The Storm Within
by Tarlan
Series: Part 2 of the Storm Series. Follows Storms Will Rage
Disclaimer: Jacob Hardy and the rest of the 'The Inheritors' cast belong to someone else - I'm just playing with them. No copyright infringement intended. Any characters you haven't heard of before are copyrighted to me.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Jacob felt his chin drop, mouth gaping wide, as he stepped beyond the corridor into a vast hall. The walls were marble, veined in green, and the ceiling - a midnight blue, pinpointed by tiny white lights reminiscent of a star-filled night - seemed to be floating maybe a hundred feet above his head. Those stars formed no constellations familiar to Jacob, making him wonder if they were just an aesthetic arrangement or a true picture of the night sky, the sight of which had been obliterated by the plasma storm raging over the surface of the planet.
'It is a true representation of what we have lost all these centuries, soon to be restored to us.'
Jacob shut his mouth; his lips tightening as the symbiont answered his unspoken question. He let his eyes drop to the throng of people milling about in the centre of the hall. There were hundreds present but they were dwarfed by the immenseness surrounding them. Many more were entering through other archways until their number must have reached more than a thousand. He could read awe in the faces of those closest to him - and fear. Jacob turned, noticing his own people were waiting behind him, unwilling to step forward without their self-appointed leader. Jacob beckoned to them and then watched as they past, seeing Daria Michaels delicate frame held within her husband's reassuring embrace. The little girl, Shana, held onto Kelly's hand, and he gave Kelly a reassuring smile as she past by but she paid no mind to him. He noticed her distracted look as she conversed with her symbiont. Jacob frowned when the third member of his gathering team past by. Curtis held his head high but Jacob could see no echo of the awe so apparent on other faces, nor any other emotion. However, the booming voice coming from the ornate platform ahead called his attention before further thoughts could form.
"Welcome, people of Earth."
Areas of the marbled walls had become large screens focusing on a tall, coffee-skinned humanoid who could have passed for human were it not for the almost leonine slope of his face.
"We are the Lerae. There is much that my people need to impart to you but this is not the forum for such a transference of knowledge. Rest assured that all your questions will be answered in due course. Let this day be known as the First Day of New Hope."
Another of the leonine humanoids stepped forward and the thousand humans were slowly broken up into smaller groups of thirty before one of the Lerae led each group away. Jacob could not help the churning in his gut, the storm raging within as he wondered whether these friendly creatures had a sinister agenda in mind for the smaller, defenceless groups of humans.
'You fear too much, Jacob. Our motives are pure. We will explain our purpose to all, and symbiosis will be offered to each individual.'
"And if they say no?"
'Then we will honour their refusal.' There was a pause in his head and Jacob could sense that the very thought of any one refusing symbiosis baffled his symbiont. Nonetheless, it accepted that Jacob could be right. 'If only half of your people agree then there will still be more than enough hosts to last us many generations.'
"Then why do you fear I'll ask you to get out of my body?"
'There is a risk involved in the transfer to a new host... for the symbiont.'
"How great a risk?"
'A risk I am prepared to take.'
"And others?" A confused silence met Jacob's words. "Are the others prepared to take this risk?"
'Of course.'
"Are you so certain?"
'Why do you ask this?'
"Curtis." Jacob let his thoughts travel back to the lack of any emotion displayed when Curtis entered this awe-inspiring place, and the symbiont read those thoughts easily.
'He may have been preoccupied, perhaps conversing with his symbiont.'
"Perhaps." However, Jacob was not convinced.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Two weeks passed with too hectic a schedule for Jacob to give much thought to the problems facing him. He had found himself conversing with his symbiont frequently, relying on the creature's knowledge and discovering that it possessed a dry wit to match his own. He knew the day was fast approaching when he would have to make a final decision over whether he and the symbiont would continue to coexist within his body. The decision ought to have become easier over time but ,instead, he found himself in a dilemma. A major part of him was still reluctant to accept this other presence inside his head; knowing that it could pick up any careless thoughts.
In contrast, the symbiont shared its thoughts with ease, insisting that there ought to be no barriers between them. It was unable to understand that humans were used to being alone inside their minds.
"Curtis has been avoiding me."
'He has much work to do.'
"I'm not so sure that's the whole reason. He seems... harder. Unapproachable."
'It is a time of great change. He has much to think about.'
"No. There's more to it than that." 'I do not understand your concern.'
"When I surprised him the other day, for one moment he was the Curtis I remembered - and then his face went blank. But for those few seconds he looked scared... like a trapped animal."
'I understand what you are inferring, Jacob, but it cannot happen. One of my kind cannot take over the host.'
"Cannot? Or would not?"
'It would go against our whole philosophy of coexistence. It would be a crime of such magnitude that...'
"But it could be done."
'All who were sent to your world were prepared fully. All knew of the consequences in taking a host by force.'
"Knowing the consequences and living with them are two entirely different beasts."
The symbiont fell silent for a moment. 'If your fears are correct then we do not have much time to act.'
"Why? You said that a symbiont can be taken from the host at any time; that the host would suffer no damage."
'And that is true. But each day makes the risk greater for the symbiont--'
"You've been connected to me for the same length of time."
Jacob's words held an accusing tone as he wondered why this creature had not asked him to make his choice earlier. There was no reply but Jacob knew, deep down, why the symbiont had chosen to remain silent while one or two of the others had already changed hosts. More than a minute past in an eerie silence, making Jacob realise how much he had grown accustomed to the fleeting images and emotions transferred from this other being. It was a terrifying silence, making him all too aware of how lonely he had once been. But could he truly want to remain this way - until death separated them? He sighed; his body trembling from the importance of the decision he was about to make.
"I... I choose for you to stay... but I still don't believe Curtis feels the same way about the symbiont he carries."
A warmth flooded through his mind; one of genuine happiness but the sensation faded as the symbiont turned its attention to the rest of Jacob's words.
'We must speak with the Guardians. Seek their advice.'
"What if they won't believe me?"
'It is not their choice to believe or disbelieve. They will act for such is the law.'
Jacob followed his symbiont's direction through the labyrinthine corridors of the old citadel until they came to a small antechamber that seemed to be carved out of one massive piece of green marble and then polished until the surface gleamed. The chamber was barely thirty feet in depth; the far wall dominated by an intricately carved slab that depicted planets revolving about a double star.
One of the Lerae appeared from behind the slab and beckoned Jacob to approach her. He stepped forward, wary as she tilted her head; her amber eyes glowing softly in interest.
"You have come to the Guardians. What troubles you, Jacob Hardy?"
Jacob stopped mid-step, surprised that she knew his name. His first instinct was to ask her but then he realised that he had met this female before.
"Ardana?"
She smiled, revealing a row of blunted teeth, and proving that her similarity to the lions of Earth ended with the shape of her face. He knew that her people were herbivore by nature but they did not seem offended by the human's omnivorous appetites.
"It is I, Jacob Hardy."
Some of the fear left Jacob once he realised that the Guardians were not some type of high priesthood. He felt a ripple of laughter course through him and he pressed his lips together as he recognised his symbiont's glee. Jacob directed his next thought inwards.
'So you think that's funny? I bet Curtis isn't laughing though.'
The laughter faded, replaced with an emotion that could only be described as chagrined but Jacob swept aside the abject apology with a wash of forgiveness. The symbiont explained within the flash of a single thought that all who were hosts were also Guardians to some degree, though some individuals held higher positions than others. Jacob acknowledged the new information and spoke quickly to Ardana.
"I have fears regarding the one who is symbiont to Curtis Sawyer. I believe the one may be subjugating the host."
"That is a heavy charge to bring upon another."
"I know... and I'm prepared to be totally embarrassed and held up to ridicule if I'm wrong. But what if my fears are real? I can't stand by and do nothing. I need to know Curtis is all right."
"It has been over a millennia since a symbiont last betrayed the trust of the people, and of the host--"
"I've been made aware of that but--"
"You interrupt, Jacob." Jacob tightened his mouth as Ardana admonished him gently, and he waited for her to complete her judgement. "It has been more than a millennia but that does mean it cannot happen. This matter will be brought to the leaders immediately." Ardana smiled at him again. "Better safe than sorry."
Jacob smiled in relief; recognising her attempt at reassurance by using a human expression he had once spoken to her. She bowed her head slightly towards him and then left; disappearing behind the ornate slab. Jacob stood for a moment in silence, hoping he had done the right thing by coming here, and then he turned away; letting the symbiont guide him back to the main citadel.
Jacob went back to the rooms that the Lerae had provided for him when he arrived on the planet. He stared at the blank walls for a long time before taking a seat at his desk. There was so much to learn and so much to see that he spent very little time here except to sleep but, eventually, he hoped to find time to create his own artwork to display on those barren walls. These thoughts reminded him of all he had left behind on Earth; and of Kara, the woman he had loved and whom he had planned to marry. He wondered what she was doing now. Did she regret her decision to stay behind? Did she think about him every day; the same way that he thought of her?
At the time, he had no choice but to leave with the others, and though the return mechanism had healed his wounds, he could still feel the excruciating pain of the bullet exploding into him. He touched the area in question, rubbing the palm of his hand over his stomach to ease the phantom pain.
At the time she did not have the courage to follow him to this new world. She could not believe in him but then, at the time all she had to lose was him. What did she have to gain - other than him? Most of the others were terminally ill, sitting in hospitals waiting to die, and he had offered them both life and freedom from their illness or disability. Only those selected as hosts by the desperate creatures of this dying world - like himself, Kelly and Curtis - had no real choice and, of all of them, only one man had chosen to come here freely. Michaels was too in love with his terminally ill wife, Daria, to even consider staying behind without her, and so he had put his faith in Jacob. Jacob had hoped that Kara could be as strong; that she could have loved him without reservation, willingly following him wherever he went.
He laughed, bitterly, as he realised Kara could have said the same of him; that he could have opted to stay behind with her rather that take his journey into the unknown.
We had so little time to consider our options. Do you regret your decision, Kara? Do you wish you had found the courage to step forward into the machine by my side?
'It is too late, Jacob. She is lost to you. We can never go back.'
"Why? Why can't you just build another one of them... them meteorite capsules and send someone back? She might have changed her mind."
'Three hundred of my people agreed to make that journey. Less than seventy returned. The losses were higher than anyone had anticipated with many killed on the journey, and others destroyed while on Earth... either through failing to locate a host or through human intervention.'
Jacob felt the sorrow of loss ripple through him from his symbiont. He felt ashamed; not realising before how much it had cost the Symbiont in their quest to restore their world.
"Jacob Hardy." Jacob looked up as Ardana burst into his room. "You were right... and we need your assistance."
"What happened?"
"When we questioned the symbiont within Curtis Sawyer it refused to let us speak with the host. It attacked the Guardians, and has killed one. It has fled to the outside."
"What can I do?"
"We must go after it. We must bring it back and remove it from the host. However, to do that we must try to reach the host... to reach the mind of Curtis Sawyer within... and we fear that you may be our only hope."
Jacob nodded tightly. He had been the leader of his group, and he was willing to do anything needed of him to save those he still considered to be his responsibility. They raced through the corridors, with Ardana just slightly ahead of him, leading the way and, eventually, they came to a chamber set on the outer edge of the massive citadel. Jacob recognised it as being similar to the chamber he had first arrived in all those weeks ago. He stared out of the portal to where the plasma storm still raged, hardly daring to imagine that Curtis might be out in that somewhere. Ardana handed him a suit and he allowed the others present to dress him. Finally, the helmet went on and he breathed in the rich oxygen mix through the filter mask. Jacob followed Ardana into a small chamber, feeling some trepidation as the door sealed behind them. Moments later the outside door opened, and he was buffeted by the power of the storm.
Jacob stared in awe as he saw the true magnificence of the plasma bolts that ignited the air. He had not realised that the material comprising the portal windows was more than just a clear shielding; it had acted as a screen to darken the brilliance of the storm. The colours were of the purest orange and red that he had ever seen; the brilliant white jagged bolts almost too intense to see with through the glare shield on his visor. Towering columns of red dust swirled high into the air, and Jacob imagined that they must reach beyond the stratosphere and out into the blackness of space.
Ardana's voice echoed within his helmet and, with great difficulty, he pulled his attention away from the beauty of the storm and followed her suited figure across the desolated landscape to the nearby base of a mountain. Centuries of erosion from the great storm had scraped out hollows, giving the mountain the appearance of Swiss cheese and it was into one of these hollows that Ardana led him.
The hollow turned out to be a tunnel that opened out, periodically, into chambers of varying sizes. She seemed to be following a set of markers and, eventually, they came out into another chamber where several more suited figures waited. Jacob had learned to read the emotions on the leonine people's faces, and what he saw was concern.
"They are close by, but the symbiont has threatened to kill the host if we come any closer."
"If the host dies then won't the symbiont die too?"
"Yes, but the symbiont does not believe we will take such a risk with the host's life."
"Then why am I here?"
"We need you to reach the submerged mind of the host. We need you to help the one called Curtis Sawyer fight to take control - if only for a moment. Once we have a lock on the host's mind then we can subdue the symbiont."
Jacob did not even pretend to understand how they would accomplish this. All he knew was that everything relied upon him reaching Curtis and making him fight for control of his body. Jacob followed two of the guardians deeper into the caverns, relieved to have Ardana close by as she brought up the rear. They came to another cavern and found Curtis seated on a strangely carved rock at its centre.
"I have warned you to come no closer."
"Curtis. It's Jacob." Curtis flinched as if in shock at hearing Jacob's voice. "Curtis. Do you remember the day we first met? You told me you were a taxi driver. Remember how awed you were that this happened to you. How scared and excited you were... all at the same time."
"He remembers." His voice was strained, as if the symbiont had struggled to be the one to respond.
"Curtis. Remember when we talked into the night about wasted dreams? Remember how you, Kelly and I fantasised on what would happen once we stepped into the machine?" Jacob edged a little closer. "We had strange images of this world, weird sensations rippling at the edges of our minds. We had good feelings on what awaited us here and we had urges to devour knowledge; read books on physics and mechanics, on metallurgy and commerce in a fraction of the time it would have taken us before that first night. And we understood it all. Every word. We were full of wonder; full of anticipation, and so eager to find those who had nothing to live for on Earth and were willing to take a chance on this future with us."
By now, Jacob was standing right in front of Curtis, and looking deep into Curtis's eyes in the hope that he might reach through this shell of flesh to the man imprisoned beneath.
"The dream is here, Curtis. You just have to reach out for it; reach out to me. Try Curtis. Fight for the dream we shared."
"Yes. I remember."
"Got him."
Jacob ignored the triumphant shout from behind as he gripped Curtis's forearms, pulling the freed man into a hug.
"Let's get back to the citadel. Back to our new home."
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Epilogue
The Guardians upheld their promise and removed the symbiont from Curtis, freeing his mind from the stranglehold the other had placed upon him. It disturbed Jacob to learn that the symbiont would be granted a new host, but Ardana and his own symbiont explained that the creature had suffered psychological damage during the arduous journey to Earth and the incompatibility of the host it had chosen. In time it would be healed and it would be given a more suitable host to ensure that this could not happen again.
The incident prompted the Guardians to evaluate every human/symbiont pairing already in existence, and this revealed four other pairings that were detrimental to either human or symbiont. It made the Guardians realise that they needed to use a far different criterion than that of the Lerae when choosing future human and symbiont pairings.
Jacob grinned as Curtis eased into the seat behind him. It had taken a few weeks for the trauma to abate and, during that time, Jacob had not minded having Curtis following him around like a shadow. He had even allowed the other man to share his accommodation; bringing in a spare bed and setting it up in a corner of his bedroom.
Today, Curtis had ventured from his side alone for the first time since being freed from the symbiont that had virtually enslaved him. He paused to study Curtis, noticing the deep introspection.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I spent some time with Kelly and the Michaels. Daria Michaels wants to take a host. They're doing the new symbiosis tests on her right now, to find her a compatible symbiont."
Jacob smiled, pleased to see no abhorrence cross Curtis's face at the thought of others agreeing to symbiosis; his symbiont sending waves of pleasure rippling through him as well. While a few of the original hosts had rejected their symbiont - unable to deal with this new presence in their minds - the rest, like Jacob, had discovered a whole new world opening up before them and gave many others the courage to reach for symbiosis.
Daria's acceptance pleased Jacob, and he wondered how long it would be before her husband joined her as a Guardian; a host to one of the symbiont. He lifted the brush and sent a few more strokes of vivid yellow across the rich orange and red background and then he stood back. He glanced over as Curtis came to stand by his shoulder, before staring hard at the painting of the intense storm still raging over their new home. He glanced across at Curtis once more, wondering if Curtis recalled the awesome wonder of the storm, or if he had been too locked up in his nightmare to witness the magnificence that had surrounded them.
"Well?"
"Beautiful. Just like I remember."
"Thank you." He stared at the blank wall beyond. "I was going to hang it there... to remind me of the storm long after it has passed."
"Can you make a copy for me?"
"Sure."
Jacob grinned; the request being the greatest of compliments paid to any artist. Inside he felt a ripple of pleasure from his symbiont. This piece of art was more than just his own work; it was a union of two worlds and, for Jacob, it symbolised far more than the plasma storm sweeping across the planet. It also symbolised the storm that had raged within him as he sought to make sense of this strange new world in which he had landed.
Jacob turned back to stare at the painting. The storm had almost passed, moving slowly beyond the planet and solar system. Within a few months it would be gone completely, and then it would be just a matter of time while they waited for the clouds of ionised dust - that had been thrown high into the ionosphere - to settle.
And then they could begin rebuilding the world beyond the citadel.
Until then, there were other storms brewing within that would need to be weathered as all of the people - Human, Lerae and Symbiont - learned to live as one.
The End
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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