Devon Alone V: The Dream, The Dark and The Light by Nicole Mayer

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DEVON, ALONE Part V
The Dream, the Dark, and the Light (4/11)
by Nicole Mayer

The four travellers warily entered the cave. Even Uly was nervous, for, as he and Alonzo had said earlier, this was a very sacred Terrian place. Only through many pleas had the Terrians been persuaded to help Devon, and the group had very specific instructions on where they were permitted to go.

Devon felt a sense of unreality about all of this. How had she let Julia talk her into it? Did she really believe there was some terrible secret locked up in her mind that the Dreamplane would help reveal? And could Devon face the truth?

That was what scared her the most - finding out that there *was* something in her past, something so terrible that she had purposely forgotten it. Something even worse than being part of a VR program - and Devon shuddered. Maybe she shouldn't go ahead with this after all.

Her steps slowed as they moved deeper into the cave. There was no need for the luma-light, as veins of Morganite ran along each wall and provided ample illumination for the group. Each corridor seemed to be alive and pulsating with energy. It was an eerie beauty.

They rounded a corner, and came across a great cavern. Ancient stone formations adorned the centre, and the travellers were immediately struck by the sense of -history- about the place. As if this cave had witnessed events from over a millennia ago, and would continue to record happenings until the end of time.

The walls were literally glowing with Morganite, and there were random flashes of light that illuminated the cavern even more. With each burst, a rush of air wafted past the travellers reminding them of the planet's transportation tunnels. This *place* was a vortex for something great.

"Where now?" whispered Julia, her voice hushed and reverent. Alonzo and Uly glanced at each other.

"There's a certain Terrian we have to find," replied Alonzo, directing his gaze to the walls. Every so often, there was an indentation, surrounded by a great light, and within these pockets, Terrians stood. They were deathly still, but the colonists knew the Terrians were dreaming - communicating with each other and the planet in a way humans were only beginning to comprehend.

"Over there." Uly pointed and took his mother's hand. "They'll help you, Mom. They told me they will show you the truth."

Devon reluctantly let herself be pulled towards the tallest of the dreaming Terrians. His skin was leathery and wrinkled, he was perhaps the oldest living Terrian that any of them had ever seen.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Devon said nervously, regretting the whole situation. She could feel the tangible danger in the air. One wrong move, and it could mean the beginning of a war between humans and Terrians.

And, frightening her even more, was what Devon would discover within herself when the Terrians did show her, as they promised, the truth.

Julia took Devon's other hand as they reached the old Terrian. "You have to do this, Devon. For your own peace of mind."

"Remember, we're right here for you," added Alonzo. He lightly touched her shoulder. "Relax."

Devon tried, but her breath was coming in short gasps. "I can't go through with this."

"Yes you can. Close your eyes," Alonzo instructed. Devon did so. "You are about to enter the Dreamplane. Relax, and let them take you with them."

Uly lifted Devon's hand forward until her fingertips finally brushed the Terrian's skin. She jumped at the shock of contact, but then, almost as if her body were taking on a life of its own, her palm flattened against the old Terrian and she became a part of him. She was on the Dreamplane.

Almost instantly, Devon felt a sense of peace. She was amongst friends, both human and Terrian, and they were with her and would not let her be hurt. It was so bright here, the images moving disjointedly but Devon expected this, so it was okay. *She* was okay.

She turned, and heard the mournful trill of a Terrian. It was the old one. It lifted up one hand, and beckoned to her. Warily, Devon took a step forward. And then another step, following the Terrian from the brightness of G889 through a portal, to a very dark and frightening place...

***

Surreptitiously, she crept forward, glad of the simulated night that made for shadows in every direction. She did not want to be seen traversing these corridors at any time, let alone now, and made sure to keep well out of the various cameras' lines of sight. She wore black, and the dark hair framing her pale face served to make her even more invisible. Not that anyone was watching. She hoped.

Her heart was pounding in her ears, a noise that appeared terribly loud in the absolute stillness of the dark. Each footstep she took seemed to echo for an eternity, but it was her breathing that made the most noise. Although breathing was something she would no longer have to worry about if she were caught.

No. She wouldn't even think of that. She'd done everything she could to protect herself, and those she was close to. There would be victory ahead, she told herself over and over. They -the Council- wouldn't win. If she *did* fail tonight, she fervently prayed that the awful consequences could never be allowed to come to fulfilment.

She finally reached her destination and paused, checking in every direction. No one. Now came the difficult part. Getting past all the earlier security checkpoints was child's play next to this.

Slipping one hand into a pocket, she withdrew a data card. The metallic strip glinted momentarily as a fragment of light caught it, illuminating her name. A pang of regret shot through her suddenly, for she wouldn't be able to use her card after this.

If she succeeded tonight, never again would she have access into high places, or even the right to show her face in public. For many months to come she would be marked for death by the multitude of Council assassins that lurked on every part of the stations. It didn't matter if the Council were still in power or not, there were many who were undyingly loyal and would not stand aside as one woman brought it down. Especially *them*.

Replicas.
An illicit shiver ran down her spine as she comprehended the power of her thoughts. Could she really do it? She knew she had to try. She inserted her modified card into the slot and held her breath as the computer processed the details. Five endless seconds passed...and then there was a gentle whirr and click as the door unlocked. She was in.

The room beyond was even darker than the corridor, she could not even see her own hand in front of her face. The darkness unnerved her, so she closed her eyes. At least now she could pretend that there was light somewhere and that she was just unable to see it.

Glad she had memorised the room's layout from station schematics coupled with her own experience, she took a step forward. She didn't know exactly what she was looking for, yet had reasoned that the only place she would find absolute proof was in the offices of the people who were behind it all. The head of the Council.

Their three leaders - the president and his trusted allies - only they would have the information she sought. After what she had seen today, she suspected that anyone involved within the initiation of the project was long dead - or Replicated.

She suppressed a shudder as she recalled the events of the past weeks. She had begun to stumble across things that were -wrong-, things that didn't add up, such as associates with gaps in their memories. The Council's continual rebuttal of her proposals. And the terrifying message she'd received that very morning, one which *finally* granted her a private meeting with the President...

They knew that she knew the truth. And if her mission failed tonight, she would soon be dead.

came the little whisper of her mind. Pain welled up inside her and she fought the powerful emotion. Anna Sinclaire, one of the closest things she'd ever had to a friend, had also been aware that something was not right and tried to tell her something important. Anna had mentioned that dark times were ahead, something *she* already knew. But whatever Anna's secret message, it had never left her. And it never would.

Was that a sound? She froze, her inching motion stopped as she strained to hear anything in the absolute quiet. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted again, and must *focus*! Otherwise, everything Anna had done, everything *she* had tried to do, was for nothing.

It was her greatest chance. She almost laughed aloud at the circumstances that had allowed her to see the truth. She'd barged her way past the various security checkpoints, protesting loudly that she should at least have one chance to speak to the President. And her reputation had allowed her to get that far, into a place where few people were ever permitted.

A dropped ring as she awaited the President, to demand that the Eden Project be re-instated, was all it took. For all the Council's security, it seemed that once she was out of sight under the desk, she was out of mind and she had watched with growing horror as they keyed open a hidden wall unit. Gleaming secret technology had appeared, and then, then - they hauled Anna out of a chamber.

But it wasn't Anna anymore. It was a nothing, a breathing organism with no mind. A clone. The mocking tones of the Councillors', "My dear Ms Sinclaire, you really cannot defeat the Council. Soon all of that will be *so* clear to you!" seemed to still ring in this dark place.

And then they injected something into her mind...it was too shocking to comprehend. Anna woke up, and the horrible sound of the first breath would forever echo in Devon's mind. It was a new birth, and a primal scream as Anna collapsed forward onto the floor and the Councillors laughed. But Anna - she had lifted her head - and had looked straight at Devon. It was Anna who had given her away to the Council.

she reminded herself. That was the only explanation she could come up with, for she had been *so* careful in all of her enquiries. Some trace of Anna must have remained, to let her go free from the room that terrifying morning when Devon had been so sure that Anna would say something and reveal her presence. But it seemed Anna had kept her silence until the message from the President had come.

She was doomed. Unless she could do this now. Finally, she reached the inner chamber of the Presidential offices, where the new Anna had been activated. There *had* to be records there, or at least, she knew, the equipment that had been used to perform the procedure. She was looking for something, anything, that she could use to go public, and then she would be alright.

She crept to the wall, counting her steps exactly, until she reached the unit that controlled the room's surveillance cameras. With experienced fingers, she disconnected them and said, "Lights." Illumination flooded the room and as her heart beat wildly, she checked her handiwork. It was perfect, no one could know that she was there.

Where to start? The wall unit was the obvious place - behind the old-fashioned (and ridiculously expensive) wooden bookcase lay the high technology workroom. She crossed to the wooden panel she had seen opened last time and gently tapped it. Her fingers were trembling, but as she had suspected, there were no security measures here. No one would even know it existed unless they had seen its use.

To her immense delight, the bookcase swung aside. A gentle hum began as lights flickered on, illuminating a sophisticated computer, gleaming metal technology and a wall chamber where the Anna-clone had been grown and stored.

Frost lined its surface, so she could not see if anyone was in there now. Actually, she didn't really want to know, she just wanted to grab her evidence and leave. But what should she take?

A freezer-tank caught her attention. She uneasily walked towards it and keyed open the lid. Inside were hundreds of vials, each one labelled with a name. DNA fragments - from a nail, or a piece of hair, all that was needed to entirely clone a person.

If she searched long enough, she would probably find one with *her* name on it. Or maybe not, for they wanted her dead, not cloned.

Well, one vial would provide part of her proof. What about the device she had seen injected into Anna-clone's brain? Surely that would contain conclusive evidence. She closed the tank and proceeded to the next workbench.

Time was running out - she had to work quickly. A computer screen activated with her nearness, asking for her retinal scan. She ignored it and instead inserted her modified data card into the slot, watching with a small sense of victory as it rerouted subroutines and allowed her minimal access. It began to copy file after file, and she hoped that would be enough evidence to prove the Council's corruption. She had been foolish to think that things would just be 'lying around' for her to take. The DNA vial was pure luck.

She progressed around the room, wishing that the file transfer would hurry up. She was so close now, maybe there was really a chance that she would get out of there with the evidence, and actually bring down the Council! It would be a dream come true. And then maybe, someday, she could reactivate the Eden Project and bring hope to so many families. Her own family was doomed, but if she could help others, then somehow, it would be worth it.

She paused by the wall chamber. It sickened her to think that there was a clone in there right now, a Replica ready to replace whoever was next on the Council's hit list. Tentatively, she reached out one hand and touched the cold glass. A chill ran down her spine, almost as if... as if... a sense of familiarity...

She brushed aside the ice, telling herself it wouldn't matter if she caught a glimpse of the thing inside, maybe she could warn someone. Something inside of her was screaming *no don't look!!!* but she lifted her eyes anyway and looked into -

her own face.

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