Divine Evolution (2021 Watty Awards Shortlist)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Cyann spent the night spent tossing and turning, trying to come to grips with her future and who she was supposed to be. Sleep proved to be impossible and it seemed her questions didn't have answers—at least none that were obvious to her. When Merelle arrived to help her dress the next morning, Cyann was already awake, struggling to figure out the gowns in her closet. The woman took the mangled gown out of her hands, made her sit at the desk, and proceeded to pull her hair into an elaborate braid atop her head.

Next came the white gown, which more closely resembled a collection of layered bed sheets someone had wrapped around her after washing day. It hit Cyann at her ankles, was belted at the waist, and secured with two brooches of beaten metal at the shoulders. Merelle told her she wasn't far off with her bed sheet analogy since the tunics, called chiton, were also slept in. Both men and women essentially wore the same clothing, right down to their loincloths, except women's breasts were secured with a linen strip. Lastly were the leather sandals, and she was ready.

Nerves ate at Cyann. The immersion chamber could only prepare her for so much, she realized. As much as she worried about herself, she realized she had a whole civilization to worry about too. What if she influenced the people in the wrong direction? The needs of all those people should outweigh her own problems, she reasoned. After all, she was only one person. How did one life matter when balanced against a whole world? It didn't. Niko may have suggested otherwise, but that had been...before. She suspected he probably didn't feel the same way now. He probably didn't feel the same way about a lot of things. For now, she needed to concentrate on integrating herself into this new world.

During a breakfast she couldn't eat and a trip to the docking bay she barely remembered. Merelle explained they would board a transit pod designed to take them to the surface. It would be cloaked so no one would see their arrival, then return to the ship after dropping them off. After that, they'd be on their own, except for her link to Niko—a link she didn't know how to use properly. Nor would it really help if she got into serious trouble. She might wind up dead like Niko's first Chosen after all.

Niko was in the docking bay when they arrived, looking surly and annoyed beside the transit pod. Actually, he looked downright terrifying as he stood with his arms crossed over his chest, snarling orders at the crew member overseeing the pod's automated deploy and return trips from the planet. The poor man was clearly frazzled as he fumbled with the pod's control panel and stammered his replies.

Beside them was the transit pod—a gray sphere of metal that barely looked big enough to fit two people inside. It stood upright on four supporting legs which could be extended or retracted as needed, and there were multiple propulsion boosters located around the sphere so it could change direction. Aside from the door, there were also two tiny windows, just large enough to offer a slivered glimpse of outside. That was supposed to take them to the planet's surface? It looked so small and flimsy. How could it possibly be safe? Luckily they had little in the way of gear, or there'd be no space inside for them. Merelle carried a few basic weapons, a change of clothes for each of them, and a day's worth of food.

She tore her eyes from the pod and back to Niko. The scowl disappeared, his focus narrowing to her as if she was the only thing he could see. When she stopped in front of him for his inspection, his green eyes traveled over her, taking in every detail as if committing it to memory. It was a fight not to shiver under his intensity.

For long moments, he was silent, watchful. The ship's quiet humming was the only noise in the universe. When he finally spoke, his tone was carefully neutral. "My plan is for you to remain planet-side for the remainder of their growing season. Typically, it lasts nine months, but we've missed the first three. That gives you approximately one hundred and eighty-two days to live among this world's inhabitants, learn what you can and hopefully guide them toward the Galactic Homogeny's ideals. Their priestesses burn out quickly and are replaced often so it would be considered unusual for you to remain longer. I've already spoken with the Ministry to have another Chosen replace you next season, and they've agreed. Or, if it turns out the planet is too primitive and there are no obvious benefits to our presence, I'll put the planet under House quarantine and in a few centuries, I'll try again. Is this acceptable?"