“Why?” Davix asks once more. He has asked this so many times it is like a kit first learning to talk.
“Davix,” Zann says exasperatedly. “I do not want to spend the rest of our days here, in this Lianov ship. Corrina says that the station is a much bigger place, with food and medicine. And plants and open space.” That fact captures our attention. “I do not know what will come next, but we must do something. I will not order you, but I am asking you. Please. As your brood brother and as your leader. Let us go to the station.” At that, some of the fight seems to go out of Davix. He nods slowly, and then we both follow Zann back to the cylindrical chamber.
“We are ready,” Zann tells Corrina, and then we are making our way through its ship.
I had thought that the Lianov ship was large, but the Corrina ship is at least twice as large. There are large numbers of creatures – they are humans like Alek, I remind myself –hurrying in all directions. Many of them stop and stare as we pass by, but none try to interact with us in any way. Whether that is because Corrina marches quickly in front of us or for some other reason, I cannot say. At last, we come to a large open chamber. I see cages and glass containers containing many of the creatures and things that I recognize from Lianov’s ship. Perhaps this is where they store the treasure of their conquered enemies.
Corrina says something to Zann, and Davix and I wait for his translation. “Corrina wants us to know that the station is very, very large.” I think that it seems like a strange thing to tell us until massive doors open at the far end of the chamber and I stare in awe. Buildings of all sizes and shapes stretch as far into the distance as I can see. Some ascend towards the stars at impossible heights while others are low to the ground. Many of them are covered or surrounded by greenery, and others still seem to have ponds or other bodies of water on or around them. All together, this station is bigger than anything I have ever seen.
I hurry forward, stopping only when Zann calls out to me. I wait for my brood brothers impatiently and then the three of us step onto a large platform that towers above countless buildings and structures. In addition to the plants and trees that seem to grow right out of some of the buildings, I see large, open green areas in the distance. Above and all around us is a dark sky filled with stars. And there are more human-like creatures everywhere I look. They move around, shifting cages and animals and crates and piloting small ships with wheels. I stand and stare, transfixed, until Davix grabs my arm and drags me along. We aremoving again, following Corrina down a sloping hallway. It nods to various creatures along the way, and some of them exchange hand motions.
We pass by many rooms, and I long to stop and stare into them but Corrina does not stop. It moves surprisingly quickly for such a small creature. We finally arrive in a room filled with bright lights and many machines and long, narrow, metal tables. Corrina speaks to Zann and waits for him to translate. “This is a place of medicine,” Zann tells us. “Corrina wishes for us all to receive medicine here. It says we can all receive a new talking chip – it will replace mine with a better one if I want.”
Davix looks doubtful. “I do not require medicine.”
Corrina speaks again, and Zann looks surprised. “It also says they can remove your pain chips.”
“Yes,” I say immediately and step forward. “What do I do to get a talking chip and take out the pain chip?”
“Lianov is dead,” Davix signs. “What does it matter that the pain device is removed?”
Zann asks Corrina our questions and provides its answers. To me, he says, “They will give you instructions. It should not take long.
To Davix, he says, “Corrina says the chip can be triggered by other controllers.”
Davix opens his mouth in a silent snarl, but Corrina does not flinch. It says something quietly and calmly, and Zann nods. “Itsays it is our choice. It says no one will try to force us to do anything.”
Davix scoffs as if daring someone to try. But I am tired of waiting for Zann to translate every word, and I am more than ready to have the pain chip removed. “I am ready,” I announce. Corrina gives me a look that just barely exposes its blunt teeth and pats one of the metal tables.
“Lie on that,” Zann says. He leans close to me. “I will warn you – the talking – translator chip burns like ikis venom. I do not know what will happen to remove the other.” I nod. After days of rest and a full belly, I am prepared for the pain. I lie still on the metal table as one of the creatures approaches carefully. I recognize its brightly colored hair from when it interacted with us on the first day we were released from captivity. It presses a thin rod to the skin behind my right ear and I feel a slight pinch. I brace for the pain, but it never comes. What does come, however, is a flood of words.
“…should do it. Since it’s already programmed with all local languages, it should start working right away,” the creature with the rod says. “Removing the motivator is going to be a little more challenging. I don’t know if I should give it something for the pain or not.”
“I can handle a great deal of pain,” I reply. I laugh when the creature with the rod jumps back in surprise.
“I guess it’s working,” Corrina says. “Krish,” it says to me. “Do you want something to prevent the pain when they take out the motivator?”
I shake my head. It cannot be worse than the pain that the chip caused, and I bore that many times over.
“It did not hurt to get the talking chip?” Zann asks curiously. I think there is a little disappointment in his voice.
“Like the sting of a tsege fly. No more.” Zann looks surprised and eager.
“Do it. Take out the motivator,” I demand, glancing back at the creature who implanted the talking chip.
The creature with the rod nods. “You’ll need to turn over and lie very still,” it says, setting down the rod and picking up a very tiny knife. I flip over on the metal table easily and curl my hands around the edges. I feel something cold and wet on my skin, then the knife penetrates and I feel something press into my flesh. A moment later, the brief pain is gone and a small metal object drops onto the table next to me. “That is the thing?” I ask, as I feel something pressed to my skin.
“That’s the chip,” the medical creature says. I snatch it up between my fingers and stare at it for a moment before closing my fist around it and crushing it. It is less satisfying than killing Lianov, but it is still satisfying.
“I will have a new chip,” Zann announces. He goes to lie on one of the metal tables, but he is far too large to fit. Instead, he ends up crouching in place. His face erupts in a grin when the new chip is placed. “Much better than the last one,” he announces. “Better understanding too.”
We both turn to look at Davix. “It will allow you to understand them,” Zann says gently. “But no one will touch you without permission.”
Davix glares at me and Zann and every other creature in the room, but eventually he lies on a metal table and allows the same procedures. He cannot help his expression of surprise when the translator chip is placed. As for the pain chip, he crushes it under his thumb like an insect.
“I will show you to your quarters,” Corrina says finally. “You are not prisoners, but for your safety and the safety of this station, I ask that you not leave your quarters without a guard,” it says as it leads us down another hallway. Zann reaches out a hand to stop Davix’s protest before he can express it. “We can do this.”
“I am also arranging for educational videos to be accessible on ports in your quarters. Now that you can understand the language, you’ll be able to gain a lot of information that way.” Corrina opens the door to a large room and gestures inside. “Your quarters,” it announces.
