2. The loss

January, 993 SE

"Do you want to come with me?" 

"Mmm…" Artis was staring at the vast expense of the void before the ship. 

Due to the speed restriction, any civilian craft can't exceed the speed limit of 0.1c inside the start system. It was fast, but the vast expanses of nothingness didn't give it any sense of velocity.

"It is almost at the edge of the star system. The galaxlink might be a little slow here. There won't be much fun to do here." Dowson explained.

Due to his job as a supervisor at a multisystem mining company, he had to stay out for an extended period. This time, the job was on the moon of the sixth planet. 

The capital planet of the system was the third one, where their actual residence was. Besides a few research or mining colonies on a few planets and moons, almost 80% of the population lives on the capital planet.

Although this star system also has a Matrioshka brain, it was nowhere near powerful enough for the capital system. It was an A-brain that was based on an older prototype. 

The transmission problem became noticeable for the planets near the edge of the star system, even though it was sufficient for a rural star system.

"I don't want to stay at that home alone." Artis didn't even look at his father as he stared at the endless void.

"Are you still thinking about it?" 

Artis didn't answer, but the tears started to flow. 

"Look at you. Would your mother be happy if she had seen something like that?" The moment Dowson said it, Artis's shoulder began to tremble even more; Dowson was attempting to console his son and get him to stop crying.

Dowson could only sigh and lean back on his seat. "Do you think your mother didn't know it would happen?"

Artis looked at him with his wet eyes but couldn't answer.

"Antheraeamorph is a species that dies after giving birth. Your mother knew it, but she still decided to give birth. Do you know why?"

"Why?" His voice was shaking.

"Because you are the lucky one."

"No."

"Yes, you are. You were lucky for your mother."

"I am not." Artis was convinced.

"Most antheraeamorphs die immediately after giving birth. They rarely lived past a year. But your mom outlived the average lifespan by more than a decade. Are you implying that you did not feel fortunate for her?"

"If Mother hadn't had me, he would have lived longer."

"Shut up. Don't ever say that. You were your mother's everything, her best creation. Yet, you are saying…" Dowson snorted before putting something in the ship's system.

A hologram appeared in front of them. And there was a picture. It was Jade's image. But it looked so foreign to Artis.

"Do you know why your mother always wears the mask?" Atris was staring at the image. He had seen those white-less black eyes before, but the mouthless face was too much of a shock to him.

"After metamorphosis, antheraeamorphs lose their ability to eat. Your mother would have died even if she hadn't had you. Do you understand now?"

Just when Dowson had thought that Artis would understand his explanation, he came running towards him, hugged him, and started to cry loudly. Dowson let him cry it out.

Due to the speed restriction, the journey that should have taken a few minutes now takes 12 hours. With only two people on the ship, they have much time to spend.

Artis still took a considerable amount of time to collect himself. They decided there was no use in loitering around the cockpit any longer and made their way to the dining area.

After Artis finished his hot chocolate, Dowson pushed a small box towards him. 

"Your mother had left it for you."

His finger stopped an inch away from the box before opening it. In the box, there was a small blood color stone. 

"It's hot." He almost dropped it when he took it in his hand.

"S'mporti. It's called S'mporti. It is something like an inheritance stone."

"Inheritance stone!?" 

Like a smoothed-out stone, S'mporti had no discernible characteristics beyond its reddish-brown hue and the fact that it felt hot to the touch. 

"I think it is getting hotter."

As Dwoson muttered, "It was not hot for me," a severe scowl spread across his face. "I was thinking of giving it to you after you pass the entrance exam."

"There is still more than a year left before the exam…"

Dowson smiled and rustled his hair, "I think you could use it. This is Jade's final gift so…"

"It's melting. It's burning." There was no flame, but Artis almost felt the scorching burning sensation from a small blood puddle that formed on his palm.

The thought that this might be Jade's final present made him tremble with emotion. He couldn't bring himself to throw it away. Instead, Dowson slapped his hand away.

Yet, it was sticking to his hand. He tried to throw it away, but it was there. 

"What is happening?" Fear crossed his face; Artis grabbed his right wrist with his left while looking at his father for an answer. "What do I do? What should I do?"

"Listen to me." Dowson grabbed him to stop him from jumping at the spot. "Your mother would not do anything to hurt you."

He knew what his father was saying was true. Yet, the pain was real. If the burning sensation wasn't enough, he felt tens of needles stinging at where the puddle of red liquid was.

"Daddy!" Artis looked at Dowson for help. 

Alas! His father was also helpless. He still believes that Jane would not hurt Artis, so he reasoned, "The inheritance stone is rare, but it is a way to pass on the knowledge of the predecessor to the future generation."

"This also helps the offspring learn and unlock the species' abilities." He was hopeful, "You might be able to use horka like your mother."

"Ahhhh!!!" Artis was at his wit's end. He was supposed to be happy, but the pain was too much for him.

Dowson's words weren't making any sense to him. He was swinging his arm, trying to throw it off. 

Wiping it on the clothes wasn't helping either. "It is entering my body." He continued to scream as he ran around.

Equally helpless, Dowson, too, ran behind him.

*******

October 993 SE.

Artis walked out of the room in an ex-suit and ensured the door was closed behind him. This chamber separated the central living pods from the outside.

Although going out of the room had little purpose, coming in was used as the dusting room. 

He took a deep breath, held the railing, and hit the switch. The door opened, exposing him to the vastness of the space.

He walked out of the chamber while holding the railing. He quickly hooked his suit with the support cord before letting go of the railing. And the door closed behind him.

His ex-suit has ten minutes of oxygen backup and 5 minutes for emergencies. So, connecting to the support cord is essential. 

The support cord didn't just supply oxygen and power to the suit; it also kept him connected to the habitation pods. The support cord only allowed him to move within 100 meters of the habitation pods.

It was his first time on the moon. As a matter of fact, it was his first time outside the capital planet. However, Artis was here for more than ten months. 

Dowson was reluctant to let him out. Only after two months of training was he allowed to go out if he was connected to the support cord.

Artis was more than happy with it. Even though he accompanied his father to the artificial gravity center in an amusement park on the capital planet, it lacked the excitement of the real one.

The moon had 20% of the capital planet's gravity. But the fact that he was really on a moon that had no atmosphere thrilled him.

Despite the lack of a jetpack on his suit, he was able to jump greater distances by releasing short bursts of jets from his shoe. He dipped his torso and leaped, utilizing the brief burst to propel himself higher at the peak of his leap.

As his feet slowly touched the moon again, 53.91 feet appeared on the screen.

"Damn it." He hit the jet at the right time and crossed 55 feet in one instance, but he never did again.

"Didn't I tell you not to do that?" The angry voice came from his helmet.

Artis looked around to see the rover coming. 

"Damn it, why is he early today?" Artis started to walk back to the pods. He was sure that today's excursion was over.

Dowson entered the dusting chamber behind him. Excessive air jets blew any residue of moon dust off them before they entered the central area of the pod.

"Get your things ready. We will leave next week."

"What?" Artis stopped taking off his suit. He couldn't believe what Dowson just said.

"What 'what?' You must prepare for the entrance exam. You need to train your body under normal gravity. Do you think you have time to play around?"

"I am not playing around. I have been studying." Artis was naturally unhappy. "Can't we stay here for a couple more months? It will be a full year."

"Just because you have a B gene, will they welcome you with open arms?"

"Didn't you say you would ensure that I got into the academy because you were a commander?"

"This little…" Before Dowson could take his suits off, Artis ran away.

He stopped, not too far away. "Dad, do you think I should try it?"

"What?"

"Breathing in space."

Dowson's face hardened.

"You told me my mother could breathe without a space suit. So I think I should try it too."

"No."

"Why not? It's been almost ten months since the S'mporti entered my body. I think I have…"

"No. Don't be stupid. If you inherited her ability, there are many ways to prove it. There is no need to do something so dangerous."

Seeing him pout, Dowson added, "Didn't we have the gene test last month? There wasn't any increase in the grade of your gene."

"Maybe the test can't detect it. I can feel something changing in me."

"No means no." Dowson had no intention of negotiating with his son. "We will go back; you will train with me. If I can pass the test with my grade B- gene, you can do it too. Do you understand?"

Artis slumped on the sofa without sparing a glance at his father.

"Mr. Artis Mason, do you understand?"

"Yes." There wasn't much force behind it.

Looking at his disheartened son, he felt terrible and sat beside him.

"Remember, the grade of your gene is just a letter. What you do with your body and how you utilize your abilities make you a great soldier."

************

February, 995 SE

"What is the name of the capital planet?" Dowson asked.

"The name of the capital system star is Cursa. The capital planet's name is Cursa V." The answer was at the tip of Artis's tongue.

"How many star systems does the Federation of Cursa govern?"

"Seven star systems. They are Xaria, Natila, Ubos, Lanus, Motune, Lion 44SJ, and Dosie M4Q. We live in the Motune star system. Our capital planet is Motune III… Come on, ask me something hard. Do you think there will be such easy questions in the exam?"

"Sorry, sorry." Dowson quickly checked the craft screen. Ten minutes were left before they reached Motune IIIb, the planet's second moon.

A long line at the Sky Hook facility indicated they were not alone. It took almost 30 minutes before they were launched. 

After all, the entrance exam for the military academy was being held on the second moon.

Dowson was free to let go of the controls until the skyhook at the moon caught them. So, he threw another question at Artis.

"What is the grade of Cursa Federation?"

"Okay." He arranged the answer in his mind before answering, "It is Grade II civilization by K-scale. Grade IIa, to be exact. Why… well. We have yet to make a true planet-grade Matrioshka brain. We have many asteroid-grade brains. There is a moon-grade brain in the capital system, but no planet-grade brain."

"Although we successfully created a transporter with a warp drive, most of us use an antimatter engine. We have already terraformed six planets and three moons, but…"

Artis continued to chalk out all the reasons he could think of as the sky hook installed at the moon base caught their craft and directed them toward their destination. 

Ultimately, Dowson had to maneuver independently as too many craft were moving in the same direction. 

Even if Dowson stopped checking, Artis continued listing all the reasons he could think of loudly.