The Ice Warrior

Chapter 12

Wir Eis seemed more comfortable walking through the remains of the human civilization of the past, the same one that had murdered his father, than Silv felt. For her, it was an awful reminder of what could happen to her world if something went wrong. Everything could become as abandoned as the bunkers they were going through.

Yet, though they were eerie in their lack of occupants, Silv did feel a certain coziness that radiated from them, unlike anything that they had in her lifetime. After all, everything in the world that Silv had known was about optimality, about being on that perfect balance, never crossing to abundance or scarcity.

"We are almost there," Silv said to distract herself from her morbid comparisons.

"Where?" Wir Eis asked.

"My closet," Silv answered.

That seemed to confuse Wir Eis, but he said nothing and continued to follow her through the abandoned bunker until they reached a winding staircase. Silv stepped on it confidently and moving the heavy metal door at the top of it with ease that came with familiarity.

Upon opening the door, they found themselves in a small in-between place from which they could see a wooden partition and an opening in it.

As they stepped through the opening, Silv had to move aside some of the clothes that were blocking their way. Finally, they opened the wooden door and came out of her closet and into the room.

Although the surroundings must have been peculiar to Wir Eis, he showed no discomfort in either words or actions, and Silv admired that. It seemed to her as if he was more of a warrior than she would ever be even with all the training she went through.

"Your house?" Wir Eis asked.

There was something strange about the tone of his voice, but Silv was unable to determine what it was. Even she didn't know how she felt about being back home.

On the one hand, it felt familiar, safe. On the other hand, she knew it was all just a lie, an illusion that no longer managed to trick her eyes.

Everything in her room was as she left it, optimal. In the world of ice they lived in, everything was kept in what they considered to be a perfect equilibrium.

Silv's room was just big enough and light enough to be healthy but not too spacious to occupy much-needed space. All her furniture was designed to be efficient, and the esthetic value was non-existent. It was all about functionality.

For the first time in her life, Silv felt how cold and impersonal it all was. Especially in comparison to the warmth and beauty of the bunker they had left behind. Perhaps the bunkers were not warm enough objectively speaking, but they had certain emotional warmth that Silv had failed to note before.

"What now?" Wir Eis asked.

Silv realized that her musings would have to wait for a better time since they had a mission to accomplish, but more importantly, she owed it to her grandmother to let her know she was alive. Besides, she needed to let her know about Denis' betrayal since Silv was unsure what he would or wouldn't do if the opportunity presented itself.

"I have to check if grandmother Rose is alone, if there are any soldiers around," Silv said.

Wir Eis nodded his head and waited patiently for her to do what she was supposed to do, although it looked as if he was uncertain what was about to happen.

Silv came to the keypad next to her door, and after typing in a few simple commands, a holographic screen appeared above her head. It showed the entire house seen from many different cameras.

"These are secret cameras grandmother told me about. The government doesn't know about them. That's how we can keep track if they tamper with our AI or plant any listening devices." Silv explained although Wir Eis didn't seem interested or impressed by the technology.

Silv assumed that it was because the technology of his species was much more advanced, and what she was showing him were mere toys in his mind. Yet, that didn't stop her from explaining since it gave her brain something to do instead of thinking about all the bad things that could have happened to Rose while she was away.

"The house seems to be empty except for grandma, who is in the library," Silv said, tapping the holographic screen to enhance the image.

"It appears she is alone and engrossed in some reading material," Silv said.

What she didn't say was that for the first time, her grandmother looked like what she was, her grandmother and not one of the greatest commanders the world had. It was clear to Silv that the news about her supposed death had reached Rose and took a toll on her otherwise healthy appearance.

Silv also knew that the same wasn't true for the rest of her family. As far as they were concerned, she did what everyone should be ready to do, die for the government.

Rose and Silv had always been different, independent, thus it seemed only logical to live together, to hide away from others in their haven. It was the only place where they could let go of all the pretenses and express their honest opinions without worrying about what others might think.

Although it was liberating for Silv to be able to do that, over the years, she realized that it was even more so for Rose since she had a lot more pretending to do given her position in the government. It was a huge burden to keep the pretense alive, and Rose's only way to recuperate from the exhaustion of pretending she was someone that she was not, was in candid conversations with her granddaughter.

"Could you please wait for me here while I go talk to my grandmother?" Silv asked.

"Why?" Wir Eis asked.

"Well, the rest of humanity is not aware of the existence of aliens, and I don't want you to frighten her. It's enough that she is about to see a granddaughter whom she assumed dead. I don't want to add to her distress by introducing her to an alien immediately." Silv said honestly.

Silv thought that even her grandmother's enhanced heart wouldn't be able to handle all of that at once. Even just her showing up out of nowhere was risky, but she didn't want to increase the risk by adding Wir Eis to the mix.

"Alright. Wait here." Wir Eis said as he sat down on Silv's bed.

Silv typed in the code, and the metal door slid open, revealing the ordinary hallway that had perfectly aligned doors for different rooms. Silv hurried towards the second door to the left, sliding it open with one simple code.

As she entered the 'library' as her grandmother like to call the small empty room with only two comfortable chairs for furniture, Rose didn't move. From the far-away look in her eyes, Silv concluded that she had her virtual library lenses on, too immersed in the world of freedom that the books offered to hear Silv's silent approach.

Silv typed in 'terminate reading' in the pod next to her grandmother before saying anything, knowing full well how disorienting it could be if the virtual reality was terminated by the outside stimuli.

"Grandma," Silv said as her grandmother started removing her lenses surprised by the termination of the program.

Upon hearing Silv's voice, Rose ripped out the lenses more quickly than was recommended and stared at her granddaughter in amazement.

"You are alive," She said, jumping from the chair with more agility than someone her age should possess.

"They said you were dead, but I knew you were alive," Rose said hugging her tightly while tears slid down her wrinkled face.

Silv finally let go of any control that she had exerted over her emotions and started crying in the safety of her grandmother's embrace.

Silv was lost, but Rose found her. She was finally home. Rose was her home.