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“Ambassador, thank you for agreeing to come,” Brooks told the being as they shifted from the gravity of the Craton to the zero-g of the medical station.
Despite how disconcerting it was to even a seasoned spacer like Brooks, Kell seemed unbothered.
Taking a railing and pulling himself along, he glanced at Kell. The being seemed to have no need for handholds or anything to move itself as it liked in the lack of gravity. Not even a foot touching the floor.
The inhumanity, the . . . wrongness of the being struck him again, and he felt a shiver go down his spine, a twisting in his stomach.
It was just nerves, he chided himself. The Ambassador was as odd being, one that was inhuman, but in a way that was wholly appropriate; he was another species, after all. And he had, largely, played fair with them in the last few weeks. Just because the Battle of Terris had been brought up, that he was about to meet one of its many victims, was no reason to alter his views on the Ambassador.
Kell had still said nothing in response to him, as they met an orderly drone that led them deeper into the structure.
As they entered the chamber that would bring them up to speed with the rotating station – and back into a semblance of gravity – Kell spoke, as if there had been no pause in their conversation.
“I must come,” he said.
Or it. Brooks mentally found himself humanizing the being, and chided himself. Projecting human concepts and norms onto non-human beings was a long-time source of problems in inter-species relations. It was good, vital, to view them as equal beings, but it did not help to simply think of them as humans who looked a little different.
Though, honestly, Kell seemed to not care at all how they referred to it.
“I hope you understood that it was not an order,” Brooks said. “It was only a request, though an important one.”
Kell looked at him, and despite there being no change in his expression, Brooks could still feel the judgment.
“There are times when I will have to give you orders,” Brooks told him. “I’ve been very spare with this out of respect, Ambassador. But you must understand that there are requests – and there are orders.”
“I will keep my own counsel on that,” Kell replied. “But this case – it is bigger than us. Bigger than this station, I feel. If you had not asked me, I would have requested to come see.”
The chamber had been slowly picking up speed, and Brooks feet were just starting to touch the floor.
This part of the station kept at 90% of Earth gravity; enough to feel some weight was taken off of him, but still quite solid.
Verena was waiting. She spared Kell at glance, and the Ambassador stared back at her, his face equally expressionless, but his interest still apparent.
“Follow me,” she ordered.
They began down the corridor, and she led them into another elevator.
“The area we are going into is reserved for the most extreme cases of alterations caused by exposure to a Reality Break event,” she explained. “These cases are nearly all terminal, and typically all we can do is give them palliative care. However, in most cases, their injuries are severe enough that they are not mentally functional. Such was the case with this patient we are soon to meet – his code is AB49672-E.”
She looked at her pad. “Until recently, the patient was in a catatonic state. His condition was severe, but physical alterations were – as far as we could tell – relatively minor.”
She looked back up and her eyes moved from Brooks to Kell. “Until recently. The patient has regained consciousness and has started to communicate.”
“Is he improving, then?” Brooks asked.
“I do not believe so,” Verena said. “His communicative periods are brief, but other oddities have begun to arise. While it is common for altered patients to develop benign tumors and growths, Denso has begun growing functional new organs.”
“That’s impossible,” Brooks said. “Alteration is the corruption of matter as we know it-“
“It is not impossible,” Kell commented.
Brooks looked at him, but the Ambassador did not meet his gaze. He was only staring at Verena.
The doctor nodded. “Evidently, the Ambassador is correct. Denso has begun to grow eyes – functional eyes. This has not been seen in another altered patient, it is entirely novel. I believe it is possible that you will be able to understand this more, Ambassador, on account of your equally-novel biology. And you, Captain – you have encountered Leviathans more than any other living person and come out without alteration. It makes you both uniquely qualified.”
“I will be happy to lend whatever assistance I can,” Brooks replied. But he didn’t feel very confident; after all he had seen, he still knew almost nothing about Leviathans, beings like them, or those that had been altered by their presence.
He had the feeling, though, that there was more to this than she said, that her reasons extended beyond his mere experiences. The sinking feeling in his stomach grew worse.
“Do you have any questions, Ambassador?” Verena asked, looking at Kell. Brooks realized that she had not had any visible reaction to the Shoggoth. Not upon first meeting him, and not now.
“I will have to see him,” Kell replied.
Verena nodded. “I thought as much. Captain, are you ready?”
“Yes,” Brooks said. Though his stomach churned, and dread crept up his spine, he knew that this was a part of his duty. It was the worst part, but it was still the service required of him.
The elevator door opened, and Brooks realized it had stopped some time ago, but Verena had kept the doors closed.
The first thing that hit him was the smell; the stench of chemicals designed to render a surface more sterile than a radiation-baked rock. There was no pleasant scent added to diminish the noxious sting, and he found his eyes wanting to water.
The area itself was white, antiseptic. The walls were different from any he had seen elsewhere on the station or even a starship; a slight off-white color, made of single pieces that formed wall, floor, and ceiling. It seemed that the entire corridor had been made in a single custom piece, with all halls extending off it appearing the same. The entire area, perhaps even floor, must have been 3D printed in one single piece.
The air seemed oddly humid. From the sheer quantity of cleaning chemicals, or for a different reason entirely, he could not tell.
Kell seemed just as fascinated. “Interesting,” he said, looking over. There was some distaste in his voice, and when they stepped out, Kell seemed almost uncomfortable.
“Is something troubling you, Ambassador?” Verena asked, studying him carefully. As if watching for a reaction.
“No,” Kell replied.
Other doctors were in the hall, but were faceless under full-body protective suits, bulkier even than space suits.
“Should we be wearing more protection?” Brooks asked.
“Only if you plan on staying for hours,” she replied. “For the purposes of our visit, we will be safe enough.”
Reassuring, Brooks thought.
“Before we go further, I must impress upon you both that what we are about to see is a Class-15 secret.” She looked to Brooks, then Kell, pitting the latter with a more intense stare.
“You will not speak of nor share anything you learn or witness here with another being outside of this facility. Am I understood?”
Brooks nodded, but he had to struggle to fight a dizziness that swept him.
The Sapient Union was a very open body, and yet they still had secrets. Class-15 was the pinnacle of secrets, a type even he had never been privy to before.
The bulkhead walls ahead looked somewhat different; more milky, further from true white. As they neared, the color drained out of them, turning as clear as glass. Beyond, was another room.
It was a very large space; at least ten meters tall and twice that on each side.
The space was largely empty – save for at the center, where there was a glass-walled chamber. Or, at least it was clear like glass; Brooks’s data feed informed him that it was a heavily-reinforced plastic.
The airlock doors were still opaque, cutting them off from all sight as they entered. A decontamination procedure commenced. Kell scowled through it.
“Unpleasant,” he commented.
Verena was watching him carefully again. But she said nothing.
The other door opened, and they went into the room beyond.
Other Terrestrial 