Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

Ascendant

- HGA ttg The Nazgûl

Book 1: Convergence

Chapter 7

Ryan and Brenna Stone both sat by the fire. Alex and Jennifer had gone to bed nearly an hour ago. Ryan had just returned a few days ago from a trip to Solace. Normally, he shared about his time in the village the night of his return, but he hadn’t spoken a word about it since. Brenna looked over at Ryan. He was staring into the fire. She didn’t want to interrupt his thoughts, but she knew she had to figure out what was going on.

“Ryan?” She started. Ryan’s gaze never moved. He remained motionless in his chair. He let out a small grunt, acknowledging the fact that his wife had just spoken to him. “Ryan, you haven’t been yourself lately. You’ve barely spoken a word since you got back. What’s up? Is something wrong?” A billion other questions filled Brenna’s head, but she held them back. She had always been a little worrisome. She didn’t want to overwhelm Ryan. Ryan took a deep breath, paused for a moment, and let out a long sigh.

“Do you remember the story I told the girls a couple years back?” He asked.

“The one about Helena and Mei-Yin?”

“Yeah. That one.” Ryan spoke slowly, thoughts swirling inside his head.

“I remember it. What has you thinking about it? You usually don’t remember most of the stories you tell. Even some of the ones you make up on your own.” Brenna smiled a little. Ryan, usually fond of Brenna’s light teasing, showed no reaction.

“That’s because it was real.” He slowly looked over at Brenna. “And I didn’t tell you all of it.” Although more questions began to flood into Brenna’s head, she waited for Ryan to continue. Ryan, still speaking slow as he sunk into his thoughts, continued. “Although Helena and Mei-Yin made it to Earth, they did not defeat all the titans that roamed the surface. In fact it is likely that they both died trying to fend them off. And they also were not originally intending to go to Earth. They had help from someone on the Aberrant Ark. It was Diana. Diana Altaras.”

“The same Diana Altaras from before we launched the Arks?”

“Yes. The same one.”

“What was she doing trying to return to Earth so soon?”

“When the whole thing with the Arks started, and even through the entire process, we were told to keep everything top secret. Only certain information was allowed to be shared, and only with those closest to us. I shared some of it with you, as well as Diana. She would not have initially known, except when I needed a technician, she volunteered her sister Julia. Due to this, I had to share info with Diana so that she could get what was needed from Julia without her finding out about the Arks. Because of this, Diana became more involved in the production and planning for the Arks. She decided to go to Earth because that is what we planned.”

“I thought the plan was to stay on the Arks until the Earth was clear of corruption.”

“That’s what we were told to communicate to you. Information was kept highly confidential. Technicians who knew what they were working on were not permitted to know about other areas. This was so that the plan could work how it needed to. See, the idea that the corruption would just go away over time was never a realistic idea. We knew the corruption would spread, and that we would be unable to combat it without a larger force of people who were trained beyond what those of the Terran Federation or the URE could present. That is why we made the Arks. There are too many details to go into it fully, but essentially, there is a part of the brain that remains active and intact for many years after a person’s death. Specialists found that using this certain Matrix of the brain they could replicate a person, essentially cloning them. The clone would contain many of their memories, essentially bringing a person back from the dead. Not only this, but the Matrix could also be altered to harbor different memories that were not the specimen’s own, and the person would have no ability to tell. Being one of the URE’s leading scientists in the neural field, they offered me a position in helping create and design these ‘clones’. Although I was not part of the crew who worked on obtaining the genetics for the individuals, I was heavily involved in the development of each ones’ mind. Essentially, we were able to gather this Matrix from billions upon billions of people. We picked those who would best help in the quest to reclaim Earth, and set them up to be generated on the Arks. The Arks are essentially the training program for people so that they will be better equipped to survive on Earth. Less than ten of us who worked on the project were allowed to retain our old memories, along with those around us who we wished. This was so that we could ensure that the plan of getting to Earth was followed while properly training as many people as possible.”

“Okay. I think I am following. So what part does Diana have to play in all this?” Brenna asked. Although it was a lot of information to absorb, she was used to it. After all, she was married to a neural scientist, complicated and confusing discussions were quite common.

“Diana was one of those people.” Ryan began again. “The plan was that within the first few years, we would all use Passageways, essentially secret tunnels that lead to other Arks, to go around and get people ready. The thought was that in a few years, we would have nearly everyone ready, and we could storm Earth with an army of billions. However, at this point it has been a little over 15 years since we got here. I am assuming that Diana came to the same conclusion that I did many years ago: all the members of that team are likely dead. It would seem Diana took matters into her own hands and helped those on her Ark prepare to reach Earth, though it would seem fate had a different idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“Diana was killed on the Aberrant Ark by Rockwell. At this point, we are likely the only ones who even know about the existence of Earth, and there is no one left alive currently on the Earth.” They sat there in silence for a moment. Brenna eventually broke the silence.

“For the most part, this all makes sense. But why are you telling me this now? Why not when you first heard about it?”

“Because it didn’t matter then.” Ryan shifted in his seat and looked at Brenna. “Brenna, listen. Eddie told me that we may have a war on our hands. From the information he gave me, it appears as though someone has found access to a Passageway, and are using it to amass an army in the north. The council meets tomorrow to make plans to counter it.”

“Does this mean that you have to fight?” Brenna asked nervously.

“Yes. But not only that. They want all people of the island to fight. In other words, you, me, Jennifer, and Alex will have to leave tomorrow night so that we can get there in time.” Ryan expected Brenna to freak out, but she simply stood up and sighed.

“Well if we only have one day to prepare, we best get some rest so we can make the most of it.” She headed off to their room. Ryan sat by the fire a few more moments. Questions began to fill his head. What would happen during the coming war? Was there any chance that other members of the team were still alive? Was there any hope of returning to Earth? He sighed. It was no use exhausting himself over it right now. He had an interesting day ahead of him.