You may ask, what this story is about. Let me explain the most basics of the story. Terrans, the race that originated from planet Earth, is now under rules of the Itreklar race. The Itreklars were once organic creatures that evolved on the planet of Itreklak. A few centuries ago, they conquered planet Earth, along with its inhabitants. Now, one woman lives as a slave in the Itreklar Mining Camp. She lives together with her seven-years-old kid, trying to survive, despite the inhuman treating. But then, a tragedy happened... Chapter One available under Phaeton: The Resurrection/Chapter I
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Chapter I
A ray in the fog
In the small, smoky valley it was able to notice the first, slender rays of Sun. However, it was difficult to them to get through dust so thick there, but a slender light was enough to awake wandering in the neighboring barracks Terrans. There was about teens of barracks, on the very small surface, pent-up of 4.000 individuals, lonely, torn out from the families and home environment. The majority of them works here in the mine, digging heavy radioactive minerals, it is of no importance whether these are women, or men, or youth, whether the old men- all must work identically. Otherwise- they will be shot.
In smoke and dust and slender rays, large, rolling itself on soil, white machines had awaken. Their movement, but rather rolling was only dispersing the dust up to the air, only making breath even harder. These machines are called the Itreklars. Despite some resemblances, they are not robots on somebody's services, they’re sentient beings which seem to lack only the feelings. When such one stands, or walks slowly forward, they look like huge, mechanical, white worms, with the plots into his hands and two tails. Through the small pane in the place of head one can see the only residual traces of this, what was once organic being- two small eyes situated in the violet diminutive and weak head. Though they were physically weak, they fight with the races, which now are weak, like they were trying to fight with their own past.
Many people prayed for, this single time, the Itreklars not to awake. For this single time, these iron, cold machines were not reminded about their duties. A young woman with her child lay on the bed with hands put together to pray.
- Good Lord, I ask you about one, let the Kapo not to awake this time. Let this time they will forget about us. Let them at least allow me quietly to die! - Kapos is the name given to the the Itreklars guarding the camp. The name is taken out from time of one of so-called World Wars from the history of Earth, when this so cruel and so cold-hearted camp guards were called exactly Kapos. However, their prayers were not fulfilled, when the door of the barracks opened with noise and through open space flew to the inside masses of dust. The shape of an Itreklar may be perceived, standing in the sun. This one from his mechanical limbs caught the small device and said through it:
- Obey, hairless bugs, immediately stand up and to work! - Shouted, using an electronic translator. The young woman, who earlier prayed, exposed the blanket, which was covering her. It turned out that under the blanket laid the small, seven-year-old child. Her child. It slept quietly unaware where it lives. Woman, not much already worrying about herself, and her certain death, she worried only about her child.
-What about the food? - Asked woman. The Kapo slowly entered the barracks, moving directly to her. The rumble of his mechanical limbs, creaky as if they were weakly oiled, sounded on all the barracks, silencing every other sounds. Because of a weak visibility, the Itreklar used one flash-lamp. He lighted in the face of woman and on the child.
-What “food”? - Asked, as not understanding. Woman cautiously looked on the machine; however, avoided optic contact, as speaking with the ancient emperor.
-Me and Moshe did not eat anything for long… - the robot was not allowed to finish her sentence, and using his thicker, pneumatic hand huddled her on earth, where she fell very heavily. Blood has streamed out of her nose. The child, hearing rumble near itself, awaken and looked on four prehensile limbs of the Kapo, succeeding four, on which it stood. The Itreklar rolled up his abdomen and a moment later hit the woman once more.
-Stand up. No food today. No Terran vegetables today!- The Kapo, speaking nothing more, turned around and went to the exit. Again in this noise reached the door, closed it, and rolled itself to next barracks. The woman cautiously and slowly stood up, looking at the child.
-Don’t worry, Moshe. They will not do anything to you, for now. I must go work! - the Woman in spite of pain, joined the crowd, which was already going to the exit of the barracks. When all of them had gone out, small Moshe remained. He stood up from the bed and began to search beds of other Terrans. Finally, from one of them he pulled out the little piece of a stale bread, which he began greedily to eat, foregoing hiding himself under the mother's blanket.
Meanwhile, the mother tried to use the remainder of forces to mine. In spite of the difficulty of breathing or seeing anything, she waved the hack with remainder of her forces, which, however, in spite of efforts, was scarcely digging itself into the ground. When the green liquid appeared, the woman realized that she reached the seam. She began to dig harder and harder, hitting the soil faster and faster, falling in the blind trance. In the trance she began to strike with such a force, that she had never before. It turned on attention of the Kapos. Two of them rolled into the bottom of mine and rolled up to her, after which they stood on their legs, staring at the woman attentively.
- It is too bad that we cannot automatically enter them in such a state. If we would have appropriate machines, or chemicals… The use of these creatures to the industry would be much more efficient!- The second one only assented. Both looked intently in the shocked woman who suddenly stopped in inertness.
-What’s on? - Asked the Kapo who was silent before- To work, to work! The more you work, the faster will you'll be free! Remember, work makes freedom! - However woman did not answer, the hack had fallen out of her hands, and she had fallen on her head, directly to the green liquid that was sinking out from under ground. One of the Itreklars caught the woman’s legs in his pincers and pulled it out with machine-like move back and up. When she hung upside-down, the Kapo touched her neck with second hand.
-She’s dead!- Reacted the machine- She was working till the death. Their it is too bad that this fervor so quickly is finished!- Dispassionately dropped the body of woman on the ground, shattering again one of the bones of the head. The second one, however, caught her hairs and floated body high up, like on the crane. Together they entered slowly the upper part of the valley. When already stood on the top the one holding body spoke:
-Tell me, what those Terran war criminals made from their prisoners? From this fat, oil?
- Not, soap! - Answered the second.
-Yes, exactly, soap. Soap from them surely can be used only for themselves. They are really useless. If this depended on me, I would vote for a final solution of a Terran question long ago! -Itreklar began to look around- Where is that pit for the bodies? - His partner looked once on left, once on the right, then went a little forward.
-There!- Shouted, pointing on the near, though weakly visible pit. The one holding the corpse, gone with them on the border of the pit, after which shaken his hand and with full force threw the woman’s remains into the pit, as a result of winding off the dust, the pit showed the hundreds of the square meters of Terran dead corpses, chaotically left in the pit.
-Tell me- asked one Kapo- how many Terran already left our camp alive?
-Shall I include these, that ran away, but we later killed them in a mountain valley?- Asked, looking on the colleague.
- No, do not include those. After all they also died.
-So… no one left camp alive.
-So why do we tell them, that work makes free?
-To make them working better.
Meanwhile other pair, aware about the death of woman, entered to her barracks, looking on the beds. They noticed her bed, where something was moving under the blanket. Both reached the bed from two sides, when one deteriorated the blanket. Child tried to jump off and flee, but one of the Itreklars captured it by his pliers.
-How many years do this youth have? Ten?- The second one touched the child with some machine.
-No. Seven. Seven earth years. Still unshaped psyche.
-So is a chance of imprinting appropriate instructions in the process of growing?
-We have a chance. Child can still become by one from our greatest supporters.
-Right. Therefore we will direct it to the Imprinting Center. We may have any benefit from it! - Both machines went out dispassionately with the child, delivering it to a closely unidentified vehicle, which a moment later deteriorated several meters above earth, above lays of dust and flied away in a distance. Only small Moshe looked down, in the remainders of the place, where he was born and lived through the first years of his life. From this period he remembered not much things- principally omnipresent dust, lack of light and air, the loud and terrifying steps of the Itreklars, but also the words of his mother:
- Remember, Moshe, you are not a normal child. So how the small rays of light gives us hope of the survival, so you will be such ray in a fog for mankind, will be a hope on the better tomorrow of our kind.
Original version (language: polish) may be found on [1]