The Ice Warrior

Chapter 44

As Arthur and the others left, Silv felt the emptiness caused by her grandmother's passing try to take hold of her heart. However, Silv couldn't let it do so. She had a job to do. There would be time to grieve later, once she had done all she could to help those whom she promised assistance.

"Wir Eis, I hear that there are ways for you to manually check Evanescence's systems. Is that true?" Silv asked.

"Yes," Wir Eis said.

"Why don't you and Sei Eis go and do that while I see what I can do from here," Silv said.

"Why? Easy for Evanescence to check." Wir Eis said.

"I know, but I need an objective look on the situation, and as many sentient beings, she might be downplaying how bad her state is," Silv said.

Wir Eis stood motionless for a few seconds contemplating her words, only to finally shrug and move towards the door.

"Wir Eis?" Silv asked.

He turned to face her, wondering what else was there. After all, what she had already asked of him wasn't a small task to undertake, and adding more to it was bound to cause him problems.

"Where are the rest of your people? Since I met you, I haven't seen anyone but you and your sister." Silv said.

"Wir Eis know not all human hurt. Others scared. Too many humans on ship." Wir Eis said.

"I am sorry about that. I'll make sure that they stay only as long as absolutely necessary. Hopefully, Joe and the others will bring us some good news." Silv said.

"Yes," Wir Eis said, simply as he left.

If Silv was being honest, even Wir Eis seemed ill at ease with all the humans roaming his ship. However, he seemed determined not to comment on it and fulfill his part of the deal.

Thinking about the promise she made, Silv moved towards the controls, ready to get to the core of the problem that was preventing Evanescence from being a fully functioning being.

From everything that Silv noted about her, it seemed to Silv that Evanescence's problems were neither mechanic nor physical ones. They were psychological, and until they fully understood and resolved what was troubling the ship, they couldn't hope to get anything more than what they had.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Silv thought as she slowly immersed her hands in the liquid.

The strange texture of it was starting to feel soothing rather than startling as it was at first.

"Evanescence, please talk to me. Help me understand. What's troubling you?" Silv said.

"Voice interface limited," the automatic voice stated.

"Fine, can you then show me? If we are connected in a way that I think we are, I might be able to see images if you visualize what it is that's troubling you." Silv said.

"Affirmative," the loud voice said.

Moments later, Silv gasped in shock, her eyes shutting tightly without her conscious control.

"I see," Silv said through gritted teeth.

After that, her body relaxed as if some pressure was removed, and she slowly reopened her eyes. It took her a moment to get accustomed to being back to her old self. It was hard to get used to the fact that she and Evanescence were once again two separate entities, as her mind still lingered on Evanescence's sadness.

For a moment, it felt as if they were one being, suffering in the same way, which didn't surprise Silv, having in mind how similar their misery was.

"Evanescence, I understand that you miss the Ice Warrior, but you can't continue like this. You need to understand that you are much stronger than this. You can do this with or without him." Silv said.

Sensing the questioning flavor of Evanescence's thoughts, Silv understood what she needed to do.

"How do I know?" Silv said, contemplating the best way to word her answer.

"In a way, I was in a symbiotic relationship with the Government. They provided me with a place to stay and all the basic necessities. While I did whatever they told me to, without questioning them.

"They made me believe that I couldn't survive without them, but that was a lie. I realized that I was strong enough to stand on my own and face whatever came my way." Silv said.

"Was it that easy?" Silv said, reading the question in Evanescence's thoughts.

"It was anything but easy," Silv said, laughing nervously.

"But at least I had one person that I knew I could count on, my grandma. Only now that she is gone, I realize that I have relied on her too much. I guess I was too afraid to take charge of my own life, afraid that I might mess it up, that I allowed her to take command of it. I practically begged her." Silv said.

"And now?" Silv repeated Evanescence's question.

"I guess now I am learning how to be independent, how to stand on my own two feet. I am taking charge of my own life, and you should too." Silv said.

"It doesn't matter if the symbiosis was how things were always done. Just because something was always done a certain way, that doesn't automatically make it right, or wrong for that matter." Silv said in response to Evanescence's thoughts.

What she said was confirmed to her from her own experience. All her life, Silv thought that there was only one way of existing, that there was only one path. But at that moment, sitting in an alien ship, communicating telepathically, Silv realized that there was so much more to see when one went beyond what was usually done.

It helped her have a different perspective on her own existence, and she hoped the same could happen with Evanescence. After all, being dependent on other people wasn't the best way to live one's life. Having people to rely on was good, but being totally dependent on them could only lead to trouble.

The ship let out a sound that reminded Silv of purring, and it made her hope that she had managed to reach through to Evanescence. That perhaps the alien ship that she came to care about would learn something from Silv's experience and avoid any additional suffering.

"You think about that while I go and check on the others. Have in mind that I am here to help you in any way I can, but it is up to you to stand up for yourself." Silv said, slowly extracting her hands from the green goo.

Noting a cloth that the good old AI left for her next to the controls, Silv carefully wiped her hands clean so as not to disturb the already spooked humans. Also, it was far more hygienic than just wiping her hands on her clothing.

Having in mind that checking on the humans and Justin was her first stop, she wanted to appear as human as possible. Being covered in odd green goo would've had quite the opposite effect.

The last thing they needed was terrified humans on board. It was enough that the aliens were scared already.

Everyone knows what humans do when they are scared. Unlike the aliens, they don't hide. They attack.