Chapter 11

As he finished taking in the night sky, Jacob heard excited voices and chatter coming from the direction of the town facing the ocean. Curious, Jacob decided to go check it out. He wasn't too tired yet.

While he was walking, he noticed a few people in groups chatting away, their AI devices lighting up the areas. It was warm out, so there was no need for a fire. However, many people were by themselves, looking up at the sky. Others were asking their AI devices about what was happening.

Jacob kept walking and noticed that a few people were moving in the same direction as him, also curious about the sounds they had heard. A couple of minutes later, Jacob arrived at the grove of trees separating the beach from the colony. There were several colonists here, and past that was an expansive and vast ocean.

But that wasn't the main thing that caught Jacob's attention. It was what was in the ocean that took his breath away. He could see colours swirling around and many shapes moving under the water, causing a fantastic glow to come from the beach. It looked completely alien, yet extremely alluring.

As he approached, he got more details on what was causing all the colour. Coral reefs, but not like any he had seen on Earth. These reefs were fully bioluminescent, with purples, blues, greens, and yellows. The fish and plants created a magical scene, with their colours and movement adding majesty to the light show. The water was so clear it seemed you could drink from it, but Jacob knew from his AI device that the ocean was still saline like Earth's.

Many people were sitting on the beach, enjoying the view. Some were even daring enough to take a dip, keeping close to the shore but still trying to get a better look at the beautiful scene in front of them. With no cellphones or entertainment, this would likely become a popular spot.

Jacob realized that this world, although unknown, held countless potential for beauty. In a random act of power, he decided he wanted to make sure it stayed that way. He remembered what happened to the popular beaches on Earth.

"Genesis, please make this beach a protected area. Do not allow construction within the area unless it has been extensively studied to ensure no impact is done to this reef. Also, any AI that witnesses their user throw garbage or destroy the area must notify the guard AIs."

"Right away, sir. I will set up protocols to restrict AI from allowing their users to plan construction in the requested area based on the requested protection. And I will send the appropriate data to the guards."

Jacob took a seat on the beach, noticing that two men were there on each side of the grove, watching the forest with two of the rifles he had purchased from the store.

"Genesis, do you know who those two guards are?" Jacob asked, curious if Genesis had any information.

"Yes, sir. They are two recruits of Adewale. He has released a schedule and their names to the AI's."

That's cool. I'm glad he and Akiko thought this through this much, Jacob thought.

"The one to your right is named Li Chen, and to the left is Ryan Jackson. If you have any complaints about their conduct, Akiko has created a local database. Each guard has agreed to this, in exchange for one extra meal each day, with added benefits as the colony improves."

Genesis explained this while showing Jacob a small holo display of what looked like a ranking page. There was a search box, as well as a list of all the guards and their faces, with the option to tap on any and write a complaint to Adewale and Akiko, who would then attempt to deal with it.

Jacob was glad that those four were already doing so much for the colony. He then thought of something, considering he was scrolling through a holo webpage on the beach.

"Genesis, how far is your range? Can AI anywhere communicate?"

"Because of our design, we have no limit on communication distance with other AI orbs we have met. However, they must be part of the colony in question."

"Interesting. Looks like cellphones will be pretty useless to go after," Jacob said while rubbing his chin.

This really was an out-of-this-world experience. In a single day, he had ended up on a new planet, sitting on a beach with a view that billionaires would kill for, using a holographic webpage controlled by an AI orb of unknown origin.

He thought about what he could do for the colony. He didn't have the same skills or talents as the others, but he knew he could learn fast. Even welding seemed easy today as he got the hang of it. It was actually much easier than doing it on Earth, as Sophia and the welder had mentioned earlier. He decided to just do what he thought was best and listen to the people who might know a thing or two.

He definitely wouldn't be telling Adewale battle tactics tomorrow, but if he kept at it, maybe he could learn in time. It was just like the Xandros said: "anyone could be taught". Jacob believed this meant that anyone could learn anything if they stuck to it.

*****

While Jacob was having his inner discussion and deciding his plans for the colony, guard Ryan Jackson was busy scanning the forest line.

He was just like everyone else here, taken with no chance of objection from a world that was at its moment of death. They had fired their last guns, and everyone would pay for it. But that didn't happen. Instead, he found himself in a strange new world with a leader that he had nothing against, but also knew nothing about.

At first, he did not know what he should do, so when he had gotten a message from the interesting AI orb, he felt the desire to help protect well up inside him. Until he could find a way home, he would do his best to keep law and order in this colony. With that determination, Ryan was the first to show up to the meeting area, waiting for Adewale. When he and the other recruits met Adewale, immediately they knew that this man had experience and had seen actual battles.

While he had been on the SWAT team in LA, it was nothing like the special forces, so he immediately had a respect for Adewale. He kept wary, though, because nobody knew anyone else. But something in his gut told him that Adewale was straightforward and honest, and they got along right away, immediately beginning to bond as squad members. This was one reason Ryan was given a rifle.

Adewale had told Ryan and Li to guard the beach, noticing when they were walking around that most people outside their bland apartments were congregating there. It was too close to the forest for Adewale's comfort, so he figured this would keep everyone safe from anything.

That was three hours ago. Ryan was feeling the slight exhaustion of the day. He could eat a lot more back on Earth, but the rations here just couldn't hold up to his calorie intake for the workout routines he did to stay in shape.

He was staring off into the forest when he suddenly felt something in his gut. The hairs on the back of his neck immediately went up as a shiver went down his spine. About 30 meters from him, he saw two yellow eyes staring at him. They were moving through the forest, but keeping eye contact.

He gripped his rifle tightly, pointing it toward the eyes, and whispered to his AI, "Get these people off the beach and into their houses. NOW!" He pulled the trigger as soon as he said the last word.

The shot echoed with a loud BANG, silencing the beach for a moment. In that moment, everyone's AI orbs glowed a deep red and warned their users to evacuate the area immediately. An unknown predator was attacking the camp!

The shot had missed, but it was more than enough to force the beast into action. A large, horse-sized boney black lizard darted towards Ryan. He immediately aimed his rifle and fired another shot, the gap rapidly closing.

As soon as the lizard saw the man's fingers move, it dodged. It almost seemed to know what the gun would do, even though it had only seen it fire once.

Not wanting to miss a second time, Ryan tried to keep his rifle aimed at the monster in the last second.

BANG.

"ROAR!" The beast was hit in its leg, the bullet going right through the thin appendage. Being armor-piercing, the bullet did a lot of damage and almost sheered off the leg.

Before Ryan could get another shot off, he heard a scream near him. Glancing to his left, he saw the colonist closest to him stop moving as something pierced through her chest.

Before he could look back, he felt a pressure and pain in his lungs. He tried to fire his gun, but his arms didn't respond. Ryan's vision started turning sideways.

Oh, I'm falling, he thought.

Ryan's body hit the ground, his eyes facing up. The last thing he saw were the same moon and stars that Jacob had appreciated moments before. As the final breath left his body, he heard one final BANG.

*****

Jacob was among those evacuating in the chaos. The red AI orbs tried to guide their panicked users back across the grove into the closest open apartments. He had heard two shots, followed by a roar of some monster. Jacob was terrified.

However, before he could get far, he was knocked over by one of the other beach-goers, losing his breath and becoming briefly stunned. When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see two glowing eyes and sharp razor teeth greeting him.

It was the monster! He heard no more shots from the guard, worrying the worst. He figured this was it; as the leader of this colony, he would die on the first night here. But right before the beast could rip at Jacob's throat,

BANG!

A red burst came from the side of the beast's head.

It stood motionless for a moment before collapsing beside Jacob. The last sounds it made were those of air escaping from its lungs and a steady red stream leaking from its skull into the sand below.

Jacob sat in shock, unsure of what had just happened. "Are you ok? Where is the other guard, Ryan?" a man asked as he ran up to Jacob and grabbed his shoulders.

Jacob's glossy eyes refocused, and he replied, "I heard two shots, but they stopped. I don't know where he is. I lost track of everything when I got knocked over."

"Damnit," the man, Li, swore as he ran toward the last location Ryan was located.

Jacob got up and looked at the lizard for a moment before running after Li. They soon came across Ryan, who was clearly no longer alive. There was a giant hole in his chest, the same as another colonist who had been unfortunate enough to be too close to the initial attack. The beast's tails, which were over 10 meters long and had extremely sharp barbs on the end, had killed both Ryan and the other colonist at almost the same time.

They heard Ryan's AI orb make a small droning noise, almost as if it were crying. It then projected a hologram of his name and videos of his experiences on New Eden. The woman's orb did the same.

It seemed that these orbs acted as futuristic gravestones as well. Jacob couldn't help but think. Even in his trauma, he was comforted because these orbs would keep the memories of the deceased alive.

With this, they could see what Ryan experienced in the moments before his death, as well as other memories he had throughout the day, including the first one when the AI appeared beside him in his apartment.

A few moments later, Adewale arrived and called the doc. They cleaned up the mess. Even as they moved the bodies, the orb continued to project the hologram, moving alongside the deceased user.

Looking back at the reefs, which were still glowing with fantastic colour, it was almost as if nothing had happened. Jacob couldn't help but shiver at the hidden danger they faced. Alongside all this beauty, there was death.