Supernal

Chapter 27

3:00 am Sunday, 8th July 2029

Secure Briefing Room on the OCF

"So, we all agree that we have to kill Mutu?" Summers asked bluntly.

No one answered.

"Okay, does anyone have an alternative suggestion?"

"Velan and Nimir are ruthless," Jayal said. "But I think Mutu is genuinely fond of the children. He is not a cruel person. He's in fear of Velan and the Atikas ... and what they could do to his family if he doesn't cooperate."

"I don't much care for the idea of murdering Mutu in cold blood while he's helpless," Toby added.

Charlie slapped the table angrily. "If he's willing to take any part in murdering those children then he doesn't deserve to live. I'll do it."

"Are you sure he knows about the plan to kill the children?" Summers asked Jayal.

"I suspect he does, but I can't be certain."

"In that case, he's innocent until proven guilty," Toby pointed out. "I say we give him another shot of Midazolam, tie him up, and stash him somewhere secure until we know more."

"There's an empty tool locker in the electronics workshop that has a lock on it. We could put him in there," Rob suggested. "And I'll get some cable ties to hogtie him."

They all agreed that Toby's suggestion was a good solution and Jayal added that they must cut Mutu's collar off so he wouldn't be able to alert Velan. She would put it in Sasha's room where it would pick up the sound of the boy's breathing.

#

The plan worked like clockwork. Mutu was on the floor in Jayal's cabin, lying on the thin mattress he had brought from the bunk in his own cabin. He was still deeply unconscious as Toby injected an extra dose of the sedative into a vein in his arm. Rob was able to cut his collar off soundlessly and Jayal quickly went and placed it next to the sleeping Sasha.

The three men carried Mutu and his mattress to the workshop, secured his wrists and ankles with strong cable ties, and made him as comfortable as possible in the locker.

Before leaving, Summers decided to gag him, just in case he woke up and started shouting at the wrong moment.

#

Back in the SBR, Jayal began her explanation of the supernal gene.

"What I know is only from rumour and speculation amongst the Manitan. The Atikas have never been open about the gene.

The Atikas are an ancient race and their life cycle is nearing its end. They never fully recovered from the great pandemic that Mutu told you about. They are what you would call an endangered species, and inbreeding has weakened them further. There are now only a few hundred sealed inside Caranal. Those few hundred are known as the presidium and they control everything on Vitu.

The Atikas know they will soon die out and we Manitan believe they are working towards becoming purely cybernetic beings so they can abandon their physical bodies. They would be immortal. The development of intelligence units has shown this is quite possible."

"You told me that the intelligence units only last a few years and that the Atikas constantly needed new brain cells to replace them," Toby reminded her.

"Yes, but they are the independent units in machines and vehicles, such as our vessel. If the units are preserved in a fixed location, with a constant fresh supply of nutrients, they can last indefinitely.

The supernal is the key element the Atikas need to raise their mental capabilities to the next level. The Atikas believe that if they can identify and modify the gene to suit their own genomes they can transcend into hyper-intelligent entities capable of thought communication."

"I don't understand why they used humans for their experiments," Rob said. "Their brains must be a lot different from human brains."

"The Atikas population wasn't big enough for the experiments to be effective," Jayal responded. "They needed thousands of subjects to see which genetic line would evolve the mutated gene."

"And humans and rodents are ninety per cent identical genetically," Toby added. "That's why we use rats and mice for laboratory experiments."

"If I understand this correctly," Charlie said slowly. "It was the genetic engineering to create this supernal gene that caused all the other mental abnormalities on Earth to develop. So all the madmen and tyrants who have started endless wars throughout history were direct results of meddling by the Atikas."

"I suspected it all along," Rob insisted. "The Atikas have been playing god for millennia, and they've used our planet as a bio-lab for their own benefit."

#

Jayal went on to reveal the truth about Vitu. How the Manitan had originally been taken against their will from Earth to be slaves for the Atikas. They had furnished the large, docile workforce the Atikas required, and they were skilled farmers.  They knew how to make the most of the fertile land on Vitu.

The Atikas weren't purely evil, she stressed, but they had no human emotions or empathy. All their actions were based on pure logic and the Manitan were simply a resource to be exploited.

Although the first organic intelligence units did use the brain cells of dead Manitan, the Atikas soon discovered that the brain cells of children were far more efficient and lasted longer. Manitan children had been 'harvested' regularly for many generations.

It was true that the temperate zones of Vitu were a paradise of rich farmland and unspoilt woodlands and that the Manitan could farm and trap game freely. But most of the produce went to Caranal or to the higher caste Manitan families. The Atikas needed vast amounts of food to keep their metabolisms functioning and many of the higher castes led extravagant lifestyles.

All power, water and essential supplies were controlled from inside Caranal and if any farming communities objected, their supplies would be reduced as a punishment ... or even cut off completely.

The higher castes were Manitan families who had historically capitulated completely with the Atikas to gain extra privileges. Velan, Nimir and Mutu were all members of such families.

The vast majority of Manitan were members of the worker caste who were downtrodden and subjugated into obedience.

#

The more Jayal revealed about Vitu, the more Toby felt his hatred for the Atikas grow and he could see from their horrified expressions that the others felt the same.

Eventually, Summers glanced at the clock on the wall. It showed 05.00. He sighed and suggested that they all go and get a couple of hours rest and then meet in the crew room at eight-thirty. After breakfast, Charlie and Jayal would need to attend to the children. He, Rob and Toby would have to come up with a plan to deal with Nimir when he arrived.