In a society that struggles for survival, there is hardly any time that can be called free. Especially when you are a scientist.
But such moments do happen.
Ladon Radim could only spare half an hour a day for himself. Not counting sleep time. He had to carefully calculate his schedule to fit it in. Otherwise…
He really didn't want to be among those who knew that.
To tidy himself up, to eat—he has about half an hour a day for that. Not a minute more.
However, not only him.
"Hello, Ladon," a once beautiful young woman with hair the color of ripe harvest sat down at a small table in the cramped room of the bunker, designated as the scientists' dining room.
However, for Ladon Radim, she had always been and always would be beautiful.
Despite the dark circles under her eyes.
Despite the deterioration of her general physical condition.
Despite the faded sparkle of happiness and joy of life in her eyes.
"You look bad," the Jenai couldn't help but say, putting down the bland and practically empty gruel he was stuffing his stomach with.
He reached across the table, taking her hand in his. For a moment, it seemed to him that her fingers were icy. As lifeless as her gaze, with which she looked at him.
"And you, even though you know everything that is possible to know about science, still haven't learned to lie or at least compliment women," a forced smile appeared on her face.
The next moment, her face contorted with pain. The girl sitting in front of him pulled her hand away and covered her mouth with the other. A cough erupted from the depths of her body, afflicted by a deadly disease.
A very bad cough.
Her body seemed to be trying to expel some piece from its depths, stuck somewhere in her esophagus or lungs. But her weakened body was incapable of it. She would die, but never cough it up.
Not a single scientist afflicted by radiation had managed to cough it up until their death.
Ladon had seen this too often among his colleagues, his friends, among the friends of his friends. Jenai scientists didn't live long. Of course, longer than an average Jenai serving in a cover group on the surface and cultivating crops for everyone hiding in the bunker's underground.
But much shorter than those who didn't work with the atomic bomb. And near it. On the same level with it. In the same part of the bunker with it. In the same bunker with it…
When Dahlia's pain-filled croak from her throat subsided, she ran her emaciated hands over her mouth, wiping away excess fluid.
"You shouldn't have seen that," Dahlia said shyly, picking up a roughly cast spoon and touching her gruel. It was as cloudy as the one in his bowl. As meager in fats, meat, and useful vegetables as his.
The ration for Jenai is always the same.
You get used to it almost immediately. Because you've never seen anything else since birth.
"And how long were you going to hide from me that the second stage had already begun?" he asked demandingly.
"Ladon," Dahlia looked at him from under her eyebrows. "Eat. The break will end soon, and we'll have to get back to work. Eat and don't distract me from eating—we both need strength to work productively in the second shift."
Radim understood perfectly that he wouldn't get an answer. Even though he was no longer a little boy, and she was no longer the feisty girl who used to help him, little changes in sibling relationships throughout life. At least for the Jenai living in the bunker.
Dahlia Radim.
"Yes, you're right," he said, picking up his spoon. "The break will end soon. And we need strength."
She had raised her brother after they were called to Commander Cowan's service, and she was very dear to him. While they were growing up, Ladon and Dahlia taught each other everything new they learned together, ensuring that they would rise through the Jenai career ladder together and not be separated.
It almost happened that way.
Dahlia worked in the scientific department, as did he. And although she was not involved with the atomic weapons project, her section was located nearby.
Despite the assurances of the atomic bomb project scientists, who claimed that all safety measures had been taken, Ladon had long suspected that this very device, their greatest achievement, was the cause of death for many outstanding minds among many generations of Jenai.
But he had no proof… No one did.
Commander Cowan believed leading scientists like the missing Tyrus, and they assured him of the excellent security of their project. But Ladon knew that was not the case.
And if he had guessed it before, he knew for sure now.
Ladon glanced around furtively, looking at the other Jenai around them. They were quickly wielding their spoons to enjoy the tasteless food faster and give up the dining room to the next group. The break times for scientific sections and their employees vary. If everyone went to lunch at once, the scientific progress of the Jenai would have stalled long ago.
He had practically stopped anyway.
If not for the destruction of the Ermen and the acquired intelligence, the technology samples, they would have spent decades more racking their brains over things that turned out to be so simple, like, for example, a radiation detector.
"I've gathered something in my lab," Ladon whispered quietly. "Find a reason to come to my section at four o'clock. My colleagues won't be there; they'll be going to a meeting with Commander Cowan."
"Do you want to show me your new invention?" Dalia asked just as quietly, continuing to eat.
"Yes," Ladon replied curtly.
He didn't bother to clarify that he had only recreated, and even then, a very primitive copy of the detector described in the Ermen data archives. It might be bulky, not entirely accurate, and even not yet calibrated, but it would be ready by four in the afternoon.
And when Dalia arrived, he would be able to measure the radiation level she had.
He wasn't worried about himself.
Unlike his sister, he was assigned to Commander Koli's special battalion as a scientific consultant. And quite often, if the need arose, he left the bunker, spending a lot of time on other planets, far from the radiation source.
According to the Ermen records, it was this that produced the cumulative effect, due to which his condition differed greatly from that of Dalia and other scientists.
Ladon would have given anything for his sister to also be included in the special battalion instead of those five idiots he had to work with. But scientific knowledge was not the only criterion by which people were selected under Commander Koli's wing.
One had to be excellent at handling weapons. One didn't need to hesitate when deciding whether to kill whom they were ordered to kill, or do what needed to be done. It didn't matter who was in front of you – a man, a woman, an old man, a child, or a wraith. If the commander said, "Kill!" then you raise your weapon and pull the trigger. So that a reddish vapor bursts out from the back of the entrance hole in the victim's body.
Dalia wouldn't be able to do that. She would never be able to. That's why she was here, and he walked on other planets.
And she perfectly understood that he was lying to her, saying that he didn't have to kill when passing through the Ring of the Ancients. She understood, but didn't ask questions. Because thanks to his service in Commander Koli's special battalion, he was trusted. Commander Koli, Commander Cowan, and dozens of lower-ranked commanders knew him personally. They knew and trusted him.
But not enough to allow Ladon to study the medical database from the Ermen. Cowan and Koli needed weapons capable of effectively destroying wraiths.
One failure, the death of an entire planet, its entire population, his own scientists dying from radiation – this was not a reason to look for cures instead of ways to assemble functioning nuclear weapons.
And this infinitely angered Radim.
It angered him that entire generations of scientists died, barely reaching thirty-five to forty years of age. And even then, they suffered from terrible pain in their last years, tearing their entire bodies apart.
And it all started with a cough like this.
The first stage of invisible radiation damage was imperceptible, and no one knew when it began. Malaise, pale appearance, headaches, nausea, bleeding – all this was so familiar to the Jenai scientists that it was difficult to understand whether this was a normal condition or if it was caused by illness.
The second phase, however... It was hard not to notice.
Ladon had almost finished the contents of his bowl, while Dalia had barely managed a third. Her appetite had also been disturbed, and if he wasn't mistaken, there were streaks of blood visible on her teeth...
So her gums were starting to bleed. And under her nose, it seemed, there were particles of dried blood, carelessly wiped away before the meeting.
There was no doubt – she was in the second phase of the disease.
Soon, other symptoms would manifest, the disease would strengthen in her body...
"I'm done," Dalia forced a smile.
"You've barely touched the stew," Ladon pointed to the murky liquid in her plate.
"I don't want any more," she said. "A colleague brought a couple of bean flatbreads into the section, and we had a snack..."
Ladon understood that she was lying. Scientists were searched before entering and leaving the section. To avoid bringing in or taking out anything dangerous.
The security measure appeared after Commander Koli's special battalion units had visited Ermen. He and Cowan were very concerned that some scientist might discover something important and not share such valuable data with them.
"Good," Ladon didn't want to provoke a scandal with his sister. "I'm glad you're alright. Smile more often, it suits you."
"As you say," she smiled.
But it looked more like a forced action.
"Don't forget," they got up from the table together. But Ladon took the empty dishes with him, while Dalia did not. That was the rule – if you don't finish something, leave it for those who come after you. There was never much food. "Today at four o'clock."
"Okay," Dalia replied. "I'll do everything I can. And... if it doesn't work out, then tomorrow?"
"Then we'll have to wait a few days," he said vaguely. "The commander wants to send us on a mission. Reconnaissance of a new world, nothing dangerous. They say there might be new technologies there, possibly even technologies of the ancestors. In any case, it's routine."
He was lying.
And his sister guessed that he was lying.
He would go as part of a punitive squad that would burn another peasant village and take their harvest, leaving corpses as a reminder to others not to deceive the Jenai.
Perhaps there would be new technologies there.
However, a rich harvest was also a worthy prize for the Jenai. A couple of new grains in the stew never hurt.
She had made this journey dozens of times, and nothing had changed this time.
The Queen knew perfectly well where in this room, even with the lights on, she could find the darkest corner and hide. No, she wasn't afraid of animals – but she needed time to assess the situation.
Because something here was not right, something was happening.
Never before had the water pressure affected her mind so strongly. She literally felt the sensation of alien minds smearing in her consciousness. As if someone had put a flask with cloudy glass on her head and forced her to look through it.
It seemed that due to prolonged hunger, she had become too weak for such a journey to the very bottom of the ocean. But soon everything would change.
She didn't know what the Lantians called this compartment, but she had nicknamed it the "immersion compartment." It was made in the same minimalist style, beloved by the Lantians. The only difference was that there were no high-tech hatches or chambers for the main work for which this place was built.
Just a flat hole in the floor, illuminated by multiple pinpoint lights. She never understood the ancients' desire to create dozens, if not hundreds, of different types of lamps. It was as if they were trying to compensate for their true creative impotence in this way.
Immersion compartment.
Slowly surfacing, without even creating a ripple on the water, she quickly looked around, listened to her gift... She felt the presence of people nearby, but not so close that she would remain in the icy water for fear of being discovered and attacked by them.
Without unnecessary noise, she climbed out, padding barefoot towards two massive gray-steel colored spacesuits. Unlike the rest of the Lantians' technology, which strove for at least some elegance, these ugly spacesuits had nothing in common with their style.
There were only two of them, and they looked like two pieces of latex rubber, into one end of which a transparent helmet sphere had been inserted. Disgusting poverty.
Ancients' spacesuits for working in high-pressure conditions.
Looking around, she found not a single person in this compartment. Too stupid and too overconfident. After all, there was a locking mechanism to close this breach in the integrity of the platform's hull.
But the humans hadn't done it.
So they didn't expect an attack.
Good, let it be so. The faster her murders will be.
The Queen of Death let out a soft growl, sensing the approach of human minds. It seemed her infiltration had not gone unnoticed.
Or it was just a regular patrol.
Or perhaps it was precisely those who were going to this part of the platform to close the hatch. Too careless.
She hid in the darkest corner of the compartment, waiting for her prey.
And the animals didn't make her wait.
She felt their minds.
Four people.
Too weak to pose a threat to her. But the Queen of Death wasn't going to risk it either. She perfectly remembered how the destructive weapons of the Ancients killed her soldiers and commanders.
Closing her eyes, she concentrated.
Swimming in a weakened state at such a depth had affected her more than she thought. Her mental tentacles couldn't reach these people; they were too far away now.
But the pressure hadn't damaged her ears.
"I don't like this," one of the men said quietly. "We had orders to stand at that post. Tayla gave them and..."
"Tayla hasn't been herself lately!" the second voice interrupted. "She practically doesn't appear on New Athos. The tribe's affairs don't interest her. She only comes to give instructions, without interest asking about our affairs and escorting another batch of food to Atlantis..."
The Queen of Death licked her lips, feeling the food approaching.
Even this short conversation was enough for her to understand a lot.
New Athos... The name was too similar to the planet Athos, where she had carried out one of her first exterminations of the lesser races of the Lantian state. She had killed most of them... But she had left some alive, destroying their civilization. They fled to the mountains, where it was pointless to search for them... So they had offspring. And moved to live on another planet... Delicious... Perhaps she would pay them a visit and make them her first prey. But this time she would finish what she started and enjoy their deaths and satisfy her hunger with all the inhabitants of that world.
Atlantis... The last stronghold of the Lantians in the Pegasus galaxy. When she crashed, Atlantis was hidden underwater and under blockade. The Lantians and their lackeys, those who managed to survive, huddled there like a tasty dish and trembled at the fact that their defense resources were running out, and the number of wraiths in orbit around Lantea was only increasing.
How did they survive? Did Atlantis defeat the wraiths? Nonsense, that couldn't have happened. She would sooner believe that after her "death," other queens didn't finish her life's work and left.
All the more reason to kill them all and reign again.
"Actually, she's establishing contact with the Atlanteans!" said the first voice.
"They are not the Ancients!" the third voice objected. "They are their relatives or something like that. Canaan told me that they are a younger race, like our distant ancestors were..."
The Queen of Death wanted to laugh out loud.
Seriously?
Lesser races took control of Atlantis? Oh, that's even better! She knew how to make lesser races fear her kind. Since the Lantians perished or fled, and the city is under the control of their descendants, everything becomes even simpler. Perhaps she wouldn't even have to run away from this planet.
It's enough to subjugate this weak creature to her will. And with the resources of Atlantis, access to the knowledge of the Lantians, she will become invincible!
"That's why you shouldn't listen to Tayla. She dances to their tunes, believes their word. And she's forgotten her own people! They already have one wraith! And they probably want to catch a queen too! We can't let that happen! We must avenge our ancestors, no matter the cost!" the second voice spoke passionately. "She should be here already. So be quiet, as soon as she comes out, we'll kill her."
"Tayla and the Atlanteans will be displeased!" the second voice objected.
"And I don't give a damn! They're using us and..."
A soft hiss was heard.
"Second group!" said a sharp male voice. Too young, but with commanding notes. Very displeased commanding notes. "What the hell are you doing next to that compartment! Your position is in the corridor from it!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about, Mikhail," the second replied. "We're at our post..."
"Get out of there quickly, you idiots! They see you on the detectors in the control room! The Queen is near you! I don't know how you disabled the field, but..."
A soft click was heard, and the young man's voice was interrupted.
"You showed us yourselves how to move the crystals," the second voice said smugly. "Did you think we were some kind of servants! But we are smart Athosians! We are worthy of our ancestors..."
"Idiots," the Queen of Death thought with a laugh. "Just like those I killed on Athos ten thousand years ago."
"Did you hear Mikhail," the first voice whispered. "The Queen is nearby..."
"And she's not scary to us," the second voice interrupted. "There's a device here to suppress her abilities. Enter slowly. Two in front, two covering. As soon as you see her, kill her on the spot! Alright, let's go in!"
Ah, so that's it... It wasn't the pressure that was the problem.
Slightly opening her eyes, the Queen of Death saw a couple of animals. Middle-aged, in gray uniforms, holding something vaguely resembling a weapon. No energy readings, primitive design... I wonder how powerful it is?
The Queen closed her eyes again, sensing the animals' minds... Oh, they were even weaker than ten thousand years ago. This would be fun.
"No one," the first voice whispered.
"Look better!" the second ordered. "I'll turn on the flashlight and... Hey, what's happening?! Doran!"
"Doran has gone mad!" the third voice shouted.
And then it got loud.
The one called Doran had the weakest brain of the four. The Queen easily took control of his brain, turning him into her soldier, the conductor of her will.
Doran was a farmer, but he wished to learn the art of war. And he wielded his weapon well. Not entirely his own. It was given to him by people from Atlantis, but it was produced in a completely different world.
Primitive, shooting pieces of metal. But causing great damage to bodies. The greater the damage, the faster death came...
Therefore, the Queen of Death shot with Doran's hands at the legs and arms of her future victims. Their dense overalls managed to partially stop the bursts of bullets with which Doran rewarded them.
But they didn't protect them from wounds as such. The Queen of Death enjoyed the pain of these three and the fear that gripped the animal named Doran. They lay on the floor, all four, whimpering from pain, fear, and the understanding of approaching death.
And then the Queen of Death revealed herself, coming out from behind the corner where she had been hiding. The animals shrieked in horror at the sight of her. They tried to grab their backup weapons, overcoming the pain.
But their minds were so weak...
"What a pathetic herd," the Queen of Death said contemptuously, approaching the first person. She recognized him by his voice – the cowardly one who spoke first. "Fear, human, for your death has come..."
Queen of Death.
Even in her weakened state, it was no trouble for her to tear his gray jacket, exposing the man's chest. Hissing with anticipation of the meal, she thrust her right hand into his chest with force.
And roared with pleasure, feeling how life and energy passed from the convulsing body, rapidly losing all the fluids, the elasticity of its skin, and the dark color of its hair.
When she finished with this worthless animal, she threw the remains aside and turned her gaze to the one called Dorin. He was trembling as if he had a nervous disorder.
The aura of terror emanating from him pleased Death.
But it lasted for exactly a couple of seconds – mentally worthless, he turned out to be a worthless source of food... The other two were not so weak, and although their will was broken, they were still waiting for her to...
The roar of a shot and pain in her side struck her at the moment she bent over the third victim. The Queen was already feeling her body healing thanks to new strength.
Turning her head and baring her teeth menacingly, she deprived the owner of the second voice, who had shot her with his backup weapon, of his reason, and he screamed in pain and fear when she forcefully entered his mind.
"Delight my ears with your screams," the Queen of Death turned her gaze to the penultimate victim, whose fascination had cost her a bullet wound. "And you will restore my strength, which was spent on healing..."
Five seconds later, this animal was also just a mummy.
By the time she dealt with the last victim, she felt the approach of several weak and two strong minds. They were trying to corner her from several sides...
She finished eating and, with her characteristic regal importance, walked to the edge of the pool to leave... But instead of going upright underwater, she felt only metal under her feet.
The people had closed the immersion compartment, cutting off her escape route. And she knew for sure that she couldn't open it from here – the control panel wasn't lit, which meant it was de-energized or faulty.
The Queen hissed irritably, returning to the bodies of the people she had drained. Bending down, she picked up a human weapon, examined it... Thanks to the invasion of these people's minds, she understood what to do.
"Come here," the Queen of Death gurgled, choosing the first target for her attack. "It's time to die. Only one queen rules here! And my name is Death!"