Edge of Reality

by Andrei Livadny

  "You need to find a disused elevator shaft that's marked Gehenna. You need to climb it until you get to the next deck."

  "Agreed," I scooped up the cartridges, the batteries and the network module. "I'll be back soon."

  * * *

  I walked out of the shop and headed in the direction of the gravity elevators. My gear glowed with emerald lights: my brand-new batteries gave me all the power I needed.

  Soon the gloomy haze parted, revealing the familiar outline of the elevator platform that Charon and I had used the previous day.

  I had left empty-handed. Most of my stuff was back in the hotel, even the Dargian armor.

  I stopped by the platform, reading the signs. Three holographic blocks glowed brightly, pointing at their respective shafts,

  To Corporations Deck

  To Clan Sector

  To docking pads

  The gravity elevator block comprised twenty shafts circling a massive center column. Most of them didn't work; these were marked with various danger signs. Others sported flamboyant graffiti.

  Farm, hardcore. Levels 15 to 30, one said.

  The next one glowed with a predatory cartoon of a long-toothed smilie winking at me, Noobs are welcome!

  I walked on.

  Techno Graveyard. Next to it on the wall someone had painted a serve: a futuristic machine wound with wires and hung with weapons — quite powerful ones, judging by the four laser beams nuking the heavily armored figure of some hapless adventure seeker.

  This had to be an interesting location.

  The next two shafts were out of service, marked with radioactive danger signs.

  The next graffiti: a saber-toothed amoeba reaching out its tentacles. Exo: nature lovers are welcome.

  No, thanks. Definitely not my style.

  I circled the shafts, stopping by the one marked with a sign faded with time,

  Gehenna

  "Looking for a place to snuff it?" a voice said behind me.

  I turned round slowly. A blonde girl stood by the shaft leading to the docking pads. What would she want with me?

  Liori. Level 53. Pilot. The Mercenaries Clan, a prompt popped up.

  A bundle of nerves, that's what she looked like. Her stare, faded with fatigue, now betrayed a spark of interest: sharp, studying and just a tad surprised. I tensed up, trying to work out what could be wrong with me. Without the Haash, my mediocre gear and the absence of implants tagged me as a regular noob, a nondescript detail of the local landscape. Why did she stop? Or was she so pissed first thing in the morning she was looking for someone to take it out on?

  She was cute. And dangerous. This was my knee-jerk first impression — uncomfortable to the point of being revolting, as if my intuition was trying to tell me to steer clear of her.

  Never mind. We'll battle on.

  She needs a good night's sleep, a thought flashed through my mind. I didn't look away. She'd have to wait a long time for that.

  "Got some farming to do," I answered curtly. A normal newb's reaction.

  She raised an eyebrow, her gaze alighting on my hand. The pupils of her eyes contracted: she was scanning. Suddenly I knew.

  The ring.

  My fingers started itching. She sighed and averted her gaze as if she'd mistaken me for someone else. Then she pointed at one of the out-of-service shafts marked with the radioactive danger signs. "You'd better try this one. Gehenna isn't the best choice for a newb. Just trust me.'

  "How about the radiation?" I knew that my gear wasn't a hundred percent safe.

  "Don't try to survive, as simple as that," the girl said in all seriousness.

  She turned round and walked away.

  * * *

  Naturally, I hadn't taken Liori's warning into consideration. I'd already accepted the quest and the advance payment. The vendor was now awaiting his snakes. Besides, the thousand credits he'd promised was nothing to sniff at.

  The vertical shaft of the gravity elevator dissolved in the darkness. My new sharpened perception, assisted by the helmet's built-in sniper sights and the movement coordinator I'd got from the Dargian slave driver, allowed me to make out a service duct buried in the wall. It was still lined with occasional step irons in places but I could see that it was going to be a tough ascent. The environment control sensors pinged, changing color; the radioactive contamination bar quivered and began filling, stopping well in the yellow zone.

  My hand was tingling as if Liori's stare had disturbed the mysterious artifact dissolved in my flesh.

  I made a mental note to look up any of the Founders' rarer devices and began climbing.

  Thirty steps later, my arms and legs were shaking with exhaustion. I decided to take a break and climbed into the service duct, doubling up awkwardly inside. My hand throbbed with heat.

  I pulled the glove off. Nothing. No glow nor any other visual effects that would point at the artifact's functioning.

  What did it actually do? What was its purpose?

  Much to my surprise, I still had connection to the station network. The little thingy I'd received from the vendor seemed to work. I hate wasting time in a game so I decided to put the moment's rest to good use. While my avatar was resting before his next ascent, I buried myself in Wiki. I found no mention of my mysterious artifact ring but discovered the description of the allegedly Haash-made movement coordinator.

  As I read, a chill ran up my spine,

  The use of all Dargian devices demands the obligatory installation of a mind expander.

  But that was something I didn't have!

  I looked around me. I could clearly see the green markers glowing in the dark, pinpointing the available steps within my reach according to the current gravity readings. The vendor's device seemed to be working, projecting its data directly into my brain and not onto the helmet's visor.

  Indeed, a lot had changed in my perception, adding details I'd never noticed before. As an example, if you focused on a wall long enough, you could see in front of it some shimmering threads of unknown nature.

  I only had two implants: the semantic processor courtesy of the Dargians and the mysterious ring that had dissolved under my skin.

  I really needed help from a good mnemotech to work it all out.

  Oh great. I'd barely begun to find my way around this new world and it was already time to get an appointment with a professional. As in, excuse me, sir, but could you please tell me what I accidentally implanted myself with? No wonder I was pissed. Then again, you never know, maybe this little ring only offered positive effects.

  I remembered Liori's stare, distrustful and sharp. She'd definitely sensed something but couldn't tell quite what it was. I absolutely had to look into this ring and its properties to find out how it affected my body and abilities and, most importantly in my current situation, how much it cost. I didn't look forward to losing my hand in some dark alley — and that was a very possible scenario, considering the station population was a bunch of ruthless thugs.

  Never mind. I had to keep going. If all I wanted to do was meditate, I'd have better stayed at home.

  * * *

  It took me about thirty more minutes to get to the next deck. I scrambled out of the shaft and lay there for a while, unable to move. Was I now supposed to go to the gym every day to live up to their authenticity levels? I lay there gasping for breath, all my muscles aching, my heart pumping overtime.

  I caught my breath and checked my weapons. The elevator exit platform was raised over the floor's level and was cluttered with the debris from the damaged ceiling. Here the air was rare, gravity about 0.7. A reddish gloom enveloped the place. The debris hindered my field of vision but I did notice the low ceiling entangled within a rustling web of damaged cables.

  The debris towered over me, forming a natural maze which wouldn't be easy to exit. I wasn't in a hurry, anyway. With my new life support cartridges, full batteries and only 30% more radioactivity I felt rather confident.

  My feet constantly sank in some unple
asantly crunchy substance. I peered at it. Those were definitely organic remains even though not human: tiny skeletons of unusual shape, their spines forming sine waves or curving into spirals. I didn't see any limbs. Could these be the snakes?

  I noticed more graffiti covering the debris.

  Syd, have reached Sector 3. To go further is madness.

  Guys, your respawn points will be reset automatically! The chat is dead! Do NOT try to reach the center!

  Gothix, RIP man.

  If you're under lvl 30, stay where you are!

  Mechanically I stopped and read an unfinished sign written in a shaky hand,

  The power unit has blown up. The raid's been wiped. The respawn point is at the center-

  A chill ran up my spine. There was no one around. It looked as if the deck had been deserted for quite a while.

  I moved cautiously until finally I'd left the higher debris behind. Now I could see better. The edges of the platform were littered with smaller pieces of collapsed ceiling structures. I darted to take cover behind them.

  Gingerly I looked out. Ragged bulkheads gaped around like broken teeth. Virtually all of the modules, hangars and tunnels that used to comprise the deck had been destroyed, their walls reduced to chipped stumps barely reaching the ceiling. A crimson light was seeping from above through the gaps in the powerful roofing. Shadows lurked in the distance. The deformed molten beams arched overhead, hung with manipulators that looked like long human arms wound with bunches of cables.

  The oblong bodies of spaceships rose amid the ruins (can't think of a better word to describe them).

  A few flashes of light broke the crimson gloom. I heard another popping sound and noticed a barely visible pale green gleam. A respawn?

  Another alternative start point? The thought froze my brain. The station network was unavailable. The radiation levels were not too high yet but the signs on the walls made me doubt that the thousand credits I'd just paid were enough to get me out of trouble.

  A sudden power surge blinded me. My defense system kicked in, darkening the visor.The radioactivity☢bar went through the roof while the biological hazard symbol☣ went out as if the area around me was now sterilized.

  I heard a desperate shriek of pain, followed by the pattering of feet nearby.

  I couldn't see a thing without the implants. Having saved me from losing my sight, the visor remained dark, so all I could do was wait.

  Radiation warning! Your radiation exposure is 10% lethal.

  Gradually the visor began to clear. I cast a tense glance around but it didn't look as if there was anyone here.

  I gulped, swallowing thick saliva, and glanced at the sensors. Yeah, this was radiation exposure all right. My gear's defenses weren't up to these kinds of levels. I had to shift my backside instead of staying put.

  I had to admit the setting was quite spooky. The metallic structures were glowing weakly from radiation exposure. Hot air currents swayed the manipulators, their cable insulation smoldering. The spaceships' oblong outlines showed through the gloom. They were calling my name, playing on my heart's more adventurous strings.

  No. I wasn't going to leave empty-handed. Had I climbed all the way up here for nothing? Besides, it was time I started to find my bearings.

  I sensed a movement and took aim, reading the far-off marker barely seen in the dark:

  A Dargian python. Xenomorph. Level 13.

  While I was reading it, the creature promptly disappeared amid the tangled mess of deformed beams.

  I had to find a good position in order to smoke them from a distance. By no means should I allow them anywhere near. My current level wasn't yet up to a hand-to-hand with this sort of mobs.

  The platform wasn't the best place to take aim from. It left at least three hundred feet between me and the monsters' lair, the visibility being seriously impaired by the gloom. Where the bulkheads had collapsed overhead about thirty feet from the floor, the intersections of beams above them formed natural islets. I could see some Dargian pythons slither between them, curling around some deformed grating-like structures.

  I made a mental note of my route. I had to climb off the platform and cover about a hundred and fifty feet of debris before I found myself next to the destroyed hangars. I could see a spaceship's hull gleam softly in one of them. From there I could shoot a few snakes — and take a closer look at the ship, too.

  I temporarily got rid of the sniper's rifle, putting it away into the inventory. Submachine gun in hand, I placed the handgun in the quick access slot. I was all set.

  I could see the location's layout quite well from above so I made a few screenshots which were automatically integrated into the map. Quickly I climbed down, seeing the renewed data show in the interface window. Now I started to understand. The spaceships weren't here for nothing.

  The wide collapsed tunnel was in fact a magnetic transport hub connected to a large outside docking area. The whole deck must have been part of it. Did that mean that it had once served to maintain spaceships?

  The main tunnel branched out into smaller ones. The sheer scope of the entire structure was mind-boggling. At least my mind had nothing to compare it with. This segment of the station had to be at least a mile long.

  Oh no, I wasn't going to walk that far. Not this time, at least.

  The tunnel had long collapsed, its gaping U-shaped ribs offering good visibility. I mapped down the remains of three of the hangars. The closest of them housed the spaceship I'd noticed. Relatively small, the ship was shaped like an elongated horseshoe with the tear-shaped nodule of the cockpit in the middle.

  Getting there proved difficult. The tunnel's enormous U-shaped ribs formed a sheer obstacle course. Had it not been for the debris compressed between them, I might have had to climb each rib up and then down again in order to get to the next one.

  I kept looking around, listening intently. So far I'd noticed nothing particularly dangerous. As I grew accustomed to the gloomy setting, I asked myself in ever-growing alarm: what could have caused the death of the earlier groups?

  The answer came out of nowhere. I noticed two fiery dots in the air about seven feet high. I dropped down, ducking behind a massive steel frame. A powerful surge of energy flashed overhead.

  My visor darkened. When I was finally able to see again, the place was enveloped in yellow smoke and the stench of smoldering organic matter. The radiation meter was going off the scale. The metal around me was glowing red, scarred and molten.

  Radiation warning! Your radiation exposure is 45% lethal.

  Only now did I understand the meaning of Liori's warning.

  Don't try to survive.

  That was the best and most realistic advice she could have possibly given me. I could see my course of action perfectly well now. I had to get a few snakes promptly and then do whatever it took, kill myself with my own hands if necessary, just to get a respawn. Trying to brave radiation sickness wasn't a good idea. The sheer agony of it just wasn't worth the effort.

  * * *

  Actually, I soon saw that there were plenty of creatures around to take care of my agonizing death.

  I had barely cleared the radioactive plume when a laser flashed from out of the hall's dark depths. Molten metal spewed everywhere. A decrepit chunk of bulkhead creaked and began to list.

  I hadn't been hit but the droplets of molten metal hissing around had attracted the attention of the Dargian pythons. Their vision must have been infrared-based; they obviously had lived here long enough to know that such laser charges meant there might be food available.

  Seven of them left their lair at once. I watched the long, lithe, muscular monsters slither between the intertwined beams, sending their bodies in powerful leaps from one bundle of cables to the next, then curling around them and freezing, swinging, without taking their eyes off me.

  It was too late to run or hide. I whipped the submachine gun up and took aim, pressing my back against the steel frame. Three of the snakes went for me at once. H
ow's that for an adrenaline rush? I hit one in mid-air, cutting it in half. The second one dodged to one side. The ricocheting sparks spattered the air. The third one curled up and froze, swaying before his final deadly leap but I beat him to it. A desperate burst of fire reduced him to a cloud of bloody mist, slapping his wet flesh all over the debris.

  Where were the others?

  I couldn't see them. Were they lying in wait? I was slightly feverish with tension.

  Out of the darkness, a laser strobed. More molten metal showered me as the laser charges impacted diagonally downward. Chunks of red-hot construction steel and pieces of Dargian python kept falling at my feet.

  I'd no idea who it was shooting. I just grabbed the snakes and stuffed them down my inventory slots.

  Now back to the elevator. Apparently, I wasn't meant to get to the mysterious spaceships today. Another charge flashed nearby. My radiation meter went off the scale.

  The danger warning was going crazy.

  The darkness parted, revealing several drones of unknown design. My target recognition system highlighted their shapes, outlining their vulnerable spots. Their ancient hulls looked decrepit, riddled with holes.

  Radiation warning! Your radiation exposure is 65% lethal.

  I could deal with it. I had plenty of time to get out.

  Or so I thought.

  The air around me squirmed with movement. The heaped debris crawled with hundreds of radiation-mutated creatures scrambling out of their lairs.

  A Dargian attacked me first. Level 30, Pilot, I read mechanically and recoiled trying to avoid his blow but stumbled. Falling, I pulled the trigger.

  The impact threw him back like a bloodied rag doll. This sentient xenomorph barely had enough Health to last him a couple of hits.