**Thank you for reading my novel. If you enjoyed the story, please give it a like and leave a comment — your support really encourages me to keep writing and sharing more chapters.**67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyQ9UOgDoSd
The First Energy Crystal
Leaving the Abbas Archive proved more difficult than67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQI9NcD7TIB
entering it.
Which was, Zorina supposed, only fair. Ancient impossible67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSG2LbYpNWD
civilisations were rarely considerate enough to provide clearly marked exits,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oPkGTq1pP
emergency lighting, and a polite notice reading: This way back to your67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszwKAhUPwj
previous understanding of reality.
She stood beneath the great column of light, with67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFsGLJt0HrX
Crystal-Pattern Panel 1011 hovering at her side.
She had not taken it with her.
Not exactly.
Yet she knew, without knowing how, that it would return to67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGkVRN4R55T
its place when she no longer needed it, and come back to her hand when she did.
The thought was absurd enough to belong in a fairy tale.
But inside the Archive, absurdity seemed less like fantasy67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA8zuXBqBqM
and more like a word humanity had invented for knowledge it had failed to67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ll9xfhEq4
catch.
Zorina walked towards the flower-shaped biological energy67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5awajRhU64
device.
The six transparent crystal petals sensed her approach and67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwQH50jQmgu
opened slowly. The reclining platform at their centre shimmered with a67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjpj3jKVj6y
pale-blue film of light, like water trying to remember how to be skin.
She did not lie down at once.
She was an analyst, not a worshipper of expensive miracles.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQmtqJ1QMWJ
Even when one finds oneself inside a volcanic archive that recognises one’s67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYxlmHkpyyR
blood and opens ancient doors in one’s honour, a certain professional suspicion67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqtJDKzgWZ3
remains healthy. Faith, after all, was merely ignorance wearing ceremonial67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWp4f6njB3d
clothing.
She rolled up the torn sleeve of her damaged flight suit and67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjtPqcusnTO
exposed her arm.
Bruises. Abrasions. Dried blood. A shallow split across the67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjCWx7H1c8G
skin. The small, unattractive documentation of survival.
She reached out and touched one of the crystal petals.
The device awakened.
[Lifeform scan.]
[Human body.]
[Injuries detected: mild impact trauma; epidermal laceration;67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkltes2JmNf
inflammatory response; residual analgesic compounds in bloodstream; accumulated67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJj3ZKz2ar
fatigue toxins.]
[Convertible waste biomass: low quantity.]
[Activate low-level medical conversion?]
Zorina studied the words.
“Activate.”
She had no idea whether that was the correct command.
Apparently, the device was more forgiving than most official67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhCoAd3Thws
systems. It responded immediately, which placed it already above half the67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OCbR5Jc4g
departments in Britain.
From within the petals, countless blue filaments emerged,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMEFKLhbg5x
fine as hair. They did not pierce her skin. They passed through its surface67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuXS793biJy
like light through shallow water, distinguishing with impossible delicacy67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3wd0FNPDYA
between what belonged to her body and what no longer deserved residency.
Zorina’s arm tingled.
The swelling around the wounds receded at a visible speed.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWX1aDA4csG
Redness faded. Dried blood cracked and lifted away. Beneath it, new skin67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXaSldjePd
formed, smooth and faintly luminous for one brief second before settling into67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMazVeMS9Mq
ordinary flesh.
She stared.
High-tier medicine in 3911 could perform rapid repair. Of67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡioooNlaCNo
course it could. With enough energy, nanomaterial, authorisation, medical debt,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdzpZnVlgb0
and institutional permission, the ruling classes had achieved wonders. A First67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkvjzh631B
Tier minister could have an injured liver mended before lunch and complain67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR70JZYN9o
about the inconvenience of the appointment by dinner.
A Fifth Tier child could die of infected water beside a dark67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyFOTmPqlv
purification station.
Civilisation, as ever, was less a question of possibility67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMoX0CaduJJ
than of who was allowed to benefit from it.
But this device was doing something different.
It was not consuming vast external power.
It was using the biological waste within her body to feed67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTCJ9YO1Tde
the repair.
The centre of the flower condensed a tiny pale-blue crystal.
It was smaller than a grain of rice.
[Conversion complete.]
[Low-grade energy crystal: 0.003 units.]
The amount was negligible.
Ridiculous, almost.
A number so small that any respectable administrator would67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfXvQeaaalt
have buried it beneath twelve paragraphs of discouraging language and an67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuDPuEAPPFA
encouraging note about future review.
Yet Zorina stared at the little crystal as if she had just67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWOicBPHwG
seen a city relight itself.
Not because it was large.
Because it proved that the impossible had quantity.
And once the impossible had quantity, it could be measured.
Once it could be measured, it could be repeated.
Once it could be repeated, it became policy’s worst67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd88J7Gl9rt
nightmare: a fact.
Her mind moved at once to the First Tier.
To those polished old men and beautifully maintained women67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjjT2xfC1bY
who ate too much, drank too much, took gene-stabilising therapies, anti-ageing67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyVQH7yzQiQ
injections, cellular rejuvenation compounds, and private metabolic treatments67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUqeyVYb7AY
with the wounded dignity of people forced to remain alive in considerable67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxg5zNbHMat
comfort.
Their bodies accumulated excess fat, metabolic residue,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxZccDNw6kZ
decayed cells, drug residues, ageing tissue, corrupted proteins, minor lesions,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡleW1eeO56Y
and all the waste that privilege politely renamed maintenance.
If one injured ordinary person could produce 0.003 units,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1J0kSUnKyV
then what might be harvested from the overfed, over-treated, chemically67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHQxqIB8wHH
preserved bodies of the elite?
Their excess could become someone else’s light.
The irony was almost beautiful.
Which was inconvenient, because beautiful ironies had a67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm37bRKQmni
habit of becoming dangerous.
Zorina lifted the energy crystal from the device.
It rested in her palm, faintly warm.
At once, the golden patterns on the floor lit and extended67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGKEblYj5Py
towards the far side of the cavern.
They were pointing.
There stood a small platform.
Zorina walked to it. The platform was empty, smooth, and67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTJHiVKkXgj
black, with a shallow circular depression at its centre. She placed the tiny67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdRatGEcOwC
crystal upon it.
Silver rings materialised above the platform.
The air stirred.
Minute particles gathered in the empty space, first as dust,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFhUVdHpPVV
then as mist, then as a surface. The shape thinned and flattened, edges67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeYOKYMcgoz
refining themselves with silent precision until a small, tablet-like object67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWME6sInHw
formed in the air.
It resembled an old-world communication device.
Only simpler.
Cleaner.
As if design, after centuries of human committee meetings,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx4vMOrmmPW
had finally been allowed to recover.
[Low-level communication interface generated.]
[Warning: external world communication networks are under regime67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCCz2YzUuqZ
surveillance. Low-frequency hopping recommended.]
Zorina’s pulse quickened.
The Archive could do more than heal.
It could make.
Energy into matter.
Atomic reconstruction.
The meaning struck her with enough force that she went67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxFcxsd8CFX
still.
Crystal-Pattern Panel 1011 was not a discovery.
It was a keyhole.
This civilisation had not preserved a single technique. It67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNyRMgohBSA
had preserved an entire hierarchy of tools beyond Earth’s present level. If67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KZwpZCimL
even a portion of them could be awakened, the order built upon energy scarcity67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡha6lL2eqDV
would not merely be challenged.
It would be made ridiculous.
And few things enraged power more than being made67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ805M1IKv9d
ridiculous.
Zorina picked up the communication interface.
Its surface brightened.
[Please specify contact.]
She remained silent for several seconds.
She did not contact Atlas.
Not because she distrusted him.
Precisely because she trusted him.
Atlas was inside the Energy Quota Authority. He would be67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡr8Sm6Gk9Pb
watched, especially now. Any abnormal communication would push him straight67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMvxxg89X94
into the Bureau’s line of fire, and the Bureau had never been famous for67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD1hF8NCNlR
missing when shooting at inconvenient loyalty.
Robin Shen was different.
Robin Shen had been raised in fire and taught to call it67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIN7KLXGkej
central heating.
She entered a private code she had not used in years.
Long ago, when they were still children, Robin had turned67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa0HnrYX4oz
that sequence into a secret game between them. He had told her that if the67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXGGOqETCdo
world ever became too loud, she could use it to find him.
At the time, neither of them had known that the world would67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4RKc2tDWVq
eventually become quite so deafening.
The interface flickered.
Once.
Twice.
On the third pulse, a lazy male voice drifted through.
“If this is not a scam, I should first clarify that I am not67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoeqx78ORT8
currently buying insurance, investing in Martian cemetery plots, or fostering67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDRrZSvIsjL
any former girlfriend’s cat.”
Zorina closed her eyes.
“Robin.”
Silence.
Five full seconds.
Then every trace of theatrical laziness vanished from his67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuEhvhRrez
voice.
“Zori?”
She did not waste time on greeting.
“I need your help.”
Robin Shen did not ask where she was.
He did not ask why she was using a strange channel.
He did not ask what trouble she had created, fallen into,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxQfnUtOT9
offended, awakened, or possibly inherited from a prior civilisation.
He asked only, “Money, identity, flight corridor, or a67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrYYNO0Fby
corpse?”
Zorina looked around the impossible Archive.
“Possibly all of them.”
Robin drew a soft breath.
“Well. You have finally decided to be interesting.”
“I found something.”
“Dangerous?”
“Enough to change the world.”
“Interesting…”
She looked down at the tiny blue crystal in her palm.
“I can make energy.”
This time, the silence on the other end became absolute.
When Robin spoke again, his voice was lower.
“Do you understand that if any regime hears that sentence,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIbHTKTrUF
you cease to be a person and become an asset?”
“That is why I called you.”
“Where are you?”
Zorina glanced at the external position displayed on the67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡACipGr5nFk
interface.
“Tristan da Cunha.”
Robin said something very softly and extremely unsuitable67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4tcGwP70x
for polite company.
Then, in English, with exquisite irritation:
“Brilliant. And what, precisely, happened to South Africa?”
“The capsule went off course.”
“Sabotage?”
“Possibly. But I don’t think they succeeded in making me67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaVmR1nwnUA
fall.”
“What does that mean?”
Zorina looked towards the great column of light.
“I think the island caught me.”
Robin did not laugh.
That was the thing about him.
The frivolous heir, the decorative wastrel, the charming67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6wsVIp1eY
embarrassment at expensive dinners — all of that could deceive society pages,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuccQPTbFYN
family enemies, and women who mistook cynicism for intelligence. But before67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTteFMldQ8u
real danger, Robin never wasted time denying information merely because it67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbHUzA8PlJ8
sounded deranged.
It was one of his few genuinely civilised qualities.
“Stay where you are,” he said. “I’ll arrange a rescue line.67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡip3Ptjpf9P
It cannot be official. The most important thing is that Britain must not define67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZwahbn0ZoZ
you first.”
“Define me?”
“Missing. Defector. Dead. Traitor. Asset under protective67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhRcDxUqHZv
custody. Choose any unpleasant noun and place it in a white folder. That is how67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ71x1xsmHbR
governments perform sorcery.”
“I don’t only need extraction.”
“Well?”
Zorina lifted her eyes to the chamber that had slept beneath67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRuOBcOdG96
the volcano for longer than human empire had known how to flatter itself.
For the first time, her ambition became clear.
Not anger.
Not survival.
Not even justice.
A structure.
A plan.
A direction.
“I need the island.”
There was a pause on the other end.
Then Robin laughed.
Not lightly.
Not foolishly.
It was the laugh of a gambler who had just seen, at last,67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNozCkgeOZ7
one card on the table capable of frightening the house.
“Perfect,” he said softly. “Then we shall have a civilised67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPB9fbaIBT
conversation with Britain.”
Zorina looked down at the first energy crystal.
Small.
Blue.
Almost nothing.
A seed of light resting in her palm.
Above her, the Archive breathed in silence.
And somewhere beyond the stone, the old world continued67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2fT3EM0rK2
congratulating itself on being permanent.
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOa5ZKWNyRC
67Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXCgWDhFq2j
**Thank you for reading my novel. If you enjoyed the story, please give it a like and leave a comment — your support really encourages me to keep writing and sharing more chapters.**
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