Absolute Knowledge Box Set (Books 1-3)

by Drew Cordell

  “There you go, look at you, putting that valuable brain of yours to work,” Caeldra said.

  I was at the bottom of a tall pit in a pile of trash bags filled with some sort of foam. Two tunnels were connected to the pit, one to the left, and one to the right. I reached down, drew my gun from its holster, and turned the safety off. I really didn’t want to get caught off guard if anyone or anything actually did live down here. The tunnels looked stagnant as if they had been abandoned for hundreds of years. If it hadn’t been for the excessive moisture, they would be caked in dust. I knew it was a trick, some sort of test. I wasn’t really in any danger, but it didn’t feel that way. Composing myself, I began to work on a way out.

  I raised my wrist, and the Artemis display came to life in a blue glow. The map said I was in an undiscovered location and didn’t tell me which way I needed to go. The comforting thing, however, was the fact that my system didn't read any other life or robotic entities in my proximity.

  I carefully stood up on shaky legs, walked out of the garbage bag heap, and onto the wet concrete.

  There was a sharp creak and a hiss of steam that caused me to whirl to the right and raise my gun toward an old rusty pipe. A second later and another burst came from farther down the tunnel outside of the range of my flashlight. It was so quiet the sound of steam working its way through the piping reverberated in the cramped, concrete tunnels that were coated with brown goop.

  I looked down at my wrist from time to time to be sure there was still nothing near me in the tunnels. I almost fired my weapon on accident when my Artemis display flickered red, alerting me a life form had been detected fifty feet in front of me. I peered into the darkness, but I couldn't see anything. Calling out wasn't an option, so I kept my finger on the trigger of the gun and trudged forward. Light footfall from my slow pace was the only sound in the echoing silence. “Thirty feet,” the voice stated objectively in my ear. “Twenty feet.”

  I couldn't see anything in front of me, just the growth-covered concrete walls and some exposed pipes to the side. “Ten feet.”

  My breathing had become heavy and my body was shaking. Still, I continued on.

  “Five feet. Three feet. One foot,” Artemis said.

  My finger was twitching nervously on the trigger of the gun.

  I whipped my gun up at the ceiling and didn’t see a thing; the tunnel was empty. The signature patterns on the display told me the entity was unknown. Suddenly, the screen showed the signature reading was behind me and eighty feet away. I whirled around with the gun raised and saw a large misshapen figure barreling toward me. I heard Caeldra say a single word in the earpiece: “Run.”

  I whirled back around and began sprinting, the light on my shoulder swaying and illuminating the tunnel in front of me. The traction from my boots held as I tore around a corner and continued running. I didn't dare look back but kept an eye on my display which showed I was getting farther away from whatever that thing was. Adrenaline coursed through my veins like fire as my body performed in overdrive. I could see the end of the tunnel dropped off and there was no other way for me to go. I was about fifty feet away from falling. I ran to the edge and stopped a few feet away from the drop. The entire tunnel slanted downward but lacked a floor.

  “Your hook, use it on the line above you,” a voice said in my ear. I turned around and saw the thing had rounded the final corner. I fired off three rounds from my weapon, and the gun kicked in my hand. The energy bolts bounced off the menacing looking figure which screeched a horrible metallic sound. The thing chasing me was covered in a tattered collection of coats and mismatching fragments of old rags. It didn't look even slightly human. I cursed under my breath and forced my cold hands to clip my carabiner to the steel cable above me. Without hesitation, I leapt forward and felt the line go taut as I slid down the wire at breakneck speed. The thing that was chasing me screeched and to my dismay, grabbed the cable and began sliding down after me, sparks jutting from its metallic fingers that clearly weren’t designed for this sort of activity.

  “Artemis will automatically detach you from the line at the optimal time. I suggest you keep running, though,” Caeldra said.

  I holstered my weapon as I slid down the wire and prepared for impact. A few seconds later I received a verbal warning from Artemis that detachment was imminent. There was a slight tug on the line as the system slowed my descent. I was released from the wire above me and landed softly on the ground. The new tunnel I was in looked the same as all the others in the Undercity. I continued running as fast as I could, my flashlight swaying wildly from wall to wall of the narrow space.

  I could hear my pursuer gaining on me, and I forced my body to give me more, fighting against the growing fatigue and burn in my chest. Artemis warned me that my pursuer was only ten feet away. I sprinted as fast as I could and saw a wall rapidly approaching. It appeared to have a small air shaft on the bottom without a cover.

  Artemis chimed in my ear, “Slide in three seconds.” Three seconds later and a tone indicated I should execute the maneuver. I yelled and dropped to the ground and was surprised I didn't feel a thing. The Nanotech had shifted to form pads on my elbows and hips that absorbed the impact and reduced my friction on the surface. I slid across the damp floor and went right through the open vent. The next few seconds were a blur, but I skidded to a stop in a well-lit opening that appeared to be some sort of electrical maintenance room. I stood up and unholstered my weapon, pointing it toward the shaft, but the thing that had been pursuing me didn’t come through. I heard Caeldra.

  “Holster the weapon.”

  I did as she said and saw her emerge from the corner with a wide grin on her face.

  “There’s no better way to introduce you to some basic functions of Artemis than putting your life at risk.”

  I was torn. I couldn't tell if I was angry at her or happy to be alive.

  “What the hell was that thing?” I managed, panting for breath and bracing my hands on my shaking legs.

  “A re-purposed and heavily modified Enforcer. Your life never was in any danger; it’s just crucial you felt like it was. You were very fast,” she remarked.

  “Thanks. And thank you for the heads up before you pushed me down a hole,” I said bitterly.

  “No problem. You will run into things you can’t kill or destroy alone down here occasionally, and it’s vital to know when to fight and when to run. As you train, you’ll develop Runner’s intuition. It’ll keep you alive. The important thing to know is that Nanotech can’t absorb an endless amount of impact without needing to be recharged. Your module can take a few hits, but it’s not designed for extended firefights,” Caeldra warned.

  I tried to calm myself before speaking. “What else are we going to do today?”

  “We’re going to do some basic training, and I’m going to show you some things you’ll need to know. As a Runner, we’ll primarily be doing three types of jobs: scouting unexplored areas of the Undercity, running courier missions, and infrastructure development. Believe it or not, most of the Undercity is actually unexplored. The tunnels go on for hundreds of miles, and some large portions and areas are completely unknown to us. Unfortunately, these regions can also be very dangerous.”

  “And Artemis can’t provide a map until someone has gone through them?” I asked, still panting.

  “Correct. While Artemis is perfect for most regions, there are portions where the system’s signal can’t reach. We call those areas Shadow Zones. The full Artemis system won’t function in Shadow Zones; you’ll only have local features. To get rid of those areas we install new routers that can amplify the network’s signal throughout the Shadow Zone. We call that torching an area.”

  “Okay, got it,” I replied.

  “Did you put in your contact lenses?” she asked me.

  “No, but they’re in my backpack.”

  “Put them on, and we’ll head out.”

  I carefully opened the small black box and placed the lenses in my e
yes. There was a brief flash of orange light as the lenses connected with the Artemis system. After I finished, she tossed me a bottle of water, which I graciously accepted.

  “Great, you’ll be able to see a lot more now. You can see hidden messages other Runners have left, as well as identify weak points on enemies, and pull up a directional guide if you’re going to a known location. For now, we’re going to be working together for all of your missions after training. You need to learn basic survival skills before we set you loose on your own. Let’s head out.”

  We started down the tunnel at a moderate jog. I could see bright orange arrows painted on the surrounding walls which would have directed me if Caeldra wasn’t there. My legs were aching, but I had mostly managed to recover from the sprinting I had done.

  “Leaving a note or drawing is pretty simple. You just need to think about what you want to leave and where you want to leave it. Messages are encrypted through Artemis, so you don’t need to worry about strangers reading them.”

  I didn’t say anything. Instead, I focused on my breathing as I jogged behind Caeldra. We continued down several tunnels until we came to a larger one which dropped off at the end into what looked like a five to seven-foot gap. The wall across from the drop was covered in large metal pipes that climbed vertically toward the surface of New York.

  “Artemis will automatically assist with connecting your hook. It’s time to take a leap of faith, Jake.”

  She motioned me to run beside her, and I did so. We approached the gap at full speed, and I saw Artemis flash a message through my vision that it would connect my carabiner to the pipes if I jumped. As we hit the edge of the drop, we both leaped at full speed. We flew side by side, and I screamed in terror and excitement as I hit the pipes a little harder than I would have liked. My carabiner latched onto a metal support beam that held the large pipes in place, and I felt the slack go as I lost my grip on the tube. Caeldra hit and grabbed onto the pipes, not losing her grip from the impact. Had I not had my cast on my left arm, I may have been able to hold myself up.

  “Good, now we’ll climb. These types of vents are meant to be an efficient way to bring down cold water or air to the lower regions, but they also are the fastest way to move between floors in the Undercity. They have support beams we’ll be able to use to climb. Most of this climbing is manual, but your carabiner will catch you if you fall. We’re not going to climb far because of your wrist. You should be able to do all of this with one arm if you need to.”

  There was a flash of dull light as gloves pixelated on Caldera's hands. I thought of gloves on my hands and felt the gloves cover my hands as well.

  “These are designed for climbing. They’ll provide a good grip on any surface,” she told me as she started to climb the pipes.

  I watched as she moved the carabiner from support rail to support rail as she ascended. Artemis detached and attached to new rails as she tossed the carabiner upwards as she moved. Caeldra was correct about the gloves. I noticed how easy it was to climb the pipes that were slick with moisture, neither my hands nor feet slipped as I scaled the large pipes. Though I had the carabiner, I was still nervous climbing with a near-endless pit below me.

  “Any Runners near 504?” a voice crackled on the radio.

  Caeldra answered. “Jake and I are close enough. What’s up?”

  “We’ve lost contact with Mikey and received a distress signal in 504. Artemis doesn’t read any other signal down there other than an old ping from Mikey. We can’t get a read on vitals, and the coverage down there has been spotty at best,” the voice replied.

  “Copy. We’ll go check it out,” Caeldra said.

  She then looked down at me. “This isn’t a test or training; this is your first real mission.”

  She pulled out a large coil of steel cabling and latched it to a support beam before dropping it down to the darkness below. “Use your rappelling device and follow me. Keep those gloves on so your grip doesn’t slip.”

  She latched her metal rappelling device to the wire and began to descend slowly, her flashlight pointing toward the pit below. I followed suit and descended above her. Our flashlights caused the surrounding pipes to cast vicious shadows on the walls around us, and the air became more stagnant as we continued to descend. We passed a tunnel opening every ten feet or so as we continued to drop.

  “Almost to 504,” Caeldra told me.

  We slowed even more, and Caeldra came to a stop, pulling herself onto one of the platforms with a steel handle that extended on the wall. She detached her carabiner and waited for me as I did the same. This tunnel was different from the rest, with a large rusted green door that sealed off the tunnel from the vent. 504 was painted on the door with faded yellow paint.

  “Mikey, can you hear me? This is Caeldra.”

  There was no response.

  “Mikey, we’re on 504 and coming for you. Hold tight,” she said as she drew her gun. Our displays still didn’t show any readings other than Mikey’s signal which was about five hundred feet away.

  Caeldra opened the door to 504 and slammed it shut as a blast of foul air jetted out into her face. She coughed and spat on the ground before cursing profusely.

  “Masks on; the air is no good.”

  We pulled on the masks and sealed them on our faces. The goggles didn’t inhibit my vision as much as I thought they would. The air inside the mask was cool and smelled of disinfectant, the same kind that reminded me of my father’s death.

  “I don’t like that we still can’t get a reading on Mikey’s vitals,” Caeldra murmured as she opened the door again. The lights down this tunnel were flickering on and off in a dull yellow glow. Clouds of brown steam and shallow pools of brown liquid proliferated the narrow space. There were no pipes on the walls, but the tunnel was so small that Caeldra and I couldn’t walk side by side. We walked forward slowly, regularly checking Artemis for updates as we got closer to Mikey’s signal.

  “Caeldra—” a weak voice crackled in our earpieces. “Get the hell out of …” The person started coughing uncontrollably and struggled to recover. “It isn’t safe … Harvesters … they got me. I’m bleeding out. I—I’m going to bite the glass.”

  “Shit!” Caeldra yelled.

  15 HARVESTERS

  ∆∆∆

  “Mikey, don’t do it, we’re almost there!” Caeldra shouted.

  There was no response.

  “What are they?” I whispered to Caeldra, my voice barely audible.

  “Shut the hell up and stay close behind me.”

  I could sense the fear in her voice and it caused the terror gripping at the corners of my mind to run rampant. I didn’t like seeing Caeldra so worried. She had always seemed so calm and collected, but her confidence was cracking in the current situation. She pulled back the slide on her CZR-7 and released it with a dull click. I saw her thumb the selector on the side to burst fire mode.

  Despite my fear, I did as I was told and we crept forward. Artemis alerted us that there were seven humans three hundred feet ahead. Caeldra turned off her flashlight and motioned for me to do the same. Without our flashlights, the light was dulled to a sickly color through the brown steam leaking from cracks in the walls. The flickering lighting gave the entire tunnel a terrifying aura that made my hands go numb with fear. I didn’t like not knowing what Harvesters were, nor what I was getting myself into.

  Caeldra rounded the corner and sprinted forward, diving behind an old wooden crate. I stayed behind and peeked over to see three large men standing around a segment of fallen pipe about thirty feet away. Artemis outlined their figures in bright yellow light, identifying them as unknowns. They were dressed in heavy looking trench coats covered in thick metal sheets. They all wore gas masks and backpacks that were loaded to the brim with fragments of metal and segments of pipes. One man was cutting away at the large pipe with a welding torch while the others stood guard. Another had an old-looking shotgun in his hands while the last had a large, rusted fire axe. The weapo
ns were outlined in red through my augmented vision system. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but Caeldra motioned for me to stay still from behind the box.

  I checked my own weapon to make sure it was ready, then set the toggle switch to single fire. My heart was beating out of control, and I did my best to try to layer the fear away in my mind as Edgar had taught me to do. Unfortunately, it didn’t work, and the flimsy barrier I created shattered to pieces after a few seconds. My fingertips felt icy cold despite the hot temperatures on this level, and my breathing felt labored. The air and scent of the disinfectant in my mask was making me nauseous but breathing the outside air was unthinkable.

  I dropped down to my knees so I could get a better look without drawing attention to myself. I had to squint against the burning nova of light from the cutting torch.

  “Jake, only shoot if you have a clear shot. I’m engaging them,” Caeldra whispered.

  She peeked from the side of the crate and fired a burst at the man with the shotgun. The three rounds struck him in the head, and there was a hissing sound as the pressurized air was released from the thick coils of tubing wrapped around his neck. The man briefly reached up to his head with both hands before collapsing on the ground in a crumpled heap. The others saw what happened and were already moving toward us. The man with the welding torch dropped it and pulled out a small boxy-looking gun. He began spraying bullets down the hall which thudded into the crate and wall to the side of me. I pressed my back to the wall behind me and waited for the loud crackling gunfire to subside. When I looked around the corner again, the huge man with the fire axe was advancing toward Caeldra, who was still behind the crate.

  I opened the targeting interface on my gun and aimed for the head as Caeldra had done. I fired two shots, one of which missed, and the other slammed into the man’s chest and didn’t seem to have any effect on his charge. I stopped firing when Caeldra emerged from cover.