**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.**60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLj5YQMXRw
The First Energy Crystal
Leaving the Abbas Archive proved more difficult than60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdYPgnIKBj
entering it.
Which was, Zorina supposed, only fair. Ancient impossible60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMElhDN9Gm
civilisations were rarely considerate enough to provide clearly marked exits,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡet2Vqy2wn5
emergency lighting, and a polite notice reading: This way back to your60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnk5JyHCo5H
previous understanding of reality.
She stood beneath the great column of light, with60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHdnKDw60I7
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 to60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtptCtQrnwH
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 fantasy60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo7qsRv4yYQ
and more like a word humanity had invented for knowledge it had failed to60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGyIHyzhA4
catch.
Zorina walked towards the flower-shaped biological energy60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡToc7XYmbaW
device.
The six transparent crystal petals sensed her approach and60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE5DAcczMSL
opened slowly. The reclining platform at their centre shimmered with a60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCRkoHlLOdl
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmPj9fcvHi8
Even when one finds oneself inside a volcanic archive that recognises one’s60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gh1DBkNXH
blood and opens ancient doors in one’s honour, a certain professional suspicion60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTYZDxkvLx
remains healthy. Faith, after all, was merely ignorance wearing ceremonial60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLGdQ3ItcKg
clothing.
She rolled up the torn sleeve of her damaged flight suit and60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrAD4eX8diJ
exposed her arm.
Bruises. Abrasions. Dried blood. A shallow split across the60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfpH3sgnK97
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;60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTdZDC9atm9
inflammatory response; residual analgesic compounds in bloodstream; accumulated60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDUalMRBPiy
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 official60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTxW9ApppK
systems. It responded immediately, which placed it already above half the60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7p5eNDs3q4
departments in Britain.
From within the petals, countless blue filaments emerged,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxRT0PilPq
fine as hair. They did not pierce her skin. They passed through its surface60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbC8Eu6FtyW
like light through shallow water, distinguishing with impossible delicacy60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQGpFxHg1Jk
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.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnXXT6wM80a
Redness faded. Dried blood cracked and lifted away. Beneath it, new skin60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Q1RExZwcA
formed, smooth and faintly luminous for one brief second before settling into60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwl11i6pRdZ
ordinary flesh.
She stared.
High-tier medicine in 3911 could perform rapid repair. Of60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGpDe5DBXP
course it could. With enough energy, nanomaterial, authorisation, medical debt,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZ2sa3Uxj8
and institutional permission, the ruling classes had achieved wonders. A First60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RxcOT6l0D
Tier minister could have an injured liver mended before lunch and complain60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKrdiqi87k1
about the inconvenience of the appointment by dinner.
A Fifth Tier child could die of infected water beside a dark60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ihRZlBbyV
purification station.
Civilisation, as ever, was less a question of possibility60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjAGKkxTib9
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 feed60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3Hcos7XMqK
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 would60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPMd9zBFXHC
have buried it beneath twelve paragraphs of discouraging language and an60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfN2bM0N7h
encouraging note about future review.
Yet Zorina stared at the little crystal as if she had just60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAEtZl8Lmis
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 worst60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlBczryuAw
nightmare: a fact.
Her mind moved at once to the First Tier.
To those polished old men and beautifully maintained women60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ98bumkT6Aq
who ate too much, drank too much, took gene-stabilising therapies, anti-ageing60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPqotfn1xga
injections, cellular rejuvenation compounds, and private metabolic treatments60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkyuRxurVP3
with the wounded dignity of people forced to remain alive in considerable60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvQ4FeNAal8
comfort.
Their bodies accumulated excess fat, metabolic residue,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzxrsbUspG4
decayed cells, drug residues, ageing tissue, corrupted proteins, minor lesions,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD61HTsTaeb
and all the waste that privilege politely renamed maintenance.
If one injured ordinary person could produce 0.003 units,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHCt7xbdrVF
then what might be harvested from the overfed, over-treated, chemically60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMAi0SZGHcm
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 a60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRt3LqTJ36J
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 extended60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnnIHqe0joX
towards the far side of the cavern.
They were pointing.
There stood a small platform.
Zorina walked to it. The platform was empty, smooth, and60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZD9IWfoI8
black, with a shallow circular depression at its centre. She placed the tiny60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjbVjf8YblH
crystal upon it.
Silver rings materialised above the platform.
The air stirred.
Minute particles gathered in the empty space, first as dust,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaI0c34aTl4
then as mist, then as a surface. The shape thinned and flattened, edges60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1qsYHY6G9E
refining themselves with silent precision until a small, tablet-like object60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiZUv2gqUfC
formed in the air.
It resembled an old-world communication device.
Only simpler.
Cleaner.
As if design, after centuries of human committee meetings,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiqr6VifMHm
had finally been allowed to recover.
[Low-level communication interface generated.]
[Warning: external world communication networks are under regime60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZS2fUkZFSc
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 went60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcPLzsaumv
still.
Crystal-Pattern Panel 1011 was not a discovery.
It was a keyhole.
This civilisation had not preserved a single technique. It60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNDPtY5NCK4
had preserved an entire hierarchy of tools beyond Earth’s present level. If60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqWu7umEOBp
even a portion of them could be awakened, the order built upon energy scarcity60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2bsGCKYEPU
would not merely be challenged.
It would be made ridiculous.
And few things enraged power more than being made60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwzlN9w4AG
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 be60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5rynCIbBXT
watched, especially now. Any abnormal communication would push him straight60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8okxLqkfSO
into the Bureau’s line of fire, and the Bureau had never been famous for60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJOTuNiVHPJ
missing when shooting at inconvenient loyalty.
Robin Shen was different.
Robin Shen had been raised in fire and taught to call it60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5KRdkFhqpq
central heating.
She entered a private code she had not used in years.
Long ago, when they were still children, Robin had turned60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSm7e77FNz
that sequence into a secret game between them. He had told her that if the60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzTUTNNA9zO
world ever became too loud, she could use it to find him.
At the time, neither of them had known that the world would60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKMPAKUukOH
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 not60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡobGy1K9rdv
currently buying insurance, investing in Martian cemetery plots, or fostering60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypu6axh4Eg
any former girlfriend’s cat.”
Zorina closed her eyes.
“Robin.”
Silence.
Five full seconds.
Then every trace of theatrical laziness vanished from his60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIB5Oz4jRw0
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,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRClr7KrrxJ
offended, awakened, or possibly inherited from a prior civilisation.
He asked only, “Money, identity, flight corridor, or a60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxS85vBdr7r
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,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmH6MPlVEki
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 the60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqpahHk4qm4
interface.
“Tristan da Cunha.”
Robin said something very softly and extremely unsuitable60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD8ZVe2Vdkm
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 me60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcXp4iTsV6P
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 charming60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2Dj6zbGryJ
embarrassment at expensive dinners — all of that could deceive society pages,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuzUZr3UaAj
family enemies, and women who mistook cynicism for intelligence. But before60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq6PBCA9kj2
real danger, Robin never wasted time denying information merely because it60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF3LJYnlmzg
sounded deranged.
It was one of his few genuinely civilised qualities.
“Stay where you are,” he said. “I’ll arrange a rescue line.60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZjxhPQlqNB
It cannot be official. The most important thing is that Britain must not define60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscXZHjeWt9
you first.”
“Define me?”
“Missing. Defector. Dead. Traitor. Asset under protective60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIbZQ80rdza
custody. Choose any unpleasant noun and place it in a white folder. That is how60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGIC0D6E5RV
governments perform sorcery.”
“I don’t only need extraction.”
“Well?”
Zorina lifted her eyes to the chamber that had slept beneath60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcmIvzKfxs
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,60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ9OrshO88B
one card on the table capable of frightening the house.
“Perfect,” he said softly. “Then we shall have a civilised60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdtBi5NZkbB
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 continued60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMQedwBgtbs
congratulating itself on being permanent.
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWgNqllykro
60Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtsLUDQiRU3
**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.