CHAPTER 6

As Eliot and Amara are tangled in each other's arms, sleeping the early morning away, another face is hard at work. Tavon Weld hunches over his workstation in the dimly lit recesses in his shop in New Eden's Technology Market District. The ambient hum of machinery fills the room as he meticulously types away on his console, using bootleg decryption tools. His mind still contains distracting thoughts about the colony's power supply issues during the dark season. He wonders if Eliot has discovered the cause or, maybe, the solution to end the energy crisis that plagues New Eden.

Tavon's fingers dance over the keyboard, his brow furrowed in concentration. He has always been a curious soul, and this technological challenge keeps him engaged and focused. Yet, as hours pass, his thoughts drift towards more troubling matters. How was he going to tell Eliot about the Organization? How could he let Eliot into the fold without compromising the group's anonymity? Elitot might be too honest about the Organization.

Tavon rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, staring at the lines of code scrolling across the screen. He had been working for hours trying to crack the encryption on the data drive Eliot had given him. The algorithms were complex, but Tavon was determined.

He took a long sip of his coffee, grimacing at the bitter cold dregs but grateful for the caffeine. This drive was a stubborn one, but Tavon enjoyed the challenge. Outside, the first hints of dawn appeared in the sky above the market district, but Tavon was lost in the world on the screen before him.

With a few more keystrokes, Tavon initiated another decryption attack, watching the software cycle through millions of possibilities. The progress bar inched forward at a glacial pace. Tavon leaned back again, rubbing his eyes. Maybe it was time for a short break.

As he stood up to stretch his legs, an alert tone sounded from the computer. Tavon quickly sat back down and stared intently at the screen. The progress bar was almost complete, and decrypted data lines were streaming.

"Come on, come on," Tavon muttered under his breath.

With a final beep, the software finished its work. The decrypted contents of the drive populated across the screen. Tavon's eyes widened as he scanned the data - technical diagrams, research notes, and formulas relating to massive communication networks, broadcast towers, solar radiation charts, and then there were the recordings. There were dozens of Media files containing information about studies and experiments in the colony's early days. This was big. Really big. His mind raced as he tried to understand the implications of what he was seeing.

Tavon's fingers trembled as he scrolled through the decrypted data, his eyes wide with disbelief. Line after line of information completely contradicted the official narrative of New Eden's founding and early years. Details about secret technology and failed communications that had been suppressed all point to a hidden power structure that had initially manipulated the colony's development.

It was almost too much for Tavon to process. He had always suspected that the council wasn't being fully transparent, but this went far beyond anything he could have imagined. They had lied about so much, warped the truth to suit their own agenda. Anger and disillusionment brewed within Tavon as the full implications sank in.

He knew he had to tell Eliot immediately. This changed everything about the historian's work and called into question so much they thought they knew. Tavon opened an encrypted channel and sent a brief but urgent message:

"Eliot. My shop. Now. I've cracked the data files. You need to see this."

His heart pounded as he waited for a reply, wondering how Eliot would react. The secrets contained in that small data crystal had the power to shake the foundations of New Eden to its core. They couldn't ignore the truth, no matter how difficult it was to accept. This changed everything.

Morning light bathes New Eden as Eliot and Amara approach Tavon's shop, hand in hand, the previous night's intimacy between them still palpable. Their bond has deepened after sharing their pasts over coffee and realizing how much they have in common. Though new, their relationship feels profound.

As they enter the shop, Tavon greets them with a knowing smirk, teasingly saying, "Well, well, look who we have here."

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Amara blushes while Eliot rubs his neck self-consciously. Tavon laughs lightheartedly at their bashfulness.

"I'm just messing with you two.

"We didn't realize our feelings were so obvious," Amara says.

"Oh, they were," Tavon assures. His expression then turns solemn. "But there are more pressing matters for us to discuss. Please, come take a look at what I uncovered."

He leads them to his workstation, where a computer console displays decrypted data files. Amara is curious, having heard of Tavon's impressive work but never witnessed it firsthand.

"I finally cracked the encryption early this morning," Tavon explains, his usual mirth replaced by grave concern. "What I found is deeply disturbing. I knew the colony leadership was hiding things, but not like this."

Eliot and Amara exchange uneasy glances. The gravity in Tavon's voice worries them.

"What exactly did you find?" Eliot asks cautiously.

Tavon sighs. "This is Proof of decades of lies. Files expose restricted research, unethical experiments, and suppression of technological advances. Worst of all, they suggest that we are the only existing colony left, the Earth is dead, and other colonies were unlikely to have survived. This changes everything we thought we knew about New Eden."

Amara gasps, hands flying to her mouth. Eliot squeezes her shoulder supportively, though equally shocked.

"I haven't had time to review the data fully," Tavon continues, "but it's clear the council has been deceiving us since the colony's inception. We can no longer trust those in power."

Eliot's mind races, struggling to process the implications. The foundation of his life's work - documenting New Eden's history - feels shattered.

"What do we do now?" he asks Tavon shakily.

Tavon's eyes burn with conviction. "We expose the truth. I know you value honesty as much as I do. The people deserve to know what their leaders have done. And with your skills, we can make that happen."

Eliot nods slowly, steadying his resolve. Though the revelations sting, their mission is clear. Truth must prevail, no matter how painful.

I lean in, eyes scanning the decrypted data intently. The air is tense as Amara and Tavon crowd around either side of me. This is the moment of truth, the culmination of our risky endeavour to uncover New Eden's hidden past.

Tavon's expression is grim as he opens file after file, each a hammer blow against everything I thought I knew. The failed communications with Earth, the reports of ecological collapse, and the silence from other colony ships—paint a stark and desolate picture.

One record in particular turns my blood to ice: a desperate transmission from Earth dated 2487, describing the rapid deterioration of the atmosphere. Runaway greenhouse effect, they called it. The message states that the air will become too toxic to breathe within months. After that final log, nothing but static on all channels.

My hands tremble, and Amara grasps one tightly, eyes brimming with tears. Our home planet, my ancestral home, is gone. Just silence and poisonous skies.

We keep reading, the truth becoming clearer and clearer. The unethical experiments, the lies told to us as children, the suppression of technologies sent here with the founders from Earth, or failed contact with the other colonies—all of it was orchestrated by the council that still leads New Eden today.

I stare at the reports in disbelief, my mind reeling. Aanya Singh, one of our colony's founders and most revered leaders orchestrated an elaborate ruse to deceive us all. The realization shakes me to my core.

According to these encrypted files, she instructed farmers to provide surplus crops under the pretense of interplanetary trade with our sister colonies. But there were no sister colonies, at least none that had survived Earth's collapse. The additional food was secretly stored, only to be redistributed months later as "returns" from fictional trading partners.

The sheer audacity and cunning of this plan astounds me. By fabricating bustling trade routes, Aanya maintained the illusion that we were not alone and that other human settlements persevered in the void. She averted mass panic, an economic crash, and perhaps total anarchy.

But the cost of this false hope was immense. Generations like mine were raised on idealistic visions of a thriving interplanetary network. We knew nothing of the barren skies over Earth, the static on the radio, or the true precariousness of our existence.

I think of the resources and technology suppressed by the council to maintain their power. How much more could we have achieved without these deceptions? Could we have established more colonies on our planet with actual trade routes?

My faith in our leadership lies shattered; the righteous narrative I was taught was nothing but smoke and mirrors. Amara grips my hand tighter, eyes brimming with sympathy. She knows how deeply this cuts, unravelling everything I thought was true.

Tavon just nods, vindicated but solemn. He suspected the rot festering beneath the surface, even as I clung stubbornly to idealism. "The truth had to come out eventually," he says softly.

Bile rises in my throat as the stark reality sets in—we are alone. Truly alone, perhaps the last vestige of humankind in the universe. The weight of this knowledge is crushing, but it steels my resolve.

I meet Tavon's eyes, seeing my own anguish reflected there. But beneath the pain lies purpose. The truth, no matter how devastating, must be exposed. The people of New Eden deserve to know the entire history of their home, even if the knowledge cuts deep.

"What do we do now?" Amara whispers shakily. I squeeze her hand, then look at Tavon. He straightens, jaw set.

"Now," he says, "we tell everyone."