“Let’s say I was concerned … but not anymore,” Athguer reveals as Shaillah inquisitively stares at him. “As it turned out, it’s been fascinating to see how you’ve flowered into this amazingly fierce but sensitive creature, able to conquer even the coldest, bleakest of hearts. I’d hate changing you any further.”
Shaillah’s face beams up with a widening grateful smile, but it soon turns sombre. “I haven’t conquered anything,” she glumly replies.
“You don’t know it yet, but you have. Remember my words, Shaillah. I’m seldom wrong. No. Correction. I’m never wrong,” Athguer asserts.
“It’s hard to be a Rom-Ghenshar with human feelings. You have to fix it, Athguer,” she pleads.
“You’ll find it will get easier. Accept your past and then embrace the future. But remembering where you come from will make you even stronger.” Athguer stresses his words while briefly patting her shoulder.
As they reach the very top of the tower, the spiky cap opens up like a thorny flower, swallowing the hovering craft into its haul. They descend slowly, swerving around a thick luminous central column, its shiny edges flickering like a candle’s flame.
“It’s a photonic mast,” Athguer explains. “There’s one in every tower powering the labs. It comes from our central processor’s antimatter core.”
Spellbound, Shaillah looks down, following the swirling edge of the light-producing column. As she looks back up, she inspects the transparentoverhanging decks, lining up the inner walls and forming an infinite winding helix. Inside the spiralling wide aisles, the busy android robots and automated machinery bristle with activity. She tries to focus on a single action, but her eyes cannot adapt soon enough to the fast-changing goings-on flashing through her startled pupils.
“Machines making robots, which make machines, which make robots, which make machines.” Athguer gloats while Shaillah keeps utterly engrossed in the never-ending movements.
“Ad infinitum.” She marvels.
The transport-craft keeps descending, swerving around the dense photonic mast. As it approaches the lowest level, it smoothly comes to a halt while the side doors slide open.
Shaillah follows Athguer into a vast chamber awash with white light from every angle. In the distance, she can see rapid flashes of lightning crashing against each other and bursting into multiple afterglows. Soon she finds herself standing under a mesh of interconnected fibres, tendrils, and globules, all brightening and bursting randomly around her with a subtle all-pervading crackling sound.
“Welcome to one of our brain network hubs!” Athguer announces.
“Fascinating!” Shaillah exclaims. “It looks like an everlasting lightning storm.”
“Ah, it is the brain energy field, communicating, relaying information.”
Shaillah opens her arms and starts spinning around, tipping her head back while taking in the mesmerising spectacle all to herself.
“Here, I can load any particular brain field and closely inspect it, even edit it in detail. Do you want to see yours?” Athguer prompts her.
She suddenly stops her whirling dance, staring at Athguer with a mixture of doubt and suspicion.
“It will last as long as you want. Relax, think of nothing, and I will load it here. As soon as you start thinking about stopping the transfer, it will unload automatically,” Athguer reassures her.
“Okay.” Shaillah nods as she stays perfectly still and folds her arms tightly around her body.
Suddenly, myriads of fluorescent light streaks brighten the whole place up, frantically bursting and merging into each other while noisily crackling all across the rapidly warming air.
“Oh, who are you thinking of, Shaillah?” Athguer chuckles.
She immediately stops the transfer while sheepishly looking at Athguer. She knows he knows who she’s thinking of.
“Let’s go back now.” Athguer starts walking away while beckoning her to follow him. “You need to rest. And after that, you have so many things to occupy your mind. I can show you more of my labs. You can visit Zula-Or and the beautiful Rom-Enjie cities, swim in our beautiful ocean, play with the tame marine lyshars. There’s so much to do.”
As they reach the transport capsule, Shaillah never says a word, deeply absorbed in her lovelorn thoughts.
Athguer puts his hand over her shoulder, stopping her before she boards. “And another thing, Shaillah. Do not feel guilty, my dear. You’ve achieved something amazing already,” he proudly tells her.
“What’s that?”
“You have changed Rothwen. He’s never been the same since he set his eyes on you. He’s changed all our plans, been very lenient—and I mean very lenient with the humans—because of you.”
“Oh!” she exclaims while staring dumbfoundedly at Athguer.
“He could have finished here long ago. He could have sent the destroyer-crafts in advance, eliminating every single living thing, making our takeover far easier. But instead, he chooses to keep this planet alive, builds one of our command bases here so he can be close to you; waits until you’re ready to fly with the Grand Fleet, and, in the meantime, reconstructs the whole planet while trying not to harm the humans. He even sends the guardian robots before the soldier robots to protect everyone—all because of you!”