Page 8 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

"No. I meant fusion. It's a different technology."

"Like what is used in nuclear submarines?" Frankie asked.

He laughed. "Not even close. I don't want to sound condescending, but in comparison, your nuclear submarines use Stone-Age technology. The nuclear fission generates heat that is used to boil water and create steam in a closed loop system that drives turbines, which are connected to generators andpropel the submarine." He seemed to be barely able to contain his laughter. "It's not so different from the steam engines that powered your trains in the nineteenth century."

Jasmine sighed. "Okay, so that's out. What else can we do?"

"We can still use your idea of hair and nail clippings. Don't forget that the Kra-ell bodies had been kept in good condition despite them being brain dead. There shouldn't have been much DNA degradation, if any." Aru turned to Ell-rom. "Our greatest difficulty in faking your deaths is still staging a funeral pyre that will pass the scrutiny of Anumatian tech."

Ell-rom nodded and turned to Jasmine. "You are an actress, and you seem to have many great ideas. Any suggestions come to mind?"

She shrugged. "The best way is the simplest way that doesn't involve any trickery that can be discovered and put you and everyone on Earth in danger." She shifted her gaze to Aru. "Don't report that you found this pod and keep looking for the others. If and when you find one with everyone dead inside, report the find, and they might assume that everyone in the pods that are still missing is dead. After all, you wouldn't have found this pod without my help, right? So, it wasn't like you were on the right path to finding anything."

Aru closed his eyes and let out a breath. "The more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to do exactly that. The problem is that we will have to keep the dead Kra-ell of Ell-rom's pod in their stasis chambers in case we need the proof in the future. It doesn't seem morally right to keep them from entering their afterlife, and Jade won't stand for that."

"That's just religion," Margo said. "Even if there is an afterlife, which I sincerely doubt, the soul doesn't need any ceremony to find its way to wherever it is supposed to go. The body is just a vessel, and once it stops working, it doesn't really matter what happens to it. The soul makes us who we are, and without the body it's free of its material tether."

Frankie snorted. "That's awfully philosophical from someone who claims to be a non-believer."

Margo cast her a haughty look. "I didn't say that I was an atheist. I'm agnostic. Since we can't prove or disprove the existence of an afterlife or the existence of a divinity, I reserve judgment."

6

ELL-ROM

Ell-rom searched his mind for any inkling that he had an opinion on the matters of divinity and the afterlife. There was nothing in his memories, but he often found himself invoking the Mother of All Life, so the belief must have been planted so deep in his subconscious that it hadn't been erased along with the rest of his memories.

Not erased, he corrected himself, suppressed.

Since some of his memories had resurfaced, then the rest were still buried deep in his subconscious and would, at some point, emerge as well.

In a way, it was a blessing. He was free to reshape himself and become the person he strived to be. The problem was that he didn't know who that person was either.

Did he want to be like Annani? A powerful leader who was loved and admired by the people?

If he ever had to assume a leadership position, that was how Ell-rom would like to be perceived, but he wasn't sure he wanted to be the center of attention like Annani. She seemed to thrivein the spotlight, but he wouldn't. It would be a burden to have to put on a show at all times. Ell-rom preferred to work as a backroom advisor, but the problem was that he couldn't even be that because he didn't have any knowledge or wisdom to impart.

Perhaps Morelle was more like Annani, a born ruler, and he had always been meant to assist her and protect her. Deep inside, on a visceral level, that was the role he felt most comfortable with.

His mind and heart didn't rebel against it.

They embraced it.

Would Jasmine be satisfied with a mate whose ambitions were so modest?

He cast her a sidelong glance, admiring the beauty of her profile. She was such an amazing woman, and her physical beauty was just a small part of what made her so. She was intelligent, kind to a fault, friendly, outgoing, and upbeat. She was soft when softness was needed and resilient when resilience was called for.

He didn't deserve her, and not just because of his modest ambitions.

He couldn't even give her something as basic as a venom bite.

"So, Ell-rom," Frankie pulled him out of his thoughts. "Have you considered what you might like to do with your life once fully recovered? Any interests you want to explore?"

He hadn't been paying attention to what had been discussed since Margo's comment about divinity and the afterlife, and he had no idea how they had shifted from talking about the funeral rites of the Kra-ell to his life plans. Perhaps Frankie had read his mind?

"I don't know yet. There is so much I need to learn about this world, starting with the language." He patted his earpiece. "This is a wonderful invention, but I would like to learn all the intricacies and nuances I'm sure are lost in translation."

"Hmm." Frankie scrunched her nose. "Immortals are fast learners of languages, so maybe that's what you can pursue."