Cities of the Forgotten

by Rayne W Grath

  “Thank you, Ailla. I can take it from here,” interjected Anna sweetly and pushed everyone toward the doors in the direction opposite Ailla.

  “Don’t let her freak you out. She takes her job seriously, but as long as you follow the rules she’ll pay you no mind,” Anna said in reassurance, stopping at the double doors. “I promise the remainder of the tour is pain free. Who wants to go first and try out the scanner?”

  “I will,” Kiya answered quickly and then chuckled before she added, “Just to prove to everyone here that I am not scared.” She placed her hand on the computer scanner and smiled to herself when the doors swooshed open to reveal a large gymnasium lined out like a flea market - or better yet a science fair, filled with different booths containing special experiments or theories. Employees scattered about the room looked up from their work, and either smiled or waved as Anna walked by and made introductions.

  “Everything you see in this room was the brainchild of Nikola Tesla in some way or another. He either patented or paved the way for most technological advances you know today. For instance most people give Tesla credit for discovering AC power and wireless technology, but many have no idea he was responsible for modern robotics, solar and wind power, drones, weather manipulation, space and time travel. The government confiscated his life’s work and have been working on making some of it a reality since he passed away,” Anna said with pride.

  “Wow. Do you know how many conspiracy theorists would have a heart attack with this knowledge?” Taylor said in awe, as his eyes skipped about the room in fascination.

  “Of course we do, hence Ailla’s cryptic warning earlier,” Anna replied in a grave tone.

  “I won’t say anything. I was just pointing out the obvious,” Taylor stuttered out quietly.

  “Cool. Just so we are on the same page. I’ve lost a couple friends over the years, who thought leaking some of this to the press was a matter of principle. I’d hate to have it happen again,” Anna replied with little emotion and then added, “Did you want to see anything in particular, or should we continue on?”

  “I have a feeling we’ll be here for a while, so I’ll wait to explore until later,” Aarik replied with wide eyes as he looked about the room with wonder.

  “Ditto. I think my mind will be blown multiple times today so I would prefer to get it over with now and then come back later and explore them all when I have the time to devote to each of the possibilities,” Kiya responded in agreement.

  “Me three. I could spend hours in this room alone, so my vote would be to move on. I want to know what else the government has been hiding from me all my life?” answered Taylor with a shrug.

  “Be prepared for me to rock your world then,” Anna answered with a wink before she retreated to the double doors that lead to the elevator bay and called up to Ailla, “Beam us up, Ailla. They’re ready for the next level.” After the doors closed Anna looked over with a pout and said, “She won’t answer to Scotty. Such a shame. As I said earlier, the fifth floor is solely designated to modern day robotics, with an emphasis on artificial intelligence. Many scientists on this floor are quite defensive if you try and strike up a conversation with them about the ethical questions brought about by their work. Speaking from experience, I highly discourage bringing it up unless you want to spend hours defending the subject.”

  “The robots are in various stages of development, but most are like something you would see from a Star Wars movie. They are droid-like and serve a specific purpose. Ailla was constructed last year by Anthony and they have been collaborating on perfecting her life-like interactions so that she can be mass produced as a spy in many foreign countries by next year,” Anna added, as they made their way into the lab and strolled past the various glass-walled rooms. “Don’t hold it against me, Ailla, but in my opinion nothing exciting happens on this floor,” Anna said to the ceiling and waited for a response.

  “None taken. You have to have patience to work in my field, Dr. Rais.” Ailla replied via the intercom.

  “Would you like to see where I spend most of my time?” asked Anna, when they made a full circle back to the elevator bays again.

  “I would!” Taylor responded enthusiastically and then blushed when he realized how eager he sounded.

  “I like your enthusiasm. Perhaps you would like to be my guinea pig tonight after dinner?” Anna asked mischievously.

  “If Aarik has nothing planned for me, I would be happy to assist you tonight,” Taylor replied eagerly and then looked back at Aarik with a look that spoke volumes. “Perfect. No backing out later, because I have witnesses to your agreement,” Anna teased, as the elevator doors opened to reveal a floor filled with ancient artifacts.

  “This is the room of antiquities. Everything of value eventually finds its way to this floor, where it is put through a multitude of tests in the lab to determine whether or not it has potential beyond the naked eye. Some pieces are for decoration, but other finds from the ancient world serve a purpose that many would claim is magical in nature. The relics that have no other purpose remain here where they are catalogued and eventually sent to museums for public display. Artifacts with supernatural tendencies end up on the seventh and eighth floor of this facility, whereas anything deemed dangerous is secured on the fifteenth floor,”

  “I see. Wouldn’t you already know if something was dangerous before it was brought here?” Kiya asked, as she eyed the ancient pieces apprehensively and then added for good measure, “Should we be concerned with bumping into anything?”

  “We usually know if they are bad, or at least suspect something might be dangerous, from the superstitious stories that follow the pieces around like a curse before they get here. It’s the artifacts with no known history that scare me; those are the ones that you have to be careful with. I play with them behind many layers of protection before I trust them enough to be in the same room with them. I’ve heard of too many horror stories in the earlier years of the program where they didn’t use as many precautions and it ended badly,” explained Anna, as she headed toward the back of the warehouse with determination.

  “My office on this floor is buried in ancient scrolls at the moment that need to be returned to the Indian government by the end of the week, but I wanted to show you the carbon dating we did on the pillow you found in Washington,” Anna added, as she entered her office with care, trying to maneuver around the stacks of scrolls in her quest for the results.

  “Hey, Anna. I believe your prayers have been answered,” Kiya called out as she looked over at Taylor who was grinning from ear to ear.

  “Why is that?” replied Anna, digging through papers on her desk with concentration.

  “You’re standing in the presence of your knight in shining armor. Taylor here is an accomplished linguist. He’s practically salivating over here to get his hands on those scrolls,” answered Kiya, as she bumped Taylor with her hip playfully.

  Anna popped her head up from her desk and brandished a piece of paper in her hand like a prize and as she made her way out of her packed office she smiled and said, “Well, it’s a good thing I roped him into helping me after dinner then, isn’t it.” She handed Aarik the paperwork and winked at Taylor while she waited for him to read the results.

  “This data suggests the pillow is around twelve thousand years old. Can that be right?” Aarik asked in amazement.

  “Ran the second test myself,” Anna replied with a smile before she added, “Just so happened it was the second artifact that day to get the same result, so we thought our instrumentation was out of whack and needed calibration. After recalibrating and running controls, when both pieces were tested again with the same results, we accepted the results were not an anomaly which meant both artifacts were damn old!”

  “How do you not shout something like that from the rooftop?” Kiya asked in confusion.

  “We gossip to anyone that will listen around here and accept that we have no control over the release of information to the public a
nd if we happen to forget, they make sure we remember by making an example out of anyone that tries to leak it out,” answered Anna solemnly.

  “Ouch, that’s harsh,” Kiya responded carefully.

  “Harsh, but truthful. Enough about the negative. Thought you guys would appreciate the knowledge,” Anna said, trying to change the subject.

  “What was the other object that you tested that day?” asked Aarik with interest.

  “Oh, something brought in from Mexico, a wooden box full of strange metallic balls,” Anna replied nonchalantly.

  “Thank you, Anna. Something of this magnitude is what every archeologist dreams of and even though it won’t be something written in the next round of history books, just having seen the proof in black and white is sufficient to me,” answered Aarik with a smile. He looked over the result a final time before he handed the paper over to Anna and said, “What’s next?”

  “The seventh and eighth floor artifacts will be there tomorrow and are mostly trinkets, statues, scrolls and the like, which I might add are all locked behind glass cabinets. If you wouldn’t mind I would love to take you to the ninth floor first. It is our newest addition to the facility and my favorite,” requested Anna, as she maneuvered through her office to put the results back on her desk.

  “It’s your tour. I doubt you’ll hear any of us complain. What’s on the ninth floor?” Kiya replied. following Anna back toward the elevator bay once again.

  “They just finished rebuilding the Mexico chamber that the metallic balls were recovered from last week and I have been studying the crystals found with them and what purpose they served. Taylor you might get a kick out of the pictures they took of the hieroglyphs found in the chamber with the metallic balls and crystals. Almost Sumerian in nature, but slightly different. See anything like that in Washington?” Anna asked as they stopped in front of the elevators.

  “Yes. I’m surprised you didn’t see my notes,” Taylor answered defensively.

  “No, but it doesn’t surprise me. I didn’t even know they existed,” Anna said with a smile. She raised her face to the ceiling and announced, “Ailla, ninth floor, please.”

  She turned her bright smile towards Taylor once more and said, “I don’t take it personally anymore. I must not have been considered a person that needed to know! Not your fault, but I would love to see any notes you have on the subject when you have the time.”

  “How long have you been here Anna?” Kiya asked curiously.

  “Fifteen years, three months, and 16 days...so over a decade, but less than two. I could give you hours, minutes and seconds if I was at my computer, but that would only prove how much I obsess over how long I’ve been here. Needless to say, I feel like I am a permanent structure around here,” Anna rattled off the duration with an attitude that spoke volumes of how she felt of her prison.

  Kiya’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “You can’t be in your thirties. Do you mean to tell me you’ve been here since you were a young teenager? Whatever for? Do your parents work here?” demanded Kiya, after her initial shock wore off and she scoured over Anna’s attire and barely noticeable fine lines.

  “I was a ‘tween when they brought me here for my off the chart brain power. I received my first doctorate at the age of twelve. Sadly, I was orphaned at an early age and I’ve been basically state owned and operated since then,” explained Anna, as the doors to the elevator opened to reveal the ninth floor.

  Kiya was about to grill Anna for more information when her eyes landed on a pair of gigantic purple crystal obelisks that reminded Kiya of the crystal hanging from her neck, only they stood twenty feet tall and were as wide as a car. She grabbed for the gem through her shirt subconsciously and felt her stress level increase for their lack of progression in figuring out a way to find and defeat Th’ael. She was sure Diego and Th’ael weren’t taking tours, basically wasting time. No, they were probably scheming and plotting her demise.

  CHAPTER THREE

  DIEGO

  Diego followed behind Th’ael in quiet contemplation as they descended silently into the depths of the large pyramid. He was trying to wrap his mind around how At’lantis ended up in an underwater sea bubble when the first set of sconces lining the stairwell flared to life as they passed, startling Diego out of his trance. It didn’t matter how or why they were in this not-so-mythical city, he just needed to accept it as a truth and figure out his next move. Whatever it was, it had to be a way to make his grandfather understand how vital his skill set in the modern world would benefit their mission, but he feared Th’ael’s reaction to any commentary as they sank deeper into the pyramid.

  Their initial meeting was nothing like he had originally planned, and because his grandfather wasn’t familiar with twenty-first century society, it would be necessary to educate him as early as possible. The next time an opportunity presented itself, he would use his wealth to show his grandfather how much he had to offer.

  Diego hadn’t dedicated half his life to uncovering the truth behind his ancestry just to be blown off like an unwanted child. He would treat this problem like any other obstacle he encountered in business. Scheming and waiting for the right moment to make his move always guaranteed everything he worked for would continue to be in his favor. He hadn’t given up every whim and desire throughout his childhood and beyond to concede at the first sign of adversity.

  It was essential that he gain his grandfather’s trust and prove to him how loyal blood relatives could be. Diego wasn’t sure what he expected from their meeting, but after he planned and executed a successful rescue mission, evil looks and snide remarks were not exactly the response he anticipated. No, Diego expected more gratitude and less animosity after waking Th’ael up and couldn’t help but contemplate his next steps, that is until they landed at the bottom of the staircase and he found himself staring out into a damp stone chamber, filled with cobwebs, dust and hundreds of crystal pods.

  “What are those?” Diego stuttered out accidentally and wished he could take it back when Th’ael looked at him with disgust and annoyance but instead of blasting him for his ignorance, Diego shook with fear as Th’ael’s voice invaded his mind.

  I’m only going to answer you this one time, so don’t think you can just blurt things out whenever you feel like it in the future and expect an answer. Those are a technological advancement from my people we call an ARC, which stands for Ah’naki Regenerating Chamber. They are used to induce a prolonged sleep and can regenerate damaged cells the majority of the time, but they are best known for causing immortality in adults by coding the cells to repeat the number of telomeres with each copy made, eliminating the aging process. For obvious reasons, the process is discouraged until after a certain age, which meant my son was too young to have gone through the process. I am disappointed that you show no sign of the voice, and I don’t have time to teach you, but don’t worry you will serve a specific purpose to the...what was the word you used...mission. There will come a time in the near future where I will require your connections, but you should never forget who has the power here.

  Diego scrambled for the right words to apologize when Th’ael interrupted his thoughts once again, Enough. I was merely demonstrating one of MY skills. Your thoughts are not your own when you are around my kind. You must learn to close your mind or your aspirations will be your demise and I have plans for you. So while I am waking the others up, I want you to clear your thoughts and repeat a single phrase over and over again until we are done. Do you think you can do that?

  Diego swallowed hard and murmured one of his favorite lines from the poem, The Giaour, by Lord Byron, ‘Too well he trusted to the slave, whose treachery deserved a grave:’ under his breath repeatedly. Th’ael smirked at his choice of words and said telepathically, Don’t make me regret bringing you, before he strode forward and worked his way around the room, waking the Ah’naki.

  Once he was done, he gathered them in the center of the chamber and made an announcement. “Who among you was th
e last to see my brother?”

  “That would be me. Once your brother exposed the Watcher’s plan he began evacuating our people, but the portal closed before we all made it out. He rallied those of us left and we pushed the resistance back, saving the city from destruction, giving us a reprieve. While they gathered reinforcements, your brother sank the city and placed the rest of us in the ARCs to save resources. He left to discover why the origin passage was broken and was supposed to wake us when he uncovered the mystery so we could return home for reinforcements. He should be back momentarily,” answered a tall Ah’naki male who stepped forward and bowed before he delivered the news.

  Th’ael stood taller and spread his arms out toward the crowd of twenty Ah’naki men and women before he replied, “My fellow Ah’naki, you have been asleep for thousands of years which could only mean my brother failed and either still searches for an answer or lost his life trying. I myself only woke up yesterday, entombed in the city of Vos’rok before I was forced to flee here.”

  Diego continued to chant his poem silently, but tried to listen for the general tone of the crowd as they stood with looks of confusion on their faces as Th’ael paused for dramatic effect. Most of the chatter centered on what could have happened to Rh’ael, before his grandfather’s voice rumbled through the air with authority, “My brother might have failed, but I am happy to report it doesn’t run in the family. I know how to fix the Origin Passage and all we need to do is capture the Thrall named Kiya who is in possession of a crystal from the Origin. It hangs from her neck like a jewel and when she is captured and the crystal is returned to the Vos’rok passage chamber, we will show her how much her actions and very being as a Thrall is an abomination to our species. I want you to gather what weapons you have left and meet me in the Terra Locke; the quicker we attack, the better our chances of catching them off guard will be.”