Calan - The Immortality Paradox

Chapter Seventeen: The Secrets of Castell, Part Three

As a naïve child, Louis insisted Arena would be his only home. Whether his occupational pursuits led him to combing Picos de Arena for agricultural land, serving affluent visitors of the Aquatic Paradise or writing and editing bylaws in the civil service department, Louis had no conception of crossing into the vacuum of space to leave his beloved birthplace. But life had an unexpected way of changing his future without allowing him any caveats. At Castell, standing where his brother should have been, Louis felt for the first time like a new person. That child, surrounded by his overprotective siblings, was long forgotten.

There were lots of new experiences. Space travel sickness for one. On the journey from Arena in the leviathan cruiser, Louis had spent the majority of his time reclined in his cabin, consuming energy and nutrition supplements and regurgitating them every time he attempted to slip into cryogenic sleep. To make matters worse, none of the Patriot Party entourage offered him any amicable conversation; least of all his own, nameless advisor, who rattled off orders unmethodically like a dust devil swirling through the streets of Lleno de Vida. They were all tight-lipped at the mention of Carlos or his current condition. Upon arrival at the Calan space station, Louis felt positively sidelined; left to his own devices, but overtly confined to his personal, oval chamber and told to research standard diplomatic protocols in preparation for the summit. The advisor was his only visitor as she pelted him with trivia and reiterated his privileged role as speaker for the umpteenth time.

Despite his solitude, the chamber he'd been allocated was alive with technology. A cinebox with a collection of a million features he'd never even heard of; an interactive galaxy map, which he used to track his family's route to Tengoku in Hanner Cylch; a guided fitness booth; and a multi-purpose display that contained extensive information on the entire Gathering and its attendees. Extraordinarily, these devices emerged and disappeared like three-dimensional holograms from the very walls of his chamber; appearing only when in need.

As she often did, his advisor entered unannounced during a heavy stint of cardiovascular training on a rotating, horizontal platform. Sweat was dripping from the fringe covering his eyes as he stepped into a hot column of air adjacent to the platform, which quickly dried his skin. Hands on hips and slowly regaining his normal inhalation, he realised that her expression was even less cheerful than usual. A red hand clamped firmly around her extended tablet limb and he could see her veins throbbing.

'The Calan President wishes to set up a meeting.'

Stooping a little to alleviate the weight of his upper body, Louis wondered aloud why he was being informed of this matter. 'What's that got to do with me?'

'The meeting is intended to be with you...' she looked to be chewing the inside of her cheek as she spoke, '...minister.'

'With me?'

'You will need to improve your verbal comprehension before the Gathering begins,' she said snidely for good measure. 'Yes, with you. The Parliament have reluctantly granted permission, as long as I am in attendance.'

'What do I need to discuss?'

'Preferably nothing. The President claims it will be a purely convivial chat, but do not fall so quickly into their deception.'

'What deception could there be?' He asked innocently while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

'Calan have manipulated entire civilisations long before you were born, minister. Do not mistake their immortality for wisdom.'

While the majority of the Aquarian company were congregated around a broadcast of a grav-diving competition in Hanner Cylch, Louis and his reluctant companion made their way into the labyrinth of Castell where the corridors twisted like tree branches and the walls glowed like quartz deposit buried in the Arena desert. One snaking passageway rotated three-hundred and sixty degrees with a clear view of outer space and, not for the first time, Louis wondered whether physics and its boundaries applied at all to the Calan.