Out of Time the Grand Quest

by Christopher Douglass

  Could she have gotten a portion of his power? Or was the rift signature just a similarity? It wasn’t unheard of for abilities, or a mutation of them, to pass on to children. While the nano-machines were what gave a person his or her powers, they were also bio-chemical machines, built out of proteins and designed to mingle with every aspect of a body. It had been proven those with strong abilities tended to pass them along more often than those with weak skills. It was even theorized the passing along of two Atlantian’s skills was a strong factor as to why children were born deformed. A small body just could not handle both powers, their flesh warping in response.

  If she did have the ability to make time tears like he did, and it was properly strong enough, could he move up his time table even more? Jeremy had expected her to go to Aerth and weaken the barrier from that side by simply being herself. Once she was completed, every use of her Other abilities, would draw upon the power of the veil that separated Atlantis and Aerth. Simultaneously, with each tear she helped close, she would alter the feedback loop between Aerth and Earth, feeding the rift energy back into Aerth to increase the magic. Over the course of a few years- five, maybe ten-- he would safely be able to tear down the barrier from this end with his own skills, merging Atlantis and Aerth together without incident.

  While a passage between Earth and Aerth would always need to be kept open to siphon off magic from the other world, the need for so many rifts and quests would be greatly decreased. The decision of exactly where and when one was opened and who would be sent to best fix the trouble, would become much easier. The needless loss of mage and mediator lives would be drastically reduced. Much of the technology of Atlantis would still need to be kept secret, but not all of it. Atlantis had been needed in the beginning to keep both worlds in balance, but now, Atlantis was creating destructive pressure between the two worlds by the simple act of existing. A three sided balance was no longer needed.

  But if he could get her to co-operate, perhaps the two of them could tear down the veil from this side without need for her to go back to Aerth. Jeremy would need to handle her carefully though, if she found out she possessed such a power, there would be nothing stopping her from opening a portal across the veil herself. She might even figure out she could create a tear back to her own time. He couldn’t have that. She was too valuable to lose. If she managed to return to 2015, it would be near impossible to get her back.

  Her power would be unavailable, the strength of two barriers too much for even her to overcome. If she tried to come back on her own, she would be unable to call on her Other abilities. She would in essence be a regular person once more. Plus the timeline itself would work against him, anchoring her even tighter in its clutches. So bringing her back through his own rift would be difficult. It was a risk, but administering the serum now would increase his chances of success.

  “Captain Goza, how goes the fighting?”

  The screen with the captain zoomed forward to hover in the air before him. The man saluted with a left fist to the middle of his chest before answering. “Well, sir. We have met up with Sage Menra’s forces. With their help and that of the Sage herself, we have taken control of the majority of the capitol building. The soldiers who fight against us have already laid down their weapons. Only the private armies of the remaining sages continue to fight. Even they are beginning to lay down their arms and surrender. We managed to eliminate Sage Hadra, though Sages D, Bris, and Vulana have holed themselves up over in C block.”

  “Will you have trouble securing the rest of the building and blockading off any of their escape routes?”

  “Negative. We can accomplish that within the next two hours without fail.”

  “Then do so. Post guards around their position once it is secured. Our important guest will be exploring the city tomorrow. When she does, I will deal with the remaining Sages personally. Things will get a little loud and more than a little messy. I would rather not put her in danger or upset her if I can help it.”

  “As you command, sir. May your light guide us all Great Sage.”

  The captain saluted once more and the screen went blank. Jeremy rubbed his chin, enjoying the feel of day old stubble. He had known it would eventually come to this. The seven Great Sages were great for a reason. They were the most powerful of all Atlantians. They were also supposed to be the wisest. Unfortunately, wisdom did not always equate with being a good ruler. Their abilities were meant to help Atlantis and its people, not used to further their own power. Vurana was the Sage of Lies. She was head of the entire justice system. She was supposed to keep the judges in check among other things. Yet she used her position to give her friends power. She abused the courts for her own ends. As Sage of Life, Shelly had the daunting task of keeping all the limited arable land functioning and producing crops. She had preformed that task admirably and dutifully, spending much of her energy as she was supposed to. Something Jeremy could respect.

  The soldiers killing Hadra was a stroke of luck. It meant he would have to do battle with only three and not four. Still, those three were the three most powerful in terms of age, experience, and mastery. D with his regeneration and at least a hundred years at a minimum under his belt. Bris, who next to himself, had the most combat experience. And Vulana who was able to read minds and foil any attack by reading it. They would be a difficult obstacle indeed.

  Jeremy propped his head on his fist, pulling up a timeline chart as he did so. The statistics continued to climb, just like they always did. The chart showed the building pressure he was working so hard to nullify, below that chart was the estimated date when everything would come to a head if the barrier wasn’t brought down within the next twenty years. Resurrecting a dead timeline in the process. 2044.

  The beginning of World War III. The war to end all wars.

  Chapter 33: A Phaser in Atlantis

  “May I have your permission to give you an inoculation? It is policy to ask first, which is why we did not administer it while you were unconscious. While others push the issue right after a Phaser comes over from Earth, I like to give them some time to adjust. But if you are going into the city, I would rather you not catch any diseases your body can’t fight off.”

  “Sure, I guess. It isn’t a big needle though is it? I’m not too fond of needles.”

  J smiled, putting Kimi at ease with that small act.

  “We don’t use needles much anymore. I will warn, you will feel like you want to throw up for a moment, and your mouth will salivate in preparation. Once you swallow though, it will all go away.”

  J Pulled a pen with a sponge at the end of it out of his pocket. This he pressed against Kimi’s upper arm. Her flesh felt wet, then cold as the liquid soaked into her pores. True to his words, Kimberly felt like she had to vomit. But swallowing made the desire disappear instantly. While putting away the syringe, he spoke once more.

  “I also wish to apologize to you. It seems one of our doctors took the liberty of altering your vision. I’m sure you have not failed to realize this fact. As it was done against your consent, the doctor in question has already been punished. If you would like, we can return your eyes to the way they were.”

  “No, that’s okay. I kind of like not having to wear glasses.”

  “As you wish.”

  J led her from the room and through the labyrinth of corridors with confidence. Even after her explorations last night, she only had a basic grasp of the layout. Every corridor looked the same to her. The rooms she had found were also alien. While some aspects were familiar, still she was clueless as to their functions. She still remembered finding herself in what looked like a science laboratory. An entire wall was filled with jars, each one with an organ or body part inside. Many were deformed in some way. In the case of the arms and legs, they looked like they had rocks bubbling from flesh, or daggers sprouting from the bone. Each was named with a tag underneath that had pulled at her gut for some reason. Subject 001, subject 003, experiment 103. Along with the title was a smal
l note, such as: complete failure, too violent, or unstable. Kimi hadn’t felt better than when she had left that creepy room.

  At the door, stood a man and a woman, these ones wearing baggy clothes similar to J’s. The two reminded her of adults trying to fit into the “young crowd”. The items just seemed at odds with the futuristic place around her. They bowed as J came closer holding out his hand towards them.

  “Allow me to introduce you to your guides and guards. The tall silent man is Jared, he isn’t very talkative, and you will find he doesn’t express himself too well. But you won’t find a better person to watch your back. Quis can answer any and all of your questions and knows everything about the city. One of the best at diffusing any situation, you will be hard pressed to find anyone who could hate her.”

  “You honor me Great Sage. I am not that good.”

  “Modest too as you can see. Feel free to explore at your leisure. All I ask is you not return for at least a few hours. While the fighting has for the most part been resolved, there will be one more major push. This will be the big encounter, and I do not wish you to be in harms way. It is not your fault you came here in this time of strife, you should not be inconvenienced because of it.”

  “I-- I could help if you want. I’m not much of a stranger to confrontation anymore.”

  “I am grateful for your offer, but there is no need. This is my battle, not yours. You are an important and valuable guest. I would not like you to think badly of our fair city by seeing this unsightly side of it alone. We are not normally so violent. Now if you excuse me, I must go. I leave you in these two pairs of capable hands.”

  J gave them all a bow, then turned and left as a soldier came running up to him. Quis gave her a grin that was infectious, making her feel good for no reason as she gently wrapped an arm around Kimi’s shoulder and turned her towards the door.

  “Don’t you worry about the Sage. He might not look it, but he’s a tough nut. Under all those pretty words, he knows how to take care of himself. Between you and me, He should be head of the council, not D.”

  The three of them stepped on a green circle. The pattern lit up, moving forward rapidly while they stood still. Soon they passed through a wall and were outside. When they stopped moving, Quis pointed towards a small egg shaped vehicle, offering her the choice of walking or riding in a car. Having always wanted to ride in a flying car, she chose the vehicle. Within moments the unmanned vehicle rose into the air, Quis directing it with voice commands. As the vehicle sped off, Kimberly looked back at the building she had left, seeing it stretch off into the distance. The rounded roof sitting at least five floors off the ground.

  “Amazing isn’t it? Spanning two miles in every direction, a total of six floors above ground and two below. It is a city within its own right. Boasting rooms enough to comfortably house ten thousand people, with access to an underground stream and its very own underground lake filled with fish, it is nearly impregnable.”

  “Why would such a supposedly peaceful city have a place built for war?”

  “It dates back to the end of days. Back before Atlantis cut itself off and recreated the Big Bang. There was much war amongst the surviving people of Earth. To keep from having the entire population wiped out, the first council of seven sages was formed. These seven sages chose to save as many as they could. They selected from all walks of life. Rich and poor was not a consideration. They decided on genes, and intelligence to get the largest pool available. These people were housed inside the capitol building to become the first true Atlantians when the seven sages initiated the reset.”

  “What about the rest of the humans. Surely those ten thousand were not the only ones left, otherwise there would be no need for a selection.”

  “Sacrificed for the greater good. Initiating a Big Bang on a molecular level required a lot of energy, both to start, and to maintain. Humans house great energy inside of them, most never realizing even a fraction of their potential. When all was said and done, the capitol building and the surrounding area was all that was left within the pocket reality. Those first Atlantians lived inside the capitol for four hundred and ten years until the excess radiation bled off back to the real world. After that, the people spread out and started civilizing the land that remained to them. Now, you see the fruits of their labor in this majestic city.”

  Kimberly watched the city walk by outside the see-through walls of the vehicle while Quis continued to tell her tidbits of information. Now that she was closer, she saw the place really did seem like a utopia. What she had observed from inside the building was only the tip of the iceberg. She saw no garbage, no homeless, no graffiti or run down buildings. People were helpful and courteous to everyone else, bowing and smiling with ease. There were parks and playgrounds seeing constant use. Kimberly even saw children as young as six walking around unmolested. Despite the good feelings just looking at this place put in her chest, she felt it was only skin deep in places.

  “How exactly do you know so much about this place? Is your job to be a guide or something?”

  Quis smiled with a negative shake of the head. “My ability. It is called Encyclopedia. I always liked to read, and couldn’t get enough of any and all information. So, whatever I read, I retain. I have the contents of over ten thousand books inside my head on every subject imaginable. I might not be able to recite them word for word, but I can call up all the pertinent information. Mine is just a low end of the spectrum though. People like Marrion can also extract the information from other peoples minds and retain it as their own.”

  “So, what’s your ability Jared?”

  Kimberly looked over at Jared who was sitting as still as stone. He just stared at her like she was an insect, his eyes causing her to involuntarily shrink back. The silence was unnerving, his emotionless gaze sent goose bumps down her spine with the feeling of imminent danger. Just when she was about to scream at him to stop looking at her, he spoke.

  “War.”

  With that one word he broke eye contact, his face focused on the world outside. A final shiver ran down her spine as a thought entered her head.

  “I’d like to go see someone if I could.”

  “Sure, who is it?”

  “I- I don’t actually know her last name. her first name is Kelly though. Her sister is a mediator who was summoned like sixty-two years ago named Grell.”

  “Hmm. Hold on a moment.”

  Quis touched her hand to a holographic keyboard she pulled from thin air. Her eyes moved back and forth in her head rapidly, so fast it made Kimi’s eyes hurt.

  “Accessing database. Pulling up pertinent files. Downloading data. Download complete.”

  Quis took her hand away and blinked twice.

  “Maiden name Favravell. Changed to Zendro sixty-one years ago. Smart Car: alter course to residential block B. Address, 919 Venus Avenue.”

  “Useful. Being able to just lay your hand on a keyboard and absorb the information I mean.”

  “It is. Though between us, I like being able to sit and read it all personally. So much more fun that way. It lets you become a part of the book. The fast download like that feels too cold.”

  Kimi agreed, getting another one of those warming smiles in return. She could see how no one could hate Quis. The woman just had that air of harmlessness about her that made you drop your guard. Kimberly turned to look out the window when the car banked. Below, neat manicured lawns and ordered picket fences edged a red tinted road. On further inspection, she saw the road was also a projection, imitating the surface of the planet Venus. The effect was only a little disorienting, overall it was still awe inspiring.

  The car came to a stop in front of a light blue house that looked exactly like the ones next to it. The only differing feature was its color. With a hiss of air, the vehicle touched down, opening up along the side to let the passengers out. Two children, a boy and a girl, no older than six or seven came out to gawk at their group. Kimberly knew they were twins instantly, their features
left no doubt in her mind. Only the fact one wore clothing that reminded her of a dress could let her differentiate their genders.

  The sight of the children made her nervous. Coming here had only been a spur of the moment decision. Her mind had wandered to Grell and that had made her decide to come. She had no real business here. The more she thought about it, the more likely this meeting might dredge up old memories better left forgotten. Despite her anxiety, her feet made steady progress toward the front door. Her hand rose to knock as the children dashed into the house calling out excitedly. Jared placed his hand on her shoulder, causing Kimberly to look at him.

  “Don’t. Bring trouble.”

  Quis touched his arm with a smile. “It’s fine. Remember our orders. Besides, if trouble comes, that’s what you are here for.”

  Jared stared at Quis who didn’t stop smiling until finally the man let Kimi go while turning away. Kimberly turned her puzzled expression on Quis who hadn’t dropped her grin.

  “What orders? What trouble?”

  “Don’t worry about it dear. Just do whatever you feel like. You don’t know anything about our ways, and Je-- Sage J has said not to try and shove it onto you. We can take care of any problems easily.”

  “But--”

  Kimberly didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence before a woman in her late thirty’s opened the door with a smile. “Yes? May I help you?”

  Kimi licked her lips before speaking. “Yes, um, is Kelly Zendro here?”

  “Why, that’s me. What can I do for you young lady?”

  “Wait, you’re Kelly Zendro? But you look so young! I was expecting you to be a bit older looking like Grell.”