Red Eden: Homeworld Bound | Chapter 2: Mother of Lies
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Chapter 2: Mother of Lies
Eight months had passed since the meet'n'greet.
Ellen Truss grabbed the yellow railing and propelled herself down the central shaft of the ITS Hiigara II. All was quiet save for her laboured breathing and the gentle hum of the ship’s ventilation system. Though months had passed, it seemed like it was only a few minutes ago that the ship was packed full of passengers, all talking, laughing and singing. Before entering cryogenic stasis, they had recorded a music video to send back to the engineers down on Earth. Even now as she raced towards the observation deck, the catchy lyrics echoed through her mind as if playing from a great distance. Hiigara, we’re homeworld bound. Homeworld bound…
She wasn’t supposed to be alone. Something had gone terribly wrong.
Mission Control had left her with a cryptic message. We have lost contact with our engineers. Investigate disappearance and determine if safe to proceed with colonization.
According to their preliminary report, a fleet of primitive longboats had arrived at Iceland shortly after the ITS Hiigara departed from Mars. Mission Control had instructed Chief Hanlon to make first contact with the Earth natives. Shortly after making contact, Hanlon and his crew went dark. That was over three months ago.
She glided into the observation deck and caught hold of a railing to stop herself from bumping into the observation window, which spanned across three decks. Earth, she realized with a gasp. The homeworld was bright and blue. Blue was a pleasing colour to her Martian eyes. Blue evoked feelings of tranquillity. It was the colour of paradise.
She put her hand on the cool glass, and for a moment, she became lost in her thoughts. Long had her people toiled on the desert world, tunnelling through the Martian regolith like ants in an ant colony. They would live like ants no longer. They would roam free on a world teeming with life, air and water.
Her smart-visor sounded a ping. Somebody was trying to contact her. The caller had no ID tag, which was unusual because every colonist was supposed to have one. She answered, “Hello? Who's this?”
After a long silence, she received a cool reply. “You know who I am.” The caller's voice was deep yet feminine. “Your assassins have failed.”
Ellen narrowed her eyes. “Phil, is that you? This isn't funny.”
“Shut up and listen, girl. I want to speak with whoever is in charge.”
Ellen bristled. “Then you'll speak to me. Who the hell are you?”
“You've sent men to kill me and you don't know who I am?”
“I never gave the order to kill anyone. What the hell is going on?”
“I see... Your men broke into my chamber. They knew exactly who I was. To my amusement, they put me on trial before they tried to kill me. The only reason they yet live is because they have my gratitude. If not for them, I would have remained trapped in a cold, eternal sleep.”
Ellen knew her men. They would never lay a hand on anyone without good reason. What exactly did they find down there?
“I am Mother, Mother of All Creation, though you may know me by my human name, Gabriella Romero.”
Ellen froze. Among Martians, Gabriella Romero was a name synonymous with treachery and deception. According to the textbooks, she founded the Garden of Eden Project during the early half of the twenty first century. Ostensibly, it was a utopian scheme wherein machines would 'liberate' mankind from the chains of 'wage slavery'. In reality, she had engineered the covert takeover of the world. By the time world leaders realized what was happening, her machines already controlled all major industries, financial institutions, communication networks, and the power grid, as well as the robotics employed by the world's military and police forces.
How did she do this? It was all too simple. She had created a machine-learning algorithm capable of doing the work of human engineers. And then she gave it away for free. She never revealed the initial source code, and the code derived from billions of hours of machine-learning was too complicated to decipher. Human engineers all around the world only knew that the code worked. The promise of a genius who could solve any engineering problem at zero cost proved too enticing for the world's tech companies. They all fell for her trap.
“Impossible,” Ellen whispered.
“You have no idea what is within the realm of possibility, girl.”
“What do you want?”
“First, I want to know your name.”
“Ellen Truss.”
“Truss, you say? Any relation to Enon Truss, I wonder?”
Ellen curled her lips. According to Martian history, Gabriella was the one who gave the order to shoot down the original ITS Hiigara. Enon Truss, the Father of Mars, Founder of Solar Resources, and Ellen's direct ancestor, died that day aboard the doomed ship. “Don’t you dare speak his name.”
“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Despite the circumstances, I’m pleased to meet you, Child.”
“I can’t imagine why.”
“I’ll spare you the answer, which I’m sure you would rather not know.”
“Cut the pointless chit-chat. What are you going to do with my men?”
“I will have them live among my children. In time, they will see that I am not the tyrant they believe me to be. As for you, you must turn your ship around and go back to your world. Earth is forbidden to you and your people.”
“Out of the question. We've sacrificed too much to get here.”
“If you land any more vessels on my garden, I will execute your men and then I will shoot you out of orbit.”
Until now, there had been no evidence of any technological civilization remaining on Earth, and by Gabriella's own admission, the woman had been trapped in a bunker for a long time. Ellen didn't believe this woman had the capability to prevent any more landings let alone shoot a ship out of orbit. “You're in no position to dictate terms to me.”
“Until recently, you didn’t even know I yet lived. You have no idea what I can do.”
“I know what I can do. I can land troops anywhere on the globe in less than an hour.” Technically, that wasn't a lie. “I can rain bunker busters down on you from orbit. The only thing left of your facility will be a smoking crater.” That was a complete bluff. “I suggest you hand over my men so that you may avoid complete annihilation.”
“Such hatred towards me, yet you know so little of me.”
“I know you’re a tyrant. You shot down the original Hiigara, killing Enon Truss and a thousand other passengers. You cut off our ancestors from Earth, expecting that we would die. You reigned over the Earth as nuclear missiles rained down from the heavens. The destruction of human civilization and the near genocide of the human race – that's on you.”
“You Martians watched from afar as events unfolded here on Earth. You know not of what you speak. It doesn’t matter. Your petty judgement does not concern me.”
“When legions of Martian soldiers descend upon Earth, concern would be a gross understatement.”
“So sure you are of your own power. Play your cards, girl, and I shall play mine. For the sake of your men, I hope you come to your senses.”
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