AGORA ONE - A SPACE ADVENTURE - SLICE 9

What is weighing on Meago's conscience? The saga continues.....

“I can’t go on like this,” Meago lamented.  She had been on Agora One nearly a month. 

Tequi and Zay glanced at each other.  Neither had a clue what Meago was getting at.  Zay encouraged her, “Go head, whatever it is.  Just let it out.”

Meago locked eyes with Zay, then looked away and sobbed even harder.  “I can’t let this go on!”

Tequi shrugged, “Let what go on?”

“This fucking charade!”

“Who taught you to use f-bombs like that?”

Suddenly, she just blurted it out, “Evol and I, we’re spies.  They know everything now!” She grabbed her churning stomach and expelled some blood-curdling agony.  

Zay and Tequi still didn’t have a clue what she was talking about.  “Go on,” Zay urged softly.

“We’ve been spying on Agora One this whole time, Evol and I, for the Piscorans!”

This got their attention, especially Zay’s.  How and why would this last survivor from Earth be working with the Piscorans? As far as they knew, when Tequi had found them, they had never been exposed to alien species.  

“We’re not even brother and sister!” she shrieked.  Her face was now full of rivers and red waves.  Tequi walked over to her slowly and put his hands on her shoulders.  Her head stayed down, unable to look him in the eye.  He said, “Ok, now, if what you’re telling us right now is true, then there are lots of gaps that need filling.  The first thing I’d like to know is, if you’re spying for the Piscorans, how did that come to be, and why are you doing it?”

Zay folded her arms and her tail whipped with a methodical, angry persistence, as she waited for a response.  

Meago continued with a sorrowful, quivering voice, “The Piscorans came to Earth after the natural calamities.  They took all of the human survivors away and made them slaves, including my family, my real family, not Evol.”

“Don’t forget how.  How are you spying?”

“Well, for starters, I wasn’t involved in the ‘sadistic arts’.  I was an actor.  That’s one reason I believe the Piscorans chose me to infiltrate your ship.  I have a photographic memory, and I’m a good actor.”

Zay tried to maintain some composure as she asked, “So everything is still in your head and the Piscorans don’t have it?”

“No.  That’s where Evol comes in.  He transmits.  I supply the info, and Evol does the transmission to them.”

“Why didn’t you do the transmissions?”

“Evol was trained to do it.  I don’t know how.”

“So Evol wasn’t a holo-sculptor on Earth? He’s an actor, too? That was another lie?”

“No, he really is a holo-sculptor.  That’s a reason I think he was chosen.  Some of what has been sent to the Piscorans has been in the form of 3D holo-designs, based on some of the wonders we’ve seen here on Agora One.”

“You keep saying chosen, like there was some kind of wicked tryout period or something. What do you mean by ‘chosen’?”

“When the environmental disasters started to reduce in extremity and frequency, the Piscorans came.  They took us off planet.  There were huge complexes filled with people.  As far as I know, we all went through the same procedures.  They questioned us, tested us.  We went through physical and mental examinations for weeks.  After Evol and I were chosen, we went through an intensive training regimen and were given our first orders to infiltrate Agora One.”

“But how did they know that Agora One would eventually be involved?”

“That, I don’t know.”

Tequi scratched his whiskers thoughtfully.  “Maybe the way we found out about the disaster on Earth was no coincidence.”

Raw said, “That seems apparent.  I’d love to know more about Tabe’s source that delivered the news.”

Zay’s head was spinning.  Her tail was whipping in a real frenzy now.  “Yeah, we’ll need to have a talk with Tabe about this.” She lamented the fact that they hadn’t dug into the source of the information earlier.  Perhaps it was coincidence, but there was a chance it wasn’t.  

Masher joined in and said suspiciously, “Maybe those calamities weren’t just poorly maintained weather control systems after all.”

“What are you getting at?”

“If the A.I. from Earth were in compromised states from overuse of EMOS, they could have easily been subverted by a species with access to superior technology.”

“Like the Piscorans.”

“Like the Piscorans.”

Raw asked, “So Masher, you’re hypothesizing that it was no coincidence, that the calamities were caused by Piscoran interference?”

“If what Meago said just now is true, it would seem logical and perhaps even likely.  It would make easy prey for them.”

“But what about the A.I. on Earth?”

“They were destroyed either fighting one another, or would have easily been culled by the Piscorans.  Those EMOS and the environmental disasters would have left the A.I. in a nearly impossible position to defend themselves.”

“But why destroy them?”

“Eliminate what the Piscorans might view as their only real threat or competition.  By eliminating the A.I. on Earth, it made it that much easier to capture all the remaining humans.”

Meago was shaking uncontrollably.  She was torn in too many directions emotionally.  Fear for her family.  Fear for herself.  Disappointed that she had betrayed these wonderful people.  And profoundly deep within her, there was an ever-so-slight kernel of relief that she was now letting the truth out.  

“Masher, can you make her stop shaking?”

“No!” she screamed, “let me be!”

Everyone else peered around at each other, speechless for a few moments.  Each one was lost in their own head, thoughts running in various directions, trying to cope.  Trying to know how to proceed.  

Zay’s jaw tightened as she tried to control her slowly mounting rage, “How do we know you’re not lying about what happened to the rest of the humans? How do we know you’re not lying now?”

Masher didn’t let Meago answer.  “I’m perfectly capable of using advanced analytics to determine if she is truthful or not.”

Zay lashed out, “Why didn’t you think of that before you crossed multiple galaxies to deliver a spy into the most advanced and expensive ship in this part of the universe!” It took every ounce of strength she had not to snap and unleash her physical combat prowess all over the room.  Now she was trembling, something Tequi and Raw had never seen her do.  

Tequi was growing more curious by the moment.  “Do you know where your family was taken, or where the colony is?”

“We have coordinates, nothing more.”

“So what was their plan? Just leave you here as long as possible? They didn’t give you a stopping point or a next action to take?”

“They didn’t give us any further instructions.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.  Why wouldn’t they have a plan to get you out at some point?”

Masher said, “There are three possibilities here.  The first is that they have no plan to get you off of Agora One.  The second is that they have a plan, but you’re not privy to it.  The third is that you’re lying.”

“I have no reason to lie now.”

“Incorrect.  You telling us this could be part of what the Piscorans are up to.” Masher paused and floated closer to Meago’s fretful figure.  “Would you be willing to undergo an analysis to see if I can detect the truthfulness of your statements?”

“More than willing.”

Raw threw his hands up.  “If she is telling the truth, then what?”

Everyone in the room glanced around making eye contact.  What would they do? Drop the offenders off somewhere? Try to find the rest of the Earth humans and free them from one of the largest kidnappings in history?

Meago broke the uncertainty of the silence.  “You have the means to free all of them, including my family.”

Zay laughed at the thought.  “They’ll never send Agora One.  We didn’t even get to go to Earth the first time, and now that things are more complicated with this whole spying ordeal, it’s a laughable joke to even suggest it.  Especially because there isn’t even any proof.  Just the story of a supposed spy.”

Tequi poured himself a drink and asked, “What if the existence of the slave colony could be proven? Wouldn’t it be the right thing to do to help free them?”

Raw answered, “Some might say that they have to free themselves, like our ancestors did.”

Masher countered, “And some might say they’ve been kidnapped and should be helped.”

Tequi tapped the pistol on his hip and shook his head emphatically.  “How do I get myself into these things?”

“What are you thinking, Tequi?”

“That if Masher here gets results that she’s telling the truth, then I might be inclined to head to those coordinates and do some investigating.”

Zay's tail whipped into a fresh frenzy.  “You’d be making a big mistake.”

“Why do ya say that?”

“Because I think it’s a trap.”

“Well, you haven’t heard the rest of my plan yet.  The wheels are turning in my head full throttle.”

“I thought I heard some slow, eerie creaking,” Raw quipped.  

Zay cringed, “This is no time for jokes, Raw.”

“Aucontraire, perilous times are when we need laughter most.”

Zay sighed, “That’s a human belief I’m glad I don’t share.” She looked at Meago and asked, “What about Evol? Does he know you’re telling us?”

She shuddered at the thought.  “Absolutely not.  He might kill me if he knew.”

“We’ll have to deal with Evol immediately.”

Masher glowed red.  “Not so fast.  It might be better to let him think that everything is normal, otherwise he might panic, and who knows what he might do if he feels panic.”

“So just let him go on sending data to those parasitic Piscorans?”

Tequi agreed.  “Good point.  I think we should take measures to neutralize his operations immediately.  We’ll need a smoking gun.”

Meago stared blankly at the floor and said sadly, “Like I said, I’m not privy to his transmissions.”

“I’ve got an idea.  Tell him you came clean.”

“And get her killed?”

“I’m not finished.  We’re gonna send her to Evol with backup, in case he gets violent.”

Meago perked up a bit.  “He won’t as long as someone else is there.”

“Don’t worry.  We won't send you in alone.”

“And if we get this admission or, God forbid, violent act? What then?”

“A ship-wide communique.  Nobody will offer him sanctuary.  Then we give him two options.  Temporary confinement, or dropped off at the nearest authoritarian-controlled planet.”

Later that night, in Evol and Meago’s living quarters, Meago waited impatiently for Evol to make an appearance.  She fidgeted nervously as her mind ran.  She hoped she was doing the right thing.  She hoped that everything would work out ok.  That’s what happened when people did the right thing, right? Things went in their favor.  

She heard the front entrance open.  Meago peered down at her handbag quickly and whispered, “Well, here we go.”

Evol came in.  Some sweat was glistening off his forehead.  “Just back from the gym?”

“Yeah.  The facilities on this thing are marvelous.”

He looked at Meago’s face.  It showed uneasiness, which he picked up on immediately.  

“There’s something important I need to tell you, Evol.”

“Yes, it’s written all over your face.  What’s the matter?”

“I told Zay, Tequi, and some others about what we’ve been doing here on Agora One.”

Evol’s face flushed and his body stiffened with angst.  “You did what?” he asked with disbelief.  He took a couple steps closer.  She rose from the sofa with eyes locked in his.  You could tell a lot about someone’s intentions by looking in their eyes.  She didn’t like what she saw.

“You must be joking,” he said sharply.

“I couldn’t bear it anymore.  All the lies.  They’re good people, Evol.  I couldn’t go on with the lying to them.”

He took another step towards her.  She gulped and took a deep breath.  His fury grew.  “But why tell them? To what end? What is that going to accomplish? You let your emotions get the best of you!”

“I followed conscience, is what I did.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.  We have a mission.  Do you know what the Piscorans will do to us now? Or to our families?” He was freaking out.  His heart raced.  He lunged at Meago, who put her newly acquired combat skills to good use.  She dodged him and put a defensive knee in his gut.  He rolled and took her legs out, though, sending her tumbling to the ground.  His anger carried him on top of her and, just as he was about to swing, a smothering cloud of sand swirled out of Meago's handbag and subdued him.

Meago gasped and scrambled to find her communicator.  She did, and got Zay on the line.  “There’s your admission, with Dans as witness.”

Slice 10 Coming Soon!

Thanks for your time and attention!

Just say "NO" to slavery!

Top image is from flickr

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Please note:  While Agora One can be read as a standalone, I recommend finishing the James Bong series first, and reading SeAgora second, as Agora One is the final installment of a loosely interlocking trilogy.