replied tetchily. “He controls everything in here, makes sure every day is exactly the same as the last. We've been trapped in here for over a year now.”
“A year?” Arthur asked with surprise. “No, that's not possible. It's not even been a year since-”
“Since your pointless little rebellion led to the deaths of millions?” Ari-Dun interrupted. “You asked me to tell you what I know, and I know I've been Mor-Dred's play-thing for four hundred and nineteen days. Tomorrow will be four hundred and twenty.”
Arthur and Merlin exchanged a confused look. The time Ari-Dun described didn't add up with what they knew to be true, but what would he have to gain by lying to them? Everything else he'd said had an air of truth about it, so why that? Arthur put it to the back of his mind and asked, “What if we said we were working on a way out?”
“I'd say you were fools to think you could get out of here,” Ari-Dun scoffed. “Don't you think people have tried? What makes you so different?”
Arthur looked to Merlin, who shook his head in warning. “Let's just say we have something no one else had,” Arthur said cryptically. “We're getting out, so are you with us or not?”
Ari-Dun looked sceptical, but after a moment he nodded. “What do you need from me?” he asked.
“Lance and Gwen,” Arthur replied. “Can you help us get them out of the castle?”
Ari-Dun laughed. “Freeing more slaves?” he remarked. “I should have guessed.”
“Can you help us or not?” Arthur said, striking the table with his fist.
“And if I do, you'll return me to the hive?” Ari-Dun clarified.
“We'll shut Mor-Dred down and get everyone out,” Arthur promised.
“Then leave it with me,” Ari-Dun replied. “Return here tomorrow and I'll tell you what I've learned.”
*****
Triltan turned in a circle, holding her scanner in front of her. She had begun to search the birthing chamber manually, but the more she explored the more she realised how extensive it was and realised she could be wondering around it for days. The scanner was programmed so detect human or Dorgan life signs, and after a moment it finally found what she was looking for.
The scanner reported two humans and one Dorgan, high up on a distant wall. They were trapped within birthing pods, their vital signs present but weak.
Returning to the console near the stairs, Triltan connected her scanner and attempted to override the access code. Though she was particularly skilled when using Teleri computers, she wasn't sure if the Mori systems worked in the same way and she was hoping that a brute-force hack would be the quickest route in. That and she was also frustrated at having to continually translate everything on the screen before her.
She momentarily considered trying to wake one of her prisoners, forcing them to give her the access codes, but she quickly dismissed the idea. She was too scared to talk to them for one thing, knowing that her voice would quiver and her hands would shake as she attempted to intimidate them. Once they saw how scared she was, they'd put all their efforts into trying to escape and she still couldn't imagine herself doing them actual harm. Instead, she tapped at icons on the scanner, forcing the software to interface and find her a way in.
It took her a little over half an hour before she was successfully able to access the birthing pod monitoring station, and a few minutes more to change it to the Teleri language. Once she'd finished she discovered that the system was remarkably simple to use.
The interface was intuitive and presented her with an overview of the state of the pods. Currently, one million, one hundred and twenty-seven thousand, nine hundred and thirteen pods were active. The occupants of two thousand and thirty nine were deceased, while the remainder were actively connected to the hive network.
Arthur and Lance had explained to her what the pods were, how they grew slaves in a nutritional gel
“A year?” Arthur asked with surprise. “No, that's not possible. It's not even been a year since-”
“Since your pointless little rebellion led to the deaths of millions?” Ari-Dun interrupted. “You asked me to tell you what I know, and I know I've been Mor-Dred's play-thing for four hundred and nineteen days. Tomorrow will be four hundred and twenty.”
Arthur and Merlin exchanged a confused look. The time Ari-Dun described didn't add up with what they knew to be true, but what would he have to gain by lying to them? Everything else he'd said had an air of truth about it, so why that? Arthur put it to the back of his mind and asked, “What if we said we were working on a way out?”
“I'd say you were fools to think you could get out of here,” Ari-Dun scoffed. “Don't you think people have tried? What makes you so different?”
Arthur looked to Merlin, who shook his head in warning. “Let's just say we have something no one else had,” Arthur said cryptically. “We're getting out, so are you with us or not?”
Ari-Dun looked sceptical, but after a moment he nodded. “What do you need from me?” he asked.
“Lance and Gwen,” Arthur replied. “Can you help us get them out of the castle?”
Ari-Dun laughed. “Freeing more slaves?” he remarked. “I should have guessed.”
“Can you help us or not?” Arthur said, striking the table with his fist.
“And if I do, you'll return me to the hive?” Ari-Dun clarified.
“We'll shut Mor-Dred down and get everyone out,” Arthur promised.
“Then leave it with me,” Ari-Dun replied. “Return here tomorrow and I'll tell you what I've learned.”
*****
Triltan turned in a circle, holding her scanner in front of her. She had begun to search the birthing chamber manually, but the more she explored the more she realised how extensive it was and realised she could be wondering around it for days. The scanner was programmed so detect human or Dorgan life signs, and after a moment it finally found what she was looking for.
The scanner reported two humans and one Dorgan, high up on a distant wall. They were trapped within birthing pods, their vital signs present but weak.
Returning to the console near the stairs, Triltan connected her scanner and attempted to override the access code. Though she was particularly skilled when using Teleri computers, she wasn't sure if the Mori systems worked in the same way and she was hoping that a brute-force hack would be the quickest route in. That and she was also frustrated at having to continually translate everything on the screen before her.
She momentarily considered trying to wake one of her prisoners, forcing them to give her the access codes, but she quickly dismissed the idea. She was too scared to talk to them for one thing, knowing that her voice would quiver and her hands would shake as she attempted to intimidate them. Once they saw how scared she was, they'd put all their efforts into trying to escape and she still couldn't imagine herself doing them actual harm. Instead, she tapped at icons on the scanner, forcing the software to interface and find her a way in.
It took her a little over half an hour before she was successfully able to access the birthing pod monitoring station, and a few minutes more to change it to the Teleri language. Once she'd finished she discovered that the system was remarkably simple to use.
The interface was intuitive and presented her with an overview of the state of the pods. Currently, one million, one hundred and twenty-seven thousand, nine hundred and thirteen pods were active. The occupants of two thousand and thirty nine were deceased, while the remainder were actively connected to the hive network.
Arthur and Lance had explained to her what the pods were, how they grew slaves in a nutritional gel
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