He knows he has to rest for a while, but that has to be balanced with his need to move on and get further away from the base and the craft. He checks his bearings and then, even though he isn’t really rested enough, he pushes off the rock and continues to walk. He has decided that despite his need for haste, that he will actually last for longer, if he slows down his pace a fraction. It is hard to do that, but it is probably the best way to proceed.
Two hours later he has stopped again for another rest. He isn’t sure just how much further he has to go. All he knows is that he is going in the right direction and that he hasn’t passed the place he is aiming for. That is, always assuming that nothing has changed in all the time that has passed. There is no reason why it might have done, but things do change over time. There have been storms over the years. He knows that for sure. Some of the storms when he has been here have been very violent. From the contact he has had when he was not here, he also knows that there have been violent storms when he hasn’t been here too. Violent storms can change things. They can change the whole dynamics of an area. The look of an area before and after a storm can look like two different places.
Hopefully that won’t matter to him. The hideaway should not have been affected by things that have changed on the surface of Boristal 7, as it is under ground. What may well have changed, are the landmarks that he has used in the past, the long ago past at that, to guide him to the exact spot of the entrance.
Never mind, there is no point in worrying about that detail, until he gets there. It won’t be a case of the hideaway not being there. It will possibly be the case that it takes a little bit of time to locate it, in a different looking environment.
He rests for a few minutes more. His legs are heavy and weary. His chest is starting to cause him some pain. His eyes are getting sore from the strain of continually searching the horizon behind him, to see if anyone has followed him. His head is starting to ache, but that is probably as he is thirsty. Thirst is another issue. His mouth is dry and he is gasping for something to drink, to freshen his mouth and satisfy his need for liquid. He looks at his hands, glad that they and his arms appear to be holding up to this current challenge.
He notices the change in the light and looks at the sky ahead of him. The end of the day is approaching. He should be able to make it in time, if he has got his bearings correctly. The only thing that is twisting things; is the speed he is able to keep going at. Even at the slower pace, he is now finding it hard going. His body is tiring even more quickly now between rest stops.
He pushes off the current rock and continues with his journey. The land he has been crossing is pretty much the same all the time. It is a rocky surface, which while being flat for the most part, is littered here and there with boulders and outcrops. There is little dust on the ground and so there is minimal trace left of his passing by. He has another look over his shoulder, before setting out into his stride, for what will hopefully be the final leg of this journey. Indeed he really hopes this is the case.
Fifteen minutes later, he is close to taking another rest stop. He knows he is almost there, but he has been unable to actually recognize any landmark that he has a mental note of. But then saying that, he knows deep inside him that he is at the spot, or very nearly at it.
He walks for another two minutes, but this is spent by taking a couple of steps and then stopping to look around. Not one of the landmarks he can remember still exists. This is going to be slightly awkward. Even the rocky outcrop has gone and he had thought that was almost immovable. Thankfully, he might be able to get round those sorts of problems. The tracker in his hands is showing that the hideaway is close by. To get the exact location using the tracker, will mean having to reset the beacon. To do that, he will have to get as close as he can and then stop for ten minutes. Ten minutes and it will be dusk. Dusk is going to make finding things harder. Dusk is going to turn to darkness and that will make it really hard to open the entrance to the hideaway. He has no choice. He gets to the point where he thinks is close. He stops and resets the tracker. He then waits for the ten minutes for it to activate. Luckily when it does that, he finds that he is literally on top of the entrance; well his left foot is. He starts scraping away at the ground with his fingers, at the point where the tracker indicates the entrance can be accessed. He can’t really see properly now, as the light has all but gone. He doesn’t need to, as his fingers find the point he has been searching for. He kneels forward and blows what is in the little socket he has located, out of the way. He then pushes his ring into the socket. There is a small click as it engages. He pulls back gently on the ring finger and the ground comes up with it. There is the gentle hiss as the door opens, to allow him to access the hideaway. As soon as the door is sufficiently open, he slips through the gap. His hand moves over the wall to locate the lights. They are solar powered and come on as soon as the door is closed behind him. He knew it wouldn’t be until then, as a precaution in case he could be seen entering the ground.
He is in a passageway. He is at the bottom of the steps he’s used to come into there. The door has closed and the lights have come on. For the first time in hours he feels safe. First things first; he needs a drink. Secondly he needs to sit down and rest. In fact he probably needs to lie down and have a long rest, but there are one or two things he needs to do first. Although it won’t make a huge difference, he would prefer it if he has, at least, started to bring all the systems out of hibernation. He could include the robot in that too.
He moves into the first room and gets a drink. It may have been there for a long time, but it still feels like the best drink he has tasted in many a year. He downs the first one in one go, but the refill he takes his time over. He sips at this as he moves into the next area; the control room. He sits down on the chair and starts the job of bringing the systems back to life. Hopefully there won’t be many issues, if any. If there are, then he will just have to deal with the ones he can and find ways round the ones he can’t. The biggest issue he will have to start with; is the time it will take for the system to boot up and come back to life, before he can access it, to get any useful information. He gets as far as he can, before he leaves there and goes to the small stock area. He finds the robot that is stored there and plugs it back into the system. When that is booted up, it will automatically start to bring the robot back into a usable mode. It will be much better than having to do everything himself.
Chapter 32 The Keeper
Just before we leave to take our circuitous route back to the base, the two Guiding Masters stop me for a chat. GM6, who is the female Guiding Master, is the one who talks to me. GM7, who is male, stands at her side as she speaks to me.
‘We have been having a bit of a discussion.’
I am surprised to hear this as I haven’t heard them talking, unless this discussion took place as they were going round the back of the craft to distract the android. She continues:
‘We are a bit uncomfortable about these weapons that you have given us to carry. As far as we are aware, that is not our role to do that. We are like people who don’t interfere. We don’t interfere in what goes on in the Universe. If we use the weapons you have given us, then we will be changing things we have not been put in place to interfere with. I know GM3 has broken these rules. I know he actually has abducted you and us too, but that doesn’t make it right for us to use weapons now. O appears to have been looking after things after all. If we take matters into our own hands then; that will be beyond our remit. O may not be in the form we knew him.’
She stops for a few seconds as she thinks about that. She actually hasn’t seen O anyway. But then she has witnessed what he has done. She decides that on the balance of things; that O is in existence and very much in control of things again. He may have been taken by surprise, by the actions of GM3. But he has recovered now and the safeguards he must have put in place originally, have ensured that the situation will reverse. It does appear to be doing that at the moment. Well that might
be premature; as the only thing that has changed is that they are no longer prisoners of GM3. There are still many things that need to change, to bring things back to the way they were, but at least a start has been made. She hears a cough and looks up. GM7 has made the noise and is looking at her, as is The Keeper.
‘Sorry, I was just thinking about what I just said. I am ok with it. I know we are not in our base, but there will be one somewhere for us. But what I was saying is; that we feel that we should just be onlookers and not influencers, by our direct actions using weapons.’
GM7 is nodding as she says this.
‘I take it that you both agree with what GM6 has just said?’
‘We do’ it is GM7 talking this time.
‘I can understand that’ I am a little surprised at what has been said, but funnily enough I am not too shocked. I just wasn’t expecting a reaction like this, so soon after I have gained my freedom. I have escaped my shackles and taken out two androids so far, in my fight back against GM3 and the others. It is only a small victory and definitely doesn’t guarantee a life changing position.
‘Shall we go back inside’ I finally say. I need a few minutes, to find out exactly what they intend to do now they have declared their position, in not actively fighting by my side.
We go back in. We have to go in the front door, as I can’t get the back door to open again. We sit down in the control room. There is a short silence, as we sit there in our own thoughts. I can’t tell if they are having a conversation between themselves silently. But from the expressions on their faces I would say that isn’t happening, but I can’t be certain on that. I am actually coming to terms with it, the longer I sit here in silence. Something inside me is making me feel that this is the way things are meant to be. I am The Keeper. I am the one who is supposed to hold the balance of the Universe. I am a mortal and these people are not. Therefore what I do will have greater implications for me, than it will for them. Only when they choose not to be Guiding Masters, will they revert to be mortal again. I am always mortal and so the decisions I make are real and have consequence. Until this whole episode started, I wasn’t even aware that I was The Keeper of the Universe. Now that I do know, I have been abducted and now escaped again. I am now assuming that as The Keeper, it is up to me, to do things that are required to restore the balance. If that means for now that I have to do this thing on my own, then so be it. I am comfortable with that. Yes I am. I am really comfortable with that.
I look across at them and they are sitting there looking at me. There is nothing in their expressions to allow me to read their thoughts. I guess what they are doing, is to let me come to these decisions in my own time. In a way they are influencing things that are happening. But in a way, they are allowed to, and in a way where they are still comfortable they are within their boundaries. I lower my eyes again and immerse myself in my thoughts.
I concentrate my thoughts on the situation I have here on Boristal 7. I have GM3 who abducted me, somewhere on the planet. He is probably back at the base, but I will find out if that is true when we leave here. We have someone, or something, called Spirit, who has also been captured. I do not know who he is, but he is on my side. I have already destroyed 2 androids, but there are probably countless more back at the base. I have some weapons that are most unfamiliar to me. I have two of them. They are very small, but appear to have amazing fire power. They use a technology that is called Air Micro Compounder technology. As long as there is one particle, it will always multiply and replenish. I am told that they can never run out of ammunition, or power. The same technology is used to power forms of transport. In the case of GM3, he has lost the use of this technology. Well, his androids have and he has personally, but that appears to be the extent of it. I have the use of it and I assume, so do the two Guiding Masters with me.
From what I have picked up, there is a whole Universe of disruption and chaos where GM3 has given his powers and his technology to others, to take over the Universe. That situation will have changed too hopefully, now that his Guiding Master powers have been removed. That doesn’t mean the situations will be able to reverse. It just means the balance will have changed. I can’t help but smile, as that thought goes through my mind. I need to settle the situation here first, before I try to see what else is going on, in other parts of the Universe. The question in my head; is whether these two are going to come along with me, or are they going to stay here in this craft. The only way to get the answer to that one is to ask the question; I do.
‘I will take the weapons back from you’ I start with. I hold out my hand and they, too willingly, pass them over to me. I keep the Air Micro Compounder weapon, but put the other one safely away, out of sight in a drawer.
‘That is a good thing you have done’ GM6 says to me.
‘I know’ I reply ‘I understand and am ok with it. The next thing I need to ask is; what are you going to do?’
They look at me quizzically, not understanding what I am asking them. I realize I have not been clear enough, in what my question is about.
‘I mean; are you going to stay here in the craft, or are you going to accompany me back to the base?’
I don’t think this is a hard question, but from the lack of an instant response, I realize that they have not actually discussed this. I see their faces go sort of blank. I think they are talking to each other silently. Sure enough, a couple of minutes later their expressions change and GM6 responds.
‘You probably gathered that we hadn’t actually talked about that. We had only got as far as the thing about us carrying and using the weapons. We think that it may not be wise to stay here on our own. We may be free for the moment, but there may be androids and robots on the way here now, to recapture us. For that matter GM3 may also be on the way back here with them, to recapture us. Now that we have stated we won’t bear arms, then that would leave us vulnerable. We would not be able to resist an attack. We understand that this will put upon you even more, but we would like to come with you. We can be your ears and your eyes, but we can’t actually fire upon anyone or anything.’
I guess that is what I was expecting to hear. It is where I had decided they would land anyway. At least another two sets of ears and eyes is more of a help than a hindrance. It does make sense, as we don’t know in the slightest where GM3 has gone. We have only made a small forward movement in restoring the balance too. To leave them here in this craft, is to ask for trouble. Maybe they won’t come back, but if they do, then they would be defenseless against robots, androids and GM3.
‘Tell me a little bit more about Spirit please.’
‘We don’t know very much about him at all. He appeared thru a doorway in our control room. He looks remarkably like you. I would say he is your double. He did not know much himself. He knew there was a craft in the transport bay for him. We did not know it existed. He found it, because he knew it was there to be found. He then got in and left us.’
GM7 says the next bit.
‘It is something that we have not given much thought to, but I think on reflection, that Spirit is the one who is going to make the difference for you. I think you will find that what you have discovered in yourself so far; will become so much clearer when you and Spirit are joined together in this fight. I have no way of explaining any more than that. O is working in ways that we cannot imagine. To activate Spirit, means that there was always Spirit there in the first place.’
‘I think I understand what you are saying. I think it is time we were going. I would rather be found in a place I can control, than have them come back and find us here on this craft. This is a place that they know far better than we do.’
Once again they leave the craft by the back door. They look around the planet on this side of the craft, but there is nothing to see, other than the bare surface. There are no footsteps leading away in that direction. But then their own footsteps aren’t leaving any marks where they have trodden. I notice that and wonder if GM3 has gone back to the base af
ter all.
Chapter 33 The Baddies
Posdon retreats back to the village. Sure enough, a couple of hours later the mist starts to creep across the land and towards them. It takes another hour before the mist is totally in charge of the atmosphere. He is expecting the inhabitants to be back any minute. That is what they suggested would be the case, when they contacted them. After all, these are supposed to be mild mannered folk. The planet is not supposed to have any riches, other than some base minerals. In fact he is wondering why he has come here in the first place. But he knows why that is really. He thought that GM3 was purposely trying to discourage him from coming here, because there is something to hide. From what he has seen so far, he thinks that he might have been right.
The longer it takes for these people to come back to the village, the more he suspects that everything is not as it seems to be. He has had no further communication from them. He decides that he is a little exposed, now that the mist has come down. On top of that, they can’t see more than a few yards thru the mist. Something is not right about all this. He gets a cold shudder down his spine. Just after that, he gives the instruction for his convoy to move back closer to his craft. It is at this point he realizes that he has lost contact with them, well some of them at least. There has been no noise whatsoever, to suggest that anything has happened. It is just that he can’t make contact with all of his units. He moves back anyway and as he goes, comes across the rest of the units. The problem is that his communications aren’t able to pass through the mist, for anything more than a few yards. Whatever the mist is made up from; stops the radio waves from penetrating it too far.
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