Chapter 17
Ryker
After Ruby's last statement, nobody else was willing to speak. We sat in tense silence for what felt like forever. Just when I thought the situation couldn’t get any more surprising, the odd-looking man with long hair stepped forward, raised his head, and spoke.
“I will go first; tell me what you need me to do.”
Ruby leaned over and bowed at the waist. “Thank you, Jeremiah. Please follow me.” Ruby led Jeremiah behind the vat-looking structure to a set of steps that wrapped halfway around the tank. When they reached its summit Ruby gestured down to a handle attached to the middle of the lid. “When you are ready, stand on this platform with both of your feet to the sides of this handle and pull. You will be secured in place and taken to the bottom where you will stay until the process is finished.”
Jeremiah looked a little confused before asking, “How long will this take? How will I breathe?”
Ruby was quick to respond. “Very good questions, Jeremiah. Historically it takes, on average, four minutes and 23 seconds to completely submerge oneself, eat the Vren, and finish the change.” As for breathing, feel free to try and hold your breath for the duration of the process, but the fluid inside the tank is a hyperoxygenated substance teeming with medical-grade nanotechnology that will provide your body with more oxygen than the air you currently breathe. Pair that with the nanobots, and you are better off living in that tank than out here.”
Jeremiah did not hesitate a moment longer and stepped onto the platform above the tank, straddled the handle, and pulled. In an instant, the material of Jeremiah's uniform changed. The ankle and feet wrapping reformed into bindings and adhered to the floor. Everything else on the platform that he wasn't standing on opened and slid to the sides. He appeared to be standing midair over the dark waters below. Then he was slowly lowered into the tank.
We could tell the man was doing his best not to panic, but as his body was submerged up to his chest, his eyes began to look wild. Then it was up to his neck, and the fear was clear to see on his face. He took one final breath and was completely under. Everyone gathered around the glass and tried to pierce the gloom, but it was too dark. Then a ring of lights at the top of the tank lit up, and we could see Jeremiah thrashing at the bottom.
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He had been holding his breath for 30 seconds and was trying to pull at his bonds and free himself when he finally lost control of his breath, and bubbles floated to the surface. The panic redoubled after the first breath of the liquid was taken...then he took another...and another…then his thrashing stopped, and he looked as though all fear was purged from him when that last traitorous bubble left him.
We all let go of the breath we had been holding, and I felt a sense of relief in seeing him stop fighting his bonds. Ruby gave a knowing nod before saying, “As soon as he stopped fighting for his life and settled for a moment, he was able to hear their song. Like I said earlier, the Vrens have a profound effect on anyone that gets in a close proximity to them. Now we wait and see if one of them chooses him.”
Amy cocked her head to the side and said, “Did you just say IF one chooses him? Like there is a chance they won't?!? What happens then?”
Ruby was unfazed and simply said, “There have been those in the past that entered and had no Vren approach them. That makes up approximately 1.324% of attempts. In that scenario, the candidate will have to find their own Vren in the tank and eat it. They would have an 11% chance of success.”
Amy stared down the super powerful, super advanced, alien, demon-shaped, killer, A.I., like she was just another woman in the neighborhood. Through gritted teeth and a not so insignificant show of restraint, Amy spoke. “OK...Ruby, is there anything else you would like to share with us? And what's up with the worms just swimming into your mouth to die? That doesn’t seem like a sustainable evolutionary trait.”
Ruby peered back into the tank at Jeremiah and hummed to herself. Then simply said, “We have no idea….the Vren are an enigma. Millions of attempts have been made to figure out where they came from or why they do anything that they do. When they are left alone, they simply eat, sleep, and reproduce like any other animal, but as soon as an intelligent species is placed within their domain, they emit the soothing mental song and an attempt is made to find a suitable match. Nobody has any idea why they literally swim into the jaws of death, but the results are, for the lack of a better word, a miracle.”
I took a few moments to truly listen to what Ruby had said and felt bad for the small creatures. Of all the thoughts and feelings I could have had in that moment... it was the treatment of the Vren that galled me. A species that probably lived peacefully until the empire showed up. Enslaved and used as nothing more than a super food to beef up glorified entertainers. The fire inside raged at the injustice. I had felt the serenity flowing off the creatures when I touched the glass. This was wrong, I knew it down to my core. There and then I vowed to grow stronger, topple the pyramid, and free everyone.