Kunlun

Kunlun

A Story by nightlight6
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The nuclear apocalypse has occurred.... at least for a part of the world. The rest of the world has gone on its merry way.

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Bells knew he had to call his folks back home. It’d only been an hour since he left, but the mission was treacherous enough that they were demanding constant updates. He sat cross-legged on his cot and pulled up the video conf interface on his watch.

He then spent the next hour lying to his parents.

“Everything’s normal so far!”

“You wouldn’t believe the radiation over the Pacific.”

“I’ll bring some grade-A Chinese fallout home for Jayron, promise”

He hadn’t expected to have to lie, but right now that was the order from Command. The truth wasn’t dangerous, necessarily, but it was completely and utterly bewildering. Most of the past hour had been spent running around the helicarrier in a frenzy along with the rest of the expedition team. Non-essential crew had ultimately been ordered to retreat to their bunks so the admins could get things sorted out.

“Have you seen anything crazy mutated yet?”, asked Bells’ father.

“Ohhh, not yet, but I’m sure I will!”

“Do you think there’s any people left in East China?”, asked Bells’ mother.

“I doubt it Mama, you know the rad-smog’s too thick.”

The helicarrier was temporarily stationed at Misawa Air Base in northern Tōhoku, the most populated region of Japan. That wasn’t saying much. Given that most of southern Japan had been abandoned due to fallout, Japan had become a wintry agrarian country. Some of the old manufacturing was still happening in modern Japan, but it was nothing like what it had been two centuries ago.

Bells glanced out the small berth window onto the short Misawa skyscrapers and distant green mountains.

“I think I need to get going. Tell Gram I’m safe!”

“Okay, honey. Send pictures?”

“You know I’ll try. Love ya!”

With a smile and a wave, Bells flicked off the video conference.

He was most definitely not going to be sending pictures.

As he rubbed a hand over his face with a groan, a voice piped up from the cot across from him.

“Damn, I didn’t know you were that good of an actor.”

Bells groaned louder. The voice continued.

“Glad my parents aren’t clingy or else I’d be screwed.”

Peeking through his fingers, Bells glared at the source of the voice.

“Shut up, Kepa. They’re not clingy.”

The sturdy woman looked back at him with a face carved from stone.

“They called you an hour after we took off from Hawaii. That’s clingy.”

Bells attempted to shoot lasers of death from his eyes into Kepa’s dark, detached ones, but unfortunately he wasn’t the one with a constitution of steel. He backed down after a couple seconds and buried his face in his hands again. His plan to create his own solitude failed as Kepa spoke up with some interest.

“I guess they’re gonna need us after all.”

Bells sighed and dropped his hands into his lap.

“We don’t know that.”

“There are people in China. There have to be. How else do you explain our readings and the Japanese reports?”

He didn’t have a coherent response to that.

“I-I mean, I don’t know! We can’t jump to conclusions! Maybe there’s robotics or AI activating posthumously, maybe there’s a weather phenomenon happening, it’s way too early to tell.”

Kepa raised a single thick eyebrow.

“Okay. But you have to admit this is all really weird.”

All Bells could do was shrug helplessly and look out the window.

There was no radiation entering the Pacific.

There was no fallout being kicked into the air.

There was no rad-smog over East Asia.

Something weird was happening in China.

 

 

With dust storms, barren trees, and crumbling buildings as far as the eye could see, the Korean peninsula was the definition of a post-nuclear wasteland.

In the chaos of the Pyongyang-Beijing War’s nuclear climax, North Korea had been nuked into oblivion. Millions of innocent, brainwashed individuals had died instantly, and the tyrannical government had fled to Russia with their gilded tails between their legs. South Korea was less lucky in some respects. Though not a single nuke landed over the DMZ, the massive radiation from the north swept into the southern part of the peninsula without remorse. While most of the upper class was easily able to flee to Japan, the US, and Australia, too many Koreans were abandoned to die from radiation poisoning. Modern Korean descendants called themselves the Ilh-Eobeolin. The Lost.

As the helicarrier flew over Korea, Bells noticed security officer Eun-seo was not present on the bridge.

Not much activity occurred during this time, beyond the science staff taking continued measurements of the radiation in the air and monitoring the ground below. The radiation of the Korean soil was still decreasing at a steady rate, continuing to support the claim that southern Korea would be arable by 2370. Bells could hear the botanist John babbling about how there were new grasses appearing in patches around Seoul, but when he looked down he couldn’t see anything interesting about the sparse brown vegetation.

The radiation in the lower atmosphere was higher over Korea than it was in the Pacific jet stream, but it was still far less than expected. Bells could hear the climatologists muttering over their instruments. He had a strong suspicion any problem they were looking for simply wasn’t there.

When the helicarrier finally made it out over Korea Bay, most of the talking on the bridge stopped. All eyes were on the distant, dim line of land to the west. The line of land expanded to the south and north as the helicarrier ventured further into the bay, but no detail could yet be seen.

The first detail to become clear, particularly to the crew stationed on the telescopes, was the color green. The instant the lookouts announced this, the captain turned to the team of scientists huddled around their semicircle of computers. She looked sharply between each of their bewildered faces.

“Any explanation?”

There was some chaos as the scientists whispered animatedly to each other, and one would occasionally poke a head out.

“There’s an alga along the coast that’s resistant to radioactivity?”, question-answered John the botanist.

“The materials of the North Korean bombs might have interacted with the steel of the Chinese skyscrapers to create a green coating. Somehow.”, shrugged Nequila the chemist.

“Maybe all the radiation was vented into the atmosphere after the war and…. No, who am I kidding, that’s stupid.”, shouted climatologist Jayesh before dropping to a mumble.

The scientists continued running themselves rabid while the captain looked more and more exasperated. Bells turned to Kepa, who was standing next to him towards the back of the bridge.

“Maybe it’s one giant, mutated green slime.”

Kepa snorted.

“You might be right. Something tells me us translators have about as much of an idea of what’s going on as the eggheads do.”

“Kepa, you have a Master’s degree in Mandarin literature. We’re all eggheads here.”

“Shut up, nerd.”

The captain waved her arms in the air and turned back towards the windows.

“Just keep us updated when we get more information.”

The scientists didn’t seem to hear her.

The ruined city of Dalian, on the tip of the peninsula sticking into the bay from the north, passed them by quickly. Not much detail could be made out, but the lookouts reported that there were skyscrapers still standing. The green extended up the skyscrapers, adding more fuel to the increasingly frustrated rabble around the computers.

“It’s mutated vines! Millions of them spreading across the land like a mold slime!”

Bells couldn’t help but think that sounded dangerously close to his idea.

As Beijing finally came into view a few minutes later, the captain hushed the scientific team so she could listen to the lookouts.

“Looks like loads of crumbling skyscrapers from here. Anything to note?”

“There’s green on these skyscrapers as well, but it’s definitely not an even coating. It seems fairly vine-like, and there’s not any green on certain crumbled areas of the skyscrapers. I can already see some reddish brown patches. Probably rust, ma’am.”

“Interesting. Anything to note on the coastline?”

“No unusual coloring. There appear to be objects in the water, but they might just be ruins of ports and ships.”

Bells took in the growing Beijing skyline. As they got closer, it was easier to see what the lookouts were talking about. The hundreds of skyscrapers were in various states of disrepair, and the green on them looked like rivulets of water running down a cliff. Chunks of skyscrapers were missing, and the entire faces of some of the smaller ones were covered in rust. Those skyscrapers were probably going to completely collapse soon. Green extended on the ground that was visible beneath the tall buildings, and John was already saying that it was clear there was variation in the plants taking over Beijing.

Beams and poles stuck out of the water along the coast, and from the helicarrier thousands of shipwrecks could be seen littering the bottom of Bohai Bay. The lookouts noted a few chunky silver objects drifting in the sea, and dismissed them. They were probably just light debris that stayed in the relatively contained area of the bay.

The helicarrier rose in elevation slightly so that it could pass over the ruined buildings more easily. As they made landfall and looked down, a couple of people gasped. Just behind the coastal line of skyscrapers was a massive, shallow crater. The crater was not so much in the ground as it was in the buildings. For nearly 2 km in every direction from the epicenter, the skyscrapers were either flattened or just plain gone. For another 14 km in every direction, chunks and faces of buildings were missing, the source of destruction all pointing back to the same place. While North Korea had dropped “small” nukes throughout much of East China, it had reserved its three crown jewels for the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Remote footage of the detonation of each was a horror to watch at the time, but in Bells’ era was run-of-the-mill stock video stuck into historical documentaries.

Something about flying over one of the crown jewel’s craters made it difficult to keep seeing the footage that way.

The impact of the awe-inspiring destruction was lessened by the continuation of green. Even in the center of one of the largest nuclear explosions in history, where it had been expected that lethal radiation would remain for thousands of years, the ruins were overgrown with vegetation. In the completely flattened epicenter large, old trees were growing, surrounded by smaller trees and shrubs. Radiation readings showed that though the epicenter was radioactive, it was about as radioactive as standing in the abandoned city of Chernobyl 300 years ago.

Dangerous if you stood there for days, but not lethal.

The lookouts listed details they could see in the streets. There were thousands of abandoned cars, buses, and trolleys, all of them rusting and covered in shade-loving plants. There were signs of movement among the vegetation, which the biologists excitedly chalked up to animal life. There were less abandoned vehicles than expected, and one of the lookouts pointed out that there were patches of road that seemed like they had once had something covering them for a long time. Nobody could reasonably explain that until they sent out a ground team.

Another lookout noticed a chunky silver object similar to the debris in the ocean. It was decided once the helicarrier found a good place to land, a team would definitely be sent to check that out in particular.

After some debate, the captain ordered that they land and set up camp in Tiananmen Square. It was central to the city, it was far enough from the crater’s epicenter that the radiation was minimal, and they wouldn’t be pissing off the descendants of Chinese expatriates by landing in the Forbidden City (which was equally open but was an obvious no-no). It was clear from the discussion that only Bells and Kepa knew the history behind this place. They exchanged eye contact, basically saying to each other, “we’re going to have to double as historians on this mission, aren’t we?

 

 

Bells and Kepa elected to investigate the Forbidden City, and since they weren’t needed (yet) the captain allowed them to head off. Walking across Tiananmen Square towards the Gate of Heavenly Peace with only a precautionary mask in one’s pocket was surreal. The stone tiles of the square were free of any damage, their neglect belied only by the occasional grass rising between the cracks. The Mao Zedong Mausoleum behind them was in complete ruins, as was the Great Hall of the People to their left. The National Museum of China to their right, however, seemed merely abandoned. The glass in the windows were broken and the large sign that had once hung above the entrance lay shattered on the ground, but it looked like it would be safe enough to enter.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace and the southern walls of the Forbidden City behind it were practically pristine.

Besides the missing flags, signs, and portrait of Mao Zedong, the entrance to the palace looked like a picture from a history textbook. The red had not faded, there was not a tile out of place. Bells scanned the Gate as they crossed the cracked avenue separating the palace from the square. The gilding on the roof was still whole and shining, and the lion statues beside the entrance appeared untouched. As they passed the tall huabiao columns, the creatures topping each staring down at the newcomers, Bells noticed something odd. There was a pale line running through the center of the huabiao on the left. He signaled Kepa to come look at it with him.

Sure enough, there was a thin line of what looked to be cement encircling the huabiao. It was like the column split in two before being glued back together. Bells slowly ran a hand over the dragon engraving in the column that was interrupted by the line.

“Uh, Kepa, do you know if the huabiao in front of the Forbidden City sustained damage before the war?”

Kepa took a tablet out of her pack and flicked it on.

“Nope, but I can try to find out. There have to be thousands of pre-war pictures that were taken in this exact spot.”

“Right. How are you going to find them?”

“Through the incredibly modern and complicated technique of doing a reverse image search.”

Bells got out of the way as Kepa stepped back and took a picture of the huabiao. When she entered the image into the search engine, she gave a rare laugh.

“Wow, won’t the people managing satellite web flow be shocked when they see somebody Googling something in the middle of Beijing.”

Bells snorted.

“I think it’s just AI managing traffic, Kepa.”

“Well then, this is gonna fry the s**t out of that AI’s circuits.”

There was a pause as Kepa drew up the closest matching images to her photograph. There had indeed been thousands of photos taken in this exact spot, and a quick sorting revealed that at least a few were taken within 2 days of the nuclear exchange. Bells looked over Kepa’s shoulder as she glanced up and down from her tablet to the huabiao.

“It doesn’t seem like the line is in this one.”

Kepa hummed and brought up another photograph. It was taken the afternoon before the bombs hit.

“Nothing here, either.”

Bells stepped away from Kepa and returned to running a hand on the huabiao. He looked over his shoulder at her to see her sliding through more photos with a frown on her face.

“This doesn’t make any sense, Bells.”

“Maybe, um, it was damaged and immediately repaired? And nobody photographed it?”

Kepa glaced up at him with deadpan eyes.

“No government is that efficient at fixing things. Tourists and locals were here in some capacity 24/7. That’s simply not possible.”

Bells turned to grimace at the huabiao.

“It has to be possible. Otherwise this was fixed after the war, and that’s-“

“We should go inside the palace.”

Kepa pulled Bells sharply away from the column and shoved her tablet in her pack. He broke free from her as she started to drag him towards the Gate. Falling in step beside her, Bells tried once again to shoot eye lasers at his colleague.

“You don’t need to drag me around like a kid.”

“Oh no, I’ve hurt Bells’ feelings. Whatever will I do.”

“Do you think there’s an explanation for the huabiao’s repair in the palace or something?”

“No, but I think the suspicious stuff is going to start adding up.”

The path leading up to the true entrance to the Forbidden City, the Meridian Gate, resembled the stones of Tiananmen Square. The tiles were unbroken, worn only by feet in centuries past. Wildly overgrown hedges blocked any view of what might be seen to either side. The Meridian Gate itself was as massive and imposing as its original architects intended, and its tall red walls opened out to greet the first outsiders it had likely seen in 200 years. The building that topped it linked to the towers on the ends of the Gate’s walls, and the roof shined gold under the sun. As with the first gate, the added artifacts of the 20th and 21st century were long gone.

Bells briefly looked over at Kepa as they passed under the inexplicably whole brick and mortar. She was still craning her neck upwards, her eyes dazed.

When they emerged into the palace proper, it was to more of the bewildering same. The many buildings and towers of the Forbidden City stretched out before them with glowing roof, undamaged walls, and colorful gilding. The artificial creeks that had run through the city were dry, but the vegetation that had taken over Beijing seemed not to have reached this place. Trees and shrubs grew where they could, but the palace remained something out of a documentary.

Bells and Kepa took their time walking north. The inside of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was barren, devoid of anything that hadn’t been bolted down. Glorious engravings and paintings, immune to the ravages of time, stretched up every column and wall. The throne room had no throne on its dais, and the narrow windows were open to let in every breeze. As they made their way out into the Inner Court, Bells nudged Kepa.

“Where do you think all that stuff went?”

“Hmm?”

“The throne, the furniture, the sculptures. Where did they go? There aren’t any ruined artifacts anywhere.”

“Good question, Bells, good question.”

The insides of the palace proper and all the quarters surrounding it were similarly devoid of any loose artifacts. Every building was as beautiful as it had been left two centuries ago, but there was no furniture. No art that wasn’t a part of the walls. Kepa spoke up as Bells examined the shadow left behind by the missing throne in one of the many throne rooms.

“I think there’s a simple explanation.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. They saw the writing on the wall and hid every historical relic in a vault somewhere. In fact…”

Bells watched as Kepa took her tablet back out and typed away at it furiously. After a minute she tapped the screen triumphantly.

“Bingo. The inside of the Forbidden City was closed to the public for three months leading up to the nuclear exchange. No wonder it was so easy to find a matching photo earlier. All the tourists who came here had to resort to milling around outside, taking pictures of columns.”

“That’s brilliant, Kepa. It, uh, doesn’t explain everything else though.”

Kepa huffed and stored her tablet away again.

“You’re right. It doesn’t. After we check out the Imperial Garden we should head back to camp and talk with the captain about all this.”

Branches of trees stuck over the walls surrounding the Garden, but just like every other building in the palace the walls themselves were perfectly whole. The entrance to the garden was humbler than the rest of the buildings, and it was shadowed by vegetation on the other side. Bells looked to the right as they entered the garden. Tall, unpruned trees rimmed the edges, and broadleaved plants thrived in the shade.

“John is gonna have a field day when he sees-“

“Uh, Bells?”

A grip under his chin forced him to look forward. Kepa got her hand out of the way as his jaw dropped.

In the sunlit center of the garden stood rows and rows of white irises.

Every inch of the ground that wasn’t taken up by path or gazebo was covered in green and white. They swayed slightly with a breeze that blew through as the outsiders stared. Bells walked forward and knelt next to the closest row without realizing he’d done it. With hesitant fingers he stroked the petals of one of the irises, and felt the soft give of a living flower. When he scanned the irises nearby, he could see occasional imperfections like dying leaves and browning blooms.

“They’re real. They’re… real flowers.”

“What the f**k, Bells.”

Bells shakily stood up and turned to Kepa. He’d known her since freshman year of college, and he’d never once seen her look scared. Now alarm was shining out of her eyes as she looked up and around with halting movements. He stepped over and laid a firm hand on her arm.

“We need to head back to camp. Take a picture.”

Kepa’s eyes shot to his. They stared at each other for a few moments, having a silent conversation Bells himself didn’t fully understand. Finally, she jerked her head in a nod.

“Good idea. If this place vanishes by the time more people get here, I don’t want to think we just had a joint hallucination.”

 

 

When the pair of translators finally made their way back to Tiananmen Square, several large tents had been erected some distance away from where the helicarrier stood. A throng of people were standing around someone in the center of the camp. Given what they could hear as they approached, Bells and Kepa were pretty sure it was the captain.

“Ma’am, we don’t know what that thing is. We have to-“

“A whole skyscraper is missing to the north! Missing!”

”For the last time, calm down, all of you! I can’t sort through this-“

It was clear multiple people had come back from their surveys at the same time, and that each of them had a story as unbelievable and concerning as the one in the Forbidden City. Somehow Bells wasn’t surprised. When they came to a halt next to the group, Kepa crossed her arms over her chest and glared around at everyone. Bells turned to her.

“I don’t think we’re gonna get a word in edgewise.”

Kepa turned her glare towards him for a second before looking forwards again. Bells was startled when she suddenly unfolded her arms and clapped her hands over her head.

“HEY! SHUT UP!”

The crowd flinched and shut up.

Kepa stared them all down with eyes of flint as the clap and shout rang through their ears. When they looked suitably quiet, Kepa nodded towards the unstartled captain.

“Ma’am.”

The captain’s mouth quirked in a brief smile before she turned to security officer Eun-seo.

“What was this about a thing? You seem to think it’s dangerous, whatever it is.”

Eun-seo shrugged.

“I don’t know if it’s dangerous, but we need to be cautious.”

“Describe the thing for me. I didn’t quite catch what you said before.”

The security officer looked around at the team she’d brought with her and all of them shook their heads. Eventually she looked back at the captain with hesitantly gesturing hands.

“It was like a…. mobile fan. With a siphon on top.”

Everyone present just looked at Eun-seo blankly. The captain tilted her head to the side.

“A fan. With a siphon on top.”

“More of an exhaust pipe, I suppose. But there’s definitely a fan on the bottom.”

The captain considered this before looking around her.

“Engineers? I’ve got an engineer or two here, right?”

Nobody raised their hand. Frowning, the captain seemed to seek out who might be the next most useful. For some reason, her eyes landed on the translators in the back. She directed her voice towards Eun-seo.

“Was there any text on the machine?”

“I think so, yeah. We couldn’t read it. It was in Chinese characters.”

The captain nodded.

“Fantastic. With any luck, our translation crew will be able to decipher the nature of it. Are you two prepared for an outing into the city?”

Bells startled when he realized he and Kepa were being addressed. Kepa answered for him.

“Always ready, ma’am.”

“Good. I want you to head out immediately with Eun-seo.”

“Of course. Should we brief you on what we found in the Forbidden City, first?”

The captain frowned. The person who wanted to talk about the vanished skyscraper tried to interrupt about how his briefing was more important, but the captain held a hand up to silence him.

“What did you find?”

“To summarize: pristine buildings, missing furniture, and a garden full of funeral flowers.”

Silence.

For once the captain looked truly shocked. The people in the crowd turned between her and Kepa with confused looks. Working her mouth for a couple moments, the captain finally responded.

“Funeral… flowers…?”

Kepa nodded grimly.

“Loads of living white irises. They’re a flower traditionally used in Han Chinese funerals.”

“Living? Meaning they weren’t fake?”

“Yes. I have several photographs from different angles of the flower beds if you want them.”

The captain slowly took the tablet from Kepa’s outstretched hand. She flicked through the photos of the Imperial Garden, her expression never changing. When she seemed satisfied she handed the tablet back to Kepa.

“That’s valuable information. Good work you two.”

Bells only nodded. He hadn’t said a word.

 

 

In fact, Bells didn’t speak until an hour later, when they were walking through the crumbling streets of Beijing towards the fan-thing. Kepa had spent the majority of the journey walking closely to Eun-seo and making sarcastic jokes to get the other woman to laugh. Eun-seo was tall and lithe, with short black hair and serious almond eyes. Her laugh was as pretty as she was, but Bells was starting to get annoyed. When there was finally a break in the conversation, he pulled Kepa by the elbow until they were walking a safe distance behind the security officer. He whispered at her from the corner of his mouth.

“Kepa, you need to stop.”

Bells could see her death glare in his peripheral vision.

“Stop what?”

He had to fight to keep from throwing his hands up in the air and exploding. He settled for whispering as loudly as he could.

She has a girlfriend!

Bells could feel Kepa’s eyebrows wiggling even if he wasn’t looking directly at her.

“I don’t.”

Eun-seo looked back at them when she heard the loud groan coming from Bells. Kepa waved at her dismissively. Bells having his face in his hands was clearly nothing to be worried about. The other woman snorted and looked forward again.

Bells righted himself and glowered at Kepa.

“You’re gonna to be the death of me.”

“Maybe. Not my problem.”

They turned the corner at an intersection and Eun-seo pointed ahead. A block down the road, one of the large silver objects they’d seen from the air was standing attention. It didn’t look dangerous in the slightest, but Eun-seo held an arm out to keep the two translators behind her as they approached it. It was about as large as a conventional war tank, with a dipped nose and large treads that added to the resemblance. A thick tube as tall as the machine was wide stuck out of the top. It was clearly made from some sort of metal alloy, not silver, but Bells and Kepa had no idea what it could be.

As they came to the side of the object, they saw that the bottom of the tank was raised in the middle. A quick glance underneath confirmed Eun-seo’s description. There was a large fan underneath the tank, separated from the outside by a grill. While Kepa continued to examine the fan, Bells looked for the Chinese characters. He found them printed onto the back of the machine, along with the Latin letters “TM-3”.

Bells read the characters out loud.

“Fúshè tōngf�"ng shèbèi. Radiation ventilation equipment.”

Eun-seo stood next to him.

“Ventilation? What, did they think if they planted these things in the streets they’d be saved from nuclear annihilation?”

“I don’t know. This doesn’t look like something that’s been standing in the same spot for 200 years, though.”

Kepa’s muffled voice sounded from under the tank.

“You guys’ll be interested to know this fan pulls air upwards instead of pushing air downwards.”

Bells and Eun-seo returned to the side where Kepa’s legs were sticking out. Eun-seo tugged at the shorter woman’s feet.

“Get out from under there! It could turn back on!”

“Okay, okay.”

Kepa emerged and brushed herself off as she stood up.

“I’m no engineer, but there’s dirt and grass covering the blades, and even without a flashlight I can tell there’s crap that’s dried in upward sprays above the fan.”

Eun-seo huffed and looked between the two translators.

“I have no idea what’s going on, do you?”

Two shaken heads were the only response

 

 

“I’m telling you, it was the weirdest s**t I’ve seen in my entire life. The cuts from the foundation were clean, mate. They were clean.

Everyone was sitting around a bonfire in the center of camp, enjoying a warm beverage and the chance to talk freely about the day. Bells looked up at the sky as Jayesh rambled about the vanished skyscraper in his British-Indian accent. There was so little light pollution that you could see the Milky Way in its full glory, and he couldn’t help but wonder about the occasional silver linings to horrible events.

“There’s some robotic fleet that’s maintaining everything despite their master’s absence. It’s the only explanation.”

“C’mon, Jay, that’s not the only explanation. Maybe the Chinese dismantled it before the war. Maybe there’s a form of erosion at work we’re not aware of. You can’t go jumping to conclusions.”

Bells looked down at the group of people surrounding him. As Jayesh and one of the climatologists proceeded to argue about mysterious robots, he glanced over at Kepa. She was sitting next to Eun-seo and looking over the other woman’s shoulder at a phone. Given how Eun-seo was smiling like a dork and Kepa was frowning, he would bet anything they were looking at pictures of Eun-seo’s girlfriend. Bells turned away with a snort and noticed John was staring at him. John raised an eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?”

Bells checked to see that Kepa was still absorbed with being cockblocked before answering.

“Kepa’s been flirting with our security officer all day and I think she just realized what a lost cause that is.”

John glanced at the two women before snorting himself.

“I didn’t take Kepa for the romantic type.”

Bells shrugged.

“I wouldn’t say romantic so much as player. She’s been dragging me along to be her wingman since we first met.”

“You got anybody back home?”

“Oh. Ah… not really. I’ve been talking a lot with this one guy over video conf, but I haven’t gotten the chance to, um-“

“Life’s too short, man. I learned that a long time ago. Now I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. You have to release your insecurities.”

“That’s what Kepa says, but-“

“I’ve got a guy and two girls waiting for me back home. It’s incredible.”

Bells blinked at John, blinked at the fire, then turned to blink again at John.

“You’ve- wow. That’s...”

John clapped a hand on Bells’ shoulder.

“Poly’s the way of the future, my friend. The way of the future.

“I can’t even imagine-“

“And we’re all biologists.”

Bells stood up as casually as possible.

“I’m getting kind of thirsty, so I’m going to, uh, get something.”

John waved him off.

“No problem, dude. And remember to tell me all about the stuff you saw in the Imperial Garden.”

Bells gave the botanist a thumbs up before scurrying to the table with all the hot chocolate supplies.

He was just pouring some steaming water into a cup when he heard a loud sigh to his right. Kepa had decided to join him. Bells smirked a little bit without looking up.

“Disappointed?”

“Eh, yeah. But there’s more fish in the sea. What happened with John? You looked embarrassed.”

“He decided to tell me about his love life.”

“Ah. I see. Didn’t realize you were so anti-poly, Bells.”

The spoon now stirring in chocolate mix nearly careened to the side as Bells sputtered.

“I’m not. I was just surprised.”

“Not everyone’s as shy as you, you know. I think being poly would be great.”

Bells gave Kepa a skeptical look as he straightened up with his prepared hot chocolate.

“You can barely stand to hold down a relationship with one person. Being with multiple women would just wear you out faster.”

Kepa clasped a hand to her heart, her expression never changing.

“You wound me. I’ve never been so insulted in all my life.”

Bells grinned and turned to lean on the table as he drank his hot chocolate. Kepa prepared her own cup in silence, the conversation around the campfire filling the night. Tomorrow the captain would be taking a select crew on a helicarrier survey of the land at the foot of the Xishan mountains to the west. Bells and Kepa were being brought along to translate any signs or written artifacts they might find. He wasn’t quite sure why the captain wanted both of them, but he supposed it was useful to have two translators to make up for any mistakes.

Out in the former suburbs of Beijing, they’d either be encountering less or more oddities than in the city. Bells didn’t know what would disturb him more.

 

 

Eun-seo took role-call the next morning as the captain oversaw the pilot’s preparations.

“Belmont Davis?” “Here.”

“Jayesh Subram?” “Here.”

“John Anderson?” “Here.”

“Kepa Morales?” “Present.”

“Nequila Jackson?” “Here.”

“Richard Cuma?” “Here.”

“Everyone’s accounted for, captain.”

The captain turned away from the pilot to look over the assembled team on the bridge.

“Good. Jayesh and John, I want you on the telescopes.”

The two took their places at the front of the bridge, and Jayesh awkwardly fielded John’s attempts to high-five him shouting “J-TEAM!”.

Everyone else stood looking out the windows as the helicarrier lightly ascended into the air. It stayed at a high enough elevation to pass over the remaining skyscrapers, but was otherwise closer to the ground than it was during the approach to Beijing. Only a few kilometers west of Tiananmen Square, they flew over the empty foundation belonging to Jayesh’s vanished skyscraper.

The stubs of steel gleamed up at them from the concrete, confirmed what the climatologist had said about “clean cuts”. Gaping holes could be seen leading to what had formerly been the basement. Nobody said anything. The captain didn’t bother asking for explanations. She knew there were none.

It turned out this skyscraper wasn’t the only one. As they flew west, more and more empty foundations created gaps in the city. By the time they reached the shortest outlying skyscrapers there was an empty foundation for every building. This didn’t capture the attention of the crew so much as what lay beyond.

The suburbs of Beijing had largely consisted of blocky apartment buildings, with a cluster or two of sprawling individual homes belonging to the rich. It was the ruins of these things that they had expected to find, but instead there was nothing. A few apartment buildings intermingled with the final skyscrapers, but then the city ended. Forest stretched out before them for miles and miles.

Dark green encompassed the landscape around Beijing, and when they looked to the north and south they could see it bordering the city until the horizon. Kilometers beyond the dark green there was the light green of flat fields and grass growing up into the mountains. There were no ruins that could be seen; not in the forest, and not in the fields. The captain was about to say something, her head shaking back and forth, when John piped up from his telescope.

“Ma’am? I think I know what the trees are.”

The entire crew looked over at him with interest. The captain nodded, encouraging him to continue.

“They’re all fruit trees. Every one. I can’t see a species down there that hasn’t been cultivated for its fruit at some point, but I’d have to examine the forest in person to be sure.”

The captain raised her eyebrows, and put up a hand to stop the muttering that immediately broke out on the bridge.

“What species do you see?”

“Apple trees, pear trees, plum trees. I think I see Chinese Mulberry… that one used to be endangered, wow. There’s also at least a couple persimmon-bearing species.”

“I don’t see any fruit.”

“Er, well ma’am, it’s the middle of summer. Fruits tend to be mature by the fall.”

Everyone was quick to hide their snickering as the captain blushed.

“Yes, of course. And what do we see in the fields? Jayesh?”

The climatologist hummed in acknowledgement but didn’t look up from the telescope when he spoke.

“I see clear paths arranged in patterns. They’d look like dirt roads for farm equipment, if I didn’t know better. There also appear to be some intact buildings scattered around. They’re small, probably the size of a small house.”

John piped up.

“It’s all crops. They’re harder to identify than the trees from here, but I’d bet my life that a decent chunk of it is soy. Looks like there’s also possibly potatoes and tomatoes, and maybe some peanuts. And… look, haven’t you noticed? Along the rivers to the north and south, the vegetation on the banks is incredibly uniform. There’s no spacing between the plants. It has to be rice.”

Bells glanced at Kepa, wondering how she felt about miraculous agriculture, but she was staring straight ahead at the mountains. Her eyes bored into them like they’d personally offended her.

The captain gazed at one of the ribbons of silver in the distance, its banks glowing green, before turning to the pilot.

“Land at one of the intersections in the dirt road, Tanya.”

“Yes’m.”

Jayesh and John stood up from the telescopes as the helicarrier began to descend. Bells watched as the green fields rose to meet them, and dust blew over the swaying crops. When they finally landed with a light thump of wheels on dirt, the crew waited for the pilot to give the all-clear to disembark with impatience. The helicarrier took up most of the intersection. If they were to try and walk around it, they’d have to skirt through the fields.

Eun-seo was the first down the ladder. She gazed around at the carefully planted vegetation that stretched in rows towards the horizon, a hand laid casually on the tazer at her hip. Bells was the next to descend after the security officer nodded up the ladder at him. When he stepped out from beneath the helicarrier’s shadow he was taken aback by how direct the sunlight felt on his skin. Everything was somehow brighter than it was in the city, somehow fresher. He looked down and tread carefully around the knee-high potato plants so he could get out of the way of the next crew member.

Kepa landed directly on one of the plants, crushing it under her boots. She looked unrepentant as she joined Bells.

The rest of the crew followed shortly, and the captain was quick to spread everyone in different directions. Her only demand was to stay in sight of the helicarrier. Bells parted from Kepa and slowly beelined for the small building that was only a few hundred meters from the landing site. He stuck to the dirt road and observed it as the sounds of people talking quieted behind him.

The road had two shallow depressions carved into the middle, with a variety of other marks left by machines scattered about. Bells couldn’t help but look for footprints. He saw none, and a thought ran through his head over and over.

The robots are growing food for long-dead masters.

It was AI gone rampant. With nobody to stop them they were trampling down Beijing to make room for the farms of hungry people who no longer existed. Somewhere they would find a hill of refuse two centuries old, where the machines had dropped their harvest.

The small building was wooden and simple in design. It had no windows, but it did have a large garage door taking up the entire wall that faced the road. Bells stopped in front of the door and looked around. It seemed that some of the tracks were sourced from this place, and there was enough aging dirt on the building to suggest that it had been here for some time. When he noticed a simple divot near the bottom of the door, Bells glanced back at the dispersed crew. Nobody was watching him.

Bells took hold of the divot and pulled upward with all his strength. He was startled when the door opened easily and silently, retreating to the ceiling with a woosh.

The inside of the building was empty. A giant metal hatch lay flat inside the floor, and aluminum cabinets stood along one of the walls, but there was no farming equipment in sight. Bells stepped around the edge of the hatch carefully and examined the cabinets. There was no visible way to open them, and the only marking was a small, vertical strip of black in the center of each. He touched the strips and tried to dig his nails under the lips of the doors, but nothing would budge. Frustrated, Bells huffed and looked at the hatch that took up most of the floor.

It looked as if it was meant to retreat to the side when it opened. Was there a staircase underneath? A rising podium for hibernating farmer robots? There was no way to know.

Bells was about to leave so he could inspect the outside when he noticed something on the wall next to the entrance. There were four buttons all in a row, each with a speaker below them and a small sign above them. Interested, Bells read the signs closely. They were in Mandarin.

For surveyors: Please press button and speak full name,” read the first.

For technicians: Please press button and speak full name,” read the second.

For miscellaneous citizens: Please press button and speak full name,” read the third.

For visitors: Please press button and speak full name,” read the fourth.

Bells blinked in confusion at them all. Surveyors? Technicians? Citizens? Visitors?

A voice in his head that sounded dangerously like Kepa observed that none of this sounded very robotic.

He knew that he should shout for other people to come over here. He knew that Eun-seo would have his head if he did something risky without permission. He knew he could be making a huge mistake.

Despite this, Bells pressed his thumb onto the fourth button and leaned carefully towards the speaker in the wall.

“Belmont Davis.”

He released the button and stood back.

There was no sound. No feedback from the speaker, no bleep from the button. Bells stared at the apparatus for a few more moments before turning away with a sigh. He’d just wasted time interacting with technology that probably hadn’t had a person on the other end for centuries.

This belief made it all the more startling when the sound of static erupted behind Bells as he exited the building. He turned sharply and ran back to the set of buttons as the static warped and changed. It was so loud it hurt his ears, and he knew there was no way other people couldn’t hear it.

As shouts sounded from hundreds of meters away, the static quieted and went silent. A beat passed before a clear, artificial voice sounded from the speaker.

Hello, Belmont Davis. Please remain outside while a representative moves to your location. We apologize for the wait.

There were word choices that Bells would not have expected from his education, and the tone was formal but genuinely cheerful. He stared at the speaker as it went completely silent.

He wasn’t alone with his thoughts for very long. Eun-seo sprinted into the building with her tazer in her hand, her eyes darting to the sides.

“What was that sound? Was there someone talking?”

Bells felt very much like a fish. He tried to say actual words to the security officer, but his brain felt stopped up. A trickle of ammonia ran down his throat into his chest as Eun-seo glared at him.

“What did you see, Bells? What did you do?”

What did he do?

Bells shook his head and took a step back. Eun-seo met his steps and grabbed him by the arm.

“I heard Mandarin, Bells. What did it say? Have you endangered the mission?”

He might have. Oh lord he might have. Because he was curious. Stupid, careless Bells.

Eun-seo snarled and dragged him outside. People were making their way towards the building, and Kepa ran for them as she saw Bells being handled like a criminal.

“What the hell are you doing, Eun?!”

The security officer stepped in front of Bells as Kepa approached.

“He made contact with some unknown entity and-“

“And what? Did it threaten us? Did he launch nukes at Japan?!”

Eun-seo scowled.

“I have no idea what it said, and Bells won’t tell me.”

“Maybe because he’s having an anxiety attack?! Get over here!”

The taller woman tried to resist as Kepa shoved her to the side, but was outweighed. Kepa ignored Eun-seo’s outrage and laid gentle hands on Bells’ elbows. She stared up at him with steely eyes, but his eyes were fixed on the ground.

“Hey there, Bells. Sorry about all that.”

Bells shook his head.

“My fault. Don’t worry about it.”

“You don’t deserve to be handled like that. You- look at me, Bells.”

His eyes shot up to hers. The steel in her gaze was somehow reassuring.

“You don’t deserve to be handled like that, okay? You with me on that?”

Kepa relaxed very slightly as Bells hesitantly nodded. She nodded back at him.

“There you go. Now, I’m sure if you did something wrong it was a mistake, or you didn’t do anything wrong at all. Okay?”

Bells tensed at this. His voice wavered.

“It sounded friendly, but- I don’t-“

“Friendly’s good. Friendly’s always good. We can work with friendly.”

Eun-seo piped up from where she was pacing and watching the two of them.

“It might be a trap! Don’t tell him friendly’s always good!”

Kepa shot her death glare over at the other woman as Bells winced.

“Shut the f**k up, Eun.”

“What’s happening here?”

The captain had caught up with them, and the rest of the crew was somewhere behind her. Kepa talked over Eun-seo’s attempts to take control of the situation.

“Bells made contact with something that spoke Mandarin, and he thinks it’s friendly. Paranoia-Incarnate over here accused him of terrorism.”

I did not!

The captain looked between the three of them for a couple seconds before nodding to Kepa.

“Has he told you what he heard?”

Kepa shook her head and redirected her full attention to the man in front of her.

“Okay, Bells. What did it say? I don’t think you’re in trouble.”

Bells glanced up at the patient captain before looking back to Kepa.

“It, uh, greeted me before saying a representative was coming to this location. Also that it was sorry for the wait.”

Kepa threw a sarcastic look over at Eun-seo.

“What a polite trap.”

The security officer didn’t say anything. She seemed like she was in the sullen pre-stages of embarrassment.

There was a swelling of mumbles that rose from the cluster of people behind the captain, and she turned to look at all of them.

“I don’t know what we’re dealing with here, but I don’t want to take any chances. I want everyone to stay back where you are. Kepa, Eun-seo, Bells, I need you to stick with the rest of the group. As the leader of this expedition, it will be my responsibility to greet whatever comes.”

The captain cut off Eun-seo’s protests.

“No, this is my responsibility, Eun. If Bells is right, I won’t be in any danger.”

With great reluctance, the security officer retreated towards the rest of the crew. Kepa maintained her grasp on one of Bells’ elbows. Despite feeling better, he allowed her to pull him away.

The crew assembled ten meters away from where the captain stood in front of the building. She faced the open garage door with her hands clasped behind her back in parade rest. There was no talking now.

 

 

It seemed like they were waiting for hours. The sun beat down on them as noon approached, and Bells wished he had applied sunscreen this morning. He could see sweat trickling down the captain’s brow. Kepa fidgeted restlessly next to him, and she hadn’t lost her grip on his arm. She was waiting to bolt with him if the need arose. He appreciated the sentiment.

As Bells was starting to feel the back of his neck tingle, the entire group was startled by a loud noise.

The harsh whine of hydraulics filled the air. Kepa’s grip tightened, and Bells watched as the captain’s jaw clenched. Given the rumble of metal that joined the sound, he would bet anything a platform was being raised as the hatch opened. When the cacophony finally ended, the captain’s jaw had unclenched, and her arms had dropped to her sides.

Silence. Absolutely unbearable silence. Bells’ eyes were fixed on the door. Finally, the reason for the captain relaxing became apparent.

A short, slim woman dressed in white emerged from the door to stand in front of the captain.

She was wearing a qípáo-style shirt with long sleeves, and loose trousers that draped over her black shoes. The trim and clasps on her outfit were all black as well. Her sleek black hair was pulled back in a simple braid that extended to her hips. Without a pause for breath, she extended a hand towards the captain.

“Hello, my name is Dailan. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Somehow the captain managed to act as though this encounter wasn’t completely startling and lifted an arm to shake hands with the woman.

“My name is Alice Dunklee. The pleasure’s all mine.”

Dailan grinned, her eyes crinkling. Something uncoiled in Bells’ gut. The grip on his elbow loosened.

“Somehow I doubt that, Miss Dunklee. Now, where is Belmont Davis?”

The mystery woman’s gaze turned to the cluster of stunned people. Her eyes shone with interest as she looked over each of them. The captain piped up.

“I’m the captain of this group, so I-“

“Yes, that’s all well and good, but I was summoned by a Mr. Belmont Davis.”

Kepa hissed as Bells hesitantly raised his hand.

“Uh, I’m Belmont Davis.”

Dailan smiled brightly and gestured him towards her. Bells looked at the captain for support. She shrugged with exasperation.

Bells slowly approached the representative. She bodily turned to greet him and raised her hand once more. His hand rose to meet hers almost without him thinking about it. If his handshake wasn’t very firm, Dailan didn’t seem deterred by it. Her face shone with excitement.

“Hello, Belmont. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Y-you too. I prefer Bells, though.”

“Of course, Bells.”

“We can speak in Mandarin if it makes you more comfortable. I’m a translator.”

Dailan released his hand and tilted her head to the side. She giggled, but it wasn’t a derisive giggle. It was a joyous giggle.

“Oh, you’re a Mandarin translator! That’s amazing! Where did you learn the language?”

“Um, Middlebury College. It’s a university in the state of Vermont in the US.”

Dailan slipped seamlessly into Mandarin. Her light voice complemented it completely.

Why would the world maintain the education of a language whose source they thought long dead?”

Bells tried not to tense. The woman’s smile never faded, but her eyebrows rose in expectation. This was not a conversation she wanted the captain to hear. He cleared his throat and tried to look as casual as possible.

Because the death of any language is a tragedy, especially one with as much history as this. There are many communities of Chinese people around the world who still use the tongue. There are millions of books and archived web sites to read.”

Every language is worth it? Even the language of a country that wiped an entire civilization off the map?”

“I think history’s more complicated than that, but yes.”

Dailan’s face shifted to innocent politeness.

Did you or any other nation suspect there were survivors?”

“Not as far as I know. My team has only truly discovered that just now.”

“What is your purpose for being here?”

“We were sent to investigate the disappearance of the rad-smog over China in satellite imagery. We come in peace.”

Something in Dailan seemed to relax, and she smiled genuinely at Bells.

“You’re very knowledgeable. I appreciate how well my language has been taught despite the stretch of time.”

Bells nodded. If he twisted around he had a suspicion Kepa would be boring holes into his head.

Dailan turned to the somewhat tense woman next to her.

“If you would allow me, Captain Dunklee, I would love to introduce your crew to my people.”

The captain hesitated.

“I would be very interested in seeing this… Hidden China, but…”

“You would be allowed to leave at any time. I can assure you that you will be honored guests, not prisoners. The only request of our government is not to reveal our existence until we are ready.”

Dailan’s eyes twinkled as she continued.

“You’ll find we’ve also abandoned the English terms ‘China’ and ‘Chinese’. It will not be insulting if you use them, but others will find it… antiquated.”

The captain nodded slowly, before turning to look at the rest of the crew.

“Okay, everyone. This is now an ambassadorial mission. I expect you to be on your best behavior, and not to go places or touch things without express permission from the people here. Understood?”

Every person nodded. Dailan smiled at the captain and swept an arm towards the building.

“If everyone could assemble on the platform, we can get going.”

Feeling distinctly surreal, Bells joined the captain and Dailan on the platform. The rest of the crew was not far behind. Kepa moved to stand between Bells and Dailan, examining the mysterious woman all the while.

When the platform suddenly jolted before descending, Dailan lost her balance and wobbled. Kepa grabbed her arm to steady her. She received a thankful look in return as the other woman smiled sheepishly.

“Thank you. I’m not quite used this old technology.”

“No problem. I gotcha.”

Kepa slowly let go of Dailan’s arm, but Bells noticed she looked like she’d seen a ghost. It was something only somebody close to her would’ve been able to spot. He couldn’t help but let an anxious thought or two in his head. Maybe Dailan was synthetic? Maybe she was a hologram?

The platform came to a stop, and a large door opened in front of them as the hatch closed over their heads. Behind the door was a wide, well-lit concrete corridor. It connected perpendicularly with an even larger corridor up ahead.

Dailan took the lead, and the rest of the group fell behind her. Bells turned to whisper to Kepa as the two of them trailed in the back.

“Is everything okay?”

Kepa took a deep breath and nodded. Bells couldn’t have expected what she said next.

“She has biceps, Bells.”

“W-what?”

Biceps. Rock-hard, indestructible biceps.”

“Oh. You’re… oh no, Kepa-“

I want her to carry me over her shoulder into Nirvana, Bells.

Bells checked ahead to make sure nobody was listening.

“Kepa, I swear to God, if you flirt with the representative of a long-lost civilization I will die. I will actually die. I will keel over. No more Bells. That’s what you’ll do to me.”

She was too forgone. Eyes blazing, Kepa marched to the front of the group and walked alongside Dailan. Bells sighed as he saw Kepa shake the other woman’s hand with a grin. He could only hope she wouldn’t destroy the remnants of this mission’s dignity.

The group turned left as they joined with the central tunnel. Strips of light shone from the ceiling, harsh in their fluorescence. Dailan directed everyone to veer to the side as a rumble sounded behind them. The rumble became louder and louder, before a machine rolled past them at a leisurely speed. It was shaped like an arch, with boxes of indeterminate necessity incorporated into the top. Bells caught a glimpse of sprinklers on the underside.

Dailan noticed the stares that followed the machine as it eventually disappeared into a side corridor. She gestured towards where it had vanished with a smile.

“One of our newer pesticide dispensers. It sprays an insect deterrent derived from the warning glands of certain hymenopterids.”

Bells could hear John hiss something that sounded like “genius!!”. He had no idea what a hymenopterid was, but he supposed that was more sustainable than a cocktail of chemicals.

The tunnel rose on a slight incline as they walked, and began to narrow. It suddenly came to an end with a series of metal poles standing before what appeared to be a private train station. There was a single train compartment visible to the group as they walked past the poles, its insides visible behind a large cutout. Dailan stepped into the train and gestured for the rest to follow her.

It was shaped like a tube, with white walls and no windows. Plush red seats lined the sides of the compartment. There were doors at either end of the compartment, but there was no telling what was behind them. The light inside the train was warm and sunny.

As the last person stepped in, the opening closed behind them with a click. The outline of the door could be seen in the wall. Dailan sat down on the closest seat, and the rest followed suit. A small jolt ran through the train signaling the start of movement, but there was no disturbance after that. It was a magnitrain.

Dailan looked around at the assembled crew, who were sitting about in varying states of relaxation.

“Is anyone claustrophobic? Perhaps I should’ve asked earlier.”

She seemed relieved when everyone shook their heads.

Kepa casually nudged the representative from where she sat directly next to her.

“So what are your interests, Dailan? What do you like to do?”

This earned Kepa a slightly baffled smile.

“Oh, um, a great many things. Aren’t you interested in my people as a whole?”

“Of course, but you seem like a very interesting person. I’d love to know more about you.”

Bells rolled his eyes at Kepa’s tone. Dailan didn’t seem to mind as she chuckled and looked down at her feet.

“Well, all of my studies have been focused on different languages and cultures. I’ve always dreamed of seeing the rest of the world. My room back home is honestly quite embarrassing… I’ve covered all the walls with flags and pictures from different countries.”

“That’s not embarrassing, that’s cool. Any degrees in the subject?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve earned an advanced degree in English literature.”

Bells’ jaw dropped before he could control it. Kepa grinned hugely, an unusual amount of enthusiasm pouring from her as she clasped the arm of Dailan’s chair.

“I have a Master’s in Mandarin literature!”

The representative blinked in shock at Kepa before grinning herself.

“Really?!”

“Yeah! I’m a translator! Learning about Chinese history was my passion growing up.”

“That’s wonderful! Where did you do your studies?”

“Middlebury College, same as Bells.”

Dailan turned her grin on the reeling man sitting across from her.

“You didn’t tell me you had a second translator with you!”

Bells held his hands up in submission.

“I was too scared to think of it! Don’t blame me!”

The two women laughed simultaneously, and Dailan gripped Kepa’s hand.

“Oh, I think I’m really going to enjoy talking to you two.”

Kepa continued smiling like someone had injected her with happy juice. Her grin took on a smirking quality as she nudged Dailan.

“You never told me what you like to do with your free time.”

She shrugged, pink rising into her cheeks after the laughter.

“Not too much. I’m on my sector’s soccer team, and I mostly do martial arts to stay in shape for it. I like movies, reading, painting. I tried to create a Foreign Films club as a teenager, but it didn’t really work out. A lot of people don’t like bothering with subtitles.”

Kepa shot a pointed look over at Bells.

“Believe me, Dailan, we know the struggle.”

“What do you enjoy doing, Kepa?”

“Oh, not much. Long walks on the beach, world domination…”

Kepa winked at Dailan.

“… talking to pretty girls.”

Bells tensed at the overt attempt, but Dailan just removed her hand from Kepa’s and covered her mouth with it as she giggled.

“Be serious!”

“I am being serious! But if you must know, I’m a fellow lover of movies and reading. I’m also a big fan of speechcraft. I was the head of the Middlebury debate team.”

“And you, Bells?”

“Oh, uh, I like movies. I read a lot of historical fiction, and I dabble in poetry. It’s not that good though. I do volunteer work, sometimes.”

Kepa leaned towards Dailan in a conspiratorial fashion.

“His poetry is great, and he volunteers all the time. He’s made like five hundred trips to developing countries building homes and promoting LGBT+ rights. Don’t let him be humble.”

Bells shrunk in embarrassment as Dailan smiled at him in respect.

“You sound like a wonderful person, Bells. It’s an honor to know you.”

“No, um, the honor’s all mine.”

Dailan looked like she was going to rebut that, but she stopped as a ding sounded in the compartment. The same voice that Bells had heard from the speaker when he pressed the visitor’s button resonated through the train.

Arriving at central elevator. Thank you for your patience.”

The chatter from most of the crew silenced, and Captain Dunklee turned to her two translators.

“What did it say?”

“We’re arriving at a central elevator.”

“Ah, good.”

Dailan looked between the captain and Bells, and a frown settled on her face. She sounded guilty when she spoke.

“I just realized… Only two of you speak the language. That might limit your crew’s interactions with the people here.”

The captain raised her eyebrows.

“Nobody here speaks English?”

“Not many. Given our separation from the world, learning a foreign language has only been a niche hobby.”

“…. Oh. Right.”

Dailan shook herself as she stood up. There was a jolt as the train slowed to a stop, and she accommodated it with a shift of her feet. Sighing, Dailan recovered her cheer.

“It doesn’t matter. As long as you all stick together or only explore in two groups, it should be fine.”

The side of the carriage pulled back, revealing a concrete train stop similar to the one where they had boarded. A large glass door stood a small distance away. It seemed to open into the tube of an elevator shaft. Dailan stepped up to the door and pressed a button on the side. She glanced back at her group.

“It might take a bit. The central elevator is always busy, and this is the least travelled floor.”

True to her word, the wait stretched for several minutes. Reality was sinking in for just about everyone. The group was silent, and there was a lot of nervous fidgeting. Bells wished the elevator would just come and get it over with.

Finally, almost between blinks, an elevator car arrived in front of them. The door opened, and Dailan gestured everyone through. The car was roomy enough for everyone to stand comfortably.

They were half-expecting to be wooshed directly to whatever was the awe-inspiring center of activity, but instead the car stopped only a couple of seconds after it had started its ascent. The clear walls revealed that they were at the intersection of four hallways. It seemed like a floor for maintenance activities or offices, as the walls were concrete and largely undecorated. The hallways were impossibly long, seeming to stretch towards the horizon. Unlike the agricultural tunnels, this place was lit with artificial sunshine.

Everyone turned to stare as they realized why the car had stopped. A woman in casual clothes reminiscent of the early 21st century stepped onto the elevator, a phone in hand. She was incredibly absorbed with whatever she was typing into it, and only looked up when she realized there were several pairs of eyes boring into the back of her head. Turning to see what was going on, the woman stopped when she saw her fellow occupants. Bells was surprised the phone didn’t fall out of her hands.

The woman’s mouth was agape, and her eyes scanned over every other person before resting on Dailan. She received a shy wave.

Hi, Lanying.

Lanying blinked and, not knowing what else to do, slowly waved back.

Hi… Dailan…”

The elevator lifted by a few more levels before the door opened again, and Lanying stepped out. She threw a bewildered look over her shoulder at the most ethnically diverse people she had ever seen in her life before determinedly heading for a flight of stairs. Bells caught a glimpse of shining blue walls, varying architecture, and other people walking through the halls before the elevator moved onward.

Flashes of color and light passed them by as they rose with increasing speed. There was nobody else trying to get on at the moment. Kepa muttered something about them either being deep underground, or inside a mountain, but Bells was too caught up with being overwhelmed to respond.

The car suddenly started to slow, making everyone feel like their hearts had risen into their throats. Dailan grinned in anticipation.

Bright, warm sunlight replaced the fluorescence of the elevator light as the car came to a stop. Basking in the gasps which sounded from her charges, Dailan stepped out and swung an arm in flourish.

“Welcome, my friends, to Kunlun.”

The glass elevator shaft was in the center of a massive, white dome. The dome narrowed towards the top before being pierced by the shaft. Artificial, extremely realistic sunlight shone from a small point near the top of the dome, and its light cast angled shadows on what lay below. Openings into hallways as tall as a house circled the base of the dome. Several platforms stood in rings around the walls above them, each with their own series of doors. Old gingko trees stood in circles of soil and vegetation. Benches surrounded the circles, and several stalls for food and drink could be seen in the shadows. Small vehicles, manned and unmanned, parted the loose crowds of people that populated this hub of activity. People were walking, talking, sitting, standing, eating. Bells was startled when one of the high walls lit up orange, and the shape of a tiger jumped down along the edges, seeming to use platforms and the tops of hallways as perches. It came to a stop on the ground floor, where it roared before vanishing. The entire wall of the dome was made of screens.

The crew stepped out to join Dailan, barely noticing when several people brushed past them to enter the elevator. Some of them shot confused looks at the newcomers before they vanished. Dailan looked at her crowd of stunned faces with a smile.

“The sun here moves in accordance with the real sun outside. In the rest of the facility, you’ll find the level of light changes instead. Would anybody be interested in coming to the Hub at night?”

Nobody was looking at her, instead taking in the sights, but every hand shot up anyway. Dailan was practically buzzing in excitement.

Kepa elbowed Bells and subtly pointed towards a group of people who were standing nearby. They were all teenagers, and they were muttering amongst themselves while shooting glances over at Dailan’s guests. If he had to guess, though, Bells would say that wasn’t why Kepa pointed them out to him.

Every person in the group was dressed in a completely different style. One tall boy was wearing the traditional hanfu robes of Imperial China, another boy was wearing punk clothing from the 21st century, and a girl with dyed red hair was wearing a loose tunic and skirt in the fashion of men from the Qing dynasty.

They weren’t the only ones who were doing their own thing. There hardly seemed to be two similarly styled people in the entire dome. Bells saw fashion from every period of Chinese history, and a few periods of history from other countries. He saw flappers and hippies, lolitas and goths. Dozens of people seemed to be walking around in impossible avant-garde costumes.  A person of indeterminate gender floated past in a dress made of green bubbles, and some seemed to be detaching and trailing behind them.

Dailan’s 20th-century garb was probably meant to act as a middle ground, if she didn’t dress that way all the time.

Speaking of, the representative caught her group’s attention (it was somewhat of a challenge).

“Alright, everyone, there will be plenty of time to take in the sights later. For now, please follow me to our intended destination. There are a few people who want to meet you.”

 

 

After ascending to the top level of the dome, the crew was led by Dailan through a short series of hallways. They were simple and clean, with ancient paintings and tapestries accounting for the decoration. Bells guessed this was probably where all the missing artifacts in the Forbidden City had gone. Dailan stopped the group in front of a pair of white double doors before glancing back at them.

“It will just be a second.”

She opened one of the doors narrowly, and stepped into the room.

The mood from before they’d arrived returned in force as everyone stared forward in anticipation. They couldn’t hear anything that was happening inside after Dailan closed the door behind her. Bells was startled when Kepa elbowed him.

“Do you remember our C-Myth course, Bells?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Kunlun was a multi-tiered mountain that was home to gods and other legendary beings. Its roots penetrated as far into the earth as the mountain itself stretched into the sky. People believed that it was almost impossible to find, and if you did find it you’d be granted immortality or longevity.”

“That, uh, that sounds really accurate to… all of this.”

“You think?”

A multi-tiered, exquisite vault in a mountain which extended the longevity of a once-doomed people. Yeah, that sounded exactly right. Kepa nodded over towards the closest tapestry to catch Bells’ attention.

“A lot of the art here references mountains.”

Bells couldn’t help but snort.

“A lot of Chinese art references mountains in general. China’s full of the things.”

“I’m trying to be observant, Bells, you’re crapping on my vibe.”

The captain seemed like she was going to hush the two of them, but she was cut off when the doors opened. Dailan waited on the other side with a smile.

“Please, come in.”

Filing in, the crew found themselves in a spacious conference room. Sunlight followed them even here, but the air was so cool in the room that it was almost jarring. Sitting behind a long crescent table on a dias were eight well-dressed people. Each of them drank in the sight of the newcomers with obvious interest. Dailan arranged her charges in a complementary crescent before standing in front of them and facing the people on the dias. She bowed her head before speaking.

If it would please you, I would introduce you to our visitors.

The man at the very center of the table, dressed in a 21st century business suit, nodded in return.

It would please us all very much.”

Dailan turned back to her group and gestured behind her lightly, her hand moving with every person she introduced.

On the left were Xi Yan, a jovial-looking geologist; Meng Anming, a historian decked out in beautiful Imperial regalia, including the make-up and headwear; and Wen Fei, a shy biologist who ducked his head and nearly lost his old-fashioned cap when he was pointed out.

The central three people, including the man whom Dailan had addressed, were Kunlun’s ministers. They were effectively joint presidents. One of them was Xiu Jinjing, a maternal woman with kind eyes and wavy hair. Another was Tseng Lingde, an elderly man with sharp features. The speaking minister was Tiu Feng.

On the right were two women who were obviously twin sisters. They were dressed similarly to Dailan, with the exception that their outfits were brightly colored. Their intelligent eyes peered from middle-aged faces to examine the newcomers. Po Caixia and Po Caiyun were the chief engineers of “Inner Affairs” and “Outer Affairs”, respectively.

Dailan nodded at the captain, who stepped forward when she realized this was her moment.

“I will translate between you and the assembled council. Bells and Kepa can sit this one out for now.”

Captain Dunklee nodded before turning to make eye contact with each of the council members. She bowed her head slightly, imitating Dailan.

“I am Alice Dunklee, head of the US-based reconnaissance mission into China. Our mission is scientific and explorative in nature. We come in peace.”

Minister Jinjing tilted her head to the side.

What led to your mission being undertaken? Have any others tried to come here?”

“I cannot say whether other nations have attempted it, as I don’t have that knowledge. I can say that my team was assembled after the disappearance of radioactive smog over East China, and the sharp reduction of new radioactivity in air and sea currents from the western Pacific.”

Minister Lingde was next, except instead of speaking to the captain, he spoke to the engineer Caiyun.

That was certainly fast, Caiyun. They must have active satellites.

The woman sighed longingly.

Ah, to have our own satellites. We really must get into space at the first opportunity.”

“If I’m not interrupting, my crew would be interested to know why exactly these phenomena vanished.”

Caiyun raised an eyebrow at the captain.

You haven’t noticed the decrease in new radioactivity over the past 200 years? It should have been steadily sloping off.

“We chalked it up to natural decay.”

“Yes, I can see that. Natural decay certainly played its part, but China would still be wasteland if not for the radiation ventilation technology invented by my predecessors.

“I think we found one of those machines in Beijing. We couldn’t figure out what it did.”

“It’s quite simple, really. It sucks up light debris and fires it a kilometer or more into the air. The majority of latent radiation after a nuclear event has occurred is caused by fallout and the topsoil in contact with fallout. You find little to no radiation even just a couple meters down. If you transfer the radioactive particles into the atmosphere, they will disperse faster, and even decay faster. For the last couple years, we’ve just been kicking up barely radioactive dust.”

Captain Dunklee tensed, and spoke before she thought it might be wise.

“You ruined Japan. They might have been able to recover from the initial event if it wasn’t for the constant stream of fallout covering their southern half.”

The council members looked between each other uneasily, and Caiyun didn’t seem to know how to respond. Finally, her sister Caixia spoke up.

The new fallout over Japan would be greatly distilled, though we regret giving them any at all.”

Dunklee stared coldly at the engineer.

“That’s a politician’s response.”

There was muttering among the council as the captain glared them all down. After coming to some sort of conclusion, Minister Feng cleared his throat.

We would be willing to grant Japan our technology to help them to recover. The responsibility is ours to bear, as North Korea is gone.”

Every person in the room was startled when Eun-seo suddenly stepped forward. She’d been silent since being introduced to Dailan.

“And what of Korea?”

Ah, w-what about Korea?

“Will you grant your technology to heal the Korean Peninsula? South Korea was innocent in that war, and your ancestors destroyed them anyway.”

Caiyun hesitantly caught the security officer’s attention, and winced slightly under the younger woman’s piercing gaze.

You are absolutely right, but Korea would be a greater challenge. If we were to use the ventilation technology there, the fallout would go straight to northern Japan. Your leader has implied that’s where the remaining people are, and it would be dangerous to give them undisturbed fallout that has less space to disperse.”

“Would you be able to develop a solution?”

…. Of course. With time, but of course.

“Good.”

Eun-seo returned to her place and nodded at the captain, who didn’t seem annoyed to have been interrupted at all. Dunklee looked back to the ministers.

“There seem to be many… Kunlunese? Kunlunians?”

“Kunlunen,” Dailan supplied.

“Yes, there seem to be many Kunlunen people here in this mountain. Where did you all come from?”

The historian Anming spoke with a deep and sonorous voice, and sounded proud.

We are all descended from the staff and security of the lead government officials who first built a vault into these hills. Our reach extends to smaller vaults built near Shanghai and Guangzhou, and their stories were similar before they joined Kunlun.”

“Are there any descendants of those government officials?”

A satisfied glint entered Anming’s eyes.

No.

The captain decided to leave it there.

“Dailan mentioned that you do not wish for us to reveal your existence yet. What is your timetable for making contact with the world, and what do you want from us?”

Feng was the one who responded.

We plan to make contact with communication satellites and announce our existence to the world in the next week or so. A team of international specialists, including Dailan, are composing messages in multiple languages. Your arrival has moved us forward, a bit.”

Dunklee smirked.

“Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Feng laughed for the first time, and a little tension left the room.

You have nothing to apologize for, Alice. Your arrival is a gift. And as for what we want from you, we would prefer if you stayed with us until the reveal. You are free to leave if you wish, but we would appreciate the chance to learn about the outside world. It’s possible some of your crew might also appreciate the chance to learn about Kunlun.”

“…Yes, I think some of us would enjoy that.”

“In that case, Dailan will show you to a set of guest rooms. A number of us will probably be calling in to talk to you as the week progresses.”

“Would I be able to send a message to my remaining crew in Beijing? Just to explain that we will be gone for some time.”

Of course.

 

 

After being shown to a set of warmly colored rooms on a lower floor, the crew went with Dailan to eat at an Italian restaurant. After 200 years of isolation, though, things were a little bit off.

“Uh, Dai?”

“Yes, Kepa?”

“These calamari are just rice noodles turned into loops and fried.”

“I don’t see the issue.”

“You have fish-based Bolognese sauce on your bok-choy wrapped raviolis. Why couldn’t they use fish for the calamari?”

“Fish don’t make loops, Kepa.”

“Your people invent a way to get rid of radiation from the ground, but they can’t remember that calamari are made from seafood? I don’t know if this trip was worth it.”

“We don’t have saltwater hatcheries for squid! We have to make do!”

“I can’t believe this. I can’t believe you claim to love other countries and you don’t even appreciate real Italian food.”

Bells ate his carp parmigiana in peace. He wondered what the cheese was made of since Kunlun had no dairy supply, but he supposed it didn’t matter. It tasted pretty good. Besides, even if the food wasn’t entirely accurate, the setting sure was. The three of them were sitting at a booth in the most extravagantly, overtly Italian restaurant he’d ever been in. Every wall was made of stucco, there were Roman statues everywhere, and stereotypical guitar music was floating through the air. The waiters were even dressed like pizza chefs for some reason.

At the front of the restaurant, windows overlooked the Hub. It turned out one of the rungs of the dome was entirely occupied by eating establishments. The screens of the dome had gone dark and starry, and at one point Bells could have sworn a blue dragon flew past.

He was startled when Dailan flopped on him and sighed.

“Please save me from your colleague, Bells.”

Working through the surprise, he wrapped a protective arm around the Kunlunen woman.

“Kepa, stop harassing her about food details.”

“I’m not harassing; I’m looking for answers.”

Dailan stayed leaning on Bells for a couple of minutes while the two translators bickered. She picked at and examined the hem of Bell’s shirt. At one point she reached over to take one of Kepa’s calamari, and chewed on it thoughtfully while glancing between her charges.

Bells was startled a second time when Dailan poked his chest.

“You know, Bells, we have surgeons here who can get rid of your breasts if you don’t want them.”

Kepa went on alert, and seemed ready to say something, but Bells shot her a look.

“Um, no, that’s fine. I like them. They don’t make me feel less manly or anything.”

Dailan hummed in agreement and sat back normally so she could finish her dish. Kepa attempted some sort of concerned sign language over the other’s back, but Bells waved her off.

Later, when they were all finished, the three of them descended to the ground level of the Hub. It was much less crowded than it was during the daytime, and people were walking around with little red flashlights.

Dailan invited them to lie down on either side of her in the grass plot of a gingko tree. It was soft and dry, with no need for a quilt. Bells couldn’t help but smile when he looked up at the ceiling.

A beautiful replication of the night sky shone down on them. A thin crescent moon, probably replicating what the real moon was doing outside, hung halfway down one of the walls. The hubbub of earlier today had quieted to a hush of soft speaking and light footsteps.

Kepa had no regard for the hush as she spoke up in Mandarin with her normal voice.

Hey Dai, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Would you want to grab lunch with me at one of the Kunlunen restaurants tomorrow? I’d love to try some authentic local food, but I probably need some guidance.

Bells was surprised when Dailan smiled over at the other woman and nodded.

It’s a date.

A warmth bloomed in his chest as Kepa looked surprised herself. A grin lit up her normally stony face, and something like a giggle escaped her throat.

Yes. Exactly. Great.

After that, silence descended on the trio. Bells saw a clumpy shadow flit across the sky, and he spent some time puzzling through what it had been. He came to the conclusion that there was a camera at the top of the mountain recording the night sky for the screens below, and a bird or bat had flown in the way. There was something comforting about seeing a flaw in Kunlun’s perfection.

He gasped and pointed when a shooting star streaked overhead.

“Did you see that?!”

“I did, but I think Kepa’s busy.”

Bells lifted his head and saw that his friend was absolutely knocked out. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell slowly with her breaths. He chuckled and turned back to look at the sky.

“Yeah, Kepa can sleep anywhere. Get used to that.”

Dailan snorted in response, but Bells could see her face crumple into a frown from his peripheral vision. There was a pause where she began to say something but stopped. Finally, she spoke quietly with some hesitance.

“I’m… sorry I embarrassed you, Bells. I shouldn’t have brought up something that would make you uncomfortable. In my endeavor to make you more comfortable I invaded your privacy.”

Bells shook his head.

“It’s alright. I’m used to having stuff like that brought up when I’m abroad.”

“I guess you would. How’s the world coming along, in terms of all that… stuff?”

“It’s better. Some places are still bad when it comes gender and sexuality, but, uh, it’s getting better.”

“That’s really good.”

Silence fell over them. Bells noticed Jayesh and John walking by. Jayesh was normally fairly quiet, but he was whispering animatedly to the botanist next to him. John nodded and listened, but he seemed a little distracted by the trees and the flower beds. When they made their closest approach, Bells heard Jayesh hiss something about hoping the dome expresses the weather outside.

Something occurred to Bells suddenly. A question he had wanted to know the answer to since yesterday morning.

“Dailan?”

“Yes, Bells?”

“The Forbidden City is totally pristine and undamaged. There’s even a load of white irises growing in the old Imperial Garden. Do you know about that?”

“… Yes.”

“Why is it like that?”

“It’s a memorial.”

“That’s a pretty huge memorial. Who’s it for?”

“All of China.”

Bells opened his mouth to say something, but there were no words. He looked away from Dailan and flopped his head back to view the ceiling, the weight of it sinking into him.

All of China.

He and Kepa had explored and examined a monument to the billion-plus people who had lost their lives 200 years ago. They had breathed its air, admired its perseverance, and touched the flowers of its eternal memorial service.

Follow-up questions like Who waters? Who glued that column back together? faded from his mind. They were too shallow in the face of this knowledge.

Of course somebody was watering. Of course somebody was doing repairs. What did any of that matter?

Bells peeked at Dailan’s face, and found passive sadness. Whatever weight he was feeling must be a hundred times worse for her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, trying to push all of his sorrow, all of that weight, into only two words.

There was a pause as Dailan took a deep breath, shuddering slightly. She swallowed and the sound seemed much louder than it was. Eventually she nodded slightly.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. The people responsible on both sides are centuries-dead, and have no descendants.”

She glanced over at him quickly.

“… But I appreciate the sentiment.”

Bells’ lips briefly curled up in a reassuring smile before he turned back to the ceiling.

He folded his hands behind his head when his neck started to complain. If he concentrated, he could hear Kepa lightly snoring. She really needed to own up to that. An adult had gathered a group of children nearby, and they were pointing towards the sky. The little red flashlights quivered in the hands of the kids as the teacher asked them questions. Bells couldn’t hear any of the questions, but he heard the answers. Tiny cries in Mandarin of things like “a star!”, “the moon!”, or “Jupiter!” drifted through the whole dome. He was kind of surprised they were up so late.

“Bells?”

“Yeah, Dailan?”

“What do you think the world will think of us?”

Bells sat up on his elbows and looked down at Kunlun’s representative.

“What do you mean?”

Dailan mimicked him, getting onto her elbows and gesturing a hand in exasperation.

“Kunlun. What will they think of us? I mean, your crew seems to think well of us, even Eun-seo.”

“Yeah, whoever’s idea it was to introduce her to your gyms is a genius.”

“But what about the rest of the world? What if we’re grossly behind? We’ve been isolated for so long.”

“You’re really not behind. The only thing I can think of that you’re behind on is fashion. A lot of trends have come and gone in the past 200 years, and you guys are probably gonna go crazy when you’re exposed to all of that.”

Dailan collapsed back to the grass and sighed.

“If you say. I just want the world to welcome us. I want everyone to admire this place like I do.”

Bells rested back with a bit more grace, and he folded his hands behind his head again. The light shadow of an insect or dust particle passed in front of the camera on the mountain, and the laugh of a victorious student rang through the air. He smelled grass, perfume, and food. Everything was peaceful.

“I think the world will love you.”

Dailan smiled up at the sky.

“I hope so.”

 

© 2016 nightlight6


Author's Note

nightlight6
hymenopterids are insects of the bee/ant family. the more you knowwww

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nightlight6
nightlight6

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I'm a recent college grad writing in my spare time. I have the greatest interest in writing sci-fi, fantasy, and post-apocalyptic fiction. Thank you for stopping by and reading my stuff! :) more..

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