"The gods are dying," Slee'et said, holding up her thin green arm. "But I must go, it is my time to be sacrificed."
Fnrn lifted Slee'et's palm to his pale orange cheek. Turned that way, he could not see the glowing red stone that grew out of her wrist. He would not see it; he only wanted to see her. As she was.
The life-spirit again failed. Lights died, wind ceased moving, and heat ductors chilled. Furry raptors fluttered between branches of moss covered conduit in the darkness. This was the forty-eighth time cycle of anger. The elders spoke of olden times when the gods were angry; when the life-spirit paused. The elders said the gods demanded more sacrifices when that happened. In olden times it only needed to pause once, and women who were life-bringers gladly walked the plankway to oblivion. Only those who had created live spawn, though. Like Slee'et.
"No," he said, and slammed his fist against the wall. He pulled her close to him. Her belly protruded greatly, they could not fully merge. His hand hurt. "You again bear my spawn, and I will see it live. Let the gods die, I care not. I..."
Slee'et put her thumb on his lips, and shook her head. "No, do not say it. Such things are forbidden. I have spawned twice, my body is weak. This one will kill me, surely. Perhaps the gods will be extra pleased with my sacrifice and let you live."
Her head bowed, and she leaned forward into his chin. "I too would speak to you of forbidden things. But I dare not. It would anger them more. Please, let me go."
Fnrn stepped back slightly, and ran his fingers of his left hand through her long silver hair as his right hand gripped her shoulder. His fingers closed as they pulled the ends of her hair to his lips.
"I love you," he screamed, defying the gods. Slee'et paled, her eyes darted to the exit hatch. "If they are gods, let them take me too. Only, if just for me, wear your pretty robe? It may please them as much at it pleases me."
Shaking still, Slee'et nodded once and retreated to their tiny inner chamber. Fnrn moved, as if to follow, but paused at the portal. He smiled, pushed the hatch cover closed, and then jammed his work wrench into the latch.
"I will return for you," he whispered, and then left their pod.
Fnrn grimaced and shook his left hand; it hurt too much to use. At least two broken bones, but Slee'et was no longer able to argue with his decision. He hated having to do that, he loved her too much to lose her.
The elders forbade speaking of love, of even thinking about it. Fnrn knew that was what he felt for Slee'et. He longed to see her after each cycle's work, and her smile brought him joy. He thought it was joy, old stories spoke of such things on Home. Home was generations away, though, except they now drifted through darkness on a new Home.
Slee'et was hundreds of paces away. She was no longer able to sacrifice her life and that of their spawn. He grimaced again, and shook his hand. Hopefully it would soon go numb. He was life-giver, spawn could not be created without their cooperation. Yet he sometimes had to fight life itself to stay alive. To fight the will of the gods and the elders who served them.
The amber glow of his life-stone was faint, but he knew the way. Through the gathering chamber, around the root-limbs and power cables, and then up to the void. Fnrn shuddered, seeing the void drove men mad. Yet he had seen it; was he mad? Perhaps that was the genesis of his quarrel with the gods. He had seen where they were not. They were finite, just like him. His pod-ling Grrs was there, and Grrs would know what was really going on. Grrs would-
Fnrn froze; the elders had gathered everyone in the chamber. Fnrn stood in the portal, hidden in the shadow of overgrown conduits. Grrs was there, bound in steel-weed and bloody. The elders were yelling at the crowd, and pointing at Grrs. They did not use common speech; that which mixed up the words to confuse the gods. They spoke to appease the gods, to direct the crowd's anger at Grrs.
The high elder stood to face the crowd, his dirty white robes hung loosely on a bony frame. He wielded the wrench of power and raised it high. "Heresy! This one has turned the gods against us! He and his pod-lings must sacrifice themselves, them and all their spawn. The gods have spoken!"
Fnrn could do nothing; hundreds of others stood between him and Grrs. He was a pod-sibling of Grrs, and that meant he and all his spawn would die. Slee'et was already willing to sacrifice herself.
Fear gripped Fnrn. What if the elders were right, and the gods were real? Would his sacrifice help? Would it save others? Grrs did not think so, he said that gods who reveled in human sacrifice were not much in the way of gods. Yet was that Grrs' madness, since he lived on the plain of void? He and his co-maintainers sought to push the panel lights at the right times, according to their own long oral tradition. Sometimes things happened, but Grrs said most of the time nothing seemed to differ from one push to the next. The gods ran the ship and the services of the maintainers were seldom needed.
Fnrn's own maintenance service was little used. His teacher showed him the tools and trained him on the sacred way of service. What prayers to offer in supplication to the gods when lighting a wand of melting and how many times to thank them for the tools that occasionally worked.
Fear still held Fnrn in its claws, but he looked at Grrs with sadness. Grrs was a hard working maintainer who trained his underlings well. Like Fnrn, Grrs' life-stone would never turn red. Maintainers did not sacrifice themselves directly, but in the day to day accidents that the body-maintainers could not heal. Bots treated the elders, and they grew older each cycle. The regular maintainers just died in minor accidents and had their bodies rolled into the pits of reclamation.
Fear's chilling talons melted away from Fnrn. He was scared, but he understood love in that moment. He love Grrs as a brother, and as a friend. Fnrn may himself die in the attempt at a rescue, but he would die in love.
"No!" Fnrn yelled as he strode forward. "You lie! You are false, and the gods are false!"
The high elder's face spasmed and the crowd looked at Fnrn with anger.
"Another one!" The high elder screamed. The crowd roared as it turned on Fnrn.
He knew it would be a vain gesture, but Fnrn brought up his hands into fists. Hundreds to one; he would die. He thought the others knew the elders were false, like he and Grrs. He was wrong, the crowd was a frightened beast and he was blamed for their pain.
The entire chamber convulsed, throwing dozens into walls or slamming them into trees. Bones broke and hundreds screamed in fear and pain. The chamber convulsed again and loud sounds echoed through the entire chamber. Life-spirit lights flashed weakly and without rhythm, and then died.
Fnrn stood. Blood ran down his temple and his right shoulder was out of joint. The high elder was nowhere in sight but Grrs lay bound, rolling across the platform. Each shockwave tossed him about, and Fnrn knew the crowd would trample him in their fear.
They would likely trample Fnrn himself but he would act in love for his pod-ling. Yelling as much in fear as in rage, Fnrn charged forward. His shoulder slammed into four people and it hurt every time, but he kept going. The deck shook and his weight shifted hard left but he kept going. For Grrs. For his friend. Fnrn was three steps away from the platform when Grrs was tossed into a crowed of screaming men.
"Move!" Fnrn growled. He was too close to fail now. He shoved a wailing maintainer out of the way and stood over Grrs' unmoving form. It was too dangerous to stay where they were. The body-maintainers were here, but none would help a heretic. Their lives depended on the gods.
