Things Unseen

[Chirakis 1]

Things Unseen

 

“Hello?”

 

A faint echo came in answer, but it faded quickly in the darkness. She wasn’t alone.

 

“I am unarmed. Show yourself.”

 

No response. Kirel waited several minutes, one hand braced against the wall and the last rune she’d read before the artificial light faded, leaving her in absolute darkness. She craved peace, but this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind.

 

Captain Chirakis was on TKR-117 for, of all things, the First Joint Allied Archaeological Conference. She wasn’t an archaeologist, but she was the ranking officer in this sector, which made her a prime target for formal affairs. So far, she had endured too many speeches and social events, the latter stretching her patience in its demand for formal attire, a constant pleasant expression, and the inevitable social babble that required polite listening and nodding while saying nothing of consequence. But there had been a few interesting reports on the excavation, so the conference wasn’t a total loss. And on the last day Dr. Nagi, Chief Archaeologist and current Director, had taken a select few to their most recent discovery: an unexplored stairway that led deep into the ancient buried city.

 

Dr. Nagi spoke with great enthusiasm.

Kirel listened.

The group moved on.

Kirel remained behind, her eyes fixed on an artifact.

 

A heavy granite pillar stood beside the entrance to the underground city. Etched into its polished gray surface was a series of runes that seemed familiar. The doorway hadn’t been opened long; the ground around the open doorway was still moist where the dirt had been scraped away. As Dr. Nagi’s group disappeared in the distance, Kirel lingered to study the stone, then entered the stairwell and began a slow, methodical descent. Heavy pillars similar to the doorway served as weight-bearing supports. Each pillar bore a rune, none of which she recognized. She traced each rune with a finger, marked it, then moved on, counting levels and noting landmarks to track her position.

 

After several levels she realized that the light had not faded nor had the air become dank and heavy as it should have in any buried building. In fact, the light seemed to be following her. Then, as she stepped onto the main landing on level 12, she entered a large room and the entire atmosphere changed.

 

The light faded to absolute darkness, the air stilled, and she was not alone.

 

“Hello,” she repeated. “Who are you? What do you want?”

 

“What do you seek?”

 

Well, now… that was interesting.

 

“Knowledge,” she replied after some thought.

 

“What knowledge? Your species stores a vast amount of knowledge within your biological structure and within artificial storage units. Why do you come to us for knowledge?”

 

“Curiosity. We are eager to learn, eager to explore. So I ask again, who are you?”

 

No response.

 

Kirel waited several minutes. Still nothing. After a small sigh she turned to begin her ascent. Ten minutes later she emerged. She’d been gone less than an hour. It was noon when she descended but now it was night. Evidence of an archaeological site was nonexistent and the door to the buried city had become the entrance to a cave. Faint light on the horizon looked like some kind of settlement, but otherwise there was no evidence of life: no tracks, no nocturnal animal sounds. The air had a crisp freshness, and the stars… were in an impossible configuration.

 

Either she was dreaming or she was on a totally alien planet far from Aegis space, perhaps even outside their galaxy.

 

“You seek knowledge?”

 

Kirel jerked around. No one was there. “Yes.”

 

“Learn.”