"A Weisshafen?"
I could hear the clicking of heels approaching the front of the door. Through my hair, matted with grease and dirt, I tried to wrench open my eyelids, sealed shut by the pain, to reveal my bloodshot eyes.
I had been here for too long... I had endured countless tortures. I had witnessed the tortures of others countless times. Every miserable wretch in the room came and went, while I remained chained here. In those countless days, wishing for death, the only thing I could cling to was madness. Because now I had to go mad... My mind had to abandon me, stop trying to make sense of what had been and what was to come. It hurt... Physical pain was no longer enough, but the memories... The pain of the memories never subsided. Having my teeth pulled and needles pressed into my gums felt normal now. The metal pieces inside my chemically swollen, Enhanced internal organs crushing and cutting my flesh felt normal now. The poison circulating in my blood leaving me breathless as it passed through my throat... The metal fragments trembling inside my body making my head spin... The weight of my clogged blood vessels... All this felt normal now.
"Yes, Madam Belladona... A Weisshafen..."
If there was one thing that didn't feel normal, it was my inability to escape this endless hell. How long had it been? Months... Years... Weeks... Perhaps days or hours... My sense of time was lost because I couldn't do anything that defined a Human life cycle. My hands were shackled behind my back. My knees were flattened from resting on the floor and bearing my weight. I didn't eat because I was being fed intravenously through my veins. I didn't use the toilet because the parasites placed in my intestines took care of that for me. My sweat glands were sealed off so the chemicals inside me wouldn't be wasted. My mouth was covered with something resembling a dog's muzzle so I wouldn't waste my breath talking, and the constant pressure caused some of my gums to bleed perpetually. Bleeding wasn't a problem, as long as the blood stayed inside me...
Adding to this, I was looking at the spot where Isolde, a wretch who could bear no sin upon her shoulders, who seemed created to simply smell roses in the garden of heaven, had been brutally murdered. Other people had been brought here, too, but none had been tortured as much as I. None had suffered as much as Isolde...
We, two foolish lovers! Our only crime was trying to escape with our love. Perhaps we, two lovers, had been punished more severely than drug traffickers, rapist barons, or war criminals! This... This was nothing more than God looking down upon me and scoffing. God? Let all these people who believe that God does not exist prove to me that this misfortune and pain I am living through are not God's work, and I will step out and laugh in their faces!
Yes... This was God's work! But God was not an old man sitting in the sky; rather, a horned, spoiled noble rubbing his hands as he awaited his victims at the gates of hell. Yes... Otherwise, who would want to write such a tragic fate?
Ah... I was starting to go mad. Good... Wonderful! This was exactly what I wanted. Because madness was the best cure for such situations. The best thing was for my soul, my mind, to build a castle deep within itself and retreat into it. If you couldn't be saved by death, you had to kill your mind. Once you killed your mind, everything was as light as a feather...
At that moment, the door to my cell opened. My eyes, which saw everything red from the blood, only saw the silhouette of a woman standing over my head. She was looking at me pitifully.
"Fools..." the woman buzzed. I could sense her taking her hands, trembling with anger, to her face and rubbing her eyes. "...what is going on here!"
"We captured this Weisshafen and his lover. We tried to blackmail the Weisshafen family, but they said they didn't want the boy."
"His lover?"
"Yes, Madam..." said the leader, whose mouth was as foul as a sewer but who somehow managed to speak politely. "...he was planning to run away with a Dragno girl."
I could sense the woman's hand trembling with fury. "What happened to the Dragno girl? What did her family say?"
"They told us to kill the girl, or else... or else they would destroy the whole city. So, we killed the girl."
"Thank goodness..." the woman said and reached out her hand towards my face. I felt her finger trace my eyelids. As the bloody grime on my eyelids was wiped away, I could finally see the woman.
She was definitely a Cybernetician... I could partially see the electrical circuits waiting behind her face through the small cracks in her artificial skin. But there was something intriguing about this woman. Her artificial skin was wrinkled. No Cybernetician woman would choose to look so old when they could have smooth and youthful skin. This... This was definitely the woman's choice.
Despite her slender face, she had quite voluminous, long black hair, which fell almost to her waist. Among her voluminous hair were a number of metal insignia, like a commander's medal. These metal insignia might have been heavy for any Human to carry, but her Cybernetician body bore them with ease.
The woman wore a charcoal-colored dress. I called it charcoal-colored for a reason, because in many places on the seemingly living dress, which was separated by lines resembling dermal scales, the color would instantly change to red and then vanish like a dying flame.
Over her dress, she had a fur coat made from different animals. A wolf-like head, rabbit-like ears, and all sorts of similar features were randomly scattered on the fur coat. It was as if she were carrying the suffering of many animals on her back. Many deaths, many lives were on her shoulders.
When she threw the fur coat off her shoulder with a movement, and it fell to the floor, her left mechanical arm was revealed. Her mechanical arm was copper-colored, but it was hard to tell what metal it was made of since it was covered with tubes carrying blue fluids. As she moved her arm, I could hear the movement of some small gears beneath it. There were various stones on her arm, and each seemed carefully polished to display her wealth. The hand at the end of her metal arm, however, resembled a Human hand more than metal. She had probably done this so that if she wanted to conceal her Cybernetician nature, hiding her arm would be enough.
The woman suddenly grabbed the throat of that despicable man beside her with her metal arm. While she furiously squeezed the man's throat, she peered at the people outside the door out of the corner of her eye. The woman's hair seemed to come alive as she grew angry, pulsating as if charged with electricity, waving as if in the wind.
"Fool!" she said, squeezing the man's throat. "You were going to destroy an entire city because of your stupidity, were you?"
"Madam Belladona..."
"Kidnapping a Dragno girl, huh!"
"Just a coincidence!"
"You can't tell the difference between coincidence and bad fortune, can you?"
"Madam..."
"Shut up, you idiot!"
With a crack, the man's neck was snapped, and his head was separated from his body as it fell to the floor. The Cybernetician woman opposite me cleaned her bloodied hand and looked at me. Then she called out to one of the men at the door. One of the men came forward with a napkin and knelt down towards the woman's leather boots. Belladona took the napkin and wiped the blood from her metal hand.
"Madam, please..."
"Why did you come to me?"
"Because, Madam... We knew we couldn't sell this Weisshafen. And when our blackmail didn't work, we at least wanted to sell the Enhancements inside him. But we couldn't get the Enhancements out in working order. So, we tried to make his body suitable using drugs and other methods."
"Because the Enhancements self-destructed before they could be removed from the body, didn't they? A Weisshafen family security mechanism..." The woman pushed the man away with the back of her foot. The man fell to the floor in fear, shielding himself with his arms. "...you are so foolish... You don't know what a Weisshafen means. You're afraid to kill him, too... All you've done is harm this young man... And finally, you came to the Silent Queen for help, did you?"
I moved my head, wincing from the mechanical part embedded in my spinal cord, and began to look at the woman more clearly. The woman's dress constantly changed color as if on fire, as she slowly approached me. At that moment, her amber-yellow eyes seemed to be staring into my soul.
"Silent Queen... Please save us from this man," the man pleaded.
"Did you go to anyone else besides me?"
"..."
"Answer me!"
"No one wants a useless Weisshafen. No one wants trouble, especially if that trouble won't be useful in the future..."
"Is this boy useless?" She inspected my eyes for a little longer. "The man's eyes are stained with madness, but he hasn't fallen into it..."
"What does that mean..."
"It means he's worth a try."
Belladona was a former space officer. She was one of the pilots who fought the colonies in the Interstellar War. She flew a bomber ship and personally accompanied Marshal Maximillian Ironcloud's Hyperion ship from colony to colony for forty years as his escort.
At the end of forty years, after defeating the Gevne Colony, noble families who would establish a trade network in that colony began arriving one by one to congratulate the pilots. Among these families was one from the Capital of the Jolkien Colony. One of the four great families, Martha Lilia Dragno of the Dragno family...
Cyberneticians did not require sexuality in any way. In fact, due to the software structure of their brains, many pleasure points that went to their brains had become mechanized and could be easily controlled. It was quite possible to experience great pleasures through chemicals and similar triggers. But some Cyberneticians rejected the pleasures of this new order and preferred to open the pleasure points of their brains. These Cyberneticians were generally called perverts by the public.
Martha Lilia was one of these perverts. According to Belladona, she had lost so much of her humanity from years of dealing with trade in space and establishing trade networks in newly conquered colonies that Martha had done this to remind herself that she was Human. Because despite being one of the youngest members of the family, she was one of the hardest working, and from the moment she was born, she had been exposed to space as much as the Marauders caught between the asteroids.
That is why Martha Lilia began to feel something for Belladona during this sincere handshake. Belladona, who remained there until the colony's security was ensured, was constantly visited by Martha Lilia. As the frequency and sincerity of these visits increased, Martha finally appeared before Belladona with her naked mechanical body and the physical Enhancements she had made for sexuality. Belladona was considering refusing this offer as a Cybernetician, but Lilia offered her a hundred years' salary for one night. Belladona realized the magnitude of the wealth on the Jolkien planet during that passionate night.
Lilia and Belladona became friends after that day. Martha Lilia hired Belladona as her personal guard. This friendship continued on many nights. When Martha returned to the Jolkien Colony, which was also my homeland, years later, she brought Belladona with her.
Belladona began to acquire an incredible network at the noble gatherings, parties, and many other events she attended with Lilia. She was almost overwhelmed when she realized how easily Jolkien's wealthiest made huge amounts of money.
In fact, the Weisshafens, Jolkien's wealthiest, had acquired many colonies and trade networks just because they controlled the Hyperion ship. They had even taken the Weapon Security Agency to their side and destroyed the roots of many families, simply because they owned a Hyperion ship.
The Dragno Family was an even older family than the Weisshafens. They had been able to maintain their wealth thanks to their very strict rules. Their great-great-ancestor, Sigurd Dragno, was one of the first colonists to settle on Jolkien. Sigurd, a powerful and great leader, took his surname because he and his family fought and wiped out the lineage of dragon-like creatures they called Dragno.
Initially, this family sold Dragno hides, but later, with the money they earned, they began to manage trade networks and even had armies strong enough to fight colonial pirates before the colonies were eradicated by the Interstellar War.
Sigurd was such a great leader and hero that they created a Gene-Seed they called the Sigurd Seed so that his children in later generations could benefit from this powerful genetics and personality. These were fertilization-ready capsules created by manipulating Sigurd's DNA, containing his strongest traits.
Therefore, the family had strict rules for their children. A member of the Dragno Family could not marry someone with weak genetics. A member of the Dragno Family could not have children with someone with weak genetics. A member of the Dragno Family could not fall in love with someone with weak genetics. If a child was to be born, it had to be done by adding the Sigurd Seed. In ancient times, when the Cybernetician population had not increased much, many Dragno women could not engage in sexual intercourse without having the Sigurd Seed placed in their wombs. The result would be death...
That's why Dragno women and men looked very similar to each other. Alluring and muscular bodies, long hair, and sharp chins... Their only difference was that they had different colored hair and body hair, contrary to their sexy bodies.
There was no longer much need for these old, strict rules because childbirth had been shelved. But the Dragno family was cautious. It was unthinkable for a member of the Dragno Family to fall into the inappropriate curse called love and have a relationship that betrayed the noble Sigurd Seed within them. If the genetics of any member of this family were corrupted in any way, it would also corrupt the internal dynamics of a family that considered themselves perfect.
Because everyone in the family saw themselves as a representative of Sigurd, and each continued to exist in Sigurd's name. Everyone had endless trust in each other because they carried Sigurd's genetics. If it was revealed that the genetics of a family member had been tampered with, and the seed of doubt was sown even once, then who could stop this doubt? If there were any who opposed this within the family, they were never heard of. Either such a person never emerged, or if they did, they were silenced very quickly.
Martha Lilia was to be married at the age of 66. When a Dragno marries, it is usually for commercial reasons. Signatures alone were sometimes not enough to keep agreements alive. Therefore, two actors from both sides of the agreement needed to marry.
Martha Lilia's spouse had been meticulously examined by the Dragno Family. They had contracted with several companies and had a psychological profile created for the potential groom. They had even contracted with several professors from the Mars Colonies University, spending a fortune to create a identity simulation by providing the man's gene map and psychological analysis.
Martha's future husband was Igor Matet, the owner of the END19211 Colony mines. The Dragno family had been in discussions with Igor for about three years. In case you don't know, the END Colonies were the colonies of the Endarken company, and this company was not a technology company like the others, but a space exploration company. They traveled throughout the galaxy, found mineral deposits in space, and colonized them. If you ask why Endarken doesn't operate those colonies, the answer is quite obvious, isn't it? Operating a mining colony meant fighting politically with hundreds of companies, thousands of families, and millions of wealthy men. As if this weren't enough, you might also have to fight the Galactic Environmental Protection and Resource Management (GEPRM). There are few things that can fight a Republic Institution. Igor Matet, however, was able to manage END19211 because he was a key member of the Neo-Christian Union.
Whoever opposed Igor had to deal with the lawyers and media power of the Neo-Christian Union. It wasn't actually a very difficult struggle, but it was quite troublesome and time-consuming. Igor Matet relied on this, after all. He believed not in his power, but in his deterrence.
END19211 was a rogue planet colony. The planet where it was located drifted through the galaxy, had minimal gravity, and was therefore a difficult planet to establish mines on. Igor Matet spent a large portion of his earnings on the Neo-Christian Union, so he hadn't been able to invest much in the mine. That's why he was looking for an investor for a large investment.
The Dragno family, on the other hand, was one of the families most hated by the Neo-Christian Union. They were disliked by the Neo-Christians because of what they did with the Sigurd Seed and their god-like worship of their own genetics.
Don't be fooled by my reference to Neo-Christians. Most members of this organization weren't even religious. They were now a community of wealthy people who had created a few large networks within the Republic centuries ago. It was even rumored that the President of the Interstellar Law Enforcement Agency (ILEA), Judge Elara Justitia, was a member of the Neo-Christian Union.
The Dragno Family had lost many colonial tenders due to ILEA's decisions. Most of these decisions were actually likely decisions. It was impossible for ILEA to commit any blatant irregularities. But ILEA, which determined who an auction would go to, did not violate any laws when making this decision; it took the initiative. These initiatives were never taken in favor of the Dragno Family.
Therefore, the Dragno family wanted to sign a contract with Igor Matet in exchange for increasing their closeness with the Neo-Christian Union; they were trying to arrange a marriage between Martha Lilia Dragno and Igor Matet as proof of this contract. Martha Lilia, of course, did not have the power to oppose Nikith Sigurd Dragno, the then-head of the family. A political marriage was the inescapable fate of every Dragno woman, anyway. Of course, some could be killed without being politically married...
The wedding ceremony of Lilia and Igor was so grand that it would make even the Weisshafen family envious. Influential people from many parts of the galaxy gathered at the ceremony to witness the marriage of a Dragno family member. I was one of those present at that wedding, too. In fact, Isolde and I first met at that wedding ceremony. We eyed each other for a long time from our tables.
According to Isolde, we were both like the outcasts of the family. Neither of us spoke to any member of our family. Both of us, trapped in the loneliness within the crowd, were begging for help from each other with our glances. Ah... Isolde...
After the wedding ceremony, it was time for Belladona to leave. Lilia no longer wanted Belladona, a woman who reminded her of a mistake from her past, by her side. Belladona would try to return to her officer life. Martha Lilia, on the other hand, would go to the END19211 Colony with Igor and start a new life there.
But there were those who opposed this marriage. These were the Weisshafen family, my family, who thought that the agreement between the Dragno family and the Neo-Christian Union could harm their own interests.
When Belladona returned to the Weapon Security Agency, Weapon Security did something that was not normally in their procedures. They analyzed Belladona's Cybernetician body. A Weisshafen gave this order, but no one still knows which Weisshafen it was.
The analysis revealed that Belladona's pleasure stimulators had been activated many times. This was enough to sow a seed of doubt within the Dragno family. Because the gossip spread by the Weisshafen family was relentless.
'Why did Martha Lilia Dragno want an officer like Belladona as her guard...' everyone was saying.
Although the Neo-Christian union tried to prevent these news from spreading with their media power, their power in the Jolkien Colony was not greater than the Weisshafens'.
Then the seed of doubt grew and grew. Martha Lilia was summoned before Nikith Sigurd Dragno for a family trial many times. She was acquitted in each one. She had even gone to a few black marketeers before being summoned to trial and tampered with the software history of her Cybernetician body. Everything was getting back on track and the gossip was subsiding when the Weisshafen family played their last card.
Space officer Belladona had been captured by rogue colonists during a mission. She had been deprived of water and food, imprisoned in a dungeon, and subjected to unimaginable tortures. Look at the story? Such a thing happening, especially when the rebel colonies were so weakened, was close to impossible. This must have been a joint effort between the Weapon Security Agency and the Weisshafen family. Everyone knew this, but no one could prove it. And who would try to prove it, anyway? No one but the Weapon Security Agency could stand up for a Weapon Security officer. Then a message came to Martha Lilia.
'Confess or Belladona dies. You only have a week...' Martha wanted to track the message, but it was hardly possible from the END19211 Colony where she was located, because the colony's communication network technologies were not very developed. It would take months for her to prepare to leave the planet and track it from another one.
The Weisshafen family had taken a gamble. If Martha Lilia felt something for Belladona, it would be their victory; otherwise, a Weapon Security space officer would die unnecessarily. If an officer died unnecessarily, this situation could even lead to a tension between the Weisshafens and Weapon Security.
It is unknown whether Martha Lilia Dragno confessed. It is unknown whether love motivated her or the rebelliousness that every Dragno woman secretly wanted to live... But she was sentenced to death due to the statements she made in the family court. This execution broke the agreement between the Dragno family and the Neo-Christian union, but the Dragno family didn't seem to care much. The important thing was to protect the family and the tradition. The Dragno family also filed a complaint about Belladona, but Weapon Security rejected it, but to appease the Dragno family, they suspended Belladona from her job.
Belladona was now a woman with nothing but her money. Martha Lilia Dragno, on the other hand, had made the biggest mistake a Cybernetician could make: she had tried to be Human. She had paid for it with her life. The Weisshafens, meanwhile, had profited from their plan. At least as far as Belladona knew... Although the Dragno family suspected the Weisshafens, some people within the family were grateful to them. They had exposed the rotten apple within them.
Belladona took her money and came to Jolkien. Here, especially in Neokaplan City, she was a well-known woman thanks to Martha. In fact, her causing Martha's death, taking on the Dragno family, but still managing to escape from it, had fascinated the crime organization leaders in Neokaplan City. Because for those crime organization leaders, the Dragno family was a power beyond God.
Belladona started by establishing a small trade network between Neokaplan City and the Capital. Although there were many rich people in Neokaplan City, the rich of the Capital looked down on them, preferring not to trade with them. The rich of Neokaplan saw them as useless barbarians. The rich of Neokaplan could not escape their inferiority complexes due to their centuries-old traditions. After all, the four great families had made this a colony. The rich of Neokaplan were vultures feeding on their leftovers.
Belladona brought technology from the Capital to Neokaplan City. She took exotic plants and many other things from Neokaplan City to the Capital. The rich who normally shopped from the Neokaplan rich secretly and shamefully did not have much trouble shopping with Belladona. They considered Belladona their equal. This could be because a Dragno woman died for her love, or because she was a former Weapon Security officer, or because they were acquainted with her at noble parties.
"Falling in love with a Dragno woman, huh..." Belladona said, sprawled out on her dark red armchair. She was wearing an ocean blue dress, and the blue color seemed to move like the waves of the sea. She had her hair tied back and was puffing smoke from the electronic pipe she was holding.
I, with the wounds and pains in my body, was standing, handcuffed with my hands and feet spread out. What kept me standing was the metallic white ring to which I was handcuffed.
I could hear the faint sounds of a forest in the room. The rustling of leaves in the forest, the low chirping of a bird, and the sudden gusts of wind... As all these sounds created a forest ambiance, I saw shadows constantly moving on the dark ceiling of the room. Belladona put the pipe to her mouth, stood up, and stood in front of me.
"I thought Weisshafens were cunning."
"Me..." I was having difficulty speaking for the first time in a long time.
"Are you going to ask these questions, Young Weisshafen? 'Why did you bring me here? Why did you buy me? Why did you save me?'"
"...kill me..."
"Ahahaha..." she burst out laughing. "...kill you? Absolutely not! I won't kill you!"
"Please..."
"I have a plan with you. A very important plan, but first... First, I want to make sure you are still useful to me." Belladona snapped her fingers. At that moment, the door behind me opened. Whoever was entering was stepping heavily on the floor, and the sound of their footsteps echoed in my ears. "First, a friend of mine will examine how much your genetics have been corrupted. I hope you haven't suffered more genetic corruption than necessary."
At that moment, a young, bald man who entered the room adjusted his glasses. It was obvious that he was an Enhanced because he didn't look like a rich person. He was wearing a simple shirt and a cheap sweater over it. His bald head was shining. He could be said to look exactly like a scientist. At his feet was a green creature the size of a boot with pointed ears.
"Is this the Weisshafen?" the bald man said and reached his hand towards the creature next to him. The creature handed him one of the holograms in its hand. He started examining the hologram. "You haven't done any tests."
"We were waiting for you..."
"Ah... How nice that you trust me."
"In this age of technology, the number of people with expertise in genetics and evolutionary biology is very small, Ukar," Belladona said, moving back toward his seat. "And those who know this and are in need of money are even fewer. Perhaps you should stop trying to research the Incompatibles and chase jobs that pay well for a change... A friend's advice... You should also ditch that stupid investor of yours. What was his name? John? The damned man has been delaying you for a hundred years."
"He's waiting for the right time to make his investment in me. You know investors... They ask a lot of questions but do very little work. If I wasn't broke, I wouldn't have come here from Mars for pennies, would I?" Ukar said, looking at Belladona from under his glasses. Then he scrutinized me for a moment. "I hope I haven't come all this way for nothing."
"You will get your money's worth, Ukar." Then she snapped her fingers. "Bring those men their equipment." At that moment, the green creature's eyes seemed to be sparkling as if it wanted something. Belladona, who understood its request, added: "Bring some disinfectant and a cigar, too."
"Money isn't everything..." He stopped when our eyes met, and the bald man bowed in greeting. "I guess I didn't introduce myself. I am Ukar Txq11_Klm... Don't mind my surname, it's a bit complicated." Then he pointed to the green creature at his feet with his hand. "And this disinfectant-mad assistant of mine is Hulk."
"Greetings..." said the green creature, waving its hand.
"We came here to analyze you. Don't worry, you're in safe hands."