**Thank you for reading my novel. If you enjoyed the story, please give it a like and leave a comment — your support really encourages me to keep writing and sharing more chapters.**66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrnxshGL8nc
The First Energy Crystal
Leaving the Abbas Archive proved more difficult than66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc80lv5510K
entering it.
Which was, Zorina supposed, only fair. Ancient impossible66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmwh8SBveZO
civilisations were rarely considerate enough to provide clearly marked exits,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWoThOTBqw
emergency lighting, and a polite notice reading: This way back to your66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE3cWptNAJ6
previous understanding of reality.
She stood beneath the great column of light, with66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUdcFMEcqKZ
Crystal-Pattern Panel 1011 hovering at her side.
She had not taken it with her.
Not exactly.
Yet she knew, without knowing how, that it would return to66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgZTQtsJuP9
its place when she no longer needed it, and come back to her hand when she did.
The thought was absurd enough to belong in a fairy tale.
But inside the Archive, absurdity seemed less like fantasy66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYy1oHYIgjJ
and more like a word humanity had invented for knowledge it had failed to66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB9kuyAR53t
catch.
Zorina walked towards the flower-shaped biological energy66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3YqG3IBSlC
device.
The six transparent crystal petals sensed her approach and66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNjzYdUmKXB
opened slowly. The reclining platform at their centre shimmered with a66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgYruYVeTQl
pale-blue film of light, like water trying to remember how to be skin.
She did not lie down at once.
She was an analyst, not a worshipper of expensive miracles.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJcTf4WDkk8
Even when one finds oneself inside a volcanic archive that recognises one’s66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ10rB5ZQPnR
blood and opens ancient doors in one’s honour, a certain professional suspicion66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡahSJm5SfYx
remains healthy. Faith, after all, was merely ignorance wearing ceremonial66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtXgKHhhAHy
clothing.
She rolled up the torn sleeve of her damaged flight suit and66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCQvKLXH9Ch
exposed her arm.
Bruises. Abrasions. Dried blood. A shallow split across the66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBdTfr9mjK
skin. The small, unattractive documentation of survival.
She reached out and touched one of the crystal petals.
The device awakened.
[Lifeform scan.]
[Human body.]
[Injuries detected: mild impact trauma; epidermal laceration;66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk8SacJjLjj
inflammatory response; residual analgesic compounds in bloodstream; accumulated66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF75DCBX3gj
fatigue toxins.]
[Convertible waste biomass: low quantity.]
[Activate low-level medical conversion?]
Zorina studied the words.
“Activate.”
She had no idea whether that was the correct command.
Apparently, the device was more forgiving than most official66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy59j7LtPrh
systems. It responded immediately, which placed it already above half the66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuAJ1Uu2iXz
departments in Britain.
From within the petals, countless blue filaments emerged,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLW9I7vVgQ3
fine as hair. They did not pierce her skin. They passed through its surface66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7UmggNG0A
like light through shallow water, distinguishing with impossible delicacy66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI11akuRNqB
between what belonged to her body and what no longer deserved residency.
Zorina’s arm tingled.
The swelling around the wounds receded at a visible speed.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLbkm6HJ204
Redness faded. Dried blood cracked and lifted away. Beneath it, new skin66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHBcQUIs1zD
formed, smooth and faintly luminous for one brief second before settling into66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5nn6AlCoTK
ordinary flesh.
She stared.
High-tier medicine in 3911 could perform rapid repair. Of66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJXQgqLLey
course it could. With enough energy, nanomaterial, authorisation, medical debt,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡshE1BnIKQe
and institutional permission, the ruling classes had achieved wonders. A First66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ8r06AaYO7
Tier minister could have an injured liver mended before lunch and complain66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvTibYRjzr
about the inconvenience of the appointment by dinner.
A Fifth Tier child could die of infected water beside a dark66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡe36I196RM4
purification station.
Civilisation, as ever, was less a question of possibility66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBoJhwuCWYm
than of who was allowed to benefit from it.
But this device was doing something different.
It was not consuming vast external power.
It was using the biological waste within her body to feed66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu50BZAgjEe
the repair.
The centre of the flower condensed a tiny pale-blue crystal.
It was smaller than a grain of rice.
[Conversion complete.]
[Low-grade energy crystal: 0.003 units.]
The amount was negligible.
Ridiculous, almost.
A number so small that any respectable administrator would66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyf3IgoM9j
have buried it beneath twelve paragraphs of discouraging language and an66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyx147ukJ1q
encouraging note about future review.
Yet Zorina stared at the little crystal as if she had just66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMRlsVhA1Y
seen a city relight itself.
Not because it was large.
Because it proved that the impossible had quantity.
And once the impossible had quantity, it could be measured.
Once it could be measured, it could be repeated.
Once it could be repeated, it became policy’s worst66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3sH00y77OG
nightmare: a fact.
Her mind moved at once to the First Tier.
To those polished old men and beautifully maintained women66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcIwtFhaK0l
who ate too much, drank too much, took gene-stabilising therapies, anti-ageing66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF7zLIc7PzR
injections, cellular rejuvenation compounds, and private metabolic treatments66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1Pyog4dm3z
with the wounded dignity of people forced to remain alive in considerable66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu5XyuVo8qX
comfort.
Their bodies accumulated excess fat, metabolic residue,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyMu5KQJhC8
decayed cells, drug residues, ageing tissue, corrupted proteins, minor lesions,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2mpvMYH70p
and all the waste that privilege politely renamed maintenance.
If one injured ordinary person could produce 0.003 units,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8LQXSq5k67
then what might be harvested from the overfed, over-treated, chemically66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjO7Jq8WruP
preserved bodies of the elite?
Their excess could become someone else’s light.
The irony was almost beautiful.
Which was inconvenient, because beautiful ironies had a66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFq519OcULE
habit of becoming dangerous.
Zorina lifted the energy crystal from the device.
It rested in her palm, faintly warm.
At once, the golden patterns on the floor lit and extended66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡthrIsq6JhU
towards the far side of the cavern.
They were pointing.
There stood a small platform.
Zorina walked to it. The platform was empty, smooth, and66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ66e9UWgSU0
black, with a shallow circular depression at its centre. She placed the tiny66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWVjddxehx
crystal upon it.
Silver rings materialised above the platform.
The air stirred.
Minute particles gathered in the empty space, first as dust,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlVdo6J6m7J
then as mist, then as a surface. The shape thinned and flattened, edges66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOELjsZaYkZ
refining themselves with silent precision until a small, tablet-like object66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUDfKEUsRW
formed in the air.
It resembled an old-world communication device.
Only simpler.
Cleaner.
As if design, after centuries of human committee meetings,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuV9W5z94TD
had finally been allowed to recover.
[Low-level communication interface generated.]
[Warning: external world communication networks are under regime66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PO14xpWIm
surveillance. Low-frequency hopping recommended.]
Zorina’s pulse quickened.
The Archive could do more than heal.
It could make.
Energy into matter.
Atomic reconstruction.
The meaning struck her with enough force that she went66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQLr3Z8UcGx
still.
Crystal-Pattern Panel 1011 was not a discovery.
It was a keyhole.
This civilisation had not preserved a single technique. It66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQIEciTVrln
had preserved an entire hierarchy of tools beyond Earth’s present level. If66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqaB6SOjqy3
even a portion of them could be awakened, the order built upon energy scarcity66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgcnqxiwrj
would not merely be challenged.
It would be made ridiculous.
And few things enraged power more than being made66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFFRGD0xb6Q
ridiculous.
Zorina picked up the communication interface.
Its surface brightened.
[Please specify contact.]
She remained silent for several seconds.
She did not contact Atlas.
Not because she distrusted him.
Precisely because she trusted him.
Atlas was inside the Energy Quota Authority. He would be66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHLuMluISv6
watched, especially now. Any abnormal communication would push him straight66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJUeagLUDJ0
into the Bureau’s line of fire, and the Bureau had never been famous for66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG7OUfPyRH7
missing when shooting at inconvenient loyalty.
Robin Shen was different.
Robin Shen had been raised in fire and taught to call it66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhaGyEEP2JK
central heating.
She entered a private code she had not used in years.
Long ago, when they were still children, Robin had turned66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAgyUWbSwLT
that sequence into a secret game between them. He had told her that if the66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqmHhAstV4Q
world ever became too loud, she could use it to find him.
At the time, neither of them had known that the world would66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHuM9KurYU
eventually become quite so deafening.
The interface flickered.
Once.
Twice.
On the third pulse, a lazy male voice drifted through.
“If this is not a scam, I should first clarify that I am not66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWKYKWHQ9QC
currently buying insurance, investing in Martian cemetery plots, or fostering66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrQ3Auq4ca
any former girlfriend’s cat.”
Zorina closed her eyes.
“Robin.”
Silence.
Five full seconds.
Then every trace of theatrical laziness vanished from his66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7fEKetMDx
voice.
“Zori?”
She did not waste time on greeting.
“I need your help.”
Robin Shen did not ask where she was.
He did not ask why she was using a strange channel.
He did not ask what trouble she had created, fallen into,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY6Izqt7aZ0
offended, awakened, or possibly inherited from a prior civilisation.
He asked only, “Money, identity, flight corridor, or a66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMdHtv34TtC
corpse?”
Zorina looked around the impossible Archive.
“Possibly all of them.”
Robin drew a soft breath.
“Well. You have finally decided to be interesting.”
“I found something.”
“Dangerous?”
“Enough to change the world.”
“Interesting…”
She looked down at the tiny blue crystal in her palm.
“I can make energy.”
This time, the silence on the other end became absolute.
When Robin spoke again, his voice was lower.
“Do you understand that if any regime hears that sentence,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDIkKd6rIEa
you cease to be a person and become an asset?”
“That is why I called you.”
“Where are you?”
Zorina glanced at the external position displayed on the66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjirqAXEoXW
interface.
“Tristan da Cunha.”
Robin said something very softly and extremely unsuitable66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZOjGyGNDW
for polite company.
Then, in English, with exquisite irritation:
“Brilliant. And what, precisely, happened to South Africa?”
“The capsule went off course.”
“Sabotage?”
“Possibly. But I don’t think they succeeded in making me66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTG4m2r4WD6
fall.”
“What does that mean?”
Zorina looked towards the great column of light.
“I think the island caught me.”
Robin did not laugh.
That was the thing about him.
The frivolous heir, the decorative wastrel, the charming66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8xGhH6LneC
embarrassment at expensive dinners — all of that could deceive society pages,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxCZhrbnnPO
family enemies, and women who mistook cynicism for intelligence. But before66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡywYedbrTiG
real danger, Robin never wasted time denying information merely because it66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9OaTedDXoo
sounded deranged.
It was one of his few genuinely civilised qualities.
“Stay where you are,” he said. “I’ll arrange a rescue line.66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTagV9FRtd7
It cannot be official. The most important thing is that Britain must not define66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcAm7zWo911
you first.”
“Define me?”
“Missing. Defector. Dead. Traitor. Asset under protective66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT9178LisBy
custody. Choose any unpleasant noun and place it in a white folder. That is how66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4fd3IxJEvg
governments perform sorcery.”
“I don’t only need extraction.”
“Well?”
Zorina lifted her eyes to the chamber that had slept beneath66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmakriRr7eJ
the volcano for longer than human empire had known how to flatter itself.
For the first time, her ambition became clear.
Not anger.
Not survival.
Not even justice.
A structure.
A plan.
A direction.
“I need the island.”
There was a pause on the other end.
Then Robin laughed.
Not lightly.
Not foolishly.
It was the laugh of a gambler who had just seen, at last,66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtE89mfRYvZ
one card on the table capable of frightening the house.
“Perfect,” he said softly. “Then we shall have a civilised66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdFV4RtgYI7
conversation with Britain.”
Zorina looked down at the first energy crystal.
Small.
Blue.
Almost nothing.
A seed of light resting in her palm.
Above her, the Archive breathed in silence.
And somewhere beyond the stone, the old world continued66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT52CIgagZW
congratulating itself on being permanent.
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjsU79N8nu
66Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtf0vE849O
**Thank you for reading my novel. If you enjoyed the story, please give it a like and leave a comment — your support really encourages me to keep writing and sharing more chapters.**
and then Add to home screen.