AGORA ONE - A SPACE ADVENTURE - SLICE 12

What will the Piscorans do to Tequi and crew?

Tequi, Raw, Masher, and Tabe were in four separate, transparent force-field cell blocks.   Meago and Evol had been taken off of Turbo as well, but were not nearby.

Masher was floating in the center of its space, with its highest defensive protocols active, in order to prevent any hacking attempts to gain control of its functions.  Tabe had gone into a hibernation state, laying perfectly still in the center of its cell.  Raw was curled in the fetal position, snoring, with mouth drooping open.  Tequi sighed and looked at his companions enviously.  He certainly couldn’t sleep at a time like this.  

He’d only been imprisoned once before, and that was only for a short while for a misunderstanding on Xonora.  This was different.  These were the Piscorans.  There was no telling what they had in store for Tequi, his friends, or his ship, for that matter.  He wondered how Turbo was doing, and had a slight internal chuckle at the prospect of Turbo exercising some of its rather unorthodox defense protocols.  It was a near certainty that the Piscorans would attempt to reverse-engineer, or at least copy, some of Turbo’s more advanced systems.  Any attempt at doing so, however, would be met by resistance, such as convenient power outages, electrical shocks when touched, environmental control problems, and many other “unfortunate” malfunctions that would inhibit any intrusion.  As long as they didn’t manage to gain control of Turbo’s core, then they would have a giant, nearly useless, and almost untouchable pile of parts on their hands.  Then there was Shock One, which surely had been destroyed, one way or another.  Either it had been overwhelmed by a swarm of ships and gone down swinging, or it had gone into auto-destruct mode to escape capture.  The autonomous robots on board, and the ship itself, were programmed this way.  

Tequi’s mind wandering was interrupted with a jolt to his electro-cage.  His eyes met a Piscoran face.  Its beady, hollow eyes looked at him disparagingly.  The others received the same jolt in order to break them from their slumber.  Raw slowly and reluctantly became conscious of his surroundings, wiped his big, tired eyes and stared at his captor blankly.  The Piscoran guard spoke firmly as it paced slowly with its lower appendages, “You must prepare yourselves for the coming of Lord Moden.  Kneel and bow your heads.  Don’t look at his face.”

“Gladly,” Raw muttered.  

The Piscoran glared at Raw, “It is an honor and privilege to speak with Lord Moden.  Why he is bothering to use his time to interact with an inferior species such as yourselves, I don’t know, but who am I to question Lord Moden?”

Tequi chuckled, “I don’t have respect for violent thugs, so I’ll have to pass. Not that I bow to anyone, anyway.”

The Piscoran hissed, rattled its claws wildly, and its stinger uncurled, ready to strike.  “Back away, soldier,” came a thunderous voice from the dripping entryway to the cavern.  The guard recognized the voice, and immediately turned and bowed.  

Moden took long, slow, calculated steps towards the cell cluster, while he kept one face focused on the prisoners and his other face watching his back, as always. “Leave us,” he ordered the guard, who scurried off instantly through a secondary exit.  

Moden stopped in front of the cell block and looked at his prisoners as if they were prey.  Tabe thrust himself with all his might at the force field, but was repelled easily.  Moden looked at the powerful, gunmetal-colored Tabe with keen interest.  “This is my first time meeting one of the mighty Talem species.  Such wonderful physical and mental traits, a shame they should go to such a waste.  In good time, though, your kind will serve a greater purpose.”

Moden turned abruptly, gazing at Raw with one face, and Tequi with the other.  “Which is more than I can say for your kind.  Humans, the most fragile of all.  I must say, though, Tequi, is it? Yes, Tequi, your family’s reputation is well known to me.  After sampling some of your family's product that you have aboard your ship, I now know why.  It’s an intriguing libation.”

Tequi and Raw both stood with their arms crossed, stiff, unflinching.

Moden continued, “I suppose you might have some questions for me, but first, I’ve got some for you.  Did you actually think that the ships you found in orbit would have such porous defenses? Are you that naive?”

“Well, we know that pirates aren’t too bright, so yeah, we figured it would be a cakewalk.”

“If we, pirates, as you say, aren’t so bright, then what does that say about yourselves?”

Tequi and Raw grimaced and held their tongues.  

“Secondly, I must thank you for bringing Meago and Evol back to me.  They did a fine con job, didn’t they?” Moden whipped his tongue at one of the flies revolving near his face and ingested it in one fell swoop.  This was common for him when he got excited, and talking about con jobs certainly did the trick.  

Tequi and Raw grabbed their stomachs and looked away.  Pleased with himself, Moden prompted his prisoners, “Please, I know you’re itching to ask questions, so by all means, proceed.”

Tequi began, “What are you doing with the humans you kidnapped from Earth?”

“You mean the ones that I liberated from that inferior hellhole they were stuck on?”

“From one hellhole to another.”

“Why didn’t they try to leave with you if they’re so trapped in this hellhole?”

“You’ve got them under mind control, it appears.  And I have to ask, if we’re such a ‘fragile’ species, as you put it, then why keep them around? Why go through the trouble of trapping us here, for that matter?”

“It’s very simple, actually.  Yes, humans are very fragile, like glass.  But also, like glass, they can be put to good use.”

“Taking people through violent means for any purpose that is against their will is wrong.”

“Oh, how preachy of you! Spare me your idyllic fantasies! They are lucky to have an opportunity to join the Piscorans at such an opportune time!”

“And what time would that be?”

“The birth of the first Universal Piscoran Empire! Of course, the species that join my empire will never be Piscoran, shamefully enough, but they can learn the Piscoran ways and contribute to the greatness of the empire!”

Moden’s stinger and claws rattled like a symphony of maracas from his intense hubris.

Tequi said, “So that explains at least one other reason why you’re here on Morquellia, of all places. You’re taking some Morquellians into the ranks of your foot soldiers.  I’m guessing you don’t plan on stopping at Morquellia.  You’re going to bring other immoral, low-tech species in to live and die for you as well.” He paused and shook his scruffy face emphatically, “And that’ll be your so-called empire.”

“You’re smarter than you look, I must say.  Bravo.  You know a bit about empire building! No doubt you know this due to the ancient history of your home planet, Earth.”

“What the hell do you want with us?”

“He’s hoping to lure Agora One and capture it,” Masher interjected.  

“Your artificial intellect serves you well,” Moden said as he gave a mock stab towards Masher with his stinger.  

“What are you talking about, Masher?”

“Agora One will likely come to our aid, and Moden thinks he can overtake them like he did us.”

“He’s not that insane, is he?”

“Dude, he’s standing right there.”

“Ya, I know.  Don’t care.”

Raw said confidently, “There’s no way they’d send Agora One.  On the contrary, Zay’s dad would be quite pleased to be rid of me, I’m sure.  Sorry about your luck, Tequi.”

“As amusing as all this is, I must be going.  Before I do, though, I have a most wonderful gift to bestow on you.  Especially you, Raw.”

“Real metallic shackles to go with the electronic barrier?”

“I’m going to give you the truth.”

“Now I know you’re lying.”

“Noc is one of us.”

“Insane, megalomaniac, compulsive liar.  You hit the trifecta!”

Their two-faced tormentor grasped a portable holo-emitter.  Schematics of Agora One’s environmental systems began showing in full detail.  Moden’s face lit up with dark pleasure.  

Raw looked at Tequi.  Tequi looked at Raw.  They both shrugged.  “I have no idea what that is.”

Masher said, “That’s the blueprint for the environmental system on Agora One.”

Moden bellowed, “I’ll leave it to you to ponder why and how I attained it, and more importantly, how I might use it.  And while you still can, I might add.” He strode away through the dark tunnel from which he came.

Raw had a befuddled look on his baby-face, “Well, that was cryptic enough.  What do you think he meant by that?”

Tabe was spinning excruciatingly fast.  “Calm down, Tabe.  Save your energy for when we have a chance to escape.”

Masher said, “Perhaps what he meant by his final statement was that you will soon lose your cognitive functions.”

“Thanks for that happy insight, Masher.”

Tabe said with a deep tone of disapproval, “Is everything a joke to you, Raw?”

“It’s just my way of fighting off fear.  It’s a defense mechanism.  Laugh or cry, right? I prefer to laugh.”

Tequi looked at Masher’s hovering particle cloud.  “Masher, how could that wicked maniac have gotten his claws on the environmental control information for Agora One? Isn’t that part of the core infrastructure that only a tiny minority of the core ownership group has access to?”

“And certain A.I., like myself,” Masher confirmed.  

“So how could Moden gain access?”

“The most logical explanation seems to be that someone with access granted it to Meago and Evol while they were on board.”

“You think that it was Noc, don’t you!”

“We cannot rule out that possibility.  He does have access to such information, and if what Moden says about him is true, then it becomes an even more likely prospect.”

“Why would he tell us, though?”

“Why do psychopaths do anything?”

“They do things to suit their desires.  How your knowledge of Noc’s supposed complicity with the Piscorans can serve Moden’s purposes remains to be seen.”

Zay paced back and forth impatiently, trying desperately to control her angst.  Rage at the Piscorans.  Angry at her father.  Angry that the Agora One core ownership board had rejected the idea of a rescue effort almost unanimously.  Resentment at Raw for going off on that ill-fated adventure in the first place.  And now, perturbed at herself for not being able to stop her friends from being captured.   

Fost floated near her, and Dans, joining via holo-call from her home world, was spinning her particles methodically in a figure-eight pattern, what she always did when involved in intense thought.  She was on her home world because the final transition into her sex change had begun, and it was necessary to be there.  

Fost calmly suggested, “Let’s review the options.”

“Please,” Zay said harshly. 

“Tequi’s family cannot go it alone.  They don’t have nearly enough ships to face an armada, even though they clearly have a technological edge.”

“So far as we know,” Dans interjected.  “We don’t know what else the Piscorans have managed to steal.”

“True,” Fost said tonelessly.  “Agora One will not go, and those who are living or staying on Agora One right now could band together in a rescue effort, but this would take time to organize.”

“And we don’t have much time, because we don’t know if they plan on keeping them on Morquellia.”

“We also don’t know what they will do to them.”

Zay sighed, “Thanks, that’s a comforting thought.”

Fost focused all six eyes on Zay.  “You can’t rule out the possibility that the Piscorans will do unpleasant things to our friends, especially when we already have some knowledge of what they’ve done to the Earth humans.”

What had they done to the Earth humans? They were clearly cooperating with the Piscorans, but why? They knew that some of them had implants.  This could account for mind control over some, but what about the others? No concrete reasons were known why a large segment of the captured humans were behaving the way the Piscorans wished.  And that was only on the one ship that Tequi had encountered.  What of the majority on the surface? Were the Earth survivors really that grateful to the Piscorans for eliminating their previous rulers, a crazed A.I. doped up on pseudo-emotional stimuli?  And what would happen with Meago and Evol? Meago, if she was genuine in her reasons for her confession to Zay and the others, could possibly be spreading word to her fellow prisoners about better possibilities.  Would she tell the tale of the better life presented by living under Natural Law in a greater Space Agora, where freedom and innovation flourished? Or was she acting the entire time as part of a complex ruse devised by the Piscorans? And what would the Piscorans do with their two spies? Would they keep them around, let them go, or murder them? 

And what did they know about the Piscorans? They had no home world.  It’s environment had become unlivable.  They had stolen nearly all of the advanced technology they had, which was considerable.  They lived by a certain code, a very dark code.  Their rampant egotism dictated that survival was the number one objective, at any and all costs.  A dogmatic belief that physical might made right.  The strongest and most ruthless had the right to rule.  This had always been a part of their culture.  But since the loss of their home world, it had morphed into something much more sinister.  Desperation to survive off planet had only increased their intense will to survive at all costs.  In their minds, if they could trick you, or overpower you, defraud you, or steal from you, then it was their right to do so.  This was, of course, in stark contrast to the true Natural Laws of the universe.  

Dans broke out of the figure-eight pattern and became a thin, humanoid figure.  Dans exclaimed, “I’ve got it! I have an idea! Why didn’t I think of this earlier? Well, I suppose it didn’t take me too long! This is so exciting!”

“You’re rambling! Out with the idea, already!” Zay yelled in Dans’s outline of a face.  

“No need to get huffy, my oh my!” Dans said with a hint of hurt in her voice.  “I suppose it’s excusable, considering the circumstances.  Anyway, here’s the idea.  Tequi is immensely popular, right? There are a great many individuals on board Agora One who will certainly sympathize with us in this situation.”

“Raw has a great number of allies as well.’

“I wouldn’t use the word ‘great’ in this case, Zay.  He has a small fan base, but….”

“Ok, ok, I get it.”

“But you’re right, Raw will have support from some of the current residents on Agora One.  We also know that there are a good number of Talems and Ducleds on board, and they will more than likely wish to make some effort to save Tabe.”

“We’ve also got the moral high ground, which is the number one thing we have going for us.  Tequi and his crew were in the right, trying to free kidnapping victims.  Thousands of kidnapping victims.”

“Ok, so we have quite a few sympathizers and allies on Agora One.  So what?”

Dans kept speed-talking.  “We give them all the details of what has transpired.  We suggest to each of them that they could leave Agora One out of disgust with the core ownership board, and in support of Tequi and co.  If enough of them leave Agora One at once, and the core board knows why, they might just change their outlook.”

Fost turned all six eyes to Dans, “Using market forces to our advantage.  Yes, that could work.  Why didn’t I think of that?”

3 days later…..

“Congratulations, Zay.  You get what you want,” Noc said to the hologram of his only daughter.  

“Just like my father.”

“Rather than lose nearly half of our customers overnight, not to mention the black mark on Agora One’s reputation, the ship will set a course for Morquellia.  Zay, what are you thinking about the human captives, from Earth?”

“That’s a complex question.  After what happened with Meago and Evol, I’m reluctant to attempt any rescue for them, especially after viewing what Tequi experienced while near Morquellia.  They don’t want to be free.  Perhaps their minds are under some type of coercive influence, perhaps via technological means, so it’s hard to say what they truly want and think.  If only we could have more information about them and what the Piscorans have done to them, then we might be able to know their true heart and mindsets.”

“But we know that they lived under tyrannical conditions on Earth.  They know nothing else.”

“Yes, but wouldn’t that make them nescient, rather than ignorant?”

“That could be argued, I suppose.”

Zay took a deep breath and started pacing.  “There’s another factor to consider as well.  Those who interact in the Space Agora all have knowledge of Natural Law and, for the most part, act accordingly.  Humans are a part of that.  The ones recently taken from Earth are also human.  So who’s to say they shouldn’t be given a second chance? Especially if they’ve spent their whole lives nescient of Natural Law and have never had an opportunity to know it and choose to live in accordance with it?”

“You make a strong case, my dear.  As you know, the core board and I don’t have a say in who or what our passengers bring into their own living spaces.  As long as they don’t interfere with core ship functionality, we must respect their privacy.  If a Ducled wants to have some Earth survivors as guests in their private dwelling, that is their choice.  My question is, what will you do personally to save them? Will you attempt to bring more than your friends? And what of the others who will join in the rescue effort?”

“The others will make their own individual choices, naturally.  Until we know more of the human captives current condition, it’s hard to say what to do.  I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

“But you must be leaning in one direction or another?”

“I want to give them a chance at freedom, a chance they’ve never had.”

“How many others have committed to the rescue effort?”

Zay's eyes beamed with hope.  “As it stands right now, almost 1,000 Agora One clients have committed to using their individual ships in the effort.”

“That’s a formidable number.”

“But I’ve already been collecting data from areas around Morquellia.”

“And?”

“Just based on what we know, and this is only a fraction of the surrounding sectors, they have over 5,000 ships spread across multiple star systems.”

“So they’ll have 10,000 ships.”

“Easy.”

“With those kind of numbers, there might not be time to get anyone other than Tequi, Raw, and Tabe.”

“Don’t forget Masher.”

“Yes, and Masher.”

“One thing that puzzles me is, why do they have such a massive buildup on and around Morquellia? Surely, it’s not just for my friends.  I have a hard time believing they’d go through so much trouble even for the thousands of Earth survivors they’re holding captive.  It would be like a thousand life forms guarding a single piece of gold.  It’s completely disproportionate.”

“Bear in mind, they have no home planet.  For whatever reason, they’ve chosen Morquellia as a base of operations.  Either they’re guarding something on that planet that we don’t know about, or…,” Noc's voice trailed off and he looked sorely at his only child.

“Or what?”

“Or they have their sights on a bigger prize, in which case, we’re taking the bait.  They know that Agora One is the best ship suited to lead against such a massive foe.”

“They couldn’t possibly capture Agora One.”

“It’s unlikely, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not bold enough to make an attempt.”

Tequi and Raw both lay face up, staring into an obnoxiously bright light.  They were in a sterile-looking room, with a very minimal number of medical tools lying on a metallic table between them.  They were laying on cold, metallic beds, and couldn’t move, thanks to the force fields holding them in place.  “Why do medical rooms always have such appalling lighting?” Tequi asked grumpily.  

“What makes you think we’re in a medical room?”

“You didn’t notice the flex injector on the table?”

“I don’t even know what that is.”

Tequi nearly strained his neck trying to shake his head at Raw’s lack of knowledge in basic medical supplies.  “Or the sterilizing beam emitter?”

“Can you look at me when you talk to me?”

“Real funny, Raw.”

“What do you think those devils have planned for us?”

“Why wait to find out?” a voice boomed from behind them.  A couple of clicking noises alerted them that the voice was drawing nearer.  More clicks told them that there were more Piscorans coming into the room.  

“This is such an exciting day for you! We come bearing gifts.”

“I’m sure we’ve already got one, whatever it is, so no thanks,” Raw quipped.

One of Moden’s faces appeared upside down over Raw.  He looked down on him as an owner would a pet, with subtle amusement.  “Such an interesting specimen you are.  Perhaps, after you serve your purpose, you can continue being a well-rewarded fool who doesn’t know when to keep his mouth shut.”

“What purpose would that be, psychopath numero uno?” Tequi asked spitefully.  

Moden looked at Tequi grudgingly.  “To serve the Piscoran Empire, of course.”

“Delusions of grandeur are a characteristic of psychopathy, you know,” Tequi said mockingly. He continued, “Where are Meago and Evol? Are they being ‘well-rewarded’ right now?”

“They have served their purpose,” Moden said coldly.

“You killed them?”

Raw didn't let Moden answer.  “No, no, Tequi.  That’s not how authoritarian hierarchies work.  He told someone to kill them, and whatever idiot that was, actually took the evil action of murder..”

“Right.  But why would they get killed after doing such masterful jobs as spies and stealing all that valuable information?”

“Because they knew too much.  Someone that has a great deal of knowledge is usually regarded as a threat to tyrants.  I’m guessing that’s the same reason the A.I. were wiped out from Earth.  This hard-shelled head-case doesn’t like what he can’t control.  Anyone or anything he perceives as a threat to his power, in his mind, must be eliminated.”

One of Moden’s faces held a cold, stern look at Raw.  He, like all tyrants, hated to hear any truth that was a threat to their illusory power.  Moden’s other face was towards the two other Piscorans.  He nodded to them and they stepped forward into the line of sight of their captives.  One held a clear, thumb-sized vial.  In it was a liquid with two layers, a black one that sat on top, and a milk-white one that sat below.  

“How familiar with Morquellian botany are you two?”

“Not as much as I should be.  How about you let me go and I’ll hit the books right away,  Better yet, I’ll go study their lovely swamps myself.” Raw pleaded eagerly, tongue-in-cheek. 

“You’re impossible,” Tequi said disparagingly.  

Moden explained with a casual tone as his steps clicked slowly around the room at a steady pace, “That liquid is made here on Morquellia.  It is made of an indigenous plant and has played an amazing role in the social development of the Morquellians.  Are you aware of the social structure of the natives here?”

“From what I know of them, they have an extremely stratified, immoral, and violent culture.  There is a tiny ruling class that enslaves the rest.”

“Yes, it’s quite remarkable.  Just five percent of the population lives in a very high standard, while the rest barely subsist and frequently succumb to the effects of social evolution.”

“Now I know you’re mad.”

“Explain.”

“You think that the psychos that rule this planet are more evolved?”

“And Piscorans more than they, yes, because they are in the process of becoming dependent on us.”

“Based on your flawed logic, then, every species in the Space Agora is superior to Piscorans, because all of the technology you have has been stolen.  You’re dependent, to a certain extent, on species from the Space Agora.”

Moden ignored him and his claws clattered like a rattle.  “That liquid is used by the natives here to maintain their control.  Within seconds of entering the bloodstream, the one who ingests it will follow the orders of whoever speaks to them first.”

“How do they pull that off?”

“Religious ceremony.  It’s quite ingenious, actually.”

“Yeah, if you want to completely wreck a species, then having a rigid hierarchy based on ignorance and authoritarianism is the way to go, and a psycho like you might consider it ingenious!”

“They have simply filtered out the weak and allowed the stronger to join with us, the Piscorans.”

“And you’re sharing technology with them.”

“We are lifting them up to be part of the empire.”

“And what happened on your planet when your species received technology it was not ready for, morally and spiritually?”

  Both of Moden’s faces shared the same dark expression.  Tequi and Raw could see that this was clearly a sore spot deep in this monster’s core.  

Tequi didn’t care.  It was the truth, so he continued defiantly, “After your ancestors stole powerful technology from peaceful traders who came to your planet, it didn’t take long for your skewed morals and social structure to have a catastrophic effect.  Your planet was destroyed within a couple of centuries.”

“I can assure you, no matter how bitter and unfortunate an event that was, I have come to know that it was part of the long march of evolution.  It was necessary, so that the Piscoran way could spread throughout the universe.  And I can also assure you, Piscora will rise again.”

Tequi and Raw digested this for a moment.  The thought came flooding back to them of the environmental control system on Agora One.  It wasn’t just for control, actually.  It was for environment creation.  Was Moden planning to use it in an attempt to resurrect his home world? Also, based on what they knew about “the Piscoran way”, it occurred to both of them that it was much more likely for Moden to want Agora One’s system for himself, rather than just the schematics.  Why build one yourself, if you could just steal the original article? That’s how Piscorans viewed things, anyway.  

“So which of you two would like to receive this wonderful gift of Morquelliian civilization?”

“You’re not giving it to both of us?”

“Shutup, Raw!”

“Actually, no, I’m not.  However, the other one will get a different treatment, which will have the same effect.”

“I’ll take the liquid,” Raw said.

Moden’s faces laughed uncontrollably until he wheezed and coughed so hard he about fell over himself.  “You’re such a coward! You only volunteered for the liquid because you don’t want the chip in your brain! You think it’ll be less painful!”

“Am I wrong?”

Moden smirked at them both and spoke to Raw, “You’ll find out soon enough, don’t worry.” His other face spoke to the two Piscoran scientists, “Inject him now so we may begin the process.”

One scientist shot a beam into Tequi to temporarily disable his vocal chords, then did the same to Raw.  The scientist holding the vial grabbed the injector from the table behind.  He mechanically drew a full dose from the vial and stepped in front of Raw.  A tiny beam shot out from the injector and created a precise puncture for the liquid to follow.  The beam stopped, and a needle so thin it was almost impossible to see, plunged down lightning-quick and filled Raw with the black and white fluid.  

It took a few seconds for the fluid to make a full circulation through the body and bond with the proper micro-structures in the brain.  The scientist signaled Moden, who spoke, “Quick and painless, now wasn’t it?”

Raw’s eyes popped wide open.  They allowed his vocal chords to function and he spoke mechanically, “Yes, Moden.”

Moden told the scientists to finish the job and let him know immediately when they did so.  He scampered out.  Raw immediately started having raging fits of nausea and convulsing wildly.  

“Don’t worry.  The physical discomforts that are beginning for you will cease in about 24 hours.”

“The chip is much easier to tolerate, by the way.”

Stay tuned for slice 13!

Thanks for your time and attention!

Just say "NO" to slavery!

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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.