grinned, looking boyish and manly at the same time. “It will answer your questions while I figure out this locator.”
He winked as he climbed on the pedestal beside her. Maybe he did enjoy her company? Turning her head to hide her warm cheeks, Aries watched the screen as the pixels took shape into misty wisps of white clouds.
The scene began to move, like a movie on the New Dawn , the camera apparently soaring above a world of rolling moss-green hills and dense forests. The air was clear and clean, unlike the smog-choked scenes of the dying Earth she’d seen in her classes. Crimson light filtered down from the clouds, illuminating patches of trees in a ruddy glow. As the scene continued, the greenery gave way to gleaming cathedral-type steeples, spiraling in silver-lined twists to prick the sunset-colored sky. The buildings were too thin and elongated to be human-made. She wondered what device had recorded this magnificent display as the aerial view descended to the alien city below, resting on the balcony of an impossibly high tower. Strings of white fabric reached toward the sky like strands of jellyfish, blowing in a light wind. The camera focused on the room inside, and it took a minute for the lens to react to the change in light.
“Wait until you see what they look like.”
Striker’s sudden comment made Aries jump as he brought her back to reality. Her gaze settled on him as he bent his head over his work. She noticed the way his hair curled at the base of his neck, and how the back of his shirt dropped enough for her to see the indent of his broad shoulder blades.
A flash of light brought her attention back to the screen. The tower room pulsed inside with the same sapphire light of the spaceship, illuminating smooth, blue-white walls, an ivory floor, and glass-like structures. A bed of feathers rested above an ivory platform carved with strange, geometric symbols. Aries squinted her eyes, trying to see further in. A lump squirmed in the middle of the plumes.
The camera, if that was what it was, focused on the bed. A white-haired head peered out of the feathers, flashing an opal-skinned face with pearlescent eyes. The creature twitched a slight nose, with flaring nostrils. Lips that looked like they’d been carved from a mollusk shell moved in an “o” shape.
Aries gasped. “Angels. They look like angels.”
“Well, that’s one way to see it. I always thought they looked more like mermaids with wings.”
“They can fly?” The scene suddenly made more sense. It must have been taken by an alien gliding in the sky.
The creature in the bed radiated pale light, casting a luminescent glow through the room to the far reaches of the cavernous ceiling. The pulsing light weakened with each beat. Although its features were foreign to Aries, she could sense a great sadness accompanied by a weariness or fatigue.
“What’s wrong with it?” She felt like a small child watching a tragic, age-old fairy tale. Part of her didn’t want to know the end.
“Keep watching.” Striker poked around with an electromagnetic screwdriver. “The memory-vision will tell you better than I can.”
The creature raised an arm, long as an arrow, and pointed with branch-like fingers across the room. The tip of its finger, sharp as a pin and oily-white like the inside of a conch shell, shook slightly, as if from exhaustion or old age.
The vision turned, and the camera-holder paced the length of the room, past a hole in the ceiling filtering the diaphanous red sunlight. Nestled into impressions in the ivory floor were speckled eggs the size of a fat man’s belly.
A hand much like the skinny-boned creature in the bed reached out and dusted off the top of the closest egg, sending motes of glitter shimmering in the pale rays of red sun.
“They won’t hatch,” Striker explained with a sigh. “I’ve seen hundreds of these visions, and they all show eggs left to gather dust.”
“You mean their race is dying out?” All
He winked as he climbed on the pedestal beside her. Maybe he did enjoy her company? Turning her head to hide her warm cheeks, Aries watched the screen as the pixels took shape into misty wisps of white clouds.
The scene began to move, like a movie on the New Dawn , the camera apparently soaring above a world of rolling moss-green hills and dense forests. The air was clear and clean, unlike the smog-choked scenes of the dying Earth she’d seen in her classes. Crimson light filtered down from the clouds, illuminating patches of trees in a ruddy glow. As the scene continued, the greenery gave way to gleaming cathedral-type steeples, spiraling in silver-lined twists to prick the sunset-colored sky. The buildings were too thin and elongated to be human-made. She wondered what device had recorded this magnificent display as the aerial view descended to the alien city below, resting on the balcony of an impossibly high tower. Strings of white fabric reached toward the sky like strands of jellyfish, blowing in a light wind. The camera focused on the room inside, and it took a minute for the lens to react to the change in light.
“Wait until you see what they look like.”
Striker’s sudden comment made Aries jump as he brought her back to reality. Her gaze settled on him as he bent his head over his work. She noticed the way his hair curled at the base of his neck, and how the back of his shirt dropped enough for her to see the indent of his broad shoulder blades.
A flash of light brought her attention back to the screen. The tower room pulsed inside with the same sapphire light of the spaceship, illuminating smooth, blue-white walls, an ivory floor, and glass-like structures. A bed of feathers rested above an ivory platform carved with strange, geometric symbols. Aries squinted her eyes, trying to see further in. A lump squirmed in the middle of the plumes.
The camera, if that was what it was, focused on the bed. A white-haired head peered out of the feathers, flashing an opal-skinned face with pearlescent eyes. The creature twitched a slight nose, with flaring nostrils. Lips that looked like they’d been carved from a mollusk shell moved in an “o” shape.
Aries gasped. “Angels. They look like angels.”
“Well, that’s one way to see it. I always thought they looked more like mermaids with wings.”
“They can fly?” The scene suddenly made more sense. It must have been taken by an alien gliding in the sky.
The creature in the bed radiated pale light, casting a luminescent glow through the room to the far reaches of the cavernous ceiling. The pulsing light weakened with each beat. Although its features were foreign to Aries, she could sense a great sadness accompanied by a weariness or fatigue.
“What’s wrong with it?” She felt like a small child watching a tragic, age-old fairy tale. Part of her didn’t want to know the end.
“Keep watching.” Striker poked around with an electromagnetic screwdriver. “The memory-vision will tell you better than I can.”
The creature raised an arm, long as an arrow, and pointed with branch-like fingers across the room. The tip of its finger, sharp as a pin and oily-white like the inside of a conch shell, shook slightly, as if from exhaustion or old age.
The vision turned, and the camera-holder paced the length of the room, past a hole in the ceiling filtering the diaphanous red sunlight. Nestled into impressions in the ivory floor were speckled eggs the size of a fat man’s belly.
A hand much like the skinny-boned creature in the bed reached out and dusted off the top of the closest egg, sending motes of glitter shimmering in the pale rays of red sun.
“They won’t hatch,” Striker explained with a sigh. “I’ve seen hundreds of these visions, and they all show eggs left to gather dust.”
“You mean their race is dying out?” All
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