Kaf woke from his dream with a jolt, immediately sitting up from the steel floor covered in thin blankets. The ventilation ducts hummed as they pumped in cold air, but it brought him no comfort. Even though this was one of his few moments of peaceful sleep, he was still gripped by panic. His black, dust- and smoke-caked curls stuck to his forehead with cold sweat. Around him lay many other children about his age, boys and girls alike, all uncertain of where they were. The blinding white lights overhead and the unnaturally quiet air created a terrifying atmosphere.
Without exception, nearly everyone waited in anxious dread for their final fate. As a child raised in a war zone, Kaf had heard all the stories about foreign soldiers.
A single chocolate bar could buy the first night of the most beautiful girl in the village. Farmers were forced to grow poppies in exchange for meager rations. Every child knew to stay away from foreign soldiers, for they could kill a local at any moment on "reasonable suspicion"—binding people to artillery barrels to be shaken to death, strafing villages without cause, stripping civilians and beating them for no reason. When Kaf and his friends had been forced up the aircraft ramp at gunpoint, he thought this was the end. But inside the plane stood only a few women in black armor and red robes, expressionlessly watching their group of lambs.
They spoke to them in a language Kaf couldn't understand.
After landing, Kaf had been shoved down the ramp by the soldiers and herded into a vast space filled with aircraft. The two armored women didn't allow them to stop. They were pushed further and crammed into a massive room. There were no windows, no furniture, only steel flooring covered in bedding. No beatings, no threats of death—but what followed was even more unsettling. People in white robes entered and took blood samples from each of them, then handed out food, water, and candy. Kaf curled his legs up, burying his head in his arms. Fear gripped every child's heart. They all recalled what the village elders had said—foreign soldiers used children in experiments. In Kaf's eyes, he was heading for something worse than a bullet to the head.
He didn't know how long he'd slept, only that he awoke starving and parched. Then, with the grinding of gears, those terrifying women returned.
"We were once this afraid too," Tatyana said quietly to her companion as her eyes scanned the children who were slowly inching backward in fear. "But worse—we had to start by teaching them Latin from scratch."
"No, first we need to delouse them," the android replied lazily, tilting her head as if searching through the vast knowledge encoded in her mind. Kaf heard her begin to speak in the language of a neighboring village. The dialect shifted several times before settling into the tone Kaf was most familiar with.
"All of you, stand up," the android commanded in broken Persian. "This is an order."
The children stood uncertainly, many with legs so weak they could barely support themselves.
"Girls over here."
Kaf heard the woman speak again. He instinctively wanted to step in front of a girl from his village, but the look that woman gave him chilled him to the bone. Whatever courage he had scraped together vanished. The beautiful Farah gave him a grateful glance before slipping past him. The group began to shuffle. Girls in all kinds of clothing were separated out. The android stood with hands on her hips, looking over her collection with satisfaction.
"You're a boy," she said, spotting a small figure among the girls. "I asked for girls."
"I know." Kaf gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, trying not to crumble under the fear. He didn't even know how he had ended up among the girls. "What do you plan to do to them?"
He felt the air solidify after that. With the woman's silence came a visible terror that pressed down on his shoulders, nearly crushing him. He immediately regretted speaking out.
"Obviously, we'll take them to bathe, clean the filth off, and give them decent clothes," the android said, smirking. "You'll go through the same process later. My master doesn't like parasites entering his city."
But Kaf didn't relax at her answer. "What are you going to do to us?"
"Nothing. You're worthless to my master," the android said, lowering her head to meet Kaf's black eyes. "You've probably seen the atrocities committed by the soldiers we killed. But the truth is, we are not like them. We don't enjoy destroying life. Until you complete the education my master has planned for you, your life has no value. Some of you may become scholars, warriors, or clerks. Some girls might even qualify to become one of us. But that's the future. For now, you have much to learn. The only thing I can promise is that from now on, you'll sleep well every night and never worry about hunger again. Girls, come with me. My master doesn't like heathen garments."
The sky carrier slowly descended into a massive whirlpool on the ocean's surface. Giant steel gates closed over its head, sealing off the seawater.
Hundreds of transport vehicles began restocking immediately. Kaf and the other children were herded off the sky carrier like another category of cargo. They reeked of soap; their filthy clothes had been replaced with simple white long-sleeved shirts and pants, and disposable cloth shoes. Their faces, once covered in dirt and tears, were now clean. Only now did they realize where they had been. Standing beneath the immense war machine, many of the children turned pale with fear.
"Over here," the android extended her arm, pointing the children toward their next journey. Kaf saw a long silver railcar waiting in the distance.
The children huddled close, as if proximity gave them courage. They slowly shuffled forward and entered the undecorated cabin. Unsurprisingly, once the armored woman entered last, the doors closed behind her. The glass doors outside the cabin followed, sealing them in. A howling sound, like a giant beast inhaling, rushed past the railcar.
A synthetic female voice echoed in a mechanical tone, instructing all passengers to sit. The message repeated dozens of times. Once it was confirmed everyone was seated and secured, the silver cabin began to move.
Ten seconds later, the train plunged into a pitch-black tunnel. The lights from outside the tunnel flashed rapidly into the cabin. The faster the train went, the faster the lights blinked. The strobe effect made it hard to think, and the blaring announcements in an unintelligible language only added to the disorientation. The train accelerated to a maddening speed. Were it not for the seatbelts strapping everyone down, they would have been thrown across the cabin. Even so, many children couldn't help but vomit from the physical stress.
Kaf had no idea how long the ride lasted. The strobing lights had left him dizzy. He felt like he wasn't in the real world anymore—but had fallen into hell.
"Five, four, three, two, one."
As the countdown echoed over the speakers, the train gradually slowed. The vacuum train barreled into a sea of radiant light. Through the thick armored glass tunnel, Kaf saw towering, luminous buildings standing in a world as black as the deep sea. Brilliant searchlights pierced the darkness, striking a rocky ceiling so high it seemed like the sky. Even without a single art lesson in his life, Kaf could sense the solemnity and elegance in every brick and stone.
"Welcome to the Immortal City," said the voice on the intercom. "Hallelujah."
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