Emergence: Chapter 44

Strom's eyes snapped open.

A liquid drained out of cylinder he was in, and he breathed in deep a few times, as if he'd been drowning; maybe he had. He raised his hands and stared at them, flexing his fingers and staring at both the palms and backs of his hands. Touching his face, he found it to be solid, but smoother than normally. He ran a hand through his hair, finding it in working order. He flushed when he realised that he naked, and rushed to cover up with his hand. Some strange creatures were wandering around near his tube, terrifying-looking beings; was he being experimented on?

I was dead.

He knew that he can't have been, or at least not for long, but he had seen the darkness. The dark at the end of the tunnel; no light like people say. “Walk into the light”, they say, but there was no light. He adjusted his hand so only one was covering himself and felt around where he was hurt before passing out. There was no pain now, although he had expected it; he remembered the crash, the calls of Ilisa, the begging. Olaf's death.

I should be dead.

He felt unusual in his own body, almost as if it wasn't his own; he knew that was ridiculous. It was his body, he could tell. Same skin tone, same hands, same hair. His face was smoother, but he assumed that that was an affect of whatever liquid he had been preserved in. When he moved, it felt strange, his muscles tensing and stiff as if he had never used them. He felt his heartbeat, finding it somewhat accelerated.

The hell is going on here?

He opened his mouth and tried to call to the beings in the room, but only a faint gargle came out; probably for the best, he had no idea what he'd say to them. Evidently, one of them had noticed the gargle, and turned towards him. Its single eye narrowed in what Strom assumed was suspicion, before it turned towards something outside Strom's field of vision. He tried to look around to see what it was, but his neck cracked and he groaned in pain; that didn't usually happen.

The tube opened with a hydraulic hiss. Strom tried to take a step out of it, but when his foot touched the ground, his leg buckled and he fell, only stopping himself by grabbing onto the sides of the tube. He dragged himself back up again, and looked at his hands; they were shaking. He noticed that his breathing was increasingly shallow, and he tried to stabilize it.

“Strom!” A familiar female voice called out as a blur came into view. Strom shook his head, aiming to clear the blur, but it just made his head hurt. Wincing, he clutched his head and moaned. The voice cried out again, sending his ears ringing.

Strom cried out. A small scream in both frustration and pain. Vision still obscured, he tried to say words and, after a few gargles, he managed to shout hoarsely, “What have you done to me?” He coughed, before noticing that his voice had changed; his accent was gone. “What are you?” He panted, lungs aching.

“Strom!” The voice pierced his ringing ears. A hand grabbed his chin and forced his head up. “Look at me.”

Strom blinked a few times, his vision clearing slightly each time. “Ilisa?”

Ilisa tutted. “It's about time.” She threw her arms around him, and kissed his cheek.

Strom put his arms around her slowly, feeling awkward in his skin; maybe it was just because he'd been unconscious for a long time. “What's going on?”

“You were dead.” Ilisa said bluntly. Strom opened his mouth to question, but Ilisa put a finger over it. “Don't ask questions yet. Your body was dead, but your mind was sound. So, I brought you to New Orbus for healthcare, but the Xaosians were here. They shot me down and I crashed on the surface. These beings are Orbans, Strom. They preserved themselves, and saved your life.”

“How?” Strom asked. “This body, my skin, my muscles, they don't feel right. What have they done to me?”

“They won't feel right yet.” Ilisa closed her eyes and exhaled. “It's not your original body.”

Strom's brow furrowed. “Original body?” He looked around, taking in the bubbling tubes, and the arrays of computers. One of the Orbans looked at him, and nodded in acknowledgement. Strom waved back awkwardly, looking more like his arm had a seizure than any fluid movement. “Am I a clone?”

Ilisa nodded, then spoke slowly and carefully. “Your body is, yes, but your mind is exactly the same. It's how the Orbans survived all this time; clones, while keeping the mind preserved in a computer server.”

“So I'm not...I'm not me?” Strom asked, before stopping and staring at his hands again.

“You are.” Ilisa nodded. “On the inside, you are exactly the same. On the outside, it's like your body has been refreshed; you look exactly the same. You'll get used to it.” She went to touch his face.

“Get away from me.” Strom's voice took on an authority she hadn't heard before.

“But Strom-”

“Get away!” Strom closed his eyes as she roared, before hearing a loud bang followed by equipment clattering to the floor. He looked up to find Ilisa slumped on the other side of the room. He looked around; no-one was near either of them. “Ilisa!” He ran over to her, cradling her head. Her eyes were open, so she was still conscious. “What happened?”

Ilisa got up, and pushed him away. “I...I think you did it.” She seemed confused. “Sa'tui, I need to talk to you.” She called to one of the Orbans, who beckoned her over. Strom tried to follow her, but she put a hand on his chest. “Stay here. Put your clothes on.” She pointed at a pile next to the tube he was in. He nodded, and Ilisa walked quickly over to the Orban Sa'tui.

His clothes felt strange against his new skin, and he imagined that was how a newborn felt when they first had to wear clothes. The rough fabric rubbed against his skin, feeling like tiny scratches up his legs; his skin felt overly sensitive. When he had finished, he watched Ilisa and Sa'tui talking. Ilisa seemed to be quite lively in her discussion, but the Orban seemed indifferent to her gestures.

Strom thought about what she'd said. “She thinks I did it....” He muttered, thinking about how. “I didn't move...” He remembered what he'd learnt about the Orbans when he was at school. His Raiser had told him that they had a special power, but never further elaborated. What if that power passed on in the cloning process? He looked at a small tube on the floor, and concentrated entirely on it. In his mind, he pictured it moving along the cold floor. When he looked at it again, he held his hand so it was facing it, and willed it to move. His eyes widen with amazement as it rolled along the floor, before standing on its edge. He chuckled; he could control things with his mind. Then he realised what he had done to Ilisa.

She was walking over now. “Strom, I –”

“I know Ilisa.” He walked over, and gathered her up in his arms. “And I am so sorry; I never meant to –”

“I know.” Ilisa said, kissing his cheek. “You'll – no, we'll, get used to it. Together.”

Strom nodded. “Yeah.” He pointed at the tube. “I moved that a minute ago.”

Ilisa smiled. “Not quite as big as me. Here.” She stood in front of him, arms spread wide. “You need to get used to it, control it. Lift me with your mind.”

Strom took a deep breath, and focuses, before his concentration broke. “No, Ilisa. I can't.”

“Yes.” Ilisa nodded. “You can do it.”

Strom shook his head. “It's not a case of whether I can do it or not. It's a case of I don't want to. I hurt you before, I could have injured or killed you.”

Ilisa walked up to him, and punched him in the arm. He looked at his arm, and then at her hand. “The hell was that for?”

“Now we're even.” Ilisa went back to her position. “Now lift me.”

Strom smiled; she was cute when she was trying to be angry. “Alright then. I'll try.”

He extended a hand, and imagined that he was holding her at her waist. He then raised his hand, imagining he was lifting her her up. Concentrating on that image, he saw past it, into reality, and saw that he was indeed lifting her with his mind through his outstretched hand. She looked down at the floor and laughed, and he did too. The sensation as the power bridged the gap between mind, hand, and Ilisa was a tingling feeling, which he found he rather enjoyed.

“I'm gonna try and set you down now, 'kay?” Strom called to her.

“Alright.”

Ilisa was carefully lowered, before Strom accidentally dropped her the rest of the way. She fell, limp, but able to land on her hands and feet. He ran over to her. “Ilisa! You alright?”

She stood up, and brushed herself down, laughing. “You need to practise putting people down.” She chuckled still, throwing her arms around him again. “That was amazing!”

“It felt it to me too.” Strom noticed how unusually cuddly Ilisa was being today.

“You did well Strom.” A voice echoed in his head. Strom turned around to see Sa'tui and another Orban. “For a human.”

“It's amazing.” Strom nodded. “Thank you.”

“It was an accident that you ended up with these powers.” Sa'tui continued. “But we will help train you to use them.”

Strom bowed his head. “Thank you.”

Sa'tui copied the bow. “Now, lift her again, and put her down. Carefully this time.”

Strom smiled as Ilisa took up her position again; they will learn together.