by S. Robertson
“Wolfram, all the best,” said Corb. As he shook Wolfram’s hand Corb transferred a metal object saying, “This might help. You know how it works. Slip it into one of those pockets.”
Wolfram did as directed realizing that Corb’s actions denoted a widening uneasiness over Zolar’s antics.
Corb, not wanting Zolar to telepathically detect the object, advised, “Wolfram, in front of the pyramid, focus on the door. I must leave. When this is over, I and my crew will greet you at the top of the pyramid.” Then glancing over the party gathered he added, “I can assure you it’s unprecedented to have the Queen at these events.” With that he turned to fly Sirona’s plane back to the palace.
Assembled in front of the pyramid were the Queen, Sirona, Myttrwn, Zolar and his two guards, the four candidates and the rest of the Gaia team.
Zolar, still defiant, upon seeing the four, reacted saying, “They are not supposed to be in our kingdom uniforms, this is not permitted.”
“I’ve approved the uniforms, Zolar,” said the Queen in a commanding voice.
Unwilling to give up, Zolar then focused on the second negative, “Angi must give up her medallion.”
“Cease,” demanded the Queen, “Zolar, you are trying my patience. Angi will not give up her medallion. Get on with it, you have already exceeded your demands.”
Zolar acquiesced. He didn’t care, his plan was set. Convinced of his superior intelligence to that of Sirona or Myttrwn he thought, “My objective will be achieved. I know I’m right. In time I’ll be honoured for my ingenuity.” He led the four towards the open doorway saying loud enough for all to hear, “A Grade One Initiation calls for three hours in the first six chambers of the pyramid with less time in the seventh. You must exit the pyramid with one crystal each.” At the entrance, making no effort to speak to them, he turned abruptly and strode back towards the Queen.
The two guards resumed their duty under the Queen’s further orders, “Zolar, you will be escorted to your quarters where you will remain under guard until this initiation is over.” There was little warmth in her remarks.
The four candidates turned, waved, and entered the pyramid. The huge entrance door slid shut leaving them in the silence of the pyramid. In the semi-darkness they spotted the dogs.
“There they are, our travelling companions,” said Angi, “thanks to the genius of Myttrwn.” They each went to their own dog, retrieved their Aqk and goggles and activated the bio-robot. The dogs came alive.
“Well, Morgan, you got your wish,” said Wolfram, “We’re about to learn firsthand what this pyramid is all about. Let’s hope we live to tell the tale.”
“Yes, indeed, we’ll definitely have a tale to tell,” replied Angi, “Eighteen hours will pass quickly. I expect that open field ahead is the beginning of Chamber One.”
After walking a half hour Vette said, “It’s hard to believe this is a holographic program, it seems so real. This certainly appears natural with rambling bushes and a wagon path which leads to that high ground in the distance. Can you see it? It’s almost too perfect with the sunlight dancing across the field and the gentle breeze bending the grasses. But I see clouds ahead.”
“Yeh, I see the ridge and the clouds,” replied Wolfram. “I estimate, if we maintain a steady walking pace we might reach that high ground in about an hour and a half.”
The dogs scampered ahead chasing each other through the long grass, stopping periodically to ensure the four were close behind.
“Those clouds are moving rapidly,” replied Angi. “Is it rain or wind?”
It didn’t take long to find out. Within minutes a fine mist descended, soon turning into a drizzle which caused the dogs to draw back. The group pressed on.
As promised, prior to their departure, Sirona had indicated she would be contacting them through their ear translation devices. Her clear voice made the contact with, “We have you on our monitors. Tap on your ear pieces if you are receiving.”
Doing as instructed she continued, “Good, I’ll not interrupt a lot but will keep in touch. Tap on your ear device if you need me. Off for now.”
Angi thought to herself, “So far so good.” But her intuition alarm bells were ringing as she added, “Why do I feel the second shoe is about to drop?”
An hour passed as they trudged on. The drizzle was replaced by rain, first a sprinkle, then a steady shower which forced them to adjust their goggles and head gear. Then the rain started accumulating in puddles along the wagon groves.
By the time they reached the second hour, the rain was running steadily down the path, their boots sticking in mud. But their destination was getting closer.
“Another hour of this rain and we could be wallowing in fairly heavy water,” observed Wolfram. “Let’s speed up. I’d like to get to that raised bit of land in the next half hour.” And to himself he thought, “This lower ground could be trouble if that rain intensifies.” The dogs, comfortable in the rain, stuck closer.
The rain began to come down in sheets reducing visibility. While their faces and hands were soaked, their uniform remained dry with no water entering their boots.
Within two hundred yards of their objective, out of nowhere, a wave of water rushed down the wagon path with such force that it caused Angi to stumble. Falling, the force of the water pulled her past her three companions. Wolfram reached out to grab her but she slipped out of his grip.
He yelled to the others, “Grab a bush,……… grab anything……… I’m after Angi.” He pushed through the raging water keeping Angi in sight as she struggled to regain her footing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Skylar race along the bank and into the water. With her powerful jaws she grabbed Angi’s clothing and pulled her towards the side of the wagon path. Skylar had Angi up on the bank and was holding her firmly when Wolfram arrived.
As he reached her Wolfram exclaimed, “Angi are you all right? Your one member we can’t afford to lose. Good old Skylar. Without her you may have been propelled back down the path for some distance.”
Angi, pulling herself up, hugged the dog saying, “Skylar you’re my heroine. I knew we needed these dogs.” Then realizing her situation she added, “Wolfram, that was scary and we’ve just begun.”
“Come Angi, this could get really treacherous if we don’t get out of this gully.” As they trudged back they found Morgan and Vette clinging fast to two bushes as the water rushed past.
“Come on,” commanded Wolfram as he assisted them onto the bank. “Another blast of water like that one and we could be back at square one. Let’s stay on the higher ground. It may be slower but safer.”
The dogs, sensing danger, stayed near and walked along as they plied their way through the storm.
Reaching the raised piece of land they found a winding path to its summit and stood on the ledge watching the water rise in the valley below.
“The water’s rising fast,” said Vette,………….. “What time is it?”
Morgan looked at his watch and replied, “We should be within ten minutes of the third hour. I wonder how the hell we’re supposed to hear a click in this storm.”
“Let’s move towards that rock wall and wait,” suggested Vette, already taking the lead. “Maybe we can hear the click easier back here.” Finding a slight overhang in the rock they huddled and waited.
The third hour came and went.
Vette reacted, “I bet that bastard set this program for the max. Let’s tap on our ear piece and see if Sirona has any wise words.”
Sirona responded knowing the reason, “Yes, we’ve noted the third hour has passed and”………………. the connection went silent. Tapping the ear piece a number of times still produced no response.
Angi not wanting to believe the unbelievable, said, “Perhaps its temporary.”
“Not likely. Let’s face it,” came Vette’s angry reply, “In my suspicious mind this is when Zolar interposes his own program intended on leaving us stranded in this mausoleum. Prepare for the worst.”
/> As the pounding rain bounced off the rock and poured over its edge, Wolfram responded, “As much as I’d like to disagree, Vette may be right. We’re on our own until Sirona and Myttrwn can get through.”
“Now we need Angi’s magic,” said Morgan, as the full impact of the danger began to register.
* * *
The House of Life, Monitoring Room
The pyramid monitoring room in the House of Life was filled with flashing panels and screens with Myttrwn giving orders to his six technicians who were monitoring the four initiation candidates. With Sirona’s first communication with Angi, Vette, Wolfram and Morgan, everyone relaxed convinced what lay ahead was a long but routine day ending with the four candidates exiting the seventh chamber in about twenty hours.
Due to space limitations, Myttrwn had Andrew and Bryce join him and Sirona in the monitoring room while Dylan and the security team joined Corb in readiness for the retrieval of the four at the end of the day.
The atmosphere changed when communications ceased and the monitors faded. Thinking it a momentary transmission problem, Myttrwn reacted giving his technicians explicit directions to regain control. His apprehension increased when none of the usual diagnostic and corrective measures proved effective.
In a momentary pause, Andrew, interjected, “Myttrwn, what happened?”
After more rounds of technical problem solving, Myttrwn turned to Sirona, Andrew and Bryce, and, cautiously said, “I believe this is Zolar’s handiwork. I knew he was clever, calculating and dangerous, which are unacceptable characteristics in our world, but even I didn’t expect this. At worse, I thought, he would make the Grade One program as difficult as possible. What appears to have happened is that he deliberately altered the Grade One program to fail after running normally for over two hours lulling us into the belief that all was well. He’s rigged it to disengage at this point so that his intended program would take over, possible one more advanced than Grade One. At the same time, he has managed to place a powerful screen over the entire pyramid blocking all communications.”
“Can you get into the pyramid and rescue the four at this point?” asked Andrew.
“Not without blowing up all the gates which might further endanger them,” replied Myttrwn.
“Then what you are telling me is that they are stranded in an advanced initiation program for which they are definitely ill prepared,” said Andrew his voice rising. “Surely you must have encountered something similar before, maybe a candidate got lost, injured or was too ill to finish.”
“Rarely,” came Sirona’s reply, “I can recall only once when we had to enter Chamber Seven for an older candidate, and then we were able to spring the exit door with the aid of Zolar and his crew.”
“Well, get Zolar’s crew in here,” replied Andrew growing exasperated.
“That’s underway,” replied Myttrwn, “but I expect Zolar worked alone on this. If so, he’s the only one that can break the code. The overall pyramid blockage presents a major problem as we’re unable to access the pyramid at all.”
“Well then get Zolar, and have him undo this mess,” demanded Andrew.
“That’s exactly what I intend to do,” said Myttrwn as he pressed a button connecting him to the rescue team. “Corb, this is a Code Red order. Go at once to Zolar’s quarters with an emergency plane and escort him with one of his guards to this monitoring station immediately.”
Corb needed no explanation, the urgency in Myttrwn’s command told him all he needed to know. His four friends were in danger. He dashed to the plane.
That done Myttrwn continued, “Now Andrew don’t forget Angi’s abilities, she knows how to speed up time so that they will not have to endure the length of time usually programmed for the higher grade testing.”
“That’s fine, Myttrwn, as long as Angi is OK, but what happens to the others if Angi is hurt and can’t perform those functions?”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” replied Myttrwn, not wanting to show his own growing misgivings over the situation. He then turned to Sirona, “You must notify the Queen. Tell her we’re monitoring the situation and will keep her posted.”
Sirona left the room to speak to her mother.
An hour passed before a technician reported that he had four blimps on the monitor still moving about.
Myttrwn examined the monitor and declared, “That’s the dogs, stay with them. At least we can follow their movements. I placed the strongest tracking devices in those robots. Let me know if there’s any change. Keep working on the other programs.”
“Dogs………… what dogs?” asked Andrew.
Myttrwn then explained about the robotic dogs and their role, ending with, “There are strict rules regarding these initiations but no mention of robotic dogs. I had a prototype ready so created four identical dogs, the type Angi said she preferred. They are powerfully built and capable of many feats.”
“Well, that’s something,” replied Andrew, still struggling to ascertain the dangers facing his team. He continued, “But Myttrwn, could the dogs be functioning even if Angi, Vette, Wolfram and Morgan are not?”
Myttrwn, sympathetic to Andrew’s concerns, replied, “No, the dogs function on the commands of their masters, which in this instance are Angi, Vette, Wolfram and Morgan. If the dogs are moving about then I can assume the four are also on the move. Come here Andrew, you can see for yourself. But the timing now is in question. Zolar had no intension of keeping to the three hours, nor likely five, so we must consider seven hours per chamber. That means we’re going to be here much longer than planned.” And to himself he added, “I pray that’s it, otherwise we’ll have no alternative but to send in a crew to rescue the four and mutilate the pyramid. Such action will be an anathema to the Council so I’ll have to make that decision with Sirona and bear the consequences. When Zolar gets here we’ll know for certain.”
At that moment Myttrwn received an incoming call from Corb. Listening his demeanour changed, as he ordered Corb,“Take Zolar and his guard to my lab immediately. I’ll meet you at the first therapy unit.”
When he turned his face was grim, “Corb has reported that Zolar has taken a powerful potion. He is unconscious. I will now leave here and take charge of Zolar’s recovery. He’s not going to die on me and escape his punishment. Sirona notify the Queen. I leave you in charge. We’ll keep in constant contact.” Turning he gave his chief technician an order, “Proceed to link me up with your monitor, I want to follow what is happening with the dogs.” With that he abruptly left the room.
Sirona, seeing the strained look on Andrew’s face, replied, “I can assure you, Andrew, I’m prepared to blast our way through if need be.”
The situation was grim as Andrew focused on the four green blips on the monitor, his only contact with his team who were locked in a pyramid programmed by an unconscious madman.
* * *
Pyramid, Chamber 1 (cont)
Before responding to Morgan’s request Angi asked, “Let’s think this through. What happens if I skip past the fifth hour, in line with Vette’s comment, and shift time within five minutes of the seventh hour? Are there any negative ramifications?”
“That’s something we never thought to ask Sirona and Myttrwn,” replied Morgan. “But, Angi’s got a point. What if Zolar set the program for the fifth hour not the seventh, then we could find ourselves locked in this chamber with the water rising and no way out.”
“True, we don’t know this system well enough to predict the possibilities,” replied Wolfram. “OK, as in this case, if nothing happens at the third hour, then we’ll have Angi first aim at five minutes to the fifth hour. If the gate still doesn’t open, then she will proceed to five minutes to the seventh. Not wanting to put too fine a point on this, please keep in mind the rising water……… we haven’t a lot of time.” Then thinking to himself he added, “And we’ll be facing a more critical situation if both times are wrong.”
“That’s OK,” replied Angi, “I prefer t
wo bites rather than a four hour jump. If everyone’s ready, here goes…………… two, two hour time shifts.”
“Just a minute Angi, let me take another look at the water,” said Wolfram. He walked to the edge and looked down. Returning, he reported, “It’s hard to judge but I’d expect the water will be lapping at our feet by the seventh hour. For safety, let’s stick firmly against this stone wall.”
“What about the dogs?” asked Vette.
“I’ll hold onto Skylar and Dusky’s collars so Angi can operate freely. Vette you and Morgan hold on to your dogs. Are we ready?”
Finally positioned, Wolfram gave the signal, “OK Angi, do your thing!”
Angi proceeded realizing this time the lives of her friends were in her care. Concentrating on the medallion’s blue gemstones of the sapphire and the Stone of Atlantis she focused on the first time shift of five minutes to the fifth hour. Completing her task she checked her watch to be sure of the exact time. Confirmed she said, “We have five minutes.”
The five minutes passed and when nothing happened she proceeded to the seventh hour.
At five minutes to the seventh hour, they again waited, watching the raging water splash over the edge of the ledge. Morgan ears picked up a sound. “That’s it………I heard a click………. listen,” he said. At that moment the waters began to recede. A black gate miraculously appeared in the rock face and slid open.
“Quick,” yelled Wolfram, “let’s escape this prison. Great work Angi!”
They raced through the opening and stood at the entrance to Chamber Two. Within ten minutes the gate slid shut leaving a blank stone wall.
Morgan commented, “That answers our question about the gate. We now know there’s a tiny window in which to scramble between the chambers. If we had miscalculated we would certainly have been locked in that first chamber. There’s little room for error in this initiation program.”
