A Sinner's Eden-Chapter 174 - EVO

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

Our view of the world was changed forever once Magnus and I returned to Tirnanog and unlocked the teleporter for the others.

The following weeks felt like years. So much was going on between what remained of Thich and the discovered alien facility, although no additional Zacharias clones were found.

Almost every day came with a new revelation which shattered our view of the world anew.

The organisation’s specialists descended on the alien outpost and its machinery like predators on unsuspecting prey. Thich’s research was seized to further our understanding of the situation. We even compelled Gaia to help with the problems that escaped our expertise, at least as much as the entity could be forced to do anything. Thankfully, she could be persuaded to become more talkative once everyone she had contact with was ordered to pester her at every opportunity.

Sadly, we were unable to engage in any meaningful communication with the alien we encountered on the lunar base, but thanks to a research log our people discovered soon afterwards, we now knew a lot more about what we were facing. Normally, translating the files would have taken a lot of time, but the Thich had already performed the legwork for us.

What Magnus and I encountered called itself ‘The Designer’, a fitting name given the creature’s purpose. Its sole task was to ‘design’ and manage Tirnanog’s biosphere.

Upon further study of the research files, the Designer turned out to be nothing more than an agent for the energy entities that stood in opposition to Gaia.

The Designer and other species like it were silicon-based lifeforms, utterly incompatible with the Gestalt. They formed a sort of intergalactic society, governed by the entities who desired the Gestalt's demise. If the research log was to be trusted, then silicon-based life was the galactic norm: if it hadn’t been for the Gestalt’s emergence and subsequent spreading throughout our galaxy.

The Designer's people called this event ‘the first great outbreak’ and it clued us in that our galaxy was probably teeming with life sown by the Gestalt.

The Gestalt’s enemies had given up on the Milky Way long ago and resorted to a research and containment strategy, entertaining various facilities throughout the Milky Way. They decided to perform their research in already contaminated territory, instead of taking the risk of spreading the Gestalt to other galaxies. How they thought about Gaia and all carbon-based life was evident by the umbrella term they used for us: The Plague.

Tirnanog was one of several research worlds, carefully curated with bio-engineered lifeforms. A test-bed to find ways to exterminate the Gestalt. There was an entire orbital weather control system which explained Tirnanog’s strange seasons and the light phenomena Magnus and I observed when we sabotaged Thich’s flagship. It was a fine mesh of transparent modules which were like one-sided mirrors, capable of reflecting certain wavelengths of light away from the planet or even taking on electromagnetic properties to influence Tirnanog's magnetosphere.

And the moon wasn’t a moon, but a hollow control station which supplied the enormous climate control system with power. It went without question that, so far, nobody dared to touch the controls for this device and there were guards posted at all times to ensure nobody would mess with the settings.

The Designer was in charge of the research conducted on this world, a task it had been performing for millennia with a dogged single-mindedness which was mindblowing. Nobody was able to fathom why the alien would stay on task for such a long time. Either the Designer's mind was so alien that there had been no hope for negotiations in the first place, or its masters had something on the creature to keep it loyal.

The latest avenue of research had been the creation of hybrid species, which were incompatible with the Gestalt, but capable of supplanting its greatest weapon: humans.

Zacharias was nothing more than a mind-wiped tool who thought gaining control of the alien technology would allow him to become the undisputed ruler of the world. When he acquired his ‘research subjects’, thinking they were necessary to gain control of the alien technology, he was providing the Designer with all the genetic material it needed.

When Zacharias started his war against the other clans to eliminate his competition, he was following the Designer’s imperative to eliminate all the powerful human offshoots it regarded as a threat to its research. Because just as the designer sought to create a species which could supplant humans, humans were evolving too. It even supplied Zacharias and his people with bio-weapons like the psyling, or the bat-mounts. The strange starfish monster, which had been hunting Magnus and me so long ago, was revealed to be nothing but the psyling’s first, parasitic form.

All these revelations led to endless reports and meetings, eating up everyone’s time. Of course, people were up in arms and eager to find out what would happen next. Most of all, Vanya, who practically disappeared for days on end, researching the moon base and everything it entailed.

A lot of questions remained unanswered. Like where the uncorrupted Zacharias clones and Vier's leader, Nisha Dawson, had disappeared to. Or where the Designer's teleportation orb could bring us.

Continuing our war against Vier had been put on hold, since winter was coming and nobody expected we would be able to finish them before the snow arrived. So, most of the fleet was ordered to patrol the border region between the Old Camp and Vier's territory. And since the Vier were keeping their legs still, we for once got a rare moment to consolidate and rest.

Which was why an informal party was organised at Mount Aerie, hosting all of the powerful factions who were on our side. To my pride, the elders entrusted me with organising this highly important task.

It was important not to leave out anyone. Even the former Mycelists were included. Though Balthasar Pinault still insisted on representing a neutral party, he and his people had the Old Camp firmly under their management by now.

I stood with my parents in the large ballroom, which had been organised to house the celebrations. The party was as much intended to allow people to blow off some steam as to foster the relationships between the clans.

“It looks like everything is going well.” I smiled as I watched the mass of people mingle.

“Until it does not,” Teresa commented while swirling around the alcohol in her glass. The liquid wasn’t doing anything to make her tipsy, so she only drank it for the taste. “When there are so many of the high and mighty in one room without some outside threat to focus on, it’s just a matter of time until someone’s ego is hurt.”

“Don’t jinx it, everything is going so well,” I admonished her. “Which should be no wonder, since I was the one you tasked with organising the event! And I put everything I had into making it perfect. The only sad thing is that Mary and Gunnar are still in the hospital and can’t be here.”

Etan blew a raspberry and inconspicuously gestured with his glass at a corner of the ballroom where the few kids were gathered who belonged to one influential person or the other. “If nothing is going wrong, then please explain to me how Hochberg’s Matriarch got seated in the kids’ section?”

My face froze, and my head snapped around so sharply that I almost broke my neck.

“Oh, fff… hahaha! Maybe it will be alright? I am sure she would like people closer to her age.”

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Vanya***

“Ahem, my name is Vanya, and who are you?” I tried to smile to break the ice, but I could tell it wasn’t working. I just wasn’t used to dealing with people who weren’t, I paused, well, who weren’t adults. So whatever went wrong with the seat reservation was something I would complain about later for sure.

The four pairs of eyes which regarded me like some fish out of water kept scrutinising my existence until one of the kids finally raised his hand. “I am Isaac Frost!”

Then he pointed out the two next to him. “And these are my sisters, Constella and Aurora.”

He looked to be around seven, and the two girls next to him were even younger. Another girl at the table was a lot closer to my age, but still younger. Which still made me the oldest at the table with my thirteen years.

“I am Charmaine Pinault,” the older girl added shyly after a pause.

“Ah, does that mean you are related to Teresa Frost?” I asked the boy, wondering about their position within their strata.

“She is our grandma! Astra is our mother,” Constella replied while looking around the room. “They are over there.” She pointed over to where Astra stood with her parents, pointedly trying to pretend she had not just looked over at us.

Astra and Magnus had kids? That was news to me!

“Ahem, excuse me, but doesn’t that-” I stopped talking as some things didn’t add up. “I don’t want to accuse you of lying, but are you sure? I thought Magnus only arrived on Tirnanog a year ago?”

Constella nodded super fast, as if she already expected my concerns. “We are less than a year old, but we are growing up super fast.”

Then she leaned closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “All the adults are treating us like kids because they don’t know what to do with us. But our minds work super fast because we have multiple-personality disorder from our parents. And before you ask, Big Bro is just a little bigger than us because he hatched first.”

“It’s not multiple-personality disorder, Cons,” Aurora corrected her sister tiredly.

“I am not your big brother,” Isaac complained. “Mom laid all of us on the same day, and we don’t know who came out first!”

“We agreed that the hatching date counts,” Constella countered. “Which makes you Big Bro in age and size.”

Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

“We never agreed on anything!”

“Yes, we did by majority vote. Isn’t that correct, sis?” Constella nudged Aurora.

Aurora sighed. “Yes, we did. Isaac is our Big Bro. I am bored and I don’t like it here. Can’t we run off and explore?”

Both Constella and Isaac drew in a sharp breath at the same time as if Aurora had just committed a grave sin.

“We can’t! Mom especially told us that if we cause trouble today, we would be on her shit list for the next month!”

“Can’t you remember what she did the last time we caused a mess? All that blood, and- and-”

I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to know what this was about, but I had seen how Astra handled things. Of course, that wasn’t truly enough to make conclusions about her parenting style. And I was certain I didn’t want to know what the ‘laying’ and ‘hatching’ business was about.

So I turned my attention away from the bickering siblings and towards Charmaine. “But you are normal?”

She was interesting. After introducing themselves, I checked the four with my psychic senses, and the siblings felt a lot like their parents, but the Pinault girl felt like she wasn’t there at all. Almost like a plant, which would check out with the mutations I saw on her.

“Normal?” Charmaine asked.

“Well, a normal child?” I elaborated, wondering whether such a concept as an anti-psychic existed. If it did, Charmaine seemed to be a perfect example.

She shrugged. “I think so. What is normal if you are born on Tirnanog?”

For once, I didn’t have an immediate answer. “I must admit, you have a point there.”

Maybe talking with other non-adults wasn’t so bad after all? In a way, they shared my plight. Had I finally found some fellow souls who could understand my troubles?

The siblings had finished their argument by then, which seemed like one they repeated regularly.

Aurora brought out a wooden box from among her filaments. “If we can’t explore, then let’s play cards!” She opened the box and spilled out the contents, which included cards, dice and some tokens.

“Mom said we shouldn’t bring toys along!” Isaac complained.

“Mom said this, Mom said that.” Aurora rolled her eyes. “Do you think she will punish us for sitting at the table while playing cards. It’s not like we cause any trouble that way!”

She locked eyes with her sister, and both of them started sorting the cards into piles.

Isaac threw up his hands as if giving up.

I frowned. “I don’t know this game.”

“Oh, that’s no problem!” Isaac snatched a few cards and began explaining the rules like a machine.

And there were lots of rules! From different card types to how a player’s turn was segmented. How the various card types like lands, enchantments, sorceries, instants, and many more were used. How to build your deck. Then the various win conditions…

It took a little more than half an hour just to skim through the basics. A normal kid my age would have had no chance to get what was going on. Luckily, most of the cards were self-explanatory once the mysterious keywords on them were explained.

In a way, the game was a combination of chess, a programming language, and luck.

It was something new and mysterious, so I found myself smiling as I tried to unravel all the possibilities between the various card combinations. Card combos were a powerful thing in ‘MtG’. Often, cards didn’t do much individually, but once combined with another, they could grant powerful effects or even win the game.

I found myself immediately drawn to the concept and began snatching up as many of those interesting puzzle pieces as possible to put in my card pile. In a way, this was a lot like my Rubik’s cube, only new and interesting.

So we found ourselves playing our first game, which I lost.

Then we played a second game, which I lost too.

And then I lost the third one.

Okay, I admit I was always a very competitive person, but losing thrice against ‘kids’ was very disheartening.

Then on the other side, the siblings were like their parents, and they played the game a lot. There were so many different things going on in their minds that I had no chance of telling what they were up to. And the Pinault girl was just a big, blank emptiness. Oh, she wasn’t as smart as the siblings, but she also played the game before and acted within the rules. Every time she did something, it caused lots of upheaval instead of achieving anything concrete. She was just a source of chaos!

During the fourth game, I found myself growling, frustrated that Isaac had exiled one of the combo pieces, which would allow me to win, just the previous turn. And the way he was grinning at me told me he knew exactly what I had been up to.

Unable to do anything about it, I sighed and passed the turn to Charmaine.

Playing with people whom I didn’t know very well and couldn’t read was frustrating and exciting at the same time.

It was also an opportunity I never thought would occur to me. Since all the people around me were so easily manipulated, thinking of others as anything more than tools to manipulate was hard. And Isaac was putting up a fight, whether he did so intentionally or not.

“Say, Isaac, what kinds of mutations did you get from your parents?”

Still concentrated on the game, he rattled off most of his parents' physical improvements. The only ‘psychic’ ability he got was the sub-personality thing.

This may be possible with a little help from Gaia.

“Have you ever thought about courting someone?” I asked. “Someone like me?”

Isaac froze and glanced at me. “We are way too young for that!”

“Of course.” I nodded. “I just thought of it as a future thing. When we are both old enough. If you want to say it another way, do you want to become friends with me?”

“You can’t have our Bro!” Aurora complained.

“Way too young!” Constella added.

Charmaine just blushed and said nothing.

“You can’t tell me what to do!” Isaac admonished his sisters, then turned to me. “Anyway, way too young. But if you give me your details, we can think about it and see what can be done in a few years. Dad already talked about what I have to look out for in a partner.”

I blinked. “Like what?”

“Like getting one with the right chest size and a well-shaped butt.” He nodded to himself. “Right now, I have no clue why that would matter, but he said there has to be enough to hold onto.”

I looked down at my ‘modest’ chest.

It was okay, I told myself. I still had lots of time to grow. But, Magnus, the next time he asked for psychic training, I would mind-blast him with everything I had. To tell Isaac something like that was just depraved!

“He also said personality is very important, and I can’t judge on that after we just met. Though you seem nice enough,” Isaac continued, oblivious to my reaction to his chest comment. His sisters giggled, clearly getting that the comment hit home.

While the others were still distracted, I suddenly felt a murderous intent right behind me, and someone placed a hand on my shoulder.

“You are playing MtG! Are you having fun?”

A cold shudder ran down my spine, and I turned in my seat to look up at a smiling Elder. “Elder Bruce Patel, is something wrong?”

“No, no. Everything is alright as long as the younger generation is having fun. I just accidentally happened to overhear your conversation.” He leaned in and studied the cards. “Say, do you happen to know where you got those cards?”

“Oh, we had them at home forever!” Aurora chirped happily. “Dad keeps them under his bed. He gave us a different set to play with, but these are a lot prettier. They are all sparkly and glittery, see?” She showed him one of her cards.

The elder nodded and smiled. “I see, I see. Then I will leave you to it and finish some old business. Take good care of those cards. I am sure your Dad would be sad if his collection took damage. And a piece of good advice, Matriarch. I would consider courting Isaac very carefully. Not because of your age, but because of his mother. I apologise, but I couldn’t help but listen in on that part.”

I frowned. “I know that Astra might have something against arranged partnerships. I heard about her circumstances before she hooked up with Magnus, but I hope this situation would be quite different between Isaac and me?”

Isaac coughed. “I would hope so. We just talked about the possibility.”

Bruce chuckled. “Oh, the mistakes of youth. No, I believe you would get a quite different problem with Astra. You see, she is the ambitious kind. Her issue with her parents’ arrangement was never the arrangement in itself.” He hummed. “I should probably let you find out on your own.”

He patted my shoulder and left, heading into the mass of people at a brisk pace while looking around as if searching for someone.

I frowned, wondering what he meant. Was I missing some crucial information?

***Tirnanog, Mount Aerie***

***Astra***

I was hiding in a corner of the room, hoping nobody would find me behind a wall of decorative plants. The party was still going, but so many things were going wrong.

First, that seating issue with the Matriarch, which I still didn’t address, then the food crisis with the buffet, and the catering issue because a few of the service providers didn’t show up. I would have their heads once everything was over.

Oh, and then there was that fight between one of Jeng’s head paladins and one of Hochberg’s officials because someone said something stupid.

“There, there, everything will be alright.” Thalia patted my back in an attempt to console me.

“You are my best friend!” I sniffled and blew my nose on my filaments. “All those people are so stupid. Why can’t they just do their jobs and have fun?”

“I don’t know.” Thalia smiled while petting her very pregnant belly. “You are making this out to be a way bigger issue than it is. Overall, the party is still a big success.”

“But I wanted it to be perfect,” I whined, right before the next problem came around the protective shield of plants, which had shortly served as a hideaway.

Elder Travis Patel smiled at us. “Just the person I was looking for!”

I sighed. “Don’t pretend like it was hard for you to find me. What is the problem?”

Travis pursed her lips. “Well, I am not entirely certain, but my partner Bruce freaked out and went after your Magnus, screaming something about his cards. I would like to dance, but Bruce and Magnus are hitting each other on the balcony leading out to the main living cave. And every once in a while, they are trying their hardest to throw one another over the balustrade.”

“They are what now?” Thalia asked, becoming concerned.

“Oh, don’t worry!” Travis waved her off. “One can fly, and the other can teleport. They can keep going with their little scuffle all day long. I wondered whether you knew what this was about because I want Bruce back for the dancing interlude.”

I watched the elder with a carefully managed neutral expression.

Of course, I knew exactly what the problem was if those stupid cards were involved.

“I have no clue what their problem is, but you have my blessing to help Bruce in beating up Magnus. Just… leave him in a state so he can dance with me a little later, ok?”

Travis pursed her lips, not happy with my solution, but also not opposed to it. “Fine. Oh, and just so you know, Vanya has taken a liking to your boy and offered him a courtship. You might want to take that in hand before it gets awkward for everyone. Though I would be all for it if it meant an even deeper connection between Aerie and Hochberg. They turned out to be our greatest allies in this mess.”

She winked at us and left.

I slowly stood up, totally ignoring Thalia. Her words felt like some sort of background noise while I mechanically crossed the ballroom over to the kids’ section.

Which was where I found my fucking brood playing cards. And not with any cards.

Nooooo.

They were playing with ‘THE’ cards. The set which Magnus stole from Bruce last winter. The ‘expensive’ one, which the elder liked. No wonder he was freaking out after connecting all the dots of what let to their disappearance.

They had noticed me.

Constella wiggled uncomfortably under my gaze, her eyes wandering everywhere so she could avoid mine. “She is looking at us. I don’t like the way she is looking at us. What did we do?”

Aurora nodded. “It’s exactly like back then in the molerat pen. I say we get three weeks of detention: at least.”

“I told you we shouldn’t play cards!” Isaac whined. “I don’t know why, but the cards gave me a bad feeling. We should have just sat in our chairs and done nothing.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Of course, they had no clue what they had done. How should they?

“Ahem,” Vanya cleared her throat. “If this is about what the elder from earlier overheard…”

I slowly breathed out and placed a hand on Vanya’s head. “Oh, it’s not about that. At least not primarily. Though we have to talk about this courtship thing.”

Vanya blushed. “It was just a fancy idea! It’s not like we would do anything about it any time soon. There are years to think this through.”

I blinked. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I just want you to know that if this idea has any chance of success in your eyes, I can’t just lean back and do nothing.”

Vanya frowned and carefully pushed my hand away. “I don’t understand.”

“Oh, it’s just that if you and Isaac become a thing, I would never allow my daughter-in-law to keep going through life without parental guidance.”

Vanya’s eyes searched the room, probably for a way out or one of her bodyguards. “I am not, though: your daughter-in-law. At least not at this point?”

I smiled and ruffled her hair. “Oh, Vanya. Even you don’t know what the future holds. Given you already voiced your willingness, I just would like to be prepared for all eventualities!”

Then I turned my attention to the miscreants, my voice turning icy. “And now let us talk about those cards.”