A World of Worlds

They did not speak about that incident again, and after another day of rest she finally made it to the communication station. Brynt still escorted her, but his attitude had changed.

  Fiana sat in the chair and to her surprise the crown of electrodes immediately wrapped around her head. The screens in the room lit up, displaying the sky above the dome.

  “What did we need to get?”

  He stood beside her and handed her a tablet with the list of items. She inhaled and relaxed into the chair. She had a vague idea of what to expect from her earlier Navi research. Yet it didn’t mean she knew how to operate the thing without any prior training.

  Relax, think of the destination. She pushed the image forward and it obeyed. The bright sky gave way to the darkness of space and stars. The ship’s dark outline stood out against that background. Although the image wobbled and occasionally lost focus, eventually she steadied it to get a good view of the vessel. That wasn’t so hard.

  “Open communication line with…” She glanced at the tablet. “Starship C62-97Y ‘Prometheus XII.’”

  Red lights woke up on the ship’s head, forming a pattern of concentric circles. Mesmerized by the large, brightening light in the center, she didn’t notice the amplifier helmet lowering over her electrode covered head.

  Silence and darkness swallowed her. A second later the back of her head felt as though it had exploded. Needles punctured her skin and dug even deeper, bringing tears to her eyes. But she couldn’t scream. She couldn’t move her body anymore.

  Then the darkness dissipated. Fiana found herself at the edge of a translucent bridge suspended in space. Her hollow, naked body formed from glittering dust stood on one end and a pulsing gate of red orbs floated around the other.

  Fiana pushed the pain away. Breath in, breath out. It’s just a short walk. Reach out to the ship, pass the gate and this torture will be over. Breath in, breath out. She took the first step.

  The darkness around her exploded with lights and voices. She recognized the nearest as Brynt’s frantic thoughts. The thoughts of the other colonists floated nearby, the whispers too fast, too many to understand. After a few painful seconds she drowned them out. But the bright lights on the horizon she could not dismiss. They pulsed and spat out words, cries, and screams: accusations that attached to every fear that surfaced in her mind.

  She couldn’t cross the bridge. Hell, she couldn’t even take another step. Fiana’s dust-form stepped back and the needles slipped out of her real neck. Heaving, she tore off the helmet and cast it aside, breathing heavily.

  “Navi?” Brynt grabbed her arm, fear in his eyes. “Navi, you’re bleeding.”

  Her ears hurt. She touched her left earlobe and stared at the blood on her finger. She shivered all over, sweat dripping down her back. He led her down the few steps, where they sat in the massive chair’s shadow.

  “I… I can’t do it. I’m not…” Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I mean, I’m just an apprentice.”

  “You can try again. I’m sure…”

  “No. You don’t understand. I can’t do it.” She shook her head. “It’s like being torn to pieces, shredded alive.”

  “It must get easier with time, Navi. If you don’t try, we’ll all die in a matter of weeks.”

  Fiana paused and gaped at Brynt. Weeks? How dire was the situation? “If that’s your sick idea of motivation…”

  “No, Navi.” He frowned. “I’m sorry to put this burden on your shoulders alone, but if you don’t bring down the supplies we are doomed.”

  “If only I had someone to guide me. I really didn’t mean to kill her, Brynt.” She sniffed. “I’d give anything to bring Navi Samare back.”

  At the old woman’s name the bracelet on Fiana’s wrist lit up. Fiana’s heart rose as the glow brightened. But nothing else happened. She shook the bracelet and knocked on the metal. Great, maybe she accidentally broke her only chance of getting some answers.

  “What happened?” He pointed at her wrist.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Maybe it will make a difference in there?” He handed her a tissue and she wiped off the blood and tears before sitting back in the navigator chair. At least this time the needles didn’t take her by surprise.

  Her dust body appeared without the bracelet, but instead she clutched a fist-sized, glowing blue orb. With the talisman in her palm she made a step forward. Yet again unbearable pain exploded in the back of her head and across her temples from the high pitched shrieks. Instinctively, she tried to cover her ears, releasing the blue orb.

  Silence befell her and Fiana recognized the figure before her as it formed from blue dust.

  “Will you take me to the other side?” she begged Samare’s ghostly image.

  “I’m afraid not my child. I really meant it when I said the burden was yours to bear. I do bring advice, though. What you’re attempting to do is either done by a Senior Navi, or a pair. You’re unlikely to do it alone, thus you have two options—advance or find a partner.”

  “But there isn’t enough time for training and weren’t you the last Navi here?”

  “True, I was the last, and there is only enough serum in my bracelet for a half-Navi. If you wish to advance, release it with the word ‘Sybilla.’”

  “Half-Navi? So, when you said advance, you meant…”

  “Yes, it’s a physical transformation.”

  “So what’s the catch?”

  “Since you aren’t a genetically compatible candidate, I had to improvise. The transformation will kill you.”

  “What?! How is that an option?”

  “Oh, not straight away, my dear. It will eat at you slowly. You’ll get five, maybe ten years if you’re lucky.”

  “Any alternatives? A pair of half-Navi’s maybe?”

  “Even the half-dose has side effects. The initial transformation takes time, and creating a link between the two of you wouldn’t be easy or quick either. You’ll be better off with someone who’s already experienced a bond with a Navi. Someone like Brynt.”

  “But he’s not—”

  “Yes, it’s a lesser link when a non-Navi is involved, so it wouldn’t shield you completely. You’d need his absolute trust and such a link goes both ways. But his previous experience will give you a fighting chance.”

  “Can’t I just make him a half-Navi? Seeing that the whole ‘Navi are born’ thing is a lie, why not a man?”

  “That would make it easier, but men can’t survive even a tiny dose. So it’s not an option. Choose wisely, young Navi.”

  With that, the figure dissipated and the pain pushed Fiana back off the bridge.