Now

“Designation: Honor, explain an incongruity in your words,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“Um… okay, but I don’t follow,” Cal said.

“You claim that you and your creche-mates were the strongest among your sub-region, yet analysis of your words indicates an 89.683 percent probability that neither you nor your creche-mates held command.”

“I think I get what you’re getting at, Tides. Let me try to explain.” Cal cleared his throat for a moment. “I, we, didn’t want to be in charge. Besides just because we happened to be stronger than everyone else didn’t mean we deserved to rule over them. It was also strategically and tactically, I guess, bad to have your biggest front line fighters to also be the ones making decisions for the entire community. If something happened to us, then the community would be hit with losses on two fronts.”

“Adequate,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 said.

“I sense you guys do things a little differently,” Cal said.

The interrogators glanced at each other for a split second.

“The most powerful of the Threnosh guides each region,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“Guides? That’s not quite the same as commands.”

“You are accurate.”

“Then who commands?”

“Designation: Honor, prior studies of primitive civilizations on our world indicate that strength equates to rule,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 said. “Your world projects as primitive in comparison to the present Threnosh. Hence your people value strength above all. Your words on Jay and his forces is indicative of this truth, yet your own words and actions run counter to it. Explain?”

“Ignore and insult me all in the same breath,” Cal sighed. “Fine, in the interests of continuing to build a rapport between us, I will try to answer. Basically, I believe that every person deserves the opportunity to live free and happy lives, so long as their happiness isn’t like Jay’s ilk, oppressing others and such. Even though I now have the power to do just that. I’ve chosen not to. In fact my choice is to use my newfound power to protect that.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t believe in that survival of the fittest bullshit. It’s just stupid. Life isn’t a zero-sum game. Everyone can have that… stuff.”

“Inefficient and chaotic,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said. “This session is concluded.”

As the alien sarcophagus closed over his head and shifted him flat onto his back, Cal let out a long breath. “I guess that didn’t go over well.” His frustration over the last few sessions had been growing. His peeks into the aliens’ minds revealed that they were no closer to even considering the possibility of an accord between their two peoples. His problem was that they clearly saw him as separate from the rest of humanity. Which was incomprehensible to the Threnosh, who saw the individual selves as pieces to the whole. Each had their role that contributed to the benefit of their entire world.

Cal couldn’t quite figure them out. His telepathic peeks into the two interrogators definitively ruled out a hive mind of any sort, either biological or technological. His despair grew bit by bit. He didn’t know how much longer he could keep trying until he had to give it up and come up with another plan.

“Hi, Tides, Loaming!” Cal greeted the two interrogators with a wide smile as soon as his alien sarcophagus shifted him to a seated position and uncovered his head. “So, what’re we going to talk about today?”

“Nothing,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 said.

Cal heard the uncertainty in their voice and the way their eyes flicked to Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337.

“Designation: Honor, there will be no further sessions. It has been determined that there is no need to continue,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“Oh, I see.” The smile dropped from Cal’s face. “What happens next?”

“Our duties are complete. That is all there is to say.”

“C’mon, Tides, I thought we were getting to know each other pretty good. You can’t just leave me hanging like this.”

Cal reached out with his telepathy to peak into the two interrogators’ thoughts. To his surprise, he found nothing except a static-like buzz. Interference of some sort. It seemed cold, sterile. Mechanical in nature perhaps? He wasn’t sure since he’d never encountered anything like it before. He was tempted to force his way past it, but didn’t want to risk the possibility of triggering an alarm or creating harmful feedback for the two aliens.

“Your imprisonment is to be maintained. Your biological needs met to standard requirements.”

Cal sighed as the alien sarcophagus engulfed him in darkness as soon as Tides finished speaking. It was an unfortunate turn of events for both him and the Threnosh. He wanted to work with them, but now it seemed that was no longer possible. It was time to leave. Perhaps a more comprehensive demonstration of what he was capable of would entice the aliens to return to the negotiating table. He was a bit sad to realize that even across different species the truism that one must negotiate from a position of strength held. Since being nice and agreeable didn’t work it was time to get meaner.

“I am uncertain,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 said.

“There is only certainty in adherence to the Prime’s commands,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“Calculated probability of failure is at 73.056 percent. Catastrophic failure at 24.931 percent.”

“The Prime is aware of the probabilities.”

“Is it not better to continue the sessions with the invader? Designation: Honor’s words have proved to be valuable to the Threnosh. I know that I am fresh to this role, but I calculate that this course of action is a mistake,” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 said.

“Seniority has no bearing. You were selected and that is enough,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said. “Your assessment is not incorrect. I have made the same calculations. However, we obey the Prime and that is all. Now, prepare yourself. We report to the Prime and they must not be challenged. Even if Prime Custodian 3 has a reputation for a looser adherence to the Codes than other Primes.”

Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 pressed a button on the console built into the arm of his powered armor. A holographic projection appeared in front of the two interrogators.

“It is done.” A statement, not a question. For Primes assume that their commands are executed.

“Yes, Prime Custodian 3,” Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 said.

“And the disks?”

The two interrogators glanced at each other.

Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 finally spoke. “Irritating.”

There were two small, flat metal disks implanted behind each ear hole for both interrogators. The gray skin around the disks was slightly inflamed.

“Were they synced properly with the program I installed in your armors?”

Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 thin fingers tapped on the console on his armored arm as his eyes frantically scanned the holographic display. “Sync ratios were between 93.123 and 96.279 percent for the duration of the session.”

Prime Custodian 3’s gaze drifted over to Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623.

“91.963 and 96.782 percent.” Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623 hesitated. “Forbearance, Prime Custodian 3?”

The Prime raised a hairless brow. “Proceed.”

The interrogators momentarily forgot the strictures of the Codes as their faces betrayed the complete and utter befuddlement they felt at that moment.

Interrogator Ebbing Tides 2337 looked as if it took all their self control to keep from clamping an armored hand over Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623’s mouth. Not for their own sake, but for their junior counterpart’s.

“What purpose do these disks serve?”

“Interrogator Ethereal Loaming 5623,” Prime Custodian 3 started, “it is surprising to me that one in your role would dare question a Prime’s command.” The Prime raised a hand as the interrogator’s gray face paled to near white. “This is not a censure. Just a remark. I will answer your query, yet understand that the explanation must be circumspect. In short we detected a form of interference emanating from this facility. It is a signal unlike anything in the entire Threnosh catalog. The disks serve to test a theory and as a potential defensive measure.” They sighed. “Perhaps we erred or failed.”

The two interrogators mistook the perturbed look on the Prime’s face as a sign of its displeasure with their actions or lack thereof, neither had any idea. But before they could beg forgiveness. The Prime raised his gaze back to them.

“You have performed your task adequately. You will return to Fallen From Grace and await your next duty.”

With that the holographic projection of Prime Custodian 3 winked out of existence.

The two interrogators walked out of the room and out of the facility with a haste that was unbecoming their station, but since they were the only Threnosh there they allowed themselves the minor breach of etiquette.

Cal stared into the blackness of his personal void. The alien sarcophagus that served as his home for the last six months, give or take a few days. Or was that seven months? He supposed it depended on if he went by Earth-time or whatever the Threnosh called their world-time.

One would think that it should’ve been maddening to spend that much time in restraints. That person would be correct if Cal was just a normal person. Luckily for him, that wasn’t the case.

His mental powers allowed him freedom from the physical shackles. He was able to explore the facility that held him and even a good distance into the surprisingly wild spaces beyond. He studied the advanced alien technology that surrounded him. He learned how to manipulate said technology. In fact he was confident as early as of two months ago in his ability to disable every element of the security system keeping him in the sarcophagus and the facility.

Cal reached out into the facility with his telepathy. He found nothing, which wasn’t unexpected. Outside of the first time he was brought into the place there had been no other Threnosh besides the two interrogators and they promptly left the facility after each session ended.

The fact that his last attempt to peak into the interrogators’ thoughts was met by failure and static made him reconsider the situation. Had they discovered his telepathic abilities? And more worryingly had they figured out a way to block it? Or even completely negate it?

The interrogators’ thoughts gave no indication that they knew that he was peaking into their heads. Logically that implied that there was another or others that were involved.

Cal didn’t like unknowns. He had grown used to his powers eliminating that problem. Being currently in the middle of nowhere took away that advantage. He needed to leave and discover more about the world and the Threnosh as a whole. His experience with the interrogators suggested that their culture was monolithic. Each individual working for the entirety across the entire world, without exception. He found that difficult to believe. Perhaps there were other factions out there that would prove more amenable to the alliance or at least non-violent relationship with humanity that he was seeking.

It was time. Six hours had passed since the last interrogation session ended. It was a few hours into the period that Cal had made a habit of going to sleep. A telepathic ability he discovered and developed after his arrival on the Threnosh’s world was the power to remain in conscious control of his mind, while the rest of his body slept. To every machine and program monitoring his vitals, Cal was asleep, yet his mind was aware and at work.

Invisible telekinetic fingers of a dazzling array of sizes and shapes danced across the inner workings of the alien sarcophagus and in the chamber it was currently held in. With a precision that surgical robots could only hope to reach, he performed dozens of actions. In sequence and simultaneously he disabled restraints and alarms, devices that monitored and alerted. It was hyper-advanced alien technology that was so far beyond anything that Cal thought could exist that they made science fiction look mundane.

If he thought using his telekinesis to cut vegetables was like conducting an orchestra, then this was like conducting dozens of orchestras all around the world. A symphony beyond all others and no one, but him, could hear, see, or even feel it.

And feel it he did. The strain was immense. Each movement sent a piercing stab into his brain. If he hadn’t spent nearly every waking and sleeping hour of his long imprisonment exercising and strengthening his mind he wouldn’t have been able to pull this off. Let alone survive it.

As it was after a mere three minutes, which felt like an eternity, the alien sarcophagus’ internal machinery whirred softly then unceremoniously dumped Cal on his backside.

Cal woke up and opened his eyes to darkness.

He felt a trickle of wetness coming from his ears, his eyes, and nose.

He groaned and stood slowly. The world spun and threatened to go black, so he took a deep breath and centered himself, refusing to succumb to the weariness he felt.

He stretched and tried to limber up. Although the alien sarcophagus did well to stimulate his muscles to ward off atrophy, there was no substitute for actual physical movement.

Push-ups were followed by jumping jacks and squats. He sprinted in place for a minute. He shadowboxed for three. He needed to reestablish the mind-muscle connection to get ready for what waited beyond then sleek, silver door.

Finally he sat and crossed his legs. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He felt the pounding headache, then he pushed it to the back of his mind. It was still there, yet now he could mostly ignore it. A technique he developed a few years back, perhaps the most important one, since it let him push his powers and delay having to deal with the drawback.

With one last deep breath he opened his eyes and stood. His body felt weak and slow, not ideal, but he’d loosed his shot and there was no bringing it back.

It was time to go.