Even if I offered to throw open the doors leading to the Council Chamber, it would hardly have reduced the tension that reigned here.
"Are you crazy?" Chaya's face was filled with panic.
"Cooperation with wraiths," Tayla looked bewildered. "On Athos, they kill for that. And an accusation of such is the gravest insult!"
And it sounded like: "In our ghetto, they would have put you on a spit, snowflake, for less!"
"As on most planets in the galaxy," Kirik supported.
"I don't particularly like it either," Alvar admitted. "Wraiths cannot be trusted."
"Moreover, you offered to feed him our Jenai prisoners," Chaya shook her head. "It's immoral!"
"If the Jenai find out about this, there will be war," Tayla warned. "And they have atomic bombs!"
"Has everyone spoken?" I clarified. Seeing that there were no more volunteers to add a remark, I continued:
"I am well aware that wraiths cannot be trusted. This guy," I waved my hand towards the Atlantis brig, "may be trying to show willingness to cooperate, but right now he's thinking of a plan to cheat us."
"Cheat... what is that word anyway?" Alvar grimaced.
"It means 'to deceive'," I explained.
"Then why not just say that?" the Ermen asked in surprise.
"Leave linguistics alone," Chaya conceded. "You promised him so much that we'll be working in the interests of the wraiths for ten years. For what?!"
"Do you yourself believe that he will want to cooperate?" I smirked. "Yes, for the first time he will answer our questions – but only until he figures out how to escape and get to his own."
"And at the same time, he will take knowledge about us," Kirik added. "About our defenses, numbers, capabilities."
"That will be enough for the wraiths to destroy us," Tayla said.
"That's precisely why we installed hidden sensors in his cell," I explained. "While he's there, we're studying him. His abilities, behavior, analyzing how he reacts to various proposals. I think if you watch the recording of our conversation, you'll see that none of them – neither promises of power, nor help, nor anything like that – particularly interest him."
"Because for cooperating with us against their own, other wraiths will kill him," Tayla said.
"Exactly," I nodded. "So his only chance of salvation is to give only the minimum that will not cause significant harm to the wraiths' interests. But he won't be able to refuse specific actions."
"You're talking about reviving the crew of the 'Aurora'," Chaya understood. "Restoring bodies after stasis."
"Exactly," I nodded in agreement. "In fact, everything that interests us now – about their physiology, biochemistry, mental capabilities, hierarchy, and much more, we will get from him without his knowledge..."
"But you removed the scanners from his cell," Kirik reminded.
"It was a prop," Chaya admitted. "All the real sensors are built into the walls and he can't see them."
"I suspect he assumes their existence," Kirik surmised.
"I don't care what he assumes," I intervened. "It seems the time for questions has passed, hasn't it? In that case, listen to me first, and then ask your questions. Agreed?"
The gathered people showed their disagreement with the plan in every way, but still, no one butted in with their particularly valuable thought.
"As I said, there is no hope for this wraith's reasonableness, nor for cooperation with any others, it was just bait to show him our willingness to trust," I explained. "As long as he is needed by us, he must believe that we intend to turn him into our ally. I deliberately put him in such a position that long-term cooperation with us is not beneficial for him. For him, we are too weak at the moment, and there is no point in cooperating with us. In any case, he will try to get rid of us with maximum efficiency for himself, so it's better to know this in advance and prepare. While he is in the cell, he is a source of information. And yes, with his help, I intend to revive the crew of the 'Aurora'. These are all the plans I have for this wraith. I don't plan to destroy some wraiths to exalt another. But I need knowledge and I need the Ancients, whom he can bring back to life. Then you can dissect him for analyses, for samples. But only after he has done his job."
"But you assume that we could cooperate with wraiths," Chaya noted.
"I don't mind pitting wraiths against each other and finishing off the one who wins, but is weakened. This guy can help. Like any other wraith, it's not critical," I explained. "But as long as there are only half a dozen of us, including a child, as long as we have only one engineer capable of handling Lantian technology – we are weak. And the weak are beaten by all those who are stronger."
"Do you think that restoring the viability of the 'Aurora's' crew will make us stronger?" Chaya clarified. "Specifically, restoring their bodies using the wraiths' reverse feeding method?"
"Are there other options?" I asked.
But, as I expected, I received no answer.
"In order to transfer life to someone, a wraith will have to take it from someone," Tayla stated.
"If we believe Koschei..."
The gathered people looked at me with surprise.
"I can't call our prisoner 'hey, you, green-faced one!'" I explained. "He didn't give his name, so I had to come up with one. He doesn't mind."
"Of course," Mikhail chuckled.
"One way or another, but for now he is our source of information," I said. "And according to him, to restore one Lantian, he will need to feed on several humans."
"He is misleading us," Tayla stated.
"I agree," Kirik began. "We know nothing about whether this is true or not. What if he just wants to gain more strength to escape?"
"And why are we scanning him?" I asked. "Hello, guys! He's in the cell, and we'll deliver food to him in the cell as well. The sensors will record how his condition changes after feeding. We will proceed from these data."
"I didn't think about that," Chaya admitted. "But yes, it might work. Perhaps he's not even lying. The Ancients – both Lantians and younger races – are more physiologically developed than ordinary humans. Longer lifespan, strengthened skeleton, more developed brain..."
"That sounded like an insult," Kirik grumbled.
"We cannot bring them back to life with our technologies," I reminded. "But wraiths can help. One specific wraith. In the shortest term, we can bring back dozens, if not hundreds, of Ancients. Who know about Lantian technologies no less than Chaya. Capable of repairing the city, helping us secure ourselves and our allies. This way we will become stronger."
"And we will become a greater threat to the wraiths," Alvar noted. "And then they will definitely not overlook us."
It's hard to argue with logic.
The sights of the destroyed Ermen are still fresh in my memory.
"We will solve problems as they arise," I said. "You have heard the general plan. For now, we will stick to it. Questions?"
"None," Jensen answered for everyone. "But you must understand that plans are only good until their implementation begins. Then... Complete anarchy and chaos."
"Our only alternative is to sit and silently watch the city slowly fall apart, and we grow old and die," I countered. "I have a different vision of my future. Perhaps someone has similar plans for old age?"
Silence suggested otherwise.
"In that case, the meeting is adjourned," I concluded. "Let's get back to work. Tayla, didn't you say the Athosians needed help in the camp? I think Alvar and Kirik won't refuse. At the same time, they will show the local militia a couple of new tricks for fighting wraiths."
A couple of hours later, spent alone in the dining room, I found what I was looking for. Or rather – her.
Wrapped in a warm blanket, with an Ancient laptop on her lap, the girl sat on the sofa, tucking her legs under her. This piece of furniture was located on an observation balcony adjacent to the control center. And from here, a breathtaking view of the night city opened up.
Night, because the light barely penetrated through the thick layer of water. However, if you close your eyes to the multi-ton layer of ocean overhead, and the city lights reflecting from the surface, it can indeed seem like it's night all around. And that we are on the surface.
* * *
Atlantis at night. A frame from the series, when the city was already on the ocean surface.
"And I thought you never left your laboratory," I addressed Chaya. The girl was looking thoughtfully into the distance, but I was sure she was not particularly interested in the architecture and the strangely arranged lighting in the uninhabited parts of the city.
"I've done everything I could to turn off excess power consumption in Atlantis," the Proculucian said without taking her eyes off the view. "But thousands of compartments are still consuming battery power..."
"I think we agreed to call it MNT," I said, settling next to her, shivering from the cold. Inside the city, the life support system, of course, maintained a comfortable temperature, humidity, and air circulation. But outside... Even if there's no wind, and the seasons don't change, the fact remains – the icy temperature at the bottom of the ocean has an effect.
"Does it make a difference?" the girl asked. "I think when we find the crew of the 'Aurora' and bring them back to life, you won't have to negotiate with me anymore, but with the Lantians."
"Are you sure the crew consisted of them, not younger races?" I clarified.
"The database has very little information about starship crews during the war," Chaya said. "Only the initial composition. The longer the war lasted, the more fragmented the records became. The most typical phrase about the crew is something like: 'Before departure, seventy people lost during the last battle were replenished.' No specifics, no names... But by the end of the war, the Lantians had lost almost all their allies among the younger races. So most likely, it is they who are in stasis."
"We'll live and see," I said conciliatorily. "And yes, if you're interested, I'm also afraid that we might have to stand aside when the Lantians arrive. I think the Ascended will not mind talking to their friends and explaining that you and I do not have much influence on others here."
"I don't," the girl corrected. "You, although a big thorn in their side, still can't ignore your genetics. You are Lantian – their flesh, blood, and intellectual development accordingly. General Hypaphoralcus was a smart man. He probably foresaw something like this, which is why he gave you such a body."
"If he were foresighted, he would have sent me here earlier so that the city malfunctions wouldn't force me to swim and drown, and you – to leave the Ascended," I noted.
"He is not to blame for the city starting to sink," Chaya sighed, showing me some diagrams on the monitor. "And you are. See these graphs?"
"Yes. And no, don't ask me if I understand them. I'm probably the most useless Lantian in the galaxy."
The girl chuckled, then looked somewhere up.
"I've known more useless ones," she said. "But even they wouldn't have opened a gate through the city's systems, knowing about the energy deficit."
"Excuse me?"
"When you went to Sudaria, you dialed the address using the city's dialing device," Chaya said. "This activated a number of additional systems."
"And I was praised for activating few systems while getting to the control point," I lamented. "Did dialing alone consume that much energy?"
I recall the Earthlings' expedition, upon arriving in the city, activating everything they possibly could... And they survived. Well, on the second try.
"Do you want the honest answer or the one close to the truth?" Chaya asked.
"From you, of all people, I didn't expect such options," I admitted. "Speak plainly. Now and always."
I said the last part in case she had forgotten – we'd had this conversation before.
"I checked the city computer logs," Chaya said. "All three MNTs were connected in parallel to each other."
"Which means we are in the time period when the first version of the expedition was supposed to arrive, the city sank, time travel occurred, and so on," I concluded. "Tell me what I don't know."
"With a parallel connection, all three MNTs consumed more energy than with a sequential one," the girl said. "As a result, you initially had less energy in reserve."
"That's not news either."
"Furthermore, General Gypoforalcus used the city's energy to create a body for you."
"And... was the consumption large?" I hadn't even thought about that.
"Large enough to take the lion's share of the remaining energy," Chaya explained. "Therefore, despite your savings, the shield began to shrink, and the city began to sink."
"So, creating my body consumed more energy than the entire Earth research team, which activated everything in the city and dialed addresses indiscriminately?"
When the Earth team arrived in Atlantis for the second time (after time travel), they went to Athos. There, some of the Earthlings were captured by wraiths and left with them through the gate. The Earthlings remembered the symbols on the dialing device, but not the order of their activation. Therefore, they had to search for the correct combination by trial and error, which would lead them to the wraiths' planet. One in seven hundred and twenty, it seemed.
I suspect they opened the gate several times, so...
"Exactly," Chaya said. "Besides, you didn't turn off the device, and it consumed energy. Just like everything else you failed to turn off before you left. Therefore, they depleted the MNTs until the shields began to shrink to the central spire, and then even less."
"So, I'm to blame for the city sinking?"
"As you can see. But, if you had raised the city to the surface by pulsing the engines, you would have had enough energy for the journey to Sudaria – I specifically ran the calculations."
"I don't recall any hints on the control panel, like, press here and the city will surface."
"There were," Chaya sighed. "Apparently, the general managed to rearrange some of the crystals on the main consoles. You just needed to press a couple of keys... They were blinking, by the way."
"That was awkward," I admitted. "I think the Ascended facepalmed themselves at that moment."
"Anything is possible," Chaya shrugged. "There is only one truth – the Universe is infinite."
Something familiar scratched at my mind.
"A proverb?"
"An old scientific axiom that became a proverb of the Ancients," Chaya said. "No matter how much we try, due to its expansion, we will never be able to reach its edge. The same applies to us – no matter how much we try, we cannot obtain everything. I have already checked seventy addresses of Lantian outposts across the galaxy – either the final destinations are destroyed, or there is nothing left there."
"Are you worried that we won't be able to collect a large number of Ancient artifacts first?" I chuckled.
"I'm afraid that by the time the Lantians kick us out of Atlantis, the only refuge we'll be able to find will be on New Athos or Ermen," Chaya sighed.
"Aren't you being too pessimistic, my friend?" I asked. "I look at you and see – the closer we get to the appearance of new Ancients in our city, the less joy you have left."
"I've already said what I fear."
"I don't think that after ten thousand years of freezing, the Ancients will be so stupid as to kick us out the door in gratitude for their salvation," I admitted.
"Is that all you tell yourself?"
"And I also have Lantian genetics," I reminded her. "And there are probably their tricks like healing with hands, telepathy, telekinesis, and other phantasmagoria."
"No, otherwise they would have manifested themselves already," Chaya said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I know a little about Ascension. Those powers you're talking about manifest when the body is close to Ascension," Chaya explained. "And you are not as close to it as you might hope."
"Well, there you go," I sighed heavily. "So, I won't have supernatural powers, won't be the Archmage of Earth, and all that."
"It's not magic," Chaya continued to stare into space. "Just evolution of the brain and body, allowing control... Oh," the girl caught herself, looked at my smiling face, and also smiled timidly. "That was a joke. Sorry, I didn't realize at first."
"I'm already used to my jokes not being very popular with others."
"We represent five levels of human development," Chaya said, resting her head on my shoulder. "It's no wonder it's hard for us to find common ground."
And she was right. She, me, Kirik, Teyla, Alvar – we all had completely different cultures. And, while in the Milky Way, on different planets, you could find something in common with Earth culture, as after all, most people were resettled across the galaxy from Earth, then Pegasus... Here, there's more of a cultural chasm between us all than unity based on common origin. After all, in this reality, humanity in all the galaxies it inhabits was created by the Ancients... Well, indeed...
"You know," I decided to support the girl, who had fallen into an inexplicable despondency, "it's not a sure thing that we'll be able to bring them back to life. When I turned on the MNT, the 'Aurora' sent a signal. The wraiths could have picked it up..."
"I've already said it's unlikely," Chaya repeated. "Wraith activity in the galaxy is minimal. Besides, I've reconfigured the long-range scanners and highlighted that region of the galaxy. There are no wraith ships near the 'Aurora'."
Wow... It seems the appearance of the Lantians puzzled the girl much more than I thought. I wonder what else she did in secret?
"Besides, we don't have a ship to get there, and even if we did, we don't have spare parts to fix it. I told you about all the Ancient dreadnoughts in the galaxy. They are all damaged."
"I've reviewed the data from the Atlantis database for Lantea-2," Chaya said, pressing against me so much she was practically lying on my chest. What was with her?! What was happening to her?! "And also took readings from your 'jumper'. There are minerals on the planet that we could use to power the workshops. Silicon, for example. From it, we can make a large supply of simple crystals. There's a diamond mine on Ermen, so we can find higher quality raw materials too. With metals... there are problems, but not critical ones. If only we had the time and desire to mine them... We could produce some spare parts..."
And she's only telling me this now?! However, the woman seemed quite sad, if she didn't share such news immediately. It seems she's so worried about her place after the Lantians return that she decided to be frank only on the verge of complete despair.
And what difference does it make to her that we'll be kicked out? They won't be able to do it right away, as we'll be reviving them one by one. And there's somewhere to go – Athos is already abandoned, and there are Ancient technologies there. We'll break through!
The longer I listen to her, the more doubt gnaws at me that Chaya is worried not about the return of the Lantians as such. Perhaps she thinks I'll forget about her, having acquired "new friends"? Nonsense.
Which is what I told the girl.
"Thank you," she said. "It's always nice to be needed by someone as a technical specialist..."
She said that with some pain. It really sounded like a soul wound. What happened to you, girl, that you're so sad?
"After all," I stroked her head. "You yourself said – you searched seventy outpost planets. And there's no interstellar ship in the hangar anywhere. Did you search dwarf stars too?"
The thing is, one Ancient ship was abandoned on the volcanic planet Taranis in an old outpost powered, like on Athos, by the geothermal energy of a supervolcano.
And the second was floating abandoned in orbit around a dwarf star. It was found by an interesting race... The third ship was in flight at near-light speed far beyond the Pegasus galaxies. But those are details.
"I found several hundred dwarf stars," Chaya said in the same colorless, sad tone. "I started a parallel search through the list of Ancient ship assignments near them. No matches yet. And also, in systems with dwarf stars, you can hardly find a gate to fly to the star's orbit with a 'jumper'..."
"Well, you see, that means we have no ships. And the return of the Lantians is postponed. We searched, but didn't find..."
"I didn't say that," Chaya said after a second of silence.
"Excuse me?"
"I searched dwarf stars. I searched among outposts with geothermal reactors and simply among outposts," the Proculucian listed. "But, if you had told me that there was a repair hangar there..."
Everything inside me clenched into a tight knot.
"You mean...?"
"Yes, Misha," the girl stood up and looked at me with a sad gaze.
"Most likely, I found Taranis. And the dreadnought 'Gypoforalcus'..."