Paradox Hunt

by Dee Garretson

“Just imagine Ansun with that much power,” Nic said. “It’s easy to see he is a descendant of the emperor.”

  “Don’t forget Mira is a descendant too,” I said. “Having a brutal relative doesn’t mean you follow in his footsteps.” Her comment stung me. I was discovering my own grandfather was far more brutal than I’d believed. I was nothing like him.

  “Are you so sure about the emperor’s brutality? Who provided that history? Fosaanians or Earthers?” Javen asked. “Earth doesn’t exactly have a history of kind and gentle rulers itself.”

  I knew he might be right about the emperor. It was exactly what Mira and I had talked about. When winners are the only ones to write history, how can we trust we’re being given the whole truth?

  “We aren’t going to find out what really happened today,” Lainie said. “What do we do now?”

  “We haven’t been in all the rooms. At least we know someone has obviously been here, and recently,” Decker said. “Look at how clean everything is. There’s no dust or bugs.”

  “You’re right,” Lainie said. “The outside entrance plaza was clean too. No dead leaves or sticks or anything.”

  “These all look like museum rooms,” Nic said as she ran her finger along a row of bright blue tiles. “Where did regular people live? Where are the work spaces? The laundries and kitchens?”

  “And why would Ansun need air scrubbers here?” I said. “There is plenty of ventilation.” I looked over at Javen. He met my gaze but didn’t answer.

  “Were you going to help us if we didn’t figure it out?” I asked him.

  “Figure out what?” Lainie asked.

  I remembered she hadn’t been to the Fosaanian village in the south.

  “It’s just like the real Fosaanian village that was hidden behind the fake one. They don’t want their strengths to be known. This can’t be the entire palace complex.”

  I walked to the back of the room. “I bet there is a door hidden in here.” I expected to see some faint line giving away the location of the door, but when I examined the back wall, I couldn’t find it. I ran my fingers along the tiles but didn’t feel any kind of opening. It seemed to be a solid wall.

  I looked around the room hoping to find a clue. Maybe it wasn’t a door in the wall. Maybe there was a door in the floor that led to a lower level. The tiled patterns on the floor were of elaborate geometric shapes. It was like looking through a kaleidoscope. There was something different about one spot, where the pattern broke. One tile that should have been gold was blue. I didn’t think Fosaanians made mistakes.

  I bent over to look at it more closely. It was definitely not the right color. I felt a flash of satisfaction. I touched it, sure a hidden door would open. Nothing happened. I pushed harder. Still nothing. Javen moved past me. He reached up and pressed a spot on the wall. This time a door did open, one on the back wall where I’d originally looked. I straightened up and went over to the wall. The spot he’d touched was no different than any other. There was no break in the pattern.

  “How did you know to push that particular spot?” I asked.

  “You’ll have to figure it out yourself. If you can,” he said. “Fosaanians don’t give out their secrets for no good reason.”

  Inside was a plain hallway, no tiles, no mosaics, nothing. There were functioning light globes that lit up as we drew close to them, but the air was stale. I could see why this place needed air scrubbers. Along the hallway were doors, which when opened revealed more plain rooms, all of them empty and clean. Finally, we reached a section where the rooms had furniture. They contained beds set up dormitory style, six to a room. Right past that we found a dining area with tables and a kitchen. Decker walked around the kitchen, examining the appliances and touching marks. He turned on a warmer, and it glowed red.

  “It looks like an army barracks,” Decker said.

  That made sense, because the Fosaanians from the south lived their whole lives like they were permanent members of an army.

  “I don’t think Mira has been here,” Lainie said. “They wouldn’t have come and gone so quickly, unless they made a quick stop to pick up anyone who had been here. How many hours ahead of us are they now? Maybe forty hours? Ansun hadn’t planned on being on the run, and there were no signs of a quick departure from here.”

  “Is there another settlement somewhere else on the planet?” Nic asked.

  “I don’t think Ansun is on the planet at all, and if he was here, he’s not intending to come back any time soon,” I said. “There is no equipment here that he could use to produce more MIs and no rooms that look like they were meant for robot production. That takes an actual factory. If he wants to produce more MIs, it would be tough to do it here. He’d have to have supplies brought in and MIs taken out without being spotted.”

  “Where do you think they’ve gone?” I asked Javen. “Knowing him, he had a very detailed plan.”

  “I don’t know,” Javen said. “He wouldn’t confide in me. I’m not exactly a favorite any longer.”

  “So, what now?” Lainie asked.

  I’d hoped to have another idea, but nothing had come to me. “I suppose he might have gone to one of the other planets where they have begun revolting against Earth. They’d have a common cause.”

  “Except Earth is going to move to shut down those rebellions,” Nic said. “I’m not sure any of them will succeed. None of those places have the troops or the funds or any leverage to use against Earth. Ansun would just be setting himself up for another defeat before he could even begin to set up a facility to make the MIs.”

  “Quinn, it’s time to quit,” Decker said. “We need to get back to Earth. The longer we’re out here without anyone knowing where we are, the harder it’s going to be to explain why we didn’t leave as soon as Reyet was back under Earth’s control.” He took Lainie’s hand. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t like this place.”

  I nodded, not wanting to speak. The weight of knowing we’d accomplished nothing settled down on me.

  “We tried, Quinn. We really, really tried,” Lainie said. “As much as I hate to say it, it’s time to move on.” She sighed. “At least it was an adventure I won’t forget. And ending it now means we don’t have to face Ansun. We all get to live. That’s a really good thing.” She gave me a weak smile and then they walked away. Nic and Javen looked as dejected as I felt. Neither made any attempt to come up with a new idea. They followed Lainie and Decker out.

  When I caught up with everyone in the throne room, they were taking one last look around. I was done looking, so I headed toward the entrance. As I approached the archway, I heard Creak’s walk before I saw him.

  He came in, acting as if we weren’t even there. Glancing around the room, he reached into a small pack and took out a silver cube, placing it at the base of one of the pillars. He moved to the next one, repeating the action.

  “What are you doing?” Nic asked.

  “I’m bringing down the building.” He grinned and raised his arms. “You know, boom, boom! It’s going to be a good one.”

  Chapter Twelve

  I didn’t think I’d heard Creak right. “What?”

  “Divana wants it down, and I’m the person to do it.” Chuckling, Creak added, “I’m good at blowing things up.”

  “You can’t do that!” Javen yelled, advancing toward him.

  Creak laughed. “Stay back, Pretty Boy. Who has the controls here? Divana wants it done. You don’t get to decide.”

  “Why?” Lainie said. “Why does she want to blow it up? She and Ansun have a business relationship.”

  “She’s decided to remind him who is in charge. He didn’t tell her he was giving her faulty MI specs. If she doesn’t get back at him, it hurts her reputation.”

  Javen took another step toward him. “This place isn’t hers to destroy.”

  All I could think of was Mira’s reaction. She would be devastated. To have part of her culture restored and then destroyed aga
in would be a terrible blow.

  Creak patted the walthaser on his belt. “One more step, Pretty Boy, and you might find a leg blown off. Hard to get out of here with that kind of injury. Think of it this way. You abandon something, you can’t complain if it’s not there when you come back. Sort of like finders keepers. If you don’t want to be blown into little bits, you should get out of here.”

  “Nic, can’t you get Divana to change her mind?” Lainie pleaded. “Why would she go so far?”

  Nic shrugged. “I can’t do anything. Divana doesn’t listen to me. She can hold a grudge for a long, long time. She never forgets anyone who has wronged her.”

  “You’re not doing this.” Javen picked up one of the cubes.

  “Javen, be careful!” Lainie yelled. “It might go off!”

  “Get out of here,” Javen said, taking a step closer to Creak.

  “I didn’t think you were stupid, Pretty Boy. Who do you think has the controls for those explosives?” He pointed to a small square on his belt. “And it’s you who are going to get out of here.” Raising the walthaser, he said, “Now put that back where you found it, and get out of here. Or stay and get blown up. I don’t care.”

  Javen turned away and then spun back and leaped incredibly high, kicking the man in the face. Creak dropped to the ground and didn’t move. He was out cold.

  Decker started to say something, but Javen made a slashing motion across his throat and then pointed to Creak’s gabber. He took it off him, handed it to me, and motioned outside, mouthing the word “ocean.”

  I knew he wanted me to throw it in the water, so I did. I went out and down to the edge of the cliff and pitched the gabber off.

  When I came back, I saw the others had come outside. Javen had Creak slung over his shoulder. He laid him out on a path.

  “Terrific,” Decker said. “If Divana finds out, we’re doomed. She’ll either kill us or strand us here.”

  “I hope that gabber wasn’t turned on,” I said. “If she was listening, she’s going to figure out we had something do with his disappearance when he doesn’t show up at the ship.”

  “There wasn’t any other choice,” Javen said. “I wasn’t going to let him blow up the palace. It doesn’t even belong to Ansun. It belongs to Fosaan, and Divana has no right to destroy it. Help me carry him into the fog garden so we can get him out of sight in case Divana sends someone to look for him.” Javen picked up his feet. “He’s heavier than he looks. Grab his arms,” he said to Decker.

  “Are we just going to leave him here?” Decker asked. “I wouldn’t want to be here by myself.”

  “You’re worried about a raider? He wouldn’t worry about you. In fact, he’d kill us in an instant if he thought it would benefit him.”

  Decker sighed and bent down to take Creak by the arms. “Why do I have a feeling this is all going to turn into a spectacular disaster?”

  Javen didn’t answer. He jerked his head toward the fog garden. He and Decker carried Creak into it. The rest of us followed. Creak didn’t stir. A few meters into the fog, Javen stopped and let go of the man’s feet. “Here,” he said to Decker, who released his hold as well.

  I looked down at Creak. At first I actually thought he was dead, but then I saw his chest rise and fall.

  “You all go ahead back to the ship,” Javen said. “I’ll deal with him. Tell Divana I’ll be right behind you.”

  “What are you going to do?” I asked.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of it,” he said.

  I knew he was going to kill Creak. Ansun’s Fosaanians didn’t hold life in high regard when it came to anyone who didn’t belong to their clan, though I’d assumed Javen had lost some of that coldness in his time on Reyet. I didn’t know how I felt. Creak was a pathetic example of a human being, but to kill him while he was unconscious didn’t seem right.

  The ground rumbled. I froze. If an earthquake hit, I didn’t want to go back into the tunnel. I felt a prickling on my neck and turned around slowly. It felt like there was another presence close to us. The breeze blew some of the fog away from a spot on a nearby path. I could see a figure standing there. The fog cleared a little more. Wren was watching us. I couldn’t read the expression on her face.

  “We had to stop him,” Javen said to her. “He was going to blow up the palace. It’s important to the Fosaanians, not just to Ansun.”

  She walked toward us, shocking me by breaking into a smile. “I won’t tell. I don’t like Creak anyway. He’s all shriveled up inside. Divana never should have hired him.” She tipped her head and studied Javen. “But for your own sake, you shouldn’t kill him. When you kill a man, his spirit gets inside of you and takes hold. It will shrivel you too. Trust me, I’ve seen it before.”

  Javen looked down at Creak. The man twitched.

  “Will Divana really come looking for him?” Lainie asked. “She doesn’t think much of him.”

  “She’ll send somebody,” Nic said. “Wren told me the new MI bot can’t handle all the data work. It can’t manage tasks it thinks are illogical. And it won’t carve into systems where it is unauthorized. Creak tried to change its programming, but it wouldn’t let him.”

  “Do you hear that?” Decker asked suddenly.

  I listened. “No.”

  “That’s what I mean. Why did it get so quiet all of a sudden?”

  The hairs on my arms rose as I remembered the last time that had happened on Fosaan.

  “I smell it,” Lainie said. Her eyes widened.

  “Smell what?” Wren asked.

  I did too. A charred smell, like burnt wood. I knew what was coming next. A sound that first you could mistake for the wind, but as it got closer sounded more like hissing and clicking. A tachesum.

  “I say we run,” Decker said.

  “Good plan.” Lainie and I spoke together.

  “What is it?” Nic asked.

  “No time to explain,” I said. “Just run as fast as you can.”

  We took off just as the tachesum came crashing through the foliage. I couldn’t stop myself from looking back over my shoulder at it. I’d pushed away the memory of giant lizard-like creatures’ terrible yellow eyes. The X-shaped pupils pulsed, growing in size to fill nearly the entire eye.

  The tachesums were clumsy, but it didn’t make them any less dangerous. They were big enough and strong enough to plow through whatever was in front of them. I knew they weren’t very fast, and I thought we could outrun them.

  I heard a yell and looked back over my shoulder. Javen had fallen. Wren stopped and reached out a hand to help him up. Javen tried to stand but fell back down. He motioned for Wren to run. She shook her head, reaching down and pulling Javen to his feet again. The tachesum was too close. I looked around for something to throw at it. I knew motion distracted it. If the others could get out of sight in the fog, the tachesum wouldn’t be able to find them.

  I picked up a rock and ran back toward Javen and Wren. As I got close I heard Javen say, “If you aren’t going to go on, then hold still. It won’t be able to find you. They have terrible eyesight.”

  I tossed the rock and hit the thing on the side of its neck. Its head swiveled in my direction, its pupils pulsing.

  Javen stumbled away from it toward a heavy patch of fog, Wren still holding his hand. The tachesum took a step in my direction. I had to make a decision. Javen and Wren needed enough time to get back to the ship. I waved my arms at the creature. “This way, you stinking piece of leather!” I shouted. “Let’s see who’s faster!” I hoped I was. The tachesum looked in the direction where Javen and Wren had been and then turned back to me. It took another step toward me. I sprinted up the hill away from the ship. I went straight up, cutting across paths and dodging trees, sculptures, and rock formations. The music from the trees grew louder as the tachesum followed me, crashing into the plants.

  I was concentrating so hard on staying far enough away from the creature that I lost all
sense of time. At some point I felt a pain in my side, and my legs began to burn. I knew I couldn’t keep up the speed much longer.

  I cut back toward the tunnel and burst out into the area in front of the opening into the mountain only to find the ship hovering there. The ramp was down, and Decker and Javen were clinging to it.

  I could hear the tachesum getting closer.

  “Speed it up a little, Quinn!” Decker yelled.

  I pushed for one last burst of speed and leaped toward the ramp. They caught me by the arms and dragged me on board. I crawled in as far as I could as the ramp came back up and then lay there gasping for air, my eye under the patch throbbing.

  “Look at the jaws on that thing!” Pixie cried. “It’s going to try to take a bite out of the ship!”

  “Then stop it!” Divana ordered Wren.

  “I can’t target an object when it is too close to the ship,” Wren said. “We don’t have those kinds of weapons.”

  “Wait, where’s Creak?” Divana asked.

  “The tachesum got him,” Wren said calmly. She sounded totally believable. I pulled myself to my feet by grabbing hold of the back of Wren’s chair.

  “Well then, get higher up! Lift off!”

  Pixie punched something on her slip. The ship shot up in the air so fast I nearly went down again. I looked out the viewport to see the tachesum chomping at the air.

  “Kill that thing now!” Divana yelled.

  I thought Wren would be happy she finally had something to blast, but instead she swiveled her seat around to face Divana. “No,” she said. “It won’t do any good to kill it now. It can’t hurt the ship anymore.”

  I thought Divana would explode at Wren’s refusal, but she just sighed and turned away.

  Now that we weren’t in imminent danger of being chomped I realized not only did my eye feel like someone was sticking a needle in it, I was freezing too, the cool air of the cockpit hitting my skin soaked with sweat.

  I tried to ignore the eye pain. I looked around to see Decker, his fists clenched together. He was very pale. “I really, really don’t like those things.”