The Cleansing – (The Sequel to Judgement) eBook : Forsythe, Ron: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store
Chapter 25 – Experiences – Ups and Downs
Commander Chameakegra met Ron at the airlock as he was ushered in to the massive H-craft by the Marlan pilot. Ron was struck speechless by the enormity of what he was seeing. So much he had not thought about or realised. He had not even begun to imagine where all the armies of Xerces and other aliens had come from. Of course, they had come from here, from the Ness, where else? It had to be large to accommodate such a vast number.
Chameakegra led him through the corridors to her private quarters where she proudly regaled him with her collection of Hydran creativity. Not that Ron was at all impressed. The familiarity of the Hydran art and culture robbed it of worth; it was the H-craft and its denizens that had impacted on him. The colossal ship was a mobile city. He could not imagine the propulsion system necessary to propel it or the way this number of people could be catered for. How did they feed and support this vast number of people?
Chameakegra quickly realised that she was wasting her time trying to impress him with her indulgence in Hydran culture. Following a brief set of refreshments she took him on a lightning tour. There were things she wanted him to see.
‘This is one of the nerve centres,’ she said, showing him into what looked like an endless arena of carrel units manned mainly by large Leffs with a liberal number of Minorians and smattering of Solarians, Jerbs, Marlans and Giforians. Ron stood speechless inside the portal, staring in disbelief at the army of aliens, bustling around, talking, exchanging views and working at their terminals.
‘This is where the assessment takes place,’ Chameakegra explained. ‘Neff is scanning the information and collecting data. That is processed and these people are accessing, directing and refining. We have built up a picture of all Hydran cultures as well as individuals.’
‘That is utterly unbelievable,’ Ron replied, open-mouthed, staring around at the enormous room. He could not imagine the number of terminals or aliens he was looking at. The place went on further than he could see. ‘How many of these centres do you have?’
‘We have ten of these centres on different levels,’ Chameakegra explained matter-of-factly. ‘There’s a lot of data to process.’
‘Even so,’ Ron mumbled, having difficulty getting his head around the sheer enormity of the scene in front of him, let alone nine more the same.
‘An assessment is a thorough operation,’ Chameakegra assured him, watching his reaction with some amusement. To her this was mundane. ‘Every detail is scrutinised. We don’t like to leave anything to chance. Not only have they accumulated the information for the assessment but they have the data on individuals that have enabled us to complete the extractions and carry out the rehabilitation.’
‘I thought that was all complete?’
Chameakegra gave her Giforian chuckle. ‘It’s never complete. The pressure’s off now. You can see everybody is relaxed. All this casual interaction you are witnessing today. When we were carrying out the assessment proper everybody was focussed. You could have heard a whisper. Everybody was at their terminal directing Neff and processing and storing data. An assessment is only as good as the data you collect.’
‘Shit in; shit out,’ Ron muttered, staggered by the size of the operation. Seeing the Neff and its crew suddenly put the Federation into perspective. He had not quite grasped the enormity of the Federation. ‘Is Grrndakegra’s Quorma on the same scale as this?’
Chameakegra looked amused. ‘Of course. All H-craft are constructed on the same principles. Grrndakegra’s is not manned or set up for an assessment though. The Quorma was sent to carry out an eradication. That’s why the crew are mainly Giforian and Dref.’
Ron turned to her with a shocked expression.
‘It’s alright,’ Chameakegra said, realising the alarm she had triggered. ‘The eradication’s on hold. The Quorma and its crew have been redeployed to carry out the extractions for the rehabilitation. We provide them with the necessary information.’
Ron studied Chameakegra’s face as she explained this. It was as if she had not registered the impact of what she had said. An eradication. The crew of the Quorma might have been temporarily redeployed but they were there to carry out a more sinister task and that had not gone away.
The Earth was sitting under the Sword of Damocles. There was no way of telling when that blade would arc down. That depended on distant powers and Grrndakegra. That hung on the success of Chameakegra’s experiment and the rehabilitation process. And Chameakegra’s experiment was completely dependent on the success that Ron made of the global government.
‘So, Gillian, you are newly back from a rehabilitation centre?’ The interviewer was a young, attractive blonde who was considered camera-friendly, purred.
Gillian was seated next to her husband on a chintzy sofa.
‘Can you tell us about your experience?’
‘It was terrifying,’ Gillian recalled. ‘These massive giant reptiles burst in and dragged me away.’
‘I was helpless,’ her husband explained. ‘They just brushed me aside.’
‘I was bundled into this craft with a horde of other terrified people and we were whisked away. I honestly thought we were all going to die. It was horrendous. I was absolutely terrified.’
So what happened?’
‘When they had crammed in as many as they could they took us off.’
‘Where exactly?’
‘Well I understand that the facilities were on the moon but it could have been anywhere. The journey certainly wasn’t very long. All we saw was the inside of the craft. People were whimpering and wailing the whole time. Some were so scared they’d actually soiled themselves. The most terrifying time of my life. We really thought they were taking us off to murder us.’
‘What about on the moon?’
‘Could have been anywhere,’ Gillian gripped her husband’s hand. ‘Just white corridors and rooms.’
‘What happened next?’
‘We were assigned rooms…’
‘What were they like?’
‘Well, basic really, not uncomfortable, places to eat and sleep, good food.’
‘But you didn’t know you were on the moon?’
‘No. Strangely the gravity felt normal. Everything felt normal, except we were caged up.’
‘What happened next?’
‘After a while the treatment began.’
‘Treatment?’
‘Yes, we were given some medication and made to sit in these special chairs. I remember lights and voices. It was all very vague and weird.’
‘How did it make you feel?’
‘Well, the medication may me feel all woozy, not unpleasant though and to start with I was relieved. If they were doing this I figured that they weren’t about to bump me off. Then I began to panic a little. I thought they might blank my mind or something. That was scary.’
‘How long did this last?’
‘I’ve no idea. There was no sense of time. I had three sessions. They could have been minutes, hours or days. No way of telling.’
‘And did it make you feel different?’
‘No, not at all,’ Gillian’s husband hugged her to him. She laughed. ‘I’m still the same Gillian I’ve always been.’ She glanced to her husband for confirmation. He smiled and nodded.
‘I’m just glad to have her back whole and unharmed.’
‘I see,’ the pretty interviewer added, looking very grave, ‘that must have been a relief. But Gillian can I ask you what it was that you did that might have made these aliens single you out for this terrifying process?’
‘I was what you might call a vulture capitalist. The Deutsche Bank employed me to strip assets out of failing companies and pay off the workers.’
‘A lucrative career?’
‘Oh yes,’ Gillian replied. ‘It has bought us this mansion in the suburbs and that Porsche in the drive but it had a downside. All that anguish. It took its toll. You became hardened to it. All that anguish and despair. Some people committed suicide you know. I had to shut my mind to the misery they were experiencing. It wasn’t just their jobs; it was their mortgages, cars and whole life. People lost everything. It was so heart-breaking.’
‘But you did it?’
‘Yes. If I hadn’t done it somebody else would. I just had to blot all that out. Like I put it in a compartment.’
‘So what do you think the therapy that they gave you did?’
‘It opened that box, made me look at the reality of what I had been doing.’
‘I see, and what are you going to do now? Are you going back to work?’
‘Oh no,’ Gillian replied with a shudder, ‘I’ve started a fast-track training into teaching.’
‘Do you feel terrible about it all now?’
Gillian looked thoughtful. ‘You know, in a way I feel glad. That job brought us a lot of money but the cost was enormous. It feels like it deadened part of me. Nothing felt fulfilling. I think teaching will make me feel more content.’
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