Stephen had boarded the passenger ship to Exilon 5 the next day without setting off any alarms, thanks to Bill’s contact. The authorities weren’t looking for another stowaway. Three days on board and his stolen identity chip hadn’t alerted anyone to his presence on the ship.
Sat in the ship’s recreation room and dressed in his blue suit, his skin tightened at his proximity to a group of humans. Chatter echoed around the space. Curious eyes sought him out.
Without Anton, Stephen second guessed every decision he made. Should he stay out of sight? Should he sit on display? He realised his best defence was company not isolation.
The rim of the black Stetson he wore irritated his skin. He sat on his hands to stop himself from adjusting it. Fiddling with his hat would only draw attention to the parts of his arms where the silicone skin had fallen off. The brown contact lenses irritated his dried-out eyes. His filtration device struggled to remove the extra oxygen from the ship’s purified air. Ironically, the Earth he’d left behind—the oxygen-starved air and the grey skies—felt more like his old planet had before the changes.
Two men three tables over began a fight with each other over something. Stephen shifted to a table farther away from the roughhousing. Others followed suit. Two officers carrying Buzz Guns entered the room. The air danced with electricity, making Stephen’s static eliminator run hot as it drew the static from the air.
The officers got rough with the pair before handcuffing them. Was that how the military had dealt with Anton? His gut twisted thinking about his friend. But his priority was to get home. Despite his logic, the guilt of leaving him there tightened its grip on him. Stephen tugged his jacket around him as a new chill blasted his hot and clammy body.
The officers left the room with the pair, taking the static energy with them. Stephen retreated to his sleeping quarters—the only place left where he felt safe. Inside the dark coffin-like sleeping pod, sleep continued to elude him
☼
Two weeks later
Exilon 5 drifted into view outside the windows of the passenger ship. Stephen joined others at the viewing window to look out at his home that he hadn’t seen for four weeks.
Knowing the truth about humans, he now viewed the planet with new eyes. Six minuscule blots on the landscape represented each of the human cities. Roads connecting the cities left tracks in the earth like blood-filled veins. Areas of recently disturbed land meant only one thing: they were preparing to transport more humans to Exilon 5.
The ship slipped into Exilon 5 space in the dead of night. At least he’d have cover and cool temperatures for the final leg of the journey to District Three. The cooling packs inside his jacket helping to regulate his body temperature had stopped working a week ago. The tight and restrictive human clothes he wore irritated his clammy skin.
Alongside the other passengers, he waited in the ship’s hold to board a spacecraft destined for New London. As the craft descended to the planet, he planned his escape. Minutes later, it hovered above the magnetised landing plates at the docking station where he and Anton had begun their journey.
The passengers filed off the craft too slowly, which only made Stephen anxious. How he wanted to break out of his human pretence. Ahead of him, an officer was scanning the passengers’ identity chips.
His heart slammed against his ribs. Had Bill Taggart’s contact made sure his name would not trigger alarms on Exilon 5 too? Putting his safety in the hands of strangers chilled him, but he’d seen no other way.
Stephen scanned the station for the fastest way out. He could make a run for it, but that would draw attention to him.
The line inched forward and brought him one step closer to escape.
Keep it together, Stephen.
The device in his throat struggled to reduce the oxygen levels in the docking station. The humans’ heartbeats sounded like a runaway train. Their thoughts were like muffled sounds.
Stay calm, you’re almost there.
Keeping to the plan would help Anton too—if he was still alive.
He shivered as he passed through the identity verification area. The alarm stayed silent.
He released a breath.
‘Did you enjoy your visit to Earth, sir?’
Stephen stopped and turned around. The attending officer was speaking to him. ‘Is something the matter?’
The officer smiled. ‘I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to alarm you. Are you returning from a break? Although I wouldn’t call Earth a holiday destination. You’re better off here, if you ask me.’
Stephen returned the smile, although the attempt felt awkward.
The officer frowned. ‘Are you all right, sir?’
‘Apologies. I am just tired. I am rested from my break, and happy to be home.’
The officer’s frown deepened. Stephen’s stomach knotted up—his language was too stiff; humans talked in a more casual way.
‘Okay, well, have a good journey.’
He walked on relieved to be home. Something fell out of his coat pocket and he froze.
‘Mr Stipple?’
Stephen turned to see the officer holding one of the cooling packs in his hand. ‘Mr Stipple, I think this belongs to you.’
He grabbed it from the officer’s hand. ‘Oh, thank you.’
‘What is it? Looks like a cooling pack.’
‘It’s nothing. It’s not important.’ He shoved the pack into his pocket and caught up to a group heading for transport that would take them to New London. To his relief, the officer didn’t follow.
With the vehicle in sight, Stephen peeled away from the back of the group and strode towards the flatlands. At a safe distance, he ditched his shoes and pumped his powerful legs. His bare feet glided across the surface and left shallow imprints in the soil. As soon as he’d cleared the immediate area, he dug the chip out of his thumb and crushed it between his fingers. By the time he’d reached his top running speed the gash had healed over.
The communication stone he carried with him should have alerted Pierre and Elise to his arrival back on Exilon 5. He had to reach District Three and warn the elders of the new threats to their society.
The New London streets were eerily quiet, except for a few people out late that night. A wolf howled in the distance. Stephen ran past large parks and grey brick buildings, built by human engineers. The Indigene environs were more accommodating and dynamic, designed to enhance their emotions, and to amplify and control the raw energy from the planet’s various rock types. He couldn’t imagine his elders once living in a city as basic as New London.
A digital library loomed up ahead, its bright pink neon sign testing the strength of his eye lenses. An advertisement blinked overhead:
GET YOUR DPAD DOWNLOAD OF
IN EXILON 5’S HISTORY
How much did humans know about the secret project their government had created? And that the result lived beneath their feet? The level of building work he’d seen from space hinted that things were set to improve for one race on Exilon 5, and it wasn’t the Indigenes.
He reached the New Victoria Maglev station tracks and followed the well-worn path back to the door of District Three. The decontamination procedures began. He clawed at the skin on his neck, sick of the filtration device controlling his breathing. Tired of the artificial skin changing him into something he was not.
The door took too long to open. Stephen jammed his fingers into the door’s crevice and winched it open. Safely inside, he dropped to his knees and yanked the filtration device out. His Stetson fell to the ground and he pushed it away. Next, he tore the jacket and shirt from his body and clawed the rest of the silicone skin off his face. Clumps of the pigmented membrane fell to the floor; the remainder clung to his clammy skin in ugly patches.
He was home. Standing over him were Pierre, Leon and Elise.
Where’s Anton? Leon frowned at the open door. Is he following?
Stephen shook his head as Elise helped him up off the floor. The air grew uncomfortably warm. For once he was grateful for her calming power.
‘Don’t worry,’ she said. ‘We’ll figure something out. At least you’re home and safe.’
Stephen looked each of them in the eye. ‘I wish it were that simple. We’ve got bigger problems.’
☼
Continue the story with GENESIS LIE, Book 2: With the government’s lie partly exposed, Bill Taggart and Stephen return to face new challenges in their search for a missing Anton. GET GENESIS LIE
***
DUALITY: Jonathan Farrell is stuck between two realities. Who put him there, and can he escape before he loses his grip on the real world? Read this story with flavours of The Matrix and Inception. GET DUALITY
Turn the page to read an excerpt from GENESIS LIE now.