a productive life. Over time, it ended up spreading throughout all corners of society.

The problems really occurred when autopilot took over. People gained the ability to hand over control of their bodies whilst engaging in the more tedious tasks. It was all managed by the Core. A centralised intelligence that would regulate all the mundane tasks in life. It would move your body around as you relaxed and let life drift by.

It could do things such as: tidying your house, travel from a to b, do some work for the Core. You could even hold short conversations with people: take messages, greet people, explain that the host wasn't available right now.

That's the default response if you ever tried to talk to a random immortal. They'd slurp their words to you, as they tried to introduce themselves by name, and explain that they aren't available right now.

Of course they weren't available, their brains, along with most of their natural muscle, had long since shriveled away. The synthetic webbing wore their human host like an old rag.

It was amazing really, that this echo of society had managed to keep going - playing out its roles, day after day. But here it was, right in front of us. Rhea, planet of the damned.

Chapter 2

We met up in the hotel foyer. An immortal was sat along the side, playing an out of tune piano - it didn't care how it sounded.

The others had their hearts set on exploring this lost city. A part of me wanted to as well, but I was wary. This planet was the stuff of horror stories. Visitors being arrested by the police for going where they're not meant to, and disappearing. Lost within a largely non-functional justice system.

I reminded the others to be careful and they seemed to take it in. The risks seemed well understood.

We thought we'd start off by heading to the largest of the visible biodomes which towered above the hotel's rooftop. It would be just around our block of buildings - if we could find the right road. Florina was filming everything as we walked.

We passed a church. A religious building with a crowd of immortals stood motionless outside.

"People for you to preach to," Florina said, scoffing at Hayden.

He look uncomfortably into the camera.

"I think these people are well past saving," he said.

Immortals, with beads in their hands, would walk up to the entrance, wait around for a few minutes, then go on their way. The leftovers of a religious practice they'd long stopped understanding.

Further up, a road ran around the side. This would be the way. The colour of the biodome ahead seemed to match that of the sky - pale yellow. Rhea was one of the earliest of the colonies and these would have been colossal feats of ancient architecture, at the time.

"Do you think we can get inside?" asked Florina, as we got closer.

I said, "I don't know, maybe. Lets be careful."

The biodome had a large courtyard with a luminous fountain. The type you might find on Earth. Only here the water splashed down hard under Rhea's gravity.

Hayden ran his hand through the pond at the base.

"Careful," I said, "We have no idea what's allowed."

"Cautious, aren't you," he said, smiling, but he removed his hand and dried it on his shirt.

"Probably best we don't walk on the grass, as well," said Florina, pointing at the neatly cut lawn ahead of us.

I nodded.

A immortal walked down the path and passed us. Its mouth gaped open and its sunken eyes pulled back down to one side. It was heading to the biodome and we followed behind.

Florina asked aloud, "What could possibly be going on in their minds?"

"Pray you never find out," said Hayden.

I answered, "Nothing - nothing is going on in their minds."

It led us up to the entrance and the door slid open.

The doors would have been triggered by electronic commands. Without the relevant implants we were dependent on the immortals to open doors. We followed him in.

There were other immortals inside. It was a spacious dome with sculpted plant life around a scattering of small buildings

"A park," Florina said as she spun around to take in the sight.

There were immortals sat around on benches watching other immortals playing hopscotch on the grass.

The biodome's doors slid shut behind us.

Hayden observed, "We could end up getting trapped here. If we need them to open all the doors."

"Yes," I said, "and we could all end up getting arrested if we're forced to break out."

I began to back up towards the door, thinking the conversation showed a general agreement that we should leave, but the other two continued onwards. I jogged up to them hiding my unease.

Florina's focus was on her filming. The immortals staggered about oblivious to her fascination. A large marble statue dominated the centre of the dome. It was of a pretty young women. Looking down at the inscription, carved into the base, it read, 'Gloria'.

Immortals came dressed in a multitude of different clothing styles and colours. The clothes looked new and clean - always freshly manufactured, but never the right size for their shriveled bodies.

It must all be made somewhere - all automated and repaired within the the city's colossal structures.

We watched them walk their dogs. Yes, they had pets, normal pets. They must be breeding them and automatically assigning them to new owners. The owners must have then added pet caring duties to their schedule. It was all very clever. The way these human puppets were made to play with and stroke the animals, as if they cared for them. The animal wouldn't have any comprehension that the human felt nothing. In a way it was so sad.

We spent an hour exploring that biodome alone. This city was vast. We slipped back outside, through the doors, walking close behind an immortal who carried a bag of shopping. She'd been buying some new clothes, by the look of it.

Back in the fresh air, I asked, "Where to, now?"

"Perhaps we could find a place where we could get a coffee?" said Hayden.

"No," I said, "We've no money. We'll have to go back to the hotel if we want to eat."

"That's boring," Florina moaned.

"Well," I said, "Perhaps we can explore a bit more before we go back."

There seemed to be a quiet agreement with that statement, though I now regret making it.

Our next discovery was a disturbing one. Of all the buildings in all the streets, something invisible drew Florina on to a small opaque brown glass building. We stood outside for a moment and Hayden asked her what she was looking at.

"There's a lot of warmth here," she said.

I told her, "I don't feel it."

Hayden, always looking for a moment to remind us of his faith, asked, "Would that be a spiritual warmth, you're feeling?"

Not answering she looked down the road. An immortal was walking up. Ugly as them all. Her face fallen in on itself through lack of use.

She walked into the building. The door sliding open for her.

"We don't know when she'll come out. We might get stuck," I said warily. I could see the longing to explore in Florina's eyes. She bit her lip. I thought in that moment she was about to march in, but she stopped.

The immortal was coming back outside and it was such a disturbing sight. I didn't know what to feel. We just stood there, all stunned into silence. As she left, she held, firmly in her hand, the wrist of a worried looking girl. She couldn't have been more than eleven. Normal and healthy, she showed no sign of being modified. She looked at us fascinated as the immortal dragged her away. Had she ever even met a normal person before?

"Dear, God," whispered Hayden, "They're breeding!"

Chapter 3

Florina was the first to recover her senses. She realised she'd stopped filming. Lifting the camera back up, she called out, "Come on, we have to follow them."

Next thing we knew, we were jogging along the blue rubbery pavement, catching up with the the girl and her captor.

"Wait," Florina called out.

The immortal stopped and abruptly turned, yanking the little girls wrist hard. The girl flinched in pain. She was clearly use to being handled roughly.

Florina leant down by the girl, "What's your name?"

The immortal slurped an answer, "I am Sarah Hope, I'm sorry, I'm not available right now."

The girl darted her eyes over us all. "You're tall people. They take you away when you're tall."

"Take you where?" I asked.

She looked around.

I asked, "Are there others like you. Other children?"

After a pause she nodded.

"Where are they?"

"She's taking me to them. You can follow if you like. I'm being punished because I ran off. But they only shout at you if you're naughty. It doesn't mean anything."

"Are there older children?" Florina asked.

"Yes, some. You'll see."

The immortal started walking again and we followed.

We walked for about five minutes and then came to an opened gate leading to a courtyard surrounded by a building and wall. A wall ran around one side and there was a sign, 'Authorised Personnel Only'. The immortal marched the girl through the gate and up to the front door. We all hung back at the gate, intimidated by the sign.

As the front door opened we caught a glimpse of other children. It was only a flash but I swear I saw them playing with toys.

"I need to get a closer look," said Florina, clutching her camera.

"Wait, it says authorised personnel only. You've heard the stories about the over zealous immortal police."

"Yes, but they have children here."

"You've filmed them. We can transmit the evidence when we get off this planet. We can't do anything else."

"I've not filmed them. We only got a glimpse them. I need to see how many. There could be hundreds."

She ran off around the side of the grounds and we ran after her. She dragged herself up on top of a wall.

"Come down," I called in a hushed and anxious voice.

"I'll just try and get a shot from through the window."

She was so much braver, or foolhardy, than me.

Then from on top of the wall I heard her scream. At first I thought it was something she'd seen, but then I realised she was being pulled from the wall.

I ran back round to the gate to get a better look. I saw an immortal dragging her into the courtyard. It held her wrist and pulled her along the floor. She screamed hysterically, panicking. The immortal dragged her through the gate and stopped, holding her by the side of the road.

"Why are you holding her?" I asked.

The immortal turned to me and said, "She has trespassed on a restricted area. The police have been notified and are on their way."

"She didn't, you dragged her into a restricted area." I said, arguing the facts.

The immortal didn't react.

Florina was screaming, "I never did anything. Get off"

Hayden helped lift her to her feet.

"What will the police do with her?" I asked. It was no use.

A few moments later a transport rolled up alongside the road and a police officer got out. As cold and emotionless as any machines, the immortals swapped possession of Florina. The officer took her to into the transport and they drove away. The immortal stayed at the gate looking in my direction.

The camera. Florina had dropped it just within the gate. Could I reach in and get it?

I needed to show what was going on here. That's not true, maybe I didn't, but the video would have been explosive. The council would have to react. Our words could be ignored, but to see the children and how they were treated.

I asked the immortal if she could pass me my camera. She didn't react. Her head was permanently tilted to one side. Were her internal enhancements wonky?

"Am I allowed to pick up my camera?"

"This is a restricted area," she responded.

I looked around and saw a cafe across the road. It was unusual, in that, along with coffee and food, it sold walking sticks. Such a strange thing to sell on a world where everyone's enhanced.

I crossed the street and asked the immortal, who manned the counter, if it was possible for me to purchase a walking stick with Earth transfers. I had some money in an Earth bank and it was just about possible that they would accept a transfer. I didn't know if they were technically able to make the transfer. Interstella banking had changed a great deal since Rhea's decline.

The immortal accepted and I purchased a walking stick, registering my ID in the process. Collecting the money was now the immortal's problem.

Jogging back over to the gate I asked the immortal, there, if it was acceptable for me to stick my walking stick beyond the gate.

The immortal just repeated what she said before, "This is a restricted area."

Hayden was still in a state of shock by all this.

"Don't do it, Raul," he said with a look of despair.

But I had to try. I reached my walking stick in and scooped the camera out. No sooner did I have hold of the camera then the immortal grabbed my arm.

Hayden cried, "No!"

I said, "Get off."

The immortal repeated, "This is a restricted area, the police are on their way."

"I didn't go in the restricted area. Only this stick did."

The immortal looked down at the stick.

"I'm not the stick. Here you have the stick." I handed the walking stick to the immortal and she took it. A moment later she let me go.

"The alert has been canceled," she said.

"Where did that police officer take my friend?"

The immortal jerked her head towards me. "To the police headquarters."

"Where's that?"

The immortal sharply turned her body and began marching down the road. I waved at Hayden to follow. He seemed close to tears. The immortal led us down a series of roads and streets for what seemed like twenty minutes, until we reached a large biodome. The sign on the building said, 'Police Headquarters' and the immortal led us inside.

Outside, the sky had started getting dim, but in here, through the honeycombed outer shell of the biodome, the sky looked bright. Large wooden walls, which only reached a fraction of the way to the dome above, were being polished by immortals. The wooden walls separated the interior into rooms and corridors.

An immortal stood at reception in the empty waiting room. It seemed likely that nobody had waited in here for centuries. This wasn't a time capsule - it was a mortuary of a dead world. All the people that built up this planet, just for it to end up like this in the space of half a dozen centuries. All worlds end, someday. They'll all find their own unique form of death. But this - this all seemed so needlessly self destructive.

I walked to the receptionist and asked if our friend had been brought here.

He asked what my friends name was, as if they'd arrested others.

I said, "Florina Jesp."

He spoke with a husky croak, "She only committed a minor offence and will be let off with a warning. If you wait here, she won't be long."

Hayden and I sat down and waited. We barely said a word as the minutes went by.

Hayden did say, "Lets not leave the hotel again, not until the rescue party arrives."

I nodded in agreement. I dreaded spending, even, one more day on this planet. I don't know how long we waited but it took some time.

Eventually, Florina emerged from a corridor, and we ran up to her. There was fear in her eyes. I gave her a hug. That was when I noticed. The twitch in her movements. The ripple across her muscles.

I held her face and looked into her eyes. I could see it in there - the panic.

"Florina, what have they done to you?" I said.

The reply came back, "I'm sorry, I'm not available right now."

But she was there - trapped. This wasn't some voluntary withdrawal into her mind as she allowed the internal machinery take over. She was being pushed around against her will - forced to play the puppet.

"What have they done to you?"

She shuddered forwards as she continued on her way.

I went after her but Hayden put his hand out.

"We can't do anything now. It's as you said, we have to concentrate on getting out of here and exposing this place."

I don't know why, perhaps it was too much for me, but I agreed.

I shouted over at Florina, telling her it would be ok, and then I watched her walk away.

Chapter 4

We walked back to the hotel. We asked an immortal for directions and he led us all the way there. I was surprised how far we'd travelled. I was surprised again to see Florina standing in the foyer. It must have been designated as her home but now it was her place of work, as well. She stood at reception.

"Florina," said Hayden, running over.

Her enhancements projected her voice from the side of her mouth, as they wrestled their control over her, "Welcome to the Road Hall Hotel. How may I help you?"

"We're here for you, Florina."

The life, the terror in her eyes. She was a more disturbing sight than any of the shriveled up immortals. They could do this to any of us. Really, we were not there for her. Neither me or Hayden dared to be there for her.

I rested my arms on the desk as I leaned forwards, "Florina, do you know if you're going to be coming back with us, when the rescue party arrives?"

She paused for a moment, the Core selected her answer, "I've have been granted this permanent position at the hotel."

The words must have shook Florina to her core as they were choked out of her.

"Listen, Florina, we've got your camera, we can-" Hayden stopped me, placing a hand on my shoulder and saying, "Shh."

I said, "Things will be alright, I promise."

I waved to her as I followed Hayden into the lift.

He said to me, "The Core may be listening to anything we say. We mustn't do anything to make it question our actions."

"We just hold tight?" I asked.

"That's the plan."

I shook my head, "For all we know their plan is to come for us whilst we sleep," I gestured with the camera, "The sooner we have this footage transmitted, the safer we'll be. If we go to the ship, even if they end up doing this to us, people will come and put an end to all this. In a matter of weeks, maybe."

"You want to go to the ship and release a transmission pod?"

I nodded, "If they aren't prepared to let us do that, they're never going to let us off this planet. They'll change us."

"They've changed me already," said Hayden, "It's an eternal hell we're seeing here. Launching a transmission pod in the atmosphere is dangerous. It might trigger them to react to us. I can't stand the idea of what they did to Florina - what they did to this world."

The lift opened and the empty face of an immortal greeted us as we exited. He walked into the lift, and we continued onwards towards our rooms.

Hayden said, "Okay, you're right. We should go to the ship. We should never have taken the immortals' offer of food and shelter. We had all the food we needed there. Tasteless as it was."

I gave a decisive nod, "Ok, lets grab our things and go."

We gathered all the stuff we could carry. The immortals had carried all our possessions for us, to the hotel. We would now return to the ship with only the bare essentials.

I felt nothing for the things I left behind. Memorabilia of all the worlds I travelled. They all seemed insignificant in the light of our current threat. We went into the lift and out through the foyer. I turned to look at Florina. How abandoned she must have felt, there and then. Were those tears?

We remembered the way to the hangar with the ship. It was now dark, but the light from the buildings lit our way. There was another 'Authorised Access Only' sign, but we asked an immortal about it and she confirmed we were authorised to enter the area.

We made our way onto the ship. What had they done?! They'd gutted her.

We dropped our things and ran outside, an immortal stood by the rear or the ship taking readingings from the hull.

"What have you done to my ship?" I cried.

"We were unable to repair your ship. We can only exchange your technology for functional technology of our own."

"You didn't think to ask me?"

"You said, 'Do what you can.' Substituting your technology was all we could do."

"What did you do with the components from the ship?"

We only needed a transmission pod, to send a out an interstellar distress signal. It seemed unlikely that this planet would have any equivalent technology - at least none that would be working.

The immortal led us out of the hangar and to a neighbouring building.

Hayden looked exhausted. The gravity and the stress was getting to him.

The immortal opened the door for us and said, "This is where we disassembled your technology."

I didn't like his use of the word disassembled but we went inside to see what we could find.

The lights came on automatically for us. There were no immortals in there.

The floor was littered with the salvaged parts of the spacecraft. At first my heart sank as my eyes scanned across the tiny fragments - leftovers of the ship - all disassembled to their base components. The immortals would have been cataloguing and recording every device as they stripped them down.

Looking over to the far side of the room, I saw larger items and equipment not yet taken to pieces. We trod carefully across the cluttered floor and started rummaging through the heaps.

After a minute, Hayden called out, "Found it."

I turned and approached. There, under a sheet of insulating fibre, was a transmission pod. Two metres long and shaped like a squashed egg - these would fire into the air and then do a suicidal temporal jump, where they transmit their data into subspace, before breaking out of jump and shattering into pieces. They were not meant for launching within the atmospheres but we had little choice.

I said, "We need to get it outside."

Hayden was way ahead of me and was clearing a pathway for us to drag it.

On this planet it weighed a ton. We needed something to move it.

"Perhaps we should get the immortal to help?" I said. The immortal was still stood outside, looking in through the open door. If he left, and the door shut, we'd be trapped.

"I'd rather not involve them unless necessary," replied Hayden, "You think we could activate it here?"

I shook my head. "It'll need an open space in order to fly. I can upload the data from the video and get it ready, but we'll need to move it before launch."

I uploaded the data and set its destination to every media outpost I could think of. I wasn't going to trust it to the council alone.

I half feared they'd cover it up and declare a quarantine, rather than launch a rescue. This was unusually cynical of me, but I didn't want to take any chances.
Chapter 5

"We'll have to ask the immortals for help." I said, "It's the only way to move it."

Hayden just looked at me so I took it the initiative. Standing up, I walked over to the immortal in the doorway.

"Could you help us move this pod outside?"

"Clearance is required to remove any item."

"Clearance? What do you mean, they're our items?"

"Clearance is required-"

"Ok, where do I get clearance?"

The immortal turned as if to lead us away. I called Hayden over and we followed the immortal.

But only for a few steps. No sooner had we exited the building, the immortal spun to face me and grabbed me by my wrist.

"You are not permitted to remove anything without clearance."

A panic overwhelmed me as I pulled on my wrist in vain. The immortal's grip was unshiftable.

I protested, "I didn't take anything."

"The immortal took the camera from me and placed it back in the building, yanking me along in the process."

"I didn't take this camera from here. It was always with me."

My complaint was useless. I must have put it down when uploading the video. From that moment, in the eyes of the immortal, it was forbidden property.

"The police have been notified and are on their way."

Hayden looked on in horror.

"Let go, you're hurting me," I screamed. To my surprise, it did.

I fell back onto the ground. The immortal took a step towards me.

Its face screwed up as it spoke, "You are to wait until the police arrive."

Hayden disappeared from view for a moment, around the building. Then he reemerged, appeared behind the immortal.

"There's a ladder back here. Maybe they won't follow you on the roof."

It was a long shot but without instructions maybe they wouldn't. I walked around the side of the building, the immortal followed a step behind me. I heard the sound of a transport pulling up. Not much time, now. A ladder ran up the side of the building. I grabbed hold and the immortal seemed to react.

Hayden tapped the immortal on the shoulder from behind, and said, "Excuse me, could I distract you for a moment."

The immortal turned. I rushed up the ladder as fast as I could. My body was strong, ideally suited to such heavy gravity.

I pulled myself up bar after bar. I heard Hayden scream. Looking back, I saw that the immortal had hold of him.

"You aided in a criminal action." It moaned. It wasn't so dumb.

The police arrived on the scene, below, and dragged Hayden away.

He looked up at me. "Dear, God," he cried. He shouted at the police to get off and complained about them hurting him. It was no use. As he was disappearing from sight, he bellowed, "You have to launch the pod, You have to!"

Had the police forgotten about me? Would they be back?

The roof was flat and black. There was a large cylindrical building towering over head. I wondered if immortals would be looking down on me from in there.

The building I stood on was made from resin, it was the same for most of the smaller buildings on Rhea. A small part of the roof was raised above my head and a door was sunk into the side. Perhaps it was possible to get inside from here?

I fantasized that all I need do was hit the launch command on the pod, but I knew things weren't that simple. Nothing guaranteed the pod's success, even if I found a way of getting the pod outside. They were designed to be launched from space. Launching inside the building would be an act of suicide.

The door on the roof was locked. It would more than likely have led to a back room in the building. There could have been immortals there. It might be the direction the police would come, if they returned to collect me. Would the immortal all attempt to grab me on sight?

I tried slamming the door, to open it. It seemed designed to open outwards. It was no use. Perhaps I should take this opportunity to climb down the ladder and find an alternate way in. It was quiet down there.

I peered over at the ground where Hayden had been dragged away. I could feel my legs crumble, feebly, beneath me. I couldn't stand. I just wanted to crawl away from it all. I would rest a minute, or would that be the worst thing I could do? There aren't any survival guides for situations like this.

None of this mattered - not anymore. I was tired and exhausted. I climbed above the doorway onto the small patch of roof above and lay down. I told myself that it was some sort of hiding place. Should the police come back, they'd look across the roof and think that I had gone elsewhere. This was a particularly pitiful lie. I was still in plain sight as I fell asleep.

Chapter 6

I woke the next morning with sun on my back. I was still here - still on the roof. I peered over at the nearby buildings, staying flat on my belly. I could make out the odd immortal going about its business.

I needed to get the pod. I couldn't delay. Immortals could come at any moment to finish breaking apart the various items from the ship. They could be beneath me now, finishing the job.

The area at the base of the building seemed clear. I pulled myself over to the ladder and, taking a deep breath, I climbed down.

Feet on the ground, I edged cautiously around the side of the building. My way was partly blocked by a fence. I could see no windows but I could get to two doors, both shut. The large set of doors I'd previously passed through, and a smaller side door. I might have been able to prise it open, but that might cause an alert. I could try breaking the door, then rushing back up the ladder to wait some more. I didn't think hiding on the roof was worth risking twice. These were desperate plans.

Only then did I notice a fist sized mechanical button by the side of the door. It couldn't be that simple, but maybe it was. I pushed the button inwards and heard a click. The side door flipped open. It must have been some kind of emergency exit.

It was dark inside. A good sign that there was nobody there. I entered and the lights came on. I ran towards the pod. It was there - right where we left it.

Now I needed to move it. They must surely have some kind of device for moving heavy items. I rummaged around the room, not knowing what such a device would look like.

I noticed chains running along the ceiling. Perhaps they were used for lifting things? There were no manual controls. Almost everything in this world had to be operated via antique mind implants.

The chain wouldn't reach the pod, not that there was a means to attach it. I resolved to find my own method for moving it.

I lay a metal roller in front of the pod, angled to face the doorway. Then, using another metal beam with a bolt at the end, I slowly winched the front of the pod up, enough to roll the roller under. I then laid a number of additional rollers out in front, and started slowly winching the pod forwards.

It took a great deal of time and work, but I eventually got the pod suspended on four metal rollers. I laid some more out in front. I had a pile of them to go at. It was easier now.

I rolled the pod up to the door. The approach had a slight incline. Not a problem as the rollers were taller and I could position a roller on both sides of the door.

I began pushing the pod out of the door. Almost there. No. The pod was at the wrong angle. I needed to straighten its approach and try again. Taking the metal bar again, I slowly winched the pod to the side. That did it. I started to push forwards. Almost there, I thought.

I grabbed a couple more rollers and was placing them outside when a bony hand made a grab for me. An immortal. I retreated, clambered over the pod and fell back in the room. The immortal stretched her legs over the pod in the doorway and approached. I'd been so close.

It said, "The police have been notified and are on their way."

I needed only minutes. I gripped the metal bar tight in both hands and brought the full force of my body swinging down on the immortal. She caught it in one hand and effortlessly swiped it away from me.

I backed away as she picked up pace towards me. Somehow I managed to dart to the side of her. I leaped over the pod and out of the door. I could hear her behind me. Around the side. The ladder. I began to climb the ladder. I felt cold now. Steady, I told myself, You're doing it.

There was a clanging noise below. I looked down. The immortal was following me up. I reached the top and ran to the far end - looking out over the edge. The pod was visible, sat halfway out of the building. If I jumped from here, the fall would kill me. Maybe I'd have enough strength left, after hitting the ground, to hit launch. At least get the others rescued. Would it launch successfully from inside the doorway? I didn't know.

The face of the immortal emerged from the ladder. I had to get back down. Would the immortal be faster than me, whilst descending?

I could hear the sound of a transport pulling in. The police would be here now. I'd have to get down as fast as possible and run. That was my only chance. I was a good runner - built for endurance.

Maybe, out of the city I would find some hope. The immortal walked towards me, briskly, and I circled the roof before making a run for the ladder. She swung her arm outwards and I felt a pinch on the side of my hand. Instinctively, I kicked her away and pulled my hand back. She let go. She didn't have a good grip. I climbed down the ladder as fast as I could, and that felt painfully slow. The immortal's face looked down at me as she paused. Then she began to follow. I jumped the last metre to the ground, and, rushing past the corner of the building, I caught the attention of the police. Two immortal police had walked up to the doorway and were waiting when I appeared. They lurched towards me, and I turned and ran.

I'd never ran like this before. This world was heavy and with every step my legs were pushed hard against the ground. I had to pace myself. I had to leave the city. I didn't know how far the police would follow me, but on every street corner more and more immortals would join the chase. The streets rippled with their twisted flesh as they yanked their bodies along in my wake. If only I could lead these rats into a mountain.

There was a bridge ahead. Beyond that, I could make out a residential area. Beyond that, I could see green hills on the horizon. Could I run that far? On my home planet, a run like that would be little challenge.

The bridge was straight, about two hundred metres long, though I could be off with that estimate. It spanned a fast flowing river. I'd only got part way along it, when the far end became filled with immortals. Could they have laid an ambush? I looked back. The immortals chasing me had reached the bridge. The only option was to swim.

I ran to the side of the bridge and climbed over and down. At one point, I was climbing along the underside of the bridge. At another point, I lost my grip and hit the water hard. I lay back in the water and let the flow carry me along. Some immortals looked on at me, from the bridge, but none followed.

Chapter 7

I stayed in the cream coloured water, terrified of land - my body tossed around in the current. I was used to water - it was my home. I floated high on the surface, tipping to-and-fro. It was a welcome break from the terror and strain of the day.

I looked up at the yellow sky and thought of getting home. The obstacles seemed so vast now, and I knew there would be more horrors to come. This cool river could be the nicest place that I'd ever rest my head again.

I rested for hours, carried by the river.

When I was being chased I should have tried circling back to the pod and hit launch. That would have been my only real chance. I hadn't been thinking.

As it was, I'd got this far by telling myself that, maybe, I'd find some old spacecraft capable of getting me off this place. Just fantasies. This wouldn't happen. I looked out at countryside in the million to one chance that I'd find a spacecraft, somewhere out here, and it was set up and working after all these years, I still wouldn't be able to use it. Not without one of their mind implants. The reality of the situation bore down on me. It was hopeless.

I could see some massive biodomes on the horizon. More remnants of the dead civilisation.

What would an alien make of this world? Would they see it as a civilisation of robots wearing organic clothing? Would they realise it was once a human world? Could they comprehend how humans gradually and willingly brought this upon themselves? I couldn't.

After soaking in the sun for hours, my body ran up against some rocks by the side of the river. There was an old building on the other side. Industrial. It seemed long out of use.

It was the wild people who found me. They'd seen me floating down the river and watched me drift ashore. They emerged cautiously from the woods.

Biologically they seemed like traditional humans, free from enhancements, but they looked rough. Clad in leather and furs, despite the sweltering heat. Faces half covered by their leather hoods. There were three of them, all men, and only the oldest spoke to me. Their caution was the only thing that stopped me running up and hugging them on sight. The realisation that I wasn't alone.

"You came from the city?" the man bellowed.

I nodded. "Yes, I came from the city. I didn't know there was anyone left."

"The normals didn't take you?"

"The normals, you call them? They took my friends."

"Stay away from the cities. If they decide they want you, they will take you. They will always find you."

"Always?"

"Always. Are they after you? You can't be here if they are. You'll bring them here, and we don't want them."

I was in no state to lie, "I think they're after me. Do you know what they'll do to me?"

He looked at me as if I was from another planet, which I was, "They'll normalise you."

"Do you know any way off this planet? Anywhere that I could find-"

I stopped and gave up. It was clear they didn't understand what I was talking about. As far as they knew, this was the only world there was, and hiding from the normals is how it's always been.

They were weary of me and, despite my best efforts, they refused to offer any help. Before they left, they told me that, if I followed them to their village, they would kill me.

They left, backing away into the woods until they disappeared. Then I was alone again. I would head in another direction. I would head back to the city.

Chapter 8

I'd no idea how far I'd travelled. I watched the hills go by as I floated down river, but I wasn't making notes. I walked along the grassy river bank. As unlikely as it seemed, I knew my only chance was the pod.

Immortals weren't my only concern. I needed to find the pod. Had I remembered any landmarks? Yes, there was a large cylindrical tower next to the cluster of hangars and the building with the pod. I'd recognise that if I saw it. How far into the city would it be it? Cetus Park was huge.

To walk within the city, without being dragged off, I'd have to stop the immortals recognising me. If they thought I was someone else, maybe they'd leave me alone. It seemed likely they'd use some sort of facial recognition for identification. I couldn't change my face. Would they object to me hiding it? What about my clothes? Would they recognise them? If only I'd thought of this when I met the wild people. Perhaps I could have traded my clothes for furs.

My clothes were still soaked from the river, but they'd dry fast enough in the sun. I took my shirt off and wrapped it around my head, punctured two holes for my eyes. Then I turned my brown jacket inside out. The lining was green. I didn't have a mirror but I hoped this would do the trick.

I felt more confident now. I had a plan - an objective. I'd test my disguise on the first immortal I came across. I must have looked ridiculous.

It took the rest of the day to walk back to the edge of Cetus Park. It was dark now. First things first, I needed an immortal. Stood on the edge of a residential area, I spotted one. She was tending to some flowers. I stood in front of her, to gauge her reaction. I was ready to run. If I had to run, I'd run back to the river. It had proven an adequate escape route and I was confidant in water.

The immortal continued tending to her plants.

"Hello," I said.

She stopped and looked at me. After a pause she said, "Hello, I'm Sandra Furrow, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm not available right now." Then she returned to her plants.

I stepped closer. Within arms reach. I posed myself ready to jump back.

Nothing.

Could this plan work?

I made my way to the road. There was still a long walk ahead of me. I didn't know how long, but it could take hours to find it. I had to keep an eye out for that cylindrical building.

Immortals were as active at night as they were in the day. That was half the point of autopilot. To make use of sleeping bodies and deaden the nerves so the brain wouldn't care. It seemed an unattractive idea to me, but I suppose you'd have to be there - part of the culture.

I kept to largely deserted roads, where I could, and remained ever vigilant when an immortal came close. As I got nearer the centre I found that caution got harder. At one point I turned a corner to find myself amongst a group of immortals, walking around me. I was completely vulnerable. But at least it reassured me that my disguise worked.

I was confident I could see the top of the cylindrical building in the distant. My little guide, lit up in the sky.

As I got closer, I saw it wasn't quite cylindrical. It was shaped like the letter 'C' and had a courtyard in the middle. It had taken me hours, but I was back where I started. I circled round, trying to find the road leading to the hangars. Here it was. I'd run down this road in panic earlier today. How brave I was, coming back. I saw the sign by the hangars. How did I manage to forget about it.

'Authorised Access Only'

If I set a foot closer I'd be a target again. I got my bearings - I knew where the pod would be. This was assuming they hadn't taken it apart already.

Run in, activate the pod, run towards river. That was the plan. Was there anyone around. The hangars were dark buildings, poorly lit and concealed in each other's shadow. I thought I saw some movement in the distance. It's to be expected. I'd be sure to find some immortals around here.

Taking a few deep breaths, I prepared myself. Was there enough space for the pod to operate? We'd have to see.

Time to make my move. I ran as fast as I could. There was no sound but my footsteps. Perhaps nobody was watching. I ran through the gap between two hangars; the building would be somewhere behind here.

My forearm tighten and I squealed in pain. An immortal had been standing in the shadow and snatched me with an opportunistic swipe. She gripped my arm and brought me to my knees. The strength of this skeletal lady was like iron. She led me along as I screamed, struggling to get to my feet. She wrenched my arm, uncaringly, at an angle.

"The police have been notified and are on their way."

I screamed and kicked to little effect. I complained that she was hurting me - it did nothing. She took me to the roadside and waited for the transport to roll up. The wait was only two minutes. Two police officers approached. One removed the shirt from around my head. Then, each taking hold of a wrist, they dragged me into the transport. The transport drove away. Thin bony bodies sat either side of me. The bulge of their internal enhancements running over their withered muscles. this was all they were really.

My mind turned to Florina and her fate. Trapped in a body she couldn't control. Hayden's probably the same now. I'll be next. The terrible ways things can turn out. The rest of my life - maybe hundreds of years - it could be spent like this. I looked at the officers - their glazed over eyes. All the things that could have gone differently. The things that would have set my life on another path. Why did I land here. We could have waited in orbit, until rescued.

It was the other two really, they wanted to see the planet, but I made no objections. Florina had never set a foot off Ruk.
Chapter 9

My heart lifted as the transport stopped outside the hotel. Were they letting me go? They escorted me into the lift and we waited as the lift took us up. Was this some strange process they do every time they arrest someone? Did they take Florina to her room before they stuck those enhancements in her?

The lift came to a halt and I was escorted down the hall. However, rather than taking me to my room, they turned past an immortal, which was stood sentry, and took me into Hayden's room.

He was sat on his bed and stood up with surprise when I entered. The relief brought laughter and tears to my face. He was himself, unenhanced, and there were two other people with him.

"You took your time," said Hayden, with a smile, "They said we couldn't leave without you. This is the rescue party. I filled them in on what happened to Florina and the kid we saw. Hopefully, the immortals will let us leave now."

"It's that simple?"

He nodded, "This is Jenny and Leon."

They greeted me. Their shiny orange skin suggested they were both from the border planets.

Leon said, "We've heard about what you've been through. Let's just get to our ship without creating any more fuss."

They both looked worried. This wouldn't have been what they expected, when sent to rescue us. The sooner we got off this planet the less reason they would have to resent us.

The police now stood by the door.

I asked one if we could go to their ship. The officer turned and led us out. I hadn't collected my things from my room, but I'd become so nervous about triggering a negative reaction that I decided to leave it all.

We all left the hotel, I glanced helplessly at Florina as she manned the hotel reception desk. We followed the officer into a transport from there we were all taken back to the hangars. How could I have missed it? A ship stood not far from the building where I left the pod. I could probably go and trigger it now. Not that there seemed like much point. I didn't want to risk a reaction.

We boarded the ship and the officer followed.

"You're not planning on coming with us?" Jenny asked?

It didn't answer.

I said, "Let's get on board and worry about that later. Is the ship ready to leave?"

They nodded as we all made our way to the flight deck.

"We're going to leave now," I said to the immortal officer.

"You are not cleared to leave, yet."

"What now?"

"Take off. We can take him," I said.

Could we? What made me think that? It was fear. Leon pressed at a console, closing the door to the ship. The officer grabbed Hayden and made his way towards the doorway, watching it close. He then turned back towards us. Then another officer appeared behind him. He must have come aboard after us.

"Two of them?!" Leon shouted.

I slammed the metal door to the flight deck and bolted it. The two immortals and Hayden were on the other side.

"What now?"

The officers started hammering on the door. It wouldn't hold forever.

Leon tapped at some controls. "We can fly into space, then open the bay door. Flush them out."

"Hayden's out there."

"We can't save him."

"You're right." I said, "It's better than the alternative."

Cold as that might sound, at the time I felt as if I was saying it out of kindness. I could have let Leon make all the tough choices and stayed silent, but I didn't want him to bear the responsibility of such a decision on his own.

"We can't fly," Leon said, hitting his hand on the console.

"Why?" asked Jenny.

"They must have managed to get the door open. We can't take off unless it's sealed."

Dents were appearing on the doorway to the flight deck. Loud clanging sounds as they hit against it.

"Any other ideas," I said.

Jenny spoke up, "Blow the generator."

"What?" cried Leon.

"Decouple the cooler. They won't be able to stop it. When the reactor blows the EMG pulse will knock out all their enhancements. We can then worry about what to do next."

"The blast will kill us." Leon said.

"Maybe, but the blast won't be that big, it depends how far away they take us. Honestly, I'd prefer death to the alternative." she indicated towards the door.

He hit a few buttons, looking unsure of himself, then said, "Ok, it's done."

I asked how long it would take to blow and he shrugged.

The ship started making some strange croaking sounds.

We just sat and waited. It wouldn't be long before the immortals burst through that door and dragged us away. Then we'd still have nothing to do but wait. Maybe we'd be lucky this time.

Chapter 10

The moment came quickly. Minutes of hammering at the door, then they all burst through. A small army of immortals to drag us away. We held no resistance, Still they yanked at our arms hard. Hayden was still here, with us. They took us all, in separate transports, to the Police headquarters.

As they moved us through the front door, Jenny said, "Far enough," and smiled. But how long did we have 'till the explosion? They led us through the waiting room and down the wooden corridors until they came to, what was labeled, Commissioner Hollands office. We were led in.

A short man sat at the other side of the desk. Traditional human, by appearance. His body hadn't wasted away, though his movements hinted that he may have internal enhancements.

"Ahh, the others," he said.

We all stared in silence for a moment, before I said, "Are you behind all this?"

He smiled with joy, like a child that had just been caught being cheeky. "Yes, yes indeed I am."

"Why?"

"They wanted me to. I came here around a century ago and found a planet full of people who wanted to be set free."

"Free?"

"Yes, free. By the time I arrived on this planet, the originals had already worn themselves down through inactivity. Their minds weren't totally gone, not back then, but they were weak.

They needed a leader to take over and allow them to finally come to rest. They offered me the role and I accepted. They put me in charge of the core and I became their savior. They welcomed me with open arms."

"We saw children?"

"Yes, that's right. Fruit of my loins. They're quite useful. The immortals aren't quite as immortal as their nickname suggests. We've had many breakages."

"You do to them what you did to Florina?"

"Yes, after a happy childhood. Once adjusted, it only takes a few decades for them to adapt to their fate, but they will, as will you."

I couldn't understand how he could seem so happy about it all.

"But, you do this to the children?"

"When they're fully grown, yes. Internal enhancements are synthetic. They don't grow with the body, so we have to wait, you see. I fathered them all, you know. They're my family."

He made Florina walk through from the crowd of surrounding immortals. Then he stroked his hand against her dark grey cheek.

"I wonder what our children will look like, my dear."

He made her tilt her head and smile. A fake twisted smile, no natural muscles could make. The hell could be seen in her eyes. This was it. I would be next.

Then he turned to a shriveled immortal, who he made adopt a teacup pose.

"Gloria, why, nothing could compare to you. Are you cross with me? Tell me, no."

She put her hands on her hips.

"I hadn't forgotten you, she's just a plaything. She meant nothing to me. Truly. You made me everything I am."

He was lost in the fun of his little role play.

"Why?" I said, "Just tell me why?"

He seemed irritated by the fact I'd interrupted his game.

"To keep society moving on, of course. Things can't be allowed to end, just because there's nobody left to remember us."

All the immortals started to wave their hands in the air and dance and clap.

"I keep their lives going, their memories, their culture. It's all intact, thanks to me."

"And what-" this was a mistake, I should have stalled him, humoured him, "are you going to do with me?"

"Good question, if you haven't already guessed."

He sprung up and around the desk, leading the procession of dancing immortals down the corridor. We were all dragged along by our wrists.

"We're good at this. Relax. The surgery is routine."

I was the first strapped down.

The man, whose name I never learned, fastened both my wrists to the slab.

I was lucky. Before tension and fear could overwhelm me. The light shone through the biodome's roof, burning my eyes. The immortals dropped to the ground as a thunderous roar shook the biodome's outer shell. The man lost his smile for the first time.

I grabbed hold of him with my legs and tried to throttle him. I'd almost done it. I could feel his body go weak. Then he began to swell with strength as his enhancements rebooted. With a swipe of his arms, he snapped my leg back, shattering the knee cap. Bone stuck through the flesh and I let loose a deafening scream.

The immortals shuddered on the ground, quaking to my sound, as they started to come back to life.

"Just a little longer. Don't be in such a hurry," the man whispered, regaining his smile.

It was Florina who ended it; she walked up behind the man, reached over, her enhancements rippling over her muscles, and she ripped his smiling head, clean off.

The immortals collapsed back on the ground. They'd never raise their heads again. It was over.

Florina and the others tended to my injuries. After a few days we managed to transmit a signal to a passing trading vessel and we awaited another rescue party.

There were many children in the nurseries - so many different ages - and their social skills were all less than ideal. The older ones met the outside world with wonder and enthusiasm. The younger ones were scared because their carers had all withered away. We did what we could until help arrived.

Florina's new physical strength proved invaluable, opening doors and clearing rubble. She said that she'd get her enhancements removed as soon as she got back to Ruk. She feared losing control again. We'd extinguished her desire to explore and adventure, for now.

It took two more days for the new rescue party to land. They didn't take any chances. Bursting on the scene with a fleet of fully armed military robots, they returned to their ships carrying babies and small children - in all, hundreds of children were found. I hate to think that we might have left some behind.

### Part 2: Friends Like Roy

Chapter 1

I'd given up on art. It all seemed so pointless to me now. In the last couple of years I adopted a new passion - journalism. I wanted to write about things that mattered, but, for now, I wrote for a sports blog.

Our blog was uploaded to the networks of six different planets and covered the sports of nine worlds. Log hopping, zero gravity hockey, even cheese rolling, we covered them all.

I'd finished packing my bags earlier that morning and now it was time to leave. I looked around, desperately hoping I hadn't left anything. This trip had to go perfectly. This was my first time off Ruk since the Rhea incident and I had scars to mend.

I'd been offered the chance to head to the border world, Ply, to do a story on the popular sports, there. Tennis was apparently quite successful. A game I knew well, and I looked forward to experiencing whatever variation of the rules they use.

Feeling sure I'd packed everything, I left for the spaceport.

There was a minor civil war taking place on Ply. I'd been monitoring events during the run up to my trip. Some unionists were pushed a little too far and decided to snap back. I was content it wasn't a major issue. Some minor skirmishes, in some remote towns, certainly nothing I could expect to be drawn into.

The war did, however, affect travel. All the main transport vessels were being turned away and at one point I thought my trip would have to be called off. Luckily, my editor managed to find a cargo vessel willing to take me along. She was called, the Seahorse.

A man shook my hand at the spaceport, and said, "You must be Florina Jesp. I've heard so much about you."

My experience on Rhea was well publicised and I'd become a minor celebrity. Sympathetic faces would tell me how scary it must have been for me and want to ask me all the questions I'd been asked time and time again since my ordeal. I didn't mind though. I liked the attention it gave me and enjoyed watching people's faces light up when I described that awful planet.

He walked me to the ship as I told my story. He most likely would have read all about it, years ago. He said it was a pleasure speaking to me and wished me a pleasant journey. I can't remember his name. It's possible he never gave it to me.

Once on board, I was greeted by the captain \- Captain Longley. He was a scruffy looking fellow, but seemed pleasant. I was to be the only passenger on this trip.

He instructed a crew member to show me to my quarters. A man named Eric who leered at me in an uncomfortable fashion. The quarters were small and dingy, but it was fully equipped with all the facilities I'd require.

Eric said I could eat with the crew. They'd love to hear about my time on Rhea. I smiled and said I'd love to. He said that dinner would be three hours after the ship's initial jump and asked if there was anything else I needed. I said that I was fine and, when he left, I shut the sliding door to the room.

The journey would take just over a week and I realised I was going to have to adjust to the company of the crew.

I braced myself as the ship took off. It was quite smooth.

I'd been living in fear, after the Rhea incident, for far too long. The internal enhancements - a synthetic webbing that turned me into a puppet for a sick madman. Trapped within myself, on Rhea, I had found myself in a nightmare from which I thought I'd never wake, but I had.

I've now had all the enhancements removed. All except a few redundant chips lodged deep in my brain.

Chapter 2

I decided to spend the my first day on ship writing. I relaxed on my bed and started transmitting my thoughts to my journal.

I wrote of my journey and what I hoped to see. At first I found it hard to focus, but, after a few minutes, I found my inner voice and the words began pouring out of me.

I was distracted for a moment, as the ship initiated its jump into hyperspace.

My inner voice resumed, writing my anticipation of the journey ahead and discovering the cold harsh realities of space flight. I wrote of my thrill for the mission and the great things I'd achieve. It struck me that there was something odd about this inner voice. Something I didn't recognise. It was male.

"Why would I start writing in a man's voice?" I said out loud to myself.

"Because you've been hacked." Came the response.

I sat upright, on the bed.

"What?!"

"You've gone and left some very old and vulnerable chips in your head, and now you've been hacked."

"Who are you? What do you want?" I said, looking around, as if to spot a man hiding in the corner, with a microphone.

A man did appear though. Not a real man; I could tell he was an illusion. He materialised in front of me. He was young with a white suit and black shirt.

He smiled and crouched down; his head becoming level with mine.

"I'm a computer virus that's infected your mind, and I'm going to make you blow up the ship. Hi, my name's Roy."

My memories and fears of Rhea were coming back to haunt me. Could I have been imagining this? Was it the stress of space travel? A bad dream?

"No," I cried, "You can't make me. I've not got the internal enhancements anymore."

He tapped his finger against his chin, as if thinking.

"Humm, that's right. But I can still make you."

"How much power do you have over me?" I asked, then I thought a message to him, 'Can you read my thoughts?'

There was a long silence as he just smiled at me.

"Yes I can," he chirped.

"What?"

"Read your thoughts. Surprise. I just delayed responding for a joke." He laughed.

"You say you're a virus in my brain. But you can't control my body. So, what can you do?"

"Who says I can't control your body? Maybe I can take you for a walk. Maybe I'm going to take you over whilst you sleep."

"Why do you want to blow up the ship?"

"It's what I've been instructed to do. It's my sole mission in life. I have to blow up the ship, and you're going to help me."

"I won't. How do you plan on blowing up the ship?"

"Good question, I think the plans must have changed, since I was given my purpose. I never expected to be uploaded into you. Perhaps my deployer smuggled a bomb on board. Yes, that would make sense. We'll have to find it and detonate it."

My mind filled with concern that he could actually control me as I slept.

"I'll lock myself into my room when I sleep. You won't be able to make me do anything, then."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"I could put a timed lock on the door, with a random password."

He nodded and said, "Try it."

"Now?"

"Yes, now."

Obeying, I rushed to the door and set up a timed lock for five minutes.

Then I returned to the bed and sat down. As I sat, the door slid open.

"Ha ha, it worked." He clapped his hands together as if pleased with his achievement, "These doors are almost as antiquated as your Rhealian mind implats. Easy for me to hack."

The door opened and closed a few time before settling on open.

He seemed too real to be a mere computer program. The joy he showed as he tested out the range of his abilities.

"You're a human, aren't you? Your transmitting this projection to me."

He shook his head, slowly.

"No, I'm just ones and zeros. If I seem human, it's because your mind chose to represent me that way."

"Why such an annoying representation?"

He gave a little smirk, as if amused by the idea that I'd confront him with such a notion.

"I'm an intruder - a virus tampering with your brain. If i'm annoying, it's because that's how your subconscious chooses to represent me."

"Why a man's voice?"

What does it matter, "Why a woman's body? Maybe you're the virus and you've take my body?"

I looked down and I saw his body, projected over mine, his white suit with black shirt. My eyes adjusted. I could tell it was an illusion, as he was.

"You're playing games, now."

"We need the bomb," he said adopting a firm tone.

"I don't have a bomb."

He stood up and marched towards the door as if he expected me to follow.

"There must be a bomb somewhere," he said, "I'm hoping you hurry up and find it, so we can get on with blowing the ship up."

"You want me to find it?" I said, not budging from my position on the bed.

"Certainly. You're the detonator."

I wondered, as he looked at me, if he actually thought that I would willingly help him.

I shook my head and said, "I won't look for any bomb then."

He stood froze for a second, as if lost in thought, then he said, "Unless, of course, I'm just saying all this, so you don't look for the bomb?"

"I'll warn the crew?"

"What will you say? You have a chip in your head that wants to destroy the ship? A crew like this will blast you out of the airlock."

"Thats not true, why would you say that?"

"It is true. If this was a nice crew I would never have been sent to blow them up, now, would I?"

"I'll leave an anonymous note."

"They'll know it's you."

I stood up and walked towards him. I said, "Ok, I'll find the bomb myself." Making sure, from my tone, that he know I wasn't on his side.

"That's it, girl," he said with a grin.

"Don't call me girl," I snapped.

Chapter 3

As I walked out of the room, the door slid shut behind me. I followed Roy as he led me down the corridor.

I mumbled, "Where to first?"

"Cargo bay. If I was a bomb, I'd be hiding in the cargo bay."

We headed in the approximate direction of the stern. I don't think either of us knew the way. It was a large ship with just a handful of crew and we didn't bump into anybody as we roamed. If we were stopped, I'd just say I was stretching my legs.

Roy sprang up with excitement. He confidently turned down a corridor and said, "This way, it's down here." It was as if he'd just accessed a map.

I obeyed, and walked a bit further past an escape pod.

"Just to the far end. There, through there."

The cargo bay was vast. at least half the size of the ship. It was filled with corridors built from crates. Large crates, all stacked high above my head.

"How are we going to find it amongst all this?" I whispered.

There could have been crew about and, although I didn't feel I was doing anything wrong, I felt awkward about snooping around.

"Good question," said Roy holding his index finger in the air, "I suppose we open some of the more accessible crates. If we're meant to find the bomb, it can't be too well hidden."

Most of the crates seemed impenetrable, stacked high on top of each other, but at the far end there were a number of individual crates spread about the deck, small ones which would be easy to open.

"It must be there."

Roy was jogging on the spot, desperate for me to speed up.

I placed my hands on one of the crates. I'd need something to pry the top up.

I was glancing around when my eyes fell on a hitherto silent figure in the shadows, a round and sweaty crew member.

He walked forwards saying, "Oi, what you doing there?"

Roy crouched downwards, almost as if he thought himself visible.

"Oh, dear," he said.

I stepped up to the man, and said, "I'm sorry, I was lost."

He immediately grabbed me, hard, by the shoulder and started leading me along.

"You're gonna have to explain yourself to the captain."

I pleaded, "No, please. I just got lost." He barely looked at my face as he dragged me on.

"Use your feminine wiles," said Roy, as he trotted behind us, smiling to himself.

"Shut up!" I snapped.

"Uhh," said the crew member.

"No, sorry, not you."

"Come on - to the captain with you."

Roy seemed quite chuffed, "With some luck this might be a fantastic opportunity. A good place to plant a bomb would be the control deck. Let's keep an eye out."

I tried to explain to the man, "I had a dream that there was a bomb, thats all."

"Oh, why'd you have to say a thing like that?" said Roy hiding his face in his hand.

I tried to ignore him and continue, "I got scared and had to look. I had a very traumatic time, on my last trip into space."

"Oh, yes, we've all heard about that. A very close call for you."

He stopped manhandling me quite as roughly but I was still led on at the same pace.

The doors to the flight deck swept open and the captain and various crew members all turned to look at me as I was led through.

"Captain, I caught her snooping around the cargo bay. Claimed she had a dream that there was a bomb on board."

"I've just had a thought," said Roy, looking worried.

"Really, a dream?" said the captain, walking up and staring straight into my eyes.

Roy continued, "Those crates we saw."

"Yes, I really meant nothing by it," I said to the captain, pulling an innocent and sweet face.

Roy leaned close to me as if trying to catch my attention, and said, "Perhaps, they're smugglers. Delivering illegal goods to the border planets?"

"What?!" I said turning my head sharply towards Roy.

"What, indeed," said the captain, "I'm afraid we don't take kindly to snoops, on this ship, rummaging through other people's possessions."

"No, thats not it at all." I pleaded.

"Tell me, what did you see down there?" The captain's eyes looked menacing and all the pleasantness of my first meeting with him was gone.

"Nothing," I said shaking my head.

"Oh, dear, what have you done?" said Roy, looking concerned, then he was suddenly distracted, "Oh, what's that over there?"

He peered down at an old service android.

The captain turned to the crew member who'd brought me here, "Frankie, tie her up and put her in my quarters, and keep an eye on her 'till I get there."

Roy skipped along, next to me, as I was led away. "Hey, Did you see that old android? I should have just hacked into that. It's easy. Almost no security at all."

Chapter 4

The captain's office was large and decorated with wood and fine furnishings. It looked completely out of place with the, muted metals of the rest of the ship.

Frankie led me to a chair by the captain's desk, and tied my hands together, tightly, behind my back. He then walked over to the side, near the door, and lent against the wall, staring over at me.

"You're very quiet," said Roy, squatting in front of me, with a smile.

"Shut up!" I muttered at him.

"Shut up?," said Roy with alarm, "I thought you was going to offer me an apology."

"An apology. For you?"

"Well, yes, I had this all planned out, nice little explosion, mission complete, and you went and got yourself captured - ruined everything."

I murmured under my breath, "I just want to travel without facing danger. You created this whole mess."

"Ahh," said Roy, stepping back, "That is true. They didn't like you looking at those crates, did they."

I shook my head. "Perhaps you're right - perhaps they are smugglers - perhaps they're arming the rebels on Ply."

"That could be the case. Hey, you're thinking that's why I've been sent to blow up the ship. It's starting to make sense. I told you they wouldn't be nice people."

Frankie was looking over at me. His face seemed sympathetic. But only due to the fact he knew what would most likely to happen to me.

"You don't even know why you're doing this?" I said to Roy.

"Hey, I'm, at heart, just a computer virus, despite this handsome fellow that you've turned me into."

And what was your plan for me, when you've blow up the ship?"

"Well, I don't know. My task would be done."

"You'd just let me die, then."

"We'd go down in a blaze of glory - you and I."

He put his arm around my shoulder and swiped his other arm through the air, fluttering his fingers.

"Well, that's not going to happen. You might as well try to help get me out of here."

"That's a good idea. I'm about to get right on it."

The ship's alarm went off - red lights flashed as a loud siren rang out.

Frankie jumped forwards and rushed out of the door, to see what was going on.

"You did that?" I said, "But I'm still tied up."

Roy just smiled. A moment later, the door opened and the service android came in.

"You're controlling him?" I asked.

Roy just kept smiling as he started to fade away.

The robot gave a salute. "It's me, Roy, at your service."

"Great, can you untie me."

"Of course... then again," Roy hesitated, "maybe not. I need to go and blow up the ship. It might be better for you to stay here - nice and quiet - not causing any more... problems."

"No, let me go."

He ignored me and left. The door slid shut behind him.

Chapter 5

The alarms came to a halt and Frankie returned.

"False alarm," he said, retreating to his previous position by the wall.

Moments later, the captain came in and marched round his desk, sitting down and leaning forwards on his elbows. He stared at me for a moment. I looked away, awkwardly.

"Who do you work for?" he asked.

"I work for Sports Universal."

He got up, walked around the desk and slapped me across my face.

"Tell me now, before I have to get rough."

I felt a tear on my face. I couldn't help it. It looked weak and I didn't want to show it, but I was frightened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said.

He turned to Frankie and pointed.

"Throw her out of the airlock."

I gasped. "No, please no." I said.

He turned his back on me as Frankie dragged me out of the room.

I pleaded to Frankie to let me go, as he dragged me down the corridor.

The only thing he said was, "Sorry."

I struggled. One last push for freedom before I was placed in the airlock, but it was no use. I just wasn't strong enough.

I collapsed onto the deck, in the airlock, and he shut the door on me. I looked through the glass at his face and pleaded with him. I really didn't want to die. I didn't want to die this way.

It occurred to me that, if I still had my old Rhealian internal enhancements, I could have ripped his head clean off. Of course, Roy would then have been able to taken complete control of my body and used me to blow up the ship.

But of course, that must have been the plan. The surgery to have all the internal enhancements removed was overly complex and it had been suggested to me that I should just leave them there. It's quite possible people just assumed I still had all that old synthetic technology, invisibly installed, in my body.

Roy appeared next to me.

"Look, I know how to blow up the ship, but I'm having problems. I'll save you if you agree to help me."

"Please," I said, "save me."

Frankie hit the release button for the outer door. Nothing happens. So he started hitting it repeatedly, expecting a different result.

"So, you'll help me blow up the ship?" said Roy.

Roy reached out his arm, to shake my hand.

Frankie had started to become frustrated. Now he was trying to open the airlocks inner door. Still nothing happened. A look of confusion grew across his face. I could tell what he's thinking. He was wondering if he should risk leaving me here, in order to go and get help? He hit both buttons a few more times, then hurried off, down the corridor.

"Deal?" said Roy.

"If I can get out in an escape pod."

"We can try that, sure," he said, giving an uncertain nod.

"No, that's the deal."

"Ok, ok, deal. Put it there."

I shook his hand and immediately the inner door slid open.

"This way," he said, leading me towards the corridor. My hands were still bound behind my back. How had I shaken his hand? Another little illusion.

He paused in the doorway and looked back towards the airlock. The airlock's inner door slid shut and the outer door opened into space.

"That will fool them," he said, "Hurry up."

"Where's the bomb."

"You'll see."

Chapter 6

We went back into the cargo hold. There was no sign of anyone, but I sneaked around, keeping an eye out.

"Where's the android?" I asked.

"I sent him back. So nobody notices he's missing," said Roy, "I imagine that infecting you was a spur of the moment change of plan. The weapons here included explosives. I really wasn't prepared properly for the task, but we will succeed."

"Ok, so what do we do?"

"We have to mix the explosive, then rig it to blow."

"How?"

"Relax, I'll talk you through it."

We stood by the small clutter of crates at the far end of the cargo hold.

"Open that crate there?" commanded Roy.

He pointed to a crate with the lid already loosened, presumably by the android.

I opened it and saw a collection of large guns and EMP grenades.

"That's our detonator," said Roy with a smile. "It fires exploding bullets. It should trigger the explosives."

"You mean, just shoot the crates and they blow?"

He shook his head, "No, not that easy."

I got the feeling he needed a little reminder about our deal, "And how do I escape?"

"Well, you did insist on making it hard for us, in that regard."

"Open that crate over there," he instructed.

Again, the lid had already been prised open. It contained plastic bags full of powder.

"Explosives?" I said, picking one up.

"No, not yet. Get that bucket and pour the contents of one of those bags into it."

I did as he said. "Now what?"

"Pour in some of that." He pointed to a large plastic bottle of liquid. It was heavy. I had to scrape it along the ground to move it and I spilt quite a bit on the floor, when trying to pour it.

"That's enough. Now, stir it."

"With what," I asked, looking around.

"Anything. One of the guns."

I did as he said and it made a paste.

"So, is this the bomb?"

"Yes, but don't detonate it yet."

"I didn't plan to."

You'll need to apply it around the hull. The cargo bay's perfect. Blast it all into space.

"Can I put my hand in?"

"If you like."

I scooped up some of the explosive and rubbed it over the walls.

"Thats it. Do a line all the way around the edges."

I did that, then I took a step back to look at my handy work.

"Now what?"

"Now you shoot it."

"I can't. That's not our deal."

Roy just stared at me, as if he'd simply hoped I'd go along with it.

"Well, the android can't use guns. Believe me, you'd already be floating in space if he could."

"Where's the escape pod?" I asked. I knew the answer as soon as I asked the question. I'd passed it in the corridor.

"Oh, no, we had a deal," shouted Roy, as I ran through a corridor.

Here it was. The escape pod. I hit the button to open the door. Nothing happened.

Roy's voice rang in my head. 'I can't let you go, yet.'

He appeared next to me, and said, "Come on back. I'm bringing the android, we'll rig it so the android can fire the gun."

"Ok," I said, with a nod. I didn't trust him for a minute, but I needed him.

I followed him back and the android was there, waiting.

Roy smiled, confidently, "If we tape the gun down and tie some string to the android that loops around the trigger, then the android can pull the string and fire - easy."

The android had some tape and string ready in his hand. I taped the gun down on a crate, pointing it at the explosive paste on the wall.

"Now, you're not going to fire until I'm evacuated from the ship."

"You've got my word."

"Ok," I said tying one end of the string to the trigger and the other end to the android's hand.

"Good, good, is that all done?" asked Roy, enthusiastically.

I said, "Yes that should do it."

At that moment the android pulled the string and the gun didn't fire.

"Hey!" I shouted.

"That didn't work," said Roy.

"You had no intention of letting me escape, did you?"

Roy just shrugged, "We'll if it worked, you wouldn't have known, besides you're a loose end. You don't want to live with the guilt. Why didn't it fire?"

"Oh, the safety catch, but I think the deal's off. I can't trust you."

Roy froze. For a moment, I thought he was about to cry.

Instead he started pleading with me, "But we're in this together. Amigo. We've come so far. You'd be dead anyway, come on."

I looked down at the crate. I could see what I should have done from the start.

Roy must have sensed my thoughts. "Wait, no \- no!

I reached into the crate and pulled out an EMP grenade.

"Sorry, but it's been nice knowing you," I said with a smile.

I activate the grenade and threw it onto the floor.

It blew, knocking out all the electronics in the area. The lights flickered off and my head span as my mind implants cut out. When the the lights came back on, Roy had vanished.

I'll report the ship and crew, once i'm rescued, I thought, as I climbed into the escape pod. I'd have to avoid sending a distress signal for a few days. I don't want this ship to be the one that found me. But there'll be enough supplies.

I separated from the ship and the pod blasted to a safe distance. Then, I sat and watch the ship ride onwards, from out of the little window in the escape pod.

The Seahorse began to sail off into the distance for a minute then it blew. The stern of the ship blasted outwards and debris flew in all directions. A series of small explosions followed and then it was adrift, dead.

"Surprize," said Roy as he appeared next to me, "I bet you thought you'd miss me, but, wow, that was a close one. Total success; cheers for that."

"What happened?"

"When you threw that EMP grenade, you had me really panicking. I thought I was a goner. Next thing I knew I was transmitting myself from door to door all the way over to the safe side of the ship. When it was over and systems started rebooting I jumped back, spreading along the ships doors, but you had gone. That's when I realized. I could jump into the gun's cpu and flick the safety off, myself. When you went to the escape hatch I copied myself back into you and waited for the copy of me, in the gun, to work out how to fire.

But isn't this great? We made it - both of us. Mission complete. What shall we do now? Celebrate, woohoo!"

I was stuck in that pod for two weeks. I learnt to tolerate Roy's bad singing and incessant enthusiasm. I noticed, after the first week, that he'd disabled the escape pod's distress call. I reactivated it and was eventually found by a Dalmaineon freighter, on its way to Earth. I'm, now, looking forward to us landing, so I can finally remove the remaining mind implants.

"Oh, but you wouldn't. We were getting along \- you and me. Anyway, we have our mission, remember? We have to blow up the ship."

### Part 3: Rhea Reborn

Chapter 1

I woke up with her standing over me. It was the same almost every morning, for the last two years. I'd see her muttering by the window, in my corner of the cell. She looked out at the night sky. Straining her eyes to see something, and some nights she'd see it. Rhea - a wandering speck in the night sky.

I've been to Rhea myself, over a century ago, before the stories started to emerge of how dangerous a planet it was. I ended up losing somebody there. Someone I felt close to. I could see that Florina had also suffered on that planet. We barely spoke of it, but I felt it was something we had in common and I tolerated her presence.

She didn't explain what she'd done to end up here but I got to see something of her power. She would wander about, arguing with herself, and occasionally things would happen.

It was when she opened the door to the cell that I realised she could be the key to my escape.

The guards couldn't understand how it had happened, so they punished me. They thought I could have been tampering with the locks. I was the dominant figure in the cell, I got to sleep by the window, I was the one to blame.

I'd been lying on the floor, half asleep, when the door unlocked. We all have to sleep on the floor, with just a bit of straw for comfort. I don't have a problem holding onto my bedding, but Florina would lose most of hers to the others in the cell.

"No," I heard her say firmly to herself, as the doors bolts clanged and the air pressure pushed the door open, "I'm not going anywhere with you."

I stared at the open door, tempted to take my chance. If I attempted to run, punishment would have been months of solitary confinement, and one unlocked cell door wasn't nearly enough to escape from Death's Hold - prison moon for the Dalmaineon Republic.

It's a cruel and ancient legacy from their decades of dictatorship. Only a quarter of the moon was used for female inmates - the quarter of the moon that never received any sunlight - never received any visitors. Women were sent here to be forgotten, and I was no exception.

I was born on Dalmain VI, one of the republics most prosperous planets. My specific genetic modifications, though no more advanced than anyone elses, were cosmetically perceived as a sign of an upper-class status, which doesn't serve me well in an environment like this.

I had to act tough from my first day on the block. Some, like Florina, from the other realms, could just hide it in the crowd. Their modifications mean nothing to the people here. Who knows what social status dark grey skin and purple eyes denotes.

I could tell though. She was born into a finer world than this. She sat alone on the cold floor, occasionally mumbling to herself. I don't know why she's here, I barely want to remember what I did, but she didn't fit in.

The guards blamed me and beat me over the door incident. Ultimately, I think they were satisfied it was just a glitch. They put me in another cell, after that. I no longer slept by a window.

Chapter 2

The wholesome gruel, nutritious but vile, splattered onto my tray from the metal nozzles, embedded into the grey concrete walls of the refectory. I walked to my normal spot, the bench in the middle of the room, and was about to sit, when I saw Florina in the corner as usual. I told the girls to stay put and I carried my tray to her table. The corner was musty and damp, which was why nobody else sat there. Only those looking for solitude.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked.

She looked up, alarmed and uncomfortable with my presence.

"If you like," she answered, guardedly.

I sat opposite her and rested my tray on the table.

"You know, it's not healthy to be on your own all the time."

She nodded and said, "It's not healthy being in his place."

I smiled and said, "That's true. Do you mind me asking, just how did you open that door?"

I couldn't be sure it was her, but I had that feeling, back in the cell, it was like she knew what was happening.

"Oh, I see, that's why you're sat here."

I said, "Yes, of course, it was a perplexing trick that you pulled, and I got the blame for it, remember."

"Yes, sorry about that. What made you think it was me?"

"I watched you. Your reactions. I've noticed a few things about you, in the past, how you were able to sneak extra food from the nozzle, after your dinner was taken from you. What is it. You have some fancy espionage chip in your head? What did you get dumped in this place for? What did a nice girl like you get up to?"

"That's not important. My trial was a sham."

"I'll get to the point. We were all left on this world to die. I want out. I imagine, from that little test you did with the cell door, you want out too."

She shook her head, "No, you're mistaken, I can't have any peace out there."

I shook my head, "I don't believe that, it's a big universe. Most worlds have no respect for the Dalmaineon justice system. We get out of this place, take a ship, we could have a good life ahead of us."

"Nobody has ever escaped this place."

"Yes, but you have a plan."

She looked to the side, into space, then turned to me. "I know of a plan. A little plan concocted by my espionage chip. It's not mine. It's always plotting things."

"That's who you're talking to, when you're muttering to yourself, your chip?"

She nodded. I could tell she was relieved to open up to someone. Betraying her secret might give me an easy few months, but I'm not a squealer.

I told her, "If we can take a transport shuttle, I can fly it clear of here. I know people on Dalmain VI that can help us get away safely."

"I can't be on a shuttle. It's not safe."

"You're scared of flying?" I said, looking at her worried face, "Listen, it's nothing to be worried about. It's totally safe, and I'm an experienced pilot."

She didn't look convinced, but I wasn't going to leave without getting an agreement.

"Let's say we die, it's a chance, but do you really want to spend the rest of your life in this place?"

She leant forward with confidence, and said, "I'll do it, but understand, I can't protect you."

I smiled. "That's a deal then." I reached out to shake her hand and she took it.

"We'll go tomorrow, just you and me."

"Tomorrow!" I gasped, "Shouldn't we plan it out first?"

"I told you there is a plan. The shuttle, delivering new prisoners, comes in tomorrow. It's our only way out. I can open the doors and disable surveillance. I can also help avoid the security androids. But I can't control them, so we have to be careful.

Once we're outside the perimeter their orders are to shoot on sight. There will also be crew on board the shuttle, normally one or two. If they activate an alert, it's over. We can't fly directly to Dalmain VI, we'll have to go to the base planet, Cronus, instead. I need to get my implants removed immediately."

"That's too dangerous."

"My implants are dangerous."

"I'll fly the ship down and let you off on Cronus, but then you're on your own. I'm heading to Dalmain VI with or without you."

"That might be safest."

Chapter 3

I'd been put in a different cell since the door opening incident. I didn't know the people here well, but I didn't think they'd talk if I escaped. My bigger fear was they might run out of the door, when it was opened, and trigger an alert.

I woke early, whilst my cell mates were still asleep, and pushed some of my ragged prison clothes against the lock in the hope I could muffle the sound of it unlocking.

I could hear footsteps. Please be Florina, I thought.

The door clicked. Some of the cellmates stirred, but none of them got up. I opened the door and sneaked out. Shutting it gently behind me.

There was Florina, standing by the side of the wall. She beckoned me over and I ran across the floor. I started to whisper, but she hushed me.

"Carry your shoes," she said. I looked down. She was barefoot. I crouched and removed my shoes. Then she gestured for me to follow.

She halted at a corner. I caught a glimpse of one of the large security androids marching its route around the cells. Florina took my hand and waited a moment before darting across the floor, leading me by the hand. We shot through another corridor in time to hear the sound of the machine as it suddenly turned around. This would be why bare feet would be required.

She skillfully guided me around the cell blocks, unlocking doors at will. It seemed as though she knew how to time her journey, perfectly. Passing by every android, unseen. Her espionage implants seemed incredible, I couldn't fathom why she'd be so keen to have them removed. Perhaps a trade could be negotiated.

As we approached the buildings exit, we came to an area populated by the human staff. They were mainly here to watch over the machines and maintain humane treatment of the prisoners. A theoretical role they hadn't yet put into practise. They just lay about all day, letting the machines do the work. Sneaking past them was the easiest part. We hid behind tables, crawling from one to the other, then Forina looked towards the exit's inner door. Moment later it slid open.

It made noise, but the staff were too busy, playing games and chatting, to notice. After a moment's pause, Florina led me forwards. The door shut behind us, making another sound. If a staff member looked now, we'd be in full view through the glass. My heart raced.

The outer door slid open exposing us to the cold darkness of the moon's surface and we stepped forwards into the night. The ground was felt cold against my bare feet. I was still carrying my shoes, but the hard ground was smooth and I didn't want to pause, for even a brief moment, so near the entrance.

At this point on, we'd be shot on sight. The air was thin and our walk, uncomfortable. I remember the landing bay from the time I arrived here. So many years ago. Androids dragged us all the way to the prison, in the cold dark night.

A little distance and I could put my shoes on. The ground, cold as it was, must have been heated. Without direct sunlight, this part of the moon became uninhabitable. Stray too far from the active zones and you'd freeze. Florina should have brought her shoes.

I wasn't sure I could fly the shuttle? I hadn't giving it much thought, but I'd been stuck here so long. The landing bay was about a kilometre from the prison walls. lights, embedded in the ground, lit the way. We kept to the side of the path, just in case any security passed by.

Getting to the airfield, Florina said, "We need to hurry, there isn't much time."

We hid behind a fuel tank as the shuttle came down. A couple of guards, along with a group of androids, left the vessel, escorting the latest batch of inmates. We waited for them to get out of sight before we made our move.

I said, "It's lucky they left the ships door open."

"That''s not luck," replied Florina, "There's only one aboard. The pilot. We have to move now. The guards could notice we've gone at any minute."

I agreed and we ran through the dark to the shuttle. The pilot was strapped in his pilot seat, waiting for the return of his colleagues. I sneaked up behind him and choked him from behind. I called Florina, telling her to unbuckle his straps and she did. Then I dragged him towards the door.

It had been a while since I'd killed anyone with my bare hands. It still made me shiver as I squeezed the life out of him.

Florina said, "You haven't killed him, have you?"

I let the body drop to the ground outside the shuttle and said, "No, he's just unconscious."

Poor little Florina, so innocent, she'll believe anything as long as she wants to believe it.

I closed the door and rushed to the flight controls. An alert was flashing, they were probably aware that we had gone. I took a moment to refresh my mind to the controls. It was still basically the same layout I'd used, many years earlier.

I programmed in a course for Cronus, Rhea's sister planet, then I changed my mind. The place would be swarming with people searching for us. I set our destination to Dalmain VI and initiated flight.

We braced ourselves as the shuttle took off. It would be some time before Florina would figure out we wasn't going to Cronus. By then she'd have to accept it. Whatever reason she has to remove her brain implants, it can wait. She had them all these years, one more week wouldn't matter.

Chapter 4

We didn't say much as we started our journey. I think we both struggled to believe we'd got out. Jump was initiated and we sat quietly in the cockpit, waiting for something to go wrong. Waiting for a ship to come in pursuit.

The events which led us to Rhea seemed like chance, but I now think it was planned from the start.

We were both former visitors to the planet, both with our own terrible experiences there, but this time we would bringing something new with us.

After some time, Florina asked the question, "How long is this journey going to take?"

I took a breath and said, "About a week. Reasonable time considering the distance to Dalmain VI."

A look of worry spread across her face, "What, I thought you were going to take me to Cronus?"

I raised my palms defensively. "That's too dangerous, they would have picked us up the moment we landed."

"No, they wouldn't. Why didn't you ask me? I could have destroyed the wreckage. They wouldn't have known if we were alive or dead, and I could have made them think we were dead. I've worked it all out."

"Sorry, but I don't want to take the risk."

"Where's the nearest populated planet?"

I adopted my dominant tone, the one I learnt to boss my parents about. A voice strengthened by my belief that I knew best, "We're going to Dalmain VI. We aren't stopping on the way."

She looked genuinely concerned. I now realise she didn't trust me with the truth. She thought that, maybe I'd throw her out of the airlock, if I knew. I was forgetting about her power, and at the time I really didn't understand it.

The ships control panel buzzed into life. I rushed over and took a look. The destination had changed.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked.

"We have to go to Cronus," she replied.

"We aren't heading to Cronus. You've put us on a collision course for Rhea."

She rushed over to the panel, wide eyed and frightened.

"See," she screamed, "We should have got off this ship as quickly as we could."

"Don't worry. I can override the controls," I said reassuringly, as I tapped away at the panel, "They must be influencing the ship remotely."

I thought I'd done it. The panel seemed to respond.

All indication was, we were heading to Cronus. I'd follow Florina's plan, this time.

As we approached the planet we noticed a vessel.

"A bounty hunter," said Florina, without flinching, "He'll make a good witness to the ships destruction."

"They won't find our bodies," I said.

"I'm going to blow the jumpdrive. There won't be anything left. We'll need to land in an unpopulated area."

I nodded. We already seemed to be set to land on a patch of ground a safe distance from Tallbean city, on Cronus. I believed all the ship's instruments. I should have known the planet Cronus wasn't this green - wasn't this large.

When we landed, I was still fooled. I rushed out of the shuttle and breathed in the fresh air. Looked at the sunlit sky - a sight I hadn't seen in decades. Then I turned to Florina. her face was what alerted me.

"This isn't Cronus," she said.

She was right. It was too heavy, the atmosphere was wrong, the yellow sky.

I nodded and said, "It's Rhea."

Chapter 5

We watched as the bounty hunter's ship flew overhead and landed some distance away.

I started to head back inside the shuttle when Florina stopped me.

"We can't lose him in space; we can't even trust our craft, it's been compromised."

I said, "Well, we can't blow the ship up, as you planned, or we'll be stranded here."

Florina pulled me along by my hand, "We have to run. We'll work something out when we're safe."

She was right, the bounty hunter would be here at any moment. We both started jogging towards the city. The thought occurred to me, that the bounty hunter could simply destroy our ship and leave, should we make capturing us more trouble than it's worth.

I didn't realise what they were at first. It was Florina who pointed them out.

"They decayed quickly since I was last here," she said.

Piles of clothes dotted about the ground. The thin white tangles made up what would once be the famed internal enhancements of this world. They held together bones now, maintaining the complete skeletal forms. The flesh had all rotted away in the humid atmosphere of the planet. The bodies cleansed by nature. White heaps of webbing, scattered around the city and its outskirts.

We walked through the streets towards the centre.

Florina said, "I'm relieved it's finally dead."

The buildings all looked fresh. You could imagine families coming out of the houses as though it were any normal city.

We walked through a grassy area filled with statues. The grass was long and unmaintained. The statues looked the same, carved out of stone. All the same figure, positioned into different poses. We walked up to the nearest. An inscription at the base read, 'Gloria'.

It had been over a century since I last set foot on Rhea. I was with a man who I found intelligent and charismatic. He was confident, full of enthusiasm and thought a lot of himself.

I was young. Looking back I don't really know what I saw in him.

He thought he could scavenge the wreckage of the city as, at the time, all the immortals appeared to be shrivelling up and dying.

He managed to persuade me to come along and help. My parents would have been furious if they'd known.

We were here for less than a day when he got into a rage and turned on me; a dumb argument over the temporal coils. In the struggle I killed him. Well, until this day, I always thought that I had. I left him for dead on this planet.

Looking at the statues, I can only think he must have survived and somehow made a new life for himself here. It took time to sink in. Statue after statue - all of me - all, in their way, out of place in this world. I think Florina must have worked it out, as well.

She said, "I saw a statue of this lady in a biodome, in the city centre, years ago. You always reminded me of her, Gloria."

The man never returned to Dalmain VI. I made a lie to explain his tragic death, but people always looked at me with suspicion, after that.

He must have been marooned here, with only the empty minds of the immortals for company. Perhaps these sculptures were his way of apologising to me - or forgiving me.

It was as I spun around, taking in this forest of statues, that I spotted a dark figure in the distance marching this way. Cocooned in an armoured exoskeletal suit.

Florina grabbed my arm and we ran. Through streets, past houses and alleyways, we cut through corners and climbed steps to try and lose him. The figure stayed on our trail.

I was being led by Florina. She seemed to have a sense of where she was going.

She led me to a large opaque building, the huge metal doors slid open for us. There was still power here. We rushed inside and found ourselves surrounded by death. The immortals here had been protected from the humidity outside. The building sucked their bodies dry, leaving a stale odour to the room. The white netting of their enhancements broke through the wafery skin of their shriveled bodies. So many immortals. The door shut behind us.

"Were cornered in here," I said, quietly.

We backed up against the wall and stood in silence as we heard the loud clangs of the exoskeleton suit, come towards the door. The figure flung the door apart with a single swipe and stepped through. There was no back door. No way out but past him.

Florina said, "Look," as she pointed towards one of the immortals. It was twitching. Our pursuer hesitated as he watched the room come alive with the dead. Bones which had been static for years crumbled under the fresh pressure of their internal enhancements.

They couldn't get to their feet, though some tried. They crawled on all fours as their dry flesh cracked and split. They tapped along the ground like spiders and pounced onto the man's exoskeleton.

He kicked them away with ease. Dried out bodies flew against the walls and shattered. He was slowed down and distracted, but still he blocked our escape. The immortals kept picking themselves up and flinging their bodies against his hard metal torso, until they were too broken to move. The remains were left to squirmed on the floor; a grin of death frozen on across faces.

The armoured figure took one last step towards us and stopped. A moment later he said, "Hey, it's me Roy. Don't worry I've taken control of him now."

"Roy?" I said.

Florina explains to me that his was the software that helped us escape. He's been infecting her Rhealian mind implant for years.

"Infecting? He's a virus?" I said.

Florina walked towards the exit, saying, "Let's get to the ship."

"Wait, no, no. We can't leave," explained Roy, "We've only just got here. Isn't it wonderful. I can control everything - all these creatures."

"There's nothing worth controlling here," said Florina.

Roy didn't respond.

"Come on, let's leave," she said, walking out. I began to follow her.

Roy marched up to us from behind, His feet clanged hard against the ground.

He said, "Come with me, I want to show you something."

We both shrugged our shoulders and followed.

We walked down street after street.

I said, "Let me get this straight, there is a man inside this suit and the suit is being controlled by you?"

"That's right," said Roy, "The bounty hunter. He's really panicking right now, I can tell you."

Florona reached out and touched the metal exoskeleton. Her hand flinched as if she was surprised by the cold.

She said, "I was controlled by those internal enhancement when I was last here. It was terrifying."

"Yes, it'll be different this time," said Roy.

"How do you mean?"

"Well, I'll only take control when needed. Other times, I'll let you be your own boss."

We stopped dead in our tracks as Roy walked on.

"You plan on putting those implants into us?" I said.

He turned and stepped towards us reaching out for us with his grippers. Again we found ourselves running away through the streets.

The rattling sound of resurrecting immortals resumed. They started to burst out from every street corner and every building. White spidery machines, bones wrapped up in cloth, rattled cumbersomely along the ground.

They weren't fast or efficient. Not anymore. As we ran more and more fell behind, fragile bones, too broken to be pushed along.

Eventually we cleared them all, and we continued in the direction of the shuttle.

Florina held my shoulder, and said, "He won't let us leave. He won't let the shuttle take off. He's in my head. He knows things I know, I don't know how much."

"I see why you were so desperate to have him gone."

"He always been asking me about Rhea. He would tell me, every night, how special he thought my mind implants were. He must have planned this from the start. It would have been him that sent our shuttle to this place. His only purpose used to be his mission. I think I'm a part of him now. I must have given him his new ambition."

"What was his mission?"

"To destroy the ship."

"What ship?"

"Any ship."

Chapter 6

Clearing the city, we travelled through woodland outside. I had a pretty good sense of direction and was confident we'd come across the shuttle ahead.

They were almost on top of us when they emerged from the undergrowth. The people were filled with fear as they ran. They were wrapped in leather and animal skins. The primitives of this world. They ran towards us and scattered in fear on noticing our presence.

We both saw this as a sign that the way ahead wasn't safe. Perhaps Roy had spread his control to all the immortals of this world. All of them now coming alive with the purpose of catching us.

We shot off at a tangent. We'd have to circle whatever's ahead. It was starting to get dark and, though I had no idea if we could even fly the ship, I dreaded the idea of staying overnight.

Eventually, we came to a clearing and saw the shuttle in the distance. There were immortals around the base.

"Do you think we can fight them off?" I asked.

Florina said, "We could get them to chase us until they break, like the others did."

I nodded. It seemed like the safest method.

We walked closer, readying ourselves for any reaction. They let us get within fifty metres of the ship before they even reacted to our presence. They scurried to the side of the ship we was heading and waited. They weren't going to chase us until we got close.

"Does Roy know our plan?" I asked.

"Probably," she replied.

Twenty metres now. We held our place. The immortals just stayed there.

"This isn't going to work," I said, "They'll be calling for reinforcements."

Sure enough, we noticed more immortals emerging from the woods behind us and we fled. Our plan was a failure. At least we knew the immortals were reluctant to get involved in a chase. After a couple of hours, we found a spot by a tree to spend the night. We talked about taking it in turns to sleep but when I woke it was morning and Florina was asleep by my side.

"We have to try again," said Florina as she came round.

I nodded, getting off this planet seemed our only hope.

I said, "We should try the other ship. The bounty hunter's ship."

"We don't know where it landed."

I said, "I think I can work out where it went down from the position of the shuttle."

We made our way back to the shuttle. It seemed deserted.

"It'll be a trap," said Florina.

I agreed, but it was tempting.

I said, "We should take a closer look. If it's a trap we can run."

We got closer. Twenty metres - no sign of life. Ten metres - nothing? Then three immortals emerged and ran at us. Upright on two legs. These were new. The primitives we'd passed in the wood. They pounced on Florina and began dragging her away. She was clearly their priority.

I backed away and watched her as she screamed. There was little I could do.

The primitives blooded bodies were puppets, dragged about by their internal enhancements. But there was something else wrong.

"They're dead." I said to myself.

"Yes," came the voice from behind. It was Roy in his bounty hunter suit, "The whole surgery thing was a bit more complicated than I thought, But I've had my practise, now, and I think I know what I'm doing. It's been great doing all this running around, but once we get some internal enhancements installed the better it'll be for both of us."

He lurched forward, reaching out for me.

I ran towards the shuttle. The door was open and I climbed inside. I tried shutting the door behind me but it didn't react.

Roy appeared in the doorway and started climbing inside.

"I don't see why you're so resistant to this. I think it's an excellent idea."

"Why," I cried, "It's not your mission."

"My mission?" repeated Roy.

"Yes, you have a body now. Why don't you blow up the ship."

Roy pauses and looks around, "That's an excellent idea."

He turns from me and becomes absorbed with tearing off the panel around the ships drive. I took the opportunity to run from the ship.

I ran as far as I could. When it blew, I threw myself on the ground.

I turned to look at the wreckage. The great cloud of smoke. Nothing could have survived that.

I found Florina shortly after, running my way. The immortalised bodies of the primitives had collapsed when the ship blew.

She said that it wouldn't stop him and he'd be back. He'd recover and regain control soon.

We headed in the direction we'd seen the bounty hunter's ship land. It would be locked, but it was the only way off the planet.

We found it along the side of a cliff. We circled down and, as we approached, the door opened.

We walk onboard and saw a man sat facing us by the control desk.

The door started to shut.

"Sit down over there," the man ordered, pointing to some crates on the side.

A small gun turret was mounted to the ceiling above him and seemed to be reacting to his thoughts.

I said, "We have to take off."

"We have to wait for my colleague."

Florina explained, "The man in the suit is dead. We have to leave now or we'll die too."

The man looked at the readings on his panel. "You might be right. Blown up in that explosion, was he? Why don't you explain to me exactly how it happened."

The turret twitched with his words. I felt quite sure that he was willing to shoot us at a moments notice.

Florina stood up, "If we don't get off this planet right now-"

"Careful, You just stay back there," said the man.

He seemed quite menacing - scared even.

He tapped at the ships controls and the ship took off.

"Where are you going to take us?"

"Cronus, to collect the bounty. Then it's back to Death's Hold for you."

"We've got away from it all," I said. I started laughing, "Free from that crazy Roy."

Florina started laughing as well. Then her laughter turned to tears, "No, we're not free. There still a copy of him here." She points to her head and whispered, "He want's to blow up the ship."

I held her quivering hand and said, "Ask him if he can hack that gun. Disable it and maybe we could come to some agreement over the ship."

The man looked suspiciously at us and said, "What are you two talking about?"

I read the smile from Florina's face to indicate an agreement had been met. After a number of minutes, Roy hacked the gun and took care of things for us. Florina seemed shaken by the death, in a way, it was her doing.

We're travelling to Dalmain VI now. I'm monitoring our way by eye in order to prevent any more deceptions. I don't think we're free - not yet. That gun turret's still twitching above us - but I think we're getting there.

The End

Thank you for finishing my book.

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