An Obsidian Sky by Ewan Sinclair Page A

it do.’
    Aeniah turned
and began to suck on her bottom lip as she began to play her
fingers about the screen. Soon, gradually, I felt a slight
tingling. It was curious that the information did not appear to
come from anywhere other than me. I felt a foreign presence but
could not distinguish what was in my memory from what was being
given to me. It felt odd not to know reality from fabrication. Then
I felt it. My eyes were opened. Images I had mistaken for art
became letters, and slowly, ever so slowly, became words. I saw the
words ‘Blue Clarity’ rise from the centre of the ring of energy.
Turning to Sean I asked him a question ‘What exactly is ‘Blue
Clarity’’?
    ‘Blue Clarity
is a type of energy production. It is named after the way that it
appears to the naked eye. Blue Clarity is by many degrees the
perfect source of energy. It produces power infinitely, never
running out’ Sean answered amicably.
    ‘But why
didn’t they continue using it after the resource wars? Surely if we
had had that technology I might still have had a home. We might not
be living through this nightmare.’ The more I reasoned the more
anger I felt.
    ‘Of course,
many of the problems experienced by your society could have been
alleviated through much of the technology available here. However
after the Resource Wars the two major competing parties were
largely destroyed. Around 78% of the world was left permanently
inhospitable to human life. The societies that emerged were but a
shadow of their former selves, ignorant and blind to the majesty of
the past. It would never have been possible for them to produce
anything quite as exquisite as Blue Clarity.’ Sean for the first
time appeared saddened. He did not speak these words with his usual
sense of joy, instead he appeared to mourn the loss. Indeed he
mourned for it more than the loss of the world.
    I shook
myself, thinking that a machine had emotions, it was insanity. No
matter how good software is it is not sentient, I reminded myself.
He, it , was nothing more than a hunk of metal, complete with
wire and a speaker. Nothing more.
    Aeniah who
appeared to sense what I might be thinking, swiped at Sean. Sean
was pushed to the side and appeared to dip before gradually
restoring his normal altitude, just at head height. ‘See, he’s not
smart enough to avoid that’ she announced smugly.
    Smiling at
this I began to look around for more information to take in. Aeniah
however was having none of it.
    ‘Listen
ladies, whilst some jumped up generators could keep us primitive beings entertained until the cows come home, we
have to start this hunk of metal up.’
    And that was
that, Aeniah strode away from us at a fast pace. Turning to one
another briefly in annoyance, Sean and I followed her lead.
     
    *
     
    ‘Sub section
2A-Delta. DCN node twelve of thirteen. Automatic power-up of Blue
Clarity generators enabled. Aeniah please authorise DCN startup.’
Sean chimed.
    ‘Hold on, hold
on. There, got it.’ Aeniah gasped in exasperation. We had been
walking for twenty four long hours from one end of Ascension’s
engineering complex to another. This station was massive. Along the
way Sean had informed us that the floor that we were on was
“engineering level three”, where the AI was housed. So far we had
managed to activate almost all of the nodes.
    The scale of
the station was indeed immense, but dull. After the initial awe had
worn off it became apparent that on this section everything was the
same. It was just room after room of the same apparatus. Each room
massive, but of the same dimensions. It was indisputably boring. I
wondered if the rest of the station would improve.
    ‘Great.
Sensors indicate that the AI is ready for activation. The final DCN
will give her total control over the station,’ Sean announced.
    Listening to
Sean go on about technicalities I became distracted. Something was
not right. This station, Ascension, was perfection. Nothing was
missing, and yet