The Ice Warrior

Chapter 56

"Wir Eis sorry to interrupt," Wir Eis said from the doorway.

"Oh, Wir Eis, it's okay. Is there a problem?" Silv asked, jumping away from Justin's comforting hug.

A wave of worry that some of her alien friends had gotten hurt hit her stronger than she anticipated. After all, she hadn't known them for long, and yet they seemed closer to her heart than some of the humans she knew.

"Yes. My people safe. Need help with Evanescence." Wir Eis said.

"Is she okay?" Silv asked, hurrying out of the room with Justin close on her heels.

"Evanescence, sense Silv hurt. Evanescence worry." Wir Eis explained.

"I'll go to the control room immediately," Silv said, ready to ask Evanescence for teleportation.

"Silv, just a second, please," Justin said.

"I meet you in control room," Wir Eis said, disappearing.

"What is it?" Silv asked, looking at Justin with curiosity.

"Are you sure you are okay? It's alright to take a moment, you know?" Justin said.

"I am fine. Besides, we have to be careful not to disturb Evanescence too much since it can influence our life support systems." Silv said.

Justin seemed unconvinced. Thus, Silv decided he deserved honesty, especially since he always seemed to be there when she needed his support the most.

"Really, Justin, I feel much better. I think I just needed someone to listen to me, to understand. You did that and far more. Of course, my mental health is far from perfect. I don't think I'll feel that way for a long time. However, you helped me calm down, and for that, I am eternally grateful.

"If I feel overwhelmed again, I'll take a break or come to see you on one condition," Silv said.

"What is it?" Justin asked.

"That you do the same," Silv said.

"Deal," Justin said, offering his hand for a handshake.

It felt odd that after the hug they shared, Silv should shake his hand, but she did it anyway. After all, it was another social convention, one that managed to survive the darkest of times. Perhaps it was the only connection left between two strangers in the Government controlled world, and Silv decided to take advantage of it.

Still, even shaking Justin's hand evoked far more emotions than Silv was used to experiencing. As a soldier, she was trained to lock up her feelings, and she never did manage to find a key to releasing her passions. At that moment, she realized that somehow Justin might be the key.

"I'll go check up on everyone. I'll see if the wounded have been taken care of and if the prisoner is secure," Justin said, giving her one last lingering look before disappearing.

"Evanescence, please transfer me to the control room," Silv said.

In a blink of an eye, she was back in the familiar room that felt more comfortable to her than her own room ever had.

"Silv hurt." Evanescence said out loud.

"It's nothing, just a few cuts," Silv replied.

Sensing the hesitation in Evanescence's mental tone, Silv decided that direct contact would work best in dispelling all of the ship's doubts.

Thus, she plunged her hands in the gooey substance, worrying that its touch would worsen her cuts. However, the exact opposite happened.

Her wounds started tingling and, after a while, started slowly closing up, feeling much better. It was as if they were completely healed by the mere touch of the odd substance.

"What happened?" Silv asked, surprised at the newly acquired quality of the substance.

"I have healed Silv," Silv heard in her mind.

Usually, when she communicated with Evanescence, it was about interpreting emotions and images going through her mind. However, this time, Silv could hear Evanescence's tinkling voice as a separate voice in her mind.

The feeling was both fascinating and terrifying as Silv found it confusing to sort her own thoughts from those that the ship was having.

"Wir Eis, how is it that I can hear Evanescence's voice so clearly in my mind?" Silv asked Wir Eis, who stood motionless in the corner of the room.

"The connection grow," Wir Eis said.

"Will everyone be able to hear her thoughts in time?" Silv asked, not fully understanding the mentioned growth.

"Speech circuits fixed soon. Voice all hear. Thoughts Silv and people of Wir Eis," Wir Eis answered.

"Why me? I mean, I understand why your people will be able to hear her thoughts clearly, but why will I be able to do the same?" Silv asked.

"We hear some thought. Silv hear all." Wir Eis explained.

"So you will be able to hear only some of her thoughts while I'll be able to hear all of them?" Silv asked, trying to understand the new development.

"Yes," Wir Eis said.

"Why?" Silv repeated her question.

"Human brain work one way, Silv brain the other." Wir Eis said.

"What does that mean? That I am not human?" Silv asked, panicking.

"No. Evanescence explain." Wir Eis pleaded, clearly not comfortable with his knowledge of the English language.

"Evanescence?" Silv asked out loud.

"Everything exists and works on a certain frequency, human brains included. While the brains of most humans work on the same or similar frequency, your brain seems to have been wired differently. It works on a different frequency. It makes it easier for me to connect with you than it would have been for any other humans," Evanescence's voice whispered in Silv's mind.

"What does that make me? A weirdo?" Silv asked, trying to contain her anger.

"No, it makes you special. You are like no one else on this planet, and that is why I chose you," Evanescence said.

"Special or not, how can I hear everything you think when the species you were born to be compatible with can't?" Silv asked as her mind didn't even register the ship's words clearly.

"When humans experimented on them, they did far more than just change their physical constitution or their chemical composition. They experimented with frequencies as well. I believe the idea was to learn how to control the frequencies that were at the basis of their very functioning and thus put the children of the Ice Warrior under complete control." Evanescence explained.

"Why would they do that? How does that answer my question?" Silv asked quickly, eager to understand far more than her brain could go through in such a short time.

"Warfare," Evanescence said ominously.

That one word explained to Silv all the experiments she heard about or saw since there was one thing about humans that never changed, their obsession with warfare. Even when it was feeling like a safe place to be, humanity has always contemplated war.

"The answer to your question is that they made a mistake. In their attempt to change them into Government slaves, they accomplished one thing. They did change their frequency, but not in the way they wanted. Still, small as the change was, it made all of them incompatible with my frequency, making symbiosis impossible." Evanescence said.

"I am not sure I understand," Silv said.

"I was talking with Arthur about how to explain this to you, and I guess it's similar to organ transplants. If the donor and the receiver aren't compatible, the body will reject the organ, causing some serious health issues. The same goes for me. If I were to connect with them, I would risk hurting either them or myself. However, your frequency is compatible, and that's why you can connect with me so thoroughly." Evanescence said.

"I think I need to sit down," Silv said, feeling overwhelmed.

"You already are sitting," Evanescence said with a hint of a smile in her voice.

"That I am," Silv mumbled as her head spun with all the impossible things that had become a norm, that had become her life.